Memphis, TN – June 11, 2014 – As we welcome the arrival of summer, it also signifies the arrival of another not-so-welcome season - tick season. TruGreen, America's number one lawn care provider, offers Midwestern homeowners a solution to reducing tick populations so they can enjoy their property all summer long.

A tick is an arachnid that feeds on the blood of animals and humans to survive. The tick commonly found in the Midwest is the blacklegged tick, also known as the deer tick. Deer ticks typically make their homes in the Northeast and Midwest, where there are plenty of wooded areas for them to hide. The tiny deer tick nymph is believed to be responsible for up to 90% of the transmission of tick-borne diseases to humans, including Lyme disease. Currently, there are no protective vaccines for humans for tick-borne diseases, so avoiding tick bites by reducing exposure is the best disease-prevention strategy.

Lyme disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected deer tick. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.

Each year, more than 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), although estimates indicate that the number of Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease each year is around 300,000, making it the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in the United States.

What can be done?

According to the CDC, reducing exposure to ticks is the best defense against Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. A single springtime application of tick pesticide to your lawn can greatly reduce the number of ticks in your yard. The best time for the application to protect against Lyme disease is June when the ticks are in the nymph stage. If you live in an area prone to ticks, the CDC suggests you consider using a professional outdoor pest control company to help reduce the tick population in your yard.

"Using a professional outdoor pest control company should be part of a well-rounded, comprehensive defense program," said Ben Hamza, TruGreen Director of Technical Services. "Because ticks can congregate in backyards, it is especially important to protect yourself and your family so that you can fully enjoy your outdoor time without the worry of ticks and other outdoor pests."

Following are general tips from the CDC to help create a tick-safe zone to reduce ticks in your yard:

• Use a professional outdoor pest control company to control ticks
• Clear tall grasses and brush around homes and at the edge of lawns
• Place a barrier of wood chips or gravel between lawns and wooded areas
• Mow the lawn frequently and keep leaves rakes
• Stack wood neatly and in a dry area away from the house or lawn
• Keep playground equipment, decks and patios away from wooded areas and in a sunny location if possible
• Remove any trash or debris from the yard that may give ticks a place to hide

About TruGreen

Memphis, Tenn.-based TruGreen is the nation's largest lawn care company, serving more than 1.7 million residential and commercial customers across the United States with lawn, tree and shrub care. Your lawn and landscape need ongoing attention to stay healthy. That's why TruGreen provides science-based solutions tailored to meet your specific needs. When combined with proper mowing and watering techniques, these services can maximize your lawn's potential. As the leader in the professional lawn care industry, TruGreen is committed to responsible lawn care, including offering and promoting the use of natural, organic services and sustainable practices. Today, there are approximately 250 TruGreen LawnCare branches in the United States and Canada, including about 35 franchise locations.Go to www.TruGreen.com or www.facebook.com/TruGreen for more information about TruGreen.

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DES MOINES (June 11, 2014) - Marking the first change in state health code regarding HIV transmission in nearly a decade, Iowa Governor Terry E. Branstad signed a landmark bill on May 30 that will curb rampant convictions of people living with HIV for transmitting the virus by redefining the law to ensure only those who intend to spread HIV or behave with "reckless disregard" are penalized. The new HIV transmission bill should also ease an unspoken but clearly present discrimination toward HIV-positive Iowans in the state's legal justice system.

The bill, Senate File 2297, changes the Iowa Health Code so that proof of conduct with "reckless disregard" or intent to transmit HIV, or other communicable diseases like meningococcal disease and hepatitis of any form, is required before the infected person being accused can be charged. For years, the bill's passage has been pushed by more than 30 individuals and groups - including such influential entities as the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, the Iowa Department of Public Health, the Iowa Attorney General's Office, the HIV Community Coalition, AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the University of Iowa - and ultimately resulted in the law passing unanimously through the state's House and Senate on April 30.

"We've seen people sentenced to 20 years in prison without even transmitting the virus," said Joseph Terrill, Director of Community Mobilization for AHF. "The passage of this bill will change how laws in Iowa are skewed against those living with infectious diseases, and it is a testament to the collaborative advocacy work being done by citizens and groups in the state with whom we were proud to partner on this years-long effort under the leadership of Iowan Tami Haught of CHAIN. This work is a template that advocates from other states can follow to end codified discrimination against individuals who are HIV-positive."

The bill's signing took place just ahead of Iowa's first "HIV Is Not A Crime" Conference, taking place all this week in the town of Grinnell. The conference, scheduled from June 2^nd through the 5^th at Grinnell College in Iowa, is itself a historic gathering that is looking at strategies for replicating Iowa's success in other states. Organized by and for HIV-positive individuals and their advocates, the conference is poised be a game changer for HIV decriminalization advocacy.

Major health code adjustments that arise from the bill include the changing of the definition of "exposure" to mean "engaging in conduct that poses a substantial risk of transmission" and protecting indicted individuals living with a virus if they are on a treatment regimen and employing "practical means to prevent transmission." It narrows the scope of criminalization to those infected individuals who knowingly expose an uninfected person with intent to transmit the virus or those who expose an uninfected person with "reckless disregard" as to whether or not the personal contracts the virus. If intent or disregard is proven, the accused faces felony penalties of varying gravities whether the exposed individual contracts the virus or not.

