Low Inventory Boosting Prices, Says ... - Archibald Relocation

Home price purchases were mixed month-over-month in May, with non-distressed prices up and short sales down, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse tracking survey.

From April to May, transactions reported by HousingPulse survey respondents revealed the average price for non-distressed properties rose 1.7 percent, while the average price for short sales fell 0.7 percent. For damaged REOs, the average price went up 1.8 percent and for move-in ready REOs, the average price dropped 1.5 percent.

The stabilization of home prices seen in some instances is due to a shortage of inventory, HousingPulse reported. These shortages are led by underwater homeowners who are holding onto their homes until home prices move up.

Also, for distressed properties, there?s a shortage of inventory due to slower processing of foreclosures by mortgage servicers, according to HousingPulse.

Move-in ready REO properties are in demand and sat on the market for an average of 10.6 weeks in May, the lowest of any property category.

Using a three-month moving average, the HousingPulse Distressed Property Index (DPI) revealed that the share of distressed properties in the housing market in May was 46.1 percent. This marks the 27th consecutive month in which the DPI hovered above 40 percent.

Anecdotal evidence also suggests that the shortage is especially prevalent in California.

One realtor in the state said that inventory in Orange County was ?super low? and the months? supply of unsold homes is down to just 45 days.

Another California agent said that inventory in the Santa Clarita Valley, which is 35 miles north of Los Angeles, is very low, and reported less than 500 listings, which is well below the 1,500-1,800 properties the agent stated is the average.

The Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey includes approximately 2,500 real estate agents nationwide each month.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 at 4:49 pm and is filed under Real Estate & Relocation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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Ann Curry Leaves 'Today': Co-Host Will Bid Farewell To Fans, Step Down From Morning Show Duties

USA Today:

Ann Curry's voice chokes when she talks about saying goodbye this morning on NBC's Today show, years earlier than she had hoped.

Read the whole story at USA Today

Contribute to this Story:

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House holds Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress

Holder (Susan Walsh/AP)

The full House of Representatives voted on Thursday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress over the Justice Department's decision to withhold documents related to the failed Fast and Furious gunwalking operation.

By a vote of 255 to 67, House members voted to hold Holder in contempt, disregarding a protest walkout led by the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).

"This is a sad day for the House of Representatives. It is an irresponsible day for the House of Representatives," House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.) said on the House floor prior to the vote. "It is a day in which the majority party asked us to take an action that has never been taken in the history of America."

Thursday's vote was the first time a sitting Cabinet officer was held in contempt. Hoyer noted that Congress has issued previous contempt citations to other officials, but that the average time between committee action and consideration was 87 days. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted just last week to advance the measure to the full House.

A total of 108 Democrats out of protest on Thursday chose not to vote on the measure, with 1 lawmaker voting present.

Earlier Thursday, the House Democratic caucus voted unanimously to endorse the walkout. Just prior to the vote,?Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Hoyer joined with the CBC, members of the Hispanic, Asian Pacific American and Progressive Caucuses as well as other lawmakers to exit the House floor in protest, filing out of the chamber in a slow-moving and crowded line.

"The Republican Leadership has articulated no legislative purpose for pursuing this course of action," the Caucus stated in a letter they previously circulated to colleagues encouraging them to join the walkout. "For these reasons we cannot and will not participate in a vote to hold the Attorney General in contempt. We adamantly oppose this partisan attack and refuse to participate in any vote that would tarnish the image of Congress or of an Attorney General who has done nothing but work tirelessly to protect the rights of the American people."

Thursday's vote marked the culmination of the Oversight Committee's push to hold the government accountable for the failings of Fast and Furious, a scheme which oversaw the sale of firearms to Mexican drug cartels, though the majority of the weapons went missing.

The committee opened an investigation into the operation to determine what the government knew and when, especially in light of a Feb. 4, 2011 letter, which the Justice Department later retracted. The letter incorrectly stated that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives?"makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico."

The Justice Department refused to hand over many of the documents subpoenaed by the committee citing internal deliberations contained in the materials. President Barack Obama backed the decision and personally exerted executive privilege over the documents last week.

Democrats argue that the Justice Department has been compliant to the extent it is able and that Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and other Republican lawmakers are simply playing politics by targeting Holder.

"The Congress should be embarrassed about the conduct of this investigation and the charade that brings us to the floor today," Democratic Rep. Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania said on the House floor prior to the vote.

"The Attorney General can't provide these documents-- the president has protected them under... executive privilege." Fattah added that Republicans have "lost their way" and because of them, Congress is held in high contempt.

Other Democrats argue that Issa is woefully ignoring gunwalking operations conducted during President George W. Bush's administration.

But Republicans maintain that they are fulfilling their duty to hold the government accountable and offered the Justice Department many opportunities to comply.

"The Justice Department did not provide the facts and the information we requested," House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said on the House floor. In addition, Boehner said, the government "admitted to misleading Congress."

On Thursday, Republicans rejected the Democratic assertion that their fight is simply political in nature.

"I hear the stuff about witch hunt and about politics and it gets me sick," Florida Republican Rep. Rich Nugent said on the House floor. "As a former law enforcement officer, we should be more worried about what lousy policies that Attorney General Holder is covering up that caused the death of one of our own in protecting this country." Nugent invoked the name of border patrol agent Brian Terry, who was killed on Dec. 2010. Weapons related to Fast and Furious were found at his murder scene.

Holder, in a statement following the vote, accused Republicans of failing to properly respond to Terry's death.

"Today's vote is the regrettable culmination of what became a misguided-- and politically motivated-- investigation during an election year," Holder said. "By advancing it over the past year and a half, Congressman Issa and others have focused on politics over public safety. Instead of trying to correct the problems that led to a series of flawed law enforcement operations, and instead of helping us find ways to better protect the brave law enforcement officers, like Agent Brian Terry, who keep us safe ? they have led us to this unnecessary and unwarranted outcome.

The National Rifle Association, which contends the government used the operation to promote stricter gun control laws, inserted itself into Thursday's vote by warning lawmakers last week that it will use the contempt vote to rate lawmakers. The organization's decision placed added pressure on House Democrats in gun-friendly districts. Hoyer conceded that some members would change their votes accordingly.

Seventeen Democrats joined with 238 Republicans to hold the attorney general in contempt, a number Republicans say invalidates talk of political theater.

