February 14, 2016


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/zika-related-abortion-debate-in-brazil-intensifies/

Zika-related abortion debate in Brazil intensifies
CBS/AP
February 14, 2016, 4:48 PM

Photograph -- Lara, who is less then three months old and was born with microcephaly, is examined by a neurologist at the Pedro I hospital in Campina Grande, Paraiba state, Brazil, Friday, Feb. 12, 2016. AP
Play VIDEO -- Investigating link between Zika and birth defects
Photograph -- zika.jpg, Gleyse Kelly da Silva holds her daughter Maria Giovanna, who has microcephaly, at their house in Recife, Brazil, January 30, 2016. REUTERS/UESLEI MARCELINO
Play VIDEO -- U.S. Olympic committee tackles Zika virus
Play VIDEO -- Fight against Zika escalates



RIO DE JANEIRO -- Before her son was born, Danielle Alves didn't know Luiz Gustavo would have microcephaly, a condition that has left the 3-year-old so disabled he can't walk, talk or eat without help.

Still, Alves says she would have gone ahead with the pregnancy even if she had known -- and she thinks thousands of pregnant women caught up in Brazil's Zika virus outbreak should be required to do the same.

"I know it's very difficult to have a special needs child, but I'm absolutely against abortion," said Alves, who lives in Vitoria da Conquista, a city in the impoverished northeastern region where Brazil's tandem Zika and microcephaly outbreaks have been centered.

Alarm in recent months over the Zika virus, which many researchers believe can cause microcephaly in the fetuses of pregnant women, has prompted calls, both inside and outside Brazil, to loosen a near-ban on abortion in the world's most populous Catholic country.

But push for abortion rights is creating a backlash, particularly among the families of disabled children. Many have taken to social media apps like Facebook and WhatsApp, where more than half of Brazil's 200 million people are connected, to make their case. They argue that all babies, including those with severe forms of microcephaly, have a right to be born.

The Catholic Church and Pentecostal faiths, strong forces in this deeply religious country, have also been fighting back.

"Abortion is not the answer to the Zika virus, we need to value life in whatever situation or condition it may be," Sergio da Rocha, the president of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops, said earlier this week.

Abortion is illegal except in cases of rape, danger to the mother's life or anencephaly, another birth defect involving the brain -- although in practice wealthy women in urban areas have relatively easy access to safe abortions in private clinics, while the poor often rely on dicey back-alley procedures.

The growing national debate is also spilling out into the courts, and will likely intensify in the months to come.

A judge in the central city of Goiania has said he will authorize abortions in severe cases of microcephaly. Some of the nation's top newspapers have also weighed in, running editorials urging abortion laws to be revisited.

"The most logical solution would be to revise the penal code relating to abortion, decriminalizing the practice. The legislation is three-quarters of a century old," the daily Folha de S. Paulo said in a recent editorial.

A prominent group of attorneys and psychologists is preparing a lawsuit calling for women infected with Zika during their pregnancies to be allowed to get legal abortions. The group, which in 2012 won an eight-year legal battle that succeeded in adding anencephaly to justifications for obtaining a legal abortion, hopes to take the suit before Brazil's Supreme Court early this year.

Before the outbreak, groups that support abortion groups were on the defensive following a proposal by the powerful Pentecostal lobby that would further restrict abortion access by adding additional hurdles for rape victims, such as getting an exam and filing a police report. The proposal has been approved by a House of Representatives committee, though its prospects in the full chamber are unclear.

When the first case of Zika was discovered in Brazil in the middle of last year, health officials here weren't unduly worried. First detected in a Ugandan forest in 1947, Zika has spread to parts of Asia and Oceania and is thought to have made the leap to Brazil through one or more infected tourists visiting the South American nation for the 2014 World Cup or perhaps an international canoeing tournament in Rio de Janeiro the same year.

It's spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a common household pest that also transmits dengue and chikungunya. Zika is generally much milder, with only one out of five patients developing symptoms such as red eyes, a splotchy rash and fever.

A link to microcephaly has yet to be proven, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has pointed to strong evidence of a connection and urged pregnant women to avoid travel to 22 countries with active Zika outbreaks. The World Health Organization has declared an international health emergency.

Brazil and several other Latin American nations experiencing outbreaks have urged women to put off pregnancies. But critics say the recommendation is impractical in a region where access to sex education, contraception and pre-natal care is precarious and most pregnancies remain unplanned.

Sinara Gumieri, an attorney and legal counselor with the group that's preparing the lawsuit, said the abortion ban combined with the government's failure to eradicate the mosquito violate the right to health that's enshrined in Brazil's constitution.

"If tests confirm the virus (in a pregnant woman), she should then be given the right to choose between going through a high-risk prenatal period and pregnancy and give birth to her child or abort without fear of breaking the law," said Gumieri, of the Brasilia-based ANIS Institute of Bioethics.

