Mom Fears Dad in Boy's Disappearance













The mother of 13-year-old boy Dylan Redwine, who disappeared a week ago during a court ordered visit to his father, fears that the dad may have done something to "remove Dylan from the situation."


Dylan Redwine was last seen at the home of his father, Mark Redwine, when he vanished seven days ago.


"I was married to Mark for a lot of years, and I know the way he reacts to things," Elaine Redwine told ABC News. "If Dylan maybe did or said something that wasn't what Mark wanted to hear, I'm just afraid of how Mark would have reacted."


Elaine and Mark were divorced and live about five hours away from each other, ABC News affiliate KMGH reports. Dylan was staying at his father's home because of a court order granting his father visitation rights for Thanksgiving.


Elaine Redwine told ABC News she believes her ex-husband was upset that she was the court-mandated primary custodian of their son.


"I don't think Mark treats him very well," Elaine Redwine said. "I would not put it past Mark to have done something to remove Dylan from the situation. You know, like 'if I can't have him, nobody will.'"


Dylan had been with his dad in Vallecito, Colo., for just one day before he went missing. Mark Redwine told police that his son was in his home when he left to run some errands at 7:30 a.m. When he returned four hours later, the boy was missing.








Minnesota Man Allegedly Shot and Killed Teens During Break-In Watch Video









FBI's Most Wanted Fugitive Could Be Hiding Among Mormons Watch Video









California Drunken Driving Case: Woman Drove With Dying Man on Car Watch Video





Elaine Redwine told ABC News she was having a difficult time getting in touch with her ex-husband about their son.


"He hasn't had any contact with us. [My older son] tried to get a hold of him by texting him, and he wouldn't respond," she said. "I just find it odd that at a time like this, he would be so evasive."


Mark Redwine declined to speak to ABC News.


Police say they are considering a number of possibilities, including abduction and the possibility that Dylan ran away.


"Foul play is definitely something we are looking at, but we're hoping it's a runaway case and that Dylan will show up and will be fine," La Plata Sheriff's Office spokesman Dan Bender said. "Because we don't have any clues that point in any particular direction, we have to consider every possibility."


Dylan's mother and older brother both insist Dylan wouldn't run away without contacting them, or if he did run away from his dad's home, he would have gone to them.


"When he was afraid in any situation, he knew he could call me and I would drop everything and go out there, first thing," Dylan's brother, Cory Redwine, 21, told ABC News. "He knew that me, my mom, my step-dad, any of us, if he called us and said, 'I need your help,' he knew we'd be there."


Hundreds of people have turned up to help search for Dylan, but so far police say they are no closer to finding him.


"We had people in the air, on horseback, on ATVs, search dogs, and we got no clues from any of that," Bender said.


Dive teams are searching nearby Vallecito Lake using a high-powered sonar gun, after searches this weekend revealed nothing, according to KMGH. Search teams are also combing the shoreline around the lake.


Elaine Redwine told ABC News she thinks somebody must know something, and she hopes they come forward.


"Vallecito is a small community. If anybody has seen anything or knows anything, no matter how big or small it seems, please tell us," Redwine said. "Everything right now is crucial to bringing my little boy home."


Redwine is described as 5 feet tall, 105 pounds, blond hair, blue eyes and fair complexion. He was last seen wearing a black Nike shirt, black basketball nylon shorts, black Jordan tennis shoes and a two-tone blue and white Duke Blue Devils baseball hat.



Read More..

New vaccine may give lifelong protection from flu



































Flu season has come early this year in parts of the northern hemisphere, and many people are scrambling to get their annual vaccination. That ritual may someday be history.












In a first for any infectious disease, a vaccine against flu has been made out of messenger RNA (mRNA) – the genetic material that controls the production of proteins. Unlike its predecessors, the new vaccine may work for life, and it may be possible to manufacture it quickly enough to stop a pandemic.












We become immune to a flu strain when our immune system learns to recognise key proteins, called HA and NA, on the surface of the flu virus. This can happen either because we have caught and fought off that strain of flu, or because we received one of the standard vaccines, most of which contain killed flu virus.












Flu constantly evolves, however, so those proteins change and your immunity to one year's strain does not extend to following year's. For this reason, a new vaccine has to be produced each year. Most flu vaccines are grown in chicken eggs or cell culture, a process that takes at least six months.











