Fox cuts ties to commentator Dick Morris

NEW YORK (AP) ? Political commentator Dick Morris' prediction of a huge landslide for Mitt Romney didn't pan out. And now he's lost his job at Fox News Channel.

Network spokeswoman Dana Klinghoffer said Tuesday that Fox wasn't renewing its contract with Morris, who was steadfast throughout the campaign in his prediction of a big Romney win over President Barack Obama. He has made few appearances on Fox since the election.

Morris had also been criticized for accepting paid advertisements on his website from candidates that he discussed on the air at Fox.

On his website, Morris said he'll be appearing on CNN's Piers Morgan show Wednesday to talk politics.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-05-TV-Fox-Morris/id-60d4d3347906435bbd68fe1a0d994f4c

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Who'll Win at the Grammys? Check Out Our Predictions!

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/grammy-predictions-2013/1-b-520060?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Agrammy-predictions-2013-520060

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Compound stimulates tumor-fighting protein in cancer therapy

Feb. 6, 2013 ? A compound that stimulates the production of a tumor-fighting protein may improve the usefulness of the protein in cancer therapy, according to a team of researchers, including several from the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute and College of Medicine.

TRAIL is a natural anti-tumor protein that suppresses tumor development during immune surveillance -- the immune system's process of patrolling the body for cancer cells. This process is lost during cancer progression, which leads to uncontrolled growth and spread of tumors.

The ability of TRAIL to initiate cell death selectively in cancer cells has led to ongoing clinical trials with artificially created TRAIL or antibody proteins that mimic its action. Use of the TRAIL protein as a drug has shown that it is safe, but there have been some issues, including stability of the protein, cost of the drug, and the ability of the drug to distribute throughout the body and get into tumors, especially in the brain.

"The TRAIL pathway is a powerful way to suppress tumors but current approaches have limitations that we have been trying to overcome to unleash an effective and selective cancer therapy," said Wafik El-Deiry, professor of medicine and chief of the hematology/oncology division, Penn State College of Medicine. "The TRAIL biochemical cell death pathway naturally lends itself as a drug target to restore anti-tumor immunity."

Researchers have identified a compound called TRAIL-inducing Compound 10 (TIC10) as a potential solution. TIC10 stimulates the tumor suppression capabilities of TRAIL in both normal and tumor tissues, including in the brain, and induces tumor cell death in mice. They report their findings in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

TIC10 is a small molecule. This organic compound binds to a protein and alters what the protein does.

Stimulation of TRAIL protein is sustained in both tumor and normal cells, with the normal cells contributing to the TIC10-induced cancer cell death through a bystander effect. It is effective in cancer cell samples and cell lines resistant to conventional therapies.

"I was surprised and impressed that we were able to do this," El-Deiry said. "Using a small molecule to significantly boost and overcome limitations of the TRAIL pathway appears to be a promising way to address difficult to treat cancers using a safe mechanism already used in those with a normal effective immune system. This candidate new drug, a first-in-its-class, shows activity against a broad range of tumor types in mice and appears safe at this stage."

New treatments are needed for advanced cancer, as more than half a million people in the United States will die of cancer in 2013.

"We have enough preclinical information to support the rationale for testing this new drug in the clinic," El-Deiry said.

TIC10 seems to be nontoxic to normal cells or mice even at doses 10 times higher that an observed therapeutic dose. However, more research needs to be completed to satisfy FDA requirements prior to initiation of clinical testing.

Other researchers are Joshua E. Allen, David T. Dicker, Akshal S. Patel, Nathan G. Dolloff, Kimberly A. Scata,Wenge Wang, all of Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute; Gabriel Krigsfeld, Patrick A. Mayes, Luv Patel, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; Evangelos Messaris, Department of Surgery, Penn State College Medicine; Jun-Ying Zhou and Gen Sheng Wu, Wayne State University School of Medicine.

