Libra-log

Sen. Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton in the Guam Democratic Party Caucus by seven votes on Saturday, reported the BBC.

Record amounts of voters showed up to polls, Reuters said. Obama had 2,264 votes, beating Sen. Hilary Clinton who had 2,257 votes. In the last Democratic primary on the Pacific Island, only 1,500 total people participated.

Guam has 8 Democratic delegates with half a vote each, whom Obama and Clinton split.

Neither candidate visited the island, a place more than 20 hours from Washington by plane, but both campaigned by calling into radio stations.

The people of Guam, a territory of the United States since 1898, cannot vote in the presidential election, but the eight delegates and five “superdelegates� will participate in the Democratic Convention.

Posted by libra012 at 2:03 PM | Permalink

Travel continues to be disrupted as American Airlines cancels more flights to check its MD-80 aircraft for wiring problems, the BBC reported.

American grounded 595 flights on Fridays. They have grounded 3,000 since Monday.

Alaska Airlines, Midwest Airlines and Delat Air Lines canceled flights on Thursday for MD-80 checks. US Airlines has also been ordered to check their MD-80 aircraft.

The American cancellations came after the Federal Aviation Administration inspected the MD-80 two weeks ago and said the wiring failed to meet standards.

Posted by libra012 at 8:21 PM | Permalink

Sen. Hillary Clinton released her tax returns on Friday, answering “longstanding calls from critics and political rivals,� said National Pubic Radio.

Clinton made public the joint returns she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton filed from 2000 to 2006. She also released a summary of 2007, their most profitable year so far.

The couple made $20 million in 2007. They have made $109.2 million since 2000.

Rival presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama and his wife released their most tax returns from 2000 to 2006 last week, which totaled $900,000.

He and the expected Republican nominee Sen. John McCain have said they will release their 2007 tax returns soon.

Of those their total earnings, the Clintons paid $33.8 million in taxes and gave $10.25 million ( 9 percent) to charity from 2000 to the most recent tax year.

Their income was generated from former President Bill Clinton’s speeches, his two book deals, Hilary’s book “Living History,� their official salaries, and what NPR called Bill’s “lucrative partnerships.�

Posted by libra012 at 4:51 PM | Permalink

At 5.1 percent, the unemployment rate is at its highest level since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in September 2005, said The New York Times on Friday.

That unemployment rate translates to 7.8 million people out of work, according to the Los Angeles Times.

There have been 80,000 jobs lost in March. In the past year, 914,000 people have lost their jobs.

The Los Angeles Times also said the unemployment rate coupled with the housing market downturn furthers the concern that the country is in a recession.

According to Forbes.com, economists of the company Bear Stearns said the job shedding translates to “clear and unmistakable recession signals.�

Posted by libra012 at 4:32 PM | Permalink

Senator Hillary Clinton said Saturday we will stay in the presidential race until the Florida and Michigan results are resolved. Her comments came a day after Democratic National Convention chairman Howard Dean urged her and Senator Barack Obama to end the race by July 1, said the Washington Post.

Clinton said she would participate in all of the primaries and even go all the way to the convention in August if necessary.

"I know there are some people who want to shut this down and I think they are wrong," Clinton said to the Washington Post. "I have no intention of stopping until we finish what we started and until we see what happens in the next 10 contests and until we resolve Florida and Michigan. And if we don't resolve it, we'll resolve it at the convention—that's what credentials committees are for.�

Her comments also come as a response to growing pressure from Obama’s campaign and his supporters that she should drop out of the race early to avoid a “party crisis.� With Senator John McCain secured as the Republican presidential candidate, he is able to campaign freely while Democrats still try to pick a candidate.

Posted by libra012 at 8:19 PM | Permalink

Thousands of bats in the Northeastern United States are catching a mysterious illness known as white nose syndrome, reported the BBC.

Little is known about the syndrome, which causes small, white, fungal spots around the mouth and nose of bats. At this point it cannot even be categorized as a disease.

The syndrome has awoken the bats prematurely from hibernations, causing them to search for insects that have yet to reappear from winter.

Biologists and conservationists are concerned. It is possible bats will develop immunities to the syndrome, but it is not guaranteed.

Alan Hicks, a government conservationist, was the first to spot the syndrome on bats in New York last year. He said the discovery is just one more environmental alarm bell.

Posted by libra012 at 3:20 AM | Permalink

According to a national study of the four most common sexually transmitted diseases in girls and young women, one in four are infected with at least one of the diseases, said The New York Times on Monday.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that human papillomaviris (HVP) and chlamydia were the most common S.T.D.’s.

