By Chris Wesseling
Around the League Writer
April 25, 2014 at 02:20 p.m.



The NFL lost its version of Forrest Gump when Earl Morrall passed away Friday at age 79.

The quintessential backup quarterback, Morrall made his mark as a premium insurance policy for Hall of Famers Johnny Unitas, Bob Griese, Fran Tarkenton, Len Dawson and Y.A. Tittle.

His 21-year career was literally incredible. If someone provided a synopsis, you wouldn't believe it. In that way, it's somewhat surprising that no football-loving cinephile has attempted to bring his career to the screen.

Drafted by the 49ers in the first round after leading Michigan State to the Rose Bowl and playing shortstop and third base in the College World Series, Morrall was dealt to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a pair of first-round draft picks.

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NTDTV · Published on Apr 25, 2014

Activists in the Philippines and Malaysia protest U.S. President Barack Obama's upcoming visit.

Full Story:

Ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to the Philippines and Malaysia, protesters are saying they want the U.S. out.

In Manila, protesters burn a mock American flag with skulls instead of stars.

Obama is expected to sign a military agreement that would boost the U.S. presence American troops in the island nation.

BAGONG ALYANSANG MAKABAYAN (NEW PATRIOTIC ALLIANCE) METRO MANILA'S SECRETARY-GENERAL, MARK LOUIE AQUINO, SAYING:
"Our nation has been subjected to foreign domination for 116 years. And the United States has continued to drag us into its wars, greatly affecting the Filipino people."

Meanwhile in Malaysia, Obama is set to negotiate a TPPA, or Trans Pacific Partnership Alliance deal.

The deal would connect a dozen Asia-Pacific economies by eliminating trade barriers, covering two-fifths of the world economy.

Groups opposed to the TPPA took to the streets in Kuala Lumpur.

REPRESENTATIVE OF ANTI-TPPA GROUP HAJI ABDUL RAZAK SAYING:
"We are from the people of Malaysia to express our non-acceptance of Barack Obama in our country. To sign the TPPA is absolutely nonsense, our economic stability we should decide ourselves, not the west."

Obama's four-nation tour of U.S. allies in Asia, which has included stops in Japan and South Korea, aims to convince U.S. allies that the U.S. pivot of military and diplomatic assets to Asia is real.

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COWSPIRACY: the sustainability secret · Published on Apr 22, 2014

Visit: http://cowspiracy.com to find out more.

This documentary will be as eye-opening as Blackfish and as inspiring as An Inconvenient Truth. It follows the story of Kip, a passionate environmentalist and filmmaker, who is discovering the biggest secret that even the most powerful environmental organizations are too scared to talk about.

Please support this film at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cowspiracy-the-sustainability-secret#home

Please join our email list and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay informed on what will happen next.

The Young Turks · Published on Apr 24, 2014

"A Twitter backlash against New York City police has spread to the West Coast with people posting critical comments and photos of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The New York Police Department was hit with a barrage of negative publicity after agency officials urged people to post pictures that praised officers under the hashtag #myNYPD.

On Wednesday, people were using a #myLAPD hashtag to post critical comments and photos of Los Angeles police officers."

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-twitter-critics-mylapd-mynypd-20140423,0,3630971.story

Cenk Uygur (http://www.twitter.com/cenkuygur) and Ana Kasparian (http://www.twitter.com/cenkuygur) of The Young Turks discuss this epic new Twitter trend.

Comedy Central · Published on Apr 24, 2014

Stephen Colbert visits the news desk to announce his plans after winning television.

In Maine study, rates of contamination exceed WHO and EPA guidelines

Columbia University
Mainman School of Public Health
Stephanie Berger
212-305-4372
Email sb2247@columbia.edu

April 7, 2014—A study by researchers at Columbia University reports that schoolchildren from three school districts in Maine exposed to arsenic in drinking water experienced declines in child intelligence. While earlier studies conducted by the researchers in South Asia, and Bangladesh in particular, showed that exposure to arsenic in drinking water is negatively associated with child intelligence, this is the first study to examine intelligence against individual water arsenic exposures in the U.S. Findings are reported online in the journal, Environmental Health.