This study was funded by the American Cancer Society, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Penn State.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. J. E. Allen, G. Krigsfeld, P. A. Mayes, L. Patel, D. T. Dicker, A. S. Patel, N. G. Dolloff, E. Messaris, K. A. Scata, W. Wang, J.-Y. Zhou, G. S. Wu, W. S. El-Deiry. Dual Inactivation of Akt and ERK by TIC10 Signals Foxo3a Nuclear Translocation, TRAIL Gene Induction, and Potent Antitumor Effects. Science Translational Medicine, 2013; 5 (171): 171ra17 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3004828

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/LkkHpOI2Zbs/130206162317.htm

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Tendency to fear is strong political influence

Public release date: 5-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Courtney Coelho
courtney_coelho@brown.edu
401-863-7287
Brown University

It's no secret that fear is a mechanism often used in political campaigns to steer public opinion on hot-button issues like immigration and war. But not everyone is equally predisposed to be influenced by such a strategy, according to new research by Rose McDermott, professor of political science, and colleagues published in the American Journal of Political Science.

By examining the different ways that fear manifests itself in individuals and its correlation to political attitudes, the researchers found that people who have a greater genetic liability to experience higher levels of social fear tend to be more supportive of anti-immigration and pro-segregation policies. Thus far, research examining the link between fear and political attitudes has seldom accounted for trait-based fear, with transitory state-based fear being a more common focus area.

McDermott co-authored the study, titled "Fear as a Disposition and an Emotional State: A Genetic and Environmental Approach to Out-Group Political Preferences," with Peter K. Hatemi of Penn State University, and Lindon J. Eaves, Kenneth S. Kendler, and Michael C. Neale of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Using a large sample related individuals, including twins, siblings, and parents and children, the researchers first assessed individuals for their propensity for fear using standardized clinically administered interviews. Looking at subjects who were related to one another, the researchers were able to identify influences such as environment and personal experience and found that some individuals also possessed a genetic propensity for a higher level of baseline fear. Such individuals are more prepared to experience fear in general at lower levels of threat or provocation. Next, the researchers surveyed the sample for their attitudes toward out-groups immigrants in this case as well as toward segregation. Participants were also ranked on a liberal-conservative partisanship scale depending on how they self-reported their political attitudes.

The research indicates a strong correlation between social fear and anti-immigration, pro-segregation attitudes. While those individuals with higher levels of social fear exhibited the strongest negative out-group attitudes, even the lowest amount of social phobia was related to substantially less positive out-group attitudes.

"It's not that conservative people are more fearful, it's that fearful people are more conservative. People who are scared of novelty, uncertainty, people they don't know, and things they don't understand, are more supportive of policies that provide them with a sense of surety and security," McDermott said.

The researchers make clear, however, that genetics plays only part of the role in influencing political preferences. Education, they found, had an equally large influence on out-group attitudes, with more highly educated people displaying more supportive attitudes toward out-groups and education having a substantial mediating influence on the correlation between parental fear and child out-group attitudes.

"In this way, the definition of unfamiliar may shift across time and location based on experience and education, and a genetically informed fear disposition is hardly permanent or fixed," the researchers wrote.

McDermott said that while more research is needed to determine how various genetic, biological, and developmental pathways influence fear and what other factors might influence attitudes in concert with these forces, there are still several takeaways to the study, not least of which is how political campaigns might be manipulated to affect some people more than others.

The study also highlights the role emotion plays in the political process.

"We can roll our eyes and get really frustrated at Congress for being paralyzed, but we're applying a rational perspective to it because we're detached. But we have to recognize that a lot of what's driving the paralysis and disagreement has to do with emotional factors that are not necessarily amenible to or easily shifted by rational arguments," McDermott said.

###

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[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 5-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Courtney Coelho
courtney_coelho@brown.edu
401-863-7287
Brown University

It's no secret that fear is a mechanism often used in political campaigns to steer public opinion on hot-button issues like immigration and war. But not everyone is equally predisposed to be influenced by such a strategy, according to new research by Rose McDermott, professor of political science, and colleagues published in the American Journal of Political Science.

By examining the different ways that fear manifests itself in individuals and its correlation to political attitudes, the researchers found that people who have a greater genetic liability to experience higher levels of social fear tend to be more supportive of anti-immigration and pro-segregation policies. Thus far, research examining the link between fear and political attitudes has seldom accounted for trait-based fear, with transitory state-based fear being a more common focus area.