Andressa Cristina dos Santos Cavagna, mother of a 3-year-old boy with a severe case of microcephaly, says abortion isn't the answer.

"Just because he is different from so-called normal children doesn't mean that he shouldn't be born," she said. "People who say that don't have love in their hearts."

The Zika virus continues to cause concern in the U.S. and beyond. Two new cases were reported Friday in Ohio while in Hawaii, the governor has declared a state of emergency to deal with mosquito-borne illnesses, including Zika, reports CBS News' Jericka Duncan.

More than 200,000 soldiers fanned out across Brazil Saturday to explain how to stop the spread of the virus, which may be linked to serious birth defects.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff launched a new campaign called "Zika Zero," urging people to be engaged in the fight.

A similar campaign is being developed in the U.S. Mosquito experts met this week and the message was clear: spraying will not be enough.

The type of mosquito that can transmit Zika only needs a cap full of water to breed. Experts are asking people to get rid of standing water in places like flower pots, bottles and containers.

"If you're not taking precautions against mosquitoes, keeping them out of your house, you're part of the problem, indeed," Joe Conlon of the American Mosquito Control Association told CBS News.

This week, President Obama asked for nearly $2 billion from Congress, not just to protect pregnant women but to guard everyone from getting bitten and spreading the disease.



“Before her son was born, Danielle Alves didn't know Luiz Gustavo would have microcephaly, a condition that has left the 3-year-old so disabled he can't walk, talk or eat without help. Still, Alves says she would have gone ahead with the pregnancy even if she had known -- and she thinks thousands of pregnant women caught up in Brazil's Zika virus outbreak should be required to do the same. …. A judge in the central city of Goiania has said he will authorize abortions in severe cases of microcephaly. Some of the nation's top newspapers have also weighed in, running editorials urging abortion laws to be revisited. "The most logical solution would be to revise the penal code relating to abortion, decriminalizing the practice. The legislation is three-quarters of a century old," the daily Folha de S. Paulo said in a recent editorial. …. Sinara Gumieri, an attorney and legal counselor with the group that's preparing the lawsuit, said the abortion ban combined with the government's failure to eradicate the mosquito violate the right to health that's enshrined in Brazil's constitution. "If tests confirm the virus (in a pregnant woman), she should then be given the right to choose between going through a high-risk prenatal period and pregnancy and give birth to her child or abort without fear of breaking the law," said Gumieri, of the Brasilia-based ANIS Institute of Bioethics. …. More than 200,000 soldiers fanned out across Brazil Saturday to explain how to stop the spread of the virus, which may be linked to serious birth defects. …. A similar campaign is being developed in the U.S. Mosquito experts met this week and the message was clear: spraying will not be enough. The type of mosquito that can transmit Zika only needs a cap full of water to breed. Experts are asking people to get rid of standing water in places like flower pots, bottles and containers. "If you're not taking precautions against mosquitoes, keeping them out of your house, you're part of the problem, indeed," Joe Conlon of the American Mosquito Control Association told CBS News.”


“This week, President Obama asked for nearly $2 billion from Congress, not just to protect pregnant women but to guard everyone from getting bitten and spreading the disease.” This is good news. We do need to take precautions even though no case, except by sexual contact, has originated here yet. It will. We now have over 60 identified individuals in this country who are carrying the virus, and if a mosquito bites any one of those we can have the beginning of a dangerous situation. The interesting thing is that the water sources we especially need to eliminate are inside buildings where the mosquitos like to hang out. I haven’t had any fresh flowers in ages, but they always go into a vase of water, and today is Valentine’s Day. There is also the dog and cat’s water dish, dishes sitting unwashed but soaking in the sink, etc. There was an article recently about a couple of scientists who are working on a genetic fix to infect mosquitos with, so that their offspring will die young. That works because the female mosquito only bites, and then only to get her required blood meal so she can lay eggs. I do hope that project works out, and soon.




https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/josh-ruebner/congress-encouraging-us-states-combat-bds?utm_content=buffer9ccdf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADA
Congress encouraging US states to “combat BDS”
Josh Ruebner Activism and BDS Beat 12 February 2016


JOSH RUEBNER
Josh Ruebner is Policy Director of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and author of Shattered Hopes: Obama’s Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace. His forthcoming book is tentatively entitled Israel: Democracy or Apartheid State? He is a former Analyst in Middle East Affairs at Congressional Research Service.


Earlier this week, Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Representatives Robert Dold (R-IL) and Juan Vargas (D-CA) introduced the “Combating BDS Act of 2016” (S.2531 and H.R.4514), bills which seek to authorize state and local governments to divest assets from and prohibit investment in any entity that “engages in a commerce or investment-related boycott, divestment or sanctions activity targeting Israel.”

Illinois signed into law a bill last year requiring the state to divest from foreign companies that support boycott, divestment or sanctions (BDS).