"False and partisan allegations by the White House and some congressional Democrats about the Oversight Committee's efforts were undermined by the votes of 17 Democrats," Issa said in a statement following the vote.?"These Members resisted the pressure of their own leadership and the Obama Administration to support this investigation on the House floor."

Issa, who noted that the vote could have been avoided if the Justice Department had released the pertinent documents, warned that the Republicans' fight is not yet over. "Unless President Obama relents to this bipartisan call for transparency and an end to the cover-up, our fight will move to the courts where we will prevail in getting the documents that the Justice Department and President Obama's flawed assertion of executive privilege have denied the American people," Issa said.

Following the contempt resolution Thursday-- which centered on criminal charges-- the House passed a vote of civil contempt, which could advance to federal courts.

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Going for Broke: 5 Experiments That Went Out in a Blaze of Glory

Features | Space

Scientists have used the last moments of major experiments or spacecraft to make a push for knowledge--or to produce some fireworks

By John Matson ?| June 26, 2012?|

Image: NASA

Burning up, blowing up or crash-landing is usually considered a bad thing for a space mission. But some of the most successful missions have ended when scientists deliberately steered them to their demise. For some spacecraft, such destruction was always part of the plan. Others had simply achieved their goals, budget outlays had run their course, the time had come to wind them down, and researchers realized that they had nothing left to lose by sending the probes on one last daredevil plunge.

View a slide show of five experiments pushed to the limits?and beyond.

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British Queen, ex-IRA chief to seal end to conflict

BELFAST (Reuters) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth is to shake the hand of a once-feared commander of the Irish Republican Army on Wednesday to draw a line under one of Europe's bitterest conflicts, which cost the lives of thousands of soldiers and civilians, including her cousin.

The meeting with Martin McGuinness in a Belfast theatre, 14 years after the Irish Republican Army (IRA) ended its war against Britain's claim to Northern Ireland, will be the final major handshake in a peace process whose success has been studied around the world.

There has been scattered opposition from dissident Irish militants and from some of the IRA's victims. But the vast majority of the province's politicians backs the meeting, the first between the queen and a senior member of the IRA, or its political wing, Sinn Fein.

"This closes the circle," Brian Feeney, a historian of the Irish republican movement, said. "All the important people in Britain and Ireland have met each other and acknowledged each other. It brings Sinn Fein into the mainstream."

McGuinness previously shook the hand of the once fiery, anti-Catholic Unionist leader the Reverend Ian Paisley, who later joined a power-sharing provincial government with the former IRA man.

The meeting with the queen is so sensitive that officials on Tuesday afternoon were unable to say whether it would be open to the press, or even if a planned handshake would be photographed.

The queen regularly meets senior Unionist politicians, who want Northern Ireland to stay inside the United Kingdom, but not Sinn Fein, the largest party representing nationalists who want a united Ireland.

McGuinness, who is deputy first minister of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government, is a hero to republican hardliners, but has long been a hate figure to Unionists, many of whom harbor deep suspicions about his past.

He admits he was on the front line in the war with British forces, including on Bloody Sunday in 1972 when troops shot dead 13 unarmed protesters, but says he never killed anyone.

A British report said that McGuinness probably was armed with a submachinegun on Bloody Sunday, but did nothing to provoke the massacre. He has said he left the IRA in 1974, but most historians believe he was active for most of its campaign.

For the queen, the Northern Ireland conflict has long had a personal edge. Her cousin Lord Mountbatten was killed in an IRA attack in 1979 with three others, including his 14-year-old grandson, when his boat was blown up while he was on holiday in the Irish Republic.

More than 1,000 members of the British security forces were among 3,600 killed during the 30 years of violence.

"TERRIBLY HURT BY BRITISH STATE VIOLENCE"

"I represent people that have been terribly hurt by British state violence over the course of many years," McGuinness said in a video interview that Irish journalist Eamonn Mallie posted on his website on Tuesday.

"But I am also big enough to understand that Queen Elizabeth has also lost a loved one and of course there are families in Britain. Mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, children of people who were sent here as British soldiers who lost their lives also," he said.

Sinn Fein, which has become increasingly popular south of the Irish border as the main party opposing an EU/IMF bailout that the republic needed when its property bubble burst, is keen to bolster its image as a mainstream party and distance itself from a violent past that alienates many southern voters.

Sinn Fein still wants a referendum on whether Northern Ireland should remain part of Britain, where its members still refuse to take their parliamentary seats, but in the short term its aim is to be in government north and south simultaneously.

Just last year Sinn Fein rejected invitations to attend events during the queen's symbolic visit to the Republic of Ireland last year, the first by a British monarch since Dublin won independence from London in 1921.

"I see this as an opportunity to give the Unionist people in the north a glimpse of what a united Ireland can look like and their role in it and how they can be accommodated," McGuinness said. "This is about deciding at a moment in history what is the right thing to do."

The simple announcement of the trip in advance, for the first time since the conflict began, shows the vast progress the province has made in recent years.

When the queen last visited for a jubilee celebration in 1977 she was forced to stay overnight on a ship at sea before flying to Belfast, parts of which were effectively controlled by the IRA.

Security remains tight with small splinter groups continuing to launch attacks against British targets, a threat the police say it at its highest level since peace in 1998.

(Editing by Michael Roddy)

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After high court ruling some illegal immigrants on edge

Although the Supreme Court only upheld the 'show your papers' part of Arizona's controversial immigration law, some undocumented immigrants worry about being stopped while out in public. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

By James Eng and Miguel Llanos, msnbc.com

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down much of Arizona?s strict anti-illegal immigration law but upheld one of its most controversial provisions has some illegal aliens on edge. But will it prompt them to pack their bags and leave the state anytime soon?

Some may leave?but more likely than not most will stay put, say immigration-rights activists and illegal immigrants contacted by msnbc.com.

?The main thing we?re focusing on is advocating for families not to flee Arizona, to stay here and help fight for their rights to be here,? said Opal Tometi, a member of the board of the Puente Movement, an Arizona-based immigrant rights group, and national organizer for the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.?

---

Leticia Ramirez, a mother of three who lives in the Phoenix area and says she is undocumented, said the mixed Supreme Court ruling could make day-to-day life harder for her family but they plan to stay anyway.

