Banks Hike Fees, Cut Costs to Boost Profits

By David Henry

United States - Jack up checking fees for bank customers who don't use direct deposit regularly. Replace tellers with self-service, touch-screen kiosks. Install new chairs and conference rooms to court well-to-do customers.

U.S. bank executives are handing down such orders to replace profits lost to recent regulatory reforms and low interest rates.

They hope these tactics will be more successful than Bank of America Corp's plan last fall to charge a $5 monthly fee for debit cards. The bank had to retreat amid howls of protest.

Having mostly stopped the losses from the financial crisis, banks are focused on lifting profits from levels below their own historic averages and those of many other industries.

Wells Fargo & Co, for example, has new account requirements that push customers to do more financial business with the company. Bank of America is testing new prices for basic services in three states.  JPMorgan Chase & Co is installing digital tablets and advanced ATMs to reduce the need for tellers and nearly one billion pieces of paper a year.

These three banks hold one-third of U.S. consumer deposits, and their price hikes, cost cuts and marketing to the rich are likely to influence the way Americans bank for years to come.

Increasingly, customers entering branches will be steered toward machines, much like airport ticket counters. More meetings with loan officers will take place by video conference. And nearly everyone, experts say, will need to be wary of new fees and pricing schemes.

Some customers are upset. Laurie Wittges of San Jose, California, said she is struggling to pay higher monthly charges from Wells Fargo. Unemployed, she can't maintain the balance of about $2,500 that the bank now requires to waive her fees.

"There are a bunch of people like me who can't afford this," said Wittges, 50. She lost a job as an executive assistant when the company where she worked closed last year.

CHECKING IS NOT FREE

As happens every decade or so, banks are intensifying efforts to increase pricing power, attract high net-worth customers and apply money-saving technology. While banks no longer lose money as they did in 2009, their stocks remain under pressure and executives are eager to raise profits.

Bank profits are simply too thin now to attract investors, said industry consultant Bert Ely. Return on equity, a key measure of profitability, in 2011 was 7.86 percent, which is below the 28-year average of nearly 10 percent and perhaps two-thirds as much as banks need to compete with other industries for capital, Ely said.
The outlook for the next few years is discouraging. One-time accounting adjustments boosted banks' 2011 results, and will need to be replaced for banks to increase earnings in 2012.

Regulators are on course to tighten limits on how much banks borrow to leverage up profits. And while bank stocks have rallied in the past six months, they are not hitting new peaks. The KBW Bank Index of stocks is no higher now than in August 2009 even though the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index is up more than 30 percent.

The Dodd-Frank Act, the law designed to address causes of the financial crisis, has curbed banks to the extent that there are fewer customers who bring enough revenue to cover the cost of serving them. Banks are barred from charging as much in overdraft fees as before, and from collecting from merchants all the money they used to get for debit-card transactions. Revenue from lending out customer deposits is down because of lower interest rates and loan demand.

Some executives regret marketing free checking accounts in the past. "As an industry, we have communicated with a generation of customers that this is all free, and there are costs," Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf lamented at an investment conference in December.

The average cost to provide a checking account through a bank branch, according to Wells Fargo and JPMorgan, is roughly $300 a year, including spending to open branches, build computer systems, create websites and operate call centers. On that basis, about half of all U.S. households are unprofitable to the banks, according to JPMorgan.

Even when customers leave thousands of dollars on deposit in accounts, banks often do not make enough money on the funds to cover the costs. For example, an account with $4,000 that JPMorgan could have invested last year would have generated only about $140 in interest revenue for the bank. That's based on the 3.51 percent average rate the bank received on interest-earning assets and does not factor in its cost to make loans.

To be sure, banks are not going to dump half of their accounts. Serving additional customers does not cost much once banks have set up operations. Incremental costs for things like checks, debit cards and additional deposit insurance are so slight that they are covered by about 90 percent of accounts, according to JPMorgan. The banks also know that once interest rates rise and loan demand returns they will make money on the marginal accounts.

NEW PRICE PLANS

But banks are making a shift. Across all banks, 45 percent of non-interest checking accounts are now free, down from 65 percent in 2010, according to a Bankrate.com study released in September.

Banks are searching for an extra $5 here and $10 there. Bank of America, for example, since last year has been testing a menu of account choices in Massachusetts, Georgia and Arizona. The accounts, for new consumers, cost $6 to $25 per month. Most of the accounts provide ways to escape the fees, but customers must keep a minimum balance or use a credit card.

Wells Fargo eliminated free checking for new customers in 2010 and is gradually ending it for existing customers. In early March, the bank said it will charge current customers in six East Coast states $7 per month, unless they keep a $1,500 minimum daily balance or make direct deposits of $500 each month. The bank has already made the change in 24 western states.

Wells Fargo CEO Stumpf also aims to convince customers to do more business with the bank, like take out loans and use investment services, to pay their way. "We can give them package pricing," Stumpf told investors. "It is a better deal for them."

