Approximately 5 million uninsured kids in the U.S. may not experience the benefits of playing on a team. These kids often miss out because they can’t afford the necessary physical or treatment if they get hurt. Jackie, a 13-year-old eager to go out for her school’s track team, was one of those kids until her family learned that health coverage is available through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Across the country CHIP and Medicaid offer free or low-cost health coverage for kids. Generally, a family of four that earns up to $45,000 a year can get their kids covered. Once enrolled, kids can get doctor and dentist visits, vision and hearing care, hospital care, mental health services, regular check-ups and shots, and needed treatment, including prescription drugs.

Upon learning that Jackie did not have health insurance and that her mother had suffered a heart attack before age 50, the school nurse knew Jackie would need more than a general sports physical to be cleared to participate in track. The nurse connected Jackie and her Mom with an outreach worker who helped enroll Jackie in the state’s health coverage program. Within two days, Jackie went to a primary care provider, and tests indicated a potential heart syndrome. She was referred to a cardiologist, who, after further exams, gave Jackie the green light for track.

Learning about available health coverage programs did more than get Jackie on the team, it potentially saved her life — Jackie is covered both on and off the field. Kids with insurance generally have better health throughout their childhood and into their teens. They are sick less often, get the treatment they need when they are not feeling well and are less likely to miss school — or a big game — due to illness.

Families with uninsured children can get connected to the CHIP or Medicaid programs in their states by visiting InsureKidsNow.gov or calling 1-877-KIDS-NOW.

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“As an element of transitional justice, reparation must be complemented by seeking the truth behind the abominable human rights violations, prosecuting and holding to account the perpetrators and reforming institutions to guarantee non-repetition,” Minority Leader and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman said in a statement.

“These are urgent challenges that the Aquino administration must forthwith confront,” he added.

Twenty-one years after the human rights victims filed a case before a court in Hawaii, where Marcos and his family sought exile in 1986, the first batch of 12 victims, represented by their families, will receive $1,000 each.

Last month, Judge Manuel Real of the US District Court of Hawaii approved the distribution of $7.5 million to 7,526 eligible members of the class-action lawsuit. There were 9,539 members at the beginning of the case but some 2,000 did not meet court requirements, the Associated Press reported.

It added that the funds to be distributed come from a $10 million settlement of a case against individuals controlling Texas and Colorado land bought with Marcos money, but some $2.5 million was deducted for legal fees and payment to the person who located the properties.

Lagman said the $1,000 may be “minuscule” compared to the Marcos ill-gotten wealth, but the awarding of compensation to the victims was “a significant step toward transitional justice.”

Lagman’s brother, Hermon, was one of the victims of involuntary disappearance during the martial law years. Their mother will receive the compensation during Monday’s ceremonies at the Club Filipino in San Juan City.

The lawmaker said the court-ordered compensation should remind the nation about the patriotism and nationalism of the victims who fought the dictatorship. He said they should be honored as the real heroes of Edsa for paving the way for the bloodless revolution.

“It is they who should be honored and not the opportunist self-proclaimed leaders who are actually mere beneficiaries of the People Power uprising,” Lagman said.

At the House, a consolidated bill will be up for approval by the members of the human rights committee to compensate some 10,000 Marcos victims.

Deputy Speaker and Quezon Representative Lorenzo Tanada III said the committee was expected to approve the consolidated bill on March 7.

The bill covers P10 billion from the Swiss account of the Marcoses that was transferred to the Philippine government. This is distinct from the $1,000 compensation that the victims will get following the Hawaii court judgment.

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The victim’s co-worker, Simeon Caspe, who said that the unidentified OFW sustained a gunshot wound on his hand.

Caspe said Libyan soldiers on Friday fired at the container van they were riding on as they were moving to a safer place amid the violence escalating in Libya.

At the time of the interview, Caspe disclosed he and other Filipinos were getting ready to evacuate to Istanbul, Turkey.

“Nagkaroon po ng pagtatalo ‘yung idriver namin at ‘yung mga checkpoint. During that time po, sabay po silang nagpaputok dun sa container namin na sinasakyan (There was an argument – our driver and [those manning] the checkpoint. During then they fired at the same time at the container van we were riding in),” Caspe recounted.
He added they were then taken to the soldiers’ headquarters, who had thought they were looters. Upon verifying that the OFWs were not part of those protesting against the Libyan government, they were released.

In a related development, migrants’ rights advocacy group Migrante International said that an OFW was reported killed during a firefight in Libya, but the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has maintained that the Filipino worker’s death was due to an accident and not because of the violence in the country.
Migrante said the unidentified OFW was brought to Jalo Hospital on Feb. 21, where Filipino nurses there identified the victim as a fellow Filipino.

“Ang nangyari, Feb. 21, pinasok ang kanilang kampo ng armed men at tumakbo siya, nahulog sa rig. Hindi malaman kung siya ba’y natamaan ng bala. Basta nahulog siya doon at ‘yun ang ikinamatay niya (What happened, Feb. 21, armed men invaded their camp and the OFW fled but fell into a rig. It isn’t known if the OFW he got hit by bullets. He fell there and that’s how he died),” Migrante’s Connie Bragas-Regalado said in the same newscast.

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“I will cut your head off, put it in a box and send it to your mom,” Brooke Mueller claims that Sheen told her Sunday night.

The revelations were in a court document that resulted in a court order that removed Charlie Sheen’s twin boys from his home. In an interview with NBC’s “Today Show,” Sheen denied that he threatened her. The quote against him was fabricated, he said, calling the allegation “colorful.”

Mueller alleges Sheen was abusive to her and filed for a temporary restraining order and a custody order.

“I am in great fear that he will find me and attack me and I am in great fear for the children’s safety while in his care,” Mueller wrote in her declaration.

She added, I am very concerned that (Sheen) is currently insane.”

Mueller’s family members told CNN that Mueller went with an off-duty sheriff’s deputy and a nanny to get the 2-year-old boys. They said Sheen’s attorney spoke with Mueller’s attorney before Sheen handed over the children.

But Sheen said he plans legal action to regain joint custody.

“You’re in my heart. Bob, Max, it’s your dada,” he said to his sons on CNN affiliate KTLA. “I have never lied to you, and this is another example of that. I will see you soon. You’re in my heart and I love you.”

Sheen said authorities arrived at his home Tuesday night. He said he remained calm and videotaped the entire episode.

Mueller’s family members told CNN the sons were with Brooke Mueller, her mother and the children’s nanny.

“I think she is latching onto some of this recent press,” Sheen said of his most recent troubles.

CBS halted production of the sitcom “Two and a Half Men,” the show Sheen was starring in, after Sheen’s rant on a radio show last week.

Sheen denied any anti-Semitic intent in the comments he made about his show’s co-creator, Chuck Lorre, whose real name, Sheen said, was Chaim Levine.

