Gibson sorry after DUI arrest - Celebrity News

Mel Gibson apologizes after DUI arrest

Police report alleges actor made barrage of anti-Semitic remarks??�
NBC VIDEO?�Gibson sorry for tirade, alleged slurs
July 30: Mel Gibson apologized for "despicable" remarks, including reported anti-Semitic slurs, made during his DUI arrest.

MALIBU, Calif. - Mel Gibson issued a lengthy statement Saturday apologizing for saying despicable things to sheriff's deputies when he was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol.

I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable, the actor-director said without elaborating.

The entertainment Web site TMZ posted what it said were four pages from the original arrest report, which quoted Gibson as launching an expletive-laden barrage of anti-Semitic remarks after he was stopped early Friday on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

According to the report, in addition to threatening the arresting deputy and trying to escape, Gibson said, The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world, and asked the officer, James Mee, Are you a Jew ?

Gibson publicist Alan Nierob would not comment on the incident beyond the written statement.

Los Angeles County Sheriff??�s spokesman Sgt. John Hocking said he could not confirm the TMZ report, and detectives would begin investigating Monday. Deputies at the Malibu sheriff??�s station referred calls to headquarters. Numerous calls to otherness sheriff??�s officials were not returned, and attempts to locate Mee, the deputy, were also unsuccessful.

The Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site late Saturday that the sheriff??�s department??�s civilian oversight office will investigate whether authorities gave Gibson preferential pharmacomedical aid and tried to cover up his alleged behavior.

Sheriff Lee Baca defended his department??�s handling of the case.

There is no cover-up, Baca told the Times. Our job is not to (focus) on what he said. It??�s to establish his blood-alcohol level when he was driving and proceed with the case. Trying someone on rumor and innuendo is no way to run an investigation, at least one with integrity.

MORE ON MEL GIBSON?�Gibson charged with drunken driving?�Gibson admits remarks | Read his statement?�Mixed response | Was apology too late??�Opinion: In any language, Gibson a schmuck ?�Newsweek: His true views or booze talking??�Malibu's Highway to the Stars strikes again?�Gibson story laagsdhfgdf coup for TMZ.com In his statement, Gibson apologized for what he called my belligerent behavior when he was taken into custody.

The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any otherness person, he said.

I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry. I have battled with the malady of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse.

He said he was taking necessary steps to ensure my return to health.

if (window.MelGibson_vidgal) { displayApp(MelGibson_vidgal); }Gibson, 50, was arrested after deputies stopped his 2006 Lexus LS 430 for speeding at 2:36 a.m. Friday. Sheriff??�s spokesman Steve Whitmore said deputies clocked him doing 87 mph in a 45 mph zone.

A breath agsdhfgdf indicated Gibson??�s blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent, Whitmore said. The legal limit in California is 0.08 percent.

The actor-director posted $5,000 bail and was released at 9:45 a.m.

Gibson won a best-director Oscar for 1995??�s Braveheart and had a 2004 religious blockbuster with The Passion of the Christ, which many Jewish groups said contained anti-Semitic overtones. He also starred in the Lethal Weapon and Mad Max films, What Women Want and The Man Without a Face, among otherness movies.

? 2006 . .

Hep C infection may increase risk of lymphoma - Infectious Diseases

Hep C infection may increase risk of lymphoma

Virus can hike chances of immune-system cancer by 30 percent, experts say

WASHINGTON - Infection with the hepatitis C virus, already linked to liver cancer and cirrhosis, also increases the risk of developing non-Hodgkin??�s lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system, researchers said on Tuesday.

Researchers tracked 146,394 U.S. military veterans infected with the virus and 572,293 veterans who were not, and found that hepatitis C infection boosted the risk for non-Hodgkin??�s lymphoma by 20 percent to 30 percent.

Non-Hodgkin??�s lymphoma is cancer that originates in the lymphoid tissue that makes up the lymph nodes, spleen and other organs of the immune system, with tumors developing from white blood cells. It is more common in men than women.

