Tweets of the week: IRS, Beyonce's baby and Bea Arthur
Beyonce, a US tax form, and Bea Arthur
For the week ending 17 May, here is a look at the news
making waves in America - all in 140 characters or less.
1. Oh my. Dick Morris says IRS scandal could lead to Obama's impeachment. Which means...it won't.
The Washington DC editor of Mother Jones, David Corn (@DavidCornDC). Morris, whose faulty political prognostications been much lambasted, read the tea leaves after it was revealed that the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative groups.
2. I sympathize with POTUS on "going Bulworth". Who among us hasn't fantasized about freestyle rapping and late 90s Halle Berry?
National Review Online writer Daniel Foster (@DanFosterNRO). A New York Times article revealed that President Barack Obama sometimes fantasised about "going Bulworth." The reference is to a 1998 movie in which a disillusioned politician played by Warren Beatty starts speaking his mind - but only after hiring a professional killer, played by Berry, to assassinate him.
3. "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know." - all hearings this week.
Kate Nocera (@KateNocera) of Buzzfeed reports from Capitol Hill. Despite several hearings on everything from the IRS to Benghazi, few answers have been forthcoming.
4, Today in 2004, MA became the first state to allow same-sex marriage and now everyone there is gay and no children have been born since.
Internet humourist Pour Me Coffee (@pourmecoffee) celebrates the anniversary of marriage equity in Massachusetts. Today, 12 states and the District of Columbia have similar laws.
5. Get over yourself, Toronto, DC's mayor was into crack DECADES ago.
GristList editor Jessica Zimmerman (@j_zimms) after Toronto mayor Robert Ford was allegedly filmed smoking crack cocaine. In the 1980s, Washington DC Mayor Marion Barry spend time in jail after a similar predicament. He still serves in the city's government.
6. The only thing that stops a bad guy using a smartphone during a show is a good guy prepared to chuck it.
New York Daily News editorial editor Josh Greenman (@Joshgreenman). This week, an arts critic wrote about his run-ins with a woman using her phone during a musical performance. When she refused to put it away, he threw it across the theatre. He was later asked to leave the performance.
7. When you see it in my office, you'll agree...worth every penny
ABC News reporter and anchor Bill Weir (@BillWeirABC) after a painting of a topless Golden Girls actress Bea Arthur sold at auction for $1.9m (£1.25m)
8. What's the world coming to when you can't even trust someone who goes by the name "Kai, the Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker."
Mother Jones Reporter Tim Murphy (@timothypmurphy). The travelling man who found internet fame last year after using a hatchet to defend a woman under attack was arrested for murder this week.
9. Well it's official - Blue Ivy is THE OLD ONE.
Comedian Billy Eichner (@billyeichner). Singer Beyonce is reported to be pregnant, and her daughter Blue Ivy is thus poised to be a big sister.
10. Venezuela claims it's short 40 million rolls of toilet paper. Hopefully it can reach under the stall and borrow some from Colombia.
Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome). Venezuela hopes to import foreign toilet paper to help end the shortage.
Some tweets have been edited for style or clarity.
Breast cancer: What is the risk?
Angelina Jolie underwent a preventive
double mastectomy after doctors estimated she had an 87% chance of developing
breast cancer. How was that figure calculated and how does it differ from other
women's risk of getting the disease?
Jolie's chances of developing breast cancer were so high because she inherited a mutated BRCA 1 gene from her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who died of ovarian cancer at the age of 56.
The BRCA1 is present in everyone but only mutates in one in 1,000 people. Anyone with the mutation has a 50-80% chance of developing breast cancer.
But Jolie's risk figure was calculated to be even higher because of other factors, including family history.
"There are various computer programmes where you can input genetic information, family history and other things and it will calculate a figure, which is why she's got this very precise sounding number," says Dr Kat Arney, a senior science manager at Cancer Research UK.
But what are the chances of getting breast cancer if you
don't have a mutated gene?
It is already "the top cancer in women both in the developed and the developing world", according to the World Health Organization - and in many countries, it's becoming more common.
Incidence increased in the UK by 90% between 1971 and 2010. It is also on the rise in the developing world.
This is partly explained by the fact that people are living longer and cancer is generally a disease that affects people in later life.
In the UK, the chance of developing breast cancer before the age of 30 is roughly 0.05% (one in 2,000). It goes up to 2% (one in 50) before the age of 50 and 7.7% (one in 13) before the age of 70.
