At U.S. housing projects, fathers drawn into the fold - Reuters
NEW YORK |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thousands of absentee fathers are expected to join Father's Day celebrations this month at public housing projects, where single-mother households are the majority, in a nationwide push to help dads bond with their children.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the 3-year-old program is designed to help the one in three children across America, or more than 24 million children, living in homes without fathers.
At one such event on Saturday, 7-year-old Myles Marshall played among the inflatable bounce houses, food stands and music at the Van Dyke Community Center in Brooklyn. He was joined by his father, Robert Smith, whom he typically sees only on the weekends.
"I am just having fun spending time with my dad," Myles said.
The events are part of a broader push by the government, charities and advocacy groups to aid children raised in homes without fathers. Of those children, 42 percent are living in poverty, compared with 8 percent of children in married-couple families, according to the National Fatherhood Initiative, a non-profit group that is not affiliated with the HUD program.
It estimates that children in homes without a father are two times more likely to suffer abuse or neglect, drop out of school, commit crime and suffer poor health.
The Father's Day program was begun in 2010 by the New York Community Housing Authority in Brooklyn, and caught the attention of officials at HUD, who then took it national.
"I think it is really important to try and help these dads reconnect with their kids," said Eric Cumberbatch, acting deputy director of Brooklyn community operations, who helped start the first event.
"Often the dads feel like they are a burden on their families or financially they feel like they can't contribute."
About 300 housing authorities across America are planning fun days and dinners this month in honor of Father's Day, up from last year when 209 housing authorities took part, according to HUD.
"We get the housing authorities to put flyers up around the development because the guys are often around the place," said Ron Ashford, director of Public Housing Supportive Services for HUD.
ALL ARE WELCOME
"We are definitely not saying that single females can't raise kids well, they can and they do, but overall if two parents aren't there, then their child does worse."
He said anyone - including fathers who live with their children - was welcome to attend the events, even those who are not part of the housing development.
At the Van Dyke Community Center, tables were set up for the dozens of fathers who attended to get access to job support, health initiatives and learn about monthly activities they could participate in with their children.
Standing with his son Myles, Smith said it was a challenge to find time for all his children, including son Christopher Marshall, 23, Myles' twin sister, Naima, 9-year-old Nia Marshall and 4-year-old granddaughter Christasia Marshall.
"I have to go out and provide for my family, but I make time for them," Smith said. "There is no time you can create but there is always time you can make."
Another father, Joseph Perry, 28, said it was his wife Maggie's idea to bring their 6-year-old twin girls, Kiana and Kira, along.
"Days like this are important because every child needs a father," his wife said.
(Editing by Paul Thomasch and Peter Cooney)
Greece V Russia : UEFA Euro 2012 Match Report - Football
Published: 16 Jun 2012 - 22:01:24
Greece in Euro 2012 quarters after foiling Russia
Veteran Greece captain Giorgos Karagounis halted Russia's Euro 2012 campaign in its tracks here on Saturday, as the underdogs unexpectedly beat the Group A early pacesetters 1-0 to reach the last eight instead.
Seconds before the end of stoppage time in the first half, the 35-year-old midfielder latched onto a throw-in that Russian defender Sergei Ignashevich failed to deal with.
Dodging between the Russian rearguard, he fired a powerful low cross shot past goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev.
The 4,000 Greek fans in Warsaw's stadium, who up to then had largely been outsung by 20,000 Russians, went wild as Karagounis hit home to put his side through on the head to head rule - both sides ending on four points behind group winners the Czech Republic.
Karagounis, who was in Greece's Euro 2004 winning squad, and his team-mates had gone into the Russia game gung-ho, knowing that only a win would keep them in the tournament.
They had also said they aimed to bring some cheer to their crisis-ravaged homeland.
Six minutes in, Karagounis fired a corner to Kostas Katsouranis, and Dimitris Salpingidis bundled goalwards, only for Malafeev to save.
Salpingidis had been Greece's hero of the night when, after coming on as a half-time substitute, he equalised against Poland for his side, earlier reduced to 10 men.
Three minutes later, Russian captain Andrey Arshavin crossed to rising star Alan Dzagoev but he was beaten by Greek goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis - brought in to replace Kostas Chalkias, injured in their defeat by the Czechs.
Dzagoev tried again a minute later, but fired over the bar, before Aleksandr Kerzhakov shot wide.
