GOP super donor Bob Perry of Texas dies at 80

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Republican mega-donor Bob Perry never cared for the spotlight. But writing big checks and financing one of the most famous television ads ever in a presidential campaign made the Texas millionaire famous nonetheless.

A wealthy Houston homebuilder who shunned publicity while generously bankrolling GOP candidates ? and becoming a force in a new era of lavish spending in American politics ? Perry died over the weekend, said former Texas state Rep. Neal Jones, a close family friend.

Jones said late Sunday that Perry died "peacefully in his sleep" Saturday night. He did not offer further details.

"Mr. Perry was a wonderful friend to many all around the United States," Jones said. "With his passing we've lost a great patriot who has made a great difference in the lives of people all across the land. He will be sorely missed."

Perry was a fixture of GOP fundraising in Texas ? and nationally ? dating back to former President George W. Bush's Texas gubernatorial races in the mid-1990s. His largesse included giving $4.4 million in 2004 to the Swift Boat Veterans campaign that sought to discredit then-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.

Perry spent prolifically on politics but did so from a distance. He rarely gave interviews, skipped fancy fundraisers and was a mystery to even many of his benefactors.

Yet Perry couldn't avoid attention following his financing of the Swift Boat ads, which challenged Kerry's wartime service in Vietnam for which he received five medals. Some Democrats blamed Kerry's slow response to the criticism for sinking his candidacy.

Perry donated money to help start the veterans group at the urging of his friend John O'Neill, a Houston attorney who co-wrote "Unfit for Command," a book that questions Kerry's military service.

Bill Miller, an Austin lobbyist who Perry hired as a spokesman when scrutiny surrounding the ads erupted, said in 2004 that Perry's donation to the Swift Boat Veterans reflected his belief in the group's message.

"In my conversations with Bob, he just said, 'John contacted me, told me what he was trying to do, and it sounded good to me.' That's really the way he does it," Miller said in 2004. "People call him and pitch him, and if he likes what he hears, he'll write a check."

Perry was also a prominent financial supporter of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, but was not related. He was the founder of Houston-based Perry Homes, one of the largest homebuilders in Texas.

Last year alone, Bob Perry gave more than $18 million to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and organizations that backed his candidacy. That ranked him third among all Romney donors, behind only Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons.

Perry was also involved in state politics. Late last year, he gave $45,000 to George P. Bush, the 36-year-old nephew of former President George W. Bush who is now running for Texas Land Commissioner in his first bid for public office.

Perry's generosity extended to other statehouses, included in Wisconsin last year as Republican Gov. Scott Walker fought efforts for a recall. Perry donated at least $250,000 to help Walker keep his job, making Perry among the largest out-of-state donors.

Raised by a father who was a teacher and later became dean of students at Baylor University, Perry started his career as a high school teacher after college. But he switched professions in 1968 and established Perry Homes, where he made his fortune.

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Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gop-super-donor-bob-perry-texas-dies-80-083240134.html

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Man accused of harassing Colo. theater victims' families

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) ? An Oregon man has been accused of harassing at least a dozen families of the victims of the mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., telling them the killings didn't happen or the caskets of victims were empty.

Kevin Purfield, 45, of Portland pleaded not guilty at Thursday's arraignment on charges of telephone harassment and stalking counts, both misdemeanors. Multnomah County Judge Adrienne Nelson increased Purfield's bail from $10,000 to $100,000 at the prosecution's request and appointed Cate Wollam as his attorney.

Aurora police spokesman Frank Fania said Purfield was adept online at finding ways to make contact with the family members, and used email, social media and phone calls to get to them.

Then Purfield spun fantastic theories, Fania said.

"It starts out that the shootings didn't really happen," Fania said. "It goes into things such as that at the funeral your relative's body wasn't in the casket."

Sometimes, if he didn't get a rise out of a relative, he dropped the communication, Fania said. In other cases, and particularly if the relative responded, Purfield launched into vile, obscene "flat-out attacks," Fania said.

The attacks changed the communications into harassment, he said.

Fania said the family members were in several states, and Oregon authorities were brought into an investigation in February.

Portland police said they'd had previous contacts with Purfield, including one instance Sgt. Pete Simpson described as a "mental health hold." Public defender Audra Kaleta, who represented Purfield at the arraignment, told the judge that Purfield has had mental health issues.

Purfield was arrested and booked Wednesday. His next court date is May 17.

James Holmes is charged with killing 12 people and injuring 70 at an Aurora movie theater on July 20. A judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-colo-theater-victims-families-harassed-165929216.html

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Biden Lunches With 'Veep' Star

Biden Lunches With Veep Star

Vice President Joe Biden had lunch at the White House today with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who plays Vice President Selina Meyer in HBO's "Veep," an aide told ABC News.

