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Here, excerpted in the position in which they appear in the article, are the Times' most cutting dismissals of the president, of the PATRIOT Act, and of those in Congress who excuse and rationalize the collection of private data. We have censored those sentences that don't meet that standard.

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Now, for context, .

The prestigious Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools provide opportunities for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for students and that PE become a core subject.

The report, released Thursday, says only about half of the nation's youngsters are getting at least an hour of vigorous or moderate-intensity physical activity every day.

Another concern, the report says, is that 44 percent of school administrators report slashing big chunks of time from physical education, arts and recess since the passage of the No Child Left Behind law in 2001 in order to boost classroom time for reading and math.

With childhood obesity on the rise about 17 percent of children ages 2 through 19 are obese and kids spending much of the day in the classroom, the chairman of the committee that wrote the report said schools are the best place to help shape up the nation's children.

"Schools for years have been responsible for various health programs such as nutrition, breakfast and lunch, immunizations, screenings," Harold W. Kohl III, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas School of Public Health, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"Physical activity should be placed alongside those programs to make it a priority for us as a society," he said.

The report calls on the Education Department to recommend that PE be adopted as a core subject.

It says physical education in school is the "only sure opportunity" for youngsters to have access to activity that will help keep them healthy.

The majority of states, about 75 percent, mandate PE, according to the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. But most do not require a specific amount of time for PE in school, and more than half allow exemptions or substitutions, such as marching band, cheerleading and community sports.

Many kids also aren't going to gym class at school every single day. According to the CDC, only about 30 percent of students nationwide attend PE classes five days a week.

Specifically, the report recommends:

All elementary school students should spend an average of 30 minutes each day in PE class.

Middle and high school students should spend an average of 45 minutes each day in PE class.

State and local officials should find ways get children more physical activity in the school environment.

PE isn't the sole solution, though.

The report advocates a "whole-of-school" approach where recess and before-and-after-school activities including sports are made accessible to all students to help achieve the 60-minutes-a-day recommendation for physical activity. It could be as simple as having kids walk or bike to school, or finding ways to add a physical component to math and science class lessons.

The report also cautions against taking away recess as a form of punishment, and it urges schools to give students frequent classroom breaks.

Schools can do this if they make it a priority, said Paul Roetert, CEO of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

"We have an obligation to keep kids active," Roetert said in an interview. "We have research to show that physical activity helps kids perform better in school. It helps them focus better in the classroom ... and they behave better in school. So there are all kinds of side benefits."

Kitty Porterfield, spokeswoman for The School Superintendents Association, said nobody is opposed to physical education.

"Everybody would love to see more of it in schools," said Porterfield. "Given the testing and academic pressures for excellence on schools, often physical education slides to the bottom of the barrel."

The idea of putting more of an emphasis on physical education in schools has support in Congress.

Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, plans to introduce the PHYSICAL Act on Thursday. It would recognize health education and physical education as core subjects within elementary and secondary schools. Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Jared Polis, D-Colo., will join Fudge as co-sponsors.

Novikov tested positive for ostarine in an out-of-competition test on May 17. Ostarine potentially helps increase muscle mass and is classed among substances known as Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMS).

It's the fourth doping case announced by the UCI within the last month despite hopes that a new generation was riding clean in the aftermath of the Lance Armstrong affair.

The governing body said Novikov is suspended while the Russian cycling federation prosecutes a disciplinary case.

Novikov's team, Vacansoleil, said he will be fired if the backup sample also tests positive, or if the 23-year-old rider refuses to ask for the second test.

''It needs no clarification that as a team we are devastated by this,'' Vacansoleil manager Daan Luijkx said in a statement. ''When I talked to the rider last night, after the UCI informed us, he said he had no idea how the substance got in his body.''

Novikov won the Tour of Slovakia and Tour des Pays de Savoie in 2011 with Russian team Katusha before joining Vacansoleil before the 2012 season.

''Since that time he didn't manage to reach his old level in our environment despite all the efforts of our team,'' Luijkx said.

Aimed at people who spend a lot of time outdoors (or who perhaps just have clumsy hands in bathroom stalls), the Active is essentially a carbon copy of the S4 with fully sealed design that protects it from dust and water. According to , its International Protection IP67 rating can "protect the internals against water damage for up to 30 minutes, at a depth of one meter."

