Scientists have detected radioactivity in California's Pacific bluefin tuna that migrated from the waters of Japan's nuclear disaster. We're taking a closer look at this interesting story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Radioactive bluefin tuna crossed Pacific to U.S.

Submitted by FreeSpiritMuse

Five months after the Fukushima disaster, scientists from Fisher of Stony Brook University tested Pacific bluefin tuna that were captured off the coast of San Diego. Research found the levels of radioactive ceisum were 10 times more than in previous years. Bluefin tuna absorbed radiation from swimming in Japan's contaminated waters and by feeding on contaminated prey. As the tuna traveled east, they shed some of the radiation through metabolism but grew even larger and weren't able to completely flush out the contamination from their system.

"We were frankly kind of startled," said Nicholas Fisher, one of the researchers reporting the findings online Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"That's a big ocean. To swim across it and still retain these radionuclides is pretty amazing," Fisher said.

A prison in Ohio became the first state prison in the nation to be sold to a private company. We're taking a closer look at thi story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Ohio Becomes First American State To Sell Prison To Private Company

Submitted by letsliveinpeace

Ohio's Lake Erie Correctional Institution becomes the first state prison sold for $72.7 million. The nation's largest prison operator, Corrections Corporation of America bought the institute and will take control later this year, pending the outcome of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the move. CCA already operates one federal prison in Ohio, but no state facilities. The hefty purchase will more than help the effort to balance the state's prison budget.

"I was taken aback," said Ohio Civil Service Employees Association president Chris Mabe about the news. His union, representing prison guards and other corrections employees, had staged protests in Ashtabula, Marion and Lorain counties, where prisons were up for sale, over fears of lost jobs and jeopardized safety.

"As it stands right now today, it gives us hope," he said, noting OCSEA has worked with state prisons officials for a decade to see a merger of the two Grafton buildings that would save state jobs. The state said it doesn't anticipate job losses on the newly configured Marion campus, and state jobs may be added at the Grafton complex.

Driving on Memorial Weekend is always a challenge, however, experts predict prices will fall even more as the long holiday weekend arrives. We're taking a closer look at this interesting story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Gas prices on the move before Memorial Day

Submitted by letsliveinpeace

New reports indicated that the national average of gas prices has dropped 18 cents lower than a month ago. Be cautious, as conditions depend on your location. For instance, due to refinery shutdowns, the west coast continues to get slammed by prices well above the $4 mark.

Why have gas prices been dropping? There's plenty of supply and lower demand.

The Associated Press says: Worries about Iran interrupting oil supplies from the Middle East have eased, the Chinese economy which had sent demand up has cooled a bit and challenges to the Euro and concern about European debt has also eased speculation in oil futures.

"… it's time to put to bed an old myth that gasoline prices rise ahead of a major holiday," Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, said. "Average gasoline prices will likely continue to decline in the days ahead of Memorial Day."

Talk about wild thing! A man from Iowa partied like an animal as reports of his arrest with two unlikely pets by his side hit the web. We're taking a closer look at this unbelievable story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Man With Zebra and Parrot in Front Seat Charged With DUI

Submitted by Progresshiv

Jerald Reiter, of Iowa, was backing his truck out of a bar parking lot when police stopped him and noticed his passengers included a small zebra in the back seat and a macaw parrot on his shoulder. The man owns the exotic animals as pets and usually drives them around but his pets were denied entrance to the bar. Reiter was charged with drunk driving but disputed his blood alcohol level of .14, nearly twice the legal limit.

His girlfriend, Vickie Teters, told KCRB the animals are like their children, and do everything with them.

“They love going for rides. They’re just a part of the family,” Teters said. “They were not left alone in the car, not even a second.”

Although the Obama campaign has criticized Mitt Romney's career at Bain Capital, the president still accepted contributions from Bain executives. We're taking a closer look at this story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

President Obama to Keep Campaign Contributions from Bain Executives

Submitted by Truthitswhatsfordinner

Obama's press secretary Ben LaBolt told The Politicker that the president has no intention of returning $7,500 in campaign contributions from three Bain executives. The willingness of Obama's party to fund their campaigns from Bain executives threatens to undermine their previous protests. This week, President Obama described Bain and other private equity firms as a "healthy part of the free market" filled with many "folks who do good work."

