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Protein May Stop Melanoma Before It Starts
A single protein may enable skin cells to detect genetic damage and stop growing rather than become cancerous, researchers are reporting.
The protein, IGFBP7, regulates an anticancer mechanism in normal cells that allows the cells to enter a state of arrested growth or commit suicide rather than develop into melanomas in the face of genetic damage. Understanding this process could lead to new strategies for treating the disease, the researchers say.
Dr. Michael Green of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and his colleagues reported their findings in the February 8 Cell. Read more
Experimental Drug for Osteosarcoma Improves Overall Survival
Patients with osteosarcoma who received the experimental drug mifamurtide (L-MTP-PE) along with chemotherapy fared better than patients who received chemotherapy alone, researchers are reporting. Osteosarcoma is a rare but often fatal cancer of the bone. The disease typically affects children and young adults, and no new therapies have been introduced in two decades.
The study - conducted by the Children's Oncology Group - was the largest final-stage randomized trial in this disease and included 662 patients with newly diagnosed nonmetastatic osteosarcoma. Read more
Protein May Stop Melanoma Before It Starts
A single protein may enable skin cells to detect genetic damage and stop growing rather than become cancerous, researchers are reporting.
The protein, IGFBP7, regulates an anticancer mechanism in normal cells that allows the cells to enter a state of arrested growth or commit suicide rather than develop into melanomas in the face of genetic damage. Understanding this process could lead to new strategies for treating the disease, the researchers say.
Dr. Michael Green of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and his colleagues reported their findings in the February 8 Cell.
The anticancer response of normal cells is thought to be important in preventing cancer, but sometimes it fails. To understand why, Dr. Green's group conducted a genome-wide screen for genes involved in preventing melanoma in cells with cancer-causing mutations in the BRAF gene.
The search yielded 17 genes, including some well-known tumor suppressors such as p53.
Further experiments indicated that IGFBP7 was both necessary and sufficient to arrest growth. The protein is part of a negative-feedback loop that disrupts the growth-promoting signals of the protein produced by the BRAF gene.
The researchers note that the activity of IGFBP7 increases in moles with BRAF mutations but not in melanoma cells with the same mutations. This could explain why most moles do not progress to cancer despite the genetic flaws.
"When IGFBP7 is expressed, a mole remains a mole," says Dr. Green. But in melanoma cells, the protein is lost and the anticancer response fails.
Experiments in mice showed that IGFBP7 has a potent antitumor effect on human tumors derived from BRAF-mutated melanoma cells. But the protein may have little or no effect on tumors containing normal BRAF genes.
Whether the stunning antitumor effects will be seen in humans remains to be seen. But the findings demonstrate the promise of inducing a state of arrested growth, or senescence, as a therapeutic strategy for cancer, notes an accompanying editorial.
"Undoubtedly, mutations that activate or repress cellular senescence will be crucial in the progression of many other human malignancies," write Drs. Yuchen Chien and Scott W. Lowe of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
—Edward R. Winstead
Experimental Drug for Osteosarcoma Improves Overall Survival
Patients with osteosarcoma who received the experimental drug mifamurtide (L-MTP-PE) along with chemotherapy fared better than patients who received chemotherapy alone, researchers are reporting. Osteosarcoma is a rare but often fatal cancer of the bone. The disease typically affects children and young adults, and no new therapies have been introduced in two decades.
The study - conducted by the Children's Oncology Group - was the largest final-stage randomized trial in this disease and included 662 patients with newly diagnosed nonmetastatic osteosarcoma.
After 6 years of follow-up, overall survival was 78 percent in the group receiving mifamurtide plus chemotherapy compared with 70 percent in the group receiving chemotherapy alone. "This is an almost one-third reduction in the risk of death," write Dr. Paul A. Meyers of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and his colleagues in the February 1 Journal of Clinical Oncology.
A second goal of the NCI-sponsored study was to evaluate the addition of ifosfamide to the three chemotherapy drugs used in the study (cisplatin, doxorubicin, and methotrexate). Adding this agent did not enhance event-free survival or overall survival for patients in the trial.
As an experimental agent, mifamurtide is available only through clinical trials. In 2006, its manufacturer, IDM Pharma, sought approval for its use in treating osteosarcoma from the Food and Drug Administration, but the agency requested more information. The company plans to submit new data showing an overall survival benefit in the disease this year.
Low Risk Seen in Monitoring, Not Treating, Some Prostate Cancers
The vast majority of older men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer who initially forego treatment will die of something other than prostate cancer, researchers said last week. The finding supports the view that actively monitoring the cancer's progression until such time as treatment is needed - a strategy called watchful waiting - is a reasonable response to a diagnosis of early-stage disease for some men.
Using data from NCI's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program, Dr. Grace Lu-Yao of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and her colleagues asked what happened to 9,000 men who chose active surveillance rather than treatment in an era when screening with the prostate-specific antigen test increased.
After 10 years, 3 to 7 percent of those with low- or moderate-grade disease had died of prostate cancer, compared with 23 percent of men with high-grade cancers. The men were diagnosed between 1992 and 2002 and did not have treatment in the first 6 months after diagnosis. Half were over age 75.
Of the approximately 2,600 men who eventually underwent treatment for the disease, about half delayed therapy for more than a decade. Dr. Lu-Yao presented the results at the first Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, which was sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and other groups.
Prostate cancers detected by screening tend to progress slowly, and many older men die with the disease, not of it. Furthermore, all therapies for prostate cancer entail risks, and some may lead to impotence or incontinence.
This study provides additional support for the use of active surveillance of localized prostate cancer in older men, particularly among those with lower grade tumors, commented Dr. Howard Sandler of the University of Michigan at the meeting.
Partial Nephrectomy to Treat Small Renal Tumors Underused
The use of partial nephrectomy to treat small, newly diagnosed kidney tumors appears to be vastly underused, researchers from the New York University School of Medicine are reporting.
Studies have shown that partial nephrectomy, only removing the part of the kidney in which a small tumor (typically 4 centimeters or less) resides, produces equivalent outcomes to complete removal of the kidney, or radical nephrectomy, and may prevent the development of a serious side effect, chronic kidney disease. Nevertheless, the researchers reported last week at the ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, it is offered to only one of every five patients with newly diagnosed, small tumors.
To conduct the study, Dr. William Huang, an assistant professor of urologic oncology, and colleagues analyzed data from NCI's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program on more than 3,000 patients treated for these small renal tumors from 1995 through 2002. The incidence of kidney tumors has been steadily climbing for several decades, largely due to the incidental discovery of these small tumors during imaging procedures for other problems, Dr. Huang explained during a press briefing.
The research team identified preoperative factors that differed between the more than 2,500 patients with small renal tumors who underwent radical nephrectomy and the 556 who underwent partial nephrectomy. Patients treated with partial nephrectomy were more likely to be younger, male, and treated toward the end of the period covered by the study, which, Dr. Huang noted, could suggest the beginning of a shift toward more partial nephrectomies in patients with small tumors. Women, older patients, and patients with cerebrovascular disease were less likely to have partial nephrectomy.
"Partial nephrectomy is an option for most patients with newly diagnosed kidney tumors," Dr. Huang concluded, "and actually may be a better option because [patients] with kidney tumors often have other comorbid conditions."
More Genetic Clues for Prostate Cancer Found
A new wave of genome scans for prostate cancer ties additional chromosome regions to the disease while also confirming previously reported associations on chromosomes 8 and 17. The results, from three genome-wide association studies published online this month in Nature Genetics, underscore the complexity of prostate cancer genetics.
The first study, from NCI's Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) initiative, identifies regions of chromosomes 7, 10, and 11 that are associated with moderate increases in the risk of prostate cancer. Dr. Stephen Chanock of NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics and his colleagues also identify nine other "suggestive" associations and confirm previously reported regions.
Overall, the study "confirms and greatly expands the landscape of genetic factors influencing inherited susceptibility for prostate cancer," the researchers say. Nearly 20 percent of the candidate regions identified in the study are located on chromosomes 5 and 10, which may harbor multiple susceptibility regions for prostate cancer, they note.
The team tested nearly 27,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in thousands of men with and without the disease. SNPs are variable sites in the genome where a single unit of DNA may change from person to person; the variants may serve as markers of regions containing possible risk factors.
While no susceptibility genes in the regions have been identified yet, the researchers report some candidates. One of the chromosome 10 regions, for instance, contains the gene MSMB, which produces a component of semen and is a potential prostate cancer biomarker. The chromosome 7 region is near a gene linked to endometrial cancer, JAZF1.
In the second study, Dr. Rosalind Eeles of the Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, U.K., and her colleagues identify seven regions associated with prostate cancer on chromosomes 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 19, and X. Some of the regions contain genes which may be linked to the disease, including MSMB.
"The results of this study confirm that prostate cancer is genetically complex and help clarify the genetic architecture of prostate cancer," the researchers write.
The third report, from Dr. Julius Gudmundsson and his colleagues at deCODE Genetics in Iceland, identifies associations on chromosomes 2 and X. The variant on chromosome 2 shows a significantly strong association with the more aggressive forms of the disease, they found.
Study Details Risk of NHL in Some Autoimmune Diseases
Researchers found that the risks for developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), especially some NHL subtypes, are significantly increased in individuals who reported previously having had certain autoimmune diseases, according to results published online February 8 in Blood.
Autoimmune disorders have been recognized as risk factors for NHL in general, but large-scale assessments of the impact on specific NHL subtypes have been lacking. Researchers from the International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium (InterLymph), which is spearheaded by NCI, analyzed pooled data of nearly 30,000 study participants from a dozen case-control studies from across Europe, North America, and Australia. The strongest association was found with Sjögren's syndrome, which showed a 6.5-fold increased risk of NHL overall, including elevated risk for diffuse large B-cell and follicular lymphomas, and a 1,000-fold increased risk for parotid gland marginal zone lymphoma among NHL subtypes.
