(Reuters) - An award-winning Oklahoma television meteorologist has been criticized as "irresponsible" for telling viewers on Friday to get in their cars and flee approaching tornadoes, and some are blaming him for putting people in grave danger on clogged roads.

Mike Morgan, chief meteorologist for Oklahoma City television station KFOR, told viewers during a tornado warning to get in their cars and drive away from a threatened storm.

Some people said they followed his advice and ended up stuck in traffic jams on major central Oklahoma highways as a massive storm bore down on the Oklahoma City area.

The result was a "nightmare" on the roads, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said, exacerbated by some employers letting people off early from work to beat the rush hour on Friday.

Tornadoes and flooding from the Friday storms killed 20 people, the chief Oklahoma medical examiner's office said on Wednesday in its latest update of fatalities. Fallin said some people were sucked from their cars and some vehicles tossed from the roads.

It was the second wave of deadly tornadoes in the area in two weeks. A monster twister flattened whole sections of the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on May 20. One Oklahoma tornado on Friday was the widest ever recorded in the United States at 2.6 miles, the National Weather Service said.

Morgan, an 11-time weather broadcast award winner in Oklahoma, where meteorologists are admired for timely forecasts about tornadoes, gave viewers the standard advice to seek cover in a storm cellar, shelter or other safe place below ground.

But some critics said Morgan then went too far when he told viewers: "If you can leave South Oklahoma City and go south do it now." He repeated similar advice several times.

Morgan was not the only local forecaster to give such advice as the storm front threatened to hit the major population center of Oklahoma City.

'IRRESPONSIBLE REPORTING'

Ernst Kiesling, research professor at Texas Tech's National Wind Institute, said it was wrong to advise people to get in their cars and try to outrun a tornado.

"Irresponsible reporting of that kind is unconscionable in my mind. You have the responsibility to give more than your off-the-cuff opinions."

Cassandra Donnelly of Oklahoma City was one of those people who headed south on the advice of newscasters and got stuck in traffic.

Donnelly said she saw cars driving the wrong way and through stop signs on one of city's major arteries. She eventually pulled off the road into the bushes.

"I told my mom and my sister to keep praying. The rain was horizontal," Donnelly said. "We were pushed forward twice."

Morgan has not appeared on the network since Friday, and the station said he is on vacation and would be back on Thursday. He could not be reached for comment.

But a statement from KFOR on Wednesday said: "After every major storm, we review our coverage and the many things that make each weather event unique, for the purpose of improving our coverage and our ability to forecast."

Greg Carbin, Meteorologist for the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said a car is a more dangerous place to be than a well-constructed home in a tornado.

"You will more likely put yourself in more danger by leaving your house," he said.

Some people defended Morgan. David Barfield of Oklahoma City said he believes Morgan's advice two weeks ago during the monster tornado in Moore saved his daughter's life.

His daughter was in an above-ground closet but Barfield, following Morgan's advice to go underground, kept telephoning her to urge her to leave. She eventually did and survived.

"She would have died if she had stayed there," Barfield said.

(Additional reporting by Heide Brandes; Editing by Greg McCune and Mohammad Zargham)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Most economists expect the Federal Reserve to scale back the size of its bond purchases, intended to prop up the economy, by the end of the year, and a sizeable number expect reduced buying as early as September, according to a Reuters poll.

Of 48 economists who answered a poll question on Friday about when they expected the Fed to cut back on the size of its debt purchases, 42 said they expected this by the end of 2013. Of those, 21 expect reduced purchases to be announced during the third quarter of the year, with 19 specifying the Fed's September policy meeting.

The Fed is currently buying $85 billion per month of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities in an effort to hold interest rates at very low levels and spur employment growth. The central bank has said the duration of the program is open-ended.

Speculation over when the Fed might start to pare back its bond buying has roiled financial markets recently. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke last month stoked market speculation when he said a decision to pare the Fed's current pace of bond purchases may happen at one of the Fed's "next few meetings" if the economy looked set to maintain momentum.

