text: Doctors have known for years that the incidence of deadly liver cancer is on the rise, but what is causing that trend has remained a mystery. Two recent Mayo Clinic studies published in the January issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings offer a clearer picture of the rise of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, which has tripled in the U.S. in the last three decades and has a 10 to 12 percent five-year survival rate when detected in later stages. "The studies illuminate the importance of identifying people with risk factors in certain populations to help catch the disease in its early, treatable stages," said W. Ray Kim, M.D., a specialist in Gastroenterology and Hepatology and principal investigator of one study. Dr. Kim's research group looked at several decades of records in the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a database that accounts for an entire county's inpatient and outpatient care. The study found the overall incidence of HCC in the population (6.9 per 100,000) is higher than has been estimated for the nation based on data from the National Cancer Institute (5.1 per 100,000). The study also found that HCC, which two decades ago tended to be caused by liver-scarring diseases such as cirrhosis from alcohol consumption, is now occurring as a consequence of hepatitis C infection. "The liver scarring from hepatitis C can take 20 to 30 years to develop into cancer," Dr. Kim says. "We're now seeing cancer patients in their 50s and 60s who contracted hepatitis C 30 years ago and didn't even know they were infected." Eleven percent of cases were linked to obesity, in particular fatty liver disease. "It's a small percentage of cases overall," Dr. Kim says. "But with the nationwide obesity epidemic, we believe the rates of liver cancer may dramatically increase in the foreseeable future." Another study looked exclusively at the Somali population, which is growing in the U.S., particularly in Minnesota, where as many as 50,000 Somalis have settled in the last two decades. The East African country is known to have a high prevalence of hepatitis B, a risk factor for HCC. Researchers investigating records in the Mayo Clinic Life Sciences System confirmed that hepatitis B remains a risk factor, but they were surprised to find that a significant percentage of liver cancer cases in the population are attributable to hepatitis C, which had not been known to be significantly prevalent. "The study suggests that screening for hepatitis C would be helpful for the Somali population and would enable close surveillance of liver cancer among those at risk," says lead author Abdirashid Shire, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic researcher. "That would greatly improve treatment and survival of Somalis with this type of cancer."


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'It's pure hell': Hurricane Michael leaves housing crisis
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) — A small village of the forgotten has popped up in Diahnn "Shelly" Summers' backyard outside Panama City. Where there once was empty grass abutting woods, 10 tents now encircle a fir tree with Christmas lights.
The tents shelter those still homeless more than four months after Hurricane Michael screamed ashore with 155-mph (250-kph) winds, flattening, blowing away or rendering uninhabitable thousands of houses.
"There is nowhere for them to go," Summers said. "When you don't have a home, you have no sense of safety, no sense of belonging, no security. You don't even know where you're going to sleep without getting into trouble. It's the worst feeling."
Of all the Florida Panhandle areas affected by Michael, Bay County was hardest hit: Officials said almost three-quarters of its 68,000 households were affected. Former Florida House Speaker Allan Bense, who is leading a hurricane recovery initiative, estimated about 20,000 people were homeless in the weeks after the October storm.
Some have been able to make their homes livable again with cosmetic repairs. Others left town: The county's student population is down 14 percent. And 7,800 residents are still considered homeless, county officials said.
Many unable to move in with relatives or find a coveted hotel room with the help of federal vouchers have turned to living in tents.
Several obstacles prevent their return to normalcy. Trailers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been slow to arrive, and it's hard to find an apartment where the rent hasn't been jacked up in a suddenly tight market. Almost three-quarters of the damaged properties were rental units, which are difficult to replace with temporary shelter, Bay County Manager Robert Majka said.
"If you have 100 units in an apartment complex, you can't put 100 FEMA trailers into that apartment complex and accommodate these folks," he said.
Sue Laurel Shaw was able to stay in her apartment after the storm and said her landlord even agreed to deduct the cost of repairs she made from the rent. But now she faces eviction for back rent after she says the landlord reneged on their agreement.
She is looking for another place to live, but "everything is tripling," said Shaw, who was fighting to stay in her Panama City apartment.
Mystie Gregory said she, her fiance and 2-year-old daughter left their apartment for several days to take a break from living without electricity. When they returned, she said, it had been rented to another family.
Gregory found refuge with more than a dozen others living in tents behind Summers' ranch-style house.
Gregory said she is trying to "make the most" of living in a tent, but "it makes you feel like a failure as a parent, even though it's out of your control."
Among the county's homeless are 4,700 students, said Bay District Schools Superintendent Bill Husfelt. Some schools lost more than 40 percent of their students and the school board is closing at least three schools for now.
"It's all about housing," Husfelt said. "Everything we're dealing with, it's about housing."
In December, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio wrote a letter chastising FEMA for not finding enough sites for trailers or mobile homes. Rubio said families "have not seen an appropriate response to their housing needs and FEMA must immediately act to address this concern."
At the time, more than 1,200 Bay County families were waiting for trailers or mobile homes. By the end of February, that number had fallen to more than 200, partially because more than 500 families had found other options on their own, county officials said.
"The velocity of FEMA's temporary housing improved after the first of the year, although trailers … never came in consistently at stated goals," said Joel Schubert, Bay County's assistant manager.
FEMA officials said the large numbers of renters and the enormous amount of debris that needed to be cleared before trailers could be installed slowed the process.
In addition, 26,000 Florida households received grants for home repairs, 21,000 residents received temporary rental assistance and 2,000 households were approved for hotel rooms or short-term condo rentals, FEMA spokesman Samuel "Carr" McKay said in a statement.
Even that help took a while to reach some residents. Dennis Myrick, who has no home insurance, said he lived in a tent in the front yard of his decimated Panama City home until mid-January, when he was finally able to get a FEMA hotel voucher.
"It's pure hell, man," Myrick said. "The wind blows, and you get wet. I had to hold the tent down with my hands. It was about to blow away."
Before she landed in Summers' backyard, Jacinta Wheeler, whose apartment was damaged by the hurricane, joined other residents in an encampment dubbed "Tent City" in a different part of town. Officials forced them to leave over safety and hygiene concerns. Lori and Gene Hogan had settled in a tent on the beach after Michael destroyed their home, but police officers threatened to arrest them if they didn't move, so they came here as well.
Wheeler has been working construction jobs and helping repair neighbors' properties while she stays in her tent.
"Everybody wants the American dream," the Trinidad native said. "If this is the dream, I don't want it."
Summers and her husband, Sam, want to build more permanent housing on the property for their guests but said they have run into regulatory roadblocks. In the meantime, they try to make them feel at home, inviting them to their dinner table and leaving the Christmas lights on the backyard tree to retain some cheer.
Summers said she has always welcomed people in need to her home.
"They need help and we were blessed enough that our house was untouched," she said. "We seem to be the outcasts by trying to help people and it shouldn't be that way. This should be a normal thing."
Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP
The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
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subset: commoncrawl


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President Donald Trump waded into France's upcoming elections Friday, saying he believes an attack on police officers this week will help Marine Le Pen, the far-right presidential candidate.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Trump said that while he is not explicitly endorsing Le Pen, the attack played to her strengths.
"She's the strongest on borders, and she's the strongest on what's been going on in France," Trump said in the Oval Office interview. "Whoever is the toughest on radical Islamic terrorism, and whoever is the toughest at the borders, will do well in the election."
U.S. presidents typically avoid weighing in on specific candidates running in overseas elections. But Trump suggested his opinion was no different from an average observer, saying, "Everybody is making predictions on who is going to win. I'm no different than you."
