Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – According to a report released Wednesday, minority children spend an average of 13 hours a day using mobile devices, computers, TVs and other media. The figures cataloging how long they are plugged in mark about 4½ hours more than white kids.

The findings compiled by Northwestern University researchers and based on an analysis of two separate Kaiser Family Foundation surveys were presented to childhood and telecommunications experts in Washington, D.C.

Researchers analyzed that data to find out how black, Hispanic, Asian American and white youth use media for homework and for fun, and how long they’re plugged in on any given day.

Among 8- to 18-year-olds, Asian Americans logged the most media use with 13 hours, 13 minutes a day. Next came Hispanics with 13 hours, African Americans logged 12 hours, 59 minutes and whites garnered 8 hours, 36 minutes.

It remains unclear exactly why the racial disparity exists, however some experts believe children may turn to media if they feel their neighborhoods lack safe places to play or if their parents have especially demanding jobs that prevent engagement.

Based on the findings compared with white children, minority youth:

• Watch TV and videos one to two hours more a day;
• Listen to music about an hour more a day;
• Use computers about 1½ hours more a day;
• Play video games 30 to 40 minutes longer a day.

Black (84 percent) and Hispanic kids (77 percent) also are more likely to have TVs in their bedrooms and to eat meals in front of the TV, the study reported.

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Manila, Philippines (AHN) – Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has signed a law ending excessive, unreasonable and unnecessary salaries and bonuses for officials and employees of government-owned corporations and banks.

The Government-Owned and Controlled Corporation (GOCC) Governance Act of 2011 signed Monday also limits the terms of GOCC officials to one year and creates a governance commission for GOCCs that will change the compensation and remuneration system for such institutions.

The law further provides that GOCCs maintain a website indicating its audited financial statements, budget and compensation package.

The law covers 140 state-run corporations. Excluded from coverage are the central bank, state universities and colleges, cooperatives, local water districts and research institutions.

The law was conceived in response to excesses of GOCC officials. For example, board members of the Government Service and Insurance System, which manages the pension fund for state workers, were paid $138,776 or 6 million pesos annually and they only attend two board meetings a month.

At the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, executives and employees receive up to 25 months’ bonus.

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Total cholesterol screenings | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, HealthFinders. No appointment needed. $7 for cholesterol screening; $20 for lipid panel; blood pressure screenings free. A 12-hour fast is required for lipid profile. Call 692-4444.

Camp Air Waves/Seven Seas | 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 21-24, day camp for children, ages 7 to 11, with asthma or diabetes. $25; scholarships available. Registration required, 839-9933.

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New Haven, CT, United States (AHN) – The man who admitted to killing a gradaute student in 2009 while working as a Yale University lab technician was set to be sentenced on Friday.

Raymond Clark, 26, was facing 44 years in prison under a plea agreement he accepted last March. He was convicted of murdering Annie Le, a pharmacology doctoral student at the university.

Under the plea deal, Clark also admitted to sexual assault under the Alford Doctrine, which meant he agreed that there was sufficient evidence for him to be convicted of the charge. He admitted guilt as prosecutors released evidence indicating Le may have been sexually assaulted.

Family members of Le, who was a San Jose, CA native of Vietnamese descent, were to speak at the sentencing.

Le was last seen on surveillance video in the morning of Sept. 8, 2009, entering the university’s Animal Research Center in the medical school complex, where Clark took care of animals. Her body was found in a wall in the basement of the laboratory five days later, on the day of her wedding.

Clark, who worked at the lab for five years, was later arrested at a motel in Cromwell, CT and held on $3 million bond.

Le’s death received national attention and left the New Haven university deeply shaken. Yale later updated its workplace violence prevention policy and established a fellowship in Le’s honor.

Investigators said the 24-year-old Le died of strangulation. They found several items in the lab that led them to arrest Clark, who had nothing in his employment history at the campus that “gave an indication that his involvement in such a crime might be possible,” Yale University President Richard Levin had said in message to the campus community after the tragedy.

The evidence included blood stains on a white sock found inside a drop ceiling located in a secure area of the lab that contained both Clark and Le’s DNA. The single sock matched a sock found in the crevice where Le’s body’s was stuffed.

In addition, there was a pair of Vikings work boots with blood-like stains and “Ray-C” written on them. Police found a green pen under Le’s body which contained DNA from both Clark and the victim. The pen is believed to be the same one Clark used to sign task sheets, using the initials “RC,” while working.

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New Haven, CT, United States (AHN) – The man who admitted to killing a gradaute student in 2009 while working as a Yale University lab technician was set to be sentenced on Friday.

