SAN FRANCISCO - George Francis, the nation’s oldest man, who lived through both world wars, man’s first walk on the moon and the election of the first black president, has died. He was 112.

Francis died Saturday of congestive heart failure at a nursing home in Sacramento, his son, Anthony Francis, said Sunday.

“He lived four years in the 19th century, 100 years in the 20th century, and 8 years in the 21st century. We call him the man of three centuries,” said the younger Francis, 81.

UCLA gerontologist Dr. Stephen Coles, who maintains a list of the world’s oldest people, said Francis lived 112 years and 204 days.

With Francis’ death, Walter Breuning of Montana, who is 112 years, 98 days old, becomes the country’s oldest living man. At 114, Gertrude Baines of Los Angeles is the nation’s oldest living person. The world’s oldest person is Maria de Jesus of Portugal, who is 115 years, 109 days old, and the oldest man is Tomoji Tanabe of Japan, who is 113 years, 101 days, Coles said.

Francis, who at his prime barely weighed more than 100 pounds, was born June 6, 1896, in New Orleans. As an African-American in the South, he felt the sting of the Jim Crow-era segregation laws in his early life.

His son said Francis tried to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War I but was turned down because of his stature.

“We always attributed his longevity to his mental and physical toughness,” Anthony Francis said.

George Francis quit school after the sixth grade, became an amateur boxer as a young man and later worked as a chauffeur, an auto mechanic and a barber.

He and his wife, Josephine Johnson Francis, had a son and three daughters. Josephine Francis died of cancer in 1964.

Even in his waning days, Francis never lost his passion for politics, his family said. He voted for Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s and for Barack Obama in 2008.

In an interview with The Associated Press after Obama’s victory, Francis, who used a wheelchair, said he felt like jumping up and down.

“He is going to give black men a break in the world, and give them a better opportunity to live and make more money,” he said. “For people who say voting doesn’t matter, I think that’s crazy.”

Anthony Francis said his father was devoted to his family and that he attributed his longevity to them.

“He said, ‘My children and my friends, I live off of them,’” he said.

Besides his four children, Francis is survived by 18 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren and 16 great-great grandchildren.

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) — The remains found in a wooded area last week in Orange County, Florida, are those of Caylee Anthony, authorities confirmed at a news conference Friday.

The announcement marks the end of a six-month search for the 2-year-old.

“It is with regret that I’m here to inform you that the skeletal remains found on December 1 are those of the missing toddler,” Orange County Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia said.

She said the cause of death was homicide, but she could not determine how Caylee was killed.

Casey Anthony, 22, faces charges including first-degree murder in the June disappearance of her daughter. Remains described as being those of a small child were found last week a half-mile from Casey Anthony’s parents’ home, in the area where a meter reader first directed police.

At Friday’s news conference, police will identify the meter reader who, they said Thursday, called the department four months ago, directing them to the site of the remains three times in August.

At a Thursday news conference, Capt. Angelo Nieves, a Sheriff’s Department commander, said investigators were looking into whether the tips, called in August 11, 12 and 13, were properly followed up.

In one of those phone calls, the meter reader reported seeing a gray bag on the side of the road, Nieves said. On August 13, a deputy responded to the site and did a “cursory search” but found nothing, Nieves said.

Nieves said police were getting more information from the tipster and the deputy who responded to the tips. He said the department was investigating the “thoroughness” of the deputy’s response but would not identify the deputy.

The meter reader “is not a suspect,” Nieves said. “He is a credible witness.”

Nieves’ latest announcement is raising questions about whether police missed several chances to find remains believed to be Caylee’s.

The meter reader is not the only one, or the first, to have pointed police toward the site containing the remains.

KioMarie Cruz, Casey Anthony’s childhood friend, also told police to investigate the same wooded area near Hidden Oaks Elementary School a month before the meter reader, according to CNN affiliate WFTV.

In an interview with detectives, according to WFTV, Cruz said that she and Anthony “pretty much used to hang out there most of our time,” would “snack on food for hours” and went there to “get away from our parents.”

The Sheriff’s Department followed up on that tip, but the wooded area was covered in floodwaters, preventing a search. Nieves said the water may have been present at the time of the meter reader’s tips as well.

Nieves also said Thursday that searchers combing the site after the skull’s discovery had found “significant skeletal remains” consistent with those of a small child on the outer perimeter of the search area.

The area will be enlarged, and processing and searching of the site will continue, probably into the weekend, he said.

Some of the remains have been sent to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, in an effort to identify them. Authorities have said the remains are believed to be Caylee’s, but an identification is pending.

Sheriff’s spokesman Carlos Padilla said last week that authorities believe the remains are Caylee’s for three reasons: No other children have been reported missing in the area; the remains are consistent with those of a child of Caylee’s age; and the remains were found near the home of the grandparents, where the 2-year-old and her mother were living just before Caylee disappeared.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said Monday that he did not know when tests would be complete, but an attorney for Anthony’s parents said the FBI is likely to have results “within the next week.”

