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33,000 Americans has yielded the first clear proof that drinking sugary beverages interacts with genes that affect weigh

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) - It's a familiar scene on city streets and in movies: dressed-up teenagers packed into a stretch limo, celebrating something important by jubilantly sticking their heads through the roof.
A bigger version of that is the rented party bus, which can pack in more guests. Renting such buses - some two stories high, offering such amenities as strobe lights and satellite TV - "is what kids call fun nowadays," said Emily DaRocha of the Silver Star Limousine company. "We're talking about kids in the 21st century; that's how it is."
But such trips also carry more risk, as in the case this weekend of a New York teenager who poked his head through a hatch that had been opened on a double-decker bus loaded with dozens of dancing teens on their way to a party. Daniel Fernandez, 16, was fatally struck when the bus went under an overpass, according to authorities.
"No matter how many times you tell clients this is an emergency exit - it's written on the glass - they still open it," DaRocha said. "It happens all the time."
Her company in suburban Westchester County only offers single-level buses, Mercedes-Benzes that rent for up to $500 an hour.
Safety precautions must be part of the package, though, too. For a group of 40 guests, Silver Star requires two adults be aboard if the group is made up of teens or children 18 or under.
"It's much more dangerous when you have a double-decker with 65 kids - because they're hard to co...

A policy of engagement with North Korea is the only viable option to resolve the North's nuclear weapons programs, but Seoul and Washington must set "strict standards" to prevent Pyongyang from backsliding and repeating its nuclear hide-and-seek, a former U.S. point man on North Korea said Tuesday.

Stephen Bosworth, the Obama administration's first special envoy for North Korea, also expressed skepticism that China, the North's key ally and economic benefactor, would wield an enough leverage to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambition.

Washington's policy of deterring North Korea did not work, as Pyongyang conducted its second nuclear test in 2009 and revealed a uranium enrichment program in 2010 that could give it another means of producing fissile material for nuclear bombs. In 2010, North Korea launched two military attacks on South Korea.

"So, I think we have no choice but to re-engage ourselves (with North Korea)," Bosworth told a forum in Seoul.

To bring about positive changes in Pyongyang's behavior, Bosworth said Seoul and Washington need "a very careful diplomacy, patience and willingness, not simply to give to North Korea, but to set strict standards."

Bosworth was the top U.S. envoy for North Korea from March 2009 to October 2011. He also served as U.S. ambassador to South Korea and is now dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Diplomatic efforts to resume the si...

A policy of engagement with North Korea is the only viable option to resolve the North's nuclear weapons programs, but Seoul and Washington must set "strict standards" to prevent Pyongyang from backsliding and repeating its nuclear hide-and-seek, a former U.S. point man on North Korea said Tuesday.

Stephen Bosworth, the Obama administration's first special envoy for North Korea, also expressed skepticism that China, the North's key ally and economic benefactor, would wield an enough leverage to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambition.

Washington's policy of deterring North Korea did not work, as Pyongyang conducted its second nuclear test in 2009 and revealed a uranium enrichment program in 2010 that could give it another means of producing fissile material for nuclear bombs. In 2010, North Korea launched two military attacks on South Korea.

"So, I think we have no choice but to re-engage ourselves (with North Korea)," Bosworth told a forum in Seoul.

To bring about positive changes in Pyongyang's behavior, Bosworth said Seoul and Washington need "a very careful diplomacy, patience and willingness, not simply to give to North Korea, but to set strict standards."

Bosworth was the top U.S. envoy for North Korea from March 2009 to October 2011. He also served as U.S. ambassador to South Korea and is now dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Diplomatic efforts to resume the si...

