Back in 1996, people in the US bought about 2.3 albums per year. Today thanks to services like Spotify and Rdio, some of us listen to that many albums a day. Last-minute concert ticket app WillCall wants to make live music just as accessible. This week it released version 1.5 of its iOS app that focuses on delivering push notifications and feed about what shows your friends are going to.
TSA Blasted for Exposing Breasts of Texas Congressman's Teen Grandniece
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TSA Blasted for Exposing Breasts of Texas Congressman's Teen Grandniece The New American ^ | 28 November 2012 | Alex Newman
Posted on 11/28/2012 7:53:42 PM PST by VitacoreVision
The Transportation Security Administration is under heavy fire after publicly exposing the breasts of a teenage girl during its controversial ?screening? procedures.
TSA Blasted for Exposing Breasts of Congressman's Teen Grandniece
The New American 28 November 2012
The Transportation Security Administration is under heavy fire after publicly exposing the breasts of a teenage girl during its controversial ?screening? procedures. Of course, passengers routinely complain of TSA abuse and molestation ? some 17,000 formal complaints have been lodged against the widely ridiculed and despised unconstitutional Homeland Security agency just since 2009, documents show.
The latest scandal, however, has turned into an international firestorm for the embattled bureaucracy, largely because the then-17-year-old victim was the grandniece of Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas). More than a few analysts noted that countless regular Americans suffer similar abuse and humiliation every single day; virtually nothing is ever done.
Now, though, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are crying foul while demanding investigations. Rights activists from across the political spectrum, meanwhile, have jumped on the opportunity to rein in the federal abuses once and for all.
According to official documents obtained by reporter Scott MacFarlane with an Atlanta TV news station, the girl was traveling to Australia on a trip with her classmates at Southwest Christian School in Texas. An internal investigation by TSA noted that after being selected for ?secondary screening? and a so-called ?pat-down,? which critics regularly equate with sexual molestation and assault, the screener "removed minor passenger from the corral." Yes, the report uses the word corral, defined as an enclosure or pen for domesticated animals.
The girl was not offered a ?private screening,? the report noted, though passengers often prefer to be screened publicly anyway to ensure that there are witnesses to the controversial procedure in case of extraordinarily inappropriate fondling or other incidents. As the teen was enduring a ?pat-down of the stomach area,? the top of her dress came loose and slipped down to her stomach, according to the internal investigation at least, revealing her breasts to everyone in the vicinity. Analysts suggested the dress had actually been pulled down, a far more plausible scenario.
Surveillance cameras caught the humiliating event on film, but TSA claimed the footage was not good enough to determine whether its screener had ?properly conducted? what commentators said sounded a lot like ?sexual assault.? The girl?s chaperones, according to the report, became ?visibly upset? about the event and notified her parents. On the following day, her father filed a formal complaint.
The incident happened at the international airport in Los Angeles (LAX) some two years ago. However, it came to light only in recent days after journalist MacFarlane obtained the internal TSA report about the investigation using the Freedom of Information Act. When the findings were publicized, outrage quickly ensued.
News of the scandal has since gone viral, attracting headlines across America and beyond. Major press outlets from the United Kingdom to Iran have also covered the resulting uproar. Meanwhile, countless victims of TSA abuses took the opportunity to vent their fury in online comment sections over the lawless but routine violations of the rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution?s Fourth Amendment.
Rep. Hall, describing the incident as ?brutal? and saying his grandniece had been ?badly mistreated,? called on the TSA to fire the screener responsible for exposing his relative?s body at the airport. The 17-term congressman from Texas is also seeking a proper federal investigation of the incident, according to news reports.
?We have no desire to revive a painful event of the past, one that we abandoned any effort for litigation for privacy reasons,? Hall said in a statement quoted in the press. ?We did not want to hurt our niece any more than she had already been hurt.?
Other lawmakers have also entered the fray. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), for example, contacted the massive screening bureaucracy to ask for a review and to express concerns about ?potentially invasive screenings.? Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters of California, whose district includes LAX, also complained to TSA about the suffering and humiliation endured by her colleague?s young relative.
It is also not the first time lawmakers have had unpleasant experiences with the TSA. Earlier this year, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) missed a flight to Washington, D.C., after being detained by screeners for refusing a full-body pat-down. The incident happened at the Nashville, Tennessee, airport when a so-called ?naked-body scanner? found some sort of alleged ?anomaly? around the conservative senator?s knee.
Sen. Paul?s father Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), a hero to millions of Americans for his devotion to liberty and the Constitution, has been a foe of the TSA and its lawless abuses from the start. ?Why is the TSA permitted to abuse the rights of any American traveling by air?? the congressman wondered in his farewell address this month. ?Victims of TSA excesses never consented to this abuse.?
Last year, meanwhile, a congressional report determined that despite squandering close to $60 billion in taxpayer funds on the TSA, screening is based on ?theatrics? and has failed to catch a single terrorist. Passengers and crew, the investigation found, are actually the most effective line of defense. Ironically, perhaps, the explosive report said air travel is no safer now than it was before September 11, 2001.
The out-of-control agency has become ?an enormous, inflexible and distracted bureaucracy, more concerned with human resource management and consolidating power,? according to the report, released in November of 2011. ?Today, TSA's screening policies are based in theatrics. They are typical, bureaucratic responses to failed security policies meant to assuage the concerns of the traveling public.?
This week, a stinging investigation by Charles Kenny, a fellow at the Center for Global Development and the New America Foundation, found that the TSA actually makes air travel less safe. Still, despite the facts and the growing surge of public revulsion, the Department of Homeland Security continues purporting to usurp new powers for itself, with the TSA still seeking to expand its ?mission? far beyond the confines of ?corrals? at airport terminals.
In typical fashion, the widely loathed screening agency attempted to blame the teenage victim after the latest scandal exploded into the global press, claiming the girl?s dress being too loose was the problem ? not the molestation. ?We regret that the incident of more than two years ago was one that caused embarrassment to the young lady; however, an investigation concluded that the event was accidental,? TSA claimed in a statement cited in media reports.
According to the official report about the internal investigation, the bureaucrat responsible for disrobing the girl was ?counseled on the expectation of our agency for professionalism and customer service.? By ?customers,? TSA was presumably referring to its hapless victims who are lawlessly forced to submit to the violation of their rights in order to board an airplane, and more recently, sometimes even a bus or train.
Aside from the wanton violations of Americans? constitutionally guaranteed, unalienable rights, the TSA has also refused to respect federal court decisions. In August, for instance, a U.S. appeals court demanded that the agency promptly explain its brazen failure to obey the law and a judicial order issued a year earlier.
