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Cross Departmental Projects
The Association of SouthEastern Research Libraries (ASERL) Collaborative Digitization Project
In Autumn 2008 a collaborative effort was proposed to provide online content to material representing "The Intellectual Underpinnings of the American Civil War." This collection is to consist of materials published between 1850 and 1865 that informed the public consciousness as America approached the battle between the North and the South. Access to the content would be timed to coincide with the April 12 2011 sesquicentennial of the start of the Civil War.
Participation in this project required a collaborative effort here at the University of Alabama, which was coordinated primarily by Digital Services. As a member of the technical committee, Jody helped explore options for shared delivery with other institutions. She also wrote software to analyze the date ranges of existing online collections, to inform the choices made by the archivists. The archivists (primarily Donnelly Lancaster Walton, Archival Access Coordinator) then selected the appropriate content and remediated the collection information; and Digital Services staff digitized the selected materials.
The Metadata Unit (Mary Alexander and Shawn Averkamp) remediated the selected content to conform with the metadata requirements of the project. Marcia Barrett (Catalog Librarian for Special Collections) added creator and subject headings to the collection records. Tonio Loewald (OLT programmer) developed OAI (Open Archives Initiative) repository functionality to support harvesting of the selected materials for inclusion in the shared database. Clark Center (University Archivist and Curator of Southren History & Life Collections) described the repository and provided contact information. Jody submitted collection records and shared web sites and information as they became available. All participating faculty (archivists, metadata librarians, and digital services) tested the OAI implementation prior to release.
This was a truly collaborative project, and we successfully submitted 52 collections for inclusion in the ASERL project in a timely manner. That website is now live at http://www.american-south.org/. Searching across our 52 submitted collections is available via http://american-south.org/institutions/alm/search/ .
Metadata Comparison Test
This was an effort to determine whether it is to our benefit to transition item-level metadata creation from the archivists to the metadata librarians. Time and other costs needed to be weighed against the usability of the resulting descriptions. Involved in this group were archivists (Donnelly Walton, Martha Bace), Digital Services personnel (Jody DeRidder, Jeremiah Colonna-Romano) and Cataloging and Metadata personnel (Janet Lee-Smeltzer, Mary Alexander). (More information is available here: Metadata Comparison Test.)
Cost Recovery Task Force
On February 9, 2009, Dean Pitschmann assigned a cross-departmental task force to review analog and digital reproduction pricing at other universities and recommend a cost-recovery fee structure for all mediated reproduction services. This task force was composed of archivists Jessica Lacher-Feldman and Clark Center, Manager of Administrative and Fiscal Affairs Harriet Deason, and Jody DeRidder (Head, Digital Services).
This group researched reproduction pricing at Indiana, University of Michigan, NCSU, UIUC, South Carolina, Georgia, University of Minnesota, NY Public Library, Florida State Univ., Michigan State University, UCLA, Chicago Public, Enoch-Pratt, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, LSY, SUNY (Albany), Wisconsin, and UVA. After analyzing results and extensive discussion, the group sent recommendations to the Dan on June 3, 2009. Questions were fielded through August 2010.
The finalized results went live in November 2010 as Hoole's Reproduction Services web page.
DeRidder, Jody L.; Presnell, Amanda Axley; and Walker, Kevin W. "Leveraging Encoded Archival Descriptions for Access to Digital Content: A Cost and Usability Analysis," in American Archivist (Spring/Summer 2012), Vol. 75, Iss. 1. [Collaboration between Digital Services and Collection Management]
Whitver, Sara Maurice; Matheny, Kate; Vaughn, Jennie. "Go Local! Using Digital Archives as Alternative Textbooks in First-Year Writing", poster presentation (with handout) at the Association of College & Research Libraries 2013 annual meeting in Indianapolis, IN, 10-13 April 2013. [Collaboration between Gorgas Information Services, Digital Services, and the English Department's First-Year Writing Program]


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Published Aug 27, 2014
Whether it's for crepes, coq au vin or crème brûlée, tell us where you say bon appetit!
Samosas, tandoori, and naan. How delicious! Who does Indian cuisine... see the Top 5 →
Tell us who puts the meatball on top of your spaghetti! see the Top 5 →
Fajitas, tacos, enchiladas, guacamole oh my! Whatever brings you in, where... see the Top 5 →
These restaurants take old ideas and melt them into tasty new ones. Who... see the Top 5 →
Candlelight, soft music, and the best company. Who's #1 for your date... see the Top 5 →
If it comes from the sea, these restaurants know how to serve it right... see the Top 5 →
The 2014 Denver A-List awards are based on more than 109,000 votes from local Denver-area experts.

subset: commoncrawl


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START Conference Manager
In form & informing: Materiality and Information Seeking
Theresa DIrndorfer Anderson, Helena Francke, Sara Kjellberg and Olof Sundin
ASIS&T 2008 Annual Meeting (AM08 2008)
Columbus, Ohio, October 24-29, 2008
This panel ties in with the theme of the conference people transforming information and information transforming people by addressing the relation between the technology and the social, the informative artifact and the human, the interconnected nature of which becomes particularly visible when we live in a society imbued with digital environments. Much of todays information practices, including information seeking, take place in and through artifacts and systems. With a point of departure in sociomaterial and sociotechnical perspectives found in library and information science, science and technology studies, and social informatics, the panel will consider documentary practices and artefactual forms that shape and are shaped by our information practices. The panelists will discuss examples from their studies made in the area of scholarly communication, particularly focusing on the information seeking practices of academics, the use of blogs for research communication, and the design of electronic scholarly journals. The final presentation will provide a theoretical frame for the panel, considering the methodological split between user and information system as contributing to a lack of awareness of the ways information artifacts shape agency in different communities. The concept of practice allows us to also include an awareness of the materiality of information artifacts in information seeking and use research. The panel will invite the audience to discuss whether new understandings about the transformative people/information relationship allow us to break away from traditional dichotomies like human-centered and system-centered. Questions for discussion include: a) Can we conceive of alternative views that are neither what one might call traditionally document-centered or user-centered? b) Is there a hybrid perspective that draws on learnings from both communities? c) What elements of human practice and human-material interactions give us a way of examining informing practices in digital spaces, where fluid forms are the norm rather than the exception?
Conference Manager (V2.54.6)


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We've got an MS SQL 2000 database server running internal applications (< 50 concurrent users, tables up to a few 100K rows, some web, some .NET clients). We have no intention of shelling out $$ to upgrade the server, and are trying to decide whether to leave it on SQL 2000 or migrate to MySQL 5.1. I've used MySQL for smaller installations, and have always liked it. The pros of migration from my standpoint are that I like writing queries in MySQL more than MS SQL, and we can afford to run the most up-to-date version of MySQL. The pros of remaining on MS are better integration with our active directory environment and better .NET interoperability. I'd be interested in hearing others' advice on this, and further pros (and cons) about going either way.
No flames please, I like both MS SQL and MySQL and believe they both have their place.


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Bus rapid transit, biomass and the public's access to records were a few of the issues debated at the Alachua County Democratic Black Caucus Monday evening.
Bus rapid transit, biomass and the public's access to records were a few of the issues debated at the Alachua County Democratic Black Caucus Monday evening.
Five of the six candidates participated, with incumbent Mayor Craig Lowe absent.
Former two-term City Commissioner Scherwin Henry criticized the current commission's pursuit of a bus rapid transit system and the fact that the majority would not support a transit tax in November that did not put funding toward it.
Henry argued that that stance was tone deaf to a public that he felt wanted roads fixed and improvement of the service on the current Gainesville Regional Transit System bus routes that residents rely on to get to work or the store.
Former City Commissioner Ed Braddy said the current city bus service was not adequate except for university and college students. He labeled bus rapid transit an expensive "boondoggle" that Gainesville did not have the population density or development to support.
As an alternative, he said the city should spend its money filling up an articulated rapid transit bus with contaminated soil from the Koppers superfund site and driving it out of town.
Instead of rapid transit, Braddy proposed that the city put three-fourths of new RTS monies toward reducing headways on east Gainesville routes.
Mark Venzke, who ran for the commission last year, supported moving ahead cautiously with bus rapid transit. Venzke proposed express bus routes on a trial basis on a high demand route. He said enhanced transit service would bring benefits through reduced congestion and carbon emissions.
The candidates criticized Lowe for putting in place a requirement that members of the public sign up in advance to talk during the 6 p.m. time for public comment at commission meetings.
Former Gainesville-Alachua County Airport Authority Board Chair Pete Johnson said the situation at City Hall "has gotten so political that even when mistakes are made, people won't admit them and they won't address them."
Johnson said he also would push to undo the city policy that makes each individual employee the custodian of their own records, responsible for fulfilling records requests. He wanted that back under the Clerk of the Commission, saying that would make records more accessible "bring sunshine back into city government."
Donald Shepherd Sr. said he lives on an unemployment check and the city should stop spending money on items such as speed tables or roundabouts or median beautification projects to save taxpayer money. He spoke of 114 ideas he'd implement if elected and said he would be "operating for the people's views."
Each candidate said the city should take a more hardline stance and try to terminate the 30-year contract to buy power from the biomass plant. The city is now pursuing arbitration saying the late 2011 sale of a 40 percent stake in the plant should have triggered the city's right to make a first offer. As it stands, the city's arbitration claim has brought a counterclaim seeking monetary damages from the biomass firm, the Gainesville Renewable Energy Center.
Henry noted that he voted to approve the biomass contract while in office in 2009.
Henry said Monday that "hindsight is 20/20" and he would not vote for the plant now and would have been more adamant in trying to keep a back-out clause in the contract.
This week, Lowe cited a family emergency for his absence, said moderator Charles Goston. Goston, who routinely included criticism of the current City Commission majority in his questions, said the organizers had tried to reach Lowe for weeks about the event and it was an "affront to the organization" that he did not attend.
District 4
One candidate running for the District 4 seat on the City Commission, Mac McEachern, attended the forum.
McEachern criticized the commission for the biomass contract, the fact that Lowe's former campaign manager was hired as a mayoral aide without a competitive hiring process and the using the fuel adjustment charge on current electric utility customers to build up a fund to limit future rate increases from the biomass plant.
Incumbent Commissioner Randy Wells missed the time allotted for District 4 candidates because of the city's Community Development Committee meeting and sat in the audience as mayoral candidates spoke. A third candidate, University of Florida student Alfredo Espinosa, did not attend.


