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US SUICIDE RATE ROSE SHARPLY AMONG MIDDLE-AGED
Friday, 03 May 2013 09:14 Published in Health & Fitness
NEW YORK (AP) -- The suicide rate among middle-aged Americans climbed a startling 28 percent in a decade, a period that included the recession and the mortgage crisis, the government reported Thursday.
The trend was most pronounced among white men and women in that age group. Their suicide rate jumped 40 percent between 1999 and 2010.
But the rates in younger and older people held steady. And there was little change among middle-aged blacks, Hispanics and most other racial and ethnic groups, the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.
Why did so many middle-aged whites - that is, those who are 35 to 64 years old - take their own lives?
One theory suggests the recession caused more emotional trauma in whites, who tend not to have the same kind of church support and extended families that blacks and Hispanics do.
The economy was in recession from the end of 2007 until mid-2009. Even well afterward, polls showed most Americans remained worried about weak hiring, a depressed housing market and other problems.
Pat Smith, violence-prevention program coordinator for the Michigan Department of Community Health, said the recession - which hit manufacturing-heavy states particularly hard - may have pushed already-troubled people over the brink. Being unable to find a job or settling for one with lower pay or prestige could add "that final weight to a whole chain of events," she said.
Another theory notes that white baby boomers have always had higher rates of depression and suicide, and that has held true as they've hit middle age. During the 11-year period studied, suicide went from the eighth leading cause of death among middle-aged Americans to the fourth, behind cancer, heart disease and accidents.
"Some of us think we're facing an upsurge as this generation moves into later life," said Dr. Eric Caine, a suicide researcher at the University of Rochester.
One more possible contributor is the growing sale and abuse of prescription painkillers over the past decade. Some people commit suicide by overdose. In other cases, abuse of the drugs helps put people in a frame of mind to attempt suicide by other means, said Thomas Simon, one of the authors of the CDC report, which was based on death certificates.
People ages 35 to 64 account for about 57 percent of suicides in the U.S.
The report contained surprising information about how middle-aged people kill themselves: During the period studied, hangings overtook drug overdoses in that age group, becoming the No. 2 manner of suicide. But guns remained far in the lead and were the instrument of death in nearly half of all suicides among the middle-aged in 2010.
The CDC does not collect gun ownership statistics and did not look at the relationship between suicide rates and the prevalence of firearms.
For the entire U.S. population, there were 38,350 suicides in 2010, making it the nation's 10th leading cause of death, the CDC said. The overall national suicide rate climbed from 12 suicides per 100,000 people in 1999 to 14 per 100,000 in 2010. That was a 15 percent increase.
For the middle-aged, the rate jumped from about 14 per 100,000 to nearly 18 - a 28 percent increase. Among whites in that age group, it spiked from about 16 to 22.
Suicide prevention efforts have tended to concentrate on teenagers and the elderly, but research over the past several years has begun to focus on the middle-aged. The new CDC report is being called the first to show how the trend is playing out nationally and to look in depth at the racial and geographic breakdown.
Thirty-nine out of 50 states registered a statistically significant increase in suicide rates among the middle-aged. The West and the South had the highest rates. It's not clear why, but one factor may be cultural differences in willingness to seek help during tough times, Simon said.
Also, it may be more difficult to find counseling and mental health services in certain places, he added.
Suicides among middle-aged Native Americans and Alaska Natives climbed 65 percent, to 18.5 per 100,000. However, the overall numbers remain very small - 171 such deaths in 2010. And changes in small numbers can look unusually dramatic.
The CDC did not break out suicides of current and former military service members, a tragedy that has been getting increased attention. But a recent Department of Veterans Affairs report concluded that suicides among veterans have been relatively stable in the past decade and that veterans have been a shrinking percentage of suicides nationally.
--- Associated Press writer Jeff Karoub in Detroit contributed to this report.
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
The trend was most pronounced among white men and women in that age group. Their suicide rate jumped 40 percent between 1999 and 2010.
