Girl Scout Cookie Boxes

Girl Scout Cookie Boxes, Girl Scout Cookies, a perennial U.S. snack favorite, will get a new-look package for the upcoming sales season, the organization said on Friday.The new design will showcase five entrepreneurial skills that the $790 million business teaches girls, the Girl Scouts said in a statement.

“We have more than 50 million cookie customers across the country, and the cookie box is the most tangible and powerful way for us to communicate directly with consumers,” said Girl Scouts of the USA Chief Executive Anna Maria Chávez.

The skills that will be displayed are goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics.

The new boxes feature the group’s trefoil emblem and they show girls kayaking, working in a park and speaking at scout events, among other activities.

The new look is part of a Girl Scouts brand renewal as the 3.2 million-member organization marks its 100th birthday. The last cookie package makeover was in 1999.

Anthem Worldwide, a unit of marketer Schawk Inc, did the redesign. David Hume Kennerly, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, took pictures of Girl Scouts from the New York area for the boxes.(Reuters)

Fox Broadcasts Suicide

Fox Broadcasts Suicide, A man who stole a car at gunpoint, shot at Phoenix police officers and then led them on a chase that ended with his suicide broadcast on national television was identified Saturday as a wanted felon with a long criminal history.

Jodon F. Romero, 33, was wanted for violating his parole for a weapons conviction and had numerous other violent crimes in his background, police spokesman Sgt. Tommy Thompson said.

At the end of an hour-long pursuit on an interstate west of Phoenix on Friday, Romero pulled into the desert and an officer shot at him, although it appears he missed, Thompson said. Romero then walked off the dirt road, put a gun to his head and killed himself.

Fox News was covering the chase that began about midday Friday using a live helicopter shot from Phoenix affiliate KSAZ-TV. Anchor Shepard Smith told viewers that the video was supposed to be on a delay so it could be cut off if something went awry.

“We really messed up, and we’re all very sorry,” Smith said minutes after the suicide aired. Fox apologized for showing the violence on air. KSAZ itself was not airing the chase.

On Saturday, Thompson said police did everything in their power to de-escalate the situation, but Romero seemed intent on continuing a crime spree that began with a minor incident in which he apparently hit a passing car with his hand, leading to a call to police.

As officers were heading to the south Phoenix area, they learned that a Dodge Caliber sedan had just been stolen at gunpoint from a nearby restaurant parking lot. (AP)

Think Twice Before Drinking Diet Soda

Think Twice Before Drinking Diet Soda, Sure, it has no calories – but it can increase your risk of heart disease and weight gain. Pop quiz! What’s the single biggest source of calories for Americans? White bread? Big Macs? Actually, try soda. The average American drinks about two cans of the stuff every day. “But I drink diet soda,” you say. “With no calories or sugar, it’s the perfect alternative for weight watchers…Right?”

Not so fast. Before you pop the top off the caramel-colored bubbly, know this: guzzling diet soda comes with its own set of side effects that may harm your health–from kickstarting kidney problems to adding inches to your waistline.

Unfortunately, diet soda is more in vogue than ever. Kids consume the stuff at more than double the rate of last decade, according to research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Among adults, consumption has grown almost 25%.

Doctors Call On Country To Ban Spanking

Doctors Call On Country To Ban Spanking, Experts call the practice – shown to increase drug abuse and anxiety – “poor parenting.” Canadian Experts Call for Nationwide Ban on Spanking, Canada’s top medical journal has called for the repeal of the country’s 120-year-old “spanking law,” which allows corporal punishment. In a strongly worded editorial published on September 4, John Fletcher, the editor-in-chief of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), called physical punishment an “anachronistic excuse for poor parenting.” The editorial accompanies a meta-analysis of 20 years of research about the ill effects of spanking, conducted by Joan Durant PhD of the University of Manitoba, first published in February and reprinted in the current volume of the CMAJ.

An estimated fifty percent of Canadian parents spank their children, and Canada, like the United States, protects parents’ right to physically discipline kids. Section 43 of the Canadian Criminal Code states, “A parent is justified in using force by way of correction if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances.” Worldwide, more than 30 countries prohibit corporal punishment in the home including Austria, New Zealand, and Sweden.

Fletcher and Durant argue that current research shows spanking is an ineffective tool and that there is substantial evidence linking it to mental health issues including depression and substance abuse as well as to increased aggressive behavior. “Surely any bias should be toward protecting children, who are the most vulnerable,” writes Fletcher. “To have a specific code excusing parents is to suggest that assault by a parent is a normal and accepted part of bringing up children. It is not. While section 43 stands, it is a constant excuse for parents to cling to an ineffective method of child discipline when better approaches are available.”

Spanking is a controversial issue in Canada, and Section 43 has been contested a number of times. Most recently, in 2004, the Supreme Court upheld it in a 6-3 ruling. A United Nations panel on children’s rights has called on the country to repeal the law. In response to the CMAJ, a spokesperson for Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson told the National Post, “Parents are in the best position to raise their children. We believe it is up to them, not the government, to decide what is best for their children so long as it is within reason.”

Sikh Temple Oak Creek

Sikh Temple Oak Creek, A mass shooting has occurred at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisc., just outside Milwaukee.At least four people have been reported injured in the mass shooting and no suspect has been identified. Hospitals in the area were told to be ready for up to 20 shooting victims, according to police radio reports.

Some members of the temple are still inside the temple and are hiding, believing that a gunman may still be inside the building, according to ABC News affiliate WISN.

According to local reports, a gunman walked into the church and opened fire around 10:34 a.m., shortly before a prayer service was scheduled to begin.

Among those shot was the president of the temple, accoding to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The Journal Sentinel said a SWAT team entered the temple after the shooting and evacuated the uninjured members.

According to information broadcast over police radio, a witness to the shooting told law enforcement the shooter was a white male, bald, with a heavy build. He was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt, according to Oak Creek Patch. He was last seen with two handguns.

A spokeswoman for Froedert Hospital, the main trauma center in the Milwaukee area, said that two men were taken there and the hospital was ready to receive more.

Rahman Malik Calls For Turbat Incident Report

Rahman Malik Calls For Turbat Incident Report,ISLAMABAD: Advisor to prime minister on interior affairs, Rahman Malik has called for an immediate report from the DG FIA relating to the human smuggling en-route Turbat and the killing incident over there.Besides, he also ordered for arrest of the agents involved in human smuggling, Geo News reported.

The official handout said that those killed in Turbat belonged to Sialkot, Gojranawala and Gujrat.The interior advisor ordered stern action against the agents involved in human smuggling abroad and their arrest within three days.Interior ministry said that the human smugglers through this route were carrying the people in jeeps across the border to Iran, when on way the terrorists opening fire killed them,Rahman Malik has sought report from the concerned provincial officials also in this regard (Geo News)

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