Once-conjoined toddlers leave hospital

Lisandra Sanatis looks at her twin daughter, Teresa Tapia, as daughter Maria Tapia looks on Children?s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., Thursday Dec. 1, 2011. The conjoined twins were separated during an operation at the hospital Nov. 8, 2011. The twins are expected to be released from the hospital Friday and are expected to go back home to the Dominican Republic before Christmas. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Lisandra Sanatis looks at her twin daughter, Teresa Tapia, as daughter Maria Tapia looks on Children?s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., Thursday Dec. 1, 2011. The conjoined twins were separated during an operation at the hospital Nov. 8, 2011. The twins are expected to be released from the hospital Friday and are expected to go back home to the Dominican Republic before Christmas. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Maria Tapia, and TeresaTapia play in a playroom at Children?s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., Thursday Dec. 1, 2011. The conjoined twins were separated during an operation at the hospital Nov. 8, 2011. The twins are expected to be released from the hospital Friday and are expected to go back home to the Dominican Republic before Christmas. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Lisandra Sanatis holds her daughter, Teresa Tapia, in their room at Children?s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., Thursday Dec. 1, 2011. Sanatis' conjoined twin daughters were separated during an operation at the hospital Nov. 8, 2011. The twins are expected to be released from the hospital Friday and are expected to go back home to the Dominican Republic before Christmas. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Maria Tapia, and TeresaTapia play in a playroom at Children?s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., Thursday Dec. 1, 2011. The conjoined twins were separated during an operation at the hospital Nov. 8, 2011. The twins are expected to be released from the hospital Friday and are expected to go back home to the Dominican Republic before Christmas. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Maria Tapia, and TeresaTapia play in a playroom at Children?s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., Thursday Dec. 1, 2011. The conjoined twins were separated during an operation at the hospital Nov. 8, 2011. The twins are expected to be released from the hospital Friday and are expected to go back home to the Dominican Republic before Christmas. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) ? Two formerly conjoined toddlers from the Dominican Republic have left a Richmond hospital after recovering from separation surgery, and doctors predict they'll be ready to go home by Christmas.

Maria and Teresa Tapia left Children's Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University on Friday. At a news conference before their departure, the girls clapped and waved and one kissed the lead doctor on their surgical team, Dr. David Lanning.

"I thank God and everyone who made this possible," the girls' mother, Lisandra Sanatis, said through a translator.

The 20-month-old twins were attached at the lower chest and underwent complicated, nearly daylong surgery on Nov. 7. In a series of procedures, the surgical team divided the twins' liver, pancreas and other shared organ systems and reconstructed their abdominal walls.

While they're getting accustomed to exploring their surroundings separately, they still stay near each other and hold hands when they walk.

Lanning said Friday that both children have been recovering well, and doctors don't expect them to require any long-term medical treatment, except possible minor surgery to construct belly buttons.

"Overall, I don't think we could have asked for a better outcome," he said at Friday's news conference.

They'll lead healthy, long lives, with the ability to "be together but make independent decisions."

Maria, the smaller of the two, weighs about 19 pounds, and Teresa weighs about 26 pounds. Lanning expects the disparity in their weight, caused by the configuration of their small intestines and blood flow from the liver, to gradually even out.

Maria's pancreas is slow to produce digestive enzymes, but she is taking replacement enzymes, and doctors are monitoring her colon function. Teresa is undergoing treatment on the incision where the girls were separated, Lanning said.

Doctors, nurses, volunteers and others who cared for them gave the girls and their mother and aunt a warm send-off from the hospital Friday afternoon. Lanning pushed a new double stroller to the van that took the family to a nearby residence for patients and their families.

The girls will stay in Richmond for follow-up medical visits and outpatient therapy to continue working on walking and other motor skills now that they're no longer attached. Lanning said they're on track to return to their native country by Christmas.

After being in Richmond for several months now, Sanatis said she and her daughters have grown fond of everyone they've met. But they're more than ready to go home and reunite with the twins' father and three other siblings.

The twins have become celebrities in the Dominican Republic, with supporters including the country's first lady, Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, who visited Richmond on the day of the surgery.

The World Pediatric Project, a nonprofit surgical-care provider for children in Central America and the Caribbean, sponsored the toddlers' medical care, along with the family's stay in the United States. Lanning has been a surgical volunteer with the group for several years.

About a half-dozen separation surgeries are done in the U.S. annually, and maybe double that number worldwide.

Conjoined twins account for between 1 in 50,000 and 1 in 100,000 live births worldwide. The condition is three times more likely to occur among females than males. A third of conjoined twins are attached at the lower chest, as in the case of the Tapia twins.