The study found that almost 50 percent of black girls ages 14 to 19 had chlamydia, genital herpes, HVP or trichomonaisis, a parasite. Twenty percent of white teenage girls had those S.T.D.’s.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said these results proved the importance of increasing screenings, vaccinations and other means of prevention, reported The New York Times.

According to The New York Times, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Cecile Richards, said the study results showed the need for sex education.

“The national policy of promoting abstinence-only programs is a $1.5 billion failure,� Richards said, “and teenage girls are paying the real price.�

Planned Parenthood is a national reproductive healthcare provider and advocate for sex education and the individual’s right to make decisions about sex and family planning, said the organization’s Web site.

Dr. Sara Foran, lead author of the study, said that the “alarming� results show that nearly 3.2 million teenage girls are infected with the four most common S.T.D.’s.

“Far too many young women are at risk for the serious health effects of untreated S.T.D.’s, � she said.

Dr. John M. Douglass of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention S.T.D. prevention division, said people must get tested. Treatment is often an option, which should be prescribed for the partner as well.

The Food and Drug Administration said that latex condoms are “highly effective� in preventing the most common S.T.D.’s and gonorrhea and hepatitis B, reported The New York Times.

Posted by libra012 at 2:32 PM | Permalink

President Bush vetoed a bill that would explicitly prohibit the Central Intelligence Agency from using any torture interrogation methods, the New York Times reported.

The veto was announced in Bush’s regular radio address Saturday. He defended his interrogation program and said, “Because the danger remains, we need to ensure our intelligence officials have all the tools they need to stop the terrorists,� said the New York Times.

Critics in the United States and overseas have accused Bush of authorizing torture methods like waterboarding, a torture technique where prisoners think they are drowning.

According to the New York Times, Bush’s decision “further cemented his legacy of fighting for strong executive powers.� This is the ninth veto of his presidency but eighth in the last ten months.

Posted by libra012 at 3:12 PM | Permalink

The Supreme Court is expected to announce its verdict on the long legal battled between a small Alaskan town and one of the largest commercial corporations in the world, reported the BBC.

Cordova is an Alaskan fishing town, however in 1989 an Exxon Mobil tanker hit an iceberg nearby and spilled 11 million gallons of crude into the surrounding waters, said the BBC.

Five years later, the courts ruled in favor of more than 32,000 plaintiffs, many were from Cordova and other similar towns. They were awarded $5 billion, said the BBC.

Fourteen years later, however, Exxon Mobil has yet to pay any of the money because it has been appealing the decision. According to the BBC, appeals lowered the price from $5 billion to $2.5 billion and inflation has lowered that value even more. Also, around 20 percent of the original plaintiffs have died.

Now the Supreme Court will make the final decision as to whether the plaintiffs will be awarded $2.5 billion or nothing.

Posted by libra012 at 1:34 PM | Permalink

The Writers Guild of America West and East voted Tuesday to end their 100-day strike.

According to the New York Times, of the 2,775 writers who voted, 92.5 percent cast ballots in favor of ending the strike.

The previous Sunday the Writers Guilds’ governing boards approved a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

According to the producers’ alliance, the strike cost writers $285 million in lost wages. In other film unions, workers lost around $500 million in wages.

The strike also disrupted television viewing of millions Americans. The New York Times said Wednesday would be a busy day as television writers work to get popular television series back up to speed.

Posted by libra012 at 7:48 PM | Permalink

President Bush traveled south Friday to inspect the damage of the Tuesday tornadoes, reported the Star Tribune.

Tornadoes hit Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky and Alabama, and killed 54 people. This was the deadliest U.S. tornado outbreak since the mid-1980s, Reuters said.

According to the Star Tribune, Bush consoled the tornado survivors of Macon County in Tennessee, one of most devastated areas with 14 deaths. Bush recognized the terrible damage and loss, but he promised the nation would help them rebuild.

He declared major disasters in Tennessee and Arkansas, which gives the affected communities access to federal funding. Along with local funds, the government will help cover some debris removal costs and assist individuals.

Although other states were hit by tornadoes, the White House said Tennessee and Arkansas are the only two that have asked for help.

Posted by libra012 at 3:56 PM | Permalink

The numbers of Cubans migrating to the United States are at their highest rate since the 1960s and they continue to increase, reported National Public Radio.

While the totals are similar to those 40 years ago, the methods of travel have dramatically changed. Instead of traveling primarily by rafts, many are trying to reach Florida soil by speedboats or “go-fast vessels.�

The laws concerning Cuban migrants have also changed. Before, Cubans were automatically granted refugee status by reaching the United States borders, even if they were still on water. The law was changed in 1995. Now migrants are only granted refugee status if they make it to U.S. land. Speed vessels are used to move Cubans as quickly as possible to American land without being detected by the U.S. Coast Guard. Those efforts have created a new people smuggling industry.

