Obamas Attend Easter Worship at Historic DC Churchwashin

Donning their Sunday best, President Barack Obama and his family attended Easter services this morning at St. John's Church in Washington D.C.

Located a block away from the White House, the protestant Episcopal parish is a frequent visit for Obama and past presidents. A casual stroll through Lafayette Park will bring you to the historic house of worship in minutes.

The president, first lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Sasha and Malia were seated about six pews back from the pulpit of Rev. Luis Leon, whose sermon reflected on the uncertain state of world affairs as they related to the faith.

Citing a recent New York Times article, the pastor said a new renaissance in Somalia's capital could be seen as an allegory of rebirth.

"Now you may say, 'They're all Muslim.' But so what? That is evidence of the resurrection," he said.

Reverend Leon told the congregation the Christian faith was designed for times like these.

"Everything doesn't get fixed right away," he said, and implored parishioners not to give up.

As Christians and Jews observe Easter or Passover this weekend, Obama reflected on the meaning of the holidays in his weekly address.

Stating he was committed to the Christian tenet of living through Jesus' example, the president said Christ's doctrine of selflessness could be shared by anyone.

"All of us, no matter how or whether we believe, can identify with elements of His story," he said. "The triumph of hope over despair. Of faith over doubt. The notion that there is something out there that is bigger than ourselves."

Obama said the religious weekend is a reminder "of the common thread of humanity that connects us all."

The statement dovetails with a White House prayer breakfast and Seder dinner with friends of the Obama family last week.

Today is the Obama family's second Easter visit to St. John's, having attended holiday services there in 2009. In consecutive years the family had visited historically black churches in Washington for the occasion.

President Obama and his family frequently rotate through a number of churches in the District, having never committed membership to a sole congregation.

It was the same for former presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

At least one predecessor, Richard Nixon, actually held Sunday service in the White House itself.

Looking on the bright side of inflation

Sometimes a little bit of inflation is not such a bad thing. In the United States, prices starting to creep upward shows the deep wounds from the credit crisis are slowly healing and the U.S. economy is well on the road to recovery.

The evidence is scattered but it also shows up in some national reports. Consumer inflation, after stripping out volatile food and energy prices, has edged upward over the past year and now is running just above the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target.

Workers' pay is nudging higher as the labor market gradually improves. Hourly earnings have grown at an average annual rate of 2 percent since last May and posted a 2.1 percent gain last month, up from a 1.8 percent pace a year earlier.

Home prices in a few cities, including Miami and Phoenix, have started to climb, the latest Case-Shiller index showed, even as the overall index fell. In the Washington area, some realtors say competition has heated up, bringing multiple bids and quick sales.

Businesses in New York and small firms are reporting shortages of skilled labor, especially for technical positions. The New York ISM found in March that 20 percent of purchasing managers were having problems hiring. The National Federal of Independent Businesses said almost one third of its firms surveyed in February had few if any qualified applicants to fill vacancies. This could push up wages in these sectors.

The amount of slack in the economy also appears to be lessening, the Federal Reserve staff said in minutes last week from the March central bank meeting. When there is lots of unused capacity in the economy, price slashing is common. If demand holds up, the narrowing of the output gap could give companies some extra pricing power.

Even the most cautious Federal Reserve policymakers are taking note. "Relative to a few months ago, I think the downside risks to the U.S. economy have lessened," John Williams, San Francisco Fed Bank President, said last week. He was in the Fed camp casting the most doubt on whether the U.S. recovery had legs.

These scattered signs of pricing gains are far from enough to ring inflationary bells, and it is way too soon to say they would prompt the Fed to alter its pledge to hold interest rates exceptionally low until 2014. Indeed Deutsche Bank expects the upward tilt in consumer prices is over.

"Underlying sectors that have been driving these movements are showing signs of leveling off or reversing as we look ahead," it said in a research note, citing slower gains in rental prices and a drop in car prices.

