Energy firm that got fed funds declares bankruptcy

DOVER, Del. (AP) ? A Massachusetts energy company that received a $24 million federal stimulus grant and a $43 million federal loan guarantee has filed for bankruptcy protection.

Beacon Power of Tyngsboro, Mass., filed for Chapter 11 protection on Sunday in bankruptcy court in Delaware, listing assets of $72 million and debts of $47 million.

Beacon makes flywheel energy storage systems used to keep power frequency steady on electrical grids by absorbing excess power, then returning the energy when needed.

Beacon said its long-term financial prospects are strong, but that efforts to build its business have been capital intensive, and that those costs have contributed to operating losses.

The company also cited the current economic and political climate, the financing terms mandated by the Department of Energy, and its recent delisting notice from NASDAQ.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-10-31-Beacon%20Power-Bankruptcy/id-ff1bb9e5a1ba4b2784959bf14bf031b4

temple grandin albert pujols texas rangers marie osmond st louis cardinals josh hamilton beavis and butthead

Qantas Airways grounds global fleet due to strikes (AP)

CANBERRA, Australia ? Qantas Airways grounded its global fleet Saturday, suddenly locking out striking workers after weeks of flight disruptions an executive said could close down the world's 10th largest airline piece by piece.

The Australian government called for an emergency arbitration hearing, which was adjourned early Sunday morning after hearing evidence from the unions and airline. It will resume Sunday afternoon when the government will argue that the airline be ordered to fly in Australia's economic interests.

Planes in the air continued to their destinations, and at least one taxiing flight stopped on the runway, a flier said. Among the stranded passengers are 17 world leaders attending a Commonwealth summit in the western city of Perth.

When the grounding was announced, 36 international and 28 domestic Australian flights were in the air, said a Qantas spokeswoman, who declined to be named citing company policy.

Qantas said 108 airplanes were being grounded but did not say how many flights were involved. The spokeswoman could not confirm an Australian Broadcasting Corp. television report that 13,305 passengers were booked to fly Qantas international flights within 24 hours of the grounding.

The lockout was expected to have little impact in the United States. Only about 1,000 people fly daily between the United States and Australia, said aviation consultant Michael Boyd. "It's not a big deal," he said. Qantas is "not a huge player here."

Los Angeles International Airport spokeswoman Diana Sanchez said Saturday that she was not aware of any passengers stranded at the airport because of the strike. Five Los Angeles-bound Qantas flights were already in the air when the lockout began and were expected to arrive as scheduled, she said.

Sanchez said Qantas has indicated it plans to cancel the handful of flights scheduled to depart from Los Angeles on Saturday.

Douglas Phillips and his wife Diane were among about 400 travelers at Los Angeles International Airport who were scrambling to find another way to Australia after their Qantas flight to Melbourne was halted at the last minute.

Douglas Phillips said they were buckled in and awaiting takeoff early Saturday when the pilot informed passengers that all Qantas flights were grounded due to a company-wide "industrial action."

"At first everyone thought they were kidding for some reason, but then we realized they were deadly serious," said Phillips, of Dover, Delaware.

After getting a few hours of sleep at a Los Angeles motel, the couple managed to secure a spot on a Saturday night Virgin Australia flight to Sydney. They expect an eight-hour layover there before finally getting to Melbourne, nearly three days late.

The real problems for travelers are more likely to be at far busier Qantas hubs in Singapore and London's Heathrow Airport, says another aviation consultant, Robert Mann.

Booked passengers were being rescheduled at Qantas' expense, chief executive Alan Joyce said. Bookings already had collapsed after unions warned travelers to fly other airlines through the busy Christmas-New Year period.

He told a news conference in Sydney the unions' actions have caused a crisis for Qantas.

"They are trashing our strategy and our brand," Joyce said. "They are deliberately destabilizing the company and there is no end in sight."

Union leaders criticized the action as extreme. Qantas is among the most profitable airlines in the world, but Joyce estimated the grounding will cost Qantas $20 million a day.

Qantas already had reduced and rescheduled flights for weeks after union workers struck and refused to work overtime out of worries a restructuring plan would move some of Qantas' 35,000 jobs overseas.

The grounding of the largest of Australia's four national domestic airlines will take a major economic toll and could disrupt the national Parliament, due to resume in Canberra on Tuesday after a two-week recess. Qantas' budget subsidiary Jetstar continues to fly.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said her government would help the Commonwealth leaders fly home after 17 were due to fly out of Perth on Qantas planes over the next couple of days.

"They took it in good spirits when I briefed them about it," Gillard told reporters.

British tourist Chris Crulley, 25, said the pilot on his Qantas flight informed passengers while taxiing down a Sydney runway that he had to return to the terminal "to take an important phone call." The flight was then grounded.

"We're all set for the flight and settled in and the next thing ? I'm stunned. We're getting back off the plane," the firefighter told The Associated Press from Sydney Airport by phone.

Crulley was happy to be heading home to Newcastle after a five-week vacation when his flight was interrupted. "I've got to get back to the other side of the world by Wednesday for work. It's a nightmare," he added.

Qantas offered him up to 350 Australian dollars ($375) a day for food and accommodation, but Crulley expected to struggle to find a hotel at short notice in Sydney on a Saturday night.

Australians Len and Christie Dunlop were stranded at London's Heathrow Airport when their flight to Sydney was grounded.

The couple, who have lived in Leeds for four years, said they would have to catch up with fewer friends when they return to Perth for three weeks for a friend's wedding.

"We've got dinners and lunch booked every day, so now we've missed two or three days worth of catching up with friends," Len Dunlop told ABC television. "It just a lot of frustration."

Gillard said her center-left government, which is affiliated with the trade union movement, had "taken a rare decision" to seek an end to the strike action out of necessity.

"I believe it is warranted in the circumstances we now face with Qantas ... circumstances with this industrial dispute that could have implications for our national economy," Gillard told reporters.

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese described the grounding as "disappointing" and "extraordinary." Albanese was angry that Qantas gave him only three hours' notice.

All 108 aircraft will be grounded until unions representing pilots, mechanics, baggage handlers and caterers reach agreements with Qantas over pay and conditions, Joyce said.