McDermott co-authored the study, titled "Fear as a Disposition and an Emotional State: A Genetic and Environmental Approach to Out-Group Political Preferences," with Peter K. Hatemi of Penn State University, and Lindon J. Eaves, Kenneth S. Kendler, and Michael C. Neale of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Using a large sample related individuals, including twins, siblings, and parents and children, the researchers first assessed individuals for their propensity for fear using standardized clinically administered interviews. Looking at subjects who were related to one another, the researchers were able to identify influences such as environment and personal experience and found that some individuals also possessed a genetic propensity for a higher level of baseline fear. Such individuals are more prepared to experience fear in general at lower levels of threat or provocation. Next, the researchers surveyed the sample for their attitudes toward out-groups immigrants in this case as well as toward segregation. Participants were also ranked on a liberal-conservative partisanship scale depending on how they self-reported their political attitudes.

The research indicates a strong correlation between social fear and anti-immigration, pro-segregation attitudes. While those individuals with higher levels of social fear exhibited the strongest negative out-group attitudes, even the lowest amount of social phobia was related to substantially less positive out-group attitudes.

"It's not that conservative people are more fearful, it's that fearful people are more conservative. People who are scared of novelty, uncertainty, people they don't know, and things they don't understand, are more supportive of policies that provide them with a sense of surety and security," McDermott said.

The researchers make clear, however, that genetics plays only part of the role in influencing political preferences. Education, they found, had an equally large influence on out-group attitudes, with more highly educated people displaying more supportive attitudes toward out-groups and education having a substantial mediating influence on the correlation between parental fear and child out-group attitudes.

"In this way, the definition of unfamiliar may shift across time and location based on experience and education, and a genetically informed fear disposition is hardly permanent or fixed," the researchers wrote.

McDermott said that while more research is needed to determine how various genetic, biological, and developmental pathways influence fear and what other factors might influence attitudes in concert with these forces, there are still several takeaways to the study, not least of which is how political campaigns might be manipulated to affect some people more than others.

The study also highlights the role emotion plays in the political process.

"We can roll our eyes and get really frustrated at Congress for being paralyzed, but we're applying a rational perspective to it because we're detached. But we have to recognize that a lot of what's driving the paralysis and disagreement has to do with emotional factors that are not necessarily amenible to or easily shifted by rational arguments," McDermott said.

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/bu-ttf020513.php

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Can plants be altruistic? You bet, says new CU-Boulder-led study

Monday, February 4, 2013

We've all heard examples of animal altruism: Dogs caring for orphaned kittens, chimps sharing food or dolphins nudging injured mates to the surface. Now, a study led by the University of Colorado Boulder suggests some plants are altruistic too.

The researchers looked at corn, in which each fertilized seed contained two "siblings" -- an embryo and a corresponding bit of tissue known as endosperm that feeds the embryo as the seed grows, said CU-Boulder Professor Pamela Diggle. They compared the growth and behavior of the embryos and endosperm in seeds sharing the same mother and father with the growth and behavior of embryos and endosperm that had genetically different parents.

"The results indicated embryos with the same mother and father as the endosperm in their seed weighed significantly more than embryos with the same mother but a different father," said Diggle, a faculty member in CU-Boulder's ecology and evolutionary biology department. "We found that endosperm that does not share the same father as the embryo does not hand over as much food -- it appears to be acting less cooperatively."

A paper on the subject was published during the week of Jan. 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Co-authors on the study included Chi-Chih Wu, a CU-Boulder doctoral student in the ecology and evolutionary biology department and Professor William "Ned" Friedman, a professor at Harvard University who helped conduct research on the project while a faculty member at CU-Boulder.

Diggle said it is fairly clear from previous research that plants can preferentially withhold nutrients from inferior offspring when resources are limited. "Our study is the first to specifically test the idea of cooperation among siblings in plants."

"One of the most fundamental laws of nature is that if you are going to be an altruist, give it up to your closest relatives," said Friedman. "Altruism only evolves if the benefactor is a close relative of the beneficiary. When the endosperm gives all of its food to the embryo and then dies, it doesn't get more altruistic than that."

