NFL Players Risk Death From Alzheimer's Disease, ALS

Former National Football League players are more likely to die from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and ALS, a new study found.

The study of more than 3,400 long-term players between 1959 and 1988 found the risk of death from neurodegenerative disease was triple that seen in the general population, and adds to a burgeoning body of research linking contact sports to chronic brain disease.

"Our results are consistent with those from other studies," said Everett Lehman, an epidemiologist with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Cincinnati and lead author of the study published today in the journal Neurology. "No one study can make a definitive conclusion about whether concussions cause neurodegenerative disease; the body of literature is what's important."

Of the 334 players who died during the study follow-up, 27 had neurodegenerative diseases that caused or contributed to their deaths, according to the study. The risk of death from Alzheimer's or ALS was nearly four times higher among former NFLers. There was no increased risk of death from Parkinson's disease.

But the players' concussion histories were unknown, raising the possibility that factors other than head trauma might be at play.

"We can't directly link concussions and neurodegenerative disease," said Lehman, explaining how his study relied on death certificates to probe the incidence of neurodegenerative disease. "I think preventing concussions is a logical step to take, but whether that will result in a reduction in chronic neurological disease remains to be determined."

The median age of death from all causes was 54, according to the study.

Previous studies have linked contact sports to chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE ? a progressive brain disease with features of Alzheimer's, ALS and Parkinson's disease. Lehman said it's possible some of the NFLers in his study had CTE, which can only be diagnosed by a brain autopsy.

"There's no way of knowing," he said. "The symptoms are all very similar."

CTE can also manifest as rage and depression. In February 2011, former Chicago Bears defensive back Dave Duerson fatally shot himself in the chest, leaving a note requesting his brain be sent to the "NFL brain bank" for study. His is one of 19 brains of former NFL players tested for CTE at the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, and one of 18 that tested positive.

Former San Diego Charger Junior Seau's brain was also donated to the brain bank after his suicide in May. The results are pending.

Growing awareness of the long term impact of concussions has prompted some former NFLers to sue the league, claiming it downplayed the risks. Other players have signed up to donate their brains to research ? a gift they hope will bolster concussion research and protect future athletes.

And the NFL today announced it would donate $30 million to support research on medical conditions affecting athletes, including concussions and late-life neurodegenerative diseases.

"We hope this grant will help accelerate the medical community's pursuit of pioneering research to enhance the health of athletes past, present and future," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "This research will extend beyond the NFL playing field and benefit athletes at all levels and others, including members of our military."

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nfl-players-risk-death-alzheimers-disease-als-141817837--abc-news-health.html

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HP EliteBook 8470p

Strictly speaking, the HP EliteBook 8470p ($1,499 direct) is a business-class laptop. But that classification doesn't cover all of its capabilities. The EliteBook 8470p is a versatile all-around performer armed with enough firepower to double as a multimedia powerhouse and, to a lesser extent, gaming rig. For the most part, these attributes make up for its bulky chassis and less-than-stellar battery life, making it a good system for anyone looking to work during the day and play by night.

Design
In a word, the EliteBook 8470p can be described as solid. Designed to withstand the rigors of business travel, its rugged design can handle its fair share of bumps and bruises, so you can stick it in a crammed suitcase without any worries. Just make sure it's a large suitcase, as the EliteBook 8470's magnesium alloy chassis measures 1.25 by 13.31 by 9.11 inches (HWD) and weighs 5.35 pounds. Not to say that it's an eyesore?far from it. The platinum finish on the chassis adds a touch of class to what could have otherwise been a drab, purely business affair. The same cannot be said of the underside, which is fashioned in a utilitarian, black plastic finish, and features a socket that can readily be attached to a docking station.

Although it's not as sharp as the dazzling 1,920-by-1,080 true 1080p HD screen seen in the comparably sized Editors' Choice Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 , the EliteBook 8470p's 14-inch 1,600-by-900 resolution is nonetheless better than that of most other 14-inch displays on the market, many of which have 1,366-by-768 resolution. Thanks to its higher resolution, texts and images look crisp and sharp on the matte-finished screen. Movies also look terrific on the 720p display, a feature that can easily be put to good use since the EliteBook 8470p comes equipped with a built-in optical drive. The speakers won't necessarily disturb your next-door neighbors at two in the morning, but they can nonetheless fill a medium-sized room.

