(Reuters) – Virginia Governor and possible Republican presidential candidate Bob McDonnell used taxpayer money to pay for sunscreen and dog vitamins, the Washington Post reported on Monday, adding to other improper spending the paper says the FBI is investigating.
McDonnell and his wife also used state employees to run personal errands for their adult children and billed the state for deodorant, shoe repairs and a digestive system “detox cleanse,” the newspaper said, citing spending records it obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Washington Post previously reported that the FBI and a grand jury were investigating a $15,000 catering bill that a campaign donor paid for McDonnell’s daughter’s wedding in 2011.
A McDonnell spokesman, Paul Shanks, told Reuters by email the “reimbursement process that is followed today is the same as the one followed in past years” by previous administrations.
Shanks said the Washington Post article “completely misstates the process and misinforms readers as to how it functions.” He said the governor’s family gets invoices and then reimburses the state for any personal expenses.
The governor has acknowledged that he stayed at the Roanoke, Virginia, home of the campaign donor, Jonnie Williams, and drove Williams’ Ferrari sports car back to Richmond.
Senators Near Plan to Abolish Fannie Mae, Shrink Government Role
By Clea Benson – Jun 3, 2013 3:45 PM CT
Bloomberg
According to the draft, Washington-based Fannie Mae and McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac would be liquidated within five years and the U.S. Treasury would assume responsibility for their existing mortgage guarantees. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators are putting the final touches on a plan to liquidate Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) and replace them with a government reinsurer of mortgage securities behind private capital.
The proposed legislation, which could be introduced this month, would require private financiers to take a first-loss position adequate to cover price declines as steep as those seen during recessions over the past century, according to a draft obtained by Bloomberg News.
According to the draft, Washington-based Fannie Mae and McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac would be liquidated within five years and the U.S. Treasury would assume responsibility for their existing mortgage guarantees. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
The bill, which is being written by Tennessee Republican Bob Corker and Virginia Democrat Mark Warner with input from other senators, is still being drafted. As the first serious bipartisan effort to shape a new housing finance system, it could frame a discussion that is heating up as the housing market rebounds.
“A bipartisan bill that’s thorough becomes, at a minimum, a good baseline to begin the process of the full debate that could go through Congress,” David Stevens, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said in an interview.
According to the draft, Washington-based Fannie Mae and McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac would be liquidated within five years and the U.S. Treasury would assume responsibility for their existing mortgage guarantees. The two companies, which have been under U.S. conservatorship since 2008, package mortgages into securities on which they guarantee payment of principal and interest.
The principal at Tunstall High School believes an outbreak of chickenpox is under control. 25 students have the disease. The Health Department spent the start of this week giving vaccinations to more than 100 students at both Tunstall High School and Tunstall Middle School. The schools are beside one another. There are only ten days left in the school year and nurses will monitor the chicken pox outbreak until then. Last week nearly two dozen students reported the sickness within three days, the highest number of cases at one time at Tunstall.
Biohazard name:
Chickenpox
Biohazard level:
2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.:
Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Humans passing drug resistance to animals in protected Africa
by Staff Writers Blacksburg VA (SPX) Apr 26, 2013
This shows Virginia Tech researcher Kathleen Alexander (left) and Risa Pesapane of Portsmouth, Va., a former master’s student studying wildlife science in the College of Natural Resources and Environment, working at the study site in Botswana. Researchers have discovered that humans are passing antibiotic resistance to wildlife, especially in protected areas where numbers of humans are limited. In the case of banded mongoose, multidrug resistance among study social groups was higher in the protected area than in troops living in village areas. The study also reveals that humans and mongoose appear to be readily exchanging fecal microorganisms, increasing the potential for disease transmission. Credit: Virginia Tech.
A team of Virginia Tech researchers has discovered that humans are passing antibiotic resistance to wildlife, especially in protected areas where numbers of humans are limited.
In the case of banded mongoose in a Botswana study, multidrug resistance among study social groups, or troops, was higher in the protected area than in troops living in village areas.
The study also reveals that humans and mongoose appear to be readily exchanging fecal microorganisms, increasing the potential for disease transmission.
“The research identifies the coupled nature of humans, animals, and the natural environment across landscapes, even those designated as protected,” said Kathleen Alexander, an associate professor of wildlife in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.