Ross D. Franklin / AP

Members of Promise Arizona, from left, Leonila Martinez, Patricia Rosas and Gustavo Cruz, react to the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Arizona's controversial immigration law in Phoenix on Monday.

?If we fight together it?s going to be better for us than just one person fighting? for all the community,? she said.

The Supreme Court struck down key provisions of Arizona?s SB 1070 but said the state could go forward with a?much-debated portion requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop, detain or arrest for other reasons if they have ?reasonable suspicion? that the person is in the country illegally. Even there, though, the justices said the "show me your papers? provision could be subject to additional legal challenges and advised states not to apply the law in such a sweeping way that it would become unconstitutional. They also said officers can't arrest people on minor immigration charges.

Gov. Brewer: 'Heart' of immigration law proven constitutional

Tometi said the provision requiring police to try to determine the immigration status of a person stopped for other reasons might deter some undocumented immigrants from coming to Arizona. But she says it?s unlikely to lead to?full-scale departures from the state, especially for families that have been in Arizona illegally for years --?and even decades.

?I think that people will stay,? she said.

?What we?ve decided as a community in Arizona is that we?re going to do community organizing and defend our families, whether they?re documented or undocumented,? Tometi said.?

Both sides declare victory in court's immigration ruling

She said activists are establishing ?barrio defense committees?-- volunteer neighborhood committees that provide a network of support services for people who might be?swept up in detention or deportation proceedings.

Ramirez, who said she has been in the U.S. for 18 years, said the ruling will make routine day-to-day activities??difficult? for her family.

?We?re not going to be living a normal life anymore. We?ll be afraid when we get stopped,? she said.

?We?re not going to be able to take my kids to soccer practice, to soccer games, to movies, to the mall because I?m afraid we're going to be stopped. I don?t want to put my kids in that situation. A lot of people won?t even want to take their kids to school because they?re afraid of being stopped.?

She said while some illegal immigrants might leave, she?s determined to stay.

?Leaving Arizona leaving is not going to resolve anything,? Ramirez said. ?I would say to my community: Stay so we can fight together. People want to raise their kids and have a family. They?re going to risk it.?

Read the Supreme Court decision on SB 1070

Fernando Lopez, 21, says he experienced the provision firsthand -- being arrested after an Arizona Highway patrolman asked for his papers. The Mexican national living in Phoenix is fighting deportation and says even if he hadn't been caught he'd still fight to stay in the U.S.

"My brother left two years ago when the law was passed," he told msnbc.com, but "running is not the solution."

"The least we can do is organize as a community," said Lopez, who does acknowledge it's easier for him to stay since he's not married and has no children.?

The Arizona DREAM Act Coalition, an organization of immigrant youth and their supporters, said the section that was upheld is "conducive to racially profiling citizens, legal residents and undocumented immigrants."

"We will continue to educate our community on how we can overcome the implementation of this section so the impact to the people in our state is minimized," the group said in a statement.

"We encourage the community to stand firm, to not panic, and to stay informed."

Natalie Cruz, 24, also plans to stay and hopes the DREAM Act will give her some protection while she studies in Phoenix. Among her family, one aunt said she'd return to Mexico if the court upheld the police provision, Cruz said, but others plan to stay.

That's not to say life will be the same. "It is going to change how I do things -- like driving," Cruz said.

Jim Gilchrist, founder and president of the Minuteman Project,?a California-based group that advocates tough enforcement of immigration laws, says the Supreme Court opinion is unlikely to have a dramatic impact on illegal immigrants in Arizona.

While local police can inquire about the legal status of someone they stop for probable cause for something else, ?that?s apparently all they can do,? Gilchrist said.

?It doesn?t put any serious teeth into enforcing immigration laws,? he said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says even though the agency expects a lot more calls from Arizona police to check people's immigration status, deportations won't necessarily increase because federal officials are only targeting those who have been convicted of a felony or present a securty threat.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

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Ugliest Dog contest: 'Mugly' had the name, now he gets the prize

Ugliest Dog contest:?Eight-year-old rescue dog 'Mugly' was declared the World?s Ugliest Dog at an annual competition in Petaluma, Calif., making him the latest Chinese crested to get the top prize.?

By Mounira Al Hmoud,?Christian Science Monitor / June 25, 2012

Mugly, a Chinese crested dog owned by Bev Nicholson of Peterborough, England, won the title of 'World's Ugliest Dog' at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Calif., Friday.

The Press Democrat, Beth Schlanker/AP

Enlarge

Mugly, a Chinese crested dog, bested 28 other contestants at the annual competition for the World?s Ugliest Dog in Petaluma, Calif., making him the latest Chinese crested to win the top prize. ?

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'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "off"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // --> Meet Mugly, the world's ugliest dog - crowned in California.

Judged for their ?natural ugliness in both pedigree and mutt classes,? Princess Abby, Handsome Hector, and Creature were not able to top the sheer unattractiveness of Mugly, with his short snout, beady eyes, and white whiskers.

Bev Nicholson, Mugly's owner who rescued him in the streets in the United Kingdom after the dog was abandoned by his family, told the Associated Press, "I couldn't speak when they announced Mugly's name."?

"I didn't know which way to look," she said. "I was shaking as much as the dog."

Mugly?s ugliness has long been recognized. In 2005, he was awarded the title of Britain?s ugliest dog. His looks do not, however, prevent him from holding down a job as a therapy dog for children.?

In addition to competing for international recognition, the British dog won a $1,000 prize and a year?s worth of dog cookies. He will also be invited for a photo shoot and a VIP stay at the local Sheraton.?

Last year?s winner at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, Yoda, was a Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix. Since the contest began in 2000, most of the winning dogs have been Chinese crested or Chinese crested and?Chihuahua mixes.?

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Video: Investment Strategies Amid Market Risk: Strategist

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Islamist Morsi wins Egyptian election

CAIRO (AP) ? Islamist Mohammed Morsi was declared the winner Sunday in Egypt's first free presidential election in history, closing the tumultuous first phase of a democratic transition and opening a new struggle with the still-dominant military rulers who recently stripped the presidency of most of its powers.

In Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the uprising that ousted autocratic President Hosni Mubarak, joyous Morsi supporters wept and kneeled on the ground in prayer as soon as they heard the outcome announced live television. They danced, set off fireworks and released doves in the air with Morsi's picture attached in celebrations not seen in the square since Mubarak was forced out on Feb. 11, 2011.