To cut costs, Bank of America is closing branches. Wells Fargo said it may shrink branches and reduce the number of tellers.

JPMorgan is installing new technology in branches to cut expenses and, executives hope, attract profitable
customers.

"We'll have more room for self-service, more room for rich people and business customers," Todd Maclin, JPMorgan's consumer banking chief, said at an investor conference last month.

The bank plans to coach customers in online and mobile banking, he said. Advanced ATMs will cash checks and dispense currency in multiple denominations, reducing the need for human tellers.

In six branches where JPMorgan is testing self-service kiosks, check cashing with tellers declined 40 percent. "Paperless tellers," people equipped with computer tablet touch screens, saved time and reduced errors in five branches where they are being tested, the bank said.

JPMorgan expects to use video conferencing to allow foreign language speakers and investment and loan experts to talk with customers in multiple locations. Some 58 branches now have machines that issue debit cards on the spot to save postage and time. The machines will soon spit out credit cards, too.

Still, new equipment and mobile banking apps can only do so much. About 90 percent of retail transactions with the bank are already automated, Maclin said. While the remaining 10 percent of transactions tend to have especially high costs that can be reduced, the estimated $500 million in annual savings falls short of the $800 million JPMorgan said it is losing to new regulations on consumer accounts and debit cards.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said in an interview that what is different for banks from past profit squeezes is that there are more ways to provide cost-effective services to customers, such as mobile banking.

That may be, but banks have failed with some technology investments in the past. In the late 1990s, First Union Corp, a North Carolina-based regional bank, flopped with a strategy called "Future Bank" intended to push customers away from tellers to phones, ATMs and computers. Customers grumbled about long waiting lines for tellers and in-branch phones that connected them to distant call centers. First Union lost deposits and had to rehire tellers.

Maclin of JPMorgan Chase vowed his bank will be careful as it pushes ahead. "We're not going to torture people in the process of getting them to go to self-service," he said.

Azerbaijan Arrests 22 of Their Own Citizens for Allegedly Being Iranian Spies

By Madison Ruppert

Azerbaijan - The Azerbaijani government has announced that they arrested 22 of their own citizens who they claim are Iranian spies.

The tensions between Iran and neighboring Azerbaijan have only increased over recent months and this latest announcement is, without a doubt, not going to make anything less heated.

Late last month, Iran complained of “creeping Zionist influence” in the Caucasus, a jab which was clearly aimed at Azerbaijan. This came after Azerbaijan signed a shockingly large $1.6 billion weapons deal with Israel.

The Associated Press reports that security services in Azerbaijan arrested the individuals who they claim were hired by Iran to carry out multiple terrorist attacks against both the American and Israeli embassies and other entities linked to the West.

Back in 2007, Azerbaijan convicted 15 individuals who were accused of being part of an alleged spy network linked to Iran which was supposedly transmitting intelligence on the Western and Israeli activities in the country.

Just last month, Azerbaijan announced that they arrested another alleged terrorist group who was supposedly working under Iranian security forces.

In January, an additional two people were arrested and accused of planning to murder two teachers at a Jewish school in the capital city of Azerbaijan, Baku.

The latest individuals who were arrested are accused of being trained in Iran directly by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The statement did not reveal when these 22 individuals were arrested, or how they were captured or discovered. As of now they have been charged with treason in addition to the purchase and possession of weapons and explosives.

Interestingly, this alleged plot brings both Russia and Syria into the mix.

Azerbaijan’s security ministry claimed in their official statement that an alleged operative of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps identified as Akper Pakravesh recruited individuals who he met with in the Russian capital of Moscow and the Syrian capital of Damascus, at which time they were given finances and equipment.

Azerbaijani officials claimed that they found espionage equipment grenades, automatic assault rifles, ammunition and other explosives when capturing the alleged terrorists.

Alleged targets included the offices of an unnamed Jewish organization, Western and Israeli diplomatic missions, the local headquarters of behemoth oil corporation BP as well as, oddly enough, an American-themed fast food restaurant.

Like the alleged plots in both Georgia and India, these targets do not make much sense when one attempts to assume the mindset of a terrorist.

The only targets that might actually make an impact would be diplomatic missions but even then, chances are that the only result would be a hellacious assault on Iranians.

It seems highly unlikely that the IRGC, a group which the Western establishment media loves to characterize as some superhuman crack squad of terrorist handlers, would choose targets like a fast food restaurant.

Obviously such an attack would only give more reasons for warmongers to cite when attempting to justify a war with Iran, while accomplishing absolutely nothing.

I’m not one to think that violence can accomplish anything truly meaningful, but blowing up cheeseburgers and milkshakes seems especially pointless, especially given the inevitable repercussions which would follow.
The Associated Press points to Iran’s constant denials of any links to the attacks which are blamed on them, however they write that Iran “accuses Israel of directing the slayings of Iranian scientists.”