Evidenced knowledge of one's HIV-positive status and proof of engagement in conduct that carries potential for exposure are on their own insufficient for proving intent or disregard, according to the bill. The infected individual is also protected if they informed their partner of their status and the uninfected partner consented to exposure with that knowledge. Scientifically evaluated HIV tests are to be conducted and reviewed by medical practitioners to prove anyone accused of criminal transmission was in fact positive at the time of the alleged assault.

The bill is also significant in the ways it intrinsically updates Iowa state laws to meet the needs and circumstances of today's Iowans. It repeals an archaic law that outlawed certain sexual conduct between unmarried individuals, and also strikes down a health code provision that would allow a county attorney to simply use a positive HIV test result as enough evidence to file charges of criminal transmission.

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About AHF

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider in the USA. AHF currently provides medical care and/or services to over 312,000 individuals in 34 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @AIDSHealthcare

Neurosurgeon Recommends Building Muscle as
Best Protection Against 'the Disease of Aging'
Offers 5 Exercises for a Solid Strength-Building Regime

If you want good health, a long life and to feel your best well into old age, the No. 1 most important thing you can do is strength-training, says Dr. Brett Osborn, author of "Get Serious, A Neurosurgeon's Guide to Optimal Health and Fitness," www.drbrettosborn.com

"Our ability to fight off disease resides in our muscles," Dr. Osborn says. "The greatest thing you can do for your body is to build muscle."

He cites a large, long-term study of nearly 9,000 men ages 20 to 80. After nearly 19 years, the men still living were those with the most muscular strength. (BMJ, formerly British Medical Journal, 2008).

Muscle is all protein - "nothing but good for you," Dr. Osborn says.

Fat, however, is an endocrine organ, meaning it releases hormones and other chemicals. When a person has excess fat, he or she also a disrupted flow of excess biochemicals, which can increase insulin resistance and boost risk factors for stroke and high blood pressure, among other problems.

"Increased cytokines, an immune system chemical, for example, are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease," Dr. Osborn says. "You're only as old as your arteries!"

Strength-training has health benefits for everyone, he adds, no matter their size.

"Some fat is visceral fat - it's stored around the organs and it's even more dangerous than the fat you can see," he says. "People who look thin may actually be carrying around a lot of visceral fat."

So, what's the workout Dr. Osborn recommends?

"Back to basics," he says. "These five exercises are the pillars of a solid training regime."

•  The squat is a full-body exercise; it's the basic movement around which all training should be centered. Heavy squats generate a robust hormonal response as numerous muscular structures are traumatized during the movement (even your biceps). Standing erect with a heavy load on your back and then repeatedly squatting down will stress your body inordinately - in a good way -- forcing it to grow more muscle.

•  The overhead press primarily activates the shoulders, arm extenders and chest. Lower body musculature is also activated as it counters the downward force of the dumbbell supported by the trainee. From the planted feet into the hands, force is transmitted through the skeletal system, stabilized by numerous muscular structures, most importantly the lower back.

•  The deadlift centers on the hamstrings, buttocks, lumbar extensors and quadriceps, essentially the large muscles of your backside and the front of your thighs. As power is transferred from the lower body into the bar through the upper body conduit, upper back muscles are also stressed, contrasting with the squat, which is supported by the hands. Deadlifts are considered by some to be the most complete training exercise.

•  The bench press mostly targets the chest, shoulders and triceps; it's the most popular among weightlifters, and it's very simple - trainees push the barbell off the lower chest until the arms are straight. This motion stresses not only the entire upper body, but also the lower body, which serves a stabilizing function. This provides a big hormonal response and plenty of bang for your buck.

•  The pull-up / chin-up stress upper body musculature into the body. A pull-up is done when hands gripping over the bar; a chin-up is where hands are gripping under the bar. Nine out of 10 people cannot do this exercise because most simply haven't put in the effort. It's also been called a "man's exercise, which is nonsense," he says. There are no gender-specific exercises. Women, too, should aspire to enjoy the health benefits entailed with this pillar.

"There are no secrets to a strong and healthier body; hard work is required for the body that will remain vital and strong at any age," Osborn says. "Always practice proper form and safety. Otherwise, the result will be the opposite of your goal, an injury."

About Dr. Brett Osborn

Brett Osborn is a New York University-trained, board-certified neurological surgeon with a secondary certification in anti-aging and regenerative medicine, Diplomate; American Bard of Neurological Surgery, Diplomate; American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. He holds a CSCS honorarium from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Dr. Osborn specializes in scientifically based nutrition and exercise as a means to achieve optimal health and preventing disease. He is the author "Get Serious, A Neurosurgeon's Guide to Optimal Health and Fitness," www.drbrettosborn.com.

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today released the following statement on the bipartisan agreement proposed by Senators John McCain and Bernie Sanders in response to recent reports of misconduct within the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"We need solutions to the VA's chronic problems, and I believe this proposal contains many of those solutions. I'm hopeful the U.S. House can also work across the aisle to present a similar plan?and I'm ready and willing to work with anyone who shares my goal of addressing the VA's problems head on in a constructive and substantive way."