Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/267007
Army survey finds few women want combat jobs FORT EUSTIS, Va. (AP) — Only a small fraction of Army women say they'd like to move into one of the newly opening combat jobs, but those few who do say they want a job that takes them right into the heart of battle, according to preliminary results from a survey of the service's nearly 170,000 women. That survey and others across the Army, publicly disclosed for the first time to The Associated Press, also revealed that soldiers of both genders are nervous about women entering combat jobs but say they are determined to do it fairly. Men are worried about los- ing their jobs to women; women are worried they will be seen as getting jobs because of their gen- der and not their qualifications. Both are emphatic that the Army must not lower standards to accommodate women. Less than 8 percent of Army women who responded to the sur- vey said they wanted a combat job. Of those, an overwhelming number said they'd like to be a Night Stalker — a member of the elite special operations helicopter crews who perhaps are best known for flying the Navy SEALS into Osama bin Laden's compound in 2011. Last year top Pentagon officials signed an order saying women must have the same opportunities as men in combat jobs and the ser- vices have been devising updated physical standards, training, edu- cation and other programs for thousands of jobs they must open Jan. 1, 2016. The services must open as many jobs to women as possible; if they decide to keep some closed, they must explain why. The Army says that about 200,000 of its 1.1 million jobs are either direct combat or related jobs such as field artillery, combat engineers and so on. That's rough- ly 20 percent of the force, though the direct-combat front-line fight- ers make up roughly half of that or about 9 percent. Feds viewed state computers in health care as potential back door for hackers WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Obama administration raced to meet its self-imposed deadline for online health insurance markets, security experts working for the government worried that state computer systems could become a back door for hackers. Documents provided to The Associated Press show that more than two-thirds of state systems that were supposed to tap into fed- eral computers to verify sensitive personal information for coverage were initially rated as ''high risk'' for security problems. Back-door attacks have been in the news, since the hackers who stole millions of customers' credit and debit card numbers from Tar- get are believed to have gained access through a contractor's net- work. The administration says the documents offer only a partial and ''outdated'' snapshot of an improving situation, and the secu- rity problems cited were either resolved or are being addressed through specific actions. No suc- cessful cyberattacks have taken place, officials say. However, the issues detailed in documents and emails provided by the House Oversight and Gov- ernment Reform Committee reveal broader concerns than the federal Health and Human Ser- vices department has previously acknowledged. Government study says preschooler obesity fell sharply ATLANTA (AP) — Toddler obesity shrank sharply in the past decade, a new study sug- gests. While promising, it's not proof that the nation has turned a corner in the battle against childhood obesity, some experts say. The finding comes from a government study considered a gold-standard gauge of trends in the public's health. The researchers found that obesity among children ages 2 to 5 decreased — to 8 percent, from 14 percent a decade ago. That would represent a 43 percent drop. But the only decline was seen in preschoolers, not in older children. And some experts note that even the improvement in toddlers wasn't a steady decline, and say it's hard to know yet whether preschooler weight figures are permanently curving down or merely jumping around. It is enough of a decline to be optimistic, said Cynthia Ogden, one of the study's authors. ''There's a glimmer of hope,'' said Ogden, an epidemi- ologist with the Centers for Dis- ease Control and Prevention. Tensions soar in pro-Russian region of Crimea against the 'bandits' in Kiev forming a new govt SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (AP) — Dozens of pro-Russian protest- ers rallied Tuesday in the Ukrain- ian peninsula of Crimea against ''the bandits'' in Kiev who are try- ing to form a new government — with some even speaking of seces- sion. A lawmaker from Russia stoked their passions further by promising them that Russia will protect them. As a Russian flag flew Tuesday in front of the city council building in Sevastopol — a key Crimean port where Russia's Black Sea Fleet is based — an armored Russian personnel carrier and two trucks full of troops made a rare appearance on the streets of the city. The Crimean Peninsula — a pro-Russian region about the size of Massachusetts or Belgium — is a tinder pot in the making. Protesters had torn down the Ukrainian flag a day ago, pleading with Moscow to protect them from the new authorities in Ukraine who have forced Presi- dent Viktor Yanukovych to flee Kiev, the capital, and go into hid- ing. ''Bandits have come to power,'' said Vyacheslav Tokarev, a 39- year-old construction worker in Sevastopol. ''I'm ready to take arms to fight the fascists who have seized power in Kiev.'' Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer jets home amid furor over bill PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer headed home Tuesday after five days in Wash- ington to a state that has become embroiled in a national debate over religious and gay rights because of a bill on her desk. The Republican governor is expected to arrive in Phoenix in the afternoon and likely will spend the next day or more pondering Senate Bill 1062 before deciding whether to sign or veto the legisla- tion. The bill allows businesses whose owners cite sincerely held religious beliefs to deny service to gays. It allows any business, church or person to cite the law as a defense in any action brought by the government or individual claiming discrimination. There is widespread specula- tion that Brewer will veto the bill, but she has not said how she'll act, as is her longtime practice with pending legislation. Political observers in Arizona cautioned that the governor is deliberate and not prone to act hastily, despite the growing calls from business, politicians of all stripes, and civil rights groups for a veto. Ugandan newspaper publishes list of the country's '200 top' gays KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A Ugandan newspaper pub- lished a list Tuesday of what it called the country's ''200 top'' gays, outing some Ugandans and raising fears of violence against those named just a day after the president enacted a severe anti-gay law. Many on the list ''are scared and they need help,'' said Pepe Julian Onziema, a prominent Ugandan gay activist who was named in in the Red Pepper tabloid. ''Some want to leave the country and they are asking to be helped.'' Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Mon- day's signing of the bill by President Yoweri Museveni marked ''a tragic day for Ugan- da and for all who care about the cause of human rights.'' He warned that Washington could cut aid to the East African nation over the new law, which punishes gay sex with up to life in prison. ''We are beginning an inter- nal review of our relationship with the government of Uganda to ensure that all dimensions of our engagement, including assistance programs, uphold our anti-discrimination policies and principles and reflect our values,'' Kerry said in a state- ment. Rick Warren takes on mental health care as personal mission LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) — A year after his son's sui- cide, popular evangelical pastor Rick Warren is taking on a new mental health ministry inspired by his personal tragedy. Warren, founder of Saddle- back Church and a best-selling author, will team with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange and the National Alliance on Mental Illness to host a daylong event next month focused on helping church leaders reach parish- ioners who are struggling with mental illness. The Gathering on Mental Health and the Church grew out of private conversations Warren had with the local Catholic bishop, Bishop Kevin Vann, after his son's death and his own writings in his journal as he processed his grief. Matthew Warren, 27, committed suicide last April after struggling with severe depression and suicidal thoughts for years. ''I'm certainly not going to waste this pain. One of the things I believe is that God never wastes a hurt and that oftentimes your greatest min- istry comes out of your deepest pain,'' Warren said Monday as he met with Vann to discuss the March 28 event. ''I remember writing in my journal that in God's garden of grace even bro- ken trees bear fruit.'' After Matthew's suicide, more than 10,000 people wrote to Warren and his wife, Kay, to share their own struggles with mental illness, he said. The con- ference will address a range of mental health issues, from bipo- lar disorder to suicide to more easily hidden issues such as anxiety, eating disorders and addiction. Attendees can choose from among 20 interac- tive workshops within the con- ference. Disappearance of large bitcoin exchange adds to mystery, mistrust surrounding virtual currency TOKYO (AP) — The sudden disappearance of one of the largest bitcoin exchanges only adds to the mystery and mistrust surrounding the virtual currency, which was just beginning to gain legitimacy beyond the technolo- gy enthusiasts and adventurous investors who created it. Prominent bitcoin supporters said the apparent collapse of the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox exchange was an isolated case of misman- agement that will weed out ''bad actors.'' But the setback raised serious questions about bitcoin's tenuous status and even more tenuous future. At least one sup- porter said the blow could be fatal to bitcoin's quest for accep- tance by the public. A coalition of virtual currency companies said Mt. Gox went under after secretly racking up catastrophic losses. The exchange had imposed a ban on withdrawals earlier this month. By Tuesday, its website returned only a blank page. The collapse followed the resignation Sunday of CEO Mark Karpeles from the board of the Bitcoin Foundation, a group seeking wider use of the exotic currency. San Francisco-based wallet service Coinbase and Chinese exchange BTC China sought to shore up confidence in the cur- rency by saying the Mt. Gox's situation was isolated and the result of abusing users' trust. They offered no details. California couple uncover rare gold coins worth $10M LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Northern California couple out walking their dog on their proper- ty stumbled across a modern-day bonanza: $10 million in rare, mint-condition gold coins buried in the shadow of an old tree. Nearly all of the 1,427 coins, dating from 1847 to 1894, are in uncirculated, mint condition, said David Hall, co-founder of Profes- sional Coin Grading Service of Santa Ana, which recently authenticated them. Although the face value of the gold pieces only adds up to about $27,000, some of them are so rare that coin experts say they could fetch nearly $1 million apiece. ''I don't like to say once-in-a- lifetime for anything, but you don't get an opportunity to handle this kind of material, a treasure like this, ever,'' said veteran numismatist Don Kagin, who is representing the finders. ''It's like they found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.'' Kagin, whose family has been in the rare-coin business for 81 years, would say little about the couple other than that they are husband and wife, are middle- aged and have lived for several years on the rural property in Cal- ifornia's Gold Country, where the coins were found. They have no idea who put them there, he said. The pair are choosing to remain anonymous, Kagin said, in part to avoid a renewed gold rush to their property by modern-day prospectors armed with metal detectors. FDA weighs risks technique to create babies with DNA from 3 people WASHINGTON (AP) — Genetic experts cautioned that it could take decades to confirm the safety of an experimental tech- nique, meant to prevent children from inheriting debilitating dis- eases, that would create