FREEHOLD, N.J. ? The New Jersey man charged with killing his 2-year-old daughter and leaving her in a park creek, still strapped into her car seat, is due in a New Jersey courtroom on Monday afternoon.
Arthur Morgan III was arrested Tuesday in San Diego, and agreed to return to his home state to stand trial.
Morgan is charged with the murder of Tierra Morgan-Glover, whose body was found Nov. 22 in a creek in Wall Township.
He had picked the child up from her mother's house in Lakehurst, about 20 miles south of the park, but failed to return her, prompting her to call police.
Besides the murder charge, Morgan's also charged with custody violation and interstate flight to avoid apprehension.
If a fat tax is coming, here's how to make it efficient, effective: ISU economistsPublic release date: 2-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dan Kuester kuester@iastate.edu 515-294-0704 Iowa State University
AMES, Iowa A 'sin tax' applied to sweetened goods on store shelves is not the most efficient, effective method of lowering caloric intake from sweet food and would be more disruptive to consumers than necessary, according to Iowa State University research.
With a national debate taking shape about the possibility of a national tax on foods with high sweetener content, ISU economists have examined how such a tax would best be applied.
Rather than assessing a tax on these sugary goods as they are taken through the grocery store checkout lines, the research shows that a better way is to tax the food processers on the amount of caloric sweeteners, such as corn syrup and sugar added in processing before the product hits the shelves.
The economists, John Beghin and Helen Jensen, both professors in the Department of Economics, are quick to point out that they are not advocating for or against any tax, but simply researching how and where a possible sweetener tax would be most effective.
"We are not saying. 'To resolve obesity, here is what you should do,'" said Beghin. "In that sense, we are not advocating anything. We are saying, 'Given that you are considering a panoply of tax instruments, and there is a possibility of a soda tax, is there a better way to use that idea?'"
"This is motivated," added Jensen, "by a lot of ideas out there that say we could tax sweetened products. We wanted to see what the effect of such a tax would be and, alternatively, if you imposed a tax on ingredients, what would be the effect of that."
The research, published in the journal Contemporary Economic Policy, shows that if the goal of a sin tax on sweeteners is to reduce calories consumed, lawmakers should consider taxing the inputs instead of the final product.
Assessing the tax at the processing stage allows food processors to reduce the amount of sweeteners they put into their products. Processors will also have incentives to use more of the lesser-taxed artificial sweeteners, and less of the higher-taxed sweeteners that are heavy in sugary products.
These solutions would also raise the price at the store less than a direct tax on the end product, while reducing the calories attributable to the sweetener, according to the study.
"Taxing the processing ingredients makes more sense when compared with taxing the end product," said Beghin. "You can abate the same number of calories without having consumers face such high prices."
Any new tax on sweeteners, even the tax on food inputs proposed by the study, will cause prices to go up. One drawback of any tax on sweetened goods is the regressive nature of that tax.
In economic terms, regressive taxes are those that impact poorer economic groups more than higher ones.
"Since much of these (sweeter) goods are consumed by poorer economic groups," said Beghin, "you may be increasing the cost of calories for poor people."
The study looks only at calories in food. The research does not make any claims about lowering obesity.
The United States' obesity rate has many factors, and the amount of calories consumed is only one, say the economists.
"We are not looking at health aspects," said Jensen. "Just the consumption of calories from sweetened goods and the disruption to the consumer."
The findings of the study fit generally accepted economic principles that say if you want to change a given behavior or economic decision, you should try to find a policy instrument that is closest to the behavior or decision, according to Beghin.
As part of the study, the two collected data from both government and private sources on industrial food inputs.
"We spent quite a bit of time assembling a data set based on published data on what inputs the food industry uses," said Jensen. "So we know that for all the different food sectors, how much sugar and corn syrup go into that industry group's food processing. You'd be amazed to see how much sweetener goes into food processing."