With Americans across the political spectrum becoming increasingly outraged by TSA abuses, some state lawmakers are taking action. In Texas, for example, a bill to criminalize the ?screening? procedures as sexual assault was passed overwhelmingly as Democrats and Republicans united to protect the rights of Texans.
Now, the celebrated Texas Travel Freedoom Act, HB 80, recently pre-filed by state Rep. David Simpson, aims to put an end to TSA lawlessness in the Lone Star State once and for all. Activists, however, are hoping to end the abuses nationwide, and with a congressman?s grandniece becoming the latest high-profile victim, analysts say achieving that goal just got a big boost. Indeed, the entire unconstitutional Department of Homeland Security is increasingly in the crosshairs, too.
Related articles:
TSA Makes Travel More Dangerous
Court Orders TSA to Explain Lawless Use of Naked Body Scanners
Texas Bills Would Nullify NDAA's Indefinite Detention, TSA's Intrusive Screening
2 posted on 11/28/2012 7:57:32 PM PST by G Larry (Which of Obama's policies do you think I'd support if he were white?)
To: VitacoreVision
I was wondering why they would remove her bra in public. But it appears from the story that she was not wearing one.
Doesn?t excuse the TSA. Just answers the question.
To: CharlesWayneCT
The girl was not offered a ?private screening,? the report noted, though passengers often prefer to be screened publicly anyway to ensure that there are witnesses to the controversial procedure in case of extraordinarily inappropriate fondling or other incidents. As the teen was enduring a ?pat-down of the stomach area,? the top of her dress came loose and slipped down to her stomach, according to the internal investigation at least, revealing her breasts to everyone in the vicinity. Analysts suggested the dress had actually been pulled down, a far more plausible scenario.
To: VitacoreVision
5 posted on 11/28/2012 8:08:14 PM PST by Jyotishi (Seeking the truth, a fact at a time.)
To: VitacoreVision
If this happened to my family, no one would care.
But wait!! This happened -- to a family member of the political class?! That's not supposed to happen!! That is wrong!! Oh, someone is going to pay for this! You do not mess with the political elite!! They will crush you, you peasant!
6 posted on 11/28/2012 8:09:23 PM PST by ClearCase_guy (Global Warming is a religion, and I don't want to be taxed to pay for a faith that is not mine.)
To: VitacoreVision
?The incident happened at the international airport in Los Angeles (LAX) some two years ago.?
What? And Hall is getting upset NOW?
7 posted on 11/28/2012 8:10:38 PM PST by DBrow
To: VitacoreVision
8 posted on 11/28/2012 8:11:12 PM PST by lightman (If the Patriarchate of the East held a state like the Vatican I would apply for political asylum.)
To: VitacoreVision
This kinda crap would cease if the wussified American public would stop flying and make it known to the airlines why.
9 posted on 11/28/2012 8:11:56 PM PST by biff (WAS)
To: VitacoreVision
The TSA, and astronomical national debt, and entitlements are sure signs of a country and its people are voluntarily accepting slavery.
10 posted on 11/28/2012 8:12:09 PM PST by Jack Hydrazine (It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine!)
To: VitacoreVision
Today, I flew from Dallas to Newark with a layover in St. Louis. I was on American for the first leg and United for the last. Although I suffered no particular humiliation during the security checks, I was a bit taken aback by the fact that I had to exit Terminal C in St. Louis and re-enter Terminal A to catch the United flight, and had to pass through security again. According to one of the locals there, pre-9/11 there was a walkway between the terminals, but since then, changing terminals means taking off your shoes and belt and playing the TSA game a second time.
11 posted on 11/28/2012 8:14:02 PM PST by TruthShallSetYouFree (July 4, 1776: Declaration of Independence. Nov 6, 2012: Declaration of Dependence. R.I.P. America.)
To: VitacoreVision
For what the TSA costs, there could be an armed air marshal on every flight.
12 posted on 11/28/2012 8:16:58 PM PST by PieterCasparzen (We have to fix things ourselves)
To: VitacoreVision
Personnel conducting screens wear gloves. The screener probably dragged his/her hands down the torso, thus putting excessive tension on the top of the garment - pulling it down/off the shoulders. It is supposed to be a pat-down not heavy petting or a caress.
13 posted on 11/28/2012 8:17:59 PM PST by ThunderSleeps (Stop obama now! Stop the hussein - insane agenda!)
To: ClearCase_guy
This times 1000. It?s happening everyday and it?s only a story with the priviledged classes are affected. As long as it?s just the serfs is business as usual.
14 posted on 11/28/2012 8:24:22 PM PST by mykroar (BAD-ANON: One Game At A Time)
To: VitacoreVision
Since this intrusive behavior has started, I vow never to board another plane except in a case of extreme emergency.
My motto is: if I can?t drive there, I won?t go there.
15 posted on 11/28/2012 8:24:25 PM PST by basil (Second Amendment Sisters.org)
To: VitacoreVision
TSA needs to be abolished
16 posted on 11/28/2012 8:25:17 PM PST by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
To: biff
I too am amazed at who still flies. I simply don?t do cattle treatment, cattle prodding, cattle loading, short of impending death.
Fascinating to me the humans who tolerate it. The young never got to see flying done well, so they put up with anything. Scary.
17 posted on 11/28/2012 8:27:11 PM PST by RitaOK ( VIVA CHRISTO REY / Public education is the farm team for more Marxists coming.)
To: VitacoreVision
To: G Larry
C'mon.
Pictures. Now.
Or it didn't happen.
19 posted on 11/28/2012 8:30:16 PM PST by billorites (freepo ergo sum)
To: VitacoreVision
the then-17-year-old victim was the grandniece of Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas).
Congressman Hall is the oldest serving Rep. A WW2 veteran, he started as a conservative Democrat in 1980, and has served ever since.
Hall switched parties in 2004. He voted against NAFTA. He voted for the Bush tax cuts. He voted for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Nothing is coincidence involving the Chicago Way. This was a message to Hall: "Resign. Today. Get it?"
20 posted on 11/28/2012 8:31:02 PM PST by Old Sarge (We are officially over the precipice, we just havent struck the ground yet...)
To: VitacoreVision
Jan the Man TSA pervert alert! Homeland inSecurity should be famous for it?s sexual pervert harassment policies and lawsuits.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson
TSA Blasted for Exposing Breasts of Texas Congressman's Teen Grandniece
Skip to comments.