“I’ve never had that in my past,” he said. “You can look as deep and as far as you want.”
But Abraham H. Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement last week, “By invoking television producer Chuck Lorre’s Jewish name in the context of an angry tirade against him, Charlie Sheen left the impression that another reason for his dislike of Mr. Lorre is his Jewishness. This fact has no relevance to Mr. Sheen’s complaint or disagreement, and his words are at best bizarre, and at worst, borderline anti-Semitism.”

Sheen has reportedly demanded an apology from the Anti-Defamation League for Foxman’s comments.

Warner Bros. Television said Tuesday it will pay “Two and a Half Men’s” crew for the four episodes initially set to begin production this week. Warner Bros. spokesman Paul McGuire confirmed the payments will be made.

Warner Bros. Television is owned by Time Warner Inc., the parent company of CNN.
According to TMZ, the payments will amount to about $2 million for the 200 core crew members.

On Monday, Sheen threatened during various interviews to sue CBS for halting production of the show. He also told NBC he wanted $3 million per episode instead of the $2 million he was previously making, but later backed off that assertion, telling CNN’s Piers Morgan that his only hard-and-fast demand was that he and the crew get paid for another eight weeks of work.

He started a Twitter account Monday that had gained more than 800,000 followers by Tuesday.

“My sons’ are fine,” he said on Twitter. “My path is now clear … Defeat is not an option ..!”
Sheen said he is determined to keep a public eye on what happens with his sitcom crew.
“I wanted to get everybody’s attention and throw the eyes of the world on this, and clearly my plan is working,” he told KTLA. “I’m going to keep shaking the trees until I get the answers I need.”

CBS previously placed the sitcom on “production hiatus” after the actor began rehab treatments, and had planned to resume taping on four more episodes this week. It’s not clear if “Two and Half Men” will return for a ninth season.

“Everything is as it I stated at the beginning – I am clean, focused and ready to get back to work,” Sheen said.

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Officials at Fort Jackson, a major Army training center, said Tuesday the new regimen would replace twice-a-year testing that focused on push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run. Trials are starting this month at eight bases and the plan could be adopted Army-wide after reviews later this year.

The shift follows other Army efforts to overhaul training, improve diets and help older soldiers keep fit.

Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, the head of Army training, said the fitness test had to be revamped because repetitive exercises like sit-ups don’t translate into survival on the battlefield.

Unveiling the pilot to reporters, he said the service was also adopting lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans who had to learn in the field to carry anywhere from 40 to 70 pounds of weapons and body armor.

“Soldiers like to be challenged. This will definitely challenge them,” Hertling said. “This is a good, combat-related test.”

The pilot program comprises two new tests in place of the current exam.

The new “physical readiness” test adds such things as a 60-yard shuttle run and a standing long jump to one minute of push-ups and a 1.5-mile timed run. This might be given every six months, said Frank Palkoska, head of the Army’s Fitness School at Fort Jackson.
A “combat readiness” test includes running 400 meters with a rifle, moving through an obstacle course in full combat gear, and crawling and vaulting over obstacles while aiming a rifle. Soldiers also have to run on a balance beam while carrying a 30-pound ammo box and do an agility sprint around a course field of cones.

To test pulling a fallen comrade from the battlefield, soldiers must drag a sled weighted with 180 pounds of sandbags. That combat portion of the test might be given only before deployments, but that has not been decided.

The tests will be given to all soldiers and officers, including Army Reserves and National Guard, even those recalled soldiers who are now 60-years plus, officials said.

Specific standards for men, women and by age ranges are still being worked out, Palkoska said.

“This is about training smarter, not just training more,” said Hertling.

The pilot will begin this month and test data will be given to Army leaders by October. The program could be implemented Army-wide during the fiscal year that starts in October, Palkoska said.

Besides Fort Jackson, the program will be tested at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Lewis, Wash.; and at the Army’s military academy at West Point.

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Apple chief executive Steve Jobs took the wraps off the hot-selling device in January of last year but he appears unlikely to make an appearance this year after going on indefinite medical leave in January.

The Internet has been abuzz with speculation over whether Jobs, 56, will show up and what the maker of iPhones, iPods, iPads, and Macintosh computers has in store at the invitation-only event in San Francisco.

Cryptic invitations provided the date, time and location of the event and displayed an image of a March 2 calendar page peeling back to reveal a corner of an iPad.

The message on the page reads “Come see what 2011 will be the year of.”

Technology analysts have taken to referring to 2011 as the “Year of the Tablet.”

All bets are on Apple showing off an improved version of the iPad that Jobs introduced at the same downtown San Francisco venue a little over a year ago.

Apple sold nearly 15 million iPads last year and overall sales of tablets, which can be used to surf the Web, read electronic books, watch video and more, are forecast by market research firm Gartner to hit 55 million units this year.

Goldman Sachs analysts, in a note to investors, said they expect Apple to “announce the second-generation of its game-changing iPad” at the event which begins at 1:00 pm local time (1800 GMT).

“We expect the device to provide an early line of defense against the wave of tablet competitors arriving in coming months,” they said.

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year was rife with gadget manufacturers showing off tablets which they were racing to get into a market set ablaze by the iPad.

Motorola Mobility chief executive Sanjay Jha said Monday the US telecom maker is pleased with early sales of the Xoom, its iPad rival. “They’re off to a good start,” Jha said of sales of the Xoom, which costs between $600 and $800.

The Xoom is the first tablet powered by “Honeycomb” software crafted specifically for such devices by Internet powerhouse Google, and has been heralded as a viable challenger to the iPad.

Another rival, South Korea’s Samsung, has announced plans to come out with a large-screen version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, also powered by Honeycomb.

The second-generation iPad is expected to be slimmer with increased memory, a more powerful computer chip, and front and rear-facing cameras giving it the “FaceTime” video-conferencing ability featured on iPhone 4 smartphones.

“In today’s consumer marketplace, you can’t go very long without an upgrade,” said Gartner Research analyst Ken Dulaney. “And the other tablets have at least caught up to last year’s model.”

Dulaney expected much of the event to be focused on improved software, with only minor changes to iPad hardware.

“The product was so good out of the shoot that I don’t think there is a radical change forthcoming,” Dulaney said. “You make your money off hardware, but the power and control comes from software.”

Van Baker, also a Gartner analyst, was certain Wednesday’s news will be an iPad boasting iterative improvements but no startling changes and no adjustment in price.

“The ‘wow’ has already been done — for all intents and purposes Apple owns the tablet market right now,” Baker said.

“Everybody is talking about the Xoom, but who the heck wants to pay 800 bucks when you can get a perfectly good iPad for 500 bucks?” he asked.

The $600 Xoom is only available with monthly data plans that easily add hundreds of dollars a year to the cost of using the tablets.

The six iPad models range in price from $500 to $830 with the three higher-priced models having 3G mobile telecom connection capabilities.

Lower-priced iPads are designed to take advantage of connections at wireless Internet hotspots.

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Paul Devine, 38, who worked at Apple from 2005 to 2010, entered a guilty plea in a federal court in San Jose, California, on Monday to charges of wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, US Attorney Melinda Haag announced.

