News 1
Good Morning, it’s Friday, October 2, 2009 at_____o’ clock and you’re listening to 90.3 WKNJ-FM Union, New Jersey, and I’m______with the news.
In Local News…
A triggerman in a botched robbery attempt was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in prison for killing an Egg Harbor Township woman in front of her son. Anthony DiGisosaffatte, 52, of Ozone Park, N.Y., will have no chance for parole in the term handed out by Superior Court Judge Michael Donio in Mays Landing, Atlantic County First Assistant Prosecutor Murray Talasnik and step daughter Yvette Garcia 35, who was his accomplice by staging the home robbery invasion, is expected to be sentenced to eight years in prison. Yvette Garcia is also serving a prison term in New York for a drug possession conviction, pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
In National News….
Jobs are becoming more difficult to find and the jobless report is rising. More than 15 million people in the United States are now unemployed, and more are working part-time jobs for less pay, or have given up looking for work altogether. The American economy lost 263,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent, the government reported on Friday, dimming the prospect of any meaningful job growth by the end of the year and even though many businesses are making profit again they still aren’t hiring those they laid off, not even part time making this time a historical time for economists.
In International News…
Yesterday Thursday in Padang Indonesia workers rescued various victims which screamed win horror and pain begging for help through the ruins trapped under a couple buildings destroyed by the powerful earthquake which the government claims to have killed more than 777. Early Friday today the Indonesian Health Ministry announced that nearly 3,000 people may still be trapped in rubble. Rescuers continue to work hard in saving lives and aiding those in need. A number of countries have pledged financial aid. The United States Embassy in Jakarta said it had already provided $300,000 in immediate assistance and had set aside another $3 million.
In sports…
Lamar Odom Los Angeles Lakers forward has agreed to a four-year contract to stay with the Lakers this summer after helping the team win the franchise's 15th NBA championship in June. He also got married over the weekend to Khole Kardashian, 25-year-old reality TV starlet. Both married Sunday at a private residence in Beverly Hills. The wedding was hosted by Khloé's mother Kris Jenner and stepfather Bruce Jenner. Among the over 200 guests were Ryan Seacrest, Kelly Osbourne, Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa,Chelsea Handler, Brittney Gastineau and Lala Vazquez.
In Entertainment News…
Lady GaGa’s and Kanye West “Fame Kills” Tour has been cancelled! GaGa's choreographer, Laurieann Gibson, Tweeted that it was due to “Creative differences” - but she did not elaborate further; many do speculate that it had to do with West interrupting Taylor Swift's award acceptance speech at the VMAs to pay homage to Beyonce, but there is some good news to come out of this. Laurieann also confirmed the Lady GaGa will be doing her own tour! Yes! This tour will be even more epic! Refunds for the Fame kills tour will be issued.
Today’s Weather…
Today in Union New Jersey, the forecast looks mostly cloudy with winds at 4 miles per hour and 57% humidity. Temperatures range from a high 67 degrees to a low 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
That is it for your News. You are Listening to 90.3 WKNJ-FM, Union New Jersey. I am ______________reporting for WKNJ 90.3 FM Union New Jersey.The news writer for this broadcast is Shalayma (sha-lie-ma)Cruz. And we will be right back after this.
Original Stories
October 2,2009
New Jersey Real Time News(Local news)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/ny_man_gets_30_years_in_prison.html
By MaryAnn Spoto/The Star-Ledger
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP -- The triggerman in a botched robbery attempt was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for killing an Egg Harbor Township woman in front of her son.
Anthony DiGisosaffatte, 52, of Ozone Park, N.Y., will have no chance for parole in the term handed out by Superior Court Judge Michael Donio in Mays Landing, Atlantic County First Assistant Prosecutor Murray Talasnik said.
DiGisosaffatte pleaded guilty July 30 to one count of murder in the April 20, 2006, shooting of Gerardina Garcia, 43, while she was parked in the driveway of her home.
Authorities have said Garcia’s stepdaughter, Yvette Garcia, 35, also of Ozone Park, N.Y., agreed with DiGisosaffatte to stage a home-invasion robbery. The victim managed to dial 911 and hand her cell phone to her son, who told authorities his mother had been shot. Yvette Garcia, who is serving a prison term in New York for a drug possession conviction, pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery. She is expected to be sentenced to eight years in prison.
DiGisosaffatte’s sentence runs concurrent to a sentence he is serving for a federal bank robbery conviction, Talasnik said. At his plea hearing, DiGisosaffatte told the judge he waited in his car outside Garcia’s home until she returned in the early evening. He told the judge he never met the victim, whom he shot five times while her 8-year-old son was in the back seat of the car.
Gerardina Garcia’s husband, Fabio Garcia, initially was accused of participating in the killing but the charges were later dismissed.
Three other people have pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme. Ricky Irizarry of Ithaca, N.Y., who is awaiting sentencing, admitted in April to stealing the vehicle DiGisosaffatte used. He faces up to five years in prison. Cristovaho Diaz of Ozone Park, N.Y., pleaded guilty last October to conspiracy to commit murder. Diaz told authorities he picked up DiGisosaffatte after the shooter abandoned the stolen car. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced. Mirtha Gomez, 51, of Jackson Heights, N.Y. pleaded guilty last October to insurance fraud involving the victim’s life insurance policy. Talasnik said she successfully completed a pre-trial intervention program.
Jobs Report Highlights Shaky U.S. Recovery(National News)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/business/economy/03jobs.html
By PETER S. GOODMAN
Published: October 2, 2009
After several months in which the American economy flashed tentative signs of improvement, a sobering report on the national job market released on Friday amplified worries that a lengthy period of lean times lay ahead. The economy shed 263,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.8 percent from 9.7 percent in August, according to the Labor Department’s monthly snapshot of the employment picture.Though the job market worsened, the pace of deterioration remained markedly slower than during the early months of the year, when roughly 700,000 jobs a month were disappearing. That improvement seems consistent with the widespread belief that the recession has given way to economic growth. Yet the report also buttressed fears that economic expansion would be weak and hesitant, with scarce paychecks and economic anxiety remaining prominent features of American life well into next year.“This is a weak report,” said Stuart G. Hoffman, chief economist at the PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh. “The rate of job loss has tapered off, but we still haven’t reached the point where businesses are willing to hire.”
The Labor Department also made a preliminary revision in its survey of private employers that indicated the job market shrank even more during the recession. The department disclosed that in March this year the economy held 824,000 fewer jobs than previously reported, making an already bleak picture worse.The endurance of hard times seems likely to increase pressure on the Obama administration and Congress to consider another dose of spending aimed at stimulating the economy, even as the government grapples with deficits projected by some economists to exceed $10 trillion over the next decade.Despite a $787 billion stimulus package adopted early this year and aimed in part at shoring up state and local coffers, government jobs slipped by 53,000 in September.“That’s the budget crunch hitting,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. “We’re still losing jobs at a very rapid pace. We’re still looking at an economy with a lot of weakness.”For millions of unemployed people, the latest data merely confirms something they have come to understand intimately, through the discouraging process of seeking work.“There’s nothing out there,” said Jerry Lamirande, a technology systems engineer in Amarillo, Tex., who has been without a job since April 2008.During the technology boom of the late 1990s, Mr. Lamirande, 62, worked for I.B.M., where he drew a salary of about $130,000. After a layoff seven years ago, he has earned about $70,000 a year as a technology consultant working on contract. Since the spring, he and his wife have lived on her modest salary as a public school teacher and on hardship withdrawals from his retirement account. He has searched nationwide for his next contract, willing to relocate.“I’ve got to go where the opportunities are,” he said. “The problem is, there aren’t many opportunities.”The latest jobs report lent credence to that contention. The unemployment rate continued to inch toward double digits, a level last seen in June 1983. The so-called underemployment rate (which includes people whose hours have been cut, and those working part-time for lack of full-time positions, along with the jobless) reached 17 percent, the highest level since the government began tracking it in 1994.More jobs were lost last month, at 263,000, than were lost in August, as the Labor Department revised the August decline to 201,000 jobs from the 216,000 it initially reported.Health care remained a rare bright spot, adding 19,000 jobs in September, but construction jobs slipped by 64,000, manufacturing declined by 51,000 and retail lost 39,000 jobs. Most economists assume the economy expanded at an annual pace of about three percent from July through September. But debate focuses on the vigor and staying power of the recovery.Optimists anticipate a robust bounce-back from what now stands as the longest recession since the Great Depression. But most economists expect a sustained slog through high rates of joblessness.The economic improvement in recent months largely stems from businesses cutting inventories at a slower pace. As some companies begin to rebuild stocks, the impact could wash through the economy for a few more months, adding jobs and moderating the overall decline. Then the underlying weakness of the economy will probably reassert itself, say experts. After years of borrowing against homes and cashing in stock to spend in excess of their incomes, many Americans are tapped out. Austerity and saving have replaced spending and investment in many households, constraining the economy.As many Americans transition from living on home equity loans to sustaining themselves on paychecks, weekly pay continues to effectively shrink: Over the last year, average hourly earnings for rank-and-file workers — some 80 percent of the labor force — have increased by 2.5 percent. But average weekly earnings have expanded by only 0.7 percent, less than the increase in the cost of living, because employers have slashed working hours.In September, the average workweek edged down by one-tenth of an hour, to 33 hours.For those out of work, the job market looks harsher now than at any point in the recession. The number of people who have been jobless for more than six months increased in September by 450,000, reaching 5.4 million.
“We have a truly massive crisis of long-term unemployment,” said Christine L. Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project in a statement, adding that nearly 400,000 jobless people had exhausted their unemployment benefits by the end of September. “Today’s employment report is a marching order for Congress to pass unemployment benefit extensions to all states, quickly.”The first signs of improvement are likely to be seen among temporary workers, say experts, as companies now hunkering down in the face of uncertain prospects take tentative steps to expand.But temporary help services lost 1,700 jobs in September. Companies are extremely cautious,” said Roy G. Krause, chief executive of Spherion, a recruiting and staffing company based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. All of which translates into continued apprehension in many households.“It’s terrifying,” said Stephanie Wheeler, 56, of Elizabeth, N.J., who has drained her savings to $800 in the year since she lost her job at a data-processing company, rendering her ability to pay the rent on her apartment uncertain. “I’ve been here for eight years,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m petrified of being set out on the street.”
Rescuers Dig by Hand After Indonesia Quake(international news)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/world/asia/02quake.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=international%20news%20padang%20indonesia%20workers%20rescued%20victims%20october%202&st=cse
By NORIMITSU ONISHI and PETER GELLING
Published: October 1, 2009
PADANG, Indonesia — No tractors were available to move the rubble that was their office building before Wednesday’s mighty earthquake felled this modest port city, so workers started digging feverishly with their bare hands. “My friend is still trapped inside,” said a 20-year-old named Yudi. He had been making photocopies in the building when he felt the first tremors of the 7.6-magnitude quake shortly after 5 p.m. here on Wednesday. “I ran outside as fast I could,” said Mr. Yudi, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name. “Everyone was panicking, trying to save themselves. But some of us didn’t make it out.”Throughout a chaotic Thursday in Padang, rescue workers, soldiers and frantic residents searched together into the night with precious little earth-moving equipment or electricity, combing crushed offices, hotels, hospitals and schools for survivors. The death toll rose to 1,100 people on Thursday, with many hundreds more injured, according to John Holmes, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator, speaking at a news conference at the United Nations. “I fear these numbers will rise as more information becomes available,” Mr. Holmes said. On Thursday morning, just as the city’s airport was reopening and rescue teams were setting to work, Padang was rattled by another earthquake, this one registering a magnitude of 6.6. This second quake, which hit about 150 miles south of Padang, damaged hundreds of buildings in the nearby town of Jambi, officials said. There were no reports of casualties so far from the second temblor, Mr. Holmes said.More than a day after the first quake, residents here became increasingly desperate for information about their missing family members, crowding to view lists of the dead and injured that were posted at hospitals. At what remained of the city’s largest hospital, the Dr. M. Djamil Hospital, a dozen bodies in yellow bags lay on the side of a parking lot. Nearby, a list of casualties was printed on sheets of white paper posted on a board, which people read by holding lighters and matches.Arif Safrizal, 43, who was searching for his wife’s younger sister and brother, read down the list using three full matches. Both missing siblings were studying to become teachers, one majoring in English literature, the other in sports, he said.“We haven’t heard from them, and we can’t reach them on the phone,” Mr. Safrizal, a shop owner, said. “My wife is worried.”Beds for the injured were pulled from the hospital’s wreckage and placed inside makeshift tents in the parking lot. Soon, however, all the mattresses were soaked in blood. Gloves, medicine bottles and bandages were strewn on the ground. Dozens of bodies were piled nearby, some clothed, some not, and weeping survivors searched the faces for missing relatives. Late in the afternoon, a rumor based on local earthquake folklore raced through Padang, a city of 900,000, that another large quake was coming. Meanwhile, people lined up by the thousands for food, as well as for gasoline at three of the gas stations that still functioned. Padang’s mayor, Fauzi Bahar, appealed for help, saying that the city was overwhelmed by the dead and injured, and was hobbled by a lack of electricity and clean water. The city, seen Thursday evening from an approaching airplane, was black except for car headlights and an occasional building with an electric generator.“We really need help,” the mayor said on an Indonesian radio station, The Associated Press reported. “We call on people to come to Padang to evacuate bodies and help the injured.”At the Ambacang Hotel in the city center, rescue workers were looking for about 80 people still trapped in the large building’s ruins. The cries of at least four trapped men and women could be heard from inside on Thursday morning, said Efendi, 40, a taxi driver who went to see the hotel after being awakened by the call to prayer.“They were crying, ‘Help me,’ ” Mr. Efendi said, adding that some volunteers had tried unsuccessfully to reach the voices. “They couldn’t do anything, because there was no tractor.” By evening, workers were able to find a tractor, and they used it to tear down parts of the hotel, as a crowd, five to six people deep, watched. One onlooker, Adelio, 23, said that a friend named Aji worked at the hotel as a waiter and was trapped inside.“I just came here to see if they’ll find him,” Mr. Adelio said, squatting on the ground in his flip-flops and smoking a cigarette. “I’m sure he’s all right.”Padang lies on the west-central coast of Sumatra, Indonesia’s largest island, whose western coast is stippled with dozens of volcanoes. Padang also sits alongside the Sunda Trench, part of the notorious Ring of Fire, a volatile network of volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches that partly encircles the Pacific Basin. The ring — and Sumatra in particular — is a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. President Obama, who lived in Indonesia for several years as a child with his mother and sister, said Thursday that the United States “stands ready to help in this time of need.” “Indonesia’s an extraordinary country that’s known extraordinary hardship from natural disasters,” Mr. Obama said at the White House. “I know firsthand that the Indonesian people are strong and resilient and have the spirit to overcome this enormous challenge. As they do, they need to know that America will be their friend and partner.”On Tuesday, thousands of miles from Padang, an 8.0-magnitude underwater earthquake created a tsunami that sent walls of water crashing into the islands of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga.Based on reports from the United Nations, island police officers, aid workers and news agencies, at least 157 people were killed by the tsunami: 120 on Samoa, 30 on American Samoa and 7 on Tonga. “Nature has been showing its destructive power in tragic ways,” Mr. Holmes said at the United Nations. “There is a lot of emergency relief needed in all these cases.” The quakes, coming after a string of others of increasing strength across the Indonesian archipelago in recent months, brought back vivid memories of a tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004, that ravaged Aceh, just north of Padang on Sumatra, and other areas around the Indian Ocean. That tsunami, set off by an earthquake along the same fault line where this week’s quakes originated, killed more than 230,000 people across the Indian Ocean region.
Kanye West and Lady Gaga's much-hyped 'Fame Kills' tour canceled; reports(Entertainment news)By Mike O'Brien
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, October 1st 2009, 7:40 PM
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/10/01/2009-10-01_kanye_west_and_lady_gagas_fame_kills_tour_canceled.html#ixzz0ZnIBTzD3
Kanye West's much-hyped "Fame Kills" tour with Lady Gaga has been canceled -- with no reason as yet given.Despite the fact that a rep from Live Nation said Wednesdsay that the concerts were still a go ... Nation announced Thursday they were pulling the plug on the tour, TMZ reports.No explanation has been put forward -- but the VMA backlash and Kanye's upcoming criminal court date could have been factors. The tour was scheduled to kick off in Arizona in November, with a gig scheduled at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. on Dec. 22. The intensive itinerary was set to end in Dallas on January 24.Given West’s admittedly much-needed break from work, the original announcement of the tour surprised many.After stunning theVideo Music Awards by storming the stage during Taylor Swift’s Best Female Video acceptance speech, he revealed on the Jay Leno Show premiere that he hadn’t really taken time to mourn the loss of his mother, Donda, who died in November 2007. “I’ve never taken the time off to really -- you know, just music after music and tour after tour,” he said on the show. Gaga, of course, also had a big night at the VMAs: she wowed the crowd with her trademark over the top outfits and a wild performance of “Paparazzi,” and took home a Best New Artist award.
Weather
www.weatherchannel.com
New Jersey Real Time News(Local news)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/ny_man_gets_30_years_in_prison.html
By MaryAnn Spoto/The Star-Ledger
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP -- The triggerman in a botched robbery attempt was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for killing an Egg Harbor Township woman in front of her son.
Anthony DiGisosaffatte, 52, of Ozone Park, N.Y., will have no chance for parole in the term handed out by Superior Court Judge Michael Donio in Mays Landing, Atlantic County First Assistant Prosecutor Murray Talasnik said.
DiGisosaffatte pleaded guilty July 30 to one count of murder in the April 20, 2006, shooting of Gerardina Garcia, 43, while she was parked in the driveway of her home.
Authorities have said Garcia’s stepdaughter, Yvette Garcia, 35, also of Ozone Park, N.Y., agreed with DiGisosaffatte to stage a home-invasion robbery. The victim managed to dial 911 and hand her cell phone to her son, who told authorities his mother had been shot. Yvette Garcia, who is serving a prison term in New York for a drug possession conviction, pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery. She is expected to be sentenced to eight years in prison.
