Huron County will pay $1.2 million to the 11 children kept in “cages’ by a couple convicted of abusing them.

Lawyers for the children and Huron County’s insurance cooperative reached the settlement last year, but various courts and officials did not approve it until now, said lawyers for both the county and the children.

Michael and Sharen Gravelle of Clarksfield Township were convicted of child abuse and child endangering in 2006 for keeping some of their 11 adopted and foster special-needs children in beds enclosed with chicken wire.

The Gravelles said they did so to prevent the children from hurting themselves and others, but they were each sentenced to two years in prison. They began serving those sentences in April 2009, after losing an appeal.

Paul Grieco, a lawyer for the children, said several counties placed children in the Gravelle home. Though Huron did not send any children there and removed the children in late-2005, Grieco said the county’s Department of Children’s Services should have taken action against the Gravelles sooner.

“Huron County was partly responsible for what happened to them,” he said.

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Article courtesy cleveland.com

Search online for “Cash for Clunkers,” and here’s one thing you’ll find: stories about its negligible overall impact on the economy.

Wrong, says Maritz Automotive Research Group. The Toledo, Ohio, independent automotive research company recently surveyed participants in last summer’s federal program designed to stimulate new-car sales and get gas-guzzlers off the road. On Tuesday, the company shared its results.

One key finding: 90 percent of those participating in Cash for Clunkers said they would not otherwise have bought a new car.

According to federal government data, 677,000 purchases were made through Cash for Clunkers from late July through August. Maritz’s research showed that 542,000 were incremental new car or truck sales, meaning those purchases would not have occurred without the incentives. Previous estimates by industry analysts put the incremental sales figure between 125,000 and 346,000.

The government’s Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS, offered vouchers of $3,500 or $4,500 to owners of older, gas-guzzling vehicles who traded them in for new, fuel-efficient models. The program was so popular that it ran out of its $3 billion in funding in two months.

“Our findings not only provide strong evidence that many more vehicles were sold as a direct result of the incentive program than were previously estimated, but they also debunk the myth that Cash for Clunkers mortgaged future car and truck sales,” said Dave Fish, a Maritz vice president. “In fact, the program resulted in sales of vehicles to people who don’t normally buy them.”

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Article courtesy McClatchy-Tribune News Service via cleveland.com

Forbes magazine released its annual list of the world’s richest people Wednesday, and for only the second time since 1995, Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ name was not at the top.

This year, the title of “World’s Richest” went to Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim, with a net worth of $53.5 billion.

Slim, whose holding company America Movil contains a sprawling collection of telecom assets, is the first non-American to be declared Forbes’ richest person since 1994, when Japanese real estate kingpin Yoshiaki Tsutsumi held that honor. (He has since disappeared from the list entirely).

But Slim’s financial edge over Gates is, well, slim, at least by billionaire standards — just $500 million. A $1 increase in Microsoft shares, the compilers of the Forbes list noted at a press conference Wednesday, could send Gates’ net worth ahead of Slim’s.

Also, were it not for his extensive philanthropy, Gates would have a net worth in the ballpark of $80 billion, Forbes’ Matthew Miller estimated.

Gates is the world’s second richest person, with a net worth of $53 billion. Warren Buffett came in third this year, with a net worth of $47 billion.

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Article courtesy cnn.com

As much as 16 percent of the U.S. population between the ages of 14 and 49 has genital herpes, according to a government study released Tuesday.

And sexually transmitted diseases of all varieties infect 19 million more Americans every year — a rate that costs the health care system some $16 billion annually, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) found. The study was released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the the National STD Prevention Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

The herpes simplex 2 virus — one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the United States — causes painful, recurring genital sores.

“This study serves as a stark reminder that herpes remains a common and serious health threat in the United States. Everyone should be aware of the symptoms, risk factors and steps that can be taken to prevent the spread of this lifelong and incurable infection,” said Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention.

Women and African-Americans have the highest rate of genital herpes infections. According to the study, one in five women is infected with the herpes virus. The infection rate was almost twice as high among women — nearly 21 percent — than among men, at 11.5 percent.

For African-Americans, the prevalence of infection was 39.2 percent — more than three times that of whites, at 12.3 percent. Black women are most affected by the disease, with an infection rate of 48 percent.

Fenton said the high rates of herpes among African-Americans is most likely contributing to the high rate of HIV in that community. In fact, statistics show that people with herpes are two to three times more likely to get HIV if exposed.

The CDC estimates that more than 80 percent of the people who have the herpes simplex 2 virus don’t know they are infected. Many people never have symptoms or outbreaks, or those symptoms are mild and mistaken for something else. But transmission can occur without symptoms or visible sores.