babies from the DNA of three people. The Food and Drug Adminis- tration heard from supporters and opponents of the provocative technique at a two-day meeting, as the agency considers whether to greenlight testing in women who have defective genes linked to blindness, organ failure and many other inheritable diseases. Preliminary testing in animals suggests that combining the DNA of two parents with that of a third female donor could allow prospective mothers to give birth to healthy children. But even experts in the field warned that researchers would have to follow the offspring for many years to see if they are truly healthy. ''The end of the experiment will come decades later,'' said Michigan State University's Keith Latham, in a presentation Tues- day before the FDA and its advi- sory panel. ''It's going to take us that long to figure out the health of the progeny produced from these procedures.'' The FDA explicitly framed its public meeting as a ''technical'' discussion on the feasibility of safely testing the artificial fertil- ization technique in humans. In a statement read at the outset, FDA staffers acknowledged the ''ethi- cal and social policy issues related to genetic modification of eggs and embryos,'' but said such issues were ''outside the scope of this meeting.'' Ohio driver's bible booklet stops bullet CINCINNATI (AP) — A bibli- cal booklet in a shirt pocket appar- ently helped a bus driver survive a shooting, and authorities were looking Tuesday for three sus- pects, police say. The driver for the Greater Day- ton Regional Transit Authority told Dayton police he was stand- ing outside the bus early Monday morning when the men shot at him three times, with one bullet hitting his leg. He also was stabbed in the arm. Rickey Wagoner, 49, of Trot- wood, told police he fought back, grabbed the gun and the men ran away. Wagoner told police he fired at them before driving the bus to a safe location and calling for help. ''I stabbed one in the leg, I think, with my pen,'' he said on the 911 call to police in Dayton, about 60 miles north of Cincin- nati. Police said Tuesday no one was on the bus at the time. 6B Daily News – Wednesday, February 26, 2014 LEGAL NOTICE TS# 13-1963 1304-1655 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED: 8/19/08. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. A public auction sale to the highest bid- der for cash, cashier's check drawn on a state or national bank, check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal sav- ings and loan association, or savings association, or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the Financial Code and author- ized to do business in this state will be held by the duly appoint- ed trustee, as shown below, all right, title and interest conveyed to and now held by the trustee in the hereinafter described property under and pursuant to a Deed of Trust described be- low. The sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, express or implied, regarding ti- tle, possession, or encumbran- ces, to satisfy the obligation se- cured by said Deed of Trust. The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrect- ness of the property address or other common designation, if any shown herein. Trustor: Billy Vail and Laura Ferguson Vail, husband and wife Duly Appoint- ed Trustee: Foreclosure Special- ists LLC Recorded 9/8/08 as In- strument No. 2008013208 of Offi- cial Records in the office of the Recorder of Tehama County, California, Date of Sale: Wednes- day, March 19, 2014 at 11:00 AM Place of Sale: At the front door entrance to the County Court- house, 633 Washington St., Red Bluff, CA 96080 The common designation of the property is purported to be: 15780 Old Mis- sion Drive, Red Bluff, CA 96080 APN: 007-450-41 Estimated open- ing bid: $188,268.34 Beneficiary may elect to open bidding at a lesser amount. The total amount secured by said instrument as of the time of initial publication of this notice is stated above, which includes the total amount of the unpaid balance (including accrued and unpaid interest) and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of initial publication of this notice. NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS: If you are considering bidding on this property lien, you should understand that there are risks involved in bid- ding at a trustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bid- der at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien be- ing auctioned off, before you can receive clear title to the property. You are encouraged to investigate the existence, priori- ty, and size of outstanding liens that may exist on this property by contacting the county re- corder's office or a title insur- ance company, either of which may charge you a fee for this in- formation. If you consult either of these resources, you should be aware that the same lender may hold more than one mort- gage or deed of trust on the property. NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER: The sale date shown on this notice of sale may be post- poned one or more times by the mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the California Civil Code. The law requires that in- formation about trustee sale postponements be made availa- ble to you and to the public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish to learn whether your sale date has been postponed, and, if applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this property, you may call the trustee's informa- tion line at 530-246-2727 or visit this Internet Web site: calforeclosures.biz, using the file number assigned to this case: TS #13-1963. Information about postponements that are very short in duration or that oc- cur close in time to the sched- uled sale may not immediately be reflected in the telephone in- formation or on the Internet Web site. The best way to verify postponement information is to attend the scheduled sale. Date: 2/18/14 FORECLOSURE SPECIAL- ISTS LLC 1388 Court Street, Ste C Redding, CA 96001 530-246-2727 Jannelle Van Bockern, Trustee Sale Officer Foreclosure Special- ists LLC is assisting the Benefi- ciary in collecting a debt. Any and all information obtained may be used for that purpose. TAC: 967906 PUB: 2/26, 3/05, 3/12/14 WORLD BRIEFING