$500 million

Record Powerball result of changes to boost sales

2012/11/27
By By DAVID PITT, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The historic Powerball jackpot boosted to $500 million on Tuesday was all part of a plan lottery officials put in place early this year to build jackpots faster, drive sales and generate more money for states that run the game.
Their plan appears to be working.
Powerball tickets doubled in price in January to $2, and while the number of tickets sold initially dropped, sales revenue has increased by about 35 percent over 2011.

Federal Reserve bombing plot foiled in NYC

FBI says man tried to blow up Federal Reserve Bank in NYC

Atlanta Business Chronicle by Carla Caldwell, Morning Call Editor
Date: Thursday, October 18, 2012

Federal prosecutors have charged a 21-year-old Bangladeshi man with conspiring to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The man, Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, tried to remotely detonate what he believed was a 1,000-pound bomb in a van he parked outside the building in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday, reports the New York Times.
Nafis, who came to the United States in January on a student visa, worked to make contacts and recruit people to form a terrorist cell to help him carry out an attack, according to a criminal complaint in the case.

Sticker shock at California gas stations

Sticker shock at California gas stations

By John Blackstone October 6, 2012

(CBS News) MILL VALLEY, Calif. - Many Americans saw gas prices go up a bit this week. Californians saw them skyrocket. Nationally, the average stands at $3.81 a gallon, up roughly two cents. But in California, prices exploded to a record high average of $4.61 a gallon --that's up 47 cents in a week and makes it the most expensive gas in the country. This could only happen in California.

Thieves armed with pickaxes rob California museum of $2 million in precious gems

AP/ October 2, 2012, 6:26 AM

Thieves armed with pickaxes rob California museum of $2 million in precious gems

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. California investigators searched Monday for thieves who made off with an estimated $2 million in precious gems and gold from a mining museum in the Sierra Nevada foothills during a brazen daytime robbery.

But they didn't get away with the biggest prize of all - the nearly 14-pound Fricot Nugget, a giant crystalline gold mass unearthed in the Gold Rush era.

During their attempt to grab the massive nugget, the robbers triggered an alarm that alerted authorities who swarmed the museum but were unable to nab the thieves.

The Forbes 400: The Richest People in America

The Forbes 400: The Richest People in America

By Luisa Kroll and Kerry A. Dolan | Forbes
Sep 19, 2012
Forbes launched its definitive ranking of the nation’s superrich in 1982. Back then the price of admission into this most exclusive of clubs was a mere $75 million of net worth. Even after adjusting for inflation, this year’s entry fee ($1.1 billion) is roughly ten times what it was thirty years ago. There were just 13 billionaires at the time and the total worth of the 400 club was a mere $93 billion. Today the combined net worth of the 400 richest Americans is $1.7 trillion, up from $1.5 trillion a year ago. The average net worth of a Forbes 400 member is a staggering $4.2 billion, up from $3.8 billion, and the highest in at least a decade, as two-thirds of the individuals added to their fortunes in the past year.

Thousands of LSU student return to dorms after bomb threat (+video)

Thousands of LSU student return to dorms after bomb threat (+video)

Louisiana State University's entire campus was evacuated after a bomb threat was called in Monday morning. By evening students were able to return to their dorms after bomb-sniffer dogs had swept the area.
By Sheila V. Kumar, Associated Press / September 17, 2012
BATON ROUGE, LA.

The thousands of students who live on the Louisiana State University campus will be able to return to their dormitories after bomb-sniffing dogs and police methodically swept residential halls Monday following a threat that sparked a campus-wide evacuation.

LSU spokesman Herb Vincent said officials hope to reopen the Baton Rouge campus by Monday night, but they aren't certain if a building-by-building sweep will be complete before Tuesday.

"Residential Life buildings have now been deemed ready to return to normal operations. That notification is going out now to the campus community," Vincent said.