"We are locking out until the unions withdraw their extreme claim and reach agreement with us," Joyce said, referring to shutting staff out of their work stations. Staff will not be paid starting Monday.

"This is a crisis for Qantas. If the action continues as the unions have promised, we will have no choice but to close down Qantas part by part," he added.

Richard Woodward, vice president of the pilot's union, the Australian and International Pilots Association, accused Qantas of "holding a knife to the nation's throat" and said Joyce had "gone mad."

Steve Purvinas, federal secretary of the mechanics' union, Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, described the grounding as "an extreme measure."

Long-haul, budget airline AirAsia tried stepping into the void with what it called "rescue fares" for Qantas passengers. The offer was valid for ticket-holders flying within 48 hours to AirAsia destinations, the airline statement said.

Malaysia-based AirAsia flies to three Australian destinations, plus New Zealand.

The recent strike action in which two unions have had rolling four-hour strikes on differing days has most severely affected Qantas domestic flights.

In mid-October, Qantas grounded five jets and reduced domestic flights by almost 100 flights a week because aircraft mechanics had reduced the hours they were prepared to work.

Qantas infuriated unions in August when it said it would improve its loss-making overseas business by creating an Asia-based airline with its own name and brand. The five-year restructure plan will cost 1,000 jobs.

Qantas announced in August that it had more than doubled annual profit to AU$250 million, but warned the business environment was too challenging to forecast earnings for the current fiscal year.

____

Associated Press writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, Katie Oyan in Phoenix and Associated Press Economics Writer Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111029/ap_on_bi_ge/as_australia_qantas

main main atlanta insanity leonard cohen napoleon napoleon

Obama lost many donors from '08 presidential race (tbo)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/154673534?client_source=feed&format=rss

last of the mohicans last of the mohicans ryan howard meteor shower 2011 meteor shower 2011 home depot center the replacements

EPA Develops New Process to Help U.S. Cities Comply with Clean Water Act (ContributorNetwork)

The Environmental Protection Agency announced it has committed to implementing a new planning process that will help improve water quality, including managing wastewater and stormwater, in numerous cities across the country. The new approach will specifically help cities struggling with poor financial conditions.

The EPA will offer guidance to these cities to help them prioritize infrastructure improvements, such as improving efficiencies, directing investments, and conducting maintenance, that will ultimately ensure that each city is complying with the Clean Water Act requirements. Here are some facts about the Clean Water Act and the recent efforts made by the EPA to make sure cities are following it:

* According to PBS, the act was established after a series of water quality problems in the U.S. during the later 1960s and early 1970s, including heavy pollution that was damaging the fishing industry in Chesapeake Bay, high levels of bacteria in the Hudson River, and the Cuyahoga River bursting into flames from an oil slick.

* Drinking water was also a major concern and in 1970, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare's Bureau of Water Hygiene reported that 30 percent of collected drinking water samples contained chemicals that were higher than that recommended by the Public Health Service.

* Before the Clean Water Act was passed, nearly two-thirds of the waterways in the country were unsafe for recreational activities and fishing.

* The Clean Water Act as it's known today was established in 1972 and additional amendments were added in 1977.

* The act was a direct response to these water quality problems caused by dumping pollution into waterways.

* Additionally, it established wastewater standards for industry and water quality standards for all contaminants in the nation's surface waters.

* The Huffington Post reported in July the EPA issued an order under the Clean Water Act to the City of Chicago that requires the city to dramatically improve the water quality of the Chicago River.

* Kansas City, Mo., is also agreed to make $2.5 billion in sewer improvements over the next 25 years following a settlement with the EPA over Clean Water Act violations, according to the Dept. of Justice.

* In April, Dubuque, Iowa, received a $205,000 penalty and reached a settlement to make $3 million in improvements to its water pollution control plant and sewer collection system.

* Hawaii News Now also noted that Honolulu reached a settlement with the EPA last year after several lawsuits were brought against it by environmental organizations that claimed the city needs to make major changes to treatment plants and wastewater collection systems.

Rachel Bogart provides an in-depth look at current environmental issues and local Chicago news stories. As a college student from the Chicago suburbs pursuing two science degrees, she applies her knowledge and passion to both topics to garner further public awareness.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111029/us_ac/10317877_epa_develops_new_process_to_help_us_cities_comply_with_clean_water_act

bipolar symptoms qi osama bin laden osama bin laden main main atlanta

Questions and answers about the European debt fix (AP)

NEW YORK ? After 14 summit meetings, stock market turmoil and even a fistfight between Italian lawmakers, European leaders have finally agreed on a rescue package that will stop the debt crisis there from dragging the world into recession.

That's the hope, at least.

A bailout fund for the continent will be beefed up, and banks will take a 50 percent loss on their holdings of Greek government bonds. The banks will also put more money aside to cushion the blow from future losses.

Investors are cheering. The Dow Jones industrial average surged almost 340 points Thursday, the euro rose, and even the stocks of battered European banks gained ground.

But dangers lurk. The bank losses and the new cushion might not prove enough. The plan could exact big pain in the short term, hobbling a weak European economy. The region could still fall into recession, and drag the U.S. economy down with it.

Here are some questions and answers about what happened and what it means.

___

Q: What was the original problem?

A: The Greek government spent too much, didn't collect enough in taxes and had to sell bonds to make up the difference. It ran up budget deficits well beyond limits set by the European Union, a group of 27 nations that allow goods and workers to cross their borders freely.

When Greece fell into recession two years ago, bondholders worried they wouldn't get their money back. To make sure they did, the EU started lending money to Greece, essentially allowing it to use new debt to pay off old debt.

Greece shares a currency, the euro, with 16 countries, so its problems are Italy's problems, and Spain's, and Germany's, too. And many other European countries have debt problems of their own.

The challenge was to figure out a way to fix the problem so Greece didn't have to come back for bailout after bailout.

___

Q: Is the risk from Europe gone?

A: No. Even if the rescue package keeps Greece and the European banks afloat, the crisis has already damaged the European economy. Some manufacturers have slashed production and hoarded cash. Banks are demanding higher rates for loans, if they're lending at all.

