But what if climate change were instead about an increase in childhood asthma, or a surge in infectious diseases, or even an influx of heat-induced heart attacks? Would that hold more resonance for the average citizen of the world? Thats what some climate change experts are hoping, as they steer the conversation about global warming toward the public health issues it raises. Last week, the journal Science featured aon climate change and included a study on the complex yet growing connection between global warming and infectious diseases.

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According to a , framing global warming as a public health issue rather than as an environmental or national security one produces the most emotionally compelling response among people, since it focuses on the immediate implications a warmer climate could have on peoples lives. This strategy also has the benefit of providing a sense of hope that the problems can be addressed and avoided, if people take action early enough.Matthew Nesbit, co-author of the study, says such positive actions are critical for communicating the importance of climate change to a broader and more diverse proportion of Americans who may not care about environmental issues. Its easy to become fatalistic about the problem, he says. You have to give them a sense of hope that they can become part of something that addresses the problem.

For example, tying the frequency of extreme weather events, such as last years devastating Hurricane Sandy, widespread wildfires or the recent summer heat waves to global climate change can help people to appreciate the immediacy of the problem. As people deal with the public health consequences of such events from floods to contaminated water to heat-related illnesses the impact that environmental events have on health starts to hit home.

To exploit this potential, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a Climate and Health Program in 2009, and associate director George Luber has been advising 16 states as well as New York City and San Francisco officials, on regional climate change problems and the public health issues they entail.

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The Obama administration also seems to be getting the message. In an energy speech in June at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., the President laid out his plans for climate change. Speaking in the midst of a blistering heat wave that was roasting the Northeast, Obama called on policymakers to readdress global warming and implement new pollution standards. And he emphasized that such action was necessary not only to preserve the planet, but also our health. Dont tell folks that we have to choose between the health of our economy or the health of our children, he said as he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.

By simply having him put those two words in his speech makes an enormous difference in people recognizing that its a public health problem, says Dr. Georges Benjamin, director of the American Public Health Association (APHA).

By re-branding global warming as a health issue, the administration is hoping to bypass the political quagmire that has kept climate change initiatives such as regulating greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants or passing renewable energy standards from being implemented. Earlier this month, the White House chose to honor medical and environmental professionals in itsprogram, for their efforts in protecting public health in a changing climate.

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But even Champion of Change recipient Gary Cohen, co-founder and president of global non-profit , says that the re-branding will require the backing of medical professionals, who serve as the hubs of education for raising community awareness about the health consequences of climate change. Thats why Healthcare Without Harm, for example, is trying to transform the healthcare industry into a greener sector encouraging hospitals to adopt more environmentally friendly energy resources and waste management practices and informing medical professionals about the close connection between climate change and medicine. Healing is their core mission, Cohen says. Its the one sector of the economy that has an ethical framework that underpins it.

Sabrina Mccormick, an environmental documentary filmmaker and sociologist at George Washington University, agrees that doctors have a unique role that can transcend political differences. [The public is] kind of attuned to their expertise and we really care about what they say, McCormick says. They have a potential for an impact that scientists may not have. Indeed, afound that the American public ranked nurses with the highest honesty rating (85%) while doctors placed third with 70%.

Thats why anti-smoking advocates, for instance, focused on educating medical professionals to quit smoking first before addressing the greater public. Cohen believes doctors can do the same for climate change as long as they are prepared and educated to lead by example as environmentally responsible stewards.

And they have reason to be hopeful. The environmental group Sierra Club was successful in doing just that with its campaign, which shut down coal power plants in several states by eliciting the help of local stakeholders, including physicians, who informed local residents about the respiratory problems that the plants triggered among its workers and children in the area.

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Its also encouraging that more physicians, particularly newly minted ones, are inclined to join in the climate change conversation. The American Medical Association has hosted state-based courses on climate change , educating doctors about how to prepare for and respond to climate-related illnesses and injuries. In May 2011, the journal Lancet hosted a worldwide symposium on climate change and health concerns, drawing international experts to discuss the health implications of a changing climate while the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has since shifted its efforts to focusing on the health concerns emerging from global warming after winning the Nobel Peace Prize for its .

