tagged w/ Picked for Current Tonight
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A $300 million cash-for-clunkers-type federal program to boost sales of energy-efficient home appliances provides a glimmer of hope for beleaguered makers of washing machines and dishwashers, but it's probably not enough to lift companies such as Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - News) and Electrolux out of the worst down cycle in the sector's history.
Beginning late this fall, the program authorizes rebates of $50 to $200 for purchases of high-efficiency household appliances. The money is part of the broader economic stimulus bill passed earlier this year. Program details will vary by state, and the Energy Dept. has set a deadline of Oct. 15 for states to file formal applications. The Energy Dept. expects the bulk of the $300 million to be awarded by the end of November. (Unlike the clunkers auto program, consumers won't have to trade in their old appliances.)
"These rebates will help families make the transition to more efficient appliances, making purchases that will directly stimulate the economy," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement announcing the plan. Only appliances covered by the Energy Star seal will qualify. In 2008, about 55% of newly produced major household appliances met those standards, which are set by the Energy Dept. and Environmental Protection Agency.A $300 million cash-for-clunkers-type federal program to boost sales of... more
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Mexico decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin on Friday — a move that prosecutors say makes sense even in the midst of the government's grueling battle against drug traffickers.
Prosecutors said the new law sets clear limits that keep Mexico's corruption-prone police from shaking down casual users and offers addicts free treatment to keep growing domestic drug use in check.
"This is not legalization, this is regulating the issue and giving citizens greater legal certainty," said Bernardo Espino del Castillo of the attorney general's office.
The new law sets out maximum "personal use" amounts for drugs, also including LSD and methamphetamine. People detained with those quantities no longer face criminal prosecution.
Espino del Castillo says, in practice, small users almost never did face charges anyway. Under the previous law, the possession of any amount of drugs was punishable by stiff jail sentences, but there was leeway for addicts caught with smaller amounts.
"We couldn't charge somebody who was in possession of a dose of a drug, there was no way ... because the person would claim they were an addict," he said.
Despite the provisions, police sometimes hauled in suspects and demanded bribes, threatening long jail sentences if people did not pay.
"The bad thing was that it was left up to the discretion of the detective, and it could open the door to corruption or extortion," Espino del Castillo said.
Anyone caught with drug amounts under the new personal-use limit will be encouraged to seek treatment, and for those caught a third time treatment is mandatory.
The maximum amount of marijuana for "personal use" under the new law is 5 grams — the equivalent of about four joints. The limit is a half gram for cocaine, the equivalent of about 4 "lines." For other drugs, the limits are 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams for methamphetamine and 0.015 milligrams for LSD.
Mexico has emphasized the need to differentiate drug addicts and casual users from the violent traffickers whose turf battles have contributed to the deaths of more than 11,000 people since President Felipe Calderon took office in late 2006.Mexico decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin on Friday —... more
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A remarkable detail to be published in former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge's soon-to-be-released book asserts that the Bush Administration attempted to wield the color-coded terror alert system for political gain -- a charge often leveled by Democrats but not previously confirmed by a high-ranking Bush Administration official.
Ridge's publisher is pushing details from his book in advance of its release. Notable among them:
"Tom Ridge, the first head of the 9/11-inspired Department of Homeland Security, wasn't keen on writing a tell-all. But in The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege...and How We Can Be Safe Again, out September 1, Ridge says he wants to shake "public complacency" over security.
"And to do that, well, he needs to tell all. Especially about the infighting he saw that frustrated his attempts to build a smooth-running department. Among the headlines promoted by publisher Thomas Dunne Books: Ridge was never invited to sit in on National Security Council meetings; was "blindsided" by the FBI in morning Oval Office meetings because the agency withheld critical information from him; found his urgings to block Michael Brown from being named head of the emergency agency blamed for the Hurricane Katrina disaster ignored; and was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over."A remarkable detail to be published in former Homeland Security Secretary Tom... more
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The $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program will shut down on Monday, the government said Thursday.
Dealers must submit any pending Clunker deals, including any necessary paperwork, by 8 p.m. ET MondayThe $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program will shut down on Monday, the government said... more
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An AIDS advocacy group filed complaints Thursday with state officials against 16 production companies that show unprotected sex in porn movies.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation filed the action with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, alleging the practice amounts to unsafe behavior in a California workplace.