Russia continued to show their strength as the half progressed, underlining the Greeks' vulnerability to counter-attacks.
But while not ironclad, Greece's defence remained solid at the end.
Five minutes from half-time, Yuri Zhirkov took a superb short corner, only to shoot over the bar.
With two minutes added on, Karagounis's strike came just seconds before Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson's half-time whistle.
Returning from the dressing room, both sides continued to display fighting spirit.
Russia came within a whisker of equalising in the 56th minute, but Igor Denisov was off-target.
There was gloom for Karagounis when he received a yellow card for being harshly adjudged to have dived in the box, meaning he will miss their quarter-final as he was also booked against the Czechs.
Greece's Giorgos Tzavellas came close to putting them further ahead in the 69th minute, but hit the post.
Five minutes later, Sifakis saved a shot from Igor Denisov, while Russia were again foiled in the 83rd minute when Dzagoev latched onto an Arshavin cross but fired wide.
With Eriksson adding four minutes' stoppage time, a desperate Russia battled to save face, but Sifakis denied Denisov again on his line.
Related Greece News
Comfortable England beat Exiles (From York Press) - The Press in York
Comfortable England beat Exiles
8:54pm Saturday 16th June 2012 in National Sport News © Press Association 2011
England drew first blood in the opening game of this year's international Origin series with a comfortable 18-10 victory over a patched-up Exiles team.
England dominated from the kick-off to avenge last year's defeat in the inaugural game but the Exiles will have their chance to level the two-match programme when the teams meet again at Huddersfield on July 4.
However, the overseas team look likely to be without their captain Thomas Leuluai, who was carried off on a stretcher with suspected ankle ligament damage on the hour.
The Exiles had earlier been hit by the late withdrawal of four front-line players which undoubtedly reduced their effectiveness and made England's task that much easier.
The big plus for coach Steve McNamara was the performance of second rower Gareth Hock, who marked the end of his three-year exile from the England scene with an impressive display as well as the game's opening try.
There were also encouraging efforts from England regulars James Roby and Sean O'Loughlin while Danny Tickle justified his call-up with an industrious display. But was hardly a classic and, in conditions made hazardous by torrential rain, it was no surprise that all England's three tries stemmed from kicks.
In a scrappy opening handling errors from Saints duo Tony Puletua and Sia Soliola put the Exiles under early pressure but knock-ons from Sam Tomkins let them off the hook. Another fumble gave England the position to score through Hock, who regathered possession after Exiles half-back Scott Dureau got a hand to Rangi Chase's grubber.
And it was a towering kick from Chase that created a try for Tickle, with Carl Ablett palming the ball back for Kevin Sinfield to provide the final pass. Sinfield converted both tries to make it 12-0 but the Exiles pulled a try back on 31 minutes when half-backs Leuluai and Dureau worked the ball out wide for St Helens winger Francis Meli to cross at the corner.
Conditions eased in the second half but Australian winger Joel Monaghan fumbled the ball from Sinfield's "bomb" and Tomkins was on hand to gather and scoot over for his side's third try, to which Sinfield added a touchline conversion.
A disallowed England try was a let-off for the Exiles and, although they lost their captain in the process, they recovered from the blow to register a second try. A sustained spell of pressure on the England line eventually paid dividends when centre Daryl Millard raced onto Dureau's pinpoint grubber kick and Dureau kicked his first goal.
Nalbandian through to Queen's final - The Press in York
Nalbandian through to Queen's final
7:40pm Saturday 16th June 2012 in National Sport News © Press Association 2011
David Nalbandian is relishing his first grass court final in 10 years after beating Grigor Dimitrov to set up a showdown against Marin Cilic at the AEGON Championships.
Dimitrov, 21, captured the hearts of the public at Queen's after the exit of top seeds Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but he was not good enough to beat Nalbandian, losing 6-4 6-4 in blustery conditions in west London. Cilic beat 2010 champion Sam Querrey in the other semi-final.
"It has been a long time since I have reached the final of a tournament on grass so I'm very happy," world number 39 Nalbandian said."I've played this tournament a few times, and I have never reached the final so tomorrow I will be happy to be on court."
He has not reached the final of a grass court tournament since 2002, when he lost to Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon.
The Argentinian, then just 20 years old, was expected to go on to win several grand slams, but despite being a recognised name in the tennis world, he has not made the final of a major since.
