ExMooresville man charged with tax fraud Costco's Earnings Surges Analyst Blog National Briefing | Washington Obama Will Visit Puerto Rico governor says to visit island Obama’s June would be first by sitting president since Kennedy Puberty in First Grade Why Early is So Troubling for Girls and Moms Guard Helicopter Crashes helicopter six people on board crashed Jawbone found Aruba doesnt belong Holloway 2009 Adoption Incentive Awarded the HHS 5.4Magnitude Quake Shakes Airfare Specials Deals Ending July 30 More Exotic Than You Think Rick Pitino coach next summer Tax bill has many breaks businesses The United Plates Zodiac Platonic Elements Ukranian Coins

(By Steve Lyttle, slyttle@charlotteobserver.com) A former Mooresville man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Charlotte on 10 counts of filing false tax returns, the U.S. Attorney's office says. Charles Alexander Davis was arrested earlier this month in Puerto Rico after being indicted May 19. He also was charged with obstructing and impeding the Internal Revenue Service. The high single-digit increase in the bottom line was buoyed by double-digit growth in the top line. President Obama will visit Puerto Rico on June 14, the first official visit by a sitting president since John F. Kennedy stopped there, in 1961. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- President Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to visit Puerto Rico next month, a trip that would make him the first sitting president to come to the U.S. territory in 50 years, the island's governor said Tuesday.... SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — President Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to visit Puerto Rico next month, a trip that would make him the first sitting president to come to the U.S. territory in 50 years, the island's governor said Tuesday. The president, who campaigned in Puerto Rico for the Democratic primary, will visit the island June 14, Gov. Luis Fortuno said, without disclosing details of his itinerary. "With his visit, the president makes good on the promise he made during the presidential primaries in 2008 that he would return to Puerto Rico as president," Fortuno said in a statement. Read full article >> Mothers prepping their daughters for the early years of elementary school worry about reading readiness, ability to play well with others, number and letter  recognition, and whether or not the child can sit still and listen. Now it looks like another item should be added to that list: Is she equipped to face puberty? The term 'precocious puberty' entered the public's consciousness on Monday as a new study published in the journal _Pediatrics _tossed many previous assumptions out the window. Puberty, once thought to begin on average at age 10 1/2 in girls, is starting earlier and earlier for a growing segment of the population. The study involved girls age 6-8 in three areas of the country -- New York City, Cincinnati and San Francisco. The 1,239 participants were approximately 30% white, 30% black, 30% Hispanic, and 5% Asian. As reported by the _New York Times_: > At 7 years, 10.4 percent of white, 23.4 percent of black and 14.9 percent of Hispanic girls had enough breast development to be considered at the onset of puberty. > > At age 8, the figures were 18.3 percent in whites, 42.9 percent in blacks and 30.9 percent in Hispanics. The percentages for blacks and whites were even higher than those found by a 1997 study that was one of the first to suggest that puberty was occurring earlier in girls. Bear in mind that the average age for children in first grade is 6-7 years. That means a good number of girls in first graders may begin to experience breast budding -- usually the first sign of puberty -- followed by a growth spurt and then the appearance of pubic hair six months later. By second grade, these girls' bodies stand out. What's causing early puberty? In 2007, author and medical journalist Christopher Wanjek explored some initial areas of concern: > When precocious puberty entered the radar screen in the early 1990s, the first suspects were hormones in milk and meats, particularly the artificial bovine growth hormone, rBGH. But this is a protein hormone, destroyed in human digestion, not a steroid hormone like estrogen. > > Pollutants are a serious problem. Plastics and insecticides can break down into chemicals similar to estrogen. This is thought [to] cause hermaphroditic fish. Ivelisse Colón of the University of Puerto Rico identified a compelling connection between exposure to chemicals called phthalates and a large increase in breast development among Puerto Rican girls younger than 7. Back then, Wanjek cited childhood obesity as the main culprit, and researchers behind the new study agree. But the study's lead author, Dr. Frank M. Biro of Cincinnati' Children's Hospital Medical Center, also leans toward blaming environmental chemicals. As he told the _Times_: > It's certainly throwing up a warning flag....I think we need to think about the stuff we're exposing our bodies to and the bodies of our kids. This is a wake-up call, and I think we need to pay attention to it. Wanjek explains how childhood obesity triggers precocious puberty: > Puberty requires the body to have a certain weight and fat distribution, hence the delay for female gymnasts and ballerinas. So 8-year-old girls weighing as much as a normal 12-year-old are at risk for precocious puberty. > > But also, across the board, fat children have high levels of the protein leptin. This chemical, through a complicated chain involving the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, can stimulate the release of the three main hormones in puberty: hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone, luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone. > > A study by Kirsten Krahnstoever Davison of Penn State, published in 2003 in Pediatrics, was one of several studies documenting that over 50 percent of overweight girls enter puberty early. All these studies should serve as a wake-up call for mothers of elementary-age girls and tweens. If you hadn't planned on having 'the talk' with your daughter until age 10 or 12, the growing incidence of precocious puberty suggests you should at least lay the groundwork early on. Early puberty brings physical changes that often outstrip emotional and mental development, putting girls in a precarious position. Early puberty often goes hand-in-hand with early sexual interest, as hormones begin to influence behavior. Girls with breasts often appear older than their chronological years. Their seeming maturity attracts attention from older boys who may push a young girl toward sexual exploration much too early. It isn't always an easy or comfortable discussion, but it makes an enormous difference in the choices girls make. If your guidance and involvement can delay your daughter's initial sexual exploration, you're reducing her risk for physical and emotional abuse and other dating violence. The earlier a girl becomes