Panda Mei Xiang Gives Birth to Cub

National Zoo’s giant panda gives birth to long-awaited cub

After five consecutive pseudopregnancies in as many years, Mei Xiang gave birth Sunday night although her cub has yet to be seen.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

The National Zoo’s female giant panda has given birth to a cub following five consecutive pseudopregnancies in as many years.
Mei Xiang gave birth Sunday at 10:46 p.m., the zoo said. The staff can hear the cub, but has yet to see it because Mei Xiang has built a large nest in her den.

Hundreds march in NYC to mark Occupy Wall Street anniversary

Hundreds march in NYC to mark Occupy Wall Street anniversary

 published: September 16, 2012
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo credit: AP | Activist associated with the Occupy Wall Street movement perform a skit during a gathering of the movement in Washington Square park, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012 in New York. The Occupy Wall Street movement will mark it's first anniversary on Monday. (Sept. 15, 2012)

About 300 people observing the anniversary of Occupy Wall Street marched to a small concrete park in New York's lower Manhattan that served as headquarters for the protest movement and was its birthplace.

Clinton says U.S. had nothing to do with film that sparked violence

Clinton says U.S. had nothing to do with film that sparked violence

2012/9/14

(Reuters) - The U.S. government had nothing to do with a film about the Prophet Mohammad that has triggered anti-American protests in Muslim countries, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday.
The film, apparently produced in the United States, sparked an attack on a U.S. mission in Libya on Tuesday that killed the ambassador and three other Americans. Clips posted on the Internet show an amateurish production portraying the Prophet Mohammad as a womanizer, a homosexual and a child abuser.

"The United States government had absolutely nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject its content and message," Clinton said at the start of talks with senior Moroccan officials in Washington.

Central Park Rape Suspect Arraigned

Central Park Rape Suspect Arraigned
David Albert Mitchell, 42, spit at reporters as police officers walked him out of central booking toward a police car
By Shimon Prokupecz | Friday, Sep 14, 2012

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

A suspect in connection with the violent sexual assault of a 73-year-old birdwatcher in Central Park Wednesday was arraigned early Friday morning, and is currently being held without bail, authorities said.

As Elections Loom, Delayed Deportations Get Approval

As Elections Loom, Delayed Deportations Get Approval

Published September 12, 2012
Fox News Latino

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration approved the first wave of applications from young undocumented immigrants who want to avoid deportation and get a work permit, less than two months before the presidential election where both the Obama camp and the Romney are looking for the upper hand when it comes to the Latino vote.
The Homeland Security Department is notifying a small group of people this week that they have been approved to stay in the country for two years as part of President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The first approvals come just three weeks after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services started accepting applications for the program that Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano first announced June 15.

Agreement reached for Sept. 11 museum's completion

Agreement reached for Sept. 11 museum's completion

September 10, 2012
Associated Press

NEW YORK — An agreement that paves the way for the completion of the Sept. 11 museum at ground zero was reached Monday, the eve of the 11th anniversary of the terror attacks.

The agreement between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the foundation that controls the National September 11 Memorial & Museum was announced Monday.

Chicago teachers strike for first time in 25 years; contingency sites ready, charters remain open

Chicago teachers strike for first time in 25 years; contingency sites ready, charters remain open

BY ROSALIND ROSSI and LAUREN FITZPATRICK Staff Reporters September 9, 2012
For the first time in 25 years, Chicago’s teachers are on strike
“Negotiations have been intense but productive, however we have failed to reach an agreement that will prevent a labor strike,” Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said at a dramatic 10 p.m. Sunday press conference. “Real school will not be open [Monday]. ... No CTU member will be inside our schools.

“Please seek alternative care for your children.”

The announcement was quickly blasted by Mayor Rahm Emanuel as “a strike of choice” that didn’t have to happen if talks continued. He repeatedly declared: “My team is available now.”

Robbers in bizarre Bank of America heist on the r

Robbers in bizarre Bank of America heist on the run

September 6, 2012
Authorities are searching for two robbers in a bizarre heist at an East L.A. Bank of America.

A bank manager said she was leaving her Huntington Park home for work Wednesday morning when two masked men snatched her in her garage. They strapped what they told her was an explosive device to her chest and instructed her to drive to her bank and give them money.