TSA Blasted for Exposing Breasts of Texas Congressman's Teen Grandniece The New American ^ | 28 November 2012 | Alex Newman
Posted on 11/28/2012 7:53:42 PM PST by VitacoreVision
The Transportation Security Administration is under heavy fire after publicly exposing the breasts of a teenage girl during its controversial ?screening? procedures.
TSA Blasted for Exposing Breasts of Congressman's Teen Grandniece
The New American 28 November 2012
The Transportation Security Administration is under heavy fire after publicly exposing the breasts of a teenage girl during its controversial ?screening? procedures. Of course, passengers routinely complain of TSA abuse and molestation ? some 17,000 formal complaints have been lodged against the widely ridiculed and despised unconstitutional Homeland Security agency just since 2009, documents show.
The latest scandal, however, has turned into an international firestorm for the embattled bureaucracy, largely because the then-17-year-old victim was the grandniece of Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas). More than a few analysts noted that countless regular Americans suffer similar abuse and humiliation every single day; virtually nothing is ever done.
Now, though, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are crying foul while demanding investigations. Rights activists from across the political spectrum, meanwhile, have jumped on the opportunity to rein in the federal abuses once and for all.
According to official documents obtained by reporter Scott MacFarlane with an Atlanta TV news station, the girl was traveling to Australia on a trip with her classmates at Southwest Christian School in Texas. An internal investigation by TSA noted that after being selected for ?secondary screening? and a so-called ?pat-down,? which critics regularly equate with sexual molestation and assault, the screener "removed minor passenger from the corral." Yes, the report uses the word corral, defined as an enclosure or pen for domesticated animals.
The girl was not offered a ?private screening,? the report noted, though passengers often prefer to be screened publicly anyway to ensure that there are witnesses to the controversial procedure in case of extraordinarily inappropriate fondling or other incidents. As the teen was enduring a ?pat-down of the stomach area,? the top of her dress came loose and slipped down to her stomach, according to the internal investigation at least, revealing her breasts to everyone in the vicinity. Analysts suggested the dress had actually been pulled down, a far more plausible scenario.
Surveillance cameras caught the humiliating event on film, but TSA claimed the footage was not good enough to determine whether its screener had ?properly conducted? what commentators said sounded a lot like ?sexual assault.? The girl?s chaperones, according to the report, became ?visibly upset? about the event and notified her parents. On the following day, her father filed a formal complaint.
The incident happened at the international airport in Los Angeles (LAX) some two years ago. However, it came to light only in recent days after journalist MacFarlane obtained the internal TSA report about the investigation using the Freedom of Information Act. When the findings were publicized, outrage quickly ensued.
News of the scandal has since gone viral, attracting headlines across America and beyond. Major press outlets from the United Kingdom to Iran have also covered the resulting uproar. Meanwhile, countless victims of TSA abuses took the opportunity to vent their fury in online comment sections over the lawless but routine violations of the rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution?s Fourth Amendment.
Rep. Hall, describing the incident as ?brutal? and saying his grandniece had been ?badly mistreated,? called on the TSA to fire the screener responsible for exposing his relative?s body at the airport. The 17-term congressman from Texas is also seeking a proper federal investigation of the incident, according to news reports.
?We have no desire to revive a painful event of the past, one that we abandoned any effort for litigation for privacy reasons,? Hall said in a statement quoted in the press. ?We did not want to hurt our niece any more than she had already been hurt.?
Other lawmakers have also entered the fray. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), for example, contacted the massive screening bureaucracy to ask for a review and to express concerns about ?potentially invasive screenings.? Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters of California, whose district includes LAX, also complained to TSA about the suffering and humiliation endured by her colleague?s young relative.
It is also not the first time lawmakers have had unpleasant experiences with the TSA. Earlier this year, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) missed a flight to Washington, D.C., after being detained by screeners for refusing a full-body pat-down. The incident happened at the Nashville, Tennessee, airport when a so-called ?naked-body scanner? found some sort of alleged ?anomaly? around the conservative senator?s knee.
Sen. Paul?s father Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), a hero to millions of Americans for his devotion to liberty and the Constitution, has been a foe of the TSA and its lawless abuses from the start. ?Why is the TSA permitted to abuse the rights of any American traveling by air?? the congressman wondered in his farewell address this month. ?Victims of TSA excesses never consented to this abuse.?
Last year, meanwhile, a congressional report determined that despite squandering close to $60 billion in taxpayer funds on the TSA, screening is based on ?theatrics? and has failed to catch a single terrorist. Passengers and crew, the investigation found, are actually the most effective line of defense. Ironically, perhaps, the explosive report said air travel is no safer now than it was before September 11, 2001.
The out-of-control agency has become ?an enormous, inflexible and distracted bureaucracy, more concerned with human resource management and consolidating power,? according to the report, released in November of 2011. ?Today, TSA's screening policies are based in theatrics. They are typical, bureaucratic responses to failed security policies meant to assuage the concerns of the traveling public.?
This week, a stinging investigation by Charles Kenny, a fellow at the Center for Global Development and the New America Foundation, found that the TSA actually makes air travel less safe. Still, despite the facts and the growing surge of public revulsion, the Department of Homeland Security continues purporting to usurp new powers for itself, with the TSA still seeking to expand its ?mission? far beyond the confines of ?corrals? at airport terminals.
In typical fashion, the widely loathed screening agency attempted to blame the teenage victim after the latest scandal exploded into the global press, claiming the girl?s dress being too loose was the problem ? not the molestation. ?We regret that the incident of more than two years ago was one that caused embarrassment to the young lady; however, an investigation concluded that the event was accidental,? TSA claimed in a statement cited in media reports.
According to the official report about the internal investigation, the bureaucrat responsible for disrobing the girl was ?counseled on the expectation of our agency for professionalism and customer service.? By ?customers,? TSA was presumably referring to its hapless victims who are lawlessly forced to submit to the violation of their rights in order to board an airplane, and more recently, sometimes even a bus or train.
Aside from the wanton violations of Americans? constitutionally guaranteed, unalienable rights, the TSA has also refused to respect federal court decisions. In August, for instance, a U.S. appeals court demanded that the agency promptly explain its brazen failure to obey the law and a judicial order issued a year earlier.
With Americans across the political spectrum becoming increasingly outraged by TSA abuses, some state lawmakers are taking action. In Texas, for example, a bill to criminalize the ?screening? procedures as sexual assault was passed overwhelmingly as Democrats and Republicans united to protect the rights of Texans.
