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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reassigned the director of the bioterror lab behind the potential anthrax exposure of dozens of scientists and staff nuskin hk, sources told Reuters, as the anthrax controversy intensified.

Michael Farrell, head of the CDC's Bioterror Rapid Response and Advanced Technology Laboratory, has been reassigned as the agency investigates the incident, two CDC scientists who are not authorized to speak with press told Reuters.

The possible exposure has forced as many as 84 employees at the agency's Atlanta campus to get a vaccine or take powerful antibiotics with known side effects to ward off potentially deadly anthrax disease nuskin hk.

CDC spokesman Tom Skinner declined to comment on Farrell. Calls and e-mail to Farrell were not returned.

On Friday, the CDC gathered staff at a meeting, where individuals in labs adjacent to the affected areas complained they had not been properly informed about the anthrax incident first discovered on June 13, Skinner said.

In a Friday e-mail to staff, CDC Director Dr Thomas Frieden apologized for delays in informing the wider CDC community about lapses in the high-profile bioterror lab.

"We waited too long to inform the broader CDC workforce," he wrote in the email obtained by Reuters.

According to the CDC, some time between June 6 and June 13, workers in the bioterror lab were trying out a new protocol for killing anthrax before sending the bacteria for use in two lower-security CDC labs.

CDC spokesman Skinner on Sunday said the bioterror lab sent the anthrax bacteria to other labs in closed tubes. The recipients agitated the tubes and then removed the lids, raising concerns that live anthrax could have been released into the air.

Both of the CDC scientists Reuters spoke with believe the risk of infection is very slight because only a tiny amount of anthrax was sent out of the bioterror lab.

On June 18, a team of CDC scientists used swabs and wipes to take samples from all lab surfaces that might have been contaminated DR REBORN.

Skinner said results from the first two days of tests have been negative, but the CDC will continue watching the samples for another six days to see if anything grows.

Dr. Paul Meechan, director of the CDC's environmental health and safety compliance office nuskin hk, first disclosed the possible anthrax exposure to Reuters on Thursday.

Francois Hollande, who just broke up with his longtime partner after an alleged affair with a much younger actress, nuskin hk arrives solo on Monday to begin a 2-day visit.

WASHINGTON — White House officials are giving a dismissive Gallic shrug to French President Francois Hollande's personal drama and preparing a state visit to showcase strong U.S.-French cooperation on a host of global priorities.

Hollande, 59, who just broke up with his longtime partner after an alleged affair with a much younger actress, arrives solo on Monday to begin two days of pomp and ceremony including a high-profile visit to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello estate.

It will be the first state visit hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama in nearly 2-1/2 years, since South Korea's president visited in October 2011.

Hollande's split with journalist Valerie Trierweiler, who was considered the French first lady, prompted some anxiety initially at the White House since both Hollande and Trierweiler were named on the official statement announcing the visit nu skin.

Hollande US visit: French President Francois Hollande, left, pictured in October 2013 with his then companion Valerie TrierweilerReuters: Charles Platiau, Files
French President Francois Hollande, left, pictured in October 2013 with his then companion Valerie Trierweiler.
But as with most things involving the "no-drama" Obama White House, officials quickly adjusted and are preparing to fete a solo Hollande at a state dinner on Tuesday night.

Officials looking for a previous experience like this need only look back to 2007 when then-President George W. Bush played host to his French counterpart at the time, Nicolas Sarkozy, at an official dinner. Sarkozy had just split from his wife, Cecilia.

"It shouldn't change anything and it won't," Anita McBride, who was chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush, said of Hollande's visit. "He's asked the people of France to respect his privacy, and I assume he means that for Americans to respect that too."

At a time when American relations with Europe have been tested by revelations of National Security Agency eavesdropping and, more recently, a U.S. diplomat's secretly recorded expletive to dismiss the European Union, U.S.-French relations have been productive.

This doesn't mean Hollande is happy about the eavesdropping.

Hollande told Time magazine that this is a "a difficult moment, not just between France and the United States but also between Europe and the United States" because of spying practices that "should never have existed."

'A SOLID ALLY'

The United States and France, an alliance that dates back to the very founding of America in the late 18th century, are working together on Iran, Syria, restive North Africa and other global hot spots.

The collaboration is a far cry from a decade ago when the U.S.-led war on Iraq led to strains and French refusal to participate prompted some Americans to rename the classic fried-potato dish "freedom fries" instead of french fries.

"France is a solid ally of the United States but always retains its independence," Hollande told Time.

Obama has shied away from having frequent state visits during his five years in office but is said to have been the driving force behind inviting the French leader to Washington. Officials say Obama and Hollande have a solid working relationship.

The two leaders start the visit with a pilgrimage to Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia, on Monday. Jefferson was U.S. ambassador to France from 1785-1789, developing a taste for fine French wines.

Hollande US visit: President Barack Obama shakes hands with French President Francois Hollande during the G-8 summitAP Photo: Evan Vucci
President Barack Obama shakes hands with French President Francois Hollande during the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland, June 2013.
The Monticello stop is intended to showcase the enduring alliance between the two countries. Jefferson, the third U.S. president, Glass House was one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. Without French assistance, the fledgling American army might not have defeated the British.

