Posted: Mar. 8, 2017 7:00 am Updated: Mar. 8, 2017 9:38 am

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Ten years after a former FBI agent working on an unauthorized CIA mission disappeared in Iran, his family hopes U.S. President Donald Trump will do something America's last two presidents have been unable to achieve: Finally bring him home.

Robert Levinson's family told The Associated Press this week that Trump's background as a deal-making businessman and his harder line on Iran could be an asset in finally determining what happened to the investigator, whose 69th birthday is Friday.

They described the heartbreak of seeing other American prisoners in Iran freed while the mystery surrounding his disappearance remains. They also acknowledged the challenge of keeping his case in the public eye, as he now has been held captive longer than any American in history, if he remains alive.

"We believe people can survive 10 years under any circumstances. In the worst places, people survive. We know Bob is alive," his wife, Christine Levinson, told the AP. "Everyone else has gotten out of Iran, but Bob has been left behind every single time. It's now time for him to be returned home to his family."

Levinson disappeared from Iran's Kish Island on March 9, 2007. For years, U.S. officials would only say that Levinson, a meticulous FBI investigator credited with busting Russian and Italian mobsters, was working for a private firm on his trip.

In December 2013, the AP revealed Levinson in fact had been on a mission for CIA analysts who had no authority to run spy operations. Levinson's family had received a $2.5 million annuity from the CIA in order to stop a lawsuit revealing details of his work, while the agency forced out three veteran analysts and disciplined seven others.

Since his disappearance, the only photos and video of Levinson emerged in 2010 and 2011. He appeared gaunt and bearded with long hair, and was wearing an orange jumpsuit similar to those worn by detainees at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay.

The video, with a Pashtun wedding song popular in Afghanistan playing in the background, showed Levinson complaining of poor health. Levinson's family believes his diabetes and high blood pressure could be under control with his weight loss.

"I'm not as worried about his health," his son, Dan Levinson, said. "I understand people thinking it being over 10 years and fearing the worst, but we don't believe that."

The FBI now offers a $5 million reward for information leading to Levinson's safe recovery and return.

Rumors have circulated for years, with one account claiming he was locked up in a Tehran prison run by Iran's paramilitary Revolution Guard and U.S. officials suggesting he may not be in Iran at all. Dawud Salahuddin, an American fugitive living in Iran who is wanted for the assassination of a former Iranian diplomat in Maryland in 1980, is the last known person to have seen Levinson before his disappearance.

Iranian officials have been less than forthcoming. Former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggested in an interview with the AP in 2010 that his country already had suspicions about Levinson before the nature of his trip became public knowledge.

"Of course if it becomes clear what his goal was, or if he was indeed on a mission, then perhaps specific assistance can be given," Ahmadinejad said.

Levinson's family said they've written letters to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and moderate President Hassan Rouhani with no response. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment about Levinson.

That lack of response, even with the U.N.'s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issuing a report in January that held Iran responsible for addressing "the situation of Mr. Levinson without any further delay," has the family believing Trump's harder line on Iran might finally force the country to release him.

"We know if President Trump chooses (to be involved), he's a dealmaker. That's what he does. It's going to require negotiating with the Iranians to get him out of there," Levinson's son Dan said. "He's very well-suited to be able to do this. We're hopeful for that."

White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on Monday that the Trump administration was in contact with Levinson's family and said "we continue to hold out hope" that he could be safely returned from Iran.

Another White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said administration officials recently held a call with members of the Levinson family, who were assured that the case is a priority for the Trump administration. The Levinsons hope to meet personally with Trump in the coming months.

"We'll never, ever give up hope," his daughter, Stephanie Curry, said. "We'll never give up hope he's coming home to us."

___

Associated Press writer Ken Thomas in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jongambrellap. His work can be found at http://apne.ws/2galNpz .

Originally posted here:
10 years gone: No word of ex-FBI man lost in Iran on CIA job - Herald-Whig

Mary Clancey thought she was overweight because of her penchant for French fries and other starchy foods. Her family doctor teased her about too much snacking at the Pottsville Boscov's fudge counter where she worked.

Both were wrong. Inside the once-spritely grandmother was a cancerous tumor the size of, well, a whole other person 140 pounds.

Finally, at her son's urging one morning last fall when she couldn't get out of bed, she went to the hospital. Doctors at Lehigh Valley Health Network were aghast at what they discovered.