Such efforts to embed awareness into medical training are important, says Nesbit and other experts, since the re-branding is not about spin as much as it is about changing the type of dialogue people have about climate change. Youre creating the context and the relationship around which people are discussing, interacting and bumping into information about climate change, he says.For instance, he says pediatricians may start to explain how higher regional pollen counts, which may be contributing to their patients asthma and allergies, could be due in part to changing climates that boost pollen production of trees.

And the timing may also be right for such conversations as well. With unemployment now below 7%, coupled with the frequency in extreme weather, people may be more inclined to accept public health efforts aimed at reducing their exposure to potentially costly health problems that might be emerging from changing patterns in the global climate. Among young voters, a that 79% were more likely to vote for a candidate who supports taking action on the issue, regardless of the candidates party.

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The hope is that seeing climate change as a health issue will spur more people into pushing for environmental reforms, but thats still a big if. My biggest concern is that like many things in prevention, people might want to put it off, says Benjamin. We dont have 20 years to wait like the tobacco campaign. Every year we wait puts us behind the eight ball, and I think its important to move that message.

When he discovered this security bug, Khalil Shreateh quickly reported it to Facebook through the page dedicated to this type of information. The staff of the social network promise a minimum reward of $500 to anyone who informs them of even the most minor security flaw.

The flaw uncovered by Shreateh allowed any user to share and publish links on any other Facebook user's wall. In spite of the IT specialist's detailed explanation, including a concrete example of the danger presented, Facebook did not take his alert seriously. It was only after he demonstrated the bug through the wall of none other than Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and CEO, that the site's engineers took action.

Facebook claims that the security breach has been closed, but it will not reward the unfortunate IT specialist due to the fact that he violated the site's terms of use.

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(Reuters) - An elaborate temple-like structure perched on an apartment block in southeastern China is an illegal hazard that should be torn down, residents say. But they may not be as lucky as opponents of a lavish rooftop villa in Beijing.

The temple in Shenzhen is believed to have been on the roof for about seven years but the complaints have hit the spotlight only after a doctor in Beijing was given 15 days to demolish his 800-square-metre (8,600-square-foot) house and garden built illegally atop a 26-storey apartment block.

Although the roof of the building in Shenzhen is supposed to be a public space, a fingerprint-activated lock stops others from accessing it, according to media reports.

Chen Jiatao, chairman of the complex's housing management committee, said the temple's owner must resolve the matter by opening the space to other residents but he seemed to hold out little hope.

"I once spoke with the past chairman, who was here for seven years," Chen told Reuters Television. "He said this to me: 'Oh my, don't you know? This person is an official, he has friends in high places.' So it's useless."

A disregard for laws and regulations by the rich and well-connected is a source of discontent among many Chinese.

The temple and inaccessible rooftop have raised concerns about safety. For residents on higher floors, the roof would be the main escape route in case of fire, while the added weight from the illegal structure could threaten the building's stability, media reports say.

Apartments in the building sell for around 30,000 yuan ($4,900) per square meter and the rooftop itself is worth more than 15 million yuan ($2.45 million), according to the South China Morning Post.

(Additional reporting by Venus Wu and Stefanie McIntyre; Editing by John O'Callaghan)

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose in light trading on Friday, led by a jump in Microsoft shares, as trading took place without interruption a day after the Nasdaq stock exchange suffered an unprecedented, three-hour trading halt.

Microsoft (NSQ: - ) shares posted their largest daily percentage gain in more than four years after the head of the world's largest software company, Steve Ballmer, announced he will retire within 12 months.

The stock closed up 7.3 percent at $34.77 and was the largest contributor to the advance on the three major indexes.