He sent us five tips from his book "Are You Ready to Succeed? Unconventional Strategies to Achieving Personal Mastery in Business and Life." The book explores some unexpected ways that you can improve your outlook, relationships and careers. Here are a few of his tips

He sent us five tips from his book "Are You Ready to Succeed? Unconventional Strategies to Achieving Personal Mastery in Business and Life." The book explores some unexpected ways that you can improve your outlook, relationships and careers. Here are a few of his tips:

Do nothing for a half-hour.
Rao says that all the noise in our day-to-day lives makes us stressed. "Try doing nothing for a half-hour: no watching TV, no checking emails, no reading," he says.

Make a list of what you are grateful for about your job.
It's easy to hate your company and think it's all bad, according to Rao. But seeing the bright side will improve your attitude and performance at work.

Cultivate a new skill for work.
"If you have to make cold calls for work and you find that you dread making them, but you love writing, try working on developing compelling copy and using mass email marketing and other tactics to eliminate something that you hate and emphasize something you love," Rao says.

Make a tape recording of yourself on a phone call.
See how many times you use "I" and "me." Rao says that instead of focusing so much on yourself, you should try and think of others and make their lives better.

Make a list of all of the people you blame for bad things that have happened to you.
Then understand that they weren't out to get you, they were just motivated by their desire to be happy. "Most of our perceived i...

(CNN) -- South Korea is perhaps the world's leader in terms of identifying and treating gaming and Internet addiction. After wiring the nation with the world's fastest broadband infrastructure, South Korea's government spends millions per year to identify and treat gaming and Internet addicts.
About 8% of the country's population age 9 to 39 suffer from Internet or gaming addiction, according to a 2010 government study.
Some see South Korea as a window into the future: Perhaps other nations, including the United States, will see a wave of gaming and Internet addiction when our technological infrastructure catches up. Others say it's too soon to know if gaming addiction is really its own disorder.
In the United States, Internet and gaming addiction are not listed in the official Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In the next revision of that list, however, the American Psychiatric Association has proposed that "Internet Use Disorder" be listed as warranting further study.

Except FOR a brief encounter at the Naia 3 terminal while waiting to board a flight for Bohol, I would have never met Secretary Jesse Robredo. He was a complete stranger although I knew him as a Ramon Magsaysay awardee for government service for his work as mayor of Naga City.
Going through my previous columns on such diverse topics as the rights and privileges of senior citizens and the Luneta hostage crisis, I realize that I had made some comments and observations about Robredo that defined my impressions—not always positive—of the man.
Just a few years ago, senior citizens were experiencing difficulties in the implementation of the Senior Citizens Law. Except FOR a brief encounter at the Naia 3 terminal while waiting to board a flight for Bohol, I would have never met Secretary Jesse Robredo. He was a complete stranger although I knew him as a Ramon Magsaysay awardee for government service for his work as mayor of Naga City.

(CNN) -- South Korea is perhaps the world's leader in terms of identifying and treating gaming and Internet addiction. After wiring the nation with the world's fastest broadband infrastructure, South Korea's government spends millions per year to identify and treat gaming and Internet addicts.
About 8% of the country's population age 9 to 39 suffer from Internet or gaming addiction, according to a 2010 government study.
Some see South Korea as a window into the future: Perhaps other nations, including the United States, will see a wave of gaming and Internet addiction when our technological infrastructure catches up. Others say it's too soon to know if gaming addiction is really its own disorder.
In the United States, Internet and gaming addiction are not listed in the official Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In the next revision of that list, however, the American Psychiatric Association has proposed that "Internet Use Disorder" be listed as warranting further study.
Some groups, however, have moved forward with treating Internet and gaming addiction.

“No one should be deceived by our cool-headed stance. Our acting with common sense should not be perceived as a weakness,” said Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey’s brief response to last week’s incident seems to show that a violent retaliation from their side is not happening, although Prime Minister Erdogan has warned that Syria must not test his resolve.
Prime Minister Erdogan announced that Turkey had altered its military policies of engagement toward Syria.
In his speech to the legislative body also attended by Arab diplomats, Erdogan said, “Every military element that approaches the Turkish border from Syria in a manner that constitutes a security risk or danger would be considered as a threat and would be treated as a military target.”