Casey Anthony could face a sentence of life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors said this month that they would not seek the death penalty.

SOURCE: CNN.COM

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - Blaring from a speaker behind a metal grate in his tiny cell in Iraq, the blistering rock from Nine Inch Nails hit Prisoner No. 200343 like a sonic bludgeon.

“Stains like the blood on your teeth,” Trent Reznor snarled over distorted guitars. “Bite. Chew.”

The auditory assault went on for days, then weeks, then months at the U.S. military detention center in Iraq. Twenty hours a day. AC/DC. Queen. Pantera. The prisoner, military contractor Donald Vance of Chicago, told The Associated Press he was soon suicidal.

The tactic has been common in the U.S. war on terror, with forces systematically using loud music on hundreds of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, then the U.S. military commander in Iraq, authorized it on Sept. 14, 2003, “to create fear, disorient … and prolong capture shock.”

Now the detainees aren’t the only ones complaining. Musicians are banding together to demand the U.S. military stop using their songs as weapons.

A campaign being launched Wednesday has brought together groups including Massive Attack and musicians such as Tom Morello, who played with Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave and is now on a solo tour. It will feature minutes of silence during concerts and festivals, said Chloe Davies of the British law group Reprieve, which represents dozens of Guantanamo Bay detainees and is organizing the campaign.

At least Vance, who says he was jailed for reporting illegal arms sales, was used to rock music. For many detainees who grew up in Afghanistan — where music was prohibited under Taliban rule — interrogations by U.S. forces marked their first exposure to the pounding rhythms, played at top volume.

‘Plenty lost their minds’
The experience was overwhelming for many. Binyam Mohammed, now a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, said men held with him at the CIA’s “Dark Prison” in Afghanistan wound up screaming and smashing their heads against walls, unable to endure more.

“There was loud music, (Eminem’s) ‘Slim Shady’ and Dr. Dre for 20 days. I heard this nonstop over and over,” he told his lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith. “The CIA worked on people, including me, day and night for the months before I left. Plenty lost their minds.”

The spokeswoman for Guantanamo’s detention center, Navy Cmdr. Pauline Storum, wouldn’t give details of when and how music has been used at the prison, but said it isn’t used today. She didn’t respond when asked whether music might be used in the future.

FBI agents stationed at Guantanamo Bay reported numerous instances in which music was blasted at detainees, saying they were “told such tactics were common there.”

According to an FBI memo, one interrogator at Guantanamo Bay bragged he needed only four days to “break” someone by alternating 16 hours of music and lights with four hours of silence and darkness.

Ruhal Ahmed, a Briton who was captured in Afghanistan, describes excruciating sessions at Guantanamo Bay. He said his hands were shackled to his feet, which were shackled to the floor, forcing him into a painful squat for periods of up to two days.

“You’re in agony,” Ahmed, who was released without charge in 2004, told Reprieve. He said the agony was compounded when music was introduced, because “before you could actually concentrate on something else, try to make yourself focus on some other things in your life that you did before and take that pain away.

“It makes you feel like you are going mad,” he said.

‘Sesame Street’ tunes used for interrogation
Not all of the music is hard rock. Christopher Cerf, who wrote music for “Sesame Street,” said he was horrified to learn songs from the children’s TV show were used in interrogations.

“I wouldn’t want my music to be a party to that,” he told AP.

Bob Singleton, whose song “I Love You” is beloved by legions of preschool Barney fans, wrote in a newspaper opinion column that any music can become unbearable if played loudly for long stretches.

“It’s absolutely ludicrous,” he wrote in the Los Angeles Times. “A song that was designed to make little children feel safe and loved was somehow going to threaten the mental state of adults and drive them to the emotional breaking point?”

Morello, of Rage Against the Machine, has been especially forceful in denouncing the practice. During a recent concert in San Francisco, he proposed taking revenge on President George W. Bush.

“I suggest that they level Guantanamo Bay, but they keep one small cell and they put Bush in there … and they blast some Rage Against the Machine,” he said to whoops and cheers.

Some musicians, however, say they’re proud that their music is used in interrogations. Those include bassist Stevie Benton, whose group Drowning Pool has performed in Iraq and recorded one of the interrogators’ favorites, “Bodies.”

“People assume we should be offended that somebody in the military thinks our song is annoying enough that played over and over it can psychologically break someone down,” he told Spin magazine. “I take it as an honor to think that perhaps our song could be used to quell another 9/11 attack or something like that.”

The band’s record label told AP that Benton did not want to comment further. Instead, the band issued a statement reading: “Drowning Pool is committed to supporting the lives and rights of our troops stationed around the world.”

Tactics to make men go mad
Vance, in a telephone interview from Chicago, said the tactic can make innocent men go mad. According to a lawsuit he has filed, his jailers said he was being held because his employer was suspected of selling weapons to terrorists and insurgents. The U.S. military confirms Vance was jailed but won’t elaborate because of the lawsuit.

