U.S. gonorrhea rate at record low, other STDs rise

ATLANTA — A new government report on sexually spread diseases shows gonorrhea in the United States has dipped to the lowest rate ever recorded.

But chlamydia and syphilis infections continued to increase last year. That's according to a report released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The agency says there are roughly 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases annually.

Gonorrhea dropped to 301,000 cases, the lowest rate since reporting began in 1941.

Chlamydia reached another record high with 1.2 million cases. It's an easily treatable infection, mostly in young women. Officials attribute the increase to more and better screening. Syphilis inched up again to 14,000 cases.
Read More:U.S. gonorrhea rate at record low, other STDs rise

U.S. gonorrhea rate at record low, other STDs rise

USA Network Expands Diversity Campaign With Facebook Game

NBC Universal-owned USA Network has added a new social layer to its ongoing Character Project initiative, a cause-related extension of its "Characters Welcome" brand. In the hopes of fostering tolerance and respect among people from all walks of life, the TV home to shows like "Monk" and "Burn Notice" launched a new campaign Monday featuring a Facebook game and other social media components.

The goal is to encourage people to pledge to "stand against intolerance, prejudice, discrimination and hate, and to promote greater understanding and acceptance" through the CharactersUnite.com site. For each pledge, USA will donate $1 to its nonprofit partners, a wide collection of organizations including the National Council of La Raza, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and the American Federation of Teachers.

"I believe life is richer and we are stronger as a country when we see beyond stereotypes and appreciate each other for the characters we are," states the pledge. Donations will be made during "Characters Unite Month," which runs through December 24, according to USA's calendar.

A Facebook game application tests players' "diversity ratings" by asking them to answer questions about their Facebook friends. "Which friend is a different religion than you are?" asks the game, which reminds players that the constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The Social Circle game, which resembles a slot machine, also asks questions like, "Which friend is an independent?" and "Which of your friends speaks two or more languages?"

The scores - intended to gauge the diversity of the friends of Social Circle players -show up on players' Facebook pages, along with a suggestion that friends play, too. "How diverse do you think your Facebook friends are? Now is your chance to find out!" Players with low scores are urged to "expand your horizons."
Read More: USA Network Expands Diversity Campaign With Facebook Game

USA Network Expands Diversity Campaign With Facebook Game

Colorado firm to buy, upgrade Squaw Valley

RENO — Owners of the Lake Tahoe-area ski resort where the 1960 Winter Olympics were held have agreed to sell Squaw Valley USA to a Colorado-based investment firm that's pledging $50 million in improvements over the next five years, company officials said Tuesday.

KSL Capital Partners LLC entered into the agreement to acquire the majority of the shares of the Squaw Valley Development Co. in a deal that includes the California resort's ski operations, the Village at Squaw Valley and related real estate holdings, Squaw Valley President and CEO Andy Wirth said.

He said the sale price won't be made public, but he confirmed in an interview Tuesday that KSL agreed to $50 million in capital improvements over three to five years at the resort atop the Sierra Nevada, about 40 miles west of Reno.
Eric Resnick, KSL's co-founder and managing director, said the Denver-based firm specializing in travel and leisure was enticed by the history and potential of what has become one of the largest and best known ski resorts in the world since it opened in 1949.

Its founder, Alexander C. Cushing, was credited with helping launch the sport in the United States by landing the 1960 Winter Games.

"With Squaw Valley USA, Alex Cushing made a profound impact on the snow sports industry, and we're honored to build upon the resort's legacy," Resnick said in a statement.

KSL's properties include Vail Mountain Lodge in Vail, Colo., The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va.; Barton Creek Resort and Spa in Austin, Texas; and Hotel del Coronado in San Diego.

Widow agrees with plan

Wirth will remain in the position he assumed in August as president and chief executive officer. He said the deal has the blessings of Cushing's widow, Nancy Cushing. She stepped down as president and CEO this summer but remains chairwoman of the board. A number of family members continue to maintain holdings in the company.

"This has been a family owned and operated asset with a proud heritage, so there is a lot of very understandable passion for the place," Wirth said. "It is with a respectful eye for that past that we advance Squaw Valley into a whole new era."

Read More:Colorado firm to buy, upgrade Squaw Valley

Colorado firm to buy, upgrade Squaw Valley

North Korean actions tied to domestic agenda

It is now clear, if it wasn’t before, that Kim Jong-un’s ascension to follow his father as North Korea’s supreme leader is going to be a turbulent time on the Korean Peninsula. How dangerous it gets in the region may depend on how much aggressive behaviour South Korea is willing to tolerate from its neighbour without pushing back hard.

After a brief period of calm following the 20-something’s introduction as the heir apparent to an ailing Kim Jong-il, the North Korean regime has shocked the outside world twice in a matter of days. First by unveiling a uranium-enrichment facility – described as “stunning” by a U.S. scientist who was invited to see it – that could be used to produce more nuclear weapons for a regime that has already defied the world by detonating two of them. Then, on Tuesday, it shelled an inhabited South Korean island, killing two soldiers and wounding dozens of others, prompting a heavy retort from South Korea’s own artillery.
Read More: North Korean actions tied to domestic agenda

North Korean actions tied to domestic agenda