PPC Smart Guide For ECommerce | Webtraitz Technologies

PPC advertising a is a terrific way to drive traffic to an ecommerce website. With the ability to send traffic to your site instantly, PPC advertising is among the best traffic sources on the web. Also, when running a PPC campaign, you are able to target certain keywords that can drive very specific consumers to your website who are more likely to make a purchase immediately rather than continue to do online research, resulting in higher conversion rates.

How to Improve your Current PPC Campaign

If you are currently running a PPC campaign but are not seeing the results you thought you would, here are a few tips you can use to help improve your campaign.

Use Very Specific Keywords ? An important tip to remember when looking to run a successful PPC campaign is to bid on very specific keywords. The more specific you can get the better chances you will have in attracting highly targeted visitors to your website. For instance, bidding on model numbers of specific items will attract visitors who more than likely already know which product they want to buy. They are just looking for the best possible price online.

Use Pricing in Your Ad ? Another way to increase the quality of traffic you drive to your website via PPC marketing is to include pricing within your ad. By including the price of your products within your advertisements, you will be able to avoid driving traffic to your site that has no intentions of spending as much money as you are charging. When someone sees the price in an ad, they will not be surprised to see the same price on your website once they click through to it.

Advanced PPC Tips: How to Stand Out from the Competition

With more companies realizing the benefits of PPC advertising, more businesses are using this marketing strategy to drive online traffic to their website. Finding unique ways to stand out from the competition will help your PPC campaign thrive while you raise awareness about your particular brand.

Use Negative Keywords ? Using negative keywords will ensure that your ads are only displayed in front of people who want to see them. By including certain negative keywords within your campaign, you can avoid sending untargeted traffic to your website and paying for useless clicks. I?ve had a lot of success using negative keywords in a PPC ?campaign for Paramold eCommerce website. Thhis is a very powerful strategy you should use it.

Include Lots of Details in your Ads ? One excellent way you can stand out from your competition when running a PPC campaign is to include lots of details in your ads. Many people think it is best to have your ads appeal to everyone, but this is not the case. You want to send as much targeted traffic to your website as possible, and including a lot of details in your ads will help you attract that targeted traffic.

Bid on your Competition?s Brand ? Bidding on keywords or phrases that include your competition?s brand name will allow you to get your ads on the same page as theirs. This will help you show that you are direct competitor and another option for consumers looking to purchase certain products.

PPC Mistakes to Avoid

PPC advertising can be difficult to master simply because you can make so many mistakes with your campaign. Here are a few mistakes you should work to avoid in order to see better results with your campaign.

Not Split Testing ? One of the worst things you can do when running a PPC campaign is not split test different elements of your campaign. Constantly fine tuning and tweaking your PPC campaign is the recipe for success when it comes to pay per click advertising.

Using Too Many Broad Match Keywords ? Using too many broad match keywords will drive untargeted traffic to your website. Since you are in search of highly targeted traffic, it is in your best interest to not use too many broad match keywords with your PPC campaign. If you do use broad match keywords, make sure to include negative keywords as well to help keep your untargeted traffic to a minimum. You can use broad match only if you have big, very big budegt. Otherwise, it is pointless.

Pay per click advertising is a wonderful way to drive highly targeted traffic to your website nearly instantly. However, in order to get the best results possible, you need to carefully monitor your PPC campaign and make sure you are following industry best practices.

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Ben Sawyer is an avid blogger and Internet marketing consultant for many small business companies. He is responsible for handling their social media campaigns and improving their online presence. These are his tips about PPC for ecommerce type of website, based on his own experience.

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Oklahoma residents return home to pick up the pieces after tornado

Oklahoma residents return home to pick up the pieces after tornado

Moore, Okla. ? With her son holding her elbow, Colleen Arvin walked up her driveway to what was left of her house for 40 years.

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Witnesses describe deadly Oklahoma tornado; Gov. Fallin says death count unknown

[Updated at 6:10 p.m. CT]

MOORE, Okla. ? Scientists surveying the aftermath here Tuesday deemed the tornado to be the worst of the worst, saying its winds were at least 200 mph and possibly stronger. Some victims didn't have long to react.

?The storm intensified very rapidly in four miles or around 10 minutes,? the National Weather Service revealed in a preliminary report.

The tornado cut a path of destruction 17 miles long and 1.3 miles wide.

Kelly Damphousse was one of those caught off guard. He and his family were unloading a 26-foot U-Haul truck at a storage facility when they spotted the ferocious funnel.

?It just kept coming,? said Damphousse, who was able to flee the twister's path.

Twenty-four people have been confirmed dead?including 9 children?and 237 were injured by the twister, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said. At a news conference Tuesday, Fallin said officials are trying to find out if other victims might have been taken to local funeral homes and have not yet been counted in the death toll.

?We're going through that debris, and we're going to keep looking until everybody's found,? FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said at the news conference. Dozens of people have been rescued.

Fallin said authorities "don't even know if there are missing people" but will turn over every piece of debris to find survivors possibly trapped in the rubble. First responders will check each damaged piece of property three times to ensure no one who needs help is overlooked, Fallin said.

?This was the storm of storms,? Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said.

[Photos from the scene.]

Earlier, authorities said they expected more victims to be uncovered.

?Not to be pessimistic ... but we think the death toll will continue to climb as we find more bodies,? Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb said on CNN.

Mother Nature was showing no mercy to Moore on Tuesday. Drenching rains, lightning and marble-size hail slowed rescuers at times on Tuesday.

Officials said water, electricity and cell phone service was down in some areas. They urged people to stay away from the area. Residents can call 1-800-621-FEMA to find shelter.

President Barack Obama said the federal government would help with the disaster response.

?The people of Moore should know that their country will remain on the ground there for them, beside them, as long as it takes for their homes and schools to rebuild, businesses and hospitals to reopen, the parents to console, the first responders to comfort and of course frightened children who will need our continued love and attention,? Obama said Tuesday morning at the White House.

[Residents? storm stories: ?We can?t go back, the destruction is so bad?]

Seven of the dead children were found Monday night at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which took a direct hit when the tornado chewed its destructive path through Newcastle, Moore and parts of southern Oklahoma City for 50 minutes. Officials said that unlike 100 other schools in the area, Plaza Towers was not equipped with a tornado safe room.

Schools Superintendent Susan Pierce choked up at a news conference when talking about the twister, which destroyed at least two schools. She said every Moore school implemented its tornado shelter plan before the storm hit Monday. "We're in the process of learning as much as we can about what happened," she said, adding that graduation for Moore's high school seniors will still take place this Saturday in Oklahoma City.

