| Here's What We Know About The Florida Keys After Hurricane Irma Posted: 11 Sep 2017 02:45 PM PDT  Irma had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it crawled north out of Florida on Monday.
|
| A History Of Donald Trump's Tasteless Comments About 9/11 Posted: 11 Sep 2017 06:45 AM PDT  WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump on Monday commemorated the 16th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, leading a moment of silence at the White House to mark the moment the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York.
|
| Irma: Tampa Bay Empties Out Ahead of Huge Storm Surge Posted: 10 Sep 2017 08:48 AM PDT  On Sunday, Tampa Bay and other bays and canals up and down the Gulf coast emptied out — a rare phenomenon that typically precedes a massive storm surge.
|
| Hurricane Irma Looters Caught By News Camera On Alleged Spree Posted: 11 Sep 2017 09:50 AM PDT  These suspected Hurricane Irma looters could be gone with the wind ― behind bars.
|
| Irma: Manatees found stranded on Florida beaches after hurricane sucks up water from sea Posted: 11 Sep 2017 02:18 AM PDT  People in Florida have teamed up to save a number of manatees left stranded after Hurricane Irma suddenly sucked back the tide. The phenomenon has led to ocean waters disappearing as the storm continued to tear through the region. It is caused when low air pressure inside the hurricane acts as a vacuum for the surrounding ocean – sucking up water and dumping it as it travels inland, leaving several sea creatures stranded on dry land.
|
| Two-by-two: Flamingos evacuate zoo in perfect formation as parrots find shelter from Irma on 22nd floor of Florida hotel Posted: 11 Sep 2017 01:30 AM PDT  The exotic birds in a Miami zoo appeared to know a storm was coming. A video shows flamingos strutting in line to their hurricane shelter before Irma struck: Flamingos moved to safety as Hurricane Irma approaches 00:22 The flock walked two-by-two to safety indoors to wait out the storm which has hit Florida. In their secure room Credit: REUTERS Another woman, Laura Aguiar, shared a picture on Facebook of a strange sight she saw outside her hotel window. Seemingly knowing a storm was coming, two parrots took roost on the 22nd floor of her hotel. The parrots were peeking in her window Credit: Laura Aguiar Animals have been sheltering in strange places all over Florida. One woman shared a picture her friend took of some flamingos he was sheltering in his laundry room in Key West: A friend in #KeyWest is sheltering some flamingoes in his laundry room! pic.twitter.com/CJW9pul5j2— Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan (@cheryltan88) September 10, 2017 According to the poster on Twitter, the flamingos pictured were from a nearby butterfly conservatory. The pair of birds huddled in the corner as they waited out the storm. Hurricane Irma | Key articles
|
| U.N. Security Council votes to step up sanctions on North Korea Posted: 11 Sep 2017 04:26 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council unanimously stepped up sanctions against North Korea on Monday over the country's sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3, imposing a ban on the country's textile exports and capping imports of crude oil. It was the ninth sanctions resolution unanimously adopted by the 15-member council since 2006 over North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear programs. The United States watered down an initial tougher draft resolution to win the support of Pyongyang ally China and Russia.
|
| 'That's junk': Menendez trial judge jousts with attorneys Posted: 11 Sep 2017 06:36 AM PDT !['That's junk': Menendez trial judge jousts with attorneys]( "'That's junk': Menendez trial judge jousts with attorneys") NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — For sheer entertainment value, the potentially titillating aspects of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's bribery trial — the lavish vacations paid for by a wealthy doctor and the doctor's efforts to get visas for reputed foreign girlfriends — have been eclipsed by the octogenarian jurist presiding over the trial and his verbal jousting with attorneys on both sides.
|
| These Areas in Florida Should Boil Their Water After Irma Posted: 11 Sep 2017 04:51 AM PDT  Five counties are affected
|
| After Irma, fear and looting grip tense St Martin Posted: 10 Sep 2017 05:35 PM PDT  Marigot (AFP) - "For pity's sake, do something," Estelle Kalton begs the police. A crime wave on the Franco-Dutch Caribbean holiday island of St Martin, five days after hurricane Irma ripped through, has everyone on edge. It is only by making a scene on the steps of a makeshift security centre set up in Marigot, the main town on the French side of the island, that Kalton is able to confront officials.