"The CAT scan is permanently engrained in my mind," said Dr. Richard Boulay, a gynecologic oncologist. "I'd never seen anything the size of this before."

Clancey and Boulay recounted the dramatic story of her diagnosis, treatment and recovery Thursday afternoon at LVHN.

Clancey, 71, of St. Clair, had tried dieting to no avail. At just over 5-feet tall, she developed a potbelly that slowly but surely kept getting bigger and bigger over the course of a decade and a half.

She said she resigned herself to the idea that, like her grandmother and aunts, she'd be "a plump, little old lady."

"I thought that was my destiny," she said. An optimist by nature, she left it at that and went about her business socializing with the other "girls" who worked at Boscov's and playfully flirting with the young men who shopped there.

What Boulay told her required a dramatic reappraisal. She wasn't fat; she had inside her a monstrosity of a malignant ovarian mass.

Imagine carrying a baby to which you never give birth, one that grows inside you into adulthood.

"It was slowly killing her," Boulay said, noting that by the time he saw Clancey, she could barely speak two words in a row without losing her breath because the tumor was compressing her diaphragm. And because the tumor had restricted blood flow to her lower extremities, her ankles and feet were painfully swollen.

Extracting such a tumor would be no ordinary day in the operating room.

Two surgical teams comprising 10 doctors, nurses and other staff worked side by side one team led by Boulay and another by plastic surgeon Dr. Randolph Wojcik.

First was the tricky proposition of how to get the tumor out. Typically, such procedures are performed on a patient lying on her back.

But that would have presented Boulay with the Herculean task of reaching inside of Clancey with both arms and heaving the mass out. Did he even have the arm and back strength? Plus, he knew the tumor would be slippery, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to get a firm grip.

Boulay recalled coming up with his game plan: "How am I going to get it out of her without rupturing it? ... One of the tenets of cancer surgery is when you take out a mass, you don't want to pop it. This is mostly fluid with a rind around it. So how can I get this out safely? ... This is going to be big. How am I going to lift this out? And I said, I'm not. I'm going to have to roll it out."

So, on the big day in November a second, slightly shorter table was wheeled into the operating room and parked next to the one on which Clancey was lying, anesthetized, on her side. The doctors cut her open and began disconnecting the tumor from the blood vessels that had long fed it.

A photograph captured the scene just moments after the extraction: In the foreground is the tumor, its pale, shiny-smooth surface streaked in blood. In the background is Clancey's exposed midsection and a doctor holding, with both of his hands, a flap of skin perhaps two feet long.

It was time for Wojcik, who on Thursday referred to himself as "Mary's tailor," to get busy. The plastic surgeon removed 40 pounds of excess skin and abdominal tissue.

After initially weighing in at 365 pounds, Clancey's total weight loss over the course of five hours of surgery was 180 pounds.

As for the tumor, it was sent to the morgue, since the morgue had a scale big enough to weigh it, and then on to the pathology lab for further analysis.

After a month-long recovery in the hospital, Clancey went back home for the holidays. Tests indicate she is cancer- free. Boulay does not expect her to need further treatment, such as chemotherapy or radiation.

After losing so much weight, Clancey's balance is off, so she's using a walker something she hopes not to need in due time. Still, she says she feels like a million bucks.

She's spending time with her two sons and grandsons, and she's looking forward to doing things she had given up, such as gardening and "shopping with the girls."

"This is my happy ending," she said. "Everything turned out all right."

skennedy@mcall.com

610-820-6130

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Doctors at LVHN remove woman's 140-pound tumor - Allentown Morning Call

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) -- A lot of fad diets promise to help you lose weight quickly. One that's been around for nearly a century called the keto diet has grown in popularity in recent decades and makes that same promise.

The Keto Diet is short for ketogenic and forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. A lot of dieters swear by it because of the quick results. But is it all that it's cracked up to be?

Maria Ramos of Ashley wants to lose some weight. Besides working out several times a week at Odyssey Fitness in Wilkes-Barre she's also watching what she eats. "Trying to cut out the carbs. That seems to be working for me," she said. Carb cutting is one of the keys to the Keto Diet. "I'm not actually good at diets but I heard somewhat of it," said Ms. Ramos.