While meeting with the vice president, Louis-Dreyfus recorded an episode of the vice president's "Being Biden" audio series as she described a photograph of the two of them laughing at Biden's desk.

"This is hilarious. I can't believe, alright - I'm Julia Louis-Dreyfus, let me tell you about this picture. This is a picture of two vice presidents hard at work in the vice president's office in the West Wing," Louis-Dreyfus said in the episode titled "Two Vice Presidents." "I came to have lunch with Vice President Joe Biden and I surprise him by sitting at his desk so he thought he'd just ask my advice on some various briefs he had to deal with and I was happy to give him my advice which he paid no attention to whatsoever which is why he's such a wise vice president.

"We had a lovely lunch and it's a day I'll never forget. So there you go," she added.

Louis-Dreyfus attended Thursday night's premiere of the second season of "Veep" held at the Washington, DC office of the Motion Picture Association of America. Also attending last night were Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., former senator Chris Dodd, who is now the chairman and CEO of the MPAA, and HBO President Richard Plepler, a former Dodd staffer.

Louis-Dreyfus told Politico earlier this month that Vice President Biden reached out to her to congratulate her for her performance in the hit HBO show which won her an Emmy.

He "was in touch with me to congratulate me on winning the Emmy for this part, and he was very funny about it, which led me to believe that he may have seen a couple of episodes," Louis-Dreyfus told Politico.

ABC News' Michael Falcone contributed to this report. This post has been updated.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/biden-lunches-veep-star-164229009--abc-news-politics.html

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FDA uncovers safety problems at specialty pharmacies

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Food and Drug Administration says it has uncovered potential safety problems at 30 specialty pharmacies that were inspected in the wake of a recent outbreak of meningitis caused by contaminated drugs.

The agency said its inspectors targeted 31 compounding pharmacies that produce sterile drugs, which must be prepared under highly sanitary conditions. The FDA said Thursday it issued inspection reports to all but one of the pharmacies citing unsanitary conditions and quality control problems, including: rust and mold in supposedly sterile rooms, inadequate ventilation, and employees wearing non-sterile lab coats.

The agency generally issues such reports before taking formal action against companies. Inspectors visited pharmacies in 18 states, including Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Tennessee and New Jersey.

The wave of inspections comes in response to a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak linked to contaminated steroids from the New England Compounding Center, a Massachusetts pharmacy. The company's injections, mainly used to treat back pain, have been linked to 53 deaths and 733 illnesses since last summer.

Compounding pharmacies are supposed to mix customized prescriptions based on individual doctors' instructions. However, some pharmacies like the New England Compounding Center have grown into larger businesses, supplying bulk quantities of injectable drugs to hospitals across the country.

The FDA has stepped up its oversight of the pharmacies since the outbreak was identified in September, but agency officials say they have been slowed by the complex overlap of various state and federal laws that govern the industry. Pharmacies are licensed and overseen by state pharmacy boards, though the FDA sometimes intervenes when major safety issues arise.

In a blog post to the FDA's website Thursday, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg noted that four pharmacies initially refused to admit the agency's inspectors. In two cases the agency had to return with search warrants and U.S. marshals to complete the inspections.

"These challenges and others highlight the need for clearer authorities for FDA to efficiently protect public health," Hamburg stated.

Hamburg has asked Congress to pass new laws giving the FDA explicit oversight over large compounding pharmacies. Under the proposal, large compounders would have to register with the FDA and undergo regular inspections, similar to pharmaceutical manufacturers.

But the FDA proposal has faced pushback from some members of Congress, particularly House Republicans, who have been investigating whether the FDA could have prevented the meningitis outbreak using its existing powers.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee for Oversight and Investigations will hold its second hearing on the issue next Tuesday. Hamburg is scheduled to testify, according to committee staffers.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fda-finds-safety-issues-specialty-pharmacies-152956712--finance.html

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Genetic alteration predicts pain recovery after sexual assault

Apr. 10, 2013 ? One in five U.S. women are sexually assaulted in their lifetimes and more than half experience severe pain during the week following an attack. A study published in The Journal of Pain showed that presence of a genetic variant could significantly reduce pain severity associated with assault.

Previous studies have reported that sexual assault victims who report having severe pain across multiple body regions are experiencing stress-induced hyperalgesia, resulting from release of endogenous opioids. An initial period of analgesia is followed by delayed onset of persistent and widespread hyperalgesia. Gene variants have been associated with the u-opioid receptor and the most common variant is the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) A118G. Individuals with one or more copies of variant gene (allele) at the A118G have shown poor analgesic response to opioids.