Now, the celebrated Texas Travel Freedoom Act, HB 80, recently pre-filed by state Rep. David Simpson, aims to put an end to TSA lawlessness in the Lone Star State once and for all. Activists, however, are hoping to end the abuses nationwide, and with a congressman?s grandniece becoming the latest high-profile victim, analysts say achieving that goal just got a big boost. Indeed, the entire unconstitutional Department of Homeland Security is increasingly in the crosshairs, too.
Related articles:
TSA Makes Travel More Dangerous
Court Orders TSA to Explain Lawless Use of Naked Body Scanners
Texas Bills Would Nullify NDAA's Indefinite Detention, TSA's Intrusive Screening
2 posted on 11/28/2012 7:57:32 PM PST by G Larry (Which of Obama's policies do you think I'd support if he were white?)
To: VitacoreVision
I was wondering why they would remove her bra in public. But it appears from the story that she was not wearing one.
Doesn?t excuse the TSA. Just answers the question.
To: CharlesWayneCT
The girl was not offered a ?private screening,? the report noted, though passengers often prefer to be screened publicly anyway to ensure that there are witnesses to the controversial procedure in case of extraordinarily inappropriate fondling or other incidents. As the teen was enduring a ?pat-down of the stomach area,? the top of her dress came loose and slipped down to her stomach, according to the internal investigation at least, revealing her breasts to everyone in the vicinity. Analysts suggested the dress had actually been pulled down, a far more plausible scenario.
To: VitacoreVision
5 posted on 11/28/2012 8:08:14 PM PST by Jyotishi (Seeking the truth, a fact at a time.)
To: VitacoreVision
If this happened to my family, no one would care.
But wait!! This happened -- to a family member of the political class?! That's not supposed to happen!! That is wrong!! Oh, someone is going to pay for this! You do not mess with the political elite!! They will crush you, you peasant!
6 posted on 11/28/2012 8:09:23 PM PST by ClearCase_guy (Global Warming is a religion, and I don't want to be taxed to pay for a faith that is not mine.)
To: VitacoreVision
?The incident happened at the international airport in Los Angeles (LAX) some two years ago.?
What? And Hall is getting upset NOW?
7 posted on 11/28/2012 8:10:38 PM PST by DBrow
To: VitacoreVision
8 posted on 11/28/2012 8:11:12 PM PST by lightman (If the Patriarchate of the East held a state like the Vatican I would apply for political asylum.)
To: VitacoreVision
This kinda crap would cease if the wussified American public would stop flying and make it known to the airlines why.
9 posted on 11/28/2012 8:11:56 PM PST by biff (WAS)
To: VitacoreVision
The TSA, and astronomical national debt, and entitlements are sure signs of a country and its people are voluntarily accepting slavery.
10 posted on 11/28/2012 8:12:09 PM PST by Jack Hydrazine (It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine!)
To: VitacoreVision
Today, I flew from Dallas to Newark with a layover in St. Louis. I was on American for the first leg and United for the last. Although I suffered no particular humiliation during the security checks, I was a bit taken aback by the fact that I had to exit Terminal C in St. Louis and re-enter Terminal A to catch the United flight, and had to pass through security again. According to one of the locals there, pre-9/11 there was a walkway between the terminals, but since then, changing terminals means taking off your shoes and belt and playing the TSA game a second time.
11 posted on 11/28/2012 8:14:02 PM PST by TruthShallSetYouFree (July 4, 1776: Declaration of Independence. Nov 6, 2012: Declaration of Dependence. R.I.P. America.)
To: VitacoreVision
For what the TSA costs, there could be an armed air marshal on every flight.
12 posted on 11/28/2012 8:16:58 PM PST by PieterCasparzen (We have to fix things ourselves)
To: VitacoreVision
Personnel conducting screens wear gloves. The screener probably dragged his/her hands down the torso, thus putting excessive tension on the top of the garment - pulling it down/off the shoulders. It is supposed to be a pat-down not heavy petting or a caress.
13 posted on 11/28/2012 8:17:59 PM PST by ThunderSleeps (Stop obama now! Stop the hussein - insane agenda!)
To: ClearCase_guy
This times 1000. It?s happening everyday and it?s only a story with the priviledged classes are affected. As long as it?s just the serfs is business as usual.
14 posted on 11/28/2012 8:24:22 PM PST by mykroar (BAD-ANON: One Game At A Time)
To: VitacoreVision
Since this intrusive behavior has started, I vow never to board another plane except in a case of extreme emergency.
My motto is: if I can?t drive there, I won?t go there.
15 posted on 11/28/2012 8:24:25 PM PST by basil (Second Amendment Sisters.org)
To: VitacoreVision
TSA needs to be abolished
16 posted on 11/28/2012 8:25:17 PM PST by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
To: biff
I too am amazed at who still flies. I simply don?t do cattle treatment, cattle prodding, cattle loading, short of impending death.
Fascinating to me the humans who tolerate it. The young never got to see flying done well, so they put up with anything. Scary.
17 posted on 11/28/2012 8:27:11 PM PST by RitaOK ( VIVA CHRISTO REY / Public education is the farm team for more Marxists coming.)
To: VitacoreVision
To: G Larry
C'mon.
Pictures. Now.
Or it didn't happen.
19 posted on 11/28/2012 8:30:16 PM PST by billorites (freepo ergo sum)
To: VitacoreVision
the then-17-year-old victim was the grandniece of Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas).
Congressman Hall is the oldest serving Rep. A WW2 veteran, he started as a conservative Democrat in 1980, and has served ever since.
Hall switched parties in 2004. He voted against NAFTA. He voted for the Bush tax cuts. He voted for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Nothing is coincidence involving the Chicago Way. This was a message to Hall: "Resign. Today. Get it?"
20 posted on 11/28/2012 8:31:02 PM PST by Old Sarge (We are officially over the precipice, we just havent struck the ground yet...)
To: VitacoreVision
Jan the Man TSA pervert alert! Homeland inSecurity should be famous for it?s sexual pervert harassment policies and lawsuits.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson
Founded in 1932, the LEGO Group has been associated with the interlocking blocks that we all know and love. In alignment with many other companies, LEGO has moved into the digital world. For the past 20 years, LEGO has been creating computer games and gaming consoles. With the release of ?LEGO Lord of the Rings? for PlayStation, Nintendo, Wii and Xbox on Nov. 13, LEGO has continued a pattern that has permeated its games for the last seven years.
LEGO games all follow a simple concept: playing through the stories of famous characters, whether it be with Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter or Batman.
