Blockbuster plans to close 182 stores by April

Summary: Many companies are suffering and the video rental chain Blockbuster is no different. They have become bankrupt and plan to close 182 stores by April to try and get back into the swing of things. The company will do this in chunks though. hey plan to close 72 by January 1st and the remaining 110 by April. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in September, they are not the only rental chains struggling as Netflix and Redbox and really starting to take over video rentals. Blockbuster still has 2,900 stores in the U.S. and has already closed about 1,000. The company does not want to shut down as they are trying to renegotiate leases with many landlords. The company hopes to be out of bankruptcy around July. They are hoping with fewer stores the stores remaining will have higher profits. There are also new investors Carl Icahn and his crew who hope to help the company come out of bankruptcy and help them regain consumers.

Opinion: Many people believe that our economy is starting to turn around but with stories like this I can't help but believe it still  isn't ready to come around again. I do hope that Blockbuster is able to start up again though. And I will admit that I am definitely one who has started using Redbox. Redbox is only a dollar a night for a movie while movie stores are usually about 3 dollars for a new release. Also I know many people who use Netflix because it is only $10 a month and you can chose from just about any movie you can imagine. It is hard to compete with such good deals. I think that movie stores should really lower their price or start to extend the amount of nights you can have a movie (especially the new releases). Hopefully movie stores and Blockbuster will begin to realize what consumers are more attracted to and start to run their shops that way.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40753485/ns/business-retail/

Fancy Florida ATM skips the folding cash, spits out gold

Summary: In Boca Raton Florida there is a new type of ATM, a gold ATM. This small machine instead of spitting out cash spits out 24-carat gold bars and coins. The machine originated from Germany and is going to be installed at an upscale mall. Thomas Geissler is the inventor of Gold To Go machines and he says his purpose for these machines are to help the more serious investors who don't want to go into a pawn shop and buy gold, instead they can just receive it from this machine. Also he said they will  make good gifts. Instead of having jewelry, flowers or candy this gold will stay around for hundreds of years! The way the machine works is just like a ATM in that all you do is insert a credit or debit card and pick the weight and style of golf they want. The gold then comes out in a sealed wrap box. The machine carries about 320 different sized-bars and coins. The costs all vary and the machine reflects the market so the prices change. One thing that people forget about is the size of the golf that an ounce is only a little larger than a quarter and a gram is only about the size of a fingernail. Because of the price there are security guard and live cameras around the ATM. The ATMs are becoming more and more popular and soon investors are saying there needs to be one in Las Vegas. "Gold always comes back to its real value, it's not diamonds, it's not silver, it's not real estate. It's just gold." Geissler said. A few select people believe it may become currency so the want to install about 40 more machines in hotels and malls around the U.S.

Opinion: I am still a little confused on the whole idea behind such an ATM. I feel that gold will not become a currency of the U.S. I think that it is a good idea for serious investors who do not want to have to go and deal with pawn shops. I don't think that it is a very good idea to give these as gifts because I do not know what they would use it on. Also I feel that these would not be very practical because who wants to carry around a bunch of gold in their pocket. Also there are not very many of them in the world so they would be very hard to get to. I want to know if people will actually use these and how safe and practical they are. I would also like to follow up on this to see if these actually take off or if they will just crash.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40716205/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

Man dies after punch from Burger King worker, police say

Summary: On Thursday in Detroit a Burger King employee punched an older man who was a costumer and he ended up dying. The 20-year-old worker punched the 67-year-old man, the man fell and emergency rushed him to the hospital where he later died that night. The police are still not sure what caused the death but it have been from choking on his dentures, an autopsy will soon take place. The names of the people have not been released but the worker is in custody and could face criminal charges. Some of Detroit laws make it very likely that he will be charged with some type of criminal charge. It did not seem that the two were fighting but Burger King does accept the incident and the owner is dealing with the police.