“With few new antibiotics on the horizon, wide-scale antibiotic resistance in wildlife across the environment presents a critical threat to human and animal health. As humans and animals exchange microorganisms, the threat of emerging disease also increases.”
The National Science Foundation-funded research project investigating how pathogens might move between humans and animals was published April 24, 2013 by EcoHealth.
“Tracking Pathogen Transmission at the Human-Wildlife Interface: Banded Mongoose and Escherichia coli” is co-authored by Risa Pesapane of Portsmouth, Va., then a wildlife sciences master’s student at Virginia Tech; microbiologist Monica Ponder, an assistant professor of food science and technology in Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; and Alexander, who is the corresponding author.
Alexander and Ponder are both affiliated with Virginia Tech’s Fralin Life Science Institute.
Alexander, a veterinarian and researcher with the nonprofit Center for African Resources: Animals, Communities, and Land Use (CARACAL), has been conducting a long-term ecological study of banded mongoose in the region.
The researchers collected fecal samples from three troops of banded mongoose living in Botswana’s Chobe National Park and three troops living in villages outside the park.
“Banded mongoose forage in garbage resources and search for insects in fecal waste, including human sources found in the environment,” said Alexander. “Mongoose contact with other wildlife and humans, and broad occurrence across the landscape, makes this species an ideal candidate for evaluating microbial exchange and the potential for pathogens to be transmitted and emerge at the human-wildlife interface.”
With the exception of one mongoose troop, all study animals had some level of their range overlap with human populations. Two of the study troops had home ranges that included ecotourism facilities in the protected area, with some contact with humans and development “but at a much lower level than in the village troops,” the article reported.
Fecal samples were collected from these mongoose troops living in a protected area and in surrounding villages. Human feces were collected from sewage treatment facilities, environmental spills, and bush latrines or sites of open-air defecation within mongoose home ranges.
The team used Escherichia coli (E. coli), which is commonly found in the gut of humans and animals, as a model microorganism to investigate the potential for microorganisms to move between humans and wildlife. They evaluated the degree of antibiotic resistance considered an important signature of bacteria that arise from human sources.
The researchers also extracted data from the local hospital to assess antibiotic resistance among patients and identify resistance patterns in the region. Like many places in Africa, antibiotics are widely available and there are few controls on the dispensing of such drugs.
Posted: 8:55 PM
Last Updated: 3 hours and 9 minutes ago
By: Mike Masco
Baltimore, MD – A brilliant meteor moved across the Maryland sky Friday evening. Reports across the state confirmed a small meteor burning up as it entered our atmosphere. People from Virginia to New England saw this ball of light.
Kim Fox shot this video from a surveillance camera in Thurmont, MD earlier this evening.
What is a meteor?
Meteors are most often seen as a very brief streak of light in the night sky. They typically occur and disappear so quickly that you wonder if you actually saw them. These streaks of light are commonly called “shooting stars” or “falling stars”. Although they are most often seen at night, especially bright meteors can be seen during daylight. The photo at right shows a meteor in the sky over Quebec, Canada on an early November morning.
The bright streak of light spotted over the region Friday evening was in fact a meteor, StormTeam 4 Meteorologist Doug Kammerer has confirmed.
Multiple reports began coming in around 8 p.m. People spotted the streak of light in both Maryland and Virginia — and as far north as New York and Maine. Many said it appeared to be blue or green.
The meteor was traveling about 10 miles per second, much faster than even a speeding bullet, Kammerer said.
While meteors are not rare and come through the Earth’s atmosphere every day, this meteor was larger than usual, which is what made it much easier to see, Kammerer said. That’s why it had such a dramatic light.
About 50 people contacted the American Meteor Society on Thursday with reports of a “green fireball” lighting up the sky. Sightings were reported in Ventura, Anaheim, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, Paso Robles, San Francisco and Santa Barbara, according to the group’s website.
Photographer Susan Lary of the Southern California Weather Authority captured the so-called fireball and provided the image to NBC News.
“I saw a light and looked directly at the meteor as it came down in the ocean off Corona Del Mar. Bits came off, and it was bright white,” Laguna Hills resident Patric Barry wrote in an email to NBC4.
Barry spotted the object out of his living room window about 10:35 p.m.
