June 13, 2008

Cuba has reformed its wage system to pay workers on the basis of productivity. The communist state had previously paid all workers the same, and has done since the 1959 revolution.
The move, announced by Vice-Minister for Labour Carlos Mateu, is one of a series of changes introduced by Raul Castro, who took over from ill [...]

June 10, 2008

On June 4, a report published by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that in the past 16 years high school students have become less likely to engage in health risk-related behaviors such as having sex and taking drugs. However, the CDC found that Hispanic students were less likely to [...]

The US Department of Energy yesterday unveiled the IBM Roadrunner, the world’s fastest computer. The computer, which is designed to conduct virtual tests for nuclear weapons, is able to carry out 1,000 trillion (or 1 quadrillion) calculations in one second.
The machine cost $100 million to build and works at twice the speed of Blue Gene, [...]

June 8, 2008

The Texas Governor’s Mansion was heavily damaged by a blaze early Sunday, though no one was in the mansion at the time. Arson is suspected to be the cause of the fire. Governor Rick Perry and his wife Anita are in Sweden and no threat is suspected against them.
All historic furnishings and heirlooms had been [...]

On May 27, 2008, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a woman stole two 14-karat gold bracelets from a pawn shop by swallowing them, as shown by a surveillance tape. The bracelets were worth US$2000 each according to the pawn shop.
The clerk noticed the bracelets were missing minutes after she had swallowed them and asked the [...]

June 7, 2008

The Dow Jones industrials lost more than 400 points on the day today after news of record high oil prices and an increase in unemployment.
Friday’s nearly US$11 per barrel increase in the July contract for crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is the largest singe-day increase in oil price history. The July [...]

June 4, 2008

The Conservative Party of Canada is now considering a 2005 recording of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper discussing “financial considerations” offered to the late Member of Parliament (MP) Chuck Cadman to have been “doctored”.
The tape contains a conversation between Harper and Vancouver journalist Tom Zytaruk, whose book “Like a Rock: The Chuck Cadman Story” claims [...]

June 3, 2008

According to the Associated Press (AP), 2008 United States Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has told lawmakers in New York that she is “open to being Obama’s vice presidential candidate”.
Earlier, the AP reported that Clinton would concede her race for the White House tonight during a speech in New York City, something her campaign denied.
“The [...]

Barack Obama has reportedly achieved enough Democratic Party delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination to become the Presidential candidate to face Republican Senator John McCain in the November 2008 United States elections. Obama will be the first black candidate ever to stand for the United States presidency with the backing of a major political party.
While [...]

Officials from the Drug Enforcement Authority (DEA) have arrested seven members of a drug trafficking and money laundering operation based in Manalapan, New Jersey. The arrests follow a joint investigation between the DEA and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, dubbed “Operation Unbounded”, which ran for 14 months following a tip-off received by the DEA about [...]

Yesterday, federal agents, assisted by local police, raided the businesses, homes, and offices of Frank Colacurcio Sr., and his son, Frank Junior in Washington, in the United States Pacific Northwest. Approximately 50 years after federal authorities first labeled Colacurcio Sr. as an organized crime figure, they allege the 90-year-old strip club magnate and convicted racketeer [...]

Buffalo, New York – 12 firefighters in Buffalo, New York, United States have been taken to the hospital where they are being treated for smoke and chemical inhalation after a massive fire broke out at a warehouse on Buffalo’s west side, early Monday morning. At least three fire companies started battling the blaze, which engulfed [...]

After several legal ethics experts issued opinions declaring that the AZ State Bar’s investigation of Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas was meritless, the Bar took swift action against one of those experts - its own former Bar president Ernest Calderon. Calderon’s opinion was issued on Wednesday, May 28. The Bar retaliated against him by removing [...]

Hillary Clinton’s campaign has denied reports that she will concede the Democratic Party of the United States primary campaign to Barack Obama during a speech tonight in New York City.
The Associated Press first reported that two campaign officials stated she would announce her concession tonight. In a statement to the press, Clinton’s campaign said in [...]

Officials from the Drug Enforcement Authority (DEA) have arrested seven members of a drug trafficking and money laundering operation based in Manalapan, New Jersey. The arrests follow a joint investigation between the DEA and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, dubbed “Operation Unbounded”, which ran for 14 months following a tip-off received by the DEA about [...]

June 2, 2008

Five people are dead in a murder-suicide in Calgary, Canada, which occurred on Tuesday, May 27. 34-year-old Joshua Lall stabbed and killed his 35-year-old wife, Alison, his two daughters, Kristen, 5 and Rochelle, 3, and 30-year-old Amber Bowerman, a tenant in their home, before committing suicide. A third daughter, one-year-old Anna, was not harmed.
Joshua apparently [...]

A couple from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada has been arrested on charges of public mischief after listing their seven day old baby girl on the popular Internet classified ads website Craigslist.
The listing claimed that the baby was unexpected, “healthy and very cute”. It asked CAN 10 000 for the baby. It also listed a phone [...]

Presidential candidate Barack Obama has withdrawn from his church of twenty years, where his affiliation had become a political issue following a revelation of controversial comments made by former pastor Jeremiah Wright. His exit from the church’s congregation came as media reports revealed that guest speaker of the church and Catholic priest Reverend Michael Pfleger [...]

The Democratic Party has reached a deal to seat primary delegates from Florida and Michigan at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August. The Democrats will seat all of the pledged delegates from both of the states, but will give each delegate only a half a vote. Hillary Clinton, who won the majority of [...]

June 1, 2008

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, or if you have any other concerns regarding your health.

ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME- DO YOU KNOW THE SYMPTOMS?
The acute coronary syndrome (ACS) describes [...]