Trayvon's killer said to make self-incriminating statements

Source: Reuters

Reuters) - Neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman made statements to police that help establish his guilt in the second-degree murder case against him for killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, prosecutors said in a court filing on Thursday.

The claim came in a motion by prosecutors to keep some of Zimmerman's statements under seal pending his trial in a case that triggered civil rights protests across the United States, while sparking widespread debate over guns, self-defense laws and U.S. race relations.

"Defendant (Zimmerman) has provided law enforcement with numerous statements, some of which are contradictory, and are inconsistent with the physical evidence and statements of witnesses," the prosecutors said in their court filing.

They said the statements by Zimmerman were admissible in court and "in conjunction with other statements and evidence help to establish defendant's guilt in this case."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/25/us-usa-florida-shooting-idUSBRE84O00020120525

Are Cesarean Sections Contributing to Childhood Obesity?

The obesity epidemic is claiming children at ever younger ages, and the latest research adds to the evidence that weight issues may begin as soon as birth.

In a study published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, researchers found that babies born by cesarean section were more than twice as likely to be obese by age 3 as those born vaginally.

The study involved 1,255 children born in the Boston area between 1999 and 2002, whose mothers agreed to provide their prenatal and gestational weight information, as well as height and weight measurements for their babies at birth and then until they reached 3 years old.

About 23% of the babies were born by c-section. Of these children, 15.7% were obese by age 3, compared with 7.5% of children born vaginally.

http://healthland.time.com/2012/05/24/are-cesarean-sections-contributing-to-childhood-obesity/

"Research Identifies CD36 as the 'Fat Gene'"...

http://www.everydayhealth.com/weight/0206/new-research-identifies-cd36-as-the-fat-gene.aspx

SpaceX cargo craft en route to flyby of space station

Source: Spaceflight now

After a succession of rocket burns to fine-tune its pursuit of the International Space Station, the commercial Dragon spacecraft is due for a flyby of the complex Thursday, a crucial prerequisite for the ship's planned arrival at the outpost Friday.

Since it launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket at 3:44 a.m. EDT (0744 GMT) on Tuesday, Dragon has accomplished GPS navigation tests, abort demonstrations, and a test to see if the craft could turn off its control thrusters and enter free drift mode, the condition necessary for the space station's robot arm to reach out and grapple the spacecraft.

Dragon also opened the door to the ship's navigation bay, which contains laser rendezvous and thermal imaging sensors, as well as the spacecraft's grapple fixture.

SpaceX is testing the Dragon spacecraft to prove its readiness to carry supplies to and from the space station under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA.

Read more: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/003/120523flyby/

How in the world can we justify a program like this...???

Rove's newest dumbass attack ad...

Federal Spending At Slowest Pace Since Eisenhower

MarketWatch: “Almost everyone believes that Obama has presided over a massive increase in federal spending

… Even Democrats seem to think it’s true. But it didn’t happen. Although there was a big stimulus bill under Obama, federal spending is rising at the slowest pace since Dwight Eisenhower brought the Korean War to an end in the 1950s.”

Roll Call: “A bill that would extend the current student loan rate is just the latest legislation stuck in partisan limbo despite support from both parties for the overall idea. With as few as three legislative workdays left before its recess, the Senate has stalled on measures that have bipartisan support in theory but have hit roadblocks in practice, from the student loan rate bill to a small-business tax credit.”

Religion News Service: ”Dozens of Catholic universities, dioceses and other institutions filed lawsuits in courts around the country on Monday in a coordinated effort, spearheaded by the U.S. hierarchy and Catholic conservatives, to overturn the Obama administration’s contraception mandate plan. The 43 plaintiffs, which include 13 dioceses and the University of Notre Dame, say the mandate forces religious employers to provide contraceptive and sterilization services to employees that violate their beliefs.”

http://www.congress.org/news/federal-spending-at-slowest-pace-since-eisenhower/

Man Arrested for OWI with Zebra, Parrot in Front Seat of Truck

DUBUQUE, Iowa - A Cascade man was arrested outside of a Dubuque bar on Sunday night with a pet zebra and a macaw parrot in the front seat of his truck.

Officers charged Jerald Reiter, 55, with OWI. Police reports say officers stopped him in the parking lot of the Dog House bar as his truck drove away. According to police, field sobriety tests showed Reiter had a blood alcohol level of .14. The legal limit in Iowa is .08.

Reiter tells KCRG.com that he and his wife see the animals like their kids and often take them for rides. On Sunday night, they say they took the zebra and the macaw to the bar because it often lets people bring their animals inside.

Reiter says the owner told him they were serving food that night and he couldn’t bring a zebra inside the bar. Bar owners tell KCRG.com that no animals are ever allowed inside the establishment.

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Zebra-Parrot-Found-in-Truck-During-Police-Stop-152634465.html

Asteroid set to narrowly miss Earth, may smash satellites

London: A newly found 150-foot-wide asteroid may pass so close to the Earth that it might destroy communications satellites, researchers say.

Discovered by astronomers at the LaSagra Observatory in Spain, 2012 DA14 is estimated to veer near enough to Earth to potentially disrupt geosynchronous satellites on February 15, 2013, a newspaper reported.

While the asteroid is currently a ‘fuzzy little blob’, as seen through telescopes, 2012 DA14 may eventually come to pass 21,000 miles away from the Earth putting synchronous satellites in the firing line.

Although NASA have asserted that the chance of the asteroid hitting Earth is 0.031 percent, if it did it would strike with the force of a 2.4 megaton explosion, similar to the mysterious Tunguska event of 1908 which levelled hundreds of square miles of Siberian forest.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/space/asteroid-set-to-narrowly-miss-earth-may-smash-satellites_776494.html

Asteroid set to narrowly miss Earth, may smash satellites

London: A newly found 150-foot-wide asteroid may pass so close to the Earth that it might destroy communications satellites, researchers say.

Discovered by astronomers at the LaSagra Observatory in Spain, 2012 DA14 is estimated to veer near enough to Earth to potentially disrupt geosynchronous satellites on February 15, 2013, a newspaper reported.

While the asteroid is currently a ‘fuzzy little blob’, as seen through telescopes, 2012 DA14 may eventually come to pass 21,000 miles away from the Earth putting synchronous satellites in the firing line.

Although NASA have asserted that the chance of the asteroid hitting Earth is 0.031 percent, if it did it would strike with the force of a 2.4 megaton explosion, similar to the mysterious Tunguska event of 1908 which levelled hundreds of square miles of Siberian forest.


http://zeenews.india.com/news/space/asteroid-set-to-narrowly-miss-earth-may-smash-satellites_776494.html


REAL TIME SATELLITE TRACKING


http://www.n2yo.com/?s=25544|38348

EU leaders to focus on economic growth

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- European leaders will gather Wednesday for informal talks amid new threats to the troubled euro currency union.

The informal dinner meeting in Brussels will take place as Greece struggles to form a government. It will also be the first EU summit for the newly-elected French president, Francois Hollande, who has called for a shift away from budget cuts toward more growth-oriented policies.

The leaders will discuss ways to boost economic growth and create jobs, according to an invitation letter from European Council president Herman Van Rompuy. But the meeting is intended to set the stage for an official EU summit next month and will probably not deliver a major breakthrough.

"If we have a common understanding on the main elements of a growth agenda at the end of our dinner, we can move things forward so that we can take decisions in June," said Van Rompuy in Monday's letter.

http://money.cnn.com//2012/05/22/markets/eu-leaders-meeting/index.htm?