State legislatures in Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana and New York are currently considering similar legislation targeting any US-based or foreign entity that boycotts or divests over concerns about Israel’s human rights record. (Other states are also considering legislation to ban contractors from doing business with the state if they support BDS, another form of anti-BDS legislation not covered by the Combating BDS Act.)

Clearly US states — acting under the impetus of the Israeli government, which has branded the BDS movement a strategic threat and is throwing massive amounts of money into an effort to quash the BDS movement — are not waiting for a congressional green light before taking action.

Blatantly unconstitutional

So is the Combating BDS Act mere grandstanding, a symbolic seal of congressional approval to state-level legislative initiatives already well underway? Not exactly — the bills in Congress have important legal ramifications.

First, they seek to proactively prevent the doctrine of preemption from being employed in the future to invalidate state-level anti-BDS laws. This doctrine holds that federal law takes precedence over state law when the two are in conflict. By passing the Combating BDS Act, Congress would align federal law with emerging state law to prevent this potential conflict from arising in the future.

Second, the bills attempt to immunize state and local governments from legal challenges by corporations which may be harmed by state divestment.

According to Senator Kirk’s press release, the legislation is designed to protect governments from potential lawsuits which allege that anti-BDS laws are “unreasonably burdening or discriminating against interstate or foreign commerce.”

Third, and perhaps most importantly, these bills would have the federal government “authorize” states and local governments to do something blatantly unconstitutional: penalize entities for engaging in First Amendment-protected political speech.

In a landmark 1982 decision in NAACP v. Clairborne Hardware, the US Supreme Court ruled that boycotts and related activities to bring about political, social and economic change are political speech, occupying “the highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values.”

By seeking to “authorize” state and local government to penalize entities exercising their protected political speech with which the government does not agree, Congress would be encouraging government to engage in “viewpoint discrimination,” an impermissible violation of the First Amendment – the protected right to free speech – according to the Supreme Court.

Congress cannot “authorize” state and local governments to shred the First Amendment just as it cannot empower them to violate any other constitutional right.

Pushing back

To push back against this latest legislative assault on BDS, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation issued an action alert opposing the Combating BDS Act, which generated more than 9,000 constituent letters to Congress in its first 24 hours.

The goal is to send a clear message to Congress that it cannot authorize state and local governments to penalize entities for engaging in political speech in order to protect Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.

Meanwhile, the powerful Israel lobby group AIPAC has positively cited the proposed legislation as part of its agenda to “Fight the Boycott of Israel.”

It is too early to determine if the Combating BDS Act will generate enough support on Capitol Hill to pass. Even if it does, however, nothing in this bill or any other anti-BDS legislation can impinge upon the constitutionally protected right of Americans to engage in and advocate for BDS campaigns.

Rahul Saksena of Palestine Legal stated in Salon: “The best way to fight these bills is to organize more BDS campaigns and use these bills as an opportunity to raise public support for Palestinian freedom.”

Make no mistake about it. These frantic attempts by Israel’s supporters to squelch the BDS movement through heavy-handed, unconstitutional, McCarthyite legislation are a sign of their desperation, not strength.

BDS has become mainstream in the United States as evidenced by more than 100 victories in churches, labor unions, academic organizations and student governments.

Israel and its supporters can’t defeat the struggle for Palestinian freedom, justice and equality on its merits so they are resorting to what they do best: engaging in top-down attempts to try to silence those who oppose Israel’s apartheid rule.

They won’t succeed.



“Earlier this week, Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Representatives Robert Dold (R-IL) and Juan Vargas (D-CA) introduced the “Combating BDS Act of 2016” (S.2531 and H.R.4514), bills which seek to authorize state and local governments to divest assets from and prohibit investment in any entity that “engages in a commerce or investment-related boycott, divestment or sanctions activity targeting Israel.” …. State legislatures in Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana and New York are currently considering similar legislation targeting any US-based or foreign entity that boycotts or divests over concerns about Israel’s human rights record. …. According to Senator Kirk’s press release, the legislation is designed to protect governments from potential lawsuits which allege that anti-BDS laws are “unreasonably burdening or discriminating against interstate or foreign commerce.” …. To push back against this latest legislative assault on BDS, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation issued an action alert opposing the Combating BDS Act, which generated more than 9,000 constituent letters to Congress in its first 24 hours. …. It is too early to determine if the Combating BDS Act will generate enough support on Capitol Hill to pass. Even if it does, however, nothing in this bill or any other anti-BDS legislation can impinge upon the constitutionally protected right of Americans to engage in and advocate for BDS campaigns.”