Continue reading the main story
Most cancers are caused by DNA damage that accumulates over a person's lifetime. Cancers that are directly caused by specific genetic faults inherited from a parent are rare. But we all have subtle variations in our genes that may increase or reduce our risk of cancer by a small amount.
Source: Cancer Research UK
Why risk increases with age
The fundamental cause of cancer is damaged or faulty genes - the instructions that tell our cells what to do. Genes are encoded within DNA, so anything that damages DNA can increase the risk of cancer. But a number of genes in the same cell need to be damaged before it becomes cancerous.Most cancers are caused by DNA damage that accumulates over a person's lifetime. Cancers that are directly caused by specific genetic faults inherited from a parent are rare. But we all have subtle variations in our genes that may increase or reduce our risk of cancer by a small amount.
Source: Cancer Research UK
However, it is after the age of 70 that the risk is
highest. A third of all incidences of breast cancer occur in women aged over 70.
Overall, a woman living in the UK has a 12% chance of getting breast cancer during her lifetime. It's the same in the US.
But increasing longevity isn't the only reason for the high incidence of breast cancer.
"There is an increase in rates in younger women and it's for a number of reasons. We know that women's lifestyles are changing and being overweight and drinking a lot of alcohol is linked to breast cancer risk," says Arney.
Changes in reproductive habits are also a factor. According to Cancer Research UK, the relative risk of developing breast cancer is estimated to increase by 3% for each year an adult woman delays becoming a mother.
Breastfeeding a child reduces a woman's risk of
breast cancer Women who breastfeed also reduce their risk. The longer a woman breastfeeds, the greater the protection. It's estimated that risk is reduced by 4% for every 12 months of breastfeeding.
Continue reading the main story
The most common symptom of breast cancer in men is a hard, painless lump that develops on one of the breasts.
Men and breast cancer
Breast cancer is often thought of as only affecting women. Men can also develop it, although it's much less common. It affects just one in every 100,000 men in England.The most common symptom of breast cancer in men is a hard, painless lump that develops on one of the breasts.
This may explain why women in richer countries have a
higher risk of breast cancer.
African women are four times less likely to get the disease because they have children at a younger age, have more of them and breastfeed them for longer.
On the other hand, recovery rates are higher in developed countries.
"Breast cancer survival rates [range] from 80% or over in North America, Sweden and Japan to around 60% in middle-income countries and below 40% in low-income countries," according the WHO.
But with the number of cases of breast cancer rising in the UK, and in many other countries, how many women are taking the dramatic decision that Angelina Jolie was faced with - to have a mastectomy?
The latest figures show that 18,000 operations were carried out in England in 2010/11. There are no official figures on how many of those were preventive but the figure is estimated to be between 5-10%.
David Beckham: Tearful midfielder signs off with win in Paris
David Beckham
left the pitch in tears as he completed the final home match of his 20-year
career.
Paris St-Germain's game against Brest was briefly halted as Beckham, captain for the night, was substituted after 81 minutes, his team-mates congregating in the middle of the pitch to applaud him.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said afterwards: "It's up to the coach but I think that will be David's last match."
PSG fans plead with David Beckham to
stay
PSG, who are already champions, won 3-1 against relegated Brest.
Reports before the match suggested Beckham will not be involved in his side's trip to Lorient on the season's final day.
After the game, he indicated he expected to be part of the PSG squad next Sunday but did not know whether he would play.
"I want to say thank you to everybody in Paris - to my team-mates, to the staff, to the fans," Beckham said as he addressed PSG supporters after the final whistle. "It's been very special to finish my career here. It could not have been any more special.
"I just feel that it's the right time [to retire]. I feel that I've achieved everything that I could in my career. I wanted to go out as a champion. I've finished my career in a team that has treated me like I've been here for 10 years.
"After 22 years of playing football I'm going to take a few months to enjoy time with my family."
Beckham, who was clearly emotional in the five minutes preceding his substitution, embraced manager Carlo Ancelotti as he made his way off the field to a standing ovation from supporters at the Parc des Princes.
After the game, the former England captain, watched by a
crowd including wife Victoria and former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, was
repeatedly thrown into the air by his team-mates.
The 38-year-old announced on Thursday that he was to finish his career at the end of the season, although it now appears doubtful that he will feature in his side's final fixture on 26 May.
Beckham marked his last home appearance with a trademark assist, as his corner was volleyed into the net by Blaise Matuidi.
That was PSG's second goal, sandwiched between two strikes from Sweden international Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Brest pulled one back through Charlison Benschop but never threatened a fight-back.
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