Classes were still in session at Plaza Towers when the twister crushed nearly every corner of the property. Teachers? cars were thrown into the building, and the playground no longer exists.

?All you could hear were screams,? local resident Stuart Earnest Jr. said of the scene at the school after the storm. ?The people screaming for help. And the people trying to help were also screaming.?

?I can only hope those little kids killed didn't suffer,? said Earnest, one of many who rushed to the school to help survivors.

[In tornado's wake, worried parents seek out kids]

With several students still unaccounted for, rescuers worked overnight digging through the rubble. Police say they are still digging through the structure.

?I just hope they find her,? Shannon Galarneau said of her 10-year-old niece, a Plaza Towers student who was missing as of early Tuesday morning. ?You just feel helpless.?

The girl's younger sister, also a student at the school, survived but suffered cuts to her head and bruises on her back. The 8-year-old was still wearing her hospital bracelet while asleep on her grandmother's shoulder in the front seat of a pickup truck just after midnight.

?She said it was probably the scariest day of her life,? Galarneau said.

Monday's tornado was estimated to be more than a mile wide at times. Its path was nearly identical to the one taken by a record-breaking May 1999 tornado that devastated the area.

Galarneau and her husband could see the twister a mile and a half from their front porch and scrambled to hide.

?It barreled down fast,? said Galarneau, who found refuge in a utility closet.

[How to Help: Oklahoma storms]

Obama declared several Oklahoma counties disaster areas and pledged to support the area's rescue and recovery. The funnel?s fury crumbled homes for several blocks around the school and in other parts of Moore. Missing street signs and other landmarks made some neighborhoods unrecognizable even to locals.

?It is a barren wasteland,? Galarneau said. ?Everything is leveled.?

Allen and JoAnn Anderson huddled under quilts and pillows in their bathtub with their Yorkie, Magand, and cat, Meow, when the tornado came down their street.

?It was like standing in the middle of a train track and having the train go right over you,? said Allen, 63.

They emerged from the tub 15 minutes later to find their brick house gone and cars badly damaged.

?There?s no house. It?s just a pile of rubble,? Allen said.

The couple checked into a motel with their pets late Monday. Chunks of attic insulation were still stuck in JoAnn?s sandy-blond hair, and her legs were partially caked in dried mud.

?It could be worse,? JoAnn said. ?We're alive.?

The official count of people treated at local hospitals doesn't include unreported cases of minor injuries or the untold emotional toll.

A CVS drugstore not far from Plaza Towers elementary was averaging three to four patients an hour on Tuesday, according to Carrie Geurts, a nurse practitioner there.

?Don't endanger yourself,? said Geurts, whose MinuteClinic staff had seen patients for scrapes, a gashed leg and possible cases of PTSD.

She said a handful of civilians who had spent the night looking for casualties, ?are just glad to get in here and talk.?

?People need to remember to take care of themselves too,? Geurts said.

--Yahoo News' Liz Goodwin is reporting from New York.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/witnesses-describle-deadly-oklahoma-tornado-demolished-school-111345116.html

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Everything New Is Old: Benghazi & Co. (OliverWillisLikeKryptoniteToStupid)

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Opera for Android drops the beta, available on the Play store now

If your ears perked up when you heard about Opera for Android going WebKit, but were holding out for the final, non-beta version, then that wait is over. More recent features of the browser include the option to toggle the nav-bar location, text-wrapping when zooming and a full screen view of active tabs, but beyond that, the "what's new" section on the download page isn't saying much. So, while it's mostly the Opera we saw back at MWC, tools such as off-road mode (for data compressing) and a discovery mode are finally set for primetime. Ready to let Opera take the stage on your Android? Get your tickets at the source.

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Tunisia announces 3 cases of coronavirus, 1 death

RABAT, Morocco (AP) ? A 66-year-old Tunisian man has died from the new coronavirus following a visit to Saudi Arabia and two of his adult children were infected with it, the Tunisian Health Ministry reported.

His sons were treated and have since recovered but the rest of the family remains under medical observation, the ministry said in a statement Monday. The World Health Organization confirmed the cases of the children, but said one of them was a daughter who was with her father for part of the trip to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. There was no immediate way to reconcile the differing reports.

The cases are the first for Tunisia and indicate that the virus is slowly trickling out of Saudi Arabia, where more than 30 coronavirus cases have been reported. There have been at least 20 deaths worldwide out of 40 cases.

"These Tunisia cases haven't changed our risk assessment, but they do show the virus is still infecting people," said Gregory Hartl, a spokesman for WHO in Geneva.

The Tunisian fatality, a diabetic, had been complaining of breathing problems since his return from the trip and died in a hospital in the coastal Tunisian city of Monastir. Many previous coronavirus patients have had underlying medical problems, which WHO said might have made them more susceptible to getting infected. There is no specific treatment for the disease, but the agency has issued guidelines for how doctors might treat patients, like providing oxygen therapy and avoiding strong steroids.

The new virus has been compared to SARS, an unusual pneumonia that surfaced in China then erupted into a deadly international outbreak in early 2003. Ultimately, more than 8,000 SARS cases were reported in about 30 countries and over 770 people died from it.

The new coronavirus is most closely related to a bat virus and is part of a family of viruses that cause the common cold and SARS. Experts suspect it may be jumping directly from animals like camels or goats into people, but there isn't enough proof to narrow down a species yet. The virus can cause acute respiratory disease, kidney failure and heart problems.

"We still do not have a good idea of how people are getting infected and that is a major concern," said Hartl.

Last week, WHO said it was worried about "cases that are not part of larger clusters and who do not have a history of animal contact." WHO said those cases suggest the virus may already be spreading in the community.

The Saudi Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina will receive millions of pilgrims from around the world during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which falls in July and August this year.

___

AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng contributed to this report from London.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tunisia-announces-3-cases-coronavirus-1-death-102328940.html

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ASUS Zenbook Infinity Ultrabook to appear at Computex 2013 with Gorilla Glass 3 lid

ASUS' Transformer Book hybrid may have just graduated from our review testing, but the company already has a new product to tempt you. The Zenbook Infinity will be the "world's first Ultrabook with a lid made form Corning Gorilla Glass 3" and will be revealed in full at Taipei's Computex 2013 in a few weeks. It'll measure in at just 15.5mm thick, which a full 14 percent thinner than previous Zenbooks. Next-generation Gorilla Glass will cover the outer lid and the keyboard surround, although you can expect to see that familiar concentric circle pattern beneath the protection. ASUS says the Ultrabook will launch Q3 2013, but expect to see the full specs before then.

