Latest HIV vaccine doesn't work; govt halts study

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The latest bad news in the hunt for an AIDS vaccine: The government halted a large U.S. study on Thursday, saying the experimental shots aren't preventing HIV infection.

Nor did the shots reduce the amount of the AIDS virus in the blood when people who'd been vaccinated later became infected, the National Institutes of Health said.

"It's disappointing," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. But, "there was important information gained from this" study that will help determine what to try next.

The study had enrolled 2,504 volunteers, mostly gay men, in 19 cities since 2009. Half received dummy shots, and half received a two-part experimental vaccine developed by the NIH. All were provided free condoms and given extensive counseling about the risks for HIV.

It's a strategy known as "prime-boost." A DNA-based vaccine made with genetically engineered HIV material is given to prime the immune system to attack the AIDS virus. Then a different vaccine, encasing the same material inside a shell made of a disabled cold virus, acts as a booster shot to strengthen that response. Neither vaccine could cause HIV.

The idea: Train immune cells known as T cells to spot and attack the very earliest HIV-infected cells in someone's body. The hope was that the vaccine could either prevent HIV infection, or help those infected anyway to fight it.

A safety review this week found that slightly more study participants who had received the vaccine later became infected with HIV. It's not clear why. But the difference wasn't statistically significant, meaning it may be due to chance. Overall, there were 41 HIV infections in the vaccinated group and 30 among placebo recipients. When researchers examined only participants diagnosed after being in the study for at least 28 weeks ? long enough for the shots to have done their job ? there were 27 HIV infections among the vaccinated and 21 among the placebo recipients.

The NIH said Thursday that it is stopping vaccinations in the study, known as HVTN 505, but that researchers will continue to study the volunteers' health.

Josh Robbins, 30, of Nashville, Tenn., is among the participants who became infected. He said he's glad he was in the study, because its close monitoring meant he was diagnosed and treated much sooner than most people ? and he's feeling great ? and because the findings help science.

"We've got to keep moving forward," Robbins said. The study "certainly can lead us down a new direction to hopefully find something that might work."

Multiple attempts at creating an AIDS vaccine have failed over the years. A 2009 study in Thailand is the only one ever to show a modest success, using a somewhat different prime-boost approach. Newer research suggests another approach ? to try creating powerful antibodies that could work a step earlier than the T-cell attack, before HIV gets inside the first cell.

Both approaches need continued research funding, said Mitchell Warren of the international AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition.

"Clearly an AIDS vaccine remains critical," he said.

___

Online:

NIH Q&A: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/news/QA/Pages/HVTN505qa2013.aspx

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-04-25-HIV%20Vaccine/id-696f3bf68ee64212945af0e6efe39def

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HP Slate 7 now available online for $170

You could spend $170 on a HP Slate 7, but you shouldn't

You can officially not buy the HP Slate 7 today, as the tablet nobody would ever want is now available at HP's website. Your $170 does get you a nice design and quality materials (and Beats audio!), but the lackluster internals and low resolution 1024 x 600 display means you should give this one a pass. For $30 more you can get a Nexus 7 from Google or your local brick and mortar retailer.

But, if you insist, click the link below to order. 

Source: HP

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/7XZYCcECmrs/story01.htm

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Wall St Week Ahead: Central banks, data to steer investors

By Wanfeng Zhou

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With signs of a slower economy mounting, the near-term outlook for U.S. stocks isn't rosy, but investors may find comfort next week from the world's major central banks.

The Federal Reserve will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the report of weaker-than-expected, first-quarter growth could reinforce expectations the Fed will keep purchasing bonds at a pace of $85 billion a month.

Low interest rates and ample liquidity provided by the Fed and other central banks have buoyed global equity markets because low borrowing costs for businesses and consumers lead to richer corporate profits. Major U.S. stock indexes hit record highs earlier this month.

"As long as it looks like central banks are on your side and on investors' side as far as providing more liquidity, that's going to help improve sentiment," said Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

"I don't think (Fed officials) have got enough data since the last meeting to really justify changing policy. I really don't think they're going to look at slowing the pace of purchases until probably September."

A strong commitment from the Fed to continue its stimulative policy, coupled with corporate earnings that have mostly exceeded lowered forecasts, could help Wall Street extend a rally despite signs that the U.S. economic recovery is losing momentum.

