NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - If you're looking for a show where politicians occasionally do some good, you might want to check out Netflix's "House of Cards." At least Kevin Spacey's conniving congressman does the occasional favor as he tries to slash his way to the vice presidency.

On "Veep," Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Selina Meyer already has the job - and it sucks. As the show returns to HBO Sunday for its second season, she's still abusive to her underlings, ravenously ambitious, and desperate for the POTUS to call. But she's also sleep-deprived after traveling the highways and byways of a country she doesn't seem to like, stumping for candidates she hates, trying to help the party she's ambiguous about win midterm elections.

The premiere takes place as those self-serving dreams are dashed, on election night and the harsh morning after. The stench of death is in the air.

"Apparently POTUS' chief of staff is telling everyone to write their will," one character says. Another fantasizes about being cryogenically frozen. Then comes this pronouncement: "Put everything in the wagons and shoot the dogs, because we have lost the House."

Have I mentioned "Veep" is one of the funniest shows on television? It is, because of the deadpan frankness with which it stares into a pit of petty avarice. There's nothing to do but laugh at the prospect of someone like Meyer in a position of such power and responsibility. But you're laughing through your tears, because, well.

Louis-Dreyfus won and Emmy for the role last season, and would be a safe bet for this one, too. Selina was a knife of a character from the first episode because Louis-Dreyfus and creator Armando Iannucci have made no effort to soften her with likability - or even good intentions.

Like so many of our leaders, Selina cared about issues once, probably. But now it's all about power and access. She competes with similarly insecure narcissists.

Most pathetic of all are the supplicants who try to win her favor. These are the characters we relate to the most, because some of them seem to have some idealism, or at least a willingness to pretend Selina's self-centeredness is a means to and end.

In order from most to least ruthless, they are Dan Egan (Reid Scott), Mike McClintock (Matt Walsh), Sue (Sufe Bradshaw), Amy (Anna Chlumsky), and Gary (Tony Hale). Presidential aide Jonah (Timothy C. Simons) is arguably more powerful than any of them, despite looking like a giant kindergartner.

Every one of them is excellent, with similar but uniquely formulated concoctions of fear, jealousy, and resentment that make any interaction potentially disastrous. In the premiere, we're treated to the spectacle of "My Girl" star Chlumsky and the most arrested of the "Arrested Development" clan, Hale, becoming desperate allies. But everyone gets their moment to shine, or at least have a public meltdown. The premiere finds Mike lamenting a foolish purchase as the ever-efficient Sue gets to turn her cold, barely-hidden contempt on the press.

The show manages to add to and improve on the mix with the addition this season of Gary Cole as number-crunching strategist Kent Davidson and Kevin Dunn as breakdown-prone presidential chief of staff Ben Caffrey.

Cole, of "Office Space" and "Brady Bunch" fame, tends to steal whatever he does, and poses the usual threat here as he exhaustedly outwits Selina at every turn.

Caffrey, meanwhile, gets to hide in a closet - his de facto bunker - and wait for the horrors to pass. Fortunately for us, they never do.

The newest drug-sniffing dog on the police force in Bremerton, near Seattle, is one of a few police dogs in Washington state that are not trained to point out pot during searches. Other police departments are considering or in the midst of re-training their dogs to ignore pot as well, part of the new reality in a state where voters last fall legalized marijuana use.

"We wanted to train our dog on what was truly illegal substances, that would be heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine," said Dusty's handler, Officer Duke Roessel, who added that Dusty nabbed five pounds of meth during that recent search.

Police departments in Bremerton, Bellevue and Seattle, as well as the Washington State Patrol, have either put the dogs through pot desensitization training or plan not to train them for marijuana detection.

The law decriminalized possession of up to an ounce of the drug for individuals over 21 years old. It also barred the distribution and growth of marijuana outside the state-approved system.

Police say that having a K-9 unit that doesn't alert to pot will lessen challenges to obtaining search warrants because the dog won't be pointing out possible legal amounts of the drug. Traditionally, dogs are trained to alert on the smell of marijuana, heroin, crack cocaine, methamphetamine and cocaine. They can't tell which one it is or how much of each there is.

NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp told The Associated Press on Monday that there were no plans to use the system at upcoming races "so we'll have ample time to review."

