Friday, October 9, 2009

US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said that the Senate Finance Committee will vote on a sweeping health care reform bill next Tuesday. US President Barack Obama has made clear that extending health insurance coverage to as many Americans as possible is his top domestic priority.

Republican lawmakers, however, are still overwhelmingly opposed to the bill, saying it is too expensive and would expand the role of government in people’s health care.

Obama and his fellow Democrats in the Senate received some good news late Wednesday from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, which put the total cost of the Senate Finance Committee’s health care bill at $829 billion over the next decade, below Obama’s stated goal of $900 billion. The budget watchdog organization also said the health care bill would help reduce the federal budget deficit over the next ten years.

Harry Reid said he believed health care reform was moving forward. “And so today we stand closer than ever to fulfilling that fundamental promise, one for which we have fought for more than 60 years,” he said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, however said that the cost estimate was “irrelevant”, because the final bill that will actually emerge from both houses of Congress is likely to look very different and cost a lot more. “What matters is that the final bill will cost about a trillion dollars, vastly expand the role of government in people’s health care decisions, increase premiums and limit choice,” McConnell said.

McConnell said Republicans favor a step by step approach to health care reform, focusing on prevention and wellness programs and dealing with the high costs of malpractice insurance doctors have to pay due to fears of excessive lawsuits.

Under the Finance Committee’s bill, US residents would be required to get health insurance or face a penalty, and insurance companies would face tough new regulations. For example, insurance companies could no longer reject coverage for people due to pre-existing conditions.

The Senate Finance Committee is likely to pass the bill, which will then have to be merged with one passed by the Senate health committee before it goes to the full Senate floor for debate.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

United States stock indexes posted gains on Friday, marking a four-week long positive streak. This comes despite a report released by the US Labor Department on the same day, which said that the US economy shed 663,000 jobs in March, with the unemployment rate reaching 8.5%, the highest since 1983.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a modest gain of half a percent or 39 points, ending the day at 8,017. The index has not closed above 8,000 since February. The last time the Dow had risen for four weeks in a row was between September and October of 2007, when the stock index reached its all-time high of over 14,000. The streak is the index’s best since 1993.

The broader S&P 500 gained eight points, or one percent, by the closing bell. The Nasdaq Composite had the largest gains of the three indexes, up 1.2% to 1,622. Both the S&P and the Dow gained over 3% over the course of the week, while the Nasdaq was up almost 5%.

In other markets, both the German DAX and the Japanese Nikkei 225 indexes remained even, whilst the British FTSE 100 slipped 2.3%.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

New Zealand have beaten India by ten runs in the Super 8 stage of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Black Caps lost opener Lou Vincent in the second over. Brendon McCullum (45) and Peter Fulton added 58 runs together to take New Zealand to 69-1, but four quick wickets fell and they were reduced to 91-5. Jacob Oram (35) and Craig McMillan (44) shared a 73 run partnership as New Zealand pushed towards 190. However four wickets fell in the last over, as Daniel Vettori was bowled by R P Singh and three other batsmen were run out.

India got off to a quick start chasing 191 to win. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag had reached 76 runs in the sixth over when Sehwag was caught by Scott Styris for 40 runs. Daniel Vettori caught and bowled Robin Uthappa for a duck and had Gambhir caught behind for 51. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was run out for 24 as the Indian batsmen fell, with Vettori taking four wickets for New Zealand. India finished their twenty overs on 180-9, ten runs short of New Zealand’s total.

Toss: India won, and chose to field first.

Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Vincent, 1.6 ov), 2-69 (Fulton, 8.6 ov), 3-86 (McCullum, 10.6 ov), 4-89 (Taylor, 11.5 ov), 5-91 (Styris, 12.4 ov), 6-164 (Oram, 17.6 ov), 7-185 (Vettori, 19.1 ov), 8-189 (Bond, 19.3 ov), 9-190 (McMillan, 19.5 ov), 10-190 (Patel, 19.6 ov)

Fall of wickets: 1-76 (Sehwag, 5.5 ov), 2-77 (Uthappa, 6.3 ov), 3-104 (Gambhir, 10.5 ov), 4-116 (Yuvraj Singh, 12.4 ov), 5-128 (Dhoni, 13.5 ov), 6-146 (Pathan, 16.2 ov), 7-151 (Karthik, 16.6 ov), 8-152 (Agarkar, 17.2 ov), 9-163 (Harbhajan Singh, 18.4 ov)

India: A B Agarkar, M S Dhoni (capt, wkt), G Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, K D Karthik, I K Pathan, V Sehwag, R P Singh, S Sreesanth, R V Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh

New Zealand: L Vincent, B B McCullum (wkt), P G Fulton, R L Taylor, S B Styris, J D P Oram, C D McMillan, D L Vettori (capt), S E Bond, M R Gillespie, J S Patel

Man of the Match: D L Vettori (New Zealand)

Umpires: M R Benson (England) and N J Llong (England)TV Umpire: D J Harper (Australia)Match Referee: B C Broad (England)Reserve Umpire: K H Hurter (South Africa)

Thursday, August 30, 2007

The Vancouver Canucks, hockey team to Vancouver, British Columbia, unveiled it’s new home and away uniforms today. Keeping the trade-mark Orca, the jersey has remixed the colors as well as adding a green stripe for both the home and away uniforms. This is the 5th jersey the team has gone through since 1970 when the team was founded.

The redesign has been met with some criticisms. John Carter a graphics arts instructor at a local college was quoted as calling the redesign an “utter disappointment.”