It isn’t just Iran accusing Israel of directing the assassinations of Iranian scientists linked to their nuclear program, indeed anonymous American officials have confirmed that the Israeli Mossad is indeed training and running the assassinations.

The statement alleges that some of the individuals who were supposedly involved in the plot were recruited as early as 1999, while one of the brothers of the accused called the allegations, “unfounded and fabricated.”

It will be interesting to see if the likes of the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and his warmonger cronies will jump on this as another questionable justification for a strike on Iran.

CDC Launching Graphic Anti-Smoking Ad Campaign

Atlanta - Tobacco taxes and smoking bans haven't budged the U.S. smoking rate in years. Now the government is trying to shock smokers into quitting with a graphic nationwide advertising campaign.

The billboards and print, radio and TV ads show people whose smoking resulted in heart surgery, a tracheotomy, lost limbs or paralysis. The $54 million campaign is the largest and starkest anti-smoking push by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its first national advertising effort.

The agency is hoping the spots, which begin Monday, will persuade as many as 50,000 Americans to stop smoking.

"This is incredibly important. It's not every day we release something that will save thousands of lives," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said in a telephone interview.

That bold prediction is based on earlier research that found aggressive anti-smoking campaigns using hard-hitting images sometimes led to decreases in smoking. After decades of decline, the U.S. smoking rate has stalled at about 20 percent in recent years.

Advocates say it's important to jolt a weary public that has been listening to government warnings about the dangers of smoking for nearly 50 years.

"There is an urgent need for this media campaign," Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a statement.

The CDC was set to announce the three-month campaign on Thursday.

One of the print ads features Shawn Wright from Washington state who had a tracheotomy after being diagnosed with head and neck cancer four years ago. The ad shows the 50-year-old shaving, his razor moving down toward a red gaping hole at the base of his neck that he uses to speak and breathe.

An advertising firm, Arnold Worldwide, found Wright and about a dozen others who developed cancer or other health problems after smoking for the ads.

Federal health agencies have gradually embraced graphic anti-smoking imagery. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved nine images to be displayed on cigarette packages. Among them were a man exhaling cigarette smoke through a tracheotomy hole in his throat, and a diseased mouth with what appear to be cancerous lesions.

Last month, a federal judge blocked the requirement that tobacco companies put the images on their packages, saying it was unconstitutional.

Graphic ads are meant to create an image so striking that smokers and would-be smokers will think of it whenever they have an urge to buy a pack of cigarettes, said Glenn Leshner, a University of Missouri researcher who has studied the effectiveness of anti-smoking ads.

Leshner and his colleagues found that some ads are so disturbing that people reacted by turning away from the message rather than listening. So while spots can shock viewers into paying attention, they also have to encourage people that quitting is possible, he said.

The CDC campaign includes information on a national quit line and offers advice on how to kick the habit, CDC officials said.

Georgia Law Would Outlaw Picketing Homes of Corporate Executives

By Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky

 

Georgia - Coming only days after a protest outside a major telecommunications company, Republican lawmakers in Georgia have introduced a bill that would subject non-violent demonstrators involved in a labor dispute to heavy fines and felony convictions.

 

If SB 469 passes, picketing outside the homes of company executives would be forbidden. The bill’s wording defends the executives’ right to “quiet enjoyment.” Protesters also could face fines and felony charges if they demonstrate outside businesses that have won court rulings ordering the sit-ins to stop.

 

The legislation was introduced on February 21, only eight days after a demonstration inside AT&T’s headquarters in Atlanta, where 12 people were arrested for criminal trespass, which currently is a misdemeanor. Since the arrests, Occupy Atlanta and union groups have camped out in front of the building.

 

SB 469 was introduced by four Republican state senators, Don Balfour, Bill Hamrick, Bill Cowsert and Ross Tolleson, who are members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Funded by corporations, ALEC creates model bills for sympathetic state legislators, including proposed laws they fight labor unions. ALEC also drafted Arizona’s controversial anti-immigration bill as a way of helping one of members, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation’s largest private prison company.

Salt Intake From Bread Higher Than You Think: Study

Atlanta - It seems high amounts of salt are in many places, and almost a certain thing in processed and canned foods. Now a study reveals bread is the main source of salt in the American diet.


The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a study that names the top ten sources for salt. Surprisingly junk food such as potato chips, pretzels, and popcorn were at the bottom of the list.

While not the saltiest foods, breads and rolls tend to be consumed by more people than other foods. This means breads and rolls, while they make up just seven percent of an average American's salt intake, can add salt intake at an alarming rate. What complicates matters is different types of the same food, in this example bread, can vary greatly. White bread can have anywhere between 80 and 230 milligrams of sodium per slice and a small bag of potato chips can hold 450 to more than 1,000 milligrams.