Fox indefinitely suspended use of the system after the nylon rope fell onto the track about a quarter of the way through Sunday's 600-mile race. Charlotte Motor Speedway said 10 people were injured when part of the rope landed in the grandstand; three were taken to hospitals. All were checked out and released soon after.

Several drivers, including then-leader Kyle Busch, reported damage to their cars from the rope.

Fox was expected to release more information about the breakdown later Monday. The network said the system was used successfully at the Daytona 500 and last week's Sprint All-Star race in Charlotte.

Fox's final NASCAR telecast this year comes Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

Tharp said NASCAR would let the network determine what went wrong.

"We'll sync up with them on what they have learned this week and go from there," he said.

The network explained how the drive rope moves the camera back and forth and failed near its turn one connection. The camera, it said in a statement, did not come down "because the guide ropes acted as designed."

The pictures such cameras provide can be extraordinary. But in this case, the failure brought confusion and chaos to the racers and the fans.

Coca-Cola 600 winner Kevin Harvick thought he was imagining things when he noticed the black rope on the track. He was among the lucky ones who escaped without damage. Busch said he heard a "thunk" when he ran over it and knew he'd have problems.

Busch used a cellphone to take a picture of the mangled metal around his front, right-side wheel so his team could figure out how to repair the damage.

Marcos Ambrose dragged a piece of the rope that got caught up in his car behind him on the track. Mark Martin also reported problems after driving over the rope.

NASCAR red-flagged the race for about 30 minutes and allowed teams back to their pits to get their cars back to race trim.

NASCAR first threw a caution flag before two red flags came out. It eventually allowed the cars to come into the pits, giving crews 15 minutes to work on their cars.

During the break, Busch's crew frantically worked to repair several problems to the right front wheel well. After completing repairs, the crew slapped high-fives as the car rolled back on the track.

Busch remained competitive and was running in the top five at the midpoint of the race. But his night ended in frustration when his engine blew up on lap 253. He said the engine problem was not related the rope damage. He thanked NASCAR for how it handled the unique stoppage.

"I commend NASCAR for taking the initiative and letting us repair our damaged cars from the issue we had," Busch said.

Busch said he never saw the nylon rope.

Ambrose wound up ninth behind Harvick, the second top-10 finish of the year for the Richard Petty Motorsports team.

Kasey Kahne led 156 laps, most of the night, and was second to Harvick. He was as bewildered as everyone else with the TV cable across the track.

"I've never seen anything like it," he said. "I came around turn four, saw it wrapped around Kyle's car, hit mine. I thought I was seeing things."

The camera hung in place over the large painted logo on the grass between the start-finish line and pit road.

Fox broadcaster Chris Myers apologized during the telecast several times to fans, drivers and race teams for the disruption. The network's statement offered "a sincere 'thank you' to the staff at CMS for attending to the injuries and keep us informed on this developing situation."

Busch wasn't sure anybody had seen that happen before and offered a solution: "Maybe now we can rid of that thing."

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A change to a U.S. program that provides food and medical visits to many infants, children and pregnant women succeeded in reducing the amount of juice bought overall, according to a new study.

Researchers examined the impact of an October 2009 change in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children - known as WIC, which cut the monthly allowance of 100 percent juice by more than half.

"Basically the program achieved its goals. Less juice ideally means less sugar consumed by these little kids," said Tatiana Andreyeva, the study's lead author and the director of economic initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

What's more, Andreyeva told Reuters Health that their study showed that WIC recipients didn't end up buying more juice with their own money to compensate.

"We expected a reduction in juice, but we didn't know if we'd see a switch to other beverages," she said.

Pregnant women, new mothers, infants and children up to age five are eligible for WIC as long as they meet certain requirements, including financial need. In 2011, about 9 million people received the benefits every month, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Before the change, WIC recipients were able to buy 288 ounces of juice per month, but that far exceeded the daily recommended amount of 4 ounces for young children. The Institute of Medicine suggested bringing juice and other WIC food in line with recommendations. Now, WIC recipients are allowed to purchase 128 ounces of juice.

The concern, according to Andreyeva, is that too much juice can contribute to weight gain.

"In terms of calories it's not much different from soda," she said.