Natural gas glut means drilling boom must slow

Natural gas producers are being forced to scale back as prices fall, storage caverns fill up

The U.S. natural gas market is bursting at the seams.

So much natural gas is being produced that soon there may be nowhere left to put the country's swelling surplus. After years of explosive growth, natural gas producers are retrenching.

The underground salt caverns, depleted oil fields and aquifers that store natural gas are rapidly filling up after a balmy winter depressed demand for home heating.

The glut has benefited businesses and homeowners that use natural gas. But with natural gas prices at a 10-year low _ and falling _ companies that produce the fuel are becoming victims of their drilling successes. Their stock prices are falling in anticipation of declining profits and scaled-back growth plans.

Some of the nation's biggest natural gas producers, including Chesapeake Energy, ConocoPhillips and Encana Corp., have announced plans to slow down.

"They've gotten way ahead of themselves, and winter got way ahead of them too," says Jen Snyder, head of North American gas for the research firm Wood Mackenzie. "There hasn't been enough demand to use up all the supply being pushed into the market."

So far, efforts to limit production have barely made a dent. Unless the pace of production declines sharply or demand picks up significantly this summer, analysts say the nation's storage facilities could reach their limits by fall.

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Mike Wallace dead: ’60 Minutes’ legend was 93

Mike Wallace, the legendary CBS News broadcaster, interviewer and "60 Minutes" icon, has died, the network said Sunday. He was 93.

Wallace, whose "probing, brazen style made his name synonymous with the tough interview -- a style he practically invented for television more than half a century ago" died "peacefully" on Saturday night, surrounded by family in New Canaan, Conn., CBS said.

"It is with tremendous sadness that we mark the passing of Mike Wallace," Les Moonves, CBS Corp. president and CEO, said in a statement. "His extraordinary contribution as a broadcaster is immeasurable and he has been a force within the television industry throughout its existence. His loss will be felt by all of us at CBS."

"All of us at CBS News and particularly at 60 Minutes owe so much to Mike," Jeff Fager, CBS News chairman, said in a statement of his own. "Without him and his iconic style, there probably wouldn't be a 60 Minutes. There simply hasn't been another broadcast journalist with that much talent. It almost didn't matter what stories he was covering, you just wanted to hear what he would ask next. Around CBS he was the same infectious, funny and ferocious person as he was on TV. We loved him and we will miss him very much."

Morley Safer, Wallace's longtime colleague, remembered him in a video tribute posted on CBS' website.
"For half a century, he took on corrupt politicians, scam artists and bureaucratic bumblers," Safer said. "His visits were preceded by the four dreaded words: Mike Wallace is here."

Wallace "took to heart the old reporter's pledge to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable," Safer continued. "He characterized himself as 'nosy and insistent.' So insistent, there were very few 20th century icons who didn't submit to a Mike Wallace interview. He lectured Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, on corruption. He lectured Yassir Arafat on violence. He asked the Ayatollah Khoumeini if he were crazy. He traveled with Martin Luther King (whom Wallace called his hero). He grappled with Louis Farrakhan. And he interviewed Malcolm X shortly before his assassination."

Among the political and cultural icons to be interviewed by Wallace: Ronald and Nancy Reagan, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Eleanor Roosevelt, Leonard Bernstein, Johnny Carson, Luciano Pavarotti, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Salvador Dali, and Barbra Streisand.
"Mike Wallace didn't interview people," the Associated Press' Frazier Moore wrote. "He interrogated them. He cross-examined them. Sometimes he eviscerated them."

Wallace retired in 2006. His last appearance on "60 Minutes" was in 2008, when he interviewed Roger Clemens. But he was slowed by heart surgery later that year.

According to the New York Times, Wallace was "noticeably absent" at the memorial service for colleague Andy Rooney in January. (Rooney died in November.)

And in a recent interview with the Times, his son, Fox News' Chris Wallace, said his father's health had deteriorated.