Of 49 economists who responded to a question about when the Fed would completely halt bond purchases, 42 said they expect this by mid-2014. The remaining 7 economists expect the program to end in the second half of 2014 or the first half of 2015.

The median of forecasts from 34 economists was for the Fed to purchase a total of $1.225 trillion of debt in the latest round of quantitative easing, known as QE3.

Within the poll, the median of forecasts from 14 primary dealers - the large financial institutions that do business directly with the Fed - was for the central bank to buy a total of $1.375 trillion under the current stimulus.

The poll was conducted on Friday after government data showing U.S. employers added 175,000 jobs last month, which was more than expected, although the unemployment rate in May ticked up to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent in April.

However, several economists said the payrolls numbers would have little immediate impact on their outlook for Fed policy.

"Today's report does not alter the course for the (Federal Open Market Committee)," said Lewis Alexander, chief economist at Nomura Securities International in New York.

"While improvement in the labor market seemed to continue, some Fed officials have shown their concerns over the cost side of quantitative easing such as excess risk taking. In this context, the bar for an initial decrease in purchases later in the year is unlikely to be particularly high," he said.

Of 50 economists polled, 30 said they expect the U.S. unemployment rate to fall to the Fed's target of 6.5 percent in 2015, while 20 forecast unemployment to dip to that level in 2014.

(Additional reporting by Sarmista Sen and Rahul Karunakar in Bangalore and Pam Niimi in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday that Americans need to become more open about mental health issues so that people struggling with problems are not ashamed to seek help.

More than 60 percent of Americans with mental illness do not receive treatment, many of them because they are embarrassed or afraid of being ostracized, Obama said, speaking at a White House conference on mental health.

"We wouldn't accept it if only 40 percent of Americans with cancers got treatment," Obama said. "So why should we accept it when it comes to mental health?"

Obama promised to start a "national conversation" on mental health after the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut school last year, although he did not mention the tragedy in his remarks on Monday.

The massacre at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14 raised awareness of mental health issues, although little is known about the state of mind of the shooter, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who committed suicide.

Lanza, who has been described as socially awkward and reclusive, also killed his mother.

"Without us knowing if and what Adam Lanza had, we certainly know that something bad was going on, and that Adam Lanza wasn't getting the attention that he needed," said Harold Koplewicz, president of the Child Mind Institute, a psychiatric treatment and research center in New York City, in an interview.

The conference at the White House is one of the less controversial tasks for Obama on his politically tough to-do list to address gun violence in America.

His proposals for new restrictions on guns have stalled in Congress, foiled by a tough fight from the powerful National Rifle Association and other groups defending Americans' constitutional rights to own guns.

But there are signs of bipartisan interest in Congress in taking steps to deal with the lack of access for mental health services and trained professionals in the field, said Koplewicz, whose opinions have been sought out by Republicans on Capitol Hill.

"Sometimes it takes these terrible national tragedies that capture us, that hit us in the pit of our stomach, and we say to ourselves: 'It's a wake-up call. Enough. We just have to do something,'" said Koplewicz.

ONE IN FIVE KIDS

Mental illness is common in America. As many as one in five children suffer from a disorder, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said.

People with mental illnesses statistically are far more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators, and the vast majority of gun violence in America is not linked to people with mental problems.

"I want to be absolutely clear the overwhelming majority of people who suffer from mental illnesses are not violent," Obama said.

Yet many Americans fear people with mental illness, part of the hurdle for treatment, said actor Glenn Close, who spoke at the White House about the battles waged by her sister and nephew to recover from mental illnesses.

"The truth is, that stigma has hardly budged," said Close, who has worked to reduce stereotypes.

Treatment for mental illness is most effective when started early, but Obama said only about half of children with mental health problems receive treatment.

The health care reform law will expand insurance coverage for treatment of mental illnesses for about 60 million Americans when it is fully implemented, he said.

"We need to see it that men and women who would never hesitate to go see a doctor if they had a broken arm or came down with the flu, that they have that same attitude when it comes to their mental health," Obama said.

The problem is particularly acute for veterans struggling with brain injuries and post-traumatic stress. Obama said 22 veterans a day commit suicide.

