Ex-baseball star Lenny Dykstra sentenced in bankruptcy fraud case

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lenny Dykstra, the 1980s World Series hero who pleaded guilty earlier this year to bankruptcy fraud, was sentenced on Monday to six months in federal prison and ordered to perform 500 hours of community service.
The 49-year-old former ballplayer - who is already serving time in state prison for grand theft auto, lewd conduct and assault with a deadly weapon - was also ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution.
In the federal case, Dykstra pleaded guilty in July to bankruptcy fraud and other charges.
According to the written plea agreement, he admitted defrauding his creditors by declaring bankruptcy in 2009, then stealing or destroying furnishings, baseball memorabilia and other property from his $18.5 million mansion.
He also admitted giving false or misleading testimony about the property he removed from the Los Angeles-area home, which he had purchased from hockey great Wayne Gretzky, according to the court documents.
Dykstra, nicknamed "Nails" during his playing days, spent 11 years in the major leagues, mostly as an outfielder for the Mets and Philadelphia Phillies.
He is perhaps best remembered by Mets fans for the 1986 season, when he struck a walk-off game-winning home run in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.
And in Game 3 of the World Series, he hit a key lead-off home run, sparking a comeback by the Mets from a 2-0 series deficit to win the championship over the Boston Red Sox.
But in recent years Dykstra has become embroiled in a series of criminal cases.
In March of this year, he was sentenced to three years in state prison after pleading no contest to grand theft auto in what Los Angeles County prosecutors said was a scheme to lease cars using phony business and credit information.
And in April, the former athlete was sentenced to 270 days in jail and 36 months probation after pleading no contest to lewd conduct and assault with a deadly weapon.
Those charges stemmed from accusations that Dykstra exposed himself to women who answered his Craigslist ad for an assistant and housekeeper. One of the women told authorities the former athlete held a knife and forced her to massage him.
A no contest plea is the legal equivalent to pleading guilty under California law.

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Average on 30-year US mortgage stays at 3.55 pct.

 The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage held steady this week, staying slightly above the lowest level on record. Low mortgage rates have aided a modest housing recovery.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan was unchanged at 3.55 percent. In July, the rate fell to 3.49 percent, the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing option, slipped to 2.85 percent, down from 2.86 percent last week. That's above the record low of 2.80 percent.
Cheap mortgages have helped lift the housing market. Sales of new and previously occupied homes are well above last year's levels. Low rates have also allowed people to refinance, which lowers monthly mortgage payments and helps boosts consumer spending.
Home prices are increasing more consistently this year, largely because the supply of homes has shrunk while sales have risen. And the number of Americans who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth declined in the second quarter.
Still, the housing market has a long way back. Home sales are below healthy levels. And many people are still having difficulty qualifying for home loans or can't afford larger down payments required by banks.
Mortgage rates are low because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. A weaker U.S. economy and uncertainty about how Europe will resolve its debt crisis have led investors to buy more Treasury securities, which are considered safe investments. As demand for Treasurys increase, the yield falls.
To calculate average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average does not include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.6 point, down from 0.7 point last week. The fee for 15-year loans was changed at 0.6.
The average rate on one-year adjustable rate mortgages was steady at 2.61 percent. The fee for one-year adjustable rate loans also was unchanged, at 0.4 point.
The average rate on five-year adjustable rate mortgages fell to 2.72 percent from 2.75 percent. The fee declined to 0.6 point from 0.7.

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Ahead of the Bell: Weekly mortgage rates

WASHINGTON (AP) — Loan buyer Freddie Mac reports Thursday on whether mortgage rates are continuing to hold near recent low rates.
Last week the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage held steady at 3.55 percent, slightly above the record low of 3.49 percent that was reached in July. Meanwhile, the average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing option, dipped to 2.85 percent from 2.86 percent.
Cheap mortgages have helped the housing market recover this year. Sales of new and previously occupied homes are well above last year's levels.
Home prices are increasing more consistently this year, largely because the supply of homes has shrunk while sales have risen. And the number of Americans who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth declined in the second quarter.
Still, the housing market has a long way back. Home sales are below healthy levels. And many people are still having difficulty qualifying for home loans or can't afford larger down payments required by banks.
The report is expected at 10 a.m. Eastern.