He said he was locked in an overcooled 9-foot-by-9-foot cell that had a speaker with a metal grate over it. Two large speakers stood in the hallway outside. The music was almost constant, mostly hard rock, he said.

“There was a lot of Nine Inch Nails, including ‘March of the Pigs,”’ he said. “I couldn’t tell you how many times I heard Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You.”’

He wore only a jumpsuit and flip-flops and had no protection from the cold.

“I had no blanket or sheet. If I had, I would probably have tried suicide,” he said. “I got to a few points toward the end where I thought, ‘How can I do this?’ Actively plotting, ‘How can I get away with it so they don’t stop it?”’

Asked to describe the experience, Vance said: “It sort of removes you from you. You can no longer formulate your own thoughts when you’re in an environment like that.”

He was released after 97 days. Two years later, he says, “I keep my home very quiet.”

A no-cutting-in-line conflict between two large groups of shoppers helped to spark the Black Friday stampede in which a Wal-Mart worker was trampled to death, Nassau police said yesterday.

Shoppers who remained inside their vehicles in the parking lot until the Valley Stream store’s special 5 a.m. opening apparently clashed with people who had stood in line for hours outside Wal-Mart, police said.

When the store’s doors opened, the conflict between the two groups - with “a considerable amount of people” who had stayed in their vehicles rushing to enter the store without waiting in line - fostered “mob mentality,” Nassau Police Lt. Kevin Smith said.

“A whole lot of people started getting out of their cars and made a beeline for that door,” Smith said, referring to the one set of doors open to shoppers.

“It’s definitely a contributing factor - the mentality of ‘They’re not going to cut in front of me.’”

In the crush of an estimated 2,000 people, the set of doors was broken and Jdimytai Damour, 34, of Jamaica, a temporary security worker, was trampled, dying of asphyxiation, police said. No one has been charged in connection with the death, though police are investigating possible criminal charges.

Meanwhile, an attorney for Damour’s family yesterday filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Wal-Mart in state Supreme Court in the Bronx, The Associated Press reported. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Elsie Damour Phillipe, the victim’s sister.

In a written statement, Hank Mullany, president of Wal-Mart’s Eastern Division, said the company is working to implement stronger safety measures.

“We consider Mr. Damour part of the Wal-Mart family, and are saddened by his death,” Mullany said. “We have been in communication with members of his family to do what we can to help them through this difficult time. Our associates know that when incidents like this occur, we take care of our own.”

The statement did not address the family’s lawsuit.

Police reports on the Black Friday disturbance showed a total of five cases requiring medical attention, with people suffering injuries ranging from a broken ankle to complaints of pain, along with three reports of harassment and Damour’s death, Smith said.

Police are learning about events leading up to the stampede and Damour’s death by interviewing witnesses and examining the store’s video surveillance cameras. They could not say how many people left their vehicles and rushed for the doors or how many vehicles were waiting in the parking lot before the Wal-Mart opened.

Attorneys interviewed by Newsday earlier in the week stated that the chances of charges being filed against anyone aren’t good.

Police officials conceded that point. “The likelihood of our being able to find, identify and attribute criminality to them will be very difficult,” Smith said.

Earlier that morning, Nassau police officers responded to the Wal-Mart at about 3 a.m. after receiving a call about a disturbance. The officers left about 20 minutes later because the crowd was orderly, Smith said.

Officers were called back to the store about 5 a.m. because Damour had been trampled.

The lawsuit filed by Damour’s family is not the first in connection with stampede. On Monday, Fritz Mesadieu, 51, and his son Jonathan, 19, both of Hempstead, filed a notice of claim against Nassau County and a separate negligence suit against Wal-Mart.

They say that the county was negligent, alleging it failed to have proper police in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Their lawsuit seeks $2 million.”A whole lot of people started getting out of their cars and made a beeline for that door,” Smith said, referring to the one set of doors open to shoppers.

“It’s definitely a contributing factor - the mentality of ‘They’re not going to cut in front of me.’”

In the crush of an estimated 2,000 people, the set of doors was broken and Jdimytai Damour, 34, of Jamaica, a temporary security worker, was trampled, dying of asphyxiation, police said. No one has been charged in connection with the death, though police are investigating possible criminal charges.

Meanwhile, an attorney for Damour’s family yesterday filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Wal-Mart in state Supreme Court in the Bronx, The Associated Press reported. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Elsie Damour Phillipe, the victim’s sister.

In a written statement, Hank Mullany, president of Wal-Mart’s Eastern Division, said the company is working to implement stronger safety measures.

“We consider Mr. Damour part of the Wal-Mart family, and are saddened by his death,” Mullany said. “We have been in communication with members of his family to do what we can to help them through this difficult time. Our associates know that when incidents like this occur, we take care of our own.”

The statement did not address the family’s lawsuit.

Police reports on the Black Friday disturbance showed a total of five cases requiring medical attention, with people suffering injuries ranging from a broken ankle to complaints of pain, along with three reports of harassment and Damour’s death, Smith said.