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House votes to curtail flood insurance rate hikes
The House of Representatives, in a bipartisan vote of 306-91 Tuesday night, agreed to limit premium rate increases under the National Flood Insurance Program.
The bill must still pass the Senate or be reconciled with a version of flood insurance legislation that the chamber approved in January.
If the House version becomes law, with President Barack Obama's signature, the measure would eliminate some of the changes made in a 2012 law that required the Federal Emergency Management Agency to raise rates to reflect flood risk. The law was intended to reduce losses to the insurance program, which is $24 billion in debt.
Conservative, libertarian, environmental and taxpayer watchdog groups opposed the bill, arguing that rates should be based on risk. Some said subsidies should be targeted only to people who couldn't afford higher rates.
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said during the debate that he would oppose the bill because the flood insurance program was "one reason America is going broke."
"It forces 96 percent of Americans to subsidize the remaining 4 percent, regardless of income or need," Hensarling said.
But Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., said the 2012 law had unintended consequences that needed to be fixed. Some people were finding that the higher premiums would "strip the dream of home ownership from right under them," he said.
"This bill is both compassionate and fiscally responsible," said Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss.
The conservative Club For Growth warned that it opposed the measure and would use the vote in its scorecard of House members in this year's midterm elections. The limited-government group's political action committee supports conservative candidates.
A key part of the House bill would ensure that taxpayer subsidies for older homes continued when they were sold. It would strike the part of the law that ended subsidies when the homes were sold. That section of the law has raised many objections among homeowners along the Carolina coast, in Florida and elsewhere who were unable to sell homes because buyers bolted over the high rates.
The bill also would restore a grandfathering provision, allowing people who built to code in the past to avoid sharp rate increases when their property is remapped into a higher-risk flood zone. It also would provide funds to people who have already paid significant rate increases under the 2012 law.
The earlier Senate bill bill would delay the premium increases for four years. The Congressional Budget Office projected that the Senate bill would cost taxpayers about $2.1 billion over 10 years. House Republicans said that the CBO had advised them that their legislation would not worsen the program's deficit because the measure would put a surcharge on all flood insurance policies. Significant differences between the bills would have to be resolved.
Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan budget watchdog group, said in a call with reporters that the CBO didn't take into account that in the future, as rates are held down and risk increases because of sea level rise and other factors, "the pressure on this program is going to be even greater and it's going to have greater losses."
Ellis and representatives of other groups have suggested that Congress could make adjustments to help people who couldn't afford flood insurance.
Andrew Moylan, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute, a libertarian group, said his group's goal was to move from a government-run flood insurance program to the private market. But until that happens, there should be a means test so that people who can't afford the insurance get help and the wealthy pay their own way, he said.


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Employee Recognition
AUI and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory support the recognition of employee excellence and loyalty through a variety of awards programs. These programs include Employee Service Awards, STAR awards and the Distinguished Performance Award (DPA). Additional information about each award is shown below.
CV Service Award recipients from L to R: Brian Kent, 10 yrs; Mark Nichols, 10 yrs; Erik Gaines, 10 yrs;Bob Treacy,20 yrs; Michael Shannon, 10 yrs; Patricia Klima, 10 yrs
Charlottesville Distinguished Performance Recipients: Brian Kent and Laurence Platt
Service Awards
STAR Awards
Distinguished Performance Awards
Program Objective and Administration - In recognition of their service to the Observatory and the Associated Universities, Inc., eligible employees are presented a specially designed award and certificate of appreciation upon the completion of 10, 20, 30, and 40 years of employment. The awards are presented annually, usually at a ceremony held during the first half of the following year.
Eligibility - For the purpose of establishing eligibility for a service award, "years of employment" shall include the following:
Tax Withholding - Service Awards are taxable as earned income and subject to Federal, State, local, and Social Security taxes. Awards do not increase an employee's base pay rate; therefore, an award will not be included in the calculation of benefits. The Fair Labor Standards Act considers awards as a discretionary bonus. An award to nonexempt employees will NOT be included in the regular pay for calculation of overtime.
Program Objective and Administration - The Star Award Program enables supervisors to recognize exceptional contributions and noteworthy achievements of their employees or groups of employees in a timely manner. The objectives of this program are:
The Human Resources Office, on behalf of the Director, administers the Star Award Program.
Eligibility - Eligibility for the award includes all current employees EXCEPT:
Award Amount - Award amounts are determined by the Assistant or Associate Director and may be granted in $50 increments. The individual gross award amount may range from $100 to $1500 before mandatory taxes.
Award Conferral - Awards are presented after the required approvals are obtained. Awards may be granted at any time during a fiscal year as long as funds are available. Names of recipients may be published internally, with division approval.
Nomination Procedure - A Star Award form is used to obtain the necessary approvals on individual nominations. The form is available on the Human Resources web site. A description of the extraordinary performance is required on the form to document that the award is consistent with program objectives. For recognition of team achievement, there should be a description of the extraordinary performance and a statement to characterize the contribution of each member and reason it is deemed outstanding. After the Associate or Assistant Director's approval is obtained, the form is forwarded to the Human Resources Office for final approval and processing. The Payroll Office will issue checks upon receipt of the approved form. The Human Resources Office will forward the check and Star Award certificate to the employee's Organization Head for presentation to the employee.
Criteria for Selection - Supervisors may nominate an employee or a team of employees who have demonstrated a short-term performance of an extraordinary nature. The performance may be related to a particular assignment given by a supervisor or be an accomplishment initiated by the individual or the group. In either case, the activity must have been of significant benefit to the Site, Division, Group, or Observatory.
In general, the award is intended to recognize short-term performance of a period from several weeks to several months. It should not replace recognition by promotion for significant permanent changes in responsibility or salary increase for sustained performance levels.
To assist in ensuring consistency throughout the Observatory in granting awards, two criteria are used to choose individual accomplishments appropriate for an award. The criteria definitions are:
Tax Withholding - Star Awards are taxable as earned income and subject to Federal, State, local, and Social Security taxes. Awards do not increase an employee's base pay rate; therefore, an award will not be included in the calculation of benefits. The Fair Labor Standards Act considers awards as a discretionary bonus. An award to nonexempt employees will NOT be included in the regular pay for calculation of overtime.
Program Objectives and Administration - The Distinguished Performance Awards recognize the Observatory employees who have distinguished themselves by their outstanding contributions and performance in support of the Observatory's mission. Outstanding sustained performance in the fields of science, technology, management, and administration can be recognized under this program. The objective of this program is to recognize outstanding contributions and foster an atmosphere of excellence. The Human Resources Office administers this program on behalf of the Director.
Eligibility - All employees are eligible except for the Assistant or Associate Director, the Deputy Director, and the Director.
Award Amount/Number - The Distinguished Performance Award gross amount is $2500. Throughout the Observatory, a maximum of six awards will be granted each year.
Award Conferral - Awards will consist of a check and an engraved memento indicating the award name, the employee's name, the purpose of the award, and the year of the award. Award checks and mementos are to be presented at an annual ceremony and reception.
Selection Committee - The Selection Committee consists of an Associate or Assistant Director, the Deputy Director, the Observatory Chief Scientist, and the Head of Human Resources. The committee will screen the nominations and recommend a maximum of six award recipients to the Observatory Director who will have final approval on selections.
Nominations Procedure - Nominations are to be forwarded by the Associate or Assistant Director to the Human Resources Office after a solicitation period in the fall of each year. Because this award is Observatory wide, the Associate or Assistant Director may nominate employees from other observatory organizations after informing the affected Assistant or Associate Director. Nominations will be made privately and nominees will not be informed that they have been submitted for consideration.
Required Documentation - Nominating Associate or Assistant Directors will prepare documentation in support of the nominee that clearly describes the distinguished performance and specifically addresses how this performance meets the awards criteria. Endorsement letters from other supervisors, co-workers, or collaborators may be submitted.
Evaluation Criteria - The overall criterion for the award is an employee's exceptional contribution to the Observatory. The committee will evaluate each nominee specifically with respect to these five criteria:
The review committee will consider the nominee's job level and job function when evaluating the exceptional nature, difficulty, and benefit of the contribution(s) to the Observatory.
Tax Withholding - The $2500 award is fully taxable as earned income. Appropriate taxes will be withheld by the Payroll Office. Awards do not increase an employee's base pay rate; therefore, an award will not be included in the calculation of benefits. The Fair Labor Standards Act considers a discretionary bonus. An award to nonexempt employees will not be included in regular pay for calculation of overtime.
Previous Distinguished Performance Awardees


