Water cleanup system shut down at Japan nuke plant (AP)

TOKYO – A system to clean massive amounts of contaminated water at the site of Japan's nuclear disaster was shut down Saturday, just hours after it began full operations, because a component filled with radioactivity much more quickly than expected.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the tsunami-hit Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, is investigating the cause and isn't sure when it will restart the system, company spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said.

Fresh water is being pumped in to cool damaged reactor cores, and is getting contaminated in the process. Some 105,000 tons of highly radioactive water have pooled across the plant, and could overflow within a couple of weeks if action is not taken.

In earlier tests, the water treatment system reduced cesium levels in the water to about one-10,000th of their original levels. The system began full operations Friday night after a series of problems involving leaks and valve flaws.

The system was suspended in early Saturday when workers detected a sharp radiation increase in the system's cesium-absorbing component, Matsumoto said. Radioactivity in one of 24 cartridges, which was expected to last for a few weeks, had already reached its limit within five hours, he said.

Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out power to the nuclear plant, incapacitating its crucial cooling systems and causing three reactor cores to melt. TEPCO aims to bring the reactors to a stable cold shutdown state by early January.

The water treatment system is to be eventually connected to a cooling system so the treated water can be reused. But treating the water will create an additional headache — tons of highly radioactive sludge will require a separate long-term storage space.

The Fukushima crisis shattered Japan's confidence in the safety of nuclear energy and prompted anti-nuclear sentiment. But there are also concerns that Japan will face a serious summertime power crunch unless more of its reactors get back on line.

Of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors, more than 30 — including six at Fukushima Dai-ichi and several others that stopped due to the quake — are out of operation.

Economy and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda said Saturday that the rest of the nuclear plants in Japan are safe and their reactors should resume operations as soon as their ongoing regular checks are completed. He said nationwide inspections this week have found that Japanese nuclear power plants are now prepared for accidents as severe as the one that crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi.

Resumption of about a dozen reactors undergoing regular checkups is up in the air amid growing local residents' fear of nuclear accidents. Many of the plants' hometown officials have said restarting any pending reactors would be impossible amid the ongoing crisis.

Kaieda, however, said Japan needs the power. "Stable electric supply is indispensable for Japan's reconstruction from the disaster and its economic recovery," he said in a statement.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency instructed Japanese nuclear operators to improve their preparedness for severe accidents earlier this month and conducted nationwide on-site inspections this week.

The inspections focused on measures to reduce the risk of hydrogen explosions inside containment buildings as one of the lessons learned from the Fukushima crisis, the world's worst atomic accident since Chernobyl.

Japanese nuclear plant operators have already taken other steps to improve accident management since the disaster to maintain core cooling capacity during blackouts.

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Audit: Sexual assault incidents within VA system underreported

A new report claims nearly two-thirds of the 67 rape allegations were not reported, as required by VA regulations.GAO report says many incidents not properly handledUnderstaffing, fuzzy expectations, poor oversight are blamedHouse committee chairman says report left him "aghast"House to hold hearing Monday

Washington (CNN) -- Sexual assault incidents within the Veterans Affairs system are not being reported up the chain, a new government audit released Tuesday found.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, reported that of nearly 300 sexual assault incidents reported to VA Police from January 2007 through July 2010, "many" were not reported to VA leadership officials and the VA Inspector General's Office.

The GAO report uses the term sexual assault incident to refer to "suspected, alleged, attempted, or confirmed cases of sexual assault."

The 284 cases of sexual assault included rape, inappropriate touching, forceful medical examinations, forced or inappropriate oral sex, and other types of sexual assault incidents.

"When I first read this report, I was aghast," said Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. "It reminded me of a 1950s prison system -- lawlessness, lack of security and reporting, and outright disregard for human dignity."

The House committee has scheduled a hearing on the matter for Monday.

The GAO says the VA agreed with most of its findings.

Nearly two-thirds of the 67 rape allegations in VA facilities were not reported to the VA Inspector General's Office, as required by VA regulation, according to the report.

Both men and women were victims of the assaults. The victims and attackers ranged from employees to patients to those without affiliation to the VA.

"Not all sexual assault incidents reported to VA Police are substantiated," the GAO report said, citing reasons such as an assault did not actually take place, the victim chose not to pursue the case or there was insufficient evidence to substantiate the case.

The investigators say underreporting is due to a lack of guidance on what constitutes a sexual assault, unclear expectations on what incidents should be reported and insufficient oversight by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which oversees VA health facilities.

The VHA does not have a system to track and trend sexual assaults over time, according to the report, and therefore "cannot identify and make changes to serious problems that jeopardize the safety of veterans in their medical facilities."

The report also found that the VA has not taken the proper precautions to prevent sexual assaults in its medical facilities. Among the findings: Investigators report "poor monitoring of surveillance cameras, alarm system malfunctions, and the failure of alarms to alert both VA police and clinical staff when triggered." Officials at many of the locations the GAO visited said the VA Police were also understaffed.

