johnhanblog

One week ago, Melissa Hillhouse moved from Arkansas to Greensburg, Kan.,
with her husband and daughter. Today their new home — along with most
of the community surrounding it — was wiped out by a massive tornado.
There were nine deaths.

# posted by John @ 5/05/2007 06:11:00 PM 0 comments

Cameroon state radio says Kenya Airways jet with more than 100 people
aboard has crashed, wire services report.

# posted by John @ 5/05/2007 07:45:00 AM 0 comments

Breaking News
AS MANY AS 20 MILLION CHICKENS IN THE UNITED STATES MAY HAVE BEEN GIVEN
CONTAMINATED FEED, AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT SAYS

# posted by John @ 5/04/2007 07:23:00 PM 0 comments

A Pentagon task force says more than one-third of U.S. soldiers and
nearly half of National Guardsmen return home with signs of
post-traumatic stress and other disorders, and the military is failing
to provide proper mental health care. 

# posted by John @ 5/04/2007 07:21:00 PM 0 comments

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was drunk at the
time of
his fatal accident, and marijuana was found in the sport-utility vehicle
he was driving, according to police.

# posted by John @ 5/04/2007 12:28:00 PM 1 comments

WASHINGTON (AP) - The economy added a weaker-than-expected 88,000 jobs
in
April, the slimmest gain in more than two years, as employment fell in
retail and manufacturing, and the unemployment rate edged up to 4.5%, a
Labor
Department showed Friday.

# posted by John @ 5/04/2007 10:55:00 AM 0 comments

April jobs growth slows to 88,000, missing analyst estimates.
Unemployment rate rises to 4.5%.

# posted by John @ 5/04/2007 08:52:00 AM 0 comments

NEWS
U.N. climate report deal reached
---------------------------------------------
Delegates at an international conference on climate change brokered a
blueprint Friday for combatting global warming, resisting pressure from
China
to tone down language on cutting emissions of heat-trapping gases.

Republicans focus on Iraq in first debate
---------------------------------------------
Most of the Republican presidential hopefuls stood by President Bush's
policy
in Iraq while trying to grab a piece of Ronald Reagan's popular legacy
Thursday in their first face-to-face debate of the 2008 campaign.

Phones studied as attack detector
---------------------------------------------
The government is researching whether the best defense against a
chemical, biological or radiological attack might one day be right in
everyone's hands
or on their ears. Homeland Security officials are looking into
outfitting cellphones with detectors that would alert emergency
responders to
radiological isotopes, toxic chemicals and biological agents such as
anthrax.

# posted by John @ 5/04/2007 08:44:00 AM 0 comments

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has been placed under the
protection of the U.S. Secret Service, reportedly because of a threat
against him, the Secret Service said Thursday.

# posted by John @ 5/03/2007 06:36:00 PM 0 comments

Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, stepped off a
chartered airplane in Richmond, Va., signaling the beginning of a
six-day American trip. It is her first visit to the United States in 16
years.

# posted by John @ 5/03/2007 04:17:00 PM 0 comments

Iraq Lawmakers Get Heat For Vacation Plans

While Congress continues to wrangle over the future of U.S. troops in
Iraq, Republicans and Democrats alike are furious that the Iraqi
parliament might take a two-month summer break before reaching key
agreements.

# posted by John @ 5/03/2007 01:01:00 PM 0 comments

WALTER SCHIRRA, ONE OF NASA'S FIRST ASTRONAUTS AND ONE OF ONLY SEVEN
MERCURY ASTRONAUTS, HAS DIED

# posted by John @ 5/03/2007 12:54:00 PM 0 comments

NEWS

Mentally ill die 25 years earlier, on average
---------------------------------------------
Adults with serious mental illness treated in public systems die about
25
years earlier than Americans overall, a gap that's widened since the
early '90s when major mental disorders cut life spans by 10 to 15
years,
according to a report due Monday.

