Congress approves $9.7 billion in Sandy flood aid

Crews work work to replace the Superstorm Sandy destroyed boardwalk in Seaside Heights, N.J., Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. Under intense pressure from angry Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner has agreed to a vote this week on aid for Superstorm Sandy recovery. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Crews work work to replace the Superstorm Sandy destroyed boardwalk in Seaside Heights, N.J., Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. Under intense pressure from angry Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner has agreed to a vote this week on aid for Superstorm Sandy recovery. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Henny Mauro walks in Seaside Heights, N.J., Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, past a beach-side home that was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. Under intense pressure from angry Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner has agreed to a vote this week on aid for Superstorm Sandy recovery. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

A man photographs a beach front home in Bay Head, N.J., Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, that was severely damaged two months ago by Superstorm Sandy. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who has praised President Barack Obama's handling of the devastating storm, has blasted Republican U.S. House Speaker John Boehner for delaying a vote for federal storm relief. Now, under intense pressure from angry Republicans, Boehner has agreed to a vote this week on aid for Superstorm Sandy recovery. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Homes and docks damaged by Superstorm Sandy remain uninhabitable in the Broad Channel section of Queens, New York, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. Many home and business owners flooded out by Hurricane Sandy could get insurance payouts soon through congressional action expected Friday, Jan. 4 on a $9.7 billion bill to replenish the National Flood Insurance Program. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which runs the program, warned that it will run out of money next week if Congress doesn?t give it additional borrowing authority to pay out claims. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo talks to NYS Responds and NYS Ready Commissions members following a meeting in the Red Room at the Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. A still angry Cuomo isn't ready to believe the Republican House leadership will finally vote on Sandy relief aid. Instead, he's telling them: "Show me the money." (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The new Congress on Friday rushed out $9.7 billion to help pay flood insurance claims to 115,000 people and businesses afflicted by Superstorm Sandy, two days after New Jersey's governor and other Northeast Republicans upbraided Speaker John Boehner for killing a broader package for state and local governments in the storm's path.

The bill replenishes the National Flood Insurance Program that was due to run out of money next week with the pending Sandy-related claims as well as 5,000 unresolved claims from other floods.

"It's a small down payment on the larger aid we need," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The legislation cleared the Senate by a voice vote following passage by the House, 354-67.

The government already has spent about $2 billion on the emergency response to the late October storm, one of the worst ever in the Northeast. It slammed the Atlantic coastline from North Carolina to Maine, with the worst damage occurring in New York City and its suburbs, New Jersey and Connecticut. The storm is blamed for 140 deaths.

Boehner has promised a vote Jan. 15 on a broader, $51 billion package of aid, which would bring the total to the more than $60 billion requested by President Barack Obama. Senate leaders have promised a vote the following week.

The Senate passed a $60.4 billion bill a week ago but House Republicans, complaining that it was laden with pork projects unrelated to the storm, cut it by more than half. Boehner canceled a New Year's Day vote on it after nearly two-thirds of House Republicans voted against the "fiscal cliff" package of tax and spending increases.

The White House praised Friday's vote helping homeowners, renters and businesses, and urged Congress to act quickly on the remainder of Obama's request.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a joint statement also imploring Congress to move hastily on the rest of the money. "We are trusting Congress to act accordingly on January 15th," they said.

It was a more temperate response than was heard earlier in the week, when a livid Christie blistered House Republicans and Boehner himself for holding up the aid and other GOP figures from the region, as well as Democrats, cried "betrayal."

All of the "no" votes in the House were cast by Republicans, who said other government programs should have been cut to pay for the measure. As with past natural disasters, the Sandy aid proposals do not provide for offsetting spending cuts, meaning the aid comes at the cost of higher deficits.

The bill gives more authority to the National Flood Insurance Program to borrow money from the U.S. Treasury to pay claims. Premiums average about $625 per year and residential claims under the program average nearly $30,000.

Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., a fiscal conservative who voted against the flood bill, said he was among those with concerns it would add to huge budget deficits. "We have to talk seriously about offsets," Huelskamp said. "We can't take $60 billion off budget, that's my problem with it."