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Impressive Web Marketing Principles For Competitive Campaigns

Internet marketing is a wonderful tool that every business should pursue. There is so much information available about it, though, that it can be overwhelming. This article is designed to give you all the advice that you need in one easy to read source.

It is essential that you compile a mailing list containing your clients? information. You can offer customers the option to provide their information, or you can make it mandatory for purchases. Later, you can incorporate this information to market to your customers, as well as send them promotional materials or inquire about customer feedback.

Many businesses have a place on their website called a ?squeeze page.? This encourages your site visitors to offer up their email address. It?s always good to offer something of value (e.g. a free promotional item) when you ask visitors for contact information. This way you get more people on your mailing list and they get a free item.

TIP! In the end, Internet marketers are all about identifying and remedying issues. You should have a clear goal in mind when you throw your doors open for business.

If using images on your site, always include captions. Captions play a big role with regards to SEO. Using captions can help your pages rise in the SERPs.

If you want to succeed in web marketing you need to know what your competition is up to. Hop on over to their site and look at what they?re doing. You will be able to ascertain their visitor numbers, and this will give you a good comparison point for your own site.

When making your website, try to make it visibly appealing with as much interesting content as possible. You need to educate your customers as quickly as possible, so they will know what to buy. Avoid including useless data and repeating descriptions of items, because this will not look interesting to the buyer.

TIP! To turn a potential buyer into an actual buyer, guide them to a page that features the product. For example, a video page with a helpful demonstration of the product in action.

Make sure your site is organized neatly and is simple to navigate. The format can make your site visible and helpful to visitors most interested in what it offers.

Current content is very important on your website. Visitors who arrive at a site and find that the latest information available was posted months or even years ago are going to draw the wrong conclusions about your business?s current state of affairs. A website that is regularly updated and working well encourages visitors.

A great way to enhance the content of your site and advance your marketing strategy is to interview authorities within your niche. Videos, audio files, or plain text can all be used to present an interview. Your site?s traffic will increase due to new visitors coming by after watching, reading or listening to your interview. This increases your reputation and spreads your brand.

TIP! Find something that can serve as your niche and will give your site a unique quality. If you can offer a unique, exclusive product, it can make a dramatic difference in the amount of traffic you receive.

In the eyes of your customer, their experience of your business website is akin to visiting a retail showroom. Always perform regular site maintenance to make sure the site is up and running smoothly. If your website is too hard to navigate, it will turn away customers and they may never come back.

Give your customers the appearance that they are in complete control of the content being delivered. This is essential to today?s online world of unwanted opinions and spam. Make it clear from the beginning that participation is voluntary and you will be seen as much more credible.

A customer loyalty reward programs that give benefits to frequent customers or those who make a large purchase will boost your customer?s repeat business. The only thing better than a customer is a repeat customer. It?s very important that you keep people coming back again and again. If you can be generous, you can build up your list of repeat customers. People are generally more than happy to share their great experiences with others, and this can really pay off for you.

TIP! Take time to learn all the basics of website creation. There are plenty of guides online that will teach you almost everything you need to know about HTML and CSS to get your web design training off on the right foot.

By studying your competition you can achieve even greater success in your Website marketing. If you know your competitors, you can discover and make use of weaknesses and strengths that can make you a lot of money. To be successful in Internet promotion, this is essential.

Use tech tools to find how well your website marketing campaign is working for you. Most major companies online offer various add-ons and trackers, which allow you to see the comparison of visitors to sales numbers and repeat customers.

Incorporate the word ?fast? into your ad campaigns and language surrounding products and purchases. Time is often given more value than saving money, because of this, make sure to make it clear that everything you do, you do it quickly!

TIP! Consistent blogging is a productive way to enhance any online marketing venture. Consistent blogging provides yet another way to keep your customers informed.

If you use words that make it seem like your site is easy to use it will drum up traffic. Most people prefer products that are simple, so by using these keywords you can entice visitors to try your product. This can really boost your business.

Clearly, if you know how to use the tools available online for marketing, you can do quite well with an internet promotion business. Learn the tips and methods presented in this article, and they can help you increase your earnings by including online marketing into your advertising plan.

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AP IMPACT: Military sex abuse victims seek VA help

WASHINGTON (AP) ? More than 85,000 veterans were treated last year for injuries or illness stemming from sexual abuse in the military, and 4,000 sought disability benefits, underscoring the staggering long-term impact of a crisis that has roiled the Pentagon and been condemned by President Barack Obama as "''shameful and disgraceful."

A Department of Veterans Affairs accounting released in response to inquiries from The Associated Press shows a heavy financial and emotional cost involving vets from Iraq, Afghanistan and even back to Vietnam, and lasting long after a victim leaves the service.

Sexual assault or repeated sexual harassment can trigger a variety of health problems, primarily post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. While women are more likely to be victims, men made up nearly 40 percent of the patients the VA treated last year for conditions connected to what it calls "military sexual trauma."

It took years for Ruth Moore of Milbridge, Maine, to begin getting treatment from a VA counseling center in 2003 ? 16 years after she was raped twice while she was stationed in Europe with the Navy. She continues to get counseling at least monthly for PTSD linked to the attacks and is also considered fully disabled.

"We can't cure me, but we can work on stability in my life and work on issues as they arrive," Moore said.

VA officials stress that any veteran who claims to have suffered military sexual trauma has access to free health care.

"It really is the case that a veteran can simply walk through the door, say they've had this experience, and we will get them hooked up with care. There's no documentation required. They don't need to have reported it at the time," said Dr. Margret Bell, a member of the VA's military sexual trauma team. "The emphasis is really on helping people get the treatment that they need."

However, the hurdles are steeper for those who seek disability compensation ? too steep for some veterans groups and lawmakers who support legislation designed to make it easier for veterans to get a monthly disability payment.

"Right now, the burden of proof is stacked against sexual trauma survivors," said Anu Bhagwati, executive director of the Service Women's Action Network. "Ninety percent of 26,000 cases last year weren't even reported. So where is that evidence supposed to come from?"

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has said reducing the incidence of sexual assaults in the military is a top priority. But it's a decades-old problem with no easy fix, as made even more apparent when an Air Force officer who headed a sexual assault prevention office was arrested on sexual battery charges.