"We will not stop until there is a policy of requiring condoms to be used in porn," foundation president Michael Weinstein said.
By law, U.S. adult film actors must prove they have tested negative for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases within 30 days of going to work on a film.
CalOSHA spokesman Dean Fryer said the regulatory agency requires workers in any industry where there is a "possibility of transmission of fluids," including health care and adult films, to reduce the risk of disease transmission.
"The employers of porn actors are required to provide a safe and healthy work environment," Fryer said.
Nearly 60 adult DVDs accompany the complaints against Hustler Video, Maverick Entertainment, Vivid and other porn production companies in Los Angeles. Many people in the multibillion-dollar industry oppose the use of condoms in the films.
Hustler publisher Larry Flynt told The Associated Press, "people who enjoy viewing adult films do not want to see people using condoms."
"While it might provide some additional protection, the sales are not going to be there to make the effort worthwhile for the actors and actresses," he said.
Flynt praised laws mandating monthly testing for adult film actors as a highly effective way to prevent the spread of AIDS.
Calls to Maverick and Vivid were not immediately returned.
Weinstein, however, said AIDS could be spread through the on-camera behavior and noted that many people get their sex education from the movies.
Watching unprotected sex could prompt them to be careless during sex acts, he said.
The labor complaints are part of the AIDS advocacy group's broader campaign to mandate the use of condoms in porn.
Last month, it filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, calling on officials to enforce health and safety rules on adult film sets to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
In June, health inspectors paid a surprise visit to the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation in San Fernando Valley, a clinic where an adult film actress recently tested positive for HIV.
The inspection was part of a broader investigation into the clinic, which has reported 22 other HIV cases since 2004. At least five performers for Vivid Entertainment, tested positive for HIV that year, prompting a brief self-imposed moratorium on porn production.
Fryer said CalOSHA is awaiting a court ruling on an injunction sought by the American Civil Liberties Union to prevent the agency from accessing medical files at the clinic.
"Our elected officials and our government are treating the young people who are performing in these films as trash that don't deserve protection," Weinstein said.
Weinstein said no legislators have agreed to sponsor the group's proposal to mandate condoms in porn movies.
Well, it's a good thing I don't watch porn then...An AIDS advocacy group filed complaints Thursday with state officials against 16... more
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Hawaii turns 50 years old as the 50th state Friday, but there will be no grand parades, no dazzling fireworks, no lavish displays of native culture.
Organizers of the observation are not even willing to call it a party. It is simply a "commemoration," one that is sensitive to a painful history of the Hawaiian monarchy's overthrow and unresolved claims of Native Hawaiians.
The main event is a low-key daylong conference reflecting on Hawaii's place in the world. Behind the tourist-friendly tropical images of beaches and sunshine, many remain uncomfortable with the U.S. takeover of the islands and the idea that businesses have exploited Hawaiians' culture.
When statehood came calling in 1959, it ushered in an era of economic prosperity through tourism and the side effects that came with it: resort high rises, more than 500,000 monthly tourists and an emphasis on hokey luaus rather than the authentic host culture...
Happy B-Day!Hawaii turns 50 years old as the 50th state Friday, but there will be no grand... more
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Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt claimed yet another world record as he recorded a stunning victory in the 200m final at the World Championships.Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt claimed yet another world record as he recorded a... more
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Steve Kramer spent an hour and a half swimming in the ocean Sunday — in Maine. The water temperature was 72 degrees — more like Ocean City, Md., this time of year. And Ocean City's water temp hit 88 degrees this week, toasty even by Miami Beach standards.
Kramer, 26, who lives in the seaside town of Scarborough, said it was the first time he's ever swam so long in Maine's coastal waters. "Usually, you're in five minutes and you're out," he said.
It's not just the ocean off the Northeast coast that is super-warm this summer. July was the hottest the world's oceans have been in almost 130 years of record-keeping.
The average water temperature worldwide was 62.6 degrees, according to the National Climatic Data Center, the branch of the U.S. government that keeps world weather records. That was 1.1 degree higher than the 20th century average, and beat the previous high set in 1998 by a couple hundredths of a degree. The coolest recorded ocean temperature was 59.3 degrees in December 1909.
Meteorologists said there's a combination of forces at work this year: A natural El Nino system just getting started on top of worsening man-made global warming, and a dash of random weather variations. The resulting ocean heat is already harming threatened coral reefs. It could also hasten the melting of Arctic sea ice and help hurricanes strengthen.