The Club For Growth, a conservative group, urged lawmakers to oppose the flood insurance bill. "Congress should not allow the federal government to be involved in the flood insurance industry in the first place, let alone expand the national flood insurance program's authority," the group said in a statement.

Among those with a pending flood insurance claim is Philip Rock in New Jersey. Rock has gotten $8,000 in flood insurance payments so far on a house he rents out in Toms River that was destroyed. He expects to receive much more from his $220,000 insurance policy but can't level the house until he knows the final payout.

"We don't want to demolish the house and have them say, 'We have to go around and take more pictures,'" Rock said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency had warned that the flood insurance program would run out of money next week if Congress didn't provide additional borrowing authority. Congress created the FEMA-run program in 1968 because few private insurers cover flood damage.

The $2 billion FEMA already has spent went to providing shelter, restoring power and meeting other immediate needs. Eleven states ? New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts ? plus the District of Columbia have shared that money.

FEMA's disaster relief fund still has about $4.3 billion, enough to pay for emergency response efforts into early spring, according to officials.

Sandy is the most costly natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Northeast lawmakers have complained that while it took Congress just 10 days to approve about $50 billion in Katrina aid, additional money for Sandy victims hasn't been forthcoming in more than two months.

The storm damaged or destroyed more than 72,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey. In New York, 305,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed and more than 265,000 businesses were disrupted, officials have said.

___

Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor and Jim Abrams in Washington and Katie Zezima in Newark, N.J., contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-04-Superstorm%20Aid/id-d256b9fb286b4cf1b571f08e8dea54a5

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Keep Your House Insect Free By Availing Pest Control Service In ...

The problem that insects create in our day to day life by exploiting our resources and by spreading dirt all around is known to all of us. Insects are like unwanted guests who can only create irritation and problem in our house. Getting rid of these insects are not only something that we want, rather this becomes something very requites, which is required to be done on priority.

If to believe the facts, then you will be surprised to see how much loss these small pests can cause to humans. Facts says that an estimated productivity loss and medical cost caused by pests combines to be around $6.9 billion per year. Not just this, these insects are also the carrier of the pathogen, which is a disease spreading agent. Moreover, its feels very un-hygienic and pathetic to accept the presence of insects like spiders, cockroaches, crickets, rats, etc. Inside the house, not just because they exploit our resources but also because its a great turn down in front guests.

In light of all these, its important to get Pest control, if you also find insects and pest in your house. If you are a resident of Las Vegas, you must call for the Pest Controllers, who is engaged with management, regulation and removal of pests from our homes. These pest control experts, or specialists undertake careful examination of your house and accordingly they put the strategies to build a shield to keep your home protected from pest and insects.

The pest controllers in las Vegas have various ways of making your home pest free. Some specialists take up toxic treatment, but you must ask the expert to be very careful employing toxic treatment because these toxins can be harmful to your family members and pets. Hence, you must be aware of the complete mechanism that the pest controller will take up, so that you yourself can remain conscious and preventive.

Moreover, you must also know that pest control in not a onetime process. Because, pests have this tendency to reappear that too with strong immunization power against the toxins used earlier. Hence, it is recommended that after taking up the initial pest removal and control service, you must take up these services after two months in order to make your home completely pest free. Further, you can ask the specialist to visit some timely visit to check whether everything is in control. However, do a good research before selecting your pest controller.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Keep-Your-House-Insect-Free-By-Availing-Pest-Control-Service-In-Las-Vegas-/4362136

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Congress 2013: New members, old divide

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The House and Senate ushered in a new Congress Thursday, hewing to tradition and hailing one of its own who returned a year after being felled by a stroke.

The 113th Congress convened at 12 noon EST, the constitutionally mandated time, with pomp, pageantry ? and of course, politics ? on both sides of the Capitol.

In the Senate, Vice President Joe Biden swore in 12 new members elected in November, lawmakers who won another term and South Carolina Republican Tim Scott. The former House member was tapped by Gov. Nikki Haley to fill the remaining term of Sen. Jim DeMint, who resigned to head a Washington think tank.

Applause from members and the gallery marked every oath-taking. Looking on was former Vice President Walter Mondale.