"Patient and employee safety and security are paramount at the VA," said VA press secretary Josh Taylor. "We take all allegations seriously and investigate them thoroughly."

The VA says it's in process of reviewing the GAO's recommendations and taking steps to improve reporting of allegations and to provide more secure facilities.

"The bottom line is that we have a responsibility to protect those veterans in our care, as they have protected our nation, and we will continue to strengthen our facilities to ensure that our veterans receive high-quality medical care in safe, secure facilities," Taylor said.

The investigation was launched at the request of the House Veterans Affairs Committee due to changing demographics of patients treated by the VA.

The VA has developed initiatives to attract specific veteran populations to use its services, including women, young veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, and veterans facing legal issues or those already incarcerated, the report said.

The VA operates the largest integrated health care system in the country, with 153 hospitals and about 700 community-based clinics.

CNN

Apple's Jobs to unveil 'Lion' operating system (AFP)

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Ailing chief executive Steve Jobs will return from sick leave to unveil Apple's latest generation of software next week, the firm announced Tuesday.

The 56-year-old cancer survivor will present Apple's new operating system, dubbed "Lion," at a developers conference in San Francisco on June 6.

Jobs went on leave in January, his third medical absence since 2004, but has retained his title of chief executive at Apple.

He underwent an operation for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and received a liver transplant in 2009, but Apple has not released any details about his latest health issues.

"Lion" will be the eighth major iteration of Apple's operating system, "Mac OS."

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Cooling system restored at Tepco's No.5 plant (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo Electric Power has restored the cooling system of the nuclear reactor and fuel pool at the No. 5 unit of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant in northeastern Japan, an official of the plant operator said on Sunday.

Tokyo Electric, know as TEPCO, said the cooling facility restarted at 12:49 p.m. (0349 GMT) and was expected to lower temperatures which had risen at the reactor and fuel pool after the cooling system stopped working late on Saturday.

The temperature at the nuclear reactor at the No.5 unit was up to 87 degrees Celsius (188 degrees Fahrenheit) at 8:00 a.m. (2300 GMT) from about 68 degrees before the cooling system stopped operating, the official said.

The Fukushima Daiichi plant's No. 1 to 4 reactors were severely damaged after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, while damages at the No. 5 and No. 6 reactors were less severe.

(Reporting by Chikafumi Hodo; Editing by Sugita Katyal)

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An Eye for an Eye: Iran's Blinding Justice System (Time.com)

Iran's judiciary has postponed the blinding of a man as punishment for throwing acid in the face of a young woman in 2004, after she rejected his offer of marriage. The delay came in the face of mounting outcry both inside Iran and in the West over the sentencing, which is permissible under qesas, a principle of Islamic law allowing victims analogous retribution for violent crimes.

The case has stirred passionate interest in Iran since 2004, when Majid Movahedi, a university student, accosted Ameneh Bahrami on a Tehran street and tossed a red bucket of sulfuric acid in her face. Bahrami, an attractive young engineer, had repeatedly spurned Movahedi's proposals and reported his harassment to the police. She was blinded and severely disfigured in the attack, and has spent the intervening years between Iran and Spain undergoing numerous unsuccessful operations to reconstruct her face and repair her sight. (See photos of a semi-official view of Iran.)

Much of the public outcry in Iranian media, news websites, and blogs, surrounds the Iranian legal system, which produces such verdicts by practising an 'eye for an eye' approach to justice based on seventh century Islamic jurisprudence. These principles effectively offer victims of violent crime two legal choices, forgiveness or qesas, analogous retribution. "Bahrami must sit in the place of the judge and either forgive her attacker or take revenge" says Asieh Amini, an Iranian women's rights activist living in Europe? "The legal system pushes her into a dead-end, and it's really the law that's deficient here." Bahrami eventually chose qesas, determined that her experience would serve as deterrence for future crimes. "I want people like him to know that they will suffer forever if they cause someone such suffering," she said on BBC Persian television Saturday.

Speaking on the interactive television program Saturday, Bahrami said she favored a more modern course, suing for damages. "I want him to be punished foremost. But if there are human rights considerations, then I'll accept two million Euros and his life imprisonment," she said. The program featured an emotional exchange between Bahrami and Movahedi's weeping mother, who begged for her forgiveness. It drew a flood of callers from inside Iran, many of them concerned that Bahrami's "forgiveness," while perhaps the most humanitarian course, would encourage such a horrific crime by implying legal leniency. "Ameneh, daughter of Iran, we understand your joy and we support you," wrote a prominent Iranian blogger, Dalghak Irani, featured on the program. (See photos of health care in Tehran.)