The finding that ten simple foods are responsible for slightly more than 40 percent of overall salt intake surprised even CDC officials.

According to the study Americans consume more than 3,300 milligrams of sodium a day, while the recommended amount is 2,300 and even less for some people with health issues.

Rank†	Food category§	Age group (yrs)
		≥2	2–19	2–5	6–11	12–19	≥20	20–50	51–70	≥71
		% (SE)	% (SE)	% (SE)	% (SE)	% (SE)	% (SE)	% (SE)	% (SE)	% (SE)
1	Breads and rolls	7.4 (0.2)	6.9 (0.4)	6.5 (0.5)	7.8 (0.6)	6.5 (0.4)	7.5 (0.2)	7.2 (0.3)	7.8 (0.4)	9.6 (0.3)
2	Cold cuts/cured meats	5.1 (0.3)	4.4 (0.4)	3.4 (0.5)	4.3 (0.4)	4.9 (0.7)	5.3 (0.3)	5.5 (0.5)	4.6 (0.2)	6.0 (0.5)
3	Pizza	4.9 (0.2)	7.3 (0.4)	4.8 (0.7)	7.2 (0.6)	8.2 (0.7)	4.1 (0.2)	5.0 (0.4)	3.0 (0.4)	1.7 (0.2)
4	Poultry	4.5 (0.2)	5.5 (0.4)	5.5 (0.4)	4.7 (0.4)	6.0 (0.6)	4.2 (0.3)	4.5 (0.3)	3.9 (0.3)	2.7 (0.3)
5	Soups	4.3 (0.3)	4.0 (0.2)	5.3 (0.9)	3.6 (0.4)	3.9 (0.4)	4.4 (0.4)	4.2 (0.4)	4.6 (0.7)	5.7 (0.7)
6	Sandwiches¶	4.0 (0.3)	4.4 (0.3)	3.5 (0.3)	3.9 (0.3)	5.0 (0.5)	3.9 (0.3)	4.5 (0.3)	3.2 (0.6)	3.7 (0.5)
7	Cheese**	3.8 (0.2)	3.8 (0.3)	4.2 (0.4)	3.7 (0.3)	3.9 (0.4)	3.8 (0.2)	3.9 (0.2)	3.5 (0.2)	1.8 (0.3)
8	Pasta mixed dishes††	3.3 (0.2)	3.8 (0.4)	4.0 (0.6)	4.0 (0.5)	3.7 (0.4)	3.1 (0.2)	3.4 (0.4)	2.4 (0.5)	2.9 (0.3)
9	Meat mixed dishes	3.2 (0.3)	2.1 (0.4)	—§§	2.2 (0.5)	1.9 (0.4)	3.6 (0.3)	3.5 (0.3)	3.6 (0.7)	4.2 (0.7)
10	Savory snacks¶¶	3.1 (0.2)	4.4 (0.3)	3.4 (0.2)	4.6 (0.4)	4.6 (0.6)	2.8 (0.2)	2.8 (0.2)	3.0 (0.4)	1.6 (0.2)
Mean daily sodium consumption (mg) (SE)		3,266(40)	2,957 (53)	2,245 (54)	2,944 (72)	3,310 (70)	3,372 (48)	3,568 (58)	3,239 (73)	2,658 (77)
Unweighted no. of participants in sample		7,227	2,544	662	901	981	4,683	2,280	1,549	854
Abbreviation: SE = standard error. * The population proportion (%) of sodium consumed is defined as the sum of the amount of sodium consumed from each specific food category for all participants divided by the sum of sodium consumed from all food categories for all participants multiplied by 100. All estimates use two observations per person, take into account the complex sampling design, and use 2-day diet sample weights to account for nonresponse and weekend/weekday recalls. Standard errors of the estimates are in parentheses. † Rank based on population proportions of sodium consumed for overall U.S. population aged ≥ 2 years. Columns for other age groups are ordered by this ranking. Additional information regarding food categorization is available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6105-table.htm. § Food categories contributing ≥ 3% to overall sodium consumption within specific age groups but not listed among the top 10 contributors were as follows: persons aged 2–19 years, frankfurters and sausages (3.7%) and ready-to-eat cereal (3.2%); 2–5 years, frankfurters and sausages (5.4%), whole and reduced fat milk (4.7%), and ready-to-eat cereal (3.7%); 6–11 years, frankfurters and sausages (4.1%), and ready-to-eat cereals (3.4%); 12–19 years, burritos, tacos, and tamales (4.0%); 20–50 years, burritos, tacos, tamales (3.4%); 51–70 years, salad dressings and vegetable oils (3.5%); ≥71 years, biscuits, muffins, quick breads (3.2%). ¶ Sandwiches as identified by a single WWEIA code. ** Natural and processed cheese. †† Pasta mixed dishes category does not include macaroni and cheese, which is its own category. §§ Data are statistically unreliable; relative standard error ≥ 30%. ¶¶ Includes snacks such as chips, puffs, popcorn, and pretzels.