Even though the market ended flat on Friday, its performance for the week was positive. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 1.7 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.1 percent and Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.3 percent

The economy expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said on Friday, short of expectations of 3.0 percent and setting a cautious tone.

A heavy slate of key economic indicators will be released next week, including personal income and spending, the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing and services activity indexes, pending home sales, the Chicago purchasing managers' index and consumer confidence from the Conference Board.

The highlight of the week will come on Friday when the Labor Department releases its employment report for April.

Economists polled by Reuters are looking for job growth of 150,000, up from 88,000 in March. The unemployment rate is likely to remain unchanged at 7.6 percent.

"Today's (GDP) data suggests maybe the momentum is much weaker that what was priced in," said John Praveen, chief investment strategist at Prudential International Investments Advisers in Newark, New Jersey.

"We have had a very strong rally, so people are looking for any trigger for profit-taking," he said. Praveen said the market could see a 5 percent pullback in the months ahead should upcoming data prove weaker than expected.

Stocks have had a wild run over the past week after hackers attacked the website of stock broker Charles Schwab Corp and a false report on the Associated Press's Twitter account about explosions at the White House sent the market into a brief tailspin.

On Thursday, a software glitch shut down the Chicago Board Options Exchange for half the day, preventing trading in options on two of the stock market's most closely watched indexes and delivering the latest blow to confidence in the way U.S. financial markets operate.

EUROPE, EARNINGS

The European Central Bank meets on Thursday and investors will watch to see if it delivers an interest-rate cut as the euro zone economy deteriorates further. Further monetary easing would encourage investors to buy riskier assets and boost stocks.

"The market has been rallying on the fact the ECB might actually start to do something; if the U.S. market reacts in the same way, that might get the market rallying," said John Canally, investment strategist and economist for LPL Financial in Boston.

With earnings reporting now half over, investors will look to see if companies can continue to exceed profit estimates despite lackluster revenue.

According to Thomson Reuters data, of the 271 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings for the first quarter, 69 percent have beaten analysts' expectations, above the 63 percent average since 1994.

However, only 43.9 percent have topped analysts' revenue forecasts, well below the 62 percent average since 2002 and the 52 percent rate for the last four quarters.

Analysts now see earnings growth of 3.8 percent this quarter, up from expectations of 1.5 percent on April 1.

Next week Dow components reporting results will be Pfizer and Merck . Other companies scheduled to report include Loews Corp , Aetna Inc , Chesapeake Energy , Visa Inc , Viacom Inc and Kraft Foods Group Inc .

David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial, based in Boston where he helps oversee about $700 billion in assets, said the lackluster figures suggest the second quarter may not be as robust as hoped.

"Right now, markets are going through an adjustment process, trying to figure out just how robust the economy is here and overseas as well," Joy said. "You have investors sort of biding their time. They are invested, but not with complete conviction."

(Reporting By Wanfeng Zhou; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wall-st-week-ahead-central-banks-data-steer-225054879.html

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Church: Rick Warren's son commits suicide

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) ? The 27-year-old son of popular evangelical Pastor Rick Warren has committed suicide at his Southern California home, Warren's church said in a statement on Saturday.

Matthew Warren struggled with mental illness, deep depression and suicidal thoughts throughout his life. Saddleback Valley Community Church spokeswoman Kristin Cole said he died Friday night.

"Despite the best health care available, this was an illness that was never fully controlled and the emotional pain resulted in his decision to take his life," the church statement said.

Rick Warren, the author of the multimillion-selling book "The Purpose Driven Life," said in an email to church staff that he and his wife had enjoyed a fun Friday evening with their son. But their son then returned home to take his life in "a momentary wave of despair."

Over the years, Matthew Warren had been treated by America's best doctors, had received counseling and medication and been the recipient of numerous prayers from others, his father said.

"I'll never forget how, many years ago, after another approach had failed to give relief, Matthew said 'Dad, I know I'm going to heaven. Why can't I just die and end this pain?'" Warren recalled.

Despite that, he said, his son lived for another decade, during which he often reached out to help others.

"You who watched Matthew grow up knew he was an incredibly kind, gentle, and compassionate man," Warren wrote. "He had a brilliant intellect and a gift for sensing who was most in pain or most uncomfortable in a room. He'd then make a bee-line to that person to engage and encourage them."

The elder Warren founded Saddleback Church in 1980, according to his biography on the church website, and over the years watched it grow to 20,000 members. He and his wife, Kay, began by holding Bible studies for people who weren't regular churchgoers.

