“Alex Bustamonte brings a diverse and extensive background to the position of the Inspector General,” stated Commission President Richard Drooyan. “My colleagues and I expect that he will continue to build on the great work of his predecessors.”

Vice President John Mack added, “I am very elated with the selection of Mr. Bustamonte. As the eyes and ears of the Police Commissioners, he has a significant responsibility, and I am confident in his outstanding ability to be just that.”

Alexander Bustamonte has been with the United States Attorney’s Office since January 2002. As an Assistant United States Attorney, he has investigated and prosecuted complex federal white colar crimes, civil rights violations, and violent crimes cases. He has also served as the Financial Fraud Coordinator for the Major Frauds Section since 2008.

Prior to his service with the United States Attorney, Mr. Bustamonte was a Captain in the United States Army serving the Judge Advocate Gereral’s Corps for more than two years in Kosovo.

Mr. Bustamonte is the recipient of several awards for his work with the United States Attorney’s Office including the Department of Justice’s highest award for excellence, the Anti-Defamation League’s Sherwood Prize for Combating Hate, the International Chief of Police’s Civil Rights Award, the American Bar Association’s Hodson Award, and Distinguished Service Awards from the U.S Army, the Governor of California, the Mayor of Los Angeles, and various federal law enforcement agencies.

Mr. Bustamonte holds a Juris Doctor from George Washington University Law School, and Bachelor of Arts from University of California at Berkeley.

As many as seven coyotes have been seen in the backyard of the house that burned last November. While many neighbors don’t want to see them killed, there’s concern the animals have made the gutted remains their home and can’t be relocated.

“When push comes to shove, human life is going to be protected over and above the life of the coyote,” said Ken Pellman, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures.

The agency has been looking at areas where it can set traps. The law requires they euthanize trapped coyotes because relocation could end up doing more damage by killing the animals slowly or adversely affecting another ecosystem by introducing another predator, Pellman said.

Residents of the upscale, historic neighborhood, who include “Dancing with the Stars” alum Mario Lopez, say they moved because they want to be closer to nature. But lately, some say nature is getting too close for comfort.

“They act like they own the place, which they kind of do,” said Michael Hunt, who sees four coyotes lounging in his yard nearly every day. “They’re all over the neighborhood.”

Hunt said he uses an air-horn to scare off the coyotes, but that they come back moments later. He’s worried the animals will eventually claim the area as their territory and will attack his dog and 13-year-old daughter.

“It’s only a matter of time,” he said.

The house, which is boarded up, has been abandoned since the fire and is due to be demolished next week. Neighbors say the coyotes showed up, and in the last six months, had puppies. So far, the pups have been largely playful, frolicking in the yard with one neighbor’s dog, but many wonder if they will leave when the house is gone.

Coyote sightings in Los Angeles are not unusual, and the residents in this neighborhood say they are accustomed to wildlife. They know not to leave their pets out after dark or trash cans open, and in exchange, they say they get to see the occasional deer or other animal amble through the neighborhood.

Resident Marian Smart Getts said she even nursed a scruffy coyote suffering from mange back to health.  Like other residents, she doesn’t want to see the coyotes killed, but the situation is getting increasingly worrisome.

Cathy Molloy, who lives next to the burned-out home, took a video of seven coyotes in her yard.

“This is not normal,” she said.

To bring awareness and care to those in critical need, MSNBC’s Ed Schultz is asking viewers to make a donation to the NAFC in order to set up the free health care clinic in New Orleans.

In addition to the damage inflicted to homes, the hurricane has had a significant impact on the city’s health care community. Four hospitals were forced to close after the storm and many residents still remain uninsured. A story from the May 31, 2011 issue of the Times-Picayune newspaper reports that the entire east side of New Orleans has been without a hospital since Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

“Though Hurricane Katrina occurred six years ago, New Orleans is still in desperate need of resources and help. We urge everyone to get involved and donate to help the many hard-working Americans that still do not have access to affordable health care,” said Nicole Lamoureux, NAFC Executive Director.

All participants in the NAFC clinic will receive preventive primary medical care and will be connected to the area’s safety net providers. More than 10,000 uninsured people have received medical care at similar free clinics sponsored by the NAFC.

This will be the fifth free health clinic “The Ed Show” has broadcast from. In the past few years alone, MSNBC has raised over $3 million dollars in viewer donations to help this cause.

MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” telecasts weeknights at 10PM EST.