WHAT IS BDS? See below:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boycott,_Divestment_and_Sanctions

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS Movement) is a global campaign targeting Israel,[1][2][3][4] attempting to increase economic and political pressure on Israel to comply with the stated goals of the movement: the end of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and colonization of Palestinian land, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and respect for the right of return of Palestinian refugees.[4][5]

The campaign is organised and coordinated by the Palestinian BDS National Committee.[6][7] The campaign was started on 9 July 2005 by 171 Palestinian non-governmental organizations in support of the Palestinian cause for boycott, divestment and international sanctions against Israel. Citing a body of UN resolutions and specifically echoing the anti-apartheid campaigns against white minority rule in apartheid era South Africa,[8] the BDS campaign called for "various forms of boycott against Israel until it meets its obligations under international law".[9]

Protests and conferences in support of the campaign have been held in a number of countries around the world. Supporters of BDS include academics, trade unions, political parties and Israeli citizens.[10]

There is considerable debate about the scope, efficacy, and morality of the BDS movement. Critics argue that the BDS movement disincentivizes the Palestinian leadership from negotiating a compromise,[11] is antisemitic[12][13] and promotes the delegitimization of Israel.[14][15] Critics have also accused the movement of using threats, bribes and coercion to ensure that unwilling participants are agreeable to BDS demands.[16][17] BDS supporters argue that the movement (and criticism of the movement) are similar to the boycotts of South Africa during its apartheid era,[18][19][20] comparing the situation in Israel to apartheid. Critics reject the comparison on the grounds of dissimilarity of the regimes.[21]"



“Third, and perhaps most importantly, these bills would have the federal government “authorize” states and local governments to do something blatantly unconstitutional: penalize entities for engaging in First Amendment-protected political speech. In a landmark 1982 decision in NAACP v. Clairborne Hardware, the US Supreme Court ruled that boycotts and related activities to bring about political, social and economic change are political speech, occupying “the highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values.” By seeking to “authorize” state and local government to penalize entities exercising their protected political speech with which the government does not agree, Congress would be encouraging government to engage in “viewpoint discrimination,” an impermissible violation of the First Amendment – the protected right to free speech – according to the Supreme Court. Congress cannot “authorize” state and local governments to shred the First Amendment just as it cannot empower them to violate any other constitutional right.”


I’m not in favor of boycotting Israel, but of intensive international diplomatic pressure to get them to do the things necessary to bring about peace with Palestine. That means getting the Israelis out of the Palestinian areas, no more shooting across the border, and taking down the fence which keeps Palestinians from going back and forth to work. A sizable number of Palestinians live in Israel.

When Israel has followed through on those things, however, I would expect Palestine to move over and make a place for Israel at the table -- stop the bombings, make a lasting peace and acknowledge Israel’s ancient right to a slice of that territory as a separate nation. they were there at least as long as the ancestors of the Palestinians, and some believe that they are, in fact, one of the original tribes. While the total stubbornness of both parties is becoming ridiculous, the result is not at all funny.

Having said that, I don’t think we need to violate the rights of US citizens to freedom of speech over any reason at all, including such a thing as enforcing a politically motivated boycott. Our freedom of speech (or thought or religion) should not be abridged for that. To be blunt, I and many other Americans are against the absolute protection that the nation of Israel gets even when they continually engage in warlike activities, and are absolutely uncooperative in peace talks. Have they stopped encroaching on Palestinian territory? No.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-bernie-sanders-thinks-hell-get-hillary-clintons-super-delegates/

Why Sanders thinks he'll flip Clinton's super delegates
By REBECCA KAPLAN FACE THE NATION
February 14, 2016, 12:39 PM

Play VIDEO -- The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and what happens next
Play VIDEO -- The Democratic race heats up in South Carolina
Play VIDEO -- Bernie Sanders discusses his chances in South Carolina and beyond
Play VIDEO -- Bernie Sanders responds to GOP threats to block any Supreme Court nomination


Bernie Sanders said Sunday he thinks he can cut into his rival Hillary Clinton's lead among super delegates in the race for the Democratic nomination - a lead that allowed Clinton to salvage her substantial loss in New Hampshire's Democratic primary last week.

"If we continue to do well around the country and if super delegates - whose main interest in life is to make sure that we do not have a Republican in the White House - if they understand that I am the candidate and I believe that I am who is best suited to defeat the Republican nominee I think they will start coming over to us," the Vermont senator said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."

He's already started the process of wooing those delegates: Sanders said he "just met with a couple last night."

Clinton entered New Hampshire's primary with the support of six of the state's eight superdelegates, party officials who can pledge to support any candidate they want. Of the state's 24 delegates awarded by the primary vote, Sanders won 15 while Clinton won nine delegates.

That means Sanders managed to tie but not beat Clinton in the total delegate count even though he beat Clinton in the popular vote by 22 percent. He would have to win the remaining two superdelegates to come away with an advantage heading into the Democratic convention.

Ray Buckley, the state's Democratic Party chairman and one of the remaining two New Hampshire super delegates is not allowed to support anyone in the primary and state Sen. Martha Fuller Clark said she might wait until after the primary is over to endorse a candidate, the Associated Press said.