Shortly before the session, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who had been absent for the past year while recovering from a stroke, slowly walked up the 45 steps to the Senate, with Biden nearby and the Senate leaders at the top of the stairs to greet him.

"A courageous man," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Members of the Illinois congressional delegation and senators stood on the steps.

As he entered the building, resting on a cane, Biden and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., helped Kirk take off his coat. The senator said he was glad to be back.

In the House, members were electing the speaker, with John Boehner poised to win another term. The speaker will then swear in the lawmakers in the afternoon.

While the dozens of eager freshmen are determined to change Washington, they face the harsh reality of another stretch of divided government. The traditions come against the backdrop of a mean season that closed out an angry election year.

A deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" of big tax increases and spending cuts split the parties in New Year's Day votes, and the House's failure to vote on a Superstorm Sandy aid package before adjournment prompted GOP recriminations against the leadership.

"There's a lot of hangover obviously from the last few weeks of this session into the new one, which always makes a fresh start a lot harder," Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said.

For all the change of the next Congress, the new bosses are the same as the old bosses.

President Barack Obama secured a second term in the November elections, and Democrats tightened their grip on the Senate for a 55-45 edge in the new two-year Congress, ensuring that Reid will remain in charge. Republicans maintained their majority in the House but will have a smaller advantage, 233-200. Former Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s Illinois seat and the one held by South Carolina Republican Tim Scott, the state's next senator, will be the two vacancies.

Boehner, R-Ohio, has faced a bruising few weeks with his fractious GOP caucus but seemed poised to win another term as speaker. He mollified angry Republicans from New York and New Jersey on Wednesday with the promise of a vote Friday on $9 billion of the storm relief package and another vote on the remaining $51 billion on Jan. 15.

The GOP members quickly abandoned their chatter about voting against the speaker.

The new Congress still faces the ideological disputes that plagued the dysfunctional 112th Congress, one of the least productive in more than 60 years. Tea party members within the Republican ranks insist on fiscal discipline in the face of growing deficits and have pressed for deep cuts in spending as part of a reduced role for the federal government. Democrats envision a government with enough resources to help the less fortunate and press for the wealthiest to pay more in taxes.

"We can only hope for more help," said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who was re-elected in November. "Any time you have new members arriving you have that expectation of bringing fresh ideas and kind of a vitality that is needed. We hope that they're coming eager to work hard and make some difficult decisions and put the country first and not be bogged down ideologically."

The next two months will be crucial, with tough economic issues looming. Congress put off for just eight weeks automatic spending cuts to defense and domestic programs that were due to begin with the new year. The question of raising the nation's borrowing authority also must be decided. Another round of ugly negotiations between Obama and Congress is not far off.

There are 12 newly elected senators ? eight Democrats, three Republicans and one independent, former Maine Gov. Angus King, who will caucus with the Democrats. They will be joined by Scott, the first black Republican in decades, who was tapped by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to fill the remaining term of Sen. Jim DeMint. The conservative DeMint resigned to lead the Heritage Foundation think tank.

In a sign of some diversity for the venerable body, the Senate will have three Hispanics ? Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and one of the new members, Republican Ted Cruz of Texas. There will be 20 women in the 100-member chamber, the highest number yet.

At least one longtime Democrat, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, will be departing in a few weeks, nominated by Obama to be secretary of state. That opens the door to former Republican Sen. Scott Brown, the only incumbent senator to lose in November's elections, to possibly make a bid to return to Washington.

Eighty-two freshmen join the House ? 47 Democrats and 35 Republicans. Women will total 81 in the 435-member body ? 62 Democrats and 19 Republicans.

In the Senate, Reid and Republican leader Mitch McConnell are negotiating possible changes in the rules as lawmakers face a bitter partisan fight over filibusters, according to a Senate Democratic leadership aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about private matters.

Reid has complained that Republicans filibuster too often and has threatened to impose strict limits with a simple majority vote. That step could set off retaliatory delays and other maneuvers by Republicans, who argue that they filibuster because Reid often blocks them from offering amendments.

The aide said Reid was preserving the option of making changes with a simple majority vote.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/congress-ushering-members-old-divide-080822105--politics.html

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Seeking Financial Aid By Selling Structured Settlements | Einstein ...