On Monday, an important economic indicator suggested business activity in the zone of nations that use the euro currency shrank in October for the first time in three years.

The European Union accounts for 20 percent of world's economic output. It is a big trading partner for many countries. A recession there could push other economies into recession.

___

Q: How vulnerable is the U.S.?

Some good news out Thursday suggests the U.S. is in better shape to weather any blow. The economy grew almost twice as fast over the summer as it did in the spring. But it's still dangerously weak.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress earlier this month that the economic recovery was "close to faltering." And the co-founder of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, a forecasting firm that predicted the last three downturns, said a recession was all but inevitable. Consumer confidence is the lowest in two and a half years.

"It almost looks like the world is worrying itself into another recession," Klaus Kleinfeld, the CEO of Alcoa, said Oct. 11.

One danger from Europe is that it could buy fewer U.S. goods. Europe buys 20 percent of U.S. exports.

___

Q: Will the bailout plan be enough to keep the debt crisis from spreading?

A: Maybe. There are a lot of unknowns.

Because the banks are accepting losses on Greek bonds, Greece won't owe as much as it did before. That helps. But it still has too much debt and needs its economy to grow if it hopes to pay it back.

The new plan sees Greek debt falling to 120 percent of the country's economic output by 2020 ? a level believed to be sufficient to ease investors' fears. Its debt had been expected to grow to 180 percent. But it's uncertain whether Greece can dig itself out of recession amid riots, strikes and despair.

Problems lurk at the European banks, too. The plan calls for banks to raise 106 billion euros, or about $150 billion, as a cushion against future losses. But that might not be enough to protect against losses on holdings of Greek, Italian and other countries' bonds. Before the summit meeting, the International Monetary Fund estimated banks needed 200 billion euros more to protect themselves.

What's more, even that lower cushion might do a lot of harm. It could force banks to cut back on lending even more, hurting companies and slowing economic growth.

___

Q: What about U.S. banks?

Unlike their European counterparts, U.S. banks do not hold a lot of European government bonds. But they may be exposed in other ways.

U.S. banks and other financial institutions have sold investors a type of insurance policy known as credit default swaps. They require the banks to pay billions of dollars if Greece and other indebted European countries default, or stop paying back their debt.

Even though Greece won't have to pay the face value on its bonds, European leaders structured the deal so that the banks wouldn't have to pay the credit default swaps. Because Greek bonds holders agreed to the plan, Greece isn't technically in default.

Good news, right? Sebastian Mallaby, a director at the Council on Foreign Relations, fears that some European banks taking losses on Greek bonds were also investors in credit default swaps ? meaning they lose both ways.

The upshot: In a complex and interconnected financial system, it's difficult to know whether savings for one financial institution will actually trigger deep losses elsewhere. That uncertainty tends to spread fear and freeze lending.

"The chances of contagion are not awful," Mallaby says. "It's the unknown dangers. And fear itself can spook markets."

___

Q: If there are so many questions, why did U.S. stocks jump?

Actually, they've been moving up for a while. Stocks have risen in five of the last six trading days through Thursday, and are up 14 percent this month.

Credit a bit of good timing. Anxiety over this latest summit was rising just as U.S. companies were reporting surprisingly good third quarter profits. They are expected to be up 14 percent for companies in the Standard & Poor's 500, the eighth quarter in a row of at least 10 percent gains. Record profits are expected for the full year.

Despite the rising prices, many financial analysts note that stocks have been trading as if Europe were about to explode or the U.S. about to slip into recession ? or both. On Thursday, stocks were trading at 12 times the annual per-share profits. They typically trade at 15, meaning prices should be higher.

___

Q: Will fear continue to recede from the stock market?

It depends partly on the U.S. economy. Many analysts and economists think the recovery will eventually pick up speed. But if Europe does push the U.S. into recession, you can forget about those impressive corporate profits, and surging stock prices.

Before the last recession, companies in the S&P 500 stock index were reporting record profits, too. Within a year, those profits turned into losses. Stocks eventually lost half their value.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_on_re_us/us_europe_financial_crisis_q_a

stoma stoma money ball bill cunningham vladimir putin vladimir putin rampage jackson

Rina weakens to tropical storm; cruise ships scatter

By Jamey Bergman and Ashley Kosciolek, Cruise Critic

(Updated Oct. 27, 11 a.m.?EDT)

Ever-weakening Rina, the 17th named storm of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, is now a tropical storm as it trudges toward the popular tourist areas of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

According to the National Hurricane Center's latest advisory, Rina is located about?90 miles south of Cozumel and is packing maximum sustained winds of about 70 miles per hour. The storm is moving west-northwest at?6 mph.

Cruise ship itinerary changes
Carnival Inspiration, on a five-night cruise from Tampa, is visiting Progresso on Tuesday instead of Cozumel.

Carnival Freedom, on an eight-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale, will call on Montego Bay on Wednesday instead of Limon, and it will stay at sea on Thursday, foregoing a call on Colon. A stop at Grand Turk on Friday will replace an originally scheduled sea day.

Carnival Destiny, on a five-night cruise from Miami, will replace a sea day scheduled for Wednesday with a call on Nassau.

Carnival Liberty, on a seven-night cruise from Miami, will substitute Ocho Rios in place of Grand Cayman on Wednesday and call on Grand Turk on Thursday instead of Ocho Rios.

Carnival Legend, on a seven-night cruise from Tampa, will switch its calls on Belize and Cozumel, visiting the former on Tuesday and the latter on Wednesday. It will also call on Progreso on Thursday instead of Roatan and swap Friday's planned Grand Cayman visit with a sea day.

Carnival Valor, on a seven-night cruise from Miami, will forego Belize on Wednesday for a sea day. The ship will also call on Grand Cayman on Thursday instead of spending the day at sea.

Carnival Triumph, on a five-night cruise from Galveston, is replacing Progreso with Cozumel on Wednesday and Cozumel with Progreso on Thursday.

Carnival Imagination, on a four-day cruise from Miami, is scrapping Cozumel for a sea day on Wednesday and replacing a sea day on Thursday with a visit to Nassau.

