Lacrosse player killed in fight after breakup

(News Today) - A University of Virginia lacrosse player charged with killing a member of the women's lacrosse team told investigators he had a violent fight with her, according to a search warrant affidavit released Tuesday.

George Huguely, 22, was arrested hours after a roommate found Yeardly Love's body Monday morning in her off-campus apartment in Charlottesville, Virginia.

A relationship between Love, also 22, and Huguely had just ended, Charlottesville Police Det. Lisa Reeves wrote in a sworn statement used to obtain a search warrant.

"George Huguely admitted on May 3, 2010 that he was involved in an altercation with Yeardly Love and that during the course of the altercation he shook Love and her head repeatedly hit the wall," Reeves wrote.

Love had "a large bruise on the right side of her face which appears to have been caused by blunt force trauma," according to the document. She was found face-down in a pool of blood.

Love and Huguely played on their school's highly ranked lacrosse teams, which are preparing for the NCAA championship tournaments later this month.

Huguely made his first appearance before a judge on a first-degree murder charge via video from county jail Tuesday morning. His lawyer did not request bond.

"We are confident that Ms. Love's death was not intended, but an accident with a tragic outcome," defense attorney Francis Lawrence said after the hearing.

Huguely admitted to kicking open the door to Love's bedroom after he found her apartment door unlocked, according to the detective's affidavit.

Huguely, who waived his Miranda rights to not talk to police, also admitted he took her computer from her apartment, Reeves wrote. It was later found by police after he told them where he disposed of it, she said.

Police were initially called by Love's roommate, who reported "a possible alcohol overdose," Police Chief Tim Longo said.

"It was quickly apparent to them this young lady was the victim of something far worse," Longo said.

Investigators "fairly quickly" focused on Huguely, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, as a suspect, he said.

Love "suffered visible physical trauma. However, the specific cause of death is undetermined pending an autopsy," Longo said.

"That she appears now to have been murdered by another student compounds this sense of loss by suggesting that Yeardley died without comfort or consolation from those closest to her," University President John Casteen said. "We know no explanation of what appears now to have happened."

Huguely's family issued a statement Tuesday morning through his lawyer. "Grief has descended on this community as we attempt to understand what happened and why," the statement said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those who grieve this terrible loss."

The University of Virginia's men's lacrosse squad is the top-ranked team in the nation. The women's team is ranked fourth. The championship tournaments start May 14.

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Sudan president wins election, officials say

(News Terupdate) - Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir won the country's controversial but historic presidential election with roughly two-thirds of the vote, the National Election Commission said Monday.

The elections were the first in 24 years in the oil-rich African nation, which has been riven by fighting in Darfur and a civil war between north and south.

A top United Nations official in southern Sudan called the voting "a necessary step in moving towards democratic governance in Sudan."

"The fact that it has come this far can seen as a step forward. It is a step forward in the peace agreement" signed in 2005, said David Gressley, UN resident coordinator for southern Sudan.

He confirmed that two supporters of an independent candidate for governor in Unity State were killed in clashes in the state capital Bentiu on Friday. But he said that in general, the post-election period has been relatively quiet.

The United States and other international observers criticized the elections, saying there were irregularities in many parts of the country.

The elections were "an essential step" in the peace process, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement last week.

But there were problems with the process, he said, citing "reports of intimidation and threats of violence in South Sudan, [and the] ongoing conflict in Darfur did not permit an environment conducive to acceptable elections."

Al-Bashir won 68.24 percent of the vote in the presidential race, getting just under 7 million votes, the commission said.

Salva Kiir won 92.99 percent of the vote in the race for president of Southern Sudan, a semi-autonomous region that is scheduled to vote next year on whether to become independent.

The results reflect the divisions between north and south that continue to plague the country, a leading independent political analyst said.

"Omar al-Bashir did very well in Northern states and it is not surprising that he did not do well in the South as he is not really well liked by the people in the South," the expert said. The analyst is not authorized to speak on the record and asked not to be named.

There could be isolated incidents of violence in response to the results, but they are what was expected, the observer said.

Al-Bashir, a former military officer who took power in a bloodless coup in 1989, has been indicted over allegations of war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

His implementation of Islamic law created divisions between the north and south.

The voting -- for president, parliament and other local positions -- was scrutinized by about 750 international and 18,000 domestic observers.

The election was a key part of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which helped end decades of civil war between the country's north and south.

The conflict pitted Christian and animist southerners against Muslim northerners, leaving more than 2 million people dead.

The peace deal also called for a referendum next year to determine whether the south should become an independent nation.

"The elections in the south experienced a high incidence of intimidation and the threat or use of force," the Carter Center said after the voting on April 18.

"There were numerous instances of the Sudan People's Liberation Army intimidating voters and being stationed too close to polling stations. State interference in the campaigns of opposition candidates was widespread in the south," said the Atlanta, Georgia-based organization headed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

However, the EU mission said, the elections showed progress on gender equality, "as a minimum of 25 percent of all legislative seats will be occupied by women."