"We will not stop until we've seen this scourge, from what is the greatest military in the world, eliminated," Obama said after summoning top Pentagon officials to the White House last week to talk about the problem. "Not only is it a crime, not only is it shameful and disgraceful, but it also is going to make and has made the military less effective than it can be."

The VA says 1 in 5 women and 1 in 100 men screen positive for military sexual trauma, which the VA defines as "any sexual activity where you are involved against your will." Some report that they were victims of rape, while others say they were groped or subjected to verbal abuse or other forms of sexual harassment.

But not all those veterans seek health care or disability benefits related to the attacks. The 85,000 who sought outpatient care linked to military sexual trauma during the latest fiscal year are among nearly 22 million veterans around the country.

The VA statistics underscore that the problems for victims of sexual abuse do not end when someone leaves the service.

Psychological issues, including PTSD, depression and anxiety, are most common, according to the agency. Victims also can develop substance abuse problems.

Some victims like Moore are so disabled that they are unable to work. Others need ongoing care at VA outpatient clinics and hospitals.

In the final six months of 2011, an average of 248 veterans per month filed for disability benefits related to sexual trauma. That rose by about a third, to 334 veterans per month in 2012, an increase the VA attributed in part to better screening for the ongoing trauma associated with sexual assault. Of those who filed in 2012, about two-thirds were women and nearly a third were men.

"We do a lot more awareness, and as we educate everyone on the potential benefits and that it's OK to come forward, I think you see an increase in reporting," said Edna MacDonald, director of the VA's regional office in Nashville.

To get disability benefits related to sexual trauma, veterans must be diagnosed with a health problem such as PTSD, submit proof that they were assaulted or sexually harassed in a threatening manner and have a VA examiner confirm a link to their health condition.

Many lawmakers and veterans groups support allowing a veteran's statement alone to serve as the proof that an assault or harassment occurred. An examiner would still have to find there's a link to the health condition diagnosed.

The VA's records indicate that veterans seeking compensation related to military sexual trauma had about a 1 in 2 chance of getting their claim approved last year, up from about 34 percent in June 2011.

The VA does not break out the cost of treating and compensating individual veterans for sexual abuse or trauma. A veterans combination of disabilities are unique to each individual, so it's not able to attribute specific spending levels for individual disabilities.

Benefits depend on the severity of the disability. For example, a veteran with a 50 percent rating and no dependents would get $810 a month. A veteran with a 100 percent rating and a spouse and child to support would get nearly $3,088 a month.

Moore estimates the government's cost for her disability benefits and treatment could well exceed $500,000 over the course of her lifetime.

It wasn't until June 2011 that the VA began recording monthly disability claims related specifically to military sexual trauma. Veterans file claims for conditions that are a result of the trauma, not for MST itself, which made it particularly difficult to track. The VA came up with a special process for doing so in 2010.

There's no time limit to filing a claim. "We have veterans who call our help line who have been assaulted way back in time. They're still suffering from the effects of World War II or Vietnam. I wish I were exaggerating," said Bhagwati, whose organization advocates for female veterans.

The VA's undersecretary for benefits, Allison Hickey, a 27-year veteran and former Air Force general, has required all workers handling disability claims to undergo sensitivity training in dealing with military sexual trauma.

Hickey also assembled a task force to review the claims process for veterans claiming sexual assault or harassment while serving in the military. The group looked at 400 claims and determined that nearly a quarter were denied before all the evidence was presented. That led to another training program on the evidence needed or establishing a PTSD claim connected to military sexual trauma. The approval rate is now much closer, though still slightly behind that for other PTSD claims.

Even though the VA's statistics indicate that a greater percentage of military sexual trauma are getting benefits, lawmakers believe more action is required.

"If half of them are being denied their claims, that's still a lot of people, said Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine.

Pingree and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., are the lead sponsors of the legislation that would allow the veteran's word to serve as sufficient proof that an assault occurred. The legislation is named after Moore, who spent years fighting for disability benefits.

The VA originally opposed Pingree's bill, saying the legislation didn't allow for the minimal evidence "needed to maintain the integrity of the claims process." But VA spokesman Josh Taylor said Thursday that there's been a change of heart and that the VA no longer opposes the legislation.

"VA supports the goals of the legislation, and will continue to work with Congress on the best approach to accomplish it," Taylor said.

An amended version of Pingree's bill passed the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs two weeks ago and could go to the full House as early as this week. The bill no longer requires the department to alter its regulations for military sexual trauma claims. Instead, the bill says that it's Congress' sense that the VA should update and improve its regulations regarding military sexual trauma. And until it does, it must meet extensive reporting requirements, which include a monthly report to all veterans who have submitted a claim that would, among other things, detail the number of claims relating to MST that were granted or denied, the three most common reasons for a denial and the average time it took to process a claim.

Supporters are hoping that the reporting requirements prove so cumbersome that the VA agrees to ease the evidentiary burden for the veterans.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-impact-military-sex-abuse-victims-seek-va-073511195.html

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For combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, 'fear circuitry' in the brain never rests

May 18, 2013 ? Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or under-react in response to stressful tasks, such as recalling a traumatic event or reacting to a photo of a threatening face. Now, researchers at NYU School of Medicine have explored for the first time what happens in the brains of combat veterans with PTSD in the absence of external triggers.

Their results, published in Neuroscience Letters, and presented today at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatry Association in San Francisco, show that the effects of trauma persist in certain brain regions even when combat veterans are not engaged in cognitive or emotional tasks, and face no immediate external threats. The findings shed light on which areas of the brain provoke traumatic symptoms and represent a critical step toward better diagnostics and treatments for PTSD.

A chronic condition that develops after trauma, PTSD can plague victims with disturbing memories, flashbacks, nightmares and emotional instability. Among the 1.7 million men and women who have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an estimated 20% have PTSD. Research shows that suicide risk is higher in veterans with PTSD. Tragically, more soldiers committed suicide in 2012 than the number of soldiers who were killed in combat in Afghanistan that year.

"It is critical to have an objective test to confirm PTSD diagnosis as self reports can be unreliable," says co-author Charles Marmar, MD, the Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Psychiatry and chair of NYU Langone's Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Marmar, a nationally recognized expert on trauma and stress among veterans, heads The Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center for the Study of Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury at NYU Langone Medical Center.

