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20 Feb 2012 11:07

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Biz, U.S.: Mardi Gras worth a heckuva lot more than beads to New Orleans

  • $140 million one estimate as to how much economic impact Mardi Gras has on the New Orleans area each year
  • $500 million another estimate; “There’s no way to know for sure because we don’t sell tickets,” a historian says source
  • » A massive party with a massive impact: “There are a lot of municipalities all over the world that want to copy what we do here in New Orleans because it drives tourism,” claims Barry Kern, whose float-building studio is busy year-round getting designs ready for the event and other similar events elsewhere. And with good reason, too. While the party itself is free, the 100,000 people riding the floats each year can spend as much as $2,000 to $3,000 on costumes, throws and fees. Then when you throw in the thousands of others who spend money on parties, king cakes and other revelry, and the financial impact adds up fast each year.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Feb 2012 16:06

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U.S.: Three things you should know about the U.S. Capitol bombing suspect

  • one Amine el-Khalifi, a 29-year-old originally from Morocco, has lived in the U.S. since he was 16 and has long outstayed his visa, meaning he’s living in the U.S. illegally.
  • two Khalifi was captured in a year-long sting, thinking he was being assisted by al-Qaeda, when he was actually being helped by FBI. Sound familiar? It’s happened before.
  • three Though Khalifi was arrested near the U.S. Capitol, officials say that “at no time was the public or congressional community in any danger.” Whew. source
  • » A couple quick thoughts: We’ve seen a number of these “honeypot”-style terror schemes in the past year or two, and the end result always makes us wonder — were they actual threats, or were they simply tricked into looking threatening? If it’s the former, then perhaps this was a good idea. If it’s the latter … the tactics seem questionable. As journalists, we of course have to take them seriously whenever they crop up. But second-guessing is certainly fair. (Note: We’ll post updates on this topic here.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Feb 2012 10:56

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U.S.: Family matters: Son tries to evict 98-year-old mother from home

  • I didn’t think he would do it. My husband worked hard, difficult jobs to buy this house. He built the garage and did a lot of work on the house and he told me never to leave it.
  • 98-year-old Mary Kantorowski • Discussing her 71-year-old son, Peter, who attempted to evict her from her own Connecticut house a couple of months ago. She’s lived there since 1953. The son says he’s concerned for his mother’s well-being, claiming that she’s living in poor conditions and is disoriented. Peter, who owns the house, tried evicting her in an effort to get her to move in with him, or into a nursing home. Instead, she got a lawyer involved and is actively fighting her son’s efforts. Peter says that his intentions are noble, but his brother Jack claims otherwise, suggesting he’s simply trying to sell the home: “There are no other words to call him. He’s just a scumbag.” Does not sound like a good family situation. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Feb 2012 12:28

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Politics, U.S.: Obama’s health care plan benefited tens of millions in 2011

  • 54 million people benefited from the Affordable Care Act in 2011 source
  • » Approximately one-sixth of Americans received one or more additional preventive care services in 2011, as a direct result of the Affordable Care Act, according to a newly released report from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Over 20 million adult women received an additional service, as well as 14 million children, and just under 20 million adult men. Of the 50 states, Wyoming had the fewest patients (102,000) receive a new service while California took the cake with more than 6 million patients, over 2 million more than 2nd place Texas, receiving at least one new preventive service last year.
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2012 20:18

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U.S.: Researchers gradually deprive children of sleep over a century

  • 70 minutes of sleep taken away from children over 100 years source
  • » Between 1897 and 2009, 32 separate sets of sleeping guidelines for kids gradually suggested that children get less and less sleep — at a rate of about 0.71 fewer minutes each year. Despite this, parents over the year managed to fail at these declining expectations, with children getting on average of 37 fewer minutes of sleep each year. Why’s that? Depends on the era — at the turn of the 20th century, it was artificial light, radio and cinema; in the ’90s, it was video games, cell phones and the Internet. Let’s update these standards slightly: We blame Twitter and the iPad.
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2012 10:30

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U.S.: Pew study: Millions of voter registrations have significant errors

  • 1/8 of all voter registrations in the U.S. contain errors, Pew says
  • 24M voter registrations contain major errors, according to Pew
  • 2.7M people have current voter registrations in multiple states
  • 1.8M registered voters have one slight problem: they’re dead source
  • » Is this a sign of voter fraud? Not really, Pew says. The bigger problem, they claim, is that outdated methods are being used to sign voters up. They recommend a more centralized voting system that utilizes online registration — similar to the one eight states (Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and Washington) are already working on. They suggest such a system will save money by preventing duplication and cutting down on form usage.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Feb 2012 11:59

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Culture, Sports, U.S.: Jeremy Lin lights up Lakers, sets new team record for Knicks

  • 89 points scored by Jeremy Lin during his first three starts with the New York Knicks this week
  • 80 points scored by former team record-holder Bill Cartwright in his first three starts, way back in 1979-1980 source
  • » What can’t he do? With a solid showing against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, including a career-high 38 points scored, Jeremy Lin set a new Knicks team record (EDIT: And league record) for the most points scored by a player in their first three starts since the NBA-ABA merger. He’s also one game away from matching Lebron James’ — 20 point, 5 assist, 50 percent shooting — four-game performance streak, the longest streak by any player this season.
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

10 Feb 2012 10:31

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U.S.: *ALARM* MASSIVE POWERBALL JACKPOT THIS WEEKEND

  • $310million Powerball jackpot in play this weekend source
  • » Trying to win it? Your odds are 1 in 175,223,510. (We like your odds, though.) This is the fifth-largest Powerball jackpot ever; the largest went for $365 million in 2006. 44 states take part in Powerball, and most of them chill with its brother from another mother, Mega Millions, too.
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Feb 2012 19:57

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U.S.: Mother sues New York City for an amount larger than the city’s budget

  • $900 trillion lawsuit against the city of New York source
  • » The city’s 2012 budget? $65 billion: Despite the big number, there is a strong tinge of sadness to the case. Fausat Ogunbayo, a Staten Island mother of two, had her two children (ages 16 and 13) taken away back in 2008 amid concerns for her mental stability. However, an appellate court ruling last month provided her with some legal ammo, saying that despite Ogunbayo’s history of mental illness, that didn’t immediately equate neglect, as the city claimed. Now she’s suing the city, saying that it violated her civil rights, along with her children’s, and claiming that the separation caused “over three years of terror, horror, grievous harm, time lost, substantial economic hardship and injuries.” She may have a case; she may want to knock down that dollar total, though.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Feb 2012 15:43

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U.S.: Another teacher suspected of aiding LA school’s pedophilia scandal

  • She was a teacher who would escort little girls into Berndt’s classroom when he was all alone. Berndt would come over in the middle of day, whisper in her ear, and they would giggle, and then teacher would pick out two girls, escort them through a common door, so that they were stuck with a pedophile in this classroom.
  • Lawyer Bryan Claypool • Speaking on the rash of horrific charges to emerge from the pedophilia case at Miramonte Elementary, in the Los Angeles County School District. Claypool says he notified the Sheriff’s department after becoming aware of a female teacher, who he believes “patently aided and abetted” the alleged pedophilic abuse methods of fellow teacher Mark Berndt, one of two former teachers arrested on such charges. As a consequence of the scandal, and the public outrage directed at the school, the entire staff has been removed pending further decision. Be warned, the full details of this story are quite graphic and disgusting. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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