Biz Markie in 2014 (left) and 2011

*Nobody beats the Biznot even a diagnosis of diabetes, if the rapper has anything to say about it.

Biz Markie, 50, told ABC News that hes dropped 140 pounds over the last three years after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

I wanted to live, he told the network. Since I have to be a diabetic, if I didnt make the changes, it was going to make the diabetes worse. Im trying to get off [the diabetes medication]. The way you gotta do it is lose the weight. Im off half my meds, I just got to get off the rest.

At the time of the diagnosis, doctors told Markie that he was going to have to start living a healthier lifestyle if he wanted to overcome the disease.

They said I could lose my feet, he said. They said I could lose body parts. A lot of things could happen.

Rapper Biz Markie attends the 20th Century Fox presentation during Comic-Con International 2014 at San Diego Convention Center on July 25, 2014 in San Diego, California

Markies new lifestyle hasnt just been a boon to his health, its also made him a better performer.

When I used to be on stage, I used to be out of breath, I couldnt walk that far, he said. Now, I got so much energy. I can do a whole show.

Biz hopes to drop 10 more pounds next year.

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Biz Markie Sheds 140 Lbs after Diabetes Diagnosis: I Wanted to Live

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, more than one in five fatal crashes involves a drowsy driver.

An example of those dangers recently played out in Berks County.

On Wednesday, a Lehigh County man and a Berks County woman were killed and nine others injured after a tractor trailer plowed into several cars on Route 222 in Maidencreek Township.

Jeremy Augustine, 23, of Emmaus, and 32-year-old Jane Harakal of Topton both died.

The tractor trailer driver accused of causing it, 49-year-old Steven Bernier of Reading, remains jailed on homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter charges. Bernier was allegedly asleep at the wheel.

Back in January, it was a similar incident when a truck driver plowed through one of the toll booths on Interstate 78 coming from New Jersey into Pennsylvania.

Fifty-five-year-old Robert Gawne was charged with homicide by vehicle after police say he fell asleep at the wheel while approaching the I-78 toll plaza in Williams Township, Northampton County.

Officials say his truck was airborne, landed on a car and hit the toll booth before bursting into flames. The driver of the car, Daniel Murphy of Hackettstown, N.J., was killed.

Asif Aslam owns and operates Advance Driving School in Lehigh Valley and says truck drivers should listen to their bodies to avoid collisions.

"As professional drivers, they have to meet some deadlines. They have long distances to travel. They need to stop often," Aslam said. "They need to take enough breaks."

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Local tragedy sheds light on drowsy-driving epidemic

In the sheds with the All Blacks after their match against Wales
Hear from the players after their victory over Wales in Cardiff.

By: All Blacks

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In the sheds with the All Blacks after their match against Wales - Video

In the impact investing world, most of the attention has been on the social side. But fact is theres a lot going on in the environmental part of the equation.

Thats why a group of organizations, including The Nature Conservancy Nature Conservancys impact investing division NatureVest and EKO Asset Management Partners, together with JP Morgan Chase Chase, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, decided to study whats happening in the area. The 60 or so players who responded to their survey reported $23.4 billion was invested from 2009 to 2013.

Even practitioners dont have an overview of the field or the different ways other people are going about it, says Ricardo Bayon of EKO Asset Management.

The findings: Theres a significant amount of money out there for these investments, but not enough places to deploy it. (I recently wrote about a report that found impact investors cite a a lack of appropriate social enterprises to fund).

Called Investing in Conservation, the report focuses not so much on solar energy and other forms of clean tech, but, as the title suggests, on what the authors calls conservation impact investing. We wanted to fill in the gaps, says Bayon.

To that end, the report surveyed about 1,300 transactions from 2004 to 2013 in three areas: sustainable food and fiber, habitat conservation and water quality and quantity. (It defines conservation investments as those intended to return principal or generate profit while also driving a positive impact on natural resources and ecosystemsspecifically, decreased pressure on a critical ecological resource and/or the preservation or enhancement of critical habitat).

Go here to read the rest:
Report Sheds Light On 'Conservation' Impact Investing

As people pack away their garden furniture and equipment for another year, police officers in Conwy and Denbigh rural are urging residents to ensure they secure their sheds.

Having a good quality locks fitted and regularly checking all outbuildings to ensure they remain secure are just two of the reminders that are being issued to residents.