The EliteBook 8470p's raised tiled keyboard sports black matte-finish keys. The keyboard is well constructed, feeling appropriately sturdy without surrendering to excessive rigidity. All this makes for a pleasantly comfortable typing experience. The only fly in the ointment is the fact that the keyboard isn't backlit. Although a white LED light above the display can be switched on to shine down onto the keyboard, the light is rather dim and doesn't provide nearly enough illumination in dark quarters. The trackpad, meanwhile, is among the best we've ever used, with a smooth finish that allows your fingers to glide effortlessly as they scroll and pinch-zoom about. Two sets of right- and left-click buttons abut the top and bottom edges of the trackpad, with the top pair designed to be used in conjunction with the pointing stick lodged in the middle of the keyboard.

There is a judicious selection of ports. In addition to headphone and microphone jacks and a DisplayPort input, the right side also features two USB 2.0 ports; one of these conveniently doubles as an eSATA port while the other has sleep and charge for powering other devices like smartphones or tablets. The left side, meanwhile, has a 4-pin FireWire 400 port, a card reader that supports SD an Memory Stick formats (SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC/MMC+), and two USB 3.0 ports, but neither sport the blue marking that typically distinguishes USB 3.0 ports from their slower USB 2.0 counterparts. The rear of the system houses VGA and Ethernet ports, as well as an old-school dial-up modem port. As is often the case with business-class systems, the EliteBook 8470p does not feature an HDMI port. This isn't necessarily a fatal flaw, though, since DisplayPort to HDMI adapters are fairly commonplace and ultimately yield the same results as an HDMI cable by itself would.

Performance
HP EliteBook 8470p Given its robust 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7-3520M processor and 4GB DDR3 RAM combination, we were hardly confounded by the fact that the EliteBook 8470p was a solid all-around performer on our benchmark tests. Though its PCMark 7 score of 2,395 points was bested by all in its class save for its predecessor, the HP EliteBook 8460p (2,235), it fared better in our multimedia tests. It completed our Handbrake video-encoding test in 1 minute 28 seconds, was better than all but the Lenovo Y580 (1:17). On the other hand, while the EliteBook 8470p's Cinebench R11.5 score of 3.40 points edged past the HP 8460p (2.44), it still fell short of the other systems by varying degrees, from narrowly?the Asus Prime scored 3.58 points?to significantly?the Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Mid 2012) scored 5.04. Meanwhile, the EliteBook 8470p completed our Photoshop CS5 test in 3 minutes 49 seconds; only the Lenovo Y580 (3:25) was faster.

The EliteBook 8470p's discrete 1GB AMD Radeon HD 7570M GPU yielded overall good results, though they trickled toward the bottom of the pack. Its 3DMark 06 scores (7,255 points at medium detail settings and 1,024-by-768 resolution; 5,488 points at native resolution with 4x anti-aliasing) outshined the HP 8460p (5,463 and 3,845, respectively) fell significantly behind the Lenovo Y580 (15,486 and 12,720, respectively). Even though the EliteBook 8470p isn't designed to be a gaming rig, its GPU nonetheless handled our gaming benchmark tests admirably, managing to breach the 30 frames per second (fps) playability barrier at medium settings. In Crysis, its performance (62fps in medium quality at 1,024-by-768 resolution; 18fps in high quality at native resolution) eclipsed the Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD-DB71 (52fps and 6fps, respectively) though, like all systems, was left in the dust behind the Lenovo Y580 (97 fps and 13 fps, respectively). The EliteBook 8470p displayed a similar amount of finesse in Lost Planet 2 (50fps in medium quality at 1,024-by-768 resolution; 31fps in high quality at native resolution), pulling ahead of both the HP 8460p (31 fps and 15 fps, respectively) and the Zenbook Prime (34 fps and 10 fps, respectively), while once again falling short of both the Lenovo Y580 (71 fps and 28 fps, respectively).

HP EliteBook 8470p

The EliteBook 8470p's removable 62WHr battery is arguably its most glaring shortcoming, lasting a paltry 3 hours 58 minutes on our MobileMark 2007 battery rundown test. This battery performance fell far behind its peers by wide margins. Both the Lenovo Y580 (4:41) and Zenbook Prime (5:26) breezed by. For a system designed to be taken along on business trips, the EliteBook 8470p's battery life is prohibitive; sure you can use it on an airplane, but if you don't have access to a power outlet, you'd better make sure it's a domestic flight.