Devine was accused of transmitting confidential Apple information, such as product forecasts, roadmaps, pricing targets, product specifications, and data obtained from business partners, to suppliers and manufacturers of Apple parts, the US Attorney’s office said in a statement.

In return, the suppliers and manufacturers paid Devine kickbacks, including payments determined as a percentage of the business they subsequently did with Apple, it said.

The confidential information helped the suppliers and manufacturers negotiate more favorable contracts, the US Attorney’s office said.

It said the investigation of Devine, a global supply manager from Sunnyvale, California, began in April of last year when Apple found evidence of the kickback scheme on Devine’s Apple-owned laptop.

Devine pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. As part of the plea agreement, Devine also agreed to forfeit money and property worth $2.28 million.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 6. Devine could face a maximum of 20 years behind bars for the wire fraud conviction.

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A “Recipe View” feature that Google is rolling out in the United States and Japan turns the search engine into an online cook book of sorts.

“My parents follow the art of cooking by intuition, where the right amount of each spice is measured out by gut feel, but that’s never worked very well for me,” Google product manager Kavi Goel said while introducing Recipe View.

“As a math geek and computer engineer, I prefer to work with concrete numbers and instructions, including when cooking.”

The feature narrows search results to only recipes along with ratings for each option.

Recipe search terms can range from names of dishes to favored foods, such as strawberries, or holidays. Searches can be filtered by calorie count, cooking time, or ingredients.

“We like to ‘eat our own dog food’ at Google, meaning we like to test our own products and features ourselves before releasing them for public consumption,” Goel said.

“With Recipe View, we’ve taken this more literally than usual.”

The feature is to be rolled out to other countries after it becomes more seasoned.

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The SNHC, comprised of the Philippine Medical Association of Nevada, Philippine Nurses Association of Nevada, Center for Disease Control & Prevention, and Shots4Tots, in coordination with the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) partnered with the Asian-American Chamber of Commerce to provide free flu shots to Asian American residents of Las Vegas and neighboring cities. All in all, the SNHC has provided free immunization to close to 1,000 residents from September 2010 when it began its annual drive till February 2011.

The Annual Immunization Drive started in September 2010 with a press conference with the Asian-American media to assist in disseminating the importance of getting flu shots before the onset of winter time. The press conference was initiated by New America Media (NAM) headed by its long-time executive director Sandy Close.

Then came a full Immunization Drive held at the Seafood City and Asian Seafood Market, Chaiya Meditation Monastery, and the Sikh Temple in Las Vegas from November till December; and at the Greenland Supermarket in February this year.

The Annual Immunization campaign benefits not only the Asian American communities but everyone who feels the need for flu shots to combat common ailments associated with winter particularly the seasonal flu epidemic.

The SNHC (or COALITION) is assisted by numerous volunteers from the medical professions such as nurses and doctors, pharmacists, and healthcare providers, students and youths and the media that provide coverage to disseminate information city-wide.

The last free flu shots event was attended by PMAN president Dr. Ben Calderon, Dr. Teresita Melocoton, Dr. Lynn Quisumbing, Sheila Rivera and Carolyn Seward from SNHD, Dr. Cristina Madison – a pharmacist and professor with University of Southern Nevada who brought along her student volunteers Sarah Moore, Rachel Moore, Quynh Nguyen and Soyoung Eom, PNAN-RNs Fernando and Helen Ymson, Cynthia Narciso, Malou Richard, Sergio and Amelia Abella and their kids Allen and Adrian, youth volunteers Will Vicuna, Jr.,Ian Butler and Andy Luong, Vida Lin and the ever-present Nestor Melocoton.

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Miss Colorado USA Blair Griffith and her mother have been living with a family friend since being evicted last November, after her father died and her mother suffered a heart attack.

She had only been crowned the previous month. “It was a difficult thing to go through to sit there and go, ‘Where are we going to go now?’” the 23-year-old told local 9news TV station.

Her troubles started nine years ago, when her father Gary died of cancer.

“I was sad. But I said, ‘I can’t spend my time being so sad about it because I know my dad,’” she said. “He wanted to see so much out of me.”

She won Miss Colorado Teen USA in 2006 on her fourth try – but then three years ago her mother Bonita had a heart attack, leading to major surgery which tested the family’s finances.

“Financially, it became difficult for us,” said Griffith, a magna cum laude graduate of the Art Institute of Colorado.

Then, as well losing her home, she is losing her job at a local branch of Saks Fifth Avenue, which is closing in March.

“You do sit there and go, ‘Oh gosh, not again.’ But at the same time I think it’s almost like a test…to see if you can handle it, and what will you make out of your situation.”

Her next target is the national Miss USA title, to be decided at a pageant in Las Vegas on June 19.

“I could sit here and go, OK, ‘I’m technically homeless, and going through so much.’ But how can I complain when I have this great title, Miss Colorado USA, at the same time?”

“I have no place to complain about anything that’s going on in my life. There’s so many people that are going through the same exact situation. I hope to inspire people,” she added.

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Tickets, which are pegged at $58 and $38 are on sale at 3 p.m., February 28, with no service charge at the Pala Box Office in the casino, or call 1-877-WIN PALA (1-877-946-7252). Tickets also are available at Star Tickets, 1-800-585-3737, or http://www.startickets.com.

Pala is located in Northern San Diego County; from San Diego/Riverside, take I-15 to Highway 76 east five miles; from Los Angeles County and Orange County , take I-5 south to Highway 76 east, then travel 23 miles. Pala is 15 miles north of Escondido , 12 miles south of Temecula. The Casino’s complete address: 11154 Highway 76, Pala , CA 92059; Telephone:1-877-WIN-PALA (1-877-946-7252); Web site: http://www.palacasino.com

Other shows coming to Pala are as follows:

*Chuck Berry and Chubby Checker 10th Anniversary Concert, 8 p.m., Friday, April 1. Events Center. Tickets, $60, $50, $40, $30, at http://www.startickets.com.

*Jason Aldean, 8 p.m., Thursday, April 7. Events Center. Tickets, $135, $100, $75, $65, at http://www.startickets.

*Gabriel Iglesias, 8 p.m., Friday, May 6. Starlight Outdoor Theater. Tickets, $75, $40, $35, $25, at http://www.startickets.com.

*The Marvelous Platters (A Tribute) With Guest Lani Misalucha, 4 p.m., Saturday, May 7, Events Center. Tickets: $98, $78, $48, at http://www.startickets.com.

*Pala PBR Touring Pro Division Bull Riding, 2 p.m. Saturday/Sunday, May 21-22, Pala Rodeo Grounds. Tickets, $28, $48, $58, at http://www.startickets.com.

Pala Casino Spa & Resort, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2011, includes a Las Vegas-style casino with 2,000 slot machines, 15 poker tables and 87 table games; a 507-room hotel; a 10,000-square-foot, full-service spa and salon that features 14 treatment rooms; a state-of-the-art fitness center; swimming pool with 12 private poolside cabanas, and dual-temperature outdoor Jacuzzi. Pala also offers 10 restaurants and 40,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.