Many are looking now to see whether Morsi will try to take on the military and wrestle back the powers they took from his office just one week ago. Thousands vowed to remain in Tahrir to demand that the ruling generals reverse their decision.

"I pledge to be a president who serves his people and works for them," Morsi said on his official web page. "I will not betray God in defending your rights and the rights of this nation." He was scheduled to address the nation Sunday night in his first speech after being declared president.

The White House congratulated Morsi and urged him to advance national unity as he forms a new government. White House press secretary Jay Carney said Morsi's victory is a milestone in Egypt's transition to democracy after decades of authoritarian rule under Mubarak. The Obama administration had expressed no public preference in the presidential race.

Left on the sidelines of the political drama are the liberal and secular youth groups that drove the uprising against Mubarak, left to wonder whether Egypt has taken a step towards becoming an Islamist state. Some grudgingly supported Morsi in the face of Ahmed Shafiq, who was Mubarak's last prime minister, while others boycotted the vote.

Morsi will now have to reassure them that he represents the whole country, not just Islamists, and will face enormous challenges after security and the economy badly deteriorated in the transition period.

Pro-democracy leader Mohammed ElBaradei urged unity after the results were announced.

"It is time we work all as Egyptians as part of a national consensus to build Egypt that is based on freedom and social justice," he wrote on his Twitter account.

The elections left the nation deeply polarized with one side backing Shafiq, who promised to provide stability and prevent Egypt from becoming a theocracy. Because of his military career, many saw him as the military's preferred candidate.

In the other camp are those eager for democratic change and backers of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood who were persecuted, jailed and banned under Mubarak but now find themselves one of the two most powerful groups in Egypt.

The other power center is the ruling military council that took power after the uprising and is headed by Mubarak's defense minister of 20 years.

Just one week ago, at the moment polls were closing in the presidential runoff, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) issued constitutional amendments that stripped the president's office of most of its major powers. The ruling generals made themselves the final arbiters over the most pressing issues still complicating the transition? such as writing the constitution, legislating, passing the state budget? and granted military police broad powers to detain civilians.

"I am happy the Brotherhood won because now the revolution will continue on the street against both of them, the Brotherhood and the SCAF," said Lobna Darwish, an activist who has boycotted the elections.

Also, a few days before that constitutional declaration, a court dissolved the freely elected parliament, which is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, leaving the military now in charge of legislating.

Brotherhood members and experts said the results were used a bargaining chip between the generals and the Brotherhood over the parameters of what appears to be a new power-sharing agreement. The country's new constitution is not written and the authorities of the president are not clear.

This is the first time modern Egypt will be headed by an Islamist and by a freely elected civilian. The country's last four presidents over the past six decades have all came from the ranks of the military.

"Congratulations because this means the end of the Mubarak state," said Shady el-Ghazali Harb, a prominent activist who was among the leaders of the protests in January and February last year.

The results of the elections were delayed for four days amid accusations of manipulation and foul play by both sides, raising political tensions in Egypt to a fever pitch.

The delay plunged the country into nerve-wrecking anticipation and pushed tensions to a fever pitch. Parallel mass rallies by Shafiq and Morsi supporters were held in different parts of Cairo and cut-throat media attacks by supporters of both swarmed TV shows. In the hours before the announcement of the winner, the fear of new violence was palpable.

Heavy security was deployed around the country, especially outside state institutions, in anticipation of possible violence. Workers were sent home early from jobs, jewelry stores closed for fear of looting and many were stocking up on food and forming long lines at cash machines in case new troubles began.

Morsi, the 60-year old U.S.-trained engineer, narrowly defeated Shafiq with 51.7 percent of the vote versus 48.3, by a margin of only 800,000 votes, the election commission said. Turnout was 51 percent.

Farouk Sultan, the head of the commission, described the elections as "an important phase in the end of building our nascent democratic experience."

Sultan went to pains to explain the more than 400 complaints presented by the two candidates challenging counting procedures and alleging attempts of rigging. It appeared to be an attempt to discredit claims that the election commission was biased in favor of Shafiq, the candidate perceived as backed by the military rulers.

The country is deeply divided between supporters of the Brotherhood, liberals and leftists who also decided to back them as a way to stand up to the military, and other secular forces that fear the domination of the Brotherhood, and grew critical of it in the past year. The small margin of victory for Morsi also sets him for a strong opposition from supporters of Shafiq, viewed as a representative of the old regime.

Naguib Sawiris, a Coptic Christian business tycoon who joined a liberal bloc in voicing opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood a day before the results were announced, said he expects the new president to send a reassuring message to Egypt's Christian minority who represent around 10 percent of the population of 85 million.

"There are fears of imposing an Islamic state ... where Christians don't have same rights," Sawiris told the private TV station CBC. Morsi "is required to prove the opposite. ... We don't want speeches or promises but in the coming period, it is about taking action. ... He was not our choice but we are accepting it is a democratic choice."

Hamdeen Sabahi, a leftist presidential candidate who came in a surprising third place in the first round of elections, asked Morsi to live up to his pledges to form a national coalition government and appoint presidential aides from different groups "that express the largest national consensus."

Khaled Abdel-Hamid, a leading leftist politician, said Morsi must fight to get his powers back or he will lose any popular support he may have garnered.

"If he fights to get his power back, we will support him. But if he doesn't fight back, then he is settling for siding with the military," he said.

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Yemen oil route reopens after military pullout

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California winemakers tap into growing Chinese market

AFP - The global downturn hit Doug Hill's family-run Napa Valley winery hard. But the third-generation California farmer's hopes for recovery are strong -- fueled by heady growth in China.

It's a long way from his sun-dappled vineyards north of San Francisco to pollution-shrouded Beijing and Shanghai, but that's where his Hill Family Estate bottles have been heading since last year.

"We're cautiously optimistic about it," said Hill, who visited China last September and was struck first by the smog -- "My first impression was, where's the sky?" -- but then by the phenomenal signs of growth and wealth.

"There's an upwardly mobile class of people we believe could afford to drink our wines. It wouldn't take a very large percent of the 1.3-1.6 billion people there to create a good market," he added, showing AFP round his hillside vines.

