National
When Patients Own the System A Progressively Financed, Single Standard of Care for All by Donna Smith The national legislative healthcare fix that may be passed by the 111th Congress and then signed by President Obama will do little to relieve the stresses felt by most patients in this country. The steady decline most of […]
Katie Spotz, the 22-year-old adventurer from Mentor, rowed into Georgetown, Guyana, today , becoming the youngest person and first American to row across the Atlantic Ocean. A posting to her website as she reached the dock at 12:20 p.m. announced her triumph: SHE’S FINISHED!!! Spotz began her journey Jan. 10 in the African port of […]
US retail sales showed a surprise rise in February as consumers braved extreme bad weather to get to the shops. The US Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.3% last month, whereas forecasts had predicted a fall of 0.2%. The rise, the biggest since November, fuelled hopes that economic recovery is gaining momentum and helped […]
More than 170,000 troubled homeowners are breathing a lasting sigh of relief now that they’ve received permanent modifications under the Obama administration’s foreclosure prevention program. Some 15.5% of those who entered the program have gotten long-term adjustments through February, up from 11.5% a month earlier, according to a report from Treasury officials issued Friday. An […]
A television station in Georgia triggered a panic when it broadcast a mock half-hour report about a Russian invasion of the country. Emotions are still raw in many parts of Georgia after Russian tanks, troops and armored vehicles advanced into the former Soviet Republic in August 2008. That invasion was triggered after Georgian troops […]
It was every businessperson’s nightmare. Arriving at Harv’s Metro Car Wash in midtown Wednesday afternoon were two dark-suited IRS agents demanding payment of delinquent taxes. “They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending,” says Harv’s owner, Aaron Zeff. The really odd part of this: The letter that was hand-delivered to Zeff’s on-site manager showed the […]
President Obama’s departure for an upcoming overseas trip has been pushed back three days as Democrats prepare for a final push on health care reform. Obama will leave for his trip to Indonesia and Australia on March 21 instead of March 18, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs announced Friday. The president previously expressed a […]
Three strong earthquakes rocked Chile on Thursday, causing significant damage in at least one city, the country’s newly inaugurated president said Thursday. A 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit at 11:39 a.m. local time (9:39 a.m. ET), followed by a 6.7-magnitude quake 16 minutes later, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. A third, measured at magnitude 6.0, came 27 […]
Hall of Fame football player and actor Merlin Olsen, a giant man who friends say had an even larger heart, died Thursday after a long battle with cancer, football and university officials said. He was 69. Known as much for his brain as his brawn, the 6-foot-5, 270-pound defensive tackle also graduated summa cum laude […]
Federal authorities have charged a trendy Santa Monica sushi restaurant with serving whale meat — an investigation that was spurred by the team behind the Oscar-winning documentary, “The Cove.” Prosecutors charged Typhoon Restaurant Inc., the parent company of The Hump, and one of its chefs — Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, 45 — with the illegal sale of […]
Search online for “Cash for Clunkers,” and here’s one thing you’ll find: stories about its negligible overall impact on the economy. Wrong, says Maritz Automotive Research Group. The Toledo, Ohio, independent automotive research company recently surveyed participants in last summer’s federal program designed to stimulate new-car sales and get gas-guzzlers off the road. On Tuesday, […]
Forbes magazine released its annual list of the world’s richest people Wednesday, and for only the second time since 1995, Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ name was not at the top. This year, the title of “World’s Richest” went to Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim, with a net worth of $53.5 billion. Slim, whose holding company […]