DiGisosaffatte’s sentence runs concurrent to a sentence he is serving for a federal bank robbery conviction, Talasnik said. At his plea hearing, DiGisosaffatte told the judge he waited in his car outside Garcia’s home until she returned in the early evening. He told the judge he never met the victim, whom he shot five times while her 8-year-old son was in the back seat of the car.
Gerardina Garcia’s husband, Fabio Garcia, initially was accused of participating in the killing but the charges were later dismissed.
Three other people have pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme. Ricky Irizarry of Ithaca, N.Y., who is awaiting sentencing, admitted in April to stealing the vehicle DiGisosaffatte used. He faces up to five years in prison. Cristovaho Diaz of Ozone Park, N.Y., pleaded guilty last October to conspiracy to commit murder. Diaz told authorities he picked up DiGisosaffatte after the shooter abandoned the stolen car. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced. Mirtha Gomez, 51, of Jackson Heights, N.Y. pleaded guilty last October to insurance fraud involving the victim’s life insurance policy. Talasnik said she successfully completed a pre-trial intervention program.
Jobs Report Highlights Shaky U.S. Recovery(National News)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/business/economy/03jobs.html
By PETER S. GOODMAN
Published: October 2, 2009
After several months in which the American economy flashed tentative signs of improvement, a sobering report on the national job market released on Friday amplified worries that a lengthy period of lean times lay ahead. The economy shed 263,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.8 percent from 9.7 percent in August, according to the Labor Department’s monthly snapshot of the employment picture.Though the job market worsened, the pace of deterioration remained markedly slower than during the early months of the year, when roughly 700,000 jobs a month were disappearing. That improvement seems consistent with the widespread belief that the recession has given way to economic growth. Yet the report also buttressed fears that economic expansion would be weak and hesitant, with scarce paychecks and economic anxiety remaining prominent features of American life well into next year.“This is a weak report,” said Stuart G. Hoffman, chief economist at the PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh. “The rate of job loss has tapered off, but we still haven’t reached the point where businesses are willing to hire.”
The Labor Department also made a preliminary revision in its survey of private employers that indicated the job market shrank even more during the recession. The department disclosed that in March this year the economy held 824,000 fewer jobs than previously reported, making an already bleak picture worse.The endurance of hard times seems likely to increase pressure on the Obama administration and Congress to consider another dose of spending aimed at stimulating the economy, even as the government grapples with deficits projected by some economists to exceed $10 trillion over the next decade.Despite a $787 billion stimulus package adopted early this year and aimed in part at shoring up state and local coffers, government jobs slipped by 53,000 in September.“That’s the budget crunch hitting,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. “We’re still losing jobs at a very rapid pace. We’re still looking at an economy with a lot of weakness.”For millions of unemployed people, the latest data merely confirms something they have come to understand intimately, through the discouraging process of seeking work.“There’s nothing out there,” said Jerry Lamirande, a technology systems engineer in Amarillo, Tex., who has been without a job since April 2008.During the technology boom of the late 1990s, Mr. Lamirande, 62, worked for I.B.M., where he drew a salary of about $130,000. After a layoff seven years ago, he has earned about $70,000 a year as a technology consultant working on contract. Since the spring, he and his wife have lived on her modest salary as a public school teacher and on hardship withdrawals from his retirement account. He has searched nationwide for his next contract, willing to relocate.“I’ve got to go where the opportunities are,” he said. “The problem is, there aren’t many opportunities.”The latest jobs report lent credence to that contention. The unemployment rate continued to inch toward double digits, a level last seen in June 1983. The so-called underemployment rate (which includes people whose hours have been cut, and those working part-time for lack of full-time positions, along with the jobless) reached 17 percent, the highest level since the government began tracking it in 1994.More jobs were lost last month, at 263,000, than were lost in August, as the Labor Department revised the August decline to 201,000 jobs from the 216,000 it initially reported.Health care remained a rare bright spot, adding 19,000 jobs in September, but construction jobs slipped by 64,000, manufacturing declined by 51,000 and retail lost 39,000 jobs. Most economists assume the economy expanded at an annual pace of about three percent from July through September. But debate focuses on the vigor and staying power of the recovery.Optimists anticipate a robust bounce-back from what now stands as the longest recession since the Great Depression. But most economists expect a sustained slog through high rates of joblessness.The economic improvement in recent months largely stems from businesses cutting inventories at a slower pace. As some companies begin to rebuild stocks, the impact could wash through the economy for a few more months, adding jobs and moderating the overall decline. Then the underlying weakness of the economy will probably reassert itself, say experts. After years of borrowing against homes and cashing in stock to spend in excess of their incomes, many Americans are tapped out. Austerity and saving have replaced spending and investment in many households, constraining the economy.As many Americans transition from living on home equity loans to sustaining themselves on paychecks, weekly pay continues to effectively shrink: Over the last year, average hourly earnings for rank-and-file workers — some 80 percent of the labor force — have increased by 2.5 percent. But average weekly earnings have expanded by only 0.7 percent, less than the increase in the cost of living, because employers have slashed working hours.In September, the average workweek edged down by one-tenth of an hour, to 33 hours.For those out of work, the job market looks harsher now than at any point in the recession. The number of people who have been jobless for more than six months increased in September by 450,000, reaching 5.4 million.
“We have a truly massive crisis of long-term unemployment,” said Christine L. Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project in a statement, adding that nearly 400,000 jobless people had exhausted their unemployment benefits by the end of September. “Today’s employment report is a marching order for Congress to pass unemployment benefit extensions to all states, quickly.”The first signs of improvement are likely to be seen among temporary workers, say experts, as companies now hunkering down in the face of uncertain prospects take tentative steps to expand.But temporary help services lost 1,700 jobs in September. Companies are extremely cautious,” said Roy G. Krause, chief executive of Spherion, a recruiting and staffing company based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. All of which translates into continued apprehension in many households.“It’s terrifying,” said Stephanie Wheeler, 56, of Elizabeth, N.J., who has drained her savings to $800 in the year since she lost her job at a data-processing company, rendering her ability to pay the rent on her apartment uncertain. “I’ve been here for eight years,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m petrified of being set out on the street.”
Rescuers Dig by Hand After Indonesia Quake(international news)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/world/asia/02quake.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=international%20news%20padang%20indonesia%20workers%20rescued%20victims%20october%202&st=cse
By NORIMITSU ONISHI and PETER GELLING
Published: October 1, 2009
PADANG, Indonesia — No tractors were available to move the rubble that was their office building before Wednesday’s mighty earthquake felled this modest port city, so workers started digging feverishly with their bare hands. “My friend is still trapped inside,” said a 20-year-old named Yudi. He had been making photocopies in the building when he felt the first tremors of the 7.6-magnitude quake shortly after 5 p.m. here on Wednesday. “I ran outside as fast I could,” said Mr. Yudi, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name. “Everyone was panicking, trying to save themselves. But some of us didn’t make it out.”Throughout a chaotic Thursday in Padang, rescue workers, soldiers and frantic residents searched together into the night with precious little earth-moving equipment or electricity, combing crushed offices, hotels, hospitals and schools for survivors. The death toll rose to 1,100 people on Thursday, with many hundreds more injured, according to John Holmes, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator, speaking at a news conference at the United Nations. “I fear these numbers will rise as more information becomes available,” Mr. Holmes said. On Thursday morning, just as the city’s airport was reopening and rescue teams were setting to work, Padang was rattled by another earthquake, this one registering a magnitude of 6.6. This second quake, which hit about 150 miles south of Padang, damaged hundreds of buildings in the nearby town of Jambi, officials said. There were no reports of casualties so far from the second temblor, Mr. Holmes said.More than a day after the first quake, residents here became increasingly desperate for information about their missing family members, crowding to view lists of the dead and injured that were posted at hospitals. At what remained of the city’s largest hospital, the Dr. M. Djamil Hospital, a dozen bodies in yellow bags lay on the side of a parking lot. Nearby, a list of casualties was printed on sheets of white paper posted on a board, which people read by holding lighters and matches.Arif Safrizal, 43, who was searching for his wife’s younger sister and brother, read down the list using three full matches. Both missing siblings were studying to become teachers, one majoring in English literature, the other in sports, he said.“We haven’t heard from them, and we can’t reach them on the phone,” Mr. Safrizal, a shop owner, said. “My wife is worried.”Beds for the injured were pulled from the hospital’s wreckage and placed inside makeshift tents in the parking lot. Soon, however, all the mattresses were soaked in blood. Gloves, medicine bottles and bandages were strewn on the ground. Dozens of bodies were piled nearby, some clothed, some not, and weeping survivors searched the faces for missing relatives. Late in the afternoon, a rumor based on local earthquake folklore raced through Padang, a city of 900,000, that another large quake was coming. Meanwhile, people lined up by the thousands for food, as well as for gasoline at three of the gas stations that still functioned. Padang’s mayor, Fauzi Bahar, appealed for help, saying that the city was overwhelmed by the dead and injured, and was hobbled by a lack of electricity and clean water. The city, seen Thursday evening from an approaching airplane, was black except for car headlights and an occasional building with an electric generator.“We really need help,” the mayor said on an Indonesian radio station, The Associated Press reported. “We call on people to come to Padang to evacuate bodies and help the injured.”At the Ambacang Hotel in the city center, rescue workers were looking for about 80 people still trapped in the large building’s ruins. The cries of at least four trapped men and women could be heard from inside on Thursday morning, said Efendi, 40, a taxi driver who went to see the hotel after being awakened by the call to prayer.“They were crying, ‘Help me,’ ” Mr. Efendi said, adding that some volunteers had tried unsuccessfully to reach the voices. “They couldn’t do anything, because there was no tractor.” By evening, workers were able to find a tractor, and they used it to tear down parts of the hotel, as a crowd, five to six people deep, watched. One onlooker, Adelio, 23, said that a friend named Aji worked at the hotel as a waiter and was trapped inside.“I just came here to see if they’ll find him,” Mr. Adelio said, squatting on the ground in his flip-flops and smoking a cigarette. “I’m sure he’s all right.”Padang lies on the west-central coast of Sumatra, Indonesia’s largest island, whose western coast is stippled with dozens of volcanoes. Padang also sits alongside the Sunda Trench, part of the notorious Ring of Fire, a volatile network of volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches that partly encircles the Pacific Basin. The ring — and Sumatra in particular — is a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. President Obama, who lived in Indonesia for several years as a child with his mother and sister, said Thursday that the United States “stands ready to help in this time of need.” “Indonesia’s an extraordinary country that’s known extraordinary hardship from natural disasters,” Mr. Obama said at the White House. “I know firsthand that the Indonesian people are strong and resilient and have the spirit to overcome this enormous challenge. As they do, they need to know that America will be their friend and partner.”On Tuesday, thousands of miles from Padang, an 8.0-magnitude underwater earthquake created a tsunami that sent walls of water crashing into the islands of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga.Based on reports from the United Nations, island police officers, aid workers and news agencies, at least 157 people were killed by the tsunami: 120 on Samoa, 30 on American Samoa and 7 on Tonga. “Nature has been showing its destructive power in tragic ways,” Mr. Holmes said at the United Nations. “There is a lot of emergency relief needed in all these cases.” The quakes, coming after a string of others of increasing strength across the Indonesian archipelago in recent months, brought back vivid memories of a tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004, that ravaged Aceh, just north of Padang on Sumatra, and other areas around the Indian Ocean. That tsunami, set off by an earthquake along the same fault line where this week’s quakes originated, killed more than 230,000 people across the Indian Ocean region.
Kanye West and Lady Gaga's much-hyped 'Fame Kills' tour canceled; reports(Entertainment news)By Mike O'Brien
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, October 1st 2009, 7:40 PM
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/10/01/2009-10-01_kanye_west_and_lady_gagas_fame_kills_tour_canceled.html#ixzz0ZnIBTzD3
Kanye West's much-hyped "Fame Kills" tour with Lady Gaga has been canceled -- with no reason as yet given.Despite the fact that a rep from Live Nation said Wednesdsay that the concerts were still a go ... Nation announced Thursday they were pulling the plug on the tour, TMZ reports.No explanation has been put forward -- but the VMA backlash and Kanye's upcoming criminal court date could have been factors. The tour was scheduled to kick off in Arizona in November, with a gig scheduled at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. on Dec. 22. The intensive itinerary was set to end in Dallas on January 24.Given West’s admittedly much-needed break from work, the original announcement of the tour surprised many.After stunning theVideo Music Awards by storming the stage during Taylor Swift’s Best Female Video acceptance speech, he revealed on the Jay Leno Show premiere that he hadn’t really taken time to mourn the loss of his mother, Donda, who died in November 2007. “I’ve never taken the time off to really -- you know, just music after music and tour after tour,” he said on the show. Gaga, of course, also had a big night at the VMAs: she wowed the crowd with her trademark over the top outfits and a wild performance of “Paparazzi,” and took home a Best New Artist award.
Weather
www.weatherchannel.com
News 2
Good Morning, it’s Friday, October 9, 2009 at_____o’ clock and you’re listening to 90.3 WKNJ-FM Union, New Jersey, and I’m______with the news.
In Local News… New Jersey’s eighth graders showed slight improvement since 2007 on a standardized math test, while the scores of the state’s fourth graders essentially stayed flat, according to results announced yesterday. At both grade levels, New Jersey’s students are among the tops in the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, dubbed "The Nation’s Report Card.""While the scores for eighth graders in math continue to be encouraging, the failure of our fourth graders to make progress nationally is a cause for concern," David Driscoll, chair of the National Assessment Governing Board, said in a statement. "We need to re-examine our efforts to improve student achievement in math."New Jersey eighth graders ranked second behind their Massachusetts peers and scored about the same as students from Minnesota, North Carolina and Vermont on the math test. In New Jersey, 2,900 fourth graders at 145 schools and 2,800 eighth graders at 122 chool participated in the testing. In National News….A man using a metal detector in a rural English field has uncovered the largest Anglo-Saxon gold hoard ever found -- an "unprecedented" treasure that sheds new light on history, archaeologists said Thursday.he hoard includes 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of gold and 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) of silver. That is more than three times the amount of gold found at Sutton Hoo, one of Britain's most important Anglo-Saxon sites, said the local council in Staffordshire where the latest haul was found.It's an "incredible collection of material -- absolutely unprecedented," said Kevin Leahy, Because the find is so large and important, experts haven't been able to say yet how much it is worth. They hope to make a valuation within 13 months, Staffordshire Council said.nce the items have been valued, Staffordshire Council said it hopes a selection of the pieces can go on temporary display at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent. Once the hoard is sold, the market value of the find will go to Herbert and the owner of the field where the hoard was discovered. The pair have agreed to split the amount.
In International News… Hiroshima to 9/11, a girl's origami lives onBy Wayne Drash, CNNOctober 9th 2009 4:08 a.m. ESTCNN) -- When Sadako Sasaki lay in her hospital bed sick with leukemia, she showed her father origami cranes from local school girls. "When you fold 1,000 paper cranes, you will get well," her dad responded. Sadako was just 12. Hoping to get better, she began folding tiny origami cranes, using paper from get-well gifts and wrappers from medicine. She had survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Yet 10 years later, her fragile body suffered the effects of exposure to radiation. Sadako's death inspired a memorial in Japan's Hiroshima Peace Park, complete with a statue of her holding a golden crane. Now, one of her last origami cranes resides in a new memorial thousands of miles away, in the country that dropped the bomb.It was given to the Tribute WTC Visitor Center in New York by her aging brother. "I thought if Sadako's crane is placed at Ground Zero, it will be very meaningful," says Masahiro Sasaki" The delicate red crane, smaller than a fingernail, is on display at the center. Hanging near it are origami cranes that were placed on the fence around Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Another 10,000 cranes from families and colleagues of Japanese victims of 9/11 surround Sadako's.
In Entertainment News… TLC Sues Jon Gosselin!October 9, 2009Jon Gosselin just can't catch a break! The reality dad is being sued by TLC, the network that airs Jon & Kate Plus 8, for breach of contract. In a lawsuit filed Friday in Maryland, TLC alleges that Jon hasn't met the obligations of his contract as an exclusive employee, has appeared on other programs for pay and made unauthorized disclosures about the show. In the midst of Jon's bitter divorce battle with estranged wife Kate, Jon stopped production on the family's reality show. Earlier this week in an interview with Popeater, Jon said, "TLC hates me, so they have it out against me."
Today’s Weather…
Today in Union New Jersey, the forecast looks mostly cloudy with winds at 4 miles per hour and 40% humidity. Temperatures range from a high 60 degrees to a low 60 degrees Fahrenheit. That is it for your News. You are Listening to 90.3 WKNJ-FM, Union New Jersey. I am ______________reporting for WKNJ 90.3 FM Union New Jersey.The news writer for this broadcast is Shalayma (sha-lie-ma)Cruz. And we will be right back after this.
In Local News… New Jersey’s eighth graders showed slight improvement since 2007 on a standardized math test, while the scores of the state’s fourth graders essentially stayed flat, according to results announced yesterday. At both grade levels, New Jersey’s students are among the tops in the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, dubbed "The Nation’s Report Card.""While the scores for eighth graders in math continue to be encouraging, the failure of our fourth graders to make progress nationally is a cause for concern," David Driscoll, chair of the National Assessment Governing Board, said in a statement. "We need to re-examine our efforts to improve student achievement in math."New Jersey eighth graders ranked second behind their Massachusetts peers and scored about the same as students from Minnesota, North Carolina and Vermont on the math test. In New Jersey, 2,900 fourth graders at 145 schools and 2,800 eighth graders at 122 chool participated in the testing. In National News….A man using a metal detector in a rural English field has uncovered the largest Anglo-Saxon gold hoard ever found -- an "unprecedented" treasure that sheds new light on history, archaeologists said Thursday.he hoard includes 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of gold and 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) of silver. That is more than three times the amount of gold found at Sutton Hoo, one of Britain's most important Anglo-Saxon sites, said the local council in Staffordshire where the latest haul was found.It's an "incredible collection of material -- absolutely unprecedented," said Kevin Leahy, Because the find is so large and important, experts haven't been able to say yet how much it is worth. They hope to make a valuation within 13 months, Staffordshire Council said.nce the items have been valued, Staffordshire Council said it hopes a selection of the pieces can go on temporary display at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent. Once the hoard is sold, the market value of the find will go to Herbert and the owner of the field where the hoard was discovered. The pair have agreed to split the amount.
