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(06-11) 14:24 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Friends, neighbors and a former fellow inmate of Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow took turns testifying Wednesday that the onetime Chinatown gang leader had turned his life around and should be released on bail while fighting money-laundering charges. Describing the witnesses as sincere but not fully informed, U.S. Magistrate Nathanael Cousins refused to release Chow from jail, where he has been kept since his arrest in April. While Chow has engaged in "community activities of a positive nature" since his release from federal prison in 2003 after serving time for racketeering, federal prosecutors presented evidence...

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - Accused Chinatown gangster Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow has refused to sign on to a protective order that will allow defense attorneys to receive evidence from federal prosecutors, including audio recordings and video surveillance, from a five-year undercover investigation that led to his arrest, and the arrest of 26 others in March. Attorneys for the federal government on Thursday filed a motion to compel Chow to cooperate, noting that nearly all the other defendants have signed on, and only one other defendant has not signed because of a likely substitution of counsel in the near future. According...

We previously noted that both beef and pork (courtesy of the affectionately named Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus) prices have been reaching new all time highs on an almost daily basis. It is time to update the chart. Below we show what a world in which the Fed is constantly lamenting the lack of inflation looks like for beef prices...

link only: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-11/nsa-said-to-have-used-heartbleed-bug-exposing-consumers.html

NBC Bay Area has not been able to confirm whether the Facebook page – which has posts and pictures of Chow with a number of public figures -- definitely belongs to him. Another explanation for the latest posts could be that Chow is asking someone else to post the messages on his behalf. "Shrimp Boy" Arrest Casts Harsh Spotlight on Chinatown's Gangs A post from around 8 a.m. Friday morning urging everyone to stay positive had received 62 “likes” and seven replies as of 1 p.m. “If you want to post something on my FB page please keep it positive....

This week, regulators shut down the New England fishery for Gulf of Maine shrimp for the first time in 35 years. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission judged the stocks of the popular shrimp, also known as northern shrimp, to be dangerously low. "Shrimp is just one of those treasures in the winter of Maine," says Taylor, who co-owns the upscale Hugo's Restaurant in downtown Portland with Wiley. The restaurant sits just yards from the city's working waterfront and the two pride themselves on serving fresh, local seafood. Maine shrimp normally hit the menu in January or February. They may...

As humans, we experience an amazing world of colour, but what can other animals see? Some see much more than us, but how they use this vision is largely unknown. We see what we see because our eyes have three photoreceptors, red, green and blue. Our vision is good compared to dogs which have only two photoreceptors (green and blue), but is nothing compared to many birds who have four photoreceptors: ultraviolet (UV) as well as red, green and blue. The addition of a UV photoreceptor is hard to imagine, but if we consider invertebrate vision it gets even more...

It´s only been three days, but President Obama has quickly settled into the vacation diet on Martha´s Vineyard. But don´t tell the first lady. During a rainy day on Tuesday, he traveled to Nancy´s in scenic Oak Bluffs for a fried lunch. According to the pool report: "POTUS´s food order at Nancy´s was fried shrimp, fried oysters, onion rings and french fries." Obviously not on the lunch trip was first lady Michelle Obama, the first family´s fitness buff. Obama showed up at Nancy´s in a blue fleece, a Chicago White Sox cap and Nike sneakers. According to the pool, he

A big increase in reports of Asian tiger shrimp along the U.S. Southeast coast and in the Gulf of Mexico has federal biologists worried the species is encroaching on native species' territory. The shrimp are known to eat their smaller cousins, and sightings of the massive crustaceans have gone up tenfold in the last year, biologists say. The black-and-white-striped shrimp can grow 13 inches long and weigh a quarter-pound, compared to eight inches and a bit over an ounce for domestic white, brown and pink shrimp.

Today in Washington, First Lady Michelle Obama announced dictates of Obamacare and her Healthy Kids Initiative will require pork, bacon, ham and other non-kosher, non-halal foods be served the nations’ schools, including those operated by Jewish or Muslim organizations. “Everyone understands the benefits of chicken in a diet, but pork is often called “The Other White Meat” said the First Lady. “Lean pork is a great alternative to fatty beef” added Second Lady Jill Biden who joined Mrs. Obama for the announcement, held at the new Mother Seaton – Christ the Redeemer Birth Control Pill Distribution Center. The only hitch...

Since my New Year’s prediction that Obama would select Hillary Clinton for his running mate in 2012 (and Joe Biden would become Secretary of State), I’ve been swamped by requests for my GOP prediction. Here goes. You can forget the caucuses and early primaries. Mitt Romney will be the nominee. Republicans may be stupid but the GOP isn’t about to commit suicide. The other candidates are all weighed down by enough baggage to keep a 747 on the tarmac indefinitely. For his running mate, Romney will choose Marco Rubio, the junior senator from Florida. Why do I say this? First,...

