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Williams Hospitalized for Blood Clot in Lungs

Serena Williams

Tennis ace Serena Williams dazzled the red carpet at the Vanity Fair Oscars party, and was later hospitalized because of a blood clot in her lungs. Serena was a victim of pulmonary embolism and she was seeing doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for treatment. Her situation is being monitored as she went emergency treatment. Her agents said the clot was caught in time and that Serena is resting at home under the doctor’s care. There had been reports that the 13-time Grand Slam Champion could miss games up to a year.

Earlier in the week, Serena said that the French Open was her target as she returns to tennis. She hasn’t played since last year’s Wimbledon due to a foot injury that she suffered after stepping on broken glass. Getting her health in order is number one priority before she holds a racquet again.

She released a statement about her condition last Wednesday: “Thank you everyone for all of your prayers, concerns, and support. This has been extremely hard, scary, and disappointing. I am doing better, I’m at home now and working with my doctors to keep everything under control. I know I will be ok, but am praying and hoping this will all be behind me soon. While I can’t make any promises now on my return, I hope to be back by early summer. That said, my main goal is to make sure I get there safely.”

Serena Williams was gorgeous at Sunday night’s Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party. Williams was struggling with a serious health scare that took a dramatic turn.

“Monday Serena Williams underwent emergency treatment at Cedars [Medical Center] for a hematoma she suffered as a result of treatment for a more critical situation,” a representative for Williams, Nicole Chabot, said. “Doctors are continuing to monitor her situation closely to avoid additional complications.” 

Tripoli Nights lit up by Gunfire

Tripoli Gunfire

In an effort to prolong his political position, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, unleashed violence in Tripoli during the night, lasting until morning of Saturday. Many Arab organizations and a group of prominent intellectuals from across the Middle East and North Africa have already asked global bodies for help regarding this abuse of human rights.

The residents of Tripoli are persevering through Gadhafi’s terrifying statement that is emphasized with a rain of bullets. More than 1000 people have been killed indiscriminately in a few days, including civilians at homes and hospitals, according to reports by witnesses in a telephone interview. Egyptian migrants already moved to Tunisia as Libyan security forces used force upon the anti-government protesters resulting in bloodshed and chaos.

“We can destroy any assault with the people’s will, with the armed people,” Gadhafi said on state television Friday. “And when it is necessary, the weapons depots will be open to all the Libyan people to be armed.”

While civil war is being evoked by the power-hungry leader, human welfare organizations like the Security Council, the European Union and the African Union are already urged to intervene and impose sanctions on the Libyan regime. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an effective solution to end the violence against anti-government protesters. Arms embargo, asset freeze and a travel ban are some of the enforced resolutions for the unrest in Libya.

International pressure is already being put on Moammar and though he may seem to be controlling the capital, many other parts of the North African Nation have already escaped his atrocious rule. State Department Officials are already establishing communication with the Libyan Government and they have emphasized that while the embassy is closed, the relations remain intact. “The flag is still flying. The embassy is not closed. Operations are suspended,” said Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy.

Thousands of Libyan Refugees Seek Help

Tunisia Crossing

RAS AJDIR BORDER CROSSING, Tunisia —  Thousands of migrant workers taking refuge from  Libya found themselves imbedded among the hundreds of refugee groups also  trying to cross the border into Tunisia. Waiting for as long as four days, many workers were forced to rest on dusty concrete roads with little supply of blankets given by Tunisian government and concerned citizen groups. In an attempt to create makeshift tents, some hung the short blankets from trees.

For the past 10 days, almost half of the 180,000 people fleeing Libya have decided to head to Tunisia. Seeing the increasing number of refugees at risk, United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon appealed for international help and stated,  “We need concrete action on the ground to provide humanitarian and medical assistance. Time is of the essence. Thousands of lives are at risk.”

As an answer to the public call, numerous aid groups gathered on the Tunisian and Egyptian borders to hand out food and supplies to the refugees. Experiencing the danger of the situation, members of aid groups confirmed the need for urgent help, “There is an absolutely mammoth task that is absolutely imperative to ease pressure on the border area.” Sybella Wilkes, a spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency in Geneva, added, “The capacity of the border area is bursting.”