For more information, please visit: http://www.freeclinics.us

Somali-born Christmas Tree Bomber in Oregon - Illustration

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested at 5:40 p.m. just after he dialed a cell phone that he thought would detonate the explosives but instead brought federal agents and Portland police swooping down on him.

Yelling “Allahu Akbar!” _ Arabic for “God is great!” _ Mohamud tried to kick agents and police as they closed in, according to prosecutors.

The explosives were duds supplied by undercover agents as part of the sting and the public was never in danger, prosecutors said.

“This defendant’s chilling determination is a stark reminder that there are people _ even here in Oregon _ who are determined to kill Americans,” U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton said. “We have no reason to believe there is any continuing threat arising from this case.”

Mohamud, a naturalized U.S. citizen living in Corvallis, was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. He’s scheduled for a court appearance Monday. Few details were available about him late Friday.

There was no word from authorities if the suspect had any ties to other Americans recently accused of trying to carry out attacks on U.S. soil, including alleged efforts in May by a Pakistan-born man to set off a car bomb near Times Square or another Pakistan-born Virginia resident accused last month in a bomb plot to kill commuters.

Holton released federal court documents that show the sting operation began in June after an undercover agent learned that Mohamud had been in contact with an “unindicted associate” in Pakistan’s northwest, a frontier region where Al Qaida and Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents are strong.

“The complaint alleges that Mohamud attempted to detonate what he believed to be a vehicle bomb at a crowded holiday event,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “Law enforcement action was able to thwart his efforts and ensure no one was harmed.”

According to a federal complaint, Mohamud was in regular email contact with the “unindicted associate’ in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier starting in August 2009.

The complaint states that in December 2009 Mohamud and the associate used coded language in an email in which the FBI believes Mohamud discussed traveling to Pakistan to prepare for “violent jihad.”

In the months that followed Mohamud made ‘multiple efforts” to contact another “undicted associate” to arrange travel to Pakistan but had a faulty email address for that person.

Last June an FBI agent contacted Mohamud “under the guise of being affiliated with the first associate.”

Mohamud and the undercover agent agreed to meet in Portland on July 30. At that meeting, the undercover agent and Mohamud “discussed violent jihad,” according to the court document.

Mohamud told the agent he wanted to set off explosives at the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square, an event that occurred on Friday.

On Friday, an undercover agent and Mohamud drove to downtown Portland in a white van that carried six 55-gallon drums with detonation cords and plastic caps, but all of them were inert, the complaint states.

They got out of the van and walked to meet another undercover agent, who drove to Union Station, the Portland train station, where Mohamud was given a cell phone that he thought would blow up the van, according to the complaint.

Mohamud dialed the phone agents had given him, and was told the bomb did not detonate. The undercover agents suggested he get out of the car and try again to improve the signal, when he did, he was arrested, the complaint said.

Omar Jamal, first secretary to the Somali mission to the United Nations, condemned the plot and urged Somalis to cooperate with police and the FBI.

“Talk to them and tell them what you know so we can all be safe,” Jamal said.

U.S. authorities have been struggling against a recent spate of terror plans by U.S. citizens or residents.

In the Times Square plot, Faisal Shazhad allegedly tried to set off a car bomb at a bustling street corner. U.S. authorities had no intelligence about Shahzad’s plot until the smoking car turned up in Manhattan.

Late last month, Farooque Ahmed, 34, of Virginia was arrested and accused of casing Washington-area subway stations in what he thought was an al-Qaida plot to bomb and kill commuters. Similar to the Portland sting, the bombing plot was a ruse conducted over the past six months by federal officials.

Also in October, a Hawaii man was arrested and accused of making false statements to the FBI about his plans to attend terrorist training in Pakistan.

In August, a Virginia man was caught trying to leave the country to fight with an al-Qaida-affiliated group in Somalia.

The Los Angeles Times says supervisors approved a motion proposed by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas Tuesday that requires the Probation Department to provide a detailed report on racial violence in its facilities and recommend reforms.

The department reports there have been 15 major brawls between detainees at juvenile halls this year and 15 more clashes at detention camps.

They include a Sept. 5 incident involving about 30 minors at a camp in Lancaster, where both minors and staff members were injured as black and Hispanic detainees brawled.

Another fight with racial overtones broke out a week later among 16 minors at a juvenile hall in Los Angeles.

A consortium involving Barrick Gold and Goldcorp is making a $3 billion investment to reopen the Pueblo Viejo mine and plans to begin extracting gold, silver and other minerals late next year.