In South Carolina, Sanders faces an uphill battle. Clinton leads him 59 percent to 49 percent in the latest CBS News Battleground Tracker. On "Face the Nation," Sanders says his campaign has closed the gap so he has the momentum, and predicted he would do "quite well" in both Nevada and South Carolina, the next two contests for Democrats.

Sanders said he has also started to close the gap in support among African American voters, but "we still have a long way" to go there. In South Carolina, 73 percent of black voters supported Clinton in the poll while just 26 percent supported Sanders.

He pointed to his surrogates, including former NAACP CEO Ben Jealous and Nina Turner, a black former state senator from Ohio and top Democratic Party official there. She switched her support from Clinton to Sanders in November.

"We have just great surrogates out there, we are going to be speaking in African American communities in the next week and I think you're going to see a lot of momentum for us," Sanders said.

The senator also predicted that his campaign will do very well in Minnesota and Colorado. He was interviewed from Denver, where he held a rally last night that he said drew 20,0000 people.

Sanders also weighed in on the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's declared intention to block President Obama from naming a successor

"It is beyond my comprehension and it just speaks to the unbelievable level and unprecedented level of Republican obstructionism against Obama from day one," Sanders said.

"The idea that the Republicans want to deny the president of the United States his basic constitutional right is beyond my comprehension," he added, pledging to "do everything I can" to try to get the Senate to consider and approve the nominee the president has pledged to put forward.

Asked what kind of levers the Democrats have to get the Republican-controlled Senate to consider the nomination, Sanders said they could rally the American people.

"There are very important cases that need to be heard that are not going to be determined if we do not have a ninth member of the Supreme Court," he said. "I think the issue is taking the situation to the American people, and I think fair-minded Americans no matter what their political point of view may be will say, 'this is absurd, this is obstructionism, this is not what democracy and the Congress is supposed to be about.'"



“Clinton entered New Hampshire's primary with the support of six of the state's eight superdelegates, party officials who can pledge to support any candidate they want. …. He would have to win the remaining two superdelegates to come away with an advantage heading into the Democratic convention. …. Ray Buckley, the state's Democratic Party chairman and one of the remaining two New Hampshire super delegates is not allowed to support anyone in the primary and state Sen. Martha Fuller Clark said she might wait until after the primary is over to endorse a candidate, the Associated Press said. …. "We have just great surrogates out there, we are going to be speaking in African American communities in the next week and I think you're going to see a lot of momentum for us," Sanders said. The senator also predicted that his campaign will do very well in Minnesota and Colorado. He was interviewed from Denver, where he held a rally last night that he said drew 20,0000 people.” …. "The idea that the Republicans want to deny the president of the United States his basic constitutional right is beyond my comprehension," he added, pledging to "do everything I can" to try to get the Senate to consider and approve the nominee the president has pledged to put forward. Asked what kind of levers the Democrats have to get the Republican-controlled Senate to consider the nomination, Sanders said they could rally the American people.”


Twenty thousand people at a rally is very good. I’m glad to see he is going to hit black communities hard from now on. From the comments sections on the Internet, some blacks think he has no interest in them. I think he does, but his main focus is economic reform. There is no doubt that it will help blacks as well as whites, in my mind, if the minimum wage is $15.00 and hour and everybody can have free tuition at state operated colleges. Everybody needs jobs and higher wages.

His stated ambition of rallying the voters nationwide to put pressure on both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, getting them to vote in favor of Obama’s nominee to replace Scalia sounds like a winner. I think we need a Constitutional Amendment that mandates the Senate must vote and make a decision on all nominations within 90 days, or face sanctions. It would be very, very hard to put that into place, of course. Maybe someday it will come to pass.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/arkansas-state-university-lockdown-reports-two-men-campus-guns/

Arkansas State locked down after report of armed men on campus
CBS/AP
February 14, 2016, 3:12 PM


JONESBORO, Ark. -- Arkansas State University officials placed the campus on lockdown Sunday afternoon after reports came in of two or three armed men being spotted near the school's Student Union building, CBS affiliate WREG reported.

The lock-down was lifted at about 2:40 p.m.

There were reportedly two or three men with weapons near the student union, according to the school.

No shots were fired, Jonesboro Police said.

The suspects were described as wearing black and were last seen walking north near Dean Street.

Police responded to the campus to clear buildings and try to locate those men.



I don’t know what actually happened at Arkansas State, but one or two white men with heavy duty weapons exercising their “open carry” rights have showed up at military recruiting areas supposedly “guarding” them to keep out Islamic threats. Are men with AK-47s going to become commonplace? I do hope not.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/boy-makes-sure-every-girl-in-his-school-gets-flower-on-valentines-day/

Boy gives all 900 girls in his high school some flowers
By JENNIFER EARL CBS NEWS
February 14, 2016, 7:49 AM

Photograph -- Hayden Godfrey, 17, brings carnations to pass out to every girl in his high school. HAYDEN GODFREY/FACEBOOK
screen-shot-2016-02-13-at-3-01-25-pm.png
Photograph -- Hayden Godfrey prepares to give every girl in school a carnation. HAYDEN GODFREY/FACEBOOK
Photograph -- Carnations arrive at Sky View High School in Utah on Feb. 11, 2016. HAYDEN GODFREY/FACEBOOK


At the young age of 14, Hayden Godfrey learned something new in school: No girl should feel alone on Valentine's Day.