On Wednesday, British and France promised to send planes to airlift stranded refugees that included mostly Egyptians, Bangladeshis, sub-Saharan Africans, and other nationalities out of  the Tunisian border. Reporters also said that hundreds of Egyptians traversed to the Tunisian border because it is closer to Libya’s capital of Tripoli.

In a meeting with lawmakers, Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron said, “I think it is vital to do this; these people shouldn’t be kept in transit camps if it is possible to take them back to their home, and I am glad that Britain can play such an important part in doing that.”

The Eastern Cougar Goes from Endangered to Extinct

Eastern Cougar

The eastern cougar has been declared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be extinct on Wednesday. This confirms the widely held belief among biologists that native populations of the big cat were wiped out a century ago. Federal officials concluded that there are no breeding populations of cougars in the eastern United States.

The eastern cougar has been removed from the endangered list due to Wednesday’s declaration. Researchers believe that they went extinct during the 1930s but some hunters and outdoor enthusiasts have insisted that they are alive and are just eluding detection, hence its moniker, the “ghost cat.” A breeding population of it would almost certainly have left evidence of its existence. The private eastern Cougar Foundation spent a decade looking for evidence, but researchers have come up empty. Others maintain that wild cougars still prowl east of the Mississippi. Another endangered wildcat, the Florida Panther, was not affected by the status of its familial species.

“The Fish and Wildlife Service believes that some people have seen cougars, and that was an important part of the review that we did,” said Mark McCollough, an endangered species biologist who led the agency’s eastern cougar study. “We went on to evaluate where these animals would be coming from.”

Ray Sedorchuk, an avid hunter and outdoorsman, said he got an excellent look at a cougar when a reddish-brown animal with a long tail crossed the road. Ray jammed on the brakes of the truck that he was driving. “I could see the body, the tail and the head, the entire animal, perfectly. It’s not a bobcat, it’s not a housecat, it’s a cougar,” he said. “It’s a sleek animal. It ran low to the ground and stealth-like. It moved with elegance.”

Cougars were killed in vast numbers, and states even held bounties, but the loss of a top-level predator  has had ecological consequences, including a deer population explosion and a corresponding decline in the health of Eastern forests.

China Prepares for Possible Uprising

China Uprising

China took action concerning droves of people that could spark social unrest. Media controls are also tightened ahead of the annual session of parliament, worrying that rebellion in the Middle East could encourage dissent in their nation. The Chinese leaders’ vigilance about defending one-party control has been reinforced due to the protests that have toppled authoritarian Arab governments. Official anxieties are sure to multiply as President Hu Jintao prepares to hand power to a successor generation.

Foreign reporters were assaulted in central Beijing, where an online message from abroad had urged a pro-democracy gathering. Police have been assigned for patrol in the area and no protests happened but recent directives on many Chinese government websites show that the country’s citizens themselves face strict controls.

“Foreign journalists are having a taste of the recent escalation of the security crackdown against anyone or anything considered potentially politically sensitive by the authorities,” said Nicholas Bequelin, a senior researcher in the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, a New York-based advocacy group. “This is an across-the-board attempt to asphyxiate all critical voices ahead of the leadership transition,” Bequelin said on Wednesday.

Campaigns of control around major events are being suggested on Chinese local government websites because the parliament is meant as a perfect show of political unity.“Jasmine Revolution,” a pro-democracy gathering in the Arab world is said to cause more tension this year. High officials have pledged to build a more harmonious society by narrowing inequalities and improving the incomes and welfare of farmers and workers. Tensions have been diluted by these efforts, and most observers dismiss the idea that China risks imminent social unrest.

Minorities that disagree with the political transition, urbanization and economic transformation are being put to detention by the local government. “These social controls have been in place before, but now there’s a sense that they becoming more institutionalized and permanent,” said Liu Feiyue, a human rights activist in the central province of Hubei.

Boston Celtics Shocks Basketball World with Trade

Boston Celtics Basketball

Looking to bolster their team’s frontline, the Boston Celtics traded fan favorite center Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City for inconsistent forward Jeff Green and veteran center Nenad Krstic before the trade deadline.

