Study: ‘Choking game’ popular with children

January 15, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

PORTLAND, Ore. — A new report suggests a large number of eighth-graders in Oregon have taken part in the “choking game,” the dangerous practice of choking each other to get a feeling of euphoria.

As many as 2,600 eighth-graders may have risked injury, long-term disability or even death by trying the so-called “game” that also carries nicknames such as “Pass-Out,” “Space Monkey,” “Flatliner” and “Blackout.”

“That’s a lot of kids,” said Dr. Mel Kohn, the state public-health director.

The results of the Oregon Public Health survey released Thursday by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta were compiled from responses from nearly 8,000 eighth-graders at 114 schools in Oregon.

The survey, conducted in 2008, also showed that more than a third of those eighth-graders had heard about the choking game.

Obamas, Kennedys join fight for Senate seat

BOSTON — President Barack Obama and the family of Edward M. Kennedy pushed Thursday to keep a Democrat in the late senator’s seat and protect a 60th vote needed to pass the health-care bill that would be Kennedy’s legacy.

The stepped-up involvement of two Democratic powerhouses reflected the degree to which Obama’s party worried about a Massachusetts contest that just a week ago looked like a lock for Democrat Martha Coakley.

Stopping short of a visit to the state, Obama made his first foray into the race, asking his political backers in an e-mailed video to support Coakley in what’s become a competitive race against Republican Scott Brown.

Suicide bomber kills 20 in Afghanistan

KABUL — A suicide bomber killed 20 people — including three children — Thursday in a market in central Afghanistan in the deadliest attack against Afghan civilians in more than three months.

Suicide bombings and other attacks have become the No. 1 killer of Afghan civilians in the intensifying war between U.S.-led forces and the Taliban. A United Nations report released this week found that the number of Afghan civilians killed in war-related violence rose last year to its highest level of the 8-year-old war — with nearly 70 percent of the deaths blamed on the Taliban and their allies.

Iraq sentences 11 to death for government bombings

BAGHDAD — An Iraqi court Thursday sentenced 11 people to death by hanging after convicting them of carrying out the August bombings of two government ministries that killed more than 100 people in the heart of Baghdad.

The attacks — the deadliest to that point in more than a year and a half — raised questions about the ability of Iraqi forces to protect the country. They came less than two months after the U.S. handed over control of the country’s cities to local security forces.

The bombings and two more massive attacks since have shaken Iraqis’ confidence in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has staked his political reputation on keeping Iraq safe as he seeks to secure a second term. The swift convictions were announced less than two months before Iraqis vote in a nationwide parliamentary election.

South Korean teens win world texting competition

NEW YORK — Two South Korean teenagers have been crowned fastest texters in the world.

The team of 17-year-old Bae Yeong Ho and 18-year-old Ha Mok Min went thumb-to-thumb against competitors from a dozen countries to win the title in a competition Thursday in New York City.

The LG Mobile World Cup challenged nimble-fingered youths on both speed and accuracy. The winning team took home a $100,000 prize.

Second place and $20,000 went to the U.S. contestants — 16-year-old Kate Moore of Des Moines, Iowa, who is the 2009 U.S. National Texting Champion, and 14-year-old Morgan Dynda of Pooler, Ga., the 2009 runner-up. An Argentinian team came in third, and the Brazilians took fourth.

Associated Press