Instead of spending Wednesday at sea, Celebrity Millenium will call on Nassau, Bahamas.

Norwegian Star replaced her scheduled call in Belize City today, with a sea day. The ship is expected to stop in Belize City on Thursday. Norwegian Star's scheduled Cozumel stop on Friday, is being replaced with a visit to Costa Maya.

Norwegian Spirit's scheduled call in Cozumel on Friday is being replaced with a sea day.

Norwegian Pearl's scheduled calls in Grand Cayman on Thursday and Cozumel on Friday have both been cancelled. The ship will instead visit Nassau on Friday.

Island Princess will no longer call in Grand Cayman on Friday, the ship will visit Ocho Rios instead.

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas will no longer call in Cozumel on Friday. Instead, the ship will stop in Nassau.

?Disney Cruise Line's Disney Magic will be skipping a call on Key West on Sunday, opting for a sea day instead. Additionally, the ship will call on St. Maarten in place of Grand Cayman on Tuesday and Tortola instead of Cozumel on Wednesday.

Weather outlook: Next affected ships and ports
Rina is now expected to weaken slightly as it approaches the Yucatan Peninsula, where landfall is expected sometime Thursday. A hurricane warning is now in effect for the northeast coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from north of Punta Gruesa to San Felipe. Hurricane-force winds are expected to reach the coast by early Thursday, with eight to 16 inches of rain predicted to impact the eastern Yucatan.

New updates are released by the NHC every three hours, and we'll keep you in the loop as new information becomes available.

More from Cruise Critic:

Cruise ship itinerary changes
Carnival Cruise Lines has reported the majority of the itinerary changes, though other lines continue to weigh in:

Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/25/8483900-hurricane-rina-scattering-cruise-ships

hennessy lymphoma cancer glenn beck cacao cacao spartacus blood and sand starz

The Air Force's Rocket-Killing Megawatt Laser Runs on Rocket Fuel [Video]

Until that Missile Defense Shield I've heard so much about is realized, we'll just have to rely on this megawatt laser mounted on the front of a Boeing to blast warheads out of the sky. Works for me More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/NuT2x_Egbls/the-air-forces-rocket+killing-megawatt-laser-that-runs-on-rocket-fuel

lego man lego man cheryl hines denver weather john lackey john lackey ed lee

An outside-in effort to help poor students achieve

NEW YORK?? What does the time kids spend outside school have to do with their academic success? Everything, according to some experts.

1. More from TODAY.com

   1. Updated 54 minutes ago 10/25/2011 1:41:37 PM +00:00 ?Idol? Kelly Clarkson targets ?Mr. Know it All?
   2. Hunt continues for killer shark in Australia
   3. Snooki in Italy: 'The Italians loved us'
   4. Prince Harry dating American waitress?
   5. Make it, don't buy it: DIY style goes high-fashion

For kids whose families struggle to meet basic needs like health care and nutrition, keeping up in school can be a daily challenge. Now a new federal program is taking an out-of-the-box approach to improving the classroom performance of such kids by focusing on their needs outside of school.

Patterned after the Harlem program featured in the documentary film ?Waiting for Superman,? the U.S. Department of Education?s Promise Neighborhood Program last year doled out $500,000 planning grants to 21 programs around the country. After gathering preliminary data on whether the outside-in approach can help students, it will give up to $30 million more annually to a handful of programs to see their plans through.

One fledgling program has been established in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, where almost a quarter of families live below the poverty line. For them, accessing essential services isn?t always easy. There are long waiting lists for day care and too few English language classes to accommodate the large immigrant population, contributing to relatively low educational attainment in a neighborhood where nearly half of adults lack high school diplomas. A third of families in Sunset Park reported not having enough food to eat last year.

The same percentage of families has no health insurance, meaning even a minor illness can have major consequences. When kids get sick, parents have to miss work to take care of them, stretching financial resources to the breaking point. Many parents of dropouts in the area say illness was the main reason their child left school.

Stretched to distraction
Experts say that when families spend so much time trying to make ends meet, they rarely focus on improving their situations.

?If I?ve got all these other things going on, how am I supposed to focus on my schoolwork?? said Stacie Evans, director of the Sunset Park Promise Neighborhood. ?How am I supposed to be able to get to the point where I can be successful??

The Promise Neighborhood Program aims to fill the voids by making sure kids have access to all of the services they need ? from ?cradle-through-college-to-career? ? in their community.

1. Only on msnbc.com

   1. Battling for gay rights, in Allah's name
   2. Perry seeks to cash in on flat tax's enduring appeal
   3. PhotoBlog: World population set to exceed seven billion
   4. Your Career: Employers that pay for lunch
   5. Fecal transplants: Sounds gross, works great
   6. Yeast adds vitamins to bread

Here?s how it works: Local organizations that receive grants connect existing programs, identify gaps in services and fund new operations where they are needed, creating a network where families can readily address all of their needs. Experts call these ?wraparound services,? and say they are critical to the success of students.

Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO of PolicyLink, an institute devoted to social and economic equality that endorses the Promise Neighborhood Program, said that the idea is to take programs with proven results and bring them to all those who need them.?

?The hope is that from the Promise Neighborhood Program we begin to learn how to coordinate what we already have,? she said. ?It?s not enough to have a wonderful boutique program. We have to take it to scale.?

In Sunset Park, 10-year-old Christian Trujillo knows what is at stake.?

?I am lucky to go to school,? he said.? ?Without an education you can?t really have a life.? You need to work hard and not just fool around.? Because when you fool around, you get nothing.?

But even with such focus at an early age, Christian is not optimistic that he?ll be able to attend college.

?If I keep up the good work, probably, but if I go down (in my grades) next year, probably not,? he said.

Many students at his school get bored and stop showing up to class, he said, adding that he worries that he, too, could get in trouble if his grades started to slip.

?The only way you can work without education is (selling) drugs, which you shouldn?t do, because after you do that the police find out, and you have the price to pay,? he said.?

Health checks, extracurricular activities
Christian?s chances of beating the odds may be improved now that the Promise Neighborhood Program is being established in his community.