text: This illustration shows a device made by MammoSite used to deliver targeted doses of radiation as part of brachytherapy. Courtesy Radiological Society of North America hide caption toggle caption Courtesy Radiological Society of North America Shots - Health News Wider Use Of Breast Cancer Radiation Technique Raises Concern April 9, 2012 The use of brachytherapy is gaining popularity, but some medical experts worry that not enough research has been done to make sure it works as well as the traditional approach to radiation. Wider Use Of Breast Cancer Radiation Technique Raises Concern Listen · 6:47 6:47 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/150088892/150268396" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript


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Chip Esten is an angry husband and a rock singer, Song Titles is set in a police station and all sing a Drunk Mother Hoedown.
In Weird Newscasters, Kathy Greenwood's a whiny girl, Wayne's a weight lifter and Ryan's a prince. All get down for Hoedown.
Jeff Davis and the cast discuss chickens, Colin plays a temperamental actor, and there's more fun and games with the gang.
Hollywood Director has Kathy Greenwood as a Mexican girl & Wayne as Zorro. Living Scenery's got Kathy & Wayne as beach props.
Kathy Greenwood and Wayne are silly props for a scene performed by Colin and Ryan. Drew joins the gang for a game of Props.
Brad Sherwood and Wayne present the Frat Boy Awards, Colin is a performing seal, and Ryan is an accident-prone hunter.
Games include Party Quirks, Film Dub and Questions in which the cops investigate a nude beach robbery with Kathy Greenwood.
Meet the Family with oddball characters, Song Styles of West Side Story, Drew and Kathy Greenwood playing Foreign Film Dub.
It's the 100th episode of Whose Line! Greg Proops guest stars with a racy version of Scenes from a Hat. Drew does a Hoedown.
In Motown Group, Chip Esten sings about hockey. In Song Titles, the cast speaks only in song titles. A Body Odor Hoedown.
Captain Colin suspects espionage in Two-Line Vocabulary, Brad Sherwood is an outlaw in Quick Change, an Irish Drinking Song.
Kathy Greenwood guests for Weird Newscasters, News Flash, and Colin and Ryan do a Show Stopping Number set in a post office.
A Living Scenery scene about morning routines and a lesson about not leaving your things unattended around Wayne.
Ill-tempered soda shop owner Ryan shows Drew how to make a sundae using Colin's hands in Helping Hands. With Brad Sherwood.
Greg Proops is Superhero Quick Rick, and the cast with Multiple Personalities is Richard Simmons, John Wayne and Scooby Doo.
Colin tries to help Jeff Davis & Ryan pitch a tent, Wayne & Jeff sing Songs of the Motorcycle, and Drew joins World's Worst.
In Press Conference Colin must guess his own profession; Greg Proops, Ryan & Colin portray John Wayne, Liberace and Rain Man.
Hilarious highlights are If You Know What I Mean, Show Stopping Number and Dubbing with Audience Member with Brad Sherwood.
Funnyman Wayne effortlessly impersonates Tina Turner and Ethel Merman with Kathy Greenwood guest starring.
A secret-car-washing Improbable Mission with Colin & Ryan and a wacky Weird Newscasters with singing gondolier Chip Esten.
The Hilarity starts with a News Flash about professional wrestling and ends with an Irish Drinking Song about Divorce
See Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, a teenage couple getting a traffic ticket and Kathy Greenwood as a frustrated customer.
Wayne's a blindfolded rapper and sings Songs of Retirement, Ryan's a horse whisperer and Greg Proops improvises for Film Dub.
Watch Ryan as Dr. Frankenstein and Colin as his loyal assistant Igor in Whose Line. Greg Proops plays a German insult comic.
Brad Sherwood says the same two lines in order to volunteer for a dangerous mission and meatballs explode in an action film.
In If You Know What I Mean Colin, Ryan & Brad Sherwood use only euphemisms in a hotel, and Drew's joins the Director Hoedown.
Brad Sherwood guests with Ryan & Wayne as bickering French chefs who start a fire. Then Wayne's a drag queen sportscaster.
Watch Greg Proops in Superheroes with Delayed Reaction Man, Hysterical Girl, Happy Flasher and Run Over by a Car Man.
Silly games include a chick fight, the Alabama Motorcycle Mama with a Llama and waiters at a horror movie-themed restaurant.
Highlights: an Irish Drinking Song about giving birth and Drew having lunch at a baseball-themed restaurant. With Chip Esten.
Party Quirks has Greg Proops hosting a heroic fireman trying to rescue everyone and a series of delivery guys in porn films.


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nnBackup 3.01 rc8 (build 136) is available for download.
Here is a brief description of the new features (since the last announcement):
RC8 (23.Dec.08)
* %HOME-DIR% is changed to %UserAppData%\nnBackup.
RC7 (29.Jul.08)
* bug of dump mode fixed.
RC6 (09.Jun.08)
+ new option -zleollf (LF instead CRLF in zip list file for -extzip).
(see history.txt for more detailed development history)


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Usually, the best place to find information about a particular law school is from that school itself.
Here are the law schools that Valpo students are most likely to attend along with links to their websites.
Valparaiso University School of Law
University of Notre Dame Law School
Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington
Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis
University of Chicago Law School
Northwestern University School of Law
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Depaul University College of Law
University of Illinois College of Law
Northern Illinois University College of Law
You also should consult the Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools. In this guide you will find detailed information about law schools' character, history, specialties, and tuition and fees. It also includes placement data that will help you estimate your chances of being admitted to a law school based on your GPA and LSAT score.


