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Senate GOP Escalates Criticism Of Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor In Speeches
Senate Republicans on Tuesday in the first in a series of floor addresses launched more strongly worded criticism of Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor"s judicial record and previous speeches, Politico reports. Although the floor speeches are not likely to undermine the Democratic majority"s support for Sotomayor or block her confirmation, they indicate a shift in strategy for the GOP as it tries to generate more opposition to the nomination, according to Politico. As senators approach the weeklong July 4 recess, Republicans are attempting to show that they have "no intention of lying down in the face of what appears to be an increasingly inevitable confirmation," Politico reports. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Republican Jeff Sessions (Ala.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) used their time on the Senate floor to attempt to portray Sotomayor as a "judicial activist" and to attack President Obama"s previous statements that he would like to appoint a judge who displays "empathy" (Isenstadt, Politico, 6/24). Republicans also reiterated they will attempt to delay Sotomayor"s confirmation hearing, scheduled to begin July 13, if they do not feel they have enough time to review her judicial record, Roll Call reports. They also questioned Sotomayor"s involvement with the civil rights group LatinoJustice PRLDEF, which they labeled "far left," taking up a line of criticism that other conservatives have pushed. Sotomayor served as a board member for the group from 1980 to 1992. Democrats and White House officials are aggressively defending Sotomayor"s record, arguing that her lengthy judicial career supersedes any public statements or speeches she made in the past, according to Roll Call. Both said that their strategy is to avoid a point-counterpoint argument with Republicans. A White House official said there is "no reason to speculate on her record," which includes more than 3,000 panel decisions. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said that he has been "struck by her extraordinary career and how she"s excelled at everything she"s done." Leahy said that he is not convinced that Republicans need more time, noting that the Senate is using the same confirmation timetable as it used for Chief Justice John Roberts. Although Leahy said that he might be willing to discuss a schedule change if Republicans agreed not to filibuster or delay the nomination, he added that Republicans have not suggested such a deal at this point (Stanton, Roll Call, 6/24).
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Tackling Dental Access Problem About More Than Numbers, Says BDA
Research published by consumer organisation Which? highlights the well-publicised problems some patients face accessing NHS dental care, according to the British Dental Association (BDA). The consumer organisation"s research indicates that, while nine out of ten people who tried to see an NHS dentist in the last two years were successful, three million people could not get an appointment.
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White House Budget Chief Says Issue Of Abortion Coverage In Health Reform Still Under Debate
In an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag said that he is "not prepared to say explicitly" whether health care reform legislation would prohibit the use of federal tax revenue to fund abortion coverage, the New York Times reports. Orszag"s statement came in reply to a question asking whether he was prepared to say that "no taxpayer money will go to pay for abortions." Orszag said, "It"s obviously a controversial issue, and it"s one of the questions that is playing out in the debate" (Pear/Liptak, New York Times, 7/20).Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), who also appeared on "Fox News Sunday," said, "No matter what your views are on abortion, you shouldn"t ask people to use their tax dollars if they think that abortion is taking a life." Gregg added, "I would hate to see the health care debate go down over that issue. We do really need health care reform, and it has to be substantive. ... So hopefully we won"t get ourselves wrapped around the wheel of abortion in this debate" (FoxNews.com, 7/19). According to the Times, there is an ongoing behind-the-scenes debate over handling abortion coverage in health overhaul legislation. The debate affects both the public insurance plan the legislation would create and private insurers, who would receive tens of billions of dollars in federal subsidies to expand coverage for low- and moderate-income U.S. residents. A provision in the House health reform bill (HR 3200) calls for a federal advisory committee to advise the HHS secretary on an "essential benefits package" that most insurers would be required to provide. Abortion-rights opponents want abortion coverage excluded from the package, while abortion-rights advocates say the decision should be left to medical professionals. House committees working on health reform legislation have rejected Republican amendments that would have restricted abortion coverage. The Hyde Amendment, first enacted in 1976, prohibits the use of federal Medicaid money for abortion services. However, abortion-rights opponents argue that federally subsidized coverage of the uninsured would not be subject to the existing restrictions. The National Right to Life Committee issued an analysis of the House bill, stating, "There is no doubt that coverage of abortion will be mandated, unless Congress explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of federal authority to define "essential benefits."" According to the group, even if the HHS secretary did not require abortion coverage, "federal courts would interpret the broadly worded mandatory categories of coverage to include abortion" (New York Times, 7/20).
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Language Skills In Your Twenties May Predict Risk Of Dementia Decades Later

People who have superior language skills early in life may be less likely to develop Alzheimer"s disease decades later, despite having the hallmark signs of the disease, according to research published in the July 9, 2009, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "A puzzling feature of Alzheimer"s disease is how it affects people differently," said study author Juan C. Troncoso, MD, with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. "One person who has severe plaques and tangles, the telling signs of Alzheimer"s disease in their brains, may show no symptoms affecting their memory. Another person with those same types of plaques and tangles in the same areas of the brain might end up with a full-blown case of Alzheimer"s disease. We looked at how language ability might affect the onset of symptoms." Researchers examined the brains of 38 Catholic nuns after death. The participants were part of the Nun Study, an ongoing clinical study of Catholic sisters of the School Sisters of Notre Dame congregation living in the United States. Scientists determined two groups: women with memory problems and Alzheimer"s disease hallmarks in the brain and women with normal memory with or without signs of Alzheimer"s disease in the brain. The researchers analyzed essays that 14 participants wrote as they entered the convent in their late teens or early 20"s. They studied the average number of ideas expressed for every 10 words. The analysis also measured how complex the grammar was in each essay. The study found that language scores were 20 percent higher in the women without memory problems compared to those with memory problems. The grammar score, however, did not show any difference between the two groups. "Despite the small number of participants in this portion of the study, the finding is a fascinating one," Troncoso said. "Our results show that an intellectual ability test in the early 20s may predict the likelihood of remaining cognitively normal five or six decades later, even in the presence of a large amount of Alzheimer"s disease pathology." The study also measured how growth in brain cells might be part of the brain cell"s early response to Alzheimer"s disease or how these cells may prevent memory impairment despite a large amount of Alzheimer"s disease lesions. The study found significant increases in the size of brain cells in nuns with normal thinking skills and Alzheimer"s disease hallmarks compared to people with memory problems and those with normal thinking skills and without the signs of Alzheimer"s disease. "Perhaps mental abilities at age 20 are indicative of a brain that will be better able to cope with diseases later in life," said Troncoso. The study was supported by the Johns Hopkins University Alzheimer"s Disease Research Center, the National Institutes of Health, the Nun Study, the National Institute on Aging, the University of Kentucky Alzheimer"s Disease Center, the Abercrombie Foundation and the Kleberg Foundation. The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as epilepsy, dystonia, migraine, Huntington"s disease, and dementia. American Academy of Neurology (AAN)


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