___

Online:

Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU: http://www.childrenshosp-richmond.org/CMS/index.php

World Pediatric Project: http://www.worldpediatricproject.org/

___

Zinie Chen Sampson can be reached on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/zinie

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2011-12-02-Conjoined%20Twins/id-e6a2ef87296e434aa80102e846fdb05c

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WikiLeaks' chief in vital extradition court fight (Providence Journal)

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Icon of US military now in Iraqi hands

U.S. soldiers leaving Al Faw palace at Camp Victory, one of the last American bases in this country where the U.S. military footprint is swiftly shrinking, after a special ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. Vice President Joe Biden thanked U.S. and Iraqi troops for sacrifices that he said allowed for the end of the nearly nine-year-long war, even as attacks around the country killed 20 people, underscoring the security challenges Iraq still faces. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

U.S. soldiers leaving Al Faw palace at Camp Victory, one of the last American bases in this country where the U.S. military footprint is swiftly shrinking, after a special ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. Vice President Joe Biden thanked U.S. and Iraqi troops for sacrifices that he said allowed for the end of the nearly nine-year-long war, even as attacks around the country killed 20 people, underscoring the security challenges Iraq still faces. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

In this Oct. 15, 2011 file photo, a U.S. Army soldier walks past a sign outside a base exchange after its closure at Camp Victory that is set to close in Baghdad, Iraq. Victory Base Complex, as it's formally called by the military, started life as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. Little reminders of the base's former life such as a sign reminding patrons where to park or when the casino would be open are still located on the base. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

Iraqi flags wave as U.S. soldiers leave Al Faw palace at Camp Victory, one of the last American bases in this country where the U.S. military footprint is swiftly shrinking, after a special ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. Vice President Joe Biden thanked U.S. and Iraqi troops for sacrifices that he said allowed for the end of the nearly nine-year-long war, even as attacks around the country killed 20 people, underscoring the security challenges Iraq still faces. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, Pool)

In this Nov. 7, 2011 photo, a U.S. army soldiers walks past military armored vehicles are ready to be shipped out of Iraq at Camp Victory Baghdad, Iraq. Victory Base Complex, as it's formally called by the military, started life as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. Little reminders of the base's former life such as a sign reminding patrons where to park or when the casino would be open are still located on the base. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

In this April 26, 2011 photo, U.S. Army soldiers walk through Al Faw palace in Camp Victory Baghdad, Iraq. Victory Base Complex, as it's formally called by the military, started life as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. Little reminders of the base's former life such as a sign reminding patrons where to park or when the casino would be open are still located on the base. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq (AP) ? Inside palace walls built by Saddam Hussein, U.S. generals plotted the war's course, tracked the mounting death toll and swore in new American citizens under gaudy glass chandeliers.

Just outside the palace, American troops whacked golf balls into man-made lakes or fished for carp, while others sat down with a cigar and a can of nonalcoholic beer hoping for a respite from incoming rockets or mortar shells.

Along another lake some distance away, a jailed Saddam tended to tomatoes and cucumbers in a small, walled-off enclosure with guards patrolling overhead.

Ever since the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division fought their way into the Baghdad airport grounds nearly nine years ago, the sprawling area they renamed Camp Victory has held a special place in the American military experience in Iraq.

From here, the highest-ranking generals sitting behind banks of telephones and video screens communicated with commanders in the field and political leaders in Washington, and dictated strategy that unfolded on the streets of Fallujah, Mosul and Najaf.

It was an intersection in the war where U.S. troops, hot and dusty after traveling across Iraq's deadly roads and highways, could relax with a latte or bootlegged movie before heading back out again.

On Friday, the base that at its height was home to 46,000 people was handed over to the Iraqi government as part of American efforts to move all U.S. troops out of the country by the end of the year.

"The base is no longer under U.S. control and is under the full authority of the government of Iraq," said U.S. military spokesman Col. Barry Johnson. He said that by 2 p.m. on Friday, there was no longer any U.S. troop presence at the base.

The transfer of the country's largest American military base to Iraqi custody happened with little fanfare, and no ceremony was held.

The area, which the military formally calls Victory Base Complex, was originally used as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. A visitor can still find small relics of that era, such as signs advising patrons where to park, or the hours during which the casino was open.

Saddam built the palace complex near the airport out of embarrassment. During the 1978 Arab League summit he was forced to house incoming dignitaries in private homes in Baghdad because he had no proper accommodations, according to Robert O. Kirkland, a former U.S. military historian who interviewed former Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz and other Iraqis who were once in American custody.

To rectify the problem, Saddam went on a palace-building spree, eventually building nine structures of varying size and impressiveness. He gave some of them names that reflected his often convoluted view of the world: Victory over America, Victory over Iran and Victory over Kuwait.

In the run-up to the war, U.S. military planners were confused by a cone-shaped structure they could see from satellite imagery, said Col. Les Melnyk, another former U.S. military historian in Iraq. They labeled it a possible prayer site. It turned out to be a pigeon coop.

Maj. William Sumner was a captain when his unit arrived at Camp Victory in mid-April 2003. He remembers how Iraqi looters managed to get into the complex and make off with geese, pelicans and other animals from a small zoo Saddam had built.