This time lag means that the World Health Organization has to predict months in advance which viruses are most likely to be circulating the following winter. Drug companies then make a new vaccine based on their recommendations. Of course, these recommendations can be wrong, or worse, when a completely new flu virus causes a pandemic, its first waves can be over before any vaccine is ready.












Freeze-dried vaccine













Now there could be a solution. The mRNA that controls the production of HA and NA in a flu virus can be mass-produced in a few weeks, says Lothar Stitz of the Friedrich-Loeffler Institute in Riems Island, Germany. This mRNA can be turned into a freeze-dried powder that does not need refrigeration, unlike most vaccines, which have to be kept cool.












An injection of mRNA is picked up by immune cells, which translate it into protein. These proteins are then recognised by the body as foreign, generating an immune response. The immune system will then recognise the proteins if it encounters the virus subsequently, allowing it to fight off that strain of flu.












Similar vaccines have been made of DNA that codes for flu proteins. But DNA vaccines seem unlikely ever to be approved, because of worries that they might be incorporated into human DNA, disrupting gene regulation.











Safety advantage













That is not a risk with mRNA, which cannot become part of the genome. For this reason, "RNA probably has advantages over DNA as concerns safety," says Bjarne Bogen of the University of Oslo, Norway, who is working on a DNA vaccine for flu.












Trial RNA vaccines have failed, however, after being destroyed rapidly in the blood. But CureVac, a company in Tübingen, Germany, has found that a protein called protamine, binds to mRNA and protects it. It has an mRNA vaccine against prostate and lung cancer tumours in human trials.












"Amazingly, mRNA vaccines have never been really tested against infectious diseases," says Stitz. His team used CureVac's process to make durable mRNA vaccines for common human flu strains, as well as H5N1 bird flu. In mice, ferrets and pigs, the vaccines rapidly elicited protective levels of antibodies.











Two-pronged immunity













They also induced cell-mediated immunity, which is an immune response that does not involve antibodies but activates blood cells such as killer T-cells to destroy specific pathogens. Vaccines made only of the proteins do not elicit this type of response. Having both types of immunity clears infection faster, and can also protect against flu for longer, as cell-mediated reactions still recognise flu viruses after they have evolved enough to evade antibodies.











A true universal vaccine for fluMovie Camera, however, would induce immunity to proteins that are the same in all flu viruses, but which flu normally hides from the immune system. Stitz's team made an mRNA vaccine to one such protein from an ordinary seasonal flu. The vaccine not only protected animals from that flu strain, but also from H5N1 bird flu.













Vaccines that work against all flu strains could eventually be given once in childhood, like vaccines for other diseases. Meanwhile, Stitz is also working on an mRNA vaccine for rabies. "We think that mRNA would provide an excellent platform against viral, bacterial and fungal diseases," he says.












Journal reference: Nature Biotechnology, DOI: 10.1038/nbt.2436


















































If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.




































All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.


If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.








Read More..

Bread-and-butter issues dominate forum on values






SINGAPORE: A forum for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents to share what societal values and qualities are important to them was dominated by bread-and-butter issues instead.

The discussion held at the Woodlands Galaxy Community Club on Sunday was organised as part of the Our Singapore Conversation national project. It was hosted by Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) grassroots advisers, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan, Mr Hawazi Daipi, Ms Ellen Lee and Mr Ong Teng Koon, who are also Members of Parliament.

The 250 participants - residents who come from all walks of life - were broken up into groups of up to 12, with facilitators to lead the discussion. The participants, about a quarter of whom were new citizens or Permanent Residents, had been expected to provide input on the type of society and home they would like to have in 2030 as well as how they can work towards achieving their desired future.

However, the one-and-a-half-hour discussion was mostly spent on issues such as cost of living and housing, as well as municipal complaints like the low-frequency of bus services and the litter situation in the estate.

For example, a participant in her 60s cited worries about rising healthcare costs. When a facilitator asked her what could be done to alleviate the situation by 2030, she replied that she did not want to think so far ahead.

Other older participants said they were worried that their children or grandchildren may not be able to afford their own homes, while some wondered if there will be enough homes for everyone in the future.