"The big news today is the succession at Microsoft, but beyond that it's pretty quiet," said Dan Veru, chief investment officer at Palisade Capital Management in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI: - ) rose 46.77 points or 0.31 percent, to 15,010.51, the S&P 500 (MXP: - ) gained 6.54 points or 0.39 percent, to 1,663.5 and the Nasdaq Composite (NAS: - ) added 19.085 points or 0.52 percent, to 3,657.792.

Volume was among the lowest of the year with about 4.9 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and NYSE MKT, far below the daily average so far this year of about 6.3 billion shares.

Trading volume was only slightly higher than Thursday's 4.4 billion, affected by a technological problem that shut down trading in Nasdaq securities for three hours in the afternoon.

On Friday, Robert Greifeld, chief executive officer of Nasdaq OMX (NSQ: - ) said the exchange resolved the technical problems that led to the halt but could not guarantee there would never be future glitches. Nasdaq shares gained 1.2 percent to close at $30.83.

Friday's gains helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite end a two-week losing streak, but the Dow posted its third consecutive weekly decline. For the week the Dow fell 0.5 percent, the S&P gained 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq added 1.5 percent.

Economic data showed sales of new single-family homes fell by 13.4 percent in July to an annual rate of 394,000 units, well below expectations of 490,000 units.

The data weighed on homebuilder stocks, with PulteGroup (NYS: - ) down 1.6 percent to $16.06 and Toll Brothers (NYS: - ) off 3.9 percent to $31.19. The PHLX housing sector index (XPH: - ) lost 1.6 percent.

Pandora Media Inc (NYS:P) slumped 12.9 percent to $18.91 after the Internet radio service said late Thursday that rising expenditures to acquire music and expand its sales force would push fiscal 2014 earnings below analyst expectations.

Aeropostale Inc (NYS: - ) tumbled 20.2 percent to $8.76 after the teen apparel retailer forecast a steep third-quarter loss.

Shares of Autodesk (NSQ: - ) rallied 7.7 percent to $38.91 after earlier hitting $41.72, its highest level since April 2012.

Roughly two issues rose for every one that fell on the NYSE and on Nasdaq 13 rose for every 11 decliners.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

The fundraising campaign on the website GoFundMe raised $11,035 from 178 people in one day for Khalil Shreateh, and was continuing to take donations after he was denied a "Facebook Bounty."

"I hope this has raised awareness of the importance of independent researchers," said Marc Maiffret, a security expert at the firm Beyond Trust who led the effort.

"I equally hope it has reminded other researchers that while working with technology companies can sometimes be frustrating, we can never forget the greater goal; to help the Internet community at large."

While Facebook offers rewards for those who find security holes, the company said Shreateh went too far by posting the information on Zuckerberg's own profile page without getting consent.

Shreateh said on his blog he found a way for a Facebook user to circumvent security and modify another's timeline, even if they were not friends on the network.

He said he took the unusual step of hacking into Zuckerberg's profile after being ignored by the Facebook security team.

One of the top first-year players in the National Football League last season, Griffin had reconstructive surgery to repair torn lateral and anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) suffered in a wildcard playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

"Doctors cleared me to practice. Coach is going to ease me in. Thank you for your support & See you in Richmond," tweeted Griffin, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner.

The quarterback's comments, following a remarkably speedy recovery, backed up the confidence he expressed earlier this year about being fit for the team's training camp which starts on Thursday in Richmond, Virginia.

"One of my goals is to be on the field for training camp," Griffin told reporters in late May. 'It's just a matter of how my body feels when I get back from training camp on July 25th before we go down to Richmond. We'll go from there.

"I've said it a bunch of times, but I'm pretty confident that I'll be ready."

Griffin will join his teammates at training camp 200 days after having surgery which had been advised by his doctor, who had discovered a complete tear of the patellar graft that was used to repair the quarterback's torn ACL when he was at Baylor in 2009.

The Redskins are scheduled to start the regular season against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 9. (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)

Daisy is always late. Not by much, mind you -- but it is consistent. She's at least five minutes late every single day. Maybe it shouldn't bother me so much, but it does. I never dock her pay for tardiness, and I always pay her on time.