?LEGO Lord of the Rings? continues this trend. The player switches between the many storylines of the three ?Lord of the Rings? stories as they remember them from the movies and books. Like all other adventure LEGO games, each level is mostly linear with some variation; the player fights against Orcs and other enemies and uses special abilities to complete puzzling tasks. Like LEGO games before it, ?LEGO Lord of the Rings? also has players solve puzzles by building LEGO creations in which pieces are revealed by destroying rocks, plants and other things that are scattered around the levels.
Two things are distinctively different in ?LEGO Lord of the Rings? as opposed to other LEGO adventure games, and both seem to be effective and unexpected.
One is the use of words. In all previous LEGO games, talking has been nonexistent. There are extensive cut scenes that are geared toward slapstick comedy and use the way LEGO people interact with their environment to make funny situations. However, they usually feature the LEGO characters grunting at each other instead of real dialogue.
In contrast, ?LEGO Lord of the Rings? has sound cuts from the movie. Initially, this is surprising to players, and slightly disappointing. The grunting of the characters from previous games was one of the more entertaining parts of the cut scenes. A player would wait the whole level to hear them. However, hearing the characters actually talk feels more natural, and the comedic effectiveness becomes apparent when they begin to use lines from the movies in the wrong places.
Another difference that creates more effective gameplay is the use of multiple storylines. As characters get split up from each other in the storyline, players are able to choose which group to play. This means that two levels happen simultaneously, but the player is able to do both in the order they choose. This comes in handy for longer playing times and maintaining the storyline.
?LEGO Lord of the Rings? also gives an interesting new feel to multiplayer gaming. LEGO games have always boasted a local multiplayer system that allows for lots of fun, with not enough competition or difficulty to cause a family feud. However, ?LEGO Lord of the Rings? is different.
Rather than always being in the same place as your neighbor, players play different levels with different characters in split screen. This can be slightly confusing for a moment or two, but after a few plays the split screen becomes a new, enjoyable way to play with friends.
LEGO always delivers games that are enjoyable for the whole family, but are not as popular as the big-named shooters and role-playing games. ?LEGO Lord of the Rings? is no exception. With lots of extras to find and at an affordable price, the LEGO games are a great option for those looking for an easy and fun game to play either solo or with a group of friends.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration said on Tuesday that China's currency remained "significantly undervalued," but stopped short of labeling the world's second-biggest economy a currency manipulator.
Although Beijing controls the pace at which the yuan can rise, the U.S. Treasury said in a congressionally mandated semi-annual report that China did not meet the legal requirements to be deemed a currency manipulator.
The label is largely symbolic, but would require Washington to open discussions with Beijing on adjusting the yuan's value.
It has been 18 years since the U.S. Treasury has designated any country a manipulator. China was labeled a manipulator between 1992 and 1994.
The latest report reflected both the administration's desire to maintain good relations with its top creditor and an attempt to keep up pressure for changes in China that could benefit the U.S. economy and mollify domestic critics.
The report noted that the yuan, also known as the renminbi, had risen 12.6 percent against the U.S. dollar in inflation-adjusted terms since June 2010. An official said it was up 9.7 percent on a nominal basis through Tuesday, when it closed at a record high.
The Treasury also said China had "substantially" reduced its intervention in foreign exchange markets since the third quarter of 2011 and had loosened capital controls.
"In light of these developments, Treasury has concluded that the standards ... have not been met with respect to China," it said.
"Nonetheless, the available evidence suggests the renminbi remains significantly undervalued," the report added, echoing the Treasury's last assessment in May.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei denied the currency was undervalued.
"In recent years, the ratio between China's GDP and the current account surplus has decreased on a daily basis. The renminbi's exchange rate is in equilibrium. There is no so-called problem that the exchange rate is undervalued," he told reporters in Beijing.
"We hope that the U.S. side can appropriately deal with trade and economic issues, including the renminbi exchange rate," Hong added.
Ted Truman, a Treasury official under former President Bill Clinton, said it was important to keep a watchful eye on China's currency policy.
"We have the aftermath of 10 years of misbehavior," said Truman, who is now with the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "It would probably be unwise and too soon to declare victory."
During the U.S. presidential campaign, Republican candidate Mitt Romney pledged to label China a manipulator on his first day in office to show he would be tougher on the chief U.S. economic competitor than President Barack Obama.
Many U.S. businesses and lawmakers complain that Beijing keeps the value of its currency artificially low to gain an advantage in trade at the expense of American jobs.
But an international consensus is growing that the yuan is closing in on its fair value after about a decade at an artificially weak level. The International Monetary Fund softened its language on the yuan in July.
YUAN AT RECORD HIGH
Signs of a recovery in the Chinese economy and a new round of quantitative easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve have led traders to push the yuan higher.
But China's central bank has kept a lid on the move. The central bank allows the yuan to rise or fall by only 1 percent from whatever rate it sets each day.
Charles Schumer, the No. 3 Democrat in the U.S. Senate and a longtime critic of China's yuan policy, said the Treasury passed up an opportunity to level the trade playing field.
"It's time for the Obama administration to rip off the band-aid, and force China to play by the same rules as all other countries," the New York senator said in a statement.
But the U.S.-China Business Council, which represents U.S. companies that do business with China, applauded the decision.
"The exchange rate has little to do with the U.S. trade balance or employment," council President John Frisbie said. "We need to move on to more important issues with China, such as removing market access barriers and improving intellectual property protection."
The Treasury said further appreciation of the yuan would help China balance its economy toward consumption by giving households greater purchasing power.
It called on China to reduce its "exceptionally high" foreign exchange reserves and publish data about its intervention in currency markets.
The Obama administration also used the currency report to keep pressure on South Korea to limit its foreign exchange intervention.
South Korea says it intervenes to smooth the volatility of its won currency, but it has gone into the market throughout 2012, the Treasury report said. In July, the IMF said the won was undervalued by up to 10 percent.
"We will continue to press the Korean authorities to limit their foreign exchange interventions to the exceptional circumstances of disorderly market conditions," the report said.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by James Dalgleish & Kim Coghill)
The Capital Business Blog was created by the Business Council of New York State. Our primary function is to serve as an advocate for employers in the state political and policy-making arena, working for a healthier business climate, economic growth, and jobs.
The Capital Business Blog is the place to talk about state government and how what happens in Albany affects your business and your community. We hope to be your primary source for all the political activities that take place in the halls of government. We also, hope to give you a voice with influential politicians on business related issues. Along the way we may provide you with insight into the backrooms and deal-making that rule New York.
All too often, smaller companies have a habit of not emphasizing the importance of safety in the workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) applies to every business in the U.S. ? not just those in manufacturing or warehousing!