"We've got to do a better job than that, of preventing these ... all-too-often silent tragedies," he said, noting the administration will hold mental health summits at veterans' health care centers across the country in coming weeks.

(Editing by Eric Walsh and Cynthia Osterman)

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares were capped on Monday as investors took profits from recent highs in the face of uncertainty over how much longer the current U.S. stimulus would continue, and data underscoring the fragility of China's economy.

Investors will scrutinize more data this week from the United States for clues to growth and demand prospects in the world's largest economy.

Speculation over whether and when the U.S. Federal Reserve would start scaling back its current massive bond-buying program emerged following a string of positive American data and was the catalyst for corrections across markets which had drawn strong support from the Fed's largesse.

Reports showing Chinese growth was failing to pick up momentum gave no reason for a turnaround from soft sentiment.

China's factory activity shrank for the first time in seven months in May as both domestic and external demand softened, while activity in the services sector also slipped, pointing to slowing momentum in the world's second-largest economy.

"We still cannot see any signs of recovery but the chances of any sharp slowdown are also small," said You Hongye, an economist at China Essence Securities in Beijing.

These reports followed an weekend release that showed China's official PMI rising to a more-than-forecast 50.8 in May from 50.6 in April.

ANZ said in a commentary that this single indicator did not change its view on China's softening economic condition.

"Structural reforms are needed in order to help sustain the growth prospect ... inconsistent data will continue to complicate China's economic policy making and potentially impair the judgment of policymakers," the Australian bank said.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japanwas pressured, after earlier giving up as much as 0.2 percent to its lowest in nearly seven weeks. A fall this session would mark a fourth straight day of declines. The index ended May down 4.7 percent for its worst monthly performance in a year.

Australian sharesstabilized, up 0.1 percent after falling on Chinese data. Hong Kong shareswere up 0.4 percent but slightly trimmed gains while Shanghai sharesalso lost some of its early gains to inch up 0.1 percent.

Even Japan's Nikkei stock average , which has outperformed the Asian bourses, eased, falling as much as 2.8 percent to a six-week low earlier in the session.

Reflecting heightening investor nervousness, the CBOE Volatility index , which measures expected volatility in the Standard & Poor's 500 indexover the next 30 days, hit a six-week high on Friday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Indexposted consecutive weekly losses for the first time since November as investors took some money off the table after the index rallied 14.3 percent, the best first five months of the year since 1997, and ended May up for the seventh straight month of gains - its longest streak of monthly gains since 2009.

"The Federal Reserve's willingness to alter the pace of purchases sooner than markets had previously expected has meant that markets remain attuned to the incoming data flow in the U.S.," Barclays Capital said in a research note.

The May ISM manufacturing index is due later in the session and the more important monthly nonfarm payrolls data is due on Friday. The Fed has said it would keep up the stimulus campaign until the employment situation improved.

Data on Friday showed U.S. Chicago Purchasing Managers Index rose far more than expected in May, fanning worries about the Fed slowing its bond purchases later this year and sending U.S. Treasury prices lower on Friday, capping the worst month for the market in nearly 2-1/2 years.

Some cautioned about prematurely factoring in the possibility of the Fed's tapering.

"The idea of early tapering of QE is still some time away - inflation is still low and the Fed has to get it a little higher. We are overweight equities and advising anyone who is short equities to square positions," said Gary Dugan, Chief Investment Officer, Asia & Middle East, at Coutts.

The dollar rose 0.3 percent to 100.66 against the yen, off a three-week low of 100.22 on Friday. The dollar index , measured against a basket of six key currencies, was down 0.14 percent after touching a three-week low on Thursday.

U.S. crude futures fell 0.2 percent to $91.76 a barrel and Brent fell 0.3 percent to 100.06.

Amid global equity market corrections spurred by concerns over the Fed's stimulus outlook, equity funds tracked by EPFR Global recorded collective outflows of $2.79 billion during the week ending May 29 as retail redemptions hit a year-to-date high while bond funds attracted $1.37 million, their second lowest total of 2013.