To me, it's a reflection of how important she views her job. I feel it is disrespectful. The kicker is, Daisy is studying to be a nurse. I have told her unless she breaks this bad habit, she'll be fired from a future nursing job.

The second thing is, on hot, humid days, Daisy has the worst body odor imaginable. When the weather is cool, she doesn't smell, but once sticky weather arrives, the wall of stench is enough to make my nose hairs curl. One day it made me physically ill and I had to excuse her for the day without explaining why.

How should I address these problems? Or am I making too big a deal out of this? -- HAVING ISSUES IN VIRGINIA

DEAR HAVING ISSUES: Daisy may not be the best employee, but a good employer makes clear what the ground rules are when someone is hired. Because you're a stickler for punctuality, remind Daisy about what her hours are and stress that you expect her to be on time or risk having her pay docked. (If she uses public transportation, there should be some flexibility, but because she's late every day she should be told she needs to leave home a few minutes earlier.)

As to her personal hygiene issue, address it directly. Tell her you expect her to have showered, used deodorant and put on fresh clothes before coming to work -- especially in the summer.

Helpful hint: When you hire someone, have a list of written rules prepared for the individual to read and sign so there will be no misunderstandings. Doing that is being an effective boss.

DEAR ABBY: I am going to a concert by a popular band. My brother and my cousin always make fun of this band. People commenting online also post mean things about them. I know they have a right to their own opinions, but I don't get the same reactions when I talk about or listen to other popular music.

Did people do this 10 or 20 years ago? Do they think it's cool to express hatred about mainstream musicians? Maybe the more popular something is, the more people there are having negative feelings toward it. -- FREE TO LISTEN AT 13

DEAR FREE TO LISTEN: There is always a degree of backlash against hugely popular entertainers because some people think it's more "cool" to be a fan of a new, upcoming band. Years ago, some people loved the Beatles and hated the Rolling Stones, and vice versa. The behavior you describe has been going on ever since the music business began.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby ator P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order "How to Be Popular." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

The announcement of the alliance known as "the Mourabitounes" formalizes an emerging union between Belmoktar's followers and the group known as MUJAO, or Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa. Their statement was carried by the Nouakchott Information Agency, a Mauritanian site previously used by Belmoktar to convey messages.

The two groups said they had decided "to confront the Zionist campaign against Islam and Muslims" by uniting jihadists from the Nile to the Atlantic, spanning all of North Africa.

Belmoktar, an Algerian believed to be in his 40s, masterminded the January attack on the BP-operated natural gas plant in southeastern Algeria in retaliation for the French-led military intervention in Mali.

In the attack and in the subsequent rescue attempt, 37 people, all but one of them foreigners, were killed inside the complex. Belmoktar claimed responsibility for the attack within hours, immediately catapulting him into the ranks of international terrorists.

Belmoktar, who broke away from al-Qaida's North Africa branch to form his own group after falling out with al-Qaida leaders, had long been suspected of working alongside MUJAO. The longtime spokesman for the Mali-based jihadist group is the uncle of Belmoktar's Malian wife. Most recently Belmoktar and MUJAO claimed joint responsibility in May for attacks in Niger.

Suicide bombers in Niger detonated two car bombs simultaneously, one inside a military camp in the city of Agadez and another in the remote town of Arlit at a French-operated uranium mine, killing 26 people and wounding dozens of others.

Belmoktar claims he trained in Afghanistan in the 1990s, including in one of Osama Bin Laden's camps. It was there that he reportedly lost an eye, earning him the nickname "Laaouar," Arabic for "one-eyed." He has been declared dead on multiple occasions, including most recently in March, and each time, he re-emerged to strike again.

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Associated Press writer Rukmini Callimachi in Dakar, Senegal contributed to this report.

SAN RAFAEL, California (Reuters) - An elderly former photographer acting as his own attorney was found guilty on Tuesday of first-degree murder in the serial slayings of four northern California prostitutes dating to the 1970s.