The Active is notable namely because water-resistant phones are few and far between here in the U.S. (.) There's the Sony Xperia Z, and a . And Motorola's Droids come with SplashGuard, a liquid-resistant coating that wicks light moisture away.

You wouldn't know it, but waterproof technology has actually improved by leaps and bounds in the last few years. For just $60, companies likecan even apply a special nano-coating to make your phone's internal circuitry resistant to water.

So, if the technology has existed for a few years now, why aren't more phones — or all electronics, for that matter — built to withstand the elements? Why is water-proofing still a niche feature?

Part of it has to do with the cumbersome manufacturing process. According to , companies that employ similar nano-coatings like HzO and P2i are already working with phone-makers to bring the technology to the market. But while HzO's coating is "highly water resistant… its competitors say electrical currents don't transfer through the coating, and therefore requires a labor-intensive masking process," . Makes sense.

Another possible reason is a lack of public demand here stateside. In Japan, for example, waterproof smartphones have been a thing for awhile now. Panasonic , "Young Japanese women prefer to use their cellphones even when taking their showers." We should probably be glad that hasn't caught on here in the U.S.

Plus, if you're one of those rugged outdoor types, there are literally dozens of accessory companies willing to sell you a waterproof casing. Some are aimed at budding underwater photographers, while others are marketed to twentysomethings predisposed to party fouls. Even , purveyors of , sells waterproof housing for iPhones for under forty bucks.

Then there's the ugly reality that companies can squeeze out a few more Benjamins from you in the event your phone takes a swim in the Pacific. Even though it used to be way stricter about its water damage policy, Apple will let you a buy refurbished iPhone of the same make . While it beats having to sign up for a new contract, that's still enough cash incentive to be careful.

Some critics think it's better this way, too. Unless you "live on a boat," , waterproofing doesn't make much sense for the average consumer. "I think one big reason smartphone waterproofing is seen as so desirable is because we don't want to have to be so careful with our expensive electronics; it's a license to be negligent, to an extent."

But waterproof phones are out there. The technology exists. And if we're lucky, maybe the Galaxy S4 Active is a sign of good things to come.

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The case was aimed at Liberty Reserve, a currency transfer and payment processing company based in Costa Rica that authorities say allowed customers to move money anonymously from one account to another via the Internet with almost no questions asked.

U.S. officials said the enterprise was staggering in scope: Over roughly seven years, Liberty Reserve processed 55 million illicit transactions worldwide for 1 million users, including 200,000 in the U.S.

The network "became the bank of choice for the criminal underworld," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in announcing the unsealing of an indictment against the defendants, including Liberty Revenue founder Arthur Budovsky, an American who renounced his U.S. citizenship after deciding to set up in Costa Rica.

Liberty Reserve allowed users to open accounts using fictitious names, including "Russian Hacker" and "Hacker Account." An undercover investigator was able to register using the name "Joe Bogus" and the address "123 Fake Main Street" in "Completely Made Up City, New York," and then conduct transactions he recorded as "ATM skimming network" and "for the cocaine."

"The coin of the realm was anonymity," Bharara said. "It was the opposite of a know-your-customer policy."

The network charged a 1 percent fee on transactions through middlemen known as exchangers, who converted real currency into virtual funds and then back into cash.

In the indictment, prosecutors called the network "one of the principal means by which cyber criminals around the world distribute, store and launder proceeds of their illegal activity ... including credit card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, child pornography and narcotics trafficking."

Bharara said it was possibly "the largest international money laundering case ever brought by the United States."

Budovsky and another defendant, identified as Azzeddine el Amine, were arrested Friday at a Madrid airport while trying to return to Costa Rica, according to a Spanish court official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because court policy forbids him from speaking on the record. They were ordered jailed while they await a hearing on extradition to the U.S.

Two other men, including Liberty Reserve co-founder Vladimir Kats, were arrested last week in New York City. There was no public record of their arraignments on Friday night, and there was no immediate response to phone messages left Tuesday with their attorneys.

Of the three remaining defendants, one was in custody in Costa Rica and the others were at large there.

A notice pasted across Liberty Reserve's website Tuesday morning said the domain "has been seized by the United States Global Illicit Financial Team." Attempts to reach Liberty Reserve by phone and email were unsuccessful.