sexually active, the greater the likelihood that she'll enter into relationships that will harm her. The longer she delays sexual activity, the more likely she'll involve herself in positive relationships based on mutual respect. No mother wants to think about her first or second grade daughter's burgeoning sexuality. "It's too soon," we tell ourselves. "Let her be a little girl a little bit longer." But no mother should allow a child entering early puberty to navigate those turbulent waters alone. For better or worse, it's happening to our daughters  earlier and earlier and we can't afford to be ignorant or squeamish any longer. Their future is at stake. **Related articles:** * Tweens More Sexually Active than Parents Realize * Tween Dating Abuse & Violence: Early Sexual Activity Increases Risk * When Should Puberty Start? **More on the web:** * First Signs of Puberty Seen in Younger Girls * The Truth Behind Early Puberty * Early Puberty in Girls: What are the Social Consequences? * Consumer Concerns About Hormones in Food Puberty in First Grade? Why Early Puberty is So Troubling for Girls and Moms originally appeared on About.com Women's Issues on Saturday, August 14th, 2010 at 01:04:43. Permalink | Comment | Email this A Puerto Rico National Guard helicopter crashed in the ocean en route to a drug raid, with all six people aboard feared dead, SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Authorities in Puerto Rico say a U.S. National Guard helicopter with six people aboard crashed en route to the neighboring island of Vieques. U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad says two of the passengers were prosecutors with the local justice department and the other... SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A jawbone found on an Aruba beach does not belong to missing Alabama teenage... Thirty-eight states and Puerto Rico received $39 million for increasing the number of adoptions from foster care by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Many states use the funding to boost their adoption program It has been reported that this year's incentive award recipients completed more adoptions in 2009, than they did in the 2007 baseline year. The adoption rate compares the current year adoptions to the number placed into adoptive homes the year before. Here is how it breaks down: * $4,000 for every foster child adopted above their best year's total * $8,000 for every foster child age nine and older * $4,000 for every other special needs child adopted above the respective baselines Texas comes in first this year for adoptions completed from foster care earning over $7 million. Florida comes in second with over $6.5 million in federal funds. Too see how your state stacked up against other states with the adoption incentive awards see the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website listing. SOURCE: HHS Awards $39 Million to States for Increasing Adoptions - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Press Release 2009 Adoption Incentive Awarded by the HHS originally appeared on About.com Adoption / Foster Care on Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 at 23:35:16. Permalink | Comment | Email this No Damage Reported as Earthquake Rattles Windows and Doors Across Island Posting a few of the better airfare deals on right now before they end on July 30. There are some [really good package deals to be had with Cheap Caribbean][1] right now. Some packages including flight / hotel  / insurance are as low as $299 per person. Book by July 30, 2010. Various travel dates are available. Sample package - 3 nights at 4.5 star Hyatt Regency Curacao Golf Resort, Spa & Marina, Curacao from $299, using code HYATTCUR520. [JetBlue has a fall sale][2] on until July 30. Travel between September 7 and December 15, 2010. Sample one way airfares include $59 between Orlando and San Juan, Puerto Rico. [Airfare Specials - Deals Ending on July 30][3] originally appeared on [About.com Air Travel][4] on Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 05:08:28. [Permalink][3] | [Comment][5] | [Email this][6] [1]: http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://www.cheapcaribbean.com/attrac tions.jsp?attID=026&glizda=off&utm_campaign=20100111_tzoo_trav_trasitecp_sprad v&utm_medium=trav&utm_source=tzoo&utm_content=spradv&utm_term=jump026 [2]: http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://www.jetblue.com/UBF/flights/f lights.asp [3]: http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://airtravel.about.com/b/2010/07/29 /airfare-specials-deals-ending-on-july-30.htm [4]: http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://airtravel.about.com/ [5]: http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://airtravel.about.com/b/2010/07/29 /airfare-specials-deals-ending-on-july-30.htm#gB3 [6]: http://airtravel.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://airtravel.a bout.com/b/2010/07/29/airfare-specials-deals-ending-on- july-30.htm&zItl=Airfare Specials - Deals Ending on July 30 You're missing a lot if you ignore easy-to-reach Puerto Rico in favor of more exotic islands. Explore a culture that dates back more than five centuries-- and then relax by a pool afterward! MIAMI -- Louisville's Rick Pitino will coach Puerto Rico's national team next summer in hopes of qualifying for the 2012 Olympics. WASHINGTON - The massive new tax bill signed into law by President Obama is filled with holiday stocking-stuffers for businesses: tax breaks for producing TV shows, grants for putting up windmills, rum subsidies for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It was instant love when we encountered artist and illustrator John Holcomb's latest project, The United Plates, an interpretation of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as popular food items. Think Michigan as a sunny-side up... Coins commemorate all sorts of things nowadays.  Personally, I was stunned upon discovering my first "Puerto Rico" U.S. quarter.  But at least that was celebrating one of our territories, just as the quarters have previously celebrated the individual states. But that pales in comparison to what the Ukraine decided to commemorate. Between 2006 and 2008, the Ukraine put out a series of zodiac quarters.  On one side was the zodiac sign in question, such as Aquarius (shown here).  On the gold colored 5 hryvnia coin, the reverse shows a sun surrounded by the four platonic elements: fire, air, water, earth. On the reverse of the silver colored 2 hryvnia coin is the sun again, surrounded by an orbitting sphrere.  The Bank of Ukraine explains that it represents the four seasons, although my first thought, to be honest, was the moon cycle...although I suppose that doesn't actually make a lot of sense with the sun in the middle. Zodiac, Platonic Elements on Ukranian Coins originally appeared on About.com Alternative Religions on Thursday, December 16th, 2010 at 00:20:29. Permalink | Comment | Email this
Key Words: puerto rico

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