Stocks end Thursday trading with healthy gains

By msnbc.com staff and wire

Stocks, already posting gains earlier in the day assisted by positive employment and housing news, pushed steadily higher in late-afternoon trading to finish with tidy gains.

According to preliminary calculations, noon on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average ended up 135.55 or 1.12 percent, to 12,286.96. The S&P 500 was 13.31 higher, or 1.07 percent, to 1,262.97. The Nasdaq rose 23.76, or 0.92 percent, to 2,613.74.

The Labor Department said?seasonally adjusted initial claims rose 15,000 to 381,000 in the week that ended Dec. 24, up from a revised 366,000 the prior week. But the four-week moving average, considered a more accurate gauge of labor market trends, fell 5,750 to 375,000.

Pending sales of existing homes surged to a 1-1/2 year high in November, an industry group said on Thursday, offering more signs of a tentative recovery in the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in November, increased 7.3 percent to 100.1 ? the highest level since April 2010.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected pending sales to rise only 2 percent. Pending sales lead existing home sales by a month or two. Recent data on home sales and construction have been fairly upbeat, suggesting an improvement in the sector, but prices continue to trend lower.

Rising Italian bond yields may be checking stocks? gains.

Italian yields fell from recent record highs at a short-term debt auction, but yields for 10-year paper remained near 7 percent, a level near where other euro zone governments have been forced to seek bailouts.

"The only thing impacting trading right now is Europe. Everyone is watching Italy," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at John Thomas Financial in New York. "It's the situation that won't go away."

Concerns over the euro zone sovereign debt crisis, which had receded recently, resurfaced Wednesday, sparking a 1 percent decline in major indexes. S&P 500 gains for the year were erased and the index pulled back below its 200-day moving average.

The selloff followed the euro's slide to an 11-month low against the U.S. dollar, prompted by worries over the debt crisis. On Thursday, the euro sank to its lowest since September 2010 against the dollar while the European Central Bank moved to support Italian bond markets.

"It's encouraging to see that yields have come in a bit, but it isn't indicative of a complete easing of the crisis in Europe," said David Katz, principal in charge of Weiser Capital Management's asset management division in New York.

"In a normal environment this would be having a bigger impact, but with volume so low I don't expect a lot to happen (in equity markets) until the end of the year."

Recent economic data, including reports on the housing market, have been largely positive, contributing to Wall Street gains over the past month and the view that economic growth is picking up steam.

Before Wednesday's selloff, the S&P had risen for five straight sessions, and some traders saw the index as overbought. Many investors were not expected to make large bets until after the New Year, and trading volume has been low because of the holidays.

U.S. stocks fell more than 1 percent on Wednesday putting the brakes on a hefty year-end rally. With the decline the S&P is now down 0.6 percent for the year, while the Nasdaq is down 2.4 percent. The Dow is up 5 percent.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/29/9807731-stocks-end-thursday-trading-with-healthy-gains

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Infamous 'yeti finger' flunks DNA test

A finger long claimed to be from a yeti, once revered in a monastery in Nepal and taken in the 1950s by a Bigfoot researcher, has been identified after decades of mystery. Turns out, it's just a regular old human finger ? albeit one with a very interesting history.

The yeti is said to be a muscular beast weighing between 200 and 400 pounds and covered with dark grayish or reddish-brown hair. As in the case of its North American counterpart, Bigfoot, most of the evidence of its existence comes from fuzzy sightings, oversize footprints in the snow, or the occasional strand of funny-looking hair.

But there has been one interesting piece of physical evidence of the yeti: a finger that was either bought or stolen from the Pangboche Buddhist monasteryin the 1950s, depending on which disputed story you believe. It has been in London, among the collection of the Royal College of Surgeons, for more than half a century.

The finger was taken from the monastery by Bigfoot researcher Peter Byrne and was smuggled out of the country, so the story goes, by beloved Hollywood actor Jimmy Stewart, who hid it amid his wife's lingerie. The monstrous finger ended up in the possession of Dr. William Osman Hill, who had searched for the yeti in the 1950s on behalf of Texas millionaire Tom Slick; Hill later bequeathed the finger to the Royal College of Surgeons.