Opinion: First off I never think that it would be okay to ever hit an elderly person no matter what. most of the time they have medical problems or are very fragile. I think that burger King should at the least fire that employee and that employee should face some types of charges because he was the one who caused the fall which lead to his death so I feel that he is the one responsible for the man's death. I would like to follow up on this report because if nothing happens to the employee i feel that would not be fair to the mans friends and family at all. But I do feel strongly that no matter what you should never punch or hurt anybody but especially older people because they really have no way of sticking up for themselves.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40604515/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

Snowman with noose appalls home's neighbors

Summary: Last week a man from Hayden, Idaho had visits from the police and many complaints from his neighbors regarding a snowman that was shaped like a member from the Ku Klux Klan. The county sheriff said it could be possible that Mark Eliseuson could be charged with crime because the snowman looked as if he was holding a noose. Mark could have been charged with creating a public nuisance because the states defines it as "anything offensive to the senses." Once he found out he was maybe going to be charged he knocked down the snowman and told others he didn't feel there was anything wrong with it. But clearly other people did. People are concerned because children are wondering why that snowman looks different and why it looks like that. This is not Marks first warning  though, one Halloween he passed out bullets casings once he supposedly ran out of candy.

Opinion: Personally I feel like this guy is crazy. I know that as Americans we have our own freedom of speech but I think that is taking it too far. Obviously the KKK was abolished for a reason and there have been war and fights over racial tension that still go on today. I don't think that he even should have made the snowman and just kept his feeling to himself in the first place because if he knew better he would have known that people would get upset. I feel that in a way he could have just been doing this for attention but I guess nobody will really know. I strongly feel that this was not an okay thing to do especially in a neighborhood with families and you children at home.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40480194/ns/us_news-life/

Save money during holidays; get a rebate for programmable thermostat

Summary: With winter approaching quickly and heat being turned on there could not be a better time for these new rebates on programmable thermostats. But action must be done by November 30th. Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) is a Minnesota based group and has made it much easier for people to get the thermostats and recieve rebates. Along with CERTs, Honeywell is also very excitd to offer people such great deals! They say they will provide great comfort, save engery and lower energy bills. Many utilities are also offering rebates that can be found around the state. Honeywell rebates are around $10. What programmable thermostats are is they allow you to pre-set your home's heating and cooling system on the schedule you want. Many changes can be made during the summer and winter months. For families that have switched over to programmable thermostats many have saved up to $200 annualy.

Opinion: I think that programmable thermostats are a very good idea. I know that we have them in my house and that they have worked very well for us. I know that a nice feature about them is that you can determine when you want certain temperatures, for example if you like to sleep at a cooler temperautre then you are able to set the temperature at night cooler then the rest of the day. I feel that now with the economy and the holidays coming up people should be trying to save money where they can. This is an easy way to save money and will benefit people in the long run. I feel that these would be good investors for most people.

http://www.echopress.com/event/article/id/80021/group/News/

Issue #3- Safe to Eat?

Summary: In more recent years there has been an increase in the number of food-borne illnesses. All of these cases have gotten the nation's attention and even the government is now worried. A bacteria that has caused many of the illnesses and deaths has been Escherichia coli (E. coli.) Just last year there was an incident that killed 3 people and made over 200 people sick. This case originated from a California farm. Many other outbreaks occurred that caused more people to become sick. There are many reasons for the sudden outbreaks but experts say the most likely reason is because Americans are trying to eat healthier which leads them to eating more fresh produce. Often times the produce is eaten raw unlike meat or fish which is cooked which usually kills harmful bacteria.) Another thing that America has started doing is going their produce locally, mainly in Arizona and California. One last reason that experts think is because processing and distributing the produce happens in large factors and numbers that when a bacteria gets in it affects more produce which will affect more people. As of right now safety standards are not very enforced and quite lenient. The fruit and vegetables are watched over right now by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and meat and poultry are very watched over by the Department of Agriculture. Many large groups have began developing their own standards to regain their costumers trust in their product. Consumers are starting to believe and argue that there should be just one agency that controls and regulates the safety of the U.S. food supply. The supporters of this idea believe that the agency could have mandatory guidelines for all the processes that go into our countries produce production. Supporters of a government run agency also believe that the FDA should be better funded. They believe that way there can be more jobs and be able to do more research on how to prevent such outbreaks of food-borne illnesses. People who do not believe there should be a government run agency that looks over the food industry and specifically produce believe that it will put many businesses at stake. Even though the sales went down of produce after many outbursts the industry was still able to recover. "Critics of the government regulation point out that the industry can respond faster and more effectively than any federal agency." Also pointed out is that if there were a government run agency the cost of producing produce would increase which would get passed along to the consumer who would have to pay more for their fruits and vegetables.

