| Texas high school steroid tests might not find many offenders
Texas is launching the nation's most ambitious high school testing program for steroids in the coming months, but few expect the effort to catch many offenders. The $6 million, two-year experiment will reach less than 3 percent of the state's 750,000 high school athletes each year – all in a search for the estimated 2 percent of Texas students believed to use steroids. The short history of steroid testing in public schools has yielded little, if anything. In the handful of local school districts that already test for steroids, no positive test has been reported. The same is true for limited state programs in Florida and New Jersey. "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," said Lloyd Johnston, a noted researcher at the University of Michigan. "My guess is that the payoff relative to the cost won't be high." Some critics also question the state's policy decision to go after steroids when the illegal use of other drugs, including marijuana, heroin and prescription drugs, is far more common among teenagers.
Random acts of kindness’ spread in area
The next kindness stop was the Savage Elementary School.
"We gave a talk in front of the kids, and then each student received two flowers. One to keep and one to pass on," Badt said.After Savage, Badt and other members of RSVP and CIA went to the Fairview Elementary School and talked with the fourth-grade class about the importance of sharing kindness to everyone. "We actually got to take the kids uptown, and gave them flowers to hand out to random people they saw," Badt said.If you received a flower or a card, if someone was kind to you or made you smile, did you keep that bit of love to yourself? Or did you pass it on? It could be a smile or a phone call; just pass it on in the spirit of human charity. It really makes a difference.reporter@sidneyherald.com
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McCain rides Crist wave
TAMPA --John McCain made the most of his highest-profile endorsement Saturday, when the presidential candidate hit up a cafe with Gov. Charlie Crist, one of the most popular politicians in Florida and the state's campaigner-in-chief. Meantime, Mitt Romney, who also sought Crist's support, announced that Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter, Liz Cheney, would serve as a top foreign policy advisor to him. Mike Huckabee went to church in Orlando and Rudy Giuliani wore a yarmulke at a Boca Raton synagogue. But the most attention was on McCain with Crist in tow. The two swept into the First Watch Caf' with McCain's wife and a substantial press entourage, sitting down briefly with a family with two small children. McCain bounced the little boy on his knee as he and Crist, who endorsed the Arizona senator Saturday night, chatted up the family for ten minutes before heading back outside.
New motion in Tankleff case
The latest witness, James Moore, contacted Tankleff's attorney, Bruce Barket of Garden City, the morning after Suffolk County Court Judge Stephen Braslow's decision. Moore had information that his former co-worker, Peter Kent, confessed to him twice about murdering Arlene and Seymour Tankleff in 1988, Barket said.
Spokesmen for the Suffolk district attorney's office declined to comment on the motion. Tank- leff, now 34, was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder in 1990 and is serving a sentence of 50 to life in prison.
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TSN.ca looks back at the NHL's first half
The entire Central Division has improved to the point where the mighty Detroit Red Wings can only muster a record of 7-7-2 against their divisional rivals. What used to be a free ride through the regular season has turned into nightly battles as each and every team is now competitive. The Nashville Predators have excelled despite their off-ice uncertainty, Ken Hitchcock has the Columbus Blue Jackets playing sound hockey and coach Andy Murray has done the same with the St. Louis Blues, with the help of goaltender Manny Legace. Meanwhile, the rookie duo of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews (still out due to injury) have the Blackhawks opening eyes across the league. The Northwest Division may not have improved to the same extent as the Central but the competitiveness is second-to-none.
Marching for Life in Tucson - 2008
Some might wonder how this new experience of dual services came to be. The reason is because this was no ordinary Saturday but the nearest one to January 22nd, the 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade. This precedent setting Supreme Court case forced State governments to allow abortion, even if they wanted to ban it. As this column related previously, the legal precedent and its companion, Doe v. Bolton, are contested by their own plaintiffs who have explained that their abortion advocating lawyers tricked them into complying with the fraudulent cases. The Supreme Court refused to listen when they asked to have their own legal "victories" overturned, however. On the weekend closest to January 22nd, Tucson March for Life has for the past 12 years peacefully marched from St.
Crunching numbers at the gym
Is it OK to exercise beyond your target heart rate? Should you work out in the "fat-burning zone" to lose more weight? Smart Fitness answers your workout queries. Have an exercise question? To e-mail us, click here. We'll post select answers in future columns. Q: I push myself hard when I'm jogging and it feels great both during the exercise and after. But I often exceed my target heart rate while working out. Is that OK? .
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