But the rates in younger and older people held steady. And there was little change among middle-aged blacks, Hispanics and most other racial and ethnic groups, the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.
Why did so many middle-aged whites - that is, those who are 35 to 64 years old - take their own lives?
One theory suggests the recession caused more emotional trauma in whites, who tend not to have the same kind of church support and extended families that blacks and Hispanics do.
The economy was in recession from the end of 2007 until mid-2009. Even well afterward, polls showed most Americans remained worried about weak hiring, a depressed housing market and other problems.
Pat Smith, violence-prevention program coordinator for the Michigan Department of Community Health, said the recession - which hit manufacturing-heavy states particularly hard - may have pushed already-troubled people over the brink. Being unable to find a job or settling for one with lower pay or prestige could add "that final weight to a whole chain of events," she said.
Another theory notes that white baby boomers have always had higher rates of depression and suicide, and that has held true as they've hit middle age. During the 11-year period studied, suicide went from the eighth leading cause of death among middle-aged Americans to the fourth, behind cancer, heart disease and accidents.
"Some of us think we're facing an upsurge as this generation moves into later life," said Dr. Eric Caine, a suicide researcher at the University of Rochester.
One more possible contributor is the growing sale and abuse of prescription painkillers over the past decade. Some people commit suicide by overdose. In other cases, abuse of the drugs helps put people in a frame of mind to attempt suicide by other means, said Thomas Simon, one of the authors of the CDC report, which was based on death certificates.
People ages 35 to 64 account for about 57 percent of suicides in the U.S.
The report contained surprising information about how middle-aged people kill themselves: During the period studied, hangings overtook drug overdoses in that age group, becoming the No. 2 manner of suicide. But guns remained far in the lead and were the instrument of death in nearly half of all suicides among the middle-aged in 2010.
The CDC does not collect gun ownership statistics and did not look at the relationship between suicide rates and the prevalence of firearms.
For the entire U.S. population, there were 38,350 suicides in 2010, making it the nation's 10th leading cause of death, the CDC said. The overall national suicide rate climbed from 12 suicides per 100,000 people in 1999 to 14 per 100,000 in 2010. That was a 15 percent increase.
For the middle-aged, the rate jumped from about 14 per 100,000 to nearly 18 - a 28 percent increase. Among whites in that age group, it spiked from about 16 to 22.
Suicide prevention efforts have tended to concentrate on teenagers and the elderly, but research over the past several years has begun to focus on the middle-aged. The new CDC report is being called the first to show how the trend is playing out nationally and to look in depth at the racial and geographic breakdown.
Thirty-nine out of 50 states registered a statistically significant increase in suicide rates among the middle-aged. The West and the South had the highest rates. It's not clear why, but one factor may be cultural differences in willingness to seek help during tough times, Simon said.
Also, it may be more difficult to find counseling and mental health services in certain places, he added.
Suicides among middle-aged Native Americans and Alaska Natives climbed 65 percent, to 18.5 per 100,000. However, the overall numbers remain very small - 171 such deaths in 2010. And changes in small numbers can look unusually dramatic.
The CDC did not break out suicides of current and former military service members, a tragedy that has been getting increased attention. But a recent Department of Veterans Affairs report concluded that suicides among veterans have been relatively stable in the past decade and that veterans have been a shrinking percentage of suicides nationally.
--- Associated Press writer Jeff Karoub in Detroit contributed to this report.
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The ball felt good coming out of Mitchell Boggs' hand. Small consolation for the St. Louis Cardinals' reliever after another miserable outing that capped a dismal day for his team.
Boggs' 12.66 ERA is what stands out most about a bullpen that's been shaky adapting to new roles without injured closer Jason Motte. Boggs lost his job as stand-in closer earlier this month and trudged off the mound yet again in the ninth inning of the Pittsburgh Pirates' 9-0 victory on Sunday.
"I made some really good pitches," Boggs said. "I don't have much to show for it."
Manager Mike Matheny still has faith in the right-hander who was one of the majors' best setup men last season.