The study, led by Xiaodan Yan, a research fellow at NYU School of Medicine, examined "spontaneous" or "resting" brain activity in 104 veterans of combat from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars using functional MRI, which measures blood-oxygen levels in the brain. The researchers found that spontaneous brain activity in the amygdala, a key structure in the brain's "fear circuitry" that processes fearful and anxious emotions, was significantly higher in the 52 combat veterans with PTSD than in the 52 combat veterans without PTSD. The PTSD group also showed elevated brain activity in the anterior insula, a brain region that regulates sensitivity to pain and negative emotions.

Moreover, the PTSD group had lower activity in the precuneus, a structure tucked between the brain's two hemispheres that helps integrate information from the past and future, especially when the mind is wandering or disengaged from active thought. Decreased activity in the precuneus correlates with more severe "re-experiencing" symptoms -- that is, when victims re-experience trauma over and over again through flashbacks, nightmares and frightening thoughts.

Key scientific contributors include researchers at NYU School of Medicine, the University of California at San Francisco, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and the Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases at the VA Medical Center in San Francisco.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/fADMLxhJrxg/130518153257.htm

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Gizmodo and Adhocracy: A Night of Great Conversation at the New Museum

Over the past year, we've thrown a brisket party, a Faux Loko party, and a planetarium party. And on Friday, after we announced some very big news about our new Editor in Chief, we added another unusual party to our list: a dinner in the Skyroom of the New Museum and a tour of the museum's new design exhibition, Adhocracy.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Out_TM306KA/gizmodo-and-adhocracy-a-night-of-great-conversation-at-508741584

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Probe into Conn. train crash giving way to cleanup

Emergency personnel work at the scene where two Metro North commuter trains collided, Friday, May 17, 2013 near Fairfield, Conn. Bill Kaempffer, a spokesman for Bridgeport public safety, told The Associated Press approximately 49 people were injured, including four with serious injuries. About 250 people were on board the two trains, he said. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT: CONNECTICUT POST, CHRISTIAN ABRAHAM

Emergency personnel work at the scene where two Metro North commuter trains collided, Friday, May 17, 2013 near Fairfield, Conn. Bill Kaempffer, a spokesman for Bridgeport public safety, told The Associated Press approximately 49 people were injured, including four with serious injuries. About 250 people were on board the two trains, he said. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT: CONNECTICUT POST, CHRISTIAN ABRAHAM

Emergency workers arrive the scene of a train collision, Friday, may 17, 2013 in Fairfield, Conn. A New York-area commuter railroad says two trains have collided in Connecticut. The railroad says the accident involved a New York-bound train leaving New Haven. It derailed and hit a westbound train near Fairfield, Conn. Some cars on the second train also derailed. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT

Injured passengers are removed from the scene of a train collision, Friday, May 17, 2013 in Fairfield, Conn. Two commuter trains serving New York City collided in Connecticut during Friday's evening rush hour, injuring about 50 people, authorities said. There were no reports of fatalities. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT

Map locates Bridgeport, Conn

Metro-North Railroad officials tour the scene of the train derailment, Saturday, May 18, 2013 in Bridgeport, Conn. Officials described a devastating scene of shattered cars and other damage where two trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in Connecticut, saying Saturday it's fortunate that no one was killed and that there weren't even more injuries. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Christian Abraham) MANDATORY CREDIT

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) ? Investigators will look closely at a broken section of rail to see if it is connected to the commuter train derailment and collision outside New York City that left dozens injured, as the focus begins to shift toward cleanup and rebuilding ahead of challenging times for travelers and commuters along the Northeast Corridor.

A member of the National Transportation and Safety Board said Saturday that a fractured section of rail is of substantial interest to investigators and a portion of the track will be sent to a lab for analysis. Officials also said Saturday the incident was not the result of foul play.

It's not clear if the accident caused the fracture or if the rail was broken before the crash, the NTSB's Earl Weener said. He emphasized the investigation was in its early stages and said he won't speculate on the cause of the derailment. Data recorders on board are expected to provide the speed of the Metro-North trains at the time of the crash and other information, he said.

Seventy-two people were sent to the hospital Friday evening after a Metro-North train heading east from New York City derailed and was hit by a train heading west from New Haven. Most have been discharged.

Officials earlier described devastating damage and said it was fortunate no one was killed.

"I feel that we are fortunate that even more injuries were not the result of this very tragic and unfortunate accident," said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who visited several patients in the hospital.

The crash damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the Northeast. The crash also caused Amtrak to suspend service between New York and Boston.

Blumenthal called the damage "absolutely staggering,"

Attention is slowly shifting to the cleanup, restoration ? and the upcoming work week.

Metro-North said train service will remain suspended between South Norwalk and New Haven until further notice. Railroad officials said rebuilding the two tracks and restoring train service "will take well into next week."

NTSB investigators arrived Saturday and are expected to be on site for seven to 10 days. They'll look at the brakes and performance of the trains, the condition of the tracks, crew performance and train signal information, among other things.

When the NTSB concludes the on-site phase of its investigation, Metro-North will begin to remove the damaged rail cars and remaining debris. The process requires specialized, heavy equipment that was expected to be in place Sunday, officials said. Only after the damaged train cars have been removed can Metro-North begin the work of rebuilding the damaged tracks and overhead wires.

"It is a significant undertaking that could take days to complete," MTA said in a statement.

The NTSB has allowed Metro-North to begin removing some of the track and wire from the scene.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said commuters should make plans for alternative travel through the area and urged them to consult the state Department of Transportation website for information.

Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch said the disruption caused by the crash could cost the region's economy millions of dollars.

About 700 people were on board the Metro-North trains when one heading east from New York City's Grand Central Terminal to New Haven derailed at about 6:10 p.m. just outside Bridgeport, transit and Bridgeport officials said. Passengers described a chaotic, terrifying scene of crunching metal and flying bodies.

A spokeswoman for St. Vincent Medical Center said late Saturday that 46 people from the crash were treated there, with six of them admitted. All were in stable condition, she said.

A Bridgeport Hospital spokesman said 26 people from the crash were treated there, with three of them admitted. One was in critical condition and two were in stable condition, he said. The other 23 were released.

The MTA operates the Metro-North Railroad, the second-largest commuter railroad in the nation. The Metro-North main lines ? the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven ? run northward from New York City's Grand Central Terminal into suburban New York and Connecticut.

The last significant train collision involving Metro-North occurred in 1988 when a train engineer was killed in Mount Vernon, N.Y., when one train empty of passengers rear-ended another, railroad officials said.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Melia in Hartford, Conn., Susan Haigh in Fairfield, Conn., and Verena Dobnik in New York City contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-05-19-Trains%20Collide-Conn/id-73faccbfeb9e421a9d20ee592bfab6f9

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Quick Easy Air Conditioning Tricks For The Do It Yourselfer | Kate ...