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Rate on 30-year mortgage hits record low 3.40 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell again to new record lows. The decline suggests the Federal Reserve's stimulus efforts may be having an impact on mortgage rates.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.40 percent. That's down from last week's rate of 3.49 percent, which was the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing option, fell to 2.73 percent, down from the record low of 2.77 percent last week.
The Fed is spending $40 billion a month to buy mortgage-backed securities. The goal is to lower mortgage rates and help the housing recovery. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says the program will continue until there is substantial improvement in the job market.
Some economists expect mortgage rates to fall even further because of the Fed's bond purchases.
The housing market already is benefiting from the lowest mortgage rates on record. Sales of both previously occupied and newly built homes in the U.S. are up from last year. Home prices are rising more consistently. And builders are more confident in the market and are starting to build more homes.
The broader economy is also likely to benefit from a revival in the housing market. When home prices rise, Americans typically feel wealthier and spend more.
Still, the housing market has a long way back. Sales and construction rates remain below healthy levels.
And some economists question whether lower rates will make much of a difference. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage has been below 4 percent since early December. So most people who can qualify have likely already taken advantage of the lower rates.
Many people who would like to refinance or buy a home can't because they fail to meet stricter lending requirements or don't have enough money to make a down payment.
To calculate average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average does not include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.6 point, unchanged from last week. The fee for 15-year loans also held steady at 0.6 point.
The average rate on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages dipped to 2.60 percent from 2.61 percent. The fee for one-year adjustable rate loans was unchanged at 0.4 point.
The average rate on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 2.71 percent from 2.76 percent. The fee remained at 0.6 point.

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Rebels in C. African Republic seize another town

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Rebels in Central African Republic seized control of another town on Saturday, just days before they are to begin negotiations with the government in nearby Gabon.
Alindao town was taken by rebels of the Seleka alliance, who now control 11 cities and towns, according to residents of a nearby community.
"In the early morning hours the attackers burst into Alindao without meeting any resistance from the Central African armed forces," said Jean Balipio, speaking by telephone from the neighboring town of Bangassou.
Alindao is not on the path to Bangui, the capital of 700,000 which is heavily fortified by Chadian troops and other forces sent from neighboring countries. Alindao is located about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from Bambari, the third largest city which is already under rebel control.
The insurgents have taken 11 towns and cities within a month. They had previously said they would halt their advances pending talks with President Francois Bozize's government, which are set to begin in Gabon on Tuesday. The new move by rebels on Saturday casts doubt on the possible success of the talks. Already the rebels said they are seeking Bozize's departure but the president said he does not intend to leave office before his term ends in 2016.
On Friday, the United Nations Security Council urged the rebels to withdraw from the towns they hold and take part in the negotiations in Libreville, Gabon "without preconditions and in good faith."
Pakistan's U.N. Ambassador Masood Khan, the current council president who read the press statement, was asked whether the talks would definitely take place given uncertainty about participation of all the rebels in the alliance and other groups.
"Right now preparations are being made and we're hoping the talks will take place — and all parties are being urged in that direction," Khan said. "The talks are important to reduce tension and de-escalate the situation and look towards diplomatic solutions."
Seleka, which means alliance in the local Sango language, is made up of four separate groups which have previously fought one another. Bozize has offered to form a government of national unity but the rebels have questioned his sincerity and demanded that he relinquish power.
The rebels also want the Bozize government to respect previous peace accords providing for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former rebels into society.
Central African Republic is a desperately poor, landlocked nation that has suffered numerous rebellions since independence from France in 1960. Bozize himself came to power in 2003 through a rebellion that was backed by Chadian forces. He has since won two elections.
Despite the nation's wealth of gold, diamonds, timber and uranium, the government remains perpetually cash-strapped and many of the 5 million people depend upon subsistence agriculture.

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Zimbabwe bus crash kills 8

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwean police say eight people died in a bus crash that has brought the traffic accident death toll during the holiday period to the highest on record in the southern African nation.
Police officials in the second city of Bulawayo said Sunday that eight died and 57 were injured Saturday in western Zimbabwe when their bus, headed for neighboring Botswana, veered off the highway and overturned.
The driver was among the injured.
The central police traffic command said 209 people have died in accidents since Dec. 15. In the same holiday period last year, 147 people died. Bus accidents, common in Zimbabwe, are blamed on poor vehicle maintenance and speeding.
On Dec. 23, 18 passengers died when a truck ferrying them home for the holidays plunged into a mountain ravine.

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S. Africa sends troops to Central African Republic

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The South African presidency announced Sunday that is sending 400 army troops to Central African Republic to help the country's army as it faces a threat from a coalition of rebel groups.
Sending soldiers to Central African Republic is part of South Africa's efforts "to bring about peace and stability in the region," said the announcement by President Jacob Zuma's office.
Central African Republic's neighboring countries Cameroon, Gabon and Republic of Congo already have sent about 120 troops each to help stabilize the country confronted by the rebellion.
Chad, a longtime ally of President Francois Bozize's government, also has provided hundreds of forces who are fortifying the road to the capital, Bangui, to prevent rebels from reaching the seat of power, a city of 700,000.
The South African National Defense Force troops will "assist with capacity building of the CAR Defense Force and will also assist CAR with the planning and implementation of the disarmament, demobilization and re-integration processes" to deal with the country's rebels, said Zuma's statement.
The rebels had pledged to halt their advance pending peace talks in Gabon that are due to start Tuesday. However, residents say rebels seized two more towns over the weekend, though they are not en route to the capital.
A dozen towns have come under rebel control since the rebel alliance calling itself Seleka began its offensive on Dec. 10.
Negotiations between the rebels and the Bozize government are set to begin in the nearby country of Gabon on Tuesday.

