Hagel optimistic on Afghan commando agreement

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks to members of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Airborne Division during his visit to Jalalabad Airfield in eastern Afghanistan, Saturday, March 9, 2013. It is Hagel's first official trip since being sworn-in as President Barack Obama's defense secretary. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks to members of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Airborne Division during his visit to Jalalabad Airfield in eastern Afghanistan, Saturday, March 9, 2013. It is Hagel's first official trip since being sworn-in as President Barack Obama's defense secretary. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks to members of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division at Jalalabad Airfield in eastern Afghanistan, Saturday, March 9, 2013. It is Hagel's first official trip since being sworn-in as President Barack Obama's defense secretary. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel poses for a picture with a member of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division during his visit to Jalalabad Airfield in eastern Afghanistan, Saturday, March 9, 2013. It is Hagel's first official trip since being sworn-in as President Barack Obama's defense secretary. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel participates in the awarding of a Purple Heart to Sgt. Jeremyah Williams of the 426 Brigade Support Battalion, at Jalalabad Airfield in eastern Afghanistan, Saturday, March 9, 2013. It is Hagel's first official trip since being sworn-in as President Barack Obama's defense secretary. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AP) ? U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he believes U.S. officials will be able to work things out with Afghan leaders who have ordered special operations forces out of Wardak province, even though the deadline for their removal is Monday.

Hagel's comments came on his first trip to Afghanistan as defense secretary. His first morning in Kabul was marked with a suicide bombing outside the Afghan Defense Ministry that a Taliban spokesman said was a message to the visiting Pentagon chief. At least 19 people were killed in the bombing, and Hagel said he could hear the explosion from the safe location where he was at a meeting a distance away from the site.

"We're in a war zone, I've been in war. So, shouldn't be surprised when a bomb goes off or there's an explosion," Hagel said.

Hagel is expected to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who ordered the U.S. forces to leave the province just outside Kabul because of allegations that Afghans working with the commandos were involved in abusive behavior and torture.

"I feel confident that we'll be able to work this out," Hagel told reporters during a stop at Jalalabad Airfield, where he met with commanders and spoke to troops.

A senior defense official said that while it's not yet clear what will come out of Hagel's meeting with Karzai, the U.S. believes the door is not closed to resolving the issues.

A coalition official who works with special operations forces said Saturday that while the commandos are ready to pull out, their operations are continuing at this point, and there is some hope that an 11th hour negotiation can be reached that will allow them to stay. The official said the Afghan forces in Wardak are not yet ready to operate without the continued assistance and training from the U.S. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

According to Brigadier Adam Findlay, NATO's deputy chief of staff of operations and a member of the Australian military, an option would be to replace the special operators with conventional military forces. Findlay said NATO officials have made provisional plans to withdraw the commandos if Karzai sticks to his edict after meetings this weekend with Hagel and the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Joseph Dunford.

The order for the U.S. forces to leave comes despite worries that Wardak could be more vulnerable to the Taliban and insurgents. "What we've got to try to do is go to a middle ground that meets the president's frustration," but also keeps insurgents from using Wardak as a staging ground to launch attacks on the capital, Findlay told The Associated Press Saturday.

After a meeting with Karzai and the Afghan defense minister earlier in the day, Dunford reiterated that a compromise allowing some commandos stay is possible.

"We agreed to continue to work this issue with his minister, to ensure that we have adequate protection for the force, that we were going to accomplish our security mission in Wardak, and also meet his concerns about moving Afghan forces in the lead," Dunford said.

U.S. officials also insist they have seen no evidence that American forces were involved in the abuse of Afghan civilians.

"Each of those accusations has been answered, and we're not involved," said NATO's Findlay. "There are obviously atrocities occurring there, but it's not linked to us, and the kind of atrocities we are seeing, fingers cut off, other mutilations to bodies, is just not the way we work."

On Saturday Hagel flew to Bagram Air Field, about an hour outside the capitol, where he met with Maj. Gen. William Mayville, the U.S. commander of forces in the east. He also met with the commander of special operations forces in Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. Raymond Thomas.

There are about 10,000 U.S. and coalition special operations forces in the country training Afghan local police and commando units as well as battling insurgents.