Pala Casino Spa & Resort is an AAA Four-Diamond Award winner for seven consecutive years. Its state-of-the-art Pala Spa was named the 2009 Best Casino Spa by Spas of America and the 2009 Best Casino Spa by the Southern California Gaming Guide.

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Pascual said it brings him joy to know that he was part of fulfilling someone’s dreams.

“She’s always been passionate about cooking, kaya when she expressed her desire about cooking, sabi ko I’ll support her kasi mahirap naman limitahin ang skills ng tao,” he said.

Pascual said he’s also looking forward to more delicious cuisines now that Marcampo has learned to cook more dishes.

Marcampo, on the other hand, was very delighted to see Pascual during her graduation rites.

According to her, she’s very blessed to have met the actor.

“Ang laking pasasalamat sa 10 taon ko sa kanya. Ang dami kong na-achieve…kaya Papa P thank you thank you talaga dahil nandiyan ka. Ikaw ang susmusuporta sa akin. Sa lahat ng nangyayari sa akin ikaw ang nasa likod ko,” she said.

Marcampo also promised not to leave Pascual even if she plans to put up a restaurant of her own in the future.

“Ang plano ko after graduation, since nasa showbiz naman ako, kailangan ko muna atang mag-showbiz at mag-ipon para magkaroon ng puhunan kasi gusto ko magtayo ng restaurant para magamit ko eyong napag-aralan ko…Sa tingin ko hindi [ako mag-re-resign as yaya ni Piolo] bilang kalahati ng puhunan ko ay galing sakanya,” Marcampo said.

She studied Kitchen Management for a year at the Academy of International Culinary Arts. Pascual was the one who spent for her education.

“Siya nagpaaral sa akin kasi pangmayaman itong eskwelahan na ito. Kung wala si Papa P hindi ako makakapag-aral dito, wala ako dito,” she said.

Last year, Marcampo joined the celebrity edition of Survivor Philippines in GMA 7 but she got eliminated.

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The millions who saw the fight live and on HBO grimaced at the sight of the fallen Mexican champion in an epileptic-like fits after being smacked with a stunning left to the jaw which was akin to being hit a block of concrete. The referee sensing danger of more damage to the boxer stopped the fight scheduled for 12 rounds. With his conquest Donaire is said to have earned $350 grand.

Boxing is a bloody sport that pays big dividends for the disciplined athletes. It is also a very lucrative enterprise for those involved in the game – the promoters, the television networks, the trainers and many others. Although mired in pain and hardships, boxers disregard them as they box their way to fame and fortune.

The world idolizes winners and share the glories of the victors albeit vicariously. Many boxing figures bear the trauma and effects of the brutal sport many years after.

We were mesmerized by the skill, power and showmanship in the ring of Muhammad Ali for many years. We have marveled at the tall, handsome Ken Norton who broke Ali’s jaw in 1973. How are they now? Muhammad Ali has had far and between public appearances and whenever he does, his noticeable gait and shake because of Parkinson’s Disease has driven people to sympathize with the former boxing great. Many believe that his present condition is the result of the punishment he received in his long boxing career starting at the Olympics. But many believe that his condition is traceable to genetics.

One of those who dealt him a good beating and “broke his jaw” was Ken Norton, the all-around athlete from Illinois who had forced his state “to change its high school track and field entry rules because he had won all eight events he tried”. The once boxing idol now walks along behind a walker.

Our own man, Manny Pacquiao considers being in the ring as an opportunity to give all his best all for a good show and satisfy his millions of followers who are willing to part with their bucks for an opportunity to see him reduce his opponent to a pulp. For doing a good work and really being serious about his craft, he is being rewarded handsomely not only in monetary terms but a rightful place in history.

His saga has become an inspiration to many young boxers who want to follow his footsteps to fame and fortune. Even his mom’s appeal to consider quitting the lucrative sport has fallen on deaf ears as she could not stomach what she witnesses on the ring every time his son fights. Call it mother instinct but her fears have basis in fact in truth.

What happens when a boxer over a period of time continues to be pummeled with strong punches to the head? Manny Pacquiao has been fighting for over a decade and has considerably absorbed heavy punches in his head and body. Ex-boxers are more vulnerable to disease and in old age. Findings have revealed that they are more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Any activity that involves blows to the body, especially the head is risky and boxing has serious effects in those who engage in it. Boxing ranks high as a dangerous sport and a good number has died as a result of the brutal encounters.

About 90 percent of boxers sustain a brain injury, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. The sport could account for fewer deaths but it doesn’t mitigate the fact that boxers who suffer from brain damage are higher that recorded. Head injuries are common in boxing and when a boxer gets direct blow to the head, it is like being hit by a 12-pound padded, wooden mallet traveling at 20 miles per hour and can cause fractures to the bone of the head and face and tissue damage in the brain.

A blow can damage the surface of the brain, tear nerve networks, cause lesions, bleeding and sometimes produce large clots within the brain.

Professional boxers most especially suffer from cumulative effect of damage to the brain often resulting in “Punch Drunk Syndrome.” PDS is neurological disorder commonly caused by repeated blows to the head in contact sports such as boxing and the victims “become unsteady when standing, fatuous, euphoric, voluble when speaking, and even aggressive.” Memory and intellect may become impaired and, in advanced cases, may lead to chronic headaches and seizures.

In spite of the danger, many boxers will most likely choose to continue with their sport as it provides one of the fastest ways to fame and fortune. There’s really no indication or marker that says stop when one has achieved what he has dreamed of. Success and fortunes have the uncanny way also of making people drunk and lose their sense of direction. Success has its other painful and tragic sides too.

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Now it’s time for me to pass-it-on.

As many of my readers and clients may know, I launched the Marlou Colina Make-up line last year and – thanks to all of you – it’s been a huge hit.

What you may not know, is that this year we are launching the Marlou Colina Make-Over Consultant Program. Hundreds of you email, tweet or post your beauty questions on my Facebook Page every month, then many more of you come by the salon for one-on-ones and personal make-overs. This year we are only accepting 20 Make-Over Consultant Applicants. Be amongst the first to sell our special brand of hope.

The Marlou Colina Make-Over Consultant Program is the perfect opportunity for ladies and gentleman who want free make-up for themselves and also enjoy the rush of the make-over. When you buy your Marlou Colina Make-Over Kit, which includes a personal mini make-over session every season, pads, brushes, enough product to tackle 25 of your best friends and of course, me. You’ll get all of the tips you’ve read here on Balita dot com and more of my “Tricks of the Trade” for free!

The trip back home was eye-opening for me. Many people have giggled at me giving food, clothes and make-up to the locals. But, those people missed the purpose, what I really was giving away was food, clothes and HOPE. A mini-make-over puts a smile on a person’s face and gives them the confidence to get that job interview, the promotion, or just makes you feel pretty.