However, he also said the priority of private equity companies is to "maximize profits," which is  "not always going to be good for businesses or communities or workers." Because of this, he said Mr. Romney’s work at Bain Capital isn’t good preparation for the presidency.

“If your main argument for how to grow the economy is, ‘I knew how to make a lot of money for investors,’ then you are missing what this job is about,” President Obama said. “It doesn’t mean you weren’t good at private equity. But that’s not what my job is as president. My job is to take into account everybody, not just some.”

According to recent polls, Mitt Romney is closing the gap with President Obama in key voting states. We're taking a closer look at this story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Poll: In Florida, Romney now leads Obama

Submitted by letsliveinpeace

According to a new poll, President Obama remains ahead of Mitt Romney in Ohio, Virginia and Florida, but the advantage has narrowed in recent months. The president is ahead of his Republican rival 48 to 44 percent in both Florida and Virginia and 48 to 42 percent in Ohio. Meanwhile, half of Florida voters believe Romney is the best candidate to handle the economy, but many voters continue to say Obama is more "likable" than Romney. 

Romney's improved standing in the state is in part due to voter angst over Obama's job performance. Just 45 percent of Florida voters view the president favorably, compared to 50 percent who see him negatively. Fifty-two percent of Florida voters disapprove of the job Obama is doing in the White House. An equal number say the president doesn't deserve a second term in office.

The American auto industry has been the consistent bright spot in the slow economic comeback over the last several months. As the demand rises, automakers may be pushing factories and workers to the limit. We're taking a closer look at this story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Auto Industry Adds Thousands Of Jobs To Meet Growing Demand, Proving Auto Rescue's Success Yet Again

Submitted by letsliveinpeace

Factories for both foreign and domestic automakers are now working "at maximum capacity" to keep up with the growing demand. Some manufacturers are adding working hours, hiring new workers, third work shifts, worker overtime and six-day weeks. To help with the rising demand, Ford Motor and Chrysler Group are reducing the annual two-week July shutdown at several plants this summer to produce thousands of vehicles to their output. Chrysler and General Motors have both reported their best profits in more than a decade and continues to add jobs this year.

“We have many plants working at maximum capacity now,” says Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans. “We’re building as many (cars) as we can.”

Estimates expect automakers to sell 14.3 million cars in the United States in 2012 — 1.5 million more than they sold last year.

A new study found that nearly one in four American teenagers may be developing Type 2 diabetes or could already be diabetic. We're taking a closer look at this story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Diabetes on the rise among teenagers

Submitted by JanforGore

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey revealed that the percentage of teenagers testing positive for diabetes and prediabetes had nearly tripled to 23 percent in 2007-08 from 9 percent in 1999-2000. The sharp increase adds to the recent findings that disease progresses more rapidly in children and more difficult to treat. Factors such as increasing use of computer and mobile devices has made adolescents more inactive.

The new study, which included 3,383 participants in different studies over the decade, found that even teenagers of normal weight had risk factors for heart disease, including prediabetes.

You see a substantial burden of cardiovascular risk factors even among normal weight kids, and that is certainly something to be concerned about,” said Dr. Ashleigh L. May, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the paper’s lead author.

10 days after President Obama announced his support of same-sex marriage, the NAACP followed the president's lead on marriage equality. We're taking a closer look at this story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

NAACP Endorses Marriage Equality

Submitted by ClassicalGas

Considered the "nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization," the board of the NAACP voted to endorse marriage equality on Saturday. All but two of the organization’s 64 board members, who include many religious leaders, backed a resolution supporting same-sex marriage. The symbolic move follows a recent poll which found that 54 percent of African Americans supported President Obama’s recent decision. However, attitudes about gays and lesbians in the African American community continue to change rapidly. 

"Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law," NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous said in a statement released Saturday. "The NAACP's support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all people. The well-funded right-wing organizations who are attempting to split our communities are no friend to civil rights, and they will not succeed."

For the first time in U.S. history, racial and ethnic minorities make up more than half the children born in the country. We're taking a closer look at this interesting story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

White births in US no longer a majority

Submitted by DeliaTheArtist

New data from the 2011 census reveal that racial and ethnic minorities outnumber the previous white majority. The minorities – Hispanics, blacks, Asians and those of mixed race – made 50.4 per cent in total, whereas non-Hispanic whites accounted for 49.6 percent in the 12-month period that ended last July. The survey also shows births are actually declining for both whites and minorities, due to the economic recession.