Iraq veto stands; Dems vow new push to end war
---------------------------------------------
Congressional leaders from both parties predicted quick approval of
emergency
funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan on Wednesday,
after
the House fell 62 votes short of overriding President Bush's veto of a
bill
setting a deadline for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

MONEY

Fund's value rises when Castro ails
---------------------------------------------
Some stocks and the mutual funds that own them rise and fall in response
to
earnings or new-product announcements. Then there's the Herzfeld
Caribbean
Basin fund (ticker: CUBA). It tends to gain and drop according to the
health
of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Corporate guru sees trouble in globalization
---------------------------------------------
Whenever U.S. corporations establish factories overseas, they can count
on
taking flak from labor unions, lawmakers and left-of-center economists.

# posted by John @ 5/03/2007 09:28:00 AM 0 comments

The Democratic-controlled House has failed to override President Bush's
veto of an Iraqi war spending bill with timetables for troop
withdrawals. The 222-203 vote fell far short of the two-thirds majority
needed.

# posted by John @ 5/02/2007 03:49:00 PM 0 comments

U.S. diplomats return from Iraq with PTSD
---------------------------------------------
U.S. diplomats are returning from Iraq with the same debilitating,
stress-
related symptoms that have afflicted many U.S. troops, prompting the
State
Department to order a mental health survey of 1,400 employees who have
completed assignments there.

Older, dangerous drivers a growing problem
---------------------------------------------
As his 90-year-old neighbor struggled last May to set out on a morning
drive
to the store, David Prager began to worry.

Heart attack survival rises
---------------------------------------------
A sharp drop in heart attack deaths in more than a dozen countries
coincides
with global efforts to make sure patients receive proven treatments,
doctors
report today.

MONEY

Option bets before Murdoch announcement prompt suspicion
---------------------------------------------
Investors quietly betting on a big spike in Dow Jones' stock ahead of
Tuesday's news have raised suspicions that the surprise bid from News
Corp.
wasn't such a surprise.

Best way to buy value stocks is via an ETF or mutual fund
---------------------------------------------
Q: How do you recommend learning how to read companies' annual reports
and
balance sheets to learn about a company? And how much stock (no pun
intended)
do you put in value-investing?

# posted by John @ 5/02/2007 01:22:00 PM 0 comments

Back To Work: Bush, Dems Resume Iraq Fight

Congressional leaders are scheduled to meet with President Bush this
afternoon, one day after he vetoed an Iraq war spending bill that
mandated troop withdrawals. New pressure is on Democrats to craft a
compromise even as they grow more fractious.

# posted by John @ 5/02/2007 01:18:00 PM 0 comments

EX-LAWMAN KENNETH JOHN FREEMAN, ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST NOTORIOUS
ACCUSED CHILD MOLESTERS, ARRESTED IN CHINA, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS
SAY

# posted by John @ 5/02/2007 01:14:00 PM 0 comments

Immigration Rallies Hit U.S. Streets

Demonstrators are protesting from California to New York, demanding
citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. They hope to
spur Congress to act before the looming presidential primaries take over
the political landscape. 

# posted by John @ 5/01/2007 07:24:00 PM 0 comments

President Bush vetoes a war spending bill which includes a timetable for
withdrawing troops from Iraq, the White House announces.

# posted by John @ 5/01/2007 07:21:00 PM 0 comments

May 1, 2007

Serious school bus accident in Queens

A mini school bus and an NYPD patrol car collided this afternoon in the
Little Neck section of Queens. EMS tells: six children were hurt, but
none of the injuries were considered life threatening.

# posted by John @ 5/01/2007 03:55:00 PM 0 comments

Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, confirms that it
received a bid from News Corp. to buy the company for about $5 billion ,
or $60 a share.

# posted by John @ 5/01/2007 12:40:00 PM 0 comments

Colonel's gamble pays off in Iraq
---------------------------------------------
When U.S. strategy in Iraq called for pulling American forces back to
large, heavily protected bases last year, Army Col. Sean MacFarland was
moving in the opposite direction. He built small, more vulnerable combat
outposts in
Ramadi's most dangerous neighborhoods - places where al-Qaeda had taken
root.