As Saddleback grew over the years, it spread out from its Lake Forest headquarters, 65 miles southeast of Los Angeles, adding several other campuses and ministries around Southern California.

The church says it now offers more than 200 community ministries and support groups for parents, families, children, couples, prisoners, addicts, and people living with HIV, depression and other illnesses.

In 2008, the church sponsored a presidential forum with Barack Obama and John McCain. Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney were invited to a similar forum last fall, but Warren canceled it several days beforehand, saying the campaign had become too uncivil.

Warren was named the top newsmaker of the year for 2009 by the Religion Newswriters Association. He gained attention that year with his invocation at Obama's inauguration, as well as with comments he made in the aftermath of California's Proposition 8, which overturned gay marriage.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/church-pastor-rick-warrens-son-commits-suicide-211206608.html

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Deadliest submarine disaster in US remembered

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) ? Family and friends who lost loved ones when the USS Thresher sank 50 years ago joined in tossing wreaths into the water Saturday in an emotional service in remembrance of the 129 Navy crew members and civilian technicians who lost their lives in the deadliest submarine disaster in U.S. history.

Hundreds gathered for the memorial service at Portsmouth High School that concluded with a small group tossing three wreaths into the Piscataqua River. During the service, a bell tolled 129 times.

The event, along with the dedication of a flagpole Sunday in Kittery, Maine, aim to call attention to the tragedy 220 miles off Cape Cod, which became the impetus for submarine safety improvements.

Vice Adm. Michael Connor, commander of the Navy's submarine forces, acknowledged Saturday that the safety upgrades came at a steep cost to Thresher families.

"I've talked a lot about the good that comes from the Thresher and the Thresher's loss, but that's probably not a consolation to the families who've lost a father or a son," Connor told a packed high school auditorium.

The USS Thresher, built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and based in Connecticut, was out for a routine deep-diving test when it ran into trouble on April 10, 1963.

The Navy believes the failure of a brazed weld allowed sea water to spray onto an electrical panel, causing an emergency shutdown of the sub's nuclear reactor. The ballast system also failed, preventing the sub from surfacing.

Filling with water, Thresher descended deeper and disintegrated under the crushing force of the ocean. Its remains rest on the ocean floor at a depth of 8,500 feet.

Don Wise Jr., 59, of Plaistow, N.H., who lost his dad, said the Thresher crew members were doing something special, serving on what was a technological marvel, the Navy's fastest and deepest-diving nuclear submarine.

"They were going deeper and faster than anyone. I always considered my dad a hero and an adventurer," Wise said Saturday. "These memorials are how I connect my children and grandchildren with my dad."

Former Thresher crew member Frank DeStefano, 79, of Orange Park, Fla., said he owed his life to a three-day assignment to Washington that took him away from the submarine during the fateful sea trials.

He said he's happy to see that annual memorial events provide an outlet for families and friends to grieve.

"The only good part about these memorials is that we can help those who were really affected, like the families," DeStefano said. "And it's great to see the children that have come along."

Lynne Lawrence of Alexandria, Va., whose father, Richard DesJardins, was one of the civilian technicians who died, attended the service with two siblings.

In a recent interview, she described her father as a fun-loving, busy engineer, and said she was sad he didn't get to see his children become adults or meet his grandchildren.

"It's a profound loss that affects you forever, but you grow from it and move on," she said. "Because you don't really have any other choice."

After the ceremony, a rifle team fired shots as the wreaths ? one each for Navy personnel and civilian technicians who died, and one for previous Thresher crew members ? were tossed into the river.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/deadliest-submarine-disaster-us-remembered-211053180.html

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North Korea: US Deploys Spy Plane To Japan

Tensions remain high on the Korean Peninsula amid reports the US has deployed an unmanned spy plane to Japan to boost its surveillance after North Korea readied missile launchers on its east coast.

The Global Hawk will be stationed at the US airbase in Misawa, northern Japan, in the first ever deployment of the aircraft in the country, the Sankei Shimbun reported, quoting government sources.

The US military informed Japan last month about plans to deploy the plane between June and September but has brought the date forward.

It comes after North Korea warned foreign diplomats they may not be safe in the country if war breaks out.

The spy plane will be stationed at the US airbase in Misawa, northern Japan

Pyongyang asked foreign embassies whether they were considering evacuating staff, saying the government could not guarantee their safety in the event of conflict from April 10.

