The Daily Blog

Obama’s Birth Certificate Released.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House released the long form of President Barack Obama’s birth certificate Wednesday in response to questions about whether he was really born in the U.S.

The certificate says Obama was born in Hawaii, which makes him eligible to hold the office of president. Obama had earlier released a standard short form, but requested copies of his original birth certificate from Hawaii officials this week in hopes of quieting the controversy.

White House spokesman Jay Carney says Obama felt the debate over his birthplace had become a “sideshow” that was bad for the country and political debate.White House officials have said the issue was settled long ago. But so-called “birthers” opposed to Obama have kept the issue alive. Potential Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump recently began questioning why Obama hadn’t ensured the long form was released.

“The president feels this was bad for the country, that it’s not healthy for our political debate,” Carney said.

New Bill Could Help Protect Against Sports Injuries in Teens.

Two U.S. congressional  have set a new bill into motion to better protect children against sports-related head injury. U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey and U.S. Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico declared March 16 to be Brain Injury Awareness Day by introducing the Children’s Sports Athletic Equipment Safety Act.

According to information released from Sen. Udall’s office, sports are the second leading cause of traumatic brain injury for those 15 to 24 years old, second only to motor vehicle accidents. In addition, athletes suffer up to 3.8 million concussions each year with football causing the highest number of concussion incidents. Twenty percent of high school football players suffer brain injuries in any given season.

“Currently helmets, as long as they are properly fitted and NOSCAE certified, are strong enough to prevent certain types of sports-related head injuries,” Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher of the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan told AOL Health. However, he added while these helmets will prevent fractures and other injuries, they are not good at preventing concussions specifically.

The new bill would ensure new and reconditioned sports helmets would offer a higher standard of protection for high school students and younger players.

“Today, football faces a crisis — a brain injury epidemic that affects our country’s 4.5 million youth and high school football players,” says Udall in a press release. “While there will always be some risk of injury, we must make sure that athletes, coaches, and parents know about the dangers and signs of concussion.” Udall also stresses the importance of using safe and quality equipment.

“Unfortunately, there are an estimated 100,000 helmets out there that are more than a decade old,” said Udall in a press conference held Wednesday. “These helmets will be worn by high school and younger football players this fall.” Udall also indicated new football helmets would need to be four times stronger to protect against concussions.The new bill would also increase potential penalties to companies using false safety claims to sell sports and athletic gear, which Udall says is a step in the right direction.

“This is a ‘light touch’ approach that gives industry groups time to put safety first and improve their helmet standards,” said Udall. “But if those improvements are not made, then the Consumer Product Safety Commission must issue product safety rules for football helmets to protect kids.”Dr. Daniel Kantor, medical director at Neurologique in Florida and team neurologist for the Jacksonville Axemen rugby team, says concussions are generally “invisible” and are sometimes ignored. “It is easy to notice when someone’s arm is broken, but a broken head is hard to see,” he says. “On top of that, coaches, parents, and athletes are taught to be ‘tough’ and ‘play through the pain.’ This translates into athletes not speaking up about concussions and the coaches and parents not recognizing them.”

Udall’s office also released additional information showing support for the act from Nick Lowery, retired kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs. “From my 18 years as a professional football player, I know firsthand the risk of injury — especially brain injury,” Lowery explains in a press release. “When I played football, suffering a concussion was often shrugged off as merely having your ‘bell rung.’ We now know that multiple concussions can lead to lasting brain damage and should be treated as a serious matter.”

Lowery agrees improving sports safety for kids and discouraging sports equipment companies from making false injury prevention claims are two necessary steps in reducing sports-related brain injuries.

“We must do more to ensure that children participate in sports and exercise for all the health benefits they bring,” explained Udall during the Wednesday press conference.