Lesser but still significant risks for NHL were found among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), hemolytic anemia, and, for lymphomas of T-cell origin, among patients with celiac disease and psoriasis. However, inflammatory bowel disorders, type-1 diabetes, sarcoidosis, pernicious anemia, and multiple sclerosis were not associated with risk of NHL or its subtypes.
The InterLymph investigators noted the significance of this study. "Our results further suggest new patterns of associations with some NHL subtypes in specified autoimmune disorders…Besides confirming the known link between all NHL combined and Sjögren's syndrome and SLE, we demonstrated an increased risk of marginal zone and diffuse large B-cell lymphomas in both of these disorders, and an increased risk of specific T-cell NHL subtypes in celiac disease and psoriasis." The researchers also noted that the pattern of associations with NHL subtypes "may harbor clues to lymphomagenesis."
SPOREs Move to Strengthen Program, Vision
Since their creation in 1992, NCI's Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs) have been a cornerstone of the Institute's efforts to promote interdisciplinary cancer research focused on a specific organ site. The SPORE program was designed to enable the rapid and efficient movement of basic scientific findings into clinical settings. Now a flourishing program, there are 62 SPOREs, studying 14 organ sites, based almost exclusively at NCI-designated Cancer Centers, where they comprise an important part of the centers' research programs.
My goal since arriving at NCI has been to continue to build and strengthen this vital program, an objective that has been further solidified by the importance placed on the SPOREs in recent reports from the Translational Research Working Group (TRWG) and NCI-designated Cancer Center directors. In keeping with that goal, the SPORE program is about to undergo some changes that NCI leadership believes will enhance its role in promoting interdisciplinary translational research.
The central change is the move of the SPORE program from the Organ Systems Branch in the Office of Centers, Training and Resources to the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD). As I explained last week during meetings of the Clinical Trials Advisory Committee and the National Cancer Advisory Board, this change was prompted, in part, by the departure of Dr. Jorge Gomez, who has ably led the SPORE program for 12 years. Dr. Gomez is moving to NIH's Fogarty International Center, where he will lead NCI's effort to enhance U.S. global research and clinical trial participation in Central and South America. NCI is extremely grateful for Dr. Gomez's distinguished service to the SPORE program and for making it a central component of NCI's translational research portfolio.
This leadership change spurred NCI leadership to more closely consider the SPORE program's future direction, and we concluded that moving the program to DCTD would present an ideal opportunity for it to gain greater prominence and integration within NCI's translational research and laboratory science portfolio. Taking this step also directly responds to the TRWG recommendation to improve coordination and collaboration of translational research across NCI.
DCTD, under the direction of Dr. James Doroshow, is focused on new visions, new ideas, and scientific growth that will be vital to our ability to keep pace with the changes necessary to deliver cutting-edge medical research to patients. Having a program like the SPOREs, which has been such a leader in translational science, included in these endeavors will clearly elevate its role moving forward. NCI's investment in the SPORE program will be significantly enhanced and the SPORE program will assume an even greater position of leadership in NCI's translational portfolio.
Since joining NCI, I have worked directly with principal investigators (PIs) from the SPOREs to carefully make adjustments that continue the growth and improve the structure of the program. As part of that effort, we have created a SPORE PI executive committee, chaired by Dr. John Minna from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. I meet with this committee by conference call almost once a month. From those discussions, it's clear the committee believes that the SPOREs can adapt to the new era of highly targeted and personalized cancer care and become even more relevant to the challenges facing NCI. I couldn't agree more.
Among the many benefits of this change is an opportunity for significant infrastructure cost savings, an important advantage in this time of tight budgets. That said, change is never as easy as we expect or hope. But difficulty is never a reason to avoid change, particularly one so important to the future of NCI. NCI leadership strongly believes this transition can only benefit the SPORE program and, ultimately, patients and their families, who rightfully expect the strongest effort possible to move our most promising scientific advances into clinical testing.
Dr. John E. Niederhuber
Thyroid Cancer's Rising Incidence: Reality or Illusion?
The following is the first article in a two-part series on thyroid cancer, the incidence of which has increased dramatically over the past two decades. This first article focuses on what's behind this increased incidence; the second will address its impact on the treatment of thyroid cancer.
Since the early 1970s, the incidence of thyroid cancer has more than doubled. Among women, in fact, it is the cancer with the fastest rising number of new cases.
Nevertheless, it's still a relatively uncommon cancer, with approximately 33,500 new cases annually, and 1,500 deaths, most of which are due to rare, aggressive types.
But not quite 2 years ago, Dartmouth College researchers, relying on data from NCI's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program, concluded that the increased incidence of thyroid cancer was an illusion. The study's authors, Drs. Louise Davies and H. Gilbert Welch, laid the blame for the increase on "greater diagnostic scrutiny" - a byproduct of sensitive imaging technologies and advanced biopsy techniques. It's most likely a case, they argued, of "overdiagnosis."
According to some of the country's leading endocrinologists and endocrine surgeons, who are responsible for diagnosing and treating most thyroid cancers, the study made a convincing case. First, the vast majority of the increase, 87 percent, was attributable to cancers smaller than 2 centimeters, nearly all of which are the most treatable and common type, papillary thyroid cancer. Autopsy studies, in fact, have consistently shown that, at death, a significant portion of people can have small, malignant papillary thyroid nodules, ranging from several percent to 36 percent in one study.
In addition, despite the increased incidence, there was no associated change in mortality rates, which have remained very low. Treatment of truly life-threatening cancers would have to improve to keep mortality stable, they argued, and while treatment trends have changed, there is little evidence to suggest they have influenced mortality one way or the other (the subject of the second article in this series).
Both factors suggest greater detection of "subclinical" disease, Drs. Davies and Welch argued, not some unknown influence spurring the development of more thyroid cancers.
That conclusion, however, leaves one big question: In the absence of any directed efforts toward early detection - such as those for breast or colon cancer, for example - why is anyone looking for these unobtrusive nodules in the first place?
Very often, explains Dr. Keith Heller, an endocrine surgeon at New York University Medical Center, these tiny cancers are discovered "by accident" during imaging procedures being done for other reasons, such as carotid duplex scans looking for peripheral vascular disease in neck arteries or MRI and CAT scans following car accidents or for unexplained neck pain or severe headaches.
It then falls to endocrinologists, many of whom now have ultrasound machines in their offices, to take a closer look at the thyroid.
"That's how I get the majority of my referrals," says Dr. Jennifer Sipos, an endocrinologist at the University of Florida, "nodules that are incidentally found…on an [imaging procedure] taken for another reason."
There also is some unnecessary testing going on, Dr. Heller believes.
"I had a patient the other day who came in because her GP ordered a thyroid ultrasound because she was gaining weight," he recounts.
And thanks to a technique known as ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration, these tiny nodules are relatively easy to biopsy.
"When I was a fellow in the early 90s, we couldn't easily biopsy a nodule that was 1 centimeter or less," says Dr. R. Michael Tuttle, an endocrinologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. "But, over the last 10 years, techniques have advanced such that we can now easily biopsy nodules that are less than 4 or 5 millimeters."
However, Dr. Tuttle says he's not convinced that the increased incidence of thyroid cancer is solely an artifact of better technology.
"My concern is that if we blame this entirely on early detection, we may be missing some other cause of thyroid cancer," he says. "I don't think any of the data we have rule out some other etiology."
There are some data to support that concern. A more recent, unpublished analysis of SEER data (through 2004) by Dr. Susan Devesa, from NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), indicates that the increased incidence, while most prominent for smaller tumors, has occurred across all tumor sizes (even 5 centimeters and larger) and stages, suggesting that more intense scrutiny isn't solely responsible for this trend.
Some studies have suggested that factors such as body mass index, diet, and reproductive patterns can influence thyroid cancer risk. One factor now coming under increasing scrutiny, ironically, is diagnostic imaging, namely CT scans.
The number of CT scans performed annually has exploded, from just a few million in the early 1980s to an estimated 62 million in 2006. CT scans require higher radiation doses than other conventional imaging techniques - doses that, according to a recent paper by Drs. David J. Brenner and Eric Hall from Columbia University Medical Center, are in a range that could increase cancer risk.
"Given the relatively short latency period for radiation-induced thyroid cancer…it is quite possible that CT is influencing current thyroid cancer rates in the United States in young people," says Dr. Brenner, of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia.
Dr. Elaine Ron, an expert on ionizing radiation and thyroid cancer in NCI's DCEG, agrees that CT scans do represent a potential risk. But, she stresses, "We don't have any data that show that at this point."
To better assess the risk of all cancers and CT scans, Dr. Ron says, NCI is collaborating with researchers from the United Kingdom on a retrospective "historical cohort study" of close to 200,000 people in the U.K. The study will look at cancer rates in people who did and didn't receive CT scans as children.
—Carmen Phillips
Probing the Effects of Circadian Rhythms on Cancer
A growing body of evidence from both animal and human studies indicates that circadian rhythms - the biological rhythms that mimic the 24-hour cycle of the turning of the Earth - influence cancer in a variety of ways.
In mice and rats, disruption of circadian rhythms has been shown to increase the rate at which a variety of cancers develop. Epidemiologic studies have found elevated rates of breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men whose circadian rhythms are disrupted as a result of working rotating day and night shifts.
The efficacy and toxicity of more than 30 anticancer drugs has been shown in animal studies to vary by more than 50 percent depending on the time of day that treatment is delivered. Clinical trials, conducted primarily in patients with colon cancer, have found as much as a twofold improvement in antitumor activity and a fivefold improvement in patient tolerability when infusions of chemotherapeutic agents are timed to circadian rhythms.
At least 12 genes are known to be involved in the regulation of circadian rhythms. Loss or dysregulation of circadian genes has been identified in many types of cancer. Moreover, overexpression of certain circadian genes in cancer cells has been shown to inhibit the cells' growth and increase their rate of apoptosis (programmed cell death).
Until recently, scientists thought circadian rhythms were entirely controlled by a "master clock" in the brain known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Recent research has shown that, in fact, virtually all cells - including tumor cells - possess their own circadian "clocks," a discovery that has opened up new avenues for research.