Here are a few simple steps to keep your workplace safe:
Appoint ?Disaster Chiefs? (people in the office who know CPR, in charge of calling police/fire department, etc.) and let your employees know where to turn during a crisis. Review annually in case the persons appointed are no longer around to perform their duties.
Know the fire escape plan and do at least one fire drill a year. This will let you know the faults in your plan and correct them before an incident actually happens.
Do at least one tornado drill per year. Stress its importance during ?Severe Weather Preparedness Week? (for 2013, March 3rd ? 9th) for a more real-world tie in.
Have First Aid supplies on hand and check to make sure they are well-stocked and not expired.
Assess your workplace at least once a year, looking for trip hazards and better ways to organize in case of a disaster. Make sure to highlight these areas appropriately or fix them to decrease the chance of accidents.
In an exceptionally safe workplace, consider rewarding your employees with one of the many safety awards Royal Recognition offers. By focusing on health and safety, we can avoid the human and business costs of workplace injuries and improve productivity. Stay safe everyone!
Filed under Advice, Employee Rewards, Incentives
Tagged as business, CPR, employee appreciation, employee engagement, evacuation plan, fire drill, first aid, productivity, safety, tornado drill, workplace
TORONTO (AP) ? Justin Bieber faced a hostile homecoming during his halftime performance at Canada's football Grey Cup, facing boos and jeers.
The Toronto crowd booed Sunday when the 18-year-old pop star's face popped up on the JumboTron screen. They booed when a host spoke his name. And they booed as he took the stage and throughout his medley of the chart-topper "Boyfriend" and the disco-inflected "Beauty and a Beat."
If Bieber was bothered, it didn't show.
"Thank you so much Canada," Bieber said. "I love you."
Earlier in the week, Bieber was presented with a Diamond Jubilee Medal by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and caused a scene by wearing overalls, unbuttoned on one shoulder, over a white T-shirt, with a backwards baseball cap.
There was sufficient uproar that Harper even weighed in on Twitter.
"In fairness to (Bieber)," Harper tweeted Sunday, "I told him I would be wearing my overalls too."
The Canadian Football League may have been hoping to court Bieber's army of tween followers on Sunday. But recent Grey Cup halftime performers have skewed toward the comparatively heavy likes of Nickelback and Lenny Kravitz.
"J-Biebs doesn't scream football, you know? Neither does Carly Rae Jepsen," said Calgary's Ryan Prisque, 22.
The 27-year-old Jepsen also received a mixed reaction at first Sunday but won the crowd over during an enthusiastic medley of her latest single, "This Kiss," and her infectious hit "Call Me Maybe."
As if behemoth ballerinas, blue whales pirouette before lunging at their prey, a strategy that may help the giants ambush krill from below.
"This behavior probably improves the whales' chances to engulf the most krill possible," said study co-author Ari Friedlaender, a marine biologist at Duke University.
The new findings, detailed today (Nov. 27) in the journal Current Biology, may shed light on how the enigmatic creatures hunt and devour their shrimplike prey.
Hungry giants
The blue whale, the largest creature to ever live, can span up to 98 feet (30 meters) long and weigh up to 200 tons (180 metric tons). This creature the size of a submarine uses its bristly, comblike teeth, or baleen, to filter tiny crustaceans called krill from the water. Last century, Antarctic whalers who opened up the massive bellies of blue whales often found up to 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) of krill, though the sea giants probably don't eat that much every day, Friedlaender told LiveScience.
Because krill cluster in massive swarms, "they're perfect food for something like a baleen whale that wants to engulf a big amount of something at one time," Friedlaender told LiveScience.
But while the marine mammals' diet is well-known, how they find their prey remains a mystery.
To understand these foraging behaviors, Friedlaender and his colleagues attached motion sensors to the backs of 22 blue whales using suction cups. They also attached a critter cam to one individual, which showed the ocean and part of the whale's head from the animal's point of view. [See Video as a Blue Whale Dives for Krill]
Underwater ballet
When Friedlaender's team analyzed the data, they found something completely unexpected.
The sensors, which captured several hours of data from each whale, revealed half of the whales doing full, 360-degree turns. Many of these underwater twirls occurred as whales dove for prey.
A blue whale typically spots a dense krill swarm by the dark patch it leaves on the water's surface as seen from below. Once the swarm is spotted, the whale surges upward toward the dark spot and opens its mouth to engulf the krill in one big gulp. But sometimes, it also whirls around as it performs this lunge.
"As it opens its mouth it begins to roll over. It's a very energetically costly thing to do ? it's like a parachute opening and the whale slows down considerably," Friedlaender said.
The stealthy strategy may allow whales to anticipate the krills' escape route and adjust before the krill have a chance to cluster together out of reach, he added.
Because one dense krill patch could provide a day's worth of food, it makes sense to perfect their hunting strategies, even if it takes a lot of energy, the researchers write in the journal article.
Whales also turned just before and between dives, suggesting the rotations help the cetaceans scope out the location of prey.
"As in all cetaceans, the eyes are positioned laterally, and thus rolling the body should enhance panoramic vision in multiple dimensions," the researchers write.
Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook?& Google+.?
Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
TBILISI (Reuters) - The European Union urged Georgia on Monday to avoid selective justice in the prosecution of former officials from the ousted government of President Mikheil Saakashvili's allies.
The detentions of former state officials since billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili led a coalition to victory over Saakashvili's long-ruling party in parliamentary elections last month has raised fears of a political witch-hunt.
More than 10 former senior officials - including a former interior minister and the army's acting chief-of-staff - have been arrested and charged with abuse of power, illegal confinement or illegally obtaining personal information.
"I've stressed that the European Union calls on all sides in Georgian politics to uphold European values of democracy, freedom and rule of law," said Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
"There should be no selective justice, no retribution against political rivals. Investigations into wrongdoings must be and must be seen to be impartial, transparent and in compliance with due process," she told a conference in the capital Tbilisi after meeting Prime Minister Ivanishvili and Saakashvili.
Washington has also urged cooperation between political rivals in the ex-Soviet republic, a route for Caspian Sea oil and gas exports to Europe and a focus of geopolitical rivalry between the West and Russia, which routed Georgian forces in a five-day war in August 2008.
Ashton also called for cooperation between Ivanishvili and Saakashvili during a difficult period of cohabitation with the president, who is due to remain in his post until an election next year. Saakashvili came to power in the peaceful 2003 Rose Revolution.
Georgia's top prosecutor said on Saturday that former Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili could be questioned for alleged abuse of power in the period when he was the interior minister.
Russia increased its military presence in two Moscow-backed breakaway regions of Georgia it recognised as independent after the war, which followed tensions over Saakashvili's drive to bring the country of 4.5 million country into NATO.
