So far this year, dozens of wildfires have been traced to shooting. But politicians are hesitant to restrict gun use and gun rights advocates are skeptical of the link between shooting and fire. ?
By BRIAN SKOLOFF and NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS,?Associated Press / July 3, 2012
Crews battle the Shingle Fire east of Cedar City, Utah. Dozens of western wildfires have been caused by shooting, including 21 in Utah.
AP Photo/The Deseret News, Scott G Winterton
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In the tinder-dry U.S. West, where campfires, fireworks and even lit cigarettes are banned across public lands, another fire-starting culprit remains free of most restrictions: guns.
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This year, officials believe target shooting or other firearms use have sparked at least 21 wildfires in Utah and nearly a dozen in Idaho. Shooting is also believed to have caused fires in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.
Officials have been asking the public to scale back shooting as legions of firefighters contend with one of the busiest and most destructive wildfire seasons to ever hit the West.
But many in the region avid proponents of the Second Amendment right to bear arms, so most state lawmakers are hesitant to enact any formal restrictions.
"We're not trying to pull away anyone's right to bear arms. I want to emphasize that," said Louinda Downs, a county commissioner in fire-prone Davis County, Utah. "We're just saying, target practice in winter. Target practice on the gun range. When your pleasure hobby is infringing or threatening someone else's right to have property or life, shouldn't we be able to somehow have some authority so we can restrict that?"
The state's Republican Gov. Gary Herbert took the unusual step of authorizing the top state forest official to impose gun restrictions on public lands after a gunfire-sparked fire. Herbert said his decision doesn't limit gun rights, but is a common-sense response to dry conditions.
Guns rights advocates are skeptical that firearms use can cause so many wildfires.
Clark Aposhian, chairman of the Utah Sports Shooting Council, said that perhaps 5 percent of the wildfires in the state have been caused by target shooters this year.
"I don't know how much of a problem it really is," he said.
Officials believe steel-jacketed bullets are the most likely culprits. One shot that hits a rock and throws off sparks can ignite surrounding vegetation and quickly spread. Popular exploding targets are also blamed for causing wildfires.
For weeks, state officials have said they were powerless to ban gun use because of Second Amendment rights, but legislative leaders say they found an obscure state law that empowers the state forester to act in an emergency.
Among the recent fires, target shooters on June 21 ignited a blaze south of Salt Lake City that forced the evacuation of about 2,300 before it was contained.
Aposhian said his group will conduct tests to determine if the steel-jacketed bullet theory is true. If there are limits, "we want to make sure it is not knee-jerk legislation to ban guns or ammunition," he said. "If it turns out the problem is with a few types of rounds, we will not be an apologist for them."
There is no need for such tests, Utah state fire marshal Brent Halladay said. With steel bullets, "you might as well just go up there and strike a match," he said.
Statistics on wildfires caused by firearms are incomplete because the federal government does not list "shooting" as a cause on its fire reports. But some officials write in "target" or "shoot" as a cause, said Jennifer Jones of the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho.
On land managed by the U.S. Forest Service only, the center found 17 such wildfires in 2010, 28 last year and 13 so far this year.
This year, the federal Bureau of Land Management said 11 of 31 wildfires it has battled in Idaho have been sparked by shooting activities.
Officials at Arizona's Tonto National Forest had seven wildfires caused by firearms in 2010, 10 in 2011 and at least five so far this year. The potential for fire is so great that shooting for several years has been prohibited on BLM property in the Phoenix area.
In one case in the state, prosecutors said five friends at a campout and bachelor party set off a fire on May 12 when one loaded an incendiary shell, which burns rapidly and causes fires, into a shotgun and pulled the trigger.
Meanwhile, firefighters are wary of more wildfires with the arrival of the Independence Day holiday on July 4.
"Many people use these times to show patriotism as well as support for the Second Amendment," Aposhian said. Associated Press writers Felicia Fonseca and Susan Montoya Bryan contributed to this report. Skoloff reported from Salt Lake City.
Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Matt Moore delivers to the New York Yankees during the second inning of a baseball game Monday, July 2, 2012, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)
Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Matt Moore delivers to the New York Yankees during the second inning of a baseball game Monday, July 2, 2012, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)
New York Yankees pitcher Freddy Garcia delivers to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, July 2, 2012, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)
New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, left, looks on as Tampa Bay Rays' B.J. Upton rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run off of Yankees pitcher Freddy Garcia during the fourth inning of a baseball game Monday, July 2, 2012, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)
New York Yankees' Robinson Cano breaks his bat as he hits a single off of Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Matt Moore during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Monday, July 2, 2012, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) ? Mark Teixeira replayed the ground ball in his mind, then reviewed it on video. And the slick-fielding first baseman still wasn't sure what happened on his rare error that cost the New York Yankees a game.