|
| Hunter S. Thompson's 9/11 Essay Is Still Chillingly Accurate 16 Years Later Posted: 11 Sep 2017 10:18 AM PDT  When terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, no one knew exactly what the future would hold.
|
| Sikh Canadian Politician Brilliantly Foils Racist Woman During Event Posted: 09 Sep 2017 10:10 PM PDT  Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh was meeting with his constituents on Wednesday in Brampton, Ontario, when a woman stormed up to him and began to harass him.
|
| White Supremacists Go Back to School Posted: 11 Sep 2017 03:40 AM PDT  White supremacist group Identity Evropa doubles down on recruitment efforts at U.S. colleges and universities.
|
| Finally, powerful women are speaking up for the rights of men. Equality just got a step closer Posted: 11 Sep 2017 12:40 PM PDT  Last Thursday, a gaggle of women demonstrated outside a building in Virginia where US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was speaking. Shouting slogans and brandishing placards that declared De Vos and Donald Trump were "standing up for rapists", the women were protesting against DeVos's determination to mitigate the excesses of the rape panic that has gripped American university campuses; and, also, they were bellowing their opposition to De Vos's promise to insist on fair hearings and due process for anybody accused of sexual misdemeanours. Similar protests were repeated a thousand times on Twitter under the hashtag #StopBetsy. There's no evidence that DeVos took any notice of that predictable and wearisome feminist hyperbole; but, for the first time, it looks as if women's voices coming from an entirely different quarter may actually have had more influence on the Secretary's – and thus the government's – thinking and policies. Families Advocating for Campus Equality (FACE) was founded in 2013 by three mothers of sons who had been falsely accused of sexual misconduct at their respective colleges. Largely organised and run by women (even though the victims of the injustice they are campaigning against are mostly men), FACE has built a formidable legal case and established itself as a serious political presence in the US. Earlier this year, representatives of FACE – including their co-president, the steely California lawyer Cynthia Garrett – had a lengthy discussion in person with Betsy DeVos. After that meeting, Garrett was asked by Candice Jackson (the Education Secretary's equalities enforcer) to provide a written opinion on recommendations concerning campus trials drawn up by the American Bar Association. In addition, FACE supplied other research, recommendations and stories from close to 100 of the families with whom they are in touch. Please listen to DeVos' actual words before jumping on the mob hysteria freight train. @kcjohnson9@CathyYoung63https://t.co/IqVMspY6wl— Cynthia P Garrett (@cgarrett101) September 10, 2017 These may have included stories DeVos herself recounted in her speech last Thursday – such as the Amherst College student who was expelled for sexual assault, even though he had credible evidence that his accuser had assaulted him. Or the Colorado State University student, Grant Neal, who was accused of sexually assaulting a female sports trainer – but not by her. When questioned, the trainer said, "I'm fine and I wasn't raped." Nonetheless, university officials insisted that according to existing rules, it was up to them, not her, to decide whether she had been assaulted. Neal was deemed guilty and expelled. Many of those appalling stories will have tallied with the terrible family tragedies we have heard ourselves in the UK – such as that of Karin Cheshire, aged 55, who hanged herself in July 2016 a year after her son 17 year-old Jay had hanged himself over false rape allegations. Or 21 year-old Louis Richardson, a Durham history undergrad and former head of the university's debating society, who was cleared in 2016 of rape and sexual assault after suffering devastating years of suspicion and opprobrium. On behalf of their sons, their grandsons and their husbands, women are demanding better treatment for boys in schools and for fathers in the family courtsNeil Lyndon If FACE's dossier did influence Betty DeVos's deliberations, it might be a sign that serious, systematic work may, at last, be supplanting the bluster and hyperbole of the demonstrators shrieking outside the building and on Twitter. Asked if members of FACE staged any kind of counter-demonstration in Virginia, Ms Garrett crisply replied: "holding placards is generally not how we operate". In my view, what happened last week in Virginia may be one of the most hopeful developments of recent times. Everybody who cares about equality and justice should rejoice but men, especially, should go down on their knees and offer up a heartfelt prayer of thanks. At last – perhaps for the first time in any Western democracy – we saw last week a woman in a powerful office of state acting, not on behalf of women's sectional interests but neutrally, in the genderless