In International News… Hiroshima to 9/11, a girl's origami lives onBy Wayne Drash, CNNOctober 9th 2009 4:08 a.m. ESTCNN) -- When Sadako Sasaki lay in her hospital bed sick with leukemia, she showed her father origami cranes from local school girls. "When you fold 1,000 paper cranes, you will get well," her dad responded. Sadako was just 12. Hoping to get better, she began folding tiny origami cranes, using paper from get-well gifts and wrappers from medicine. She had survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Yet 10 years later, her fragile body suffered the effects of exposure to radiation. Sadako's death inspired a memorial in Japan's Hiroshima Peace Park, complete with a statue of her holding a golden crane. Now, one of her last origami cranes resides in a new memorial thousands of miles away, in the country that dropped the bomb.It was given to the Tribute WTC Visitor Center in New York by her aging brother. "I thought if Sadako's crane is placed at Ground Zero, it will be very meaningful," says Masahiro Sasaki" The delicate red crane, smaller than a fingernail, is on display at the center. Hanging near it are origami cranes that were placed on the fence around Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Another 10,000 cranes from families and colleagues of Japanese victims of 9/11 surround Sadako's.
In Entertainment News… TLC Sues Jon Gosselin!October 9, 2009Jon Gosselin just can't catch a break! The reality dad is being sued by TLC, the network that airs Jon & Kate Plus 8, for breach of contract. In a lawsuit filed Friday in Maryland, TLC alleges that Jon hasn't met the obligations of his contract as an exclusive employee, has appeared on other programs for pay and made unauthorized disclosures about the show. In the midst of Jon's bitter divorce battle with estranged wife Kate, Jon stopped production on the family's reality show. Earlier this week in an interview with Popeater, Jon said, "TLC hates me, so they have it out against me."
Today’s Weather…
Today in Union New Jersey, the forecast looks mostly cloudy with winds at 4 miles per hour and 40% humidity. Temperatures range from a high 60 degrees to a low 60 degrees Fahrenheit. That is it for your News. You are Listening to 90.3 WKNJ-FM, Union New Jersey. I am ______________reporting for WKNJ 90.3 FM Union New Jersey.The news writer for this broadcast is Shalayma (sha-lie-ma)Cruz. And we will be right back after this.
Original Stories
Local...N.J. math scores for 8th graders up, 4th graders unchangedBy Kristen Alloway/The Star-LedgerOctober 4, 2009, 8:05PM
Reflecting results from across the U.S., New Jersey’s eighth graders showed slight improvement since 2007 on a standardized math test, while the scores of the state’s fourth graders essentially stayed flat, according to results announced yesterday.
At both grade levels, New Jersey’s students are among the tops in the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, dubbed "The Nation’s Report Card.""While the scores for eighth graders in math continue to be encouraging, the failure of our fourth graders to make progress nationally is a cause for concern," David Driscoll, chair of the National Assessment Governing Board, said in a statement. "We need to re-examine our efforts to improve student achievement in math."New Jersey eighth graders ranked second behind their Massachusetts peers and scored about the same as students from Minnesota, North Carolina and Vermont on the math test.
View the N.J. Math Report
Among fourth graders, Massachusetts and New Hampshire were at the top of the nation. Coming in behind them were New Jersey fourth graders, who scored about the same as kids in Minnesota and Vermont, among others.
On the NAEP tests, 20 percent of New Jersey eighth graders were considered below proficient, 36 percent had "basic" proficiency, 30 percent were proficient and 14 percent were considered advanced.
For fourth graders this year, 12 percent were below proficiency, 39 percent had "basic" proficiency, 40 percent were proficient and 9 percent were advanced, according to NAEP.
New Jersey Education Commissioner Lucille Davy applauded the results, saying the tests show the eighth graders are "among the best in the country" and "it’s clear that New Jersey students are responding to our school districts’ focus on math and science."
Richard De Lisi, Dean of the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, said the flat scores for New Jersey fourth-graders were "a little bit surprising," but the state’s eighth-graders showed "real progress."
He said the state is one of 15 that showed "significant gains" at the eighth-grade level.
"Grade eight in New Jersey made improvement, that’s important," he said. De Lisi said an emphasis on professional development for teachers of children in grades 4,5,and 6, to better prepare students for entering high school, may have helped fuel the increase.
Some others in education found the state’s results less striking.
Jill Gladstone, a member of the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education and founder of a group that is urging the state to change its math curriculum standards, said the scores are another reason why New Jersey should model itself on top-ranking Massachusetts.
"How can our state leaders applaud our performance on the NAEP when 2009 fourth graders actually did worse than they did in 2007?" Gladstone wrote in an email.
Andy Smarick, a visiting fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based education reform research organization, said the scores "weren’t a home run for anybody."
"This does suggest we need to redouble our effort to make sure all kids reach proficiency," he said. "We’ve seen big progress since 10, 15, 20 years ago, but just looking at short term — I wouldn’t call it alarming, but it was definitely noticeable."
Smarick said the federal No Child Left Behind act, the federal law that brought high-stakes testing and accountability in schools, requires states to achieve 100 percent proficiency on standardized tests by 2014, but each state is accountable for getting students up to proficiency on its own set of tests.
The 2009 NAEP math test was administered earlier this year by the National Center for Education Statistics to a sample of public school students in the 50 states, District of Columbia and Department of Defense schools.
In New Jersey, 2,900 fourth graders at 145 schools and 2,800 eighth graders at 122 chool participated in the testing.
National...
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A man using a metal detector in a rural English field has uncovered the largest Anglo-Saxon gold hoard ever found -- an "unprecedented" treasure that sheds new light on history, archaeologists said Thursday.he hoard includes 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of gold and 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) of silver. That is more than three times the amount of gold found at Sutton Hoo, one of Britain's most important Anglo-Saxon sites, said the local council in Staffordshire where the latest haul was found.It's an "incredible collection of material -- absolutely unprecedented," said Kevin Leahy, an archaeologist with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, a voluntary group that records finds made by members of the public. "We've moved into new ground with this material."
Because the find is so large and important, experts haven't been able to say yet how much it is worth. They hope to make a valuation within 13 months, Staffordshire Council said.
The hoard was discovered in July by Englishman Terry Herbert, who was using a metal detector he bought more than a decade ago in a jumble sale for only a few pounds (dollars). He belongs to a local metal detecting club in Staffordshire and was just out enjoying his hobby when he made the find.
There was so much gold at the site that Herbert said he was soon seeing it in his sleep.
"Imagine you're at home and somebody just keeps putting money through your letterbox. That's what it was like," Herbert told Britain's Press Association. "As soon as I closed my eyes I saw gold patterns. I didn't think it was ever going to end."
Herbert found 500 items before he called in experts, who then found a further 800 articles in the soil. Officials aren't saying exactly where the gold was found, other than to say it was in Staffordshire, in north-central England.
"Pieces were just literally sat at the top of the soil, at the grass," said Ian Wykes, of the county council. He said the hoard had been unearthed by recent plowing.
Most of the pieces appear to date from the 7th century, though experts can't agree on when the hoard first entered the ground, Staffordshire Council said.
The pieces are almost all war gear, Leahy said. There are very few dress fittings and no feminine dress fittings; there are only two gold buckles, and they were probably used for harness armor, he said.
Sword hilt fittings and pieces of helmets, all elaborately decorated, are among the more remarkable finds.
"The quantity of gold is amazing but, more importantly, the craftsmanship is consummate," Leahy said. "This was the very best that the Anglo-Saxon metalworkers could do, and they were very good. Tiny garnets were cut to shape and set in a mass of cells to give a rich, glowing effect; it is stunning."
The items belonged to the elite -- aristocracy or royalty, he said, though it's not clear who the original or final owners were, why they buried it, or when.
"It looks like a collection of trophies, but it is impossible to say if the hoard was the spoils from a single battle or a long and highly successful military career," he said.
More work will help determine how the hoard came to be buried in the field, Leahy said.
Many of the objects are inlaid with garnets, which Leahy called "stunning" and "as good as it gets." The filigree on the items is "incredible," he said.
Some are decorated in an Anglo-Saxon style consisting of strange animals intertwined with each other. That decoration appears on what is believed to be the cheek-piece of a helmet, decorated with a frieze of running, interlaced animals.
A strip of gold bearing a Biblical inscription in Latin is one of the most significant and controversial finds, Staffordshire Council said. One expert believes the lettering dates from the 7th or early 8th centuries, but another is sure it dates from the 8th or 9th centuries.
The inscription, misspelled in places, is probably from the Book of Numbers and reads: "Surge domine et dissipentur inimici tui et fugiant qui oderunt te a facie tua," or "Rise up, o Lord, and may thy enemies be dispersed, and let them that hate thee, flee from before thy face."
Regardless of the exact date, the hoard is certainly from a period of great turmoil, when kingdoms with tribal loyalties battled each other in a state of perpetual warfare, experts say.
The land was also split along religious lines. Christianity was the principal religion, having gained ground at the expense of local pagan forms of worship, experts said.
At least two crosses are among the items in the hoard. The largest is intact, though it has been folded, possibly to make it fit into a small space prior to burial, Staffordshire Council said.
The folding may mean it was buried by pagans who had little respect for the Christian symbol, but it may have also been done by Christians who had taken it from someone else's shrine, experts said.
The hoard will likely help rewrite history, experts said.
"Earlier finds will be looked at in the context of what we find amongst this mass of material," Leahy said.
Said Leslie Webster, the former keeper of the Department of Prehistory and Europe at the British Museum, "This is going to alter our perceptions of Anglo-Saxon England."
Excavation of the field where the hoard was found is now complete, and all items that were found are being held at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. The most important objects will go on exhibit from Friday until October 13, after which they will go to the British Museum in London for valuation.
Once the items have been valued, Staffordshire Council said it hopes a selection of the pieces can go on temporary display at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent.
Once the hoard is sold, the market value of the find will go to Herbert and the owner of the field where the hoard was discovered. The pair have agreed to split the amount.
International...
From Hiroshima to 9/11, a girl's origami lives onBy Wayne Drash, CNNOctober 9th 2009 4:08 a.m. ESTCNN) --
When Sadako Sasaki lay in her hospital bed sick with leukemia, she showed her father origami cranes from local school girls. "When you fold 1,000 paper cranes, you will get well," her dad responded.
Sadako was just 12. Hoping to get better, she began folding tiny origami cranes, using paper from get-well gifts and wrappers from medicine. She had survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Yet 10 years later, her fragile body suffered the effects of exposure to radiation.
"Please treasure the life that is given to you," Sadako said before her death on October 25, 1955. "It is my belief that my small paper crane will enable you to understand other people's feelings, as if they are your own."
Sadako's death inspired a memorial in Japan's Hiroshima Peace Park, complete with a statue of her holding a golden crane. Now, one of her last origami cranes resides in a new memorial thousands of miles away, in the country that dropped the bomb.
It was given to the Tribute WTC Visitor Center in New York by her aging brother.
"I thought if Sadako's crane is placed at Ground Zero, it will be very meaningful," says Masahiro Sasaki, in an education program produced by the tribute center and the Japan Society. "Commonly, in Japan, the crane is regarded as a symbol of peace. But for us, in the Sasaki family, it is the embodiment of Sadako's life, and it is filled with her wish and hope."
"I hope by talking about that small wish for peace, the small ripple will become bigger and bigger."
The delicate red crane, smaller than a fingernail, is on display at the center. Hanging near it are origami cranes that were placed on the fence around Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Another 10,000 cranes from families and colleagues of Japanese victims of 9/11 surround Sadako's.
Every time I visit the World Trade Center site, I wonder where my son was and where he suffered.
--Tsugio Ito, Hiroshima survivorRELATED TOPICS"This little girl believed that the world could be made better if we all worked together," says Lee Ielpi, the co-founder of the center, whose grown son, Jonathan, was killed on September 11.
"It sends that beautiful message: Even in death, we're going to carry on that little girl's wish. ... I'm so tickled we can carry on her wish."
Meriam Lobel, the center's curator, says staffers were speechless when Masahiro Sasaki presented the gift. "He lifted it out with this little, tiny tweezer and there was this beautiful red glistening crane," Lobel says. "It was like a gem, like a little red ruby."
For Tsugio Ito, the symbolism of the crane holds special meaning.
"When the atomic bomb was dropped, I was exercising in the schoolyard at the elementary school. My brother was a student at the high school," he says in the center's educational program.
He survived. His brother was killed in the bombing.
Fast forward six decades. Ito's son was working for Fuji Bank in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11. Kazushige Ito, 35, was one of 24 Japanese killed on 9/11.
"After September 11, we waited for him to call. One month passed, then two months, then I came to accept that perhaps this means he is gone," he told the center. "Every time I visit the World Trade Center site, I wonder where my son was and where he suffered."
What happened that day only reinforces "how important it is to have peace."
"We must have peace," Ito says. "I feel that stronger now than ever before."
Tom Johnson has been active on the board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation ever since 9/11 when terrorists killed 2,976 people. His 26-year-old son, Scott, was among the victims.
When he visits the center, he cherishes two items in particular: his son's death certificate, which lists "homicide" as his cause of death, and Sadako's origami crane.
"You have to derive some kind of message of meaning that will make the world heal," he says.
Sadako's brother says the spirit of his sister lives on in the crane, "because she had a heart of kindness." He had five of her original cranes. He hopes to give the others away to museums on other continents.
"As a victim of war or a victim of terrorism, we share the same grief, and share the sense of duty to tell the stories to our children and our children's children," he says.
"Although the incidents were different, I hope we can help each other work for world peace from now on."
Entertainment ...
TLC Sues Jon Gosselin!October 9, 2009Jon Gosselin just can't catch a break! The reality dad is being sued by TLC, the network that airs Jon & Kate Plus 8, for breach of contract.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in Maryland, TLC alleges that Jon hasn't met the obligations of his contract as an exclusive employee, has appeared on other programs for pay and made unauthorized disclosures about the show.
In the midst of Jon's bitter divorce battle with estranged wife Kate, Jon stopped production on the family's reality show.
Earlier this week in an interview with Popeater, Jon said, "TLC hates me, so they have it out against me."
Sports...
Jackets, Trojans must avoid letdownTeams like Georgia Tech and Wisconsin could face much tougher games on Saturday than most expect.By Todd McShay
Scouts, Inc.
While college football certainly hasn't reached the same degree of parity as the NFL, winning on the road is becoming ever more difficult. The "little guys" aren't so little anymore and any letdown can literally wreck an entire season. Some teams are walking into particularly dangerous minefields this week.
UPSET SPECIALS
Georgia Tech at North Carolina
How many times have we seen teams suffer hangovers following emotionally draining comeback wins? Add the fact that Georgia Tech has a big date at home against Miami next week and you have all the makings of a letdown.The Yellow Jackets are talented and should continue to improve as the season progresses. But they're not good enough to simply throw their helmets on the field and win – even against North Carolina.
Weatherchannel.com
Reflecting results from across the U.S., New Jersey’s eighth graders showed slight improvement since 2007 on a standardized math test, while the scores of the state’s fourth graders essentially stayed flat, according to results announced yesterday.
At both grade levels, New Jersey’s students are among the tops in the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, dubbed "The Nation’s Report Card.""While the scores for eighth graders in math continue to be encouraging, the failure of our fourth graders to make progress nationally is a cause for concern," David Driscoll, chair of the National Assessment Governing Board, said in a statement. "We need to re-examine our efforts to improve student achievement in math."New Jersey eighth graders ranked second behind their Massachusetts peers and scored about the same as students from Minnesota, North Carolina and Vermont on the math test.
View the N.J. Math Report
Among fourth graders, Massachusetts and New Hampshire were at the top of the nation. Coming in behind them were New Jersey fourth graders, who scored about the same as kids in Minnesota and Vermont, among others.
On the NAEP tests, 20 percent of New Jersey eighth graders were considered below proficient, 36 percent had "basic" proficiency, 30 percent were proficient and 14 percent were considered advanced.
For fourth graders this year, 12 percent were below proficiency, 39 percent had "basic" proficiency, 40 percent were proficient and 9 percent were advanced, according to NAEP.
New Jersey Education Commissioner Lucille Davy applauded the results, saying the tests show the eighth graders are "among the best in the country" and "it’s clear that New Jersey students are responding to our school districts’ focus on math and science."
Richard De Lisi, Dean of the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, said the flat scores for New Jersey fourth-graders were "a little bit surprising," but the state’s eighth-graders showed "real progress."
He said the state is one of 15 that showed "significant gains" at the eighth-grade level.
"Grade eight in New Jersey made improvement, that’s important," he said. De Lisi said an emphasis on professional development for teachers of children in grades 4,5,and 6, to better prepare students for entering high school, may have helped fuel the increase.
Some others in education found the state’s results less striking.
Jill Gladstone, a member of the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education and founder of a group that is urging the state to change its math curriculum standards, said the scores are another reason why New Jersey should model itself on top-ranking Massachusetts.
"How can our state leaders applaud our performance on the NAEP when 2009 fourth graders actually did worse than they did in 2007?" Gladstone wrote in an email.
Andy Smarick, a visiting fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based education reform research organization, said the scores "weren’t a home run for anybody."
"This does suggest we need to redouble our effort to make sure all kids reach proficiency," he said. "We’ve seen big progress since 10, 15, 20 years ago, but just looking at short term — I wouldn’t call it alarming, but it was definitely noticeable."
Smarick said the federal No Child Left Behind act, the federal law that brought high-stakes testing and accountability in schools, requires states to achieve 100 percent proficiency on standardized tests by 2014, but each state is accountable for getting students up to proficiency on its own set of tests.