Joseph Naso, 79, now faces the possibility of the death penalty for the "Alphabet murders," so called because of the matching letters of the first and last names of each of his victims.

Naso also remains a suspect in the killing of at least two other California women whose cases could have a bearing on his sentencing, and authorities believe he may have slain four more.

According to prosecutors, Naso drugged his victims, sexually assaulted and strangled them before dumping their bodies in remote places.

Investigators found pictures of two of the women he was convicted of killing in Naso's safe-deposit box and notes about all four of the victims on a list prosecutors described as a roster of dumping grounds.

The balding, stooped-shouldered Naso insisted on defending himself at his two-month trial, during which he admitted taking pictures of women in nylons and high heels and boastfully displayed some of those photos in court while maintaining he never killed anyone.

After weeks of testimony from roughly 70 prosecution witnesses, Naso called only a handful of individuals to the stand, including a woman who once posed for him as a model and an artist whom he asked to vouch for his work.

Naso himself declined to testify and told the jury he wanted to explain why although the judge would not allow him to offer a reason.

The jury of six men and six women began weighing the evidence on Monday and deliberated less than six hours before returning their guilty verdict on Tuesday afternoon.

Naso showed no visible emotion as the verdict was read. He sat stone-faced at the defense table, staring down but casting occasional glances at the jury. He later asked for a mistrial, saying the jurors had been inattentive during the trial.

"I think they were kind of sitting through this thing, waiting until it was over," he said. "I think they just relied on the decision of the foreperson."

Marin County Superior Court Judge Andrew Sweet denied Naso's mistrial motion and ordered him to remain held without bail.

'INVENTED PARANOIA'

"What you've expressed to me, Mr. Naso, I think it's an invented paranoia about what happened in the jury room," the judge said. "The jurors seemed fully engaged throughout the entire proceeding."

Sweet scheduled a motions hearing for later this month and ordered jurors to return on September 4 for the start of the sentencing phase of the trial.

Prosecutors have said they would seek to admit evidence in the penalty phase from two additional slayings for which Naso has been suspected but never charged.

Investigators began to tie him to the California slayings in 2010 after law enforcement officers visiting his Nevada home while he was on probation for an unrelated felony theft conviction found ammunition there.

A further search of the Reno house turned up what prosecutors have described as diaries of sexual assaults, a list of 10 victim dumping grounds and hundreds of photographs of scantily clad women, many appearing dead or unconscious.

During the trial, Naso insisted that prosecutors lacked any physical proof that he killed the four women he was charged with murdering. However, he conceded that DNA found in the pantyhose worn by one of the women, Roxene Roggasch, might justify the conclusion that he had sex with her.

Roggasch, 18, and Carmen Colon, 22, were slain in the 1970s. Two other victims, Pamela Parsons, 38, and Tracy Tafoya, 31, were killed in the 1990s.

Roggasch's older brother, Larry, the only relative of the victims to attend the trial, said of the verdict: "It's been a long time coming."

"I was hoping it would feel a lot better. Right now, it don't. It won't until he's dead and gone," he said of Naso.

An investigation is continuing into the fate of six other women included in what authorities call Naso's "list of 10."

Prosecutors have linked Naso to the disappearance of two of the six, including Renee Shapiro, a Bob Dylan fan who went by the name of the musician's former wife, Sara Dylan, and vanished in 1992. Her skull was found in 1998 but only identified as Shapiro's earlier this year.

Investigators said they found Shapiro's driver's license and passport in Naso's safe-deposit box, as well as newspaper articles about two of the murders of which he was convicted. The second suspected victim lived in a building in San Francisco that Naso once managed. Her body washed ashore in Marin County some years ago.

(Reporting by Ronnie Cohen; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Andre Grenon and Cynthia Osterman)

The company's annual report also found a gap between students' interests now and projected job opportunities when they graduate, adding to the dire outlook for the class of 2013.