Does the house must be renovated in several ways? Or are you thinking of adding an expansion, just like a patio? If that?s the case, this article contains many tips that can answer some of your questions and get you going inside the right direction with a successful home improvement project.

Be sure to maintain your filter to your air conditioning unit clean. In the event the filter clogges up up, the air conditioning unit will have to keep working harder for cooling the house, burning more energy. It may also result in the machine running over it should be needed. You ought to improve your filter at least once monthly in order to avoid buildup.

Improving the air quality inside your home can be an invaluable home improvement for both your wellbeing as well as the resale value of your house. The first step is usually to replace any old carpets or have them cleaned professionally, as they are often hiding contaminants, allergens and unpleasant odors. Secondly, if your budget allows, install an energy efficient air conditioning system.

Maintain fans circulating, or put money into some if you don?t currently use them. Rooms are kept more cool with the circulating air manufactured by fans. Additionally, if you utilize them rather than air conditioning on days gone by that are not scorching, the quantity of energy you eat is reduced, allowing you to enjoy lower electric bills. Read This

Installing fans will lessen your energy bill, add value to your house and improve the feel of your house. Ceiling fans circulate and funky the air in your house, especially during summer nights. This can certainly help to lower the price of air conditioning. Ceiling fans add some style unlike another accessory!

Whether it be summer or winter it is wise to pay attention to drafts. You?ll find nothing more frustrating than heating or cooling the outdoors. Work with a lighted candle near a window or door, of course, if the candle flickers, you know you probably have a very crack to close. Be sure you check every side of each of the windows and exterior doors.

If you realize that your heating cost is more than you expected to get paying, you have to have someone install some better insulation to your house. While this is usually a bit pricey, it is far less than you?ll have to spend on inflated power bills, as time passes.

Solar panels are an easy way to make your home greener and help you save money ultimately. Solar heating panels can be used as heating your house and providing additional available electricity on your own use. To boot, the federal government comes with a tax break for many who use and who have installed solar power panels on their home.

Keep your house is well insulated. Insulation is important keeping in mind the temperature in your home consistent, regardless of the temperature outside in your home. That is useful in keeping down the price of your time bill inside the heating and cooling of your house. Insulation is additionally effective in decreasing the noise received from outside. Furthermore, it adds to the value in your home (make sure you keep all receipts and invoices so that you can prove what work was completed). Resources

A house improvement project might be fun to do, it can be quite practical. Caring for property is something you should take seriously, and renovating older, worn-out sections can make a huge difference when you find yourself about to market it for a high price. The following tips could save you time and expense and take advantage decision for your household.

Source: http://www.katehennessystudio.com/709-quick-easy-air-conditioning-tricks-for-the-do-it-yourselfer

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Dangerous Minds

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Radio's Digital and Off-Air Sectors Post Solid Gains As Spot Levels ...

Q1 Flat For Radio

Radio?s first quarter was flat at $3.5 Billion, aided by an uptick in Spot in MARCH after a sluggish start to the year.? Both Digital and Off-Air performed well throughout the quarter and were up 9% and 5% respectively, reports the RAB.
?
Spot spending by Communication/Cellular advertisers soared by over 1/3 (36%) for this quarter, propelling the category to #1 for the period.? Also up -- in rank order based on spending --were Financial Services (+13%), Department/Discount Stores & Shopping Centers (+58%), and Home Furnishings/Floor Coverings (+6%).? While dollar volume was virtually flat for Television/Networks/Cable Providers (-3%) and Restaurants (-2%), these were solid contributors to radio?s bottom line in the #2 and #4 spots; Automotive declined 20% and slipped to the #3 rank.
?
"Major increases in radio advertising by Communications/Cellular and Financial Services went a long way to offset a drop in Automotive spending," stated RAB Pres./CEO ERICA FARBER. "Additionally, spending is up in the Department/Discount Stores category -- reflecting increased confidence among retailers who have experienced radio?s ability to drive traffic and sales."
?
"Radio?s digital sector revenue continues to grow as radio stations invest in and promote their digital offerings to listeners, driving increased attention by the ad buying community," FARBER added.

Read the full report here.

? see more Net News

---

Source: http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/118512/communications-financial-services-and-retail-shine

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Ouster of IRS official isn't ending investigations

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Don't look for the outcry over the Internal Revenue Service's improper targeting of tea party groups to subside with the ouster of the agency's acting commissioner.

Three congressional committees are investigating and the FBI is looking into potential civil rights violations at the IRS, Attorney General Eric Holder said.

Other potential crimes include making false statements to authorities and violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in some partisan political activities, Holder said.

President Barack Obama said Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew had asked for and accepted Steven T. Miller's resignation.

"Americans are right to be angry about it, and I am angry about it," Obama said Wednesday evening in a televised statement from the White House. "I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in any agency but especially in the IRS, given the power that it has and the reach that it has into all of our lives."

Miller's ouster came five days after an IRS supervisor publicly revealed that agents had improperly targeted groups with "tea party" or "patriots" in their applications for tax-exempt status. It came a day after an inspector general's report blamed ineffective management in Washington for allowing it to happen for more than 18 months.

The report said tea party groups were asked inappropriate questions about their donors, their political affiliations and their positions on political issues, resulting in delays averaging nearly two years for applications to be processed.

Miller, a 25-year IRS veteran, took over the agency in November, when the five-year term of Commissioner Douglas Shulman ended. Shulman was appointed by President George W. Bush.

Obama has yet to nominate a permanent successor. A new acting commissioner was not announced Wednesday evening.

In an email to employees, Miller said: "This has been an incredibly difficult time for the IRS given the events of the past few days, and there is a strong and immediate need to restore public trust in the nation's tax agency. I believe the service will benefit from having a new acting commissioner in place during this challenging period."

At the time when tea party groups were targeted, Miller was a deputy commissioner who oversaw the division that dealt with tax-exempt organizations.

The report by the Treasury inspector general for tax administration does not indicate that Miller knew conservative groups were being targeted until after the practice ended. But documents show that Miller repeatedly failed to tell Congress that tea party groups were being targeted, even after he had been briefed on the matter.

The IRS said Miller was first informed on May, 3, 2012, that applications for tax-exempt status by tea party groups were inappropriately singled out for extra, sometimes burdensome scrutiny.