The research team, led by Joseph Graziano, PhD, professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, assessed 272 children in grades 3–5, who were, on average, 10 years old, from three school districts in Maine where household wells are the predominant source for drinking water and cooking. The Augusta area in particular was studied because of earlier research indicating higher than normal exposures.

Using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), the most often used assessment tool for measuring intelligence in children ages 6 to 16, the researchers found that arsenic in household water was associated with decreased scores on most WISC-IV indices. After adjusting for maternal IQ and education, characteristics of the home environment, school district, and number of siblings, the children who were exposed to greater than 5 parts arsenic per billion of household well water (WAs ? 5 ?g/L) showed reductions in Full Scale, Working Memory, Perceptual Reasoning and Verbal Comprehension scores, losses of 5–6 points, considered a significant decline, that may translate to problems in school, according to Gail Wasserman, PhD, professor of Medical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia, and the study’s first author.

MORE

See also:

• NYT: Study Finds an Increase in Arsenic Levels in Chicken

• The Arsenic in Your Chicken

• Tylenol, Benadryl, Banned Antibiotics, Arsenic, Routinely Fed to Poultry

''Their jobs won’t ever be the same… will face new paradigm'' — Concerns plutonium contaminated surrounding salt — Preparing for radiation levels so high, only robots can be used (VIDEO)

Published: April 22nd, 2014 at 1:18 pm ET
By ENENews

Albuquerque Journal News, Apr. 22, 2014: WIPP workers face big changes, Their jobs won’t ever be the same — Now that contamination has been discovered underground – although the extent is still unknown – the contractor that runs the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant says workers will face a new paradigm when they return to the site: more formality, tougher rules and more protective gear. [...] those working underground will likely be doing their jobs in a more hazardous environment – or one where the risks have been made more evident – with new rules of engagement to protect them from exposure to radiation. [...] plutonium and americium may have contaminated rock salt walls, mixed into dust on the floor, and clung to machinery and other equipment underground. If stirred or scuffed up, the radiation can become airborne and inhaled. [...] NWP workers are not permitted to speak to the press, according to a spokesman.

Bob McQuinn, new president/project manager of WIPP operator: “The place [...] now has, not more than the rest of the sites, but similar radiation protection hazards [...] Now we’re going to have to wear protective equipment – coveralls, shoe covers and gloves – to make sure contamination doesn’t get on us and respirators so it doesn’t get in us. People who haven’t had to wear protective equipment will have to.”

Dr. Fred Mettler, radiologist and US representative to the United Nations World Health and Atomic Energy Agency: “The first rule of thumb is nobody thinks any of this is good for you. So you want to keep doses as low as possible. Medically, it’s very, very difficult to get the stuff out of you.”

Jim Frederick, United Steel Workers assistant director of health, safety and environment: “Is this place going to be safe for our folks to go back to? [...] What was not in place that might have kept this from happening? And what do we need to do to keep the workers safe and make sure the public health risks are kept at zero or very, very close to zero?”

KOAT, Apr. 20, 2014: “The more they went into panel 7, the more it started becoming more widespread,” said WIPP deputy recovery manager Tammy Reynolds. [...] Inspectors plan to go back down and explore things further, but in case the radiation levels pose too much of a threat, robots will go underground instead. “Robot operators have already been to the WIPP site, received all of the training to go to the underground,” said Reynolds.

Carlsbad Current-Argus, Apr. 22, 2014: robots are on standby to support the recovery operations

Watch KOAT’s broadcast here

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ABC News · Published on Feb 4, 2014

Rep. Earl Blumenauer grows frustrated with witnesses' "inability to answer" direct questions about the real health risks of pot.