Opinion: I think that there should not be a government run agency that deals with mandating and controlling our produce. I do think that the rules should be much more enforced so that outbreaks like this do not happen as often as they are happening now. I feel that tax payers do not need to pay for something that we won't really get to hear about and see what kind of progress is happening. I also think that it is a good thing that Americans are trying to eat healthier and we should not be punished for that by having the prices of produce raised. Tom Mullen agrees with me in that there should not be a government run agency. He talks about how since the FDA has been created the drugs for foods aren't any safer and there really hasn't been much of a change in the way our produce has been handled and he believes it has not helped outbreaks and creating something like this or expanding the FDA would not be a benefit to Americans either.

Issue #1
Issue #2

1 in 10 kids in U.S. has ADHD, new study says

Summary: In recent years more and more kids have been diagnosed with ADHD. Some think that the actual percent of kids is not growing but because there are better screenings and awareness for it that may result in more cases being shown. It is said that almost 1 in 10 U.S. children have ADHD. ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and it results in kids having a hard time paying attention. This can be treated with drugs or therapy though. The children that are diagnosed 2/3rds of them are seeking medical attention. In recent studies it have been calculated that approximately 5.4 million kids have been diagnosed with ADHD which is 1 million up from the last calculation that was done. Researchers are not positive why such the increase but they are sure that many more parents are telling their kids they have ADHD. One thing that the researchers did was keep tract of who had ADHD and of those who had it last survey about half of them had a mild case.

Opinion: I feel that I have even noticed more awareness about ADHD and that it is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. i feel kids are more comfortable talking about it which could a reason why there seems to be such an increase in the amount of kids diagnosed. I think that it is good to have kids on medication just in case. Also I feel that parents are becoming much more acceptable and supportive towards this. I feel that the more and more research that is done and new tests that come out the more people will be able to learn from this. I feel surveys like this one should be done more often so they can be up to date and continue accurate research.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40113826/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

15 buried alive, Costa Rica on storm "red alert"

Summary: Today in Costa Rica a hill that was soaked with rain collapsed and many homes killing at least 15 people and several dozen people are still missing. search parties have already gone out but only corpses have been found. The slide was due to an excessive amount of rain over the last couple of days. A river has already flooded and that sent 600 people to shelters alone, and this slide will not help any. Also a problem now is getting places. Many areas you can no longer drive because there are boulders piled 10 feet high. there has been attempts of making tunnels or moving the rocks but the workers have had to stop because of the fear of another land slide. To add to all these problems a dam broke in Parrita which is close to the Pacific coast. Along with a dam, many bridges have collapsed. Because of all these destruction's some 1,500 Costa Ricans are in shelters. The rain is said to continue into tomorrow.

Opinion: I think that this is an awful awful thing to happen to anybody and any country! I can't imagine what these people are going through and how much stress is being put on their life! Not only do they have to deal with everyday things but now having to worry about where they are going to sleep and what their next meal will be, I can't even imagine! I really hope that other countries can step in and give a helping hand. Hopefully  these rains will stop soon and that they can get this mess cleaned up as quickly as possible! I also hope that they can find as many people and not give up! I feel that if Costa Rica handles this well it could really bring them and surrounding countries together.