For the new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, she and her colleagues compared WIC purchases from January through September in 2009 (before the change) to WIC purchases one year later (after the change) at a supermarket chain with more than 60 locations in two New England states.

Before the change, the researchers found WIC recipients were buying about 238 ounces of juice per month. That fell by about 44 percent after the change in October 2009. That was matched by about a 14 percent increase in juice purchases using other non-WIC money.

Overall, the researchers found monthly juice purchases fell by about a quarter, to 182 ounces per month.

NO COST?

Andreyeva noted that the change was cost-neutral.

"It didn't cost taxpayers any extra money. They reduced some food and provided other foods instead," she said, adding that families were allowed to buy more fruits and vegetables.

Shannon Zenk, who has researched the WIC program but was not involved with the new study, said the results are intriguing and support past research that found stores are offering more fruits and vegetables since the change in 2009.

"One thing we already know from the studies that have already come out is the change in the retail environment," said Zenk, from the College of Nursing at University of Illinois at Chicago.

The results of the new study are limited, however. The researchers only looked at one supermarket chain in two New England states and they can't say if the WIC recipients were actually eating better diets.

Still, Andreyeva said the results show policy changes can be effective.

"What it shows here is they have a good outcome and it didn't cost taxpayers anything extra," she said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/18l9aZi Pediatrics, online April 29, 2013.

Seventeen poachers armed with Kalashnikov riflesin the Central African Republic earlier this week, representatives from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said in a statement. The poachers made their way to the Dzanga Bai, an open area where anywhere from 50 to 200 elephants gather daily to drink nutrients and mineral salts in the sands.

At least 26 elephant carcasses, including four calves, were counted in and around the Dzanga Bai on Thursday (May 9), WWF officials said. All had had their tusks removed, Jules Caron, head of communications for the WWF's anti-poaching program in Central Africa, confirmed to LiveScience.

Wildlife representatives described the Dzanga Bai scene as an "elephant mortuary," and it was evident that local villagers had started taking meat from the remains of the dead animals, they added. []

"The killing has started," Jim Leape, WWF's international director general, said in a statement. "The Central African Republic must act immediately to secure this unique [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] World Heritage site. The brutal violence we are witnessing in Dzanga Bai threatens to destroy one of the world's great natural treasures, and to jeopardize the future of the people who live there."

Poachers continue to kill elephants and strip them of their ivory tusks to sell on global markets, despite a ban onthat was instituted in Africa in 1989. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, some 25,000 African elephants are killed every year.

"The elephants here face a sure death as , which fuels even more violence in [the Central African Republic]," Cristin Samper, the Wildlife Conservation Society's president and CEO, said in a statement. "On my recent visit to Dzanga Bai, I stood in awestruck silence as I watched hundreds of elephants gathering in this incredible area. WCS stands with our conservation partner WWF calling for immediate action to stop the killing of these elephants."

The Dzanga Bai area is known to locals as the "village of elephants," because of the herds of elephants that assemble there every day. Because the poachers raided the sanctuary, however, nohave been seen at the Bai, WWF officials said.

The Central African Republic has been a hotbed of violence and political instability since the beginning of the year. In April, the WWF and other conservation organizations were forced to leave their field offices next to the Dzanga Bai due to security concerns, agency officials said.

"The international community must also act to assist the Central African Republic to restore peace and order in this country to safeguard its population and its natural heritage," Leape said. "WWF also asks Cameroon and the Republic of [the] Congo to assist the Central African Republic in preserving this World Heritage Site, which not only encompasses the Bai, but also includes large neighboring areas of these two countries."

The WWF fears poachers in the region will take advantage of the Central African Republic's political turmoil for their gains. The 17 individuals who raided the Dzanga Bai this week presented themselves as part of the country's transitional-government forces. They have since left the sanctuary, but WWF officials are concerned that poaching will continue unless the area is secured.

"The events in Dzanga Bai are a vivid reminder of thein Central Africa," Leape said. "Populations of this species have plummeted 62 percent over the past 10 years. The unfolding tragedy in Dzanga Bai must also spur the governments of China and Thailand to act on their commitments to shut down the ivory markets in their countries that are fueling this illicit trade."