The judge at the hearing in the capital of Santo Domingo ordered a 20-day period for each side to respond to the opposing arguments before she issues a decision.

Environmentalists claim the company is relying on a permit granted in 2001 when the scope of the project was much smaller.

“We want Barrick’s operations stopped until they complete impact studies and they have a new license,” said Alexander Mundaray, a plaintiff in the lawsuit and among environmentalists who have led demonstrations against the project.

A Barrick spokesman, Jorge Esteva, said he could not discuss the company’s documentation because of pending legal proceedings but added that “our operations are always conducted within the framework of the law.”

The Caribbean nation’s environmental ministry presented documents at the hearing to demonstrate that the project already has been approved.

The mine previously operated from 1975 to 1999.

City News Service reported Tuesday that the county plans to hire dozens of workers to help bolster the troubled department and meet U.S. Department of Justice reform deadlines.

More than half of 94 newly authorized positions remain open for mental health and health-care professionals and administrative and support personnel to work in the county’s probation camps.

The department’s chief Donald Blevins says the hires are key to making changes imposed by a 2008 Justice Department settlement. A deadline of October 2011 has been set for meeting the settlement conditions.

The department oversees a $700 million budget and 3,000 youths in one of the nation’s largest juvenile justice systems.

A day after her birthday, Cuccia agreed to meet John Mullarky at her house. He brought a knife, and stabbed her 16 times, killing her before cutting his own throat.

Three years after Demi’s death, her family has been lobbying for “Demi’s bill,” legislation that would mandate dating violence education in Pennsylvania schools. If approved, the state would join Rhode Island and a handful of other states that already require such programs.

Demi’s father, Gary Cuccia, said he knows his daughter didn’t think Mullarky was violent, however she might have had a chance to live if she knew the warning signs: extreme jealousy, controlling behavior, isolating someone from friends or family, even a loss of appetite, among others.

“He wanted her to quit cheerleading. That’s not normal,” said Cuccia, surrounded by large pictures of his smiling daughter hanging on the walls of his office.

Girls between the ages of 16 and 24 most commonly experience dating violence, and as many as 1 in 3 teens have experienced either physical or emotional abuse in a romantic relationship, according to the Department of Justice. About 22 percent of homicides of teenage girls between the ages of 16 and 19 were committed by a romantic partner.

Ann Burke’s daughter, Lindsay, was killed in 2005 by her former boyfriend. She was found stabbed to death in a Warwick, R.I., home after she had broken up with Gerardo Martinez, who is now serving a life sentence for her murder.

Burke’s family and friends thought Martinez was controlling, and saw her pulling away from them, her mother said. They tried to convince Lindsay to leave him, and she did several times, but he kept convincing her to see him.

“We recognized that things weren’t quite right and I had never been educated about dating or domestic violence so we were really clueless,” said Burke, a retired health teacher.

Rhode Island’s law requires public school students in grades seven through 12 to learn about dating violence in their health curriculum each year. Burke said schools can use any curriculum they like; many are free, including one developed in 2005 by women’s clothing maker Liz Claiborne Inc.

Nebraska approved the Lindsay Ann Burke law in 2007, and states including Washington, Virginia and Ohio have passed laws addressing dating violence education.

Some see the laws as unfunded mandates, but Burke said the costs are minimal. The Lindsay Ann Burke Memorial Fund established by her family has created a low-cost DVD to help train administrators and teachers on how to establish programs in their schools.

“When people say how can we afford it, I would just say how can we not?” Burke said. “You just can’t put a price tag on our children.”

In Pennsylvania, Demi’s law was introduced by Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Centre, with bipartisan support, but has been sitting in committee with no action for six months; a different version of the bill that would only recommend dating violence education be placed in the curriculum, not require it, has been packaged together with several bills and is awaiting action by the state House.

The Cuccia family and several lawmakers plan a rally at the state Capitol on Tuesday to urge action on Demi’s bill before it expires.

“It’s not sex education. It’s not taking anything away from the parents. It’s only teaching the warning signs of a bad relationship,” Conklin said. He said he will reintroduce the bill next year if it does not get passed.

Gary Cuccia plans to keep up his fight, too. He is eager to tell Demi’s story to help others, and only tears up when he thinks about the events of Aug. 15, 2007. Mullarky survived his wounds, and is serving a life sentence for Demi’s murder.