Bahrami, who was scheduled to herself administer the blinding drops to an anaesthetized Movahedi, learned of the delay outside the Judiciary Hospital in Tehran. Human rights groups and Western governments pleaded with Iranian authorities last week to call off the punishment. Iran's government usually responds to such foreign pressure by lashing out rather than backing off, but Bahrami's case poses a unique dilemma: unlike many human rights cases which excite opinion primarily in the West, it has resonated deeply throughout Iranian society; the attention inside Iran raises the prospect of a public backlash at a time when the regime is deeply divided by political infighting. "There's no doubt public opinion inside Iran has been stirred up," says Amini. "There's been a huge outpouring of sympathy for both of them, and this puts pressure on the government."

Apart from its headline-grabbing story line, the case is transfixing Iranians because it reflects how their society's old mores are clashing with modern norms. This was no village crime committed by an illiterate, but a tragedy that unfolded in the nation's capital between two educated urbanites. It underscores how Iranian women's social standing - they are now in the majority at universities and active throughout society - fits awkwardly with deep-seated patriarchal attitudes. Women direct top-grossing films in Iran, run galleries, and write best-sellers, but are still covered by cultural mores that often approximate the severe conservatism of neighboring Afghanistan. "This case really highlights the sexist attitudes and double standards within Iran society," says Nayereh Tohidi, an Iran expert and a professor of women's studies at California State University, Northridge. "[Based on] such customs, a man sees it as his prerogative to want and possess the woman he desires, regardless of her feelings and mutual love." Tohidi adds, "This 'eye for an eye,' tribal approach to crimes underlies how the law reinforces a cycle of violence instead of reducing it. A young blind man is going to be added to a young blind woman for society to take care of."

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New terrorism alert system will offer specific warnings

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the new alerts will contain "as many details as we can provide." STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Secretary Napolitano says people ignored the old systemNapolitano says the new system will take effect April 26The new system has only two levels, compared to the previous system's fiveThe alerts have an expiration, unless new information comes to lightRELATED TOPICSTerrorismJanet NapolitanoU.S. Department of Homeland SecurityDomestic Security Policy New York (CNN) -- A new terrorism warning system will provide the public with information on specific threats, replacing the color-coded alerts put in place after the September 11, 2001, attacks, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday.

In announcing the new system at New York City's Grand Central Terminal, commonly known as Grand Central Station, Napolitano said a main goal was to provide better understanding of the nature of the specific threat, what people should do in reaction to it and how they could help security officials in responding.

"It will provide alerts based on specific, credible information about potential terrorist activity," Napolitano said, adding that the alerts would contain "as many details as we can provide."

Right now, she said, there is no threat that would reach the level to warrant one of the new alerts, which will take effect on April 26.

Napolitano made the announcement in the city where more than 2,700 people were killed when two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center's twin towers.

She was joined by New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Republican Rep. Peter King of New York, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, who both praised the new National Terrorism Advisory System as an upgrade that enhances current security efforts.

However, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, cautioned that the new system must "effectively disseminate threat information in a timely manner and provide sound guidance to the public and affected homeland security partners on the actions they should take to protect themselves and the nation."

Collins urged Napolitano's department "to keep communication lines open with our state and local homeland security officials and with the private sector so that implementation of the system meets the vision" set by the secretary.

The new system has two levels of alerts, compared to the previous system's five levels, Napolitano said.

The two alert levels of the new system are "elevated threat," which "warns of a credible terrorist threat" to the United States; and "imminent threat," which "warns of a credible, specific and impending terrorist threat," according to a Department of Homeland Security statement.

Any alert will automatically expire after a two-week period, although they could be extended if new information shows a threat persists, DHS said.

Napolitano told reporters in a morning briefing that the alerts posted on a department website -- www.dhs.gov/alerts -- will provide details to show the nature, location and other information about terrorism threats. Therefore, she said, a specific warning may apply to a particular address, community, city or region, rather than the non-specific general warnings of the color-coded system.

Alerts also will be announced by her office and made public via traditional media such as television announcements and radio broadcasts, as well as social media, Napolitano said.

She conceded that the color-coded system "has faded in utility except for late-night comics," noting that the warning level at airports had been at orange since 2006.

"That's one of the reasons why people (stopped) paying attention to them," Napolitano said. Instead of a constant state of undefined warning, she said, the new system will react to actual threats.

"We don't want people to live in fear," she said. "We want people to live in a state of alert and awareness."

Her department is asking the public to be on alert for any suspicious activity, incorporating the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority's trademark slogan "If You See Something, Say Something" into its alerts.

Evaluating the current threat for Wednesday under the old system, the Department of Homeland Security put it at yellow, or elevated. Under the new system, it does not warrant an alert.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve contributed to this story.

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Healthful behavior is a key to health care system

By J. Scott Applewhite, AP

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has proposed capping Medicare and turning Medicaid over to the states.