"This is an important landmark," said Roderick Harrison, a former chief of racial statistics at the Census Bureau who is now a sociologist at Howard University. "This generation is growing up much more accustomed to diversity than its elders."

Researchers reveal that a high-fructose diet sabotages learning and memory in rats. We're taking a closer look at this interesting story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Does Sugar Make You Dumb?

Submitted by TravG73

A new study done by researchers at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine showed that a high-sugar diet may affect the way you think. Researchers used rats to explore how a high-fructose diet affects basic cognitive abilities like learning, memory and problem-solving. After being trained on a complicated maze for five days, the rats were split into two groups. Both groups consumed high-fructose corn syrup solution in place of water, but one group was additionally given two high-quality sources of omega-3 fatty acids. After six weeks of the sugary diet, the researchers reintroduced the maze and discovered that the sugar-only group had a much harder time recalling the maze and were slower in their problem solving.

"Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think," said professor of neurosurgery Fernando Gomez-Pinilla at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in a statement. "Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain's ability to learn and remember information." Interestingly, the researchers found that eating omega-3 fatty acids could help to mitigate the sugar-associated damage. 

Officials released photographic proof of a scuffed up George Zimmerman taken the night shortly after Trayvon Martin's death. We're taking a closer look at this on-going story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Court docs: Trayvon Martin shooting 'ultimately avoidable by Zimmerman'

Submitted by letsliveinpeace

183 pages of evidence, including witness statements, investigative reports, crime scene photos and videos has been released to news organizations and other requestors by special prosecutor Angela Corey’s office. One police report concluded "the encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was ultimately avoidable by Zimmerman, if Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement."

A photo taken by the Sanford Police Dept. on February 27, shows George Zimmerman with all his injuries having minor bleeding on the night of shooting. According to the toxicology report, medical examiners found THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in the blood tested from Martin. 

Another police report indicated that Zimmerman, who is white and of Hispanic heritage, had called Sanford police on at least four previous occasions while residing in the Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community in Sanford, and in each case the “suspicious person” was a black male.

“Investigation reveals that on Aug. 4, Aug. 5 and Oct. 6, 2011, and on Feb. 2, 2012, George Zimmerman reported suspicious persons – all young black males – in the Retreat neighborhood to Sanford Police Department,” it said. “According to records checks, all of Zimmerman’s suspicious persons calls while residing in the Retreat neighborhood have identified black males as the subjects.”

Rep. Dennis Kucinich announced that he will retire from the House at the end of his term. We're taking a closer look at this story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Kucinich Announces Retirement From Congress

Submitted by FreeSpiritMuse

After losing his primary against Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Dennis Kucinich decided that come January, his career in Congress will end. While he explored running independently after being defeated, the anti-war Ohio congressman opted not to launch a bid for a congressional seat.

The liberal lawmaker released a statement:

"At the end of this term I will have served sixteen years in the House of Representatives, leading the way for peace, to bring an end to the wars, for workers' rights, for health care for all, for monetary policy reform and to end the corrupting influence which money has on our political decision-making process," he said.

“After careful consideration and discussions with Elizabeth and my closest friends, I have decided that, at this time, I can best serve from outside the Congress. My commitments to peace, to workers' rights and to social and economic justice are constant and are not dependent upon holding an office.”

He added that “this is just the beginning,” and encouraged supporters to sign up for updates from Kucinich.us.

Google's Marissa Mayer, vice president of location and local services, talks about the company's failures and how the biggest priority in failure is failing quickly and learning from the mistake. Mayer opens up about specific examples with Gavin Newsom during Friday night's premiere of "The Gavin Newsom Show." See a sneak peek of the interview below and tune in at 11et/8pt Friday on Current TV for more.

The latest court records revealed George Zimmerman's medical injuries following the shooting of Trayvon Martin. We're taking a closer look at this on-going story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Records detail George Zimmerman's medical injuries

Submitted by letsliveinpeace

Court records show George Zimmerman had a pair of black eyes, a nose fracture and two cuts to the back of his head. The medical records were released on Tuesday as part of evidence that the prosecutors have in the second-degree murder case against Zimmerman. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder, claiming he acted in self-defense.