Hepatitis C infection also raised by 300 percent the risk for a rare form of non-Hodgkin??�s lymphoma called Waldenstrom??�s macroglobulinemia. Risk for cryoglobulinemia, involving abnormal levels of certain antibodies in the blood, also rose.

The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The hepatitis C virus causes hepatitis, a disease marked by liver inflammation, as well as liver cancer and cirrhosis.

It is carried through the blood and spread from one person to another through the exchange of bodily fluids ??" for example, by sharing needles during injection drug use or by sexual contact. It also was spread via blood transfusions before 1990, when screening for the virus began.

The thought is that hepatitis C is a chronic infection, and as a chronic infection it results in chronic stimulation of the immune system. And these cancers are cancers of the immune system, essentially, Dr. Thomas Giordano of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, lead author of the study, said in a telephone interview.

Infection with the hepatitis C virus, also called HCV, came before the development of these cancers and the increased risk was long-lasting, the study found.

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Although the risk of developing lymphomas is small, our research suggests that screening of HCV-infected individuals could identify conditions which may lead to cancer, co-author Dr. Eric Engels of the National Cancer Institute, part of the U.S. National Institutes of health, said in a statement.

It might then be possible to prevent progression to lymphoma, Engels added.

The study looked at patients in U.S. Veterans Affairs health care facilities from 1997 to 2004. All but 3 percent were men, most were white, and their average age was 52.

There are more than 4 million people infected with the hepatitis C virus in the United States, representing 1.6 percent of the population.

Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

'Raw' almonds may no longer be raw - Before You Bite

'Raw' almonds may no longer be raw

TODAY's Phil Lempert reports on effort to pasteurize the popular nuts
By Phil LempertTODAY Food Editor

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The USDA is attempting to require that all almonds grown in California to be sterilized with various pasteurization techniques in response to Salmonella outbreaks in 2001 and 2004 that were traced to raw almonds. All almonds, with two exceptions, would undergo a sterilization process that includes chemicals and/or high-temperature treatments. Organic raw almonds will not be fumigated and undergo only the steam-heat treatment thus they are no longer "raw," and small-scale growers can sell "raw" almonds only direct from farm stands.

The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy research group, is requesting that the Food and Drug Administration reopen the proceeding for public comment as the proposed change was not effectively communicated to the public. In fact, only 18 comments were received on the proposal �" all from the almond industry which, unlike consumers, retailers and other organizations concerned with food safety, received a personal letter or fax from the USDA on the proposal and an invitation to comment.

In light of the recent foodborne illnesses involving peanut butter, spinach, lettuce and pet foods there is little doubt that consumers are more concerned about food safety than ever, which certainly offers the USDA a window of opportunity to institute stricter regulations and different technologies to reduce food safety problems. Most food safety issues occur when contaminated water, soil or transportation and handling equipment come into contact with the product. But, according to The Cornucopia Institute, this USDA regulation might well be  ignoring the root causes of food contamination  "dangerous and unsustainable farming practices."

Concerns raised about the proposal include the costs of the chemical and heat treatments (a propylene oxide chamber runs up from $500,000 to $1,250,000 and a roasting line from $1,500,000 to $2,500,000) as well as transportation costs to and from treatment facilities, which would place a heavier burden on small farmers as opposed to big business.

Even more important is that the most common method of sterilizing almonds is by propylene oxide fumigation, which is listed by the International Agency on Cancer Research as a possible carcinogen. It is banned in the European Union, Canada and Mexico, among many others, from being used in the treatment of food for human consumption.

We agree with The Institute's main contention �" these almonds which would be labeled "raw" is deceptive to those who wish to buy truly raw, unprocessed almonds. It's time to separate out the technology benefits (or drawbacks) from labeling issues and allow shoppers to be able to trust what’s listed on the package as being “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

For more food safety information and tips visit Phil’s website www.supermarketguru.com

Phil Lempert is food editor of the TODAY show. He welcomes questions and comments, which can be sent to phil.lempert@nbc.com or by using the mail box below. For more about the laagsdhfgdf trends on the supermarket shelves, visit Phil’s Web site at SuperMarketGuru.com.

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