service of justice. It just so happens in this case the beneficiaries are largely going to be men. I have been longing to see something like this happen for at least 10 years. In 2006, I made a speech to the Equal Parenting Alliance saying that bodies like Fathers 4 Justice, Families need Fathers, the UK Men's Movement and Mankind had made very little difference to the laws, the courts, the conventions and the culture of our time because they had failed to enlist the support of powerful and influential women (that speech is reproduced in Sexual Impolitics). Eight reasons why it's essential children spend time with their fathers Such was the hold of the gynocentric, feminist creed, I argued, that nobody would admit that inequalities could apply to men – no matter how obvious and incontestable the facts – if it was solely men who were pointing out those injustices. The automatic, knee-jerk response was invariably to jeer that there must be something wrong with those guys – they must be misogynistic woman-haters or suffer some inadequacy like having a little willy or being unable to get a girlfriend. If, however, the protests and the arguments came from women – especially if those women were manifestly mature, educated, balanced and successful in their own lives – then no such philistine, sexist reaction would be possible. The only knee-jerk dismissal available is to sneer that such women must have "internalised their own misogyny". Anybody who fancies their chances should try that line on Cynthia Garrett and see how it goes. The mothers who have banded together in FACE are part of a growing worldwide movement consisting of women speaking on behalf of men. In the UK, they can be found among The Liberty Belles and Women against Feminism. In the US, they include Karen Straughan of girlwriteswhat (@girlwriteswhat ) and Cassie Jaye, maker of the ground-breaking documentary film The Red Pill. On behalf of their sons, their grandsons and their husbands, these women are demanding better treatment for boys in schools and for fathers in the family courts. With nothing to gain for themselves, they are standing up against manifest injustice, just as the men of this country and the West, led by John Stuart Mill and Henry Fawcett, acted to repair the manifest inequalities and injustices in the position of nineteenth century women. Men – and the world – now need ten million more such women to make their voices heard.
|
| Saakashvili plans to unite Ukraine opposition against president Posted: 11 Sep 2017 08:41 AM PDT  By Sergei Karazy and Margaryta Chornokondratenko LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - A day after forcing his way past border guards back into Ukraine, former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said he would unite the opposition against his former ally President Petro Poroshenko and planned to campaign for support. Saakashvili wants to unseat Poroshenko at the next election, accusing the president of reneging on promises to root out corruption and carry out reforms made during the 2014 Maidan protests, which ousted a pro-Kremlin leader. At present it seems unlikely that Saakashvili, who studied in Ukraine and speaks fluent Ukrainian, will come to power.
|
| Cruise ship heads into unknown after detour because of Irma Posted: 10 Sep 2017 08:03 AM PDT  When they first boarded the Norwegian Escape a week ago, passengers knew exactly where they were going. Now they have no idea.
|
| In photos: The most walkable cities in the US and Canada 2017 Posted: 11 Sep 2017 06:33 AM PDT |
| Cuba counts the cost of deadly Hurricane Irma Posted: 11 Sep 2017 11:47 AM PDT  Cuba emerged from a 72-hour thrashing by Hurricane Irma on Monday with three-quarters of the population without power, as the country began the task of restoring basic infrastructure and services. Among the worst-hit areas were Havana, where at least seven bodies were recovered, and the coastal towns of Caibarien and Cojimar. Dazed citizens like Yanmara Suarez surveyed the devastation in the historic old town of Havana, largely submerged by a wind-whipped tidal surge that left many people wading in waist-high water over the weekend.
|
| 22 Cool Kitchen Tools and Gadgets Posted: 11 Sep 2017 12:36 PM PDT |
| Dreamers In Medical School Ask Congress To Help Them So They Can Help Others Posted: 11 Sep 2017 02:45 AM PDT  Manuel Bernal, a fourth-year medical student, is busy studying and soon will be applying to residency programs in hopes of one day becoming an emergency room physician who serves underserved communities ― he hopes in his home state of Tennessee. Now he is adding another task: lobbying members of Congress to pass a bill protecting young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, like he did. After President Donald Trump rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program last week, the need for legislation is urgent for Bernal, and not just because DACA recipients' work permits and deportation protections will begin to expire in larger numbers in six months.
