Anti-psychotics overused for dementia

LONDON, Nov. 13 (UPI) –

Anti-psychotic drugs contribute to the deaths of hundreds of dementia patients each year, a British study found.

Researchers found about 180,000 people with dementia are prescribed anti-psychotic medications every year in Britain, the BBC said. This includes people in hospitals, nursing homes and their own homes.

The drugs, developed to help schizophrenics, are used to control aggressive behavior.

Sube Banerjee of King’s College London, who headed the review, said only about 36,000 patients benefit from the drugs. He recommended they be given for no more than three months at a time.

In at least 1,800 cases, the drugs contribute to deaths, Banerjee said.

The government has said steps will be taken to reduce the number of prescriptions given for the drugs. They include giving patients other forms of treatment like counseling, more training for healthcare workers, information sessions for family members and stricter controls on prescripti…

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Hasan prosecutors to seek death penalty

FORT HOOD, Texas, Nov. 13 (UPI) –

Military prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for the man accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, a senior U.S. Army officer said.

The source, described as an officer familiar with the matter, told The Wall Street Journal prosecutors would seek the death penalty for Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who was charged Thursday with 13 counts of premeditated murder.

Christopher Grey, a spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command, said Thursday investigators believe Hasan acted along in carrying out the Nov. 5 attack that left 13 people dead and 43 wounded. The decision to try Hasan in a military court, rather than a civilian venue, suggests investigators believe Hasan received no assistance from foreign or domestic terror organizations, despite evidence the suspect had contact with a radical Muslim imam, the Journal said.

President Barack Obama has ordered all government agencies to investigate whether information about Has…

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Scandal-ridden Spitzer gives ethics talk

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 13 (UPI) –

Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, in an ethics talk Thursday at Harvard University, tried to avoid talking about the scandal that brought him down.

Spitzer, who became known for a hardnosed attitude toward Wall Street when he was state attorney general, discussed business ethics, The New York Times reported. But one of the last questions came from a man who asked if Spitzer believed someone’s agenda was behind the leaked federal investigation into the governor’s dealings with escorts.

Whatever may have led to their being public didn’t relate to anything I did and doesn’t excuse it, Spitzer responded, saying he resigned because it was right to do so.

Spitzer was invited to speak by Lawrence Lessig of The Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics. Kristin Davis, owner of the escort service Spitzer used, sent a letter of protest to Lessig, the New York Daily News said.

As attorney general, he went around arresting and ma…

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Global recovery faces ’serious hurdles’ next year

SINGAPORE (AFP) –

The global economy faces serious hurdles next year including “large-scale” unemployment in rich nations, asset bubbles, and backsliding towards protectionism, the World Bank chief said on Friday.

In a sobering assessment of the fragile status of the economic recovery, Robert Zoellick outlined a list of potential pitfalls to a business forum on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit.

“The reason I am flagging this issue is that we are in the stage of recovery where confidence is very important,” he said.

“If you have asset bubbles that are not properly dealt with, you could again undermine confidence in 2010, which is the year I am more concerned about.”

Zoellick said that continuing high levels of unemployment, particularly in developed nations, would create “second-wave” effects for banks including defaults on consumer loans, credit cards and mort…

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Student paper ad link to supremacist site

HIGHLANDS HEIGHTS, Ky., Nov. 13 (UPI) –

The editor in chief of the Northern Kentucky University student newspaper has apologized for running an ad for a Web site that sells white supremacist music.

Tim Owens says he did not know the ad for Resistance Records promoted white supremacy, WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, reported Thursday.

We should have researched our client better, Owens said. Obviously we didn’t, we will in the future investigate further when the ad seems kind of sketchy or vague. But it was an honest mistake and we are atoning for it.

The newspaper, called The Northern, ran the ad for two weeks before pulling it in response to reader complaints. The newspaper ran a front-page apology.

I think it was just a mistake they overlooked, NKU student Michael Farris said. They didn’t take enough time to go (over) the ad, see what it was about and research it which needs to be done.