The HP EliteBook 8470p is an overall good performer, so much so that it seems somewhat reductive to pigeonhole it as simply a business-class laptop. It's armed with enough oomph to double as a multimedia powerhouse and, to a lesser extent, gaming rig. Aside from its impressively engineered chassis, however, it doesn't offer much in terms of performance to distinguish it from lighter and less expensive systems, like the Lenovo IdeaPad Y580. Ultimately, it's a good choice for anyone looking for a rugged road companion. For everyone else, though, the Editors' Choice Lenovo Y580 is still the system to checking out.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the HP EliteBook 8470p with several other laptops side by side.

More laptop reviews:
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??? Sony VAIO S13 (SVS13112FXW)
??? Acer Aspire V5-471-6569
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/fRsmyVwuurA/0,2817,2409194,00.asp

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Tough Times for Franchising | barmitzvahs.biz

Two closely watched disputes now playing out in the courts are shining a spotlight on tensions between franchise owners and management.

The growing rift between franchisees and franchisers?businesses that collectively employ roughly eight million people in the U.S.?follows three consecutive years of declines in the number of U.S. franchises, and as economic pressures prompt people to limit discretionary spending.

Growing numbers of franchise owners are forming associations hoping to tilt the balance of power away from management. Sarah Needleman has details on Lunch Break.

Late last month, an association made up of roughly 185 U.S. franchise owners filed a lawsuit against Cold Stone Creamery Inc., a subsidiary of Kahala Corp.,

accusing the ice-cream chain of refusing to provide detailed information about funds that the franchisees believe should be set aside for their benefit in a marketing fund.

The lawsuit, which seeks declaratory relief, is asking the court to force Cold Stone to provide the franchisees with information on how much of the rebate money it receives from its approved vendors is actually used for marketing purposes. The Cold Stone franchisee association is also demanding insight into what the company does with revenue and interest generated from sales of unused gift cards.

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Sam Hodgson for The Wall Street Journal

Frank Caperino is part of a franchisee association that filed a lawsuit against Cold Stone Creamery.

?We?re paying too much for our products and we?re making less profit every year,? said Frank Caperino, who is part of the association that filed the lawsuit in Miami-Dade County, Fla., state court. Mr. Caperino currently owns two Cold Stone Creamery stores, both in San Diego, which he would like to sell.

A spokeswoman for Kahala, whose other franchise brands include Blimpie sandwiches and Samurai Sam?s Teriyaki Grill, said in an emailed statement that company policy prevented her from commenting on ?pending legal matters.?

Management?s response to the group?s lawsuit hasn?t yet been filed. ?We are confident with our position,? she said.

Cold Stone Creamery, of Scottsdale, Ariz., has roughly 1,500 locations in 17 countries.

A typical Cold Stone Creamery franchise posted $352,000 in revenue in 2011, down from $400,000 in 2005, according to the group of franchise owners who filed the lawsuit. It is difficult to know how much of the declining profitability for franchise owners may be due to the economic downturn, or what the group says is management?s poor decision making.

At least a dozen new franchisee associations have risen out of conflict in the past year, according to several attorneys who helped these associations to incorporate. They are ?forming at a faster rate than ever before? and ?they?re taking a more aggressive and more vocal stance,? says Robert Zarco, the Miami attorney who is representing the Cold Stone franchisee group.

?At the end of the day, it just boils down to profitability,? said Eric Stites, managing director of Franchise Business Review, a market-research company in Portsmouth, N.H. ?When franchisees aren?t making money, that?s when you see them form associations and sue the franchiser.?

Franchisees Versus Franchiser

An association of Cold Stone Creamery Inc. franchisees filed this complaint in a Florida state court last month against the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based chain.

[docid=120208215659-57263a1cc4ac463496f60d743d9d372b|file=sbfranch0208]

The food sector was hit particularly hard during the recession, as many people cut back on eating out. On average, food franchisees make a profit of $88,382 annually and pay an initial investment of $450,000, according to Franchise Business Review.

Specialty chains like Cold Stone Creamery may have suffered more than other chains, Mr. Stites said. Trade publication Franchise Times estimates that Cold Stone?s systemwide revenue fell 1.1% to $493 million in 2011 from 2010.