One intriguing finding is that whereas the SCN is synchronized primarily by the daily light-dark cycle, cellular circadian rhythms are strongly influenced by meal timing. Mice inoculated with osteosarcomas lived longer when fed during the day rather than at night (when they would normally eat, because mice are nocturnal).
Now, with funding from NCI, two research teams whose work has contributed to current understanding of the role of circadian rhythms in cancer are trying to further this line of research by probing the possible links among circadian rhythms, timing of food intake, caloric restriction, nutritional therapy, and cancer prevention.
Nutritional substances
Another of Dr. Burton's research interests is the use of nutritional substances to treat and prevent cancer. Because many studies have shown circadian effects for anticancer drugs, he wondered whether nutritional agents might show similar effects.
"Many nutritional substances have been found to have both antitumor and chemopreventive effects in various animal models," he says. "But they hadn't previously been tested in a way that focused on the time of administration."
In pilot studies, the researchers administered selenium and curcumin (an ingredient in the spice turmeric) at various times to mice with implanted, human-derived prostate tumors. They found differences in the degree of inhibition of tumor growth depending on the time of administration and identified potential tumor markers that might explain this effect.
On the basis of this pilot work, Dr. Burton's group obtained NCI funding for a larger study to assess in a rat model of prostate cancer whether the chemopreventive effects of selenium and green tea extract are modulated by circadian-based administration. In this model, the rats develop prostate cancer gradually, mimicking the disease process in humans.
Caloric restriction
"We showed that the clock in liver cancer cells differs from that in adjacent healthy cells in the same animal," he explains. "So is there a causal connection? And is the clock altered because the cells are cancerous or did something go wrong with the clock first?"
Previous work by others had suggested that a calorically restricted diet could prevent cancer and lengthen life. "We wondered whether the apparent effect of caloric restriction was really the result of a circadian change. Maybe feeding at the 'wrong' time - that is, during the day for animals that are naturally nocturnal - creates an unnatural state that affects tumors more negatively than the rest of the animal."
With NCI funding, Dr. Davidson and his colleagues are now testing this hypothesis in a mouse model of prostate cancer. "We are using restricted daytime feeding as one of many potential ways to alter the cellular clock, to see whether manipulating circadian timing accelerates or inhibits cancer growth," he says.
"This research is important because the results suggest that, although an emphasis on new drug development is appropriate and certainly necessary, the effect of timing of new and old drugs might be equally important areas of research for potential therapeutic advances," noted Dr. Jeff White, director of NCI's Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
—Eleanor Mayfield
Navigating Access to Investigational Drugs
NCI's mission includes extensive funding and performance of clinical research, better known as clinical trials. The modern clinical trials system takes promising new cancer drugs through three main phases, culminating in approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for successful agents. Most patients who receive investigational drugs do so through clinical trials.
Expanded Access
In addition, to get FDA approval for special exception use, a drug must also be considered safe. "If a patient has a life-threatening disease and has exhausted all of their treatment options, FDA almost always says yes, unless there is a safety issue that the public doesn't know about," says Ms. Delaney. However, a patient cannot simply go directly to FDA and request access, because FDA itself does not control these drugs - they belong to the company developing and testing them. "The first stop [for permission] is the company," she explains. "And that's usually a pretty big threshold, because most companies are not sanguine about providing their unapproved drugs to patients outside of a clinical trial."
Evolving Questions
Although the Court declined to hear the appeal, many questions it raised remain actively debated in the medical community. Would such unfettered access pose undue risk to patients? Does such increased risk matter for patients facing a terminal disease? Would excluding the FDA encourage unethical direct marketing to patients? How would the clinical trials system - which provides the eventual proof that these drugs do or do not work - be affected?
For Dr. Nancy Kass, professor of Bioethics and Public Health at the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University, the shifting risk/benefit ratio that patients face when choosing to take drugs with largely unknown side effects and unproven therapeutic efficacy is not the only pressing question. "I think…people who are pretty vocally asking for the drugs are saying that they appreciate there is less known about the risks of the drugs, and they're saying they don't mind."
What interests her is that "we need to navigate a balance between duties to respond to patients in front of us, and duties to learn about what does and doesn't work in cancer treatment, so that the next group of people diagnosed with cancer also has something to help them. If we have something that we know works, the balance gets flipped - we'd give it to you, end of story. But if we have something where we don't know if it works, I would argue…that's exactly the time when that drug should be given in the context of a highly structured, well-organized clinical trial, so we can not only determine if it's helpful for you, but learn about it, to see if it makes any difference for future cancer patients."
Access at NCI
As with any pharmaceutical company request, the agent must have a safe dose and schedule determined from phase I trials. In addition, "we need to see that there's some evidence of activity in a particular tumor type," says Mr. Boron. If an experimental drug seems promising for an individual patient, CTEP will first try to identify a clinical trial that could enroll the patient. That failing, "we would look to alternate mechanisms," he continues.
One alternative is developing collaboratively with CTEP a Special Exception/Single Patient Protocol. To obtain an investigational agent under this mechanism, the patient must be ineligible for a research protocol and also have exhausted all standard therapies. In addition, the requested agent must have demonstrated activity in their disease with no unacceptable risk to the patient.
NCI has also used two unique programs to provide experimental drugs in the later stages of development to larger groups of patients. These two programs - called Group C/Treatment IND and Treatment Referral Center (TRC) protocols - have provided access to promising new drugs to almost 20,000 patients since their inception. Unlike most protocols sponsored by CTEP, the Group C and TRC protocols are generated from within CTEP in an effort to provide access to promising therapies that would otherwise not be accessible.
The Group C and TRC protocols "are typically instituted to bridge the gap between positive phase II or positive FDA registration data, and drug availability. They're usually designed to get up and running quickly and to close quickly," explains Mr. Boron.
The Group C classification, which is no longer used, went to agents near the end of the approval process that were expected to rapidly change the standard of care. Clinical trials had already shown their reproducible efficacy in one or more tumor types, but wider distribution and marketing awaited FDA approval. Any NCI registered physician could register with NCI to receive Group C agents. Drugs first distributed widely through Group C protocols include paclitaxel for ovarian cancer and levamisole for colorectal cancer. The Group C classification has been replaced by the Treatment Protocol or Treatment IND.
Unlike Group C protocols, TRC protocols are restricted to distribution through NCI-designated Cancer Centers and designated secondary centers. In fact, explains Dr. James Zwiebel, chief of CTEP's Investigational Drug Branch, one of the focuses of the program is to make sure distribution of a new drug "is done in an equitable way, in a way that's sensitive to geographical distribution." They also function more like multicenter single-arm clinical trials with relatively open eligibility criteria and simple objectives. They usually only require limited data collection focusing on safety and efficacy. To be eligible for a TRC, a drug must show highly promising activity or target a tumor type considered to be a high priority by CTEP.
For example, nelarabine (Arranon), now an approved treatment for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma - both rare cancers - was available for almost 10 years through a TRC while waiting for review, approval, and marketing. "It's a small population of patients…but an effective therapy that they otherwise would not have had access to," says Mr. Boron.
—Sharon Reynolds
Following are newly released NCI research funding opportunities:
Revision Awards to Support AIDS-Related Malignancies Research Training to Currently Funded AIDS International Training and Research Program Awards
Letter of Intent Receipt Date: Feb. 29, 2008.
This is a renewal of PAR-07-348 and will use the D43 award mechanism. For more information, see http://researchportfolio.cancer.gov/initiativedetail.jsp?result=true&strSearchID=270670&InitiativeID=3850. Inquiries: Geraldina Dominguez - firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Effect of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination/Bias on Health Care Delivery
Application Receipt Dates: Non-AIDS Applications (new): June 5 and Oct. 5, 2008; Feb. 5, June 5, and Oct. 5, 2009; Feb. 5, June 5, and Oct. 5, 2010; Feb. 5, 2011.
This is a renewal of PA-07-206 and will use the R01 award mechanism. For more information, see http://researchportfolio.cancer.gov/initiativedetail.jsp?result=true&strSearchID=270670&InitiativeID=3847. Inquiries: Dr. Vickie L. Shavers - firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Effect of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination/Bias on Health Care Delivery
Application Receipt Dates: Non-AIDS Applications (new): June 16 and Oct. 16, 2008; Feb. 16, June 16, and Oct. 16, 2009; Feb. 16, June 16, and Oct. 16, 2010; Feb. 16, 2011.
This is a renewal of PA-06-306 and will use the R21 award mechanism. For more information, see http://researchportfolio.cancer.gov/initiativedetail.jsp?result=true&strSearchID=270670&InitiativeID=3848. Inquiries: Dr. Vickie L. Shavers - firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Effect of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination/Bias on Health Care Delivery
Application Receipt Dates: Non-AIDS Applications (new): June 16 and Oct. 16, 2008; Feb. 16, June 16, and Oct. 16, 2009; Feb. 16, June 16, and Oct. 16, 2010; Feb. 16, 2011.
This is a renewal of PA-06-306 and will use the R03 award mechanism. For more information, see http://researchportfolio.cancer.gov/initiativedetail.jsp?result=true&strSearchID=270670&InitiativeID=3849. Inquiries: Dr. Vickie L. Shavers - firstname.lastname@example.com.
Rare Diseases Clinical Research Consortia for the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network
Letter of Intent Receipt Date: July 20, 2008.
This is a renewal of RFA-RR-03-008 and will use the U54 award mechanism. For more information see http://researchportfolio.cancer.gov/initiativedetail.jsp?InitiativeID=3853. Inquiries: Dr. Rashmi Gopal-Srivastava - firstname.lastname@example.com.
New DCEG Branch Chiefs Named
Dr. Nilanjan Chatterjee has been named chief of the Biostatistics Branch. Dr. Chatterjee has a doctorate in statistics from the University of Washington. He specializes in developing efficient design and analytic methods for modern molecular epidemiologic studies.
Dr. Debra Silverman has been selected as chief of the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch. Dr. Silverman received her doctorate in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health and specializes in the epidemiology of cancers of the bladder and pancreas and the carcinogenicity of diesel exhaust.