TABLE 2. Ranked population proportions of sodium consumed* by persons aged ≥2 years, by selected food categories, sex, and selected race/ethnicities — What We Eat in America (WWEIA), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, United States, 2007–2008
Rank†	Food category§	Sex		Race/Ethnicity
		Male	Female	non-Hispanic white	non-Hispanic black	Mexican-American
		% (SE)	% (SE)	% (SE)	% (SE)	% (SE)
1	Breads and rolls	7.4 (0.3)	7.4 (0.2)	7.9 (0.3)	6.7 (0.3)	5.2 (0.2)
2	Cold cuts/cured meats	5.8 (0.5)	4.3 (0.2)	5.5 (0.4)	4.6 (0.4)	4.1 (0.3)
3	Pizza	5.7 (0.3)	4.0 (0.3)	4.9 (0.2)	5.6 (0.6)	5.2 (0.2)
4	Poultry	4.5 (0.3)	4.5 (0.2)	4.1 (0.3)	7.2 (0.5)	4.5 (0.3)
5	Soups	4.3 (0.4)	4.4 (0.3)	3.6 (0.3)	3.2 (0.5)	6.2 (0.8)
6	Sandwiches¶	4.3 (0.4)	3.7 (0.3)	3.7 (0.4)	6.0 (0.7)	4.1 (0.4)
7	Cheese**	3.7 (0.1)	3.9 (0.3)	4.1 (0.2)	3.0 (0.2)	3.2 (0.2)
8	Pasta mixed dishes††	3.2 (0.2)	3.4 (0.3)	3.5 (0.2)	3.1 (0.2)	1.8 (0.2)
9	Meat mixed dishes	3.1 (0.2)	3.4 (0.5)	3.6 (0.3)	2.3 (0.2)	2.0 (0.2)
10	Savory snacks§§	2.9 (0.2)	3.4 (0.2)	3.3 (0.2)	3.2 (0.2)	2.8 (0.2)
Mean daily sodium consumption (mg) (SE)		3,760 (57)	2,828 (36)	3,324 (49)	3,116 (51)	3,037 (49)
Unweighted no. of participants in sample		3,557	3,670	3,115	1,600	1,407
Abbreviation: SE = standard error. * The population proportion (%) of sodium consumed is defined as the sum of the amount of sodium consumed from each specific food category for all participants divided by the sum of sodium consumed from all food categories for all participants multiplied by 100. All estimates use two observations per person, take into account the complex sampling design, and use 2-day diet sample weights to account for nonresponse and weekend/weekday recalls. Standard errors of the estimates are in parentheses. † Rank based on population proportions of sodium consumed for overall U.S. population aged ≥ 2 years. Columns for other age groups are ordered by this ranking. Additional information regarding food categorization is available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6105-table.htm. § Food categories contributing ≥ 3% to overall sodium consumption within specific age groups but not listed among the top 10 contributors were as follows: males, frankfurters and sausages (3.3%), and burritos, tacos, and tamales (3.2%); females, frankfurters and sausages (3.3%), burritos, tacos, and tamales (3.2%); non-Hispanic blacks, frankfurters and sausages (5.0%), salad dressings and vegetable oils (2.4%); Mexican-Americans, burritos, tacos, and tamales (6.8%), tortillas (4.7%), and eggs and eggs mixed dishes (3.8%). ¶ Sandwiches as identified by a single WWEIA code. ** Natural and processed cheese. †† Pasta mixed dishes category does not include macaroni and cheese, which is its own category. §§ Includes snacks such as chips, puffs, popcorn, and pretzels.