He went on: "I don't think about the Wimbledon final in 2002 a lot. I don't log on to a computer and look when my last grass final was, I don't really care, but I am happy to be there tomorrow and I will be ready."
Despite winning in straight sets, Nalbandian had to work hard for his victory because of the blustery conditions on centre court. "It was very, very tough. The wind was terrible today," Nalbandian said. "We didn't play a very nice match."
Cilic earned his place in the final by beating Querrey 6-3 3-6 6-3. The Croatian survived nine break points in the first set to move ahead, but Querrey broke his 6ft 6in opponent twice in the second in what was also a poor quality encounter.
The sixth seed expects a tough clash against the former world number three. "He can be pretty hostile, definitely," Cilic said. "He will have a few tricks up his sleeve. When I played him first time in 2006 he was pretty intimidating.
"He has a few tricks. Warming up he hits the ball a little harder and tries to show that he can accelerate and push you a little bit to make you nervous."
FCC may take up issue of cell phone radiation - CNBC
CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the Federal Communications Commission is asking for a review of the agency's stance on radiofrequency energy emitted from cell phones amid lingering concerns that the devices may cause brain tumors.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on Friday circulated a proposal to his fellow commissioners calling for a formal inquiry into the mobile phone emissions standards set in 1996.
The proposal would need to be approved by a majority of the FCC's five commissioners before the agency could release it for public comment. If it is approved, the agency would consider changing its testing procedures and seek input on the need to either strengthen or ease the current standards.
The agency would also look into whether emission standards should be different for devices used by children, an FCC spokesman said on Saturday.
The spokesman stressed that the agency continues to believe there is no evidence tying cancer, headaches, dizziness, memory loss or other health problems to mobile phones.
But the inquiry would seek any scientific evidence that could warrant changes to the emissions standards.
The number of mobile phones has risen sharply since the early 1980s, with nearly 5 billion handsets in use today, prompting lengthy debate about their potential link to the main types of brain tumor, glioma and meningioma.
In May 2011 the World Health Organization added cell phone radiation to a list of possible carcinogens, putting it in the same category as lead, chloroform and coffee, and said more study is needed.
Unlike ionizing radiation such as that from gamma rays, radon and X-rays, which can break chemical bonds in the body and are known to cause cancer, radiofrequency devices such as cell phones and microwaves emit radiofrequency energy, a form of non-ionizing radiation.
According to the National Cancer Institute, there is no consistent evidence that non-ionizing radiation increases the risk of cancer.
STUDIES POINT AWAY FROM LINK
What these devices do produce is energy in the form of heat, and the concern is that frequent use of cell phones held up to the ear can change brain cell activity, as some studies have suggested.
What is not yet clear is whether this causes harm, which is why the WHO and other health bodies have called for further study.
But since the WHO's announcement, scientific evidence has increasingly pointed away from a link between mobile phone use and brain tumors, according to a panel of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection.
Last October a study by Danish researchers involving more than 350,000 people concluded that mobile phones do not increase the risk of cancer, concurring with other studies that have reached similar conclusions.
And a study last July looking at children and adolescents aged 7 to 19 concluded that those who used mobile phones were at no greater risk of developing brain cancer than those who did not use the devices.
The FCC in 1996 established a limit on emissions and a safe level of human exposure. Mobile phones are tested and must be within this limit before they are granted FCC approval to be marketed in the United States.
FCC spokeswoman Tammy Sun said that the existing guidelines do not pose any harm or risk to cell phone users, adding that the United States "has the most conservative emissions standards in the world."
"Our action today is a routine review of our standards," Sun said in a statement.
The FCC does not set health policy, relying instead on input from the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies.
"We hope and expect that other federal agencies and organizations with whom we work on this issue will participate in the process," Sun said.
Demand for wireless devices like Apple Inc's iPhone and Google Inc's suite of Android-powered smartphones has surged in recent years, with some consumers opting to forgo landline service altogether.
According to a study by Cisco Systems Inc, the number of mobile devices connected to the Internet is expected to exceed the number of people on Earth in four years' time.
For people who are concerned about the effects of radiofrequency energy from cell phones, the FDA and FCC suggest they have shorter conversations on them and use a hands-free device, which places more distance between the phone and the user's head.
(Reporting By Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Jasmin Melvin in Washington; Editing by Xavier Briand)
0 Responses to "At U.S. housing projects, fathers drawn into the fold - Reuters"
Post a Comment