Now he gets regular health checkups and attends extracurricular computer and dance classes. His mom, Carla Trujillo, goes to parenting classes, where she is learning ways in which she can be more involved in his education.?

The 50-square block Sunset Park program, which was established by a coalition of local organizations led by the Lutheran Family Health Center, even includes a community garden with a chicken coop, so families can learn where healthy foods come from.

?Promise Neighborhoods ties together all theses different supports that are looking at all parts of a person?s life, from when their parents first conceive that child up until the time that the child is ready to go beyond college and into a career,? said Evans, the program director.

The Promise Neighborhood Program was modeled after the Harlem Children?s Zone, a 97-block area where community leaders improved test scores, reduced the dropout rate and increased college enrollment by improving ?wraparound services? over a decade.

Some experts are skeptical about the return to investment of wraparound services. A July 2010 Brookings Institute report raised questions about the efficacy of the Harlem Children?s Zone, which operates its own charter school in addition to providing wraparound services.? The report compared test scores from the Harlem school ?with other New York City schools where students do not receive wraparound services. It found that students in the Harlem Children?s Zone did better than students in traditional public schools, but not better than other charter schools in the city.

Marty Lipp, a spokesperson for the Harlem Children?s Zone, called the report narrowly focused and short-sighted. ?Our perspective is larger than just test scores and academics,? he said. ?Those kids need more than just math and English.?

Read the Harlem Children Zone's reponse to the Brookings reports (.pdf).

Blackwell, the PolicyLink CEO, said that the Promise Neighborhood program really is based on a promise.? ?If you participate with us, and we can get you early ? and you?ll take the early childhood program, and attend the school and do your part ? we?ll help you succeed in life. We?ll help you get to college.? We?ll make sure you?re successful there.?

The Sunset Park Promise Neighborhood has applied for one of up to six implementation grants that will be awarded by the Department of Education in December, when it also plans to award additional planning grants.

If it is successful in obtaining the long-term funding, the Sunset Park Promise plan calls for expansion of the zone in five years to bring the services to more families.

Christian Trujillo said that for him, success would mean college, then a career as a lawyer so he can help more families like his own.?

?Justice means fighting for good, like you want good things to happen and get rid of the bad,? he said. ?Like no more drugs or smoke, and for kids to have an education.?

? 2010 msnbc.com? Reprints

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45022229/ns/today-education_nation/

lake powell reno nevada lion king 3d lion king 3d the lion king 3d the lion king 3d missoni

Computer components may one day recycle their own wasted heat

Imagine a computer that isn't just designed to "deal" with the heat produced by its components, but one that actually uses that wasted energy to power some of its high-tech internals. That's the potential of a new discovery out of the Physical and Technical Institute (PTB) of Braunschweig, Germany. Researchers discovered what they're calling tunnel magneto thermoelectric voltage, essentially that by heating one side of a magnetic tunnel structure (the types of switches found in magnetic RAM and in the heads of hard drives) they can control the flow of electricity across its poles. The switches would still need to be triggered by matching the polarity on either side of the insulator and magnet sandwich, but heating one pole would create an electrical potential and would consume some of the energy that otherwise might get dispersed through a heatsink. We're still years away from seeing this technology in any functioning products and, honestly, we're not entirely sure we understand how exactly it would work, but it sounds like just the sort of potential-packing innovation that our (rather toasty) laps desperately need.

Computer components may one day recycle their own wasted heat originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ExtremeTech  |  PTB  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/1CXRTxvjPB4/

jane lynch matt ryan matt ryan ricky gervais golden globes real housewives of new york justified mildred pierce

Carnival of Personal Finance #332

? October 24, 2011Posted in: Carnivals

Beating Broke hosted this week?s Carnival of Personal Finance.

Editor?s Choices:

Thanks to all our participants and our host for the lively Carnival this week!

?

About Revanche

Revanche writes the personal finance blog A Gai Shan Life.

Source: http://carnivalofpersonalfinance.com/carnival-of-personal-finance-332-1383/

yankees espn magazine espn magazine anywhere but here wall street protesters att new york yankees

Video: One-on-one with Sec. Clinton

August 21: Gibbs, Daniels, roundtable

Former White House spokesman and one of the president?s closest confidantes: Obama for America Campaign adviser, Robert Gibbs. Then, Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN). Finally, our roundtable: former Tennessee congressman, Harold Ford, Jr. (D); columnist for the Wall Street Journal Peggy Noonan; columnist for the Washington Post, E.J. Dionne; and host of CNBC?s Closing Bell, Maria Bartiromo.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/45005466#45005466

amazon tablet amazon tablet carl sagan gloria estefan ahava ahava kelly cutrone

Turkey: 49 Kurdish rebels killed in fighting (AP)

ANKARA, Turkey ? Turkish troops have killed at least 49 Kurdish rebels in a valley near the Iraqi border, the military said Saturday, as hundreds of troops also pursued Kurdish fighters within northern Iraq.

The rebels were killed in offensives in the past two days in the Kazan Valley region, near the town of Cukurca that borders Iraq, the military said in a statement posted on its website. There was no confirmation of the deaths from the rebel group.

On Wednesday, Turkey launched anti-rebel offensives involving around 10,000 troops both in southeastern Turkey and across the border in Iraq. The military operations began hours after 24 soldiers were killed in Cukurca by the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in the deadliest one-day toll against the military since the 1990s.

Turkey's conflict with the Kurdish rebels has killed tens of thousands of people since the insurgents took up arms to fight for autonomy in the country's Kurdish-dominated southeast in 1984.

The military said it recovered the bodies of 35 rebels at the valley after it struck the area with artillery shells and airstrikes on Saturday. Seven other bodies were found inside a cave while seven more rebels were killed in separate clashes in the region.

"Operations launched in a few regions across the border and in two regions inside Turkey are continuing," the military statement said, adding they were aimed at "preventing acts by members of the separatist terror organization against our units."

On Friday, the military said air and ground offensives were mostly concentrated within Turkey, in Cukurca, while operations were also under way "in a few areas" in northern Iraq.

