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Hissyspit's JournalHurricane Sandy Set to Make History As It Aims at U.S. Coast
Source: Reuters
Hurricane Sandy set to make history as it aims at U.S. coast
By Gene Cherry
HATTERAS ISLAND, North Carolina | Sun Oct 28, 2012 2:47am EDT
(Reuters) - Weather forecasters worked to pinpoint the likely landfall of the monstrous Hurricane Sandy as it closed in on the U.S. East Coast Sunday with the potential to be the biggest storm to hit the mainland.
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While Sandy's winds were not overwhelming for a hurricane, its width was what made it exceptional. The storm's hurricane force winds extended 105 miles from its center while its lesser tropical storm-force winds reached across 700 miles.
Sandy could have a brutal impact on major cities in the target zone. In New York, city officials discussed whether to shut the subway system on Sunday in advance of the storm, which could bring the county's financial nerve center to a standstill.
The storm could cause the worst flooding Connecticut has seen in more than 70 years, said the state's governor, Dannel P. Malloy.
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Sandy could be the largest storm to hit the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's website.
"The size of this alone, affecting a heavily populated area, is going to be history making," said Jeff Masters, a hurricane specialist who writes a blog posted on the Weather Underground (www.wunderground.com).
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/28/us-storm-sandy-hurricane-idUSBRE89N16J20121028
@billmckibben 'Sandy could be the largest storm to hit the United States: NOAA'
Tsunami Warnings Issued for All (Hawaii) Islands; Evacuations Begin
Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Tsunami warnings issued for all islands; evacuations begin
By Star-Advertiser staff
POSTED: 06:09 p.m. HST, Oct 27, 2012
LAST UPDATED: 08:35 p.m. HST, Oct 27, 2012
Tsunami warning sires have sounded across Hawaii and people in inundation zones should evacuate immediately, officials said. The tsunami warning was issued for Hawaii in the wake of a 7.7-magnitude earthquake off British Columbia tonight.
State Civil Defense is urging residents to move to higher ground if they are in a tsunami evacuation zone. The first waves could arrive as soon as 10:28 p.m., said the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach.
"The center is predicting wave heights of 3 to 6 feet in some locations. The biggest waves are expected in Hilo, Kahului, Haleiwa and Hanalei.
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“A tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along coastlines of all islands in the state of Hawaii,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement just past 7 p.m. “Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property.”
“If they are in a tsunami evacuation zone, they should evacuate immediately,” said Shelly Kunishige, of Hawaii Civil Defense. Kunishige said sirens statewide are sounding to alert residents of the warning.
Read more: http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/176136301.html?id=176136301
‘Anti-Business’ Obama is Best President for Corporate Profits Since 1900
Source: Think Progress / Mötley Fool
‘Anti-Business’ Obama Is Best President For Corporate Profits Since 1900
By Pat Garofalo on Oct 26, 2012 at 2:20 pm
Since he came into office, Republicans have consistently attacked President Obama for supposedly being anti-business. As ThinkProgress noted last week, the data shows that this charge is nonsense.
In fact, as the financial website Motley Fool noted today, President Obama is far and away the best president for corporate profits since 1900:
Even if corporate profits under Obama are compared to the 2008 peak — in order to erase the effect of the financial crisis — “average annual corporate profit growth under President Obama is 6.8%,” or nearly three times as large as it was under President Reagan. Both Presidents Bush actually oversaw corporate profit declines during their terms. Meanwhile, real GDP growth per capita is far higher under Obama than it was under either Bush administration.
Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/10/26/1097301/anti-business-obama-is-is-best-president-for-corporate-profits-since-1900
New Yorker Fined for Hanging Peace Sign in Window Sues City
Source: Reuters
New Yorker fined for hanging peace sign in window sues city
By Joseph Ax
Fri Oct 26, 2012 6:54pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A woman who was forced to pay an $800 fine for nailing a peace sign to her window frame in violation of zoning regulations sued New York City in U.S. federal court on Friday, claiming the law infringed upon her right to free speech.
Brigitte Vosse, who owns a condominium on Manhattan's Upper West Side, received a ticket from the city's department of buildings for the peace symbol she hung in her living room window for a year and a half.
The city's zoning laws prohibit people from placing signs more than 40 feet above curb level in Vosse's zoning district, according to the lawsuit. But exceptions are made for signs that are placed on buildings whose uses are primarily "of a civic, philanthropic, educational or religious nature."