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When Vice President Joe Biden faces off against Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, viewers might expect to see something like a reprise of silver-haired Sen. Lloyd Bentsen meeting (and by most accounts, conquering) GOP veep candidate Sen. Dan Quayle, 25 years his junior, in their 1988 debate.
Or they might expect another older vs. younger confrontation like the 2004 debate when a somber, intimidating Vice President Dick Cheney bested Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. John Edwards, 12 years his junior.
Like those past encounters, there will be a stark age contrast between the two candidates in Thursday's debate.
Nati Harnik / AP
Vice President Joe Biden speaks in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012.
Biden, who will celebrate his 70th birthday next month, had his first big debate back in 1972 – he was then 29 years old – against Republican Sen. J. Caleb Boggs, who had been a fixture in Delaware politics for a quarter of a century. Ryan was two years old in 1972 when Biden defeated Boggs and launched his national political career.
Slideshow: Biden on the campaign trail
But despite the nearly 28-year gap between Biden and Ryan, the two are similar in important ways. Both are politicians who earned their electoral success at an early age and then settled themselves into long careers on Capitol Hill. Biden was elected to the Senate at age 29 and Ryan was elected to the House at 28.
Recommended: Obama says he was 'too polite' toward Romney in first debate
NBC's Chuck Todd explains that many viewers experience the presidential debates as a visual indicator of leadership ability rather than a way to dissect the candidates' policies, something that both Joe Biden and Paul Ryan will need to keep in mind during their preparations.
While Ryan has the reputation of being the consummate PowerPoint-loving policy nerd, Biden also enjoys regaling voters and reporters with details of the 1994 crime bill and his idea of federal money to help local government hire police or detailing the diplomatic parleys he's engaged in with foreign leaders.
When he ran for the Democratic nomination in 2008, Biden told voters at Iowa campaign stops about his work to speed development of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, the Marine vehicle able to withstand improvised explosive devices.
While often regarded as more of a voluble campaigner and backslapper than a scholar, when given a brief and a mission, Biden works to master it, as he did as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee when he helped defeat Ronald Reagan's 1987 Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork.
Staff / Reuters
Vice President Joe Biden speaking in Charlotte, North Carolina September 6, 2012, and Republican vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan, speaking in Tampa, Florida, August 29, 2012, are shown in this combination photo.
"Biden's performance was remarkable not only as a combination of thoughtful questioning and self-restraint," said Boston Globe reporter Ethan Bronner in his book about the Bork battle. Biden's performance was also remarkable because his 1988 presidential bid was collapsing at the very moment the Bork hearings were taking place. (Biden was driven from the race because he'd lifted phrases from a speech by British politician Neil Kinnock.)
Biden's command of the Bork battle illustrates a recurring phenomenon in his career: his penchant for gaffes and odd quips often makes people underestimate him.
Despite some similarities between Biden and Ryan, in one basic sense they're opposites: Biden has spent his career working to expand the scope and reach of federal government – as he did with the 1994 crime bill. But Ryan has dedicated most of his congressional career to attempts to put limits to federal power and spending especially on the entitlement programs that Democrats such as Biden created and expanded.
First Thoughts: The pressure is on
Biden's forte is putting a human face on those very same entitlement programs. Campaigning in Iowa in September, Biden said, referring to the Medicare redesign proposed by Ryan and Romney, "They're going to give your mom a voucher, a coupon, that's worth a certain amount of money … and they're going to say, 'Ma, go out into the insurance market and get the best deal you can get.'" The Romney-Ryan Medicare overhaul would apply only to people born in 1958 and later.
Biden seems more of a natural than Ryan at delivering clever attack lines, as in 2007 when he called former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani "probably the most unqualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency."
Slideshow: On the campaign trail with Ryan
But going back nearly 30 years, Biden's friends have long known that his impulsive speaking sometimes put him in jeopardy. In 1986, when Biden was edging toward running for the Democratic presidential nomination, William Cohen, a Biden pal and then a Republican senator from Maine, told The National Journal, "Still inside of him is that boyish quality of wanting to say exactly what he wants to say. There's a lot of devil in Joe."
That remains true today – see for example the famous "this is a big f---ing deal" comment he made to President Barack Obama at the signing of the Affordable Care Act.
Since 2009 Biden has had to be the loyal lieutenant who must subordinate his ego and restrain his penchant for shoot-from-the-hip remarks.
''In the good old days when I was a senator, I was my own man,'' Mr. Biden said in 2011. ''But now whatever I say is attributed to the administration. I finally learned that.''
Obama aides were reported to be unhappy last May when Biden get ahead of the president on same-sex marriage, telling NBC's David Gregory, "I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying one other, are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties." The president gave his personal support to same-sex marriages just days after Biden's comments.
On Meet the Press today, the vice president discussed the administration's position in the same-sex marriage debate.
In 2009, Obama assigned Biden the task of overseeing spending in the $830 billion stimulus and called on him to be his envoy and fact-finder on Afghanistan.
"The first thing the president asked me to do after we got elected, before we got sworn in, he said, Joe, I want you to go to Afghanistan, give me an independent assessment of what you think we should do, come back and report," Biden told CNN's Larry King in 2010, adding "I used to be Chairman of (the Senate) Foreign Relations (Committee)."
Biden emphasized that "I've known President Karzai for a long, long time."
Since January 2009, Biden has held meetings with over 120 foreign leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and Chinese President Hu Jintao. In addition, he has had over 100 phone calls with more than 50 foreign leaders.
And at home, Biden has served as Obama's envoy to labor unions -- one of the Democrat's crucial constituencies.
Campaigning in Ohio last year, Biden told a labor audience that in the face of legislation proposed by GOP governors to curb public employees right to collective bargaining, "You are the only folks keeping the barbarians from the gates," Biden said.
Biden has emphasized that one of his important roles since becoming vice president has been to serve as the final sounding board and counselor when Obama makes the fateful military and foreign policy decisions.
Vice President Joe Biden talks about bin Laden's death and details his own national security policies.
"I get to be the last guy to be with the president," Biden told NBC's David Gregory last May. Even though Biden opposed the raid to get Osama bin Laden, he said he told Obama, "Follow your instincts, Mr. President. Your instincts have been close to unerring."


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Ahh, M&Ms. Am I right? Except the green ones really have no effect on me, so that's totally false advertising right there. Well, unless bloating counts. (No? Then, no.)
So anyway, what could be better than M&Ms on cake? And it's so easy! Just sprinkle a few tastefully here and there, and...
Yeah, well. I'd still eat it.
Or, if you're really ambitious, you could just cover the whole cake with 'em:
Red: "Really? I thought we were zombie dinosaurs."
Blue: "Ug. Judging by this thing on my head I'd say we're pigeon targets."
The trick is to half cross your eyes, tilt your head at a precise 42 degree angle to the right, and then have a friend hit you soundly across the face with a stapler.
Or just keep staring. You'll feel the same either way in about five minutes.
Kerum S., Janet, Marcus J., John D., & Jessica S., not that stapler. That's my stapler. Don't touch my stapler.


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Obama hails Panetta at send-off
President Barack Obama said farewell to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Friday even though senators have not yet scheduled a vote on his potential replacement.
Nonetheless, Obama said he would stick by his nominee, Chuck Hagel, and he commended Panetta's lifetime of service as an example that Washington should follow as it approaches March's dual crisis of sequestration and the expiration of the continuing resolution that funds the government, which could hurt the Defense Department.
Story Continued Below
"Let me say this: There is no reason — no reason — for that to happen," Obama said. "Putting our fiscal house in order calls for a balanced approach, not massive, indiscriminate cuts that could have an impact on our military preparedness. Now's the time to act — for Democrats and Republicans to come together, in the same spirit Leon Panetta brought to service: solving problems, not scoring points."
Obama began with a story about Panetta's parents and their immigrant journey from Italy to America.
"Today we pay tribute to their son, Leon Panetta, a man who hasn't simply lived up to the American Dream, but who's helped us protect it."
Obama also praised Panetta for his service as CIA director, heading the mission that killed Osama bin Laden.
"Just think of our progress on his watch," he said, mentioning the fight against Al Qaeda, building a strong military and improving veterans' care.
Obama, along with top military brass, lawmakers and foreign military officers, gathered at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Va., to bid an official farewell to Panetta, who's preparing to retire as soon as Congress approves his replacement.
Obama said he asked Panetta many times to become Defense secretary — and he kept saying no. But Obama persisted. Panetta said he will stay on the job until he's replaced, but that doesn't mean he isn't ready to retire after four decades of public service.
He said he would always remember his time in office fondly, especially his leadership of the armed forces and the role he played in the bin Laden raid.
"It's been, for me, a hell of a ride," Panetta said. "I will never forget the pride and exhilaration when I walked out of the White House after the president announced the success of the bin Laden operation and I could hear the chants of those people who were gathered around the White House and in Lafayette Park yelling, 'U.S.A! U.S.A!'"
Panetta said he'd also carry the knowledge about the cost that many troops had paid.
"I'll always remember the moments of grief, when this nation has rendered final honors to our fallen heroes, and when we've had to comfort their families," he said. "Writing notes of condolences to those families who have lost loved ones has been, for me, one of my toughest jobs."
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey and the entire Joint Chiefs were in the front row. Also spotted in the audience were Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, and National Security Adviser Tom Donilon.