I want to take the Discover the Beautiful You brand to the next level. Being the generous culture that we are, let’s give the gift of beauty this year. Become a Make-Over Consultant with Marlou Colina and you’ll discover the passion that I have for beauty. Whether you want to earn extra income from sales commissions, learn the art of make-up and styling or you just would love to never need to pay for your make-up again, give us a call.

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Fried Chicken Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 kilo chicken, cut into pieces
-1/4 cup of white vinegar
-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
-1 cup of water
-2 cups cooking oil
-Salt and pepper to taste

Fried Chicken Cooking Instructions:

• In a pot, simmer chicken in vinegar, garlic, water, salt and pepper.
• Remove just before the chicken is fully cooked.
• Strain off liquid.
• In a frying pan or wok, heat oil and deep fry the chicken until golden brown
• Place on paper towel to remove excess oil
• Serve hot with rice and sliced cucumber or atchara on the side.

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Recently caught drug traffickers have reported making initial contact with their foreign employers through a range of Internet forums, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman Derrick Arnold Carreon said.

“Somebody can ‘like’ you on Facebook, or request to be a friend and the next thing you know you are frequently chatting with them, and eventually they will offer you travels abroad,” Carreon told AFP.

“This is now one of the most common modes of online recruitment being used by international drug syndicates.

“It’s not just on Facebook, but any online medium or social networking site. It is becoming a worrying trend.”

Carreon said people from impoverished countries, such as the Philippines, were highly susceptible to promises of making quick profits and the chance to escape harsh economic realities at home.

They are then forced into becoming drug mules, a term used for people trafficking drugs, often by swallowing them or by hiding them inside their private parts, Carreon said.

Their plight was recently in the spotlight after the Philippines secured a stay of execution for three Filipino drug traffickers sentenced to death in China.

Filipino authorities appealed for mercy, saying the mules were from poor backgrounds and were themselves victims of the drug syndicates.

There are 22.65 million Filipinos on Facebook, making the Philippines the fifth largest market for the popular social networking site, according to online trends specialist Check Facebook com

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The tigers, two Burmese pythons, three Indian tortoises and different breeds of cats and dogs were all rescued unharmed, according to the national environment department’s wildlife rescue center.

“The tigers were in sealed enclosures, about 50 by 15 feet (15.2 by 4.5 meters). The animals are apparently in good condition,” said Riza Salinas, head of the rescue center.

The house, in a gated Manila suburb, was a two-story building with a large backyard where the tigers were kept in their cages.

The animals were registered to a private citizen to keep as pets on his farm outside the capital but he had no permit to keep them on a small property in the city, said regional wildlife division chief Primo Capistrano.

“We will be inquiring if this guy has commercialized them, if he is breeding them and doing other things,” said Capistrano.

The owner could face charges for illegal transport of wild animals, which is punishable by a year in jail, Capistrano added.

Wildlife officials had confiscated the pythons and tortoises, but the tigers were remaining in the cages for the time being, according to Salinas.

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Aguilera, 30, was a passenger in a car that was stopped about 2:45 a.m. (5:45 a.m. ET) in West Hollywood, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

“The driver, Matthew Rutler, was determined to be driving while under the influence of alcohol and arrested,” the statement said.

Since the singer was not able to care for herself “and no one was available to ensure her safety, Aguilera was taken into custody,” the statement said.

The department “stressed that she was not involved in any criminal activity and will be released when she can safely care for herself.”

However, the sheriff’s department website indicated she was being held in lieu of $250 bail.

Rutler’s bail was set at $30,000, according to the website.

Aguilera divorced Jordan Bratman earlier this year.

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“I just love it,” she says. “I crave it, need it. My food tastes better with it.”

Talles sounds a lot like an addict. Replace her ever-present glass of Diet Coke with a cigarette, and she’d make a convincing two-pack-a-day smoker. In fact, she says, she buys her 2-liter bottles 10 at a time – more if a hurricane is in the offing – because if she notices she’s down to her last one, she panics “like somebody who doesn’t have their pack of cigarettes.”

Most diet-soda drinkers aren’t as gung ho as Talles, but people who down several diet sodas per day are hardly rare. Government surveys have found that people who drink diet beverages average more than 26 ounces per day (some drink far more) and that 3% of diet-soda drinkers have at least four daily.

Are these diet-soda fiends true addicts? And if so, what are they addicted to? The most obvious answer is caffeine – but that doesn’t explain the many die-hard diet drinkers who prefer caffeine-free varieties.

Factors besides caffeine are likely at work. Although diet soda clearly isn’t as addictive as a drug like nicotine, experts say the rituals that surround diet soda and the artificial sweeteners it contains can make some people psychologically – and even physically – dependent on it in ways that mimic more serious addictions. And unlike sugared soda, which will make you gain weight if you drink too much of it, zero-calorie soda doesn’t seem to have an immediate downside that prevents people from overindulging.

“You think, ‘Oh, I can drink another one because I’m not getting more calories,’” says Harold C. Urschel, MD, an addiction psychiatrist in Dallas and the author of Healing the Addicted Brain. “Psychologically you’re giving yourself permission.”

How diet soda trains your brain

The simplest explanation for a serious diet-soda habit is caffeine. Many people who chain-drink diet soda may be caffeine addicts who simply prefer soda to coffee or energy drinks, though diet soda doesn’t provide much of a kick by comparison. (A can of Diet Coke contains four to five times less caffeine than a small Starbucks coffee.)

Caffeine can’t account for Steve Bagi’s habit, however. The 44-year-old graphic designer from Chester Springs, Pa., gets his morning buzz from an enormous cup of coffee, yet he still buys caffeine-free Diet Pepsi by the case and downs six cans a day, “easy.”

His Diet Pepsi cravings stem from a prior addiction to nicotine, not caffeine. “It’s all tied to smoking,” says Bagi, who smoked a pack a day for 20 years and started drinking diet soda to mask the aftertaste of cigarettes. He eventually kicked the smoking habit – but the Diet Pepsi one stuck.

Trading one addiction or compulsive behavior for another – a phenomenon known as addiction swapping – is a well-known concept in addiction medicine, one that may explain Bagi’s experience and that of other heavy diet-soda drinkers. Many people who drink diet soda are trying to lose (or keep off) weight by eating healthier, and they may turn to the sweetness of diet soda for comfort as they scale back on sugar, carbohydrates, and other satisfying foods – much like a heroin addict who steps down to Oxycontin, Dr. Urschel says.

Similarly, people may get hooked on diet soda because they associate it with a certain activity or behavior, as Bagi did with smoking. “You can get into a situation where you crave a diet soda by conditioning yourself,” Dr. Urschel says. “[If] you stop for gas and always get a diet soda, the craving will start to come first, before you even pull into the station.”

The psychological components of diet-soda cravings are powerful, but they aren’t the whole story. Research suggests that the artificial sweeteners in diet soda (such as aspartame) may prompt people to keep refilling their glass because these fake sugars don’t satisfy like the real thing.