Dr. Allan Hildesheim is the new chief of the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch, formerly known as the Viral Epidemiology Branch. Dr. Hildesheim has a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health and studies DNA virus-related tumors including cervical cancer and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. He is the principal investigator on the NCI-sponsored clinical trial in Costa Rica of the newly developed HPV vaccine.
Dr. Jackie Lavigne has been selected as the new chief of DCEG's Office of Education. She received a Ph.D. in molecular toxicology and an M.P.H. with a concentration in epidemiology and biostatistics from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Lavigne previously was the associate director of the NCI Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program.
First Anita Roberts Young Scientist Scholarships Awarded
Dr. Roberts was an internationally recognized molecular biologist who made pioneering discoveries regarding the protein TGF-β, which is critical in wound and bone fracture healing as well as in cancer suppression and stimulation. She worked at NCI for more than 20 years, heading the Laboratory of Cell Regulation and Carcinogenesis in CCR until her death in May 2006 of gastric cancer.
NCI Sponsors Webinar on Tools to Guide Efforts to Reduce Colorectal Cancer Deaths
This webinar is scheduled for Thursday, February 28, from 3:30-4:30 p.m., EST. No advance registration is required. More information and instructions on how to participate are available at http://cisnet.cancer.gov/webinars/crc_02282008.html.
NCI to Host Science Writers' Seminar on International Breast Cancer Trials
The seminar will take place 9:00-11:45 a.m., in Conference Room 704 at the Millennium Broadway Hotel New York, 145 West 44th Street, New York City.
Journalists can register for the seminar by contacting the NCI Office of Media Relations at 301-496-6641 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Biospecimen Research Symposium Scheduled for March
Registration and Abstracts Accepted for Targeted Therapies Conference
The conference will cover new drugs in pre- and early-phase clinical development and clinical trials of combinations of targeted agents, and will focus on clinical and translational research. An updated program is available on the TAT 2008 Web site: http://www.nddo.org/page_include_tat2008.shtml.
To submit an abstract, send your complete abstract in Microsoft Word format to the conference secretariat, Dr. Marinus W. Lobbezoo, at email@example.com.
Preventing Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathy
Name of the Trial
Principal Investigator
Why This Trial Is Important
The peripheral neuropathy associated with platinum-based chemotherapy can be either acute or chronic. Acute peripheral neuropathy may begin during or shortly after administration of a platinum-containing drug and usually goes away on its own after several days. Chronic peripheral neuropathy may arise weeks or months after chemotherapy treatment and may be difficult to treat; in some patients, it may be irreversible.
In this trial, researchers are testing the ability of alpha-lipoic acid to prevent peripheral neuropathy caused by the platinum-containing drugs cisplatin and oxaliplatin. Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant produced naturally by the body; it can also be found in some foods and as a nutritional supplement. In patients with diabetes, it has been shown to relieve symptoms of neuropathy.
"Peripheral neuropathy is a potentially disabling condition that affects many cancer patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy," said Dr. Guo. "We hope that alpha-lipoic acid will help prevent this condition in patients undergoing chemotherapy with cisplatin or oxaliplatin."
Patients in this trial will be randomly assigned to receive oral alpha-lipoic acid or a placebo three times a day for at least 24 weeks.
For More Information
An archive of "Featured Clinical Trial" columns is available at http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/ft-all-featured-trials.
Pushing Progress, Maintaining Momentum
As I conclude my second term as a member of the President's Cancer Panel, I would like to thank the President and my colleagues for an enlightening and substantive 6 years, as well as reflect on the progress and future endeavors of the Panel.
I was privileged to have the opportunity to serve alongside Dr. LaSalle Leffall and Dr. Margaret Kripke, who have become my mentors and friends, and it was an honor to serve this country with them. Since my appointment in 2002, the Panel has explored many topics and made recommendations focused on improving the National Cancer Program. I am proud to have been a member of the Panel and of our achievements; however, there is still much to be done to guarantee that all Americans affected by cancer benefit from research and receive adequate treatment and follow-up care.
The Panel's 2003-2004 series, Living Beyond Cancer: Finding a New Balance, focused on the needs of cancer survivors. Definitions and perceptions of cancer survivorship, age-specific challenges throughout the life span, gaps in cancer survivorship research, and policy issues were emphasized in the report. In the 2004-2005 report, Translating Research Into Cancer Care: Delivering on the Promise, the Panel made recommendations on how to best translate research advances into effective cancer prevention and care for all segments of the population. Overcoming barriers to translating research and the importance of evaluating progress in accelerating research translation were emphasized.
Assessing Progress, Advancing Change, the 2005-2006 report, examined the progress of implementing key recommendations from the two previous reports. Through discussion with key stakeholders, uneven progress and limitations to advancing the National Cancer Program were exposed, allowing the Panel a better grasp of the work yet to be done. The most recent report, Promoting Healthy Lifestyles: Policy, Program, and Personal Recommendations for Reducing Cancer Risk, explored ways to reduce cancer incidence and mortality through the promotion of healthy lifestyles. The Panel examined how lifestyle affects cancer risk, and how the government, communities, and individuals can take part in improving overall public health.
The current series, Strategies for Maximizing the Nation's Investment in Cancer, addresses the inefficiencies within the current cancer enterprise. Alternative models that approach cancer research and care from a business or economic perspective as a method to facilitate and streamline research, drug development, and delivery of care processes were examined.
During my time on the Panel, I contributed to the creation of many recommendations to the President. But I feel that as much as I contributed, I have learned even more in the process. Through my service on the Panel, I have seen the toll cancer takes on American lives and now recognize it for the epidemic it truly is. I have witnessed the many challenges we face as a nation in overcoming this disease and acknowledge that many of these challenges are entirely of our own making. To beat this disease, we must eliminate bureaucratic roadblocks, address the lack of funding, and sustain dedication at the highest levels of our government - only then can we make true inroads to save American lives.
In the face of a national epidemic, we need action from our country's leaders. There is too much at stake to preserve the status quo and if we don't act, generations of Americans will pay the price for our failure. My hope is that the Panel's recommendations will continue to be regarded as urgent actions necessary to reduce the burden of cancer. I am honored to have had the opportunity be a part of such an influential federal advisory committee and look forward to hearing about the Panel's continued success.
Lance Armstrong


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Go Sarah! LOL
I'm related to Davy Crockett and Robert Frost...
Cool Kate!
Mia just said "I done did it!". Little hillbilly.
Seriously guys, 2 posts all day? Where is everyone??
Busy day today...started trying to potty train Josh again, so every 15 minutes, off we go to try. Tried to watch Julie and Julia during his nap but I took a break for a while, and then I tried to get through it when he woke up and I had to keep pausing it. LOL
Good movie though! I was a little disappointed the two never got to meet...I'm sure Julia would have loved Julie's blog...
I wanted to see that movie Kate, but I knew DH wouldn't be able to sit through it. Maybe I should just download it.
Hey I have a really random confession. I hated "The Big Lebowski". It bored me to tears.
There, I said it.
I hope you guys don't hate me now.
The Breakfast Club rules. I need to watch that one again.
I confess that I just overheard Haley ask dh if Adam Lambert "was a boy or a girl." And then I heard dh explain that he is a girl trapped in a boys body.
Sarah, wtf. I love the Big Lebowski.
I LOVE The Breakfast Club, and Ferris Bueller!!!
I confess today SUCKED at work!!! They put me on the front registers for the first time today, and the girl that was supposed to be helping me was gone for pretty much the entire 4 hours!!! Then when I was counting my till... I was $5 off...
Company policy is you are written up for anything more than $4 in either direction... so I will most likely be getting written up! GRRRRRRRRR
I confess I stopped at the liquor store on the way home because I was so upset about it...
I mean... I worked in a credit union for a year and a half, handling WAY more cash than I do here, and ALWAYS balanced my drawer right on... never once was it off... In a year and a half... Here I am on the first effin day and im off by $5!
Ashley I hope that they cut you a bit of slack being new!
I confess....I had a not very nice thought. My BFF has a daughter who's 6...she was quite the surprise baby. Because of that, my BFF has always thought that it would happen easily again. I do NOT want her to struggle...but I'm sort of glad in a mean and petty way that it didn't work out her first month off the pill. And that is so mean of me. But I'm tired of everyone I know getting pg the first month they try when I have been trying for almost 3 years. The second month would be ok......But at least know she knows a tiny bit of what I felt...the pg signs during the 2ww that you make up in your head, seeing a BFN. I think that early on when we first started TTC, she thought I was a bit nuts....though she has been great and supportive.
Duuuuuuuuuudes! I love the word dude. It usually gets a laugh when I say it in the office.
I confess I've been a lurker lately since I don't feel like I've had a lot to share.
I call dbf dude only when I think he is being completely ridiculous. Which is actually quite often. And it's all I say. So much with one little word.
Ashley, I'm a little confused - taking drink orders? I thought you took the job at Hastings. Ours never served drinks of any kind. And I think, being so new on the job, I might have added one of my own dollars to keep from being written up. They should NOT write you up since you ended up being left alone when you were supposed to have help.
I was not a fan of the Big Lebowski either.
I confess we didn't even make it through Moulin Rouge. So bad we turned it off about half way through.
I hated Moulin Rouge and Chicago too.
Where are you Lydia?
So I just thought I'd try to take a little break from posting. I'm still reading but not checking in quite as often, and sometimes I have to sit on my hands to not respond to something, but if I stay quiet someone else usually says what I wanted to, anyway.
As far as potty training, we're doing really well. Some days there are no accidents at all. Some days there are several, and we've had a few catastropoos. DH and I actually snapped at each other the other day when we were on a hike and I had to help dd in an outhouse. I feel SO sorry for moms who had to pt back in the day of outhouses, let me tell you. It was awful. For one thing, I couldn't crouch down to help her without the brown-smeared door (I hope it was mud) hitting me on the backside. Then it was absolutely pitch-black in there. We missed. It wasn't her fault, and it wasn't mine. It was the *&%&^$ outhouse. So then I had to clean her up in a hurry with people walking past us on the trail every 2.3 seconds, and gawking (that's what made dh so pissy), and we'd been planning on going out to dinner afterward and I felt so disgustingly filthy.