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Abnormal psychology in clinical psychology studies the nature of psychopathology and mental disorders, their classification,diagnosis, development, cause, treatment and prevention.
It is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior, emotion and thought, which causes significant distress to the subject or to others and which may, or may not, be understood as diagnosable as a mental disorder. The field includes the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders.
There is a long history of attempts to understand and control behavior deemed to be aberrant or deviant (statistically, morally or in some other sense), and there is often cultural variation in the approach taken. The field of abnormal psychology identifies multiple causes for different conditions, employing diverse theories from the general field of psychology and elsewhere, and much still hinges on what exactly is meant by "abnormal". There has traditionally been a divide between psychological and biological explanations, reflecting a philosophical dualism in regard to the mind body problem, as well as different approaches to the classification of mental disorders.
Clinical psychology is the applied field of psychology that seeks to assess, understand and treat psychological conditions in clinical practice. The theoretical field known as "abnormal psychology" may form a backdrop to such work, but clinical psychologists are nowadays unlikely to use the term "abnormal" in reference to their practice. Psychopathology is a similar term to abnormal psychology but has more of an implication of an underlying pathology (disease process), and as such is a term more commonly used in the medical specialty known as psychiatry.
People have tried to explain and control abnormal behavior for thousands of years. Historically, there have been three main approaches to abnormal behavior: the supernatural, biological, and psychological traditions.[1] (See Biopsychiatry controversy.)
In the supernatural tradition, abnormal behaviors are attributed to agents outside human bodies. According to this model, abnormal behaviors are caused by demons, spirits, or the influences of moon, planets, and stars. During the Stone Age, trephining was performed on those who had mental illness to literally cut the evil spirits out of the victim's head. Conversely, Ancient Chinese, Ancient Egyptians, and Hebrews, believed that these were evil demons or spirits and advocated exorcism. By the time of the Greeks and Romans, mental illnesses were thought to be caused by an imbalance of the four humors, leading to draining of fluids from the brain. During the Dark Ages, many Europeans believed that the power of witches, demons, and spirits caused abnormal behaviors. People with psychological disorders were thought to be possessed by evil spirits that had to be exorcised through religious rituals. If exorcism failed, some authorities advocated steps such as confinement, beating, and other types of torture to make the body uninhabitable by witches, demons, and spirits. The belief that witches, demons, and spirits are responsible for the abnormal behavior continued into the 15th century.[2] Swiss alchemist, astrologer, and physician Paracelsus (1493–1541), on the other hand, rejected the idea that abnormal behaviors were caused by witches, demons, and spirits and suggested that people's mind and behaviors were influenced by the movements of the moon and stars.[3]
This tradition is still alive today. Some people, especially in the developing countries and some followers of religious sects in the developed countries, continue to believe that supernatural powers influence human behaviors. In Western academia, the supernatural tradition has been largely replaced by the biological and psychological traditions.[4]
In the biological tradition, psychological disorders are attributed to biological causes and in the psychological tradition, disorders are attributed to faulty psychological development and to social context.[4]
The Greek physician Hippocrates, who is considered to be the father of Western medicine, played a major role in the biological tradition. Hippocrates and his associates wrote the Hippocratic Corpus between 450 and 350 BC, in which they suggested that abnormal behaviors can be treated like any other disease. Hippocrates viewed the brain as the seat of consciousness, emotion, intelligence, and wisdom and believed that disorders involving these functions would logically be located in the brain.[3]
These ideas of Hippocrates and his associates were later adopted by Galen, the Roman physician. Galen extended these ideas and developed a powerful and influential school of thought within the biological tradition that extended well into the 18th century.
Explaining abnormal behaviorEdit
Cultural and historical variationsEdit
Throughout time, societies have proposed several explanations of abnormal behavior within human beings. Beginning in some hunter-gatherer societies, animists have believed that people demonstrating abnormal behavior are possessed by malevolent spirits. This idea has been associated with trepanation, the practice of cutting a hole into the individual's skull in order to release the malevolent spirits.[5]
A more formalized response to spiritual beliefs about abnormality is the practice of exorcism. Performed by religious authorities, exorcism is thought of as another way to release evil spirits who cause pathological behavior within the person. In some instances, individuals exhibiting unusual thoughts or behaviors have been exiled from society or worse. Perceived witchcraft, for example, has been punished by death. Two Catholic Inquisitors wrote the Malleus Maleficarum (Latin for "The Hammer Against Witches"), that was used by many Inquisitors and witch-hunters. It contained an early taxonomy of perceived deviant behavior and proposed guidelines for prosecuting deviant individuals.
The act of placing mentally ill individuals in a separate facility known as an asylum dates to 1547, when King Henry VIII of England established the St. Mary of Bethelem asylum. Asylums remained popular throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance era.
Multiple causalityEdit
The number of different theoretical perspectives in the field of psychological abnormality has made it difficult to properly explain psychopathology. The attempt to explain all mental disorders with the same theory leads to reductionism (explaining a disorder or other complex phenomena using only a single idea or perspective).[6] Most mental disorders are composed of several factors, which is why one must take into account several theoretical perspectives when attempting to diagnose or explain a particular behavioral abnormality or mental disorder. Explaining mental disorders with a combination of theoretical perspectives is known as multiple causality.
The diathesis–stress model[7] emphasizes the importance of applying multiple causality to psychopathology by stressing that disorders are caused by both precipitating causes and predisposing causes. A precipitating cause is an immediate trigger that instigates a person's action or behavior. A predisposing cause is an underlying factor that interacts with the immediate factors to result in a disorder. Both causes play a key role in the development of a psychological disorder.[6]
Mind and bodyEdit
Abnormal psychology revolves around two major paradigms for explaining mental disorders, the psychological paradigm and the biological paradigm. The psychological paradigm focuses more on the humanistic, cognitive and behavioral causes and effects of psychopathology. The biological paradigm includes the theories that emphasize more on physical factors, such as genetics and neurochemistry.
Recent concepts of abnormalityEdit
- Statistical abnormality -when a certain behavior/characteristic is relevant to a low percentage of the population. However, this does not necessarily mean that such individuals are suffering from mental illness (for example, statistical abnormalities such as extreme wealth/attractiveness)
- Psychometric abnormality -when a certain behavior/characteristic differs from the population's normal dispersion e.g. having an IQ of 35 could be classified as abnormal, as the population average is 100. However, this does not specify a particular mental illness.
- Deviant behavior - this is not always a sign of mental illness, as mental illness can occur without deviant behavior, and such behavior may occur in the absence of mental illness.
- Combinations - including distress, dysfunction, distorted psychological processes, inappropriate responses in given situations and causing/risking harm to oneself.[8]
- Somatogenic - abnormality is seen as a result of biological disorders in the brain.[9] However, this approach has led to the development of radical biological treatments, e.g. lobotomy.
- Psychogenic - abnormality is caused by psychological problems. Psychoanalytic (Freud), cathartic, hypnotic and humanistic psychology (Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow)[10] treatments were all derived from this paradigm. This approach has, as well, led to some esoteric treatments: Franz Mesmer used to place his patients in a darkened room with music playing, then enter it wearing a flamboyant outfit and poke the "infected" body areas with a stick.
DSM-IV TREdit
The standard abnormal psychology and psychiatry reference book in North America is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The current version of the book is known as DSM IV-TR. It lists a set of disorders and provides detailed descriptions on what constitutes a disorder such as Major Depressive Disorder or anxiety disorder. It also gives general descriptions of how frequent the disorder occurs in the general population, whether it is more common in males or females and other such facts. The diagnostic process uses five dimensions called "axes" to ascertain symptoms and overall functioning of the individual. These axes are as follows
- 'Axis I - Symptom Disorders
- 'Axis II - Personality Disorders
- 'Axis III - General medical conditions
- 'Axis IV - Psychosocial/environmental problems
- 'Axis V - Global assessment of functioning (often referred to as GAF)
The major international nosologic system for the classification of mental disorders can be found in the most recent version of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10). The ICD-10 has been used by World Health Organization (WHO) Member States since 1994. Chapter five covers some 300 mental and behavioral disorders. The ICD-10's chapter five has been influenced by APA's DSM-IV and there is a great deal of concordance between the two. WHO maintains free access to the ICD-10 Online. Below are the main categories of disorders:
- F00–F09 Organic, including symptomatic, mental disorders
- F10–F19 Mental and behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use
- F20–F29 Schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders
- F30–F39 Mood [affective] disorders
- F40–F48 Neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders
- F50–F59 Behavioral syndromes associated with physiological disturbances and physical factors
- F60–F69 Disorders of adult personality and behavior
- F70–F79 Mental retardation
- F80–F89 Disorders of psychological development
- F90–F98 Behavioral and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and adolescence
- F99 Unspecified mental disorders
- Investigated through family studies, mainly of monozygotic (identical) and dizygotic (fraternal) twins, often in the context of adoption.
- These studies allow calculation of a heritability coefficient.
Biological causal factorsEdit
- Neurotransmitter [imbalances of neurotransmitters like (1) Norepinephrine (2) Dopamine (3) Serotonin and (4) GABA (Gamma aminobutryic acid)] and hormonal imbalances in the brain
- Genetic vulnerabilities
- Constitutional liabilities [physical handicaps and temperament]
- Brain dysfunction and neural plasticity
- Physical deprivation or disruption [deprivation of basic physiological needs]
Socio-cultural factorsEdit
- Effects of urban/rural dwelling, gender and minority status on state of mind
- British Psychiatric Morbidity Survey conducted by Jenkins (1998)[11]
Systemic factorsEdit
- Family systems
- Negatively Expressed Emotion playing a part in schizophrenic relapse and anorexia nervosa.
- Holistic causal model
- Illness dependent on stress "triggers".[12]
- Psychoanalysis (Freud)
- Behavioral therapy (Wolpe) based on behaviorism, and involving classical and operant conditioning.
- Humanistic therapy aiming to achieve self-actualization (Carl Rogers, 1961)
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy aims to influence thought and cognition (Beck, 1977).
See alsoEdit
- Abuse
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- DSM-IV Codes
- International Classification of Diseases
- Insanity defense
- Mental Health Act 1983
- Mental Health Act 2007
- Mental Health Alliance
- M'Naghten Rules
- Models of abnormality
- Outline of psychology
- Parapsychology
- Postmodern therapy
- Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder
- Zero stroke
- ↑ David H. Barlow and Vincent Mark Durand (2004). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach. p. 7
- ↑ David H. Barlow and Vincent Mark Durand (2004). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach. p. 8
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 David H. Barlow and Vincent Mark Durand (2004). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach. p. 11
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 David H. Barlow and Vincent Mark Durand (2004). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach. p. 26
- ↑ James Hansell and Lisa Damour. Abnormal Psychology. Ch 3. pp. 30–33.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 James Hansell and Lisa Damour. Abnormal Psychology. Ch 3. p. 37.
- ↑ Diathesis stress model for panic-related distress: a test in a Russian epidemiological sample
- ↑ Bennett 2003, pp. 3–5
- ↑ Kraeplin, 1883
- ↑ Bennett 2003, pp. 7–10
- ↑ British Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, Jenkins et al. (1998), The British Journal of Psychiatry 173: 4–7.
- ↑ Bennett 2003, pp. 17–26
References & BibliographyEdit
Key textsEdit
- Bennett, Paul (2003). Abnormal and Clinical Psychology.
- Hansell, James; Lisa Damour (2005). Abnormal Psychology, Von Hoffman Press.
- Barlow, David H.; Vincent Mark Durand (2004). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach, Thomson Wadsworth.
Additional materialEdit
External linksEdit
- Abnormal Psychology Students Practice Resources
- Science Direct
- Psychology Terms
- A Course in Abnormal Psychology
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).