"I'd loved to have left him in there," Matheny said. "It's one of those days that probably wasn't reflective of his stuff going in a better direction. You've just got to keep fighting."
After deconstructing an outing that included a "blooper into right, a shattered bat into left and a ball that was hit so bad you could only get one out with the base loaded," Boggs struck a note of defiance.
"I'm obviously not ecstatic about how it's going," Boggs said. "Yeah, it's hard to be positive, but at the same time you have to do everything you can to fight every single day and I'm doing that.
"If anybody can't see that, they're crazy."
Boggs allowed two hits, a walk and a run-scoring groundout by Gaby Sanchez in two-thirds of an inning and was charged with three of the Pirates' five runs in the ninth. In 10 2-3 innings overall he's given up 15 earned runs on 17 hits and 10 walks.
Nothing worked for the Cardinals, who were shut down by rookie lefty Jeff Locke and totaled just three hits while getting leapfrogged by the Pirates for the NL Central lead. They lost consecutive games for the first time this season and dropped their first series since opening the season losing two of three at Arizona.
"We had a tough time getting anything going," Matheny said. "It's not a day we were expecting."
David Freese was 0 for 3 with a strikeout on his 30th birthday, dropping his average to .178 with no homers and three RBIs. Matheny said Freese is having difficulty picking up the ball.
"I'm obviously not happy with the way I'm performing," said Freese, the 2011 World Series and NL championship series MVP. "I feel terrible up there.
"Every now and then I'll throw some good at-bats together, get my walk or hit a ball hard, but nothing's really working."
Russell Martin had two of Pittsburgh's four home runs, Garrett Jones had three hits and John McDonald added a key RBI double. The Pirates ended rookie Shelby Miller's streak of 14 scoreless innings at home to start the season and have won nine of 12 overall.
Locke (3-1) has worked 13 scoreless innings while allowing five hits his last two starts. The Cardinals got just three singles and advanced two runners into scoring position against the 25-year-old left-hander, who earned the fifth spot in the rotation with a strong spring.
Justin Wilson allowed a walk the last two innings to wrap up the Pirates' fifth shutout, tied for the league lead with St. Louis and San Francisco. All of them have been collaborations.
Miller (3-2) struggled to put away hitters and was taken out after 113 pitches and giving up two homers in 5 2-3 innings. He struck out seven, one off his season best, and was charged with three runs after John McDonald greeted Fernando Salas with a bloop RBI double.
Left fielder Matt Holliday took a circuitous route and just missed a diving catch with the ball deflecting off his left wrist, and Brandon Inge scored from first on a close play at the plate for a 3-0 lead.
Martin hit his fourth homer with a 412-foot drive to straightaway center in the second. He doubled off the right-field fence in the fourth for his fourth straight extra-base hit, two of them homers, then added a two-run shot to cap a five-run ninth.
It was the seventh career multi-homer game and first since June 10, 2012, for the Yankees against the Mets for Martin, who's hitting .409 since April 15.
Tabata lined a 2-2 pitch over the right-field wall in the fifth for his first homer, giving him a hit in 21 of 23 career games at Busch Stadium.
Jones' second homer and first in 50 at-bats since April 8 barely cleared Shane Robinson's leaping attempt the wall in the seventh to make it 4-0. First base umpire Laz Diaz initially ruled no homer, but it was quickly overturned after the Pirates appealed.
NOTES: Adam Wainwright (4-1, 1.93) goes for his fifth win in as many starts Monday in the opener of a three-game series against the Reds and Mat Latos (1-0, 2.16). ... The Pirates are 4-0 in starts by Wandy Rodriguez (2-0, 1.66) entering a three-game series at Milwaukee and Yovani Gallardo (2-1, 4.97). ... Jason Grilli is the first Pirates pitcher to earn 10 saves in April since Mike Williams also had 10 in 2002.
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
Boggs' 12.66 ERA is what stands out most about a bullpen that's been shaky adapting to new roles without injured closer Jason Motte. Boggs lost his job as stand-in closer earlier this month and trudged off the mound yet again in the ninth inning of the Pittsburgh Pirates' 9-0 victory on Sunday.