Ashton said the European Union was committed to Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
There are two major types of business models that entrepreneurs use to make money blogging. The first and most common way to turn a blog into a profit making machine is to sell advertising to different companies and brands who want to reach that blog?s readers. The second kind of money making blog is one that helps a single brand improve its image by creating positive associations between the blog and the product in the mind of consumers. Both kinds of blogs can make a lot of money, especially if the creator has a keen mind for marketing.
If you are blogging with the goal of selling advertising, there are two basic ways that you can go about recruiting sponsors who want to put ads on your site; you can let someone else do all of the legwork, or you can do the work yourself and keep all of the revenue.Within the first group, many people make money blogging by selling space through Google?s AdSense program. The advantages of this program are numerous, as it requires very little effort on the part of the blogger or webmaster to begin raking in profits. However, most people discover that they make less money through this method than they had hoped that their blog would earn.
Selling advertising directly to companies who want to put banner ads or sponsored links on your blog can take quite a bit of time, but it is often fairly lucrative. If you have a lot of contacts in industries that are related to the topic of your blog, you may want to try to go this route. People who have a strong background in sales and are experienced at pitching proposals can make quite a bit of money by renting blog space to interested companies.
The most serious problem with this model is that you often have to build quite a sizable readership before you can attract ?advertisers, which can mean that you have to do several months of work before you start to make?money blogging.
As blogging becomes a more and more lucrative business, a lot of established companies are considering how they can get into the action.
One way that companies are capitalizing on the blog movement is by having blogs that provide a kind of friendly face for their corporation. Often, a company will employ an established blogger to create a weblog designed specifically to appeal to that company?s customers and to create positive associations with the brand in consumers? minds. More than one writer who never even dreamed that he or she could make money?blogging has been approached by a company and offered quite a pretty penny for this kind of gig.
When disaster strikes, there are places you—no human, really—wants to be. After the Fukushima disaster, for example, there was tons of fatally radioactive ground where no sane man would dare venture. And with inventions like Toshiba's new quadroped, disaster-investigating robot, they wouldn't have to. More »
Twitter CEO?Dick Costolo has once again promised that Twitter users will, indeed, be able to download a full archive of their tweets in just a matter of weeks. This latest announcement was delivered in response to an audience question during a talk at Costolo's alma mater, University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy, where the CEO discussed Twitter's role in the future of global communication and democratized access to information.
In this photo taken Sunday Nov. 25, 2012, pop icon Elton John performs during his concert in Beijing. John publicly dedicated his only concert in Beijing to Chinese artist and political critic Ai Weiwei, sending a murmur of shock through audience members accustomed to tight censorship of entertainment. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT
In this photo taken Sunday Nov. 25, 2012, pop icon Elton John performs during his concert in Beijing. John publicly dedicated his only concert in Beijing to Chinese artist and political critic Ai Weiwei, sending a murmur of shock through audience members accustomed to tight censorship of entertainment. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT
In this photo taken Sunday Nov. 25, 2012, pop icon Elton John performs during his concert in Beijing. John publicly dedicated his only concert in Beijing to Chinese artist and political critic Ai Weiwei, sending a murmur of shock through audience members accustomed to tight censorship of entertainment. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT
In this photo taken Sunday Nov. 25, 2012, pop icon Elton John performs during his concert in Beijing. John publicly dedicated his only concert in Beijing to Chinese artist and political critic Ai Weiwei, sending a murmur of shock through audience members accustomed to tight censorship of entertainment. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT
BEIJING (AP) ? Pop icon Elton John publicly dedicated his only concert in Beijing to Chinese artist and political critic Ai Weiwei, sending a murmur of shock through an audience accustomed to tight censorship of entertainment.
Minutes into a more than two-hour show Sunday night, John told the audience that the performance was dedicated "to the spirit and talent of Ai Weiwei," according to several audience members. They said the crowd rumbled in recognition that Ai remains a touchy subject for the Chinese government.
An internationally acclaimed sculptor and installation artist, Ai has used his art and his renown to draw attention to social injustice. He was detained for nearly three months last year, and he remains barred from leaving China.
Ai and John met each other briefly on Sunday before the concert. "I super like him," Ai said on his feed on Twitter, which is banned in China but on which he has 180,000 followers.
China-based online media sites reported on John's Beijing show, as they did on a Friday night performance in Shanghai, but they did not report John's remark about Ai.
The Chinese government exercises tight control of live performances, requiring artists to submit detailed lists of songs, casts and crew members before approval is given. Censors further tightened scrutiny after singer Bjork shouted "Tibet, Tibet" at the close of a song titled "Declare Independence" at a Shanghai performance in 2008.
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Lottery officials say nobody has won the Powerball jackpot and the top prize will now increase to about $425 million for the next drawing, the largest jackpot ever for the game.
Iowa Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer said sales were strong over the holiday week for Saturday's drawing, which was estimated at $325 million before the numbers were picked. That was the fourth-largest jackpot in the game's history.
Neubauer says the jackpot for Wednesday's drawing could go even higher than the estimated $425 million because sales pick up in the days before record drawings.
The previous top Powerball prize was $365 million, won in 2006 by ConAgra Foods Workers in Lincoln, Neb.
The Powerball numbers for Saturday were 22-32-37-44-50, and the Powerball was 34.
Also on HuffPost:
Geniuses Outsmart Massachusetts Cash WinFall
A group including MIT undergraduates and a biomedical researcher <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/massachusetts-cash-winfall-lottery_n_1729416.html" target="_hplink">discovered a loophole in the Cash WinFall game</a> that netted them nearly $48 million. Apparently, lottery officials knew about the scam since at least 2010, but did nothing about it because it generated $16 million in revenue for the state.
Man Wins Lotto, Bails Himself Out Of Jail
After John Ross Jr. won a 'Set For Life' scratch off game, he was looking forward to turning his life around. However, Ross soon <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/john-ross-california-lott_n_1590089.html" target="_hplink">found himself behind bars</a> after he allegedly helped a woman hide and repair a stolen car.
Clerk Steals Winning Ticket From Great-Grandma
A store clerk in England tried to turn in 77-year-old Maureen Holt's winning lottery ticket himself after <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/lottery-ticket-stolen-from-great-grandmother_n_1733871.html" target="_hplink">telling her it was a losing ticket</a>.
Woman's Friend Steals Winning Scratch-Off
A South Carolina woman's luck stopped short after she told a few friends about her winning $500 ticket. Willie Jones, a friend of the winner, was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/19/south-carolina-stolen-lottery-ticket_n_1686630.html" target="_hplink">charged with stealing her ticket</a>.