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HPV tied to throat cancers: study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A sexually transmitted infection usually thought of in connection to cervical cancer is also tied to a five times greater risk of cancer of the vocal chords or voice box, a new report suggests.
Combining the results of 55 studies from the past two decades, Chinese researchers found 28 percent of people with laryngeal cancers had cancerous tissue that tested positive for human papillomavirus (HPV).
But that rate varied widely by study, from no throat cancer patients with HPV to 79 percent with the infection.
"We're finding that HPV appears to be linked to a number of squamous cell carcinomas of the head, neck and throat," said Dr. William Mendenhall, a radiation oncologist from the University of Florida in Gainesville who didn't participate in the analysis.
However, he told Reuters Health, "I think the risk of HPV on laryngeal cancer is probably relatively low. Most of the patients we see currently that come in with laryngeal cancer have a strong history of cigarette smoking, also heavy drinking."
Along with tobacco and alcohol, having a poor diet and exposure to certain chemicals can increase a person's risk of laryngeal and other head and neck cancers.
The American Cancer Society estimates 12,360 people will be diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in the United States in 2012 and that there will be 3,650 deaths from the disease.
Along with their larger review, researchers led by Dr. Xiangwei Li, from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking University Medical College in Beijing, analyzed 12 studies that compared cancerous and non-cancerous tissues from a total of 638 patients. They found the cancerous throat tissue had 5.4 times the odds of testing positive for HPV infection, compared to non-cancerous tissue.
The analysis was published last week in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Mendenhall said that of all head and neck cancers, HPV seems to play the biggest role not in laryngeal cancer, but in cancer of the tonsils and back of the tongue.
However, he added, "the exposure is probably decades earlier. Someone who develops a base of tongue cancer when they're 50, they probably were exposed to the virus years before, in their teens or 20s."
At least half of sexually-active people get HPV at some point in their lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but the virus is usually cleared by the immune system. Only some of the 40-plus HPV strains have been tied to cancer.
Based on the current findings, it's difficult to know how many of the laryngeal cancers in the original studies were actually caused by the virus, researchers said.
But Mendenhall said extending HPV vaccination to boys and young men, as the CDC has recommended, "will hopefully reduce at least some of these HPV-related cancers."

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Uncircumcised boys and men may face more UTIs

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Infections of the kidney, bladder and urethra happen in uncircumcised baby boys at ten times the rate of circumcised boys, and over a lifetime uncircumcised men are four times more likely to experience one, according to a new analysis of past research.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are most common in boys' first year of life, and circumcision was already known to make a difference in their risk, but how much and whether that carried through to adulthood was unclear, Australian researchers say.
They found that circumcision "provides considerable protection and over the lifespan makes about a three- to four-fold difference by our prediction, which is quite striking in public health terms," lead study author Brian Morris, professor of molecular medical science at the Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, told Reuters Health.
Morris and a colleague examined 22 studies published between 1987 and 2012 that included a total of 407,902 males across the globe, a quarter of whom were uncircumcised.
Breaking down the results by age, they calculated that the likelihood of a UTI between birth and one year of age is 9.9 times higher in uncircumcised boys compared to circumcised boys. Between ages 1 and 16, uncircumcised boys are at 6.6 times higher risk, and after age 16 their risk is 3.4 times that of uncircumcised men.
Based on those findings, the researchers projected that doctors could prevent one UTI with every four circumcisions, "which is astronomical," Morris said.
The younger the infant, the more serious a UTI can be, the researchers note in their report, which is published in the Journal of Urology. Side effects of a UTI in infants can include kidney scarring, fever, pain and blood infections.
Health experts have mostly framed circumcision as a public health preventive measure focused on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
In August, the American Academy of Pediatrics for the first time stated that the health benefits of circumcision outweigh the risks, but added that the decision to circumcise a child remains with parents.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently evaluating the potential health impact of circumcision, according to a spokeswoman, but any recommendations that come of that will also be voluntary, she said.
The estimated health benefit Morris and his colleague found was several times larger than what was projected in two previous studies, which suggested 111 or 195 circumcisions would be needed to prevent one case of UTI in the first year of life.
One expert questioned the new findings based on the methods Morris' team used.
Zbys Fedorowicz, director of the Bahrain branch of the UK Cochrane Centre, a non-profit organization that evaluates medical studies, said that the 22-study analysis combined different types of studies and the researchers failed to assess their quality.
"It doesn't mean to say that these guys are necessarily wrong, it's just that we don't know because the methodological approach that they used isn't thorough enough, it's not transparent, it's not reproducible and it's not clear," Fedorowicz said.
In November, Fedorowicz and colleagues published a report concluding that no existing study that examined the risk of urinary tract infections and circumcision was of high enough quality for any recommendation.
Dr. Robert Van Howe, clinical professor of pediatrics at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and vocal critic of circumcision, also found the new study problematic.
Van Howe said that diagnostic criteria for urinary tract infections differ between researchers and that the cost/ benefit analysis of circumcision as a preventive tool for infections doesn't add up.
At $200 each circumcision, preventing one urinary tract infection would cost $40,000, "which you can treat with an $18 antibiotic; it's overkill," Van Howe said.
"You would think we have long lists for dialysis in men because they're not circumcised, but it just isn't a problem, it's fear mongering," Van Howe told Reuters Health.
A middle ground might be to let boys decide for themselves at age 14 or 16 to become circumcised, Van Howe suggested. "You can leave this choice up to the person who has to live with the consequences," Van Howe said.
Morris maintains that the study sends "a really strong signal for advocacy of circumcision as a public health intervention in reducing these various - and in many cases very serious - conditions over the lifetime.

