Tuesday,  March 25, 2014 • Vol. 16--No. 252 • 36 of 38

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• Officials believe most of the oil that spilled Saturday is drifting out of the channel into the Gulf of Mexico, which should limit the impact on bird habitats around Galveston Bay as well as beaches and fisheries important to tourists.
• "This spill -- I think if we keep our fingers crossed -- is not going to have the negative impact that it could have had," said Jerry Patterson, commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, the lead state agency on the response to the spill.
• ___

Los Angeles hospital doctors practice communication skills in 'operating room of the future'

• WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) -- Before the car-wreck victim reached the emergency room, doctors, residents and nurses at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center knew what to expect by glancing at their smartphones.
• The details came in the staccato of text messages: A 35-year-old man had driven head-on into a bus. He suffered major chest injuries. His vital signs were crashing.
• This was not just another day in the hospital. It was a laboratory billed as the "OR of the future," an ongoing experiment aimed at breaking down barriers that bog down care through open communication, better use of technology and teamwork.
• In reality, trauma care is rarely this organized. But those who are prized for individual skills are increasingly learning that when it comes to treating trauma patients from accidents, natural disasters or terrorist bombings, communication and coordination can determine whether someone lives or dies.
• At an office building less than a mile from the main Cedars-Sinai campus, doctors are guinea pigs in simulations designed to test such skills.

Today in History
The Associated Press


• Today is Tuesday, March 25, the 84th day of 2014. There are 281 days left in the year.
• Today's Highlight in History:
• On March 25, 1634, English colonists sent by Lord Baltimore arrived in present-day Maryland.
• On this date:
• In 1306, Robert the Bruce was crowned the King of Scots.
• In 1776, Gen. George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, was

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