The British Foreign Office dismissed the warning as "rhetoric".

However, an urgent international effort to defuse the situation is under way.

The heads of EU missions are to meet to hammer out a common position on the crisis, while the US works its diplomatic channels to resolve the stand-off with Pyongyang.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has been holding talks with officials in South Korea, as well as China - historically North Korea's ally - to see if the Chinese can put any more pressure on North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to back down.

Kim Jong-Un holding up a pistol as he supervises firing drills

Reporting from the South Korean capital Seoul, Sky's Asia Correspondent Mark Stone, said: "In the skies above the Korean Peninsula there are spy planes operating.

"There will be drones - American drones - operating before long from a base in Japan.

"They are trying to get as much of a sense as possible of what it is that Kim Jong-Un is doing on the ground with his weaponry.

"We know he has some pretty sophisticated weaponry.

"There are artillery rounds just over the border. They could in theory hit Seoul. That's a big concern for South Korea.

"That's why they are trying to put these intelligence reports together, as well as the diplomacy behind the scenes, to try and work out what Kim Jong-Un might be up to."

A South Korean soldier looks to the north at a border observation post

He continued: "The diplomats were warned by Pyongyang to leave by April 10 - no one quite knows why that date should be significant.

"It seems pretty clear, certainly speaking to western diplomats based in Pyongyang, their belief is this is just the latest round of rhetoric from North Korea.

"You would assume that if North Korea was planning some sort of war, it would actually want the diplomats from foreign countries to remain there so that they could be used as some sort of a bargaining chip - not kicked out of North Korea.

"I think it is alarming, but I think it's also probably just more rhetoric," he added.

Most governments have made it clear they have no immediate plans to withdraw personnel from the area.

A rally in support of Kim Jong-Un's order to put missiles on standby

Western tourists returning from organised tours in Pyongyang - which have continued despite the crisis - said the situation on the ground appeared calm, with life going on as normal.

"We're glad to be back but we didn't feel frightened when we were there," said Tina Krabbe, from Denmark, arriving in Beijing after five days in North Korea.

The embassy warning on Friday coincided with reports that North Korea had loaded two mid-range Musudan missiles on mobile launchers and hidden them in underground facilities on its eastern coast.

The Musudan have never been tested but are believed to have a range of around 3,000km (1,860 miles), which could theoretically be pushed to 4,000km (2,485 miles).

That would cover any target in South Korea and Japan, and possibly even reach US military bases located on the Pacific island of Guam - which Pyongyang has threatened to strike.

Tensions have soared on the Korean peninsula since December, when the North test-launched a long-range rocket. In February, it conducted its third nuclear test and drew fresh UN sanctions.

Source: http://news.sky.com/story/1074718

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Video: Why Cramer's Watching North Korea and Jobs

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/51427501/

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HTC And Facebook Confirm They Modified Android To Optimize The ?First? Phone For Home

While Facebook's press event focused on the "Home" app that runs on unforked Androids, HTC and Facebook have confirmed to me they modified Android to give the HTC First phone features not available in the downloadable Home app. This lets the First pipe in email and calendar notifications to its homescreen. And with the Facebook Home Program, other OEMs can get Facebook's help fiddling with Android

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/oe4VMvH_Ne0/

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Afghan Taliban kill 44 in suicide attack on courtroom

By Sharaf Stanekzai

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Nine Taliban suicide bombers killed themselves and 44 others on Wednesday in an attack on a courtroom in western Afghanistan where 10 of their comrades were on trial, a local official said.

Causing the biggest death toll in a single attack since 2011, the militants, strapped with explosives, stormed the governor's compound in the capital of Farah province, bordering Iran, where the trial was taking place.

Thirty-four of the dead were civilians, the rest Afghan security forces, the governor's spokesman Abdul Rahman Zhwandai said. The Taliban said all 10 of its fighters who were on trial were freed.

"We sent several warnings to those in the Farah government, telling them not to work there," Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said.

The attack will add to concerns about how Afghan security forces will manage once NATO-led combat troops withdraw by the end of next year.

Farah province, where U.S. and Italian troops are stationed, saw a sharp deterioration in security last year, with increased targeting of government officials and a regrouping of insurgent networks, according to the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN).

The vast distances between towns in Farah, sandwiched between Helmand and Herat, may allow for more Taliban gains in the near future, AAN said in a report last month.

