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A Pentagon survey of U.S. military service members shows that 70% would not have a problem with gays serving openly with them. The findings are expected to be ammunition for lawmakers who are pushing for passage on a bill that outlaws the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that has forced gay and lesbian service members to keep their sexual orientation secret. Source Link
President Obama is ordering a pay freeze for all federal workers except the uniformed services. The move would cancel planned increases in 2011 and 2012 and save about $2 billion in the current fiscal year and $28 billion over the next five years. Obama froze the pay of all top White House staff members and political appointees when he took office. Source Link
The one-in-ten Americans who go online to watch their favorite TV shows haven’t given up traditional channel surfing. That according to a new survey that shows 8 out of 10 online viewers are watching just as much or more regularly-scheduled TV programming. Half say they now watch programs that they first sampled online and only about 3% plan to cancel their cable TV subscriptions. Source Link
A Somali-born teenager and self-proclaimed Muslim radical is to make a first appearance in federal court in Oregon on charges that he attempted to set off a car bomb at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland on Friday. The bomb was a fake and part of an FBI sting that targeted the 19-year old naturalized U.S. citizen who allegedly said he wanted to kill or injure many people. Source Link
Congress is back to work in its lame duck session to deal with legislative matters that could impact every person who pays taxes. Lawmakers must decide whether to extend the Bush-era tax cuts set to expire at the end of December. Other top issues include Senate debate on a measure already passed by the House to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military. Source Link
Holiday shoppers hit the bricks on “Black Friday”, but today the bargains are to be found online. Over 106 million Americans are expected to do some point-and-click holiday shopping on this “Cyber Monday.” It’s the sixth year for the Monday-after-Thanksgiving event and many of the nation’s biggest retailers are participating along with with online vendors offering special deals. Source Link
It’s called “Black Friday” but many big retailers are seeing green with visions of record sales in the traditional day-after-Thanksgiving start of the holiday shopping season. The CEO of Toys R’ Us is predicting their best Christmas ever. And Target expects to post the best holiday sales in three years, while Wal Mart is using deep discounting in hopes of ending six consecutive quarters of lower sales. Source Link
If your home Internet service is priced by the speed of your connection, why not do the same with your cell phone data plan? The CEO of Verizon says the company is considering tiered service charges based on speed, with a virtual fast lane for smartphone users who want to pay a higher price for quicker web browsing. Source Link
Like a bartender who can recommend a drink that’s right for you, a new Japanese vending machine can size you up and suggest a selection. The high-tech dispenser uses facial recognition to determine the buyer’s age and gender and then make suggestions. Operators say the test model has had triple the regular sales for a typical vending machine. Source Link
Brides planning their weddings for next year now know what day to avoid. The Royal Family says April 29th will be the wedding date for Britain’s Prince William and his fiance Kate Middleton. The day is a Friday and may not interfere with many who had already chosen a wedding date and feared losing attention for their special day with all the focus on the royal couple. Source Link
Could an apple a day keep the broken bones away? A new study says women over 50 who eat plenty of fruits like apples, along with more vegetables and whole grains can reduce their risk of of bone fractures. Previous studies focused on nutrients like calcium and vitamin D that can help improve bone mass and lead to fewer fractures as women age and face more risk of osteoporosis. Source Link
About one-in-four Americans say it just wouldn’t be a vacation without Fido or Kitty along for the trip. A survey by Petside.Com says 23% of people take their pets with them on vacation, and 75% report the trips are less stressful in the company of their four-legged companions. Dog owners were nearly twice as likely to bring their pets on vacation than were cat owners. Source Link
The White House has weighed-in on the controversy over full-body scans for travellers at the nation’s airports. Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs says the government will take into account the public's concerns and complaints as it evaluates rigid new airline boarding security checks. Thanksgiving brings the busiest air travel week of the year, with some 24 million passengers boarding flights. Source Link
The people of St. Louis may be singing the blues after their city came out on top of a list of the nation’s more dangerous places to live. The survey looks at the number of violent crimes per 100,000 people. St. Louis topped last year’s crime leader Camden New Jersey, which came in second. The other cities in the top five were Detroit and Flint, Michigan., and Oakland, California. Source Link
The video rental company that made its name sending DVD’s in the mail is making it cheaper to use their online video service. Netflix has a new $7.99 “streaming-only” subscription plan but is raising the monthly fee for those who also get DVD’s by mail. The Netflix Instant Streaming service has helped the company gain over 5 million new customers this year. Source Link
Researchers say nearly one in five Americans suffered with mental illness last year. Young adults aged 18 to 25 had the highest level of mental illness at 30 percent, while those aged 50 and older had the lowest. The rising rate reflected increasing depression, especially among the unemployed, some of whom also lost health benefits to help treat their mental illness. Source Link