Sunday's vote is the first round in the French elections, with the top two candidates advancing to a winner-takes-all runoff on May 7. The high-stakes contest is viewed as something of a vote on the future of the European Union, with Le Pen calling for a referendum on France's membership in the bloc.
Le Pen has also echoed some of Trump's hard-line rhetoric on immigration, calling for hardening French borders to stanch what she describes as an out-of-control flow of immigrants.
She has spoken of radical Muslims trying to supplant France's Judeo-Christian heritage and, among other measures, has called for foreigners suspected of extremism to be expelled from the country.
U.S. & World
Le Pen, a 48-year-old mother of three, has distanced herself from her father, National Front party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has been convicted of crimes related to anti-Semitism and mocked the Holocaust as a "detail" of history.
Nevertheless, earlier this month she denied the French state was responsible for the roundup of Jews during World War II, drawing condemnation from other presidential candidates and Israel's Foreign Ministry. And her inner circle still includes old friends from her student days in Paris who were members of a radical group known for violence and anti-Semitism.
Former President Barack Obama has also gotten involved in France's election, offering centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron his best wishes in a phone call Thursday, though he, too, stopped short of a full endorsement.
Macron's team released a video recording of the call, a highly unusual move as conversations among different countries' politicians are usually kept private.
A victory for Macron would be a vote of confidence in France staying in the EU. Obama, when he was in office, encouraged Britain not to leave, though it ultimately voted to do so anyway.
Trump backed Britain's decision to exit from the EU and has also predicted that other countries would make similar decisions. Yet during a White House news conference Thursday, the president said he believed in a strong Europe.
"A strong Europe is very, very important to me as president of the United States," he said.


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Samsung unveiled its Galaxy S4 smartphone using the theme of a Broadway musical, but almost completely avoided any mention of the Android OS inside the new device.
"Android doesn't matter anymore, right?" said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi, pointing to the lack of attention to Android 4.2.2, which the S4 runs. "What matters to Samsung is differentiation from other Android products and making [the] Galaxy S4 clearly from Samsung. "
Pre-event hardware and software details were almost all confirmed, including a larger, removable 2,600 mAh battery (up from 2,100 mAh in the Galaxy S III) and a 5-in. full HD Super AMOLED display with a super-high pixel-per-inch count of 441. (The previous model has a 4.8-in screen.)
Software features like Smart Pause and Smart Scroll were also announced; both use an infrared gesture sensor in the S4 to stop a video when looking away or to advance text on a Web page without touching the screen. A separate sensor in the device will be able to read temperature and humidity.
But the unspoken revelation of the evening was Samsung's intention to build its own ecosystem for smartphones apart from Android, Milanesi and other analysts said. "Samsung has grown up and is playing as the big guy, moving away from Android," she said.
Kevin Burden, an analyst at Strategy Analytics, agreed that Android was clearly down-played, and said the word wasn't uttered once from onstage. "It almost feels like Samsung is trying to set up Tizen as its next OS instead of Android," he said.
Tizen is a Linux-based OS backed by Intel, Samsung, Fujitsu and Huawei. Demo phones have been shown off by Samsung, but various reviewers have found them to need more polish before a full release.
Burden suggested that it would be much easier for Samsung to take full control of Tizen as a smartphone OS. "We know that Samsung tried a number of different times to use the Bada OS, so obviously they haven't lost the intention or desire to have more control over their platforms."
Burden and Ramon Llamas, an analyst at IDC, said that for the S4, the emphasis was on features a consumer would want.
"A lot of the features announced were evolutionary and not a huge leap forward, but it's extremely difficult to make a huge leap with smartphones," he said.
Even so, the S4 "is still on the edge of innovation, along with the HTC One and the Nokia Lumia 920," said Llamas.
Llamas said it's possible that millions of Galaxy S4s will be sold. "It definitely puts Apple and other vendors on notice," he said.
BlackBerry has been put on notice as well, Llamas said, since dual-personality features are included in the S4 because of Samsung's introduction of Knox technology based on SAFE (Samsung For Enterprise). With the dual-personality approach, a worker can safeguard company data on a separate area of the S4, something the BlackBerry has included in the Z10. The Z10 goes on sale in the U.S. next Friday through AT&T.
Samsung said the S4 will go on sale in the U.S. sometime in the second quarter, and on 327 carriers in 155 countries at the end of April. AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless will carry it, Samsung said, and Sprint confirmed it will have it in the second quarter. Pricing has not been announced, but analysts presume it will sell for $200 with a two-year contract.
In addition to gesture capabilities, another unusual feature allows the 13-megapixel rear camera and the 2-megapixel front camera to be used simultaneously during a video chat, with the two images presented within windows.
The S4 is slightly slimmer and lighter than the GSIII, although both look much the same. The S4 is 5.38 x 2.71 x 0.31 inches and weighs 4.6 ounces. It will come in black or white.
At a glitzy event at New York's Radio City Music Hall on Thursday, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S4 flagship smartphone.
Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed. His email address is firstname.lastname@example.com.
See more by Matt Hamblen on Computerworld.com.
Read more about smartphones in Computerworld's Smartphones Topic Center.


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This section contains multiple-choice and short-response scoring questions, along with feedback for each correct and incorrect response.
April 25, 1998
The Tampa Tribune
Droughts May Have Killed 1st Colonists, Study Shows
The worst droughts in the Southeast in 800 years coincided with the "Lost Colony" of 1587 and mass starvations at Jamestown in the early 1600s.
By Joby Warrick
The Washington Post
Two of the most ferocious droughts of the millennium may have triggered the mass starvation at America's first English settlement at Jamestown and also sealed the fate of the 120 inhabitants of the "Lost Colony" on Roanoke Island, whose disappearance 20 years earlier remains one of the most enduring mysteries of the colonial period.
New research reported Thursday appears to confirm the existence of the back-to-back famines, shedding new light on the extraordinary hardships faced by early colonists as they struggled to gain a foothold in the New World.
"It wasn't just a drought, it was an amazing drought," said Dennis Blanton, director of the Center for Archaeological Research at the College of William and Mary, who used tree rings to reconstruct weather patterns in the tidewater region of Virginia and North Carolina dating back nearly 1,000 years.
In a case of monumentally bad timing, both the Jamestown colony and the ill-fated earlier settlement at Roanoke, off the North Carolina coast, were founded precisely as epic dry spells were parching large swaths of the Southeast, according to the report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.
Rainfall data gleaned from ancient cypress trees shows that the region's worst three-year drought in 800 years peaked in 1587, the year the 120 men, women and children of the Roanoke colony were last seen by Europeans. Sir Walter Raleigh, the founder of North America's aborted first English settlement, left his fellow colonists behind that year to sail to England for fresh supplies. His return three years later found no trace of the settlers, including young Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World. The sole, tantalizing clue about their whereabouts was a single word, "Croatoan," which was found carved into a tree near the abandoned fort.
Historians have long debated what became of the colonists, but the discovery of the previously unknown drought presents a new set of possibilities, Blanton said. Perhaps famine forced them to seek refuge with the Croatoan Indians, one of the indigenous tribes.
STUDY/Drought may have killed colonists
"We're introducing drought as a significant factor that people have to consider," he said. "We're still not in a position to explain the mystery of the famous disappearance, but we may know more about the situation that led to it."