"I made some really good pitches," Boggs said. "I don't have much to show for it."
Manager Mike Matheny still has faith in the right-hander who was one of the majors' best setup men last season.
"I'd loved to have left him in there," Matheny said. "It's one of those days that probably wasn't reflective of his stuff going in a better direction. You've just got to keep fighting."
After deconstructing an outing that included a "blooper into right, a shattered bat into left and a ball that was hit so bad you could only get one out with the base loaded," Boggs struck a note of defiance.
"I'm obviously not ecstatic about how it's going," Boggs said. "Yeah, it's hard to be positive, but at the same time you have to do everything you can to fight every single day and I'm doing that.
"If anybody can't see that, they're crazy."
Boggs allowed two hits, a walk and a run-scoring groundout by Gaby Sanchez in two-thirds of an inning and was charged with three of the Pirates' five runs in the ninth. In 10 2-3 innings overall he's given up 15 earned runs on 17 hits and 10 walks.
Nothing worked for the Cardinals, who were shut down by rookie lefty Jeff Locke and totaled just three hits while getting leapfrogged by the Pirates for the NL Central lead. They lost consecutive games for the first time this season and dropped their first series since opening the season losing two of three at Arizona.
"We had a tough time getting anything going," Matheny said. "It's not a day we were expecting."
David Freese was 0 for 3 with a strikeout on his 30th birthday, dropping his average to .178 with no homers and three RBIs. Matheny said Freese is having difficulty picking up the ball.
"I'm obviously not happy with the way I'm performing," said Freese, the 2011 World Series and NL championship series MVP. "I feel terrible up there.
"Every now and then I'll throw some good at-bats together, get my walk or hit a ball hard, but nothing's really working."
Russell Martin had two of Pittsburgh's four home runs, Garrett Jones had three hits and John McDonald added a key RBI double. The Pirates ended rookie Shelby Miller's streak of 14 scoreless innings at home to start the season and have won nine of 12 overall.
Locke (3-1) has worked 13 scoreless innings while allowing five hits his last two starts. The Cardinals got just three singles and advanced two runners into scoring position against the 25-year-old left-hander, who earned the fifth spot in the rotation with a strong spring.
Justin Wilson allowed a walk the last two innings to wrap up the Pirates' fifth shutout, tied for the league lead with St. Louis and San Francisco. All of them have been collaborations.
Miller (3-2) struggled to put away hitters and was taken out after 113 pitches and giving up two homers in 5 2-3 innings. He struck out seven, one off his season best, and was charged with three runs after John McDonald greeted Fernando Salas with a bloop RBI double.
Left fielder Matt Holliday took a circuitous route and just missed a diving catch with the ball deflecting off his left wrist, and Brandon Inge scored from first on a close play at the plate for a 3-0 lead.
Martin hit his fourth homer with a 412-foot drive to straightaway center in the second. He doubled off the right-field fence in the fourth for his fourth straight extra-base hit, two of them homers, then added a two-run shot to cap a five-run ninth.
It was the seventh career multi-homer game and first since June 10, 2012, for the Yankees against the Mets for Martin, who's hitting .409 since April 15.
Tabata lined a 2-2 pitch over the right-field wall in the fifth for his first homer, giving him a hit in 21 of 23 career games at Busch Stadium.
Jones' second homer and first in 50 at-bats since April 8 barely cleared Shane Robinson's leaping attempt the wall in the seventh to make it 4-0. First base umpire Laz Diaz initially ruled no homer, but it was quickly overturned after the Pirates appealed.
NOTES: Adam Wainwright (4-1, 1.93) goes for his fifth win in as many starts Monday in the opener of a three-game series against the Reds and Mat Latos (1-0, 2.16). ... The Pirates are 4-0 in starts by Wandy Rodriguez (2-0, 1.66) entering a three-game series at Milwaukee and Yovani Gallardo (2-1, 4.97). ... Jason Grilli is the first Pirates pitcher to earn 10 saves in April since Mike Williams also had 10 in 2002.