|
| DNA Test Reveals Powerful Viking Warrior Was Actually A Woman Posted: 11 Sep 2017 07:51 AM PDT  A study of the skeletal remains of an influential Viking military leader ― who was long-assumed to be a man ― revealed that she is actually a woman.
|
| These 9/11 Families Still Don't Have Their Relatives' Remains 16 Years Later Posted: 11 Sep 2017 03:00 AM PDT  The remains of hundreds of 9/11 victims have never been identified
|
| The Latest: Mother of slain Tennessee woman faints in court Posted: 11 Sep 2017 04:50 PM PDT  SAVANNAH, Tenn. (AP) — The Latest on the trial of a man charged with kidnapping and killing a Tennessee nursing student (all times local):
|
| U.S. Coast Guard, EPA cleaning up a dozen Texas chemical spills after Harvey Posted: 11 Sep 2017 03:22 PM PDT  By Emily Flitter HOUSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency are working with Texas state regulators to clean up oil and chemicals spilled from a dozen industrial facilities after flooding from Hurricane Harvey, authorities said. The spills came from oil refineries, fuel terminals and other businesses, but EPA spokeswoman Terri White said it was not possible to provide an estimate for the amounts spilled.
|
| Floridians rescue stranded manatees as Irma sucks water from shores Posted: 10 Sep 2017 03:43 PM PDT  As Hurricane Irma rumbled up Florida's west coast, it drained water from the state's shores, leaving residents stunned and manatees stranded. Some of those stunned and curious residents walked into the vast patches of sand and underwater growth that used to be the bay—a dangerous thing to do, given the water would rush back. But manatees caught on land were lucky those residents wandered out. SEE ALSO: Hurricane Irma is making oceans vanish before the flooding Floridians spotted beached sea cows and helped get them back to the bay. Manatees stranded in Sarasota. #Irma storm surge sucked the water away. Man who took these gave us permission to use.,So Sad @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/8JaMj58qxH — Paige Kelton (@PaigeANjax) September 10, 2017 Manatee stranded by #Irma People coming to the rescue when the waters receded in Sarasota. @ActionNewsJax #HurrcaneIrma pic.twitter.com/UTcUiH3wl3 — Paige Kelton (@PaigeANjax) September 10, 2017 One man, Marcelo Clavijo, wrote that he was one of several who came upon two stranded manatees and helped get them into water deep enough for the sea cows to swim. He wrote on Facebook that he came across the animals near Whitfield, north of Sarasota. Residents managed to roll the manatees onto a green tarp — taken from the back of one of their trucks — and slide them "100 yards" to where the bay had receded, according to Clavijo's post and a Facebook message he sent. He told a local Fox station that both manatees "swam off" once they were again surrounded by water. WATCH: Hurricane Irma is the most powerful storm to slam the Atlantic Ocean. Here's what you need to know.
|
| Surfer 'mauled in Australia shark attack' Posted: 10 Sep 2017 03:08 AM PDT  A surfer was thrown into the air and his board snapped in a suspected great white shark attack off Australia's east coast Sunday that left him with bloody cuts to his right hip. The man, named in local media at Abe McGrath, was surfing at Iluka in New South Wales early Sunday when his board was hit from below by what he assumed was a shark, police said. McGrath's friend Bryce Cameron said he was "pretty much the luckiest man on earth right now", with the marine predator suspected to be a great white.