Civilian casualties in the NATO-led war, now in its twelfth year, decreased in 2012 after rising for five years, according to the United Nations. More than 80 percent of civilian casualties are caused by insurgents.

The last major attack inflicting a high civilian death toll was in July last year, when a suicide bomber killed a prominent anti-Taliban politician and 22 other guests at a wedding in the northern Samangan province.

In December 2011, bombers struck Shi'ite Muslim religious observances in Kabul, killing 58 people in a rare sectarian attack.

(Writing by Amie Ferris-Rotman; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insurgent-attack-afghan-west-kills-44-people-143239511.html

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Develop Creative Websites with HTML5 - Stylish Web Designer

The web world is the most diverse world and the best feature of web is accessibility, you can access any sort of web content, all you need is internet connection. The internet technology has provided people ease in terms of communication and information sharing; besides this people are running businesses online which is simply great. The most prominent aspect of web world is website, it?s just like having an online identity in the context of real world, and you can say that your website is your online home with a unique address using which people can access your website.

People these days are addictive to the internet as it offers you every single thing online, you can shop online, sell online, communicate and share information across the world. And in all these aspects, website is the most important element, that?s a gateway through which you can represent yourself. That?s why website owners? focus on having flexible and attractive websites. The success of website majorly relies on design and development. Design focus on the looks of you website whereas development indicates the functionality, how it behaves.

These days numerous different technologies are available for website development such as PHP, ASP.net, JQuery, HTML and more, based on these programming languages developers add functionality to the website. The most pioneer programming language is HTML, it was the basic Hyper Text Mark-up Language which was the best at its time but later on new technologies take over the web as they offer more advance development options. But HTML has released the new version 5 which offers plenty of features according to the latest trends. HTML5 offers you support to create document structures, allow you to interact with User-Interface, offer styling for HTML elements, implementation of HTML5 API?s and implement program flow. Furthermore, HTML5 support for web applications it allow you to use CSS3 in applications and integration of numerous apps in order to enhance website functionality.

Web development is a rapidly growing industry but at the same time developers have to keep their knowledge up to date in order to survive because technologies are improving consistently. One way to keep your skills up to date is to earn certifications. There are numerous companies that are offering certifications regarding their technologies so that people can utilize them properly. Microsoft is offering Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3 certifications for the developer who are interested in working HTML5. To gain this certification, developers have to pass Microsoft 70-480 HTML5 exam.

Microsoft Certified Professionals are great valued in IT industry which is why most IT professionals opt for Microsoft certification. Well, the most important concern is preparation, there are countless books available on HTML5 but to pass 70-480 exam candidates must understand the exam structure. That?s why I always suggest IT professionals to obtain 70-480 training material from certshelp.com. They are offering preparation content based on real exam formats so that people can understand the pattern and nature of questions and prepare accordingly. If you are interested in learning HTML5, I recommend you to earn Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3 certifications.

Source: http://stylishwebdesigner.com/develop-creative-websites-with-html5/

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Hostilities flare along Israeli-Gaza border

By Jeffrey Heller

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel pressed Hamas on Wednesday to rein in rocket-firing militants in the Gaza Strip after the most serious outbreak of cross-border hostilities since a ceasefire ended an eight-day war in November.

The Israeli military said two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip struck southern Israel on Wednesday, causing no casualties, hours after it launched its first air strikes in the Palestinian enclave in four months.

Israeli planes had gone into action on Tuesday, targeting what the military described as "two extensive terror sites in the northern Gaza Strip", after three rockets were fired into Israel earlier that day, causing no casualties or damage.

An al Qaeda-linked group, Magles Shoura al-Mujahadeen, claimed responsibility for Tuesday's rocket salvo, saying it was responding to the death earlier in the day of a Palestinian prisoner in an Israel jail. There was no immediate claim for Wednesday's rocket fire.

Palestinian officials accused Israel of failing to provide timely medical treatment for the prisoner, Maysara Abu Hamdeya, 64, who died of cancer in an Israeli hospital. Israel denied the allegation.

Israel said groups other than Hamas, an Islamist movement that rules the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, were behind the rocket attacks. But it put the onus on Hamas to stop them.

"(Israel's armed forces) decided to attack overnight in order to signal to Hamas that we will not suffer any strike on the south. And any shooting will meet a response, in order to restore quiet for the south soon," Brigadier-General Yoav Mordechai, the chief military spokesman, said on Army Radio.