The Kahala spokeswoman declined to provide specifics on the profitability of the typical franchisee or the figures provided by third parties.

Franchisees typically sign lengthy agreements that require them to follow the rules of the franchiser, which commonly require arbitration to resolve a dispute, thus restricting their ability to file individual lawsuits.

?Litigation sends a signal to the franchiser and others that something is wrong,? said John Gordon, an independent chain-restaurant analyst in San Diego who served as an expert consultant on a Burger King case.

In that case, in November 2009, Burger King Corp. franchisees sued the fast-food company, claiming that it acted in bad faith when it mandated that its double cheeseburgers be sold for just $1. A settlement was reached last April. As part of the settlement, Burger King agreed to come up with a new systemwide policy for making decisions about what is listed on its value menu.

In September 2010, a group of Edible Arrangements franchisees filed a lawsuit against Edible Arrangements International Inc., claiming management ?abused its discretionary authority? when the fruit-basket chain operator mandated in March 2010 that all U.S. locations must be open on Sundays and stay open for an additional two hours every other day of the week. The decision was made ?with little to no regard for the individual needs or surrounding demographics of its franchisees,? according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

?Our franchise agreement is illusory,? said Sherri Vertorano, an Edible Arrangements franchisee in Mooresville, N.C., who is part of the lawsuit. ?It?s like a living, breathing document that changes whenever the franchiser wants to create another revenue stream.?

Ms. Vertorano and about 200 other franchisees are also seeking to stop Edible Arrangements management from collecting 2% of gross sales on orders placed over the Internet, among other grievances, according to the complaint. That fee was implemented last month, the company said.

Tom Downes, owner of an Edible Arrangements outlet in Portsmouth, N.H., said he is frustrated with the requirement that his business maintain Sunday hours. The 53-year-old said he averages about $1,000 in sales on weekdays but on a recent Sunday he made $23.

Tariq Farid, president of Edible Arrangements, denied the allegations in the lawsuit and said any new operating procedures the company implements are intended to benefit its franchisees, not hurt them.

Mr. Farid, who founded the company in 1999 and began franchising it in 2001, declined to provide specifics on the profitability of the typical franchisee. The Wallingford, Conn.-based company has more than 1,000 outlets, and posted $425 million in systemwide revenue last year, up from $380 million in 2010.

Management has been investing more in social media and ecommerce, for instance, to help the franchise owners keep up with current consumer taste. ?At the end of the day, if you deliver results, they?ll respect you,? Mr. Farid said of franchisees.

Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com

Source: http://barmitzvahs.biz/tough-times-for-franchising-2

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Boston Sports: How Today's Red Sox Can Learn from the Bruins of the Past

While things were all good for the Boston Bruins under Claude Julien by the spring of 2011, their long-awaited Stanley Cup championship did not erase the various ?What if's?? from the diaries of the previous decade.

Consider where both the Bruins and the Cup were five years prior, in the 2005-06 NHL season. The team was seeking reformation after a non-playoff season under Mike Sullivan, while the trophy was lending a savory summer to the Carolina Hurricanes and head coach Peter Laviolette.

Attentive New England puckheads witnessing that state of affairs had to be recalling that Laviolette was almost their skipper. He had earned his stripes at every level below NHL head coaching before the eyes of Bruins buffs, yet he was allowed to take his winning touch elsewhere.

As the Boston Red Sox tumble down to what is bound to be a third straight MLB playoff no-show, they ought to read up on the not-too-distant history of their crosstown cohabitants. They must assess the almost uncanny parallels between Arnie Beyeler?s Pawtucket Red Sox of this young decade and Laviolette?s Providence Bruins at the end of the 20th century.

Beyeler has earned the same sort of stripes over 2011 and 2012 that Laviolette did between 1998 and 2000. The PawSox? 63-74 parent club would be wise to take notice of their own organization?s present, as well as the Bruins? past, organizational history.

Beginning on Wednesday, Beyeler?s second year as the PawSox skipper will conclude with the team?s second consecutive appearance in the International League playoffs. Pawtucket has not had this kind of consistent, year-to-year success since 1997, coincidentally the last time their parent club had a losing record.

Granted, they have not won a championship the way the Providence Bruins did under Laviolette in 1998-99, but being one of four postseason qualifiers in a 14-team circuit in consecutive campaigns is enough of a resume booster?never mind when a team does it two years in a row.