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If a fat tax is coming, here's how to make it efficient, effective: ISU economistsPublic release date: 2-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dan Kuester kuester@iastate.edu 515-294-0704 Iowa State University
AMES, Iowa A 'sin tax' applied to sweetened goods on store shelves is not the most efficient, effective method of lowering caloric intake from sweet food and would be more disruptive to consumers than necessary, according to Iowa State University research.
With a national debate taking shape about the possibility of a national tax on foods with high sweetener content, ISU economists have examined how such a tax would best be applied.
Rather than assessing a tax on these sugary goods as they are taken through the grocery store checkout lines, the research shows that a better way is to tax the food processers on the amount of caloric sweeteners, such as corn syrup and sugar added in processing before the product hits the shelves.
The economists, John Beghin and Helen Jensen, both professors in the Department of Economics, are quick to point out that they are not advocating for or against any tax, but simply researching how and where a possible sweetener tax would be most effective.
"We are not saying. 'To resolve obesity, here is what you should do,'" said Beghin. "In that sense, we are not advocating anything. We are saying, 'Given that you are considering a panoply of tax instruments, and there is a possibility of a soda tax, is there a better way to use that idea?'"
"This is motivated," added Jensen, "by a lot of ideas out there that say we could tax sweetened products. We wanted to see what the effect of such a tax would be and, alternatively, if you imposed a tax on ingredients, what would be the effect of that."
The research, published in the journal Contemporary Economic Policy, shows that if the goal of a sin tax on sweeteners is to reduce calories consumed, lawmakers should consider taxing the inputs instead of the final product.
Assessing the tax at the processing stage allows food processors to reduce the amount of sweeteners they put into their products. Processors will also have incentives to use more of the lesser-taxed artificial sweeteners, and less of the higher-taxed sweeteners that are heavy in sugary products.
These solutions would also raise the price at the store less than a direct tax on the end product, while reducing the calories attributable to the sweetener, according to the study.
"Taxing the processing ingredients makes more sense when compared with taxing the end product," said Beghin. "You can abate the same number of calories without having consumers face such high prices."
Any new tax on sweeteners, even the tax on food inputs proposed by the study, will cause prices to go up. One drawback of any tax on sweetened goods is the regressive nature of that tax.
In economic terms, regressive taxes are those that impact poorer economic groups more than higher ones.
"Since much of these (sweeter) goods are consumed by poorer economic groups," said Beghin, "you may be increasing the cost of calories for poor people."
The study looks only at calories in food. The research does not make any claims about lowering obesity.
The United States' obesity rate has many factors, and the amount of calories consumed is only one, say the economists.
"We are not looking at health aspects," said Jensen. "Just the consumption of calories from sweetened goods and the disruption to the consumer."
The findings of the study fit generally accepted economic principles that say if you want to change a given behavior or economic decision, you should try to find a policy instrument that is closest to the behavior or decision, according to Beghin.
As part of the study, the two collected data from both government and private sources on industrial food inputs.
"We spent quite a bit of time assembling a data set based on published data on what inputs the food industry uses," said Jensen. "So we know that for all the different food sectors, how much sugar and corn syrup go into that industry group's food processing. You'd be amazed to see how much sweetener goes into food processing."
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
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.
SAN DIEGO ? Top Afghan Army and police officials who will oversee security in one of the country's hardest-fought provinces are visiting Southern California this week to get a look at how the United States teaches its children, treats its prisoners and patrols its border with Mexico.
The three-day tour hosted by the Marine Corps started Wednesday. It is part of efforts to professionalize Afghanistan's security forces so they can take over from U.S. troops, the majority of whom are expected to pull out of that country by the close of next year.
The visiting Afghan officials are seasoned military and law enforcement authorities from Helmand province, which has seen the war's heaviest fighting but also has made progress in rescuing communities from the Taliban insurgency's grips. Sections of Helmand province are now transitioning from NATO to Afghan security control, as part of the handover that will see all international combat forces out of the country or in a different role by the end of 2014.
"Afghans have been at war for three decades, most soldiers and police are in their 20s and 30s, so they've literally never witnessed a functioning system, so this is good opportunity to see a system that works reasonably well and see how to adapt it to their own culture and communities," said Gretchen Peters, an author who has given talks to the Marines on Afghanistan.