Raymond Clark, 26, was facing 44 years in prison under a plea agreement he accepted last March. He was convicted of murdering Annie Le, a pharmacology doctoral student at the university.

Under the plea deal, Clark also admitted to sexual assault under the Alford Doctrine, which meant he agreed that there was sufficient evidence for him to be convicted of the charge. He admitted guilt as prosecutors released evidence indicating Le may have been sexually assaulted.

Family members of Le, who was a San Jose, CA native of Vietnamese descent, were to speak at the sentencing.

Le was last seen on surveillance video in the morning of Sept. 8, 2009, entering the university’s Animal Research Center in the medical school complex, where Clark took care of animals. Her body was found in a wall in the basement of the laboratory five days later, on the day of her wedding.

Clark, who worked at the lab for five years, was later arrested at a motel in Cromwell, CT and held on $3 million bond.

Le’s death received national attention and left the New Haven university deeply shaken. Yale later updated its workplace violence prevention policy and established a fellowship in Le’s honor.

Investigators said the 24-year-old Le died of strangulation. They found several items in the lab that led them to arrest Clark, who had nothing in his employment history at the campus that “gave an indication that his involvement in such a crime might be possible,” Yale University President Richard Levin had said in message to the campus community after the tragedy.

The evidence included blood stains on a white sock found inside a drop ceiling located in a secure area of the lab that contained both Clark and Le’s DNA. The single sock matched a sock found in the crevice where Le’s body’s was stuffed.

In addition, there was a pair of Vikings work boots with blood-like stains and “Ray-C” written on them. Police found a green pen under Le’s body which contained DNA from both Clark and the victim. The pen is believed to be the same one Clark used to sign task sheets, using the initials “RC,” while working.

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TAMPA — Officially, contract negotiations between the Hillsborough County school district and teachers union ended nine months ago.

But the talking didn’t stop on Aug. 31 when the School Board approved the annual agreement on pay and working conditions.

In February, the two sides agreed that teacher evaluations can play a larger role in deciding which teachers get transferred in the event of downsizing at high-poverty schools. On Friday, they were still debating how many poor classroom observation marks it should take for a teacher to earn an unsatisfactory evaluation.

Officials say they have always chatted between the formal contract negotiations, which must be open to the public under Florida’s open meetings law.

But now, as Hillsborough’s teacher evaluation system grows tougher under a $100 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the stakes are rising. Many …

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Montreal, Quebec, Canada (AHN) – The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said Winnipeg will be the first target of their rolling strike which will begin Friday morning.

The only thing that will stop the postal workers from walking off the job is if Canada Post offers the union a new agreement by midnight of Thursday. But CUPW President Bob Tyre doubted if the agency would make a good offer sufficient to avert a strike.

However, the strike at Winnipeg will run for only 24 hours. Work is expected to resume Friday midnight to deal with mail backlogs caused by the industrial action.

The union picked Winnipeg as the first target of the rotating strikes because the new mail processing machines which were the source of problems for the union were first installed in the Manitoba city’s postal plant. The machines were blamed for causing repetitive strain injuries for letter carriers and loss of daytime jobs in plants.

Before pushing through with the Winnipeg strike, Canada Post and the CUPW will hold another meeting on Friday in a last-minute attempt to avert the job walk off.

In anticipation of a prolonged strike, businesses and charities that send a lot of mailed matter sent their letters and parcels ahead of the planned industrial action. Private courier firms planned to accommodate a rash of mails that would be displaced by the strike.

Among those affected are charities which receive the bulk of their donations through mail. The development officer of the Yonge Street Mission said 70 percent of its funding, estimated at $56,000 weekly, would be lost by the charity. However, the Mission also raised in 2010 about $500,000 through online donations.

A general strike would result in stop to regular mail delivery, although 9,000 Canada Post workers volunteered to continue processing welfare and other social security checks for certain government agencies to ensure that recipients of Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security and Child Benefit payments will still receive their monthly checks.

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Hayward, CA, United States (AHN) – The search for a nursing student who went missing last week in California continued on Tuesday.

Michelle Le, 26, was at Kaiser Medical Center in Hayward on Friday when she went out to the parking garage and did not return. She left the hospital during a break in class, at about 7 p.m.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Le was planning a trip to Reno during the Memorial weekend. Her abandoned car was found a few blocks from the hospital.

Police told KGO television that there are no signs of foul play.

Le is enrolled in her final year at Samuel Merritt University in San Mateo. Her disappearance remains a missing persons case.

The university said it was “deeply concerned” about Le and that it was in regular contact with police and the student’s family. “We continue to hope for the best in this difficult situation,” it added.

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