Furthermore, an unmistakable theme of defying adversity has highlighted Beyeler?s second season as a Triple-A sports skipper in Rhode Island.

Shortly before Pawtucket wrapped up the International League wild card on Saturday, Providence Journal columnist Jim Donaldson noted that, through their first 141 out of 144 games in 2012, ?the PawSox had suited up 67 players ? three shy of the franchise record.?

By the conclusion of the regular season on Monday, they had employed 69 individuals over the five-month journey.

Along the way, Pawtucket has lost heavy hitter Lars Anderson to a trade before the July 31 deadline. Other key batters such as Pedro Ciriaco, Mauro Gomez, Ryan Lavarnway and Daniel Nava have been missing for most or all of the homestretch due to call-ups. The same goes for pitchers Mark Melancon, Andrew Miller and Junichi Tazawa.

That qualitative and quantitative overhaul bent, but it did not break the PawSox. They did go 31-28 from July 1 through September 1, which dropped them from a comfortable 47-36 to 78-64, but it subsisted well enough to earn bonus action this week.

Under comparable circumstances, in defense of their Calder Cup championship, the 1999-2000 Providence Bruins set an American Hockey League record by suiting up 70 individuals over the course of the regular season.

Upon barely squeezing in a playoff berth, a much more stable roster swept through the first two rounds and eventually pushed the eventual champion Hartford Wolf Pack to overtime in Game 7 of the conference finals.

The following year, Laviolette was elevated to serve as an assistant on the Boston staff of Pat Burns and later Mike Keenan. When Keenan could not avert a second straight playoff no-show, the Bruins relieved him and sought an external successor in Robbie Ftorek.

Passed over, Laviolette sought thicker ice and immediately garnered his first NHL head coaching gig with the New York Islanders for the 2001-02 season. Just as he had done with Providence in 1998-99, he brought his new team back into the playoff bracket.

He did the same with Carolina in 2005-06, one season after he was tabbed as Paul Maurice?s midseason replacement. The Hurricanes? championship that year would constitute Laviolette?s first of two Stanley Cup Finals berths in a span of five seasons, the other being with Philadelphia in 2010.

In all that time, even though their steady progression under Julien reached its summit in 2011, Bruins buffs had to be wondering if they could have had more at an earlier point.

Do the Sox want a similar scenario?

Granted, there are other externally developed candidates to?take charge of?the Fenway dugout (retaining Bobby Valentine will not work), where they could have satisfying odds of replenishing the Red Sox.

However, one difference between the Laviolette era in Providence and the Beyeler era in Pawtucket is the more abundant and noticeable roles Beyeler?s graduates are already offering in Boston.

Clay Buchholz, Ciriaco, Felix Doubront, Jacoby Ellsbury, Gomez, Jose Iglesias, Ryan Kalish, Lavarnway, Che-Hsuan Lin, Melancon, Will Middlebrooks, Miller, Nava, Scott Podsednik, Tazawa.

All 15 of those established or up-and-coming BoSox contributors know Beyeler from at least one extended stay in Double-A Portland or Pawtucket. That amounts to either 60 percent of a standard 25-man Major League roster or 37.5 percent of an extended 40-man roster.

With such dense familiarity between the players and the successful Triple-A skipper as well as the general uncertainty as to how long any course of action will take to neutralize the current chaos in Boston, Beyeler is the wisest option.

Elevating the Paw Sox manager to the same post at Fenway and granting a one-year grace period over 2013 in order to let him and his smattering of ex-minor-league pupils acclimate would be a great idea. Perhaps he could at least bring the club back above .500.

When a top-level team is in a state as sorry as this, but has a chance to start redressing with a homegrown leader, why would the Sox brass not pull the trigger?

The Bruins once had that opportunity, passed it up and arguably cost themselves about five years of progression. The Red Sox can still make good on the same opportunity.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1323645-boston-sports-how-todays-red-sox-can-learn-from-the-bruins-of-the-past

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Booker: Raising taxes on the rich is about ?patriotism? not ?class warfare?

Booker (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, N.C.?Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker delivered a passionate defense of Democratic efforts to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, insisting it's about love of country.

"Being asked to pay your fair share isn't class warfare. It's patriotism," Booker said, disputing an attack line often mentioned by Mitt Romney and his GOP allies.