The FDA is cracking down on makers of caffeinated alcoholic drinks, warning that their products are unsafe and violate federal laws. The canned drinks, which have been banned in several states, look similar to nonalcoholic energy drinks, but with 12 percent alcohol content they pack the punch of drinking four or five beers, plus a dose of added caffeine. Source Link
These days, it seems anyone and everyone can be a children’s book author, even the man in the Oval Office. In his new children’s picture book titled, “Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters” President Obama tells the stories of 13 American heroes and heroines. Proceeds from the book’s sales are being donated to a scholarship fund for the children of fallen soldiers. Source Link
Today marks the start of the Thanksgiving travel season that’s the busiest time of the year at the nation’s airports, and passengers are up in arms about the safety of new full-body scanners being used for security checks. The Transportation Security Administration insists the scanners are safe, but pilots are being allowed to opt-out of the scans under a special security program. Source Link
Is the best plan for a manned spaceflight to Mars to make it a one-way trip? Some scientists believe the fastest way to begin interplanetary exploration would be to make colonists of the first Mars crew, with no expectation of their return. Proponents say the approach could save 80% of the cost of a Mars spaceflight and the crew could survive for the rest of their lives on the Red Planet. Source Link
The young wizard who captivated readers for over a decade begins to unreel his final chapter on movie screens today. Part One of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” opens with expectations of more box office gold for the movie franchise that was launched nine years ago. The Harry Potter film series will wrap up with “Deathly Hallows Part Two” that opens next summer. Source Link
Uncle Sam is cashing-in some of his stake in the new General Motors. The U.S. government will sell about half of what it owns of the automaker with the initial public offering of the new GM stock. That will put over $13 billion back in the U.S. Treasury. The government will retain about 33% ownership in GM. The company hopes to raise $23 billion with the stock sale. Source Link
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has proved that the pen is mightier than the power of a party primary win. Murkowski has won re-election in a write-in campaign that was launched after she lost the GOP primary to a Tea Party rival. Murkowski is the first U.S. Senate candidate in over 50 years to win by write-in. Her opponent hasn’t said if he’ll demand a recount. Source Link
The biggest name in online book sales is setting its sights on producing works for the silver screen. The new Amazon Studios subsidiary of Amazon.Com is asking aspiring filmmakers and screenwriters to submit their movies and scripts in a contest that offers $140,000 in monthly prizes and an annual million-dollar award for the best movie. Source Link
For the first time since America entered the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, a Congressional Medal of Honor winner has stood to accept the nation’s highest military honor from the president. Army Staff Sargent Salvatore Giunta is the first living Medal of Honor recipient from those wars. In 2007, Giunta rescued two comrades in Afghanistan while under fire. Source Link
It’s another accomplishment for former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin -- she’s created the new word of the year. The Oxford American Dictionary says “refudiate” is their top new word of 2010. The misspelled combination of “refute” and “repudiate” caught on after Palin used it in a Twitter message. Runner-ups in the new word contest included “crowd sourcing,” “top kill” and “webisode.” Source Link
The Fab Four have finally made it to the world of digital downloads. Apple says it has inked an exclusive deal to bring the music of The Beatles to iTunes. Singles and albums will be available from the group that has been one of the last major holdouts against offering their music online. More than 177 million Beatles albums and CD’s have been sold in the United States. Source Link
Nearly a year and a half after bankruptcy wiped out General Motors stockholders, a leaner, reorganized GM is ready to begin selling stock to the public again. The Wall Street Journal says the price for the automaker’s initial public offering this week could be up to $33 a share. The stock sale will help the U.S. government reduce its ownership stake in the company. Source Link
This year, Black Friday shopping will begin at the stroke of Midnight for the nation’s biggest retailer. Wal Mart says it will start day-after-Thanksgiving sales at most of its stores at Midnight on Friday November 26th. meanwhile, Toys R’ Us plans to open its locations at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night and stay open right through Friday. Source Link
Is the biggest name in social networking entering the battle for your email in-box? Facebook is unveiling a new Messages feature that includes an offer of a “facebook.com” email address for every one of its 350 million users. But the social networking giant says it’s just part of an upgrade that lets users consolidate their messages whether they are sent by text message, chat or email. Source Link
A top adviser says President Obama will not agree to a permanent extension of income tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. But David Axelrod would not say if the president would support a temporary extension of the Bush-era tax cuts now set to expire for all taxpayers at the end of the year. An extension of the tax cuts could be an issue for a lame duck session of Congress. Source Link
Women are catching up with men in the workplace in a way that’s not so good. A new study says women with high stress jobs are 40% more likely to suffer from heart attacks and strokes, compared to those with low job strain. And job insecurity was a risk factor linked to problems with managing blood pressure, cholesterol and weight. Source Link