We apologized to each other, ended up having a nice dinner out (with a lot of handwashing beforehand), and taking loooong showers that night.
On the bright side, we've had a couple of public restroom trips when I had to lift a baby onto a gigantic toilet seat, and it's worked every time. Beautifully! And another time we were out to lunch and ds shouted "I'm going poo poo right NOW!" which really embarrassed dh.
I would say our average accident rate is probably 1-2 per day, and most of the time it's not a catastropoo.
Thanks for thinking of me. I've really been enjoying reading the general religion posts. And Maggie, you can represent me anytime in Ask an Atheist. I love everything you've been posting.
I confess that it really annoys me how unrealistically pregnancy, childbirth, and early motherhood are portrayed on TV. How do they manage to get it so wrong?? It's not as if it's difficult to research.
Hey Lydia!
I'm sorry about the potty training woes, but high-five for coming up with the word "catastrapoo".

subset: commoncrawl


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Shaggy Nap Mat Collection
- Overview
Friendly, fuzzy faces double as pillows on our shaggy mats, making naptime comfy. Designed to be taken anywhere, each quilted mat keeps kids warm with a gingham interior and ultrasoft fleece blanket.
- Exterior blanket is polyester fleece.
- Interior sleeping mat features a gingham pattern on pure cotton percale.
- Filled with polyester batting.
- Features a plush acrylic shaggy animal face.
- Fleece blanket is attached to the nap mat.
- Nap mats sold individually.
- Imported.
- Dimensions & Care
- A percale weave is noticeably denser and wears well over time.
- Nap Mat: 24 x 54"
- Blanket: 36 x 50"
- 280-gram-weight polyester batting.
- Machine wash in cold water; gentle cycle.
- Use only nonchlorine bleach, if needed.
- Tumble dry on low heat; remove promptly.
- Do not iron.
- Shipping Info
Shipping Information
Please allow 5–7 business days for delivery. Delivery estimate includes monogrammed and gift-wrapped items.
Shipping Rates
The shipping rate varies depending on your order total and shipping options. View Shipping Info.
Rush Delivery
For an extra charge of $15 per address, we can arrange for rush delivery to most destinations. Excludes In-Home delivery.
Return Policy
At Pottery Barn Kids, we take great pride in the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Attention to design, materials, safety and construction is our priority. We carefully inspect your order prior to shipment; upon receipt, please inspect your purchase and notify us of any damage. We will arrange for a prompt replacement. If, within 7 days for Quick Ship upholstery and 30 days for all other products, you are dissatisfied for any reason, you may return your purchase for a refund of the merchandise value. Please note we cannot accept returns on monogrammed, personalized, special-order items, or on items damaged through normal wear and tear. We also cannot accept returns of final-sale items, which are identified by a price that ends in $0.99. For returns of items purchased from your Pottery Barn Kids registry, we will gladly provide a refund or exchange for the merchandise within 90 days of your event or within 90 days of purchase, whichever date is later. View Full Return Policy.
For assistance, please contact Customer Service at 1.800.993.4923, 7 days a week, 5:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. PST.


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Just under than two months away from Election Day, a new poll shows support is slipping or two constitutional amendments appearing on the ballot.
Though there hasn't been a dramatic shift in strategy on either side of the gay marriage and voter ID amendments, voters can expect to see a lot more TV commercials in the weeks ahead now that a Public Policy Polling survey found voter support is waning.
On Monday and Tuesday, pollsters asked more than 800 likely voters if they would support the constitutional referendum to define marriage as solely between one man and one woman. The resulting response was a virtual tie, with 48 percent saying they would support it and 47 percent saying no.
Support for that measure hasn't changed much since January, but those opposed continue to close the gap. For now, the two sides seem locked in a statistical dead heat as both groups hope undecided voters will tip the scales in their favor.
"About six percent of Minnesotans out there still haven't made up their mind," said "Vote No" Campaign Manager Richard Carlbom. "Our focus is to make sure we spark as many conversations in the next 55 days with those six percent of Minnesotans so they can understand what's at stake here."
Support for the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage is still strong among Republicans and seniors.
"It's our job -- as we've been doing since about 15 months ago -- to get the message out about what it means to vote 'yes,'" said Autumn Leva, of Minnesota for Marriage. "It means you're just simply taking the definition of marriage that we have and putting it in the Constitution."
Interestingly, the poll showed more independents said they would vote in favor of the amendment; however, the state Independence Party told FOX 9 News their members overwhelmingly oppose the effort because it's not the government's role to define marriage.
As for the voter ID amendment, support has slipped from a 24-point lead to a 17-point advantage. It's still a comfortable margin, but those looking to encourage people to vote against the effort say they've only been campaigning for a fraction of the time that supporters have so far.
"We'll continue to do that," vowed Luchelle Stevens. "We'll continue to talk to Democrats, we'll continue to talk to independents, and we'll continue to talk to the Republicans that we can get on our side."
The Public Policy Polling results also showed that a majority of independent voters support voter ID despite the official party position opposing the plan.
WTTG FOX 5 & myfoxdc
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The term "corset" was adopted in Britain from the early nineteenth century, originating from France, and surplanting the older term "a pair of stays". The garment remained basically similar, aiming to transform the female figure by moulding it within a boned structure. However, whereas the eighteenth century stays had produced a rigidly flat front forming a canvas to display costly silks, and pushing the bust upwards; the nineteenth century corset was far more waisted, resulting in a curving "hour-glass" shape. This scarlet sateen corset dates from the 1860s and shows the typical styling, with shaping over the hips. Having used the lacing up the centre back to fit to the wearer's individual figure and to achieve the correct degree of tightness, there are hooks and eyes centre front for much speedier daily use.
It must always be remembered that the corset was worn over the chemise or shift, not next to the skin, thus ensuring that the unwashable corset would remain shielded from the body. Corsets could also be a variety of different colours, as seen from the red, yellow, charcoal and cream examples pictured here. They were worn by all women, at whatever level in society, as illustrated by the line drawing showing a typical "common cheap stay" which appeared in a woman's magazine in the later nineteenth century.
Full item descriptions:
"corset" [1947.1629]
"corset" [1947.1645], House of Worth, S & A Pearce (Bath)
"corset" [1947.1640]
"corset & stays" [1958.108]
"corset" [1972.9]
Related Themes:
Drawers, Knickers & Combinations
19th Century Women's Fashion
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Date: 2/7/2014 9:55 AM Media Contact: SAMHSA Press OfficeTelephone: 240-276-2130
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. SAMHSA's mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities.
Last updated: 2/7/2014 10:04 AM
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High-tech neon suits and a dark stage are all that iLuminate: Artist of Light needs to light up the night at Off-Broadway's Duke Theatre. Take an illuminating look behind the scenes at this inventive dance troupe's mind-blowing show.
Broadway's Motown: The Musical has a sizzling new original cast recording and Broadway.com brings you this exclusive peek of the stars laying down the hits.June 4, 2013
In the final Land of Lola, Kinky Boots Tony nominee Billy Porter brings fans inside Tony rehearsal, nominee events and Brenda Braxton's beauty salon. He also sits down with co-stars Annaleigh Ashford and Stark Sands to get their Tony stories.June 7, 2013
In this special episode of Fly Girl, Wicked star Lindsay Mendez takes us along for a very, very, very early appearance on the Today Show and brings us into the wings during the curtain call at the show's 10th anniversary performance!November 7, 2013
This week, If/Then star James Snyder makes some special Broadway.com Audience Choice Award deliveries to Idina Menzel and LaChanze, and demonstrates his special fitness and vocal warm-ups.July 31, 2014
On a special episode of Looks Not Books, Queen Lesli answers your questions and gets answers from the cast of Matilda. Plus, a special commercial break from Miss Trunchbull. Don't miss it!May 27, 2014
In a very special look at life backstage at If/Then, James Snyder hangs out in the pit, does some work as a Broadway dresser and interviews Idina Menzel. Now that is one awesome vlog!June 6, 2014
"Wicked" original cast member Kristin Chenoweth sings "Popular"January 20, 2010
On his third appearance on Show People with Paul Wontorek, Broadway favorite Aaron Tveit talks about his TV and film work, his passionate fans and the importance of flossing.July 3, 2014
In the sixth episode of her backstage vlog, Jessie Mueller heads into the recording studio with her castmates to record the original cast album of Beautiful.February 20, 2014
The heat is rising on the stage at the American Airlines Theater, where Maggie Grace and Sebastian Stan are creating human fireworks as the romantically twisted leads in Picnic. Get your first look at scenes from this red-hot play!January 10, 2013
Les Miz star Ramin Karimloo spends his day off with his former Love Never Dies co-star Sierra Boggess, who is currently starring in The Phantom of the Opera.May 13, 2014
In the latest installment of Fly Girl, Wicked headliner Lindsay Mendez educates viewers on the role of a Broadway standby and introduces the ladies' ensemble. Then Derek Klena shows off some backstage art.August 2, 2013


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Judge Edmunds thanks Mr. Evelyn and tells the jury we'll hear from Mr. Chutkow in the morning. Reminds them not to watch coverage about or read about the trial and wishes them a good night.
We'll have the recap on Fox 2 news tonight. M.L. Elrick and Charlie Langton will be on the air and M.L. Will have his takeaway on MyFoxDetroit.com. He takes a look from both sides of the aisle, at the defense closings, and the prosecution side, and dissects the arguments.
See you all back here in the morning.
Evelyn says it's not illegal to posses cash, they ran Bobby out of the bank what was he supposed to do.
They showed you a text saying there's 7,000 in the safe. They showed you a safe, that wasn't the same safe the 7,000 was in a hotel safe on a trip. It wasn't the same thing.
Says they did everything they could to link this but there was no link.