In a 2008 study, for instance, women who drank water that was alternately sweetened with sugar and Splenda couldn’t tell the difference – but their brains could. Functional MRI (fMRI) brain scans revealed that even though both drinks lit up the brain’s reward system, the sugar did so more completely.

“Your senses tell you there’s something sweet that you’re tasting, but your brain tells you, ‘Actually, it’s not as much of a reward as I expected,’” says Martin P. Paulus, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego, and one of the authors of the study. “The consequence might be that the brain says, ‘Well, I’ll have more of this.’”

In other words, artificial sweeteners may spur drinkers – or their brains – to keep chasing a “high” that diet soda keeps forever just out of reach. It’s not clear that this teasing effect can lead to dependence, but it’s a possibility, Dr. Paulus says. “Artificial sweeteners have positive reinforcing effects – meaning humans will work for it, like for other foods, alcohol, and even drugs of abuse,” he says. “Whenever you have that, there is a potential that a subgroup of people…will have a chance of getting addicted.”

Timothy S. Harlan, MD, a nutrition specialist and assistant professor of internal medicine at the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, says that while diet-soda dependence appears to be a real phenomenon, it is probably caused by a complex mix of behavioral factors, not necessarily artificial sweeteners. “I don’t think there is clear-cut evidence of biochemical dependence on diet soda, but my sense is that certainly people do become habituated to diet soda and dependent upon it,” he says.

Are you hooked?

According to the American Psychiatric Association, a key sign of substance dependence is when a person continues to use a substance even when he or she knows it’s causing physical or mental health problems.

Talles fits this description. She was diagnosed with brittle bones about six years ago, and her internist urged her to quit Diet Coke because the phosphoric acid in soda – both diet and regular – leaches calcium from bones, which can make osteoporosis worse.

She’s not having it, though. “It’s not like I smoke or have any other bad habits,” she says. “This is my thing.” All the same, Talles acknowledges that drinking so much diet soda is probably not good for her, so in the last couple of months, she’s started substituting one of her daily Diet Cokes for a caffeinated Crystal Light.

Another distinguishing feature of substance dependence – whether it’s to caffeine, nicotine, or hard drugs like heroin – is the painful withdrawal symptoms that occur if a person tries to quit cold turkey. Although it’s difficult to pinpoint whether aspartame, caffeine, or some combination of ingredients is responsible, people who cut back on diet soda report symptoms such as headaches, nausea, and irritability – a feeling that Talles knows well.

She still remembers with horror a European vacation in 1982 during which she couldn’t find diet soda for weeks. (This was still the infancy of diet soda; Diet Coke had just been released.) “I felt terribly lethargic and I had a headache,” Talles recalls. “I tried to drink tea, but it didn’t work the same way. …I was having terrible withdrawal.” When she finally found a vendor who sold Tab, four weeks into the trip, she bought every can he had.

Catharina Hedberg, the owner of the Ashram, a wellness retreat nestled in California’s Santa Monica Mountains, has seen what she believes is aspartame withdrawal firsthand. She claims that as many as 20% of the people who visit the Ashram are “totally addicted” to aspartame, mainly from diet drinks. “Withdrawals are horrendous,” Hedberg says, even among those who drink caffeine-free diet soda.

Before guests arrive at the retreat, Hedberg sends them a packet of literature that, among other things, encourages them to stop consuming diet soda and other products that contain aspartame. Although her observations are admittedly unscientific, Hedberg says that people who drink a lot of diet soda tend to experience nausea (and sometimes even vomiting) one to two days after arriving at the retreat, whereas coffee drinkers typically just get headaches.

The dangers of too much diet soda

Whether you feel dependent or not, drinking too much diet soda might be risky in the long run. In recent years, habitual diet-soda consumption has been linked to an increased risk of low bone mineral density in women, type 2 diabetes, and stroke. What’s more, a growing body of research suggests that excessive diet soda intake may actually encourage weight gain.

Researchers are still trying to sort out the counterintuitive link between zero-calorie soda and weight gain. One explanation may be that as your body gets used to experiencing the sweet flavor of diet soda without absorbing any calories, it begins to forget that foods containing real sugar and other carbohydrates do deliver calories.

“The next time you go for a piece of fruit, your history says, ‘I don’t know if this has calories or not,’ so you track those calories less well, and you may eat more of them,” says Susan Swithers, PhD, a professor of psychological sciences at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

It’s also possible that people who gravitate toward diet soda are more likely to gain weight because they have less healthy diets overall than people who choose water or other unsweetened beverages. (They may use diet soda to wash down fast food, for instance.)

If a relationship between diet soda and unhealthy food choices does exist, it may not be a total coincidence. There is some speculation – largely unconfirmed, as of yet – that diet sodas have subtle effects on insulin and blood-sugar levels that trigger hunger and food cravings and influence how (and what) you eat.

None of this, however, is enough to persuade Talles or Bagi to swear off their habit. They simply have a hard time imagining life without diet soda.

“I’d like to quit, and I know my wife would like me to,” Bagi says. “I would like it to happen within the next year, but I’m not counting on it.”

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Over 1,000 students “decathletes” from 104 schools will be competing in this event. In addition to the students, four to five thousand parents and friends cheer them on in the stands.

The Decathlon is the largest junior high educational competition in Southern California for students in 6th to 8th grades. The top ten best and brightest students from every participating school will compete for the title as Decathletes of the Year. Last year’s winner, Notre Dame Academy School (Los Angeles) will defend its title to keep the perpetual trophy.

The Academic Junior High Decathlon is a ten event competition featuring two collaborative team events: a rigorous Logic Quiz with 20 rigorous thinking problems, along with a “Super Quiz” finale with 50 multiple choice questions that encompass five broad academic themes (Religion, Literature, Science, Art, and Geography). The remaining eight events test individual knowledge of the Roman Catholic doctrine, English, Literature, Math, Science, Social Studies, Fine Arts (Art and Music) and Current Events. Awards are given for individual and team performance, and the winning school team will compete with other dioceses’ winner in a state championship the first Saturday of May.

The Decathlon promotes academic preeminence and educational values in parochial schools. It celebrates the diversity, excellence and tradition of California’s Catholic schools. Principals and individuals volunteer their time to make this event happen. Moreover, it recognizes the contributions of parents, teachers, school administrators, and business and community members in supporting high standards for all students.

Councilmember Tom Labonge will open the Decathlon with a host of community leaders and television personalities who will serve as Super Quiz readers. They include: Dr. Kevin Baxter, Superintendent, Department of Catholic Elementary Schools, Dr. Shane Martin, 2nd Dean, College of Education, Loyola Marymount University, Ms. Lindsey Myers, Emmy Award winner, Walter Samoi, Featherweight boxing champ and civic leader, Tanyella Evans, Director of Artists for Peace, and Marc Cayce, movie producer and writer. The Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Co-Adjutor Jose Gomez. The Sacred Heart of Jesus Music Ministry headed by Art Saranglao will perform the liturgical songs.