The finger has generated controversy among Bigfoot and yeti believers for decades and, until relatively recently, when researchers at the Edinburgh Zoo performed DNA analysis on the mysterious digit, it was impossible to know for certain what kind of animal it belonged to. [Mythical Beasts That Might Actually Exist]

If it is indeed a Yeti finger, then the mysterious beast is even more man-like than anyone imagined. According to the researchers' DNA analysis, the Yeti finger is human, perhaps from the corpse of a monk. But definitely human.

Rob Ogden of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland explained to BBC News: "We had to stitch it together. We had several fragments that we put into one big sequence, and then we matched that against the database and we found human DNA." The researchers said that the result ?wasn?t too surprising, but obviously slightly disappointing.?

It is not the first yeti claim to be debunked by science. In 1960 Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to scale Mount Everest, searched for evidence of the beast and found a "scalp" that scientists later determined had been fashioned from the skin of a serow, a Himalayan animal similar to a goat.

Earlier this year a team of researchers in Russia claimed to have found "indisputable proof" of the yeti, though so far the evidence has fallen far short of the claims. If populations of yetis really exist, they, like Bigfoot, have somehow managed to avoid leaving any physical traces of their presence: bodies, bones, teeth, hair, or anything else.

Benjamin Radford is deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer science magazine and author of "Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries." His website is www.BenjaminRadford.com.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45816366/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Avastin May Help Some With Ovarian Cancer: Studies (HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Two new studies suggest that the drug Avastin may lengthen progression-free survival by about four months for women with ovarian cancer.

What isn't clear yet is whether adding Avastin (bevacizumab) will make a difference in overall survival. One study suggested it would, while the other study didn't find a difference in overall survival between two treatment groups.

"The bottom-line results are a 28 percent reduction in disease progression with patients on continued bevacizumab compared to the standard treatment group. There was a 3.8 month median difference in progression-free survival," said Dr. Robert Burger, author of one of the studies and director of the Women's Cancer Center at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

"We still have to fine-tune or optimize this sort of new paradigm of treatment. This regimen [chemotherapy plus continued Avastin] could be considered a frontline option for patients with advanced ovarian cancer. However, there are some risks to the treatment, and we haven't shown an impact on overall survival. But, in the European trial, they saw an overall survival benefit," Burger added.

"I think the difficult reality is that these studies are not clear-cut," said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. "The improvements in progression are modest and appear to be greater for women who have worse disease. What this ultimately means is that it's absolutely important for doctors treating women with advanced ovarian cancer to read these studies very carefully so they know who may benefit and the risks of treatment, and to counsel their patients very carefully before moving forward with Avastin treatment," Lichtenfeld explained.

"This is not a case where treatment can be initiated in every woman. The benefits for many women are modest at best," he added.

Results of both studies are published in the Dec. 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The studies were funded by Roche and Genentech (a Roche-owned company). Burger said Genentech played no role in the study design or analysis.

Burger's study included almost 1,900 women with newly diagnosed stage 3 or stage 4 epithelial ovarian cancer. All of the women had undergone surgery to remove as much cancer as possible. They were then randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: standard treatment including paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapy; the Avastin-initiation group that included the standard chemotherapy and Avastin for the second through sixth treatment cycle; and the Avastin maintenance group that included chemotherapy plus Avastin for up to the 22nd treatment cycle.

The average progression-free survival was 10.3 months for the standard group, 11.2 months for the Avastin-initiation group and just over 14 months for the Avastin-maintenance group. There was no difference in overall survival for the three groups.

The European study included more than 1,500 women with varying types of ovarian cancer. Most had epithelial ovarian cancer, but the severity ranged from early-stage disease to stage 4. Seventy percent of the women enrolled in this study had stage 3 or stage 4 cancer.

The women were randomly assigned to receive either standard chemotherapy treatment or chemotherapy plus Avastin for up to 12 cycles of chemotherapy. The dose of Avastin used in this trial was half of what was used in Burger's trial.