Follow Denise Chow on Twitter . Follow LiveScience , & . Original article on.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Merck & Co's experimental insomnia drug moved a step closer to U.S. approval on Wednesday after a panel of medical experts said it is effective and safe at lower doses.

The advisory panel was convened to help the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decide whether to approve the drug, suvorexant, which would be the first in a new class of sedatives that block chemicals in the brain called orexins that help keep people awake. The drugs are designed to help people fall asleep and stay asleep.

On Monday, the FDA's internal reviewers published a report expressing concern about suvorexant's potential to cause next-day sleepiness and impaired driving. They asked the committee to consider whether patients should be started at a lower dose than that recommended by Merck.

Merck proposed that elderly patients start by taking 15 milligrams of the drug and increase that to 30 if necessary. The company recommended non-elderly adults start on 20 milligrams and increase to 40 milligrams if needed.

On Wednesday, the FDA reiterated its opinion that there was little evidence in Merck's data to show that the higher dose was more effective than the lower dose, and considerable evidence to show it was less safe.

The FDA's reviewers pointed to an increase in the risk - especially at the higher doses - of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, impaired driving, and severe sleep disturbances.

Speaking for the FDA, Dr. Ronald Farkas noted cases in which patients had reported sleep paralysis and terrifying hallucinations. He also expressed the agency's concern about the drug's impact on driving.

"What we are trying to prevent is criminal prosecution of patients taking their drug as prescribed," he said.

The FDA's views were echoed by those of several patient advocacy groups.

"Like its predecessors, suvorexant's marginal benefit in extending overnight sleep time by a few minutes is achieved at the expense of prolonged, next-day drowsiness, with potentially fatal consequences," said Dr. Sammy Almashat, a researcher with Public Citizen's Health Research Group who noted that suvorexant stays in the body longer than all but one other sleep drug.

Still, the panel voted 13 to 3, with one abstention, that the drug could be used safely at the 15 and 20 milligram doses. It voted 8-7, with two abstentions, that the drug is not safe at 30 and 40 milligrams.

LOWER DOSE

Merck celebrated the vote, saying in a statement that it was "excited about the potential of suvorexant as a new and different approach to treating insomnia."

The FDA is not bound to follow the advice of its advisory panels but typically does so.

The FDA had asked the panel to consider whether patients should start with a 10 milligram dose, saying data from a smaller trial showed that amount might work for some people. Merck disputed that, saying 10 milligrams would not be effective.

The FDA also asked the panel if Merck should conduct an additional trial to further evaluate a 10 milligram dose. The panel voted against that. Some agreed that 10 milligrams would not be effective. Others agreed in principal with a lower starting dose, but most said a new trial would not add meaningfully to the information already in hand.

"When you have something new you don't know everything you would like to know," said Dr. Christian Guilleminault, a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. However, he added: "I'm not sure that doing another study is going to bring us much more."

The FDA's concerns come amid a broader review of the safety of sleeping pills following hundreds of reports of driving accidents involving people taking zolpidem, the active ingredient in Sanofi SA's Ambien.

About 60 million prescriptions for these drugs were written in the United States in 2011, according to healthcare research firm I.M.S. Of those, roughly 40 million contained zolpidem.

In January, the FDA told drugmakers they should lower the recommended dose of zolpidem in women to 5 milligrams from 10 for immediate-release products including Ambien, Edluar and Zolpimist. The agency said doses for extended-release products should also be cut in half.

Dr. Jason Todd, a panel member and staff neurologist at NorthEast Neurology in Concord, North Carolina, said patients are adjusting to the lower dosing recommendations for Ambien.

"Before the recent changes I almost never saw a patient who would take 5 milligrams and stay with it," he said. "Now that 5 milligrams is recommended people are OK with 5 milligrams."

The panel's ultimate recommendation surprised some analysts who had expected, based on the FDA's review, that the meeting would be more contentious.

"Based on the overall discussion today and the voting of the panel, we believe that the probability of FDA approval for suvorexant has gone up meaningfully," Mark Schoenebaum, an analyst at ISI Group, said in a research note.

Having said that, he said: "We admit that predicting a final FDA decision is difficult."

(Reporting by Toni Clarke in Washington; Editing by Alden Bentley, Leslie Adler and Edmund Klamann)

The greatest player in Kansas City Royals history isn't sure teaching is his forte and doesn't know if players will listen.