Police are learning about events leading up to the stampede and Damour’s death by interviewing witnesses and examining the store’s video surveillance cameras. They could not say how many people left their vehicles and rushed for the doors or how many vehicles were waiting in the parking lot before the Wal-Mart opened.

Attorneys interviewed by Newsday earlier in the week stated that the chances of charges being filed against anyone aren’t good.

Police officials conceded that point. “The likelihood of our being able to find, identify and attribute criminality to them will be very difficult,” Smith said.

Earlier that morning, Nassau police officers responded to the Wal-Mart at about 3 a.m. after receiving a call about a disturbance. The officers left about 20 minutes later because the crowd was orderly, Smith said.

Officers were called back to the store about 5 a.m. because Damour had been trampled.

The lawsuit filed by Damour’s family is not the first in connection with stampede. On Monday, Fritz Mesadieu, 51, and his son Jonathan, 19, both of Hempstead, filed a notice of claim against Nassau County and a separate negligence suit against Wal-Mart.

They say that the county was negligent, alleging it failed to have proper police in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Their lawsuit seeks $2 million.

SOURCE: NEWSDAY.COM

Friday November 14th 2008 Space Shuttle Endeavor takes off from the Kennedy Space Center KSC in Cocoa Beach Florida. We shot this footage from the roof of the SODO Super Target parking garage 40 miles away from the launch site. MTC Exclusive

MUSIC: Exploration/Karminski Experience

The Story of Ann Nixon Cooper set to the late Great Bob Marley and his timeless classic Natural Mystic.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight’s about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

Tonight the World has changed Barack Obama has been elected president of these United States. John McCain was defeated in a landslide victory and America will never be the same. Yes we can.

Here is the speech transcript:

Dublin, Ireland - 11/04/2008

Intrade’s presidential markets show Obama having a huge advantage this morning.

All markets will remain open for trading until final results are confirmed.

In the hours before Election Day, as inevitable as winter, comes an onslaught of dirty tricks — confusing e-mails, disturbing phone calls and insinuating fliers left on doorsteps during the night.

The intent, almost always, is to keep folks from voting or to confuse them, usually through intimidation or misinformation. But in this presidential race, in which a black man leads most polls, some of the deceit has a decidedly racist bent.

Complaints have surfaced in predominantly African-American neighborhoods of Philadelphia where fliers have circulated, warning voters they could be arrested at the polls if they had unpaid parking tickets or if they had criminal convictions.

Over the weekend in Virginia, bogus fliers with an authentic-looking commonwealth seal said fears of high voter turnout had prompted election officials to hold two elections — one on Tuesday for Republicans and another on Wednesday for Democrats.

In New Mexico, two Hispanic women filed a lawsuit last week claiming they were harassed by a private investigator working for a Republican lawyer who came to their homes and threatened to call immigration authorities, even though they are U.S. citizens.

“He was questioning her status, saying that he needed to see her papers and documents to show that she was a U.S. citizen and was a legitimate voter,” said Guadalupe Bojorquez, speaking on behalf of her mother, Dora Escobedo, a 67-year-old Albuquerque resident who speaks only Spanish. “He totally, totally scared the heck out of her.”

In Pennsylvania, e-mails appeared linking Democrat Barack Obama to the Holocaust. “Jewish Americans cannot afford to make the wrong decision on Tuesday, Nov. 4,” said the electronic message, paid for by an entity calling itself the Republican Federal Committee. “Many of our ancestors ignored the warning signs in the 1930s and 1940s and made a tragic mistake.”

Laughlin McDonald, who leads the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said he has never seen “an election where there was more interest and more voter turnout, and more efforts to suppress registration and turnout. And that has a real impact on minorities.”

The Obama campaign and civil rights advocacy groups have signed up millions of new voters for this presidential race. In Ohio alone, some 600,000 have submitted new voter registration cards.

Across the country, many of these first-time voters are young and strong Obama supporters. Many are also black and Hispanic.

Activist groups say it is this fresh crop of ballot-minded citizens that makes some Republicans very nervous. And they say they expect the dirty tricks to get dirtier in final hours before Tuesday.

“Oh, there’s plenty of time for things to get ugly,” said Zachary Stalberg, president of The Committee of Seventy, a Philadelphia-based government watchdog group that is nonpartisan.

Other reports of intimidation efforts in the hotly contested state of Pennsylvania include leaflets taped to picnic benches at Drexel University, warning students that police would be at the polls on Tuesday to arrest would-be voters with prior criminal offenses.

In his Jewish neighborhood, Stalberg said, fliers were recently left claiming Obama was more sympathetic to Palestinians than to Israel, and showed a photograph of him speaking in Germany.

“It shows up between the screen door and the front door in the middle of the night,” Stalberg said. “Why couldn’t someone knock on the door and hand that to me in the middle of the day? In a sense, it’s very smartly done. The message gets through. It’s done carefully enough that people might read it.”