Copyright 2009 by United Press Internati…

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Atheist billboard is moved after threats

CINCINNATI, Nov. 13 (UPI) –

A pro-atheism billboard in Cincinnati was being moved to a different location in response to alleged threats two days after it was put up, sponsors said.

The copy on the billboard reads: Don’t Believe In God? You are not alone. It was put up Tuesday but was taken down Thursday because the owner of the property where it was posted reported receiving threats because of the message, WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, reported Thursday.

Fred Edwords, national director of the United Coalition of Reason, which sponsored the billboard, said the organization was contacted by Lamar Advertising of Cincinnati on behalf of the landowner.

We weren’t given the landowner’s identity or precise details, Edwords said. Nor did we pursue them. It was sufficient to learn that multiple, significant threats had been received and that Lamar would act quickly to alleviate the problem.

Everything that has happened shows just how vital our message is, …

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Palestinian election might be delayed

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov. 13 (UPI) –

A Palestinian elections panel recommended Thursday that the presidential vote set for January be postponed.

The election commission did not recommend a new date for the election, currently scheduled for Jan. 24, the Los Angeles Times reported. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ term in office officially expired last January.

Last week, Abbas, 74, said he would not seek a new term. A spokesman for the president said he would make a decision on the election date when he returns from Jordan.

Efforts to heal the rift between the Fattah Party, which controls the West Bank, and Hamas, in power in Gaza, have been fruitless.

We received an answer from Hamas that we are not welcome in Gaza, Hanna Nasser, who heads the election commission, said. It is clear now that we cannot hold an election in Gaza.

Hamas has said it opposed the Jan. 24 election because the decision to hold it was made by Fattah.

H…

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Bill would open veteran burial to parents

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) –

A bill inspired by the plight of a woman who wants to be buried with her soldier son in a military cemetery has passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Corey Shea Act is named after a soldier who died Nov. 12, 2008, in Iraq when an Iraqi soldier shot several of his U.S. colleagues. His mother arranged for his burial in a military cemetery in Bourne, Mass., and applied to the Veterans Affairs Department for a waiver so she can be buried with him, ABC News reported.

When Denise Anderson was turned down, she went to Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., for help.

He didn’t have a chance to get married and have children. He was only 21 when he died, Anderson told ABC News. I don’t want him to be alone.

Under current rules, only spouses and children can be buried with veterans. The bill would allow parents to be buried in military cemeteries only when soldiers have no spouses.

The bill is awai…

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NHL: Montreal 4, Phoenix 2

GLENDALE, Ariz., Nov. 13 (UPI) –

Marc-Andre Bergeron scored the first of three Montreal goals in the third period Thursday, boosting the Canadiens to a 4-2 decision over Phoenix.

Montreal won for just the third time in eight games and handed the Coyotes their second straight setback.

The game was deadlocked heading into the third period but Bergeron put Montreal in front for good with a slapshot that bested Ilya Bryzgalov 5:10 into the stanza.

Glen Metropolit added a power-play goal for the Canadiens 62 seconds later but Phoenix gave itself a chance midway through the third when Paul Bissonnette tipped in a shot by Shaun Heshka.

The Canadiens protected their one-goal lead until Brian Gionta scored into an empty net with 41 seconds to play.

Carey Price made 18 saves for Montreal, which defeated Phoenix for the sixth straight time.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International
All Rights Reserved.

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Prejean almost walks out on Larry King

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 12 (UPI) –

Former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean started to walk out on CNN’s Larry King Live after telling King he was being inappropriate but did not leave.

Prejean, who is promoting a book about her experience losing the Miss California USA crown, told King she takes full responsibility for the sex video that surfaced last week, leading her to settle a lawsuit against pageant officials. However, when King asked her why she settled, she refused to answer, saying terms of the settlement are confidential.

King insisted he was not asking about terms of the settlement but about her reasons for settling instead of fighting for her principles.

I think that you are being extremely inappropriate right now, and I’m about to leave your show, she said.

When King took a phone call from a viewer Prejean removed her microphone and after a brief period of confusion the show went to a commercial break.

After the break, Prejean was …

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