On his office wall, Cuccia keeps several pictures of Demi and his four other children. One picture, taken just days before her death, shows Demi at her birthday dinner with her dad. The two stand together behind a cake with a large 16-shaped candle and with smiles that mirror each other.

“I have to do something. The pain will eat me alive,” Cuccia said. “I have to do it for my daughter.”

____

Online:

http://labmf.org/

www.demibrae.com/

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Speaking Friday via prerecorded video at the close of an international conference dedicated to the disease, the two said they were committed to building upon progress and taking the lead in ensuring a sustainable and effective response.

“Ending this pandemic won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight,” Obama told delegates gathered in the Austrian capital. “But thanks to you, we’ve come a long way _ and the United States is committed to continuing that progress.”

Clinton said the United States believes access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care should be a universal and shared responsibility and said health was a human right.

“As we push to expand access to these resources, the United States will continue to work with our partner countries and with civil society to help empower citizens to lead the charge in their own countries,” she said.

Washington will host the next international AIDS conference in July 2012.

During this week’s meeting, the more than 19,000 delegates heard promising news about a vaginal gel spiked with the AIDS drug tenofir that has proved capable of blocking the AIDS virus.

They also welcomed an announcement by the World Health Organization that a record 5.2 million people were receiving lifesaving AIDS drugs last year, up from 4 million in 2008.

But the gathering was overshadowed by woes about replenishing the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which provides major support for AIDS programs around the world.

Donors meet in October to decide on the fund’s financing level for the next three years amid concerns that a desired $20 billion in pledges won’t be reached.

While some protesters directly targeted the United States, a recent U.N. report showed that the U.S. was the largest donor of international AIDS assistance in 2009, accounting for more than 58 percent of disbursements by governments.

Conference chief Julio Montaner of the International AIDS Society said in his closing remarks that the United States has what it takes to make a difference and thanked Obama for his leadership in changing policies that infringe upon human rights.

“The U.S. has the power to literally change the course of the epidemic,” Montaner said.

Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu of South Africa, meanwhile, stressed that HIV prevention, treatment, care and support are a human rights priority.

“To deny treatment is to deny life itself,” Tutu said in a video address.

Over the course of the week, activists have slammed the rich G-8 countries for failing to deliver on a commitment to ensure that everyone infected with HIV and AIDS gets treatment by 2010.

In 2005, G-8 leaders committed to developing and implementing an Africa-focused package for HIV prevention, treatment and care with the aim of getting “as close as possible to universal access to treatment for all those who need it by 2010.” They reaffirmed and broadened their commitment a year later.

But a G-8 accountability report from last month’s summit of world leaders in Canada acknowledged that the “universal access targets with respect to HIV/AIDS will not be met by 2010.”

Earlier Friday, the U.N.’s top investigator on torture and punishment warned delegates that overcrowded prisons are breeding grounds for AIDS.

Often, inmates are held in inhumane conditions in which the HIV virus is spread through the use of non-sterile drug injection equipment, sexual contacts, tattooing and sharing of razors, Manfred Nowak said.

US Money to Step Up Security in the Caribbean Region

“We all know well that addressing transnational security challenges in the twenty-first century requires a comprehensive approach. CBSI means working together not only to strengthen national security forces and anti-trafficking efforts, but also focusing on broader citizen safety partnerships and social inclusion,” Secretary Clinton told leaders of Caribbean states at a CARICOM ministerial meeting today in Bridgetown, Barbados.

“For all of us, the safety of our people must be our highest priority. That’s why today we are committing ourselves to CBSI…. We’ve worked with Congress to identify over $45 million in funding for this effort this year. And we’ve asked for $79 million in next year’s budget – a $124 million commitment to CBSI over two years.”

This partnership continues to draw upon and help develop the capacity of the Caribbean to address common and related challenges.

Key objectives of the CBSI Partnership include: substantially reducing illicit trafficking, increasing public safety and security, and promoting social justice.

CBSI funds will:

• Combat the growing threat of transnational crime in the region, specifically the illicit trafficking in drugs and small arms
• Develop and strengthen the capacity of regional defense, law enforcement, and justice sector institutions to detect, interdict, and successfully prosecute criminal elements operating in the Caribbean
• Reduce the opportunity for crime and violence to thrive in the Caribbean Region by increasing the skills and educational opportunities for populations vulnerable to recruitment by criminal organizations and fostering community and law enforcement cooperation
• Provide alternatives to at-risk youth, such as formal and informal education initiatives, and through the establishment of effective training and employment opportunities

CBSI will also serve as a coordinating venue to attract and incorporate support from non-Caribbean allies in pursuit of its key objectives.