TABLE 3. Population proportions of sodium consumed* and mean sodium density,† by food source category and age group — What We Eat in America, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, United States, 2007–2008
Age group (yrs)	Food source category§
	Store	Restaurant with fast food/pizza	Restaurant with waiter/waitress	Cafeteria at school/child care center	Other
≥2
Population proportion, % (SE)	65.2 (1.0)	13.6 (0.7)	11.2 (0.7)	—	10.0 (0.5)
Sodium density, mg/1,000 kcal	1,519 (10)	1,848 (16)	2,090 (32)	—	1,676 (21)
2–19
Population proportion, % (SE)	65.5 (1.1)	13.7 (0.6)	6.3 (0.7)	8.1 (1.2)	6.3 (0.5)
Sodium density, mg/1,000 kcal	1,509 (14)	1,745 (20)	1,970 (63)	1,701 (22)	1,501 (58)
≥20
Population proportion, % (SE)	65.1 (1.3)	13.6 (0.8)	12.7 (0.8)	—	8.6 (0.4)
Sodium density, mg/1,000 kcal	1,522 (12)	1,882 (23)	2,110 (29)	—	1,712 (24)
Abbreviation: SE = standard error. * The populat2on proportion (%) of sodium consumed is defined as the sum of the amount of sodium consumed from each specific food source category for all participants divided by the sum of sodium consumed from all food source categories for all participants multiplied by 100. All estimates use two obs2rvations per person, take into account the complex sampling design, and use 2-day diet sample weights to account for nonresponse and weekend/weekday recalls. Standard errors of the estimates are in parentheses. The unweighted number of participants in each sample was 7,227 (2,554 children and 4,683 adults). † A measure that accounts for differences in the amount of calories consumed from foods obtained from each source, defined as mg of sodium per 1,000 kcal. § Food source categories were analyzed from responses to the question, "Where did you get this (most of the ingredients for this) [food name]?" "Cafeteria at school" and "child care center" were combined in one category. Sources other than those shown were combined under "other" and included "from someone else/gift" (3.9% population proportion among those aged ≥2 years), cafeteria at school/child care center (2.1%), and 19 other sources (e.g., vending machine), including "missing," "do not know," and "other/specify" (<1%). For persons not aged 2–19 years, "cafeteria at school" and "child care center" were grouped in the "other" category because <1% reported consumption of sodium from foods obtained at these locations.

TABLE 4. Percent of persons aged > 2 years who consumed the food from the specified food category* and among those persons, the proportion who obtained the food from stores, restaurants, or other sources — What We Eat in America (WWEIA), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, United States, 2007–2008
Rank	Food category	No. of consumers§	% (SE)¶	Food source category†
				Store % (SE)	Restaurant with fast food/pizza % (SE)	Restaurant with waiter/waitress % (SE)	Other % (SE)
1	Breads and rolls	5,672	79.9 (0.9)	76.4 (1.3)	6.7 (0.8)	8.7 (0.6)	8.2 (0.7)
2	Cold cuts/cured meats	2,469	33.9 (1.2)	78.8 (1.1)	6.5 (1.0)	5.4 (0.9)	9.3 (1.2)
3	Pizza	1,569	21.9 (0.7)	27.2 (3.1)	51.2 (3.5)	13.2 (2.1)	8.4 (1.1)
4	Poultry	3,659	48.3 (1.3)	46.0 (2.4)	26.6 (1.9)	16.7 (1.2)	10.7 (1.3)
5	Soups	1,670	22.0 (1.3)	77.4 (4.3)	—**	12.5 (3.6)	7.5 (1.1)
6	Sandwiches††	1,480	20.6 (1.1)	11.9 (1.2)	84.5 (1.4)	—	3.0 (0.8)
7	Cheese§§	3,833	56.2 (1.9)	72.4 (1.2)	10.5 (1.0)	8.2 (0.6)	8.9 (0.9)
8	Pasta mixed dishes¶¶	1,183	17.6 (0.9)	82.2 (3.2)	—	7.4 (1.6)	8.8 (1.5)
9	Meat mixed dishes	1,417	21.8 (1.4)	76.7 (3.5)	5.4 (1.2)	9.2 (2.3)	8.7 (2.0)
10	Savory snacks***	3,599	50.7 (1.5)	81.7 (1.5)	3.6 (1.0)	2.5 (0.4)	12.2 (1.2)
* Ranked by population proportions (%) of sodium consumed by persons aged ≥2 years. The population proportion (%) of sodium consumed is defined as the sum of the amount of sodium consumed from each specific food source category for all participants who consumed foods within the specified food category divided by the sum of sodium consumed from all food source categories for all participants who consumed foods within the specified food category multiplied by 100. All estimates use two observations per person, take into account the complex sampling design, and use 2-day diet sample weights to account for nonresponse and weekend/weekday recalls. Standard errors of the estimates are in parentheses. Data were limited to the food categories ranked in the top 10 in population proportion of sodium consumed by persons aged ≥2 years. † Food source categories were analyzed from responses to the question, "Where did you get this (most of the ingredients for this) [food name]?" Sources other than those shown were combined under "other" and included "from someone else/gift" (3.9% population proportion among those aged ≥2 years), cafeteria at school/child care center (2.1%), and 19 other sources (e.g., vending machine), including "missing," "do not know," and "other/specify" (<1%). § No. of participants aged ≥2 who reported consumption of at least one food within the selected food category on either day of the two 24-hour dietary recall. ¶ Percentage of participants aged ≥2 years who reported consumption of at least one food within the selected food category on either day of the two 24-hour dietary recalls. ** Data are statistically unreliable, relative standard error ≥30%. †† Sandwiches as identified by a single WWEIA code. §§ Natural and processed cheese. ¶¶ Pasta mixed dishes category does not include macaroni and cheese, which is its own category. *** Includes snacks such as chips, puffs, popcorn, and pretzels.

Odd Stories: Teens Caught Using CNN Computers for Facebook

Aldayne Fearon

Francis Mutemwa

Atlanta - Two teenagers are in jail after they broke into CNN's newsroom in the early morning hours of January 27^th.