Progression-free survival was 20.3 months for the standard group and 21.8 months for the standard therapy plus Avastin. In women who were considered at high risk for progression, the progression-free survival was 14.5 months on standard therapy and 18.1 months with the addition of Avastin. Overall survival in high-risk women was 28.8 months for women on standard chemotherapy and 36.6 months for standard therapy plus Avastin.

High blood pressure is a common side effect of Avastin, but Burger said that in most cases, it can be controlled with blood pressure medication. Another serious side effect associated with Avastin is bowel perforation, which means a hole opens in the bowel wall. This side effect occurred in fewer than 3 percent of women treated, but occurred twice as much in women taking Avastin.

Published reports peg the cost of the drug at somewhere between $4,000 and $9,000 a month, depending on co-pay assistance that's available from Genentech, Avastin's manufacturer. In a previous study, another research group looked at the cost effectiveness of treatment with Avastin in Burger's trial and found the standard treatment arm of the trial cost $2.5 million. Treating the Avastin-initiation group cost $21.4 million and the Avastin-maintenance group cost $78.3 million, according to the study, which was published in the March 7 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. And, most of those costs came directly from the cost of the medication. Those researchers concluded that Avastin was not a cost-effective medication.

"We don't want cost to be a deciding factor, but for many women with ovarian cancer, cost may be a significant factor, and it needs to be weighed in the equation," Lichtenfeld said.

Avastin isn't approved in the United States for the treatment of ovarian cancer, so some insurance companies may balk at paying for it. Plus, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pulled Avastin's approval for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in November because the FDA found the risks of the drug outweighed its modest benefits. Avastin is still approved for the treatment of some types of colon, lung, kidney and brain cancer in the United States.

However, the drug was just approved by the European Union for use in ovarian cancer in combination with chemotherapy.

More information

Learn more about ovarian cancer and its treatment from the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/cancer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111229/hl_hsn/avastinmayhelpsomewithovariancancerstudies

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SiriusXM unveils the Android-powered Lynx portable radio

SiriusXM Lynx

SiriusXM today unveiled its latest portable satellite radio -- the Lynx -- and wouldn't ya know it, this sucker's running Android. Actually, it's running an unknown version of Android, and if we hadn't told you, chances are you wouldn't even notice. It's being billed as "everything you can imagine," and it's a triple threat as a dockable in-car satellite radio, or you can use it with a home docking kit, or just palm the sucker and play back via 3.5mm headphones -- or Bluetooth. 

It's also a "SiriusXM 2.0" device and connects to the Internet via Wifi (for easy software upgrades). Change channels and hit a song in the middle? No worries, the "Tune Start" feature lets you start over at the beginning of a song. Or you can build a library of 200 hours of programming from your favorite channels. Or pause, rewind and replay. And the "Show finder" feature sound especially promising, with a guide that shows the next week's worth of content. For satellite radio fans, it sounds like a beast. 

For traditional Android fans? Well, we're just going to have to wait and get our hands on this guy. But this is what Android was designed for, folks. An expandable and extendable operating system. And you're going to see more and more of this as time goes on.

We've got a photo barage and video after the break.

Source: SiriusXM

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/HaMBz8ksjJg/story01.htm

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Chris Lilley Brings 'Angry Boys' To America

One of Australia's most famous comics, Chris Lilley, is rapidly losing his anonymity in the United States. Best known for such cult mockumentaries as "We Can Be Heroes" and "Summer Heights High," Lilley now has a third series, "Angry Boys," which premieres Jan. 1 on HBO.

Not only does he write all his own material, but Lilley, 37, also takes on multiple characters -- male, female, old, young, Caucasian, Asian and Polynesian. In "Angry Boys," he plays identical twin brothers, a sur?ng champion, an American rapper, a Japanese mother, a manager of a skateboard professional and a tough juvenile center worker nicknamed Gran. A modern-day Peter Sellers, he offers biting commentary on contemporary life while making viewers laugh uncontrollably.