U.S. and Caribbean government representatives have met four times in recent months to jointly define and develop the goals and scope of the Initiative.

The Inaugural Caribbean-U.S. Security Cooperation Dialogue took place in Washington, D.C. on May 27, 2010 and was attended by all members of CARICOM, the Dominican Republic, and partner nation observers. Participants worked toward a declaration of principles, a framework for engagement, and a broad plan of action.

CBSI partnership activities complement other regional efforts, such as the Merida Initiative and the Central America Regional Security Initiative. They also will mitigate any “balloon effect” – criminal spillover resulting from successful reductions in drug trafficking and transnational crime elsewhere in the region.

LAPD Investigates Scuffles with Cyclist

The internal affairs unit launched a use-of-force investigation after video of the incident was posted online and a complaint was filed by cyclists, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement Saturday.

“In response to what we learned, we immediately launched a full-scale investigation to determine the facts surrounding the events,” LAPD Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger said. “The Department’s Professional Standards Bureau has taken the lead in the inquiry and the Police Commission’s Inspector General has also been made fully aware of the matter.”

About 400 people were riding on Hollywood Boulevard Friday, and bike officers were watching for traffic violations and writing citations, police said.

A 91-second video posted on YouTube shows an officer appear to kick at a passing bicyclist. The man holding the camera shouts and curses at the officers, and at least two of them converge on him, but the video goes mostly black and it is difficult to determine what happened afterward.

The officers union asked that the public refrain from rushing to judgment.

“It is always important to remember that home video, shot from a distance, from one angle and in the dark, and not at the beginning of the incident seldom tells the whole story,” Los Angeles Police Protective League President Paul M. Weber said in a statement Sunday.

After paints, toys, and pet food, now Indian spices and ceremonial powders have entered the long list of sources where lead has been found. The recently published study in the journal Pediatrics identified Indian spices and cultural powders as a more recent source of lead poisoning. While the study is reported to have been undertaken after several reports of lead poisoning in Indian children in Boston were found, experts and healthcare providers have also seen cases of lead poisoning due to exposure to Indian spices and powders in California.

Julie Kurko, health services manager at Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention Program said, “Though it is not a widespread problem we have seen such cases of lead poisoning every few years and I think mostly the problem has been with turmeric.”

“CDPH (California Department of Public Health) has identified cases of lead poisoning associated with lead contaminated spices including chili powder and turmeric,” said Dr. Linda Crebbin, chief of CDPH’s Care Management Section, Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch. “California cases of lead poisoning from turmeric have occurred in adults, children and a pregnant woman.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set the maximum exposure limit for children at 6 micrograms per day (mcg/day) for children and 75 mcg/day for adults.

However, Crebbin also pointed out that turmeric associated with all of the California cases was obtained directly from India, Nepal and Bangladesh rather than being sold in local stores. Since they were in unmarked bags it was not possible to identify a manufacturer or a distributor.

Most experts noted that lead can penetrate into spices if they are grown in lead-contaminated soil or can be inadvertently added during the manufacturing or drying process or may be intentionally added to add color or weight to the product. Some health care providers also observed that many of these products are brought into the United States when people go back to their home countries or when their families come to visit them here.

Lead poisoning in children and adults may be completely asymptomatic, and most people with lead poisoning do not look or act sick. However, even lead levels which do not cause noticeable symptoms can cause problems in infants and children such as decreased intelligence quotient (IQ), learning difficulties and behavior problems. It can also cause problems such as kidney disease and high blood pressure.

At higher blood lead levels, lead poisoning may cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, tiredness, headaches, irritability, and at very high levels it can cause seizures, coma, and even death.

The only way to determine if someone has lead poisoning is by a blood lead test. Young children are considered most at risk because of their hand to mouth activity. So, even if parents are not directly applying these powders to children they can be easily transferred to them.

“Powders with high amounts of lead are particularly hazardous because powders are easily dispersed and transferred from hand to mouth, and they also have the potential to be inhaled,” Crebbin said. “Since young children have increased hand to mouth behavior and they also absorb more lead than adults from their gastrointestinal tract they are at increased risk of lead poisoning.”

Crebbin also noted that some of the yellow chalk/powders (reported to be made of rice and turmeric) and Sindoor (orange or red colored powder used on forehead, scalps and face for ceremonial purposes) that were tested by the state laboratory contained up to 94 percent of lead.