Authorities said the manager complied, taking a bag filled with cash to the back of the bank, where the robbers grabbed it and sped away in a car.

Celebrating All of America's Workers

Celebrating All of America's Workers

 09/03/2012
Marielena HincapiéExecutive director, National Immigration Law Center

Over 100 years ago, Americans began to celebrate Labor Day to honor our nation's working people and the prosperity they contribute to society. We also celebrate the hard-earned rights workers won for all Americans decades ago, including the right to organize at the workplace. Unfortunately, the many labor rights we take for granted today are at risk due to policies that make working people more vulnerable. Given the loss of millions of American jobs, those of us with work feel fortunate. But even if you have a job, workplace problems don't evaporate, and those of us who stand up for our rights are increasingly told that this most American of activities is no longer protected under the law.

Flooding, power outages linger in Isaac's wake

Flooding, power outages linger in Isaac's wake

September 3, 2012

CBS/AP) NEW ORLEANS — Days after Isaac hammered Louisiana and Mississippi with winds and rain, much of a parish southeast of New Orleans was still flooded and thousands are without power.

Thousands of evacuees remained at shelters or bunked with friends or relatives.

"My family is split up," said Angela Serpas, from severely flooded Braithwaite in Plaquemines Parish. Serpas and her daughter were staying with her in-laws while her husband and son were staying in Belle Chasse, a suburban area of the parish.

Wildfire Chases Visitors out of Southern CA Forest

Wildfire Chases Visitors out of Southern CA Forest

GLENDORA, Calif. September 3, 2012 (AP)
A wildfire that broke out in the Angeles National Forest has cut short the Labor Day holiday weekend for thousands of visitors who flock to the popular recreational attraction.

The fire broke out near a campground Sunday afternoon and quickly grew to 3,600 acres, or about 5½ square miles. It sent a huge cloud of smoke that could be seen from the coast to the desert inland.

Campgrounds that typically attract up to 12,000 visitors on the holiday weekend, as well as rehabilitation centers and the private community of Camp Williams Resort above the city of Glendora, were evacuated, forest spokeswoman L'Tanga Watson said.
The forest is heavily used by Southern California residents because it is close

New Jersey Shopping Plaza Shootout Leaves Three Dead

New Jersey Shopping Plaza Shootout Leaves Three Dead

By KEVIN DOLAK (@kdolak)
Aug. 31, 2012
Police in New Jersey have reportedly shot and killed a man suspected of being involved in a deadly shootout inside a shopping plaza this morning.

Law enforcement officials say the three dead include the alleged gunman, according to WABC-TV.
Police responded to shots fired inside the Pathmark supermarket on Route 9 in Old Bridge, N.J., just before 4 a.m. There was a confrontation with the alleged gunman, WABC reported. There's no word on his motive.

Several employees were inside the store, which was preparing to open at 6 a.m. Two windows near the

Armstrong, First Man on Moon, Dies

Armstrong, First Man on Moon, Dies

August 25, 2012
By online.wsj.com

Neil Armstrong was a quiet, self-described nerdy engineer who became a global hero when as a steely-nerved U.S. pilot he made "one giant leap for mankind" with a small step on to the moon. The modest man who entranced and awed people on Earth has died. He was 82.
Mr. Armstrong died following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures, his family said Saturday. It didn't say where or when he died.

Mr. Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon July 20, 1969, capping the most daring of the 20th century's scientific expeditions. His first words after setting foot on the surface are etched in history books and in the memories of those who heard them in a live broadcast.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," Mr. Armstrong said.

Mr. Armstrong's family described him as "a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job." The statement mentioned his success after the lunar walk "in business and academia" and as a "community leader in Cincinnati."

Wash. Residents Go Home Near Fire, Still 'On Edge'

http://sirifarm.com/index.html

Wash. Residents Go Home Near Fire, Still 'On Edge'

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press
SPOKANE, Wash. August 18, 2012
As hundreds of residents in Washington and California were allowed to return to homes once threatened by major wildfires, some people were told to evacuate as encroaching blazes neared Idaho towns.