|
| UN human rights chief slams Burma for 'textbook ethnic cleansing', as Dalai Lama says Buddha would help Rohingya Posted: 11 Sep 2017 07:12 AM PDT  Aung San Suu Kyi was under growing international pressure on Monday after the UN's top human rights official accused her government of "textbook ethnic cleansing" and the Dalai Llama criticised Buddhist nationalist attacks on Burma's Rohingya ethnic minority. Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that Burma seemed to be carrying out a "systematic attack" on civilians designed to expel the mainly Muslim minority from the predominantly Buddhist country. "Because Myanmar has refused access to human rights investigators the current situation cannot yet be fully assessed, but the situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing," Mr Zeid told the UN Human Rights Council. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh in the past two weeks after violence flared in neighbouring Burma, also known as Myanmar, where the stateless Muslim minority has endured decades of persecution. Mr Zeid's condemnation came as the Dalai Lama also spoke out for the first time about the crisis, saying Buddha would have helped Muslims fleeing violence. Roland Oliphant: The scale of the Rohingya crisis 'is mindblowing' 00:56 "Those people who are sort of harassing some Muslims, they should remember Buddha," the Dalai Lama told journalists who asked him about the crisis on Friday evening. "He would definitely give help to those poor Muslims. So still I feel that. So very sad." Burma says it is carrying out counter-terrorist operations in Rakine State against the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a militant group that carried out a series of deadly attacks on border guard posts on August 25. But refugees and human rights groups say the Burmese military and local vigilantes are systematically targeting civilians in a campaign of terror characterised by house burnings, mass shootings, beheadings, and gang rape. The growing international outrage condemning the violent treatment of the Rohingya has reportedly made little impact on the Burmese military who were still threatening to burn down villages on Monday, said human rights activists. Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK told The Telegraph he had received multiple calls on Monday afternoon from desperate residents in Buthidaung, Rakhine State, who said soldiers had threatened to kill them and burn down their homes if they remained. "They [military] are telling villagers we will kill all of you, we will burn all the villages," he said. "The villagers are asking if the international community can do anything and whether they should stay or pack up." "We are witnessing the most horrific situation in our history," said Mr Khin. "The operation... is clearly disproportionate and without regard for basic principles of international law," Mr Zeid said. Rohingya Muslims arrive in Teknaff, Bangladesh on September 10 Credit: Anadolu "We have received multiple reports and satellite imagery of security forces and local militia burning Rohingya villages, and consistent accounts of extrajudicial killings, including shooting fleeing civilians," he said. "I call on the government to end its current cruel military operation, with accountability for all violations that have occurred and to reverse the pattern of severe and widespread discrimination against the Rohingya population." At least 313,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Burma since violence flared on August 25, the Inter Sector Coordination Group coordinating the relief operation said on Monday. The figure means at least 400,000 people, or more more than a third of the estimated 1.1 million Rohingya population of Rakine state, have entered Bangladesh since a previous outbreak of violence in October last year. Rohingya woman gives birth fleeing Myanmar 01:09 The foreign minister of Bangladesh on Sunday said at least 3,000 people have been killed campaign of "genocide." Tens of thousands more are believed to be on the move inside Rakhine state after more than two weeks without shelter, food and water. Many are believed to be trapped on the Burmese side of the Naf river because they are unable to afford exorbitant fares charged by boatmen operating at crossing points. Boatmen on the river crossing near the Bangladeshi village of Lomba Beel are charging $122 per head, the Dhaka Tribune reported on Monday. Pakistani protesters burn an effigy of Burma State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration to condemn ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, in Lahore, Pakistan Credit: AP Adil Sakhawat, a correspondent for the paper, said he found large crowds bottle-necked at a border post seized by ARSA militants when he crossed the river on the weekend. The militants he saw were armed only with sticks and hinted at plans for a new attack on the Burmese military. ARSA declared a one month ceasefire on Sunday. Burma's population is overwhelmingly Buddhist and there is widespread hatred for the Rohingya, who are denied citizenship and labelled illegal "Bengali" immigrants from Bangladesh and India. There are long-running tensions between the Rohingya, who speak a dialect of Bengali, and the Rakine, the predominantly Buddhist ethnic group who make up the majority of Rakine State's population.
|
| 'Little People, Big World' Stars Jeremy And Audrey Roloff Welcome Baby Girl Posted: 11 Sep 2017 02:19 PM PDT  The "Little People, Big World" stars are now parents to a baby girl, Jeremy's rep confirmed to People.
|
| In Reversal, Equifax Says It Won't Charge Hack Victims For 'Free' Service Posted: 11 Sep 2017 09:03 AM PDT  WASHINGTON ― The credit monitoring company that compromised the personal information of nearly half the U.S. population said Monday it won't ask people for credit card information if they sign up for its "free" service.
|
| Man charged with killing 5-year-old boy in Kentucky Posted: 11 Sep 2017 05:37 PM PDT ![Man charged with killing 5-year-old boy in Kentucky]( "Man charged with killing 5-year-old boy in Kentucky") FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky man was charged Monday with the murder of a 5-year-old boy who watched helplessly as his mother was beaten, bound and pushed off a cliff over the weekend. The mother survived and was found by two hikers who alerted police, prompting a two-day search that ended earlier Monday when the boy's body was discovered near where his mother was left for dead.