Before hustling to the batting cage to start his job and greet well-wishers that included his former manager Whitey Herzog, the team's high profile interim batting coach certainly gave a fiery acceptance speech.

"I'm scared to death right now, to be honest with you," Brett said Thursday night. "But I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Not too scared to call out Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and the team's other underachieving youngsters. Brett said he'd do all he could, but added they must be accountable.

"I mean, get rid of what's that baby stuff? Baby Gerber or something?" Brett said. "Get rid of the bottles, let's go. Let's go!"

The 60-year-old Hall of Famer accepted the job after calls from general manager Dayton Moore and manager Ned Yost, telling Yost he'd think about it.

All it took was one more loss.

"I just .... give it a try," Brett said. "So I'm going to give it a try."

Brett and Moore plan to meet in a month to assess the situation, and then again two weeks after that. Brett did most of the talking at a news conference with Moore and Yost.

"I don't know if I'm going to be good at this," Brett said. "If I'm not doing my job, I don't want Dayton to feel like he has to fire me.

"This could be something I just could not stand to do, I don't know," he said. "The players and I might not hit it off, I don't know."

The Royals had lost eight in a row before playing the Cardinals on Thursday. They were 13th in the American League in runs, and scored two or fewer runs 11 times during an extended 4-19 drought that dropped them to last place in the Central Division.

Brett takes over for Jack Maloof and Andre David, who were reassigned to the minor league organization.

This will be Brett's first in-season coaching role, though he's been the franchise's vice president of baseball operations since retiring as a player following the 1993 season. He's also worked as a volunteer coach at spring training for years and Yost said it was no celebrity stint.

"George doesn't come the second week in spring training and stay 10 days," Yost said. "I've never seen a Hall of Famer with the work ethic that he has.

"George never half-ran a ball to first base in his life, George was never the last one out of the dugout in his life," Yost added. "I'm just excited he's here."

The Royals have asked Brett to do this before and he has declined because his children were young and he wasn't ready to be away from them for the 162-game grind. With kids in college, Brett said, "I'm not missing them growing up anymore."

Yost dumped hitting coach Kevin Seitzer following last season, and said at the time that he wanted to develop an offense that flashed more power. The Royals rank near the bottom of the league in runs, walks, homers, RBIs and just about every other statistical category.

Brett has kept his pulse on the organization by working in the front office, and earlier this week lamented during a radio interview the team's misfortune.

Brett's no fan of video. He prefers players learn on the job and repair their swing during the at-bat, and he wants them to just be themselves.

"I'm sick and tired of watching guys try to hit three-run home runs with nobody on base when you're down two runs in the eighth inning," Brett said. "Let's do what you're capable of doing. Don't try to be a hero, just be a soldier."

The familiar No. 5 was retired in 1993 after a career that spanned two decades and ended with Brett as the Royals' hit leader with 3,154. He remains the only player in major league history to win batting titles in three different decades, including a memorable 1980 season in which he hit .390.

The 13-time All-Star is the club's career leader in every offensive category besides stolen bases, and he was a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection in 1999.

The Royals also said Pedro Grifol will serve as a special assignment coach, and Grifol also was in uniform Thursday. He is in his first year with the Royals, where he's been working as the hitting coach for the club's team in Surprise, Ariz. He spent the past 13 seasons with the Mariners organization.

Moore said no more changes are anticipated in the near future.

____

AP Sports Writer David Skretta in Kansas City contributed to this report.

Lois Lerner, the Internal Revenue Service's director ofExempt Organizations who is at the center of the controversy after the agency targeted conservative organizations for gratuitous scrutiny, invoked herright against self-incrimination today at a congressional hearing examining the .

Lerner quietly took her seat at the witness table this morning, standing and raising her right hand as she swore to tell the truth alongside other seniorofficials testifying at the hearing.

When it became her turn to speak, Lerner read a brief statement into the record, declaring her innocence.

"I have not done anything wrong," she said. "I have not broken any laws, I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations, and I have not provided false information to this or any other congressional committee."

Lerner then said that while she "would very much like to answer the committee's questions," her counsel advised her to assert her constitutional right not to testify or answer questions related to the subject matter of the hearing.