The military has not revealed the number of soldiers that have crossed into Iraq. But the Haber Turk newspaper reported Saturday that 1,500 elite troops were involved in the ground operation against rebel hideouts in northern Iraq. The Vatan newspaper put the figure at 2,000.

The Turkish troops had penetrated three miles (five kilometers) into Iraqi territory, Haber Turk said, while military helicopters were ferrying elite troops in and out of other areas for "spot operations" against PKK rebels. Warplanes and drones were providing air support for the gunbattles.

The paper said the offensive was targeting seven suspected PKK bases along the border, where about 2,000 rebels are believed to be hiding.

The military said the operation includes commandos, special forces and paramilitary special forces ? elite forces trained in guerrilla warfare. They are being reinforced by F-16 and F-4 warplanes, Super Cobra helicopter gunships and surveillance drones.

The Kurdish rebels meanwhile, said seven of their fighters, including three senior operatives, were killed in Turkish air raids in northern Iraq on Oct. 10 and vowed revenge.

Turkey has launched more than two dozen air and ground incursions into northern Iraq over the 27 years of the insurgency, with mixed results. The rebels have returned to positions along the border soon after the troops have withdrawn. The current offensive was the largest attack on the insurgents in more than three years.

Turkey is seeking the cooperation of Iraqi Kurds, who control an autonomous region in northern Iraq, and of Iran for the latest offensive.

Hurriyet newspaper reported Saturday that Iraqi Kurdish security forces, the Peshmerga, were helping Turkish troops by providing intelligence.

Iraqi leaders have condemned the rebel attacks and promised to stop the PKK from using Iraqi territory for future attacks against Turkey. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said both Baghdad and the regional Kurdish government in northern Iraq "are committed to securing the borders."

On Friday, Turkey and Iran vowed to collaborate against the PKK and its Iranian wing, the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan, or PJAK, during a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. The PKK and PJAK have both been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in their respective countries and both are labeled as terrorist organizations by the United States.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111022/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_kurds

weather houston roger williams roger williams tyler bray tyler bray rashard mendenhall san antonio weather

New Tim Burton balloon in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://animazinggallery.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-tim-burton-balloon-in-macys.html

icloud kroy biermann apple update apple update download ios 5 pokey find my mac

Android Central Live Podcast

The Android Central Podcast is recorded live in front of a live studio audience, so you can catch us in the act we discuss the latest in Android news, reviews, rumors and applications, and join in with the chat below.

Show starts around 9 p.m. Eastern time (more or less)

Miss a show? You can listen to every episode of the Android Central Podcast online.
Web | RSS | iTunes

Image Uploads: 

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/btJdGjioV1w/live

warren zevon caroline kennedy caroline kennedy day of rage sportscenter pay per view floyd mayweather

Pre-occupied (Unqualified Offerings)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/152025048?client_source=feed&format=rss

amazon tablet amazon tablet carl sagan gloria estefan ahava ahava kelly cutrone

Finance Tips for the Self-Employed | Penelope Trunk Blog

This is probably what you think self-employed looks like:

I'm at an amusement park with my kids, in the middle of the week, and I'm on a conference call while I watch my son try to get on a ride.

Being self-employed looks so nice at an amusement park. The self-employed are always free to go on a vacation. They pick up their friends at the airport in the middle of the day, they show up for poker night because they can stay out late, and they can plan their wedding without having to pretend they are working.

Close up, though, most self-employed people are completely stressed about money.

That money part is what I hate about being self-employed. Anyone who says they don?t love a steady paycheck is lying. A paycheck is so nice. It?s reliable like a friend, it makes you safe, it gives you a way to organize your life.

Here's how I deal with the worrying:

1. Pretend you have an out.
Sometimes I have to calm myself down by telling myself I'll solve my money problems by taking a regular job. One fantasy I have is getting a job at Microsoft. Once I was giving a speech at a human resource convention in Seattle. And a top HR guy from Microsoft was there. And he wanted to talk to me.

I thought, ?Great, I?ll sell him something from Brazen Careerist.?

Then I thought, "No. I just want a job." I thought I'd do anything?even read resumes all day?if he?d just give me a steady paycheck and access to the amazing health care they give autistic kids of employees.

I hear Microsoft is ending that insurance plan. I wonder if this will help me stay more focused on running my own company instead of looking for escape routes. Probably not.

2. Forget living in the moment. Instead, live five months in the future.
Your clients will take too long to make a decision, no matter how long they take, and they will never pay immediately. So instead of fighting the lag-time, you should always be earning money for five months out. If you are spending your days trying to drum up business to get revenue five months from now, you feel safe, knowing that it?s not an emergency. Any closer than that and you feel like if you don?t close you?re gonna die.

3. The only way to feel rich is to be able to dump an awful client.
Thinking five months out frees you to dump a client, and it's so so fun to dump a client who misbehaves. It?s a way to assert your power as a freelancer even though you have no power because if you don?t get money you?ll starve and have to get a staff job somewhere (and you probably can?t ? because most self-employed people are largely unmanageable in a corporate hierarchy).

I had a client that signed a contract to pay half up front, and then didn?t. And the company was so late it was almost time to give the speech. And I said, if you don?t pay this week, I?m not doing the speech. I loved that. I loved that because I don?t need the money from the speech. I?m okay for right now. Well, I mean, I?d really like the money this week. But I?m okay for next week, so I liked telling her to fuck off.

4. Have one great client.
You need a lot of schemes. You have to always be pitching different people different stuff because you don?t know what?ll stick. But you really need one client that is great, and pays on time, and makes you love doing your job. That client gives you sanity.

For me that is Federated Media. Really, I could write a whole post about how much I love them. They are so easy to work with and they sell ads that I?d never sell on my own, because I?d get impatient and tell the advertiser to fuck off before I collected any money. So Federated makes my life great, because I can blog about anything and say yes or no to anything and they just roll with it, and keep selling ads. Well, they did tell me to remove the word fuck from a post. But that?s how you know that Federated didn?t pay me to write this post. Because they allow pretty much anything except obscenities, which they say fuck qualifies as.