Serving her fourth year as the Director and Chairperson of the Decathlon, Mrs. Josephine Solomonson believes that the best way to ensure a bright future for our nation is to invest on our children. “The best investment is bringing our students closer to God and helping them maximize their full potential to become excellent future leaders,” Mrs. Solomonson said. ”The Decathlon serves as an avenue that promotes collaborative spirit and cooperative learning skills. Its mission is to bring forth those academic talents and celebrate them in the context of spirit-filled competition.”

This year, 104 schools will be represented at the competition on March 5th, 2011. Several schools are participating for the first time. These schools are: St. Philomena (Carson), St. Louise De Marillac (Covina), St. Therese (Alhambra), Holy Cross (Ventura), St. Lucy (Long Beach), St. Margaret Mary (Lomita), St. Rose of Lima (Maywood), Santa Rosa De Lima (San Fernando) and St. Bernadette (Los Angeles).

The Catholic Schools Academic Decathlon was founded in September, 1989 by Dr. Mark Ryan who was then a junior high teacher at St. Aloysius School in south-central Los Angeles. Dr. Ryan had a vision for an academic event to parallel the athletic competitions so prevalent in schools. What began as a tiny competition involving a handful of schools from the greater Los Angeles area has grown to become a statewide event involving Catholic junior high students from across the United States . The Decathlon is now under the guiding jurisdiction of the California Catholic State Superintendents Curriculum Committee.

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Filed by Senators Pia Cayetano and Lito Lapid, the resolutions said the Philippine Senate has in several occasions paid tribute to outstanding Filipino athletes and Donaire is no exception due to his astonishing feat that gave another pride and glory to the country.

“The Senate commends Nonito ‘The Filipino Flash’ Donaire Jr. for successfully bagging the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization Bantamweight Crowns,” Cayetano and Lapid said.

The two lawmakers also noted Donaire’s discipline and determination to win which, they believe, secured his victories, and said that “the supreme athlete serves as an inspiration and shining example for all Filipinos, especially the youth.”

“The feat is no ordinary one as Montiel is considered one of the best fighters in the world, a tested veteran who is rated No. 7 on the ring’s Top 10 pound-for-pound list and has lost only two close decisions in career,” the senators stressed.

The 28-year-old Donaire dethroned Montiel with a powerful left hook to the head, gaining him a record of 26-1 with 18 knockouts.

The Senate unanimously adopted both resolutions after Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago questioned the legality of the sport of boxing, saying that “pummeling each other promotes violence and reduces the sport to man’s inhumanity to man,” to which Cayetano replied that there are rules specifically imposed to prevent violence in sports.

Senate Resolution Nos. 391 and 387, co-sponsored by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, sought to congratulate Donaire for being an outstanding boxer and for “bringing honor and pride to the country.”

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What is it?

A K-1 visa allows a foreign fiancé lawful entry in the U.S. in order to marry a U.S. citizen. Once you are married, your spouse will need to file for an adjustment of status. It is important to note that this method will in essence provide your loved one with lawful entry into the U.S., and provides a 90-day window period to get married. It is to be distinguished from other immigrant spouse visas, the CR-1 and IR-1 visa. These visas are for immediate relatives and once obtained will provide lawful permanent residence into the U.S. and no adjustment of status filing will be required.

The process of obtaining a visa can be complicated depending on your particular circumstance. As with all immigration issues, it is best to consult with a qualified immigration attorney for help at the beginning of your immigration journey. Having legal guidance will prevent mistakes being made, resulting in frustrating delays.

In order to get the ball rolling, you will need to file Form I-129F with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In this petition, you will be representing that you are in fact single, and are eligible to be married. You will also need to prove that you have an existing relationship with your fiancé. As far as proving your relationship, you will need to provide cancelled airline tickets or passport stamps to show you have been in a relationship within the past two years.

Once this petition is approved, your fiancé will be able to complete the process and receive the K-1 visa. The USCIS will forward the petition to the American consular office in your fiancé’s country. The consular’s office will request that your finance submit various documents such as their passport, birth certificate and vaccination records. Once in the U.S., the foreign fiancé will need to submit additional documentation, have a medical exam and be interviewed for their visa.

Requirements:

Your fiancé must be physically outside the U.S., and be a citizen of another country. Also, as a couple you must be able to prove that you have a genuine intention to marry. It is important that you both are in the position to marry each other within 90 days of entering the U.S. The marriage must occur within the 90-day period.

Do I Need a Lawyer?

While you may be tempted to try to navigate the immigration process yourself, it is not recommended. Having your fiancé safely arrive in the U.S. is just too important to take short cuts. There are many details to attend to, and mistakes can result in your fiancé’s visa being delayed or denied all together.

Contact the Law Offices of James G. Beirne for advice and guidance. Immigration law can be complex and it is important to approach the matter with a lawyer guiding you through the process. Our office has helped thousands of clients gain lawful entry into the United States, and we can help you too. We provide immigration services including family, fiancé and employment petitions, student and investor visas, visa extensions, naturalization and much more. Come in to speak with an immigration lawyer from our team. We will provide you with sound legal advice as well as a free consultation. Contact us today. We have three locations to serve you, Glendale (818) 552-4500, Cerritos (562) 865-4480 and West Covina (626) 262-4446. With your first appointment, you will receive legal guidance and a free consultation, so call today.

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The USCIS cannot, however, force applicants to suffer through “unreasonable delays” for their applications to be completed. Individuals who have had enough waiting may safely seek the intervention of the United States District Court as a “last resort” to have their cases adjudicated fairly.

In order to obtain a green card, become a United States Citizen or seek any other benefit available under US immigration Law, individuals must file applications or petitions with the USCIS. The USCIS has been criticized for the long delays in processing cases, which can cause people hardship in restricting their ability to travel and seek new employment opportunities.

The rules applicable to all Federal Agencies in the United States require that the agencies act on applications within a “reasonable time.” The measure of what length of time is “reasonable” is dependent on many factors, including the average processing time for similar applications. The average processing time alone, however, cannot justify outrageous delays, and, at a certain point, may be unreasonable itself.

At present, USCIS is taking over one year to process an I-140 Petition for Immigrant Worker. This length of time is unreasonable for a person who has less than six months time to remain in the United States in his current status, because he could lose eligibility for adjustment of status if he stays in the US for more than six months after his status expires.

In the Los Angeles District, interviews for basic applications are scheduled within 6-8 months of filing; however, the USCIS does not approve many cases for months following the interview date. The USCIS attributes much of reason for delays to due to progressive security clearances and fingerprint checks, but these checks are conducted electronically and should not require more than 60-90 days to complete.