A research team at the University of North Carolina hypothesized that activation of u-opioid receptors causes stress-induced hyperalgesia after a sexual assault and survivors with one or more copies of the variant gene at the A118G receptor would experience less receptor-mediated hyperalgesia and less pain in the initial weeks following the assault.

Women 18 years and older presenting for treatment by sexual assault nurse examiners working in ten different health systems were recruited for the study. The women were interviewed after one week and six weeks for evaluation of their pain symptoms. Genotyping was performed on all 52 study participants. The gene variant was found in 12 women (23%) and all were Caucasian.

The study results showed that the women with the gene variant resulting in reduced response to u-opioid receptor binding had clinically relevant reductions in pain severity. The findings suggest that women with one of more alleles at A118G may experience both a reduced analgesic response to endogenous opioids and a reduction in delayed-onset, more long-lasting opioid mediated hyperalgesia. The finding suggests that endogenous opioid-mediated hyperalgesia may contribute to pain symptoms after sexual assault.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/jpsU3bwpgtA/130410141312.htm

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Doctors use brain scans to 'see' and measure pain

In a provocative new study, scientists reported Wednesday that they were able to "see" pain on brain scans and, for the first time, measure its intensity and tell whether a drug was relieving it. Though the research is in its early stages, it opens the door to a host of possibilities.

Scans might be used someday to tell when pain is hurting a baby, someone with dementia or a paralyzed person unable to talk. They might lead to new, less addictive pain medicines. They might even help verify claims for disability.

"Many people suffer from chronic pain and they're not always believed. We see this as a way to confirm or corroborate pain if there is a doubt," said Tor Wager, a neuroscientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

He led the research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. So far it is only on pain felt through the skin ? heat applied to an arm. More study needs to be done on more common kinds of pain, such as headaches, bad backs and pain from disease.

Independent experts say the research shows a way to measure objectively what is now one of life's most subjective experiences.

Pain is the top reason people see a doctor, and there's no way to quantify how bad it is other than what they say. A big quest in neuroscience is to find tests or scans that can help diagnose ailments with mental and physical components such as pain, depression and PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Although many studies have found brain areas that light up when pain is present, the new work is the first to develop a combined signature from all these signals that can be used to measure pain.

"This is very exciting work. They made a huge breakthrough in thinking about brain patterns," said Dr. David Shurtleff, acting deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which helped sponsor the research. "We need a brain-based signature for pain. Self-report doesn't cut it. It's not reliable, it's not accurate."

The research involved four experiments at Columbia University approved by a panel to ensure no participants were harmed. In all, 114 healthy volunteers were paid $50 to $200 to be tested with a heating element placed against a forearm at various temperatures, not severe enough to cause burns or lasting damage. Some of the experiments required them to stand it for 10 to 20 seconds.

"It's like holding a hot cup of coffee that you really want to put down but can't quite yet," Wager said.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI scans, which don't require radiation as X-rays do, recorded changes in brain activity as measured by blood flow. Computers were used to generate signatures or patterns from these readings.

The first set of experiments on 20 people developed signatures for pain versus the anticipation of it or mild warmth on the arm. The second experiment validated these signatures in 33 other people and found they predicted how much pain they said they felt.

"It's really what seems to be a true measure of the experience that the patient's having," and it gives a number to pain severity that can guide care, said one expert with no role in the studies, Dr. Costantino Iadecola, director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Researchers took their work a step further with the third experiment, which involved 40 people who recently lost a serious love relationship and were feeling intensely rejected. Besides the heat tests, they had scans while being shown a picture of their former partners and then a picture of a good friend. Researchers found the brain signatures for social or emotional pain were different from the ones for physical pain.

"That's very provocative," said Dr. Allan Ropper, a neurologist at Brigham and Women's and Harvard University who wrote a commentary in the journal. The signatures seem highly accurate and able to distinguish physical pain from other kinds, he said.

In the fourth experiment, researchers gave 21 participants two infusions of a morphine-like drug while they were being scanned and having the heat tests. The first time, they knew they were getting the drug. The second time they were told they were getting dummy infusions but in fact got the drug again. Brain signatures showed their pain was being relieved both times in proportion to how much drug was in their systems.

"This is beginning to open a new wedge into brain science," Ropper said. "There may be completely novel ways of treating pain by focusing on these areas of the brain rather than on conventional medications which block pain impulses from getting into the spinal cord and brain."

Shurtleff, of the federal drug abuse agency, also said he hoped the research would lead to newer drugs.

"We want medications that can reduce this signature and don't show a signature for addiction," he said.

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Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/doctors-brain-scans-see-measure-pain-210707739.html

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Who is Your LEAST Favorite Celebrity?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/who-is-your-least-favorite-celebrity/

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