The number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the USA rose to 64 on Tuesday as additional schools in New York City reported suspected outbreaks and U.S. public health officials warned the disease would continue to spread nationwide. More http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-04-28-swine-flu_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Everyone make sure you wash your hand constantly. Stay home if you’re not feeling good.

NIAGARA FALLS, Ont.—People magazine may have named him “Sexiest Man Alive” twice, but even Brad Pitt looked a little goofy in his blue Maid of the Mist poncho. The superstar actor was in Niagara Falls, Ont., on a picture-perfect afternoon to take in the sights of the world-famous cataracts Saturday. In tow were two of his sons, Maddox and Pax; his parents, Bill and Jane, and his bodyguards. The group enjoyed the attractions while remaining relatively under the radar…more http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/651903.html

At the heart of the oceans, areas as big as France, maybe more, are covered in garbage. 

The most famous of these is the Great Garbage Patch discovered in the late 1990s in the North Pacific Ocean between the USA and Asia. Another seven similar patches may exist, according to the Seattle oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, one of the first to take interest in the strange routes of plastic trash in the sea.  In his new book, “Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science,” Ebbesmeyer explains his “science of floating objects,” or “flotsametrics.” Curtis says that the patches of debris may cover a surface “equivalent to several times the U.S.”

“From a boat, you start seeing everyday objects like toothbrushes and plastic bags on the outskirts of the vortex,” explains François Chartier, director of the oceans campaign at Greenpeace-France, the NGO who revealed the existence of the Great Garbage Patch. “When you approach the center of the patch, the trash is thicker and some birds have actually started nesting on it.” But from the sky, even from satellites, there is “nothing to be seen,” says Ebbesmeyer. 
Invisible plastic? Not really. The fact is that most of the pieces are quite see-through, like plastic bags. Others are fractions of bigger pieces of plastic that have disintegrated into bits as small as plankton. 

The accumulation of plastic in the oceans is a serious menace for the environment. “Dolphins suffocate on plastic bags, birds can die of hunger because their stomach is so full of undigested plastic that they can no longer eat,” says François. But plastic also contains toxics (PCBs, heavy metals) that are harmful to humans and that end up in the ocean’s food chain. 

X-rays convinced doctors that the patient had a tumour in his lungs and they decided to perform surgery. But when Russian doctors opened up 28 year old Artyom Sidorkin they were in for a surprise, finding a 5cm tree sprout.

‘When I cut I saw tree needles, so, I was very surprised, astonished, thought ‘what could it be?’,’ said surgeon Vladimir Kamashev from Izhevsk in the Urals. The tree was later removed and sent to a lab to test how it could have started growing there.

Medical staff believe that Sidorkin somehow inhaled a seed, which later sprouted into a small fir tree inside his lung. ’Nobody knows anything, nobody draws any conclusions. May be I breathed in bud,’ said Sidorkin. Doctors believed the coughing of blood was caused by the tiny pine needles piercing blood capillaries.

But biologists are sceptical about plant growing inside human body. ’It is absolutely impossible for a green plant to grow from this small seed inside man’s body. In order for a plant to start growing from the seed, it needs a lot of conditions, first of all light, then water and certain temperature,’ said Olga Baranova, local university professor.

As tax time rolls around in the US, the Obama Administration is facing a backlash over its big spending bailout packages. Thousands have taken to the streets at more than 750 rallies, to vent their anger.

Tea party protests have been held across the US, as President Barack Obama pushes a $3.5 trillion federal budget plan. ’I think it’s time to let people know that we are upset with some of the spending that’s going on, the amount of spending is unheralded in the history of this country,’ protester Merwin James said, at a rally in Washington DC. The protests are inspired by the 1773 Boston Tea Party rebellion against British colonial taxes.

Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, Tuesday lead his fellow countrymen, to commemorate week-long 15th anniversary of Rwandan genocide to be held at national in Nyanza-Kicukiro, Kigali Ville province.

A program issued by the Rwandan National Commission for Fight against Genocide (NCFAG), said that President Kagame, among others, lit candle in memory those who perished during the 1994 genocide, which claimed according to the UN, lives of about 800,000 mostly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The President accompanied in the candle-lighting ceremony by a 15-year old Alice Ishimwi, whose parents were killed during the April-July slaughter, one of the worst humanitarian tragedies of the 21st century.

The site of this year’s commemoration is also historic. During onslaught of the 1994 killings, thousands of refugees sought shelter at the United Nations Peace Keeping Force (UNAMIR) at the Technical School (ETO) near Nyanza-Kicukiro, hoping to get protection from the blue helmets but to their dismay the peace keepers abandoned them and were subsequently killed by notorious Interehamwe militias and rampaging soldiers from the former Rwandan Armed forces (Ex-FAR).

As part of commemoration, several activities linked to the event have been going on since last week-end, including a launch of world-wide “One Dollar Campaign” for the orphans of genocide, by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Rose Mary Museminari.

Some $ 52,600, including cash and pledges, have so far been collected from local and international well wishers. The “One Dollar” campaign has been engineered by Rwandans living in Diaspora. The proceeds will go to build a hostel for children who survived the genocide. The fund-raising campaign will last for 100 days.

“There is now more harmony, good co-habitation and reconciliation among Rwandans,” Kaboyi told Hirondelle. He said the fact that suspects confessed publicly and asked for forgiveness during gacaca (traditional courts) proceedings has helped to reconcile the perpetrators and survivors, some of whom could not speak to each other previously.

The genocide followed the shooting down of the plane carrying the then Rwanda President Juvenal Habyarimana, by unknown assailants on 6 April, 1994, as it was approaching Kigali airport, killing on board, including President of Burundi, Cyprian Ntaryamira. Both Presidents were returning from a regional peace meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Boston police say a bronze duckling named Pack has been recovered after being stolen from the beloved “Make Way For Ducklings” sculpture in the city’s Public Garden. A park ranger had discovered Pack’s theft early Monday. Police say the sculpture was found by residents at about 2:40 a.m. Tuesday. The duckling was next to a tree on a street corner not far from the garden.

Pack is the next to last of the eight ducklings lined up behind Mrs. Mallard in the sculpture inspired by Robert McCloskey’s children’s book “Make Way for Ducklings,” in which a family of ducks walks across a highway to get to the garden. He’s not the first to be stolen. Quack, Mack and Jack have gone missing over the years. All were recovered or replaced.

The customer also says: “He didn’t even put extra shrimp in there.” The upset customer had left the Fort Worth-area restaurant when an officer arrived Monday afternoon. Restaurant workers say the woman had been denied a refund after leaving with her order, then returning to complain. Cook June Lee says nothing was wrong with the meal, and that “some customers are happy. Some are not.”

The unidentified woman apparently lost control after taking a curve at too high a speed, hit an embankment and flipped.  Addy said the woman was driving the car with the owner’s consent. She’s not hurt, but he’s upset; crash involved a curve and high speed