"I really don't know. I tried to look, but it was one of those after it goes by you, you go what just happened? I didn't even get leather on it," Teixeira said after his first error of the season allowed the winning run to score in a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.
B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena homered and the Rays scored twice in the seventh inning to rally past the AL East leaders and halt a two-game slide that dropped them a season-high 7? games behind the Yankees in the division.
Pinch-hitter Brooks Conrad delivered a tying RBI double with two outs in the seventh inning against David Robertson (0-3).
Teixeira then misplayed Elliot Johnson's sharp grounder over first base for his first error in 671 chances this year, enabling Conrad to score the go-ahead run. Teixeira shook his head after the ball scooted under his glove, allowing Johnson to reach third.
"Usually you can knock it down. I tried to look at video, but I couldn't really even tell what happened," he said. "I just missed it. I don't know if it hit the back of the base or the chalk or what. I still have to knock it down. That's the disappointing thing."
"Usually if you get a bad hop you can just try to knock it down, but I didn't get it. I just missed it. I don't know what happened," he added. "The ball, obviously, didn't do what I expected it to do. It's very tough. I take a lot of pride in saving runs for our team, but I gave one back tonight."
Matt Moore (5-5) allowed three runs while scattering nine hits over seven innings to win his fourth straight decision for the Rays, who have defeated the Yankees eight consecutive times at Tropicana Field dating to July 2011.
Conrad has appeared in 11 games since being claimed off waivers from Milwaukee. Manager Joe Maddon sent him to the plate, unaware that the switch-hitting infielder had gone 0 for 24 in pinch-hitting situations since he last came up with a hit in such a spot for Atlanta on Sept. 4, 2011.
"Mostly what I've done at this level is going out there and being a pinch hitter with Atlanta, so I have a lot of experience with it the last couple years," Conrad said.
"It's fun. You get up there in those big spots, but also it's a really tough spot coming in there and facing some of the best arms in the game, the best bullpen guys in the game. But I think it's fun to be in those spots."
Upton and Pena hit solo homers off right-hander Freddy Garcia, filling in for the injured Andy Pettitte in a New York rotation also missing CC Sabathia.
Joel Peralta worked a perfect eighth for Tampa Bay, and All-Star Fernando Rodney finished for his 23rd save in 24 opportunities.
Teixeira, Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson each drove in a run for the Yankees. Granderson's seventh-inning sacrifice fly made it 3-2.
Robertson, who has received a loss in his last two appearances against Tampa Bay, claimed responsibility for letting this one slip way.
"I've got to come in and get one out. I've got a runner on second. I blew it there. I blew the game," Robertson said, adding that he didn't fault Teixeira for not coming up with the ground ball that would have gotten the Yankees out of the seventh.
"I feel like that one is not on Tex. He's made amazing plays behind us all year long," he said. "It's going to happen, but I still should have been able to get Conrad out. That one falls on me."
Garcia made four starts before being moved into the bullpen after allowing six runs in 1 2-3 innings of a 7-5 loss to Detroit. The right-hander returned to the rotation to fill in for Pettitte, who was placed on the 60-day disabled list after he fractured a bone in his left leg when he was hit by a batted ball against Cleveland on June 27.
New York scored twice in the first with help from Hideki Matsui, the former Yankees star who overran Teixeira's routine fly to right field that dropped for a RBI double. Alex Rodriguez singled, sending Teixeira to third before Cano lined a single up the middle to stake Garcia to a quick 2-0 lead.
Moore escaped further damage by getting Nick Swisher to hit into an inning-ending double play.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said before the game that Garcia, who had made 10 appearances out of the bullpen since being removed from the rotation, would be limited to 75 pitches. Pena, who is 5 for 42 lifetime against the right-hander, homered on Garcia's 74th ? and last ? pitch.
Garcia allowed two runs and five hits in 5 1-3 innings.
"Really good job by Freddy. For not making a start in a long time, I thought he did a tremendous job," Girardi said.