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
The NHL's sprint of a season is over, ending a three-plus-month run that crammed 48 games into each team's schedule.
Hockey's grueling postseason, which begins with three games Tuesday night and ends as late as June 28, has a slew of storylines spilling off the ice.
Here's a pick six to follow when the puck drops.
---
CROSBY'S COMEBACK? Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby was healthy and productive for most of the season, getting 56 points in 36 games, after missing much of the last two years with concussion-like symptoms. A broken jaw, though, has kept him out since March 30 and he's waiting to be cleared by doctors to play in the postseason. Crosby's status for Game 1 at home Wednesday night against the New York Islanders is unclear, but he's expected to be back in the lineup at some point in the seven-game series. After consecutive first-round exits, the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference is poised to make a run with a deep roster improved before the trading deadline. If Crosby can play, the Penguins might hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2009.
---
CAN CHICAGO CLOSE STRONG, TOO? The Blackhawks began the season with a point in their first 24 games - half of the lockout-shortened season - to surpass an NHL record by eight games. They finished well enough to lead the league in points and are hoping that translates into postseason success, unlike the franchise's only other Presidents' Trophy season. Chicago led the NHL in points during the 1990-91 season, but got eliminated by the Minnesota North Stars in the opening round. The Blackhawks will match up with the same city - against a team now known as the Wild - in the first round. Minnesota lost 10 of its last 16 games, but free agent stars Zach Parise and Ryan Suter have an opportunity to provide a quick return on the $98 million the franchise invested in them last summer.
---
RED-HOT CAPITALS: The Washington Capitals closed the season strong, winning 11 of their last 13 games to surge from toward the bottom of the East to the top of the Southeast Division, earning the No. 3 seed to set up a first-round matchup with the New York Rangers. Alex Ovechkin was at his best down the stretch with 22 points in the last 13 games after averaging less than a point in his first 35 games. He finished with an NHL-high 32 goals, lighting the lamp more than any other player in the league for the third time. Even though Ovechkin has jaw-dropping talent, he hasn't gotten past the second round of the playoffs in the first seven seasons of his career and he's playing for a franchise that hasn't advanced further than that since getting swept by Detroit in the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals.
---
KINGS' QUEST TO REPEAT: The Los Angeles Kings became the first eighth-seeded team to win the Stanley Cup, finishing off the sixth-seeded New Jersey Devils in Game 6, and can become the first team to repeat in the salary-cap era that began in the 2005-06 season and the first since Detroit won consecutive times in 1997 and 1998. Compared to last season, when the Kings had to rally just to get in the playoffs, they cruised after clinching a spot in the West and will start the postseason on the road as a fifth-seeded team against the fourth-seeded St. Louis Blues.
---
ORIGINAL SIX STILL SKATING: For the first time since 1996, each of the NHL's Original Six teams is in the playoffs. The Toronto Maple Leafs had a lot to do with ending the drought. The storied franchise in a hockey-crazed city and country has advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2004. In the Eastern Conference, the fifth-seeded Maple Leafs will match up with fourth-seeded Boston, another Original Six team, second-seeded Montreal will face seventh-seeded Ottawa, and the sixth-seeded New York Rangers will match up with third-seeded Washington. In the West, Detroit extended its franchise record postseason streak to 22, the fifth longest in league history, and closed well enough to avoid a first-round matchup with fellow Original Six member Chicago to move into a winnable series against second-seeded Anaheim. The top-seeded Blackhawks will open against the Wild.
--
NEW YORK, NEW YORK: The New York Islanders are in the playoffs for the first time since 2007, and for just the second time in two decades they're in the postseason at the same time as the New York Rangers. Both teams will have a tough time getting out of the first round. The eighth-seeded Islanders are matched up with Pittsburgh, a powerhouse that earned 17 more points in the condensed season. The sixth-seeded Rangers will face perhaps the hottest team in the league, third-seeded Washington.
