White House fights Catholic Church subpoena on birth control

The Obama administration has gone to court to try to block a subpoena from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York seeking White House documents about the government's requirement of insurance coverage for birth control. The subpoena requesting documents from President Barack Obama and his senior advisers would be burdensome to fulfill, the administration said in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the suit also argues that civil subpoenas of the president's executive office are inappropriate except in extraordinary circumstances. The lawsuit was filed on Thursday and released on a court website on Friday. Religious organizations, individuals and corporations have filed scores of suits to block a planned mandate that employers generally include coverage of contraception in health insurance plans they offer workers. Though the mandate has some exceptions for religious employers, the New York archdiocese, one of the largest in the United States, said it expected to incur nearly $200 million each year in penalties if it refuses to comply. The Catholic Church teaches that artificial birth control is sinful because it violates natural law. A judge in Brooklyn federal court allowed an archdiocese lawsuit over the mandate to move forward in December, over the administration's argument that it was premature. A lawyer for the archdiocese declined to comment on Friday on the administration's court action. Obama has been trying to negotiate a settlement of the highly charged dispute, which pits advocates for women's health against those who say a mandate would violate the religious freedom of employers who oppose birth control. A version of the mandate released in February would not apply to churches and other places of worship even when they operate schools and social services. It would apply to others, including religiously affiliated nonprofit groups. But in those cases, it calls on private insurers to cover contraceptives through separate plans for employees, not through the employer's group plan. The mandate was part of the 2010 healthcare law championed by Obama and congressional Democrats. The Justice Department is representing the White House in the subpoena fight. A department spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

News Source:news.yahoo.com

Breastfeeding for Six Months Can Significantly Cut Risk of Cancer Death—As Can Less Alcohol and Staying in Shape, Study Finds

Women still confused by the breast milk vs. formula debate may want to listen up, as a new study has found exclusively breastfeeding your baby for at least six months could cut your chances of dying from cancer and all other diseases by 17 percent—and death by heart disease alone by 8 percent. More on Shine: Breast is Best? One Dad Says No to Breastfeeding The mass study, published online Wednesday in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, examined breastfeeding and other lifestyle recommendations from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and its umbrella World Cancer Research Fund International and their effects on nearly 380,000 people in several European countries over 13 years. More on Yahoo!: Vitamins May Increase Women's Risk of Dying, Research Finds It found that both women and men could cut their risk of death on average by a third, simply by adhering to one or several healthy lifestyle choices: keeping lean but not underweight, eating a plant-based diet, being active for at least 30 minutes daily, avoiding sugary drinks and highly caloric foods, lowering meat intake, and limiting alcohol intake. But findings on the additional breastfeeding recommendation for women represented perhaps the freshest recommendation in the mix. “No previous study has investigated the association between breastfeeding and mortality in the mother,” lead researcher Anne-Claire Vergnaud told Yahoo! Shine. Dr. Vergnaud, of London’s Imperial College faculty of medicine, added that a previous study found “failure to breastfeed” related to an increased risk of premenopausal breast cancer, ovarian cancer, diabetes and other conditions. There are several connections between breastfeeding and longevity, AICR Director of Research Susan Higginbotham explained to Yahoo! Shine. "Longer breastfeeding means fewer menstrual cycles and reduced lifetime exposure to the hormonal factors, especially estrogen, that influence breast cancer risk," she said. "Physical changes in breast tissue that accompany milk production provide some protection as well." She added, that the shedding of breast tissue during lactation and the cell death after also decrease cancer risk, "because cells have potential DNA damage get shed before they can spark the cancer process." There are even benefits for the baby, Dr. Higginbotham said, as breastfeeding decreases the likelihood that a child will be overweight during early adulthood, and being obese or overweight are major risk factors for seven different kinds of cancer. Currently, only 16 percent of women in the U.S. exclusively breastfeed their babies for six months, according to the CDC. That percentage jumps to 36 for those exclusively breastfeeding for three months, and 47 for those who breastfeed for six months but combine it with using other nutrition sources. For the study, researchers examined the data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC), one of the world’s largest ongoing studies of diet, lifestyle and cancer. At the end of the study, nearly 24,000 participants had died of various causes. Participants in the highest healthy-lifestyle score category (5-6 points for men, 6-7 points for women) had a 34 percent lower chance of death than those in the lowest category (0-2 points for men, 0-3 points for women). But even adhering to just one of the lifestyle recommendations—developed by AICR and WCRF in 2007—can save your life, according to the report. Maintaining a healthy BMI, for example, can lower your risk of disease-caused mortality by 22 percent, while eating a plant-based diet can lower it by 21 percent. “We’ve known for years that following AICR’s lifestyle advice could cut the worldwide incidence of cancer cases by about one-third,” Dr. Higginbotham said of the study results. “Today we have evidence on mortality, which shows that this same practical advice could also save millions of lives from cancer and other chronic diseases around the world.”