The tree-ring data also may help explain the dire conditions at Jamestown 20 years later, when nearly half of the 350 colonists alive in June 1610 died by the end of the summer. The period from 1609 to 1610 is known historically as "the starving time," a calamity that Blanton says that appears likely to have been caused by a prolonged famine. The dry spell lasted from 1606, the year before Jamestown was founded, until 1612, and ranks as the worst seven-year drought in 770 years, the report says.
The scant historical record from the time refers to shortages of food and potable water in the colony. Jamestown's most famous resident, Capt. John Smith, wrote of local Indians refusing to share food with the struggling colonists because of concerns about their own food supply. But until now there was little direct evidence of the profoundly grim conditions facing both the colonists and the Powhatan Indians who initially aided the settlers.
"The Roanoke and Jamestown colonies have both been criticized for poor planning, poor support, and for a startling indifference to their own subsistence," wrote Blanton and co-author David Stahle, a University of Arkansas climatologist, in their report. "But tree-ring reconstruction indicates that even the best planned and supported colony would have been supremely challenged by the climactic conditions."
Scientists have only recently begun to appreciate the rich trove of environmental and climatological information contained in the bald cypress trees native to the Tidewater region. The trees are not only long-lived but they also contain an unusually sharp climate map in the fluctuating patterns of growth rings on their trunks. The record studied by Blanton and Stahle covers a period nearly 1,000 years.
The scientists found corroboration for their findings in recent meteorological data as well as circumstantial evidence in the historical record.


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Tropical Wedding Greeting Card
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Newspaper Paywalls: Full Speed Ahead
News Corp rolled out a paywall at two of its major UK papers. It's not going well. The New York Times is scheduled to roll out its own paywall in January. Should anyone there be having second thoughts?
Rupert Murdoch, of course, can afford to absorb short-term losses in his newspaper properties. He's famous for it, actually. But Techdirt points out two ongoing drawbacks of the paywalls at the Times UK: one, advertisers are fleeing the paper as its online traffic plummets; and two, its reporters are being passed over for those at other papers by sources who want to get their stories out more widely.
Those are both serious problems that could persist long-term in the coming online media universe, where major generators of original content will mostly have paywalls, and the meta-media of bloggers and aggregators will mostly remain free. In a speech yesterday, NYT chairman Arthur Sulzberger gave no indication that the paper was anything other than full speed ahead on its upcoming paywall, though he did say "If we discover that we've tried something that's not working, we could change it." And in a comment that perked up the ears of futurists, he added, "we will stop printing the New York Times sometime in the future, date TBD."
That shouldn't surprise anyone, though. Of course the New York Times will stop printing at some point in the future. As will most every newspaper, because print is an outmoded technology. It might take 20 years, but it will surely happen. And when all news is online, newspapers will have to charge for online news. It's quite simple. Online advertising can generate enough revenue to support an operation like Gawker Media, but not an operation like the New York Times. The great newspapers will surely shrink their staffs and become more efficient, but ultimately, expensive enterprise journalism requires paying subscribers.
The debate over fair use will be messy, but it will be settled eventually. Both sides—those first-line journalism operations who write up the news, and those second-line web operations that aggregate, parse, discuss, and promote that news—know that they need each other. Some fair agreement for the sharing of content and revenue will come to pass, one in which the details will ultimately be hammered out in response to how dire the financial straits of newspapers and their ilk becomes. It's not a make-or-break situation at the moment, but eventually it will be untenable to give everything away online for free. All this is just to say: paywalls are coming. Yes, they're a risk—especially for the early adopters—but better to give it a shot now and tweak it until it's right than to wait until the situation grows even more alarming. (Assuming the quality is there. For the bad newspapers throwing up paywalls, all hope is lost).
The New York Times itself today reports that newsprint is useful for gardening. For distribution of journalism, not so much.


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The following column is the first of a series of questions and answers that will discuss chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia (CFS/FMS). They will review what these illnesses are, what causes them, what they feel like, testing, and how to get well. By the end of the series, despite the answers being kept fairly simple and straightforward, you'll be one of the world's experts on understanding CFS/FMS — and how to make it go away!
Q: What are chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia?
A: A syndrome is a group of symptoms that commonly occur together and characterize a specific disease process. In CFS/fibromyalgia, these symptoms include fatigue; diffuse achiness (if fibromyalgia is present), poor sleep, brain fog, increased thirst, weight gain, bowel disorders, poor libido, and frequent infections. These are but a few of the more common symptoms! There are many more, and these will be discussed in an upcoming question. One does not need to have all of the above symptoms to have CFS/fibromyalgia. Even three or four of these, in the absence of another known cause, are adequate.
Q: How can multiple different triggers cause the same syndrome?
A: If there are number of problems that can cause a malfunction in the same part of the body, these can all cause similar syndromes. This is a case in CFS/fibromyalgia. As I'll discuss later, there are many things that can trigger this process. Once the process is set in motion however, it becomes self-sustaining. In CFS/fibromyalgia, the problems trigger a cascade effect where, like a stack of dominoes that gets pushed over, one problems triggers the next, which triggers the next and so on. To get well, one needs to see which systems have been affected in any given individual, and look to see if the initial trigger is still active. Then these all need to be treated simultaneously. To date, we have found over 50 common problems that cause the persistence of these syndromes. The average person with CFS/FMS has five to seven of these processes. The good news is that almost all these processes can be effectively treated. To get well, however, it is (as I noted above) important to treat them all simultaneously. Determining which ones are active in any given individual however, is a complex process. In my office, it takes an average of four to seven hours of my undivided time and attention and an extensive series of lab tests for a new patient visit — and that's despite my having effectively treated over 2000 patients with these syndromes!
Despite the many triggers that can cause these syndromes, most patients seem to have dysfunction or suppression of a master gland in the brain called the hypothalamus. This gland controls sleep, your hormonal system, temperature regulation, and the autonomic nervous system (e.g. — blood pressure, blood flow, and movement of food through your bowel). This is why you can't sleep, you have low temperature, you gain weight, and (because poor sleep causes immune dysfunction) you are prone to multiple and recurrent infections. The hypothalamic dysfunction by itself can therefore, cause most of the symptoms we listed above! I suspect that problems with the "energy furnaces" in your cells (called the mitochondria) often cause the hypothalamic suppression.
The questions and answers that will follow in subsequent columns will give you a clearer understanding of what is causing your illness and how to make it go away.


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The Helsinki Commission convenes public hearings on OSCE-related issues, which regularly include testimony from senior members of the U.S. Administration; foreign ministers of OSCE participating States; and high-level representatives from international organizations such as the United Nations.
Chechen Crisis and its Implications for Russian DemocracyWednesday, November 03, 1999
This hearing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe was held to discuss the renewed military action taken against Chechnya in response to terrorist bombings. There is extensive discussion on the ramification of Russian human rights violations for the state of Russian Democracy. Additionally, there are several arguments that the war could destabilize the Caucus region.
The Sex Trade: Trafficking of Women and Children in Europe and the United StatesMonday, June 28, 1999
This Commission examined an escalating human rights problem in the OSCE region: the trafficking of women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Trafficking in human beings is a form of modern-day slavery. When a woman or child is trafficked or sexually exploited by force, fraud, or coercion for commercial gain, she is denied the most basic human rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and numerous international human rights agreements. Although trafficking has been a problem for many years in Asian countries, it was not until the end of communism in East-Central Europe and the break-up of the Soviet Union that a sex trade in the OSCE region began to develop. The hearing looked into the U.S. and the global response to this appalling human challenge and what else could be done to address it.