Zimmerman declined being admitted to a hospital for treatment on the night of the shooting, according to the report. He didn't take his doctor's advice to schedule a later visit with an ear, nose and throat physician. The doctor noted Zimmerman made the Feb. 27 appointment at Altamonte Family Practice to receive legal clearance for returning to work.

In addition to being charged in the killing of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman now may be facing federal hate crime charges. We're taking a closer look at this story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

REPORT: FBI May Charge George Zimmerman With Hate Crime, Could Face Death Penalty

Submitted by lazloman

According to Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV, the FBI are investigating on whether hate crime charges should be brought against George Zimmerman. If convicted of a hate crime, Zimmerman could face the death penalty.

State prosecutors said Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman, profiled and stalked 17-year-old Trayvon Martin before killing him, so the FBI is now looking into charging him with a hate crime.

FBI investigators are actively questioning witnesses in the retreat at the Twin Lakes neighborhood, seeking evidence for a possible federal hate crime charge.

USA Today reports that the Justice Department has been investigating all aspects of Trayvon's shooting since March:

"The independent investigation remains ongoing, and we continue to provide support and resources to the local prosecution,'' Justice spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle said Tuesday.

The Girl Scouts are under scrutiny from Catholic bishops for the organization's policy on sexuality, birth control, and abortion. We're taking a closer look at this story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Catholic bishops open investigation into the Girl Scouts

Submitted by HarukoHaruhara

The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops have launched an official inquiry into the Girl Scouts of America. The inquiry was prompted by reports that the Girl Scouts organization endorses material on sexuality and ties to Planned Parenthood that the church would not approve. The Scouts deny many of the claims and defend their alliances, but U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops decided to continue their inquiry.

In a March 28 letter to his fellow bishops, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, wrote that "important questions still remain and need to be examined."

“I know we’re a big part of the culture wars,” the Girl Scouts’ spokeswoman, Michelle Tompkins, told The AP. “For us, there’s an overarching sadness to it. We’re just trying to further girls’ leadership.”

The FDA has allowed some corporations to repackage older food products and distributed them for sale. We're taking a closer look at this story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

FDA Allows Corporations to ‘Recondition’ Old Food

Submitted by Radical_Centrist

The FDA justifies the unsafe practice of food producers reconditioning their recalled items by stating that it reduces water and saves money. For instance, in 2010 Basic Food Flavors heat-treated their products to remove salmonella and then reprocessed the food and resold it to the public. 

“I was appalled that there were actually human beings that were OK with this,” said Kantha Shelke, a food scientist and spokeswoman for the Institute of Food Technologists. “This is a case of unsafe food. They are trying to salvage that to make a buck.”

Shockingly, Jay Cole, former federal inspector who works with the FDA Group, says, “Any food can be reconditioned.”

Here are a few examples of allowable contaminants:
• In 8 ounces of macaroni there could be 225 insect fragments or 4.5 rodent hairs
• In 3.5 oz of canned mushrooms 20 or more maggots is ok
• In canned cranberry sauce there could be an average of 15% mold

The FDA accept these levels because there would be too much stress on food producers to follow a stricter policy for food safety.

The new Time magazine is receiving plenty of buzz for publishing a racy cover of young mother breastfeeding her 3-year-old boy. We're taking a closer look at this much-talked about story from the Current community. Check it out and add your two cents:

Time Magazine Breastfeeding Cover Lewd or Legit?

Submitted by GossipandGab

The provocative image of a young woman with her son suckling on her breast is part of Time magazine's feature on attachment parenting. The popular approach encourages parents to have a closer bond with their children by breastfeeding longer, sleeping with children and keeping them physically attached to a parent with a sling. 

Time's managing editor reacts about what's being construed by some some as overly racy and sexual:

“To me, the whole point of a magazine cover is to get your attention,” says Rick Stengel, Time‘s managing editor. “From the moment that we started talking about this story as a cover possibility, it was like I couldn’t get out of the meetings. There was so much opinion and passion about it and discussion. What that told me is, boy, this is a story that people care a lot about.”