Budovsky and Kats have previous convictions on state charges related to an unlicensed money transmitting business, according to court papers. After that case, they decided to move their operation to Costa Rica, the papers said.

In an online chat captured by law enforcement, Kats admitted Liberty Reserve was illegal and noted that authorities in the United States knew it was "a money-laundering operation that hackers use."

While authorities described Liberty Reserve as being rife with criminals, the site's ease of use, low fees and irreversible transactions that deterred fraud also attracted legitimate users.

Mitchell Rossetti, whose Houston-based ePayCards.com was one of several mainstream merchants that accepted Liberty Reserve's online-only currency, said his business still had about $28,000 tied up in Liberty Reserve accounts.

"The irony of this is I went to them because of the security," Rossetti said. "All sales were final."

He acknowledged that the currency was being used by scammers but said Liberty Reserve funds were just like any other currency: "The U.S. dollar can be donated to a church or it can pay a prostitute."

Liberty Reserve appears to have played an important role in laundering proceeds from the recent theft of some $45 million from two Middle Eastern banks, according to documents made public by U.S. authorities earlier this month. In that scheme, thieves stole debit card information and then used it to drain cash from thousands of ATMs around the world in a matter of hours.

As part of the Liberty Reserve investigation, authorities raided 14 places in Panama, Switzerland, the U.S., Sweden and Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, investigators recovered five luxury cars, including three Rolls-Royces. Bharara said authorities also seized Liberty's computer servers in Costa Rica and Switzerland.

The businesses that were raided in Costa Rica on Friday as part of the investigation into Liberty Reserve are dedicated to Web hosting services, website development and Internet business consulting.

In Costa Rica, all online businesses are legal and there aren't any laws regulating them, so the country has been attracting entrepreneurs setting up Internet-based companies that do everything from e-commerce to gambling banned in other countries.

___

Satter reported from London. Alan Clendenning and Jorge Sainz in Madrid and Javier Cordoba in San Jose, Costa Rica, contributed to this report.

The study had enrolled about 2,500 people, mostly gay men, in 19 cities. Half received an experimental vaccine developed by the National Institutes of Health, and half received dummy shots.

A safety review this week found that slightly more volunteers who had received the vaccine later became infected with HIV. It's not clear why.

The NIH said Thursday that it is stopping vaccinations, but will continue to study the volunteers' health.

Multiple attempts at creating an AIDS vaccine have failed over the years. But researchers continue to try, pointing to modest success in a 2009 study in Thailand.

The United Kingdom'splummeted in 2012, likely because a record-setting deluge of rain last spring triggered sewage overflows.

Data released by the European Environment Agency on Tuesday (May 21) showed the number of "excellent" beaches in England, Scotland and Ireland those beaches that meet certain standards for intestinal bacteria and E. coli plummeted by a quarter in just one year.

In 2012,stood at just 58.2 percent, down from 82.8 percent in 2011. Further, the United Kingdom's compliance rate with bathing water health standards was among the lowest in the European Union. []

Overwhelming sewage infrastructure

Many of the 629 "bathing waters" identified across the United Kingdom suffered as rainfall deluged the islands between May and June.

According to the U.K.'s environment agency, rainfall ranged between 11 and 17 inches (28 to 43 centimeters) in those three months. Adding to the problem, some of the infrastructure near U.K. beaches needs to be upgraded due to disrepair and capacity issues.

"It was particularly [bad] because of these overflows of sewers," said Peter Kristensen, EEA's project manager of integrated water assessments, in an interview with LiveScience.

"These heavy rainfalls overflow the combined sewers of connected houses and, in some cases, also [overwhelm] drains from farms where water can wash out into streams," he said.

There are projects underway to address this flooding problem, however. For example, Bloomberg News recently reported that London , which was first built in 1858 after a "Great Stink" overwhelmed the city. Construction will start in July and is expected to finish by 2017.

Standards rise across Europe

For the European , scientists examined more than 22,000 waters suitable for bathing across 18 European Union member states as well as Croatia. The report has been generated annually for about two decades, but keeps expanding as new members are added to the union, Kristensen said.