Democratization and Human Rights in KazakhstanThursday, May 06, 1999
This hearing reviewed the democratization process, human rights, and religious liberty in Kazakhstan. This was one in a series that the Helsinki Commission has held on Central Asia. The hearing focused on Kazakhstan for two reasons: first, the country held a presidential election, almost 2 years ahead of schedule. The OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, used unusually strong language, and criticized the conduct of the election as far short of meeting OSCE commitments. The witnesses gave testimony surrounding the legal obstacles in the constitution of Kazakhstan and other obstacles that the authoritarian voices in the government use to suppress opposition.
The State of Human Rights and Democracy in KazakhstanThursday, May 06, 1999
Commission Chairman Christopher Smith presided over a hearing on the status of democratization and human rights in Kazakhstan following the country's presidential election in January of 1999. The election, which saw the victory of incumbent presient Nursultan Nazarbayev, was strongly criticsed by the OSCE, which stated that it had fallen "far short" of meeting OSCE commitments. Ross Wilson, Principal Deputy to the Ambassador At-Large, noted that opposition figures were beaten, arrested, and convicted for attending political meetings. Independent media organizations were bought out, silenced, and in extreme cases firebombed by allies of President Nazarbayev. Finally, a new law barred candidates who had been conviced of administrative violations from running for president. Akezhan Kazhegeldin, former prime minister of Kazakhstan and leading opposition member in the election, noted in his testimony that he was barred from running in the election due to this law. Bolat Nurgaliev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States, acknowledged "imperfections" in the state of Kazakhstan's political system, but defended the legal and ethical credentials of the election. The hearing concluded by offering a set of recommendations calling for the abolition of laws restricting opposition members from running, improved anti-corruption legislation, and greater press freedom.
Belarus – Back in the U.S.S.R.?Tuesday, April 27, 1999
The political and economic situation in Belarus remains dire under President Lukashenka's authoritarian rule. Repression of human rights and his assault on democratic institutions are the subject of continuing concern. Lukashenka has rejected calls for an election and is attempting to neutralize democratic opposition to his rule. The hearing provided a timely opportunity to review the current situation in Belarus in advance of the May 16, 1999 presidential elections called by the democratic opposition. The hearing witnesses outlined the precariousness of democracy and human rights in Belarus and how the authorities have sought to repress opposition leaders and Belarusian civil society organizations. Witnesses spoke of the Belarusian government's relationship with the internationally recognized 13th Supreme Soviet and President Lukashenko's refusal to hold constitutionally mandated elections.
The Long Road Home – Struggling For Property Rights in Post-Communist EuropeThursday, March 25, 1999
In this hearing, presided over by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), the focus was on property restitution. Discussed by Smith, Campbell, other legislators, and witnesses – Stuart E. Eizenstat, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs and U.S. Special Envoy for Property Claims in Central and Eastern Europe; Michael Lewan, Chairman, United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad; Bishop John Michael Botean, Romanian Catholic Diocese of Canton, Ohio; Vladislav Bevc, Ph.D., Executive Officer, American Owners of Property in Slovenia; Jan Sammer, The Czech Coordinating Office (non-governmental organization), Toronto, Canada; and, Vytautas Sliupas, Lithuanian "Class Action Complaint Group" – at issue was ill treatment and discrimination of religious communities. Smith stated, "Ill treatment afforded some religious communities suggests that religious inequality and discrimination are often at the heart of a government's restitution policies rather than economic constraints or other legitimate issues that need to be worked through." Likewise, Campbell stated, "Property restitution and compensation are not favors these newly free countries do for those who fled for their lives. They are essential steps forward in their own economic and political development."
THE ROAD TO THE OSCE ISTANBUL SUMMIT AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEYThursday, March 18, 1999
The hearing focused specifically on the human rights situation in the Republic of Turkey, an original signatory of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act. These two issues, OSCE and Turkey, intersected in this hearing due to the decision taken in Oslo the previous December by the OSCE Ministerial Council to convene a summit Meeting of Heads of State or Government in Istanbul in November 1999. The Commissioners expressed concern over Ankara's failure to implement a wide range of OSCE human dimensions commitments, the United States labored to secure a consensus in support of Turkey's bid to host the OSCE Summit in Istanbul. The hearing touched on how the U.S. should respond to make improved human rights implementation in Turkey a priority. Though, one year after a Commission delegation visited Turkey, the Commission's conclusion is that there has been no demonstrable improvement in Ankara's human rights practices and that the prospects for much needed systemic reforms are bleak given the unstable political scene that seemed likely to continue.
WHITHER HUMAN RIGHTS IN RUSSIA?Friday, January 15, 1999
This hearing focused on the human rights situation in Russia. Russia is no longer an authoritarian dictatorship and civil liberties have improved. However, the decline in Russia's recent economic fortunes has been accompanied by disturbing developments in the area of human rights and civil liberties. A religion law developed in 1977 has led to legal difficulties and complications for some religious organizations in their dealings with local authorities, most notably the declaration of Jehovah Witness as a "destructive sect." Also recent cases of a crackdown on activist has led to Russia's first political prisoner since the defunct Soviet Union with the arrest of the environmental whistleblower, Alexandr Nikitin.
The Milosevic Regime Versus Serbian Democracy and Balkan StabilityThursday, December 10, 1998
This hearing, presided over by the Hon. Chris Smith, then Co-Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, was held on the fiftieth anniversary of Human Rights Day, when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in Paris by 56 members of the United Nations. Regarding the atrocities of Slobodan Milosevic and his regime, then, this hearing's date was perfectly apropos. The storied crimes by the Milosevic Regime are world renowned. The hearing was held in the wake of actions by the regime taken against Serbia's independent media. Earlier on, Milosevic refused to acknowledge the results of municipal elections in Serbia, and, of course, the violent conflicts that the regime was culpable for.
Atrocities in Kosovo: Shattuck and Dole ReportThursday, September 17, 1998
This hearing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe is on the atrocities committed in Kosovo. The commissioners and notable guests present include: Chairman Alfonse D'Amato, Senator Frank Lautenberg, Co-Chairman Christopher H. Smith, Commissioner Benjamin Cardin, Commissioner Steny Hoyer, Congressman Benjamin Gilman, the honorable Eliot Engel, Senator Bob Dole, and Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck. The speakers at the hearing reported on the horrible destruction caused by the attacks on villages and towns of Kosovo.
Romani Human Rights in EuropeTuesday, July 21, 1998
Commission Co-Chairman Christopher H. Smith presided over this hearing that discussed the rights of the Romani population in Europe. While ostensibly of Central and Eastern European descent, Romani, or Roma, individuals have existed in almost every European state. The Roma consist of a dispersed minority that, at the time of this hearing, was the fastest growing European population, numbering between 8 million and 10 million people. Unfortunately, their numbers did not protect the Roma from being the only population whose situation had actually worsened since the fall of Communism. From the first signs of anti-Romani discrimination in Romania to the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Federation in January of 1994, the reasons to justify holding this hearing to discuss the plight of the Romani were many. At this hearing, besides Commissioner Chris Smith, were Commission Chairman Steny Hoyer, and witnesses James Goldston of the European Roma Rights Center, Livia Plaks of the Project on Ethnic Relations, and Drs. David Crowe and Ian Hancock, professors at Elon and the University of Texas-Austin, respectively.