Hagel ? who received two Purple Hearts after being wounded twice in Vietnam ? later handed out his first combat awards as Pentagon chief. He pinned Purple Hearts onto Sgt. Jeremyah Williams and PFC Harry Hikes, two 101st Airborne Division soldiers who were involved in a car bomb attack about 100 feet from their post at a base entry point. After the brief ceremony at Jalalabad Air Base, Williams said it was "an honor and a privilege" to receive his Purple Heart from Hagel.

Speaking to about 200 troops at the Jalalabad base, Hagel made it clear that he knows what they and their families are going through. He fielded several questions from soldiers worried about how the ongoing budget battle in Washington will affect their retirement and other benefits. He told them he is committed to insuring that their pay and benefits are not hurt, even though the $53 billion in cuts over the remainder of this fiscal year will "make our jobs more difficult."

Hagel's trip comes at a turning point in the conflict, as U.S. and NATO allies set their timetable for the withdrawal of combat troops and pressure mounts on the U.S.-led effort to train the Afghan forces. And he must manage the transition as the U.S. ramps up what will be a difficult and expensive extraction of equipment from the country even as Congress slashes billions of dollars from the defense budget.

He has said he wants to use the trip to better understand what's going on in Afghanistan and to get an assessment on the progress of the Afghan forces as they prepare to take over the security of their own country.

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AP Intelligence Writer Kimberly Dozier contributed to this report from Kabul.

___

Follow Lolita C. Baldor on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lbaldor .

Follow Kimberly Dozier on Twitter: http://twitter.com/KimberlyDozier

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-09-AS-Hagel-Afghanistan/id-59d802ed68f243c5abc175f637a006b2

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Outpouring follows death of Sportsman Channel host

This undated image provided by the Whitefish, Mont., Police Department shows TV personality, Gregory Rodriguez who was shot and killed by Wayne Bengston, while Rodriguez was visiting Bengston's wife. Bengston later committed suicide.(AP Photo/Whitefish Police Department)

This undated image provided by the Whitefish, Mont., Police Department shows TV personality, Gregory Rodriguez who was shot and killed by Wayne Bengston, while Rodriguez was visiting Bengston's wife. Bengston later committed suicide.(AP Photo/Whitefish Police Department)

This undated image provided by the Whitefish, Mont., Police Department shows Wayne Bengston, who shot and killed the host of the Sportsman Channel show "A Rifleman's Journal" while the TV personality was visiting the shooter's wife. Bengston then beat his wife, took his 2-year-old son to a relative's house, and drove to his home in West Glacier where he apparently killed himself. (AP Photo/Whitefish Police Department)

The Sportsman Channel says it's deeply saddened by the shooting death in northwestern Montana of one of its TV hosts who traveled the world in search of big game and shared his adventures on his program "A Rifleman's Journal."

The company in a statement early Saturday said it will miss Gregory G. Rodriguez's "thoughtfulness, candor and dedication to encourage a safe and enjoyable outdoor experience for all."

Police said Rodriguez, 43, of Sugar Land, Texas, died Thursday in the town of Whitefish when he was shot by another man in an apparent jealous rage while the TV personality visited the shooter's wife.

An outpouring on social media has followed the death of Rodriguez, who combined his comfort in front of the camera and travels to exotic locations with his hunting and shooting expertise into a popular program. The Sportsman Channel said that in January "A Rifleman's Journal" won "Best Instructional/Educational Program" at the Sportsman Channel's Sportsman Choice Awards.

"We're all in a state of shock and disbelief right now," said David Kelly, a spokesman for the Houston Safari Club, of which Rodriguez was a member.

Rodriguez is survived by his wife, Lisa, and two children. In a statement issued Saturday, the family said he was in Montana on a business trip.

"Greg was a wonderful husband, father, son, brother and friend," the statement said. "We love him and will miss him dearly. Please respect the family in their time of mourning and allow them to grieve in peace."

Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial said that 41-year-old Wayne Bengston shot Rodriguez at about 10:30 p.m. at the home of his wife's mother. Dial said Bengston then beat his wife, took his 2-year-old son to a relative's house and drove to his home about 25 miles away in West Glacier, where he killed himself. Dial said Bengston's wife was treated at a hospital and released that night.

