Colombia Secret Service Prostitution Scandal Spreads to the DEA By PIERRE THOMAS and JASON RYAN | ABC News – 13 hrs ago Email 5 Print RELATED CONTENT
Colombia Secret Service Prostitution … A month after the Secret Service was rocked by allegations that agents brought prostitutes to a Colombia hotel where they were preparing for a visit by President Obama, the Drug Enforcement Administration today announced that at least three of its agents are also under investigation for allegedly hiring prostitutes in Cartagena. Two of the agents allegedly had encounters with masseuses in the apartment of one of the agents, according to Sen. Susan Collins, the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "It's disturbing that we may be uncovering a troubling culture that spans more than one law enforcement agency," the Maine Republican said this evening. "In addition to the Secret Service scandal, we now learn that at least two DEA agents apparently entertained female foreign national masseuses in the Cartagena apartment of one of the agents. The evidence uncovered thus far indicates that this likely was not just a one-time incident." The revelations that Secret Service personnel had been drinking heavily and cavorting with prostitutes ahead of Obama's trip to Colombia last month overshadowed the president's trip to the Summit of the Americas. Twelve members of the military were also investgated for allegedly hiring prostitutes. Eight of the 12 Secret Service employees implicated in the scandal lost their jobs, another is in the process of losing his security clearances, and three agents were cleared of serious misconduct but still could be disciplined. The military has completed its investigation but no disciplinary action has been carried out. "The Drug Enforcement Administration was provided information from the Secret Service unrelated to the Cartagena hotel Secret Service incident, which DEA immediately followed up on, making DEA employees available to be interviewed by the Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General," a DEA spokesperson said in a statement. "DEA takes allegations of misconduct very seriously and will take appropriate personnel action, if warranted, upon the conclusion of the OIG investigation." the statement said. A spokesman for the OIG said the DEA is cooperating in the investigation, which is being coordinated with the Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, and the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. The DEA has agents posted in Colombia to work on counter-narcotic and drug interdiction missions with Colombian authorities. According to officials the agents were among those assigned in Colombia, they were not specifically working on the President's trip. The revelations about the DEA agents comes ahead of a hearing scheduled on Wednesday with Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.
"Ooh, my aching . . . " When gripped by chronic pain, reach beyond the medicine chest -- for the right foods at the grocery store. What you eat can directly and indirectly help reduce pain in three ways: by controlling inflammation, which contributes to the nagging pain associated with some chronic diseases like arthritis; by reducing the damage caused by oxidative stress, which occurs when the body is exposed to more cell damage than it can handle; and by helping to regulate your body's immune response, which helps manage inflammation more effectively.
"We get in the habit of taking Advil or Aleve to treat pain symptoms, without getting at the underlying cause of pain. Over time these medications, because of their side effects, can do more harm than good," says integrative nutritionist Beth Reardon, director of nutrition at Duke Integrative Medicine, part of the Duke University Health System. "Changing your diet, on the other hand, protects your cells from damage and reduces the number of inflammatory compounds the body produces." Bonus: An anti-inflammatory diet is an effective path to weight loss, which reduces pain that's caused by extra stress on joints. New research in the journal Cancer Research links losing just 5 percent of body weight to significant reductions in biochemical markers for inflammation.
These six food categories -- and six standout examples -- can result in meaningful changes for your pain level.
Below are the 19 metropolitan areas where Zillow expects prices will hit bottom in 2012:
New York Los Angeles Dallas-Ft. Worth Philadelphia Washington, DC Miami-Fort Lauderdale Boston Riverside, Calif. Phoenix San Diego Tampa St. Louis Baltimore Denver Pittsburgh Orlando Las Vegas San Jose Virginia Beach, Va.
The bedrock of retirement for many Americans has gone digital. As of May 1, eligible workers over 18 can access their Social Security statements online — and view their earnings and benefit information — by creating an account at My Social Security.
As you might recall, last year the SSA stopped mailing statements to save money, but in February it resumed mailing them to people 60 or older who hadn't started drawing Social Security benefits. Later this year, it will mail statements to workers when they turn 25. Workers have been receiving these statements annually since 1999. The SSA has said mailing paper statements has cost the agency $70 to $72 million annually over the past few years.
Registering doesn't take long (or at least didn't take long for us; others reported some complications). You'll need to provide some personal information (address, Social Security number, phone number) that matches information already on file with Social Security to verify your identity, and answer a few questions for security purposes. (Data from the credit reporting agency Experian are used for verification purposes.)
I have not been in and won't be in this Saturday. I'm still here, and still trying to provide you with information that I think will help you. Here's some information I got off the internet:
What's your New Year's resolution?
Let me guess: It's probably a lot like last year's resolution, which had something to do with dropping pounds, getting into shape, and squeezing back into your favorite jeans.
By the way, how did that work out for you last year?
Most Americans make resolutions about weight loss, and studies show that more than 50 percent of us give up on them by March. But not you, not this year! Here's how you make weight-loss success easy: If you cut just 400 calories a day, you can lose nearly 20 pounds between now and the first day of summer. Just 400 calories. That's nothing! Maybe you'll even find your abs.