Repression and Violence in Kosovo and Hearing on Kosovo: The Humanitarian PerspectiveWednesday, March 18, 1998
This hearing, chaired by Commissioner Alfonse D'Amato, discussed the dire circumstances in Kosovo, specifically Serbian repression of the Kosovar Albanian majority population. In this hearing, D'Amato called for the U.S. to step up and prevent another outbreak of ethnic cleansing and achieve a peaceful resolution to the crisis. More specifically, to facilitate a lasting peace, the Commissioner called on U.S. leadership to make Slobodan Milosevic believe that the world would not stand by while the atrocities in Kosovo and Serbia continued. In addition, any settlement reached between Milosevic and the Kosovo Albanian leadership, D'Amato, continued, must be respected and protect the human rights of all individuals in Kosovo, without preconditions. Witnesses in this hearing discussed these human rights violations and the predicament of the Kosovar Albanians.
BosniaThursday, February 05, 1998
During this briefing, Robert Hand, policy advisor at the Commission, led a discussion regarding Bosnia and its different regions. He spoke of the situation in Bosnia in 1998 and the power of ethnically-based political parties, retained through nationalism, corruption, and control of the media. Reconstruction in Bosnia has slow and challenging due to poor economic conditions and the continued displacement of certain populations. The witnesses - Luke Zahner, Candace Lekic, Jessica White, Roland de Rosier, Kathryn Bomberger, Brian Marshall - have served in regions all over Bosnia and gave valuable input on the differences between regions and their rehabilitations processes after the Dayton Accords. They also spoke of the influence of Republica Srpska and the Bosnian Federation on said regions. Paying attention to these differences, they state, is important in that the United States wants to support only those that successfully implement the Dayton Accords.
Status of Religious Liberty for Minority Faiths in Europe and the OSCEFriday, December 05, 1997
The purpose of this hearing, which the Hon. Christopher H. Smith chaired, was to discuss the reality of disturbing undercurrents of subtle, but growing, discrimination and harassment of minority religious believers, as opposed to discussing the widespread documentation of torture and persecution of practitioners of minority faiths. In a number of European countries, government authorities had seemed to work on restricting the freedoms of conscience and speech in much of their governments' actions. For example, in Russia, on September 26, 1997, President Boris Yeltsin signed the law called "On Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations," which blatantly violated agreements of the OSCE which the former U.S.S.R. helped to initiate. Through use of witnesses, then, attendees of this hearing, namely commissioners, gained a deeper understanding of the religious liberty violations within OSCE member countries and insight into how to best influence governments to adhere more closely to internationally accepted human rights standards.
The Present Situation in AlbaniaFriday, May 23, 1997
This briefing, moderated by the Honorable Eliot Engel, Co-Chairman of the Albanian Issues Caucus, examined the international response to the crisis in Albania since the collapse of the pyramid schemes in the beginning of the year, which led to protests, rebellion, and political stalemate. The need for free and fair elections was emphasized in light of a political impasse over the holding of elections in June. Witnesses testifying at the briefing – including Julius Varallyay, Principle Country Officer for East Central Europe for the World Bank, Stefano Stefanini from the Italian Embassy, and Avni Mustafaj, former Director of Open Society Foundation for Albania – discussed the previous efforts that had been made to encourage political reforms and steps that needed to be taken in the future. The need for a comprehensive donor assistance program to complement international assistance was specifically address, as was the political reform on which this program would depend.
The Future of ChechnyaThursday, March 13, 1997
Former senatosr and commissionesr chaired this hearing, which focused on the efforts of the citizens in Chechnya to free themselves from Russian power. Russia's "transgressions" against the Chechnyan populace entailed lack of recognition of international principles. More specifically, the 1994 OSCE Budapest Document, with which the Russians agreed, stipulates that each participating state will ensure that its armed forces are commanded in a way that is consistent with the provisions of international law. Moreover, even when force cannot be avoided, each state will ensure that its use must be commensurate with the needs. At the time of this hearing, anywhere between 30,000 and 80,000 people had been killed because of the conflict in the territory, and tens of thousands of men, women, and children had been driven from their homes. In addition, there had been a cease-fire in Chechnya. However, the dangers had not recently ended.
Political Turmoil in SerbiaThursday, December 12, 1996
In this hearing, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) discussed, with witnesses, the developments in Serbia and what opposition forces had to say about the future of the country. Witnesses present included Miodrag Perisic, co-founder and vice president of Serbia's first political opposition party (the Democratic Party); Branislav Canak, the president of a confederation of independent trade unions that wanted to organize workers throughout Serbia (the Independents); Veran Matic, Editor-In-Chief of B92, Belgrade's independent radio station; and Obrad Kesic, program specialist for the Professional Media Program at the International Research and Exchanges Board. More specifically, Smith and witnesses discussed popular unrest against Milosevic's refusal to accept election results regarding the ruling Socialist Party and its allies, underscoring more general displeasure with the Serbian government's track record regarding the economy, human rights, and a lack of confidence that Serbians' children would have a democratic and prosperous future.
Bosnian Elections III: Representatives of Bosnian Political PartiesTuesday, July 30, 1996
Robert Hand led the discussion on the upcoming Bosnian elections, which were scheduled for mid-September later that year. He was joined by representatives of political parties from Bosnia-Herzegovina, a rather diverse group of individuals - some of them represented parties in powers and others that are not and from various ethnic constituencies. The witnesses - Ljilana Bubic of the Republican Party of Bosnia-Herzegovina; Adnan Jahic, President of the Party for Democratic Action in Tuzla; Hasib Salkic, Secretary General of the Liberal Party of Bosnia-Herzegovina; Zdenko Kubicek of the Executive Board of the Croatian Party of Rights; Mirjana Malic of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia-Herzegovina; and Zoran Tomic of the Croatian Democratic Union - introduced their parties' histories, issues, and goals. They then focused more specifically on how they see the Bosnian elections unfolding and their thoughts about having them in the upcoming fall.
Property Restitution, Compensation and Preservation: Competing Claims in Post-Communist EuropeThursday, July 18, 1996
This hearing, which Rep. Christopher H. Smith (NJ – 04) presided over, focused on how to rectify transgressions against individuals by former totalitarian regimes, which Smith called one of the most challenging issues confronting post-Communist societies in the OSCE region. This specifically related to the wrongful confiscation of property. Even though some Communist regimes were required by the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty to make restitution of Jewish property, these governments duly ignored such directives. In fact, Communist regimes were infamous for their complete disregard for private property, nationalizing factories, etc. Likewise, more recently, efforts to return property to former owners had been uneven and oftentimes unsuccessful, stymied by complex moral and legal obligations.
Russia's Election: What Does It Mean?Wednesday, July 10, 1996
Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) and others discussed the outcome and the implications of the Russian presidential election of 1996, which, at the time of the hearing, had just happened. The winner of the election was Boris Yeltsin, who was re-elected with a margin of thirteen percentage points over Communist Party Chairman and challenger Zyuganov. The hearing also incorporated discussion concerning the conflict in Chechnya and the circumstances under which the election transpired (i.e., fairness, media coverage).
Bosnia: Should the OSCE Certify Conditions Exist for Free and Fair Elections?Wednesday, June 26, 1996
The Helsinki Commission is focusing on what it considers one of the most important international events of this year, the elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Commission has held several briefings on this topic already with election experts from the United States, with members of the Provisional Election Commission from Bosnia, with representatives of political parties from that country, and most recently, with persons close to the situation in Banja Luka. Human rights organizations and others following the situation in Bosnia have warned that conditions for a free and fair election simply do not exist; and yet, the U.S. Government and some European governments have pressured the OSCE to certify nonetheless. A robust discussion on curbing rampant political gerrymandering and obstructions to free and fair elections will be underscored in the hearing.