The 2009 NAEP math test was administered earlier this year by the National Center for Education Statistics to a sample of public school students in the 50 states, District of Columbia and Department of Defense schools.
In New Jersey, 2,900 fourth graders at 145 schools and 2,800 eighth graders at 122 chool participated in the testing.
National...
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A man using a metal detector in a rural English field has uncovered the largest Anglo-Saxon gold hoard ever found -- an "unprecedented" treasure that sheds new light on history, archaeologists said Thursday.he hoard includes 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of gold and 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) of silver. That is more than three times the amount of gold found at Sutton Hoo, one of Britain's most important Anglo-Saxon sites, said the local council in Staffordshire where the latest haul was found.It's an "incredible collection of material -- absolutely unprecedented," said Kevin Leahy, an archaeologist with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, a voluntary group that records finds made by members of the public. "We've moved into new ground with this material."
Because the find is so large and important, experts haven't been able to say yet how much it is worth. They hope to make a valuation within 13 months, Staffordshire Council said.
The hoard was discovered in July by Englishman Terry Herbert, who was using a metal detector he bought more than a decade ago in a jumble sale for only a few pounds (dollars). He belongs to a local metal detecting club in Staffordshire and was just out enjoying his hobby when he made the find.
There was so much gold at the site that Herbert said he was soon seeing it in his sleep.
"Imagine you're at home and somebody just keeps putting money through your letterbox. That's what it was like," Herbert told Britain's Press Association. "As soon as I closed my eyes I saw gold patterns. I didn't think it was ever going to end."
Herbert found 500 items before he called in experts, who then found a further 800 articles in the soil. Officials aren't saying exactly where the gold was found, other than to say it was in Staffordshire, in north-central England.
"Pieces were just literally sat at the top of the soil, at the grass," said Ian Wykes, of the county council. He said the hoard had been unearthed by recent plowing.
Most of the pieces appear to date from the 7th century, though experts can't agree on when the hoard first entered the ground, Staffordshire Council said.
The pieces are almost all war gear, Leahy said. There are very few dress fittings and no feminine dress fittings; there are only two gold buckles, and they were probably used for harness armor, he said.
Sword hilt fittings and pieces of helmets, all elaborately decorated, are among the more remarkable finds.
"The quantity of gold is amazing but, more importantly, the craftsmanship is consummate," Leahy said. "This was the very best that the Anglo-Saxon metalworkers could do, and they were very good. Tiny garnets were cut to shape and set in a mass of cells to give a rich, glowing effect; it is stunning."
The items belonged to the elite -- aristocracy or royalty, he said, though it's not clear who the original or final owners were, why they buried it, or when.
"It looks like a collection of trophies, but it is impossible to say if the hoard was the spoils from a single battle or a long and highly successful military career," he said.
More work will help determine how the hoard came to be buried in the field, Leahy said.
Many of the objects are inlaid with garnets, which Leahy called "stunning" and "as good as it gets." The filigree on the items is "incredible," he said.
Some are decorated in an Anglo-Saxon style consisting of strange animals intertwined with each other. That decoration appears on what is believed to be the cheek-piece of a helmet, decorated with a frieze of running, interlaced animals.
A strip of gold bearing a Biblical inscription in Latin is one of the most significant and controversial finds, Staffordshire Council said. One expert believes the lettering dates from the 7th or early 8th centuries, but another is sure it dates from the 8th or 9th centuries.
The inscription, misspelled in places, is probably from the Book of Numbers and reads: "Surge domine et dissipentur inimici tui et fugiant qui oderunt te a facie tua," or "Rise up, o Lord, and may thy enemies be dispersed, and let them that hate thee, flee from before thy face."
Regardless of the exact date, the hoard is certainly from a period of great turmoil, when kingdoms with tribal loyalties battled each other in a state of perpetual warfare, experts say.
The land was also split along religious lines. Christianity was the principal religion, having gained ground at the expense of local pagan forms of worship, experts said.
At least two crosses are among the items in the hoard. The largest is intact, though it has been folded, possibly to make it fit into a small space prior to burial, Staffordshire Council said.
The folding may mean it was buried by pagans who had little respect for the Christian symbol, but it may have also been done by Christians who had taken it from someone else's shrine, experts said.
The hoard will likely help rewrite history, experts said.
"Earlier finds will be looked at in the context of what we find amongst this mass of material," Leahy said.
Said Leslie Webster, the former keeper of the Department of Prehistory and Europe at the British Museum, "This is going to alter our perceptions of Anglo-Saxon England."
Excavation of the field where the hoard was found is now complete, and all items that were found are being held at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. The most important objects will go on exhibit from Friday until October 13, after which they will go to the British Museum in London for valuation.
Once the items have been valued, Staffordshire Council said it hopes a selection of the pieces can go on temporary display at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent.
Once the hoard is sold, the market value of the find will go to Herbert and the owner of the field where the hoard was discovered. The pair have agreed to split the amount.
International...
From Hiroshima to 9/11, a girl's origami lives onBy Wayne Drash, CNNOctober 9th 2009 4:08 a.m. ESTCNN) --
When Sadako Sasaki lay in her hospital bed sick with leukemia, she showed her father origami cranes from local school girls. "When you fold 1,000 paper cranes, you will get well," her dad responded.
Sadako was just 12. Hoping to get better, she began folding tiny origami cranes, using paper from get-well gifts and wrappers from medicine. She had survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Yet 10 years later, her fragile body suffered the effects of exposure to radiation.
"Please treasure the life that is given to you," Sadako said before her death on October 25, 1955. "It is my belief that my small paper crane will enable you to understand other people's feelings, as if they are your own."
Sadako's death inspired a memorial in Japan's Hiroshima Peace Park, complete with a statue of her holding a golden crane. Now, one of her last origami cranes resides in a new memorial thousands of miles away, in the country that dropped the bomb.
It was given to the Tribute WTC Visitor Center in New York by her aging brother.
"I thought if Sadako's crane is placed at Ground Zero, it will be very meaningful," says Masahiro Sasaki, in an education program produced by the tribute center and the Japan Society. "Commonly, in Japan, the crane is regarded as a symbol of peace. But for us, in the Sasaki family, it is the embodiment of Sadako's life, and it is filled with her wish and hope."
"I hope by talking about that small wish for peace, the small ripple will become bigger and bigger."
The delicate red crane, smaller than a fingernail, is on display at the center. Hanging near it are origami cranes that were placed on the fence around Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Another 10,000 cranes from families and colleagues of Japanese victims of 9/11 surround Sadako's.
Every time I visit the World Trade Center site, I wonder where my son was and where he suffered.
--Tsugio Ito, Hiroshima survivorRELATED TOPICS"This little girl believed that the world could be made better if we all worked together," says Lee Ielpi, the co-founder of the center, whose grown son, Jonathan, was killed on September 11.
"It sends that beautiful message: Even in death, we're going to carry on that little girl's wish. ... I'm so tickled we can carry on her wish."
Meriam Lobel, the center's curator, says staffers were speechless when Masahiro Sasaki presented the gift. "He lifted it out with this little, tiny tweezer and there was this beautiful red glistening crane," Lobel says. "It was like a gem, like a little red ruby."
For Tsugio Ito, the symbolism of the crane holds special meaning.
"When the atomic bomb was dropped, I was exercising in the schoolyard at the elementary school. My brother was a student at the high school," he says in the center's educational program.
He survived. His brother was killed in the bombing.
Fast forward six decades. Ito's son was working for Fuji Bank in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11. Kazushige Ito, 35, was one of 24 Japanese killed on 9/11.
"After September 11, we waited for him to call. One month passed, then two months, then I came to accept that perhaps this means he is gone," he told the center. "Every time I visit the World Trade Center site, I wonder where my son was and where he suffered."
What happened that day only reinforces "how important it is to have peace."
"We must have peace," Ito says. "I feel that stronger now than ever before."
Tom Johnson has been active on the board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation ever since 9/11 when terrorists killed 2,976 people. His 26-year-old son, Scott, was among the victims.
When he visits the center, he cherishes two items in particular: his son's death certificate, which lists "homicide" as his cause of death, and Sadako's origami crane.
"You have to derive some kind of message of meaning that will make the world heal," he says.
Sadako's brother says the spirit of his sister lives on in the crane, "because she had a heart of kindness." He had five of her original cranes. He hopes to give the others away to museums on other continents.
"As a victim of war or a victim of terrorism, we share the same grief, and share the sense of duty to tell the stories to our children and our children's children," he says.
"Although the incidents were different, I hope we can help each other work for world peace from now on."
Entertainment ...
TLC Sues Jon Gosselin!October 9, 2009Jon Gosselin just can't catch a break! The reality dad is being sued by TLC, the network that airs Jon & Kate Plus 8, for breach of contract.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in Maryland, TLC alleges that Jon hasn't met the obligations of his contract as an exclusive employee, has appeared on other programs for pay and made unauthorized disclosures about the show.
In the midst of Jon's bitter divorce battle with estranged wife Kate, Jon stopped production on the family's reality show.
Earlier this week in an interview with Popeater, Jon said, "TLC hates me, so they have it out against me."
Sports...
Jackets, Trojans must avoid letdownTeams like Georgia Tech and Wisconsin could face much tougher games on Saturday than most expect.By Todd McShay
Scouts, Inc.
While college football certainly hasn't reached the same degree of parity as the NFL, winning on the road is becoming ever more difficult. The "little guys" aren't so little anymore and any letdown can literally wreck an entire season. Some teams are walking into particularly dangerous minefields this week.
UPSET SPECIALS
Georgia Tech at North Carolina
How many times have we seen teams suffer hangovers following emotionally draining comeback wins? Add the fact that Georgia Tech has a big date at home against Miami next week and you have all the makings of a letdown.The Yellow Jackets are talented and should continue to improve as the season progresses. But they're not good enough to simply throw their helmets on the field and win – even against North Carolina.
Weatherchannel.com
News 3
Good Morning, it’s Friday, November 9th, 2009 at_____o’ clock and you’re listening to 90.3 WKNJ-FM Union, New Jersey, and I’m______with the news.
In Local News…
There are a number of interesting dining events being celebrated at Garden State restaurants in the coming weeks. This week, for example, November 3rd - November 9th, the Gladstone Tavern is celebrating the bounty of the fall season with its "Pumpkin Menu."Here's a look at the pumpkin-inspired delicacies being offered... From the Bar:
Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale - $6.00 Jack-O-Lanterni, Pumpkin Vodka, Amaretto, Pumpkin Spice, Cinnamon Stick -- $9.00 Starters:
Pumpkin Bisque, Bacon, Cinnamon-Fried Shallots -- $6.00 Pumpkin Ravioli, Wild Mushrooms, Sage, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds -- $9.00 Main Dishes:
Smoked Paprika-Rubbed Swordfish, Chili-Lime Butter, Pumpkin Risotto, Braised Greens -- $24.00 Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Pumpkin Spice Demi-Glace, Oatmeal Baked Apple, Brussels Sprouts -- $23.00 Desserts:
Pumpkin Cupcake, Cream Cheese Frosting, Toasted Pecans -- $7.00 Pumpkin Pie Tartlette, Maple Whipped Cream, Candied Cranberry -- $6.00 For more information, or to make reservations, please call(908) 234-9055. Bon Appetit!
In National News….
Use of capital punishment by states continues its steady decline, with fewer death sentences handed down in 2009 than any year since the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976,the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) show 11 states are now considering abolishing executions, with many legislators citing high costs associated with incarcerating and handling often decades-long appeals by death row inmates. This entire decade has been marked by a declining use of the death penalty." Death sentences have dropped 63 percent since 2000, when there were 235 issued.Fifty-two inmates were executed this year in 11 states. The last was Matthew Wrinkles on December 11 in Indiana. He was convicted of murdering his wife and two family members 15 years ago.Late Wednesday, Georgia issued a stay of execution for Carlton Gary. Known as the "Columbus Strangler," he was convicted of murdering three women with their own stockings and was suspected of four other similar killings. He has been given more time to file further appeals.As in previous years, Texas in 2009 led the states in executions, with 24 -- four times as many as the next-highest, Alabama. Executions had been delayed in Ohio this fall, after the botched execution attempt of Romell Broom, which raised serious questions about the state's lethal injection procedures.Executions are on hold in California, Maryland, Kentucky and the federal system, pending challenges to lethal injection procedures. Earlier in the year, Nebraska became the last death penalty state to formally switch over to lethal injection as the main form of capital punishment.The legislature had abandoned electrocution, which had been the sole method, but final protocols have yet to be approved for future executions.Nine men who had been sentenced to death were exonerated and freed in 2009.
In International News…
One of the five manufacturers supplying H1N1 vaccine to the United States is recalling hundreds of thousands of flu shots because they aren't as potent as they should be.The French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur is voluntarily recalling about 800,000 doses of vaccine meant for children between the ages of 6 months and 35 months. The company and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized that the recall was not prompted by safety concerns, and that even though the vaccine isn't quite as potent as it's supposed to be, children who received it don't have to be immunized again against H1N1. The CDC emphasized that there is no danger for any child who received this type of vaccine. When asked what parents should do, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said, "absolutely nothing." He said if children receive this vaccine, they will be fine.
In sports…
The Nets dropped their 16th consecutive game to open the season, moving one defeat from matching the worst start in N.B.A. history after a 109-96 loss to the host Sacramento Kings on Friday night.The rookie Tyreke Evans had 21 points and 8 rebounds, and Beno Udrih also scored 21 for Sacramento, which never trailed on its way to winning consecutive games after a four-game losing streak. After losing to the Kings, who had the worst record in the N.B.A. a season ago, the Nets need to beat the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at Staples Center to avoid matching the record for futility held by the expansion Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Clipper. The potential record-setter would come at home against Dallas on Wednesday.
In Entertainment News…
Brad & Angelina Gave $6 Million To Charity Last Year It's almost Thanksgiving and we're pretty sure a lot of people around the world are thankful for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. According to the couple's 2008 tax return, Brangelina sent over $6 million to charities last year. That's double what they gave in 2007. So how about 2009? Only time will tell, but the humanitarians have certainly continued their good deeds this year. In June alone, the couple donated $1 million to Brad's hometown hospital in Springfield, Mo. and another million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to provide aid to Pakistan. In addition, Angelina is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and Brad is helping rebuild New Orlean's Lower 9th District with his Make it Right Foundation.
Today’s Weather…
Today in Union New Jersey, the forecast looks mostly cloudy with winds at 7 miles per hour and 57% humidity and very windy. Temperatures range from a high 65 degrees to a low 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
That is it for your News. You are Listening to 90.3 WKNJ-FM, Union New Jersey. I am ______________reporting for WKNJ 90.3 FM Union New Jersey.The news writer for this broadcast is Shalayma (sha-lie-ma)Cruz. And we will be right back after this.
In Local News…
There are a number of interesting dining events being celebrated at Garden State restaurants in the coming weeks. This week, for example, November 3rd - November 9th, the Gladstone Tavern is celebrating the bounty of the fall season with its "Pumpkin Menu."Here's a look at the pumpkin-inspired delicacies being offered... From the Bar:
Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale - $6.00 Jack-O-Lanterni, Pumpkin Vodka, Amaretto, Pumpkin Spice, Cinnamon Stick -- $9.00 Starters:
Pumpkin Bisque, Bacon, Cinnamon-Fried Shallots -- $6.00 Pumpkin Ravioli, Wild Mushrooms, Sage, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds -- $9.00 Main Dishes:
Smoked Paprika-Rubbed Swordfish, Chili-Lime Butter, Pumpkin Risotto, Braised Greens -- $24.00 Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Pumpkin Spice Demi-Glace, Oatmeal Baked Apple, Brussels Sprouts -- $23.00 Desserts:
Pumpkin Cupcake, Cream Cheese Frosting, Toasted Pecans -- $7.00 Pumpkin Pie Tartlette, Maple Whipped Cream, Candied Cranberry -- $6.00 For more information, or to make reservations, please call(908) 234-9055. Bon Appetit!
In National News….
Use of capital punishment by states continues its steady decline, with fewer death sentences handed down in 2009 than any year since the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976,the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) show 11 states are now considering abolishing executions, with many legislators citing high costs associated with incarcerating and handling often decades-long appeals by death row inmates. This entire decade has been marked by a declining use of the death penalty." Death sentences have dropped 63 percent since 2000, when there were 235 issued.Fifty-two inmates were executed this year in 11 states. The last was Matthew Wrinkles on December 11 in Indiana. He was convicted of murdering his wife and two family members 15 years ago.Late Wednesday, Georgia issued a stay of execution for Carlton Gary. Known as the "Columbus Strangler," he was convicted of murdering three women with their own stockings and was suspected of four other similar killings. He has been given more time to file further appeals.As in previous years, Texas in 2009 led the states in executions, with 24 -- four times as many as the next-highest, Alabama. Executions had been delayed in Ohio this fall, after the botched execution attempt of Romell Broom, which raised serious questions about the state's lethal injection procedures.Executions are on hold in California, Maryland, Kentucky and the federal system, pending challenges to lethal injection procedures. Earlier in the year, Nebraska became the last death penalty state to formally switch over to lethal injection as the main form of capital punishment.The legislature had abandoned electrocution, which had been the sole method, but final protocols have yet to be approved for future executions.Nine men who had been sentenced to death were exonerated and freed in 2009.
In International News…
One of the five manufacturers supplying H1N1 vaccine to the United States is recalling hundreds of thousands of flu shots because they aren't as potent as they should be.The French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur is voluntarily recalling about 800,000 doses of vaccine meant for children between the ages of 6 months and 35 months. The company and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized that the recall was not prompted by safety concerns, and that even though the vaccine isn't quite as potent as it's supposed to be, children who received it don't have to be immunized again against H1N1. The CDC emphasized that there is no danger for any child who received this type of vaccine. When asked what parents should do, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said, "absolutely nothing." He said if children receive this vaccine, they will be fine.