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Can Your Diet Hurt Your Pregnancy?
Photo credit: Jamie Grill/Getty Images
Bad news for moms who snack on junk food before pregnancy — a study of pregnant moms found that those who had a poor diet before they even conceived had as much as a 50 percent increased risk of preterm birth than their peers who ate healthier.
Junk food is no good
You probably already know that junk food, including high-fat and sugary snacks, isn't the best choice for you anyway, and is even worse during pregnancy. Your baby-to-be needs Mom to make good nutritional choices. But did you know that a junk-food diet before pregnancy can actually increase your risk of preterm birth?
Researchers in Australia studied the dietary habits of around 300 pregnant moms to help better understand their diets before pregnancy and what impacts, if any, this could have on their pregnancies or their babies.
They found that those who had a healthy diet before conception were more likely to have a normal birth, whereas moms who had a high-fat and high-sugar diet prior to pregnancy had a 50 percent increased risk of preterm birth.
The takeaway message
The best advice to give a woman who hopes to become pregnant is to eat a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables and avoid high-fat and high-sugar junk foods. Of course, not everyone plans to become pregnant. Once a pregnancy is confirmed, of course, it's best to eat a healthy diet, but you can't go back in the past and load up on lean meats and veggies before that second line pops up on your pregnancy test. Looking forward is really is the best way to go, however.
Good nutrition plays a big part in pregnancy health, so cravings and aversions aside, encouraging a healthy diet no matter where a woman is on the childbearing spectrum is essential. You can't change the past, but you can better influence the future. And changing your eating habits now will help you model a good diet for your little one.
More pregnancy news
Pregnant drivers may be more accident prone
Can you alter Baby's genes with your pre-pregnancy diet?
New mom suffers from pregnancy-related cancer


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Government workers at the Presidio in Monterey were blocked from accessing parts of the Guardian newspaper's website this week according to reports.
The Guardian was one of the outlets to first publish information about accused leaker Edward Snowden, a former NSA worker who provided details about secret spying programs to the public.
Workers at the Presidio of Monterey -- including the United States Military's Defense Language Institute with thousands of active-duty military personnel as students -- were not able to access parts of the Guardian's online presence this week, the Monterey Herald reported.
The source of the block is still being located. The Army's Network Enterprise Technology Command is in control of network access, the newspaper reported, and was not yet sure Wednesday where the block in the network originated.
It could be a block initiated locally at the Presidio, according to reports.
Access to the Washington Post, which also broke news of Snowden's leak was not blocked, the newspaper reported.


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Equity markets were in for some choppy trading sessions last week as investors digested the latest developments in Europe and a mixed bag of economic reports. But after Cyprus reached a last minute deal and reopened banks at the end of last week, investors finally regained their confidence, pushing equity markets to record levels once again. To finish off the quarter, the Dow Jones Industrial Average logged in its best quarter in 15 years, and the S&P 500 broke a six-year old high to mark a new all-time record. This week, investors will once again see a slew of economic reports. Below, we outline three ETFs that should see a fair amount of activity during the week ahead [see also 7 Simple & Cheap ETF Model Portfolio]:
1. MSCI Japan Index Fund (EWJ, B+)
Why EWJ Will Be In Focus: This fund is designed to measure the performance of the Japanese equity market, and it is home to over $6.4 billion in total assets. It will be important to keep a close eye on EWJ Monday and Thursday as the Tankan Large Manufacturers Outlook and the Bank of Japan's Decision rate are announced. Both manufacturing and non-manufacturing outlooks are expected to come in slightly higher for the first quarter, while the bank rate is expected to remain unchanged [see also 17 ETFs For Day Traders].
2. Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI, A+)
Why XLI Will Be In Focus: This fund is one of the most popular on the market, with over $4.6 billion in assets and an average daily volume just over 9 million. XLI seeks to replicate the performance of the U.S. industrial sector and will be in focus this week as ISM manufacturing data for the month of March hits the street on Monday. Analysts are expecting ISM data to remain unchanged from the previous reading of 54.2.
3. MSCI United Kingdom Index Fund (EWU, A)
Why EWU Will Be In Focus: This ETF tracks an index that is comprised of roughly 100 securities, and it is designed to measure the overall performance of the British equity market. Investors should keep a close eye on EWU on Thursday as the Bank of England announces its rate decision and its asset purchase target. Both the rate and target are expected to remain unchanged [see also How To Pick The Right ETF Every Time].
[For more ETF analysis, make sure to sign up for our free ETF newsletter or try a free seven-day trial to ETFdb Pro.]
Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.
Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.
Read more posts on ETF Database »


text: SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures settled modestly higher Wednesday, rebounding a bit from the hefty losses a day earlier after a surprise decline in last week's crude inventories. Prices had temporarily taken a turn lower when news of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas emerged, easing worries about oil supplies from the region. The cease-fire was in effect as of Wednesday evening in the Middle East. January crude oil CLF23, -51.43% rose 63 cents, or 0.7%, to $87.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Floor trading on Nymex will remain closed Thursday for Thanksgiving and hold an abbreviated session Friday.