The unexpected trade drew different comments from coaches, players, and fans of the league. Perkins, an integral part of the Celtics defense and the starting center, was a heavy contributor of the team’s successive runs in the finals. He is the main core of Boston’s defense and is one of the top rebounders in the league. Although he is still recovering from a recent knee injury, almost everybody in the NBA world didn’t see this trade happening. With one of their big men out, Celtics will now rely on its two off season acquisitions, veteran centers Shaquille O’Neal and Jermaine O’Neal.

Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, a former Boston assistant who have worked with Perkins, said, “They’re always looking toward the future. He’s a very valuable player, he’s a great defensive player, and they got good players back for him. So I think it was a good trade for both teams.”

NBA analysts say that the trade was more of a business move. Perkins has an expiring contract and was reported to have been talking to the management for a contract extension with  bigger salary. Fearing that the team might lose him after his contract expires, the management gambled for a young but full of potential center.

The deal also shipped Boston guard Nate Robinson to the Thunder in exchange for a 2012 first-round draft pick, and cash. The Thunder lost Green, the team’s third-leading scorer who frequently played out of position at the power forward spot, and bulky center Krstic, a decent performer that contributes with rebounding and block shots.

Most Major US Cities’ Home Rates Decline

U.S Home Rates Decline

In almost all notable cities in the United States, home prices are dropping and a minimum of 10 major markets are already at their bottommost point since the housing fizz popped.

Housing prices weakened in 19 metro zones from January to February then 11 markets underwent more rapid charge declines in comparison with the preceding month, as shown by The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city index.

On Tuesday, the index that was released chopped down for the seventh consecutive month. It is faintly exceeding the level hit in April 2009 which is the bottom point since the bubble burst. Market analysts anticipate the March index will drop preceding the low point.

Among the whys and wherefores of insufficient number of people buying and selling homes are stringent loaning rulebooks, elevated idleness and uncertainties that costs will diminish more. BNP Paribas analyst Bricklin Dwyer said, “There is evidence that potential sellers are holding their properties off the market, waiting for housing prices to stop falling.”

Even though the Motor City is one of five cities where home rates are, at the moment, lower than their January 2000 levels, Detroit was the single market to display a monthly gain.

Since 2006 or 2007, at the peak of the housing boom, rates in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Ore., Phoenix, Portland, Seattle and Tampa are totally at their lowest point. Meanwhile, the cities with the sharpest falloffs from January were Chicago, Miami, Minneapolis and San Francisco.

Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse Securities, said, “It’s hard to sell when buyers have the leverage and foreclosures continue to create a gap between distressed sale prices and non-distressed sale prices.”

As stated by the Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumers, over and above 90 percent of homeowners say that it’s not yet the right time to sell their homes.

Cell Phone Radiation Increases Brain Activities?

Cell Phone Radiation

According to the latest studies, the radiation emitted when using a mobile phone for 50 minutes increases brain cell activity.  The researchers pointed out that because the effects of the radiation on the brain are not yet clearly determined, more studies and tests will be conducted.

Recently published in the Journal of American Medical Association, the study was the first time scientists tried to discover how electromagnetic radiation from cell phones affects glucose metabolism of the human brain. Dr. Nora Volkow, lead of the research and a National Institute Health neuroscientist, elaborated, “When glucose metabolism goes up, it activates cells. The findings are an indication that exposure to cell phones activate the brain much more easily than we previously thought.”

Human brain normally produces the amount of glucose it needs to function properly. In effect, greater brain activities mean that the cells are using more glucose to create energy. The tests conducted will determine whether activating the cells artificially by exposing them to cell phone radiation will have a negative effect on overall health. The researchers are also keeping in mind CTIA’s, a wireless industry trade group, statement that cell phones are not a danger to health.

John Walls, CTIA’s vice president for public affairs, explained, “The peer-reviewed scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices, within the limits established by the FCC, do not pose a public health risk or cause any adverse health effects.” He added, “In May 2010, the Interphone project, which was the largest study of cell phone use and brain tumors ever undertaken and included substantial numbers of subjects using cell phones for ten years or longer, found that ‘overall, no increase in risk was observed with the use of mobile phones.”