Dial said that Rodriguez and the woman, who works for a firearms manufacturer in the Flathead Valley, met at a trade show and struck up a casual relationship that police do not believe was romantic.

Rodriguez was the founder and CEO of Global Adventure Outfitters. That company declined to comment. According to the company's website, Rodriguez was a mortgage banker before a trip to Africa led him to alter course in the 1990s and start pursuing hunting for a living. He eventually traveled to 21 countries on six continents on that quest, the company said.

___

Ridler reported from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press writer Christopher Sherman contributed to this report from McAllen, Texas.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-09-Whitefish%20Shooting/id-489b009936d043d3b13f70985e7c893a

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Iraqi security forces surround protest site

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Iraqi authorities deployed security forces around the main rallying point for Sunni protests in western Iraq overnight and warned on Saturday that the area had become a haven for terrorists.

The operation was likely to further heighten tensions between Iraq's Sunni minority and the Shiite-dominated government. It comes a day after a demonstrator was killed when security forces opened fire at another Sunni-led protest in the north of the country.

Witnesses reported seeing a large number of security forces, including more than 20 Humvees, deployed before dawn Saturday around the protest area on a highway in Ramadi, the capital of the vast western territory of Anbar. They said the forces withdrew from the area later in the morning.

The head of police for the western Anbar region, Brig. Gen. Hadi Arzeij, announced the crackdown in a televised press conference.

"The protest site has become a safe haven for some terrorists, terrorist networks and killers," he said. "As security forces, we do not allow a presence like this regardless of any pretext or excuse."

For more than two months, a site along the highway in Ramadi has been the center of demonstrations by Sunni Arabs against the Shiite-led government.

The arrest of bodyguards assigned to Sunni Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi sparked the protests in late December, though the demonstrations are fueled by deeper Sunni feelings of perceived second-class treatment by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government.

Sunni protesters accuse Baghdad of arbitrarily detaining members of their sect and say they are being targeted unfairly by a tough anti-terrorism law and policies designed to weed out members of Saddam Hussein's former regime.

Security forces made their move after carrying out a series of arrests in recent days against alleged militants linked to the protests, Arzeij said. Among those detained was a member of al-Qaida in Iraq who told authorities about terrorist networks operating in Ramadi that were planning to carry out attacks, he said.

Authorities also arrested protesters who were carrying al-Qaida flags at a demonstration in nearby Fallujah, Arzeij said.

The Defense Ministry said in a separate statement that it took actions overnight to block al-Qaida infiltrators and prevent the flow of weapons and explosives to the main protest site in Ramadi.

Army Lt. Gen Mardhi al-Mahlawi, the commander of Anbar Operations Command, said authorities would not hesitate to deploy troops around the protest site again "if the protesters do not cooperate."

He said foreign journalists now would be blocked from entering the vast desert province without official permission.

Al-Maliki's government has previously urged security forces to show restraint toward the protesters, but authorities have expressed concern that extremists could exploit protesters' feelings of resentment. Al-Qaida's Iraq branch and other militant groups have voiced support for the protest movement.

On Friday, Iraq's agriculture minister announced his resignation after police opened fire on Sunni demonstrators in the northern city of Mosul, killing one protester and wounding five others. Izzeddin al-Dolah's resignation was the second high-profile Sunni departure from the government this month.

___

Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub in Baghdad contributed to this report.

___

Follow Adam Schreck on Twitter at http://twitter.com/adamschreck

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iraqi-security-forces-surround-protest-104523653.html

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40 hikers rescued; were lost on Ky. mountain

WHITESBURG, Ky. (AP) ? More than three dozen Pennsylvania college students spending spring break in Kentucky on a mission trip were safe Friday after becoming lost for hours when a sightseeing mountain hike unexpectedly stretched into the night, officials said Friday.

Rescuers were able to find them ? hungry and cold ? after an hours-long effort in rough terrain and freezing temperatures.