China was the fifth largest export destination for US wine last year, raking in some $62 million -- a fraction compared for example to the $400 million (322 million euros) worth of French Bordeaux sold annually to the Asian giant.

But that US export figure was nearly 30 percent up on 2010, and that trend is expected to continue, according to the Wine Institute, which advocates on behalf of over 1,000 wineries in the western US state.

China was granted Permanent Normal Trade Relations with the US a decade ago, and "the wine was just a trickle back then," said Wine Institute communications manager Gladys Horiuchi.

"Now it's the fifth largest market and... obviously, it will continue to grow just because of the huge potential there, the growing middle class," she added.

That potential was highlighted last year when retired National Basketball Association (NBA) star Yao Ming launched his own Napa Valley winery, Yao Family Wines.

The company named after Shanghai-born Yao, who at 7 feet 6 inches (2.28 meters) was the tallest player in the NBA, launched its inaugural Yao Ming 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon in mainland China, before selling in the US this year.

While there is clearly a Californian wine push into China, some say Napa Valley will never rival the French or even Australian success in the Chinese market, unless they get serious about marketing.

"The opportunity is tremendous, but Napa Valley is not working seriously enough to capture consumers in China," said Mario Sculatti, a wine consultant and trader based in Saint Helena, in the heart of the Napa Valley.

He added: "The Bordelais and the Burgundians and basically all the regions in France, especially Bordeaux, are pouring government dollars into marketing wines in Asia.

"Napa Valley is asleep at the wheel. Countries like Australia and France are dominating the trade over there."

Back in the vineyards, Doug Hill -- whose son Ryan is taking on the fourth generation of Hill Family Estate business -- recounted how he first stumbled on the idea that China might help them recover from the 2008 financial crash.

"It was challenging to sell wine, especially during the initial stages of the recession. Mostly restaurants were having a really challenging time in America," he said.

"Certain distributors, their market just came to a standstill unless the price points were really low. And that was lower than what was... commercially viable for us in a lot of areas."

Then last year, Hill heard about a Chinese-born businessman based in Oregon, just up the US West Coast, offering to buy wines from California, Oregon and Washington state, and sell directly in China.

Best of all, the middle-man could deal with Chinese customs bureaucracy in a way that small Californian winemakers would find impossible.

A key issue in counterfeit-plagued China was proving the wine is authentic. "If you look at the cultural values in China, there are some real challenges doing business there," he said.

The middle-man has been determined to build "a very credible business, that says, 'Look these are real farm families or small winemaking families, that are doing this, and this is the real thing, its not counterfeit'," said Hill.

His September visit convinced him, even if the sun-tanned Californian admitted to being shocked by the pollution in Beijing, and elsewhere.

"We took a high-speed train 1,500 kilometers down to Shanghai, and I never saw blue sky once. Five hours, at 300 kilometers per hour. And it was 'Oh my God, this entire country has a level of pollution I've almost never seen before," he said.

But the evidence of economic growth was eye-popping. "The other thing that I saw, during the five hours I spent on the train, I saw more construction cranes than the previous 59 years of my life," he said.

Hill's son Ryan, who visited China himself in March, said exports to the country were already 10 percent of the company's business.

"We're looking for tremendous growth... I think we can only go up, because we're just now exposing a product in a market that is totally unsaturated. It's like being an actor, going to LA and only having five people there."

But consultant Sculatti still thinks Napa is missing a huge opportunity, and needs to make a coordinated marketing and branding push to compete with the history of French winemakers who have been in China for generations.

"All the efforts that are being made are by a very few wineries who are spending their own capital to develop the market in Asia. There's no cohesive effort that I see as working," he said.

"The quality is definitely there, but what Napa Valley hasn't done yet is really show the prestige, the quality and the story to the Asians. That's the biggest mis-step that's happening."

He stressed: "Napa Valley has an opportunity because of its rarity, as far as acres (of vineyards). If it just figured out how to brand itself... (it) could really catch the attention of the Chinese better."

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Seattle reverses course, allows breast cancer survivor to swim topless

SEATTLE -- In a city as progressive as Seattle, Jodi Jaecks never thought her desire to go swimming would make such a splash.

"That's not my style - to make big waves - but this is much bigger," Jaecks said, sitting on the porch of her Seward Park home.

It might be one thing if it was a style choice for Jaecks to want to swim topless in public. It's a whole different thing when you realize it's because of what happened last year.

"I found it on a self breast exam. It was just a lump in my right breast," she said. "When I felt the lump I knew that it was. I felt like it was cancer, so I think inside I was already braced for it."

That was 15 months ago. Rounds of chemo followed, along with a double mastectomy. Jaecks said she made the choice to have both breasts removed over the fear the cancer could come back. Reconstructive surgery was something she just wasn't interested in.

"It was an empowering decision for me," Jaecks said. "I didn't choose to have cancer but I could choose what I wanted to do about it."

After the cancer was gone, Jaecks focused on recovering and getting her strength and fitness back. Being active was always a part of life for the Illinois native, who moved to Seattle in 1991. Staying active, doctors said, would be crucial.

A facilitator in an after-breast cancer class at Swedish Medical Center suggested Jaecks try swimming as a way to help heal. She recommended the city's indoor facility at Medgar Evers Pool in the Central District.

"She knew that it was less chlorinated than other pools in the city and that it was one of the warmer pools, and both of those things appealed to me," Jaecks said.

Jaecks visited the pool, spoke to the manager, and then went to a bathing suit shop to find something that wouldn't be too painful on the scar near her collarbone where doctors administered her chemotherapy.

"I looked at one-piece suits. I looked at bikinis, hoping that there would be one that was made for a flat-chested woman. I looked at rash guard tops. I looked at men's triathlon tops," Jaecks said. "I just got really depressed. I spent an hour there trying things on, and thought, this is stupid. Accept the new me and I'll just wear my swimsuit bottoms."

Jaecks spoke to a staffer at the pool, who didn't have an issue with her intent to swim topless. Neither did the assistant manager, who wanted to clear it with the pool manager. Eventually, Jaecks says, she spoke with Kathy Whitman, aquatics manager for the city parks department, who told her that despite the fact that she no longer had breasts, she would still have to cover up.