Such tactics are common, and are often impossible to trace. Robo-calls, in which automated, bogus phone messages are sent over and over, are very hard to trace to their source, say voting advocates. E-mails fall into the same category.

In Nevada, for example, Latino voters said they had received calls from people describing themselves as Obama volunteers, urging them to cast their ballot over the phone.

The calls were reported to Election Protection, a nonprofit advocacy group that runs a hot line for election troubles. The organization does not know who orchestrated them.

“The Voting Rights Act makes it a crime to misled and intimidate voters,” said McDonald. “If you can find out who’s doing it, those people should be prosecuted. But sometimes it’s just difficult to know who’s doing what. Some of it’s just anonymous.”

Trying to mislead voters is nothing new.

“We see this every year,” said Jonah Goldman of the advocacy group Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “It all happens around this time when there’s too much other stuff going on in the campaigns, and it doesn’t get investigated.”

In 2006, automated phone calls in the final days leading to the federal election wrongly warned voters they would not be allowed to vote without a photo ID. In Colorado and Virginia, people reported receiving calls that told them their registrations had expired and they would be arrested if they showed up to vote.

The White House contest of 2004 was marked by similar deceptions. In Milwaukee, fliers went up advising people “if you’ve already voted in any election this year, you can’t vote in the presidential election.” In Pennsylvania, a letter bearing what appeared to be the McCandless Township seal falsely proclaimed that in order to cut long voting lines, Republicans would cast ballots on Nov. 2 and Democrats would vote on Nov. 3.

E-mail assaults have become increasingly popular this year, keeping pace with the proliferation of blogging and Obama’s massive online campaign efforts, according to voting activists.

“It is newer and more furious than it ever has been before,” Goldman said.

And Republicans are not exempt. “Part of it is that election campaigns are more online than ever before,” said Goldman. “During the primaries, a lot of Web sites went up that seemed to be for (GOP candidate Rudy) Giuliani, but actually were attack sites.”

New York City’s former mayor and his high-profile colleagues Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney were also targeted in fake Internet sites that featured “quotes” from the candidates espousing support for extreme positions they never endorsed.

SOURCE: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

It’s 11pm, do you know where your presidential candidate is? If you’re a Democrat in Florida, the answer is likely to be yes. Approximately 35,000 voters gathered at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee on Wednesday night for a political rally featuring not only presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, but also former president Bill Clinton.

Despite previous transgressions, including Obama’s victory over Clinton’s wife for the candidacy, the former leader made it clear who his choice was come November 4. “I think it’s clear the next president of the United States should be, and with your help will be, Barack Obama,” he said.

Clinton said Obama has the right philosophy, the right policies and the intellectual heft to handle the job of president. Taking a jab at President Bush, he said the past eight years should have taught Americans “that we want a president who wants to understand and who can understand.”

Bill Clinton wasn’t the only one waving the Obama flag last night. Tens of thousands of hopefuls from across Florida came out for the event, some arriving hours beforehand in hopes of getting a good seat.

Robert Mason traveled from Atlanta to see the Democrats’ biggest stars. Mason became sold on Obama after watching him during the meltdown on Wall Street in late September. “To be that even-keel in a crisis spoke volumes,” he said. “He truly appeared presidential.”

It seems to be the general consensus of Obama supporters that “He’s someone we can believe in.”

KMBC in Kansas City, MO says that a local man found a racial slur on his receipt after returning a pair of shoes at a store called Journeys. He got his money back without a problem, but found a nasty surprise waiting on the receipt.

By the time the Slaters noticed the racial slur printed on the receipt, the store was already closed for the day.

Hoping to get answers about how the words got on the receipt, the Slaters returned to the store the next day. But they said they never got a full explanation, only that the employee entered a generic code.

“And it pulled up six or seven different choices, and the choice that she (the employee) chose was the very last choice,” said Slater’s father, Keith.

“I really don’t doubt that this is the first time it happened. I’m sure it’s happened before, but this is probably the first time that somebody noticed their receipt and came back and asked about it,” Linda Slater said.

The store has fired the employee in question and issued the following statement:

“While we are continuing to investigate this incident, it now appears that an employee in one of our stores entered highly inappropriate statements in a form used to process a merchandise return. Needless to say, such an act was not authorized by Journeys, and will not be tolerated. This employee has been terminated.

“At Journeys, we pride ourselves on valuing and respecting every customer. We are shocked and sickened that a former associate could be responsible for an act so out of keeping with our culture and our values. We profoundly regret this incident.”

SOURCE: Meg Marco@Consumerist

There’s nothing worse than coming home after a weekend of partying and discovering you left with more than you arrived with. In an ideal world, your potential sexual partner would tell you about any surprise diseases they might have, or better yet, be forced to wear some sort of sign. But this isn’t an ideal world, and people are known to lie. With a greeting card from inSpot.org you can tell the truth and still keep your dignity. Since 2004 the free website has been offering an e-card service dedicated to informing partners about the possibility of sexually transmitted diseases. When statistical reports show that over 15 million new cases of STDs are reported in the US alone each year, a service like this can definitely be a blessing.

