CHICAGO (Reuters) – Hundreds of demonstrators staged raucous protests against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s budget cuts and other economic issues on the eve of the NATO summit, but police said there were few arrests and only minor clashes.

The crowds were in the hundreds on Saturday, down from an estimated 2,500 people on Friday at Daley Plaza, named for longtime Mayor Richard J. Daley, who headed the city during bloody clashes between police and anti-Vietnam War protesters at the 1968 Democratic convention.

The violence that was anticipated before the NATO summit never materialized, although the biggest rally was expected on Sunday. Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said late on Saturday there had been 18 arrests during the week.

One protester was taken to a hospital after a group of people swarmed on a police vehicle and slashed a tire, McCarthy said. Local media showed video of the man in front of the vehicle trying to stop it but it was unclear if he was run over.

Another protester spray-painted an “A” for anarchy on the door of a Verizon Wireless store.

Saturday’s marches began early, with an estimated 500 people protesting outside Emanuel’s home to criticize cuts in city mental health services.

McCarthy said protesters were “making noise and disrupting some people’s lives,” but that overall, events were going well.

While the city of Chicago had not granted a permit for Saturday’s protests, police allowed several groups of protesters to wander around the city guided by officers mostly on bicycles. There was some pushing and shoving between police and protesters but no major clashes.

Saturday’s protests followed the announcement that three men arrested earlier in the week had been charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism. Prosecutors said the three self-described anarchists were planning to attack President Barack Obama’s Chicago campaign headquarters and Emanuel’s home.

‘SHAME ON YOU’

Again on Saturday, the protests stressed economic and social policy issues rather than international questions, such as the war in Afghanistan, expected to be discussed by world leaders at the NATO summit on Sunday and Monday.

Three protest leaders said they met with NATO Ambassador Kolinda Grabar of the military alliance’s public diplomacy unit.

“My message to Ambassador Grabar was that we are very aware of the immense violence and oppression that the U.S. in its NATO guise does to the world, and that no amount of words from her or pronouncements from the summit itself will obscure that,” said Andy Thayer, one of the protest leaders.

Many of the protesters were from the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York last autumn to protest policies that lead to income inequality. The group says 1 percent of the U.S. population holds too much of the nation’s wealth.

The protest included some former patients of six city-run mental health clinics that shut at the end of April to save $2.3 million to help close the city’s $650 million budget deficit.

“He (Emanuel) hasn’t talked to us once, not once, since he’s been in office,” said Marti Luckett, 60, a patient at one of the shuttered clinics. “We want him to show up.

“I think President Obama should be calling Rahm Emanuel and say, ‘Shame on you.’” Emanuel is Obama’s former White House chief of staff.

The city says patients should be able to receive care at the six remaining clinics or some run by outside groups.

Small groups of protesters, some carrying signs that read: “Food not bombs” and “seize the peace,” accompanied former patients of the clinics dressed in green hospital smocks going door to door to talk to residents in Emanuel’s neighborhood. The former patients wore signs saying: “Welfare not warfare.”

(Writing By Nick Carey; Additional reporting by James Kelleher; Editing by Peter Cooney and Doina Chiacu)

CHICAGO (Reuters) – About 500 demonstrators gathered outside the home of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Saturday to protest the recent closure of mental health clinics as part of a series of rallies and marches timed to coincide with a NATO summit here.

But the protest was much smaller than one attended by an estimated 2,500 people at a downtown plaza on Friday. The biggest rally is expected to be on Sunday near the convention center where world leaders will gather.

Fears that violence would erupt have so far proved unfounded although the big rally was still to come on Sunday. Chicago police superintendent Garry McCarthy said 14 arrests had been made in connection with protests in the past week.

McCarthy said protesters were “making noise and disrupting some people’s lives” but overall events were going well.

While the city of Chicago had not granted a permit for Saturday’s protest, police allowed hundreds of people to return for an impromptu rally at the plaza where they gathered on Friday.

Again on Saturday, the protests stressed economic and social service issues rather than international questions such as the war in Afghanistan expected to be discussed by world leaders at the NATO summit.

Many of the protesters are from the anti-Wall Street Occupy movement that started in New York last fall, which says 1 percent of the U.S. population holds too much of the nation’s wealth.

The protest on Saturday began as a group of about 50 people, including some former patients of six city-run mental health clinics that closed at the end of April to save $2.3 million to help eliminate the city’s $650 million budget deficit.