The sightings come days after Bay Area residents were treated to a light show of their own when a fireball was seen streaking across the sky.
Another fireball sighting was reported this month in Florida, but the most spectacular celestial event occurred when a meteor soared over Russia before the rock slammed into Earth’s surface, sending shockwaves across a widespread area.
East Coast residents were buzzing on social media sites and elsewhere Friday night after a brief but bright flash of light streaked across the sky in what experts say was almost certainly a meteor coming down.
Some Twitter users reported that the meteor crashed somewhere near the Delaware-Maryland border.
And a car dealer north of Seaford released a video image said to show the bright object in the sky.
Terry Lake of Rehoboth Beach reported on Facebook, “We saw it as we were heading east on Rt 9 toward Lewes. It was traveling north of us and appeared to burn out right before we reached the light at Dairy Farm Rd. Wow.”
The Delmar Weather page on Facebook had numerous other reports of sightings.
Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environmental Office said the flash appears to be “a single meteor event.” He said it “looks to be a fireball that moved roughly toward the southeast, going on visual reports.”
“Judging from the brightness, we’re dealing with something as bright as the full moon,” Cooke said. “The thing is probably a yard across. We basically have (had) a boulder enter the atmosphere over the northeast.”
He noted that the meteor was widely seen, about 400 reports on the website of the American Meteor Society alone.
“If you have something this bright carry over that heavily populated area, a lot of people are going to see it,” he said. “It occurred around 8 tonight, there were a lot of people out, and you’ve got all those big cities out there.”
Matt Moore, a news editor with The Associated Press, said he was standing in line for a concert in downtown Philadelphia around dusk when he saw “a brilliant flash moving across the sky at a very brisk pace… and utterly silent.”
“It was clearly high up in the atmosphere,” he said. “But from the way it appeared, it looked like a plane preparing to land at the airport.”
Virginia Department of Forestry crews and Scott County volunteer firefighters spent several hours Saturday battling a wildfire that burned more than a dozen acres of forest just north of Gate City. VDOF officials said the blaze, which began just before 3 p.m. approximately four miles north of Gate City, claimed a total of 15 acres of mostly wooded land. Crews with the VDOF, the Gate City Volunteer Fire Department and Duffield Volunteer Fire Department worked until 7 p.m. to bring the fire under control, forestry officials said. The cause of the blaze was not immediately determined and is still under investigation. The fire reportedly began in a field off Harness Lane before spreading to the nearby forest. A forestry official said measures had to be taken to protect several nearby homes and farm structures. The official noted that burning is currently prohibited in Virginia prior to 4 p.m. because of dry conditions that are normally seen this time of year. The 4 p.m. burn ban began Feb. 15 and remains in effect through April 30.
GATE CITY — Virginia Department of Forestry crews and Scott County volunteer firefighters spent several hours Saturday battling a wildfire that burned more than a dozen acres of forest just north of Gate City.
VDOF officials said the blaze, which began just before 3 p.m. approximately four miles north of Gate City, claimed a total of 15 acres of mostly wooded land.
Crews with the VDOF, the Gate City Volunteer Fire Department and Duffield Volunteer Fire Department worked until 7 p.m. to bring the fire under control, forestry officials said.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately determined and is still under investigation.
The fire reportedly began in a field off Harness Lane before spreading to the nearby forest. A forestry official said measures had to be taken to protect several nearby homes and farm structures.
The official noted that burning is currently prohibited in Virginia prior to 4 p.m. because of dry conditions that are normally seen this time of year.
The 4 p.m. burn ban began Feb. 15 and remains in effect through April 30.
State lawmakers in Maine have taken the initial steps towards limiting the use of drones by both state and local law enforcement, joining the many other states around the country also looking to regulate drone use.
The legislation in Maine, which is waiting on a vote in the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, seems similar to that being considered in other states in that it “would limit the ability of state and local police to use drones and require a warrant before the unmanned vehicles are deployed in an investigation” according to the Portland Press Herald.
Unsurprisingly, the legislation has come up against resistance from law enforcement along with Maine’s Attorney General Janet Mills.
Mills claims that the bill is too broad and the Maine Department of Public Safety says that drones could come in handy for search and rescue operations. Much of the legislation around the country has a clause allowing for exemptions for emergency use.