“Many individuals are transmitting herpes to others without even knowing it,” said Dr. John M. Douglas Jr., director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention. “We can’t afford to be complacent about this disease. It is important that persons with symptoms suggestive of herpes — especially recurrent sores in the genital area — seek clinical care to determine if these symptoms may be due to herpes and might benefit from treatment.”

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Article courtesy cnn.com

Chef Eric Wells calls in with the healthy recipe of the week, roasted asparagus, and mourns the day when all young women knew how to cook.

The Basheer Jones and Company Morning Show offers an eclectic mix of information and entertainment with a positive, uplifting message every weekday from 6 to 9AM on Newstalk 1490, WERE. “A Few Minutes with Basheer Jones” is just a small taste of this exciting program. With a wide variety of guests, from local and national leaders to authors, entertainers and experts from the worlds of medicine and education, Basheer Jones and Company can start your day on the bright side. Join us Monday through Friday, 6 to 9 AM on NewsTalk 1490 WERE.

Look for podcasts to be posted here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday!

Some people who didn’t file a federal tax return for 2006 have more than 1 billion reasons to reconsider, but they need to do it fast, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The IRS says it has more than $1.3 billion in refunds for 1.4 million people who didn’t file a 2006 return. But to collect the cash, they will have to file for that year by April 15.

Otherwise, the money will become the property of the U.S. Treasury, as happens with all tax refunds that aren’t claimed within three years.

The IRS estimates the median unclaimed refund for 2006 nonfilers is $604. California is the state with the most nonfilers who qualify for refunds from that year (159,700), with Texas (109,600) and Florida (101,700) right behind.

Some of the eligible people may have skipped filing because they earned too little to require it, even though they had taxes withheld from their wages or made quarterly estimated payments, according to the IRS.

“A lot of those are dependents or younger people … with part-time jobs” — people who didn’t make enough to require filing, but who may have underestimated the refunds they’d receive if they did file or didn’t realize they were eligible for certain credits, said Elaine Smith, enrolled agent and master tax adviser at H&R Block.

Others include people who were required to file, but didn’t. People who failed to submit a required return but are owed refunds will not be penalized for filing that return late, according to the IRS and Smith.

Current- and prior-year tax forms are available on the Forms and Publications page of IRS.gov. People seeking the forms also can request them at 1-800-829-3676.

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Article courtesy cnn.com

The US soft drinks industry says it has dramatically cut the number of high-calorie soft drinks sold in US schools as part of a drive to tackle obesity.

The American Beverage Association said shipments of full-calorie drinks to schools were down 95%.

Nearly one in three children and teenagers in the US are overweight or obese and health experts say sugary drinks are part of the problem.

Several US states and cities are considering taxing soft drinks.

The reduction in sugary soft drinks in schools formed part of a deal between the major companies and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative of the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation.

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Article courtesy bbc.co.uk

Derek Anderson has apologized for saying Browns fans “are ruthless and don’t deserve a winner.”

After angry reaction from fans poured into The Plain Dealer and other media outlets, Anderson issued the following statement early Wednesday morning through Amy Palcic, the former Browns public relations director.

Anderson’s statement:

“I said some things to Jeff Schudel (of The News-Herald) earlier that I regret. Those of you who got to know me personally from covering the Browns over the past five years, know this was out of character for me. I wasn’t taken out of context, but I was speaking out of my frustration after my career with the Browns came to a close.

“I had some great times playing in Cleveland, especially during the 2007 season and I met some great people and made many lifelong friends along the way. I’m looking forward to starting a new chapter in my life.”

Article courtesy cleveland.com

After months of meetings, a lot of behind-the-scenes cobbling, bursts of community anguish and a couple of major revisions, the Cleveland school board has approved a district “transformation plan.”

Now can district leaders tie up scores of loose ends in time to smoothly launch a multitude of changes this fall? Administrators insist they can, but teachers aren’t so sure.

The school board voted 8-1 Tuesday to approve Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders’ blueprint for raising low test scores and a 54 percent graduation rate. Rashida Abdulhaqq voted no, saying she thought many of the details remained sketchy.

Sanders’ document lays out building-by-building strategies, including closing or moving 16 schools. The district will shutter 14 elementary schools and two high schools — more than 10 percent of its facilities — after classes end in June.

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Article courtesy cleveland.com

A Pennsylvania woman has been indicted for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and kill a person in a foreign country, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

Colleen LaRose, known as “Jihad Jane” and “Fatima LaRose,” has also been charged with making false statements to a government official and attempted identity theft.

She was arrested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 15, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. No arraignment date has been set, the official said.

LaRose is being held at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

LaRose and five unindicted co-conspirators recruited men on the Internet “to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe, and recruited women on the Internet who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad,” according to a Justice Department statement.

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Article courtesy cnn.com