Younger participants spoke about the challenge of balancing work and family while they try to keep up with the rising cost of living.

Among those who kept to the discussion's theme was Singapore Management University undergraduate Clarine Chai, who felt Singaporeans should have a sense of gratitude. Retiree Chong Weng Yoke suggested focusing on moral education from young to inculcate values such as respect, while Garry Luyun stressed the need for new citizens like himself to "integrate ourselves and work as a team, as a community".

At the end of the session, Mr Khaw noted that many of the participants used the opportunity to engage him on housing concerns, given his portfolio. He also assured the residents on the availability and affordability of flats.

Speaking to TODAY, Sembawang GRC MP Ellen Lee said that residents airing their grouses at the discussion was "not surprising at all".

On the challenge of getting residents to focus on the themes of the national project, Ms Lee said: "The value is not obvious but the process itself is important because the process itself shows that the Government wants to hear them ... even if they can't think so far ahead, it doesn't matter, at least we have approached them."

- TODAY



Read More..

What would Apple have to do to ruin your relationship?



Can he make you love? And keep on loving?



(Credit:
Sarah Tew/CNET)


I've been counseling a friend this weekend.


She has flown thousands of miles to get her man. She hasn't seen him for 13 years, but she's suddenly convinced he's, well, the one.


Yes, of course he's engaged to someone else. But, really, this is the maze of relationships we're talking about. Anything is possible. Anything seems reasonable. Anything might send things in an unexpected direction.


Which, naturally, led me to thinking about Apple.


Your relationship with a brand isn't all that different from your relationship with a person. A brand makes you feel a certain way. You love it because, well, you just do. Your life is somehow made better and more meaningful.


For many, Apple is "the one."


Yet what would Apple have to do in order to ruin its relationship with these people? Is there a breaking point where some, or even many, Apple faithful would walk away from the relationship and decide it just isn't working any more?


Here are a few scenarios, taken from my regular viewing of Brazilian soap operas:


1. Apple is unfaithful
Somehow, things aren't the same. Apple begins to behave strangely. Instead of working late at the office, Apple starts to knock off early by producing things that look like, well, knock-offs of other Apple products. Or worse, of things that are already out there. (That's a 7-inch
iPad. Oh, wait, it's 7.9 inches, huh? OK.)


You get the feeling Apple's not telling you everything they used to. You get the feeling something's a bit off. But you roll with it for a while. Until you hear that Apple is producing a
tablet/laptop hybrid.


2. Apple gets boring
Relationships go through their ups and downs. You get used to each other's ways. You measure your expectations according to your knowledge of each other.


Sometimes, though, you just want to throw something at your partner because they're being precisely the way they've always been. Yet suddenly that sameness isn't reassuring any more. It's boring. You look at the
iPhone 5 and it's a lot like the iPhone 4S. You look at the iPad Mini and it's just like the iPad was in the dryer too long and the screen went dull.

You start to look at, well, others. You see they are bigger, shinier. They have live tiles instead of dead icons. You are tempted to at least try them. But what if you do? What if you like them? What if they're exciting? You ask your friends. They say: "What harm can it do, as long as Apple doesn't know?"

3. Apple insists you become one of the family

One day, you wake up and realize that all of your days off are taken up by family occasions and expectations. Yes, Apple's family, not yours.

Your music is now at Apple's place. Your papers are all at Apple's place. Apple even has a house up a mountain in a cloud, where a lot of your stuff is kept. You end up realizing that whatever you need to do, it's easier if you use the connection between one member of Apple's family and another. Uncle Cloud and Auntie iPhone are there to smooth your path.

Which is all very nice, at first. But then you realize you're trapped. What if your future mother-in-law (Big Sis, as she's curiously known) starts making demands of you that you never expected when you were swept along by the fun?

What if the Apple family cook begins to dictate what you should eat and when? What if your future father-in-law tells you that you can't have non-Apple family friends any more, because that would cause, well, friction in the clan? What do you do then? Rebel or conform? It's one of the big human questions.

4. Apple gets old
One day, you look your lover in the eye and what do you see? Someone who looks just a little past their prime. Someone who's been wearing Levi's for 30 years and still thinks they're cool. Someone who's happy to have got old and who thinks (mistakenly) that they still look like George Clooney.