News Source:shine.yahoo.com

So Your Girlfriend's Mom is Madonna: Lourdes' New Boyfriend

Meeting the parents of your significant other is always nerve-wracking. Dating the daughter of the biggest pop star in the world? We'd guess downright terrifying. Madonna's daughter Lourdes, 17, is reportedly dating a boy from her school. No big deal—unless your mom is a fiercely protective pop icon, your boyfriend is a little famous himself, and everyone in high school, nay, New York, knows about the two of you. Today, New York Post's Page Six "exclusively reported"' that Lourdes is dating classmate and "Homeland" star Timothée Chalamet who plays Finn Walden on the hit Showtime series. The new power couple met at La Guardia High School of Music & Art & Performing Arts (which was the inspiration of the 1980 film "Fame") on Manhattan's Upper West Side where Lourdes, a junior, studies drama and Chalamet is a senior. A source told the New York Post, “It’s common knowledge at the school that the pair are dating" but a spokesperson for Madonna declined to comment to the newspaper and Chalamet's rep didn't get back to them. Chalamet was recently featured with Lourdes and other students in New York magazine's "Reasons to Love New York" issue. He's also appeared on "Law and Order" and in television movies. His Facebook page, where he keeps his fans updated on "Homeland," has over 600 likes and his Twitter account boasts almost 800 followers. But we'd bet that his social media life is about to blow up. It might take more than a bunch of Twitter followers to impress Lourdes's parents. In 2011, her papa, actor and personal trainer Carlos Leon, preached to People that he wasn't looking forward to the day Lourdes began dating. “I’m dreading it . . . because she’s my little girl. I want her to stay young forever. I’m already overprotective, so when the time comes, I will be ready to have a talk with the guy she brings through the door. He better be ready, because I’ll give him the rundown!” he said. And in 2007, Madonna said that Lourdes, then 10, wouldn't be allowed to date for a long time. “No boys for [Lourdes] until she turns 18. She’s a good girl, though. She doesn’t have it easy. Late-night TV, junk food and mess are not tolerated in my house.” Sounds like this romance will have some serious ground rules!

News Source:shine.yahoo.com

Obama budget to offer program cuts,seek deficit deal: official

President Barack Obama will offer cuts to Social Security and other entitlement programs in a budget proposal aimed at swaying Republicans to compromise on a deficit-reduction deal, a senior administration official said on Friday. Under a proposal that would cut the deficit by $1.8 trillion over 10 years, the president will offer to apply a less generous measure of inflation to calculate cost-of-living increases, the official said on condition of anonymity. That change would result in lower payments to some beneficiaries of the Social Security program for retirees and is staunchly opposed by many congressional Democrats as well as labor and retiree groups. Obama would agree to cuts to other so-called entitlement programs, the official said. However, the president will only accept these spending cuts if congressional Republicans, for their part, agree to higher taxes, the official added. The president's budget proposal is due to be laid out in full on Wednesday. The president's renewed offer of fiscal negotiations with congressional Republicans follows a series of bitter battles over taxes and spending that date back to 2011. Obama is eager to put the issue of deficit reduction behind him and move on to other priorities, which include immigration and gun control legislation. "This isn't about political horse trading," the official said. "It's about reducing the deficit in a balanced way that economists say is best for the economy and job creation." Still, several attempts to reach an agreement balancing spending cuts with tax increases have failed, and prospects for a deal remain doubtful. House Speaker John Boehner, who let taxes rise for the wealthiest Americans earlier this year, has said any further revenue increases are off the table. The president also wants to undo at least some of the $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts that went into effect last month through the process known as sequestration. Obama's budget for the fiscal year that starts October 1 will contain a proposal to expand access to early childhood education, the official said. That program will be paid for by increases in tobacco taxes, the official added. In addition, the president will seek to increase revenues by placing a $3 million upper limit on tax-preferred retirement accounts and by barring people from collecting disability benefits and unemployment insurance at the same time, the official said. Analysts who have seen early drafts of the budget proposal say the president was considering cuts to Medicare through reducing payments to health care providers but also by requiring wealthier beneficiaries to pay more out of pocket. Reductions to Social Security and Medicare benefits are highly unpopular among many of the president's strongest supporters and groups have already mobilized to oppose them.

News Source:news.yahoo.com

Chelsea Handler - Chelsea Handler Strips Down In Chelsea Lately Shower Skit

Chelsea Handler’s latest promotional stunt features Conan O’Brien, a shower and weird references to a back massager. Interested yet? Last year, Handler stripped down, again to promote her show Chelsea Lately, but then her co-star was Sandra Bullock. This time, another late night host, Conan, is joining her in the shower. The spot opens with Chelsea entering the show’s staff shower, in her birthday suit, of course, when she’s surprised by Conan. “How do people keep getting in there?” Handler blurts out and the two hosts exchange some heated words. Well, sort of. Conan, with mock indignation, accuses Chelsea of stealing his old Tonight Show set and his parking space. Oh, and his back massager. "I do use that back massager, although I had no idea it was for my back," Handler replies. It’s predictable, but still kind of funny. Then the conversation turns to whether or not Chelsea is a man, whether or not Conan is allowed to hit her and well, it devolves into an awkward slap fight from then on, until Chelsea’s assistant Chui rides in on a scooter – fully naked, of course. We don’t want to spoil the surprise for you, but he may or may not be hitting her with his privates at one point. Definitely not the funniest skit either Chelsea or Conan have done, but hey, if it’s weird enough to keep you watching, then they’ve done their job. You can watch the video below and decide for yourself.

News Source:www.contactmusic.com