President Obama makes unannounced visit to Afghanistan

President Obama gave a heartening speech on Sunday to some of the 80,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan according to CNN.com. The commander in chief spoke at the major U.S. base in Afghanistan right after meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the Presidential Palace. Both presidents discussed progress by the Afghan government on its ability to run the country.

“Those folks back home are relying on you,” Obama said as he scanned the crowd of about 2,000 U.S. and allied troops. “I know it’s not easy… but if I thought for a minute that America’s vital interests were not served, were not at stake here in Afghanistan, I would order all of you home right away.”

Obama made clear that his main reason for the trip was to meet with some of the U.S. troops stationed in the country. He also made arraignments for President Karzai to visit the United States in May.

Karzai said he wanted to specifically thank U.S. taxpayers for their aid in helping rebuild his country.

Pilot in local plane crash still in serious condition

The pilot of a plane crash sunday in Palermo, N.Y. is still at University Hospital in serious condition, The Post-Standard said. 56-year-old Frances Englund of Fairport reported being out of fuel during a Sunday trip with a friend. The plane crashed in a field at about 3:30 in the afternoon, according to Federal Aviation Administration and witnesses. 

Englund was immediately airlifted to University Hospital after medics arrived to the scene. The passenger, Nancy Beck, 49, also went to University Hospital where she stays in good condition. 

Syracuse Hancock International Airport recieved a distress call from Englund shortly before it crashed. 

Scientists say fatty foods have addictive qualities

Many of us may have already suspected this, but scientists have now confirmed that fatty foods have cocaine-like addiction according to CNN.com.

A study in rats shows that high-fat, high-calorie foods such as bacon, cheesecake and fast food has similar effects on the brain as drugs like cocaine and heroine. The study suggests that when rats consume these foods in large quantities, it leads to compulsive eating habits seen in drug addiction.

Both of these factors gradually overload the pleasure centers in the brain, according to Paul Kenny, Ph.D., an associate professor at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida. The pleasure centers eventually “crash” or go back to normal…requiring increasing amounts of the drug or food to reach the same pleasure level, Kenny adds.

In the study, Kenny and his partner studied three different groups of lab rats for 40 days. The first group was fed regular rat food. The second group was fed fatty foods – bacon, cheesecake, frosting, and sausage – for only one hour a day. The third group was allowed to have fattening food for up to 23 hours a day. 

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