Bill Clinton recovering in hospital from infection

ORANGE, Calif. - Former US President Bill Clinton remained in a California hospital on Friday, where he was recovering from a non-coronavirus infection three days after he was admitted.

The 75-year-old, who left office in 2001, entered the University of California Irvine Medical Center on Tuesday evening for the infection, according to his spokesman, Angel Urena. Clinton is "on the mend," Urena said.

"He's up and about, joking and charming the hospital staff," Urena told Reuters on Thursday.

Clinton went to the hospital after suffering from fatigue and has received both IV antibiotics and fluids, his doctors said.

He has dealt with heart problems in the past, including a 2004 quadruple bypass surgery and a 2010 procedure to open a blocked artery.

The Democrat served two terms in the White House from 1993 to 2001, overseeing strong economic growth while engaging in bruising political battles with his Republican opposition.

The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives impeached him in 1998 over his sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, but Clinton was acquitted by the Senate. He was only the second US president to be impeached; Donald Trump would later become the third when he was impeached twice during his term.

The former Arkansas governor was known as a exceptionally talented politician, combining a folksy charm with a deep knowledge of policy issues. He defeated an incumbent president, Republican George H.W. Bush, in 1992 and then beat longtime Republican Senator Bob Dole in 1996.

Since leaving office, Clinton has become a cheerleader for his wife, Hillary Clinton, who was elected to the US Senate from New York in 2000.

She unsuccessfully sought the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination and then won the party's nod in 2016, when she eventually lost to Trump despite winning the national popular vote.

-reuters

Amanda Griffin Jacob on vegetarianism and Bill Clinton

MANILA, Philippines - Amanda Griffin Jacob, proud mother of two boys Kieran (3 years old) and Kalon (7 months old), splits her time between Manila and Hong Kong, is currently busy shooting season 2 of her TV show “Amanda, Living Life” with a premiere on June 19th in the Lifestyle Network, and maintains the popular website for mothers www.glamomamas.com.


With such a busy schedule, you’d think she gets her energy from eating from every food variety. The truth is, since 2007, Amanda has made the lifestyle choice of becoming a vegetarian.

Amanda says that she is the veggie pioneer in their family and she shares that as soon as she started, she started feeling much better physically.

“When I was eating meat I had a lot of digestive issues,” Amanda says. “Mentally, I felt wonderful. I had wanted to become a vegetarian since I was in high school but never thought I would be able to live without meat.”

She, along with 15 other Filipinos, has been nominated in PETA’s (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) search for the Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity. Amanda joins a list that includes Bill Clinton, Michelle Yeoh, Joaquin Phoenix, Anne Hathaway, Zhang Ziyi, and Mike Tyson. Other Filipinos in the list are Cynthia Alexander, Raymond Bagatsing, Lougee Basabas, Geneva Cruz, Chin-Chin Gutierrez, Yasmien Kurdi, Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan, Raya Mananquil, Alicia Mayer, Rocco Nacino, Juliana Palermo, Isabel Roces, Nityalila Saulo, Sandra Seifert, and Julia Sniegowski.

“It is really,really cool to be in a group like that,” Amanda says. “The most impressive vegan for me is Bill Clinton. I always think if he could go veggie then anyone can.”
Lifestyle Feature ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

But Amanda is quick to add that being a vegetarian doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll immediately be sexy.

“You can be vegetarian and be unhealthy,” she says. “Vegetarianism should be a lifestyle choice rather than a quick fix diet.”

Her message for those who want to do just that?

“Do it. It’s not as hard as you think. Your mind, body and planet will thank you for it.”

 You can vote for the Filipino nominees here: http://www.petaasiapacific.com/feature-sexiest-veg-celeb-2013-Eng.asp

source: philstar.com

Bill Clinton offers rousing defense of Obama at convention

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Former President Bill Clinton gave a rousing defense of President Barack Obama's handling of the weak US economy on Wednesday and issued a detailed attack on Republican Mitt Romney in a speech that electrified the Democratic National Convention.

Folksy, long on detail and showing he is still a master orator nearly 12 years after he left office, Clinton gave a more cogent defense of Obama's actions as president than perhaps the current resident of the White House himself.

Obama, he said, cannot be blamed for the weak economy he inherited in 2009 and has set the foundations for strong economic growth—if voters will give him more time and re-elect him on Nov. 6.

"Listen to me now," said Clinton. "No president—not me, not any of my predecessors—could have fully repaired all the damage that he found in just four years."

Obama finds himself in a vulnerable position with the US jobless rate at 8.3 percent, and Clinton's role was to try to make it easier for him.

If Americans "renew the president's contract, you will feel it," he said. Clinton received roaring applause from thousands of Democratic supporters who jammed the convention hall in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"Folks, whether the American people believe what I just said or not may be the whole election. I just want you to know I believe it. With all my heart I believe it," he said.

Obama joined Clinton on stage after the speech for an image of party unity.

The Democrats' most popular elder statesman, Clinton was once an Obama adversary who has since patched up old wounds. He used a stem-winder of a speech that began in TV's prime time and stretched way beyond it to urge Americans to give Obama four more years.

Clinton capped the second night of the convention with a speech that reminded voters of the budget surpluses and job growth he led in the 1990s during his two terms in the White House.

Clinton gave point-by-point criticism of Romney, who is running neck and neck with Obama in opinion polls, and congressional Republicans. He accused Romney of wanting to overhaul government entitlement programs Medicare and Medicaid in a way that would reduce benefits for poor children and seniors, he said.

"If he's elected and he does what he promised to do then Medicare will go broke in 2016," said Clinton.

Romney's criticism of Obama for allowing states to have waivers from work requirements in a welfare law Clinton signed is misplaced, said the former president.

His appearance followed a sometimes chaotic day at the convention, where Obama had to personally intervene to force back into the party platform language declaring Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel.

Democrats also scrambled to move Obama's Thursday night speech indoors. He had wanted to accept the Democratic nomination in an open-air stadium jammed with tens of thousands of supporters to portray an image of strength as he faces a tough re-election fight.

But the threat of thunderstorms from remnants of Hurricane Isaac forced convention organizers to switch the speech to a much smaller location, the Time Warner Cable Arena. –Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com