Louis Girling, deputy health officer and medical director for Child Health and Disability Prevention Program (CHDP) at Santa Clara County pointed to a case in which they recently realized that a child was being poisoned with lead through Indian ceremonial powder that the family was applying to his forehead and face. The child who is now three years old was picked up at CHDP’s routine screening when he was under 1. CHDP is a preventive program that delivers periodic health assessments and services to low-income children and youth in California.

Girling explained that once a child is detected with elevated levels of lead the public nurse would offer basic counsel to the family regarding common sources of lead exposure and would also recommend foods rich in iron and calcium that can reduce lead absorption in the blood. CHDP also informs California Children’s Services (CCS) if a child has higher lead levels. According to Girling, the CCS can provide funds for a low-income group child to be treated by the authorized medical specialists.

The State Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch (CLPPB) also geared at preventing and eliminating lead poisoning notifies and works with the State Food and Drug Branch, the U.S. FDA and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission when it encounters previously unrecognized sources of lead poisoning.

Crebbin said, “The state CLPPB also notifies all of the county Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention programs throughout the state. The environmental and other investigators in counties throughout the state can then look for the products during investigations of lead poisoning cases and also during inspections of restaurants, stores and flea markets.”

The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Programs in different counties also undertake outreach initiatives to consumers, stores, healthcare providers and merchants in their jurisdictions.
While there are many programs that can offer support for prevention or treatment of lead poisoning particularly for children, the FDA, the agency that oversees the safety of foods imported to the United States, doesn’t have an established safe level of lead.

“The FDA will typically evaluate the potential health hazard regarding the lead in the product based on the concentration, nature of consumption, the quantity consumed and the risk to population who consumes the product,” Dr. Richard Jacobs a retired chemist who worked with FDA for 47 years explained. “If the product poses a health hazard it can take regulatory action. For some findings, for example where it is known that lead arsenate, a prohibited pesticide, was used on food, the FDA could take action at a much lower level.”

FDA spokesperson Michael L. Herndon said that FDA is typically most concerned with products that are consumed in large amount or have the potential to deliver a large accumulation of lead in a short period of time.

Jacobs pointed out that though one ppm or less of lead in imported spices generally won’t pose an excessive exposure and therefore would not be typically actionable, however, in case of infants action might be taken at levels far less than one ppm.

However, sometimes lead may be found in packaging of spices and ceremonial powders. As part of our investigation for this story, New America Media collected 22 samples of spices and ceremonial powders of varying brands, purchased from three different stores in the Bay Area. The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) tested the spices and Sindoor samples using an X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer, and could not find anything in the spices because the device cannot detect lead levels lower than three or four ppm. But Caroline Cox, research director at CEH, pointed out that ink on the packets of one of the brands that was tested had a high level of lead content in it.

“The red parts of the Pooja brand package were quite high in lead – up to 9,000 parts per million as compared to the 100 ppm required by the Toxics in Packaging law,” said Cox. “Since the ink is on the outside of the package, I think the issue would be transfer to hands rather than transfer to spices inside. I would suggest putting the spices in a container other than the original bag for the Pooja spices and washing hands carefully after handling the bag.”

The FDA only regulates lead in packaging if it is contaminating food. Otherwise, says Jacobs, it goes under the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

While the findings are not conclusive, experts recommended caution especially when it comes to bulk spices and powders that come in unmarked packages. And if there are doubts, especially where children are concerned, a blood test is not a bad idea.

Experts on consumer psychology say the relentless negative media attention Toyota has received since the fall makes it much more likely that drivers will mistake anything unexpected _ or even a misplaced foot _ for actual danger.

“When people expect problems, they’re more likely to find them,” said Lars Perner, a professor of clinical marketing at Marshall School of Business at University of Southern California.

In just the first 10 weeks of this year, 272 complaints have been filed nationwide for speed control problems with the Prius, according to an Associated Press analysis of unverified complaints received by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

By comparison, only 74 complaints were filed in all of last year, and just eight the year before that.

For problems with the brakes, rather than the gas, the figures are even more stark: 1,816 filed so far this year versus just 90 in all of 2009 and fewer than 20 in every other year of the last decade. Toyota recalled 440,000 Priuses on Feb. 8 because its antilock brakes seemed to fail momentarily on bumpy roads.