The Afghan officials on Wednesday will meet educators at an elementary school at Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego; watch live-fire trainings by Marines; attend an officers' course; and visit a mock Afghan village on base where troops are put under combat stress.
The Marine Corps said the other days will include a visit to a checkpoint manned by the U.S. Border Patrol. Along Afghanistan's long border with Pakistan, officials face drug smuggling and illegal crossers just as the United States does with Mexico, although Afghanistan's border is much tougher to control with armed incursions, inclement weather and mountainous terrain. Up until recently, it was too dangerous for Afghanistan's border police to go within hundreds of miles of the border.
During their visit, the officials also will be taken by military helicopter to Los Angeles County where they will visit a jail and meet with officials from the Los Angeles Police Department. On Friday, they will attend a graduation ceremony of recruits at the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot in San Diego. They also will visit the U.S. Coast Guard in the port city.
Gen. James F. Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, told The Associated Press that the number of Marines in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan will drop "markedly" in 2012, and the role of those who stay will shift from countering the insurgency to training and advising Afghan security forces.
Afghans fear their nation could plunge into civil war once the foreign forces go home. While their confidence in their security forces has risen, they still have profound doubts as to whether the Afghan soldiers and police will be ready to secure the entire nation in three years.
U.S. Marines have been working closely with their Afghan counterparts and police to get them up to speed.
"It's absolutely imperative that we get them out here to continue to exchange ideas so they are prepared. Over there, we can only talk to them and show them so much," said Marine Maj. Jared Spurlock, who worked with Afghan Army soldiers in Helmand province during his seven-month deployment that ended in May.
"There will always be challenges with corruption in that part of the world, so any chance we get to show them how to do things with zero corruption and that things can work, is good," he added.
Those visiting include Maj. Gen. Sayed Malouk, the commanding general of the Afghan National Army No. 215 Corps, headquartered in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. His units have responsibility for the southern provinces of Helmand and Nimroz and part of Farah.
Also visiting was Maj. Gen. Nabi Jan Mullah Khil, the regional deputy police chief of the Afghan National Police, who used to be a highway commander and served as police chief in several provinces. The others are a commanding officer under Mullah Khil who oversees part of Afghanistan's border police and two other Army officials from the 215 Corps.
Michael Semple, a research fellow for the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard's Kennedy School, has followed the careers of several of the visiting Afghan officials and said they are the cream of the crop.
"These are very serious professionals who have risked their lives day after day after day and literally had hundreds of their colleagues blown up, killed and shot, and still they go in to work," he said. "This (trip) is a morale boost for dedicated public servants who have been in institutions that have had a lot of bad press over the years. For them to be treated like VIPs, flown around the world and welcomed to California where they will rub shoulders with fellow professionals is all good and will help them do their work."
But he said he doesn't know how much of what they observe in California they will be able to apply at home.
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Associated Press reporters Patrick Quinn and Deb Riechmann in Kabul contributed to this report.
This Nov. 28, 2011 photo, shows a home with a sale pending sign, in Portland, Ore. The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes jumped in October to the highest level in a year.
By Reuters
Pending sales of existing U.S. homes surged in October by the most in nearly a year as Americans took advantage of low interest rates for mortgages, data from a real estate trade group showed on Wednesday.
The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in October, rose 10.4 percent to 93.3 from 84.5 in September.
That was the biggest monthly gain since November 2010.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected pending home sales to climb 1.5 percent.
"We hope this indicates more buyers are taking advantage of the excellent affordability conditions," said NAR economist Lawrence Yun.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has held short-term interest rates at nearly zero since 2008 and has expanded its balance sheet in a bid to get credit to businesses and households.
The Fed said in September it would renew its effort to help the housing market by reinvesting some of the maturing debt it holds into mortgage-backed securities.