Study: Toxic chemicals prevalent after BP spill

Summary: Today researchers found that deep down in the ocean there are toxic chemicals that are still left over from the BP spill. The levels in some areas are high enough to kill aquatic creatures. Back in May there was research conducted and the oil was found as far as 8 miles away and since then there has been even more oil released and that's what concerned the researchers so much. The thing that the researchers are most concerned about now are chemicals call polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs. These awful chemicals can kill animals instantly if high enough concentration, or if low concentration it can cause cancer over a period of time. At first the biggest concern about the PAHs were how toxic they were but now months after the spill the PAHs are still there so the concern now is how long do these toxins last in water? It has also been found that the chemicals are as far away as 13km away and still are very high concentrated. One study that was conducted found that at certain places the PAHs are 40% higher than they were before the spill. One thing that has not happened yet is that the chemicals have not gotten into fish, shrimp or crab from the Gulf of Mexico.

Opinion: I can't believe that more terrible things are being found from this awful oil spill! I feel that BP should take more responsibility and I know they are helping with clean up but I feel that this chemical should be a major thing to focus on and try to get rid of. All of the animals in the Gulf play a huge role in our economy. We may not necessarily eat them or use them all specifically but every animal is part of the food chain and in order for us to live and have a successful economy we need many things from the Gulf of Mexico. I really hope that researchers are able to find a way to get rid of the PAHs. I know that it will be a difficult task because there is so much of it and it is so far out and deep in the ocean. But I feel that if researchers and the company really got after it they could make progress. Also I think that more studies need to be done on the PAHs to see how to get rid of it and answer many unanswered question people have.

Regular workouts ward off the comon cold

Summary: Working out regularly has always been encouraged and has proven that it keeps a person in better shape and healthier overall. A new study shows that working out could also help you prevent catching the common cold. Studies have shown that going for a brisk 30-minute walk 5 times a week catch far less and less severe colds than people who don't do anything. A survey was done from 1,000 people and it was found that people who worked out 5 or more times a week their colds last 45% shorter than the peoples cold who only worked out once a week or not at all. They have found that the more often a person exercises the more often their immune cells will be alert. Getting the immune cells moving is really what will provide the body with best protection. People may think that your diet or weight may be more important but researchers stand that physical activity is the most important thing a person can do to keep a cold away.

Opinion: I think that this new discovery is great! I personally couldn't agree more with it. I have been participating in sports for a very long time and many of them have been in the fall and winter when common colds usually start to become more noticeable. I have have noticed that very few of the athletes get colds while they are in season especially compared to the kids who are not doing activities. I feel that no matter what, people should spend a part of their day exercising and now people really should because of this new discovery. I feel that it would not only help themselves but it would also help the people they are around (coworkers, family, etc.) in knowing that they have a less chance of getting sick which means a less chance of getting other people sick.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39958059/ns/health-fitness/

Tornado flips vehicles, damages Texas school

Summary: On Sunday in Rice, Texas a town was damaged from a very strong tornado. The tornado was able to flip several cars but one that was major was that a semi-trailer flipped and landed on another car going down Interstate 45. Two people were hurt in that accident but the injuries were only classified as minor once they got to the hospital. Another thing that shook the town was that the school was hit by the tornado. As far as the principal knows there were no injuries from the school event. 3 people were omitted to the hospital but all patients were said to have injuries from traffic and the tornado and all injuries were minor.