In corn reproduction, male flowers at the top of the plants distribute pollen grains two at a time through individual tubes to tiny cobs on the stalks covered by strands known as silks in a process known as double fertilization. When the two pollen grains come in contact with an individual silk, they produce a seed containing an embryo and endosperm. Each embryo results in just a single kernel of corn, said Diggle.

The team took advantage of an extremely rare phenomenon in plants called "hetero-fertilization," in which two different fathers sire individual corn kernels, said Diggle, currently a visiting professor at Harvard. The manipulation of corn plant genes that has been going on for millennia -- resulting in the production of multicolored "Indian corn" cobs of various colors like red, purple, blue and yellow -- helped the researchers in assessing the parentage of the kernels, she said.

Wu, who cultivated the corn and harvested more than 100 ears over a three-year period, removed, mapped and weighed every individual kernel out of each cob from the harvests. While the majority of kernels had an endosperm and embryo of the same color -- an indication they shared the same mother and father -- some had different colors for each, such as a purple outer kernel with yellow embryo.

Wu was searching for such rare kernels -- far less than one in 100 -- that had two different fathers as a way to assess cooperation between the embryo and endosperm. "It was very challenging and time-consuming research," said Friedman. "It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, or in this case, a kernel in a silo."

Endosperm -- in the form of corn, rice, wheat and other crops -- is critical to humans, providing about 70 percent of calories we consume annually worldwide. "The tissue in the seeds of flowering plants is what feeds the world," said Friedman, who also directs the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard. "If flowering plants weren't here, humans wouldn't be here."

###

University of Colorado at Boulder: http://www.colorado.edu/news

Thanks to University of Colorado at Boulder for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126597/Can_plants_be_altruistic__You_bet___says_new_CU_Boulder_led_study_

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Use These Tips To Survive Life With Hemorrhoids | Article Directory

Let?s face it, hemorrhoids are a pain in the butt! There are a lot of things that cause hemorrhoids. The burning and itching associated with hemorrhoids is not only unpleasant but embarrassing as well.The intention of this article is to give the hemorrhoid sufferer some tips to help alleviate the embarrassing symptoms and pain that hemorrhoids bring.

Your job or lifestyle may have an effect on your hemorrhoid symptoms. If you have a desk job or spend a lot of time sitting while you?re at home, make sure to give yourself some relief by walking around for a few minutes every hour. This takes the direct pressure off your hemorrhoids. Also, if your job involves a lot of heavy lifting, try to exhale as you bear the brunt of the load. Holding your breath exerts pressure on the hemorrhoids and may cause them to become more painful.

Incorporating acai berries into your daily diet can improve how you feel throughout the day and reduce your hemorrhoids. Acai berries are very rich in antioxidants and can help to break down toxins in your body. Reducing toxins in your body will help to reduce the swelling and make you feel better.

During rest room breaks make sure you do not strain hard. Straining and pushing hard will only make your hemorrhoids worse; instead walk around to stimulate peristalsis in the intestines which will making elimination easier. Engaging in light exercise like rebounding or swimming will assist in getting the bowels moving. But no matter what do not force a bowel movement.

Excessive or overly aggressive wiping after a bowel movement can further irritate delicate hemorrhoidal tissues. If opportunity presents, take a bath after bowel movements. Also try using medicated premoistened towelettes for the purpose of toileting or specifically for hemorrhoids. You will find all of these approaches soothing.

You?ll be surprised how many types of nonprescription products can quickly relieve your hemorrhoid symptoms! These include creams, gels, pads, and foams that can soothe pain and reduce itching and inflammation. You can also try pills, such as Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen that can reduce swelling and inflammation!

Spending time in any one fixed position is not good for hemorrhoids and will slow down the healing process. So just as sitting all day is bad, standing in one fixed position all day is just as bad. Try to alternate between between being stationary and moving and between sitting and standing.

Being overweight puts one at greater risk for developing hemorrhoids. Losing weight if you are overweight will reduce your risk of developing hemorrhoids and reduce the swelling of a pre-existing hemorrhoid. A larger waist and abdominal area leads to putting more weight and pressure on the veins in your rectum leading to hemorrhoids.