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Source: http://www.social-bookmarking.net/news/seeking-financial-aid-by-selling-structured-settlements-%7C-einstein-structured-settlement-888-497-0724/

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Gold and Silver Investing: January 2013 Update | Pinnacle Digest ...

Pinnacle Digest writes: The bear market in precious metals and in precious metal equities has been ongoing for close to 1.5 years now. The winter months of January to April tend to be favorable for equities, particularly for the junior sphere which is already off to a great start. Gold was up better than $13 an ounce at 1:06 EST to $1,687.55 after hitting a day high of $1,694.70 on January 2, the first day of trading for the TSX and TSX Venture in 2013.

Gary Tanashian recently outlined a favorable bigger picture risk vs. reward situation for gold and silver. His key points are this:

• Technical upside potential appears greater than downside.
• The inflation-dampening Operation Twist is now put in the rear view mirror in favor of good old fashioned T bond and MBS Monetization.
• The Commitments of Traders structures are improving.
• Sentiment ? especially among gold newsletter writers tracked by Mark Hulbert ? is in the dumps and contrarian bullish.

Tanashian recently brought to light a very notable chart that highlights gold's value in relation to the money supply. This is important because if gold is ever to be revalued or pegged to a specific currency or a basket of currencies (return to sound money), the money supply will be the gauge from which its value is derived.

Below is the gold price adjusted by the Monetary Base, which is the key money supply measure to be watching for signs of inflation.

Gold Price Adjusted for Monetary Base Expansion

Tanashian explains that the above graph, courtesy of the St. Louis Fed, shows that the value proposition for gold has not changed since the beginning of the secular bull market.

Gold From a Technical Standpoint

Gold needs to take out $1700 to end its correction and then a break of $1800 to target new highs. Tanashian believes that from that point, the sky could be the limit when considering the value that has been pent up in the monetary metal.

Tanashian concludes that, ?the precious metals correction has been a challenge for 1.5-plus years now.? When it ends, the pent up energy is going to be something to behold.?

We are enjoying some of that energy today, with gold having one of its biggest single day breakouts in months.

Read this article...

Source: http://www.pinnacledigest.com/blog/gary-tanashian/gold-and-silver-investing-january-2013-update

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Design cool, scalable pop art with Illustrator | Tutorial | Computer ...

• Software Photoshop CS5 and Illustrator CS5 or later
• Time needed 30 minutes
• Skills
  • Master the art of simplification
  • Compose and arrange vectors
  • Replace colours

During this tutorial you?ll discover some visual simplification techniques that you can use on photographic images, re-constructing them into a matrix of coloured vector circles in a pop art style.

You?ll learn how to choose the right image to use the technique on, about proportional composition of the matrix and adjustment of colours. As with many tasks in life, preparation is the key element to generating a striking and interesting end result, so you need to pay particular attention during the early processes.
?

Learn how to print a poster over at Creative Bloq.

01 The most important aspect of this tutorial is selecting the right kind of object to illustrate. Consider its silhouette, colour and overall complexity. All of these factors will affect the end result both positively and negatively. Here, we?ve chosen a banana as it has a highly recognisable outline and colour. More complicated images will require a larger quantity of circles for a recognisable result, which defeats the purpose of the technique. We took two shots in the studio: a single banana and a bunch.
?

02 There are a number of ways to simplify the image into a palette and structure that will make the process easier. Over the next steps I?ll show you the results on both images and explain why the single banana will work better than the bunch of bananas. The first method of simplification is to reduce the resolution of the image in Photoshop. Go to Image>Image size>Resolution>2 pixels per inch.
?

03 A simplified version of a single banana is visually clearer than a bunch. This is because of its strong silhouette against a white background and its overall simplicity. If you?re working with a photograph with background detail, it?s best to cut the object out or consider re-shooting it. We?ll return to this step after a brief explanation of other simplification techniques.

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04 You can use the Posterize option in Photoshop to simplify the image down to a set number of colours. Here we?ve used five levels by going to Image>Adjustments>Posterize> 5 Levels. The result provides you with an image that breaks down the colour areas and looks screenprinted.
?