Generally people will use their garden sheds to store a range of items including lawn mowers, strimmers, tools and sometime bikes - goods which collectively are worth a considerable amount of money, said District Inspector Gareth Jones. As winter approaches, its important to make sure they remain secure.

Check the buildings regularly and remember to security mark all valuable items. Should you become a victim of burglary it will be harder for the offender to pass or sell on your goods if they are security marked. You will stand a better chance of being re-united with your property.

While the need to tend gardens generally decreases as winter approaches, the changes in season can often make no difference to the opportunist thief who will look to steal anything of value particularly items that are easily portable.

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Police urge people to make sure they secure their sheds

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Minister Murder Suspect Sheds Tears in Court
The couple accused of killing a Chattanooga minister made their first appearance in a Hamilton County Court Tuesday morning. Shackled, trembling, and holding...

By: newschannelnine

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Minister Murder Suspect Sheds Tears in Court - Video

MUSKEGON, MI A transcript of the commutation hearing for Timothy Jon Spytmasheds light on the state's decision to free Spytma from a life sentence nearly 40 years after he participated in the brutal murder of Phyllis Doctor one of the most notorious crimes in Muskegon County history.

Spytma, now 55, was freed on a four-year parole July 22. He lives in the Ann Arbor area and reports to the parole office there.

Spytma declined a detailed interview for this story but said in a brief telephone conversation Nov. 20 that he's doing well four months after release. "I work, I go to school. Doing A-OK. My (parole) oversight fees are paid through the year. I report to my agent twice a month. Urine drop, Breathalyzer, everything is A-OK with me and my agent."

Penelope Ryder, Sptyma's friend and advocate since the 1980s, said he works 10 hours a week with the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker-affiliated social-justice organization, and attends classes at Washtenaw County Community College. "He is doing beautifully," Ryder said.

According to the 210-page transcript of Spytma's May 1 public commutation hearing, obtained by MLive Muskegon Chronicle through the Freedom of Information Act, a dozen witnesses testified in support of Spytma's release. They vouched for what they called his good character in recent decades, saying Spytma had matured and reformed during his decades in prison and could be released safely.

Arguing against freedom were an assistant Michigan attorney general and the chief trial attorney for the Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office, citing the brutality of the crime, misconduct reports from earlier in Spytma's prison career, and what they considered his minimizing of his role in the murder. The prosecutor also read letters opposing release from the victim's son, daughter and the son's wife.

The hearing also included Spytma's own account of his and Michael Saxton's actions on Dec. 16, 1974, the day the teens brutally murdered the 42-year-old Doctor, Spytma's next-door neighbor.

The hearing was held in front of Michigan Parole Board member Sonia Amos Warchock at the G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson. Warchock later presented a transcript of the hearing to the state's full 10-member parole board for a decision.

The upshot was Spytma's release.

He had been serving a parolable life sentence on an adult conviction of second-degree murder.

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Paroled Muskegon County murderer Timothy Spytma speaks; hearing transcript sheds light on his release

The equities segment of the Nigerian Stock Exchange closed on a negative note on Thursday following a broad sell-off by investors.

The NSE All Share Index fell by 2.09 per cent or 717.03 basis points from 34,145.79 basis points to 33,428.76 basis points.

In the same vein, the market capitalisation of the listed equities was down by N237bn or 2.09 per cent to N11.076tn from N11.313tn Wednesdays close.

The NSE 30 Index, which tracks the performance of the 30 top quoted companies on the Exchange, shed 32.29 basis points or 2.09 per cent to close at 1,510.32 basis points.

With the exception of the NSE Alternative Securities Market Index, which was little-changed at 1,014.90, all other market indices declined.

For instance, the NSE Banking Index fell by 1.62 basis points or 0.46 per cent from 353.26 to 351.64 basis points.

Also, the NSE Insurance Index declined by 0.27 per cent to 143.72, the NSE Consumer Goods Index shed 27.26 basis points or 3.1 per cent to close at 850.77 basis points, while the NSE Oil and Gas Index dipped by 18.31 basis points or 4.47 per cent to close at 391.36 basis points.

The NSE Lotus Islamic Index was down by 74.64 basis points or 3.44 per cent to close at 2,093.17 basis points, while the NSE Industrial Index fell by 46.64 basis points or 2.29 per cent to 1,988.45 basis points.

The banking sub-sector led the activity chart, accounting for 57.7 per cent of total turnover volume.

In the sub-sector, investors exchanged 180.374 million shares worth N1.091bn in 1,300 deals.

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NSE index sheds 2.09% as 42 stocks fall