Today is the 14th annual America Recycles Day designed to encourage more Americans to recycle, reduce and reuse. While paper, glass and plastic are the most common items recycled by households, there’s a new push on for “e-cycling” to ensure that old computers, monitors, TVs, printers, or other electronics are recycled so that toxic elements inside them don’t end up in landfills. Source Link
Some 3,000 passengers from the cruise ship Carnival Splendor are happy to be back on dry land after spending three days stranded on the liner that lost all power following an engine room fire. Spirits were high as the crippled ship was pulled into port in San Diego. With no power, the passengers and crew lived on a diet of Spam, Pop Tarts and canned crab meat sandwiches airlifted to them by the U.S. Navy. Source Link
The cost of health care continues to rise. A new Thompson-Reuters index shows that the cost of hospital care jumped over 8% annually, with doctor’s fees rising about 5% and drug costs up by just over 3%. The increases far outpaced the rate of inflation and reflect a 62% increase in the cost of health care since the index began tracking in 2002. Source Link
The home phone book is fast becoming a relic of the 20th Century. Verizon, the nation’s number-two home phone provider, is asking permission to stop printing residential directories in the 12 states that it serves. AT&T is doing the same. While the Yellow Pages and business and government listings survive in print, the move to online phone directories means fewer people need the paper version. Source Link
Warning labels on packs of cigarettes are going large and graphic, including pictures of the effects of mouth cancer. The warnings that will take up half of the front of a cigarette pack are part of the FDA’s new role in regulating tobacco to include marketing and labeling. About 46 million adults and one-in-five high school students in America are smokers. Source Link
For the first time in over three years, the average price of a gallon of gas is touching the $3 mark. The jump comes as crude oil prices continue to move toward $90 a barrel. However, the higher gas prices aren’t uniform across the country. Much of the South outside of Florida is still paying less than $2.70 for a gallon of gas. Some of the highest prices are in California, Washington State and the Upper Midwest. Source Link
On this Veterans Day, there are the first signs of a new effort to recognize America’s disabled vets with a permanent memorial in Washington. Ground has been broken for The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial across from the U.S. Botanic Garden. America has more than three million living disabled veterans, including 53,000 who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Source Link
More than 3,000 passengers aboard the Carnival Splendor off the coast of Mexico are getting an unforgettable cruise - and that’s not a good thing. The ship lost all power after an engine room fire on Monday and then drifted in waters near Baja California. There were no injuries; the U.S. Navy has airlifted food and water to the ship, which is being towed back to port in Long Beach California. Source Link
The social network may not be the best place to get your health information. Researchers looked at the top Facebook groups for diabetes and found that over one-quarter of the posts promoted products not approved by the FDA. Two-thirds of the posts described personal experiences living with diabetes. Health experts say it’s always smart to double-check any product or treatment claims you find on the web. Source Link
Call it another layoff for the auto industry -- General Motors is letting go Mr. Goodwrench. The character that symbolized dealer service programs for GM since 1974 is being phased out in favor of certified service plans for each of the companies four remaining brands. Mr. Goodwrench was a mechanic and the face of GM service programs in print ads and television commercials. Source Link
The presidential commission investigating the BP oil spill says it found no instances where the company purposely cut corners on safety in order to save money. Members of Congress and lawyers who are suing BP have pointed to money-saving design decisions that compromised safety for the oil rig that exploded and killed 11 workers, and caused the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Source Link
The next Congress may be talking about cutting taxes, but state governments that don’t have the luxury of deficit spending are adding more taxes to make up for dropping revenues in the fallout from the Great Recession. More than 30 states have raised taxes or fees, and nearly all have cut personnel and reduced funding for higher education in an effort to close budget gaps. Source Link
Could having heavy friends increase your risk of obesity? A new study based on 40 years of data claims that social interaction with obese people raises your odds of obesity. But being friends with thin people does not help you maintain a lower weight. The study predicts that America’s obesity rate will eventually rise to reach 42% of the population. Source Link
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says unless the upcoming lame duck session of Congress takes up repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the ban against gays serving openly in the military will probably continue for some time. Gates is urging Congress to act now to repeal the ban that is also being challenged in court. Source Link
Could there be a screening test for lung cancer like a mammogram can help give an early warning of breast cancer? The National Cancer Institute says spiral CT scans can reduce the risk of death from lung cancer by 20%. The three-dimensional imaging can show tumors in their early stages when treatment is more effective. Source Link