In sports…
The Nets dropped their 16th consecutive game to open the season, moving one defeat from matching the worst start in N.B.A. history after a 109-96 loss to the host Sacramento Kings on Friday night.The rookie Tyreke Evans had 21 points and 8 rebounds, and Beno Udrih also scored 21 for Sacramento, which never trailed on its way to winning consecutive games after a four-game losing streak. After losing to the Kings, who had the worst record in the N.B.A. a season ago, the Nets need to beat the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at Staples Center to avoid matching the record for futility held by the expansion Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Clipper. The potential record-setter would come at home against Dallas on Wednesday.
In Entertainment News…
Brad & Angelina Gave $6 Million To Charity Last Year It's almost Thanksgiving and we're pretty sure a lot of people around the world are thankful for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. According to the couple's 2008 tax return, Brangelina sent over $6 million to charities last year. That's double what they gave in 2007. So how about 2009? Only time will tell, but the humanitarians have certainly continued their good deeds this year. In June alone, the couple donated $1 million to Brad's hometown hospital in Springfield, Mo. and another million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to provide aid to Pakistan. In addition, Angelina is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and Brad is helping rebuild New Orlean's Lower 9th District with his Make it Right Foundation.
Today’s Weather…
Today in Union New Jersey, the forecast looks mostly cloudy with winds at 7 miles per hour and 57% humidity and very windy. Temperatures range from a high 65 degrees to a low 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
That is it for your News. You are Listening to 90.3 WKNJ-FM, Union New Jersey. I am ______________reporting for WKNJ 90.3 FM Union New Jersey.The news writer for this broadcast is Shalayma (sha-lie-ma)Cruz. And we will be right back after this.
Original stories
Local...
Pumpkin Menu at Gladstone TavernBy Art Namendorf november 9 2009
November 09, 2008, 6:58AMPhoto by Arthur R. NamendorfThere are a number of interesting dining events being celebrated at Garden State restaurants in the coming weeks. This week, for example, November 3rd - November 9th, the Gladstone Tavern is celebrating the bounty of the fall season with its "Pumpkin Menu."Here's a look at the pumpkin-inspired delicacies being offered...
From the Bar:
Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale - $6.00
Jack-O-Lanterni, Pumpkin Vodka, Amaretto, Pumpkin Spice, Cinnamon Stick -- $9.00
Starters:
Pumpkin Bisque, Bacon, Cinnamon-Fried Shallots -- $6.00
Pumpkin Ravioli, Wild Mushrooms, Sage, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds -- $9.00
Main Dishes:
Smoked Paprika-Rubbed Swordfish, Chili-Lime Butter, Pumpkin Risotto, Braised Greens -- $24.00
Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Pumpkin Spice Demi-Glace, Oatmeal Baked Apple, Brussels Sprouts -- $23.00
Desserts:
Pumpkin Cupcake, Cream Cheese Frosting, Toasted Pecans -- $7.00
Pumpkin Pie Tartlette, Maple Whipped Cream, Candied Cranberry -- $6.00
For more information, or to make reservations, please call(908) 234-9055.
Bon Appetit!
National:
Washington (CNN) -- Use of capital punishment by states continues its steady decline, with fewer death sentences handed down in 2009 than any year since the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976.Year-end figures released Friday by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) show 11 states are now considering abolishing executions, with many legislators citing high costs associated with incarcerating and handling often decades-long appeals by death row inmates."The annual number of death sentences in the U.S. has dropped for seven straight years," said Richard Dieter, the report's author and DPIC's executive director. "In the last two years, three states have abolished capital punishment and a growing number of states are asking whether it's worth keeping. This entire decade has been marked by a declining use of the death penalty."DPIC is a nonpolitical group that provides facts and analysis, while opposing capital punishment as impractical and ineffective.There were 106 death sentences issued in 2009, compared with a high of 328 in 1994. Death sentences have dropped 63 percent since 2000, when there were 235 issued.Fifty-two inmates were executed this year in 11 states. The last was Matthew Wrinkles on December 11 in Indiana. He was convicted of murdering his wife and two family members 15 years ago.Late Wednesday, Georgia issued a stay of execution for Carlton Gary. Known as the "Columbus Strangler," he was convicted of murdering three women with their own stockings and was suspected of four other similar killings. He has been given more time to file further appeals.As in previous years, Texas in 2009 led the states in executions, with 24 -- four times as many as the next-highest, Alabama. Among high-profile cases:-- John Allen Muhammad, convicted as the so-called "Beltway Sniper," responsible for at least 10 killings in the sniper-style killings around the Washington, D.C. area and three other states in 2002. He was executed in Virginia in November.-- Kenneth Biros, who became the first person executed in the U.S. using a single-drug lethal injection. A three-drug cocktail has been used nationwide for years by corrections officials, but no complications were reported with the new method. He was executed in Ohio on December 8.Executions had been delayed in Ohio this fall, after the botched execution attempt of Romell Broom, which raised serious questions about the state's lethal injection procedures. Those procedures were changed but Broom remains on death row. He is appealing his sentence.Executions are on hold in California, Maryland, Kentucky and the federal system, pending challenges to lethal injection procedures. Earlier in the year, Nebraska became the last death penalty state to formally switch over to lethal injection as the main form of capital punishment.The legislature had abandoned electrocution, which had been the sole method, but final protocols have yet to be approved for future executions.Nine men who had been sentenced to death were exonerated and freed in 2009, most after new DNA or other forensic testing cleared them, or raised doubts their culpability. That is the second highest total since the death penalty was reinstated 33 years ago.In Georgia, supporters of Troy Davis have urged retesting of forensic evidence to prove his innocence in the 1989 murder of a Savannah police officer. The Supreme Court in August granted a stay and ordered a federal court to re-examine his claims. The high court said the risk of putting a potentially innocent man to death "provides adequate justification" for another evidentiary hearing.New Mexico in March became the 15th state to abolish capital punishment, although two inmates still remain on death row there.New Hampshire's House of Representatives voted to abolish lethal injection, which would currently affect only one inmate on the state's death row. The measure is pending in the state Senate, but the governor has vowed to veto any bill. An execution has not been conducted there in 70 years, when hanging was the preferred method.Thirty-five states still have the death penalty.
Sports:
Nets Lose 16th in a Row to Start the SeasonBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESSPublished: November 9, 2009The Nets dropped their 16th consecutive game to open the season, moving one defeat from matching the worst start in N.B.A. history after a 109-96 loss to the host Sacramento Kings on Friday night.The rookie Tyreke Evans had 21 points and 8 rebounds, and Beno Udrih also scored 21 for Sacramento, which never trailed on its way to winning consecutive games after a four-game losing streak.
After losing to the Kings, who had the worst record in the N.B.A. a season ago, the Nets need to beat the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at Staples Center to avoid matching the record for futility held by the expansion Miami Heat (1988-89) and the Los Angeles Clippers (1999-2000).
The potential record-setter would come at home against Dallas on Wednesday.
Brook Lopez had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Devin Harris scored 25 points on 6-for-22 shooting for the Nets, who matched the longest losing streak in franchise history with their latest loss.
“It’s just a matter of time until we break through,” Coach Lawrence Frank said before the game.
Just not against the Kings.
Things were so bad for the Nets that they missed five shots near the basket in one 15-second span, including three that were blocked. Frank complained to the officials when Monty McCutcheon told him the defensive plays were all clean, asking incredulously at one point, “All five?”
The return of Harris to the starting lineup could not do the trick for the Nets. Harris, who missed 10 games with a groin injury, had come off the bench the past three games. He missed six of his first seven shots before helping the Nets get back into the game in the third quarter.
Harris’s steal and dunk was part of a 16-4 run that helped the Nets cut a lead that had been 22 points in the first half down to 67-61 midway through the third quarter. Consecutive 3-pointers by Udrih and Omri Casspi helped the Kings open the lead back to 84-69 heading into the fourth.
New Jersey got its deficit down to 6 early in the fourth but never got any closer and lost for the 10th time in their last 11 trips to Arco Arena. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 21 points for the Nets.
Casspi scored 18 points, making three of four free throws in the fourth quarter. Udrih added a layup that made it 104-94 with 1 minute 5 seconds remaining. Spencer Hawes had 16 points and 10 rebounds before being sidelined in the third quarter with a bruised right knee.
The Nets missed six of seven shots to open the game, including a dunk attempt by Lopez on the opening possession. The Nets fell behind by 10 points less than halfway through the first quarter and trailed by 20 midway through the second. The Kings took a 59-42 lead into the break when Evans scored with 1.1 seconds left on a give-and-go with Hawes off an inbound pass.
BOBCATS 94, CAVALIERS 87 Gerald Wallace had 31 points and 14 rebounds as host Charlotte won its third straight game. Wallace outplayed LeBron James in several one-on-one matchups in the post. Shaquille O’Neal, who returned after missing the last six games with a strained left shoulder, finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds.
WIZARDS 94, HEAT 84 Antawn Jamison scored 24 points, including the 16,000th of his career, and Nick Young added 22 as Washington won at Miami for the first time in seven games. Dwyane Wade struggled, shooting 6 of 19 from the field and scoring 18 points for Miami.
CELTICS 116, RAPTORS 103 Ray Allen scored 20 points and Rajon Rondo had 12 points and 11 assists for host Boston, which won its third straight game for the first time since opening the season with six wins. Rasheed Wallace chipped in 15 points off the bench, making three of his first four 3-point attempts. Chris Bosh had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors.
HAWKS 100, 76ERS 86 Jamal Crawford scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, Mike Bibby added 21 and Atlanta ended a two-game losing streak with a victory at Philadelphia.Thaddeus Young scored 22 points for the struggling 76ers, who have dropped five in a row.
MAVERICKS 113, PACERS 92 Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points as Dallas won at Indiana. Danny Granger, who missed Wednesday’s victory against the Clippers with a sprained knee ligament, had 20 points for Indiana. Mike Dunleavy returned from a knee injury and scored 13 in his season debut.
SPURS 92, ROCKETS 84 Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess each had a double-double, Tony Parker had 19 points and 7 assists, and San Antonio earned its first road victory of the season. Luis Scola had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets, who endured a seven-and-a-half-minute scoring drought in the third quarter and shot 36 percent from the field.
CLIPPERS 104, PISTONS 96 Chris Kaman scored 26 points and Baron Davis had 25 as Los Angeles ended a 13-game losing streak against host Detroit. Al Thornton scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, including consecutive baskets midway through the period to put the Clippers ahead for good. Jonas Jerebko scored a career-best 22 points for the Pistons, who played without guard Ben Gordon (sprained left ankle).
SUNS 120, TIMBERWOLVES 95 Jason Richardson scored 22 points as Phoenix dealt host Minnesota its 15th consecutive loss. Ramon Sessions had 23 for the Timberwolves, who are one loss away from tying the franchise record of 16 in a row.
THUNDER 108, BUCKS 90 Kevin Durant had 33 points and 12 rebounds, Russell Westbrook held the rookie Brandon Jennings to 3-of-11 shooting from the field and 12 points, and Oklahoma City beat visiting Milwaukee.
Entertainment:
Brad & Angelina Gave $6 Million To Charity Last Year
It's almost Thanksgiving and we're pretty sure a lot of people around the world are thankful for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
According to the couple's 2008 tax return, Brangelina sent over $6 million to charities last year. That's double what they gave in 2007.
So how about 2009? Only time will tell, but the humanitarians have certainly continued their good deeds this year. In June alone, the couple donated $1 million to Brad's hometown hospital in Springfield, Mo. and another million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to provide aid to Pakistan.
In addition, Angelina is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and Brad is helping rebuild New Orlean's Lower 9th District with his Make it Right Foundation.
International:
800,000 H1N1 vaccine doses for young children recalled; safety not a concernBy Miriam Falco, CNN Medical News Managing EditorNovember 8th, 2009 6:39 p.m. EST
CNN) -- One of the five manufacturers supplying H1N1 vaccine to the United States is recalling hundreds of thousands of flu shots because they aren't as potent as they should be.
The French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur is voluntarily recalling about 800,000 doses of vaccine meant for children between the ages of 6 months and 35 months.
The company and the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionemphasized that the recall was not prompted by safety concerns, and that even though the vaccine isn't quite as potent as it's supposed to be, children who received it don't have to be immunized again against H1N1.
The CDC emphasized that there is no danger for any child who received this type of vaccine.
When asked what parents should do, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said, "absolutely nothing." He said if children receive this vaccine, they will be fine.Sanofi Pasteur spokesman Len Lavenda said that the company's test results found the recalled vaccine's potency was 12 percent below the point where it should have been. He added that the company has done studies in the past that showed "vaccine containing as little as half of the recommended dosage" still created the necessary immune response in children Lavenda said Sanofi Pasteur has never had this happen with a flu vaccine before, and the company is having all of its experts investigate the cause of this loss in potency.
Lavenda told CNN that it takes about three to four months to produce flu vaccine. He said 85 percent of that time is spent on testing.
Learn more about H1N1
"In order for vaccine to move to next phase of production it [the vaccine] has to pass all tests and at the end, it has to pass another battery of tests before it can be shipped out," Lavenda said. The company also keeps samples of each batch of vaccine "to periodically test them to see if they stay within specification until expiration date."
Four batches -- or lots -- of H1N1 vaccine in question were shipped in early November. Lavenda said all four lots passed every test before they left the factory. However, on December 7, the company learned that all "four lots we tested failed," according to the spokesman.
That's when the company notified the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration, which asked them to retest the samples. Results from the subsequent sample came in on Monday, according to Lavenda, who said it takes about a week to complete these tests.
According to Sanofi Pasteur, it is unclear how many doses of this particular vaccine are still in circulation. This particular vaccine was targeted for infants and toddlers between the ages of 6 months and 35 months -- children who need to get two shots several weeks apart, but only get half of a regular dose each time.
The vaccine was shipped in 0.25-milliliter pre-filled syringes, which contain half a dose of vaccine in each shot. Children 3 years old and older would have been given a shot with a full dose.
According to the CDC's vaccine recommendations, children younger than 9 years need to have two flu shots to be fully protected against the H1N1 virus.
The CDC's Skinner said there is scientific evidence that when there's a slight drop in vaccine potency, the immune response is still sufficient.
"We're very confident that children who received this vaccine are properly protected, provided that they get the second dose that is recommended," Skinner said.
According to the CDC, this vaccine was distributed throughout the United States. Doctors and providers are urged to check their vaccines and return any to Sanofi Pasteur if they come from the following lots:
• 0.25 mL pre-filled syringes, 10-packs (NDC . 49281-650-25, sometimes coded as 49281-0650-25): UT023DA, UT028DA, UT028CB.
• 0.25 mL pre-filled syringes, 25-packs (NDC . 49281-650-70, sometimes coded as 49281-0650-70): UT030CA.
The vaccine was manufactured in Sanofi Pasteur's Swiftwater, Pennsylvania, factory.
weatherchannel.com
Pumpkin Menu at Gladstone TavernBy Art Namendorf november 9 2009
November 09, 2008, 6:58AMPhoto by Arthur R. NamendorfThere are a number of interesting dining events being celebrated at Garden State restaurants in the coming weeks. This week, for example, November 3rd - November 9th, the Gladstone Tavern is celebrating the bounty of the fall season with its "Pumpkin Menu."Here's a look at the pumpkin-inspired delicacies being offered...
From the Bar:
Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale - $6.00
Jack-O-Lanterni, Pumpkin Vodka, Amaretto, Pumpkin Spice, Cinnamon Stick -- $9.00
Starters:
Pumpkin Bisque, Bacon, Cinnamon-Fried Shallots -- $6.00
Pumpkin Ravioli, Wild Mushrooms, Sage, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds -- $9.00
Main Dishes:
Smoked Paprika-Rubbed Swordfish, Chili-Lime Butter, Pumpkin Risotto, Braised Greens -- $24.00
Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Pumpkin Spice Demi-Glace, Oatmeal Baked Apple, Brussels Sprouts -- $23.00
Desserts:
Pumpkin Cupcake, Cream Cheese Frosting, Toasted Pecans -- $7.00
Pumpkin Pie Tartlette, Maple Whipped Cream, Candied Cranberry -- $6.00
For more information, or to make reservations, please call(908) 234-9055.
Bon Appetit!
National:
Washington (CNN) -- Use of capital punishment by states continues its steady decline, with fewer death sentences handed down in 2009 than any year since the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976.Year-end figures released Friday by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) show 11 states are now considering abolishing executions, with many legislators citing high costs associated with incarcerating and handling often decades-long appeals by death row inmates."The annual number of death sentences in the U.S. has dropped for seven straight years," said Richard Dieter, the report's author and DPIC's executive director. "In the last two years, three states have abolished capital punishment and a growing number of states are asking whether it's worth keeping. This entire decade has been marked by a declining use of the death penalty."DPIC is a nonpolitical group that provides facts and analysis, while opposing capital punishment as impractical and ineffective.There were 106 death sentences issued in 2009, compared with a high of 328 in 1994. Death sentences have dropped 63 percent since 2000, when there were 235 issued.Fifty-two inmates were executed this year in 11 states. The last was Matthew Wrinkles on December 11 in Indiana. He was convicted of murdering his wife and two family members 15 years ago.Late Wednesday, Georgia issued a stay of execution for Carlton Gary. Known as the "Columbus Strangler," he was convicted of murdering three women with their own stockings and was suspected of four other similar killings. He has been given more time to file further appeals.As in previous years, Texas in 2009 led the states in executions, with 24 -- four times as many as the next-highest, Alabama. Among high-profile cases:-- John Allen Muhammad, convicted as the so-called "Beltway Sniper," responsible for at least 10 killings in the sniper-style killings around the Washington, D.C. area and three other states in 2002. He was executed in Virginia in November.-- Kenneth Biros, who became the first person executed in the U.S. using a single-drug lethal injection. A three-drug cocktail has been used nationwide for years by corrections officials, but no complications were reported with the new method. He was executed in Ohio on December 8.Executions had been delayed in Ohio this fall, after the botched execution attempt of Romell Broom, which raised serious questions about the state's lethal injection procedures. Those procedures were changed but Broom remains on death row. He is appealing his sentence.Executions are on hold in California, Maryland, Kentucky and the federal system, pending challenges to lethal injection procedures. Earlier in the year, Nebraska became the last death penalty state to formally switch over to lethal injection as the main form of capital punishment.The legislature had abandoned electrocution, which had been the sole method, but final protocols have yet to be approved for future executions.Nine men who had been sentenced to death were exonerated and freed in 2009, most after new DNA or other forensic testing cleared them, or raised doubts their culpability. That is the second highest total since the death penalty was reinstated 33 years ago.In Georgia, supporters of Troy Davis have urged retesting of forensic evidence to prove his innocence in the 1989 murder of a Savannah police officer. The Supreme Court in August granted a stay and ordered a federal court to re-examine his claims. The high court said the risk of putting a potentially innocent man to death "provides adequate justification" for another evidentiary hearing.New Mexico in March became the 15th state to abolish capital punishment, although two inmates still remain on death row there.New Hampshire's House of Representatives voted to abolish lethal injection, which would currently affect only one inmate on the state's death row. The measure is pending in the state Senate, but the governor has vowed to veto any bill. An execution has not been conducted there in 70 years, when hanging was the preferred method.Thirty-five states still have the death penalty.