The Research team measured the brain activities of 47 healthy adults while using a mobile device. The levels of brain activity were tested and noted when the phone was in use compared to when it is in the off position. Results showed that the group whose phones were on had “significantly higher” brain activity than those with their phones off.

Apple Releases Latest MacBook Pro Upgrades

MacBook Pro Upgrades

Almost eleven months after its last upgrade, Apple released the latest update to the MacBook Pro computer line. On Tuesday, Apple reps discussed the new features including an upgraded series of Intel processors, larger graphics cards, and a new connectivity platform called Thunderbolt.

If you decide to purchase the latest installment in the MacBook Pro line, you’ll enjoy Intel’s most advance dual-core and quad-core Intel Core processors from the Core i5 and Core i7 lines. These processors enable the laptop to perform twice faster compared to its predecessors when performing CPU-intensive activities. Furthermore, the 13-inch model offers a 2.3GHz Core i5 processor, while its big brother uses a 2.7GHz Core i7, which is currently the fastest dual-core processor of Intel. For those who want bigger screens, the 15-inch and 17-inch models are available with Core i7 processors that perform at up to 2.3 GHz.

The innovative feature that is making a buzz among Apple fanatics is the new connectivity technology called Thunderbolt, which was developed by the company in partnership with Intel. Using two bi-directional, Thunderbolt can transfer data at up to 10Gbps each, which is twelve times faster than the  maximum of FireWire 800.

An apple engineer further explained the new technology, “It also allows users to daisy chain up to six devices together. It’s fast, it’s simple, and it’s flexible.” He added, “Thunderbolt uses the same plug that current Macs use to connect to Display Port-compatible displays. It can connect to those devices, and Apple’s adapters for hooking up to HDMI, DVI, and VGA video.”

Although Apple did not elaborate in terms of Thunderbolt adapters for existing connectivity protocols, officials stressed on the fact that  this genius creation is not an Apple-exclusive. They also said that Thunderbolt would be available to third-party device and cable makers.

Other upgrades in the new MacBook Pros include built-in FaceTime HD camera, with a video that offers 720p widescreen high-definition resolution. The camera also provides three times resolution compared to previous cameras and allows clearer video calls via Apple’s FaceTime software.

Tourists Advised to Evacuate Christchurch

Earthquake Christchurch

Tourists staying near Christchurch are advised to leave the premises and relocate to other parts of New Zealand after the devastative aftermath of Tuesday’s earthquake. Tim Hunter, in charge of Christchurch’s Tourism, declared the city as off limits for precautionary measures. He said, “It’s just not in a state that can cope with more tourists at the moment. It really is a case of encouraging people who are here to think about moving to other parts of Canterbury or other parts of New Zealand while the city just deals with the immediate emergency.”

As an alternative, concerned citizens of Wellington, a neighboring city, have been offering accommodation and lodging to those affected.  Through different social media sites, these generous people are offering their homes as temporary shelters for whoever needs a place to stay.

Many establishments in the city center are heavily affected. Most hotels were damaged and are not suited to accommodate guests. The tallest building in the city, The Hotel Grand Chancellor, is only a few aftershocks away from totally collapsing. Hunter described the situation by saying, “We also have the complications of the central city area being cordoned off … of course a lot of the major hotels are in that area and restaurants and retail. But at the moment we’ve really just got the airport hotels that are relatively unscathed but it’s certainly not enough to meet the needs of an entire inbound tourism industry.”

Hundreds of tourists are stranded with many trying to leave the city at any means possible only to be hindered by maximum damage to the roads and railways. Tourists due to arrive in New Zealand for the holidays are advised to stay away from Christchurch, which is now considered a danger zone. Passengers of flights to or from Christchurch’s airport are advised to consult with their airline before travel to avoid delays.

With more than 2.5 million visitors each year, New Zealand travel authorities fear that the latest earthquake will likely cripple the country’s tourism business.