“He (Emanuel) hasn’t talked to us once, not once since he’s been in office,” said Marti Luckett, 60, a patient at one of the shuttered clinics who is bipolar and suffers from depression. “We want him to show up.

“I think President (Barack) Obama should be calling Rahm Emanuel and say, ‘Shame on you.’”

Chicago has closed half of the dozen city-run mental health clinics because of budget cuts. The city says patients should be able to receive care at the remaining clinics or some run by outside groups.

“The administration is committed to promoting the health and wellness of Chicagoans in every neighborhood,” a spokeswoman for the city said.

Small groups of protesters, some carrying signs that read “food not bombs” and “seize the peace,” accompanied former patients of the clinics dressed in green hospital smocks going door to door to talk to residents in Emanuel’s neighborhood. The former patients wore signs saying “welfare not warfare.”

At Emanuel’s home protesters were greeted during the late morning by some 30 police officers who were in a relaxed mood and told protesters to keep moving. Protesters returned to the home after lunch in larger numbers but were kept back by police. By late afternoon the crowd had dwindled to a handful of people.

The protest on Saturday followed the announcement that three men arrested earlier in the week at a house in the Chicago area had been charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism. Prosecutors said the three self-described anarchists were planning to attack Obama’s campaign headquarters and Emanuel’s home.

Less than a block from the mayor’s home Colette Kelsey, 39, and Doug Anderson, 43, were among the few residents who opened their doors to Saturday’s protesters.

“We can all empathize but when you have limited funds what can you do?” Kelsey said of the clinic closures.

A police spokeswoman Melissa Stratton said two likely protesters were arrested for trespassing at a downtown museum early on Saturday morning, but did not have additional details.

(Writing By Nick Carey; Additional reporting by James Kelleher; Editing by Dan Burns and Bill Trott)

FRIDAY, May 18 (HealthDay News) — Female athletes take longer to
recover from concussions, a new study says.

Young athletes also have longer recovery times. The findings show that
doctors and athletic trainers need to take gender and age into account
when treating patients with concussions, said researchers from Michigan
State University.

The researchers studied data from nearly 300 athletes in the United
States who suffered concussions, all of whom had completed a baseline test
prior to their head injury and took three different post-concussion
tests.

Compared to males, females performed worse on post-concussion visual
memory tests and reported more concussion symptoms. The researchers also
found that high school athletes did worse than college athletes on verbal
and visual memory tests. Some of the high school athletes still showed
mental impairment up to two weeks after the injury.

“While previous research suggests younger athletes and females may take
longer to recover from a concussion, little was known about the
interactive effects of age and sex on symptoms, cognitive testing and
postural stability,” study leader Tracey Covassin, a certified athletic
trainer at Michigan State, said in a university news release. “This study
confirms that age and sex have an impact on recovery, and future research
should focus on developing treatments tailored to those differences.”

The study appeared May 8 in the American Journal of Sports
Medicine.

“We need to raise awareness that female athletes do get concussions,”
she said. “Too often, when we speak with parents and coaches, they
overlook the fact that in comparable sports, females are concussed more
than males.”

Covassin also said the study points out a potential danger to younger
athletes who resume play before they’re fully recovered from a
concussion.

“Younger athletes appear more at risk for second-impact syndrome, where
a second concussion can come with more severe symptoms,” she said. “While
it is rare, there is a serious risk for brain damage, and the risk is
heightened when athletes are coming back before they heal.”

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about concussions.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

SATURDAY, May 19 (HealthDay News) — More than 4.7 million
Americans are bitten by dogs each year, and more than half of those
victims are younger than age 14, experts say.

During National Dog Bite Prevention Week (May 20 to 26), the American
Academy of Pediatrics is joining with the American Veterinary Medical
Association and the U.S. Postal Service to educate people about dog
safety.

They offer many tips to help parents protect their children from dog
bites.