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Mil2FedJobs portal provides transitioning veterans with more direct access to Federal positions
LARGO, Md. (April 26, 2011) – Today, Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown joined Maryland Labor Secretary Alexander M. Sanchez, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Ed Chow and transitioning veterans at Prince George's Community College to officially launch the Mil2FedJobs Web portal. The portal, located on the Maryland Workforce Exchange (MWEjobs.maryland.gov), is the first of its kind in any state to directly match transitioning servicemembers with careers in the Federal Government.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than one in five young veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were unemployed in 2010. The unemployment rate for veterans under the age of 25 was 20.9 percent last year, compared to a rate of 17.3 percent for non-veterans of the same age group.
"It is our duty to serve those who have so bravely served their country, and the innovative Mil2FedJobs site is one more way to ensure that Maryland's veterans have the support they deserve,"said Lt. Governor Brown. "Our one-of-a-kind website will help servicemen and women find federal job opportunities that best match their skills. With the positions coming to our state through the Base Realignment and Closure process, we have a unique opportunity in Maryland to connect veterans with thousands of high quality jobs. It is unacceptable that so many brave Americans are unable to find work, so I am proud that Maryland continues to lead the way in efforts to reduce unemployment among young veterans."
While veterans have an array of skills and vast training, many struggle to understand how their military experience can translate into the professional civilian environment. The Mil2FedJobs portal uses veterans' military occupational codes (MOC) to query federal openings that match their qualifications on the USAJOBS Web tool. In part because of the large number of vacancies posted on USAJOBS, navigating the site without a tool like Mil2FedJobs can often be an overwhelming task for a first-time federal applicant. In addition, Mil2FedJobs allows civilian hiring managers to identify specific military occupations that share attributes with specific jobs in their agencies.
"We've asked a great deal of our veterans, and we have a responsibility to help them transition back into our communities. The Maryland Workforce Exchange and the Mil2FedJobs portal we're launching today provide our servicemembers with new resources that will allow them to compete for federal jobs," said Maryland Labor Secretary Alexander M. Sanchez. "I am proud that the O'Malley-Brown Administration, under Lt. Governor Brown's leadership, has established Maryland as a national leader in the effort to help our veterans enter the civilian workforce."
"I would like to thank the Lt. Governor and Secretary Sanchez for their leadership in establishing this Web portal for our veterans to find jobs in the federal Government," said Maryland Veterans Secretary Ed Chow.
The Maryland Department of Labor and the portal's development team collected and coded occupational definitions from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to provide key terms for occupational matches. The development team also worked closely with veteran hiring managers, One Stop Employment Center staff and local veterans' employment representatives to test the portal's usability. Research conducted during the portal's development stages identified 715 specific federal occupations and more than 1,800 military occupations. On average, each MOC can be matched to seven federal occupations, and 80 percent of federal occupations can be matched to at least one MOC.
The Mil2FedJobs portal was developed by the Maryland Department of Labor Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning with funding from the U.S. Department of Labor Veterans Employment and Training Service to help connect transitioning veterans with the tens of thousands of federal jobs moving to Maryland because of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). The portal was also designed to help federal agencies located in Maryland comply with President Barack Obama's Executive Order 13518, which directs federal agencies to increase recruitment of veterans.
BRAC will create as many as 20,000 direct federal jobs in Maryland by September 2011 and up to 40,000 indirect jobs by 2015. In 2007, Governor Martin O'Malley and the Maryland General Assembly established the BRAC Subcabinet, which Lt. Governor Brown chairs, to prepare the state for the arrival of new jobs and new residents. The Subcabinet developed a BRAC Action Plan to manage the state's efforts of maintaining and improving the necessary physical infrastructure and developing the workforce pipeline to ensure Maryland reaps the full economic benefits of BRAC. The Maryland Department of Labor has led the state's BRAC workforce development and has partnered with various state agencies, through a $4 million U.S. Department of Labor Workforce ONE grant, to strengthen Maryland's educated and skilled workforce.
In Federal Fiscal Year 2010, more than 6,300 veterans visited Maryland's One Stop Centers, nearly 1,000 participated in in-depth job search and career management assistance and over 2,300 entered the workforce. Last fall, Lt. Governor Brown, the Maryland Department of Labor and the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs partnered with labor leaders to launch the Helmets to Hardhats program and the Warrior to Worker Initiative – a state program modeled on President Obama's Executive Order 13518.
Lt. Governor Brown, a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and the nation's highest-ranking elected official to have served a tour of duty in Iraq, leads the O'Malley-Brown Administration's veterans portfolio. Since taking office in 2007, Lt. Governor Brown championed successful efforts to pass the Veterans Behavioral Health Act that expanded services to veterans in rural parts of the state, protect veterans business loans programs and fully fund the Iraq and Afghanistan Scholarship Program.


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Great Barton: Investigation launched after two killed in head-on crash
PUBLISHED: 06:30 30 January 2014 | UPDATED: 11:51 30 January 2014
An investigation will continue today into a head-on crash which claimed the life of a man and woman near Bury St Edmunds.
The accident between a car and lorry happened on the A143 in Great Barton yesterday, less than a mile from the Compiegne Way roundabout.
The two victims, who had not been named last night but are believed to come from Suffolk, were both travelling in the car and pronounced dead at the scene. The lorry driver did not suffer any injuries.
The Neil Bomford Haulage vehicle was on its way to the company's base in Harleston having returned from Nottingham, and had just exited the A14.
A spokesman from the company said the driver was in "great shock", adding: "It's a tragic accident for the two people."
Paramedics, police and the fire service were all called to the scene around 10.45am. The A143 was closed between the Compiegne Way roundabout and the junction with The Avenue until mid-afternoon.
Pat Dacey, western district commander for Suffolk Fire and Rescue, said: "Firefighters were called to the scene of a road traffic collision at 10.43 this morning where, on arrival, it was confirmed that the driver and passenger in a car had died during a head-on collision with a lorry.
"Our crews used hydraulic equipment to remove the roof of the vehicle. This was a challenging and saddening incident and the sympathies of the fire service are with the victims and their families."
Jim Goodchild and Paul Ellis live in a two-house terrace along the A143 just yards from where the accident happened.
Neither saw or heard the accident, and were alerted when traffic began slowing up outside their house.
Speaking generally about the road, Mr Goodchild said: "It definitely needs a 40mph speed limit. It's a really fast bit of road."
Mr Ellis said he could never turn right out of his driveway during the morning rush hour, and that around two years ago someone had to be cut free after crashing their car into a telegraph pole outside his garden.
Both men said that future development in the area could help slow traffic along the road.
There are plans for 1,250 homes on land on the other side of the road, and two roundabouts would be built on the A143 to provide access to the new estate.
There have been a number of serious accidents along the A143 in recent years, with many residents calling for a bypass to alleviate pressure on the main road through the village.
A spokesman from Suffolk police said a number of people may have witnessed the accident and left the scene prior to their arrival.
Anyone who witnessed the accident should contact the Serious Collision Investigation Team on 101.


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Romney: 'Learn from my mistakes'
It was his first speech since he conceded on election night, an address to GOP activists who never fully embraced him to begin with.
And in it, Mitt Romney acknowledged the obvious.
Story Continued Below
"As someone who just lost the last election, I'm probably not the best person to chart the course for the next election," Romney said at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday.
Instead, the failed 2012 GOP nominee urged the thousands of attendees to learn from Republican governors — specifically those in states he lost to President Barack Obama. The 15-minute speech by the dispatched GOP standard-bearer came as the party is still licking its wounds from his stinging loss — and grappling with how to reverse its fortunes in 2014 and 2016.
( WATCH: Complete video coverage of CPAC)
Romney name checked nine of the 30 Republican governors, including Virginia's Bob McDonnell and New Jersey's Chris Christie — both of whom weren't invited to CPAC in a much-criticized decision. Tellingly, only two of the governors he praised for offering the way forward to a majority are speaking at the three-day confab at a Maryland resort outside Washington – South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who introduced him and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
"Yes, they are winning elections," Romney said of the governors, also mentioning Scott Walker of Wisconsin, John Kasich of Ohio, Susanna Martinez of New Mexico and Brian Sandoval of Nevada, Nathan Deal of Georgia, Rick Snyder of Michigan and Nikki Haley of South Carolina. "But more importantly, they are solving problems."
"We particularly need to hear from the governors of the blue and purple states … because their states are among those we must win to take the Senate and the White House," he added.
Romney also tipped his hat to his former running mate, who raised eyebrows earlier in the day by omitting any talk of the 2012 campaign from his own speech.
"I may be a little biased, but I applaud the clear and convincing voice of my friend Paul Ryan," said the former Massachusetts governor.
( PHOTOS: Scenes from CPAC 2013)
Bobby Jindal was notably absent from the list of governors he praised. The Louisiana governor, who backed Rick Perry in the primaries, blasted Romney shortly after the election for saying Obama won because he gave "gifts" to his base. Jindal spoke only one hour after Romney.
Last year at this conference, Romney used the word conservative 25 times in his 26-minute speech — including calling himself "a severely conservative governor." This year, he used it just three times in 15 minutes, according to the prepared text.