"He's in a facility in Connecticut, Wallace said. "Physically, he's okay. Mentally, he's not. He still recognizes me and knows who I am, but he's uneven. The interesting thing is, he never mentions '60 Minutes.' It's as if it didn't exist. It's as if that part of his memory is completely gone. The only thing he really talks about is family--me, my kids, my grandkids, his great-grandchildren. There's a lesson there. This is a man who had a fabulous career and for whom work always came first. Now he can't even remember it."

Wallace was unhappy with his portrayal in "The Insider," 1999 film about CBS' controversial decision to kill a 1995 "60 Minutes" interview with tobacco industry whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand over fears of a lawsuit. (Wallace was played by Christopher Plummer.)

"We cannot broadcast what critical information about tobacco, addiction and public health (Wigand) might be able to offer," Wallace later told viewers, adding: "We were dismayed that the management at CBS had seen fit to give in to perceived threats of legal action."

In 1968, a few months before the launch of "60 Minutes," Wallace said he turned down an offer to be Richard Nixon's press secretary, according to the Times. "I thought very, very seriously about it," Wallace told the paper. "I regarded him with great respect. He was savvy, smart, hard working."

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Police arrest two men, fear it was a hate crime

Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma have arrested two men in connection with Friday's shooting spree that left three dead and two wounded--and sparked fears of a hate crime in the community.

According to Tulsa police, two white men--19-year-old Jake England and 32-year-old Alvin Watts, were arrested early Sunday.

"We're not exactly sure what their relationship is to another--whether they are friends or extended family members," Tulsa police capt. Jonathan Brooks told CNN. All five victims were black, Brooks said.

Before their arrests, police cautioned that there was no evidence a hate crime had been committed. "There's a very logical theory that would say that that's what it could be," Tulsa police chief Chuck Jordan said on Saturday. "But I'm a police officer. I've got to go by evidence."

According to CNN, local law enforcement, the U.S. Marshals and FBI had been searching for the suspects since early Friday when the string of shootings began.

According to the Associated Press, the men were arrested in at a home just north of Tulsa at 1:47 a.m. Sunday and "were expected to be charged with three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of shooting with intent to kill." Law enforcement, backed by helicopters, raided the home after receiving an anonymous tip, the AP said.

According to the New York Times, survivors had initially described the gunman as a single white male driving a pickup truck "with its tailpipe hanging." According to police, the suspect had stopped to ask victims for directions before shooting them.

The north Tulsa neighborhoods where shooting occurred were described as predominately black.

"For a white male to come that deep into that area and to start indiscriminately shooting, that lends itself for many to believe that it probably was a hate crime," Rev. Warren Blakney, a local pastor, told CNN.

"You have somebody white who has come into a community and taken shots at, killing black people" Jack Henderson, a city councilman, told the cable network. "To me, that would indicate that we have some kind of a racial problem."

Brooks added: "We wanted to get the word out now so that when people woke up this Easter Sunday morning, they'll know that Tulsa is a little bit safer place."

Científicos desarrollan vacuna que evita infartos

El medicamento ayudaría a disolver los depósitos de grasa en las arterías, uno de los factores principales de los ataques cardiacos

Investigadores de Suecia y Estados Unidos han desarrollado una vacuna a base anticuerpos que se disuelven en los depósitos de grasa de las arterias para combatir la aterosclerosis, uno de los principales factores de riesgo de infarto.

El medicamento fue presentado durante la conferencia Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (Fronteras en Biología Cardiovascular) organizada por la Sociedad Europea de Cardiología (ESC) en el Imperial College de Londres.

Los científicos aseguran que esta inyección podríacambiar las estrategias para combatir las enfermedades cardiovasculares, que son la principal causa de muerte en el mundo, así lo publica el diario BBC Mundo.

La aterosclerosis, se genera cuando se acumula grasa en las arterias, lo que provoca la reducción del flujo de oxígeno al corazón, que puede terminar en un ataque cardíaco.