China industrial output/PMI: http://link.reuters.com/qaf92t

Asia PMIs: http://link.reuters.com/maz35s

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

(Additional reporting by Xiaoyi Shao, Jonathan Standing and Kevin Yao in Beijing and Umesh Desai in Hong Kong; Editing by Eric Meijer)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Americans accustomed to immediate access to the newest technology may be shocked to find that is not the case when it comes to devices that treat ailing hearts.

U.S. approval requirements for cardiac devices are much more stringent than in Europe, where there is no centralized decision-making body. But a growing number of U.S. heart doctors feel the regulations are so demanding that patients are being denied access to beneficial therapies.

From 2006 to 2011, European regulators approved mid-to-high-risk medical devices, including heart devices, an average of four years ahead of the more conservative U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to a report last year by Boston Consulting Group. The quicker road to market in Europe did not lead to a discernible increase in recalls or safety problems, according to BCG and the California Healthcare Institute, which conducted the study, and Eucomed, the European trade group.

"There is frustration among the U.S. investigators(researchers) and U.S. care providers around delayed access to certain interventions that appear to be a winner," said Dr. Patrick O'Gara, a cardiologist with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

An example cited by several doctors is a replacement for diseased heart valves made by U.S. device maker Edwards Lifesciences. The Sapien transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) system is particularly suited for elderly and frail patients, since it can be put in place via a catheter threaded through an artery rather than replacing a valve by cracking open the chest for heart surgery.

"With this disease, if you wait two or three years, 60 or 80 percent of (patients) are dead. So not to have the most updated version of the device to treat more patients like this doesn't seem to be a particularly good idea," said Dr. Martin Leon, director of the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

Heart disease remains the world's No. 1 killer. An estimated 500,000 Americans suffer from severely diseased heart valves, according to the American Heart Association. Many could be candidates for valve replacements.

The approval delays are also costing device makers, such as Edwards and Medtronic Inc, hundreds of millions of dollars in potential sales while they are being asked to help pay for U.S. healthcare reform through new taxes.

Dismay among heart doctors over delayed access to new devices gained momentum at this year's American College of Cardiology (ACC) meeting, which featured several U.S. clinical trials of devices long available in Europe.

One top researcher at the meeting called the United States "a Third World country" when it comes to availability of cutting-edge heart devices.

Only Edwards' original Sapien valve has U.S. approval - which it received in 2011, four years after Europe and elsewhere. European cardiologists have been using a next-generation version, which doctors find easier to maneuver into place and believe may cause less trauma to the artery, for three years.

That is why Leon, who is co-lead investigator of U.S. clinical trials for both the original Sapien heart valve and the smaller, newer Sapien XT, sends some patients to Europe for treatment if he believes them better suited for the sleeker XT.

Medtronic has a similar heart valve replacement awaiting U.S. approval that has been used in Europe since 2007.

Asked at the ACC meeting if he found the situation frustrating, Dr. Gary Mintz, chief medical officer of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation in New York, shot back: "You mean because Algeria had TAVR before the U.S.?"

"Even the FDA recognizes the problem, but they are answerable to Congress, not us," Mintz said.

FDA'S BID TO STREAMLINE

The FDA requires proof of efficacy as well as safety through carefully controlled, randomized clinical trials before approving products, and may ask for long-term follow-up data.

"We recognize that some of our regulatory requirements have been viewed as impediments compared to other parts of the world," said Andrew Farb, medical officer in the FDA's division of cardiovascular device evaluation.

The FDA is working on a new program to help streamline the path to U.S. approval that would involve the agency much earlier in device development - possibly discussing results with researchers after use in the first patient, according to Farb.

The agency expects to publish this year its "early feasibility study guidance," which it hopes will outline a path toward swifter reviews and approvals of devices in development in the United States, Farb said.

"When you're starting a new way of thinking, getting this really ramped up is a challenge, but we're hopeful," he said.

Some companies, eager for faster returns on their investments, have moved early-stage device trials overseas, since they know they are likely to be able to begin selling the products there years earlier. That has added to delays of U.S. trials and approvals, Farb and others said.