The self-effacing comic is down to earth and admittedly a little overwhelmed by all the recent attention. Lilley spoke to The Huffington Post about "Angry Boys," his U.S. fans and what it was like to see his face up in Times Square.

How do you come up with all the different characters for your shows?
It's just a long process. I just write the scripts for quite a long time. Usually they evolve from the framework of the series. This one was about Daniel and Nathan [the identical teen brothers] and the heroes they had on their wall -- their posters -- and the idea of jumping into that. That opened up a new category of characters. It just sort of evolved over time.

Do you research the characters? If you decide to write about teenage boys, do you then hang out with some teenagers?
Yeah, I went to a lot of small country towns. I'd already played the characters in "We Can Be Heroes," but I wanted to make sure my observations were current. I went to country towns and arranged to hang out with families. People are just willing to tell you everything, and I filmed the interviews.

It's so funny that people open up to you.
In the early days, people were like, "Who's this weirdo?" But now people go, "Oh, I know what he's doing," and they're still quite willing to talk about it.

You play different ethnicities on your shows. Have you experienced any problems because of that?
I think in the context of a comedy show, you understand what it's about. I think my sort of comedy is about being a bit provocative, and I like something that's a bit confronting and shocking, so I think the racial stuff just works in that context.

It must be so wild to be on HBO.
It's really strange. I did "We Can Be Heroes," and I thought, "Oh, it'll be this weird little cult thing," which it was in Australia. It had a really small audience. And then I got a call from HBO, and they said, "Come on over." I didn't really know what HBO was, just vaguely -- "Oh, it's a TV thing" -- but I didn't get what they did. They just sat me down and said, "Whatever you do next, we want it to be an HBO show." They were just straight on-board. And I stupidly said, "Oh no, I'm doing a show about an Australian high school. I don't need you." They told me they wanted to buy it and still wanted me to do something for them.

It was really exciting, but I was sort of ignorant to the enormity of it. I think having been in the States a little while ago and seeing the Times Square billboard and a billboard on Sunset Boulevard, just seeing how they're getting behind it, it's pretty exciting. The whole thing is pretty surreal. Not what I expected.

I heard you have some celebrity fans.
It's so weird. I've been contacted by Selena Gomez, Katy Perry and Russell Brand. I met Guy Pearce, and he said, "Oh, Adam Sandler loves your stuff. He tries to get everyone to watch it. He's always giving the DVD to people." I was like, "That's so weird." I'd be terrified if I had to meet all these people.

Were you recognized much when you were in the States?
It's all about "Summer Heights High," people calling out to Mr. G. [a character from that series]. I was taking a photo of myself in front of the billboard in L.A., and this girl drove past in a car and screamed out, "Mr. G! What are you doing?" It was a bit awkward. I didn't want her to think I was loving myself too much.

Any plans to do a U.S. version of any of your shows?
No. That's initially what I got asked to do. The idea of remaking something for America does not appeal to me at all. I get the reason to do it, because it opens up the audience, but I'm much more interested in being true and doing what I know and love.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/28/chris-lilley-angry-boys-hbo_n_1172771.html

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Activist criticizes campaign's anti-gay rhetoric (AP)

KINGSTON, Jamaica ? The leader of Jamaica's sole gay rights group said Tuesday that some ruling-party candidates have aggressively played to anti-gay constituents by resorting to homophobic rhetoric in the final days of the campaign for this week's national elections.

Dane Lewis, executive director of the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays, said Jamaica Labor Party candidates have "unfortunately descended into pulling the sexuality card" in advance of Thursday's tight vote.

"It's been disappointing that they've chosen this road yet again because it seems to historically be their stance during campaigning," said Lewis, adding that his group is not endorsing any political party.

Politicians have routinely railed against homosexuals in Jamaica, where a colonial-era sodomy law bans sex between men and many people in the highly Christian nation perceive homosexuality as a sin.

But during a debate last week with Prime Minister Andrew Holness, opposition chief Portia Simpson Miller called for a review of the law. She argued that professional competence, not sexual orientation, will determine who is selected for a Cabinet post if her People's National Party wins.