"I assess that Hamas has no interest in seeing the situation deteriorate," he said.

Hamas has at times cracked down on hardline Islamist Salafi groups, seeing them as a threat to the stability of the impoverished, Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.

Tuesday was the third time since the November truce that rockets from Gaza have hit Israel, in attacks that have caused no casualties.

But with a new government and defense minister now in place after weeks of coalition-building that followed a January election, Israel seemed keen to show resolve.

"After five months that were the quietest since the disengagement, the Israeli armed forces decided not to resign themselves to (fire from Gaza) even ... on a very small scale," Mordechai said, referring to Israel's 2005 troop and settler pullout from the enclave.

Egypt mediated the ceasefire after fighting in which some 170 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed. Israel launched its Gaza offensive with the declared aim of ending Palestinian rocket fire into its territory.

Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip from Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement in 2007 after winning an election a year earlier.

Palestinians want to establish a state in the enclave along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

(Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hostilities-flare-along-israeli-gaza-border-080427719.html

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NRA-funded panel urges training armed guards at schools

By Ian Simpson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A task force funded by the National Rifle Association, the top U.S. gun rights group, unveiled a plan on Tuesday to train armed security personnel in every school in response to the December school massacre in Connecticut - a proposal swiftly condemned by gun control advocates.

The task force led by Asa Hutchinson - a former Drug Enforcement Administration chief, Republican congressman and Homeland Security Department official - unveiled 225 pages of proposals that follow December's call by NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre for placing armed guards in all schools.

The task force recommended 40 to 60 hours of training - to be developed and carried out by the NRA - for armed security officers or staff members in each school.

"Obviously, we believe they will make a difference in the various layers that make up school safety," Hutchinson told reporters at a news conference marked by unusually heavy security for a media event.

"This is not talking about all teachers. Teachers should teach," Hutchinson added.

The NRA, known for its influence in Congress, has vigorously fought gun control legislation and has touted armed security personnel as the solution to school violence.

President Barack Obama called for new gun control measures after a gunman killed 20 children and six adults on December 14 at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Gun control advocates appear to be losing momentum in Congress even before the Senate is due to take up legislation this month.

LaPierre's call in the days after the Newtown massacre for armed guards in all American schools was heavily criticized by gun control supporters.

'MISSING THE POINT'

"Once again, the NRA leadership is missing the point," the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun control group, said of the task force recommendations.

"The American public is calling for a comprehensive solution that not only addresses tragic school shootings, but also helps prevent the thousands of senseless gun deaths each year," the group added, touting expanded background checks for gun buyers and other gun control proposals in Congress.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said the task force recommendations would fail to keep schools safe and urged Congress to pass new gun control laws.

While the NRA commissioned the task force's study, Hutchinson said his 12-member panel was fully independent. The task force included a former Secret Service head, police and security officers, and representatives from Phoenix RBT Solutions, a law enforcement training firm.

The task force also recommended security accords between schools and law enforcement, state safety standards and improved federal coordination for school safety. It called for adoption of a model state law for armed school staffers and a program to assess threats and support the mental health of students.

The NRA commended Hutchinson for his work and said it would review the recommendations. The group said it was "determined to continue to use every asset at its disposal to help make America's children safe at school."

Mark Mattioli, whose son was among the children killed in Newtown, attended the news conference and said he welcomed the recommendations as "real solutions that will make our kids safer. And that's what we need."

The American Civil Liberties Union said the task force proposals could get the federal government in the business of supplying arms to teachers and heighten the risk that students could be funneled into the criminal justice system.

Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund, an advocacy group, also condemned the proposal.

The Democratic-controlled Senate, seen as more friendly to gun control legislation than the Republican-led House of Representatives, is due to take up legislation this month.

But proposals backed by Obama to ban assault weapons and crack down on high-capacity ammunition clips appear unlikely to pass, and universal background checks face a tough fight.

The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms. No major gun legislation has passed the U.S. Congress since 1994.

At the state level, legislative leaders in Connecticut on Monday agreed to some of the toughest gun regulations in the nation and expected to adopt them this week.

Asked about the Connecticut legislation, Hutchinson said it would be "totally inadequate" for school safety.

(Editing by Will Dunham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nra-funded-panel-urges-training-armed-guards-schools-012320193.html

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