Besides limiting carbohydrates, the Keto Diet requires high fat, moderate protein intake. By restricting carbs, your body is forced to seek energy by breaking down stored fats for its fuel source. People who've tried the Keto Diet often report losing an average of ten or more pounds in the first couple of weeks. "Keto Diet sounds like a good thing at first," said Odyssey Fitness Nutrition Coach and Lead Personal Trainer Marissa Udzella but she added there's a price to pay on this restrictive diet. "You could be the term 'skinny fat' and be losing weight but you might be losing mostly your lean tissue."

Another danger of the Keto Diet is while you will be losing pounds you'll be depriving your body of essential nutrients. The diet long-term can deprive your bones of calcium and lead to osteoporosis. Also, raised cholesterol levels from a fat-rich diet can harm your cardiovascular health. "There's things that are going to go wrong whether it's in your bones, whether it's your hormones, your muscle tissue, whatever. You need to have that balance," said Ms. Udzella.

It's why Ms. Ramos says to reach her personal goals, dieting alone won't get the results she wants. "I'm trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in my diet and trying to come here like after I get out of work."

Ms. Udzella says aim to drop one to two pounds per week so that you protect lean muscle mass. If you plan to diet, she recommends small changes over time because it's easier to make it part of a healthy lifestyle.

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Keto Diet: Weight Loss Success or Health Failure? - PA home page

Women's Health

9 Things That Make It Harder To Lose Weight In Your 20s, 30s, And 40s Women's Health We don't have to tell you that trying to lose weight in your twenties is not the same as it is in your forties. But the reason why isn't as simple as a slowing metabolism. "There are so many reasons we gain weight throughout our lives," says Karen ...

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9 Things That Make It Harder To Lose Weight In Your 20s, 30s, And 40s - Women's Health

JACKSON, MS--(Marketwired - March 09, 2017) - The Egg Diet is gaining steam as a way to lose weight fast. Diets that rely heavily on protein do normally provide weight loss benefits due to the fact that consuming added protein does greatly reduce appetite and assists with portion control since protein helps one to feel full quicker and for a longer period of time. High protein diets also contribute to muscle repair and growth which leads to a higher metabolism and higher fat burning (even at rest). However, with protein as the basis of any diet, individuals must be careful as not to overconsume or neglect nutritional balance. Higher protein can also mean elevated cholesterol and in some cases, it can have damaging effects on the kidneys.

Dr. Nishant Rao of Diet Doc Medical Weight Loss believes that the Egg Diet is simply a ketogenic diet which uses egg protein and egg fat rather than a more diverse set of options. "Diets which focus on any one ingredient exclusively tend to be very short lived with minimal long term compliance," states Dr. Rao. Sustainable weight loss strategies that do not impede on nutrition are always the better way to go for long-term success. Dr. Rao continues, "A more structured approach of calculating required macros for diet goals and an understanding of the varied foods one can use to hit those macros in a healthy fashion is the only way to allow for flexible long term and enjoyable dieting."

Most experts view individualized, nutrient-rich diets as the best way to lose fat or maintain a healthy weight. Diet Doc Medical Weight Loss has a range of dietary options to suit every weight loss need. Whether an individual needs to lose 20 lbs or 100 lbs, Diet Doc's weight loss coaches assess each patient's health profile and creates personalized solutions rather than the one-size-fits-all, fad dieting method. Their nutritionists can provide meal planning, guidance and fat burning medications that will prevent hunger pangs, stabilize mood and increase energy so that losing weight quickly is a breeze.

Patients can get started immediately, with materials shipped directly to their home or office. They can also maintain weight loss in the long-term through weekly consultations, customized diet plans, motivational coaches and a powerful prescription program. With Diet Doc, the doctor is only a short phone call away and a fully dedicated team of qualified professionals is available 6 days per week to answer questions, address concerns and support patients.

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About the Company:

Diet Doc Weight Loss is the nation's leader in medical, weight loss offering a full line of prescription medication, doctor, nurse and nutritional coaching support. For over a decade, Diet Doc has produced a sophisticated, doctor designed weight loss program that addresses each individual specific health need to promote fast, safe and long term weight loss.

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Dr. Nishant Rao Examines the Weight Loss Merits of the Recent 'Egg Diet' Craze - Marketwired (press release)

POPSUGAR

5 Types of Intermittent Fasting (and the 1 a Dietitian Recommends) POPSUGAR That's why people find so much success losing weight with intermittent fasting. There are a few ... Pros: This plan is flexible, with no restrictions on what you can eat on regular days, and you can choose which days to fast based on your schedule ...

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5 Types of Intermittent Fasting (and the 1 a Dietitian Recommends) - POPSUGAR