The Legacy of ChernobylTuesday, April 23, 1996
Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) presided over this hearing, which marked the tenth anniversary of the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, the worst of its kind. Ten years out, what transpired had grave implications for Ukraine and Belarus. More specifically, according to Smith, "The explosion of the reactor at Chornobyl released 200 more times more radioactivity than was released by the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined." Likewise, thyroid cancer in Belarusian children was extremely entrenched. Perhaps most worryingly, at the time of this hearing, the obliterated fourth nuclear reactor's "sarcophagus" had developed serious cracks, which, if uncontained, could have released tons of radioactive dust into the environment.
Challenges to Democracy in AlbaniaThursday, March 14, 1996
The hearing focuses on the challenges to democracy in Albania. Given reports to the Helsinki Commission that human rights protections in Albania were slipping, the further democratization of Albania, and, by extension, Albania's bilateral relations with the United States, has been called into question. This hearing opens up dialogue with various experts and witnesses on the state of human rights in Albania and how that relates to the OSCE and the agreements which OSCE states sign onto.
THE CHECHEN CONFLICT AND RUSSIAN DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENTWednesday, March 06, 1996
The hearing addressed the OSCE-brokered military agreement in July 1995 between Russian and Chechen representatives to end ethnic conflict among Chechens, Russians, Ingush, and other ethnic groups caught up in the terror of war. The Commissioners discussed the disappearance of people, including a prominent American humanitarian aid worker and an American freelance journalist. The witnesses gave testimony on the visible breakdown in law and order which has forced humanitarian organizations, such as Doctors Without Borders, to withdraw to a safer location.
Mass Graves and Other Atrocities in BosniaTuesday, December 05, 1995
Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) and others discussed the atrocities committed against women, men, and children in the former Yugoslavian country of Bosnia. These atrocities exemplified Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the former Yugoslavia at large, as areas where internecine violence and strife seemed to be constant phenomena.
Turkey-U.S. Relations: Potential and PerilsTuesday, September 19, 1995
The hearing examined both the potential mutual benefits of closer relations with Turkey, and the peril of unconditional support for a government unable to resolve crises that threaten the existing political order and regional stability. Turkey, a NATO ally and OSCE participating State is poised as a unique strategic and economic partner astride the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans. Turkey stood by the United States in Korea, against Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War, and in its aftermath in Operation Provide Comfort. Turkey also supported our efforts to bring peace to Bosnia. The potential benefits of closer cooperation are obvious. At the same time, however, a complex and profound crisis increasingly divides Turkey's citizens along national, ethnic, and religious lines, threatening the existing social and political order. Extremist violence and terrorism is polarizing Turks and Kurds, Islamic groups, both secular and anti-secular proponents. While the rights of all Turkish citizens under the mantle of combating terrorism, Kurds bear the brunt of such repression.
The Latest Crisis in Bosnia-HerzegovinaThursday, June 08, 1995
With Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) presiding, this hearing focused on the continuing ethnic conflict in the former Yugoslavian country of Bosnia. This hearing was held with the events of the two weeks that preceded it in mind. More specifically, militants from Serbia had attacked UN outposts and, subsequently, had taken peacekeepers hostage. In spite of the atrocities being committed against the Bosnian people, Rep. Smith stated that the international community viewed the conflict in Bosnia as more of a crisis than the Bosnians themselves. Unfortunately, though, as this hearing sought to address, the international community could have better responded to the crisis in the former Yugoslav country. As a witness, Dr. Haris Silajdzic was also in attendance.
ChechnyaMonday, May 01, 1995
This hearing focused on the subject of the crisis in Chechnya. It was the third Helsinki Commission hearing on the disastrous policy hatched in Moscow to resolve by armed force the problem of relations between the government of the Russian Federation and Chechnya.
The United Nations, NATO and the Former YugoslaviaThursday, April 06, 1995
This hearing focused on policy questions related to United Nations efforts and coordinated assistance from NATO in the countries of the former Yugoslavia. The hearing reviewed a historical timeline of the events and atrocities associated with the war. The hearing covered the issue of genocide and the actions in which the United States ought to respond. In relation to the war, the hearing touched based on the effectiveness of the Bosnian arms embargo and whether its intended approached has alleviated the conflict in any matter. The witnesses and the Commissioners touched on the logistical difficulties faced by the United Nations and what the general perspective and desires of the local population.
Genocide in BosniaTuesday, April 04, 1995
This hearing focused on determinig if the recent ethnic cleansing, the destruction of cultural sites, and war crimes and crimes against humanity in Bosnia and the former Yugoslavia constituted genocide. In particular, the witnesses and Commissioners discussed how many of the war crimes were committed on orders from the military and the political leadership.
Human Rights and Democratization in the Republic of GeorgiaTuesday, March 28, 1995
In the late 1980's, Georgians began to organize politically to undo communism and to gain independence. They lived through a very exciting period, although a key element in the chronicle of the liberation movement was tragic, the April 1989 killings of peaceful protesters in Tbilisi by Soviet forces. Since then, however, Georgia has endured very difficult times. It has been one of the most strife-torn New Independent States, a victim of internal political and ethnic divisiveness, and external provocation and aggression.
Developments in Bosnia-HerzegovinaTuesday, January 31, 1995
The Helsinki Commission through the leadership of the previous co-chairs of the Helsinki Commission noted that calls for a negotiated settlement, however correct, are meaningless if accompanied by artificial neutrality and not by severe repercussions for those who operate outside acceptable parameters and seek what they want through the use of force. Collective partnerships, however desirable, will erode if partners allow one of their own to be carved into ethnic pieces. Enunciating international principles, however promising, is empty if countries abandon them for historical affinities and big power politics. The hearing will seek to understand policies that the U.S. may implement to curb the atrocities that have become dishearteningly commonplace in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Crisis of ChechnyaThursday, January 19, 1995
Apart from horrendous human rights violations, the war in Chechnya has brought to the fore all the underlying fissures in Russia's political and economic structures, as well as highlighted the tensions in Russia's relations with its neighbors and the rest of the international community. Chechnya confronts Russia's Government, and by extension, all OSCE governments with the key issue of self-determination. Though Principle VIII of the Helsinki Final Act guarantees the equal right of all peoples to self-determination, the international community has never worked out rules and mechanisms for pursuing that right. Since many countries face actual or potential separatist movements based on demands for self-determination, governments have tended to side-step the issue.


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TUESDAY, Sept. 12, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Children may have a more difficult time coping with the devastating hurricanes that have recently hit the United States, an expert says.
"Compared to adults, children suffer more from exposure to disasters, including psychological, behavioral, and physical problems, as well as difficulties learning in school," Jessica Dym Bartlett, a senior research scientist at Child Trends, said in that organization's news release.
Even youngsters who hear about a disaster or see images on television may develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, she said.
"Understand that trauma reactions vary widely. Children may regress, demand extra attention, and think about their own needs before those of others — natural responses that should not be met with anger or punishment," Dym Bartlett said.
Create a safe environment where children's basic needs — such as shelter, food and clothing — are met. Keep to regular schedules and other routines that provide children with a sense of safety and predictability.
It's also important to keep children busy. Boredom can worsen negative thoughts and behaviors. Youngsters are less likely to feel distress if they play and interact with others, Dym Bartlett said.