Aldayne Fearon and Francis Mutemwa were found by police checking their Facebook pages according to police. They were discovered after CNN's security notified the officers “someone [was] in their secure area newsroom.”


It appears Fearon and Mutemwa drove to the CNN building, climbed over a ledge, “and started working on two computers” according to spokeswoman for the Atlanta police Kim Jones.

The two are facing charges of criminal trespassing.

Pro Golfer, Swim Coach Among 40 Busted in Sex Sting Operation

Orlando - From January 8th to the 16th of this year Osceola County Sheriffs Department (OCSD) conducted sex sting operations in several counties in Florida.

Known as Operation Red Cheeks, detectives and investigators set-up online profiles as either minors or as a 30-year-old mother with a 13-year-old daughter, all of whom were interested in having sex.  Through internet chatrooms, the investigation led to 40 arrests including the three pictured men.

Alexander Roy (left), is an eighth-grade math teacher at the Manatee Academy who traveled from Port St. Lucie to Kissimmee to have sex with a mother and her 13-year-old daughter.

PGA professional golfer Stephen Wesley Thomas (center), believed he was chatting with a mother about possibly having sex with her and her 13-year-old daughter as well. The 'mother' was only willing to have sex with Thomas if she could watch him perform sex acts on and with her daughter. When arrested and searched, Thomas was found to have condoms, chocolate pudding, and honey. Thomas has since posted bail.

Bryan Allen Woodard (right), a private swim team coach who coached 200 children, mostly under the age of 18, was arrested for chatting with a '14-year-old' whom he agreed to meet. The Gator Swim Club coach was found in possession of M&M's and aside from discussing graphic sexual acts reportedly told the undercover cop, "younger girls turn me on."

"What is most concerning about this is not that there are so many people out there, but that some of these people work directly with children," said Twis Lizasuain, a spokeswoman for the OCSD.

Ranging in ages from 18-70, most of the suspects came from the central Florida area. Men from Georgia, Alaska, New York, and New Jersey were also caught in separate stings.

Nine students, including one in high school and a student at the Golf Academy of America were also arrested and charged.

Some suspects responded to fake advertisements like "2 for 1 girls on vacation" or "Fun family intimate experience" on the Internet and in most cases the suspects sent inappropriate photos to who they believed was a minor.

Hidden surveillance cameras, internet chat logs, and other evidence were collected in each case and all suspects are charged with an array of offences ranging from traveling to seduce a child to commit a sex act, use of a computer to induce a guardian to facilitate sex with a child, and attempted lewd and lascivious battery.

Georgia May Lose Federal Funding over Excessive Jailing of Non-Criminal Juveniles

By Noel Brinkerhoff

 

The state of Georgia has for years thrown into jail juveniles who have committed no crime. But to continue doing so could now cost the state millions of dollars.

 

Those spending time in jail are what is known as “status offenders”—runaways, truants, curfew violators, underage smokers and drinkers whose actions would not be considered crimes if they were adults.

 

A study commissioned by the Georgia Governor’s Office for Children and Families has warned that the incarceration of such non-criminal youths could mean losing $2 million a year from the federal government.

 

Legislation has been introduced in the Georgia legislature that would overhaul how the state handles status offenders. The bill calls for creating a new agency, Children in Need of Services, modeled after what 16 other states have done with their non-criminal youths. The idea is to redirect these children and teens into community-based services instead of throwing them behind bars.

Georgia Takes Top Two Spots for Worst Polluting Power Stations

By Matt Bewig

 

Georgia leads the nation for dirty power plants, which are the primary source for greenhouse gases like CO₂, methane and nitrous oxide. To put things into perspective, for cars to produce as much planet-baking CO₂ as U.S. coal-fired power plants do in a year, Americans would have to drive at least twice as much as they currently do.

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released an online Greenhouse Gas Database that allows consumers to find out which power plants are polluting the most. The database, which includes the 6,700 power plants and heavy industrial sites responsible for 80 percent of all emissions in the US, shows that Georgia is home to the two worst polluting plants in the country—Scherer coal plant in Juliette and Bowen coal plant in Cartersville. Neighboring Alabama has the third worst offender, the Miller coal plant in Quinton, Alabama, while yet another Southern state, Texas, is the locale of the fourth worst plant, the Martin Lake coal plant in Tatum, Texas.

Fort Benning Soldier Charged With First-degree Child Cruelty

Columbus, GA- Army Sergeant Shane Hinkson, a 3rd Brigade soldier stationed at Fort Benning, was arrested Jan. 1st while on post for first-degree child cruelty following a New Year's Day incident in which he violently shook his eight-month-old son.