"I think that's when the cougar got out of the enclosure," he said. For weeks afterward, a large feline, which Sumner said could have also been a bobcat, was spotted wandering around the base.

In the early days after the invasion, soldiers swam in the man-made lakes or toured the islands with paddle boats.

But quickly the atmosphere became more like bases back in the U.S. That meant rules and regulations ? and military police to enforce them. Sumner said during his unit's second week at Victory he was pulled over for speeding.

"After we moved onto our other place, we just tried to refuse to go back there whenever possible," he said.

Victory Base Complex was essentially a city, often hit by rockets or mortar shells. One time the violence came from within. In May 2009, a U.S. soldier shot and killed five fellow troops at a combat stress clinic.

The facility was so big it was divided into sections with different names. Troops could travel from Camp Stryker to Camp Liberty without leaving the base. A public bus system with posted routes transported people to the dining facilities, the gym or a dirt speedway where troops and contractors would race remote-controlled cars.

By the numbers supplied by the U.S. military, it was a substantial operation:

? The incinerators destroyed an average of 178,000 pounds of waste a day.

? A water purification plant produced 1.85 million gallons of water a day.

? A bottled water plant filled 500,000 one-liter bottles a day.

? Three separate plants produced 60 megawatts of power a day.

If soldiers grew tired of food at the massive chow halls, they could grab takeout at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Cinnabon, Burger King or Subway.

At various stores they could buy anything from illegal DVDs to a Harley Davidson motorcycle delivered straight to their door back in the U.S. when they returned from the war. In the early days of the war, troops could even buy Saddam Hussein's personal silverware and place settings.

Troops and contractors visiting from other bases took tours of the palaces.

One particularly entertaining pastime was feeding the carp in the lake surrounding Al Faw palace, where the top generals and U.S. military officials were based. The aggressive fish would jump out of the water for cereal, Girl Scout cookies and Pop Tarts.

Off-limits to most troops was the jail used to house Saddam and some of his cohorts. In a dilapidated, bomb-damaged building encircled by concertina wire, American troops interrogated and guarded the former dictator before he was handed over to the Iraqis and executed in 2006.

The Iraqi government has not yet announced plans for the complex, prime real estate in a country sorely lacking in parks and public spaces. The Iraqi military is already using some parts, and there is talk of turning Saddam's jail cell into a museum.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-02-ML-Iraq-End-of-Victory/id-1106537e62134aecbd1b306a87ef8ff7

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Even unconsciously, sound helps us see

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U.N. Report Indicates 2011 to Be One of the Hottest Years on Record (ContributorNetwork)

According to National Geographic, a United Nations report indicates 2011 is looking to be one of the 10 hottest years on record. The conclusion is especially problematic since this year is part of the La Nina period, a climate pattern marked relatively cooler global conditions. In addition, this year has had numerous extreme weather events, which are often a symptom of global warming and increasing average global temperatures.

Here are some facts about extreme weather events that have struck the U.S. this year:

Texas Drought

October 2010 through September 2011 has been the driest year for Texas on record and tree-ring data indicates this year's drought was ranked only the second worst drought over the past 461 years, reported Think Progress. Likewise, leading climate experts have continued to assert that anthropogenic global warming is a major player in the severe drought. According to CBS News, the damage, including $5 billion in agricultural loses, could continue for years.

Hurricane Irene

August opened the doors for one of the most out of place and expensive weather events of this year. The Seattle Post Intelligencer noted Hurricane Irene missed the southern U.S. and instead hit the East Coast with intense flooding and other devastation. Additionally, this year saw the third highest number of tropical storms on record. Despite not being a major hurricane, industry estimates have put the cost of the damage at $7 billion to $10 billion, according to the New York Times.

April Tornadoes

This spring was marked by numerous tornadoes, reported the Huffington Post. The 24-hour period starting at 8 a.m. April 27 broke the record for most tornadoes in a day with 226. USA Today added the month set a record for the most tornadoes in a month with 753 twisters. Climate scientists also concluded that global warming was responsible for creating the right conditions for April's tornadoes.

Heat Waves

Areas of the Midwest, the Southeast and the Plains saw severe and record-setting heat waves this summer, reported CNN. By mid-July, 23 states were under heat advisories with record temperatures ranging from 102 to 115 degrees. Similarly, numerous cities set records for their hottest month, including Dallas, Houston, Detroit and Oklahoma City, noted the Weather Channel. Fort Smith, Ark., set an all-time record high and also had the record-breaker when it hit 115 degrees on Aug. 3.

Rachel Bogart provides an in-depth look at current environmental issues and local Chicago news stories. As a college student from the Chicago suburbs pursuing two science degrees, she applies her knowledge and passion to both topics to garner further public awareness.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111130/us_ac/10567115_un_report_indicates_2011_to_be_one_of_the_hottest_years_on_record

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Man pleads guilty to killing 4 in NYC rampage (Providence Journal)

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