TV’s late-night line-up gets an old face in a new place tonight. Nine months after he left NBC’s Tonight Show, Conan O’Brien’s new talk show debuts on cable’s TBS. O’Brien returns to a late-night TV battle in which Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” now outdraw “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno and “The Late Show” with David Letterman. Source Link
While Republicans and Democrats congratulate the winners and console the losers after Tuesday’s mid-term elections, a number of Congressional races won’t be decided for days or even weeks. About a dozen House and Senate races are awaiting final vote counts and possible recounts, including the Senate election in Alaska where 40% of ballots were write-in votes and the final tally may not be complete until mid-month. Source Link
Parents who choose not to vaccinate their children aren’t necessarily the ignorant lower classes. In fact, an annual study of health care quality says it’s parents with more education and relatively high incomes who are skipping vaccines because of fears about their safety, while low-income families take advantage of free or low-cost health care to have their children immunized. Source Link
iPhone users who are tired of missing out on seeing all those Flash videos on web sites are rejoicing over a new offering in the App Store. The Skyfire browser uses its own servers to convert Flash videos on the fly into an iPhone-compatible format. It’s so popular the company had to temporarily suspend sales of the application just hours after it launched because a lack of capacity for users. Source Link
In the wake of mid-term elections that put the G.O.P. in control of the U.S. House and added more Republican senators, President Obama says he takes responsibility for voter frustration over the economy that sank many Democratic candidates. Obama says he’s eager to sit down with the leaders of both political parties and in his words, “figure out how we can move forward together.” Source Link
A new study claims that alcohol is the most dangerous drug when measured in its cost to society. British researchers said they looked at alcohol use and its role in the break-up families, and the economic costs, including health care, social services, and crime. Heroin and crack cocaine were the deadliest drugs for individuals, but ranked second and third overall behind alcohol use. Source Link
One of television’s most-recognized voices is gone. Charlie O’Donnell, the announcer for “Wheel of Fortune” has died at the age of 78. O’Donnell opened the game show and showcased prizes for most of the program’s 35-year run. O’Donnell worked on a half-dozen other game shows and also was an announcer for the American Music Awards, the Emmy Awards and the Oscars telecast. Source Link
BP has told investors that it could cost the company up to $40 billion for cleanup and recovery from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But after charging-off nearly $8 billion already paid for clean-up, BP still had almost $2 billion in profit for the third quarter. The company says it expects to resume paying a shareholder dividend that was suspended after the oil spill occurred . Source Link
First, it was a devastating earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of people. Then an outbreak of cholera struck, and now Haiti is bracing for a possible hurricane this week. U.S. Navy ships are heading to the island nation to provide disaster relief, if needed. More than 1 million Haitians are still living without adequate shelter since the earthquake struck back in January. Source Link
The San Francisco Giants are officially bringing home the World Series title to the City by the Bay. The team’s victory parade today marks the first time that San Francisco fans can celebrate baseball's world championship. The Giants rolled over the Texas Rangers four games to one in the Fall Classic to give the National League a World Series win for 2010. Source Link
Voters are going to the polls nationwide to elect 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, along with governors and senators in 37 states. Political oddsmakers think that voter discontent with the sluggish economy and high deficits will help the G.O.P. recapture control of the House, but Democratic control of the U.S. Senate may survive after all the votes are counted. Source Link
Filmmaker James Cameron hopes to repeat the success with his blockbuster “Avatar” times three. Cameron says he’ll create a trilogy of the science fiction story with two more films. The first sequel will be released in 2014 and the last installment a year later. “Avatar” is the highest-grossing film in history, with nearly $3 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Source Link
The San Francisco Giants are the World Series champions of 2010. They defeated the Texas Rangers last night to take this year’s Fall Classic four games to one against the Rangers, who were appearing in their first-ever World Series. The championship is the first for the Giants since the team moved from New York to San Francisco in 1958. Source Link
In races for the Statehouse and Congress, Democrats are making a last-minute push to convince voters to stay the course, as many predict that the GOP will reclaim power in tomorrow’s mid-term elections. President Obama campaigned in four battleground states over the weekend. For many voters, the decision is already made; more than 13 million early ballots have been cast. Source Link
The chief counterterrorism advisor to the White House says there may be more mail bombs like the ones that were intercepted last week on cargo flights before they reached the United States. Those were likely made by the same person who at built a bomb used in a foiled plot aboard a Detroit-bound jetliner last Christmas. Authorities say the bombs are likely the work of Al-Qaida. Source Link
With rising rates of obesity and diabetes, making weight loss as simple as taking a pill is the Holy Grail of medicine, but it’s easier said than done. For the second time in recent weeks, the FDA has rejected a new diet drug, citing concerns about dangerous side effects. And the diet drug Meridia was pulled from the market after regulators said it increased the risk of heart attack and stroke. Source Link