NOTES: Matsui left in the second inning due to left hamstring tightness. ... New York RHP Joba Chamberlain is progressing toward pitching in a minor league game for the first time since dislocating his right ankle bouncing on a trampoline in March. The reliever threw a pair of 20-pitch segments Monday during a batting practice session at the team's minor league complex in Tampa. He said he's scheduled to throw a simulated game on Friday. ... Sabathia, who strained his left groin on July 24, felt good after he resumed throwing Monday. ... Rays RHP Jeremy Hellickson, who left his most recent start after being hit in the right shin by a line drive off the bat of Prince Fielder, threw a bullpen session and expects to make his next scheduled start on Thursday at Cleveland. ... Yankees RHP David Aarsdma is undergoing tests after feeling discomfort in his surgically repaired right elbow. The reliever pitched in three Gulf Coast League games before being shut down.
Last night on the latest episode of Gene Simmons Family Jewels the subject of Shannon wanting an adoption came to a final conclusion. This has been a long and tortured road for the Simmons family as Gene, along with their children, Nick and Sophie, have been opposed to Shannon adopting a baby. Meaning, her sister Tracy also reached a major decision on her desire to use her last frozen embryo and have a baby as well. So how did it all go down? Gene and Shannon Simpson reach a decision about adopting a baby. Image Credit: Chris Hatcher / PR Photos. The show begins with Shannon telling Tracy all about the trip to Africa and how her plan to get Gene in the mood for adopting may have backfired. Meanwhile, Gene is consoled by both Dr. Ann Wexler, his marriage therapist, as well as by his son Nick, to be direct and honest with Shannon about his reservations. Back at Tracy?s house, Emily, her oldest daughter, arrives after a chat with cousin Sophie about Tracy?s obsession with having another baby. Emily is concerned about her mom?s age and health, but seems to cave in when Tracy discusses the subject with [...]
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New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma arrives at the National Football League's headquarters, Monday, June 18, 2012 in New York. Vilma and three other players are appealing their suspensions for their role in the Saints bounty program. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma arrives at the National Football League's headquarters, Monday, June 18, 2012 in New York. Vilma and three other players are appealing their suspensions for their role in the Saints bounty program. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma is suing the NFL in federal court, claiming Commissioner Roger Goodell failed to make a timely appeal ruling regarding Vilma's season-long suspension in connection with the league's bounty investigation.
The lawsuit filed Saturday night in U.S. District Court in New Orleans also asks for a temporary restraining order to allow Vilma to continue working if Goodell upholds the suspension.
The suit contends Goodell has undermined "the integrity of the NFL and the Commissioner's office" by handing down punishments to Vilma and others based on evidence that is either flawed or cannot be substantiated.
It is the second lawsuit Vilma has filed in the matter. The first, filed in May and also in federal court in New Orleans, seeks unspecified damages from Goodell for defamation of character.
In his latest filing, Vilma claims that the NFL's collective bargaining agreement required Goodell to rule as soon as was practical following a June 18 appeal hearing. Because players, in protest, declined to present new evidence or argue their case in the hearing, Goodell should have been able to rule by June 25, the first business day after the record was closed in the matter, the lawsuit argues.
It was not clear if the NFL had seen the suit. Messages left with two league spokesmen Saturday night were not immediately returned.
In his latest attack of the NFL's handling of the bounty probe, Vilma contends punished players have only been able to see less than 1 percent of the 18,000 documents the league said it has compiled. His suit also claims that the few key pieces of evidence the league shared are flawed, including printed reproductions of handwritten notes.
"The NFL's alteration of other documents evidences that the NFL cannot substantiate the suspension, and undermines the integrity of the process," Vilma's lawsuit states.
The lawsuit seeks to discredit a key piece of evidence outlining bounty pledges from before the NFC championship game against Minnesota in January 2010, and also takes aim at fired assistant coach Mike Cerullo, who, according to Vilma, produced the document for the league.
Cerullo had a vendetta against the Saints after his firing following the 2009 season, and resented that the Super Bowl ring he received had been made with imitation (cubic zirconia) diamonds, the lawsuit contends.
The lawsuit claims Cerullo created the document "well after the 2009 NFC Championship game and in an effort to gain revenge against the Saints."
The suit further contends that a "close associate" of Cerullo has confirmed that Cerullo retracted his previous claims about the bounty program "in a communication directly with Goodell that occurred in April 2012."
The lawsuit notes that Goodell has not shared notes from interviews with Cerullo. Goodell also did not produce Cerullo as a witness at the appeal hearing or acknowledge Cerullo's retraction.
However, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello has denied that key witnesses in the bounty probe have retracted statements.
Aiello also has said the NFL has not issued any gag orders. Vilma's latest lawsuit, however, claims the NFL has ordered suspended former Saints defensive coordinator Greg Williams not to speak with suspended Saints players, coaches or officials as a condition for his reinstatement.