Hemorrhoids flare up on us the most when we have trouble passing a stool. This means you should always work to have looser stools by way of a stool softener. You can get some great over-the-counter products that will keep things moving along nicely down there, allowing you to use the bathroom comfortably.

To stay as healthy as possible and limit the symptoms of hemorrhoids, make sure that you maintain a proper diet. This means that you should reduce the foods that have high cholesterol and fat content to improve the way that you feel. Eat well-balanced meals that are rich in protein for optimal results.

Avoid scratching your hemorrhoids at all costs. Besides causing increased irritation, you can cause them to bleed and transfer germs from your hands. Hemorrhoids can easily become infected which can lead to more serious issues. Use a medicated ointment for those times when the itching or inflammation is too much to bear.

As simple as ice is, it is truly effective at reducing pain, swelling ans even itching associated with hemorrhoids. You can use one of those cooler ice packs or simply put some ice in a plastic bag. Be sure not to use ice for extended periods of time so as not to get a frostbite.

As stated in the beginning of this article, hemorrhoids can be a pain in the butt, quite literally. The burning and itching symptoms can be close to unbearable and are most certainly embarrassing. Hopefully this article has given you some great ideas about how to calm those terrible hemorrhoid symptoms.

Learn more about curing hemorrhoids. Stop by Dr. Trella Dutton?s site where you can find out all about natural hemorrhoid cures and what they can do for you.

Source: http://www.erectile-dysfunction-natural-cure.com/use-these-tips-to-survive-life-with-hemorrhoids.html

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Strange bedfellows: Business, labor on immigration

From left, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka; Janet Murguia, National Council of la Raza; and Mee Moua of the Asian American Justice Center, speak to reporters outside the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, following a meeting with President Obama about immigration reform and the economy. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

From left, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka; Janet Murguia, National Council of la Raza; and Mee Moua of the Asian American Justice Center, speak to reporters outside the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, following a meeting with President Obama about immigration reform and the economy. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Paul Jacobs, Chairman and CEO of Qualcomm, is seen leaving the West Wing of the White House following a private meeting with President Obama and other business leaders, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, to discuss immigration reform and the economy. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., gives his opening remarks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, during the committee's hearing on America's Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and Enforcement of Laws against Illegal Immigration. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

San Antonio, Texas Mayor Julian Castro testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on America's Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and Enforcement of Laws against Illegal Immigration. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, center, adjusts the flag pin on fellow committee member Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., right, as they share a laugh with Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, prior to the committee's hearing on America's Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and Enforcement of Laws against Illegal Immigration. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Unlikely allies, business and labor leaders joined in support of the White House's immigration overhaul efforts Tuesday while also launching high-stakes negotiations to overcome an issue that has split them before ? creating a guest-worker program to ensure future immigrants come to the U.S. legally.

The broad agreement on a need for immigration changes and a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already here is driven largely by self-interest. Both business and labor see an overhaul of the nation's broken immigration system as a way to boost economic competitiveness with other nations while increasing the ranks of workers and union members.

For President Barack Obama, a partnership between factions that have often been at odds ? both with each other and with the White House ? allows him to turn up pressure on Congress and try to isolate congressional Republicans who oppose parts of an immigration overhaul. Obama held separate private meetings at the White House on Tuesday with labor leaders and top business executives.

"This is all very encouraging to have labor and business come together to explore what could be some common ground," said Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, a leading immigration rights groups. Murguia and other immigration activists joined Obama's meeting with labor groups.

Despite such optimistic public statements, the fragile business-labor alliance is still in question as the Chamber of Commerce meets with the AFL-CIO and other labor groups privately to hammer out details of how to deal with future immigrants who come to the U.S. to work. The labor and business groups have been tasked by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., with reaching a deal within weeks that can be included in legislation being crafted by a bipartisan Senate group, officials say.

The guest worker issue helped scuttle the last attempt at a comprehensive overhaul of immigration law in 2007. If the parties can't reach a deal, senators and their staffs are prepared to write temporary-worker language themselves, said a Senate aide, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the aide was not authorized to discuss the private negotiations publicly.