You, meanwhile, have made sure that your tastes have changed. You're human. And you're under the influence of so many products, so much advertising and design, that other parts of your life have altered radically since your first Mac and your first iPhone.

You've moved on from BMWs, through Mercedes to a brief, painful fling with Volvos. You've had a traditional house and a modern condo. You've worn your shirts (and skirts) high, low and somewhere in between. You've flitted from Zara to H&M to Gucci to even trying to make your own stuff based on things you saw on "Project Runway."

With every style decision, you've tried to feel younger and fresher. Even if, occasionally, wanting to offer a nod to maturity. But you've always bought Apple products. Because, well, you have.

You need to feel young again. Old people wear Apple products. Your grandma has an iPad, for goodness sake. And not even an iPad 2. You don't want to be seen with old. You want young, fresh, brighter, bigger, shinier. It just takes one small piece of courage to break away. You don't even need to see a lawyer.

5. Apple becomes a bit of a pain
In relationships, we can be very judgmental. We need to believe that our lover is a "good person." We need to believe that they will always be lovely to puppies, kittens and kiddies. This reflects upon us, after all.


More Technically Incorrect


But what if, one day, our lover gets a little too moody? What if our lover loses their temper and acts like an utter beast, cursing and spitting like an injured NFL lineman -- or a Hollywood actor on a really, really bad day? Do we look at them differently? Of course we do.

Just as people are increasingly looking at companies and wanting to hold them to, good Lord, ethical standards.

So what if Apple keeps on suing to defend the patently indefensible? What if Apple sues BlackBerry with a claim that it has the patent on the, um, keyboard? Do we suddenly look at Cupertino and feel the love has died? Do we decide that we were in love with a bully and, well, nobody likes a bully?

Relationships can change in a moment. One day there are "I love you's," "I want to elope with you's," the next there is an outage in the power station of love.

Our impulses move us faster, on occasion, than we realize it's happening. Keeping a relationship going is hard. In the face of all the potential vicissitudes, how long can you be committed to Apple? What will it really take to keep your love alive?

Read More..

Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed


Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling.

Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group of dwarf planets in 2006. (Related: "Pluto Not a Planet, Astronomers Rule.")

Just like the slightly larger Pluto, this icy world circles our sun beyond Neptune. Researchers expected Makemake to also have a global atmosphere—but new evidence reveals that isn't the case.

Staring at a Star

An international team of astronomers was able for the first time to probe Makemake's physical characteristics using the European Southern Observatory's three most powerful telescopes in Chile. The researchers observed the change in light given off by a distant star as the dwarf planet passed in front of it. (Learn how scientists found Makemake.)

"These events are extremely difficult to predict and observe, but they are the only means of obtaining accurate knowledge of important properties of dwarf planets," said Jose Luis Ortiz, lead author of this new study and an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, in Spain.

It's like trying to study a coin from a distance of 30 miles (48 kilometers) or more, Ortiz added.

Ortiz and his team knew Makemake didn't have an atmosphere when light from the background star abruptly dimmed and brightened as the chilly world drifted across its face.

"The light went off very abruptly from all the sites we observed the event so this means this world cannot have a substantial and global atmosphere like that of its sibling Pluto," Ortiz said.

If Makemake had an atmosphere, light from the star would gradually decrease and increase as the dwarf planet passed in front.

Coming Into Focus

The team's new observations add much more detail to our view of Makemake—not only limiting the possibility of an atmosphere but also determining the planet's size and surface more accurately.

"We think Makemake is a sphere flattened slightly at both poles and mostly covered with very white ices—mainly of methane," said Ortiz.

"But there are also indications for some organic material at least at some places; this material is usually very red and we think in a small percentage of the surface, the terrain is quite dark," he added.

Why Makemake lacks a global atmosphere remains a big mystery, but Ortiz does have a theory. Pluto is covered in nitrogen ice. When the sun heats this volatile material, it turns straight into a gas, creating Pluto's atmosphere.

Makemake lacks nitrogen ice on its surface, so there is nothing for the sun to heat into a gas to provide an atmosphere.

The dwarf planet has less mass, and a weaker gravitational field, than Pluto, said Ortiz. This means that over eons of time, Makemake may not have been able to hang on to its nitrogen.