"Because I'm asserting my right not to testify, I know that some people will assume that I've done something wrong. I have not," she reiterated. "One of the basic functions of the Fifth Amendment is to protect innocent individuals, and that is the protection I'm invoking today."

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the committee, entered into the record written answers that Lerner provided for the inspector general's investigation. Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican chairman of the committee, said he had not seen the document and asked Lerner to authenticate her answers.

The document was passed the Lerner, who put on her glasses to skim through it.

"This appears to be my response," she said.

"So it's your testimony?" Issa of California asked. "As far as your recollection, that is your response?"

"That's correct," Lerner answered.

Republicans on the committee quickly interjected, challenging that Lerner gave up her right to remain silent and should be compelled to answer questions from members.

"She just testified. She just waived her Fifth Amendment right to privilege," Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., a former federal prosecutor, said, "You don't get to tell your side of the story and then not be subjected to cross-examination. That's not the way it works. She waived her right to Fifth Amendment privilege by issuing and opening statement. She ought to stand here and answer our questions."

Members of the public watching in the committee room applauded enthusiastically.

Issa continued to quiz Lerner, who then declined to answer any further questions.

"Is it possible that we could narrow the scope of questions and that there are some areas that you would be able to answer any questions on here today?" Issa asked.

"I will not answer any questions or testify today," she responded.

Issa followed up: "Ms. Lerner, would you be willing to answer questions specifically related to the earlier statements made under oath before this committee?"

"I decline to answer that question for the reasons I've already given," she deadpanned.

Issa then dismissed Lerner from the hearing, and she quickly left the committee room.

When reporters caught up to Lerner in a back hallway as she made her way to her vehicle, she was guarded by a handful of U.S. Capitol Police officers and her legal team, and she ignored questions from the media about her decision to take the Fifth.

The frustration over her silence was shared on both sides of the aisle. During the hearing, Rep. Stephen Lynch warned Lerner that her silence could compel Congress to appoint a special prosecutor to conduct an investigation.

"If this committee is prevented, by obstruction or by refusal to answer, the questions that we need to get to the bottom of this, you will leave us no alternative but to ask for the appointment of a special prosecutor or appointment to special counsel to get to the bottom of this," Lynch, D-Mass., said. "I hope that's not the approach of the IRS going forward because there will be hell to pay if that's the route that we chose to go down."

While the IG's report found that the scandal was not the result of political motivations, Issa criticized the IRS for failing to meet its objective as an independent agency.

"We knew then that something seemed to be wrong. We knew then that there was smoke. We knew then that, in fact, something just didn't seem to be right," he said. "Many people believe that the IRS is an independent agency. Nothing could be further from the truth."

LONDON (Reuters) - European stocks and German bond prices fell on Wednesday as robust U.S. economic data fanned speculation the Federal Reserve may taper its bond-buying program.

But analysts said the weakness in equity markets could prove short-lived as the growth momentum implied by Tuesday's figures for home prices and consumer confidence encouraged investors to focus on the better returns shares offer over bonds.

"We still see the rally continuing as the U.S. economy is getting stronger, monetary policies will remain supportive and there are not a lot of alternatives for equities," Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 indexof top European shares was down 0.5 percent in early trading, following on from a weaker session across Asia which saw MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japanfall 0.2 percent.

A rise in the Japan's Nikkei index, which inched up 0.1 percent , lent support to the yen which gained 0.3 percent to 102.14 against the dollar,

German Bund futures were 43 ticks lower at 143.39, with traders looking ahead to unemployment and inflation data out of Germany, and policy recommendations from the European Commission expected to confirm a shift away from tough austerity targets to supporting growth across the recession-hit region.

(Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by John Stonestreet)

"There is a growing sense of urgency about what's going on in the environment," Todd Clear, dean of Rutgers University's School of Criminal Justice, said here at a symposium Tuesday (May 14) on wildlife crime.

A variety of new research projects highlighted during the conference show that poaching and crimes against wildlife do follow patterns seen in other areas of criminology, knowledge that could be used to prevent these misdeeds. Famed Rutgers criminologist Ronald Clarke called on biologists and criminologists to work together to fight poaching and other issues where illegal acts are committed against nature.