Controversy Over Record Mega Millions Jackpot
After <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/06/mirlande-wilson-mega-millions-mcdonalds_n_1408105.html" target="_hplink">McDonald's employee Mirlande Wilson</a> falsely claimed she won Mega Millions' record $656 million jackpot, three <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/maryland-mega-millions-winner_n_1414857.html?ref=money#s785675&title=Undocumented_Immigrant_Awarded" target="_hplink">Maryland school teachers</a> stepped forward to claim their share of the prize.
Woman 'Hides' Winning Ticket At McDonald's
Mirlande Wilson, a McDonald's employee in Baltimore, claimed she <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/mirlande-wilson-maryland-mcdonalds-worker_n_1396943.html" target="_hplink">had won the record-high $656 million Mega Millions jackpot </a>and that she <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/what_mega_mess_wHA9HVdfxA1VDSqWn58KtJ" target="_hplink">was not going to share her winnings</a> with co-workers, who alleged that Wilson was a part of a workplace lottery pool. Wilson announced that she had <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/04/marlinde-wilson-mega-millions-winner-ticket-mcdonalds_n_1402892.html" target="_hplink">hid the winning ticket at a McDonald's</a> and subsequently <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/06/mirlande-wilson-mega-millions-mcdonalds_n_1408105.html" target="_hplink">claimed to have lost the ticket</a>. In the end, it was revealed<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/maryland-mega-millions-winner_n_1414857.html" target="_hplink"> Wilson never even had the winning ticket</a>.
Teen Finds Ticket In Messy Bedroom
Ryan Kitching, a Scottish teenager,<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/04/ryan-kitching-teenage-winning-lottery-tickert-clean-room_n_1319413.html" target="_hplink"> found a winning lottery ticket hiding in his bedroom</a> after his mother told him to clean his room. The ticket is worth more than $80,000.
Wisconsin Man Accidentally Wins $14.3 Million Jackpot
Chicago Couple Keeping Millions Secret
One Chicago couple won <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-11-06/news/ct-met-anonymous-lottery-20111106_1_lottery-winners-illinois-lottery-lottery-jackpot" target="_hplink">$30 million in the Illinois lottery</a>, but didn't even tell their kids, according to the <em>Chicago Tribune</em>.
Iowa Lottery Winner Claims $16.5 Million Prize At Last Minute
Lottery Ticket Donated To Georgia Church
Connecticut Money Managers Win Big Jackpot
Lotto Winner Continued To Collect Food Stamps
Amanda Clayton, 24-year-old from the Detroit-area, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/08/amanda-clayton-michigan-lottery-food-assistance-stamps_n_1330716.html" target="_hplink">continued collecting $200 in government food assistance </a>after she won a $1 million lotto prize.
Undocumented Immigrant Awarded Lotto Prize After Lawsuit
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/09/jose-antonio-cua-toc-undocumented-immigrant-lottery-ticket_n_1334564.html" target="_hplink">Jose Antonio Cua-Toc, a foreign national from Guatemala,</a> sued his former boss to reclaim his lotto money, which he had given to his employer out of fear of being exposed as an undocumented immigrant. Cua-Toc won the lawsuit.
Inspectors stand in debris, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, at the site of a gas explosion that leveled a strip club in Springfield, Mass., on Friday evening. Investigators were trying to figure out what caused the blast where the multistory brick building housing Scores Gentleman's Club once stood. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Inspectors stand in debris, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, at the site of a gas explosion that leveled a strip club in Springfield, Mass., on Friday evening. Investigators were trying to figure out what caused the blast where the multistory brick building housing Scores Gentleman's Club once stood. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Items from the Score's Gentleman's Club are seen in the rubble on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, the morning after Friday night's explosion in Springfield, Mass. Dozens of building inspectors began assessing homes and businesses in Springfield on Saturday, a day after a natural gas explosion leveled the Scores Gentleman's Club located next to a day care and heavily damaged a dozen other structures. (AP Photo/The Republican, Dave Roback)
A day care next door to a gas explosion that leveled a strip club Friday evening is seen in Springfield, Mass., Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. Investigators are trying to figure out what caused the Friday evening blast that could be heard for miles, and that left a large hole in the ground where the multistory brick building housing Scores Gentleman's Club once stood. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) ? Authorities on Sunday planned to announce the cause of a natural gas explosion that damaged 42 buildings and injured 18 people in one of New England's largest cities.
The announcement was set for 1 p.m. at fire department headquarters in Springfield, where Friday's blast flattened a strip club, heavily damaged a day care center, shattered windows and scattered debris over several blocks.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno was to join state officials in revealing the cause.
Investigators and cleanup crews returned to the blast-affected area Sunday morning. Police reported no problems related to the explosion overnight.
The explosion occurred at about 5:30 p.m. Friday, after authorities had evacuated part of the entertainment district while responding to a gas leak and odor. It left a large hole in the ground where a multistory building that housed the Scores Gentleman's Club once stood.
Gas workers venting a gas leak got indications that the building was about to explode and they ? along with firefighters and police officers ? ducked for cover behind a utility truck just before the blast, said Mark McDonald, president of the New England Gas Workers Association.
Most of the injured were in that group, and the truck that saved their lives was essentially demolished, he said.
"It really is a miracle and it's an example of our public safety officials, each and every day, putting themselves in harm's way, taking what could have been considered a very routine call of an odor of gas, but they took the proper precautions," State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said. "And thanks to God that they did."
Sarno and Lt. Gov. Tim Murray were attending a tree-lighting ceremony when the explosion occurred. Sarno said some people mistakenly thought the boom was part of the holiday event.
Preliminary reports showed the blast damaged 42 buildings housing 115 residential units. Three buildings were immediately condemned, and 24 others require additional inspections by structural engineers to determine whether they are safe.
Columbia Gas of Massachusetts continued monitoring for potential leaks and kept at least 30 workers at the scene.
Springfield, which is 90 miles west of Boston and has about 150,000 residents, is the largest city in western Massachusetts. It's known as the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame, which is not near the blast site.
The city has been rebuilding from damage caused by a tornado in June 2011.
Back in 1996, people in the US bought about 2.3 albums per year. Today thanks to services like Spotify and Rdio, some of us listen to that many albums a day. Last-minute concert ticket app WillCall wants to make live music just as accessible. This week it released version 1.5 of its iOS app that focuses on delivering push notifications and feed about what shows your friends are going to.
Twitter CEO?Dick Costolo has once again