Enrolling patients in randomized U.S. trials mandated by the FDA is also being hampered by patient fear they would be put in a control group that did not get the new device, doctors said.

Farb said the FDA is concerned by such trends and is seeking ways to move early-stage human trials back to the United States.

EUROPE MAY SEEK TIGHTER CONTROLS

In Europe, device makers must prove a product's safety to the satisfaction of one of some 80 designated regulator bodies and show it functions as intended. Effectiveness is determined through post-approval surveillance as it is used in patients. Some European politicians view the system as too lax and have called for a model closer to the U.S.

"I think we need to meet somewhere in between," said Dr. David Holmes, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic and a past ACC president, of the two regulatory systems. He said Europe may need to tighten its regulations without necessarily adding years to its process.

One suggestion put forward by Eucomed - a device industry trade group that represents thousands of companies - and others would significantly cut the number of European regulators allowed to approve higher-risk devices.

U.S. doctors are actively looking for ways to address the issue. "We need a coalition of involved, thoughtful and balanced individuals who see things on both sides of the equation and look for every opportunity to shorten this time line," O'Gara said.

Holmes said such a coalition, including researchers, manufacturers and physician groups like ACC and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, is looking to work more closely with the FDA on the issue. He said the group is compiling a database of all patients getting TAVR to enhance understanding of the procedure's long-term performance and aid the FDA in making decisions.

MILLIONS IN LOST SALES

The approval lag means companies are leaving money on the table when it comes to their newest devices.

Edwards' original Sapien sells for about $32,000 per patient and had U.S. sales of about $200 million in its first year on the market. Had it been available in the United States at the same time as Europe, the company could have rung up at least an additional $800 million in sales, said Joanne Wuensch, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets. "That assumes no growth, which is ridiculous, so that is an extraordinarily conservative number," she said.

Proving efficacy can be a lengthy process. St Jude Medical's Amplatzer Occluder device, used to close a tiny hole in the heart, is awaiting an FDA decision. The decisive U.S. trial, which was not deemed complete until a pre-specified number of patients suffered strokes or died, took eight years.

For other examples, see:

Eucomed is campaigning to keep in place the system that brings new products to those markets earlier.

"As you get physician experience developing, you also start immediately improving the product," said Eucomed CEO Serge Bernasconi. "That explains why by the time it gets to market in the U.S., often in Europe we are already on the second or third generation."

Edwards, which considers the original Sapien valve to be obsolete and manufactures it only for U.S. use, expects European approval for its third-generation version by the end of 2013.

Meanwhile, U.S. doctors still await its predecessor.

(Additional reporting by Debra Sherman; Editing by Michele Gershberg, Ed Tobin and Douglas Royalty)

The British rider withdrew before the 13th stage of the Giro d'Italia two weeks ago due to a chest infection and team principal Dave Brailsford says "with illness, injury and treatment Brad has gone past the point where he can be ready for the Tour. It's a big loss but, given these circumstances, we won't consider him for selection."

Wiggins says "it's a huge disappointment not to make the Tour. I desperately wanted be there, for the team and for all the fans along the way - but it's not going to happen."

Wiggins became the first British rider to win the showcase race last year.

The list is compiled using data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide.

Hardcover Fiction Last Week

1. "The Hit" by David Baldacci (Grand Central, $27.99) -

2. "Whiskey Beach" by Nora Roberts (Putnam, $27.95) 1

3. "Fly Away" by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin's, $27.99) -

4. "Daddy's Gone a Hunting" by Mary Higgins (Simon & Schuster, $26.99) 2

5. "Paris: The Novel" by Edward Rutherfurd (Doubleday, $32.50) -

6. "Wedding Night" by Sophie Kinsella (Dial, $26.00) -

7. "Vader's Little Princess" by Jeffrey Brown(Chronicle, $14.95) -

8. "The Mystery Woman" by Amanda Quick (Putnam, $26.95) -

9. "Don't Go" by Lisa Scottoline (St Martin's, $27.99) 5

10. "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn (Crown, $25.00) 8

Hardcover Nonfiction

1. "Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls" by David Sedaris (Little Brown, $27.00) -