"She said the parks and recreation policy was gender-appropriate clothing. I thought it was ridiculous because it threw it into a gender/ sex identity issue," Jaecks said. "If I called myself a man and walked into that pool they would have no problem with my body, but if I am a woman who's had breast cancer with the exact same body and I go in there then it was offensive or inappropriate. I just thought that was ludicrous."

Jaecks told her story to the Stranger, which published her story Wednesday, along with a photo of Jaecks in a bathing suit topless. The picture, along with "new information," caused the city's parks department to reverse its decision, spokeswoman Dewey Potter wrote in a statement.

The city, Potter said, would allow Jaecks to swim topless. Other surgery patients would be examined "on a case by case basis."

"After looking at the situation again," said Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent Christopher Williams in a statement, "I decided to reconsider based on the circumstances of the case. Our original concern stems from our responsibility to accommodate the needs of all our patrons. In this case I see nothing that might alarm the public."

"I think our staff were correct to follow our policy at the time the earlier decision was made," the statement continued.

Jaecks said she never did go swimming - covered or topless - at the pool, and considers the city's reversal a band aid for a much bigger problem.

"Everybody knows somebody that has had cancer. It's just so prevalent in our society and we should be so far beyond when people feel shameful," she said. "I think it does throw it back on the individual for them to feel self-conscious or shameful to ask them special permission.

"This isn't about me; this is about making a rational, accepting decision to embrace the reality of the human circumstance."

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Wary Gulf Coast closely watching Debby's movement

This NOAA satellite image taken Saturday, June 23, 2012, shows shower and thunderstorm activity developing around an area of low pressure spinning in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/NOAA)

This NOAA satellite image taken Saturday, June 23, 2012, shows shower and thunderstorm activity developing around an area of low pressure spinning in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/NOAA)

A surfer rides a wave off Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., on Saturday, June 23, 2012. A storm system will bring more heavy showers and thunderstorms to southern Florida and the Gulf Coast. This system has a high chance of tropical cyclone development over the weekend. (AP Photo/Northwest Florida Daily News, Nick Tomecek)

A red flag flies on the beach at Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., indicating rough surf conditions on Saturday, June 23, 2012. A storm system will bring more heavy showers and thunderstorms to southern Florida and the Gulf Coast. This system has a high chance of tropical cyclone development over the weekend. (AP Photo/Northwest Florida Daily News, Nick Tomecek)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Parts of three states were under a tropical storm warning Sunday as Debby churned off the Gulf Coast, leaving wary residents to closely watch a storm whose path has so far been difficult to forecast.

Low-lying coastal areas in Louisiana were under a tropical storm warning, and the governor declared a state of emergency to free up resources ahead of a possible landfall. Warnings also were issued for coastal Alabama and parts of Florida, including the Panhandle.

Debby already had dumped heavy rain on parts of Florida and spawned some isolated tornadoes, causing some damage to homes and knocking down power lines.

It was not completely clear when or where Debby would make landfall, though current models showed it reaching hurricane strength by the time it hit the Louisiana coastline.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday morning that Debby was about 200 miles (325 km) east-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Debby's top sustained winds were at about 60 mph (95 kph). The storm was moving toward the northeast at 5 mph (7 kph).

Near the mouth of the Mississippi southeast of New Orleans, Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said officials were making preparations to protect the main highway from tidal flooding.

At least one tornado linked to the storm touched down Saturday in southwest Florida, but no injuries were reported. Another was reported Sunday in Venice, damaging some homes.

"This is quite common with this type of storm," senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart with the National Hurricane Center said of the twisters. "They tend to not be very large or long-lived, which can be difficult to detect on radar. So people need to keep an eye on the sky."

However, despite warnings in the Panhandle, Debby hadn't totally dampened vacations.

Thousands of people were on the beach at Pensacola Beach, Fla., on Sunday morning. Many used their phones to take photos of huge waves crashing into the concrete supports of a fishing pier. There wasn't any rain yet; just gusty winds and dark, fast-moving clouds.

Few people were in the water. Red flags warned tourists to stay out of the surf, and lifeguards cruised the sand on all-terrain vehicles, blowing whistles at anyone who got near the waves.

Workers with rental companies used pickup trucks to gather chairs and umbrellas as a precaution against an unusually high tide.

Forecasters said Debby could reach hurricane strength sometime over the next few days. Meanwhile, up to 10 inches of rain were possible along the coast, with isolated amounts possibly reaching 15 inches.

Debby forced the suspension of 8 percent of the region's oil and gas production.

The government reported that nine production platforms and one drilling rig were evacuated. The suspended crude production amounts to about 2 percent of U.S production and about 0.1 percent of global production. The reduced production is not expected to impact oil prices unless the storm strengthens and forces more production platforms to close.

Out in the Gulf, Anadarko Petroleum removed all non-essential personnel and expected to close four facilities in the central and eastern Gulf. Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and Marathon Oil said non-essential personnel were being removed but production was not being affected. ExxonMobil reported that its operations were unaffected.

Associated Press

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Chris Brown: 'Look At Me Now' Gave Me Hip-Hop Cred

'I didn't sing on the record at all. It just was a rap song,' budding MC Breezy tells MTV News.
By Rebecca Thomas

Chris Brown
Photo:

When we caught up with Chris Brown last March, he was still rocking a blond crop (remember that?) and he'd just dropped what he jokingly called his "first rap video," "Look at Me Now." Breezy's bars were cheeky, with allusions to yellow Lambos ... among other things yellow — and surprisingly adept.

Still, while featured guest Lil Wayne gave the pop&B singer a co-sign, the YMCMB captain also famously told Rolling Stone that he would stop at letting Brown spit on his own record, insisting, "I cannot have Chris Brown rapping on Tha Carter IV." Weezy offered this by way of explanation: "Do you know how many rappers would be like, 'I can't get on Tha Carter IV, but this n---a put Chris Brown on that bitch? Rapping?' "

Well, Chris wasn't going to sit around waiting Wayne to give him a feature. Having made enough believers out of the chart-topping track, he decided to keep it coming.

"I didn't sing on the record at all. It just was a rap song," Brown told us when he visited the MTV Newsroom last week, incidentally, hours before he found himself at the center of a bottle brawl with rapper Drake. "So I was like, 'Cool, if they going with it, I'm gonna keep going.' "

Freestyles followed as Chris shored up his rap cred. And on the upcoming Fortune, he put the growth on display, teaming up again with F.A.M.E. collaborators Big Sean and Wiz Khalifa for the drum-laced "Till I Die."