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Despite widespread claims, little proof for brain supplements

(News Terupdate) - In the fight against memory loss, nothing is certain, doctors say.

A seemingly steady stream of new research purports to show supplements' and vitamins' promise in preventing or slowing cognitive decline, but in reality no hard evidence supports taking any of them. At the same time, such supplements have been proved safe, barring drug interactions and other complications, so some doctors recommend trying them anyway.

With millions of aging Americans experiencing a decrease in cognitive function, the need for a natural prevention method is obvious.

As many as 2.4 million to 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, according to the National Institute on Aging. Between 1 and 4 percent of people over the age of 65 have vascular dementia, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Fish oil

At the forefront of the supplement claims to improve brain function has been fish oil. Several observational studies -- which did not involve the scientific rigor of control groups -- have found benefits in cognition, or a lower risk of dementia, among older people who ate a lot of fish, although results overall have been mixed.

A study from Britain, to be published in the June issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, has found no benefit in taking fish oil supplements in cognitively healthy older adults. Researchers looked at more than 800 people ages 70 to 79, comparing the effects of fish oil to a placebo of olive oil.

On average, there was no difference in cognitive decline during the two years of study. Still, the authors caution that this may not have been long enough to see the real consequences of taking fish oil.

The theory is that fish oil could help because it's rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which control inflammation and protect cells. Omega-3s have been suggested to lower the risk of chronic diseases, such as cancer and heart disease.

The authors of the new study conclude that although they found no benefit on cognition, they also found no harm, and they acknowledge the benefits that have been found for other conditions. They recommend further study on fish oil and cognitive decline.

Gingko biloba

Gingko biloba is a popular botanical supplement that comes from one of the oldest living tree species. Its leaves are thought to have antioxidant properties. Research has suggested that this herbal medicine improves blood flow to the brain and protects nerve cells, and thus may be used to boost memory in people with dementia.

But a study of more than 3,000 people, followed for six years, could not find any effect of delaying or preventing Alzheimer's disease or improving memory. The latest published results were in the Journal of the American Medical Association in December.

"I do not believe that data suggest it has a role to play in prevention," senior author Dr. Steven DeKosky, dean of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, said in an e-mail.

The research did show, however, that the supplement is safe. It is also relatively inexpensive, "so if people insist on taking it, I do not object," DeKosky said.

The prevention trial has ended, but the group is still working on the mounds of data collected from participants, ages 72 to 96, DeKosky said.

They are also going to look at whether the presence or absence of amyloid plaques, a marker of Alzheimer's in the brain, predicts participants' cognitive status over the next five years. A smaller portion of people in the study will take part in a brain imaging study to examine what portion of normal 85-year-olds have these amyloid plaques.

Vitamin E

Dr. Alireza Atri, neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, gives vitamin E to his patients with Alzheimer's who wouldn't have side effects because of other medications but admits that it's not clear why this nutrient would help or what dose would be ideal.

Atri's group's findings, presented last year at the annual meeting of the American Geriatrics Society, suggested some potential in vitamin E slowing cognitive decline. They found a modest effect that increased with time.

The study has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal and has not been updated since it was presented, said Atri, also at the VA Bedford Medical Center.

Research on this subject over the past decade has been mixed. Some studies have found a decreased risk of developing Alzheimer's in people who take vitamin E, but others have not found this effect. In terms of slowing the progression of symptomatic patients, a controlled study found no effect, DeKosky said.

Large doses of vitamin E have been shown to cause serious toxic side effects, but low doses may be beneficial, Atri said.

"There's no evidence-based medicine for this," he said. "I think evidence-based opinion would say probably 150 to 100 units a day is fine."

People with bleeding problems should not take vitamin E because of interactions, Atri said.

What to do

Always consult your doctor to find out what supplements are right for you, as even natural remedies can have serious side effects in combination with other drugs or underlying conditions.

"I tell people to take a multivitamin because we know that as we get older, we have an increased risk of not absorbing all the nutrients we need," said Dr. Gary Small, director of the Center on Aging at the University of California, Los Angeles. "Beyond that, there's no hard, fast recommendation."

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White House to fight to preserve National Day of Prayer

(News Terupdate) - The Obama administration will fight to preserve the law establishing an annual National Day of Prayer, the Justice Department confirmed Thursday.

A federal judge declared the law unconstitutional last week.

The Justice Department's official filing of a "notice to appeal" Thursday came as no surprise, after White House spokesman Matt Lehrich said following the ruling that President Obama intends to recognize this year's National Day of Prayer, which is May 6.

U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb in Wisconsin ruled on April 15 that the 1952 law creating the National Day of Prayer violates the ban on government-backed religion.

The ruling produced predictable reactions, with most religious groups sharply criticizing it and groups backing a strict separation of church and state applauding it.

The injunction against the National Day of Prayer would not take effect until the appeals have been exhausted.

The case is Freedom From Religion v. President Barack Obama, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle.

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