Via CNS News: A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine raises new questions surrounding the meaning of PVS (persistent vegetative state) and whether or not Terry Schiavo was even in one. This is no surprise to Schiavo’s brother, Bobby Schindler. “The more anecdotal testimony we heard about the diagnosis of PVS, the more my family was convinced that Terri simply didn’t fit the profile and was never PVS. We also suspected such a diagnosis (typically made at the bedside) was seriously flawed. This became very obvious by the way Terri interacted with my mother, not to mention the videos which clearly showed that Terri was able to track objects and follow simple commands. I was oftentimes rather astonished at the number of different and opposing conclusions I heard from neurologists, physicians, speech therapists and so many other medical professionals who tried to determine whether or not Terri was in a PVS.”

VIDEO: Sestaks stands by claim that White House offered him a job.

BEIJING (AFP) – China on Friday angrily protested at US President Barack Obama’s meeting with the Dalai Lama, saying it had “seriously harmed” relations and summoning the American ambassador in Beijing. The denunciation came swiftly after Obama vowed support for Tibetan rights in his White House talks with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader on Thursday, a meeting that China had repeatedly warned against.

PAGE A1 HEADLINE: As Campaign Nears, Paterson Is Seen as Increasingly Remote

A White House spokesman this morning strongly denied an offer had been made to Sestak. Before the spokesman issued the denial, a senior Pennsylvania Democrat said Sestak’s account was met with anger by White House officials yesterday. After yesterday’s taping, Sestak said he recalled the White House offer coming in July, as he was preparing to formally announce his Senate candidacy in August. He declined to identify who spoke to him or the job under discussion. Sestak also would not say whether the person who approached him worked for the administration or was an intermediary for the offer. “I’m not going to say who or how and what was offered,” Sestak said in an interview. “I don’t feel it’s appropriate to go beyond what I said,” because the conversation was confidential.

. . . The Marines have been warned: Any rough treatment or even harsh language aimed at a detainee is forbidden. When making an arrest, they are instructed to ask their subject if he will voluntarily go with them. “We don’t want any of our Marines to make a scene,” said Capt. Yuri Paredes, commander of the battalion’s Alpha Company. “People will think we’re degrading them.” Cases of detainees resisting are few; even while protesting their innocence, most go without a struggle. For the Marines, it’s a test of their ability to follow orders and keep their anger in check. Most detainees are suspected of planting roadside bombs or taking sniper shots at troops. “It’s hard to put our feelings aside when these guys were shooting at Marines,” Staff Sgt. Jason Moore said. “But we do it; that’s what makes us better than them.”

Democrats will have to wait until after the May 4 primary to officially pick their nominee to replace Sen. Evan Bayh. Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker, who had said he wanted a candidate quickly, said Thursday that “the sooner rather than later has now become later.” Parker had hoped to call a meeting of the Democratic Party’s state central committee’s 32 voting members as early as next week. But after party attorneys researched state law, they discovered they could not fill the ballot vacancy until after the primary.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman on his feud with President Obama and Obama’s recent comments on Las Vegas: “If he calls me and indicates he is going to rectify the situation … and buys me a martini, I would certainly honor that request,”

Nine Michigan school districts were named “top school districts” and featured recently on a Detroit television program on the state’s best schools. A website bestschoolsinmichigan.com also features the nine schools. How did they earn the honor? You’re guessing test scores, graduation rates, or college acceptances maybe? Cold, hard cash.

LAS VEGAS—President Barack Obama is expected to announce plans Friday to provide an additional $1.5 billion to a state-assistance program for homeowners worst hit by the downturn in U.S. housing values.

WASHINGTON – Sounding like a potential rival for President Obama in 2012, Mitt Romney delivered a brutal critique yesterday of what he called American liberal “neo-monarchists’’ as he sought the favor of traditional conservatives and insurgent tea party activists at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

There is a lot of evidence linking low-risk drinking with lower rates of heart attacks, strokes and dying, especially among middle-aged and older adults. However, most of this is correlational, meaning these things tend to go together without being able to say what causes what. There is a clinical trial under way to actually test whether “prescribing” a daily dose of alcohol reduces cardiac risk or not, and what harmful effects there might be. In the absence of such studies assessing risk versus benefit, it is premature to “prescribe” drinking. On the other hand, low-risk drinking is associated with many other good health outcomes, including a reduced likelihood of diabetes or Alzheimer’s disease.

He may be small in size, but Gary Coleman has one large attitude. While appearing on “The Insider” Wednesday night, the former child star engaged in a heated argument with attorney Lisa Bloom that resulted in him storming off the set. The incident began when Bloom, a guest panelist on the show, confronted Coleman about whether he has an abusive relationship with his wife, Shannon Price.

The U.S. Army is investigating allegations that soldiers were attempting to poison the food supply at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. The ongoing probe began two months ago, Chris Grey, a spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, told Fox News. The Army is taking the allegations “extremely seriously,” Grey said, but so far, “there is no credible information to support the allegations.” The suspects were part of a Arabic translation program called “09 Lima” and use Arabic as their first language, two sources told Fox News. Another military source said they were Muslim. Grey would not confirm or deny the sources’ information.

A zebra from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus escaped his handler and led police on a chase through downtown Atlanta on Thursday afternoon. The black-and-white striped animal was spotted all over town — in the parking lot near the Richard B. Russell Federal Building, near Centennial Olympic Park, CNN and on the Downtown Connector. He was finally captured on the interstate near the Grady curve. According to witnesses, he was galloping between lanes of traffic on the Downtown Connector before his capture.

State transportation agencies received $777 million today from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help fund 22 state-sponsored projects including several that will improve freight connections. State DOTs and affiliated agencies from 23 states were awarded 52 percent of the $1.5 billion made available by Congress through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the TIGER grant program.

NEW YORK (AP) – Tina Fey will probably reprise her famous impression of Sarah Palin when she hosts “Saturday Night Live” in April, the comedian told The Associated Press. “It’s inevitable that we’ll try it, at least,” Fey said in an interview Tuesday. “We’ll see if it makes it to air.”

McGregor: “I was sent the script from Roman Polanski asking me to play the part. Roman’s not someone I knew or met but he’s certainly someone I wanted to work with,” McGregor said. “I don’t comment on his case because it has nothing to do with me. I work with him as an actor … I’ve known him for less than a year.”

The Trade, a film that tells the true tale of two New York Yankees pitchers who caused a national scandal by swapping wives in the sexually-free 1970s, has finally hit the big leagues.

NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey man has pleaded not guilty after police say he told them he threw his 3-month-old daughter off a bridge. Twenty-one-year-old Shamsid-Din Abdur-Raheem appeared composed during his video arraignment Thursday in Newark. He is charged with kidnapping, attempted murder, aggravated assault and child endangerment. The child’s mother watched in court but had no visible reaction. Officials say she had sought a restraining order against Abdur-Raheem.