"There is sort of a silent exodus taking place from Cuba,� said activist Ramon Saul Sanchez on NPR.

With total immigrant numbers at an 80-year high, immigration is an important issue in the 2008 presidential race.

The two Democratic candidates’ stance on the issue varies very little. Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama supported the Secure Fence Act that would construct 700 miles of fencing on the United States border, but they also supported a bill to help illegal immigrants pay in-state college tuition and eventually gain permanent status.

On the Republican side, former Gov. Mike Huckabee and Rep. Ron Paul stand on opposite ends of immigration. Huckabee has called some immigration opponents “mean-spirited.� Paul fervently opposes legalizing immigrants already in the United States and has even “denounced the longstanding policy of granting citizenship to babies born on U.S. soil regardless of their parents’ legal status,� said NPR.

Sen. John McCain and former Gov. Mitt Romney are the frontrunners for the Republican presidential race, although their views still differ. McCain proposed an immigration bill to the Senate that would grant millions of immigrants with legal status, which Romney strongly opposed.

Posted by libra012 at 10:16 PM | Permalink

Opponents to Sen. Barack Obama say he is too inexperienced to lead the country. Obama, however, has worked to spin this potential negative into a positive.

According to Obama’s campaign, since he has spent less years in the political arena than competitor Sen. Hillary Clinton, it means he has not been “captured by the political establishment,� said the Chicago Tribune.

Furthering this reformer platform, Obama has called to sever ties with lobbyists.

“What's most outrageous is not the morally offensive conduct on behalf of these lobbyists and legislators, but the morally offensive laws and decisions that get made as a result," Obama said, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.

Obama has refused any contributions from federal lobbyists. His ethics reform proposal, announced in June of 2007, would also ban officials in his administration from accepting gifts from lobbyists and working on projects related to a former employer.

The Obama campaign made a surprising decision in 2007, however, when they announced Moses Mercado would be Obama’s senior advisor. Mercado worked with John Kerry’s presidential campaign and Dick Gephardt presidential campaign. Mercado, however, has another career. He is a lobbyist with Ogilvy Government Relations, a company that represents many corporations like Sempra Energy and Constellation Energy.

The New York Times further questioned the depth of Obama’s promise to stand up to lobbyists.

Obama introduced a bill in 2006 that would require nuclear plant owners to notify the local and state government of any leaks in their plants. Obama later revised the bill, however. The wording was altered so that nuclear plant owners were only encouraged to notify authorities of leaks instead of being required to do so. These changes reflected the desires of Senate Republicans as well as nuclear regulators, specifically those of Exelon Corporation.

The Obama campaign said that he was forced to revise the bill in order to push it forward; he was not trying to appease nuclear lobbyists.

“If Senator Obama had listened to industry demands, he wouldn’t have repeatedly criticized Exelon in the press, introduced the bill and then fought for months to get action on it…Obama knows that it’s very difficult to pass a perfect bill,� the campaign said in the New York Times.

The New York Times reported additional possible ties to lobbyists.

Exelon, an Illinois-based company, donated to Obama’s senate and presidential campaign. Exelon’s chairman, John W. Rowe, is also chairman of the nuclear power industry’s lobbyist group, the Nuclear Energy Institute. Rowe has donated more money to Obama’s campaign than to any other candidate. In addition, Obama’s chief political strategist has worked as a consultant for Exelon.

Posted by libra012 at 8:25 PM | Permalink

A tentative agreement between production companies and Hollywood writers may be in sight, although that does not guarantee an end to the Writers’ Strike, the New York Times reported.

Negotiations broke off in December 2007, but they have been renewed after two weeks of closed-door discussions between both sides. Even if negotiations go well, labor issues in Hollywood could continue. Actors’ contracts with the production companies expire in June, and the Screen Actors Guild has sided with the writers throughout the strike.

The strike is in its third month, and according to the Christian Science Monitor, television networks are feeling the effects. Ratings among young people have dropped 17 percent for all major networks. In addition, some networks are reimbursing advertisers for rating drops.

There is also a scramble for content. Many networks, especially those who primarily target young people, have turned to reality television to fill the void left by striking writers. Jonathan Taplin, a University of Southern California communications professor and a pop-culture expert says, however, that audiences will not be satisfied with that solution much longer.

"The strike is really beginning to bite. You can't just put on reruns and reality shows and expect to maintain the same rating levels. Networks need to get back to scripted shows as soon as possible,� Taplin said, reported the Christian Science Monitor.

Posted by libra012 at 7:27 PM | Permalink