But Team Breezy shouldn't worry that Chris plans to quit crooning. Though he has the full blessing of his (initially reluctant) management team to craft sweet 16s, he's just having a good time. "With the hip-hop and the rapping, it's more of — I wouldn't say [a] hobby — it's just me expressing myself.

"I'm not going to sit here and say I'm the best rapper or I'm a rapper," he added with a big smile. "I'm just saying I could do it, I guess, if y'all like it."

How do you rate Chris' skills as an MC? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Related Videos

• MTV News Extended Play: Chris Brown

Related Artists

• Chris Brown

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Sports Recreation: Relieve Stress and Have Fun | Nakblogonline

Sports Recreation: Relieve Stress and Have Fun

The world we live in is growing increasingly fast-paced, stressful, and filled with responsibility. Because of this, everyone needs some time to relax and have some recreation. Our modern way of life also tends to be sedentary, and the meals we eat are often not very healthy. Exercise is a very important component in renewing us. For these reasons, sports recreation activities are some of the best recreation we can choose. There are many options for hobbies to provide sports recreation. You may even want to learn some new recreational sports skills.

Courses to learn new sports recreation skills can be found online and in larger cities. You can learn and participate in team sports through the local Y and other organizations. Team sports recreation activities you might like to participate in include softball, baseball, basketball, and sometimes soccer for younger people. Another team sport you might enjoy is bowling. Regardless of your skill level you can find a bowling team to have fun with.

Individual sports recreation activities you can learn and participate in include golf, tennis, running, aerobic dance, gymnastics, and horseback riding. Don?t overlook bicycling and weight training too. Many of these sports can be learned at the local Y as well. For some of these, you?ll want to have a friend to play against or share the exerience with. Many runners, for instance, like to run with a friend. And games like tennis and handball really need cooperation for best results.

If you?d rather, you can learn about sports recreation skills online. You can find courses to teach almost any sport or activity you can think of including underwater hockey, fly-fishing, and para-gliding in the Alps! Of course, unless you can get some hands-on experience you?ll only have the theories of the sport. Still, online courses are a good way to get a taste of different sports and recreational activities you might someday want to try out.

A really fun sports recreation game you might get a chance to play is ping pong. Ping pong, or table tennis as it is sometimes called, is played on a table with rubber coated paddles and extremely lightweight plastic balls. You must hit the ball with your paddle so that it strikes the table and clears the net before your opponent strikes it and bounces it back to you. One way to become more adept at ping pong and increase your chance of winning is to sometimes hit the ball harder than at other times. This keeps your opponent guessing what you will do next.

Sports recreation activities are a great way to get exercise and relieve stress. They are also a lot of fun. Whether with friends or alone, everyone needs a favorite sports recreation to take part in.

Sports Recreation: Relieve Stress and Have Fun

0 votes, 0.00 avg. rating (0% score)

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Schools: Institutions or Service Providers?

For the vast majority of children raised in modern Western democracies school attendance up to the age of 16 (or older) is a normal fact of life. Primary (elementary) education and a certain amount of secondary schooling are mandated by legislation. Of course, it wasn?t always like this in countries like the US, the UK, and Australia, and an estimated 16 million children in Africa still do not receive a basic schooling.

However, the heritage of compulsory education in most Western countries over the past 100-150 years has led to the sense that schools are institutions within modern society. By institutions I mean they are embedded into the way we think about society ? we would find it hard to contemplate any capacity for progress without relying on primary, secondary, and tertiary education.

Over the last decade or so government and societal attitudes towards education have been changing, a fact that not all schools have recognised. The shift has been from seeing schools as social institutions to seeing them as education service providers. As education service providers they are like businesses selling a product (education) and competing against each other for students and funding.

There are a number of factors that have driven this shift. A major factor is competition. In years gone by, only the wealthy could afford private schooling. The vast majority of students went to either state schools or low cost Catholic schools. Today, however, the education landscape looks much different. There is an enormous range of school options from public and low cost church schools, to elitist private schools, and all the way between. Parents can find a school somewhere to meet their budget ? and if they live in a major city, they probably won?t have to look very far.

Increased competition is a reflection of growing wealth in Western countries, and it provides parents and children with choices unavailable to most people in the past. However, for schools, competition ups the ante. It puts pressure on schools to perform, and losing students to a competitor school can start a vicious spiral ? loss of students leads to loss of staff; loss of staff leads to loss of subject choices; loss of subject choices leads to further loss of students.

Going hand-in-hand with competition is the perceived quality of the education that schools provide. In many educational jurisdictions, state-wide testing of students allows schools to be compared according to the ?quality? of their test results. Parents and children often make choices of schools based on schools? overall standardized test performance. Increasingly, this information is freely available online, allowing for easy comparison and increased competition for the ?better? schools. This ?marketing? and self-promotion of schools is further evidence of a competitive, commercial marketplace in the sector.

The commercialisation of the school sector is further driven by the highly specialised and highly selective job market in most Western countries. Increasingly, students select courses based on what they hope to study at university, or on the availability of jobs when they leave school. Schools are not only expected to produce good students, but also good workers who can play their role in paying taxes and sustaining economic growth. As consumers, parents and children covet schools that reliably deliver admissions to the most prestigious university courses or the most sought-after jobs.

The reality of the school sector is that it is increasingly becoming a commodity with a market value. Schools compete for scarce resources ? students and funding. Yet many schools seem to be populated by staff with long memories. Many teachers still think they only need to teach their subjects and students just need to learn. They think the responsibility for next year?s enrollments lies with the Principal or the school board. It doesn?t. It lies with everyone.

Dr Steve Barlow AFAIM is an educator and change management professional. He has worked for over three decades in school and tertiary education, serving in teaching, administrative, management, and leadership roles. In this he gained much experience introducing and managing change at both micro and macro levels. Steve has worked within the correctional system in educative and rehabilitative roles, and has conducted a number of significant research projects within the prison system. He has has been a speaker at various conferences around Australia, and in Ireland. Steve is currently Director at Redequip Pty Ltd, a change management and training company based in Australia.

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13 years old and taking care of mom | Over Caffeinated Scrolls ...