Since then, some top Labor candidates have made homophobic comments at political rallies, among them Cabinet minister Daryl Vaz, who said "God created Adam and Eve and not Adam and Steve," prompting applause and anti-gay slurs from his West Portland constituents.

Labor's candidate for West Central St. James, Energy Minister Clive Mullings, asserted that easing up on laws against homosexuality would bring God's wrath down on Jamaica, while West Kingston candidate, Kingston Mayor Desmond McKenzie, used an epithet at a rally while an anti-gay dancehall song played.

In a Sunday editorial, the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper called the recent developments "not only sad, but dangerous."

"Some might add cynical and vulgar."

On Tuesday, the opposition People's National Party stressed that Simpson Miller's comments were being distorted by Labor partisans. They said the party is committed to a review of the anti-sodomy law, not its repeal.

Peter Phillips, campaign director for the People's National Party, rejected allegations by Vaz that the opposition had received funding from any international gay rights groups, asserting that Simpson Miller's party in no way supported "any gay agenda."

It is not yet clear if either side's recent comments about homosexuality and the sodomy law will hurt their chances in Thursday's election for the island's 63 seats in Parliament. Recent polls have shown the two main parties in a statistical dead heat.

Despite the easygoing image propagated by the island's tourist boards, Jamaica is by far the most hostile island toward homosexuals in the already conservative Caribbean, gays and their advocates contend.

Many Jamaicans insist hostility toward gays is blown out of proportion by gay activists. Some say Jamaica tolerates homosexuality as long as it is not openly displayed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111227/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_jamaica_elections

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[uruknet.info] PLO Official: Without Peace Agreement, We May Cancel Recognition of Israel

December 26, 2011

On Monday, PLO official Mohammed Eshtayeh said the Palestinian Authority (PA) might cancel its 1993 recognition of the state of Israel if a peace agreement could not be reached.

Eshtayeh made the comment in an interview the London-based Sharq al-Awsat newspaper, calling the recognition of Israel "an unbalanced one."

Eshtaiyeh also said that the PLO recognized Israel in 1993 "geographically."

"However," he continued, "Israel did not recognize Palestine geographically, but only as an institution. It only recognized the PLO. We now ask for a mutual recognition: we want Israel to recognize Palestine on the 1967 borders."

Eshtayehh also said that if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was determined to say there is no difference between the illegal settlement of Har Homa and Tel Aviv, then Palestinians would not differentiate between Ramallah and Jaffa.

According to Eshtayeh, Palestinian efforts from now on would concentrate on internal issues, saying, "Mahmoud Abbas is interested in uniting Palestinians."

Eshtayeh, part of the Palestinian negotiating team, also talked about the possibility to canceling the Oslo agreements, just days after Hamas and the Islamic Jihad agreed to join the PLO and prepare for May elections for the main two bodies of the organization, the Palestinian National Council and the Executive Committee.

PLO executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi said no formal position about recognition of Israel had been decided.

Ashrawi told the "Voice of Palestine" radio that withdrawal of recognition was a last option if Israel made no progress towards peace. She said that first legal responses must be formulated to Israels expansion of settlements and Judaization of Jerusalem. Ashrawi also said that Palestinians must work on civil resistance projects in Jerusalem.

Source

Source: http://www.uruknet.info?new=84275

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deemehlow: Basically to Vh1 you are only valued as an accessory. RT @JamNoPeanut mob wives, baseball wives, hip hop wives, oh my! #vh1overdose

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Fla. crash kills doc getting heart for transplant

A Clay County fire official drives through smoldering brush on his way to wreckage from a helicopter crash in an area west of Green Cove Springs, Fla. Monday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2011. The helicopter was enroute to Gainesville from Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville to receive a heart for a transplant when it crashed. The three people who were in the helicopter died at the scene. (AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Kelly Jordan)