The Maine Department of Public Safety already purchased a drone which, according to the deputy chief, was for the sake of “curiosity,” according to the Herald.
The bill is sponsored by Democratic state Senator John Patrick and is part of a larger effort by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to regulate the domestic drone use.
Bills that would limit the use of domestic drones in Virginia and Montana took an important step forward this week.
On Tuesday, the Montana Senate overwhelmingly passed anti-drone legislation.
Sen. Robyn Driscoll (D-Billings) introduced SB 150 last month. The bill would prohibit any state or local agency in Montana from owning an “unmanned aerial vehicle containing an antipersonnel device.” It would also make any evidence gathered by a drone inadmissible in a criminal proceeding. The legislation contains some teeth, opening the door for any victim of a drone to seek punitive and compensatory damages.
SB 150 passed the Senate by a 32-17 margin.
The bill will now move on for consideration in the House. It has not been assign to a committee at this time.
“Americans are tired of having their privacy violated by government functionaries, and its good to see states stepping in to say no. Here we have bills in two states, one sponsored by a Democrat, the other by a Republican, both garnering broad bipartisan support,” Maharrey said. “This is not a partisan issue. This is an American issue. We value our liberties and our right to just be left alone. I don’t think anybody is comfortable with the idea of drones hovering over our homes, especially when we see the potential for remote controlled execution. We already have a president claiming the authority to off Americans on a whim with the click of a button. Now is the time to nip this drone thing in the bud.”
On Monday, the Virginia House overwhelmingly passed HB2012, it’s own anti-drone bill. It would place a two-year moratorium on the use of unmanned aircraft by any state or local law enforcement agency in the Old Dominion State. The bill, sponsored by Delegate Benjamin Cline (R-Amherst), passed 83-16.
As introduced, the legislation only limited the use of drones until 2014. The version passed would prohibit their use, with a few exceptions, until July 2015.
HB2012 incorporated a stronger anti-drone measure. HB1616 would have permanently banned any state or local law enforcement agency from procuring “a public unmanned aircraft system (drone aircraft) without the approval of the General Assembly or the local governing body, respectively,” and would have required a warrant for their use.
This handsome longhaired gentle giant was a stray! He showed signs of neglect and was severely matted when my husband rescued him near our Town Highway Department. We surrendered him to our local shelter only to return and adopt him and give him the love and forever home he deserved! Turns out, he has given us so much more in return!
Kris & Al Jablonski
Cheektowaga, NY
ArchieWe had gone to a “meet and greet” to meet another dog, but returned with this furry little imp, a charming, smart, and lively combination of joy and mischief who was hard to resist. When the rescue group found him, he was just a puppy, miserable, hungry, and covered with mange. As if that weren’t enough, he had been born missing a bone in his right leg – the Vet’s advice was to let Mother Nature compensate for it, which she has done. A completely recovered and well fed Archie chases, rolls, and romps with dogs of all sizes as though he weighed a hundred pounds and loves every minute of it. He can be stubborn, bull-headed, and an incorrigible scamp, but he’s so happy and such a charmer, that when we should be upset with him, we end up laughing. He and Lucy, our other rescue dog, are like brother and sister and having them in our lives is a real joy.Joe Haggard
Austin, TX
Save a Senior Dog Like MiltonAs one owned by eight rescued animals, I subscribe to many sites on Facebook that cover the plight of “unwanted” pets. Just before Christmas I saw a bedraggled, blind, 10 year old Pomeranian that had been turned in at a shelter about 1.5 hours away.Who would take in such a dog? It worried me the entire weekend so first thing on Monday I called and asked them to make sure that they held him until we could get there to meet him.
He growled and snapped when the staff picked him up. He was dirty, underweight, had bad teeth, arthritic hips, damaged ears and a skin condition. He has cataracts. My husband is ill, so sat in a chair while I sat on the floor to get acquainted. Then I picked him up so that my husband could hold him – no snapping, no growling. He knew he had found a home.
After a few vet visits and some heavy duty grooming Milton (named after the blind English poet) has put on some needed weight and adjusted to his surroundings. We have a large yard with no obstructions and he loves to wander without fear of bumping into anything. He ignores the cats and is not intimidated by our three large dogs.
We love this little senior and hope that the love will keep him around a long time.