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In Search of a Better Condom

It's hard to believe, but the condom is still the only way to protect against pregnancy and HIV at the same time. But researchers say they believe they can develop a kind of 21st-century contraceptive that offers superior protection against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and that people will like enough to use consistently.
A paper describing early work on the project was published earlier this month in the journal PLoS One. The research team, led by Kim Woodrow at the University of Washington, received a grant of nearly $1 million last month from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to pursue the research.
The product is an electrically spun cloth with nanometer-sized fibers that can dissolve to release drugs, such as medications that prevent pregnancy and HIV infection. The drug-eluting fibers represent "multipurpose prevention technology," a method that simultaneously prevents sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy through a combined physical and chemical barrier.
MORE: HIV Vaccine Under Study May Last A Lifetime
"Condoms and vaginal rings and IUDs have been around for a very long time," Cameron Ball, a co-author of the paper and graduate student in bioengineering, told TakePart. "People would like more options. No one option will be the silver bullet. The idea is to have multiple options that people can choose for their lifestyle."
Improved methods to protect against STDs and pregnancy are needed in both developing and developed countries. The spermacide nonoxynol-9 is highly effective at pregnancy prevention but promotes vaginal inflammation, which then increases the risk of STD transmission.
"What we're hoping to provide is a method of drug delivery that could be used with a variety of drug compounds," Ball says. "There are multiple products in the development pipeline to address this need. These are largely vaginal rings, but vaginal rings are limited in what they are able to deliver. They deliver compounds that are less water soluble. Using fibers allows you to work with multiple drugs with different properties. You can have combinations of pharmaceutical agents that you couldn't necessarily have with a vaginal ring or with a condom."
MORE: HIV-Positive Women Benefit from Human Papillovirus Vaccination
During electrospinning, an electric field is used to launch a charged fluid jet through the air to create extremely delicate nanometer-scale fibers that stick to a collection plate. (One nanometer is about one 25-millionth of an inch.) The stretchy fibers are the platform for delivering medications in the same way that drugs are delivered through pills or gels. The fibers can also carry larger molecules, such as proteins and antibodies, that are hard to deliver through other methods. So far, the team has created a fabric that serves as a physical barrier to block sperm or to release drugs, such as contraceptives and antiviral medications.
The fabric dissolves within minutes, which is considered a benefit because it offers immediate and discreet protection. But the approach also allows for controlled release of multiple compounds, Ball says. Last year, a study aimed at preventing heterosexual HIV transmission using a gel with the drug tenofovir failed—the likely result of the drug's strength fading by the time of sex.
"If you can have a longer-lasting gel with nanoparticles, that would be beneficial," Ball says. "We're trying to fill a niche in terms of product lifespan."
MORE: Ob-Gyns: Sell 'The Pill' Over The Counter
The cloth could be inserted directly into the body or used as a coating on vaginal rings or other products, Ball says. While the primary goal of the research is for products that can be used in places like Africa, where HIV transmission is especially high,  the technology could appeal to a wide range of societies and cultures.
"You could have fibers that stay in place for longer or be shaped in the shape of a diaphragm," he says. "You could include herpes medication. Herpes prevention is somewhat controversial—it's not clear whether taking herpes medications prophylactically will help prevent the spread of the virus. That is another application, potentially.

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