Sports:
Nets Lose 16th in a Row to Start the SeasonBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESSPublished: November 9, 2009The Nets dropped their 16th consecutive game to open the season, moving one defeat from matching the worst start in N.B.A. history after a 109-96 loss to the host Sacramento Kings on Friday night.The rookie Tyreke Evans had 21 points and 8 rebounds, and Beno Udrih also scored 21 for Sacramento, which never trailed on its way to winning consecutive games after a four-game losing streak.
After losing to the Kings, who had the worst record in the N.B.A. a season ago, the Nets need to beat the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at Staples Center to avoid matching the record for futility held by the expansion Miami Heat (1988-89) and the Los Angeles Clippers (1999-2000).
The potential record-setter would come at home against Dallas on Wednesday.
Brook Lopez had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Devin Harris scored 25 points on 6-for-22 shooting for the Nets, who matched the longest losing streak in franchise history with their latest loss.
“It’s just a matter of time until we break through,” Coach Lawrence Frank said before the game.
Just not against the Kings.
Things were so bad for the Nets that they missed five shots near the basket in one 15-second span, including three that were blocked. Frank complained to the officials when Monty McCutcheon told him the defensive plays were all clean, asking incredulously at one point, “All five?”
The return of Harris to the starting lineup could not do the trick for the Nets. Harris, who missed 10 games with a groin injury, had come off the bench the past three games. He missed six of his first seven shots before helping the Nets get back into the game in the third quarter.
Harris’s steal and dunk was part of a 16-4 run that helped the Nets cut a lead that had been 22 points in the first half down to 67-61 midway through the third quarter. Consecutive 3-pointers by Udrih and Omri Casspi helped the Kings open the lead back to 84-69 heading into the fourth.
New Jersey got its deficit down to 6 early in the fourth but never got any closer and lost for the 10th time in their last 11 trips to Arco Arena. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 21 points for the Nets.
Casspi scored 18 points, making three of four free throws in the fourth quarter. Udrih added a layup that made it 104-94 with 1 minute 5 seconds remaining. Spencer Hawes had 16 points and 10 rebounds before being sidelined in the third quarter with a bruised right knee.
The Nets missed six of seven shots to open the game, including a dunk attempt by Lopez on the opening possession. The Nets fell behind by 10 points less than halfway through the first quarter and trailed by 20 midway through the second. The Kings took a 59-42 lead into the break when Evans scored with 1.1 seconds left on a give-and-go with Hawes off an inbound pass.
BOBCATS 94, CAVALIERS 87 Gerald Wallace had 31 points and 14 rebounds as host Charlotte won its third straight game. Wallace outplayed LeBron James in several one-on-one matchups in the post. Shaquille O’Neal, who returned after missing the last six games with a strained left shoulder, finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds.
WIZARDS 94, HEAT 84 Antawn Jamison scored 24 points, including the 16,000th of his career, and Nick Young added 22 as Washington won at Miami for the first time in seven games. Dwyane Wade struggled, shooting 6 of 19 from the field and scoring 18 points for Miami.
CELTICS 116, RAPTORS 103 Ray Allen scored 20 points and Rajon Rondo had 12 points and 11 assists for host Boston, which won its third straight game for the first time since opening the season with six wins. Rasheed Wallace chipped in 15 points off the bench, making three of his first four 3-point attempts. Chris Bosh had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors.
HAWKS 100, 76ERS 86 Jamal Crawford scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, Mike Bibby added 21 and Atlanta ended a two-game losing streak with a victory at Philadelphia.Thaddeus Young scored 22 points for the struggling 76ers, who have dropped five in a row.
MAVERICKS 113, PACERS 92 Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points as Dallas won at Indiana. Danny Granger, who missed Wednesday’s victory against the Clippers with a sprained knee ligament, had 20 points for Indiana. Mike Dunleavy returned from a knee injury and scored 13 in his season debut.
SPURS 92, ROCKETS 84 Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess each had a double-double, Tony Parker had 19 points and 7 assists, and San Antonio earned its first road victory of the season. Luis Scola had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets, who endured a seven-and-a-half-minute scoring drought in the third quarter and shot 36 percent from the field.
CLIPPERS 104, PISTONS 96 Chris Kaman scored 26 points and Baron Davis had 25 as Los Angeles ended a 13-game losing streak against host Detroit. Al Thornton scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, including consecutive baskets midway through the period to put the Clippers ahead for good. Jonas Jerebko scored a career-best 22 points for the Pistons, who played without guard Ben Gordon (sprained left ankle).
SUNS 120, TIMBERWOLVES 95 Jason Richardson scored 22 points as Phoenix dealt host Minnesota its 15th consecutive loss. Ramon Sessions had 23 for the Timberwolves, who are one loss away from tying the franchise record of 16 in a row.
THUNDER 108, BUCKS 90 Kevin Durant had 33 points and 12 rebounds, Russell Westbrook held the rookie Brandon Jennings to 3-of-11 shooting from the field and 12 points, and Oklahoma City beat visiting Milwaukee.
Entertainment:
Brad & Angelina Gave $6 Million To Charity Last Year
It's almost Thanksgiving and we're pretty sure a lot of people around the world are thankful for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
According to the couple's 2008 tax return, Brangelina sent over $6 million to charities last year. That's double what they gave in 2007.
So how about 2009? Only time will tell, but the humanitarians have certainly continued their good deeds this year. In June alone, the couple donated $1 million to Brad's hometown hospital in Springfield, Mo. and another million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to provide aid to Pakistan.
In addition, Angelina is a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and Brad is helping rebuild New Orlean's Lower 9th District with his Make it Right Foundation.
International:
800,000 H1N1 vaccine doses for young children recalled; safety not a concernBy Miriam Falco, CNN Medical News Managing EditorNovember 8th, 2009 6:39 p.m. EST
CNN) -- One of the five manufacturers supplying H1N1 vaccine to the United States is recalling hundreds of thousands of flu shots because they aren't as potent as they should be.
The French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur is voluntarily recalling about 800,000 doses of vaccine meant for children between the ages of 6 months and 35 months.
The company and the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionemphasized that the recall was not prompted by safety concerns, and that even though the vaccine isn't quite as potent as it's supposed to be, children who received it don't have to be immunized again against H1N1.
The CDC emphasized that there is no danger for any child who received this type of vaccine.
When asked what parents should do, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said, "absolutely nothing." He said if children receive this vaccine, they will be fine.Sanofi Pasteur spokesman Len Lavenda said that the company's test results found the recalled vaccine's potency was 12 percent below the point where it should have been. He added that the company has done studies in the past that showed "vaccine containing as little as half of the recommended dosage" still created the necessary immune response in children Lavenda said Sanofi Pasteur has never had this happen with a flu vaccine before, and the company is having all of its experts investigate the cause of this loss in potency.
Lavenda told CNN that it takes about three to four months to produce flu vaccine. He said 85 percent of that time is spent on testing.
Learn more about H1N1
"In order for vaccine to move to next phase of production it [the vaccine] has to pass all tests and at the end, it has to pass another battery of tests before it can be shipped out," Lavenda said. The company also keeps samples of each batch of vaccine "to periodically test them to see if they stay within specification until expiration date."
Four batches -- or lots -- of H1N1 vaccine in question were shipped in early November. Lavenda said all four lots passed every test before they left the factory. However, on December 7, the company learned that all "four lots we tested failed," according to the spokesman.
That's when the company notified the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration, which asked them to retest the samples. Results from the subsequent sample came in on Monday, according to Lavenda, who said it takes about a week to complete these tests.
According to Sanofi Pasteur, it is unclear how many doses of this particular vaccine are still in circulation. This particular vaccine was targeted for infants and toddlers between the ages of 6 months and 35 months -- children who need to get two shots several weeks apart, but only get half of a regular dose each time.
The vaccine was shipped in 0.25-milliliter pre-filled syringes, which contain half a dose of vaccine in each shot. Children 3 years old and older would have been given a shot with a full dose.
According to the CDC's vaccine recommendations, children younger than 9 years need to have two flu shots to be fully protected against the H1N1 virus.
The CDC's Skinner said there is scientific evidence that when there's a slight drop in vaccine potency, the immune response is still sufficient.
"We're very confident that children who received this vaccine are properly protected, provided that they get the second dose that is recommended," Skinner said.
According to the CDC, this vaccine was distributed throughout the United States. Doctors and providers are urged to check their vaccines and return any to Sanofi Pasteur if they come from the following lots:
• 0.25 mL pre-filled syringes, 10-packs (NDC . 49281-650-25, sometimes coded as 49281-0650-25): UT023DA, UT028DA, UT028CB.
• 0.25 mL pre-filled syringes, 25-packs (NDC . 49281-650-70, sometimes coded as 49281-0650-70): UT030CA.
The vaccine was manufactured in Sanofi Pasteur's Swiftwater, Pennsylvania, factory.
weatherchannel.com
News 4
Good Morning, it’s Friday, December 4th, 2009 at_____o’ clock and you’re listening to 90.3 WKNJ-FM Union, New Jersey, and I’m______with the news.
In Local News…
Holiday Season “O” Blood Drive is December 4 at Warren Rescue SquadBy Somerset Reporter December 2, 2009, 2:49PMWARREN TOWNSHIP — A special blood drive will be held by New Jersey Blood Services (NJBS) on Friday, December 4, from 2:30 to 8 p.m. at Warren Rescue Squad, 47 Mountain Boulevard in Warren. This unique drive will be open particularly to individuals who have type “O” blood.
Type “O” donors, who will receive uniquely designed T-shirts, are asked to bring a friend with any blood type to donate, and meet other generous people willing to help NJBS in their mission to save lives. The idea for the drive is to increase blood donations at this time of year. Type O blood is regularly in short supply
In National News….
The military is backing off its previous position and acknowledging that some troops exposed to the burning of refuse on military bases could be susceptible to long-term health effects. Since the issue first arose two years ago, Pentagon health officials have insisted that, based on its analysis, troops who were near burn pits at Joint Base Balad in Iraq -- the largest base in that country -- faced no long-term health hazards. The Department of Defense found that the burn pits, which are used instead of incinerators on some bases and outposts in Iraq and Afghanistan, could cause effects in the short term -- including irritated eyes and upper respiratory system problems -- that can lead to persistent coughing. But the department said "it is less clear what other longer-term health effects [there] may be."But one of the top military health officials, Dr. Craig Postlewaite, signaled in a recent interview with the Salt Lake Tribune that certain troops, who have other medical conditions, may be at risk for long-term effects."Over time, we have come to recognize that certain individuals may be more susceptible to the effects of burn-pit smoke than others because of genetics and pre-existing health conditions and that some of these personnel may be at risk of more serious health effects following prolonged smoke exposure, and possibility to other inhalational exposures, such as tobacco smoke and possibly high levels of air borne particulate matter," Postlewaite said this week in a statement provided to CNN.The military now suspects that exposure to burn-pit smoke combined with other factors -- such as smoking, proximity to the pit, certain genetic factors or pre-existing conditions -- could lead to longer-term effects.
In International News…
No bonuses from your employment this year for the holidays Plans to give employee year-end bonuses, meanwhile, dropped to 31 percent this year from 44 percent in 2008. No one is giving a bonus, but you still have to give your people some love. They have to know that they are wanted. Small businesses are give back something. By promoting parties with the ability to network. Businesses are planning to get together with a bunch of other law firms, dentists, doctors, and to network and share in a different relaxed atmosphere. These plans are to help people grow their business. While networking opportunities have an appeal for small-business owners, customers always come first.By contrast, 47 percent of owners or managers this year said they intended to give clients presents compared with 35 percent who said they would shop for employees. This year, 82 percent of owners said the No. 1 reason for giving gifts to customers was to say thank you. That compared with 64 percent in 2008. Total customer gift budgets have remained steady, according to American Express: $455 in 2009 versus $457 in 2008. Employee celebration and thanks is a place where small-business owners are looking to save. “Even for the business owners feeling good right now, money is still really tight,” Ms. Bredin said. “They know they have to thank customers so there will be a business to run. They feel employees will have to wait another year, in most cases.” In sports…
The conundrum that is the Rangers’ season continued Thursday night during a 5-2 victory against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Although they played as poorly in the first half of the game as they did in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Islanders at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers managed to jump out to a 3-0 lead.It started with the Islanders enjoying a 12-1 shooting advantage 13 minutes into the game. Marian Gaborik drew Islanders goaltender Dwayne Roloson out of position, and Ryan Callahan scored into the open side of the net for a power-play goal. Five minutes later, Chris Drury scored, and 27 seconds into the second period, Callahan scored again on a power play when he was allowed to walk in on Roloson.The Rangers scored on three of their first five shots against Roloson, who had stopped 25 of 26 the night before.
The Rangers ended their five-game winless streak, and they scored more than two goals for the first time in eight games.
In Entertainment News…
After 10 years of marriage, Jon and Kate Gosselin's divorce was finalized by a Pennsylvania judge on Friday.
Kate Gosselin received primary custody of the couple's eight children and will continue to live with them in the former marital home The 34-year-old says she is also pleased to have the divorce behind her. "I am very relieved that our divorce has been finalized, and I look forward to the New Year, focusing on the children," Kate Gosselin said in a statement. "This has been a challenging transition for all of us, but I am confident that we will move ahead with the important task of restructuring our lives." The Gosselins rose to fame on the reality show "Jon and Kate Plus Eight," which began chronicling their lives with a set of twins and one of sextuplets in 2007.
Today’s Weather…
Today in Union New Jersey, the forecast looks mostly cloudy with winds at 10 miles per hour and 30% humidity and very windy. Temperatures range from a high 60 degrees to a low 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
That is it for your News. You are Listening to 90.3 WKNJ-FM, Union New Jersey. I am ______________reporting for WKNJ 90.3 FM Union New Jersey.The news writer for this broadcast is Shalayma (sha-lie-ma)Cruz. And we will be right back after this.
In Local News…
Holiday Season “O” Blood Drive is December 4 at Warren Rescue SquadBy Somerset Reporter December 2, 2009, 2:49PMWARREN TOWNSHIP — A special blood drive will be held by New Jersey Blood Services (NJBS) on Friday, December 4, from 2:30 to 8 p.m. at Warren Rescue Squad, 47 Mountain Boulevard in Warren. This unique drive will be open particularly to individuals who have type “O” blood.
Type “O” donors, who will receive uniquely designed T-shirts, are asked to bring a friend with any blood type to donate, and meet other generous people willing to help NJBS in their mission to save lives. The idea for the drive is to increase blood donations at this time of year. Type O blood is regularly in short supply
In National News….
The military is backing off its previous position and acknowledging that some troops exposed to the burning of refuse on military bases could be susceptible to long-term health effects. Since the issue first arose two years ago, Pentagon health officials have insisted that, based on its analysis, troops who were near burn pits at Joint Base Balad in Iraq -- the largest base in that country -- faced no long-term health hazards. The Department of Defense found that the burn pits, which are used instead of incinerators on some bases and outposts in Iraq and Afghanistan, could cause effects in the short term -- including irritated eyes and upper respiratory system problems -- that can lead to persistent coughing. But the department said "it is less clear what other longer-term health effects [there] may be."But one of the top military health officials, Dr. Craig Postlewaite, signaled in a recent interview with the Salt Lake Tribune that certain troops, who have other medical conditions, may be at risk for long-term effects."Over time, we have come to recognize that certain individuals may be more susceptible to the effects of burn-pit smoke than others because of genetics and pre-existing health conditions and that some of these personnel may be at risk of more serious health effects following prolonged smoke exposure, and possibility to other inhalational exposures, such as tobacco smoke and possibly high levels of air borne particulate matter," Postlewaite said this week in a statement provided to CNN.The military now suspects that exposure to burn-pit smoke combined with other factors -- such as smoking, proximity to the pit, certain genetic factors or pre-existing conditions -- could lead to longer-term effects.
In International News…
No bonuses from your employment this year for the holidays Plans to give employee year-end bonuses, meanwhile, dropped to 31 percent this year from 44 percent in 2008. No one is giving a bonus, but you still have to give your people some love. They have to know that they are wanted. Small businesses are give back something. By promoting parties with the ability to network. Businesses are planning to get together with a bunch of other law firms, dentists, doctors, and to network and share in a different relaxed atmosphere. These plans are to help people grow their business. While networking opportunities have an appeal for small-business owners, customers always come first.By contrast, 47 percent of owners or managers this year said they intended to give clients presents compared with 35 percent who said they would shop for employees. This year, 82 percent of owners said the No. 1 reason for giving gifts to customers was to say thank you. That compared with 64 percent in 2008. Total customer gift budgets have remained steady, according to American Express: $455 in 2009 versus $457 in 2008. Employee celebration and thanks is a place where small-business owners are looking to save. “Even for the business owners feeling good right now, money is still really tight,” Ms. Bredin said. “They know they have to thank customers so there will be a business to run. They feel employees will have to wait another year, in most cases.” In sports…
The conundrum that is the Rangers’ season continued Thursday night during a 5-2 victory against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Although they played as poorly in the first half of the game as they did in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Islanders at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers managed to jump out to a 3-0 lead.It started with the Islanders enjoying a 12-1 shooting advantage 13 minutes into the game. Marian Gaborik drew Islanders goaltender Dwayne Roloson out of position, and Ryan Callahan scored into the open side of the net for a power-play goal. Five minutes later, Chris Drury scored, and 27 seconds into the second period, Callahan scored again on a power play when he was allowed to walk in on Roloson.The Rangers scored on three of their first five shots against Roloson, who had stopped 25 of 26 the night before.