--- Follow Larry Lage on Twitter at WWW.TWITTER.COM/LARRYLAGE © 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
Hockey's grueling postseason, which begins with three games Tuesday night and ends as late as June 28, has a slew of storylines spilling off the ice.
Here's a pick six to follow when the puck drops.
---
CROSBY'S COMEBACK? Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby was healthy and productive for most of the season, getting 56 points in 36 games, after missing much of the last two years with concussion-like symptoms. A broken jaw, though, has kept him out since March 30 and he's waiting to be cleared by doctors to play in the postseason. Crosby's status for Game 1 at home Wednesday night against the New York Islanders is unclear, but he's expected to be back in the lineup at some point in the seven-game series. After consecutive first-round exits, the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference is poised to make a run with a deep roster improved before the trading deadline. If Crosby can play, the Penguins might hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2009.
---
CAN CHICAGO CLOSE STRONG, TOO? The Blackhawks began the season with a point in their first 24 games - half of the lockout-shortened season - to surpass an NHL record by eight games. They finished well enough to lead the league in points and are hoping that translates into postseason success, unlike the franchise's only other Presidents' Trophy season. Chicago led the NHL in points during the 1990-91 season, but got eliminated by the Minnesota North Stars in the opening round. The Blackhawks will match up with the same city - against a team now known as the Wild - in the first round. Minnesota lost 10 of its last 16 games, but free agent stars Zach Parise and Ryan Suter have an opportunity to provide a quick return on the $98 million the franchise invested in them last summer.
---
RED-HOT CAPITALS: The Washington Capitals closed the season strong, winning 11 of their last 13 games to surge from toward the bottom of the East to the top of the Southeast Division, earning the No. 3 seed to set up a first-round matchup with the New York Rangers. Alex Ovechkin was at his best down the stretch with 22 points in the last 13 games after averaging less than a point in his first 35 games. He finished with an NHL-high 32 goals, lighting the lamp more than any other player in the league for the third time. Even though Ovechkin has jaw-dropping talent, he hasn't gotten past the second round of the playoffs in the first seven seasons of his career and he's playing for a franchise that hasn't advanced further than that since getting swept by Detroit in the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals.
---
KINGS' QUEST TO REPEAT: The Los Angeles Kings became the first eighth-seeded team to win the Stanley Cup, finishing off the sixth-seeded New Jersey Devils in Game 6, and can become the first team to repeat in the salary-cap era that began in the 2005-06 season and the first since Detroit won consecutive times in 1997 and 1998. Compared to last season, when the Kings had to rally just to get in the playoffs, they cruised after clinching a spot in the West and will start the postseason on the road as a fifth-seeded team against the fourth-seeded St. Louis Blues.
---
ORIGINAL SIX STILL SKATING: For the first time since 1996, each of the NHL's Original Six teams is in the playoffs. The Toronto Maple Leafs had a lot to do with ending the drought. The storied franchise in a hockey-crazed city and country has advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2004. In the Eastern Conference, the fifth-seeded Maple Leafs will match up with fourth-seeded Boston, another Original Six team, second-seeded Montreal will face seventh-seeded Ottawa, and the sixth-seeded New York Rangers will match up with third-seeded Washington. In the West, Detroit extended its franchise record postseason streak to 22, the fifth longest in league history, and closed well enough to avoid a first-round matchup with fellow Original Six member Chicago to move into a winnable series against second-seeded Anaheim. The top-seeded Blackhawks will open against the Wild.
--
NEW YORK, NEW YORK: The New York Islanders are in the playoffs for the first time since 2007, and for just the second time in two decades they're in the postseason at the same time as the New York Rangers. Both teams will have a tough time getting out of the first round. The eighth-seeded Islanders are matched up with Pittsburgh, a powerhouse that earned 17 more points in the condensed season. The sixth-seeded Rangers will face perhaps the hottest team in the league, third-seeded Washington.
--- Follow Larry Lage on Twitter at WWW.TWITTER.COM/LARRYLAGE © 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
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