The cards add a light-hearted feel to a somber message like “Got laid. Was happy. Got tested. Wasn’t healthy. Better get your own STD checkup soon.” Or “I got screwed while screwing, you might have too. Get checked for STDs if you haven’t recently.” Each card gives you the option to add a personalized message, and you can send them anonymously or through your own email address. It’s definitely a sight better than an “oh by the way, I have herpes” conversation, and for some people, it’s an opportunity to stave off embarrassment.

“It’s not like you get a card and it’s, ‘Oh no, it’s a dead end,’” said Deb Levine, executive director of Internet Sexuality Information Services, a nonprofit organization. “The card leads you to regularly updated information about what you may have been exposed to.” The site started in San Francisco and has spread to 10 cities such as New York and Chicago, Illinois. It also has taken root in Canada and Romania, and is being translated into French and Russian.

The creators said they are aware of the possibility of misuse, but fewer than 10 recipients have reported that they received the cards in error. “Our percentage of complaints is very low,” Levine said. “It’s extremely low compared to the number of cards that are sent.” Since inSPOT’s launch, more than 50,000 e-cards have been sent, according to an report in the journal PLOS Medicine this week.

In many locations across the country, patients diagnosed with reportable diseases like syphilis may or may not get a call from the local health department. Even if they do, and agree to identify partners, many agencies do not have the manpower to contact those people. Often, it is left to the diagnosing doctor to urge partner notification. Now, such a doctor can simply hand the patient a palm card with inSPOT’s Internet address.

Brad Sciullo can! The Uniontown, PA resident drove over two hours on Monday to Clearfield, which is home to Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub, a restaurant that is known for its largest hamburger challenges. The Beer Belly Bruiser, which is 15 pounds of meat, totals just over 20 pounds when you add the bun, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, mild banana peppers and a cup each of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and relish. Sciullo is the first to complete this challenge, which has a time limit of five hours. He completed the task in four hours and twenty-three minutes. In addition to a very full belly, the 21 year old chef received $400, three T-shirts, and a certificate.

On Tuesday, an unnamed british tourist took a dive in the moat of
Japan’s Imperial Palace. Police took him into custody, but not before
he threw rocks, ran around with a construction site pole, and splashed
in the water. The authorities are looking into his mental condition.

After Slicing Kimbo in a 14 second Knockout MMA sensation Seth The Silverback Petruzelli sits down with Orlando’s number one sports man David Baumann of NEWS 13 on the set of brand new BrightHouse Sports Network BHSN. Seth thanks his fans and calls for Tito Ortiz. Here is the full interview transcript:

Baumann: Welcome back, I’m David Baumann joining me is the guy who knocked out Kimbo Slice, the one and only really because he’s never gone down, that guy is a maniac, that means you must be absolutely crazy. Seth Petruzelli.

Petruzelli: I’m a maniac times two.

Baumann: Seth thanks for being with us. We’re less than 24 hours removed from you putting Kimbo down in 14 seconds. Take us through it.

Petruzelli: It’s a rollercoaster for me. I haven’t come down from the high. I’m on two hours sleep. I got the call to do it, a rush of emotions came over me, I talked to my corner and decided to do it and it’s the best decision I ever made.

Baumann: You knocked out Kimbo Slice in 14 seconds. Was it as simple as connecting with that right, that one right stunned him?

Petruzelli: Yes, it was the right type of punch that did it. It was a flashback when I hit Bob Sapp, that one punch on the chin and he goes down like a sack of potatoes. The right place on the chin will shut off the brain and down you go.

Baumann: The announcers were talking about Rocky. At this point, what type of whirlwind is going on in your life? You are essentially an overnight sensation.

Petruzelli: I’m going to take it for what it’s worth. If he wants a rematch, I’ll give it to him, 100%. I’m just one high right now, I can’t believe it. It’s nuts.

Baumann: Now I’m concerned that Kimbo is going to come running into these studios after hearing that, you want the rematch if he’ll take it.

Petruzelli: If he’ll take it.

Baumann: If he’ll take it?

Petruzelli: I don’t think he’ll take it?

Baumann: Why?

Petruzelli: The funny thing is, before the fight, I knew I had him beat. When I saw the interview before the fight about Ken Shamrock not fighting and him having to fight me, he saw the tapes of me and he was worried about fighting me. I could see it in his eyes. I had him beat mentally.

Baumann: How will you capitalize on this?

Petruzelli: I will renegotiate my contract with MMA. (laughter) Honestly, I want a bigger fight the next fight. I’ll say right now I want Tito Ortiz the next time. The 205 belt is open and I want the belt. I think that at least puts me in contention for some sort of a belt, that was a pretty big win.

Baumann: To all the MMA fans here in Central Florida, you might run into this guy at some of the downtown clubs.

