Here's why churchgoers drink and smoke less

Churchgoers drink and smoke less than adults who spend their Sundays elsewhere but a US study had found it may not be church attendance itself that explains this -- it could be their genes.

The study of nearly 1,800 adult male twins found in adolescence, the relationship between church attendance and lower rates of drinking and smoking appeared largely due to "shared" environment, the factors influencing both members of a twin pair.

That is, teenagers who attended church regularly were more likely to want to follow their parents' wishes and conform to community expectations.

By adulthood, however, those environmental influences had faded, the researchers found. Instead, genes seemed to account for the relationship between church-going and lesser alcohol
and nicotine use.

In this case, genes may enter the picture via their influence over a person's natural temperament, the researchers wrote in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Many adults who continue to regularly go to church, they speculated, may also be the type who would limit their drinking and avoid smoking.

"Church attendance is one of the strongest correlates of substance abuse," researcher Kenneth Kendler, of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, told reporters.

"Understanding the underlying nature of this association is important because of what it tells us about the causes of substance use."

The study included 469 identical twin pairs and 287 pairs of fraternal twins, all of whom were interviewed twice over six years. The men were asked about their current church attendance and smoking
and drinking habits, as well as their habits during adolescence.

Twin studies like these allow researchers to disentangle the effects of genes, shared environment like home life and parenting practices, and non-shared environment such as friendships and other factors unique to an individual, on a given behavior or disease risk.

Identical twins share all of their genes, while fraternal twins share about half of their genes, on average. So if genes, for example, hold a stronger influence over a particular behavior than shared environment does, identical twins would be more similar in that behavior than fraternal twins would be.

Kendler's team found that when it came to the link between church-going and substance use, the roles of environment changed over time.

By adulthood, shared environment seemed to have almost no role.

Instead, genes largely explained the relationship, with some role of non-shared environmental factors also being apparent.

As adults, the researchers point out, twins' personal relationships, with friends and partners, likely take on more importance than the shared family influences that were key in the teen years.

It's not clear how broadly applicable these findings might be, the researchers noted.

All of the study participants were white men, and most were Protestant, 60 percent of whom were Baptist or fundamentalist.

"Our results may not extrapolate to other populations with different patterns of religious affiliations," they wrote.

Meet the girl whose 'rear view' Captivated Obama at G-8

The girl who appeared to have caught the eye of US President Barack Obama and that of his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy at the G-8 summit in Italy has been identified as a 17-year-old social activist.

Mayora Tavares shot to fame overnight after a photograph depicting Obama seemingly looking at her bottom while Sarkozy also appeared to be taking in the view was published on news websites across the globe.

The Brazilian woman, a Rio de Janeiro resident, was reportedly selected to participate in the Junior G8 summit after working on a human rights study in two notorious Rio towns, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

In an interview with Brazilian television this month, she dubbed travelling to the G8 as an "inexplicable feeling".

The photograph evoked many smirks and comments around the world.

Hillary to ‘find hot Showers for employees at State Department’

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apparently added another initiative to her portfolio during a question-answer session with staffers on Friday—finding hot showers for her employees at the State Department.

Apart from being asked about “biking and running to work”, she was asked by a young woman: “Whether you would support an initiative to get us access to showers.”

According to the New York Daily News, the crowd in the Dean Acheson auditorium at the State Department cracked up as the former First Lady replied: “I don't know what portable showers look like. (But) we'll look into it.”

It was Clinton's first extended public appearance since she broke her elbow during a tumble last month.

After six months on the job, the former First Lady told her team: “We need to get in the habit of looking to the horizon and planning for how we want things to be.”

Deputy Secretary of State Jack Lew said: “We don't think we're doing everything as well as we should" and "there are areas of our program that we need to change.”

Was Obama really Checking out a woman’s rear in G-8?

Would Sarkozy look on amused when Obama checks out a woman's rear? The picture looks like it, anyway! A reporter behind the controversial G-8 photo, which depicts US President Barack Obama seemingly checking out a woman’s rear, has now lent some clarity to it.

"There has been interest in a certain photo of the president during this photo-op, and I have mentioned what I saw from my perspective to several of you, so here it is for everyone,” the Politico quoted Pool reporter Stephen Dinan of the Washington Times as saying in an addendum sent to White House reporters.

Obama was the centre of attention for most of the event. All eyes were on him, particularly, when the group entered, and as the juniors—the teen student that accompanied each leader—were leaving the stage.

Dinan says that he did not look anything from his perspective that looked like Obama checking out anyone.

He says that he did see Obama act as a traffic cop, and keep things running.

“Obama greeted most, if not all, of the juniors,” the reporter said.

“For the photo Obama was standing in between Sarkozy (on his left) and the US junior, with Lula's junior and then Lula to right of them. The juniors were led out by summit staff one-by-one to the right of the stage, while the leaders remained for their own photo. It was at this point that your pooler did see Obama, Lula and Sarkozy laughing and appearing to needle each other over something as they were looking toward their right,” the reporter added.

Teacher Sends kids Sex tape of herself

A lady teacher at Isabelle Jackson Elementary in California, actually thought she is giving a DVD of her school memories for her elementary school pupils. But, an error almost cost her job!

Crystal Defanti is now apologetic that she had accidentally sent sex tapes of herself. After receiving a call from one of the parents, the teacher called all other parents in a panic, begging them to destroy the tapes.

As she was regarded as a good teacher, the school board has decided not to sack her.