Methane ice will also transform into a gas when heated. But since the dwarf planet is nearly at its furthest distance from the sun, Ortiz believes that Makemake's surface methane is still frozen. (Learn about orbital planes.)

And even if the methane were to transform into a gas, any resulting atmosphere would cover, at most, only ten percent of the planet, said Ortiz.

The new results are detailed today in the journal Nature.


Read More..

No Powerball Winner; Jackpot Grows to $425 Million


Nov 25, 2012 10:37am







ap powerball jackpot jt 121125 wblog No Powerball Winner; Jackpot Grows to Record $425 Million

                                                                (Image Credit: Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)


The Powerball jackpot has swelled to $425 million, the largest in the lottery’s history, after no tickets matched the winning numbers in a drawing Saturday night.


The Powerball numbers for Saturday were 22-32-37-44-50, and the Powerball was 34.


Iowa Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer said the jackpot could get even bigger before Wednesday, because sales tend to increase in the run-up to a big drawing.


The previous top windfall was $365 million. The jackpot was claimed by eight co-workers in Lincoln, Neb., in 2006.


PHOTOS: Biggest Lotto Jackpot Winners


While millions of Americans can have fun dreaming about how they’d spend the jackpot, the odds of winning are 1 in 175,000,000, according to lottery officials.


To put that in perspective, a ticket holder is 25 times less likely to win the jackpot then they are to win an Academy Award.


Even still, the old saying holds true: “You’ve got to be in it to win it.”




SHOWS: Good Morning America






Read More..

British PM "open-minded" on press regulation






LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron is keeping an open mind about the regulation of the press, his office insisted Saturday, after a newspaper report claimed he would reject full-blown state regulation.

British newspapers are nervously awaiting the publication on Thursday of the first results from an extensive judge-led inquiry into press standards which could result in tougher regulation of the industry.

The Mail on Sunday reported that Cameron would beef up the current system of self-regulation and replace the Press Complaints Commission, which is staffed by newspaper editors.

The newspaper said Cameron would stop short of tougher measures, but would hold out the threat that a statutory system could be brought in later if the behaviour of the press fails to improve.

But Downing Street played down any suggestion that Cameron had already made up his mind on the Leveson report -- named after the judge who is leading the inquiry -- which is supposed to remain secret until Thursday.

Cameron and a handful of senior government figures will see it on Wednesday to allow them to prepare their response.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister is open-minded about Lord Justice Leveson's report and will read it in full before he makes any decision about what to do."

Victims of press intrusion are calling for the introduction of an independent regulator, with the backing of the law, while editors have warned that statutory regulation would limit press freedom and hamper investigative reporting.

Cameron set up the inquiry in July last year in response to revelations that the Rupert Murdoch-owned News of the World hired a private investigator to hack the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler after she disappeared in 2002.

-AFP/ac



Read More..

'Gangnam Style' slays Bieber, becomes most-watched vid



"Gangnam Style" has galloped off with another title.



(Credit:
Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET)


It's official: Justin Bieber has finally been out-Biebered... or perhaps more accurately, the Tween was outdone by the Korean.


As of today, Psy's "Gangnam Style" surpassed Bieber's "Baby" to become the most-watched video on YouTube. While Bieber's top video has been around since 2010, the "Gangnam Style" stratospheric global star has risen so quickly that Psy's dance sensation racked up more than 805 million views to pass Bieber in less than 5 months. That's more galloping in place than I ever thought this world could endure.




Marketing blog Wordstream compiled a bunch of "Gangnam" stats and found that in November, Psy's video was being watched over 4,000 times each minute, on average. Gangnam Style has also been certified by the Guinness folks as the most-liked video in YouTube history with over 2 million digital thumbs up.


Wordstream also projects that given Psy's sustained YouTube momentum, "Gangnam Style" will become the first YouTube video to reach a billion views, around December 11.


In case you've somehow missed it, or just want to contribute to history, go ahead and hit play below. If your speakers are loud enough, somebody within earshot is likely to start dancing, particularly if you happen to be hanging with Eric Schmidt.


Sorry Mr. Pavlov, your bell has been replaced.



Read More..

Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed


Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling.

Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group of dwarf planets in 2006. (Related: "Pluto Not a Planet, Astronomers Rule.")

