honee's blog: "News..Worthy or Not"

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Tests have confirmed a second foot-and-mouth outbreak in southern England, the government has confirmed, raising fears that the highly contagious animal virus is spreading. Chief Veterinary Officer, Debby Reynolds said tests showed that a herd of cattle had been infected. The animals were culled Monday evening after showing signs of the disease. Britain's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said Monday a herd of more than 50 cattle on a second farm within the protection zone in Surrey had shown signs of the highly contagious disease. Confirmation of the second case comes a day after the European Union said it would restrict all live animals, fresh meat and milk products from mainland Great Britain. Laboratory results Friday confirmed the first outbreak of the disease was found in cattle at a farm in Surrey County, England. Culling of the 38 infected cattle in Surrey was completed Saturday, DEFRA said in a posting on its Web site. Cattle on two additional sites that together make up the enterprise and animals on an adjacent farm were also culled. One of the additional cattle tested positive for the illness, it said. Announcing its ban, EU Commission spokesman Philip Tod declared all of Britain except Northern Ireland as a "high-risk area," but also praised the country's government for taking swift action. "We welcome the speed with which the British authorities have confirmed the strain of the virus which is being dealt with and will await the results of their investigation into the possible origins of the outbreak," Tod said. Health and safety experts are expected to reveal Tuesday their initial findings of an investigation into the source of the disease. The inquiry has focused so far on a research facility in Pirbright, a few miles from the infected farms. The laboratories, which store foot-and-mouth disease for use in vaccines, are shared between the Institute for Animal Health (IAH), a diagnostic and research center, and pharmaceutical company Merial Animal Health, whose work includes manufacturing vaccines. Both organizations use the strain of the virus detected in slaughtered cattle at the first farm, but both have insisted there was no evidence of breaches in biosecurity at their labs. "Merial managing director David Biland said Monday the company had been manufacturing vaccines for 15 years under strict adherence to quality control standards and never had such a problem, but welcomed the investigation and would comply with it. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has vowed that the government will do everything in its power to halt the outbreak. Britain's farming industry is still suffering from a 2001 outbreak of the virus that led to the culling of millions of animals, many in giant pyres. The 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak in the UK -- blamed for nearly 2,000 cases of the disease -- led to the slaughter of more than 3.5 million sheep, cows and pigs in a bid to contain the disease. The government was accused of reacting too slowly, allowing the disease to spread. Foot-and-mouth disease affects cattle, swine, sheep, goats, deer and other animals, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture

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A US soldier convicted of rape and murder in the death of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the murder of her family was sentenced to 110 years in prison Saturday. Pfc. Jesse Spielman was convicted of rape, conspiracy to commit rape, housebreaking with intent to rape and four counts of felony murder late Friday night. Military prosecutors did not say Spielman took part in the rape or murders, but said he went to the house knowing what the others intended to do and served as a lookout. "I hate the government," Spielman's sister, Paige Gerlach, screamed. "You people put him (in Iraq) and now, this happened." Defense attorneys left immediately after the verdict was returned and could not be reached for comment. Spielman, 23, received the longest sentence of four soldiers who have been convicted in the assaults. Three other soldiers pleaded guilty under agreements with prosecutors for their roles in the assault and were given sentences ranging from five to 100 years. The 110-year sentence was part of a plea agreement Spielman's attorneys had made with prosecutors that capped the number of years Spielman could serve in prison regardless of the jury's recommendation. Spielman had pleaded guilty on Monday to lesser charges of conspiracy to obstructing justice, arson, wrongfully touching a corpse and drinking. The case stemmed from the March 12, 2006, rape and slaying of Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and the killings of her parents and sister in Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad. During their courts-martial, two fellow soldiers testified they took turns raping the girl while Steven D. Green shot and killed her mother, father and younger sister. Green shot the girl in the head after raping her, they said. The girl's body was set on fire with kerosene to destroy the evidence, according to previous testimony. Spc. James Barker, who has admitted his own role in the assault, and another soldier convicted in the attack, Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, gave investigators conflicting statements about whether Spielman knew of the plan to rape the girl and was present when they discussed it over swigs from bottles of whiskey and gin, according to testimony. Barker said in earlier testimony that he had allowed investigators to draft sworn statements for him that implicated Spielman in the crime. Barker testified Wednesday that several portions of the document were untrue, including references to Spielman's role in the conspiracy to attack the family and his knowledge of plans to rape the girl. But Cortez, testified that Spielman stood guard as his fellow soldiers raped the girl. Cortez said Spielman was within a few feet of the others as they held down the screaming girl but did nothing to stop them. Barker, Cortez and another soldier, Pfc. Bryan L. Howard, pleaded guilty for their roles. Green, who was discharged from the Army before being charged, faces a possible death sentence when he is tried in federal court. He has pleaded not guilty to charges that include murder and sexual assault.

NEW YORK -- Rapper Twista, who was tapped by McDonald's to perform during its nationwide concert series, has been dropped from the lineup because of his "controversial lyrics," the fast food giant said Monday. The Chicago rapper is better known for his lightning-fast rap delivery than particularly raunchy content: His hits include "Slow Jamz," with Kanye West and Jamie Foxx, and "Overnight Celebrity." However, he does use explicit language and reference drugs in his some of his rhymes. McDonald's, which initially signed the rapper to perform in Chicago for its 10-city concert series, said it could no longer support Twista for the Aug. 7 performance. "Although we respect free speech and artistic expression, we do not condone or perpetuate derogatory language," said spokesman William Whitman in a statement. "We want to ensure these free concerts are fun as well as appropriate for all of our customers." When asked why they booked the rapper, given his content, the company referred back to the statement. In an interview with The Associated Press, Twista said that in some ways, he was surprised by the announcement, "especially after hearing from certain people that represented McDonald's that they were fans of the music and they were excited about the whole thing and that they backed me, and then to hear a few a days later that I was actually not on the show." However, he blamed the increased criticism of hip-hop in the wake of the racial flap over former CBS radio and MSNBC broadcaster Don Imus for putting pressure on the corporate giant to drop him from the series. "They started hearing things ... feeling like they were getting a little flak, and I felt like rather than stick by me and stick through it, they got scared," he said. "I've been rapping the same way for 15 years. It only became a problem when Don Imus said something negative about black women and they needed a scapegoat." After Imus was fired for calling the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos," some critics decried what they considered a double standard for rappers who often use derogatory terms about women. Increased pressure was put on rappers and record labels to clean up offensive content. Twista said that typically, when he performs at events that are more mainstream and that attract kids, he cleans up his lyrics, and had intended to do so for the Chicago performance. "I was actually going to have a school with a choir come sing the song 'Hope' with me. So now ... McDonald's have to tell the kids that they can't perform."

CHICAGO -- R. Kelly will go on trial next month, more than five years after he was charged with child pornography. Judge Vincent Gaughan has set a Sept. 17 date for the start of a jury trial, according to the Cook County state's attorney's office. The Chicago Sun-Times reported on its Web site that setting of the date followed a lengthy meeting Wednesday among the judge, the lead prosecutor, the R&B singer and his lawyers. Kelly, who was born Robert Sylvester Kelly, has pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of child pornography. He was charged in 2002 and is accused of allegedly engaging in videotaped sex acts with an underage girl. Kelly's attorneys haven't conceded that he is on the tape, saying his likeness may have been computer generated. They have also tried to raise doubts about the identity and age of the girl.