05 You can also use the Live Trace tool in Illustrator to limit the colours and simplify the image. This creates a vector recreation of the object, which is useful in scaling objects and creating a limited-colour illustration. However, it also uses the most processing power of the three simplification methods covered here. Go to Menu>Object>Live Trace>Tracing Options. On this screen you need to select the colour tab and choose how many colours you would like the program to utilise (we chose six).
?

06 Both the Posterize and Live Trace options create a good-looking image to work from, but the reduction in resolution using Photoshop gives you an idea of how the end result will come out by breaking the image up into a matrix of squares. Using this method you can quickly see if an image will work, the rough size that your circles will be and whether you need to increase the number of circles in your matrix. With the other methods it?s a case of trial and error to find a good matrix composition.
?

07 Whichever method you choose, you?ll notice that some of the colour has been lost in the simplification process. At this stage, take your chosen image and adjust the colours back to something approximating the original using Image>Adjustments> Hue/Saturation in Photoshop.

Source: http://www.computerarts.co.uk/tutorials/design-cool-scalable-pop-art-illustrator

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Many people unaware of radiation risk from CT scans

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - One-third of people getting a CT scan didn't know the test exposed their body to radiation, in a new study from a single U.S. medical center.

Researchers found the majority of patients also underestimated the amount of radiation delivered by a CT scan, and just one in 20 believed the scan would increase their chance of ever getting cancer.

The study's lead researcher, Janet Busey, said doctors need to do a better job of talking to patients about the risks and benefits of the tests, including about radiation exposure.

One challenge is that there is still debate within the medical community about just how much long term cancer risk the scans carry, she said. That risk also depends on how many scans a patient gets and which organs are exposed to radiation.

"There's no doubt, CT saves lives," Busey, from the University of Washington in Seattle, told Reuters Health. And their benefits usually outweigh their risks, she added.

Still, even if the radiation risk is small, patients "definitely should be aware of it."

CT scans are high-powered X-rays that provide clearer images but expose patients to between ten and 100 times more radiation than a normal head or chest X-ray, for example.

Busey said from their earlier studies, she and her colleagues learned anecdotally that many patients didn't know much about CT scans. So they surveyed 235 people who were having a non-emergency scan, for example to check a cancer's spread or to look into symptoms such as shortness of breath.

Those scans included CTs as well as another type of imaging, known as single photon emission computed tomography, or SPECT scans.

Two-thirds of the patients believed their scan was definitely necessary and would benefit their health, and 84 percent said their doctors had explained the reason for the scan.

Another two-thirds of the patients understood CT scans involve radiation, but less than half of those had learned about radiation risks from their doctor.

Few patients were worried about the scans or the link between radiation exposure and cancer. More people reported having thought about when they could eat or whether their parking would be validated after the test than about the effects of radiation, according to findings published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

"It's really a physician's job to explain to a patient what the risks and the benefits are? and sometimes we need to do a better job," said Dr. Angela Mills, an emergency medicine researcher who has studied radiation risks at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The radiation dose from one CT scan typically ranges from a couple of millisieverts - comparable to the yearly background radiation from natural sources - to close to 20 millisieverts, the annual exposure limit for nuclear industry employees.

Although each scan only has a small impact on a person's long term risk of cancer, that risk can build over time with more scans and more radiation exposure.

"To me the problem is when patients have a problem that either is chronic or they keep having pain or maybe there are alternative ways to diagnose (their condition), and patients then need to be better informed what their options are," Mills, who wasn't involved in the new study, told Reuters Health.

For example, people who develop recurring kidney stones may be able to skip a scan altogether or get an ultrasound instead of having repeat CTs, she said.

One study from the National Cancer Institute estimated there would be about 29,000 future cancers related to scans done in 2007 alone. That year, Americans had about 72 million total CT scans.

Busey said it's important to educate all patients about the benefits and possible harms of their scans - but that it will be up to the larger medical community to figure out how to do that in a way that's both standardized across facilities and individualized to each patient's particular situation.

"It's a difficult concept to understand, and risk itself is difficult to talk about," especially because of the uncertainties involved, she said.

"This is the first step."

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/WgIpyD JAMA Internal Medicine, online December 31, 2012.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/many-people-unaware-radiation-risk-ct-scans-213236978.html

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