Petruzelli: Yes, or you can come into my Smoothie King on Red Bug and Dodd Rd. I’ll be doing a signing this Sunday at 11:30 for a couple hours.

Baumann: and you teach the sport too?

Petruzelli: Yes, we’re opening up a gym this week on sand lake. You can log on to our mypace page at www.myspace.com/ironmonkeysquad.

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After the 14 second Knock Out of Illegal Internet Street Fighting Legend Kimbo Slice, Seth the Silver Back Petruzelli tells Milkintheclock reporter he saw the fear in the eyes of Kimbo Slice before the fight began. With only 10 minutes notice and a 30 pound weight deficit The SilverBack made Slicing Kimbo look easy. Although somewhat unknown this was not Seth’s first David and Goliath triumph. Mr. Petruzelli mentioned he used same locker room when he defeated Dan Severn in 2004.

Sponsored by: GYMSOAP.COM

Hometown hero and personal friend Seth “Silverback” Petruzelli knockout internet illegal street fighting legend Kimbo Slice live on CBS Elite XC 10/04/2008

BailOut Plan

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR TREASURY AUTHORITY

TO PURCHASE MORTGAGE-RELATED ASSETS

Section 1. Short Title.

This Act may be cited as ____________________.

Sec. 2. Purchases of Mortgage-Related Assets.

(a) Authority to Purchase.–The Secretary is authorized to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, on such terms and conditions as determined by the Secretary, mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States.

(b) Necessary Actions.–The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:

(1) appointing such employees as may be required to carry out the authorities in this Act and defining their duties;

(2) entering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to any other provision of law regarding public contracts;

(3) designating financial institutions as financial agents of the Government, and they shall perform all such reasonable duties related to this Act as financial agents of the Government as may be required of them;

(4) establishing vehicles that are authorized, subject to supervision by the Secretary, to purchase mortgage-related assets and issue obligations; and

(5) issuing such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to define terms or carry out the authorities of this Act.

Sec. 3. Considerations.

In exercising the authorities granted in this Act, the Secretary shall take into consideration means for–

(1) providing stability or preventing disruption to the financial markets or banking system; and

(2) protecting the taxpayer.

Sec. 4. Reports to Congress.

Within three months of the first exercise of the authority granted in section 2(a), and semiannually thereafter, the Secretary shall report to the Committees on the Budget, Financial Services, and Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committees on the Budget, Finance, and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate with respect to the authorities exercised under this Act and the considerations required by section 3.

Sec. 5. Rights; Management; Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.

(a) Exercise of Rights.–The Secretary may, at any time, exercise any rights received in connection with mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act.

(b) Management of Mortgage-Related Assets.–The Secretary shall have authority to manage mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act, including revenues and portfolio risks therefrom.

(c) Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.–The Secretary may, at any time, upon terms and conditions and at prices determined by the Secretary, sell, or enter into securities loans, repurchase transactions or other financial transactions in regard to, any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act.

(d) Application of Sunset to Mortgage-Related Assets.–The authority of the Secretary to hold any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act before the termination date in section 9, or to purchase or fund the purchase of a mortgage-related asset under a commitment entered into before the termination date in section 9, is not subject to the provisions of section 9.

Sec. 6. Maximum Amount of Authorized Purchases.

The Secretary’s authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time

Sec. 7. Funding.

For the purpose of the authorities granted in this Act, and for the costs of administering those authorities, the Secretary may use the proceeds of the sale of any securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, are extended to include actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses. Any funds expended for actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses, shall be deemed appropriated at the time of such expenditure.

Sec. 8. Review.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Sec. 9. Termination of Authority.

The authorities under this Act, with the exception of authorities granted in sections 2(b)(5), 5 and 7, shall terminate two years from the date of enactment of this Act.

Sec. 10. Increase in Statutory Limit on the Public Debt.

Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof $11,315,000,000,000.

Sec. 11. Credit Reform.

The costs of purchases of mortgage-related assets made under section 2(a) of this Act shall be determined as provided under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, as applicable.

Sec. 12. Definitions.

For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) Mortgage-Related Assets.–The term “mortgage-related assets” means residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations, or other instruments that are based on or related to such mortgages, that in each case was originated or issued on or before September 17, 2008.

(2) Secretary.–The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Treasury.

(3) United States.–The term “United States” means the States, territories, and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia.

NEW YORK TIMES

A local pregnant woman is grazed in the back by bullets shot from an armed robber who was running through a Seminole County Walmart on Wednesday. It all started when police said the suspect robbed a nearby check-cashing store. He was trailed to Walmart, where he changed his shirt. The shooting began when authorities said the suspect spotted police.

Fifty years. Depending on your views that could be a lifetime, or merely a fraction of it. For NASA, it’s just the beginning. Today they proudly celebrate the anniversary of their operations, which began in 1958. What started as an attempt to keep ahead of the Soviet Union in terms of technology and science has become an organization dedicated to “exploring the universe and searching for life; to inspire the next generation of explorers.”