That has helped bring 30-year mortgage rates to record lows.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks during a climate justice rally held in Durban, South Africa, Sunday, Nov 27, 2011, ahead of the official start or a two-week international climate conference with about 190 countries beginning upcoming Monday. The U.N.'s top climate official, Christiana Figueres said Sunday she expects governments to make a long-delayed decision on commitments to reduce emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases, amid fresh warnings of possible climate-related disasters in the future.(AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks during a climate justice rally held in Durban, South Africa, Sunday, Nov 27, 2011, ahead of the official start or a two-week international climate conference with about 190 countries beginning upcoming Monday. The U.N.'s top climate official, Christiana Figueres said Sunday she expects governments to make a long-delayed decision on commitments to reduce emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases, amid fresh warnings of possible climate-related disasters in the future.(AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, center, listens as former Irish President Mary Robinson speaks during a climate justice rally in Durban, South Africa, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011. Amid fresh warnings of climate-related disasters in the future, delegates from about 190 countries were gathering in Durban for a two-week conference beginning Monday.(AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)
DURBAN, South Africa (AP) ? Global warming already is causing suffering and conflict in Africa, from drought in Sudan and Somalia to flooding in South Africa, President Jacob Zuma said Monday, urging delegates at an international climate conference to look beyond national interests for solutions.
"For most people in the developing countries and Africa, climate change is a matter of life and death," said the South African leader as he formally opened a two-week conference with participants from 191 countries and the European Union.
The conference is seeking ways to curb ever-rising emissions of climate-changing pollution, which scientists said last week have reached record levels of concentration in the atmosphere.
Seasoned nongovernment observers said the outcome of the conference, which ends Dec. 9, is among the most unpredictable since the annual all-nation meetings began following the conclusion in 1992 of the basic treaty on climate change.
"Everything seems to be fluid. Everything is in play," said Tasneem Essop, of WWF International.
The main point of contention is whether industrial countries will extend their commitments to further reduce carbon emissions after their current commitments expire next year. Most wealthy countries have said their agreement is conditional on developing countries like China, India and Brazil accepting that they, too, must accept legally binding restrictions on their own emissions.
Zuma said Sudan's drought is partly responsible for tribal wars there, and that drought and famine have driven people from their homes in Somalia. Floods along the South African coast have cost people their homes and jobs, he said.
"Change and solutions are always possible. In these talks, states, parties, will need to look beyond their national interests to find a solution for the common good and human benefit," he said.
The U.N.'s top climate official, Christiana Figueres, said future commitments by industrial countries to slash greenhouse gas emissions is "the defining issue of this conference." But she said that is linked to pledges that developing countries must make to join the fight against climate change.
She quoted anti-apartheid legend and former President Nelson Mandela: "It always seems impossible until it is done."
One of the greatest threats of global warming is to food supplies, which new studies by the United Nations and independent agencies show already are under stress.
In its first global assessment of the planet's resources, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that farmers will have to produce 70 percent more food by 2050 to meet the needs of the world's expected 9 billion-strong population.
But most available farmland is already being farmed, and in ways that decrease productivity through practices that lead to soil erosion and wasting of water, the FAO said in a report released Monday in Rome.
Climate change compounded problems caused by poor farming practices, it found. Adjusting to a changing world will require $1 trillion in irrigation water management alone for developing countries by 2015, the FAO said.
The authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said changing weather patterns will make farming more unpredictable and make water supplies more unreliable. Global warming is increasing the frequency of droughts and floods, and could create a catastrophic rise of sea levels if mountain and Arctic glaciers continue to rapidly melt.
The international aid agency Oxfam also released a report Monday showing that extreme weather events are driving up food prices, and the world's poorest peoples already spend 75 percent of their income on food.
In the last 18 months, Russia lost 13.3 million acres of crops, or about 17 percent of its production, due to a months-long heat wave. Drought in the Horn of Africa has killed 60 percent of Ethiopia's cattle and 40 percent of its sheep. Floods in September have raised the price of rice by 25 percent in Thailand and 30 percent in Vietnam, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
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Public release date: 2-Dec-2011
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