At least twice after the briefing, Miller wrote letters to members of Congress to explain the process of reviewing applications for tax-exempt status without disclosing that tea party groups had been targeted. On July 25, 2012, Miller testified before the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee but again was not forthcoming on the issue ? despite being asked about it.

In all, members of Congress sent at least eight letters to the IRS over the past two years, asking about complaints from conservative groups that they were being harassed by the IRS. None of the IRS responses acknowledged that conservative groups were targeted.

Miller was scheduled to testify Friday at a Ways and Means hearing. A committee aide said Wednesday evening that Miller was still expected to attend the hearing.

"These allegations are serious ? that there was an effort to bring the power of the federal government to bear on those the administration disagreed with, in the middle of a heated national election," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "We are determined to get answers."

The Justice Department opened its criminal investigation last Friday, Holder said.

"I can assure you and the American people that we will take a dispassionate view of this," Holder told the House Judiciary Committee at a hearing Wednesday. "This will not be about parties, this will not be about ideological persuasions. Anybody who has broken the law will be held accountable."

But, Holder said, it will take time to determine if there was criminal wrongdoing.

Wednesday's hearing was the first of several in Congress that will focus on the issue. The House Oversight Committee announced Wednesday that it would hold a hearing May 22, featuring Lois Lerner, the head of the IRS division that oversees tax exempt organizations, and Shulman, the former commissioner.

The Senate Finance Committee announced a hearing for next Tuesday.

___

Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ouster-irs-official-isnt-ending-investigations-072344094.html

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Obama shifts focus to jobs, eases building permit process

By Mark Felsenthal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday will seek to turn the spotlight from controversies threatening to swamp his agenda to the economic issues by announcing he will make it easier to get federal building projects off the ground.

The president travels to Baltimore, where he is due to say that he has signed a presidential memorandum streamlining the review and permitting of federal infrastructure projects.

In making the announcement while posing in front of heavy dredging equipment at a factory, Obama will have a chance to remind the public that he wants to spend $50 billion on repairing the nation's aging roads, bridges and ports. Later, he will visit an elementary school where he will stump for his goal of providing universal pre-schooling for the nation's children, which he views as a vital stepping stone to a better-educated, better-trained U.S. work force.

The president hopes his focus on jobs and education will change the subject from a trio of storms that have beleaguered his administration in recent days and that some believe could overrun his second term agenda.

In the past week, he has been forced to go on the defensive about his administration's handling of the attack on the U.S. facility in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny, and the Justice Department's seizure of phone logs of reporters and editors of the Associated Press in connection with an investigation of leaks of classified information.

After responding tentatively at first, the president took more active steps beginning Wednesday with the ouster of the acting IRS commissioner and announcement of support for legislation making it easier for reporters to protect their sources. He has called the IRS' actions inexcusable and pledged to find out who was responsible and hold them accountable.

On Thursday, the president and his staff stepped up efforts to get ahead of critics. The chief executive called for stepped up spending on embassy security, while saying he had no apologies about efforts to protect classified material. He and his surrogates belittled the furor over Benghazi as nothing more than a politically motivated campaign orchestrated by congressional Republicans to discredit him.

Obama's trip to Baltimore to talk about his agenda is a good idea and a productive change of scene for him, said Chris Lehane, a Democratic strategist who specialized in damage control for the Clinton White House.

"It gets you out of the bunker," Lehane said.

Shining a light on issues of jobs and growth also lets Obama note positive economic developments such as improving housing and labor markets and a fast-declining budget deficit - pocketbook issues that may have more resonance with the public than inside-the-Beltway political battles.

Still, congressional Republicans will seek to keep the focus on what they say are unanswered questions about all three controversies. IRS Commissioner Steven Miller, who was pushed out on Wednesday, testifies before the House tax-writing committee on Friday.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-shifts-focus-jobs-eases-building-permit-process-101033758.html

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Meet Amy's Baking Company's New PR Guy: Big-Haired, Big ...

Jason Rose

It was inevitable that Jason Rose represent Amy's Baking Company.

Who else but the guy who thought to nudge semi-senile, publicity-obsessed Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio into shilling for a restaurant called Pink Taco? The flack who bent campaign sign laws to get his sushi-slinging client publicity? The man who got himself fired by the Special Olympics for making a special ed joke on Twitter?

See also:
- Jason Rose, Valley PR Bigshot, Canned by Special Olympics for Comparing "Knucklehead" to Someone With Special Needs
- The Jason Rose Connection
- Rose Peddles: People are talking about a young political consultant named Jason Rose. But it's probably not the message he'd like to get across.
- Stingray Sushi Ads are Totally Tasteless
- Best Dick: Best of Phoenix 2004
- Amy's Baking Company - A History of Kitchen Nightmares

To put it mildly, Rose specializes in damage control -- especially when the situation is nuclear. He's been having trouble finding big-name clients quiet lately, hooking up with his lawyer-wife to push everything from solar panels to medical marijuana. His last high-profile client we can think of was then-Mayor Phil Gordon, who hired Rose after finding himself in a compromising position with a campaign staffer.

When the dirtiest scandals break in town -- or when the dirtiest politicians and businesses need representation -- Rose is the first ambulance chaser on the scene. In a Maserati.

He does tend to get even the most distasteful job done, and even when he doesn't, it's always an entertaining ride. Put on your seat belts, ABC watchers. Chow Bella predicts that this trip has just begun.

Follow Chow Bella on Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest.

Venue

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Amy's Baking Company

7366 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ

Category: Restaurant

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Source: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bella/2013/05/amy_baking_company_jason_rose.php

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Jen Lamere, The 18-Year-Old Developer Trying To Save Us From TV Spoilers On Twitter, Scores An Internship There

Participating in hackathons is nothing new in certain parts of the world, especially Silicon Valley. Once in a blue moon, a small team of people creates something exciting that generates buzz, potentially selling to a larger company. One developer took on 80 competitors at a hackathon called "TVnext" and won with a solution to save you from reading spoilers on Twitter with an app called Twivo.?The developer has nabbed an internship at the company she built the hack on top of -- Twitter.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/hluFzv2J4tI/

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At least 6 dead in Texas tornadoes

GRANBURY, Texas (AP) ? A rash of tornados slammed into several small communities in North Texas overnight, leaving at least six people dead, dozens more injured and hundreds homeless. The violent spring storm scattered bodies, flattened homes, threw trailers onto cars.

In Granbury, the worst-hit city, a tornado tore through two neighborhoods around 8 p.m. Wednesday. Resident Elizabeth Tovar described the fist-sized hail that heralded the tornado's arrival, prompting her and her family to hide in their bathroom.