The Gulf of Mexico, where warm water fuels hurricanes, has temperatures dancing around 90. Most of the water in the Northern Hemisphere has been considerably warmer than normal. The Mediterranean is about three degrees warmer than normal. Higher temperatures rule in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
The heat is most noticeable near the Arctic, where water temperatures are as much as 10 degrees above average. The tongues of warm water could help melt sea ice from below and even cause thawing of ice sheets on Greenland, said Waleed Abdalati, director of the Earth Science and Observation Center at the University of Colorado.
Breaking heat records in water is more ominous as a sign of global warming than breaking temperature marks on land, because water takes longer to heat up and does not cool off as easily as land.
"This warm water we're seeing doesn't just disappear next year; it'll be around for a long time," said climate scientist Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria in British Columbia. It takes five times more energy to warm water than land.
The warmer water "affects weather on the land," Weaver said. "This is another yet really important indicator of the change that's occurring."Steve Kramer spent an hour and a half swimming in the ocean Sunday — in Maine.... more
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New rules meant to give credit card users more information and stop policies that many consider abusive are starting to take effect.New rules meant to give credit card users more information and stop policies that many... more
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To quote my friend, because I couldn't say it any better, "That the bullshit media never ONCE reported this when Skip Gates was arrested. And they waited until the controversy died down until it was revealed. Prime example of media bias. What ...was the 'teachable moment ?' We had to only believe the cops version of what really happened?"To quote my friend, because I couldn't say it any better, "That the bullshit... more
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Perennial contenders Harvard and Princetonshare the top spot in the latest edition of the influential U.S. News & World Report university rankings. Williams heads the list of liberal arts colleges while Dartmouth wins a new category ranking commitment to undergraduate teaching.
The latest edition of the contentious but closely followed "America's Best Colleges" appears online and in print Thursday.
Last year, Princeton had surrendered the top spot to Harvard after eight straight years at least tied for No. 1. This year the Ivy League rivals are followed by No. 3 Yale and a four-way tie for No. 4: Cal Tech, MIT, Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania.
The ranking formula takes account of factors such as SAT scores, peer reputation, selectivity and alumni giving.
As usual, there are few major moves up or down among colleges this year, but the rankings remain a hot topic of debate among educators. While few openly embrace the idea of numerically ranking colleges, some call the rankings a helpful consumer tool. But many others consider the practice harmful for both students and colleges...
Well, isn't that just dandy.Perennial contenders Harvard and Princetonshare the top spot in the latest edition of... more
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Former New York Giant Plaxico Burress pleaded guilty Thursday to a weapons charge and agreed to a two-year prison term for accidentally shooting himself at a Manhattan nightclub.Former New York Giant Plaxico Burress pleaded guilty Thursday to a weapons charge and... more
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In an outrageous move, the bomber of Pan Am 103 was released from jail in Scotland for "compassionate reasons," because he is suffering from cancer.In an outrageous move, the bomber of Pan Am 103 was released from jail in Scotland for... more
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pmm402
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A 19 year old graffiti tagger will go down in Nueces county history as being sentenced to serve one of the longest jail terms for his crime to date.
Having caused thousands of dollars in graffiti damage over the last year and a half, Ralph Mirabal was sentenced to three, 8 year prison terms to be served concurrently.
The courtroom was packed with people who were victim's to Maribal's vandalism.
Vandalism he admitted to in open court as part of his plea agreement
He stood emotionless as the prosecutor asked the judge to sentence him to prisonA 19 year old graffiti tagger will go down in Nueces county history as being sentenced... more
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An air traffic controller was joking on the phone about barbecuing a dead cat moments before a small plane collided with a tour helicopter over the Hudson River, transcripts obtained by The Associated Pressshow.
Nine people died in the accident.
The transcripts show the controller at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey was talking to someone who works at the airport's operations center at the time of the Aug. 8 accident even while he was guiding the single-engine Piper and other aircraft.
"We got plenty of gas in the grill?" the controller asked. "Fire up the cat."
Seconds before the accident, the controller uttered a curse word and ended the call.
National Transportation Safety Board officials and union officials representing the controller have been at odds over news releases about the accident.
On Monday, NTSB officials changed their account of the accident on a key point, saying the helicopter wasn't initially visible on radar to the air traffic controller handling the plane.