Mahlon Clift, Evelyn says Thomas did a great job showing the government didn't show what it claimed it was trying to show.
Says Clift, if he met with Bobby at the Antheneum, and brings his bag, so where's the day between October and June where he's staying in his own name, if he wasn't there how could it have occurred. If there's no record of his stay it didn't happen.
Says they made a big deal about revenues in this case but skipped over everyone else. Says he wants to put this in perspective. Soave made 2.5 billion, lake shore made 250 million. These are the victims, the guys who got their arms twisted, they are the victims the 2 billion and 250 million dollar victims.
Says if Bobby had been involved in extortion or racketeering and not a contractor.... Shows DWSD capital improvements of 5. billion dollars. Says ask yourself if that makes sense. The government if criminally incompetent to make that allegation.
The civic Fund, Why put money in the Civic Fund if Bobby could just give Kwame money. So how could that 75,000 be anything other than a contribution.
Oak-wood Pump station, Evelyn says, the attempted extortion, We don't even know what the full conversation was, we have to rely on the "esteemed" Mr. Parker. Says it with a little venom. Shows an email from Hausmann saying Walbridge reached out to Ferguson.
Shows another Hausmann memo. Says this shows they got something without Ferguson being involved so he guesses it can be done.
There's now evidence that Walbridge was being extorted.
Now, Evelyn says, the good news is, I'm almost done, says to the jury I know you're tired, I am too.
The prosecutor always goes first and last. Defense attorneys anguish over that even though it's fair.
Says when Mr. Chutkow gets up tomorrow he'll probably raise some questions, good lawyer that he is. And in the jury room you're going to have to ask yourselves... what would Evelyn say about this.
Bobby Ferguson is a tough minded business man who has bee steeled by his experience, he has fought, succeeded, not like the victims in this case, but he feels he's a success.
Bobby Ferguson had a real company, real employees, real equipment, and vowed never to be a pass through.
Says for me it's emotional because it's like making money off the civil rights movement. Says Bobby was on the Motor City Make Over and save the city millions. The man for CAT said sure we loaned him money and sold him equipment and he even came a picked it up. Does that sound like a no work person.
Let me implore you to face up and meet that challenge... bring the not guilty verdict... and remember in 1968 Martin Luther King said it's not where you stand in times of comfort but where you stand in times of controversy.
Evelyn voice is cracking with emotion, he looks down, then looks back up at the jury and says thank you and walks over to his client.
Evelyn says let's talk about Bobby's office where the government claims Bobby used state money to furnish his office. Evelyn says only one check came from the State grant money, everything else was paid for out of the company account. Says if they were hiding the grant money why was there 32,000 left over and why did they tell the state that. He says that the state never tried to get the money back and the reason the state didn't give them the second half of the grant was because they didn't spend all of the first half.
Evelyn says lets talk about Derrick Miller, I'll incorporate everything my colleague Mr. Thomas said and I'll only add one thing. He says Miller testified that Ferguson was exceeding his limits on cost over runs for contracts. Says the whole notion of complaints... in the journal of the city council.. shows that Ferguson was one of ten contractors that had extensions, because they added more houses to be demolished. It was a gross misrepresentation, totally misleading, the other contractors weren't charged with racketeering.
Evelyn says we had to go through and find actual real documents showing that Excel did most of the work on the project, (Heilman Rec center?)
Evelyn puts up a document saying the Detroit Rec department can pull the contracts that the RFP is not the sole bases of awarding a contract.
Evelyn says he wants the jurors to look at the exhibits, lists the names he wants them to look at. Says the Judge asked me to be aware of the time. Says now he wants to talk a little about money.
Says the Government is unable to connect, in the racketeering enterprise, that they haven't proved at all. That it's not a crime to be friends with the Mayor. Nothing to connect Ferguson's legally earned money and paid taxes on to Kwame. They showed you money in his safe and that means that they claim before then Bobby was giving Money to Kwame. The say it's impossible to trace... but yes you can. Bobby bought equipment, paid insurance. Says Bobby was buying enhancements for his company. You don't do that if you're cheating you do that if your working, they're trying to pull the wool over your eyes (he shouts) don't let them do that. (he says more quietly.)
"All rise." Court is back in session. The attorneys and spectators all stand for the Judge and remain standing for the jury.
Evelyn is talking to Tomas now in the center of the room. Bobby and Kwame are standing together at the back of the defense table, and sitting next to each other while Evelyn gives his closing. Bobby's wife is sitting behind him, two rows back in the gallery, I haven't seen him look back, or waive to her. A stark contrast to Kwame who waived to his wife and kids and chatted with them over the rail during the breaks.
Evelyn moves on to Patton Park, shows a memo from Mercado to the Mayor, and says this refers to the Baby Creek project. Evelyn says this shows it was delayed by a patent infringement claim.
Evelyn says the government claims Kwame used a special administrative order to the benefit of Bobby, but reads that this order also acknowledges the patent claim.
Evelyn says so we know the delay was due to the patent infringement clam unless you think the mayor lied to the judge.
Evelyn says Walbridge won this job and they were hardly afraid of the City. Shows a document showing the date the bid was opened and the per equalization scores. Evelyn says the last paragraph talks about Barton Mallow's protest. Says the memo talks about how even the City employees don't know the city rules.
Says Parker had inside information about what was going on in the city, within days of the bid opening, says this is a sign... show Parker got inside information.
Evelyn says there was a dispute between agent Beeckman and Mr. Rataj. Shows a document showing bids for sewer work. Says by the way this shows that Ferguson had the lowest bid for mass excavation. Move on to the had written agreement where Walbridge hammered out an agreement to pay Ferguson for the Patton Park. If he had a point about that document I missed it.
Now Moves on to the Book Cadillac. Says it's UN-rebutted this was a competitive bid and Bobby won it fairly.
Judge Edmunds calls for a break. Couldn't come at a better time. My fingers are cramping up.
Evelyn says you heard Soave tell Ferguson that he could go "F" himself if Ferguson thought he'd form a joint venture. Says that's the real Tony Soave. That's the guy Kwame had to deal with. Says Soave testified that ever city has it's favorite contracts, but when it involve Kwame Kilpatrick somehow it's crooked.
Evelyn says Soave was using Charlie Williams as a minority front, didn't have employees or equipment. Bobby had equipment, we brought people in to testify to that. And never once did they have a complaint. Evelyn is getting emotional now, walking back and forth, saying it's a rough and tumble business. Says the insurance guy testified there wasn't a single complaint against Bobby's bonds and that's special. So Bobby is supposed to be a crook?
Evelyn pus up another contract, signature page, says remember Mr. Latimer said this was a long process. It was but there obviously wasn't a delay.
The sink hole, remember 1368, (13 68 is not the sinkhole, he's jumping back) remember when Bernard Parker said Wow, that's when a witness doesn't know the facts... jumps around some more and comes back to Parker.
Evelyn says Parker will says whatever he says depending on who he's is tied to at the time and this time he's tied to the government. Says if Bernard Parker comes to the doors and says there's a fire, I'll watch your stuff. You better watch your stuff. Evelyn says Parker was faced with the choice of saying either he lied to the jury or lied to his boss so he decided to lie to his boss. He worked for everybody, said he talked about how bad Bobby was then he went to work for him. Then quit and said he wanted to make Bobby Ferguson his first client. Is he telling truth. Remember the government is relying on him for everything, Walbridge, Ferguson, everything,
The so called outfalls contract 849. Evelyn says that some how Lanzo made a side deal with Hardiman to push out Bobby. It's surprising how much leeway the attorneys have on cross examination to characterize the evidence. Evelyn is primarily re-testifying for Bobby. Revising what the witnesses said. Says it wasn't Bobby who wanted to get out of this contract but the other contractors show were trying to figure out how to make him go away. This is the one the government made a big deal out of Bobby getting paid for no work.
Says Bobby was just insisting on getting paid for the work he was promised and Mr. Hardiman didn't stand up for him.
Lets talk about 1368. this is the inland contract that Ferguson was supposedly forced in by Kwame. Remember Mr Soave admitted he was a multi-billionaire and didn't even know how many companies he owned, a fortune 500 company. Says Soave testified about the meeting with Kwame. Let's think about that for a moment, what else did he says. Kwame is a new Mayor. Soave supported Kwame opponent.
Evelyn says at first it was Kwame who extended the olive branch to Soave, but later it was Soave who said he heard about problems. Says the first time Kwame met him he was trying to make amends but the next time Kwame is making ultimatums? It doesn't make sense.
In trial Soave says the mayor told him he had the wrong contractor but he admitted Kwame may have implied that. Boy, I was riveted to Soave's testimony and I don't remember him saying anything about implying anything, he was one of the most straight forward witnesses in the case.
Evelyn is now talking about a letter for CN1832 from Daryl Latimer of DWSD saying here's some work that can be done in house... jumps to Ed Ramey letter about suspicious scoring process. And intentional low balling. Buy Lakeshore. So clearly the contract they think they won DWSD has real issues with. I believe Evelyn is referring back to the $5 million and $10 million contracts Lakeshore won but were then pulled.
Says if Mr. Ferguson was involved with shenanigans to pull the plug on a contract he pulled the plug on himself because he was on the contract. This is another contract he put up on the screen.
Now he's putting up another document and talking about a Fred Erdman listed as supervisor for Hardiman's company, then shows the next page and lists another Ferguson employee that's listed on the A&H contract. Evelyn says so Hardiman was utilizing Ferguson employees.
Evelyn says another allegation is that Hardiman testified he had a agreement with Ferguson and that Ferguson showed up and three out DCG and on 1361 you can see Daryl give written notice that they were to stop so they weren't thrown off. No more point repairs until further notice, Says the interesting thing about that is DLS1-6. That's the exhibit number. Says if you look four entries down, it shows, wait go up to the top again, it's the record of the invoices on the project, they say they were kicked off but they continued to bill, so from the time they were kicked off they continued to bill, so they were never kicked off they continued to make money.
Evelyn says this was real mentoring. The government wants to criminalized these relationships because that's what they need to do to convince you there's racketeering going on.