"The readiness of students leaves a lot to be desired," said Jon Erickson, president of the Iowa-based company's education division.

The ACT reported that 31 percent of all high school graduates tested were not ready for any college coursework requiring English, science, math or reading skills. The other 69 percent of test takers met at least one of the four subject-area standards.

Just a quarter of this year's high school graduates cleared the bar in all four subjects, demonstrating the skills they'll need for college or a career, according to company data. The numbers are even worse for black high school graduates: Only 5 percent were deemed fully ready for life after high school.

The report's findings suggest that many students will struggle when they arrive on campus or they'll be forced to take remedial courses often without earning credits to catch their peers.

The data reveal a downturn in overall student scores since 2009. Company officials attribute the slide to updated standards and more students taking the exams including many with no intention of attending two- or four-year colleges.

In terms of careers, the report found a chasm between what students want to study and where they might find jobs down the road. ACT compared federal Bureau of Labor Statistics projections with their own questionnaires and found insufficient student interest in the five fastest-growing industries with workers who require some college.

For instance, the government estimates that 17 percent of job openings in 2020 will be in education fields but only 6 percent of test takers told ACT they wanted a job there. Computer and information technologies will account for 11 percent of openings in 2020, but only 2 percent of students indicated they want a career in that industry.

The government estimates 9 percent of job openings will be in sales and marketing, community services and management fields. ACT reports that 2 percent of test takers are interested in sales and marketing, 7 percent in community services and 6 percent in management.

The ACT report is based on the 54 percent of high school graduates this year who took the exams. Roughly the same percentage took the SAT the other major college entrance exam and many students took both tests. Those who took only the SAT were not included in the report.

Under ACT's definition, a young adult is ready to start college or trade school if he or she has the knowledge to succeed without taking remedial courses. Success is defined as the student's having a 75 percent chance of earning a C grade and a 50 percent chance of earning a B, based on results on each of the four ACT subject areas, which are measured on a scale from 1 to 36 points.

Of all ACT-tested high school graduates this year, 64 percent met the English benchmark of 18 points that predicts success in a composition course. In science, 36 percent scored 23 or higher, the benchmark for success in a college biology course. In math, 44 percent met the 22-point baseline to predict success in an algebra course. And in reading, 44 percent met the 22 point threshold that indicates readiness for an introductory social science course.

Only 26 percent of students met the benchmarks for all four sections of the ACT test.

Of the 1.7 million students who took the 215-question ACT exam, as many as 290,000 were within 2 points of meeting at least one of the four readiness thresholds.

"There is a group that's on the fence," Erickson said. "With a little further instruction or motivation, perhaps some additional remediation or refreshing some of their past skills, they may be able to achieve that benchmark."

When the testing agency broke down the results by race, fault lines emerged. Just 5 percent of black students are ready for college work in all four areas. Among American Indians, 10 percent are ready in all subjects, while 14 percent of Hispanics are ready. Pacific Islanders post a 19 percent readiness rate for all four subjects. White students have a 33 percent rate, and 43 percent of Asian-American students are ready for studies in all four subjects.

Students from all racial backgrounds did best in English and worst in science.

Some states and school districts have begun requiring more students to take the tests. About 22 percent more students took the ACT test in 2013 than in 2009. In the past four years, ACT has increased its share of the test market, climbing from 45 percent of high school graduates in 2009 to 54 percent this year.

ACT said it updated its benchmarks for success in reading and science this year to better reflect what students need to know. The percentage of students with reading skills needed to succeed after graduation slid from 53 in 2009 to 44 this year, while science readiness scores climbed from 28 percent in 2009 to 36 percent this year. Both differences may have been caused in part by changes in the benchmarks.

In English, readiness scores slid from 67 percent in 2009 to 64 percent this year. In math, scores increased slightly, from 42 percent in 2009 to 44 percent this year. The benchmarks were not changed for either of those subjects.

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On the Web: http://www.act.org/readiness/2013

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Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/philip_elliott