Police raid location for fighting birds


An undercover cockfighting ring in Pococí was broken up on Monday. Officers said they confiscated eight hens, hundreds of metal spurs used for fighting and beer at the scene.

Fuerza Pública officials said they received numerous phone calls complaining about noise and overly drunken behavior coming from the area in Río Frío de Pococí, Limón. When they arrived they found the clandestine fighting ring and immediately informed authorities from the Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal.

Though officers made no arrests, they ordered for the operation to be completely demolished by the end of the month.


Five shot at by gunman in Pavas


Five people were shot in Pavas Saturday night. One of the wounded was reported to be in critical condition in Hospital San Juan de Díos.

The other four victims also were taken to the hospital but were said to be in stable condition, according to a Judicial Investigating Organization report. There were four men and one woman between the ages of 23 and 31 that ended up being shot following a brief argument.

Police reports indicate that one of the wounded saw a subject with a gun in a holster and said it bothered him and looked suspicious. In that moment the individual pulled out the gun and shot at the group multiple times. They ran back to their two cars and drove away while still being shot at, agents said.

Investigators are seeking ballistic evidence that may lead to zeroing in on a suspect.


Sports fishing boat catches fire


A boat berthed at Los Sueños caught fire Monday morning on the high seas, and five U.S. citizens aboard were forced to abandon ship.

The sports fishing boat sunk, but the boat occupants escaped in a small boat.

The incident off the coast of Playa Herradura near Jacó caught the attention of many on land. The fire generated a response from the Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas.


U.S. makes quick goal against Ghana


U.S. Men’s National Team defender John Brooks scored the game-winning goal in the 86th minute and forward Clint Dempsey scored the sixth-fastest goal in World Cup history as the U.S.A. earned a 2-1 victory against Ghana in front of a crowd of 39,760 at Estadio das Dunas in the Group G opener for both teams at the 2014 World Cup.

Brooks became the first U.S. substitute to score a goal in a World Cup game. Dempsey became the first U.S.A. player to score in three separate World Cups and U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard made four saves to lead the squad to its third opening-game win in the tournament. It also marked the U.S.A.'s first international win against Ghana, which defeated the U.S. in the two previous World Cups.

Th U.S. needed a mere 30 seconds to take a one-goal lead against Ghana.

The U.S.A. had to clear a massive hurdle in the early going, however, when Jozy Altidore left the game with a strained left hamstring in the 21st minute, World Cup newcomer Aron Johannsson replaced his former AZ Alkmaar teammate in the 23rd minute.

Earlier in the day, Germany defeated Portugal 4-0 in Group G play at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador. Germany sits atop Group G based on goal differential. Portugal will face the U.S.A .on Sunday without defender Pepe, who received a red card in the first half of the loss to Germany.


Monetary Fund says U.S. to grow faster


The International Monetary Fund says the U.S. economy will grow 2 percent this year.

That is slightly faster than last year, but well below earlier predictions from the Fund.

Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said unusually bad winter weather hampered business activity and made the world's biggest economy shrink a bit in the first three months of this year. She said the economy has resumed growth and will get stronger in the next few months.  

"We believe that this slowdown is temporary, and better prospects lie ahead. "

The Fund says U.S. officials should continue efforts to stimulate the economy with low interest rates, more government spending on infrastructure, and a higher minimum wage. Ms. LaGarde said the U.S. minimum wage is lower than other advanced nations.

Top officials of the U.S. central bank begin a routine meeting Tuesday in Washington on where they will make their own assessment of the economy, debate interest rate policy and efforts to bolster growth.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will meet Wednesday with journalists to explain the Fed's latest decisions.


Supreme Court rules against Argentina


The U.S. Supreme Court has dealt Argentina a pair of defeats in its long-running attempt to avoid paying some debts from its 2001 default.

The court Monday let stand a lower court ruling that Argentina cannot make payments on restructured debt unless it also repays investors who refused to accept terms of the refinancing offered by Buenos Aires.

In addition, the court said investors could use the U.S. courts to pursue information about where Argentina owns property around the world. That should make it easier for creditors to collect on court judgments against the South American nation.

Argentina has claimed that if it is forced to make the payments, it will lead to further economic turmoil. 

Argentina defaulted on about $100 billion in debt during its financial crisis.

In 2005 and 2010, investors holding more than 90 percent of the debt agreed to write off two-thirds of the value of the government bonds they held.

But some bond holders who are owed $2.5 billion refused to accept the deal and sued Argentina for payment on the securities, leading to Monday's court rulings.


Ad puffery tricks consumers about health


Health-related buzzwords, such as antioxidant, gluten-free and whole grain, lull consumers into thinking packaged food products labeled with those words are healthier than they actually are, according to a new research study conducted by scholars at the University of Houston.

That false sense of health as well as a failure to understand the information presented in nutrition facts panels on packaged food may be contributing to the obesity epidemic in the United States, said Temple Northup, an assistant professor at the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication the university.

“Saying Cherry 7-Up contains antioxidants is misleading. Food marketers are exploiting consumer desires to be healthy by marketing products as nutritious when, in fact, they’re not,” said Northup, principal investigator of the study, “Truth, Lies, and Packaging: How Food Marketing Creates a False Sense of Health.”

The study examined the degree to which consumers link marketing terms on food packaging with good health. It found that consumers tend to view food products labeled with health-related euphemisms as healthier than those without them. The research also showed that the nutrition facts panels printed on food packaging as required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration do little to counteract that buzzword marketing.

“Words like organic, antioxidant, natural and gluten-free imply some sort of healthy benefit,” Northup said. “When people stop to think about it, there’s nothing healthy about antioxidant Cherry 7-Up – it’s mostly filled with high fructose syrup or sugar. But its name is giving you this clue that there is some sort of health benefit to something that is not healthy at all.”

The study also looks at the priming psychology behind the words to explain why certain words prompt consumers to assign a health benefit to a food product with unhealthy ingredients.

“For example, if I gave you the word doctor, not only doctor would be accessible in your mind – now all these other things would be accessible in your mind -  nurse, stethoscope, etc.,” Northup said. “What happens when these words become accessible, they tend to influence or bias your frame of mind and how you evaluate something.”

This triggered concept is then available to influence later thoughts and behaviors, often without explicit awareness of this influence – the so-called priming effect, Northup said.

Northup developed an experiment using priming theory to gather quantitative research on how food marketers influence consumers. He developed an online survey that randomly showed images of food products that either included actual marketing words, like organic, or a Photoshop image removing any traces of those words, thereby creating two different images of the same product. A total of 318 study participants took the survey to rate how healthy each product was.

Northup found when participants were shown the front of food packaging that included one of those trigger words, they would rate the items as healthier.

“I took a label from Cherry 7-Up Antioxidant and Photoshop it without the word ‘antioxidant’ and only the words, ‘Cherry 7-Up.’ I then asked people via the online survey which one they thought was healthier,” said Northup. “Each time a participant saw one of the triggering words on a label, they would identify it as healthier than the other image without the word. ”

Northup said he hopes the results of this study will contribute to an increased dialogue on how food is marketed, guide development of specific media literacy and help people understand the effects of how food is marketed to consumers.