As the middle schooler witnessed students pass out $1 red, white and pink carnations to the same group of girls year after year, he watched the disappointed faces of the dozens who were left out.

"I don't like this," he told his mom after school. "I feel really bad that things are this way."

That's when Godfrey decided to take matters into his own hands.

The next year, he anonymously sent flowers to the girls he didn't think would get anything.

"He remembers watching the girls who he sent them to and how surprised they were," his mother, Erin Godfrey, told CBS News.

The following Valentine's Day, he bought a bunch of roses and passed them out to girls in the hall who weren't carrying anything.

When Godfrey was a high school sophomore he decided to start saving money so, one day, he could buy a flower for every girl in the school.

As soon as Godfrey turned 16 he got a job at McDonald's, working in his small hometown -- Smithfield, Utah.

For the past 18 months, the now 17-year-old has worked three jobs to save money to accomplish his goal.

By the time he got a girlfriend, his mom thought he'd back off.

But he didn't.

"He said, 'I'm still going to do this. This isn't about love; it's not about the commercial side of Valentine's -- it's about bringing joy to everybody,'" his mother recalled him saying.

Three jobs, two years in school and a few paychecks later, Godfrey purchased 900 carnations for $450.

On Thursday, he recruited his school drama club to help him pass out flowers to nearly 900 girls in Utah's Sky View High School.

"Today I passed out 900 carnations, one to every girl at SVHS and it was totally worth it," Godfrey wrote on Facebook afterward. "I don't think anything can compare to seeing every girl in your life holding a flower as they walk through the halls."

His mother said she was proud, but not surprised at her son's sweet gesture.

"Hayden has been an old soul since he was born," she said. "He's super, super sensitive to feelings."

The teen believed a carnation would be the perfect Valentine's Day flower for his girl friends: "It's a friendship flower -- a better symbol than a rose."

Though Godfrey doesn't have any future Valentine's Day plans, his mother doesn't think the ambitious boy's loving journey ends here.

"Every year has been quite the production," she said. "I can't imagine that he's just going to stop celebrating; it'll go on for a lifetime."



Now this is a nice boy! He did it last year also, focusing on girls who, he believed, might not get a date. This year he wised up and sent them to all 900 girls on the campus. "He said, 'I'm still going to do this. This isn't about love; it's not about the commercial side of Valentine's -- it's about bringing joy to everybody,'" his mother recalled him saying.” It does make me feel good to see simple goodwill in action.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/officials-debating-autopsy-supreme-court-justice-antonin-scalia/

Officials debating autopsy of Antonin Scalia
CBS/AP
February 14, 2016, 11:35 AM

Play VIDEO -- President Obama addresses death of Justice Antonin Scalia
Photograph -- scalia510194514.jpg, Flowers are seen as people visit the U.S. Supreme Court February 14, 2016 in Washington, D.C.. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Play VIDEO -- Sen. Marco Rubio on a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia


WASHINGTON - A procession of law enforcement officers early Sunday escorted the body of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to a funeral home in El Paso, Texas, where officials are waiting to hear whether an autopsy will be performed.

Chris Lujan, a manager for Sunset Funeral Homes, said about 20 law enforcement officers arrived early Sunday morning at the funeral home. The procession traveled more than three hours from the West Texas resort ranch where Scalia, 79, was found dead in his room Saturday morning. Lujan said if an autopsy is requested by Scalia's family or ordered by a justice of the peace, then an El Paso County medical examiner would likely perform it at the funeral home.

Tentative plans call for Scalia's body to be flown on Tuesday back home to his family in a northern Virginia suburb. President Barack Obama has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the Supreme Court, where Scalia served for three decades, and other federal buildings throughout the nation and U.S. embassies and military installations throughout the world.

As the flags fly lower, the campaign-year political heat has risen over the vacancy on the nine-member court.

At issue is whether Obama, in his last year in office, should offer a nomination and the Republican-led Senate should consider his choice for confirmation in an election year.

Obama pledges a nomination "in due time." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., thinks it should wait for the next president. The Republican resistance to an election-year confirmation got a thorough public airing on the GOP debate stage just hours after Scalia's companions found him dead in his room at the Cibolo Creek Ranch in West Texas.

Republicans argued that Obama, as a lame duck, should not fill the vacancy created by Scalia's death but leave it to the next president - which they hope will be one of them.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday he supports McConnell in his pledge to block any Obama nominee.