5. Self-employment stability requires doing stuff you hate.
Be a grown-up. Self-employed doesn?t mean you love everything you do. I have done stuff to appease editors that drove me crazy. I have given speeches to groups of people that were all at the conference with the sole purpose of cheating on their wives. I do lots of stuff I don?t like. I remind myself that I do it so that I can have a job that I pretty much love.

To cope with the bad stuff, you have to find a way to trick yourself. Like, I don?t love the pressure, but I love writing about the pressure.

?

Source: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2011/10/19/finance-tips-for-the-self-employed/

chronicle end of the world end of the world jerome harrison lumpectomy ryan leaf ryan leaf

US, Mexico to upgrade border quake system (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? The U.S. and Mexico will expand an earthquake monitoring system south of the border in the wake of last year's deadly magnitude-7.2 temblor, officials from both countries announced Wednesday.

U.S. experts will provide sensors, a computer network and training to help their counterparts in northern Baja California to identify areas at greatest risk of suffering damage from a big temblor and could save lives and property, officials said.

Emergency planners were unable to determine where to send help in the early stages after the Easter Sunday 2010 quake that was centered south of Mexicali and killed two people in Mexico, said Roberto Quaas Weppen, director general of the Mexican National Center for Prevention of Disasters.

"This is something that we missed a year ago," he said during a news conference in Pasadena, Calif. "We were not able to know how strong the earthquake was" because of a lack of instruments to determine the quake's intensity and how it was spreading.

"The intensity of the groundshaking could not be measured, how strongly the ground is shaking. And this is a very important parameter to assess damage," he said.

The lack of backup systems also made it impossible to share that data when the Internet and communications went down. Under the new program, scientists from both countries will be better able to share data on earthquake hazards, officials said.

The project is an historic collaboration that will benefit both countries, said Anne Castle, assistant secretary for water and science of the U.S. Interior Department.

"It has been said that geologic faults and earthquakes don't care about borders," she said. "Human suffering and the desire to help: We don't care about borders."

Under the jointly funded project, the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Northern Command will provide new sensors that can measure strong ground motion in the earthquake-prone Mexicali and Tijuana areas. The sensors will be set in different types of soil, which plays a role in amplifying or reducing the shock of a temblor.

Mexican researchers also will be trained to quickly determine how the quake is spreading and where the damage might be expected, authorities said.

The U.S. is contributing $500,000 for the expanded quake monitoring network, which should be in operation next year. The Mexican government is including funding in its $50-million program to create an integrated national earthquake system, said Doug Given, Southern California seismic network coordinator for the USGS.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111019/ap_on_sc/us_border_quake_monitoring

jeremy maclin nascar news emmys 2011 emmys 2011 boxing emmy nominations 2011 ravens

Video: Blackstone Conference Call

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44978754#44978754

x factor judges x factor judges lemony snicket lemony snicket raiders raiders news raiders news

Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.0 vs. iPhone 4S (Yahoo! News)

Google's new Ice Cream Sandwich OS and Apple's iOS 5 go head to head

Android and the?iPhone may seem like oil and water ? at least depending on who you ask ? but the two major forces in the smartphone world are starting to increasingly take their cues from one another. Apple just introduced iOS 5, the newest version of its wildly popular mobile operating system, and now Google's let the cat out of the bag on Android 4.0 (playfully nicknamed "Ice Cream Sandwich") and a new flagship phone, the powerhouse?Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Android 4.0 seeks to remedy the most common complaints about Android: namely its complexity (and the fact that it isn't the indomitable?iPhone). Read on to see how the two mobile heavyweights fare in a head-to-head match.

The sleek interface of Ice Cream Sandwich

Appearance
If you've spent any time with an Android tablet, you've seen the Tron-esque stark black visual landscape that Google has now ported over to Android for phones. Thought up by lauded mobile designer Matias Duarte, the look is a somewhat radical new direction: A sleek retort to the simplicity of iOS that stands apart with deep blacks, glowing blues, and an ultra-modern new font called Roboto. Android 4.0 also tosses resizable widgets into the mix, making it even easier to get weather, email, texts, and more without opening an app.

Apple's iOS 5 doesn't introduce much in the way of a visual redesign, but why mess with a winning formula? As far as function goes, iOS 5 does introduce an extremely useful pull-down notification system that replaces the incessant pop-ups of yore, though Apple admittedly took its inspiration from Android.

Winner: Android 4.0 Android's new look is striking and innovative (even if it isn't everyone's cup of tea). The visual style of iOS is clean by definition, but it doesn't have the pizazz of the new blue Android 4.0 and didn't evolve nearly as far in the last update.

Apple's iCloud automates you backup needs

Syncing and software suites
Apple has made much ado about iCloud, its brand new iOS 5 feature that zaps your downloads to the cloud and syncs iTunes downloads like apps, music, and photos?them across your iDevices. If you're a former MobileMe user you'll be happy to know that the service is now free, and rolled up under the banner of iCloud for email, contact, and calendar syncing.

Integration with the cloud has always been a strong suit for Google. While Google Music Beta might have been upstaged by on-demand cloud music darling Spotify, Google's vast suite of software services are quite handy on Android compared to their iOS counterparts. Apps like Gmail offer a richer, deeper experience on Google's own platform, and with Android 4.0, Google has upped the game with enhanced offline email search (up to 30 days back), a functional redesign to make things simpler and smoother, and a revamped Calendar app.

Winner: Tie If you're more plugged into iTunes and the service formerly known as MobileMe, Apple's software will make your life a breeze. If you lean more heavily on Gmail, Google Calendars, and the like, Android is built for you.

Siri on the iPhone 4S is an advanced AI

Killer features from the future: Siri vs. Android Beam and Face Unlock
Both iOS 5 and Android 4.0 have a futuristic touch ? and we're not just talking glowing blue tones either. With iOS 5, Apple introduced us to?Siri, a voice command and search app that's almost eerily sophisticated. You can speak into your iPhone 4S and ask Siri anything you want (really, anything!) and Siri speaks the information you need ? or least a quirky retort. Android has boasted handy built-in voice commands for longer, but Siri is far more comprehensive...and far closer to being sentient.