The NFL has said that Williams, who is suspended indefinitely, organized a bounty system that offered cash for hits that injured opponents, and which ran during his three seasons as defensive coordinator in New Orleans from 2009-11.
A close friend and associate of Williams, who was present for at least one discussion Williams had with Goodell, contends Williams never acknowledged the existence of a bounty program, Vilma's lawsuit said.
Williams' associate also contends that Williams has no information corroborating NFL findings that Vilma offered a $10,000 bounty for knocking quarterbacks Kurt Warner or Brett Favre out of 2009-10 playoff games.
The same associate confirmed that Goodell ordered Williams not to speak about the bounty matter with other punished individuals, the lawsuit said.
Potential treatment target identified in an animal model of pancreatic cancer Public release date: 1-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sue McGreevey smcgreevey@partners.org 617-724-2764 Massachusetts General Hospital
Analyzing circulating tumor cells reveals signaling pathway that may be essential to spread of deadly tumor
Detailed analysis of genes expressed in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) -- cells that break off from solid tumors and travel through the bloodstream -- has identified a potential treatment target in metastatic pancreatic cancer. In a report that will appear in Nature and has received advance online publication, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center investigators describe finding increased expression of WNT2, a member of a known family of oncogenes, in CTCs from a mouse model of the deadly tumor and from human patients. The researchers were able to capture the CTCs - present in the bloodstream at extremely low levels - using a microchip-based device previously developed by members of the team.
"This proof of principle study is the first to show that, by studying both mouse and human pancreatic cancer cells captured with this device, we can dissect genes that are overexpressed in these cells and identify signaling pathways that allow them to survive in the bloodstream," says Daniel Haber, MD, PhD, director of the MGH Cancer Center and senior author of the Nature paper. "We also found that targeting a key step in these pathways can reduce metastatic potential, which is critically important for control of pancreatic cancer. This study would not have been possible without a way to isolate rare CTCs from both mouse models and human patients."
Using the second-generation version of the CTC-chip, developed in collaboration with the MGH Center for Engineering in Medicine, the researchers first captured CTCs from mice genetically programmed to develop pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly tumors since it is rarely diagnosed before spreading. Analysis of RNA expression levels in pancreatic CTCs, in primary tumor cells, and in normal pancreatic tissue identified several genes with significantly increased expression in the CTCs. One of these, WNT2, belongs to a family of developmental genes often overexpressed in cancer, and while the gene's expression in pancreatic tumors was higher than in normal tissue, WNT2 expression was significantly more elevated in both CTCs and metastatic cells.
Closer analysis of cells from several individual animals confirmed that WNT2 was highly expressed in pancreatic cancer CTCs and in metastases, but WNT2-expressing cells were found to be rare in primary tumors. Testing the consequences of WNT2 expression indicated that cancer cells expressing the gene were more likely to generate metastases, probably because of an improved ability to survive after dislodging from the primary tumor and entering the bloodstream.
The researchers tested several agents known to inhibit the activity of molecules in the WNT2 pathway their results implied was associated with pancreatic cancer and found that inhibition of TGF-beta activated kinase 1 (TAK1) prevented metastasis-associated activities in cultured CTCs. Knocking down TAK1 expression with RNA interference also reduced the development of metastasis in mice injected with WNT2-expressing CTCs. A significant percentage of tested CTCs from patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer were found to express WNT-related genes, along with other components of the signaling pathway associated with pancreatic cancer in the mouse model.
"The picture in more complicated in humans, since multiple WNTs are upregulated," Haber says. "But the TAK1 inhibitor we tested appears to have an effect on diverse WNT pathways involved in the survival of pancreatic CTCs. We previously reported that TAK1 inhibition has promise for treating a genetically defined subset of colon cancers, and these findings now extend the relevance of the TAK1 pathway to suppression of blood-borne metastasis in pancreatic cancer. Considerable more work will be needed to fully understand the critical pathways involved, but it is our hope that TAK1 inhibitors will ultimately be developed for clinical testing."
###
Haber is the Kurt Isselbacher/Peter Schwartz Professor of Oncology at Harvard Medical School and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Co-lead authors of the Nature report are Min Yu, PhD, and David Ting, MD, PhD, MGH Cancer Center. Additional co-authors include Shyamala Maheswaran, PhD, Ben Wittner, PhD, Sridhar Ramaswamy, MD, Nabeel Bardeesy, PhD, and Lecia Sequist, MD, MGH Cancer Center; and Shannon Stott, PhD, and Mehmet Toner, PhD, MGH Center for Engineering in Medicine. The study was supported by grants from Stand Up to Cancer, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the National Institutes of Health, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the Warshaw Institute for Pancreatic Cancer Research.