La investigación dirigida por el profesor Jan Nilsson de la Universidad de Lund, asegura que las inyecciones ya han sido probadas en animales, las cuales logaron evitar la acumulación de grasa en las arterias, gracias a que los anticuerpos evitan la inflamación y la severidad de la acumulación.

Esperan que la vacuna pueda salir al mercado dentro de cinco años, si es que resulta benéfica para los humanos.

"Los tratamientos actuales sólo reducen en 40% el riesgo de que un paciente desarrolle enfermedades cardiovasculares" afirma el científico.

"Aunque estos resultados son alentadores, no debe olvidarse que casi el 60% de estos trastornos continúan ocurriendo" agrega.

La vacuna, que está siendo desarrollada conjuntamente con Prediman Shah del Instituto de Corazón Cedars-Sinai, en Los Ángeles, logró en experimentos con ratones reducir en entre 60 y 70% la acumulación de grasa en las arterias de los animales.

Según los científicos actualmente se están desarrollando dos versiones del tratamiento usando los mismos materiales, una inyección y un spray nasal.

Sujeto mató a puñaladas a su pareja

Un nuevo caso de feminicidio se produce en el país. La joven Jessica Reyes (20) fue asesinada a puñaladas en el departamento que rentaba, en Comas, por su propia pareja, Ebir Huamán Jiménez (26), informó RPP Noticias.


El agresor llegó esta mañana al recinto, ubicado en la primera cuadra de la calle Andrés Bello, donde sostuvo una fuerte agresión con su víctima. Luego, en un arranque de celos, mató a la mujer de al menos tres puñaladas.

Tras cometer el delito, Huamán Jiménez intentó suicidarse cortándose el cuello. Aún con vida, fue trasladado de emergencia al Hospital de Collique, donde permanece internado. 

Familiares de la víctima informaron que la pareja tenía varios años juntos e, incluso, tenían planes de matrimonio. Sin embargo, reconocieron que había problemas debido a que Ebir Huamán era muy celoso y violento.

Detienen a 2 sospechosos por tiroteo en EEUU, que dejó tres muertos

Los dos detenidos son Jake England, de 19 años, y Alvin Watts, de 32, y serán acusados de tres casos de homicidio en primer grado e intento de homicidio, en una serie de tiroteos que ha aterrorizado a Tulsa

Washington, 8 de Abril - Fuerzas policiales detuvieron hoy a dos hombres en Tulsa (estado de Oklahoma) en conexión con la muerte a tiros de tres personas y dos heridos graves en varias zonas de la ciudad, informó hoy un portavoz de la Policía de Tulsa.

Los dos detenidos son Jake England, de 19 años, y Alvin Watts, de 32, y serán acusados de tres casos de homicidio en primer grado e intento de homicidio, en una serie de tiroteos que ha aterrorizado a la ciudad de Tulsa durante el fin de semana.

La Policía de la ciudad, apoyada por agentes estatales y del FBI, así como por helicópteros, consiguió dar con los dos sospechosos, de raza blanca y que no presentaron resistencia durante su detención.

Jason Willinghan, portavoz de la Policía de Tulsa, indicó que aún se están investigando las razones que llevaron a los hombres a disparar contra sus víctimas, todas ellas de raza negra, entre las que aparentemente no hay conexión.

“No tenemos aún un móvil. Aún estamos haciendo preguntas y esperamos tener las cosas más claras en los próximos días”, indicó el portavoz.

La comunidad afroamericana del norte de Tulsa, donde se produjeron las muertes, se mostró preocupada por el tiroteo y temieron de que se trataran de crímenes racistas, algo que aún no se ha descartado.

Según la policía, las cinco víctimas fueron tiroteadas mientras caminaban por la calle en una zona de unos 5 kilómetros, aparentemente de manera aleatoria.

Líderes de la comunidad afroamericana de Tulsa, como el reverendo Warren Blakney, han advertido sobre la alta desconfianza de las personas de raza negra en la Policía y esperó que los motivos detrás de este tiroteo sean profundamente investigados.