Three years ago, USCIS Associate Director of Domestic Operations, Michael Aytes, issued a memorandum revising CIS’ policy of requiring complete background clearances before an application for adjustment of status may be approved. The Memo sets forth the new policy, in which the CIS, in cooperation with the FBI, will render final decisions on pending I-485 and I-601 (waiver applications) will be adjudicated within 180 days of receipt. This policy is in accord with Congressional mandate and will greatly reduce the waiting period for adjustment of status in most cases.

CIS continues to initiate the required background checks upon the receipt of applications for adjustment of status. Once the application has been pending 180 days, however, if the application is other wise approvable, CIS will adjudicate the application and issue the green card without the background check results.

Under this new policy, CIS will retain the files of cases where the application has been adjudicated pending the results of the background clearance. If the background clearance reveals a criminal history or other potential basis for ineligibility, DHS will render a determination as to whether rescission or removal proceedings should be initiated against the alien.

The CIS also has continued its requirement that all applicable background clearances must be obtained before adjudicating N-400, Applications for Naturalization. An applicant for naturalization, however, may seek the intervention of a US District Court Judge if more than 120 days have passed since the interview and no decision has been rendered.

With Naturalization, if no interview has been scheduled within six months of filing, an applicant can seek an order from a Federal Judge requiring the USCIS to schedule an interview. Once the interview is complete, the Immigration & Nationality Act requires that the USCIS grant or deny an application within 120 days. After that time, the Applicant may file a motion to have a Federal Judge decide the Naturalization case.

Whether Federal Court intervention is appropriate depends on the facts and circumstances of each case. The question of how long is too long merely depends on the individual applicant’s desire to have his case finished once it has been pending beyond a reasonable time.

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Consequently, the massive number of removal cases has excessively burdened the EOIR, as well as DHS’ trial attorneys, known as the Office of Chief Counsel (OCC) (which is part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unit).

In an effort to resolve some of the excessive delays caused by the increase in removal cases, John Morton, the Assistant Secretary for ICE, released a policy memorandum on August 20, 2010, aimed to provide assistance to some individuals faced with removal proceedings. The policy memorandum outlined a framework for ICE to request expedited processing of a petition that is pending before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS). The memorandum also outlined circumstances that would warrant the termination of removal proceedings against the individual.

On February 4, 2011, the CIS issued its own memorandum implementing the policies set forth in the ICE memorandum. Both CIS and the OCC are now coordinating their efforts in identifying and processing cases that warrant expedited handling and termination of removal proceedings in order to alleviate the excessive backlogs currently faced by the immigration courts.

The first component of the memorandums, expediting certain petitions pending before the CIS, is important because the EOIR often cannot issue a favorable decision for an individual in removal proceedings until the CIS issues a final approval on an underlying petition, such as an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative or I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. For example, an immigration judge cannot grant an individual married to a U.S. citizen a green card until the CIS approves the I-130 Relative Petition. In July 2009, the EOIR identified approximately 17,000 removal cases that were delayed simply because the CIS had not yet issued a final decision on the I-130 Relative Petition. This not only prolongs the ability for the individual to favorably resolve the removal case and move forward in life, but it also wastes the EOIR and ICE’s time and resources.

Under the memorandums, the OCC will now affirmatively request expedited handling of pending petitions with the CIS. For detained individuals, the CIS will seek to render a final decision within 30 days of receipt of the file from ICE. For non-detained individuals, the goal is for CIS to render a final decision within 45 days. This would be a tremendously positive reform as most pending petitions are presently taking several months, if not years, to process.

The second component of ICE’s policy memorandum is of great encouragement as it reinforces ICE’s policy that prosecutorial discretion should be used to terminate removal proceedings against certain individuals not deemed to be of high risk. The memorandum states that the OCC should seek to terminate removal proceedings against an individual, whether detained or non-detained, if the individual appears to be eligible for relief from removal. If the individual is detained, termination of removal proceedings would allow the individual to be released from custody.

The factors that the OCC is to use in determining whether a removal case should be terminated are as follows: 1) The individual must be the beneficiary of a petition that would immediately render the individual eligible for adjustment of status; 2) The individual appears eligible for relief as a matter of law and in the exercise of discretion; 3) The individual must present a completed adjustment application, if required; and 4) The individual must be statutorily eligible for adjustment of status, including any required waivers. Unless there are other discretionary factors that warrant continuation of removal proceedings, the policy memorandum clearly outlines ICE’s goal toward streamlining the caseload before the EOIR by terminating removal cases deemed to be of low risk.

The fear that one faces when removal proceedings are initiated can understandably be overwhelming and frightening. The immigration laws are complex and the various policies by the multiple governmental agencies involved can certainly add to the anxiety. The new ICE and CIS policy memorandums should at least aid in alleviating some of the problems faced by individuals in removal proceedings. It is vital, however, that an individual have an immigration attorney attune to the constantly evolving laws and policies to ensure that an individual’s rights are fully protected.

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However, my husband never found work and he would often just stay at home and drink. He often asked me for money and when I did not give him cash, he would scream at me and threaten me to have me deported. I often cried and felt abused. He never hit me or physically abused me but I was scared anyway of him. I finally moved out and abandoned my greencard. What can I do since I can’t say I was abused if there was no physical harm.

Answer: Unfortunately, your situation occurs most often than people think. Spousal abuse is a hidden occurrence that people don’t often discuss because of embarrassment or shame. However, just because you were not physically abused or beaten does not mean that you are not an abused spouse eligible for immigration benefits.

The VAWA, Violence Against Women Act was passed to protect not only women, but men as well from the needless stress and harm of an abusive relationship. The law is supposed to be remedial in nature, that is, it was passed to try to help people and for this reason, it is to be liberally applied by the USCIS. The requirements of the law are not that strict and persons lacking medical records or police reports as evidence of abuse can still qualify.

Abuse can take the form of mental abuse as well as physical abuse. If you were screamed at, threatened, belittled or forced to do things against your will, you may qualify. If you lack medical records of abuse or police reports, you still may qualify. Evidence of abuse can be your own statements, the statements or witnesses or reports by psychologist, social workers, priests or women’s shelters. There is no required format for the supporting evidence so don’t let the lack of documents dissuade you if you feel that you qualify.

Filing under VAWA is unique in that it is one of the only immigration benefits that does not require a legal entry. Entered without inspection? You can file. Lost your passport and proof of entry? You can file. Already in removal or deportation proceedings? You can file. Fiances of American citizens who never married may also be able to apply.

To qualify under VAWA, your spouse or intended spouse must have been a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. You need not have filed permanent residence through your spouse to qualify either.

If you wish to file under VAWA there isn’t even a filing fee. The petition is free. Once approved, you can request work authorization and apply for permanent residence without the petition of your spouse. Filing under VAWA is quite fast as well with most decisions coming in just a matter of months.

So, if you are in a terrible or abusive relationship, don’t let the pursuit of your greencard force you to remain in an undesirable situation. There are alternatives available to you. Before you seek benefits under VAWA or any other law, it is best to speak to a qualified Immigration Attorney so you understand your chances of success and the best plan for you.

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