Man gets dressless...Flight diverted

A passenger stripped naked during a US Airways flight and resisted a flight attendant's efforts to cover him with a blanket before two off-duty law enforcement officers on board subdued and handcuffed him, authorities said Wednesday. Keith Wright, 50, of the Bronx in New York, was taken into custody after he disrobed while sitting in his seat in the back of Flight 705 on Tuesday evening, authorities said. The plane was carrying about 148 passengers from Charlotte to Los Angeles, the airline said. Wright was unresponsive when a flight attendant asked him to put his clothes back on, said Dan Jiron, a spokesman for the Albuquerque airport. "She asked him on more than one occasion to put on his clothes. She covered him with a blanket and he took that off," Jiron said. Wright punched and kicked the flight attendant, who asked two off-duty law officers for help, according to a criminal complaint. A Los Angeles police officer and sheriff's deputy helped the flight attendant subdue and handcuff Wright before the flight landed, Jiron said. The flight attendants also were dealing with an unrelated onboard medical emergency at the same time, which exacerbated the situation, the FBI said. The aircraft was diverted because of the medical emergency, and Wright's actions were a secondary reason for the unplanned landing, the complaint said. Roger Finzel, an assistant federal public defender representing Wright, said he has not yet met with his client and had no information about the case other than what was in the complaint.Wright told the FBI he is suffering from a bipolar disorder and had not taken his prescribed medication before leaving New York that morning, the criminal complaint said. Wright told the FBI he recalled nothing about the flight or his behavior, it said. Wright had been seen dancing in a crowded boarding area before the flight, but when approached by Flight Service Supervisor Claudia Kearney, he told her he had drunk one beer. Kearney told the FBI she did not smell alcohol on him and determined he was well enough to travel, the complaint said. US Airways spokeswoman Valerie Wunder could not confirm that Kearney worked for the airline.Passenger Ginny Keegan of Detroit was sitting in the front of the plane, when there was commotion coming from the back. The people on the flight were notified of a violent passenger as the plane began to approach Albuquerque, but Keegan said no one was fearful. "No one was really panicking. The flight attendants seemed to handle it very well," she said. Keegan said the man was "completely naked" as he was taken in handcuffs off the plane. As the plane took off again, Keegan said the usual announcement to please fasten your seat belts came over the loudspeakers with a twist. The message included "a reminder to everybody to please keep your clothing on. It got a couple chuckles," Keegan said. Wright is in federal custody on a federal charge of interfering with flight crew members and attendants. He is expected to appear in federal court in Albuquerque on Thursday.

Introducing The Fuel-Efficient Cow

As new fuel efficiency standards for cars make news in the United States, scientists in Canada are already developing more fuel-efficient, and more polite, cattle.

The research promises to lower costs to farmers by reducing the amount of feed needed for raising cattle. It could also help the environment by reducing the number of methane released into the atmosphere, where it is a climate-warming greenhouse gas.

"Ruminants produce a lot of methane; three cows equal one [mid-sized] car" in terms of global warming potential, said John Basarab, an agricultural research scientist for the Alberta government.

"In Alberta alone there are more than six million cows, and in the U.S., there are over 100 million," he said. That's a lot of methane.

Palin defends Miss California USA Over gay marriage flap

Former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov Sarah Palin is defending Miss California USA Carrie Prejean, who created a stir at last month's Miss USA pageant when she said marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

The former vice presidential candidate says in a statement, "The liberal onslaught of malicious attacks against Carrie Prejean for expressing her opinion is despicable."

Questions about her work with gay marriage opponents and nearly nude photos taken of her when she was a teenager had put her title in jeopardy, but pageant owner Donald Trump decided to let Prejean keep her state crown.

Palin says she respects Prejean for staying true to her beliefs and can relate to her "as a liberal target myself." Palin was a runner-up in the 1984 Miss Alaska contest.

Mom Kicks Kids Out of the Car, Gets arrested

A mom in White Plains, N.Y., was fed up with her daughters' bickering in the car. And so, in a fit of what was likely parental desperation, she kicked the girls, ages 10 and 12, out of the car 3 miles from home.

Is the act one of minor stupidity -- acting properly human -- or child endangerment?

"The 12-year-old chased the car and got back in," reports the New York Times. "The 10-year-old was left alone and was eventually comforted by a passer-by who bought her an ice cream and contacted the police. When Ms. Primoff came to pick up her daughter, she was arrested on charges of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, and held in jail overnight. Ms. Primoff, a partner specializing in international finance with the firm Kaye Scholer, is free on $1,500 bail and due back in court on May 21."

Primoff also has been barred from contact with her children, writes the New York Sun.

If it weren't for her arrest -- and even with it, it's likely that Primoff's daughters will believe her next time when she tells them to stop fighting or they can get out of the car. I certainly believed my mother when she said similar statements because I KNEW my mother meant it. And Primoff made that clear with her own children.

I know there are plenty of folks who are and will slam Primoff for endangering her children in what some call a seedy commercial district in White Plains. Others will -- and have -- said they deal with fighting kids in the car by giving them iPods or other electronic toys to turn on or by making them change seats. But none of us were in Primoff's driving shoes in that car. None of us knows the volume the bickering had gotten to or the amount of time the girls had been fighting or how many other times before the girls had fought in that same car. None of us were in her shoes.

What we do know is that some forms of discipline can land us in jail -- and that's a shame. Because, really, when it comes right down to it, the only way our kids will listen to us when we tell preschoolers to keep those seat belts buckled or to stop yelling in the car or any miriad of other annoying behavior, is to enforce our threats. And kicking the kids out of the car is a pretty common threat that comes to many minds.

While I can't say I've ever kicked the kids out of the car miles from home, I have sent them out the front door to run a few laps around the house. And I have pulled over, stopped the car and refused to drive until everyone is acting right.

What troubles me most about this is NOT the fact that Primoff kicked the kids out. It's that she didn't quickly double back to pick up the 10-year-old.