To show how easy this is, I've selected six popular soups—classic winter comfort food—and compared them with smarter swaps that can save you 200, 300, even 500 calories. Just choosing a soupy hero over a soupy villian will get you more than halfway toward your weight loss goals. So let's get started—compliments of the new Eat This, Not That! 2012. The bottom drawer of your dresser is full of slightly too small clothes that will soon be fitting you like a glove.
6. WORST LEGUME-BASED SOUP
Amy’s Organic Soups, Indian Dal Curried Lentil (2 cups/1 can) 460 calories 16 g fat (2 g saturated) 1,360 mg sodium
Dal is a healthy staple throughout the Indian subcontinent, but in Amy’s version, these legumes are awash in fat. Each can contains more than a full tablespoon of vegetable oil, which contributes nearly a third of the total calories. Switch to Amy's Light in Sodium Split Pea, instead. It cuts calories and sodium by more than half and provides a hunger-crushing 12 grams of fiber.
Eat This Instead! Amy's Light in Sodium Split Pea Soup (2 cups/1 can) 200 calories 0 g fat (0 g saturated) 660 mg sodium
Pacific’s soup may be natural and organic, but with this much cream, it's certainly not light. With an escalated calorie count and half a day’s saturated fat, this chowder seems like it should be served from a fast food window. In fact, you'd take in fewer calories if you ate a McDonald’s 4-piece Chicken McNuggets with small fries.
Eat This Instead! Pacific Natural Foods Organic Butternut Squash Bisque (2 cups/1 container) 220 calories 7 g fat (3 g saturated) 1,020 mg sodium
DISASTROUS DRINKS: The beverage aisle is more likely than any other aisle to sabotage your waistline, because it takes your body longer to register liquid calories. Click through the Worst Drinks in America to see which are safe to sip—and which you should skip so you don't gain a day's worth of calories in 5 minutes.
4. WORST SEAFOOD SOUP
TGI Friday’s New England Clam Chowder 500 calories 18 g saturated fat 1,560 mg sodium
When it comes to chowder, it's all about region: Manhattan-style relies on a tomato base, whereas New Englanders prefer a far fattier cream base. That detail makes all the difference, as evidenced here by Friday's 500-calorie chowder. Switch to Manhattan or, when at Friday's, this Chicken Noodle instead and you cut the saturated fat load by more than 80 percent!
Eat This Instead! TGI Friday's Chicken Noodle 250 calories 3 g saturated fat 1,240 mg sodium
3. WORST CHOWDER
Au Bon Pain Corn Chowder (large) 510 calories 26 g fat (12 g saturated) 1,640 mg sodium
The other problem with chowders: They can be weighed down by high-calorie dairy ingredients. Milk and half and half sit atop this one's ingredient list, followed shortly thereafter by heavy cream and butter. The result is a bowl of soup that swallows up 60 percent of your saturated fat allowance for the entire day. Get your Tex-Mex fill for fewer than the half the calories by switching to the Southwest Vegetable Soup instead. Make a trade like this for lunch every day and you'll lose more than half a pound each week!
Eat This Instead! Au Bon Pain Southwest Vegetable Soup (large) 250 calories 7 g fat (1 g saturated) 580 mg sodium
2. WORST VEGETABLE SOUP
Cosi Tomato Basil Aurora (large) 597 calories 54 g fat (33 g saturated, 3 g trans) 1,701 mg sodium
Tomato soup is one of the good guys, right? While typically this is true, a single bowl of Cosi's bisque will saddle you with more than 1.5 days' maximum allotment of saturated fat, not to mention a dangerous glut of trans fat. Here are a few foods than contain less saturated and trans fat: Burger King Triple Whopper, 13 Taco Bell Steak Nacho Cheese Chalupas, and an entire medium-sized pepperoni pizza from Domino's. Switch to the Moroccan Lentil Soup for less than half the calories and an impressive 15 grams of fiber. Cosi's soups tend to be on the salty side, though, so stick to a regular serving size to keep the sodium levels in check.
Eat This Instead! Cosi Moroccan Lentil Soup (regular) 238 calories 4 g fat (0 g saturated) 1,225 mg sodium
HIDDEN HEALTH FOODS: Not all delicious-sounding restaurant dishes will set you back in your quest for leanness. Find out which meals ended up on our list of 20 Shockingly Healthy Restaurant Foods.
1. WORST STEW
Panera All-Natural Sonoma Chicken Stew with Mini Dry Jack Biscuit 630 calories 34 g fat (20 g saturated, 1 g trans) 2,030 mg sodium
Panera’s chicken stew sinks to the bottom of this list thanks to its precipitous calorie count, a full day's saturated fat, and nearly a full day's worth of sodium. This stew fares poorly across every major nutritional category, which makes it the worst bowl in America. Switch to the Garden Vegetable Soup instead, which delivers three times the fiber with a mere fraction of the calories.
Eat This Instead! Panera Low Fat Garden Vegetable with Pesto 150 calories 5 g fat (1 g saturated) 930 mg sodium
Finally, don't trust your local supermarket, where they should be playing "Welcome to the Jungle" every time you walk in. Trust in the new Eat This, Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide 2012, and start by swearing off the 20 Worst Foods in the Supermarket!