• In many U.S. households, children have to take care of sick or aging family members
• A group started by CNN Hero Connie Siskowski is helping support these young people
• There are an estimated 10,000 youth caregivers in her Florida county alone
• Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2012 CNN Heroes

Boca Raton, Florida (CNN) ? At 13 years old, Nickolaus Dent is his mother?s primary caregiver.

He?s responsible for the grocery shopping and cooking. He cleans the house. He does all the laundry.

His mother, Janine Helms, has been battling HIV for as long as Nickolaus can recall, and her health has deteriorated in the last couple of years. Nickolaus makes sure she takes her medication. He often helps her get dressed, and at times, he has helped her bathe.

Nickolaus? father died two years ago. Since then, ensuring Helms? well-being has been a full-time job for Nickolaus, leaving him with little energy to socialize or study.

?It does make it hard to pay attention in class,? he said. ?Helping her out is a bigger priority than going to school and getting (an) education, because I feel if I don?t have her, I don?t want to go to school. Whatever happens to her happens to me.?

Nickolaus is just one of the estimated 10,000 youth caregivers living in Palm Beach County, Florida, according to the American Association of Caregiving Youth. The nonprofit, founded by county resident Connie Siskowski, was instrumental in bringing this previously unrecognized population to light in 2002, and it has since provided support to more than 500 area youths who are caring for an ill, disabled or aging family member.

Connie Siskowski knows firsthand what it?s like to be a child and take care of a loved one.

?No child in the United States should have to drop out of school because of caregiving,? said Siskowski, 65. ?These children suffer silently behind closed doors. ? They don?t have the help and the support and the recognition that they need.?

According to a 2006 study conducted by Civic Enterprises for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 22% of high school dropouts in the United States leave school to care for a family member (PDF).

It?s these children who Siskowski had in mind when her group started the Caregiving Youth Project at Boca Raton Middle School. The project, the first of its kind in the nation, aims to intervene early on in the academic lives of youth caregivers.

Special classes, led by a mental-health professional or social worker, cover topics such as coping with stress and anger, managing finances and setting goals.

Periodic field trips and overnight camps offer recreational, social and educational activities. There are home-care demonstrations and workshops.

The program also makes teachers and school administrators more aware of the children?s extenuating circumstances and how they can lead to truancy, absenteeism and dips in academic performance.

The hope is to reduce the negative effects ? anxiety, depression and feelings of isolation ? that caregiving responsibilities can have on a child?s mental, physical and emotional health.

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?We can?t change the health condition of the person (receiving care),? Siskowski said. ?But what we can do is provide the skills and the resources and the value to the children so that they can have a little more balance in their life. And also so that they know that they?re not alone.?

Since 2006, the program has been introduced into eight area middle schools and followed hundreds of students into 17 area high schools.

?We stay with them to graduation, and it?s amazing,? Siskowski said. ?We?ve watched these kids grow up before our eyes. It?s nothing that happens overnight, but it?s very gratifying. It?s like, ?OK, there?s one more kid that?s going to make it.? ?

Nickolaus joined the program last year. The group provided him with a computer, a bed, clothing and tutoring. Now, he has raised his grades and aims to make the honor roll. He was also able to attend the group?s overnight camp while a nurse?s aide stayed with his mom.

?I found out there are more people that do the things I do, and some do more,? he said. ?Now I?m getting As and Bs, and I feel more confident in school.?

Children in the program are also offered a home study by a medically licensed staff member or contractor who assesses what skills and resources are most needed to support a child. Working with dozens of community partners, Siskowski?s group helps families with unique needs.

?We?ve provided clean-water systems and enlisted the support of community members to build wheelchair ramps or relocate a family from a moldy environment,? said Siskowski, whose group relies solely on donations and grants. ?We?ve provided in-home tutoring, light cleaning, translation and transportation support, counseling, access to medical care, financial assistance and food resources.

?We?ve donated computers and printers. And slow cookers, as we?ve had several fires in homes where children are cooking for their families.?

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Siskowski knows the toll that caring for a loved one can take. As an 11-year-old, she cared for her grandfather until his death two years later. She remembers waking up at 2 a.m. to give him his medication and finding that he had died.

?I don?t think I realized he was going to die. No one prepared me for that,? she said. ?It was very traumatic. But way back then, nobody really appreciated the trauma or the impact of losing someone.?

Siskowski became a registered nurse in 1967 and has worked in Florida?s health-care community for decades. Over the years, she has witnessed how technological advances have affected aging baby boomers and their families.

?People are living longer,? she said. ?We have much more technology and electronics that are available. ? More and more people who maybe yesterday would?ve been in a nursing home are being cared for at home. And so that puts a burden on a family.

?The hospital is in a unique situation. ? Technically, they?re supposed to be able to give instruction to a caregiver. But sometimes that caregiver is a child.?

The tasks can be sophisticated, too, from monitoring respiratory devices to cleaning catheters and preparing syringes. And not all of the children are caring for just one parent like Nickolaus. Others have to care for multiple family members, including siblings.

A report released in 2005 (PDF) by the National Alliance for Caregiving and the United Hospital Fund said there were at least 1.3 million caregiving youths, ages 8 to 18, nationwide. It?s a population that has been virtually hidden for several reasons, including the reluctance of many sick parents to go public with their infirmity.

?Parents are embarrassed to tell school members, or the principal, that they have medical problems. ? Their pride goes out the window, and most feel more vulnerable,? Helms said.

Children also fear trouble for themselves and for their families. While they might know that too many truancies and absences could land them in court, they?re often more fearful that a parent could be deemed incapacitated and the family split up.

?Children are afraid to reach out because they don?t want to be taken away from the parent,? Helms said. ?It?s scary. And people don?t want to be near you when you have an illness. It?s just as hard on the disabled parent as it is the child, to open up. That?s why it?s kept like under the table.?

Siskowski and her group are determined to create other options and provide other solutions. She says the first step is acknowledging youth caregivers and telling them they are not alone.

?We have definitely turned around lives and kept kids in school because they feel valued,? she said. ?They never knew anyone noticed or cared.

?It can turn their frustration and anger and flip it around to feel valued and supported in the role they are having for the family as well as society. If they weren?t doing some of the things they are doing, who would be??

Want to get involved? Check out the American Association of Caregiving Youth website at www.aacy.org and see how to help.

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