The Senate negotiating group has included a guest-worker program in its immigration proposals, but Obama has not. That omission has drawn criticism from Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a key negotiator on the Republican side. Republicans view the omission as a cave-in to labor supporters, who see a substantial new guest-worker program as a possible threat to Americans who are seeking jobs.

White House officials say the president is open to a guest-worker program, so long as it protects workers and responds to workforce demands, not politics. That puts the White House in line with AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, who said following his meeting with Obama on Tuesday that they discussed "a data-driven system that is actually driven by needs and not by aspirations of employers."

Even if overhaul legislation makes it through the Senate, trouble lies ahead in the Republican-controlled House.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said Tuesday the nation's immigration system is "in desperate need of repair" as he opened an overhaul hearing. But he also said there are many questions about how any large-scale legalization program would work, how much it would cost and how it would prevent illegal immigration in future.

The chairman, Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, questioned whether another approach besides citizenship might be possible: "Are there options we should consider between the extremes of mass deportation and a pathway to citizenship for those not lawfully present in the United States?" he asked.

Obama has found himself at odds with both business and labor during his first term. Business leaders, in particular those representing Wall Street banks, recoiled at the president's financial regulation law and his labeling of bankers as "fat cats." Labor unions opposed Obama's pursuit of free trade agreements, as well as his decision to hold his party's convention last summer in North Carolina, a right-to-work-state that makes it more difficult for unions to organize.

By bringing both factions together to support one of the president's top second-term priorities, the White House sees an opportunity to pressure Republicans to back the president ? and set the GOP up to carry the blame if the current negotiations fail.

Underscoring the risk for Republicans, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., on Tuesday embraced "an opportunity for legal residence and citizenship for those who were brought to this country as children and who know no other home." It appeared to be a change for Cantor, who voted against DREAM Act legislation to allow a path to citizenship for certain immigrants brought here as youths.

The guest worker program addresses what's called "future flow" ? the influx of migrants to the U.S. that's sure to come whether or not Congress passes an immigration bill.

If Congress does act to provide a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants now in the country, it's just as important to deal with future immigration, advocates say. Otherwise, the country will again find itself home to many illegal immigrants. A major criticism of the 1986 immigration law signed by President Ronald Reagan, which offered legalization to some 3 million illegal immigrants, was that it did not deal with the issue of future immigration ? allowing today's problems to emerge.

In 2007, comprehensive immigration legislation foundered after an amendment was added to end a temporary worker program after five years, threatening a key priority of the business community. The amendment passed by just one vote, 49-48. Obama, a senator at the time, joined in the narrow majority voting to end the program after five years.

The U.S. does have several temporary worker programs already, but they're viewed as cumbersome and outdated, and experts say a large proportion of migrant workers in agricultural and other low-skill fields like landscaping or housekeeping are in the U.S. illegally.

For business and labor, the question is how to come to an agreement on how many workers to let in, under what circumstances and how much they would be paid. Another key issue: whether and how they would be able to attain eventual permanent residency, the critical step toward citizenship.

"We have to get to the question of what is the structure for the future and what rights do the workers that get here in the future, what rights do they have," said Eliseo Medina, secretary treasurer of the Service Employees International Union.

For business groups, a temporary worker program is a key piece of any immigration legislation.

"It's not as if employers want to hire guest workers. We want to hire Americans. It's only when we can't find them that we hire the guest workers," said Shawn McBurney, senior vice president of government affairs at the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

The Senate aide said that lawmakers are eyeing somewhere in the range of 200,000 to 400,000 visas for low-skilled temporary workers, including for agriculture and non-agriculture. Unlike in current programs, negotiators are also eyeing ways to peg the numbers to labor market demands. Employers would have to show they could not find American workers for the jobs.

The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute and others have proposed the creation of a permanent commission that would make recommendations about where and when workers are needed, an idea said to be under consideration as the business and labor groups negotiate. However, business groups are skeptical of the idea.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-02-05-Immigration/id-95ab5ffc34e24ca5b63773b7e0b904b7

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