Margaret Eaton
Cadiz, KY
Margaret Eaton
Cadiz, KY
Meanie PieSomething small and fast moved behind my car. “Kitty,” I said, and it poked its head out. It was a guinea pig! From two sides, the neighborhood cats converged.I stamped my foot – and all three of them took off. I followed the guinea from yard to yard, corner to corner, across the street and back. The two cats moved in again. “Fssst.” I said to them, and again all three animals fled. The guinea ran into my garden. I moved close, talking softly. I put my hand out, and she crawled into it.
I don’t know what made me go outside that night, but I’m glad I did. Bad tempered as she can be, kicking and bucking like a tiny steer, bludgeoning my hands with her back legs and head, she is sometimes sweet and loving, coming to the door of her cage and nudging my nose with her own.
Tracey Hessler
Orlando, FL
Cyrus saved by FacebookI was cruising facebook 3 yrs ago and saw (then named Timber), shelter’s picture and it melted my heart. I inquired about him and and the next morning when I woke up there was a contact phone # for Sandy. I called her quickly hoping that the time zone difference was not gonna get her mad at me. She told me to call back in a half hour. When I did call her back i asked why? She said she had to make sure that Timber was still available as he was on the euthanasia list for that morning. Luckily I was in time. We set things in motion and a week later my Joplin Missouri dog was a proud Canadian crossing the Detroit border into Canada. Thanks to 3 kind hearted people who with the help of Facebook offered to help drive Cyrus (his new name for a new life) to me. Cyrus is a joy and has fit into my pack well. Adopting is always so rewarding.Julia Mccron
Guelph, ON, Canada
A Giant Gentle LoveOur pack had dwindled by 1 in November and it was the beginning of March. The ASPCA was a mile or so down the street from my office and I had not felt the urge to look in quite a few months. This Thursday lunchtime proved differently.As usual I went in looking for large dogs. I almost left but decided to look in the puppy room. Off to the side was a large room with this one huge dog – a great dane mix. I walked her and sat in the garden area where she practically crawled completely into my lap. She was ancient and had been sick. She had been a stray brought in with multiple issues. After about 20 minutes, I took her back in. I went home that night saying nothing to my husband. Friday I went again on lunch only to find her sick in with the vet. Over the weekend I discussed her with my husband. Monday, I went back. She was still in with the vet. I left word with the desk to call me when she was available. Tuesday they called. I went in on lunch again. Wednesday, St. Patrick’s Day, my husband, 65+ years, met me there. The shelter had a “special” on seniors taking seniors for free. My husband noticed her hips were bad and how emaciated she was. Neither one of us could stand her being left there. We adopted her right then and took her home naming her Melly.
Our cat watched her for less than 2 weeks before he decided Melly was ok. We had dear Melly for a mere 9 months before she had to leave us to cross the Rainbow Bridge. Time well spent!
The leader of Navy SEAL Team Four, one of the most senior commanders in the elite world of special operations, has died after apparently committing suicide in Afghanistan, it was reported today.
Commander John W Price, 42, was found dead in his quarters with a gunshot wound on Saturday – just three days before Christmas.
Cmdr Price was based in Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia, near Norfolk and had been in the military for more than 23 years.
He leaves behind a wife, Stephanie and a nine-year-old daughter Jillian, who both live in Virginia Beach.
The commander is originally from Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
He commanded six platoons, two-dozen SEAL commandos and numerous support staff, deployed in Uruzgan Province, where they were conducting counter-terrorism missions and training police in remote parts of the country.
SEAL Team Four is one of nine teams of special operations troops. The most famous of the combat groups is the classified SEAL Team Six, which conducted the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011.
A U.S. military official said the death ‘appears to be the result of suicide.’ The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the death is still being investigated.
‘The Naval Special Warfare family is deeply saddened by the loss of our teammate,’ said Captain Robert Smith, commander of Naval Special Warfare Group Two, which manages all Virginia-based Navy SEAL teams.
‘We extend our condolences, thoughts and prayers to the family, friends, and NSW community during this time of grieving.
‘As we mourn the loss and honor the memory of our fallen teammate, those he served with will continue to carry out the mission.’
Elite: Navy SEALs are among the U.S. military’s most highly-trained and deadly commandos
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Elite: Navy SEALs are among the U.S. military’s most highly-trained and deadly commandos