The giant Black Tiger shrimp that Ron Pockrus caught off the Texas coast might be the biggest threat to the $700 million Gulf shrimp industry to come along in years, marine biologists said. Pockrus, the owner of a 13-vessel shrimp fleet operating out of Brownsville, caught the 12-inch, 13-ounce specimen last week. Pockrus said he’s been aware of the species for about three years but hadn’t seen one. Now, he has turned in two to marine and wildlife officials this season. “I have another boat coming in with one on it now,” Pockrus said. “That makes the third one we’ve...

When it comes to foreign affairs, Ron Paul is the most mocked of the GOP field. The argument could be made that Paul only wants to follow the Constitution. He does not believe we should fight a war unless it is declared a war by Congress. As a former military man, Paul says he wants a strong defense, but wants to bring troops back home from around the world. Paul's philosophy on foreign affairs continues to be his biggest stumbling block with older voters and his GOP rivals. An article earlier this year in USA Today stated that Paul has...

Ron Paul Runs Edgy New Ad in Iowa and New Hampshire By Chris Moody DES MOINES, IOWA-- Ron Paul's presidential campaign released a comparitvely edgy new ad Monday that will air on local and cable networks across Iowa and New Hampshire. The spot touts Paul's call to cut a trillion dollars from federal budget in his first year in office. Played over a rock track, a man's voice in the 30-second spot asks, "What's up with these sorry politicians? Lots of bark, but when it's showtime, whimpering like little Shih Tzu's. You want big cuts? Ron Paul's been screaming it...

WASHINGTON, - A Republican senator's report on the National Science Foundation criticizes the group for projects including a $500,000 study involving a shrimp on a treadmill. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., authored a report criticizing the foundation's spending on projects that also include $1.5 million to build a laundry-folding robot and a $300,000 study on whether Facebook's FarmVille game promotes personal relationships, ABC News reported Friday. "What it says to me is, they have too much money if they're going to spend money on things like that," Coburn said of the Arlington, Va., based foundation. "We have 12 different agencies doing...

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn Report Shows Taxpayer Money Spent on Robots That Fold Laundry, Shrimp on TreadmillsBy JONATHAN KARL and MATTHEW JAFFE May 26, 2011 You've probably heard of shrimp on the barbie, but what about shrimp on a treadmill? The National Science Foundation has, and it spent $500,000 of taxpayer money researching it. It's not entirely clear what this research hoped to establish. But it's one of a number of projects cited in a scathing new report from Sen. Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma, exclusively obtained by ABC News. It's not just shrimp on a treadmill. The foundation...

....Part of Paul's fervent support in 2008 was grounded in college-aged voters, a constituency that also largely favored Barack Obama. In this campaign, the 75-year-old Paul said today, Mr. Obama won't be able to hang on to the youth vote. "I think that Obama will not be able to hang on to that enthusiasm of the young people because of what's happened in the last couple years," Paul said in Des Moines, Iowa, after his exploratory committee was announced. The financial crisis, the bloated deficit and the ongoing wars make the libertarian views Paul is known for -- such as...

Members of Congress requested almost 40,000 earmarks worth more than $100 billion directed to their home districts and states for the current fiscal year, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis to be released Tuesday. As Congress attempts to finalize appropriations legislation through next September, the new database shows that there remains a relentless bipartisan appetite for projects from coast to coast — whether it’s the $5 million Sen. Bill Nelson sought for an engineering project at the University of South Florida, the $1 million requested by Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) to develop soybeans resistant to a problematic pest, the $160,000 that...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A Sacramento restaurant agreed to stop serving live shrimp after an animal-rights group said the practice was cruel to the shellfish. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the restaurant, Nishiki Sushi, suggested squeezing lemon juice on the shrimps' exposed flesh so they would writhe as they were eaten. The dish is commonly referred to as "dancing shrimp" and is considered a delicacy in Japan. PETA contacted the restaurant after receiving dozens of complaints about the practice.

Killer shrimp are invading UK waters and raising concern among scientists. Killer shrimp may threaten the balance of life in fresh-water ecosystems.On Sept. 9, Britain's Environment Agency issued an alert that "killer shrimp" were spotted in a fresh-water reservoir in Cambridgeshire, England. Before you have a 28 Days Later moment, take a deep breath. These tiny crustaceans, the Dikerogammarus villosus shrimp, which can grow up to 3 centimeters (about 1 inch) in length, pose no direct danger to humans. But the killer shrimp is bigger than local species – and more aggressive. The "killer shrimp" eats other shrimp and small...