Most of the hikers were seen in the emergency room at Appalachian Regional Hospital in Whitesburg, with one woman admitted and listed in good condition, spokeswoman Dena Sparkman said Friday.

The few who declined to be seen at the hospital "were like, 'feed me and we're good,'" Sparkman said.

"I think the best medicine we gave them was chicken soup," Sparkman said.

The group was made up of 37 students and three staff members from La Salle University on an annual mission trip called Project Appalachia, said John Caroulis, spokesman for the Philadelphia school.

Caroulis said the group was helping build houses in Harlan, about a half-hour from Whitesburg, and had gone on a hiking trip that was made every year on the trip.

Rescuers said the group got disoriented when it got dark while they were hiking near Bad Branch Falls, an area on the Bad Branch Nature Preserve.

A search began about 7 p.m. EST Thursday, and it took until 3:30 a.m. Friday to get the entire group off the mountain, said Mayking Volunteer Fire Chief Tony Fugate, who helped.

"It's pretty rough country back in there," Fugate told The Associated Press.

Fugate said the group apparently hiked to a popular spot above the Bad Branch Falls waterfall, but it got dark and they couldn't find the trail back. When they got disoriented, they called 911 from their cellphones and were able to talk rescuers toward them.

They were on a 5-mile trail shaped like a lollipop headed to an area called High Rock, which is known for its breathtaking views, according to Shad Baker, a local resident who created many of the public trails used in the area and helped guide rescuers via cell phone.

"Rescuing 37 people is a monumental undertaking," Baker said. "So the fact that they got them out is really good."

The trail, lined with hemlock trees and rhododendron bushes, takes hikers immediately into the deep woods. A sign at the trail head warns hikers to stay on the trail. A visitor log at the entrance to the trail was signed "La Salle University" for March 8.

Baker said the hikers didn't arrive at High Rock until 5 p.m., it began to get dark, and much of the trail was covered by trees, branches and snow. He said the group would have had to cross three streams to reach the destination, and rescuers said by the time they arrived, many of the hikers said their feet were numb.

"I think once they got up there, there's 37 footprints going every which direction. ... I think they couldn't figure out which way they came from," Baker said.

Baker said to make things more confusing, the trail that would have taken them down the mountain actually goes uphill before it goes downhill.

"It's counterintuitive," he said.

He said the group was not dressed for the weather, with most of them wearing just sneakers, jeans and light jackets as temperatures began dropping into the 20s.

Fugate said only a few of the students had flashlights.

The group had to be walked down the mountain using an alternate route that had fewer obstacles but took more time, Baker said.

National Weather Service meteorologist Ed Ray said temperatures in the Pine Mountain area dipped into the low 20s overnight. He said the high Thursday reached only into the mid-20s.

Caroulis said the group was expected to return to Pennsylvania on Saturday as scheduled.

___

Associated Press writers Rebecca Yonker and Janet Cappiello contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-08-Rescued%20Hikers/id-e48f1e35649e465898eba314c053bbcf

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Conservation body rejects polar bear trade ban

BANGKOK (AP) ? A proposal by the United States to ban cross-border trade in polar bears and their parts was defeated Thursday at an international meeting of conservationists, marking a victory for Canada's indigenous Inuit people over their big neighbor to the south.

Delegates at the triennial meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, rejected Washington's proposal to change the status of the polar bear from a species whose trade is merely regulated, not banned.

The proposal fell far short of the two-thirds needed to pass, garnering 38 votes in favor, 42 against and 46 abstentions. A similar proposal was defeated three years ago at the last CITES meeting.

While support for most of the meeting's 70 proposals covering the trade in other species fell along predictable lines, the U.S. proposal made for some odd bedfellows. Russia endorsed Washington's proposal, which was also supported by a cluster of animal humane societies. Canada was joined in opposition by some of the larger conservation organizations, including the CITES Secretariat and the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network, better known as TRAFFIC.

The worldwide population of polar bears is estimated to be 20,000-28,000, with about two-thirds in Canada.

The United States had contended that climate change was dangerously shrinking the bears' habitat, and that pre-emptive measures were needed to save them.