The NTSB had previously said the controller failed to warn the plane's pilot of the potential for a collision with several aircraft in its path, including the helicopter, before handing off responsibility for the plane to another airport.
The board now says in a statement released Monday that while the controller at Teterboro Airport failed to warn of several aircraft in the path of the single-engine Piper, the tour helicopter wasn't one of the aircraft on the controller's radar screen until seven seconds after the handoff to nearby Newark Liberty International Airport.
Officials for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union that represents the controller, said the board's report released Friday, which described the handling of the plane by controllers, unfairly implied the Teterboro controller could have prevented the collision. They had been pressing the board for a correction since then through media conferences Friday night and Monday afternoon, and in conversations with NTSB staff over the weekend.
On Monday, the board removed the union from its investigation of the crash. NTSB Chairman Debbie Hersman said in the board's statement, released shortly after the union's second news conference, that parties to investigations sign an agreement not to publicly discuss the information gathered by the board while the investigation is ongoing...
This guy likes his meat.An air traffic controller was joking on the phone about barbecuing a dead cat moments... more
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Under current law, the seat would be empty until a special election could be held 145 to 160 days later. But Senator Kennedy, a 77-year-old Democrat, wrote in a letter to the governor that he wanted Massachusetts to have full representation in the Senate during that period.
Although he did not mention it in the letter, it is becoming increasingly clear that Democratic votes will be crucial to passing the health care legislation that is the subject of intense Congressional debate. Senator Kennedy has been a passionate supporter of overhauling the nation’s health care system, but his absence from the debate and from public life in recent months has raised speculation that he will not be well enough to cast a vote when the time comes.
More in the article...Under current law, the seat would be empty until a special election could be held 145... more
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rickm8
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The controversial private contractor Blackwater was enlisted by the CIA during the Bush administration for a secret plan to form anti-Al Qaeda hit squads, the New York Times reported Wednesday night, citing unnamed sources familiar with the plan.
The hit squad proposal, when revealed this summer, caused an uproar because congressional leaders hadn't yet been briefed. The program apparently never got off the ground, and President Obama's CIA director, Leon Panetta, canceled the program as soon as he learned of it before notifying Congress.
--------------------------------------------The controversial private contractor Blackwater was enlisted by the CIA during the... more
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The Obama administration plans to end the popular $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program on Monday at 8 p.m EDT, The Associated Press has learned.
Two congressional officials familiar with the plan say the Transportation Department will wind down the program that offers car buyers rebates of $3,500 or $4,500 for trading in older vehicles for new, more fuel-efficient models. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the plan.
The Obama administration was set to announce details on Thursday.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood reiterated his pledge that dealers would be reimbursed for the incentives.
“We don’t want to run out of money. And I want to be able to substantiate what I’m saying here. If you do a deal with us, you submit the paperwork, you will be paid,” LaHood said.
The program offers car buyers rebates of $3,500 or $4,500 for trading in older vehicles for new, more fuel-efficient models. Department officials met with car dealer trade groups on Wednesday to discuss how the program will end and respond to complaints over a backlog of rebate payments to dealers.
Through early Wednesday, auto dealers have made deals worth $1.81 billion and are on pace to exhaust the program’s $3 billion in funds in early September. The incentives have generated more than 435,000 vehicle sales but dealers want a clear plan on when the rebates will no longer be available so they don’t end up on the hook for any of the incentives.The Obama administration plans to end the popular $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program... more
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The plant is among the largest of all pitchers and is believed to be the largest meat-eating shrub, dissolving rats with acid-like enzymes.
The team of botanists, led by British experts Stewart McPherson and Alastair Robinson, found the plant on Mount Victoria in the Philippines.
They were inspired to search for the plant after word that it is existed came from two Christian missionaries who described seeing a large carnivorous pitcher in 2000 after they climbed the mountain.
Mr McPherson, of Poole Dorset, said: "The plant produces spectacular traps which catch not only insects, but also rodents. It is remarkable that it remained undiscovered until the 21st century."
The team, which found the plant in 2007 following a two-month expedition, published details of their discovery in the Botanical Journal of Linnean Society earlier this year following a three-year study of all 120 species of pitcher plant.The plant is among the largest of all pitchers and is believed to be the largest... more
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Don Hewitt, creator of the CBS News television program "60 Minutes," has died. He was 86.Don Hewitt, creator of the CBS News television program "60 Minutes," has... more
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