On Tuesday, after a colorful arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn, Obama and Hollande hold talks, then a joint news conference. Hollande will have lunch at the State Department with Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry.

"During the visit, they will discuss opportunities to further strengthen our shared security, grow our economic and commercial partnership, and partner on the environment, climate change, and development," the White House said.

Both leaders could use the glow from a successful visit to boost their images at home. Hollande, struggling to reduce chronic unemployment in France, has a 24 percent job approval rating, according to Ipsos.

Obama, after the rocky rollout of his signature healthcare law, saw his approval rating drop to about 40 percent, but it has rebounded slightly in recent weeks.

Talking about the romantic and sexual feelings of people with intellectual disabilities is taboo – but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist, says the Blue Teapot Theatre Company creative director Petal Pilley. The company’s new play, Sanctuary, nu skin product attempts to take an honest and sensitive look at the issues so often swept under the carpet…

SUMMER IN GALWAY: the city is infused with the carnival of arts and sporting festivals. Yet, behind closed doors on Munster Avenue, the work continues for the ensemble at Blue Teapot Theatre Company who graft hard in preparation for the Dublin premiere of the theatre show Sanctuary this September running as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival.

Aiming to be a production which challenges conventional theatre practice, it tackles the subjects of relationships, nuskin sexuality and disability. It is undoubtedly Blue Teapot Theatre Company’s artistic highpoint of 2013, which comes off the back of a sold out run in Galway Arts Festival.

Effecting positive change in public interpretation of ‘disability’
Long an integral part of Galway’s arts community, Blue Teapot has a clear mission: to effect positive change in public consciousness concerning people with intellectual disabilities (ID) thought the medium of theatre, allowing the members inherent talent and creativity to speak for itself.

In the seven years I have spent with this wonderful group of people, I have often been struck by the fact that most adults with ID have extremely limited access to time alone or privacy in an intimate relationship. The nature of being dependent means that many live at home with family or in a group home where they receive care and support.

However, these living arrangements mean that it is almost impossible to have romantic or sexual fulfilment. Couple that with a law which makes it illegal to have sex unless you are married if you are intellectually disabled. The odds are stacked against you.

How to navigate this territory?
This subject is not easy. Many parties are aware and supportive but don’t know how to navigate this territory. This is living tragedy that demands discussion, nuskin group awareness and a more enlightened response from our society to adults with ID.

Christian O’Reilly, the playwright, didn’t simply go away and write a play. It was important that he became familiar with the actors as people and getting involved in the workshop process.

He said of his experience:

Writing ‘Sanctuary’ felt like a collaborative process. I was invited me to meet the company of actors, all of whom have an intellectual disability, and we had a series of conversations over a number of weeks, in which they talked openly, touchingly and often hilariously about sex, relationships and the challenge of meeting someone you might fall in love with in a world that makes this extremely difficult.
I would go off, generate fresh ideas, questions and characters and come back in and run all my ideas by the group and Petal, the Creative Director. Their feedback has helped me discover and shape the play into something that felt authentic to their experiences. The play comes from them, is a reflection of them and is performed by them. The play only exists because of them and nu skin hk, if it’s any good, this is also due to this remarkable group of people.
Sanctuary features Blue Teapot’s permanent acting ensemble, but the lead roles in this production go to Kieran Coppinger and Charlene Kelly, who play Larry and Sophie. The play examines the relationship between both characters, who have ID, and what happens on a visit to the cinema when, desperate to be alone, they steal away from the group and into the privacy of a hotel room.

For anyone visiting Blue Teapot Theatre, it is unquestionable that everybody involved are all fiercely proud of the company’s many achievements. For all that the company does for the community at large, it does tenfold for its participants. All are empowered by their professional relationship with Blue Teapot and gain confidence to participate more fully in the life of their community.

Being invited to perform ‘Sanctuary’ in Dublin for the Dublin Fringe Festival is a very exciting first for Blue Teapot. We are thrilled to be a part of such a dynamic and innovative festival.

PHARMACISTS HAVE WARNED that shortages in key medicines is having an impact on the health of patients nationally.

The Irish Pharmacy Union has said that the lack of some anti-depressants nu skin product, pain-relief medicines and eye ointments has gotten worse in the last 12 months.

They are now calling on the Department of Health to intervene to ensure there is an adequate supply of medicines to meet the needs of patients.

The survey of 200 pharmacists found that 98 per cent have noticed medicine shortages, particularly of drugs such as Cymbalta, which treats depression nuskin, Lyrica, for pain relief and Chloromycetin Eye Ointment, among others.

It also found that, on average, nuskin group pharmacy staff spend eight hours per month resolving medicine shortages – “time that would be better spent tending to the needs of patients,” says president of the IPU, Rory O’ Donnell.

Almost half of all pharmacists surveyed say that patients’ health outcomes have been adversely affected by medicine shortages.

The IPU also says the introduction of reference pricing will only exacerbate the situation, nu skin hk particularly if the reference price is set too low.