Foreigners seeking high-skilled worker visas hope to beat the odds
---------------------------------------------
From high-heeled fashion models to high-skilled techies, foreign workers
are
waiting this month to hear whether they've won an unprecedented lottery
for
temporary U.S. work visas. The lottery is in response to an
overwhelming
demand for 65,000 high-skilled worker visas. More than 123,000
applications
arrived at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the first 48
hours
after the April 1 filing date.

Va. Tech's solidarity impresses potential freshmen
---------------------------------------------
High school senior Olivia Marshall already had been leaning toward
accepting
an admission offer from Virginia Tech. After the deadly shootings last
month,
her resolve was even stronger. "Everyone seemed really united. They all
just
seemed like really strong, great people," she said.

MONEY

Here comes $3 gas again, and it could get worse
---------------------------------------------
If the price at your local gas station isn't topping $3 already, it
likely will soon.

FDA widens Chinese import alert
---------------------------------------------
The Food and Drug Administration is enforcing a new import alert that
greatly
expands its curtailment of some food ingredients imported from China,
authorizing border inspectors to detain ingredients used in everything
from
noodles to breakfast bars.

# posted by John @ 5/01/2007 11:58:00 AM 0 comments

The head of the British army said he has personally decided that Prince
Harry will go to Iraq when his regiment is slated to go. He said he
hoped his statement would end media speculation. Harry, 22, is a second
lieutenant and tank commander. 

# posted by John @ 4/30/2007 07:27:00 PM 0 comments

DJIA

13,062

-58.03

S&P

1,482

-11.70

NASDAQ

2,525

-32.12

10Yr

4.63%

-0.068

U.S. stocks fall on weak data; April ends on record gains

NEW YORK
U.S. stocks fell on Monday, as investors consolidated some of the hefty
gains posted in April, while weighing a slew of data revealing not only
tame inflation but also a weakening economy.

Economic Report: U.S. consumer spending sluggish in March

WASHINGTON
Consumers may have come into March roaring like lions but they certainly
left the month like lambs.

Vacation-home sales set record in 2006; investment deals tumble

CHICAGO
A sharp drop in investment-home sales offset a record number of
vacation-home purchases to bring down the overall share of second-home
purchases in 2006, the National Association of Realtors reported
Monday.

# posted by John @ 4/30/2007 07:23:00 PM 0 comments

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/johnDispatch

# posted by John @ 4/30/2007 02:28:00 PM 0 comments

NEWS

War bill delays miniumum wage hike
---------------------------------------------
Increasing the minimum wage should be easy for a Congress controlled by
Democrats, especially with President Bush's pledge of support. But a
$2.10
boost for America's lowest-paid workers is again being delayed, this
time in a tussle over whether to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq.

PepsiCo takes top spot in global warming battle
---------------------------------------------
Guess what corporate global warming fighter the Environmental
Protection
Agency will crown its national "green power" kingpin Monday.

Few Iraqi refugees allowed into U.S.
---------------------------------------------
The United States admitted 68 Iraqi refugees in the six months through
March,
a tiny percentage of those fleeing their homes because of the war,
State
Department figures show.

MONEY |

Yahoo's new ad campaign plays to users' needs
---------------------------------------------
Yahoo, the Web brand that's a distant No. 2 behind Google in search
market share and search ad revenue, will try to click better with
consumers with a new message: Be a better (whatever you want to be).

Inflation is largest issue, economists say
---------------------------------------------
Inflation is the Federal Reserve's biggest challenge, according to a USA
TODAY survey of 53 top economists, who predicted slightly slower
expansion and somewhat sharper price pressures than in a January poll.

# posted by John @ 4/30/2007 09:20:00 AM 0 comments

A highway ramp near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge collapsed onto
another ramp after a gasoline tanker overturned and caught fire.
Officials said it would cause the worst disruption for Bay Area
commuters since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. 

# posted by John @ 4/29/2007 06:11:00 PM 0 comments