Evelyn says you hear from Mr. McVay, and that They misused a text message that Bobby was laughing at his former employer. Evelyn says you heard him tell you the water main break he was called out to fix. You heard him says he didn't see any Lakeshore boys out there. Evelyn says when they have a problem who get summoned. Bobby Ferguson, a guy with a real company, real employees, real equipment, and real expertise.
Evelyn says now I want to talk about Tom Hardiman the guy who said $5 million and $10 million that animated little thing he liked to. Says Hardiman told you he raised money for the campaign, knew the Kilpatrick family, says he and Bobby shared values like furthering black businesses, became friends, and now he's saying he's a victim of extortion.
Evelyn says an Rachmale, sure said he had a great company, he sure made a lot of money. Says he told a story about a guy named Patel that was so hard to believe. Says Hardiman told a story about disagreeing with Patel about paying for someone, then took the stand and said Patel didn't work for Lakeshore, says Hardiman still couldn't tell the truth. Says Patel was in business with his wife. Says Patel was a supervisor at DWSD and leaving that job and going to Lakeshore in the evening. The city found out and wanted to fire him.
Evelyn is pretty much saying that Rachmale and Patel and Hardiman are rats, which we know, that Patel was on the take, which we heard, and that's why all the stuff Bobby did was okay. Evelyn is very eloquent but hard to follow, he jumps from name to name to contract to contract and it takes him so long to make a point that this slow typist can hardly keep track of what he getting at. There are so many details that his broader points are getting lost. Not like She who said this is the issue, here's why you shouldn't convict my client.
Evelyn says you heard testimony about the pilot project for the sewer department, the construction management pilot program. The FBI agent tried to say this was a low bid contract, but she had to change her story when I showed her under cross examination.
Evelyn shows a memo about the project, says an RFP process will be used. There may be as many as 7 contractors working at any time.
Now he's showing a letter from Qaqish at DWSD talking about negotiating with the contractors to get the best price.
Shows another letter, goes to second page, the combined estimated cost is 3.8 million, the work will be given to Hayes and Ferguson who have proven themselves on the previous project. Evelyn says there's no corruption here, Ferguson performed well on the pilot project, there's no corruption going on here.
Evelyn now says whenever you have a sister contract one contractor could get both but Kwame stopped that, and now it has been changed back. Mercado felt it was fair to spread the contracts around. Now this has been laid at the doorstop of Mr. Kilpatrick but you heard testimony that one contractor was from Ohio and this concern emanated from DWSD.
Okay, if you haven't been here every day all the names Evelyn is throwing out, the contractors and the contracts, aren't going to make much sense. In essence, and I'll try to sum this up fairly, he's saying concerns about Detroit based and Detroit headquartered business certifications were proper, had merit. That it was proper to complain about them.
Says it sounds like DWSD was concerned about this, that the company in question was headquartered in Ohio.
Says contract 2014, the east side water main contract, they ENT was a proxy for Ferguson, Evelyn says he was offended by that. Says the brother of the guy who owns the company testified it wasn't a proxy. That the families knew each other. Says Ferguson mentored the brothers and it wasn't a fake fraudulent mentoring like with Tony Soave
Evelyn says this case is one of the most complicated and unusual that he's seen in many years. That there has been an endless drumbeat to convict these defendants.
Evelyn says the defense team has struggled with this, with what the jury is up against, that the right verdict may be the unpopular one.
Holds up John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage, says in that book he talks about 8 Senators who did what was right even though it was unpopular. Quotes, "I stared down into my open grave." Evelyn says it's hard to do what's right, that each one of you told us you could withstand the pressure. We trusted that promise at the beginning of that trial, and we trust you now.
There's a play about 12 jurors deciding a case, where a juror wants to decide quickly to go to the baseball game but another juror holds him back...
Evelyn says the government has pressured people to testify the way they want. That the government and the media has demonized his clients. Made Kwame Kilpatrick radioactive. Well, it's a free country, he can say that, but I don't have to agree with him.
You've heard about companies that rely on government for their livelihood. Soave, Lakeshore, Hardiman and Rachmale. It doesn't guarantee that you won't hear lies in this case, you did hear lies in this case.
It's up to you to decide... beyond a reasonable doubt. You've heard allegations that aren't specific charges, but are part of the RICO case. Evelyn says he wants to talk about officer Michael Fountain. Says Kilpatrick and Ferguson are so polarizing that they produce agendas. That Fountain had the temerity to say … Bobby threatened his life, his wife, and children, and his story is he did this in a court. How plausible does that sound... this melodramatic story doesn't hold water at all.
Says he asked Fountain who owned the property at the address he put on the ticket. Says fountain testified he didn't know.
Says in the grand jury he said Officer Martin threatened him but in court he said it was Ferguson. That doesn't stand up, because agent Beeckman said it was different.
These were his own words in the grand jury... as my associate said it's like being misquoted in your own autobiography. Moreover he tells the media the tickets were dropped because it was a mistake. The FBI said the media reports were accurate. But Fountain wanted to ague about it. You've got ask your self, proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Court is in session. Gerald Evelyn is up and thanks the jury, in part he says, because it's the polite thing to do, but also because he is glad they are here, a representative jury that's a cross section of the community, that they chose to serve. People from all walks of life, all neighborhoods, for giving up the things they gave up for making this possible.
Man Shea talks fast. I hope I didn't get anymore Johns and James's mixed up. Judge Edmunds call for a break. I can use one. We'll be back at 1pm.
Shea says there's no evidence that Bernard had any role in directing the campaign fund or the civic fund. But there is evidence that he did work for both. And it's legal to get paid for that work. It was appropriate for those entities to pay him.
Shea says there was no intent to defraud donors, and it can't be said he intended to defraud donors.
Shea says there were three trips paid by Civic Fund where Bernard went on trips, like the Super Bowl. And Detroit was prepping for its own Super Bowl. There's no evidence that Bernard went to the game or that the Fund paid for a ticket to the game.
The Texas trip when Kwame was in jail. Bernard didn't know who paid for the trip. April Edgar make the reservations and didn't tell Bernard about it.
Orlando Florida. Bernard, his girlfriend, kids, grand kids. Shea says one or two nights was paid by the Civic Fund but Bernard paid for all the other hotel rooms and expenses so this doesn't show any conspiracy involving him.
Shea says Bernard took it's lumps like anyone else did. Lakeshore, a one and done client. Kado, if he didn't get his money for him he wouldn't get paid, and he didn't. Synagro, he does not get his son involved. Shea says this is evidence that he's not involved in a conspiracy. You'd think he'd get things done but he's not.
Shea says people were happy to use Bernard's expertise but as soon as those folks were charged with a crime, oh, I was extorted.
Rosendall had no objection, then betrayed him after getting caught bribing a council woman. This is Alice in Wonderland, down the rabbit hole kinks of stuff.
I'm not trying to make Bernard out to be a saint, he's a former basketball player who could probably throw a few elbows, you job is not canonization, just to find him not guilty.
The tax charges. They have to be signed under penalty of perjury, they weren't signed. The electronic authorization form, they don't have a signed copy. You can't convict him. They don't have it they should have gotten it. It's not a technical element it's a critical element. You have to acquit on 2004 charge.
2005 a different issue, he signed, the falsity is material, but is it willful. You recall how little contract he had with his accountants. It was not a willful act. You must acquit. And I ask you now to Acquit him of all these charges.
Shea move to the Book Cadillac and the waste hauling contract. Says Bernard was hot because the job got stalled and an out of town company was now hauling the waste and he felt his clients, Capital Waste, should have been given consideration.
Says Bernard had legitimate complaints and you heard him talk about the avenues available to him to complain, talked about the best way to lodge his complaint. Says Bernard never filed a complaint, he never tried to have adverse action against the main contractor. But had Bernard filed a complaint, it would be exactly what consultants do, if he didn't do anything he would have been remiss.
You heard agent Beeckman says the client may have gotten work on another job. But that's Bernard's job, to help his client. It's not extortion. It's Bernard helping his client.
Shea lists the witnesses, Kado, Cunningham, etc. Says this is what the government case relies on, and it's hogwash. Says there's no evidence of extortion, or racketeering.
Says he's going to have to debunk some myths, like the sit down meetings. Says Chutkow told you that Derrick Miller will testify that these meetings were to sit down and target the city's most lucrative contracts. That didn't happen. Derrick Miller didn't says that.
Shea says they had three meetings in 6 years, this is hardly an ongoing thing. Says Miller says the meetings were about community interests, business opportunities, politics. Shea says those business opportunities were Bernard working on behalf of his clients. There's nothing wrong with a consultant calling the mayor and asking for a meeting.
Shea says if they said give me 5 grand or I won't help you that would be a problem. But nobody did that. It's not illegal. Meeting at the condo wasn't illegal either.
Remember Bobby, and Derrick, and Bernard were also important to Kwame's community out-reach, just because it wasn't an election year, there were all kinds of reasons the Mayor might want to talk about the things going on in the City. But none of these things are racketeering.
Shea says Bernard deserved to get paid, everybody agreed, and his getting mad, swearing, was not extortion but an guy who deserved to be angry, who did work. There's nothing illegal about wanting to get paid.
Shea says he had more to go but could take a break now and the Judge agrees. Back in 20 minutes.
"All Rise." Court is back in session. Hey, you may have noticed a few times I wrote John Rosendall, it's not, it's James, I apologize, brain isn't connecting with the fingers this morning. John Shea, James Rosendall, after 5 months you'd think it would be automatic.
John Shea is up once again.
Says now he wants to talk about the $5,000 payment that James Rosendall Paid Bernard. Asks the jury to think back to the recorded meeting they heard, which occurred about 10 days before city council signed off on the Synagro deal.
Asks what Rosendall did after that call to his boss. Shea says he lied to Bernard again, tells him the home office was going to be talking to Rayford Jackson and setting him straight. But it was all lies.
Told him he'd get paid by the end of the year. Not true.