• If your family is planning to get a dog, choose a suitable breed.
  Collies and Labrador retrievers are among the breeds recommended as
  generally safe with children. Talk to your veterinarian for more
  information about how different breeds behave.
• Dogs need to be socialized. You can do this by gradually exposing your
  puppy to a variety of people and other animals so it feels at ease in
  these situations. Continue this training as your dog gets older.
• Training is essential. Commands create a bond of obedience and trust
  between people and dogs.
• Don’t wrestle or play aggressive games such as tug-of-war with your
  dog.
• Neutering your dog will make it less likely to bite, and you need to
  vaccinate your dog against rabies and other diseases.
• Never leave a baby or small child alone with a dog. Teach children not
  to bother a dog if it is sleeping, eating or caring for puppies, and teach
  them not to run past a dog.
• If a dog threatens you, remain calm, avoid eye contact and either
  stand still until the dog leaves or back away slowly. If an aggressive dog
  knocks you down, curl into a ball and protect your face with your
  hands.
• If a dog bites you or your child, clean small wounds with soap and
  water and seek medical care for larger wounds. Contact the dog’s
  veterinarian to check vaccination records.

More information

The Nemours Foundation offers tips for selecting safe pets.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks fell on Friday after a sloppy debut by Facebook Inc spoiled hopes that a spectacular open for the most-anticipated stock sale in years would brighten the mood in what has been a gloomy month for equity markets.

Shares of Facebook, the social networking giant, were volatile in the busiest day ever for a trading debut. After early gains of more than 10 percent, Facebook shares fell back to the $38 issue price, ending up just 0.6 percent at $38.23.

It was the Nasdaq’s most actively traded stock, with more than 566 million shares traded.

“When Nasdaq started running into some problems early on before Facebook opened – when there was a sense they kept putting it off, putting it off, the market did come under a little bit of pressure because people were getting nervous about it,” said Ken Polcari, managing director at ICAP Equities in New York.

The S&P 500 dipped below 1,300, seen as a key support level, for the first time since mid-January. Investors were cautious before leaders of the Group of Eight nations met about the euro zone debt crisis.

After delays in the scheduled start of Facebook trading raised anxiety levels among traders and onlookers outside Nasdaq’s headquarters, the stock opened at $42.05, compared with an initial public offering price of $38 a share. It rose as high as $45 before pulling back.

Investors were left in the dark about whether their buy and sell orders on Facebook went through as the Nasdaq did not tell broker/dealers whether opening trades had been executed. Nasdaq did not disseminate execution data until 1:50 p.m. (1750 GMT).

“The fact that there is this much interest in a big capital raise, an event like this is good for the markets overall,” said Gordon Charlop, a managing director at Rosenblatt Securities in New York.

The S&P 500 fell for a sixth straight day and recorded its worst week since November on growing concerns that global growth will suffer from the euro zone’s problems and signs of a slowing U.S. recovery.

The broad index has dropped 7.3 percent so far in May.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 73.11 points, or 0.59 percent, to 12,369.38. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 9.64 points, or 0.74 percent, to 1,295.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 34.90 points, or 1.24 percent, to 2,778.79.

For the week, the Dow fell 3.5 percent, the S&P 500 declined 4.3 percent and the the Nasdaq was down 5.3 percent.

Markets are awaiting the G8 meeting when leaders of the world’s major industrial economies convene near Washington this weekend.

They will confront the continuing crisis in the euro zone, including the increasing likelihood of a Greek departure from the bloc.

“Domestically we are kind of in a lull in a sense that we are between Fed periods and earnings, so to try to find direction, one of the things that seems to be jumping up at guys is macro, global. And right now that’s not wonderful,” said Charlop.

Shares of companies in the online social media sphere declined. LinkedIn fell 5.7 percent to $99.02 and Groupon Inc lost 6.7 percent to $11.70. Zynga plunged 13.4 percent to $7.16 after being halted twice during the session.

Biotechs stumbled, weighed down by an 10.9 percent drop in Sequenom Inc to $4.25 after the company said insurer Coventry Health Care Inc terminated an agreement to provide coverage for a prenatal test for Down Syndrome. The NYSEArca biotech index dropped 2.2 percent.

Shares of Foot Locker jumped 8.3 percent to $30.33 after the athletic footwear retailer posted higher-than-expected quarterly results.

Winnebago Industries Inc advanced 1.8 percent to $8.66 after receiving an unsolicited buyout offer from North Street Capital LP, the investment firm of racing car enthusiast Alex Mascioli, valuing the No. 1 U.S. motor home maker at $321.5 million.

Volume was strong with about 8.8 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq, above the daily average of 6.83 billion.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 2,297 to 728, while on the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers 1,791 to 699.