While the United Kingdom's water quality suffered, beaches across Europe saw an overall rise in quality. The EU average for beaches meeting standards was 78.3 percent, but 10 countries more than last year exceeded the standard. Cyprus and Luxembourg tied for top spot at 100 percent of beaches in compliance.

Kristensen said it is difficult to generalize why there is an overall rise in quality across Europe, though he noted several countries have emphasized beach cleanups to attract tourists.

Measures to improve quality can range from simple ones, such as public education campaigns telling people not to walk their dogs along the beach, to upgrading infrastructure to accommodate an expanding population and the wetter weather that is coming due to climate change and other factors.

Follow Elizabeth Howell , or LiveScience , & . Original article on.

Both women were dominant in the first two elimination rounds, but Ricker had the last word over her rival in the final.

The first-place finish means Ricker, a native of Squamish, B.C., has secured a spot representing Canada at the Sochi Olympics next year.

Maltais, from Petite-Riviere-Saint-Francois, Que., finished a few meters behind Ricker in the final race.

On the men's side, Alex Pullin of Australia won gold, while Robert Fagan of Cranbook, B.C., was the top Canadian and finished in seventh.

The competition is taking place at the Stoneham Mountain Resort north of Quebec City.

Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.89 percent. That's below the previous record of 3.91 percent reached three weeks ago.

Records for mortgage rates date back to the 1950s.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage ticked down to 3.16 percent. That's down from a record 3.21 percent three weeks ago.

Mortgage rates are lower because they track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 2 percent. They could fall even lower this year if the Fed launches another round of bond purchases, as some economists expect.

Average fixed mortgage rates hovered around 4 percent at the end of 2011. Yet many Americans either can't take advantage of the rates or have already done so.

High unemployment and scant wage gains have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Many don't want to sink money into a home that they fear could lose value over the next few years.

Mortgage applications have fallen slightly on a seasonally adjusted basis over the past four weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said that until hiring picks up and unemployment drops significantly, the impact of lower mortgage rates will remain muted.

Previously occupied homes are selling just slightly ahead of 2010's dismal pace. New-home sales in 2011 will likely be the worst year on records going back half a century.

Builders hope that the low rates could boost sales next year. Low mortgage rates were cited as a key reason the National Association of Home Builders survey of builder sentiment rose in December to its highest level in more than a year.

But so far, they have had little impact on the depressed housing market.

To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. The average rates don't 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 the 30-year loan fell to 0.7 from 0.8; the average on the 15-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 0.8.

For the five-year adjustable loan, the average rate declined to 2.82 percent from 2.86 percent. The average on the one-year adjustable loan fell to 2.76 percent from 2.80 percent.

The average fee on the five-year adjustable loan rose was unchanged at 0.7; the average on the one-year adjustable-rate loan was unchanged at 0.6.

Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.89 percent. That's below the previous record of 3.91 percent reached three weeks ago.

Records for mortgage rates date back to the 1950s.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage ticked down to 3.16 percent. That's down from a record 3.21 percent three weeks ago.

Mortgage rates are lower because they track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 2 percent. They could fall even lower this year if the Fed launches another round of bond purchases, as some economists expect.

Average fixed mortgage rates hovered around 4 percent at the end of 2011. Yet many Americans either can't take advantage of the rates or have already done so.

High unemployment and scant wage gains have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Many don't want to sink money into a home that they fear could lose value over the next few years.

Mortgage applications have fallen slightly on a seasonally adjusted basis over the past four weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said that until hiring picks up and unemployment drops significantly, the impact of lower mortgage rates will remain muted.

Previously occupied homes are selling just slightly ahead of 2010's dismal pace. New-home sales in 2011 will likely be the worst year on records going back half a century.

Builders hope that the low rates could boost sales next year. Low mortgage rates were cited as a key reason the National Association of Home Builders survey of builder sentiment rose in December to its highest level in more than a year.

But so far, they have had little impact on the depressed housing market.

To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week. The average rates don't 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 the 30-year loan fell to 0.7 from 0.8; the average on the 15-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 0.8.

For the five-year adjustable loan, the average rate declined to 2.82 percent from 2.86 percent. The average on the one-year adjustable loan fell to 2.76 percent from 2.80 percent.

The average fee on the five-year adjustable loan rose was unchanged at 0.7; the average on the one-year adjustable-rate loan was unchanged at 0.6.