The Rangers ended their five-game winless streak, and they scored more than two goals for the first time in eight games.
In Entertainment News…
After 10 years of marriage, Jon and Kate Gosselin's divorce was finalized by a Pennsylvania judge on Friday.
Kate Gosselin received primary custody of the couple's eight children and will continue to live with them in the former marital home The 34-year-old says she is also pleased to have the divorce behind her. "I am very relieved that our divorce has been finalized, and I look forward to the New Year, focusing on the children," Kate Gosselin said in a statement. "This has been a challenging transition for all of us, but I am confident that we will move ahead with the important task of restructuring our lives." The Gosselins rose to fame on the reality show "Jon and Kate Plus Eight," which began chronicling their lives with a set of twins and one of sextuplets in 2007.
Today’s Weather…
Today in Union New Jersey, the forecast looks mostly cloudy with winds at 10 miles per hour and 30% humidity and very windy. Temperatures range from a high 60 degrees to a low 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
That is it for your News. You are Listening to 90.3 WKNJ-FM, Union New Jersey. I am ______________reporting for WKNJ 90.3 FM Union New Jersey.The news writer for this broadcast is Shalayma (sha-lie-ma)Cruz. And we will be right back after this.
Original stories
Local...
Holiday Season “O” Blood Drive is December 4 at Warren Rescue SquadBy Somerset ReporterDecember 2, 2009, 2:49PMWARREN TOWNSHIP — A special blood drive will be held by New Jersey Blood Services (NJBS) on Friday, December 4, from 2:30 to 8 p.m. at Warren Rescue Squad, 47 Mountain Boulevard in Warren. This unique drive will be open particularly to individuals who have type “O” blood.
Type “O” donors, who will receive uniquely designed T-shirts, are asked to bring a friend with any blood type to donate, and meet other generous people willing to help NJBS in their mission to save lives.
The idea for the drive is to increase blood donations at this time of year. Type O blood is regularly in short supply, but especially during the busy holiday season when schools are on recess and student donations decrease, adding to the loss of donations from people on vacation.
According to NJBS officials, type O negative blood, which is found in just 6 percent of the population, is needed more often by patients. People with O negative blood are known as universal donors because their blood can be transfused into virtually anyone.
Type O negative blood is needed frequently in emergency rooms and trauma units and can also be transfused into people that have O negative blood. It is also used for exchange transfusions for newborn babies and pregnant women, and for premature babies in intensive care units.
Individuals with type O-positive blood can give to 85 percent of the population, including those with types A-positive, B-positive, AB-positive and O-positive. Although O-positive is the most common blood type, shortages occur because of its value to so many patients.
While the appeal for the December 4th drive has been made to individuals with types O-negative and O-positive blood, all blood types are asked to donate that day.
Donors must be 16 years of age with parental permission, weigh 110 pounds and in generally good health. Persons 76 years of age and older must present a letter from their doctors stating they are healthy to donate.
For additional information call 1-800-933-BLOOD (2566).
Entertainment
Starmagazine: -- After 10 years of marriage, Jon and Kate Gosselin's divorce was finalized by a Pennsylvania judge on Friday.
Kate Gosselin received primary custody of the couple's eight children and will continue to live with them in the former marital home, according to her attorney Mark Momjian, who added that Kate and her legal team "are very pleased with the final outcome."
The 34-year-old says she is also pleased to have the divorce behind her.
"I am very relieved that our divorce has been finalized, and I look forward to the New Year, focusing on the children," Kate Gosselin said in a statement. "This has been a challenging transition for all of us, but I am confident that we will move ahead with the important task of restructuring our lives."
Mark Jay Heller, an attorney representing Jon Gosselin, said the pair will move in a direction that "will be in the best interest of the Gosselin family."
He added, "While the arbitration proceedings are still a work in progress, Jon and Kate will remain binded in their commitment to their eight wonderful children."
The Gosselins rose to fame on the reality show "Jon and Kate Plus Eight," which began chronicling their lives with a set of twins and one of sextuplets in 2007.
The show ran for five seasons before Jon and Kate announced their separation and decision to divorce this year, amid tabloid reports of strife in the marriage. They filed papers to end their marriage in June.
The hit reality television show aired its final episode November 22, featuring Jon and Kate spending time with the children separately and talking candidly about the dissolution of their marriage.
A Maryland judge ruled this month that Jon Gosselin, 32, must cease making media appearances that TLC network views as a violation of his production contract, despite the culmination of the series.
Kate Gosselin is reportedly working with the network on a new project that would focus solely on her and would not film the children.
National...
Washington (CNN) -- The military is backing off its previous position and acknowledging that some troops exposed to the burning of refuse on military bases could be susceptible to long-term health effects. Since the issue first arose two years ago, Pentagon health officials have insisted that, based on its analysis, troops who were near burn pits at Joint Base Balad in Iraq -- the largest base in that country -- faced no long-term health hazards. That covered most of the troops who passed through the base.The Department of Defense found that the burn pits, which are used instead of incinerators on some bases and outposts in Iraq and Afghanistan, could cause effects in the short term -- including irritated eyes and upper respiratory system problems -- that can lead to persistent coughing. But the department said "it is less clear what other longer-term health effects [there] may be."But one of the top military health officials, Dr. Craig Postlewaite, signaled in a recent interview with the Salt Lake Tribune that certain troops, who have other medical conditions, may be at risk for long-term effects."Over time, we have come to recognize that certain individuals may be more susceptible to the effects of burn-pit smoke than others because of genetics and pre-existing health conditions and that some of these personnel may be at risk of more serious health effects following prolonged smoke exposure, and possibility to other inhalational exposures, such as tobacco smoke and possibly high levels of air borne particulate matter," Postlewaite said this week in a statement provided to CNN.The military now suspects that exposure to burn-pit smoke combined with other factors -- such as smoking, proximity to the pit, certain genetic factors or pre-existing conditions -- could lead to longer-term effects.After an outcry from veterans concerned that burn-pit exposure was not being acknowledged by theDepartment of Defense and Veterans Affairs, both agencies have begun a larger study of troops to determine what other health effects there could be.Service members have complained of symptoms ranging from chronic bronchitis, asthma, sleep apnea, chronic coughs and allergy-like symptoms to more severe issues including heart problems, lymphoma and leukemia.A senior master sergeant with the Air Force, who did not want his name used because he is still in service, said that he now has a growth on his lungs and that his doctors think the burn pits were a contributing cause.He deployed to Iraq in October 2004 and worked there for six months as a contract supervisor for the Army. His daily routine included driving past the burn pits at Balad as he ferried Iraqi contractors around the massive base.As he drove by, the master sergeant could see the refuse being burned, from trash to concrete to sides of tin buildings and sheet metal."You just held your breath, because if you breathed, it would burn," he told CNN in a phone interview.He slept about a mile from the pit, but, depending on the winds, the burning could create a "fog" over his compound."You could tell when the trash was burning," he said. "You could smell if it was really heavy and feel it burning in your nostrils and lungs."The master sergeant was in good health before he left for Iraq. Earlier in his military career, he had worked with hazardous materials, but a predeployment scan in 2004 showed his lungs were in fine shape.In 2006, after finding he would get easily winded and feel discomfort in his chest, the sergeant underwent testing, and a military doctor discovered a nodule on his lungs. A biopsy showed it was benign, but he needs to be tested every year. His doctors are concerned that his family history of cancer makes him more susceptible to further problems, But his case illustrates just how difficult it is to link symptoms to cause.As he said, he had worked with hazardous materials before he deployed. After Iraq, he was stationed in Naples, Italy, where the base also had trash disposal problems. Still, he knows that his lungs were clear before he was in Balad and that within a year of returning, he had the growth. The Disabled American Veterans organization has been keeping a database of troops who report problems related to the pit. In one year, nearly 500 service members or their families have come forward, said the DAV's John Wilson. That registry is "very narrow," Wilson said, because it relies on self-reporting. Rep. Tim Bishop, D-New York, has proposed legislation to have the Defense Department and Veterans Affairs create a registry of all service members exposed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress already passed legislation, which the president signed, to prohibit the use of burn pits for hazardous waste unless there is no alternative.A study that compared Iraq veterans with those who served stateside found that those who were in Iraq were diagnosed with new-onset adult asthma at twice the rate of stateside troops. The head of the allergy section of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in North Port, New York, told Congress that since 2004, he has clearly seen an effect on previously healthy and athletic service members."Now these individuals suffer from a variety of respiratory illness, including asthma and difficulty breathing during exertion," Dr. Anthony Szema told a policy hearing in November. That's what happened to Reservist Michelle Franco, who was a nurse at Balad from September 2006 through January 2007."What I saw was the smoke. What I felt was the smoke. What I smelled was the smoke," Franco said of her time at Balad. After she left, she started having breathing problems."When I came back, I couldn't climb stairs without problems breathing," she said. Tests by pulmonologists found asthma-like conditions, but her condition wasn't asthma. A private doctor and a military one told her it probably was caused by exposure to contaminants in Iraq.Getting that diagnosis was a struggle for her. When she returned, burn pit exposure was not a recognized issue. She was told to lose weight, which she did, and it didn't help. She also exercised regularly and said she took all types of medicine, but medications didn't help, either.As a nurse, Franco knew that she didn't just have asthma. But she said others may not realize they have greater problems"Because nobody knows, it seems to me the military member needs to be given the benefit of the doubt. I feel badly for the young men who don't understand this isn't asthma," Franco said.Franco has had to prove to the military that her service caused her illness.The military is trying to help that by better recording where people served, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman. Before 2006, at best, the records showed what country people served in. Now they can be tracked to the "ZIP code," the spokeswoman said.
Sports
New york Times: UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The conundrum that is the Rangers’ season continued Thursday night during a 5-2 victory against the Islandersat Nassau Coliseum. Although they played as poorly in the first half of the game as they did in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Islanders at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers managed to jump out to a 3-0 lead.It started with the Islanders enjoying a 12-1 shooting advantage 13 minutes into the game. Marian Gaborik drew Islanders goaltender Dwayne Roloson out of position, and Ryan Callahan scored into the open side of the net for a power-play goal. Five minutes later, Chris Drury scored, and 27 seconds into the second period, Callahan scored again on a power play when he was allowed to walk in on Roloson.The Rangers scored on three of their first five shots against Roloson, who had stopped 25 of 26 the night before.
The Rangers ended their five-game winless streak, and they scored more than two goals for the first time in eight games.
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who had 35 saves, called it “a relief” to finally have a big lead. “It’s no secret that this game is easier to play when you score goals,” he said.
Lundqvist even made up for a flub in the second period, when he fell down while coming 40 feet out of his net for a loose puck. The Islanders’ Nate Thompson got to it first, but a sprawling Lundqvist tapped Thompson’s leg as he shot. Thompson fired a yard wide of the net.
“I knew I had to go after him, so I reached out with my stick and went after his leg,” Lundqvist said.
“In my opinion, that’s my save,” he said jokingly.
Rangers Coach John Tortorella did not dress the power-play specialist Ales Kotalik, in whose absence the Rangers have scored three power-play goals, and defenseman Wade Redden.
Callahan finished with two goals and an assist. Gaborik had a goal — his league-leading 24th — and two assists.
With the Rangers and the Islanders splitting the back-to-back games, they are even again with 33 points, in a three-way tie for ninth in the Eastern Conference.
PENGUINS 3, FLYERS 2 Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby scored shootout goals as visiting Pittsburgh won its fourth straight game and improved to 5-0 in shootouts this season.
The Flyers, who lost for the 12th time in 15 games, struck first. Jeff Carter’s shot was stopped by Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, but the rebound deflected off defenseman Sergei Gonchar into the net. The Penguins answered 1 minute 33 seconds later on Bill Guerin’s power-play goal.
The Penguins beat the Flyers, 6-1, in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. (AP)
WILD 3, CANADIENS 1 Mikko Koivu broke a first-period tie with a power-play goal and Niklas Backstrom made 30 saves to lead Minnesota to a victory at Montreal. Minnesota is 9-2-1 since ending a four-game losing streak. (AP)
COYOTES 2, BLUE JACKETS 1 Robert Lang stayed perfect in shootouts this season, scoring the winner to help lead Phoenix past host Columbus. Rick Nash, who scored for Columbus in regulation, had the Blue Jackets’ goal in the tie breaker before Shane Doan, playing in his 1,000th career N.H.L. game, tied the score to set the stage for Lang’s winner.(AP)
THRASHERS 6, STARS 5 Rich Peverley scored his second goal of the game 1:16 into overtime, and Ondrej Pavelec stopped 42 shots as Atlanta beat visiting Dallas. Loui Eriksson scored for the Stars with only 1:12 remaining in regulation — nine seconds after Dallas Coach Marc Crawford pulled goalie Marty Turco — to force the extra period. (AP)
RED WINGS 3, LIGHTNING 0 Jimmy Howard made 30 saves for his first N.H.L. shutout in Detroit’s victory against visiting Tampa Bay. Drew Miller, Todd Bertuzzi and Patrick Eaves scored, and Brian Rafalski had two assists. But the Red Wings lost yet another player when center Henrik Zetterberg left the game because of an upper-body injury with 1:43 remaining in the first period after a crushing hit by Tampa Bay defenseman Mattias Ohlund. (AP)
POSSIBLE CLASSIC IN CANADA The N.H.L. is considering adding a Winter Classic for Canadian teams.
So far the league’s outdoor game on New Year’s Day has matched teams from American cities with avid fan bases.
“It’s something we’re going to look at for next season,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We’ll see if we can make that happen.”
The Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers are scheduled to play at Fenway Park on Jan. 1. This year, the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks played at Wrigley Field. The first Classic featured the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins on a snowy day in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP)
International
Ringing in the Holiday but Sharing the BillBy MICKEY MEECEPublished: December 4, 2009A FEW months ago, this holiday season looked to be another bleak one for the caterers and event planners who orchestrate big corporate parties.Gone were the lavish affairs of just a few years ago. Even scaled-down events were few and far between as the economy continued to sputter.
That was basically the genesis for a different sort of holiday gathering: one event “shared” by a hodgepodge of smaller companies on limited budgets. Name tags, it seems, are a must accessory.
This is how an invitation to a “Bring Your Own Business” party from the Wilshire Grand Hotel in West Orange, N.J., puts it: “What’s better than a holiday party for one company? A holiday party for 10 companies.”
The concept is not new. The Mohegan Sun in Connecticut has been running a shared holiday party for most of the decade. The casino will hold its eighth annual Big Little Holiday Party on Friday.
Meryl and Andrew Snow, owners of Feastivities Events, a catering company in Philadelphia, are promoting their own variation of shared parties and calling them Snow Balls, according to Ms. Snow.
The couple came up with the idea of opening one event to many companies as corporate clients eliminated entertainment budgets or could not entertain so lavishly because of the recession, Ms. Snow said. “We wanted to be as proactive as possible and said, ‘Why not do a full-blown holiday gala and open it to small and midsize companies in Philadelphia and its suburbs?’ ”
The first B.Y.O.B. party at the Wilshire Grand will be held Thursday evening. Wilshire caters the party and is working with Jersey Street Furniture Rental to stage it with a New York City-style lounge décor. Unique Musique, a local disc jockey, is providing the entertainment, and the Hip Event, an event and marketing company, has helped with promotion.
The more local companies that participate, the cheaper the cost per person.
When it comes to the recession, said Steve Novich, partner at Jersey Street Furniture Rental in Clifton, N.J., “we are not out of the woods yet.”
Other business owners feel the same, he said. “No one is giving a bonus, but you still have to give your people some love. They have to know that they are wanted. You have to give back something.”
In promoting the parties, organizers are pitching another benefit to smaller businesses — the ability to network. “That was a consideration as well,” Mr. Novich said. “You could get together with a bunch of other law firms, dentists, doctors, and you could network and share in a different relaxed atmosphere. It helps people grow their business.”
While networking opportunities have an appeal for small-business owners, customers always come first.
According to the American Express Open Small Business Holiday Monitor, 42 percent of the 516 owners or managers surveyed by telephone said that they planned a holiday party, compared with 49 percent a year earlier and 54 percent in 2006.
By contrast, 47 percent of owners or managers this year said they intended to give clients presents compared with 35 percent who said they would shop for employees. This year, 82 percent of owners said the No. 1 reason for giving gifts to customers was to say thank you. That compared with 64 percent in 2008.
Total customer gift budgets have remained steady, according to American Express: $455 in 2009 versus $457 in 2008.
Plans to give employee year-end bonuses, meanwhile, dropped to 31 percent this year from 44 percent in 2008.
“Employee celebration and thanks is a place where small-business owners are looking to save,” said Alice Bredin, a small-business adviser for American Express Open. Shared celebrations could be one way of doing so, she said.
“Even for the business owners feeling good right now, money is still really tight,” Ms. Bredin said. “They know they have to thank customers so there will be a business to run. They feel employees will have to wait another year, in most cases.”
Costs for the shared parties vary. At the Wilshire on Dec. 3, 9, 18 and 23, groups of 30 pay $99.99 for each person, and the cost decreases as the number of guests increases — up to 300 guests can gather for $69.99 each.
Snow Ball guests pay $145 apiece for cocktails, dancing, entertainment and a sit-down dinner every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in December and the first week in January at the Phoenixville Foundry in Phoenixville, Pa.
For the Big Little Holiday Party on Dec. 4, Mohegan Sun is seeking a 10-person commitment for each $475 table to bring the cost to $47.50 a person. In addition to a cash bar, there are salad, carving and dessert stations, as well as dancing.