Shea says the substance of Rosendall's conversation was that he needed an invoice. The Awuna Olumba, written on Black Onyx stationary, gave him an invoice. Says it was clear that Rosendall was just using the invoice as an excuse to put off Bernard again. Promises to pay again but it doesn't happen.
Shea says the government tried to make it sound like Bernard didn't do any work but of course he did.
Which brings us to the Meeting at the Southern Fires Restaurant where Rosendall was trying to pay Bernard with cash and Bernard said he needed a check, What are you doing? Shea says Bernard asked.
Shea outlines the months of time that have gone by. Says Rosendall finally came back with the cash but Bernard didn't tell him to bring cash. Bernard just took the cash because it had been a long time and he just wanted to get paid. Says Bernard asked Rosendall if this was the same 5 grand as the invoice and Rosendall said yes.
Shea says this is not extortion. And reminds the jury that Bernard is only being charged with one substantive count, the Synagro extortion count. And as you ca see it's not extortion. And if it's not extortion then there's no conspiracy here either.
And again brings up that Kwame had very little to do with the whole thing. Also adds that Kwame could have done the deal under his special administrator powers. She points out now that Bernard never called anyone to mess with the deal, like with the permits. Shea says if there was a conspiracy to leverage his son's office, where's the leverage?
Says Rosendall actually says it best. Rosendall's boss asks him why Bernard's son hasn't gotten involved and Rosendall replies, "he's not involved."
Bernard got two checks, and what else, a double cross. Says Bernard had an agreement to run Bernard's share through Rayford's associate Akuna Owumba, a former girlfriend, and that was the agreement.
But behind the scenes we heard Rosendall plot and scheme to cut Bernard out. Says Bernard finally got fed up, and after Council approved the contract he they met at the Pancake House where the FBI kindly got them a booth and you hear Rosendall tell Bernard he can expect to be paid half his success fees by the end of the year. But Rosendall delivers nothing and that's when you heard the famous "Vacation" message Bernard left Rosendall. Then you heard how Rosendall and Jackson scheme to put Bernard off..
Says Rayford told Rosendall to tell Bernard that Rayford was under investigation for a housing scandal ( which Rayford may very well have been at that time but Shea isn't talking about that.)
Bernard finally says he's going to blow up the deal. Of course Rosendall is upset because he's worried he may lose the deal. That's when Rosendall goes to his boss. But doesn't tell her the whole story.
Shea says his boss, to her credit, immediately says they don't want to do business with Rayford if he doesn't honor his deal. Plays tape of Pam Racey, Rosendall's boss where she tells him you need to remind him how he got hooked up and got the job and we don't want to deal with people like that.
Rosendall says morally it's not right. She laughs ironically and says Geez, I love it when Rosendall talks about morality. Says when Bernard talks about blowing up the deal it's not extortion.
The judge instructed you, extortion is the "wrongful" fear of economic harm. Everybody here acknowledged that Bernard had a lawful deal to get paid, and moreover Rosendall said paying Bernard was the moral thing to do.
Shea says Cunningham paid Bernard in the basement of City Hall. Is that a problem, not really, that's a pretty public place, and it's not illegal to pay in cash.
Cunningham said so many different things it's hard to tell what is true. You have a guy exposed for taking Bribes. I think you might want that staffer to stay away from your Father and it's perfectly legit for Kwame to tell Cunningham to stop paying him.
Rosendall, Shea says he heard one person says he needed an acid bath after John Rosendall testified. Actually, he read that in M.L. Elrick's column on MyFoxDetroit.Com.
Says Rosendall was the most immoral and manipulative witness he has ever seen.
Says the testimony was that Kwame told Rosendall to hire Bernard, regardless, it was suggested that Bernard was suggested early on. But it's curious that Kwame didn't seem to be involved. Says Kwame was special administrator and didn't have to go through council. Say presumably, if this was a conspiracy, Kwame would have done that, but he didn't do that. It went through the standard process and took years.
It was approved by one vote and we heard that Rosendall and Rayford JJackson bought that vote. Shea says if Bernard was extorting money for Kwame he wouldn't have left this to such an unlikely process.
Says Rosendall told the court he heard the city was pay to play, that he hired Bernard because he heard this rumor.
Says you heard Rosendall says Bernard did work on the project before turning it over to Rayford Jackson.
Shea says Synagro brought in Rayford Jackson because they didn't want the headache of public relations by dealing with the Mayor's Dad. Says Jackson was the guy who dealt with the public and Bernard dealt with City Council.
Shea says Kado met with agents for months, but never mentioned this damning conversation. Says Bernard patted Kado down for a wire, would you forget that, for months? It is completely unbelievable that Karl Kado forgot things like that happened and didn't tell agent about it until months later. Kado had a deal to cooperate, it was just one more lie to spin.
Shea says Kado acknowledged that at no time did Bernard says pay me or you won't get what you want, at no time did Bernard says you have to pay someone or you'll lose what you have a Cobo hall.
Let's move on to Andre Cunningham. He a guy whose idea of reality changes with who he's talking to at the time. Shea says Cunningham got caught taking money from an undercover officer, took a $5,000 bribe, he was caught. Says he got caught and cooperated. Shea says he's on the horns of a dilemma, Cunningham tried to do what the government wanted but on cross examination Cunningham's truth changed.
Cunningham describes a meeting where Cunningham thinks he was told to hire Bernard because he was the Mayor's dad, but on cross Bernard was brought into the deal before that meeting. That all the players in the deal had a dinner with the Bernard and he told them how the pension board worked, and Shea says to me, Cunningham said Bernard helped move the deal forward, and knew Bernard expected to get paid. This was a fee for services arrangement, and had nothing to do with extortion. He was brought in to work on the deal by them and he worked on it.
Says Kado had a hidden interest because he admitted he was paying kick-backs to then Director Lou Pavledes. He didn't want Lou out, he wanted to protect his interests at Cobo.
You heard Derrick Miller say Kado was protecting his interests. Says Bernard was doing real work for Kado, that there are text messages between Miller and Bernard talking about upcoming contracts.
You'll remember that there was a meeting between Kado and Bernard in Feb of 2008 and Tom's Oyster bar that was recorded, and Karl was wearing a wire. They talked about all kinds of things, but they talked about contracts that Karl was owed money on. And Bernard says they can't do that legally I'm gonna meet with Amru Monday. And Kado replies they'd been working on this a long time. Shea says this shows they had a long working relationship.
Says there's nothing inconsistent with paying Bernard monthly and because he paid in cash and didn't keep records he couldn't remember just how much he paid.
And remember, Shea says, it may sound like a lot of money but those contracts were worth millions, so it wasn't out of line considering how much those contracts were worth.
Shea recalls the conversation where Bernard thought Kado went and hit under a rock. Says there was nothing wrong with paying Bernard $100,000, that Karl came up with that. Even though there were no invoices, no need for them. Karl Kado paid him cash because Karl Kado was skimming cash, Thomas finally got him to admit that. That's what Kado got in trouble for. The reason Kado paid in cash was because he was hiding money.
Says Kado told the court Bernard wanted cash, but earlier told Agent Shuck that Bernard didn't demand cash. Says there's no extortion here.
On Monday, Bullotta said Bernard extorted money from Kado, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Says the government tried to trap Bernard into doing something illegal. But they didn't get that. Bernard was legit, just like he had been before.
Shea says He thinks the government has utterly failed to prove it's case.
Tells the jury that one witness, John Rutherford, the millionaire Homeless shelter operator, described how valuable Bernard was as a consultant. Says Rutherford had deals with government entities and were overseen by same. That hiring a consultant was totally normal, nothing wrong with that. That Bernard obtained real estate records about the river front property, got zoning information about cell phone towers, says Rutherford was owed money by the county and asked Bernard to help him collect that money. So Bernard was helping Rutherford.
Says Bernard was paid monthly, 10,000 a month. Says Rutherford also paid other consultants like Hertell.
Says the interesting thing about their relationship, is that Bernard left Rutherford to take what is basically a volunteer position with the mental health board. Says that's probably why the government didn't mention this chapter in closing statements.
Says the government claims that Mr. Kado testified he gave Bernard money for no work. Says Kado flip flopped from one sentence to the next. No matter who was asking questions. Says recall toward the end of my cross examination I asked him to read, says he couldn't read what was on the screen without inserting his own words, insisting on inserting those words to change the meaning to make it closer to the story he wanted to tell.
Says Kado was such a good pal of Bernard's that he let him buy stuff from his store on credit, and finally admitted that, finally admitted Bernard paid his bill every month.
Judge Edmunds greets the jury, says she hopes they all feel better today. John Shea begins, says he will start over but he's not going to go into all the ground about Bernard's personal history, says he does want to correct a mistake he made, that Bernard got out of state government because his some would be in the same building, says the county moved it's offices at that time to the old county building, but the thought was the same, that the relationship was too close.
Moves on to explaining what consultants do. The have personal relationships with people, advocate with here clients, they have knowledge and access.
Says we were talking about why Bernard was valuable as a consultant. Says the more contacts, the more experience in government the more valuable the consultant. And Bernard had those qualities in spades.
And it's not illegal for Bernard to be a consultant, even if his son is the Mayor. N O more that Conrad Mallot (former supreme court judge) or Curtis Hertell.
Nothing improper or illegal about being a consultant just because Bernard had a relationship with the Mayor.
Adds that Bernard wasn't always successful either.
Court is in session. Judge Edmunds is telling the lawyers that the additional jury instructions proposed are okay with everybody. Looks like they did some wheeling and dealing over the break.
Judge Edmunds also tells John Shea the jurors have asked him to start over from the beginning.
I heard from Rod Hansen the Court's Media Liason that Bobby Ferguson's family is in the court room this morning.
Good Morning and welcome back to the Theodore J. Levin Federal Court House in downtown Detroit where closing arguments will resume this morning. Bernard Kilpatrick's attorney John Shea will start off the day after being interrupted last Tuesday when several jurors became ill and proceedings were cut short.
Ken Martinek is Senior Producer-Investigations for Fox 2 News. You can contact him at email@example.com
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