That demonstrates that the restriction is content-based in violation of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, the lawsuit claimed.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE89P19020121026
Consumer Sentiment at Highest in Five Years in October
Source: Reuters
Consumer sentiment at highest in five years in October
Fri Oct 26, 2012 10:08am EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in five years in October as Americans were more upbeat about prospects for the economy and their own finances, a survey released on Friday showed.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment rose to 82.6 from 78.3 in September. It was at its highest level since September 2007 on a final reading basis.
Still, that was slightly below the preliminary reading of 83.1 and shy of economists' expectations for 83.
There are also clouds on the horizon. After the presidential election in November, policymakers will have to deal with a package of scheduled spending cuts and tax increases, and political wrangling could prompt a decline in consumer confidence as sharp as the recent increase, according to the survey.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE89P0OR20121026
Breaking: Italy's Berlesconi Sentenced to 4 Years in Jail (in Mediaset TV Rights Case)
Source: Sky News
Berlusconi Sentenced To Four Years In Jail
3:26pm UK, Friday 26 October 2012
Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud connected to his television channels.
An Italian court delivered the verdict on Friday against the former Italian leader and 10 others in a six-year-old tax fraud trial. He's also been barred from holding political office for three years.
In Italy, cases must pass two levels of appeal before the verdicts are final. Berlusconi is expected to appeal.
The verdict comes two days after Berlusconi, 76, announced he will not run for premier in upcoming elections.
During the trial prosecutors alleged the defendants were behind a scheme to purchase the rights to broadcast U.S. movies on Berlusconi's private television networks through a series of offshore companies and had falsely declared the payments to avoid taxes.
Read more: http://news.sky.com/story/1003189/berlusconi-sentenced-to-four-years-in-jail
Breaking: US GDP Rises 2 Percent in Third-Quarter (Consumers Boost Growth Despite Business Caution)
Source: Reuters
Consumers boost growth despite business caution
Fri Oct 26, 2012 8:35am EDT
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Economic growth picked up in the third quarter as a late burst in consumer spending offset the first cutbacks in investment in more than a year by cautious businesses.
The stronger pace of expansion, however, fell short of what is needed to make much of a dent in unemployment, and offers little cheer for the White House ahead of the closely contested November 6 presidential election.
Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.0 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday, accelerating from the second quarter's 1.3 percent pace. A pace in excess of 2.5 percent is needed over several quarters to make substantial headway cutting the jobless rate.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 1.9 percent growth pace in the third quarter. The report comes a little more than a week before the election in which President Barack Obama is trying to fend off Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE89P0L520121026
It's 2008 and Obama Finds Out Bruce Springsteen Has Endorsed Him...
Published on Oct 17, 2012 by SimonSchusterVideos
Peter Ames Carlin, author of BRUCE, talks about Bruce Springsteen's support for President Barack Obama.
Tennessee Appeals Court Upholds Voter ID Law, Says is Constitutional
Source: Reuters
Tennessee appeals court upholds voter ID law, says is constitutional
NASHVILLE | Fri Oct 26, 2012 12:21am EDT
By Tim Ghianni
NASHVILLE (Reuters) - A Tennessee appeals court ruled on Thursday that a state requirement that voters have photo identification is constitutional but that the Memphis library cards at the heart of a challenge to the law were acceptable at polling places.
The Tennessee Secretary of State plans to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court, a move that will freeze the appeal court ruling until the high court takes action, according to Blake Fontenay, a spokesman for the Secretary of State.
"This is like changing the rules at halftime of a football game," Fontenay said, explaining the quick reaction to Thursday's ruling, which came as early voting in the November 6 general election was already underway.
"I wouldn't lose sight of the part of the ruling that we are very pleased with that upholds the constitutionality of the law," he added.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE89P05T20121026
Obama Endorses Same-Sex Marriage Initiatives in Three States
Source: Reuters
Obama endorses same-sex marriage initiatives in three states
Thu Oct 25, 2012 11:01pm EDT
By Nicole Neroulias
SEATTLE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday endorsed state ballot initiatives to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state, Maryland and Maine as he sought to galvanize gay and lesbian enthusiasm for his re-election bid.
Statements issued by the Obama campaign in those three states urging voters to approve the gay-marriage measures on their respective November 6 ballots came five months after Obama became the first U.S. president to express support for the right of same-sex couples to wed.
With polls showing Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney running neck and neck, the outcome of the race is likely to hinge largely on the Election Day turnout of their core constituencies, and both candidates are doing the utmost to motivate their supporters.
For Obama, the gay and lesbian community is seen as a loyal and potentially pivotal voting bloc, along with larger demographic groups such as Hispanics and single, young women.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE89P04520121026
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