"There's been a precedent established over 80 years that in the last year, especially in the last 11 months, you do not have a lame duck President make a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land," Rubio said. "It's not just for the Supreme Court, there's a practice in the eight months of the presidency or nine, you stop doing appellate courts, as well. And I would respect that practice."

There are about 11 months left in President Obama's second term.

Rubio said he would not use a litmus test of a specific issue if he were to nominate judges, but rather this principle: "Does the justice, this person that we are nominating have a consistent and proving record of interpreting the Constitution as initially meant?...What did those words mean to that society at the time in which those words were written in the Constitution?"

Retorted Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in Denver: Obama "is president of the United States until Jan 20, 2017. That is a fact, my friends, whether the Republicans like it or not."

"Let's get on with it," said Clinton's rival, Bernie Sanders, arguing that the Senate should vote on whoever Obama nominates.

Republicans insisted that refraining from Supreme Court confirmations in election years is a longtime precedent.

In fact, Justice Anthony Kennedy was confirmed by the Senate on Feb. 3, 1988, in the final year of Ronald Reagan's presidency, by a 97-0 vote. That was a presidential election year. Kennedy was nominated in 1987 and confirmed the next year.

The example of Kennedy, who is still on the court, shows that presidents in their last year aren't always powerless in shaping the court - and not shy about trying.

The reaction to Scalia's passing on social media was swift -- going from surprised to political within about an hour of Justice Scalia's death.

Scalia was one of the most conservative members of the court, nominated in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan. Most of his positions were not favored by the liberal community -- he was pro-life, did not support gay marriage, and most recently came under fire for suggesting some black students would benefit by attending less-advanced schools.

While much of the social media chatter on Scalia's death was positive, many on the left took the opportunity to express dislike for Justice Scalia and his positions.



“Lujan said if an autopsy is requested by Scalia's family or ordered by a justice of the peace, then an El Paso County medical examiner would likely perform it at the funeral home. Tentative plans call for Scalia's body to be flown on Tuesday back home to his family in a northern Virginia suburb. President Barack Obama has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the Supreme Court, where Scalia served for three decades, and other federal buildings throughout the nation and U.S. embassies and military installations throughout the world. …. Republicans argued that Obama, as a lame duck, should not fill the vacancy created by Scalia's death but leave it to the next president - which they hope will be one of them. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday he supports McConnell in his pledge to block any Obama nominee. "There's been a precedent established over 80 years that in the last year, especially in the last 11 months, you do not have a lame duck President make a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land," Rubio said. "It's not just for the Supreme Court, there's a practice in the eight months of the presidency or nine, you stop doing appellate courts, as well. And I would respect that practice."


“Retorted Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in Denver: Obama "is president of the United States until Jan 20, 2017. That is a fact, my friends, whether the Republicans like it or not." "Let's get on with it," said Clinton's rival, Bernie Sanders, arguing that the Senate should vote on whoever Obama nominates.” I’m not aware of any such precedent “established over 80 years,” but it’s not a law that I'm aware of, and a precedent of mere happenstance shouldn’t count. I’d want to see some proof of Rubio’s statement. It’s just another Republican game to prevent what is only fair. They have always tried to stymie his moves no matter what they were. They just hate him because he's black, and because in spite of that he won twice.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-polar-bear-capital-of-the-world/

The polar bear capital of the world
CBS NEWS
February 14, 2016, 9:30 AM

23 PHOTOS -- A gathering of polar bears
Photograph -- churchill-manitoba-map-244.jpg, CBS NEWS
View News Video -- Churchill and bears


Appreciating one of our continent's most remarkable creatures requires a little North exposure. Our Cover Story is reported by Lee Cowan:

On the edge of Canada's Arctic, along the western shore of Hudson Bay, it's easy to think you've reached the ends of the Earth. It can feel like you're utterly alone up here ... but then, out in all that white, a pair of sleepy, dark eyes slowly open -- revealing what we came all this way to see.

And apparently, the world's largest land predator came to see us, too.

"How rare is this to see here?" asked Cowan.

"Well, it's pretty common to see polar bears out here this time of year," said scientist Steve Amstrup. "But it's not as common to see a big 'ol male like that just come and lay down right next to the buggy."

The buggy is a Tundra Buggy, sort of a cross between a tour bus and a monster truck. And it's where Amstrup does much of his work, as chief scientist for Polar Bears International, a private group campaigning for the bear's conservation.

"I've been working with polar bears for 35 years now, and I still, every time I see them, it's like, 'Holy cow, there's a real wild polar bear!' They're just incredible creatures."

We're near Churchill, Manitoba, a remote frontier town that proudly calls itself the "Polar Bear Capital of the World."

It is isolated, to be sure -- you can't even get to this town by road. But every Fall, these giants of the North come here in droves to wait for Hudson Bay to freeze back over so they can start eating again.