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You would think the PC was six feet under by reading tech coverage this week.
With every aspect of the iPhone 5 dissected ad nauseam by legions of tech journalists worldwide, coverage of the ultrabook at the concurrent Intel event didn't stand a chance.
Problem is, there's just too much cool tech that Apple -- and the Android guys too, by the way -- pack into a handheld device. PCs, as they stand now, are a bit boring by comparison.
Here are a few of the most prominent technologies that ultrabooks -- the standard for cutting-edge PC design -- either lack or can't incorporate effectively:
- 4G: The vast majority of ultrabooks don't come with Internet-access-anywhere capability. (In my opinion, a big mistake. At the very least it should be an option.) The iPhone, on the other hand, has the fastest thing going, LTE.
- Ultra high-resolution displays: There is no Windows laptop out there with anything close to the 15.4-inch MacBook Pro's 220 pixel-per-inch (PPI) density Retina display, let alone the iPhone's 326 PPI screen. And PC makers like Dell and Hewlett-Packard still insist on selling mainstream ultrabooks with sub-120 PPI displays. Result: ultra boring.
- Cameras: Aside from videoconferencing (which the iPhone can also do), the utility of a laptop's camera is problematic. Meanwhile, the iPhone's camera is good enough to turn many digicams into paperweights. And that now includes tech like panorama mode and video stabilization.
- Sensors: Again, the laptop paradigm doesn't lend itself to features like three-axis gyros and accelerometers. Not to mention digital compasses.
- Size: Though size is not a technology per se, it's a big factor. Intel processors are fast. No doubt. (And I like the Ivy Bridge processor in my laptop.) But until very recently you couldn't squeeze Intel tech into a phone. While it's possible now, the ARM variety of silicon is now the standard. It's not clear that Intel's chips have a compelling advantage over ARM in phones. Time will tell with tablets.
All of the above is here-and-now technology. We're not talking about, for example, futuristic tech that verifies a person's identity by reading the unique vein patterns in the palm of the hand. That's interesting Intel tech, but you won't see it for a few years, if at all.
And Intel had a lot to say this week about its upcoming "Haswell" fourth-generation Core processor. But the ultra power-efficient variety of that system-on-a-chip that gets loaded into tablets won't appear until the second half of 2013. Again, too far out there.
Meanwhile, Apple, Samsung, Google, Motorola, HTC, et al keep packing beautiful screens and better cameras into always-connected marvels of technology that you can buy now.
Here's a closing word of advice to Microsoft, Intel, and its partners to keep the PC above ground. Laser-focus on high-resolution displays, because a 13-inch Retina-class display would be stunning on an ultrabook. And make it touch, for good measure.
Any other advice from readers? I'm all ears.
reading•Apple, and the media, bury the PC
Sep 15•Apple TV Plus: Everything to know about Apple's $5-a-month streaming service
Sep 15•iOS 13 vs. Android 10: How Apple and Google match up
Sep 15•WWE Clash of Champions 2019: How to watch, start times and WWE Network
Sep 15•Pixel 4 XL purportedly shows up again in leaked photos
•See All


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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Starbucks (SBUX - Get Report) plans to sell alcohol in the evening in thousands of its stores according to COO Troy Alstead.
Alstead revealed the plans to sell alcohol in select Starbucks stores in an interview with Bloomberg. The company has been testing alcohol sales in select stores, and the tests were positive. The company will most likely tap stores near movie theaters, restaurants, and places with active nightlife to sell alcohol.
Must Read: 10 Drunkest States in the U.S.
Must Read: 15 Drunkest Countries in the World
Must Read: The 5 States Most Likely to Legalize Pot Next
TheStreet Ratings team rates STARBUCKS CORP as a Buy with a ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:
"We rate STARBUCKS CORP (SBUX) a BUY. This is driven by some important positives, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, increase in net income, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, solid stock price performance and growth in earnings per share. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat disappointing return on equity."
Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:
- The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 5.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 11.8%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
- The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the S&P 500 and greatly outperformed compared to the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure industry average. The net income increased by 25.1% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $432.20 million to $540.70 million.
- The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.42, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels. Although the company had a strong debt-to-equity ratio, its quick ratio of 0.78 is somewhat weak and could be cause for future problems.
- Investors have apparently begun to recognize positive factors similar to those we have mentioned in this report, including earnings growth. This has helped drive up the company's shares by a sharp 27.04% over the past year, a rise that has exceeded that of the S&P 500 Index. Looking ahead, the stock's sharp rise over the last year has already helped drive it to a level which is relatively expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels.
- STARBUCKS CORP has improved earnings per share by 24.6% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, STARBUCKS CORP swung to a loss, reporting -$0.01 versus $1.79 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($2.67 versus -$0.01).
- You can view the full analysis from the report here: SBUX Ratings Report
STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.


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ST. LOUIS -- Not so long ago, they were pariahs.
This summer, they might be All-Stars.
The world of Biogenesis captivated our attention last summer when 13 players were ensnared for their involvement with the wellness clinic doubling as a performance-enhancing drug vendor, and earned season-ending suspensions.
Well, guess who's back?
There could be as many as five players performing on center stage at the All-Star Game in six weeks at Target Field in Minneapolis who were suspended for the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the past two years - including three from the Biogenesis scandal.
Today, Major League Baseball will reveal the first results of balloting online and at ballparks, which may give us some indication how fans feel about players with connections to banned substances earning one of baseball's top honors.
LONG CLIMB: Streak over, but Red Sox's woes aren't
After all, there's no shortage of worthy candidates in line to become the first position player suspended for PED use earning election to the game - by fans, peers or managers.
MLB and the players association implemented a provision last winter that prohibits any player from making the All-Star team if suspended for PEDs at any time during the same season, but there's no provision for punishing past transgressions.
It leaves a red-carpet entrance for Baltimore Orioles slugger Nelson Cruz, who has a major league-leading 16 homers and an American League-best 45 RBI.
How can you leave off Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera, who is hitting .322 and has 66 hits, second in the league for a club atop the AL East?
Shortstop Jhonny Peralta of the St. Louis Cardinals isn't going to beat out Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies to be the NL's starting shortstop, but the man ranks second among all shortstops with nine homers.
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Marlon Byrd, who hitting .289 with six homers and 29 RBI, is a viable candidate to earn his second All-Star nod.
And, don't forget Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Ryan Braun, whose 65-game Biogenesis suspension was the second-longest only to Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Despite missing time due to injury, Braun's batting .308 with seven homers and 20 RBI for the resurgent Brewers.
Each of them had different circumstances involving their use of performance-enhancing drugs.
All served suspensions.
They apologized.
And, soon, we will all find out whether they'll truly be forgiven.
The fan voting began April 25.
The players will get their votes in about a month.
The All-Star managers, John Farrell of Boston and Mike Matheny of St. Louis, will fill the final vacancies with a handful of their own picks.
Will there be any grudges? Bitter feelings? Lingering animosity?
The proof will be in the balloting.
"When it comes to that, I don't think we are called to be judges,'' Arizona Diamondbacks veteran infielder Eric Chavez tells USA TODAY Sports. "I think the players' numbers, and how they play on the field, is all we can look at and say.
"We can all have our opinions, but once they paid their dues, they're regular players, and should be treated as so.''
Cardinals - and National League - manager Mike Matheny realizes his choices will be scrutinized. Yet, like it or not, he says, he must make his selections regardless of any PED transgressions.
"No matter what I think,'' Matheny says, "we've got to follow the rules. If the league decides what the penalty is for those guys, you can't say you'll go beyond that.
"Those guys paid the penalty. No matter what happens, they'll probably never be able to fully shake that.''
Besides, being an All-Star hardly guarantees immortality. It simply means you had a terrific first half of the season.
"If they're an All-Star, they're an All-Star,'' Hall of Famer Barry Larkin told USA TODAY Sports. "Now, does that extend past that into the Hall of Fame. That's the question.''
So far, the answer is a resounding no.
No player has yet to be inducted into the Hall of Fame who has been suspended for PEDs, let alone even linked to rumors about performance-enhancing drugs.
Considering the All-Star Game is a showcase for the fans, who determine the starting lineup, perhaps this will be a barometer for whether fans are softening their stance toward PEDs.
Pitchers Ryan Franklin in 2009 and Bartolo Colon last year are the only players to earn All-Star nods after they were suspended for PED use. Since they were pitchers, they weren't included on the fan ballot.
This year, paying customers get their say.
"They paid their crime, they served their crime,'' Diamondbacks outfielder Cody Ross says, "so it's a clean slate, right? That's how I see it.
"When I see a guy like Jhonny Peralta hit a home run, I don't think, 'Oh, he's a cheater.' Maybe he was before, but he's not now. Now, he gets tested the same way we all do.''
Certainly, there will always be skepticism. Peralta understands this. He never failed a drug test, just like everyone else in last year's Biogenesis probe, but his name showed up on documents and records obtained by MLB officials.
So can we really believe that everyone now is clean?
"You have to think that, right?'' Chavez says. "I mean, you would have to assume they are unless something is brought to our attention. You would that that after going through that firestorm, you would stay clear.
"There was some questions, or doubt how they would perform now, but look at them now.''
Cruz is showing the same power he displayed in Texas. Cabrera is the same hitter who won the 2012 MVP All-Star award and led the National League with a .346 batting average with San Francisco when he was suspended for a positive testosterone test.
And Peraltais the same offensive player the Cardinals envisioned when they signed him to a four-year, $53 million free agent contract.
"We did our due diligence,'' Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said. "We asked the questions. And he answered them. He understood he made a mistake. He didn't give any excuses.''
Peralta paid his punishment last year. So did the rest of the Biogenesis Boys.
Maybe you'll never forget what they did, but by punching your ballot for any of them, shows you can forgive.
It's an All-Star Game.
You get to make the call.
PHOTOS: Players suspended by MLB


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Weston-super-mare Trip Planner
Plan a trip to Weston-super-mare and know your trip budget
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