2. "The One Thing" by Gary Keller (Bard Press, $24.95) 3

3. "Start" by Jon Acuff (Thomas Nelson, $22.99) -

4. "Lean In" bySheryl Sandberg (Knopf, $24.95) 1

5. "Jumpstart to Skinny" by Bob Harper (Ballantine, $25.00) -

6. "Cooked" by Michael Pollan (Penguin, $27.95) -

7. "The Duck Commander Family" by Willie & Korie Robertson (Howard Books, $23.99) 6

8. "Becoming a Supple Leopard" by Kelly Starrett (Victory Belt Publishing, $59.95) -

9. "It's All Good" by Gwyneth Paltrow (Grand Central, $32.00) 5

10. "Life Code" by Dr. Phil McGraw (Bird Street Books, $26.00) 8

Week ended April 28, 2013, powered by Nielsen BookScan (c) 2012 The Nielsen Company.

(Editing by Chris Michaud and Vicki Allen)

Saturday, May 25

Honved 3 Egri FC0

Gyor ETO 1 MTK Hungaria 0

Kaposvar 1 Paks 0

Friday, May 24

Papa 0 Siofok 1

Ujpest 0 Szombathelyi Haladas 1

StandingsPWDLFAPts

C1Gyor ETO 29 18 7454 31 61

-------------------------

2 Fehervar 28 15 6746 21 51

3 Honved 29 15 6849 35 51

-------------------------

4 MTK Hungaria 29 14 6940 29 48

-------------------------

5 Debrecen 28 14 410 44 30 46

6 Ferencvaros28 12 9746 32 45

7 Szombathelyi Haladas 29 11 10 835 26 43

8 Kecskemeti TE28 11 8940 37 41

9 Ujpest 29 10 811 39 42 38

10Diosgyor 28 910 929 36 37

11Kaposvar 29 10 613 33 36 36

12Paks 29 811 10 40 37 35

13Pecs 28 8713 29 42 31

14Papa 29 7616 25 45 27

-------------------------

15Siofok 29 7418 31 60 25

R16 Egri FC29 3620 23 64 15

-------------------------

C - Champion

R - Relegated

1: Champions League preliminary round

2-3: Europa League

4: Europa League depending on domestic cup

15-16: Relegation

Next Fixtures (GMT):

Sunday, May 26

Debrecen v Ferencvaros (1430)

Kecskemeti TEv Fehervar(1630)

Monday, May 27

Pecs v Diosgyor(1630)

(Photo: )

A spokesperson from Ventresca Ltd. commented on the recognition: "This is quite an honor for us. The fact that Philadelphia Style included Ventresca Ltd. in its selection of "The Hot List," signals that our constant efforts towards business excellence are paying off.We are proud to be included in this recognition."

About Ventresca Ltd.:a short profile by and about the honoree:

Ventresca Ltd.. the Delaware Valley's leading men's store, specializing in clothing, sportswear, formalwear and footwear. Casual to business attire, from contemporary to classic, proudly representing the leading brands and labels in men's wear.

Following the publication of Ventresca Ltd.'s selection for Philadelphia Style'sThe Hot List list, American Registry seconded the honor and added Ventresca Ltd. to the "Registry of Business Excellence". An exclusive recognition plaque, , has been designed to commemorate this honor.

For more information on Ventresca Ltd., located in Doylestown,Pennsylvania please call 215-348-3139, or visit .

This press release was written by American Registry, LLC with contributions from Ventresca Ltd. on behalf of Ventresca Ltd. and was distributed by PR Newswire, a subsidiary of UBM plc.

American Registry, LLC is an independent company that serves businesses and professionals such as Ventresca Ltd. who have been recognized for excellence. American Registry offers news releases, plaques andThe Registry, an online listing of over 2 millionsignificant business and professional recognitions.Search The Registry at.

Contact Info:Ventresca Ltd.Phone: 215-348-3139Email Address:

SOURCE Ventresca Ltd.