The polar bear's main source of food is seal meat, and the easiest way for the bears to hunt them is from the ice above.

As the chow line grows on land, another migration rolls up to watch ... a quiet stampede of eco-tourists anxious to catch a glimpse of an animal whose future is as hotly debated as climate change itself.

"In the United States, we have listed polar bears as a threatened species, under the U.S. Endangered Species Act," said Amstrup, "and they were listed as threatened not necessarily because of their current status, but because of what we anticipate their future status to be."

And what he anticipates their future status might be has Amstrup worried. But he knows not everyone is wringing their hands.

Currently, it's estimated there are between 20,000-25,000 polar bears in the wild.

To many, that's a pretty sizable number. And some of the bears -- especially in the upper reaches of the Arctic -- seem to be doing quite well.

But what concerns Amstrup the most are the bears here who, he says, are experiencing the effects of climate change right now.

"They lose about a kilogram of body weight -- about two pounds -- for every day they're on land," he said. "These guys are on land now a whole month longer than they were just 30 years ago.

"We could say, 'Well, yeah, one population might be doing well now,' but we know that soon, all of the populations will have less sea ice than they do now. Some of them will have NO sea ice."

Those who track sea ice levels, like the National Snow & Ice Data Center, say the seasonal ice here in the southernmost region of the polar bear's habitat is already melting earlier and freezing later. That means bears are marooned on land longer -- and getting hungrier.

"They came ashore this year, I think, around the middle of July. So he really hasn't had much to eat since then," Amstrup said.

In November, when we were there, the bears were spending their time lounging about, trying to conserve energy (which makes them pretty easy to find and photograph). Nothing makes for a better photo-op than a scratching, relaxing polar bear.

While they look as friendly as they are fuzzy, truth is they are one of nature's perfect killing machines. Their enormous size and strength are part of the allure.

Kevin Burke is one of Churchill's few locals, and he takes great joy in showing tourists his frozen backyard. "So many people have told me now, this IS their bucket list," Burke said.

He drives one of those tundra buggies for Frontiers North, an adventure tourism company providing bundled up enthusiasts the chance of a lifetime.

The bears don't seem to mind the intrusion; in fact, many are downright curious of the buggies themselves -- on occasion a little TOO curious.

"I don't think we smell all that appealing to them," Amstrup said.

We might not smell too appealing, but the food in town does. There are warning signs posted everywhere reminding the town's residents to be "Bear Aware," as they call it, and we quickly found out why.

One mother bear and her two cubs wandered up right behind us on a busy road just outside of town. She came within a few feet of our camera ... only to be chased by another car of Lookie-Lews back into the trees.

Coean asked, "Is it safe to walk around Churchill?"

"I'd say it's safe to walk around Churchill in the day; I wouldn't say so at night," said Brett Wlock, a Manitoba conservation officer. His job? To keep polar bears away from people.

If they can't scare the nuisance bears away, they capture them.

The wayward bears are brought to what the locals call Polar Bear Jail. To make sure they're not tempted to come back to town again, the bears are given no food, just water.

"We don't want them to associate food to humans, or to that building" Wlock said. "We're going to hold them in there for 30 days. That's 30 days closer to the time the ice is going to form on the bay, which is when they are going to go out and hunt seals, and it's also 30 days away from the problem behavior that caused them to go there in the first place."

When their "sentence" is up, they're tranquilized and then airlifted back out into the tundra.

Not lost on anyone here is the carbon footprint left behind by those who travel all this way to witness all things polar bear.

Cowan asked, "All the tourists that show up here -- does that help, or hurt?"

"I think that for many people seeing something in person, seeing how things are now and hearing how they used to be, and seeing a magnificent species of the polar bear right in front of them, suddenly they can become inspired in a way they might have never become inspired before," replied Amstrup.

"I studied polar bears in Alaska for most of my adult life, and one of the last things that I did was predict that they were going to disappear," he said. "So it's a little hard for me to talk about, but to think that they might be gone, I don't want to think about that. So I want to do what I can to stop it. And I think we are; I think we are making progress."

Most agree progress was made at the global climate change conference in Paris last year, when representatives of 195 nations agreed, for the very first time, to lower planet-warming greenhouse gases.

In the meantime, the polar bears here -- and all around the vast reaches of the Arctic -- will continue to do what they've always done: survive the best they can in whatever conditions are thrown their way.

RELATED:

Climate change forcing polar bears to go on diet (CBS News)
Can polar bears survive food shortages caused by global warming?
Polar bear numbers drop dramatically as sea ice thins (CBS News)
A rare view of the secret world of polar bears ("60 Minutes")
The magic of the Northern lights ("Sunday Morning")




I have included this article merely because I love bears of any kind, and especially polar bears. Their plight now that global warming/climate change is melting their banks of sea ice, from which they hunt seals, is reason enough to pay special attention to them. At the website you can see the Video and the 23 photographs mentioned above.