It’s doubtful the Priuses of the past two years suddenly became more dangerous than those made in years past. After all, Toyota’s own recall for Prius floor mats that can trap gas pedals covers model years 2004 to 2009.

Earlier this week came one of the most high-profile case of any Toyota problem so far: A man driving on a Southern California freeway said his 2008 Prius sped out of control, reaching 94 mph, before a patrol officer helped him bring it to a stop.

Then, in suburban New York, the owner of a 2005 Prius said his housekeeper was driving it forward down the driveway when the car lurched forward, crossed the street and hit a stone wall.

“She appears to have all her faculties,” Capt. Anthony Marraccini of the Harrison, N.Y., police said of the housekeeper Wednesday. “She didn’t appear to be disoriented in any way. There’s nothing at this particular time that would indicate driver error.”

Investigators from the federal government and Toyota are looking at both cases, and authorities have not suggested either case is anything but legitimate.

Toyota has continually said it has found nothing wrong with its electronic throttle controls and that it is confident they work properly.

The automaker has recalled 8.5 million vehicles worldwide _ more than 6 million in the United States _ because of acceleration problems in multiple models and braking issues in the Prius. Regulators have linked 52 deaths to crashes allegedly caused by accelerator problems.

Electronics experts say the computers, sensors and wires that control the throttle can be compromised by electronic interference. Toyota insists the problems with its cars have been mechanical.

Toyota has a “quite lengthy” procedure for its specialists when they evaluate cars, including a diagnostic check, an oscilloscope to test electronics and a checklist of potential problems, spokesman Brian Lyons said.

The 2008 Prius, the model involved in the California freeway runaway, would have been equipped with a backup mechanism designed to cut power to the wheels if the gas and brake pedals are depressed at the same time, Toyota says.

The driver, James Sikes, said he jammed the brake repeatedly, even stood on it, before he was able to bring the car under control.

A Toyota spokesman, John Hanson, said Toyota engineers talked with Sikes on Tuesday, but he did not know what was said in the interview.

Toyota’s engineers, as well as investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will check physical evidence from the Prius and compare that with what Sikes said in the interviews, Hanson said.

The government does not give statistics on how many of the reported car problems are actually confirmed. Toyota keeps its own stats _ and, perhaps not surprisingly, does not release them.

So there’s no way to know how many runaway cases are for real _ even as the figures pile ever higher.

The phenomenon has plenty of parallels.

In 2003, thanks to a media blitz by the police union, New Yorkers were convinced the cops were on a ticket-writing spree, for everything from sitting on a milk crate to resting on the steps of subway station. It turned out tickets were actually on the decline.

Think of medical students who learn about all sorts of disorders and then suspect they may be stricken by them. Or muckraking journalist Lincoln Steffens, who competed for police scoops with his fellow newspapermen and once wrote: “I enjoy crime waves. I made one once.”

Even the heightened number of complaints is relatively small compared with how many Priuses are on the road. Toyota sold about 750,000 of them from 2004 to 2009.

But as long as reports of Prius profile keep rolling in _ just look at the extensive coverage given to a single crash in that New York suburb, something that would have gone utterly unnoticed a year ago _ expect complaints to keep rising.

“We are basically anticipating them happening, and we may be prone to jump to conclusions,” said L.J. Shrum, a marketing professor who specializes in consumer psychology at University of Texas at San Antonio.

___

AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher reported from Detroit. AP Auto Writer Dan Strumpf in New York and Associated Press writers Jim Fitzgerald in Harrison, New York, Emily Fredrix in New York and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.

The crash heightens the attention surrounding unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles and a recall involving more than 8 million vehicles to address gas pedals that can become sticky or trapped under floor mats.

The Department of Transportation is looking into the New York crash, spokeswoman Olivia Alair said Wednesday.

Capt. Anthony Marraccini of the police department in Harrison, north of New York City, said that a regional Toyota official asked to collect the Prius involved in the crash but that the police are “not prepared to release it just yet.”

He said he wanted to see first if a federal agency wants to join or take over the investigation. “This involved potentially a great safety hazard and could be something of national interest,” he said. Besides, he said, the damaged car belongs to the owner, not to Toyota.

The silver-gray 2005 Prius was taken to a police parking lot. Its front end was severely pushed in, the hood was buckled and the front bumper and one front headlight were broken.

The Prius is not on Toyota’s recall list for the sticky accelerator problem; however, the 2005 Prius is listed in the car company’s recall of floor mats from pedal entrapment.