Limit children's exposure to images and descriptions of the disaster, talk with them about what they see and hear, and emphasize hope and positivity.
"Find age-appropriate ways for children to help. Even very young children benefit from being able to make a positive difference in others' lives while learning important lessons about empathy, compassion, and gratitude," Dym Bartlett said.
If a child continues to have difficulties longer than six weeks after a hurricane, seek professional help, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network recommends.
It's also important for parents and other child caregivers to get the necessary attention, support and care that they need, Dym Bartlett said.
More information
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network has more on helping children cope with hurricanes.
Copyright © 2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.


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Dollar General Sends Letter to Family Dollar's Board of Directors
August 20, 2014
GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. (BUSINESS WIRE), August 20, 2014 - Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) today announced it has sent the following letter to the Board of Directors of Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO)
August 20, 2014
Board of Directors
Family Dollar Stores, Inc.
10401 Monroe Road
Matthews, North Carolina 28201
To the Board of Directors of Family Dollar Stores, Inc.:
We have reviewed the Form S-4 on the background of your current merger agreement with Dollar Tree. As the Family Dollar Board of Directors considers our superior proposal, we believe it is important for you to take into account certain important facts that are not included in the Form S-4 relating to our interaction with your company.
While the Form S-4 references various meetings between our companies' representatives over the years, it fails to mention that Dollar General representatives have consistently expressed a keen interest in putting our two companies together. The Form S-4 also fails to mention that on more than one occasion at such meetings, Howard Levine expressed his own interest in the social issues of a combination, including, among other things, his desire to be chief executive officer of the combined companies. We cannot help but question whether Dollar General's failure to embrace such requests by Mr. Levine weighed into Family Dollar's decision to pursue an agreement with Dollar Tree.
As you are aware, we continued to express our interest in exploring a combination into June of this year. During the June 7, 2014, phone call referenced in the background section of the Form S-4, our representative reiterated Dollar General's interest in potentially acquiring Family Dollar and stated our preference to negotiate directly with the Board of Directors and not in the public media, as might be the case with an activist investor involved, and suggested a meeting with the Dollar General CEO as soon as possible.
That meeting was held on June 19, 2014, just days before the Family Dollar Board decided to enter into exclusive negotiations with Dollar Tree. During the June 19 meeting, although noting that the timing was not optimal for Dollar General, our representatives expressed more than once our interest in exploring a combination with Family Dollar. At no time during this meeting did Mr. Levine indicate that there was a process, that there was any urgency to act or that there were discussions with another potential buyer. In fact, Mr. Levine's response to specific questions posed by our representatives gave us quite the opposite impression. Had we left the meeting with the belief that a sale of Family Dollar was imminent, we assure you that our course of action would have been different.
At that meeting, the Dollar General representatives communicated to Mr. Levine that Dollar General's interest likely would be at a modest premium to the current stock price ($68.14 at such time). It is surprising, then, that, according to the Form S-4, your board was considering at that time a proposal in that range from Dollar Tree, and yet no representative of Family Dollar followed up with any representative of Dollar General after that meeting and before entering into the merger agreement with Dollar Tree.
This lack of engagement is puzzling. Regrettably, as a result, we are now forced to factor a $305 million break-up fee into our offer – consideration that could have been better used to maximize value for the Family Dollar shareholders.
Nonetheless, we have presented you with a superior proposal for your shareholders (although perhaps not for Mr. Levine personally), and we urge you to evaluate our proposal on its merits considering this full set of facts and in keeping with your obligation to consider first and foremost the best interests of your shareholders.
Finally, we have heard the media reports in which unnamed sources close to Family Dollar are claimed to have expressed concern about antitrust matters relating to a potential acquisition by Dollar General. As we stated in our offer letter, we have engaged experienced counsel and an economist and have conducted extensive review and analysis of these matters, and we are confident that we will be able to quickly and efficiently resolve any potential antitrust issues. In fact, we believe that the number of store divestitures contained in our offer letter is more than sufficient to take this issue completely off the table. We remain ready to share with your counsel the conclusions of our extensive antitrust work once you have taken the appropriate steps under your existing merger agreement with Dollar Tree to enable us to begin discussions.
We urge the Family Dollar Board of Directors to act in the best interests of the Family Dollar shareholders and take the necessary steps to enter into discussions with us.
Rick Dreiling
Dollar General Corporation
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Forward-Looking Statements
Dollar General includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws throughout this release, including by way of example and without limitation plans, intentions and expectations regarding Dollar General's proposal to acquire Family Dollar. A reader can identify forward-looking statements because they are not limited to historical fact or they use words such as "may," "will," "could," "should," "would," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "project," "plan," "estimate," "forecast," "goal," "objective," "committed," "intend," "continue," or "will likely result" and similar expressions that concern Dollar General's strategy, plans, intentions or beliefs about future occurrences or results.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may change at any time and may cause actual results to differ materially from those that Dollar General expected. Many of these statements are derived from Dollar General's operating budgets and forecasts, which are based on many detailed assumptions that Dollar General believes are reasonable, or are based on various assumptions about certain plans, activities or events which we expect will or may occur in the future. However, it is very difficult to predict the effect of known factors, and Dollar General cannot anticipate all factors that could affect actual results that may be important to an investor. All forward-looking information should be evaluated in the context of these risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those factors disclosed under "Risk Factors" in Dollar General's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly filings on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements that Dollar General makes from time to time in its SEC filings and public communications. Dollar General cannot assure the reader that it will realize the results or developments Dollar General anticipates or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the consequences or affect Dollar General or its operations in the way Dollar General expects. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. Dollar General undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date on which they were made, except as otherwise required by law. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements included herein or that may be made elsewhere from time to time by, or on behalf of, Dollar General.
About Dollar General Corporation
Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for 75 years. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day!® by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at low everyday prices in convenient neighborhood locations. With more than 11,500 stores in 40 states, Dollar General has more retail locations than any retailer in America. In addition to high quality private brands, Dollar General sells products from America's most-trusted manufacturers such as Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg's, General Mills, and PepsiCo. For more information on Dollar General, please visit www.dollargeneral.com.
Dollar General Corporation
Mary Winn Pilkington, 615-855-5536
Emma Jo Kauffman, 615-855-5525
Brunswick Group:
Steve Lipin or Shahed Larson, 212-333-3810
Dollar General Corporation:
Media Hotline, 877-944-DGPR (3477)
Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) is proud to serve as America's neighborhood general store. Founded in 1939, Dollar General lives its mission of Serving Others every day by providing access to affordable products and services for its customers, career opportunities for its employees, and literacy and education support for its hometown communities. As of August 4, 2023, the company's 19,488 Dollar General, DG Market, DGX and pOpshelf stores across the United States and Mi Súper Dollar General stores in Mexico provide everyday essentials including food, health and wellness products, cleaning and laundry supplies, self-care and beauty items, and seasonal décor from our high-quality private brands alongside many of the world's most trusted brands such as Coca Cola, PepsiCo/Frito-Lay, General Mills, Hershey, J.M. Smucker, Kraft, Mars, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Learn more at DollarGeneral.com.