Massachusetts General Hospital (www.massgeneral.org), founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $750 million and major research centers in AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, human genetics, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, reproductive biology, systems biology, transplantation biology and photomedicine.
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Potential treatment target identified in an animal model of pancreatic cancer Public release date: 1-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sue McGreevey smcgreevey@partners.org 617-724-2764 Massachusetts General Hospital
Analyzing circulating tumor cells reveals signaling pathway that may be essential to spread of deadly tumor
Detailed analysis of genes expressed in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) -- cells that break off from solid tumors and travel through the bloodstream -- has identified a potential treatment target in metastatic pancreatic cancer. In a report that will appear in Nature and has received advance online publication, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center investigators describe finding increased expression of WNT2, a member of a known family of oncogenes, in CTCs from a mouse model of the deadly tumor and from human patients. The researchers were able to capture the CTCs - present in the bloodstream at extremely low levels - using a microchip-based device previously developed by members of the team.
"This proof of principle study is the first to show that, by studying both mouse and human pancreatic cancer cells captured with this device, we can dissect genes that are overexpressed in these cells and identify signaling pathways that allow them to survive in the bloodstream," says Daniel Haber, MD, PhD, director of the MGH Cancer Center and senior author of the Nature paper. "We also found that targeting a key step in these pathways can reduce metastatic potential, which is critically important for control of pancreatic cancer. This study would not have been possible without a way to isolate rare CTCs from both mouse models and human patients."
Using the second-generation version of the CTC-chip, developed in collaboration with the MGH Center for Engineering in Medicine, the researchers first captured CTCs from mice genetically programmed to develop pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly tumors since it is rarely diagnosed before spreading. Analysis of RNA expression levels in pancreatic CTCs, in primary tumor cells, and in normal pancreatic tissue identified several genes with significantly increased expression in the CTCs. One of these, WNT2, belongs to a family of developmental genes often overexpressed in cancer, and while the gene's expression in pancreatic tumors was higher than in normal tissue, WNT2 expression was significantly more elevated in both CTCs and metastatic cells.
Closer analysis of cells from several individual animals confirmed that WNT2 was highly expressed in pancreatic cancer CTCs and in metastases, but WNT2-expressing cells were found to be rare in primary tumors. Testing the consequences of WNT2 expression indicated that cancer cells expressing the gene were more likely to generate metastases, probably because of an improved ability to survive after dislodging from the primary tumor and entering the bloodstream.
The researchers tested several agents known to inhibit the activity of molecules in the WNT2 pathway their results implied was associated with pancreatic cancer and found that inhibition of TGF-beta activated kinase 1 (TAK1) prevented metastasis-associated activities in cultured CTCs. Knocking down TAK1 expression with RNA interference also reduced the development of metastasis in mice injected with WNT2-expressing CTCs. A significant percentage of tested CTCs from patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer were found to express WNT-related genes, along with other components of the signaling pathway associated with pancreatic cancer in the mouse model.
"The picture in more complicated in humans, since multiple WNTs are upregulated," Haber says. "But the TAK1 inhibitor we tested appears to have an effect on diverse WNT pathways involved in the survival of pancreatic CTCs. We previously reported that TAK1 inhibition has promise for treating a genetically defined subset of colon cancers, and these findings now extend the relevance of the TAK1 pathway to suppression of blood-borne metastasis in pancreatic cancer. Considerable more work will be needed to fully understand the critical pathways involved, but it is our hope that TAK1 inhibitors will ultimately be developed for clinical testing."
###
Haber is the Kurt Isselbacher/Peter Schwartz Professor of Oncology at Harvard Medical School and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Co-lead authors of the Nature report are Min Yu, PhD, and David Ting, MD, PhD, MGH Cancer Center. Additional co-authors include Shyamala Maheswaran, PhD, Ben Wittner, PhD, Sridhar Ramaswamy, MD, Nabeel Bardeesy, PhD, and Lecia Sequist, MD, MGH Cancer Center; and Shannon Stott, PhD, and Mehmet Toner, PhD, MGH Center for Engineering in Medicine. The study was supported by grants from Stand Up to Cancer, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the National Institutes of Health, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the Warshaw Institute for Pancreatic Cancer Research.
Massachusetts General Hospital (www.massgeneral.org), founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $750 million and major research centers in AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, human genetics, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, reproductive biology, systems biology, transplantation biology and photomedicine.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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