The design uses the same core colors in the original design, and on the back it also has their original jersey’s hockey stick symbol. The president and CEO of the Canucks, Chris Zimmerman, recognizes this saying, “Our goal when we set out was to celebrate our heritage and to design a sweater that reflects our extraordinary city and province. “We wanted to unveil a sweater that reflects our past and our future.” Zimmerman also went on to say the design represents, “who we are and the connection to the community.”

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Due to a US$23 million budget shortfall, all public libraries in Jackson County, Oregon are scheduled to close April 6. The U.S. Congress did not renew the Secure Rural Schools and Self-Determination Act, which replaces property tax revenues with revenue sharing from timber harvests. Jackson County used the revenue to pay for libraries and sherriff’s patrols. Voters rejected a property tax increase last November. A similar increase will appear on the May ballot; such increases must pass a double-majority vote: a majority of county voters must turn out for the election, and a majority of those must support the increase.

Supporters hope the measure will pass this time. “Many people didn’t believe we were going to close libraries.” said County Commissioner C.W. Smith. The Ashland City Council has said it would find a funding solution to keep their branch of the library open; other cities have not made similar statements. Some alternative funding solutions, such as charging subscription fees, have been considered. However, charging fees for access to libraries is illegal in Oregon.

Jackson County is located in Southern Oregon, and has a population of 181,000. The Jackson County Library System consists of 15 branches.

Monday, February 4, 2008

The third day of New York Fashion Week debuted styles infused in ’70s couture, punk and hard rock roots. Labels Herve Leger, DKNY and Rock & Republic unveiled their Fall 2008 lines, and continued the retro bent popular in the first two days of the world’s largest fashion show.

Max Azria’s Herve Leger label showed off his signature skintight dress in multiple styles Sunday, experimenting with knit fabric as well as coats to complement the dress. Unafraid to take risks, Azria also unveiled elaborate variations which called for sequins, ribbons and large bows, the latter of which was another nod to late ’70s fashion. Model Padma Lakshmi walked the runway for Azria, as did actress Sophia Bush and singers Joss Stone and Mandy Moore.

DKNY, the main label for designer Donna Karan, took the idea of ’70s couture and modernized it, deeming her Fall collection “eclectic glamour.” Retro styles such as bow blouses, pants bordering on the bell-bottom design, and peasant fashions were interspersed with more modern knits, silk and plaid designs for tops, dresses and jackets, respectively.

Rock & Republic’s theme was “gangster chic,” and was the biggest contributor to the hard rock feel. Unlike most shows, a complete orchestra with baby grand piano set the soundtrack for the show, which unveiled designs almost exclusively in a somber black. Designer David Cardona was credited with the rock designs, which included black suits and trenchcoats, and are a departure from the high-end denim looks the label is usually known for.

New York Fashion Week runs until Friday. On Monday Carolina Herrera and Betsey Johnson are considered to be the biggest draws at Bryant Park.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Early on Sunday morning, Amtrak’s passenger train number 91, the Silver Star, bound for Miami from New York, slammed into a stationary CSX freight train in Cayce, about ten miles (16 km) south of Columbia, capital of the US state of South Carolina. Two Amtrak employees were killed and at least 116 were injured, some seriously.

The two killed were 54-year-old engineer Michael Kempf of Savannah, Georgia, and 36-year-old conductor Michael Cella of Orange Park, Florida. Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, told a press conference the passenger train had been diverted into a siding by a switch left “literally locked, with a padlock” in that position.

The collision happened at about 2:35 am local time (0735 UTC) at a switching yard in the small city of Cayce. The Amtrak train, with reportedly 139 passengers and eight employees aboard, collided head on with the freight train, which was parked with no one on board. The Amtrak locomotive and the leading locomotive on the freight train were destroyed; the Amtrak locomotive and some of its passenger cars derailed, and one of those cars was folded in half. Several freight cars were crumpled, Reuters reported. In a press conference, the state governor, Henry McMaster, said the Amtrak locomotive was “barely recognizable” and described it as “a horrible thing to see, to understand the force involved”.

Harrison Cahill, a spokesman for Lexington County, gave a count of 116 injured, up from an initial report of 70; according to Derrec Becker, public information officer for the South Carolina Emergency Management Division, injuries ranged “from cuts and bruises to severe broken bones”. On Monday a Palmetto Health spokesperson said two patients were in serious and two in critical condition at their facilities. A spill of approximately 5,000 gallons of fuel from the freight train posed no safety hazard, according to officials.

Passenger Derek Pettaway told the CNN network that like most others, he had been sleeping when the collision happened. He said Amtrak staff cleared the passengers from the train rapidly, and there was no panic; “I think people were more in shock than anything else”, he said.

“Key to this investigation is learning why the switch was lined that way”, Sumwalt said. Amtrak’s CEO, Richard Anderson, speaking to reporters on Sunday, held CSX responsible; he stated the track in that area is operated by CSX and the signals, which CSX operates, were not working at the time of the collision and a CSX dispatcher was therefore directing the Amtrak train’s movements. Sumwalt noted an automatic monitoring and braking system called positive train control, which was not in use on the stretch of line, could have forestalled the collision.

Several fatal incidents involving Amtrak trains have occurred in the past three months. On December 18, the inaugural train on a new route in Washington state derailed at high speed while crossing above a highway, killing three; on January 31, the driver of a garbage truck was killed in Virginia when he collided with an Amtrak train chartered to take Republican lawmakers to a retreat.