Everyone, Booker argued, must pay their "fair share" at a time when the country is facing the enormous burden of paying down debts incurred by two wars.

Booker, who presented the party's 2012 platform, argued Democrats are pursuing an agenda that is not politically divisive, but rather moving the country forward for everyone, regardless of political persuasion.

"It's not about left or right, but moving America forward and our economy forward," Booker said, his remarks interrupted repeatedly by chants of "USA! USA!"

In a dig at Romney and the GOP, Booker said his party's platform was focusing on "big and practical ideas" as opposed to "petty political arguments."

"This is our platform. This is our American mission," Booker declared.

The Newark mayor's remarks came just months after he irritated the Obama campaign by criticizing the president's attacks on Romney's record at Bain Capital. Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" in May, Booker called the attacks "nauseating"?a remark that was seized upon by the Romney campaign in its pushback on the Bain attacks.

Until that episode, Booker had been expected to get a higher-profile speaking slot at the DNC. Instead, he was relegated to the 6 p.m. hour. Still, his 12-minute remarks elicited the fieriest reaction from Democratic delegates so far.

As he wrapped up his speech, much of the audience was on its feet, chanting "Cory! Cory! Cory!"

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/cory-booker-raising-taxes-rich-patriotism-not-class-224248153--election.html

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English cardinal reflects on offer to join House of Lords : News ...

CWN - September 03, 2012

The retired Archbishop of Westminster says that he is happy he declined an appointment to the British House of Lords.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O?Connor disclosed in a lengthy interview that he consulted with members of the British hierarchy and also with the Vatican Secretariat of State before declining the offer, which was made by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The cardinal said that he had no regrets, because ?I would be involved in matters that were beyond my brief and might have caused me some hassle and difficulty.?

Cardinal Murphy-O?Connor also reflected on his relations with Queen Elizabeth II, saying that he was ?quite nervous? when he became the first Catholic prelate in 322 years to be invited to preach before the British royal family. He also said that had met often with another former prime minister, Tony Blair, before Blair entered the Catholic Church. While Blair was leading the government, the cardinal said, ?he did go against what I was saying,? but after stepping down and becoming a Catholic ?he has since retracted many of his statements.?

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Obama embraces 'Obamacare,' says it's here to stay

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) ? In his warm-up for the Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama is tangling with a couple of rivals, only one named Mitt. The other is voter apathy, especially among the young.

Obama's pre-convention tour of battleground states has been heavy on college crowds, where he's implored supporters to register and vote by painting the choice in stark terms: It's his education tax credits versus Mitt Romney's tax breaks for the rich; his "Obamacare" versus "Romney doesn't care," his "forward" versus "same old."

And when those crowds boo the references to Romney, Obama tells them to convert that negative energy into votes Election Day.

Obama addresses a United Auto Workers Labor Day rally in Toledo on Monday before getting his first look at the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac in a stricken parish outside New Orleans. He's to meet emergency personnel who've been laboring since the storm hit last week to restore power and tend thousands of evacuees from flooded lands.

In Boulder, Colo., on Sunday, Obama warned a college crowd that "the other side is going to spend more money than we've ever seen in our lives, with an avalanche of attack ads and insults and making stuff up, just making stuff up."

"What they're counting on is that you get so discouraged by this, that at a certain point you just say, you know what, I'm going to leave it up to somebody else." Obama did not mention his own side's arsenal of negative advertising.

The Republican convention behind him, Romney was staying low for a few days, ceding the political attention to his rival and preparing for the October debates as Democratic conventioneers gathered for the opening of their event Tuesday in Charlotte.

Younger voters gave Obama a big boost four years ago and he can ill afford to see their support drop off in a tight election where the sluggish economy is the dominant issue in the nation and a specific drag to many young people coming out of college or trying to afford it.

But his campaign surely has a more immediate need for young people, too ? helping to fill the seats for Obama's address Thursday. With 6,000 delegates at the convention and thousands more attached to the event, Democrats hope to pack the nearly 74,000-seat outdoor stadium for the prime-time speech.

Obama has only fitfully defended his health care law from the bully pulpit since its enactment but on Sunday took it on directly. The president declared, as he has on occasion, that "I like the name" Obamacare despite its Republican origins as an insult.