"We were all, like, hugging in the bathtub and that's when it started happening. I heard glass shattering and I knew my house was going," Tovar said, shaking her head. "We looked up and ... the whole ceiling was gone."

The powerful storm crushed buildings as it tore through the area, leaving some as just piles of planks and rubble. Trees and debris were scattered across yards, fences flattened.

Behind one house, a detached garage was stripped of most of its aluminum siding, the door caved in and the roof torn off. A tree behind the house was stripped of its branches and a vacant doublewide mobile home on an adjoining lot was torn apart.

Daniel and Amanda Layne initially thought they were safe sheltering under their carport. But then "it started getting worse and worse," and the couple took shelter in their bathroom, Daniel Layne said.

"The windows and the cars are gone. Both our cars are messed up. I had a big shop. Ain't a piece of it left now," Layne said with a shrug.

Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds described the devastating aftermath and the hunt for bodies in Granbury, about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

"Some were found in houses. Some were found around houses," Deeds said. "There was a report that two of these people that they found were not even near their homes. So we're going to have to search the area out there."

Deeds said around midnight that 14 people were still missing but Mayor Pro Tem Nin Hulett told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday morning that he believed most residents had been accounted for.

"Our highest priority right now is to try to get the people that are out there in those communities under a shelter somewhere," Hulett said.

Deeds said about 50 people were taken to a hospital in Granbury. Yet more gathered at a local elementary school where paramedics provided on-site treatment. Matt Zavadsky, a spokesman for MedStar Mobile Healthcare, estimated that as many as 100 people were injured.

Utilities said about 20,000 homes and businesses were without power early Thursday.

Another tornado that storm spotters told the National Weather Service was a mile wide tore through Cleburne, a courthouse city of about 30,000 about 25 miles southeast of Granbury.

Cleburne Mayor Scott Cain said early Thursday that no one was killed or seriously hurt, although seven people suffered minor injuries. He estimated that dozens of homes were damaged and declared a local disaster.

In one neighborhood, a trucking company trailer that had been parked on the street was picked up and dropped onto a nearby car and garage.

Another tornado hit the small town of Millsap, about 40 miles west of Fort Worth. Parker County Judge Mark Kelley said roof damage was reported to several houses and a barn was destroyed, but no injuries were reported.

Hail as large as grapefruit also pelted the area around Mineral Wells on Wednesday evening. A police dispatcher reported only minor damage.

___

Associated Press writers Terry Wallace and Jamie Stengle in Dallas and freelance photographer Mike Fuentes contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/least-6-confirmed-dead-texas-tornadoes-112738025.html

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Foot healed, Blanka Vlasic will return at NY meet

At the height of her success, high jumper Blanka Vlasic had to relearn how to leap.

There was really no other choice for the 29-year-old Croatian. A fragment of a bone in her left ankle broke off and embedded into her Achilles, requiring surgery to shave part of the tendon on her takeoff foot.

That was 16 months ago. Since then, she contracted a serious bacterial infection in her foot, missed the London Olympics where she would've been a favorite and spent many a grueling training session figuring out how to jump again off her repaired ankle, wondering if she would ever recover enough to be among the world's best.

On the mend, Vlasic returns to competition next week at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York, her first meet in nearly two years. Already, the jitters are building for the two-time world champion.

"To go out there and put on the spikes, to jump in front of a crowd? I just can't wait," Vlasic said in a phone interview from Croatia. "I can't wait to feel that pre-competition nervousness, the positive excitement, to be the part of that circuit again.

"I don't want to expect anything. But I still have my hopes."

There was a time when Vlasic was inching closer and closer to the world record of Stefka Kostadinova, a mark the Bulgarian has held for more than 25 years. At a meet in 2009, Vlasic cleared 6 feet, 9 3/4 inches, the best mark ever by someone other than Kostadinova, whose record stands at 6-10 1/4.

These days, Vlasic's nowhere near that form. Not yet anyway.

"I don't know if I'll be myself again," she said. "I cannot tell you how high I can go. I believe I will be able to jump as high as I used to. But I'm not obsessed over it. I can't think too much about height."

Instead, she's simply relishing her return, vowing to appreciate each step along the way.

"The worries I had before this were nothing," she said. "Why worry about centimeters or losing? I didn't have any right to be disappointed when I was healthy and had the opportunity to do what I like. It's sad that people understand that only when something happens and you don't have your abilities to do what you do best, what is your life calling."

After her surgery on Jan. 30, 2012, Vlasic had some setbacks that had her questioning if she would clear another bar. Like when she woke up one day in April 2012 and her foot was completely swollen. At first, she thought maybe she had pushed her recovery too far.

Turns out, one of her stitches didn't heal properly and became infected, she said.

Like that, she was sidelined again.

And like that, any realistic chance of being ready for the London Olympics was gone.

"I had some really dark moments," said Vlasic, who was on antibiotics for three months to clear the infection. "But what kept me going is the feeling that there was still something for me in high jumping. There was still something out there I didn't do that I still have to do. What was that? I didn't know.

"But I didn't feel in my soul that I was finished, that it was over for me."

Watching the London Games last summer was painful, simply because she had a good shot at winding up on the podium had she been healthy.

"For two days, I was in really bad shape," said Vlasic, who finished runner-up at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "But then you accept it and make peace with it. It's not like I was ready and I just wasn't there. No, I wasn't ready. So, from that perspective, you accept it. There will still be other Olympic Games and world championships for me. I believe in that. I have faith in that."

Vlasic returned to high jumping last September. Nothing too ambitious, just a four-step approach to the bar in her training shoes.

From there, she graduated to a six-step approach and eventually to eight steps.

And then she tried jumping in her spikes, which didn't have as much cushion.

"Whole different story," explained Vlasic, who now wears a custom-built pair of spikes by Adidas. "You start to jump and you see how far, far away you are from huge jumps. When I put my spikes on, I was like, 'Am I ever going to run without pain?'"

By the end of November, Vlasic began feeling a little more like her old self, the jumper who everyone else was chasing before her injury.

Still, she really has no goals set for this season. Well, maybe to make it to the world championships in Moscow in August, but that's about the extent of it.

"I expect that this season will be a season of adjustment," she said. "But I feel a huge difference.

This (recovery) pushes you to your limits, to the places you never knew you had in yourself. When you come back from that dark place, you're stronger."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/foot-healed-blanka-vlasic-return-ny-meet-073000392.html

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