Opinion: I feel that living in Minnesota I do not know exactly what kind of pain of trauma these people are going through. There are tornado's around here but I feel that they are never quite as destructive and there definitely aren't as many as down south. I do not know exactly what these people or what this town is going through but I feel very sorry for them! I feel that if a school is damaged, no matter how, a community will be hurt from it. I just hope that this community can get together and help the injured people and help to rebuild the school. Possibly out of this destruction this could bring a sense of community and belonging to the town.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39827601/ns/weather/

"Hiccup Girl" charged with first-degree murder

Summary: In 2007 Jennifer Mee was nationally recognized for her condition of uncontrollable hiccuping. At one point in her life she had 50 hiccups in just one minute and this went on for 5 weeks of her life. She tried many different treatments and had seen countless doctors but nobody could figure out what was wrong with her. Eventually the hiccups stopped but still nobody knows what the cause to them were. This young teenager that everybody felt pity for no longer will receive that same feeling. On Sunday she was arrested along with 2 other people and is being charged with first-degree murder. Shannon A. Griffin was the victim and was said to have several gun shots in her upper body. Investigators believe she was a victim of a armed robbery. The crime was committed in Florida and since Florida has the death penalty if the 3 are found guilty they could face the death penalty.

Opinion: Back in 2007 when Jennifer Mee was on the today show and was being interviewed about her unusual hiccuping disorder I did feel bad for her and I'm sure I wasn't the only one watching that day that felt bad for her. I didn't understand how there could be such a thing that doctors could not fix and that instead she just had to deal with them! Once I saw the head line for this article I thought there was no way that it was the young girl who was on the today show just a few years ago...but sure enough, it was. I do not feel sorry at all for people who commit such a terrible crime. I have no idea what kind of mind set they must be in to do such a terrible thing. So many people besides just the person who died and their family is affected and sometimes I feel that the murders don't think of anybody besides themselves when they do such a terrible thing. I feel that the case should be more looked into and I feel that the death penalty should be reconsidered if the 3 are found guilty but also they should get the type of punishment they deserve.\

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39827189/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

Man who stabbed boy wanted to kill a kid

Summary: Monday evening around 8:30 at a restaurant in Garden City, New York, a little boy was repeatedly stabbed in his back by Evans Sachs. Evan had been roaming public places for the last couple of weeks to try and scope out a specific target or a specific place where he would commit the crime. Once he had picked out Dave & Buster as the restaurant, he went in and spotted a young boy and decided that was his victim. His parents were sitting very close to him but Evan waited until his parents weren't attention to start stabbing the boy. The police arrived and Evans was arrested. As of right now, Evan Sachs is not pleading guilty as of right now and his parents are saying they are very sorry but are glad that the boy will make a recovery. The mother says her son Evan needs more mental health treatment.

Opinion: When I read the title to the article it immediately grabbed my attention and I wondered what the heck it was talking about. I can't even imagine how somebody could do such a thing to a poor innocent child that they don't even know. I can't even imagine what the family is going through right now. They must have so many emotions going through their mind. One thing that I know I would want to know is to know exactly how did such a thing to my son. The family is very fortunate that the boy will make a recovery because they are going through a hard enough time the way it is. I think that the family and attorneys need to work very hard on the case and figure out who committed this awful crime. I think that because the mother added that her son had mental health issues I feel that it was Evan Sachs who stabbed the child. I do not think it is an excuse by any means to do such a thing though. I think that I will actually follow this case a bit more becuase I ould like to find out who acutally did it and why any person would do such a thing?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39620565/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts

Panic attacks feared during miner rescue

Summary: For over 2 months in San Jose, Chile, there have been 33 miners trapped in a caved in mine. But the miners will soon be able to see daylight again! On Wednesday there will be a capsule sent down to the mine to rescue the workers. But before the capsule is sent down there must be many precautions taken. Chile's health minister is worked about the workers. He fears that their body temperatures could be off or that blood clotting could occur on the way up to the surface since it is over a half mile back up. The blood clotting worries were taken seriously and each miner is taking aspirin before they take their journey back up. The biggest concern about the workers right now is that since there have been 33 workers in a mine together for 2 months the workers may have a panic attack when they are all alone in the capsule on the way to the surface. Another thing that the miners are doing is being put on a special diet so they do not become nauseated on the curvy path up.