A Clay County fire official drives through smoldering brush on his way to wreckage from a helicopter crash in an area west of Green Cove Springs, Fla. Monday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2011. The helicopter was enroute to Gainesville from Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville to receive a heart for a transplant when it crashed. The three people who were in the helicopter died at the scene. (AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Kelly Jordan)

Clay County Sheriff's officials create a staging area about 150 yards from wreckage from a helicopter crash in an area west of Green Cove Springs, Fla. Monday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2011. The helicopter was enroute to Gainesville from Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville to receive a heart for a transplant when it crashed. The three people who were in the helicopter died at the scene. (AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Kelly Jordan)

Clay County Sheriff's deputies head deep into the woods on four wheelers in an attempt to locate wreckage from a helicopter crash in an area west of Green Cove Springs, Fla. Monday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2011. The helicopter was enroute to Gainesville from Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville to receive a heart for a transplant when it crashed. The three people who were in the helicopter died at the scene. (AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Kelly Jordan)

(AP) ? A surgeon and technician from a Mayo Clinic in Florida flying across the northern corner of the state to retrieve a heart for transplant died Monday in a helicopter crash that also killed the pilot, officials said.

The helicopter departed the clinic in Jacksonville around 5:45 a.m. but never arrived at the Gainesville hospital, Shands at University of Florida, about 60 miles to the southwest, said Kathy Barbour, a spokeswoman for Mayo, which is based in Rochester, Minn.

Killed were heart surgeon Dr. Luis Bonilla, procurement technician David Hines and the pilot, whose name wasn't released.

The heart they were going to pick up could not be used in another transplant because its viability expired, and the patient who had been scheduled to receive it is waiting for a new organ, Mayo Clinic spokesman Layne Smith said.

The helicopter went down about 12 miles northeast of Palatka, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. The town is about 40 miles east of Gainesville and about 45 miles south of Jacksonville.

Clay County Sheriff's Office dispatcher Myron White confirmed the three dead but had no more information to release about the crash in the remote, densely forested area away from roads. The National Transportation Safety Board also was investigating.

The National Weather Service in Jacksonville reported that there was light fog with overcast conditions in the area but no rain.

"As we mourn this tragic event, we will remember the selfless and intense dedication they brought to making a difference in the lives of our patients," John Noseworthy, Mayo Clinic president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. "We recognize the commitment transplant teams make every day in helping patients at Mayo Clinic and beyond. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families."

The wreckage was spotted around noon by another helicopter, said sheriff's Lt. Russ Burke. Debris was scattered around the crash site, which was hidden from the road by rows of pine trees.

FAA records show the Bell 206 helicopter is operated by SK Jets. The St. Augustine company released a statement: "The focus of our efforts at this time is to attend to the needs of our passengers, crew and their families and work with the NTSB and local public safety officials to determine the cause and extent of the accident."

Gary Robb, a Kansas City aviation attorney specializing in helicopter safety, said SK Jets is known as a careful and safe operator in the industry. The small, lightweight craft has low weight and speed capabilities and is primarily used by traffic reporters or police departments, Robb said.

"It's not usually used in donor flights," he said.

"If you're on a mission where time is sensitive, why use an engine that is low performance?" Robb said, adding that the helicopter has a cramped cabin.

An NTSB investigator will scour the crash site for clues and look into the pilot's experience and any factors that might have impaired the pilot, any environmental factors such as birds or low visibility that may have contributed to the crash, and any mechanical problems with the helicopter, he said.

The Bell 206 usually has an older engine no longer installed in new models, Robb said.

"We've seen a number of instances where that engine simply failed," Robb said.

The crash and others like it illustrate the delicate nature of transporting organs.

In 1990, a surgeon and an assistant flying to pick up a donor heart for a patient were killed in a plane crash in New Mexico. And in 2007, a twin-engine plane carrying a team of surgeons and technicians ? along with a set of lungs on ice being brought to a patient already prepped for surgery ? crashed into the choppy waters of Lake Michigan. Six were killed.

Doctors ultimately got another set of donor lungs that were transplanted into the patient.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-26-Helicopter%20Crash-Florida/id-2bd21fb62492406a8cf10b4a496d4129

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