|
| 2018 Harley-Davidson Softail Slim – First Ride Posted: 11 Sep 2017 05:00 AM PDT  2018 Harley-Davidson Softail Slim – First Ride Bobber-styled machine part of an overhaul of the Softail line When the news hit a few weeks ago that Harley-Davidson was getting rid of the Dyna line, many people were surprised at the bold move. But truthfully
|
| 9/11 Anniversary Photos Posted: 11 Sep 2017 02:59 AM PDT  Thousands of survivors, relatives of victims and rescuers are expected to gather Monday at the World Trade Center to mark the anniversary.
|
| Michelin-Starred Chef Reveals A Surprising Secret To His Scrambled Eggs Posted: 11 Sep 2017 09:41 AM PDT  Many food gurus have attempted to perfect scrambled eggs, some by adding ingredients and others by altering cooking times and methods.
|
| Florida Police Warn People Not to Shoot Their Guns at Hurricane Irma Posted: 10 Sep 2017 07:40 AM PDT  After a Facebook event encouraged people to do so
|
| China eyes petrol car ban, boosting electric vehicles Posted: 11 Sep 2017 03:00 AM PDT  China is gearing up to ban petrol and diesel cars, a move that would boost electric vehicles and shake up the world's biggest car market in a country that is plagued by pollution. The government did not give a date for the ban, but the announcement drove up the shares of automakers and lithium battery makers in Asia, with Chinese electric car leader BYD closing 4.07 percent up in Shenzhen and Toyota up 1.22 percent in Tokyo. Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology, told a weekend forum in the northern city of Tianjin that his ministry has started "relevant research" and is working on a timetable for China.
|
| Exclusive: Iraq holding 1,400 foreign wives, children of suspected Islamic State fighters Posted: 10 Sep 2017 07:03 PM PDT  By Raya Jalabi and Ulf Laessing SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi authorities are holding 1,400 foreign wives and children of suspected Islamic State fighters after government forces expelled the jihadist group from one of its last remaining strongholds in Iraq, security and aid officials said. Most came from Turkey. The wives and children are being held at an Iraqi camp south of Mosul.
|
| Chubby Labradors are 'genetically hungry', say scientists Posted: 10 Sep 2017 11:54 AM PDT  Labradors are Britain's most popular dogs for the very good reasons that they are friendly, loyal and easy to train. But as most owners soon realise, there is a downside - they are rather too fond of their food and are prone to getting fat. However, scientists have now said owners should stop automatically blaming themselves if their beloved pet becomes a little portly, because, for many of them at least, it is all in the genes. This is a common genetic variant in Labradors and has a significant effect on those dogs that carry itDr Eleanor Raffan, Cambridge University New research carried out by the University of Cambridge found a genetic variation which they believe drives some Labradors and flat coat retrievers to be naturally obsessed by food. It means that when a dog begs incessantly or starts drooling at the sound of a biscuit tin being opened, it could well be because it is "genetically hungry", rather than spoiled by overly indulgent humans. The University of Cambridge researchers behind the study say they hope the results can "shift the paradigm away from owner-blaming". They also caution against attempts to breed the responsible variation, known as POMC, out of the Labrador gene pool, as that risks also losing many of the traits which make the breed so popular. Published in the journal Cell Metabolism, the study involved analysing the genes of 310 Labradors, combined with weighing the animals and assessing their "food motivation using an owner questionnaire. The researchers found that nearly a quarter carried at least one copy the POMC variant, one of three potential obesity-related genes being looked for. For each copy of the gene carried, the dog was found to be on average 1.9 kg heavier. The team said this effect size was particularly notable given the extent to which owners, rather than the dogs themselves, control the amount of food and exercise their dogs receive. Some Labradors are 'genetically hungry' Credit: Getty "This is a common genetic variant in Labradors and has a significant effect on those dogs that carry it, so it is likely that this helps explain why Labradors are more prone to being overweight in comparison to other breeds," said Dr Eleanor Raffan, who led the research. "However, it's not a straightforward picture as the variant is even more common among flat coat retrievers, a breed not previously flagged as being prone to obesity." Roughly a quarter of British households own a pet dog, with one in three believed to be overweight. Being overweight reduces a dog's quality of life and can exacerbate joint disorders such as arthritis. "But equally, being hungry is a welfare issue, and these dogs are genetically hungry," said Dr Raffan. She warned that trying to get rid of the mutation could change the personality of the breed. Dr Giles Yeo, a Cambridge colleague who also worked on the study, said: "Labradors make particularly successful working and pet dogs because they are loyal, intelligent and eager to please, but, importantly, they are also relatively easy to train. "Food is often used as a reward during training, and carrying this variant may make dogs more motivated to work for a titbit." Separate research is currently being undertaken at the University of Liverpool in an effort to design treatments for ligament damage in Labradors, the most common orthopaedic problem encountered by vets. Scientists are using advanced imaging technology to assess exactly how the breed's knee bones work together and how walking contributes to the risk of ligament injury or rupture. Future treatments, such as customised knee implants, would be of particular use to overweight dogs.