EnlargeCloseBy J. Scott Applewhite, AP

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has proposed capping Medicare and turning Medicaid over to the states.

"Behavior is central to health care," said Bob Nease, chief scientist at Express Scripts, which manages health benefits for more than 50 million people. "The health care system's been barking up the wrong tree."

Costs will continue to rise, he said, as one-fourth of the population contends with health problems related to behavior: Overeating, lack of exercise, smoking and not managing chronic diseases, such as diabetes or Alzheimer's, leading to expensive hospital visits.

STORY: Congress passes 2011 spending planTHE OVAL: White House launches tax calculatorThis week, the House plans to vote on Ryan's budget proposal today. He also proposed turning Medicaid over to the states and cutting it by $750 billion over the next 10 years.

On Wednesday, the House voted to repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund, part of the new health care law, which provides $750 million to prevent tobacco use, heart disease, stroke and cancer. Proponents of the repeal argued that the money could be used for any health initiative without congressional approval, and, according to a support letter from Americans for Tax Reform and the Center for Fiscal Accountability, amounts to "little more than a taxpayer-funded exercise in social engineering."

But health experts gathered for the Atlantic Health Care Forum last week in Washington, D.C., reacted less than glowingly to Ryan's plan, including Chet Burrell, president of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, who said the gap between the money provided for Medicaid and Medicare and actual health costs would continue to grow without a push for behavioral change. In the District of Columbia region, health care costs have average increases of between 8% and 12% a year, he said.

"This is not cheap stuff, doing this kind of intervention," said Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health. "But we all know just how ineffective this is without support."

As an example, he said his agency conducted a study of 3,234 people who were pre-diabetic, or those with a family history of diabetes, live a sedentary lifestyle or are overweight. About one-third, at a cost of $2,780 each for a three-year period, went through a behavior-modification program with exercise training and life coaches. About 58% of those patients avoided full-blown diabetes. One in 4 Americans older than 20 were considered pre-diabetic in 2007.

"In the long run, it will be cheaper," Collins said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it cost $299 billion to treat diabetes in 2010.

But in a second study that reduced complications in patients with diabetes by 90%, the behaviors encouraged by daily phone calls disappeared when the program ended, said Myrl Weinberg, president of the National Health Council, which represents people with chronic diseases and disabilities that lobbies for health care for all. "We believe that people absolutely want to change their behaviors," she said. "They need that social support."

It may be more important that employers provide wellness programs, such as gym memberships or smoking-cessation classes, than provide more money for health insurance, said Harvey Fineberg, president of the Institute of Medicine. And that social support will be necessary for behaviors to change.

Nease said such campaigns have worked in the past, when health groups and the government encouraged seat-belt use for children, and created anti-smoking advertisements. At the same time, marketers began to "supersize" products.

"We made smoking socially unacceptable," Nease said. "We have done the exact opposite with being overweight."

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Lawyer for mother guilty of attempted murder says system failed her

By the CNN Wire Staff STORY HIGHLIGHTSAttorney Kevin James says his client did not intentionally withhold medication"Certainly there was no motive in this case," he saysKristen LaBrie was found guilty of attempted murderJames says she was allowed to slip through the cracksRELATED TOPICSMassachusetts General HospitalCancerMental HealthRead more about this story from CNN affiliate WHDH.

(CNN) -- The attorney for the Massachusetts mother found guilty of attempted murder for withholding medications from her cancer-stricken son said Tuesday the system failed his client.

"Some of the times when people have mental problems they have a hard time reaching out. That's the purpose of social workers. Social workers are supposed to be able to detect when people have problems. The social workers on this case failed to do that. Certainly the warning signs were there," attorney Kevin James said on CNN's "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell."

"Why didn't the people that knew better, why didn't they come forward and help?" he asked.

Kristen LaBrie was found guilty Tuesday of attempted murder, assault and battery and causing bodily harm to a child for failing to give her son, Jeremy Fraser, cancer medications, according to CNN affiliate WHDH. Fraser, who also was autistic, died in 2009 at age 9, WHDH reported.

"Certainly there was no motive in this case," said James. "She did not intentionally withhold the medication from little Jeremy."

Prosecutors had argued that LaBrie knew exactly what she was doing when she stopped giving her son his cancer treatment, WHDH reported.

LaBrie, who testified in her own defense during the trial, was placed in handcuffs inside the courtroom after the jury delivered its verdict, video from WHDH showed.

She will be sentenced on Friday, the Boston affiliate reported.

"Mass General Hospital let this woman go," James said, referring to Massachusetts General Hospital. "They should have known that there were issues here -- should have known that maybe they were requesting too much of this single, 38-year-old woman to take care of a severely autistic child that now had cancer."

Watch ISSUES with Jane Velez-Mitchell Monday through Sunday at 7pm ET on HLN. For the latest from ISSUES click here.

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