"I do care," he said. "I don't know exactly what the other side is proposing; I guess you could call it 'Romney doesn't care.' But this law is here to stay." Republicans have rallied around the idea of repealing the law, although Romney has not laid out a detailed alternative.

Taking a similar critical vein, a new Obama campaign ad running in six closely contested states ? Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia ? claims Romney's policies would "hit the middle class harder" and that he doesn't see the "heavy load" the middle class is carrying.

Vice President Joe Biden joined the fray, accusing Republicans of seeking to undermine the decades-old federal program millions of seniors rely on for health care. "We are for Medicare," he said. "They are for voucher care." That was a reference to a proposal in Congress by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the GOP vice presidential nominee, to offer future retirees the option of buying health insurance with a government subsidy.

The president and vice president campaigned separately across three battleground states as delegates descended on the Democrats' convention city before their first official meeting Tuesday in the Time Warner Cable Arena.

Some 800 demonstrators marched through the streets around Charlotte's convention hall, protesting what they call corporate greed as well as U.S. drone strikes overseas, said to kill children as well as terrorists. Dozens of police officers walked along with the protesters' parade, carrying gas masks, wooden batons and plastic hand ties. One arrest was reported, for public intoxication.

Biden's itinerary, in particular, underscored the threat that a sluggish recovery and high, 8.3 percent unemployment pose to Democrats seeking another term in power. He was in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, states that have received little attention previously as the candidates, their parties and outside allies concentrate on the areas of the country deemed most competitive. His presence suggested the race in both states was tightening.

Obama's aides and allies flooded the weekend talk shows. All talked down Romney, but, when asked, none gave a clear answer to the classic campaign question: Are Americans better off than they were four years ago?

There is no rosy answer, given that Obama took office during a deep recession that ended in official terms six month later but yielded a paltry recovery with persistently high unemployment, now at 8.3 percent.

"No," Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley said, before turning the blame to Obama's Republican predecessor. "But that's not the question of this election. The question, without a doubt ? we are not as well off as we were before George Bush brought us the Bush job losses, the Bush recession, the Bush deficits, the series of desert wars."

Said Obama White House David Plouffe: "We've clearly improved ... from the depths of the recession."

And another aide, David Axelrod: "I think the average American recognizes that it took years to create the crisis that erupted in 2008 and peaked in January of 2009. And it's going to take some time to work through it."

But Democrats didn't miss a beat when it came to criticizing Romney and drawing contrasts between the convention that launched him into the last leg of the race and their own gathering ahead.

"This is not a reinvention convention like the Republican convention was last week," Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on the Air Force One flight to Ohio late Sunday. "We know that the convention is a huge platform with a big megaphone, and there is no question that next Friday, when the American people look back, they're going to know what the choice is, they're going to know what his forward-looking agenda is. "

She branded the Romney and GOP agenda an "empty pool with no water and dead leaves."

Romney spent Sunday at his Wolfeboro, N.H., vacation home, leaving only to attend church services with his wife, Ann. Aides said he would spend much of the Democrats' convention week preparing for three fall debates with Obama, beginning on Oct. 3.

Obama aides said they expected Romney and Republicans to outpace the president and his party in fundraising in August because Obama spent less time raising cash than in the month before and because the GOP held its convention ? usually a big money draw ? in August.

Biden, campaigning in York, Pa., on Sunday, took a swipe at Romney on foreign policy.

"He said it was a mistake to end the war in Iraq and bring all of our warriors home," the vice president said. "He said it was a mistake to set an end date for our warriors in Afghanistan and bring them home. He implies by the speech that he's ready to go to war in Syria and Iran. "

Democrats have been critical of Romney for making no mention of the war in Afghanistan when he accepted the Republican nomination in Tampa, Fla., last week. He previously criticized Obama for setting a public date for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from the war.

Romney also has faulted Obama for allowing the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad to remain in power. Yet his aides have refused to say for a week if he agrees with French President Francois Hollande's promise to extend diplomatic recognition to a provisional government if Syrian rebels form one.

At the Democratic convention, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro delivers the keynote speech on Tuesday, followed by first lady Michelle Obama's remarks. Obama and Biden will be nominated for second terms on Wednesday night, when former President Bill Clinton takes the stage as star speaker. Biden and Obama close the convention Thursday night with their nomination acceptance speeches.