|
| Girl, 6, Opens Lemonade Stand to Help Pay Off Her Classmates' Lunch Debt Posted: 10 Sep 2017 11:27 AM PDT  "Every kid at school needs lunch, so that's my way of helping," 6-year-old Amiah told InsideEdition.com.
|
| Police: At least 8 dead after shooting in North Texas Posted: 10 Sep 2017 09:22 PM PDT ![Police: At least 8 dead after shooting in North Texas]( "Police: At least 8 dead after shooting in North Texas") PLANO, Texas (AP) — At least eight people are dead, including the suspect, after a shooting at a home in Plano, Texas, authorities in North Texas said Sunday night.
|
| Sporting a black eye, pope urges Colombians to reconcile Posted: 10 Sep 2017 08:50 PM PDT  CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) — Pope Francis wrapped up his Colombia trip Sunday by honoring a fellow Jesuit who ministered to African slaves and urging Colombians today to follow his lead in working for a more peaceful future.
|
| Israeli PM's son under fire for anti-Semitic post Posted: 10 Sep 2017 01:51 PM PDT  Israeli political leaders lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's eldest son Sunday for posting an anti-Semitic caricature aimed at his father's critics.
|
| Bathroom Paint Ideas and Inspiration Posted: 11 Sep 2017 12:17 PM PDT |
| Beached Manatees Rescued From Low Tide In Wake of Hurricane Irma Posted: 10 Sep 2017 05:17 PM PDT  A group of Florida residents came across two beached manatees Sunday afternoon in a bay that had dried up as a result of Hurricane Irma.
|
| The New Miss America Dropped a Surprising Take on Climate Change Posted: 11 Sep 2017 09:43 AM PDT  "I wasn't really afraid if my opinion wasn't the opinion of my judges."
|
| Russian strikes kill 34 civilians in Syria's Deir Ezzor: monitor Posted: 10 Sep 2017 11:43 AM PDT  Russian air strikes Sunday killed 34 civilians on ferries fleeing violence in Syria's eastern province of Deir Ezzor, where jihadists face separate assaults by US-backed forces and Russian-backed government troops, a monitor said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor initially reported 21 deaths but later raised the toll to 34, saying that "more bodies have been found in the river" Euphrates. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said nine children were among those killed fleeing fighting and that "dozens" of people were wounded in the strikes.
|
| Airline Excludes Family From Flight, Forcing Them To Pay $4000 For Tickets Posted: 10 Sep 2017 02:28 PM PDT  An airline barred a Toronto family and required them to pay an extra $4000 for extra tickets.
|
| Cambodian leader threatens ban on opposition party Posted: 10 Sep 2017 09:29 PM PDT  By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened on Monday that the main opposition party would be dissolved if it continues to back detained leader Kem Sokha, who has been charged with treason over an alleged plot to gain power with U.S. support. Kem Sokha was arrested on Sept. 3 and is the only serious election rival to Hun Sen, a 65-year-old former Khmer Rouge commander. Western countries have criticized the arrest, which marked a an escalation in a crackdown on critics ahead of a poll next year that could pose the toughest electoral challenge Hun Sen has faced in more than 30 years of rule.
|