Opinion: First off I am so glad to hear that the miners are finally getting rescued! I feel that after being in such a small space with so many men for such a long time it would be extremely hard to get back to reality. I feel as if once all of the miners are out of the mine an organization should hold some type of recovery for the miners. I think that if all of a sudden after being trapped in a mine for 2 months ans you were thrown back into reality it would not be an easy switch. There would be so much more to deal with and there would be more people but such a bigger space that all of the change would be so overwhelming to the miners. For example when troops come back from war there are places for them to go to get back in to the swing of things and they are gradually put back into the real world. I feel that because the miners were living in such a different place than all the rest of us they should do a type of recovery similar to troops returning from war.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39599067/ns/world_news-americas/

Issue #2- Spnding What We Can Afford

Summary: The U.S. is 13 trillion dollars in debt, and growing every second. Also our countries budget deficits have risen to over 1 trillion dollars each year. Because our budget deficits are so high the U.S. Treasury must borrow money and because they are borrowing money from other countries there will be interest put on the money borrowed, just like if you took out a student loan you would pay more back then what you actually took out because of the interest. Federal deficits are not a new thing to our country though. In 1992 the deficits reached an all time high of $290 billion. People in the country were so worried about it that they passed the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 which increased taxes and had many spending cuts for the government. After the Act our deficits increased again so George W. Bush and Congress passed tax cuts which helped, but then the terrorist attack of September 11th, 2001 happened which lead our country to a new record high budget degicit of $412 billion in 2004. Because of our ridiclious amounts of spending Congress passed a pay-as-you-go budgeting in 2007 which is now known as "paygo." Paygo requires that if there are going to be tax cuts to the people there also has to be reduction in spending in the government so that the two will balance each other out and our countries debt will not increase. But there are debates about whether or not this will work. Many people believe that paygo will work because they believe people will take better care of their money becuase now they can only spend what they have and it could help our economy from a crisis. Others believe that paygo will just hurt our economy because all paygo will do is get peoples taxes to pay for new progrmas that our country dosen't need.

Opinion: If I would have been able to express my feelings toward the pay-as-you-go plan I would have voted in favor of it. I think that people need to not think about themselves so much and realize how much stress and how many problems they could potentially create for generations to come. For example the generation dealing with paygo proably did not really care if they left a bunch of debt to other generations becuase they didn't have to deal with it. But now in 2010 with our debt being over 13 trillion I see that people should have cared more for our generation now so that we can help ourselves and help the generations to come. If they would have passed the paygo I think it would have helped our country. I think that the money would have been budgeted better and watched over more closely becuase they would have known only to spend what they have because they didn't want to go further in debt. Even though paygo was in the 1990s there are still huge debates about it today. For example President Obama has even talked about bringing paygo back into action to try and help us get out of debt, even in the Senate there are still debates and votes going on about paygo today. I feel that paygo would have been a good idea for our country and I stand with the people who are still pushing for it today.

Issue #1- War Dollars
Issue #3- Social Insecurity

Accidental blast kills 25 in Sri Lanka

Summary: In Sri Lanka there was a truck carrying explosives and it accidentally exploded. The explosion killed at least 25 people. The explosive also caused dynamite to go off in a police station which killed 60 plus people, most of which were policemen. The explosion went off in the Batticaloa district which is going through reconstruction because of a civil war. Many people were interviewed and the explosion as of right now is said to be "accidental" until further investigation.

Opinion: I feel so sorry for the people of Sri Lanka. The area the bomb went off has just gone through a civil war and they were finally bringing things back together and now this tragedy happens. I feel like this will take a while for the people to get over because so many deaths have happen in such a short time frame. Hopefully the people are able to rebound beck from this and get right back to rebuilding their city and getting their country and community back together. I do believe that this was an accident that the people can get over.