As with other crimes, poaching often takes place in certain hotspots where conditions are optimal. Rhinos and elephants, for example, are often shot near watering holes where they predictably return to drink and the poaching of elephants and rhinos is at an all-time high in many areas. Poaching has already pushed , for example. []

Andrew Lemieux, a scientist at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement, has outfitted rangers in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park with GPS-enabled cameras that allow them to cheaply document signs of crimes like poaching, setting animal snares or harvesting of firewood. The project, which began earlier this year, will help rangers know where to go to best prevent these illicit activities, he said during his presentation.

'Hot products'

Animals like parrots are also desirable to poachers in the same way certain "hot products" like cellphones and jewels are desirable to thieves. These products can be described by the acronym "CRAVED," which stands for concealable, removable, available, valuable, enjoyable and disposable, Clarke said. Most parrots poached from the , for example, meet these criteria, and are opportunistically plucked from the forest by villagers looking for supplemental income, said Stephen Pires, a Florida International University researcher.

The same goes for fish, which are illegally caught more often when they are CRAVED. Fish found in multiple recipes, a measure of enjoyableness, are nine times more likely to be caught illegally than those less often found in cookbooks, said Gohar Petrossian, a researcher at William Paterson University in New Jersey. There are also 10 ports around the world that account for a large percentage of , she said. In the same way the most crimes occur near a perpetrator's home, the illegal fishing tended to take place near these ports, Petrossian said.

Poverty also plays a large role, said Kenyan scientist andat the conference. In many cases poachers are opportunistic, poaching to supplement their incomes, or merely survive. Throwing money at the problem, like hiring rangers, doesn't necessarily help, Leakey said. Some rangers in East Africa make about $500 per month. If you've got 10 elephant tusks, though, you could make a cool $10,000. It's easy to see how rangers could be bought off, especially if poaching seems like the only viable way to feed one's family, said Leaky, who is the son of famed paleontologist and fossil hunters Louis and Mary Leakey, and himself a paleoanthropologist.

"If you haven't got enough money to see your kid through the next semester of school, and if you can be offered several years worth of income by turning a blind eye who wouldn't?" Leakey said. "Hell, I would if my family were at stake."

Too often Westerners ignore the underlying poverty and assume the people committing these crimes have completely different values, Leakey said. "I think we need to change the idea that if you went to Cambridge or Rutgers, you have a different value set."

Taking aim at poaching

Besides dealing with poverty, Leakey offered two options to fight poaching. First, he advocated building more fences around large reserves a suggestion that was met with some resistance by at least one ecologist at the conference, who questioned Leakey after his talk about the fence's ability to stop elephants. Leakey noted that electrified fences were quite capable of stopping the large animals. In places where they've been installed, he added, sheep herders have come to rely on fences to protect their flock from predators inside the parks meaning they can help both people and animals, he said.

Fenced reserves have helped South Africa prevent more poaching than many of its neighbors, Leakey added (athough even in ). While this takes funding, he said, the problem is not lack of money per se, but a lack of political will.

By making it harder to enter and exit reserves, fences increase both the risks and difficulties involved in poaching, both widely accepted tenets of crime prevention, Clarke said.

The second tool to fight poaching is awareness. One of the main reasons thatand rhinos has shot up in the past few years is due to growing demand in China for ivory and medicinal products (although rhino horns are made of the same material in finger nails and have no curative properties, they are desired for their supposed healing powers in traditional Chinese medicine). But Leakey said that most of these consumers buying , or visiting traditional pharmacies have no idea these animals are dying out. []

Increasing awareness would likely reduce demand for these products. As with other illegal activities, reduced rewards mean reduced crime, Clarke said.

In 1989, when Leakey headed the Kenya Wildlife Service, he came up with the idea to burn 12 tons ofto bring public attention to poaching, which in the late '80s had flared up. The ploy worked, cutting the value of ivory by a factor of 30 and almost single-handedly suppressing elephant poaching for nearly two decades, Clarke said.

Perhaps it's time to do something similar, he said. But as to what exactly that might be, Leakey didn't have any concrete suggestions.

"We need to get youngsters in the conservation world to think outside the box," he said. "Thinking inside the box isn't working... continuing to talk, talk, talk nothing gets done."

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