The driver, a 56-year-old housekeeper, was going forward in the car on Tuesday, down a curving driveway several hundred feet long with a putting green next to it, when the accident happened, Marraccini said.

“She said she doesn’t know whether the accelerator stuck,” Marraccini said. “She said she didn’t depress it that much because she was just pulling out of the driveway.”

He said she was lucky to escape serious injury because she could have driven into traffic and the impact with the wall “was pretty substantial.” he said police did not yet know how fast the car was going.

The captain said police would consider the possibility that the driver, whose name was not made public, was at fault. But he added, “She appears to have all her faculties. She didn’t appear to be disoriented in any way. There’s nothing at this particular time that would indicate driver error.”

He said she appeared to be properly licensed.

The air bags deployed when the car hit the stone wall of the estate across the street. On Wednesday, five boulders and smaller filler stones were strewn about, some of them 10 feet (3 meters) from the wall. Broken glass, plastic headlight pieces and metal that looked like part of a window frame were nearby.

Toyota is fighting fears that the crashes are caused by faulty electronics rather than by mechanical problems. Representatives at the company’s U.S. sales headquarters in Torrance, California, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Wednesday.

On Monday, California police stopped a runaway 2008 Prius going nearly 95 mph (152 kph) after the driver said the pedal jammed. Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are investigating.

All 2004-2009 Priuses are covered by a recall Toyota announced in October over floor-mat entrapment. Toyota has advised drivers of the Prius and other affected vehicles to take out any removable driver’s floor mat until they are repaired.

The presumed swarm of prisoners did not come to a neighborhood near you, though, because the total number of releases was either very small, or perhaps even none.

Confused?

That’s what happens when hearsay and rumors take over in what appears to be a campaign to thwart any changes to the state’s prison system.

Beginning last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger attempted to save the state from bankruptcy through a dual revitalization of California’s public safety laws and the state’s penitentiary system. He submitted a plan to provide early releases for approximately 6,500 prisoners over the course of 2010. The move intended to cut the state’s jailing costs and also avoid unneeded costs for the courtroom appeals. A federal judge approved the plan, although after much debate the state legislature and the governor are still fighting over it in court.

Moreover, due to dangerous levels of over-crowding at state prisons, many public officials and lawmakers have been prompted to question the role of “parole” in the California penal system. Under the governor’s plan and the new law SB 18XXX, which came into effect January 25^th, low-level parolees would be released little by little over this year. These 6,500 low-level parolees would be subject to random search and drug testing on the streets of Los Angeles by any police officer, even without a warrant.

The plan touched off a wave of paranoia among the general public, many blogs, and some other media. Misinformation spread, and many came to believe 6,500 inmates were to be released at once on January 25. The rumors grew with incorrect reports that these newly released prisoners would be unsupervised and set completely free of all legal responsibility participant in rehabilitation programs or other parole programs.

Paul M. Weber, the president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, a union for law-enforcement officers, made a public announcement, giving the sense that the new law would be grave and disastrous for the entire Los Angeles community. He called the movement to release the prisoners “…just another example where the government has failed to do one of its primary functions, which is public safety.”

Weber’s perspective has induced many others to follow his outlook. Statements from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development have also taken a grave tone. Little wonder that it all caught the general public flat-footed.

“What the hell,” was about all that Sarah Guidas, an undergraduate at USC, could say amid the misinformation.

Truth be told, the new law is meant to improve prison conditions and save state money for welfare, education, or public transportation. Through lessening the number of low-level prisoners, the inhumane and over-crowding prisons will become more controllable for officers and less packed with relatively small-time offenders. Parolees who were released under the old system were often returned to jail due to minor violations of technical offence, such as returning to a neighborhood that is deemed outside their parole jurisdiction. Under the new law a parolee would be allowed to return to, or travel to, any neighborhood. That means the new law would allow a parolee to return to his or her home, where he or she may have a family. Under the old system a return home might have taken a parolee to a forbidden neighborhood, leading to a parole violation sent the individual back through the court system and onto an already-overcrowded prison cell.

The misinformation about the early release of these 6,500 relatively low-level parolees has in reality created a public paranoia that is unnecessary and hurtful towards change in the state’s system.  By slowly reducing the number of parolees and low-level risk prisoners, penitentiaries will become less crowded and unneeded state spending will be saved. However, many will not see these new changes in this light. Due to heightened public anxiety and worrisome public officials, the grassroots’ truth behind these changes may not be seen.