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Woodward reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Philip Elliott in York, Pa., Kasie Hunt in Wolfeboro, N.H., and Michael Biesecker, Mitch Weiss, Beth Fouhy and Ken Thomas in North Carolina contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-embraces-obamacare-says-stay-073438487--election.html

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Ale to the chief: White House releases beer recipe

FILE - In this July 16, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama sips his beer as he watches Team USA and Brazil during the first half of an Olympic men's exhibition basketball game, in Washington. Obama and his team frequently talk about the president's fondness for beer, and Obama has been photographed many times downing a beer, including an appearance at the Iowa State Fair last month. Being identified as a beer drinker is an easy way for Obama to connect with votes and serves as a not-so-subtle reminder that his Republican rival Mitt Romney, a Mormon, doesn't drink. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - In this July 16, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama sips his beer as he watches Team USA and Brazil during the first half of an Olympic men's exhibition basketball game, in Washington. Obama and his team frequently talk about the president's fondness for beer, and Obama has been photographed many times downing a beer, including an appearance at the Iowa State Fair last month. Being identified as a beer drinker is an easy way for Obama to connect with votes and serves as a not-so-subtle reminder that his Republican rival Mitt Romney, a Mormon, doesn't drink. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama stops for a beer at The Pump House, a pub and grill, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Obama and his team frequently talk about the president's fondness for beer, and Obama has been photographed many times downing a beer, including an appearance at the Iowa State Fair last month. Being identified as a beer drinker is an easy way for Obama to connect with votes and serves as a not-so-subtle reminder that his Republican rival Mitt Romney, a Mormon, doesn't drink. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - In this July 5, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama has a beer as he talks with patrons as he stops for a beer at Ziggy's Pub and Restaurant in Amherst, Ohio. Obama and his team frequently talk about the president's fondness for beer, and Obama has been photographed many times downing a beer, including an appearance at the Iowa State Fair last month. Being identified as a beer drinker is an easy way for Obama to connect with votes and serves as a not-so-subtle reminder that his Republican rival Mitt Romney, a Mormon, doesn't drink. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - In this July 30, 2009 file photo, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have a beer with Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., second from left, and Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt. James Crowley in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. Obama and his team frequently talk about the president's fondness for beer, and Obama has been photographed many times downing a beer, including an appearance at the Iowa State Fair last month. Being identified as a beer drinker is an easy way for Obama to connect with votes and serves as a not-so-subtle reminder that his Republican rival Mitt Romney, a Mormon, doesn't drink. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

(AP) ? Beer lovers, the secret is out.

The White House has made public the recipe for two homemade beers that have become an object of fascination for beer drinkers everywhere.

White House Honey Brown Ale, believed to be the first beer brewed on the White House grounds, includes light malt extract, amber crystal malt, honey, gypsum, yeast and corn sugar.

The recipe was released Saturday while President Barack Obama was campaigning in Iowa.

Obama has been talking about the White House brew for weeks, but he and other officials had refused to disclose details of how it's made, despite an online petition and repeated questions from reporters. Obama even took a question on the beer recipe during a chat with the website Reddit.

Obama and his team frequently talk about the president's fondness for beer, and Obama has been photographed many times downing a beer, including an appearance at the Iowa State Fair last month.

Being identified as a beer drinker is an easy way for Obama to connect with voters and serves as a not-so-subtle reminder that his Republican rival Mitt Romney, a Mormon, doesn't drink.

Obama even held a "beer summit" after a white police sergeant arrested black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates as he tried to get into his own home.

White House press secretary Jay Carney announced the beer recipe on Twitter, linking to a blog post entitled "Ale to the Chief" that included a video on the brewing process. The White House was careful to say the president paid for the materials used in the beer-making himself.

"With public excitement about White House beer fermenting such a buzz, we decided we better hop right to it" and release the recipe, wrote White House chef Sam Kass, who brews the beer in the White House kitchen.

The White House included recipes for both the honey ale and a honey porter, both of which are brewed at the White House.

In the video, Kass is seen drinking the honey ale.

"That is one incredible beer if I do say so myself," Kass says, smiling. "America, I wish everybody could taste this but we don't quite brew enough."

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Online:

White House beer recipe: http://tinyurl.com/97tucgz

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Follow Matthew Daly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-09-01-Obama-Beer/id-b89be09435024c09bd999d8f45aafeb3

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