Just like the slightly larger Pluto, this icy world circles our sun beyond Neptune. Researchers expected Makemake to also have a global atmosphere—but new evidence reveals that isn't the case.

Staring at a Star

An international team of astronomers was able for the first time to probe Makemake's physical characteristics using the European Southern Observatory's three most powerful telescopes in Chile. The researchers observed the change in light given off by a distant star as the dwarf planet passed in front of it. (Learn how scientists found Makemake.)

"These events are extremely difficult to predict and observe, but they are the only means of obtaining accurate knowledge of important properties of dwarf planets," said Jose Luis Ortiz, lead author of this new study and an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, in Spain.

It's like trying to study a coin from a distance of 30 miles (48 kilometers) or more, Ortiz added.

Ortiz and his team knew Makemake didn't have an atmosphere when light from the background star abruptly dimmed and brightened as the chilly world drifted across its face.

"The light went off very abruptly from all the sites we observed the event so this means this world cannot have a substantial and global atmosphere like that of its sibling Pluto," Ortiz said.

If Makemake had an atmosphere, light from the star would gradually decrease and increase as the dwarf planet passed in front.

Coming Into Focus

The team's new observations add much more detail to our view of Makemake—not only limiting the possibility of an atmosphere but also determining the planet's size and surface more accurately.

"We think Makemake is a sphere flattened slightly at both poles and mostly covered with very white ices—mainly of methane," said Ortiz.

"But there are also indications for some organic material at least at some places; this material is usually very red and we think in a small percentage of the surface, the terrain is quite dark," he added.

Why Makemake lacks a global atmosphere remains a big mystery, but Ortiz does have a theory. Pluto is covered in nitrogen ice. When the sun heats this volatile material, it turns straight into a gas, creating Pluto's atmosphere.

Makemake lacks nitrogen ice on its surface, so there is nothing for the sun to heat into a gas to provide an atmosphere.

The dwarf planet has less mass, and a weaker gravitational field, than Pluto, said Ortiz. This means that over eons of time, Makemake may not have been able to hang on to its nitrogen.

Methane ice will also transform into a gas when heated. But since the dwarf planet is nearly at its furthest distance from the sun, Ortiz believes that Makemake's surface methane is still frozen. (Learn about orbital planes.)

And even if the methane were to transform into a gas, any resulting atmosphere would cover, at most, only ten percent of the planet, said Ortiz.

The new results are detailed today in the journal Nature.


Read More..

Sandy-Hit Stores Seek Small Business Saturday Boost


Nov 24, 2012 3:35pm







ap downtown manhattan store damage mi 121030 wblog Small Business Saturday: Stores Hit by Sandy Hope for Boost

                                                                                      (Image Credit: Associated Press)


Superstorm Sandy delivered a one-two punch on small businesses, creating millions of dollars in damage and in turn, delivering a debilitating blow to their revenue.


But on Small Business Saturday, when  shoppers are encouraged to support local businesses,  those mom-and-pop stores are hoping for a rebound.


Donna Scofield and her family have sold toys at their Manhattan shop, called Stationery & Toy World, for the past 25 years. Although the store is located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where the storm did little damage, $500,000 of Scofield’s inventory, which she kept in her home and three Staten Island warehouses, was destroyed.


“Some days are easier than others,” she told ABC New York station WABC-TV last week. “We’re taking each day at a time.”


PHOTOS: Superstorm Sandy’s Wide Swath of Destruction


Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced today that more than $45 million in loans, grants and financial assistance would be made available to businesses like Scofield’s that were hurt by the storm.


“Getting New York City small businesses back on their feet is key to helping our economy recover from Sandy,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “The capital provided through this program will help businesses purchase supplies, make repairs, and get back up and running.”


Small Business Saturday, which is going on its third year, is being celebrated nationwide.


Andrea Evans, the owner of Pink Boutique in Phoenix, said stores like hers don’t stand a chance with shoppers on Black Friday.


“Everyone’s up so early, and they’re going more for, you know, appliances and TVs and stuff like that, and I think by the time noon hits, they’re done,” she told ABC News Radio.


Over the past two decades, small and new businesses have created two out of every three net new jobs in the United States, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.


It is estimated that half of all working Americans either own a small business or are employed by one.



SHOWS: World News







Read More..