Paired with the futurescape of its new look, Android 4.0 introduces two very cool little bonus features: Android Beam and Face Unlock. If you've ever used the clever app Bump to swap phone numbers, Beam is the exact same idea, but expanded. With Beam, you can tap two phones together and watch as websites, videos, directions, and apps are zapped from one phone to the other.

Face Unlock for Android 4.0 is a trick that could prove pretty useful in securing your phone from prying eyes. Using Google's face recognition technology, you can unlock your phone just by peering into the front-facing camera and having your face recognized.

Winner: Siri Both Apple and Android's new futuristic features have some inherent limitations. Siri is only available for the iPhone 4S, and isn't open to all iOS 5 users. Android Beam will debut on the new flagship Galaxy Nexus phone, and then be possible between any two Android 4.0 phones that have a?Near-Field Communication (NFC) chip or sticker. Unfortunately, knowing Google's checkered past with Android updates and its ongoing struggles with its grab bag of Android makers, it's hard to say how long it'll be before the stars will align for Beam.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

iPhone 4S vs. Galaxy Nexus
While the iPhone 4S is no iPhone 5, it's no slouch either. The phone isn't radically redesigned, but it's got a huge boost in speed thanks to an A5 processor, an even better camera with an 8MP sensor and f/2.4 aperture, and then there's Siri behind the wheel, and the winning design and retina display introduced with the last generation iPhone.

There's a veritable sea of Android phones out there, but the new reigning champion is the Galaxy Nexus, made by Samsung and due out next month. As the latest in Google's bloodline of Nexus flagship phones, it will be the first phone running Android 4.0 out of the gate ? a huge advantage in our crazy, mixed up Android world.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus tech specs:

• 4.65" Super AMOLED screen
• 1.2Ghz dual-core processor
• Support for 4G LTE
• Sliver-thin 9mm thickness
• Curved design that makes it feel natural to hold
• Android 4.0
• NFC

Winner: iPhone 4S In terms of screen quality, speed, and design, these two phones are clearly the very upper crust of the mobile world. They're very nearly equally matched, but the iPhone 4S is a better fit for more buyers. The flagship Android phone's huge screen will be great for video and web-browsing, but it's also just plain too big to have a broad appeal. And since there are so many more fish in the Android sea, this round goes to the one and only iPhone.

This article originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20111019/tc_yblog_technews/galaxy-nexus-and-android-4-0-vs-iphone-4s

january jones top gun kat von d the talk its always sunny in philadelphia free agents free agents

Obama seeks action on jobs bill pieces this week

FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2011 file photo, President Barack Obama waves after speaking at the General Motors Orion assembly plant with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Orion Township, Mich., to promote a new trade deal between the two countries. Obama has shored up support from mid-level donors in some of the most economically distraught areas of the country, even as his Republican challengers have made jobs a central issue heading into next year's election. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2011 file photo, President Barack Obama waves after speaking at the General Motors Orion assembly plant with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Orion Township, Mich., to promote a new trade deal between the two countries. Obama has shored up support from mid-level donors in some of the most economically distraught areas of the country, even as his Republican challengers have made jobs a central issue heading into next year's election. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama will urge Congress to get to work this week on passing pieces of his larger, now-defunct jobs bill during a three-day bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia, two southern states that will be critical to his re-election campaign.

The two-state swing, which kicks off Monday in Asheville, N.C., is Obama's latest attempt to combine campaigning for his jobs bill with campaigning for his re-election. While he has pledged to travel the country pitching his plans to get Americans back to work, his stops have focused heavily on political swing states, underscoring the degree to which what happens with the economy is tied to Obama's re-election prospects.

The bus tour comes as the fight over Obama's jobs proposals enters a new phase. The president's efforts to get his entire $447 billion bill passed were blocked by Senate Republicans, leaving Obama and his Democratic allies to push for the proposals contained in the bill to be passed piece by piece.

That means the president's rallying cry this week could go from "Pass this bill" to "Pass these bills."

"Although Congress is adopting a piece-by-piece approach, the president believes that every single piece should pass, and that at the end of the day we should have all of the components of the American Jobs Act passed through the Congress so the president can sign them, even if that means that he has to sign multiple pieces of legislation," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

Despite Obama's calls for urgency, it appears the lawmakers may not take up individual components of the president's bill until November, at the earliest. The Senate is set to debate appropriations bills this week, and lawmakers have a scheduled break at the end of the month.

Earnest said Obama wants Congress to first act on a provision calling for $35 billion in assistance to states and local governments to hire or prevent laying off teachers and first responders. He also wants lawmakers to pass $50 billion in new spending on infrastructure.

Obama's stops on the bus trip are designed to highlight those aspects of his plan, including his first stop at the Ashville Regional Airport, where the White House says government funds could be used to renovate a runway and create construction jobs.

The president will also speak at community colleges, high schools and a firehouse as he travels through North Carolina and Virginia this week.

Both states are traditionally Republican leaning, but changing demographics and a boost in voter turnout among young people and African-Americans helped Obama carry them in 2008.

But nearly three years after his historic election, the president's approval ratings in both states are sagging, in line with the national trend.

A Quinnipiac University poll out earlier this month put Obama's approval rating in Virginia at 45 percent, with 52 percent disapproving. The same poll showed 83 percent of Virginians were dissatisfied with the direction of the country. In North Carolina, Obama has a 42 percent approval rating, according to an Elon University poll conducted this month. Most national polls put Obama's approval rating in the mid- to low-40s.

The conservative advocacy group American Crossroads planned to run television ads in both states during Obama's trip, criticizing the president's jobs proposals as a second round of stimulus spending.

The president will be ditching Air Force One for much of his trip this week, traveling instead on a $1.1 million bus purchased by the Secret Service. The impenetrable-looking bus is painted all black, with dark tinted windows and flashing red and blue lights. Obama first used the custom-made bus during a similar road trip in August, when he traveled through Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.

___

Associated Press writers Ken Thomas in Washington, Bob Lewis in Richmond, Va., and Tom Breen in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-10-17-Obama/id-006cdf9f405e49478938408accf0d9a3

big east port charlotte florida buckyballs buckyballs jets gilad annie hall