ALBION — Judy Christopher remembers the naysayers 18 years ago when she and her husband Gene opened Phoenix Fitness in Albion. Many people doubted the small town could support a health club.
But the community has been supportive, with about 150 members who have access to the gym on East Bank Street 24 hours a day, seven days a week through a key-pad system. Customers enter the code and the doors open at all hours of the day.
The Christophers Read the rest of this entry »

SANTA ANA, Calif.—An ex-payroll manager who pleaded guilty to embezzling $487,000 from his Santa Ana employer has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Robert Lee Winn received the sentence in a Santa Ana court Tuesday, after pleading guilty last month to 48 felony counts of fraud and unauthorized computer access.
The 43-year-old Norco man used the payroll computer system of Advanced Medical Optics to make direct deposits into a business Read the rest of this entry »

The US Food and Drug Administration has given marketing approval to a new drug that lowers levels of uric acid in the blood of patients with
gout: the current treatment for the condition was developed over 40 years ago. The new drug is called ULORIC (generic name febuxostat) and Takeda
Pharmaceuticals North America is the sole developer and marketer of the product in the US.
According to a statement from Takeda, febuxostat is a new highly potent Read the rest of this entry »

(CNSNews.com)
– Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said yesterday that some of the spending in the $819-billion stimulus passed by the House of Representatives last week represented important federal spending priorities needed to “make-up for a starvation diet under the Bush Administration.”
McCaskill indicated that the question wasn’t whether all the money approved in the House bill should be spent but whether it should be included Read the rest of this entry »

LOS ANGELES — Several times a day, Shaukat Ali prays in the garden of his daughter’s home — for his family and his health and now, for the economy.
“There is no alternative but to ask our God,” said Ali, 70.
Like many elderly immigrants, Ali dreamed of reuniting with relatives in the United States and working a few years before retiring. But since arriving legally from Pakistan three years ago, Ali has not been able to find a job and Read the rest of this entry »

As the end of the year approaches, many start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. Losing weight is a perennial favorite, and the diet industry is well aware of this. Ads for prepackaged food plans, diet pills, exercise equipment and gym memberships abound in print and on the air waves this time of year. Unfortunately, most of them will not help you lose weight, and some are an outright rip off.
Dr. Barry Groves, author of Eat Fat Get Thin and Read the rest of this entry »

Peggy Greer wasn’t living alone. She had 24-7 care from a home health agency. Because she could take care of most daily functions, the ever-present aides watched television, read magazines, talked on their cell phones. All at a cost of about $26,000 a month.
In desperation, family members consulted with Greer’s doctor at Hillcrest. He examined her and recommended discontinuing the 24-7 care immediately.
The guardian refused.
“Usually, the guardian Read the rest of this entry »

,
student.
, of
, was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty in January to one count of conspiracy to distribute drugs resulting in the death of a juvenile.
According to her plea agreement, Harris and her boyfriend,
, of
, sold drugs that Harris had obtained by prescription.
In July 2007, she sold some methadone pills to 17-year-old Harry Angle III, who died that night of methadone and alcohol intoxication.
Eichelberger was sentenced Read the rest of this entry »

appeared last week, just in time for the inauguration of a president whose support for abortion rights is unqualified. The ad shows the ultrasound image of a fetus in the womb. As the camera slowly moves in, a message gradually appears onscreen:
This child’s future is a broken home.
He will be abandoned by his father.
His single mother will struggle to raise him.
Despite the hardships he will endure. . .
this child will become. . .
the Read the rest of this entry »

Del. man gets 17 years for selling drugs, ID theft
,
man has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for dealing cocaine and his involvement in an identity theft scheme.
, who was sentenced Tuesday in
, must also forfeit more than $40,000 seized from his home last year.
In October,
pleaded guilty to selling more than 110 pounds of cocaine and more than 3 pounds of crack cocaine. According to his plea, Dennis and 38-year-old
of Baltimore Read the rest of this entry »