The Inuit, on whose lands many of the animals dwell, contended that polar bear populations were not declining, and that Canada was regulating the hunting of the bears in sustainable numbers. The tribal group said their way of life and livelihoods would be threatened by a ban.

"What it means to the Inuit people is that it is confirmation that the Inuit are managing the polar bear in a very responsible manner and that the world agrees with us, and it's a proud moment for the Inuit," Terry Audla, head of an Inuit rights group, said after the vote.

Audla earlier contended that the threatened ban was only the latest action that failed to heed the needs of the Inuit community.

"The world bans the seal trade, not based on science, but based on their bleeding hearts, right? Because 'it's so cruel,'" he said. "But we've lived off the seals for centuries, and the population is quite healthy. So that was taken away from us. Now the ivory trade, we have the walrus tusks and the narwhal tusks, and that trade was important to us as well. That was taken away from us. Now they're saying the polar bear should be taken away from us as well."

The U.S. delegation said it was disappointed that the trade ban proposal had failed.

"We will continue to work with our partners to reduce the pressure that trade in polar bear parts puts on this iconic arctic species, even as we take on the longer-term threat that climate change poses to polar bears," Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes said in a prepared statement.

"Limiting commercial trade in this species would have addressed a source of non-climate stress to polar bear populations and contributed to long-term recovery," said the statement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Each year, an average of 3,200 items made from polar bears - including skins, claws and teeth - are reported to be exported or re-exported from a range of countries. Polar bear hides sell for an average of $2,000 to $5,000, while maximum hide prices have topped $12,000."

___

Associated Press writers Grant Peck and Todd Pitman contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-07-Canada-US-Polar%20Bears/id-c81edfc82c194437bb61415aa465e85d

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Learning how to swim. - Health, Fitness, and Sports

If you're over the phobia and the worst anxiety, that'll help.

My mother had a near drowning incident at a pool party as a kid and hasn't liked deep water ever since, but she'll still go in a pool - especially shallow water - and can float and sort of swim.

As a result, we were all put in swimming lessons from the time we were quite young - 5ish?? and can all swim well. I was in a swim club for a year, swam on my jr high swim team, completed all of the swimming lessons and most of the lifeguarding courses etc.

I know none of that helps you.. but this bit of info may help your confidence and thus your ability to learn to swim if you're determined to: I've read, and it makes complete sense, that those of us on the spectrum can really excel at swimming because we feel much more natural and coordinated in the water than out. The pressure of the water on our bodies just sort of.. balances things, equalizes them, and is very comfortable. We're also much more fluidly coordinated and moving in the water vs. out & it's why myself and my siblings could all swim for hours and enjoy it, do quite well at it, then get out of the pool and be back to our clumsy uncoordinated selves. but IN the pool, it's very very peaceful and relaxing, fun, and good exercise.. and it does feel good to be able to move "right," for once. I hope you find your own experience to be similar once you get the swing of things!

As for public pools, if you go really early in the morning you won't have all of the kids and noise to deal with - just a few people exercising and some serious swimmers training and focused on themselves. You could try wearing earplugs meant for swimming to block out noise, or if you really wanted to get fancy they do make underwater headphones/mp3 players for use while swimming - eventually I'd like to pick one of these up for myself, as I listen to the radio almost all the time while out in public these days or while running/working out etc and I think it'd be nice to have in a pool as well. But I rarely swim these days and can't really justify the expense right now, but maybe later. Earplugs are dirt cheap, though. And swim goggles can provide a bit of tunnel vision so you're not distracted by things in your peripheral vision, too.

Good luck!

Source: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt225586.html

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Snooki's Body Transformation in 10 Photos

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi is known for being pint-sized, but that doesn't mean she has had it easy when it comes to the battle with her weight. Since we were first introduced to the Staten Island girl on Jersey Shore in 2009, her weight loss (and gain) through years of partying, her relationship with fiancé Jionni LaValle, and her pregnancy with baby Lorenzo, has been a hot topic. But now, just six months after giving birth to her little meatball, she has dropped a whopping 42 pounds. We take a look at Snooki's body evolution.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/snookis-weight-loss-see-how-shes-changed/1-a-525878?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Asnookis-weight-loss-see-how-shes-changed-525878

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