When it began NASA was essentially four laboratories and 80 employees, formerly of the research agency NACA (the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics). The earliest programs involved research into human spaceflight, spurred onward by the Space Race between the United States and the USSR.

The next decade would be fueled by the challenge for both countries. After the success with Sputnik, Russia quickly pulled ahead of the game by becoming the first country to hit the moon with a man-made object, the first to orbit the moon and photograph its far side, both events occurring in 1959. By 1963 they had sent both a man (Yuri Gagarin in 1961) and a woman (Valentina Tereshkova) into space. They were the first to have a cosmonaut leave an orbiting spacecraft with Alexei Leonov in 1965. The next year they landed a probe on the moon which transmitted data back to Earth, and by 1971 they were the first to place a manned space station into orbit.

NASA, while knowing that accomplishing these same tasks would be a step in the right direction, were determined to get ahead of Russia, and so their ultimate goal was to put a man on the moon before the Soviet Union. Starting with the Mercury Seven, NASA focused on getting man in orbit and within ten years worked up to their dreams.

On 4:18pm, EDT of July 20, 1969 those famous first words were spoken from the surface of the moon- “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” Within seven hours Neil Armstrong made his fateful stride across the lunar surface, becoming not only the first American, but the first human on the moon.

The American space program has done very well for itself in the past fifty years, though it’s not without it’s setbacks. Of the 121 shuttle missions there have been two failures. The Challenger and Columbia disasters, which claimed the lives of 14 astronauts, have caused delays as well as prompted national concern over the dangers of space travel. Of course, since the 1950s, NASA has expanded it’s dreams beyond just getting man into space. The journeys of Pioneers 10 and 11 marked the beginning of extra-solar exploration, and to this day we continue to receive information from both Voyagers that were launched in the 1970s.

The future goals of NASA include plans for a permanent moon base, which they hope to begin construction by 2020 with plans for completion within four years. Should the project be successful it will be a fully functioning base that allows for crew rotations similar to the International Space Station. NASA administrator Michael D Griffin also hopes that an American will be on Mars by 2037, proving that even though the Space Race has long since ended, America still continues running.

On the verge of the worst economic crisis post The Great Depression one would have to ask, Do I really want to be The President of these United States?

Sites required to conduct secret investigations

Taken together, three bills in Congress would require online marketplaces and auction sites to secretly police affiliates suspected of selling stolen goods. In addition to requiring extensive record keeping on sellers using the site and turning over that information to authorities upon request, the legislation prohibits resale sites—like eBay or craigslist—from informing suspected sellers they are being investigated.

None of the bills, two in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate, is expected to come to a vote before the Congressional recess—they’ve got bigger fish to fry in Bailout Brand oil at the moment—but the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing on the subject recently.

The purpose of the legislation is to target organized retail crime, or bands of shoplifters and hustlers hocking ill-gotten goods online, where the National Retail Federation, which has come out aggressively in favor of the legislation, says thieves can sell goods at 70 percent value. Street corners typically only bring 30 percent of the retail value.

The problem was highlighted recently when a New York vendor was busted selling Victoria Secret brassieres on eBay for $25 a pop. They typically sold for between $40 and $80. If you’re wondering why Homeland Security is being dragged in to this, it’s likely because of alleged past connections between organized retail crime syndicates traced to Hezbollah and Hamas.

Naturally, the Internet is to blame.

Though, NetChoice’s Steve DelBianco colorfully compared this logic to blaming the back seats of cars for teenage sex, the NRF’s vice president for loss prevention, Joseph LaRocca, has elevated the problem to the level of addiction to Class A narcotics. At the aforementioned hearing, LaRocca said:

“The Internet seems to be contributing to the creation of a brand new type of retail thief – people who have never stolen before but are lured in by the convenience and anonymity of the Internet. Thieves often tell the same disturbing story: they begin legitimately selling product on eBay and then become hooked by its addictive qualities, the anonymity it provides and the ease with which they gain exposure to millions of customers. When they run out of legitimate merchandise, they begin to steal intermittently, many times for the first time in their life, so they can continue selling online. The thefts then begin to spiral out of control and before they know it they quit their jobs, are recruiting accomplices and are crossing states lines to steal, all so they can support and perpetuate their online selling habit.”

Soon you’re likely to see them on A&E’s “Intervention.” Though evidence of the above scenario is lacking, it sounds like Congress is taking this just as seriously as the NRF.

Individually, the bills are: H.R. 6713, the E-Fencing Enforcement Act of 2008, sponsored by subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott, D-Va.; H.R. 6491, the Organized Retail Crime Act of 2008, sponsored by Representative Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind.; and S. 3434, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2008, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill.

Congressman Scott’s E-Fencing Enforcement Act mandates that online stores and resellers disclose contact information for high-volume sellers—with sales of $12,000 or more per year or sales of $5,000 or more in any single offering—“to any inquirer with standing under this section.” An “inquirer with standing” is defined as anybody who sends a copy of a signed report made to or received from law e