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Spooktacular Giveaway Hop ($10 Amazon GC)
92 comments:
Thanks for the giveaway! I plan on being a mermaid for Halloween. <3ReplyDelete
As of right now handing out candy abd facebook party!ReplyDelete
I'll just be at home giving out candy.ReplyDelete
I am working at my daughters school carnival.. Should be a blast, lol.ReplyDelete
A witch Halloween party! Pass out candy and watch Hocus Pocus! Thanks for the giveaway!ReplyDelete
This year will be quiet as my kids are now all too old to trick or treat so I think I will stay home and watch a good horror movieReplyDelete
I'll be a Despicable Me minion this Halloween! So excited!ReplyDelete
I don't have any plans for halloween, although I will probably read a bunch of spooky books during halloweenReplyDelete
Sadly, I will not be celebrating Halloween...ReplyDelete
I'll be handing out candy. I love seeing the kids in their cute costumes.ReplyDelete
The only plans that I have is to stay home and hand out candy to the kids. Thanks for having the giveaway.ReplyDelete
don't have any plan because there's no haloween in my country but i always watching scary movies :)ReplyDelete
thx u..
Passing candy out watching a scary movieReplyDelete
My Halloween plans this year is to stay in and watch some classic horror flicks.ReplyDelete
I do not have any halloween plans this year.ReplyDelete
I plan to dress up for work and hand out candy to the kids. I love doing that.ReplyDelete
No Halloween plans other than reading. We do not celebrate in this part of the world!ReplyDelete
I'll be manning the door for trick-or-treaters and enjoying the costumes!ReplyDelete
I'll be hanging with the kids, either walking them around or handing out candy. During the day, I'll dress up at work. :-)ReplyDelete
Trick or treating with my daughterReplyDelete
I think I'll stay home and watch some movies!ReplyDelete
Handing candy out.ReplyDelete
I plan on handing out candy.ReplyDelete
Jennifer Rote
Going to my niece's house to dress up her toddlers and then hand out candy to trick or treaters :)ReplyDelete
I'll be handing out candy. :)ReplyDelete
I'm not sure yet what I'm doing for Halloween but I'm leaning towards going to a 90s themed club night!ReplyDelete
Staying home to give out candy if any kids show up this year.ReplyDelete
I'm taking my girls trick-or-treating!ReplyDelete
In my country we don't celebrate Halloween, but I'd love to because it looks so much fun!ReplyDelete
Sadly, none! My company allows costumes and decor, but my team is so swamped with deadlines, they won't indulge my mad desire to make marketing a haunted row of cubicles. :)ReplyDelete
I'm going into my mom's fifth grade classroom. :) I'm dressing up as a princess.ReplyDelete
I'm taking my little grand-daughter out trick-or-treating.ReplyDelete
Going out to dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday. Thanks for the giveaway! You can enter my Spooktacular Giveaway atReplyDelete
From the Shadows. Happy Halloween! :)
I don't have any plans, well, other than staying at home and not answering the door!ReplyDelete
jen dot barnard at btinternet dot com
Stay at home and watch horror movies!!ReplyDelete
I will stay home and watch Halloween movies!!ReplyDelete
I will be at home giving out candy and treats to the little ones in their cute costumes!!!ReplyDelete
We are staying home and we will watch horror movies marathons.ReplyDelete
jmesparza821 at gmail dot com
I will spend the time with my children, watching movies most likely.ReplyDelete
I'll be watching Halloween movies, like Halloweentown or Hocus Pocus. Thanks for the great giveaway! :)ReplyDelete
Going trick or treating with the kidsReplyDelete
I don't have any plans for Halloween. Sadly we don't celebrate it all that much in my country, if at all. So it'll pretty much be a normal friday. Thanks for the great giveaway!ReplyDelete
I'd planned on having a small party or something with my friends but I just realized I had a test the next day :( So probably studying.ReplyDelete
Well, my daughter had tonsil surgery a few days ago. She might not feel up to trick or treating. But that's our plan right now!ReplyDelete
I will be taking my 7 year old grandson out trick or treating.ReplyDelete
We have no Halloween plans aside from my husband giving out candy at the door.ReplyDelete
No Halloween plans at the moment and will probably end up giving out candy.ReplyDelete
We are staying in and handing out candy this year!ReplyDelete
coriwestphal at msn dot com
handing out candyReplyDelete
We go out each year as a family - fun for everyone. We make a goal to try and beat last year's record for candy.ReplyDelete
I have plans on sitting outside and handing out candy. Love Halloween.ReplyDelete
No plans, as we don't celebrate it over here.ReplyDelete
Roast hot dogs and marshmallows :)ReplyDelete
I might go to the trick or treating at my church. :)ReplyDelete
I'll probably be home handing out candy and reading the rest of the time.ReplyDelete
I think I'd just marathon American Horror Story with some friends. Thank you for the giveaway, enjoy your day. :)ReplyDelete
I think I might just sit at home and hope for trick or treatersReplyDelete
I"m going to a Halloween party at a real haunted building!ReplyDelete
I'll just be at home watching horror movies. Thanks for the chance to win :)ReplyDelete
The only thing planned so far is to pass out candy to the lads and lasses. Thanks for the chance!ReplyDelete
I am pretty sure I will spend it in the hospital with my sister. She is having a baby (:! I will be an aunt for the first time ever! Super excited. If she comes before halloween... well I will dress up as a purge member and take my youngest sister out trick or treatingReplyDelete
I will be taking my children trick or treating. If the weather is too cold and rainy, we play Halloween theme games at home instead.ReplyDelete
Staying at home readingReplyDelete
Every year a bunch of us go to the midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.ReplyDelete
I'm going to dress in costume, and spend the evening with my mom, eating "spooky" treats and watching movies. I'd like say that we'd be on the look-out for trick-or-treaters, too, but we never get anyone anymore.ReplyDelete
I'm going to be handing out candy to the kids.ReplyDelete
Going to visit husband's grandmother , she hasn't been doing well and he will finally have a day off :) plus she loves halloween.ReplyDelete
I plan to eat candy & maybe watch some scary movies :)ReplyDelete
My plans are to hand out treats to the neighborhood kids.ReplyDelete
I'm just staying home and handing out candy.ReplyDelete
Staying at home and watching movies.ReplyDelete
I don't have any plans for Halloween.ReplyDelete
Thank you so much for the giveaway!
I will take my sons trick or treating!ReplyDelete
I just plan to watch a few scary movies.ReplyDelete
I decorated the house and will probably give out candy.ReplyDelete
I plan to watch a horror movie.ReplyDelete
My porch light will be off, and I won't be answering the door because of the ROVING CLOWNS!!! lolReplyDelete
Watching scary movies and making some Halloween sugar cookies.ReplyDelete
Thanks for the chance to win!
My Halloween plans are the same as always, handing out candy. I love seeing all the children in their costumes and their bright eyes when you give them candy. I remember trick-or-tricking is it was one of the funniest things I ever did.ReplyDelete
No real plans here, have candy, television and we live at the top of a dark hill in the country and do not get trick or treators, but I still buy the candy..lol need some excuse.ReplyDelete
I have a wedding to attend! Before the wedding I will give out candy to any trick-or-treaters that show up though.ReplyDelete
Stay home and watch horror movies while eating chocolate. ;)ReplyDelete
hand out candy and watch some scary moviesReplyDelete
Trick or treating and maybe a scary movie or two! It is supposed to be VERY cold :(ReplyDelete
it's my mum's birthday....going out for dinnerReplyDelete
Work, followed by horror movies with munchies!ReplyDelete
Going for a drive probably.ReplyDelete
I'm taking my children trick or treating.ReplyDelete
Scare pranks all nightReplyDelete
I think I'm just gonna eat cookies. ;)ReplyDelete
Watching scary movies and eating lots of sweets! :)ReplyDelete
Eating Candy :)ReplyDelete