For the last seven years, Mohegan Sun has filled its 1,100-guest quota, according to Richard Zazzaro, vice president of food and beverage. The concept came from the catering team, which was seeking to promote the casino’s new convention center in 2002, he recalled. “It was so well received, one year we did it twice.”
“It’s been very popular with small businesses like hair salons, small legal firms, professionals that don’t have the big office parties,” Mr. Zazzaro added. “They can get the feeling of a big party without, one, having to spend a lot of money, or two, having to plan it.”
Amanda Spear, project manager at the Connecticut office of the EPS Corporation, based in California, is a repeat customer.
“We were so impressed with it last year, we’re coming back,” Ms. Spear said. A team of about 30 will attend the Big Little Party on Friday. In addition to the festive atmosphere and ability to mingle with other companies, she said, the setting itself is a draw. “It’s just the whole feeling of being in the casino.”
Weather channel.com
Holiday Season “O” Blood Drive is December 4 at Warren Rescue SquadBy Somerset ReporterDecember 2, 2009, 2:49PMWARREN TOWNSHIP — A special blood drive will be held by New Jersey Blood Services (NJBS) on Friday, December 4, from 2:30 to 8 p.m. at Warren Rescue Squad, 47 Mountain Boulevard in Warren. This unique drive will be open particularly to individuals who have type “O” blood.
Type “O” donors, who will receive uniquely designed T-shirts, are asked to bring a friend with any blood type to donate, and meet other generous people willing to help NJBS in their mission to save lives.
The idea for the drive is to increase blood donations at this time of year. Type O blood is regularly in short supply, but especially during the busy holiday season when schools are on recess and student donations decrease, adding to the loss of donations from people on vacation.
According to NJBS officials, type O negative blood, which is found in just 6 percent of the population, is needed more often by patients. People with O negative blood are known as universal donors because their blood can be transfused into virtually anyone.
Type O negative blood is needed frequently in emergency rooms and trauma units and can also be transfused into people that have O negative blood. It is also used for exchange transfusions for newborn babies and pregnant women, and for premature babies in intensive care units.
Individuals with type O-positive blood can give to 85 percent of the population, including those with types A-positive, B-positive, AB-positive and O-positive. Although O-positive is the most common blood type, shortages occur because of its value to so many patients.
While the appeal for the December 4th drive has been made to individuals with types O-negative and O-positive blood, all blood types are asked to donate that day.
Donors must be 16 years of age with parental permission, weigh 110 pounds and in generally good health. Persons 76 years of age and older must present a letter from their doctors stating they are healthy to donate.
For additional information call 1-800-933-BLOOD (2566).
Entertainment
Starmagazine: -- After 10 years of marriage, Jon and Kate Gosselin's divorce was finalized by a Pennsylvania judge on Friday.
Kate Gosselin received primary custody of the couple's eight children and will continue to live with them in the former marital home, according to her attorney Mark Momjian, who added that Kate and her legal team "are very pleased with the final outcome."
The 34-year-old says she is also pleased to have the divorce behind her.
"I am very relieved that our divorce has been finalized, and I look forward to the New Year, focusing on the children," Kate Gosselin said in a statement. "This has been a challenging transition for all of us, but I am confident that we will move ahead with the important task of restructuring our lives."
Mark Jay Heller, an attorney representing Jon Gosselin, said the pair will move in a direction that "will be in the best interest of the Gosselin family."
He added, "While the arbitration proceedings are still a work in progress, Jon and Kate will remain binded in their commitment to their eight wonderful children."
The Gosselins rose to fame on the reality show "Jon and Kate Plus Eight," which began chronicling their lives with a set of twins and one of sextuplets in 2007.
The show ran for five seasons before Jon and Kate announced their separation and decision to divorce this year, amid tabloid reports of strife in the marriage. They filed papers to end their marriage in June.
The hit reality television show aired its final episode November 22, featuring Jon and Kate spending time with the children separately and talking candidly about the dissolution of their marriage.
A Maryland judge ruled this month that Jon Gosselin, 32, must cease making media appearances that TLC network views as a violation of his production contract, despite the culmination of the series.
Kate Gosselin is reportedly working with the network on a new project that would focus solely on her and would not film the children.
National...
Washington (CNN) -- The military is backing off its previous position and acknowledging that some troops exposed to the burning of refuse on military bases could be susceptible to long-term health effects. Since the issue first arose two years ago, Pentagon health officials have insisted that, based on its analysis, troops who were near burn pits at Joint Base Balad in Iraq -- the largest base in that country -- faced no long-term health hazards. That covered most of the troops who passed through the base.The Department of Defense found that the burn pits, which are used instead of incinerators on some bases and outposts in Iraq and Afghanistan, could cause effects in the short term -- including irritated eyes and upper respiratory system problems -- that can lead to persistent coughing. But the department said "it is less clear what other longer-term health effects [there] may be."But one of the top military health officials, Dr. Craig Postlewaite, signaled in a recent interview with the Salt Lake Tribune that certain troops, who have other medical conditions, may be at risk for long-term effects."Over time, we have come to recognize that certain individuals may be more susceptible to the effects of burn-pit smoke than others because of genetics and pre-existing health conditions and that some of these personnel may be at risk of more serious health effects following prolonged smoke exposure, and possibility to other inhalational exposures, such as tobacco smoke and possibly high levels of air borne particulate matter," Postlewaite said this week in a statement provided to CNN.The military now suspects that exposure to burn-pit smoke combined with other factors -- such as smoking, proximity to the pit, certain genetic factors or pre-existing conditions -- could lead to longer-term effects.After an outcry from veterans concerned that burn-pit exposure was not being acknowledged by theDepartment of Defense and Veterans Affairs, both agencies have begun a larger study of troops to determine what other health effects there could be.Service members have complained of symptoms ranging from chronic bronchitis, asthma, sleep apnea, chronic coughs and allergy-like symptoms to more severe issues including heart problems, lymphoma and leukemia.A senior master sergeant with the Air Force, who did not want his name used because he is still in service, said that he now has a growth on his lungs and that his doctors think the burn pits were a contributing cause.He deployed to Iraq in October 2004 and worked there for six months as a contract supervisor for the Army. His daily routine included driving past the burn pits at Balad as he ferried Iraqi contractors around the massive base.As he drove by, the master sergeant could see the refuse being burned, from trash to concrete to sides of tin buildings and sheet metal."You just held your breath, because if you breathed, it would burn," he told CNN in a phone interview.He slept about a mile from the pit, but, depending on the winds, the burning could create a "fog" over his compound."You could tell when the trash was burning," he said. "You could smell if it was really heavy and feel it burning in your nostrils and lungs."The master sergeant was in good health before he left for Iraq. Earlier in his military career, he had worked with hazardous materials, but a predeployment scan in 2004 showed his lungs were in fine shape.In 2006, after finding he would get easily winded and feel discomfort in his chest, the sergeant underwent testing, and a military doctor discovered a nodule on his lungs. A biopsy showed it was benign, but he needs to be tested every year. His doctors are concerned that his family history of cancer makes him more susceptible to further problems, But his case illustrates just how difficult it is to link symptoms to cause.As he said, he had worked with hazardous materials before he deployed. After Iraq, he was stationed in Naples, Italy, where the base also had trash disposal problems. Still, he knows that his lungs were clear before he was in Balad and that within a year of returning, he had the growth. The Disabled American Veterans organization has been keeping a database of troops who report problems related to the pit. In one year, nearly 500 service members or their families have come forward, said the DAV's John Wilson. That registry is "very narrow," Wilson said, because it relies on self-reporting. Rep. Tim Bishop, D-New York, has proposed legislation to have the Defense Department and Veterans Affairs create a registry of all service members exposed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress already passed legislation, which the president signed, to prohibit the use of burn pits for hazardous waste unless there is no alternative.A study that compared Iraq veterans with those who served stateside found that those who were in Iraq were diagnosed with new-onset adult asthma at twice the rate of stateside troops. The head of the allergy section of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in North Port, New York, told Congress that since 2004, he has clearly seen an effect on previously healthy and athletic service members."Now these individuals suffer from a variety of respiratory illness, including asthma and difficulty breathing during exertion," Dr. Anthony Szema told a policy hearing in November. That's what happened to Reservist Michelle Franco, who was a nurse at Balad from September 2006 through January 2007."What I saw was the smoke. What I felt was the smoke. What I smelled was the smoke," Franco said of her time at Balad. After she left, she started having breathing problems."When I came back, I couldn't climb stairs without problems breathing," she said. Tests by pulmonologists found asthma-like conditions, but her condition wasn't asthma. A private doctor and a military one told her it probably was caused by exposure to contaminants in Iraq.Getting that diagnosis was a struggle for her. When she returned, burn pit exposure was not a recognized issue. She was told to lose weight, which she did, and it didn't help. She also exercised regularly and said she took all types of medicine, but medications didn't help, either.As a nurse, Franco knew that she didn't just have asthma. But she said others may not realize they have greater problems"Because nobody knows, it seems to me the military member needs to be given the benefit of the doubt. I feel badly for the young men who don't understand this isn't asthma," Franco said.Franco has had to prove to the military that her service caused her illness.The military is trying to help that by better recording where people served, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman. Before 2006, at best, the records showed what country people served in. Now they can be tracked to the "ZIP code," the spokeswoman said.
Sports
New york Times: UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The conundrum that is the Rangers’ season continued Thursday night during a 5-2 victory against the Islandersat Nassau Coliseum. Although they played as poorly in the first half of the game as they did in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Islanders at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers managed to jump out to a 3-0 lead.It started with the Islanders enjoying a 12-1 shooting advantage 13 minutes into the game. Marian Gaborik drew Islanders goaltender Dwayne Roloson out of position, and Ryan Callahan scored into the open side of the net for a power-play goal. Five minutes later, Chris Drury scored, and 27 seconds into the second period, Callahan scored again on a power play when he was allowed to walk in on Roloson.The Rangers scored on three of their first five shots against Roloson, who had stopped 25 of 26 the night before.
The Rangers ended their five-game winless streak, and they scored more than two goals for the first time in eight games.
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who had 35 saves, called it “a relief” to finally have a big lead. “It’s no secret that this game is easier to play when you score goals,” he said.
Lundqvist even made up for a flub in the second period, when he fell down while coming 40 feet out of his net for a loose puck. The Islanders’ Nate Thompson got to it first, but a sprawling Lundqvist tapped Thompson’s leg as he shot. Thompson fired a yard wide of the net.
“I knew I had to go after him, so I reached out with my stick and went after his leg,” Lundqvist said.
“In my opinion, that’s my save,” he said jokingly.
Rangers Coach John Tortorella did not dress the power-play specialist Ales Kotalik, in whose absence the Rangers have scored three power-play goals, and defenseman Wade Redden.
Callahan finished with two goals and an assist. Gaborik had a goal — his league-leading 24th — and two assists.
With the Rangers and the Islanders splitting the back-to-back games, they are even again with 33 points, in a three-way tie for ninth in the Eastern Conference.
PENGUINS 3, FLYERS 2 Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby scored shootout goals as visiting Pittsburgh won its fourth straight game and improved to 5-0 in shootouts this season.
The Flyers, who lost for the 12th time in 15 games, struck first. Jeff Carter’s shot was stopped by Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, but the rebound deflected off defenseman Sergei Gonchar into the net. The Penguins answered 1 minute 33 seconds later on Bill Guerin’s power-play goal.
The Penguins beat the Flyers, 6-1, in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. (AP)
WILD 3, CANADIENS 1 Mikko Koivu broke a first-period tie with a power-play goal and Niklas Backstrom made 30 saves to lead Minnesota to a victory at Montreal. Minnesota is 9-2-1 since ending a four-game losing streak. (AP)
COYOTES 2, BLUE JACKETS 1 Robert Lang stayed perfect in shootouts this season, scoring the winner to help lead Phoenix past host Columbus. Rick Nash, who scored for Columbus in regulation, had the Blue Jackets’ goal in the tie breaker before Shane Doan, playing in his 1,000th career N.H.L. game, tied the score to set the stage for Lang’s winner.(AP)
THRASHERS 6, STARS 5 Rich Peverley scored his second goal of the game 1:16 into overtime, and Ondrej Pavelec stopped 42 shots as Atlanta beat visiting Dallas. Loui Eriksson scored for the Stars with only 1:12 remaining in regulation — nine seconds after Dallas Coach Marc Crawford pulled goalie Marty Turco — to force the extra period. (AP)
RED WINGS 3, LIGHTNING 0 Jimmy Howard made 30 saves for his first N.H.L. shutout in Detroit’s victory against visiting Tampa Bay. Drew Miller, Todd Bertuzzi and Patrick Eaves scored, and Brian Rafalski had two assists. But the Red Wings lost yet another player when center Henrik Zetterberg left the game because of an upper-body injury with 1:43 remaining in the first period after a crushing hit by Tampa Bay defenseman Mattias Ohlund. (AP)
POSSIBLE CLASSIC IN CANADA The N.H.L. is considering adding a Winter Classic for Canadian teams.
So far the league’s outdoor game on New Year’s Day has matched teams from American cities with avid fan bases.
“It’s something we’re going to look at for next season,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We’ll see if we can make that happen.”
The Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers are scheduled to play at Fenway Park on Jan. 1. This year, the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks played at Wrigley Field. The first Classic featured the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins on a snowy day in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP)
International
Ringing in the Holiday but Sharing the BillBy MICKEY MEECEPublished: December 4, 2009A FEW months ago, this holiday season looked to be another bleak one for the caterers and event planners who orchestrate big corporate parties.Gone were the lavish affairs of just a few years ago. Even scaled-down events were few and far between as the economy continued to sputter.
That was basically the genesis for a different sort of holiday gathering: one event “shared” by a hodgepodge of smaller companies on limited budgets. Name tags, it seems, are a must accessory.
This is how an invitation to a “Bring Your Own Business” party from the Wilshire Grand Hotel in West Orange, N.J., puts it: “What’s better than a holiday party for one company? A holiday party for 10 companies.”
The concept is not new. The Mohegan Sun in Connecticut has been running a shared holiday party for most of the decade. The casino will hold its eighth annual Big Little Holiday Party on Friday.
Meryl and Andrew Snow, owners of Feastivities Events, a catering company in Philadelphia, are promoting their own variation of shared parties and calling them Snow Balls, according to Ms. Snow.
The couple came up with the idea of opening one event to many companies as corporate clients eliminated entertainment budgets or could not entertain so lavishly because of the recession, Ms. Snow said. “We wanted to be as proactive as possible and said, ‘Why not do a full-blown holiday gala and open it to small and midsize companies in Philadelphia and its suburbs?’ ”
The first B.Y.O.B. party at the Wilshire Grand will be held Thursday evening. Wilshire caters the party and is working with Jersey Street Furniture Rental to stage it with a New York City-style lounge décor. Unique Musique, a local disc jockey, is providing the entertainment, and the Hip Event, an event and marketing company, has helped with promotion.
The more local companies that participate, the cheaper the cost per person.
When it comes to the recession, said Steve Novich, partner at Jersey Street Furniture Rental in Clifton, N.J., “we are not out of the woods yet.”
Other business owners feel the same, he said. “No one is giving a bonus, but you still have to give your people some love. They have to know that they are wanted. You have to give back something.”
In promoting the parties, organizers are pitching another benefit to smaller businesses — the ability to network. “That was a consideration as well,” Mr. Novich said. “You could get together with a bunch of other law firms, dentists, doctors, and you could network and share in a different relaxed atmosphere. It helps people grow their business.”
While networking opportunities have an appeal for small-business owners, customers always come first.
According to the American Express Open Small Business Holiday Monitor, 42 percent of the 516 owners or managers surveyed by telephone said that they planned a holiday party, compared with 49 percent a year earlier and 54 percent in 2006.
By contrast, 47 percent of owners or managers this year said they intended to give clients presents compared with 35 percent who said they would shop for employees. This year, 82 percent of owners said the No. 1 reason for giving gifts to customers was to say thank you. That compared with 64 percent in 2008.
Total customer gift budgets have remained steady, according to American Express: $455 in 2009 versus $457 in 2008.
Plans to give employee year-end bonuses, meanwhile, dropped to 31 percent this year from 44 percent in 2008.
“Employee celebration and thanks is a place where small-business owners are looking to save,” said Alice Bredin, a small-business adviser for American Express Open. Shared celebrations could be one way of doing so, she said.
“Even for the business owners feeling good right now, money is still really tight,” Ms. Bredin said. “They know they have to thank customers so there will be a business to run. They feel employees will have to wait another year, in most cases.”
Costs for the shared parties vary. At the Wilshire on Dec. 3, 9, 18 and 23, groups of 30 pay $99.99 for each person, and the cost decreases as the number of guests increases — up to 300 guests can gather for $69.99 each.
Snow Ball guests pay $145 apiece for cocktails, dancing, entertainment and a sit-down dinner every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in December and the first week in January at the Phoenixville Foundry in Phoenixville, Pa.
For the Big Little Holiday Party on Dec. 4, Mohegan Sun is seeking a 10-person commitment for each $475 table to bring the cost to $47.50 a person. In addition to a cash bar, there are salad, carving and dessert stations, as well as dancing.
For the last seven years, Mohegan Sun has filled its 1,100-guest quota, according to Richard Zazzaro, vice president of food and beverage. The concept came from the catering team, which was seeking to promote the casino’s new convention center in 2002, he recalled. “It was so well received, one year we did it twice.”
“It’s been very popular with small businesses like hair salons, small legal firms, professionals that don’t have the big office parties,” Mr. Zazzaro added. “They can get the feeling of a big party without, one, having to spend a lot of money, or two, having to plan it.”
Amanda Spear, project manager at the Connecticut office of the EPS Corporation, based in California, is a repeat customer.
“We were so impressed with it last year, we’re coming back,” Ms. Spear said. A team of about 30 will attend the Big Little Party on Friday. In addition to the festive atmosphere and ability to mingle with other companies, she said, the setting itself is a draw. “It’s just the whole feeling of being in the casino.”
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