The baby, Alexander Cabanayan, was found unresponsive by his mother who rushed him to St. Francis Hospital in Columbus where it was determined that Alexander was in critical condition and had suffered brain swelling and other injuries. Shortly after being admitted into St. Francis', Alexander was flown to Egleston Children's Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, was monitored by 9 doctors and placed in stable but critical condition. Sadly, the eight-month-old passed away at around 10:15 p.m. Friday, January 6, 2012, turning Hinkson's charge of cruelty to children into a murder charge.

Police and investigators stated that the incident occurred at 1534 Antietam Drive where Hinkson lived with his fiancee, the child's mother. It was there, that Hinkson allegedly shook the baby boy for reasons not yet known to the public. The injuries sustained by the young child were very similar to those of a Shaken Baby Syndrome victim.

Columbus Police Department Lieutenant Lynn Joiner stated, "We don't feel it's accidental," when questioned on whether the Army Sergeant Hinkson had released a statement since his arrest.

Lt. Joiner also stated that investigators weren't positive on what happened that horrible afternoon, but have "developed enough information to be able to charge (Hinkson) with murder."

A police report stated Hinkson as the "primary aggressor" through physical and testimonial evidence.

Hinkson waived his preliminary hearing Saturday and was ordered to be held without bond in the Muscogee County Jail where his previous bond for cruelty charges was $100,000.

Video of Some of the Kaolin Spill's Effects

15th Syringe Found in Bartow County Walmart Could Be Copycat

Cartersville, GA-Following the discovery of a syringe in a pair of slippers purchased at the Walmart located in Bartow County, police are beginning to think copy-cats are to blame for the recent string of syringes.

"There's always a possibility, but like anything else, you have to look outside the box and see what all is going on, whether or not they're legitimate cases or if, in fact, they're copy-cat cases," said Russell Ballard, an investigator assigned to the case.

With the latest of the syringes being found in a pair of slippers purchased on December 26th at the Bartow county Walmart, police authorities and Walmart officials have both worked tirelessly to inspect clothing apparel as well as surveillance tapes in attempts to find the culprit(s) involved in these truly dangerous and potentially deadly crimes.

"It's agitating to us to not be able to find out what's going on at this point," Ballard said of the syringes. With 15 total found, 14 of them in the Cartersville Walmart whereas one was found in a pair of jogging pants on Christmas Eve.

Ashley King, a Dekalb mother who found the syringe in her 4-year-old daughters jogging pants, purchased them from The Athlete's Foot on Wesley Chapel Road. While changing her daughters clothes, King found the syringe with a red cap over the needle, "I'm just glad I found it before she did," King said.

From following news coverage, she was aware of the syringes being discovered at the Cartersville Walmart and contacted the police.

Dekalb County police don't believe the incidents are related, but as with the current "copy-cat" allegations, they don't know.

"This case appears to be an isolated incident; however, we are aware of the other cases outside of our jurisdiction and take this case very seriously. The case is currently under investigation by our criminal division," Lt. A. B. Catlin of the Dekalb County Sheriff's Department stated.

Click Here to see our first coverage of the syringes found in Cartersville's Walmart.

Kaolin Spill Being Investigated

Highway 1 at Reedy Creek (Day Two of the spill)

Wrens, Georgia - A pipeline owned and operated by KaMin LLC broke around Sunday afternoon, sending several tons of kaolin into Reedy Creek.  Kaolin is substance known in the Southern United States as "white chalk", "white dirt", "white clay", and in other areas as "china clay"

The rupture of the pipe, which is about a foot around and seven-and-a-half miles long, was reported by residents around 2:30 Sunday according to the Savannah Riverkeeper, an environmental group.  The repairs to the pipe and stop the leak are already being conducted.

The estimate of "several tons" of kaolin being spilled was made by the group's science adviser Frank Carl

"It appears at this time the pipeline failed near the Highway 17 bridge and ran downhill into Reedy Creek," KaMin's vice-president Doug Carter said. "At the time of the pipe failure we notified [Georgia's] Environmental Protection Division of the spill and together with the Department of Natural Resources have developed a monitoring plan for the creek from our plant south to Keysville."

In October, approximately 12-thousand fish died along 18 miles of Brier Creek, which is connected to Reedy Creek and is the source of some city's water supply.  It's suspected that the cause is related to the area's kaolin facilities, but there is no definitive link and state regulators have yet to take action on it.

At the moment there is no press release from KaMin LLC about the incident and calls to the company have not been answered.

Here is some video from one of the Savannah Riverkeepers.





Update: There still been no calls returned from the company concerning the spill, but there is now a press release on the website.

Odd Stories: That Yelling Isn't Coming from Santa

Norcross, GA – After spending more than ten hours stuck in a chimney a teenager is free and charged with burglary and providing a false name to police.

A neighbor called police after hearing Renaldo Jack yelling for help from the chimney. When the fire department arrived he told them he was stuck since three in the morning. He was finally out of the dilemna around 1:30 p.m. via a rope lowered to him.