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Recent evidence suggests that visceral fat cells are active, unlike the fat cells found elsewhere in the body just under the skin, known as subcutaneous fat. Those fat cells are essentially just storage sinks for calories. But visceral fat cells actively secrete hormones and other agents that affect the metabolism of sugar and the way the body burns calories. In people, visceral fat has been linked to metabolic changes, such as higher blood pressure and blood-sugar levels, that increase risk for diabetes and heart disease...
...laws are closing in on a goal that was unthinkable even a few years ago: scrapping the federal sentencing structure established in 1986 that gives far harsher penalties for crack cocaine than for powder cocaine, resulting in prisons packed with low-level, predominantly African American offenders. The mechanism is known as the "100-to-1 drug ratio," which gives crack cocaine 100 times the weight of powder cocaine. Under the ratio, a person convicted of selling five grams of crack - about the weight of a teaspoon of salt - triggers the same five-year mandatory minimum sentence as a person convicted...
...drug lobby argues that an $80 billion commitment is not inconsequential. At least $30 billion will go directly toward discounts that lower the cost of drugs to seniors who get caught in Medicare's infamous gap in coverage known as the "doughnut hole." But the real boost that the drug lobby is giving to the health-reform effort is a political one. Ken Johnson, a spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, insists his organization is wholeheartedly behind the idea of comprehensive health reform. And as he puts it, "We are a force to be reckoned with...
...Export-control officials dispute the experts' estimate that up to 50,000 cars that should have been scrapped may have actually been sold. But there is no statistic to prove or disprove the claim. The cases that are known, such as the cars recently discovered at the Hamburg port, have sparked political furor - not surprising in an election year. Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck demanded an investigation into suspected abuse, while the opposition Free Democrats called for establishing a special police unit to crack down on any clunker-related fraud...
Most youths in the street scene are just as desperate to leave, for to become commercially successful in Iran, an artist or performer must at least have the tacit approval of the theocratic regime. One of the country's best-known rappers, Hichkas (Soroush Lashgari), started out being harshly critical of the regime, but in the past year, he has become increasingly pro-government. In one song, he scolds partygoers who stay out late and get roughed up by the religious police. "He's a total sellout," says a 26-year-old student who now listens to exiled bands like...