Corrina_Sullivan's Blog

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Federal investigators say the engineer of a commuter train sent a text message just seconds before a deadly collision last month in Los Angeles.  The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that cell phone records of Robert Sanchez show he received a text message a minute and 20 seconds before the crash. The agency says he sent one about a minute later.

25 people killed... nearly 40 injured in this horrific accident.  Metrolink says it has implemented a new rule banning texting while driving its trains.  Is that too little too late?

Corrina

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Confident but not yet celebrating, key lawmakers agreed Thursday on a multibillion-dollar bailout plan for Wall Street aimed at staving off a national economic catastrophe.

President Bush brought the two men fighting to succeed him to a historic White House huddle on how to sell a deal to lawmakers who were still resisting.

Welcoming Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama -- as well as congressional leaders -- Bush said, "My hope is that we can reach an agreement very shortly."

The tentative accord would give the Bush administration just a fraction of the $700 billion it had requested up front, with half the money subject to a congressional veto, congressional aides said. Under the plan, the Treasury secretary would get $250 billion immediately and could have an additional $100 billion if he certified it was needed. The last $350 billion could be blocked by a vote of Congress under the arrangement, designed to give lawmakers a stronger hand in controlling the unprecedented rescue.

The aides described the details on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Private talks on Capitol Hill ended at midday with the announcement that an agreement in principle had been reached on a $700 billion financial rescue package that the Bush administration wants. Few details were immediately available...

Under the tentative plan, the government would buy the toxic, mortgage-based assets of shaky financial institutions in a bid to keep them from going under and setting off a cascade of ruinous events, including wiped-out retirement savings, rising home foreclosures, closed businesses, and lost jobs.

Bush warned darkly in a prime-time address Wednesday night, "Our entire economy is in danger."

What do you think about the plans outlined in the so-called tentative agreement? 

Thanks for blogging,
Corrina

NEW YORK (AP) -- Republican John McCain says he's directing his staff to work with Barack Obama's campaign and the debate commission to delay Friday's debate because of the economic crisis.

In a statement, McCain says he will stop campaigning after addressing former President Bill Clinton's Global Initiative session on Thursday and return to Washington to focus on the nation's financial problems.

McCain also said he wants President Bush to convene a leadership meeting in Washington. Both he and Obama would attend the session.

What do you make of McCain's decision?  Think Obama will follow his lead suspending his campaign?

Update: Senator Obama says he doesn't want to delay the debate.  Obama also says the most important thing he and John McCain can do is issue a joint statement letting Congress and Americans know there is unity to get something passed.

Thanks for blogging,
Corrina

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke bluntly warned reluctant lawmakers Tuesday they risk a recession with higher unemployment and increased home foreclosures unless they act on the Bush administration's $700 billion plan to bail out the financial industry.

Despite the warning, influential lawmakers in both parties demanded changes in the White House-backed proposal, and conservative Republicans recoiled at the prospect of federal intervention into private capital markets.

Six weeks before the elections, both major party presidential contenders also insisted on alterations in the administration's prescription for the worst financial crisis in decades.

What do you think about this mess and Bernake's warning? Do you agree with those influential lawmakers- that we need to hold off and make necessary changes first?

Thanks for blogging,
Corrina

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices shot up $6 a barrel Wednesday, rebounding as fears of a spreading crisis in the U.S. financial sector sent skittish investors scrambling out of stocks and into hard assets.

The big rally at least temporarily halted crude's steep, two-month slide and brought prices back within striking distance of $100. Investors were frantically buying the same commodity that until this week they shunned in the belief that the slowing global economy was eroding demand for energy. But analysts said oil is unlikely to resume its upward climb; the economic downturn has indeed sharply curtailed demand, and they noted that recent rallies often have been followed by sharp selloffs as oil market traders try to cash in.

Meanwhile at the pump, retail gas prices were virtually flat compared with the previous day as more Gulf Coast refineries began ramping up operations after the passage of Hurricane Ike. A gallon of regular inched up one-tenth of a penny to a new national average of $3.855, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.

How are you handling the stock market slump and oil and gas prices?

Hang in there,
Corrina

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The majestic grizzly bear, once king of the Western wilderness but threatened with extinction for a third of a century, has roared back in Montana. The finding, from a $4.8 million, five-year study of grizzly bear DNA criticized by Republican presidential candidate John McCain as pork barrel spending, could help ease restrictions on oil and gas drilling, logging and other development.

Researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey announced Tuesday that there are approximately 765 bears in northwestern Montana. That's the largest population of grizzly bears documented there in more than 30 years, and a sign that the species could be at long last rebounding.

The first-ever scientific census shattered earlier estimates that said there were at least 250-350 bears roaming the area. More recent data placed the minimum population at around 563 bears.

Do you agree with McCain?

Thanks for blogging,

Corrina

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A New York judge has dismissed an indictment against five operators of an Orlando pharmacy targeted by Albany County prosecutors in an investigation of illegal steroid sales. Albany County Judge Stephen Herrick faults the way prosecutors presented the case involving Signature Pharmacy to a grand jury. He dismissed the indictment against owners Robert "Stan" Loomis and Naomi Loomis, pharmacist Michael Loomis, and former business managers Kirk Calvert and Anthony Palladino. Herrick says the integrity of the grand jury proceedings was compromised by "the amorphous quality of the evolving indictments" and prosecutors' inadequate instructions to the jurors. Since a February 2007 raid, 14 other people have pleaded guilty to drug and conspiracy counts.

Here's an old AP story on the matter:

The Times Union of Albany cited unidentified law enforcement officials in reporting Sunday that R&B music star Mary J. Blige, rap musicians 50 Cent, Timbaland and Wyclef Jean, and award-winning author and producer Tyler Perry may have received or used performance-enhancing drugs.

Law enforcement officials have said evidence does not indicate that the celebrities broke the law, but that investigators are focusing on doctors, pharmacists and clinics that provide the drugs.

Albany District Attorney P. David Soares launched the investigation into steroid trafficking last year.

Soares is "not confirming, denying or discussing any of the names" involved in the investigation, said spokeswoman Heather Streeter Orth.

A spokeswoman for Blige denied the singer had taken illegal steroids.

Ken Sunshine, a spokesman for Perry, declined to comment.

There was no response to calls Sunday and Monday seeking comment from representatives of other entertainers.

While athletes use steroids and human growth hormone to get bigger, faster and stronger, the drugs can also lure other people with their supposed anti-aging qualities.

Soares' multistate investigation has focused on Signature Pharmacy of Orlando, Fla. So far, 10 defendants have pleaded guilty and news reports have linked some professional athletes to Soares' probe.

Soares has said Signature was at the center of a web of businesses and doctors that illegally wrote prescriptions for steroids. Authorities raided the company almost a year ago and its owners and operators are awaiting trial in Albany on related charges.

What do you make of all this?

Thanks for blogging,
Corrina

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman says America needs a president that can be counted on in a time of war. For him, the candidate is Republican Sen. John McCain. The Democrat-turned independent says that while Sen. Barack Obama was voting to cut off funding for troops in Iraq, McCain took the unpopular position to support a surge in troops. "Because of that, today, our troops are at last beginning to come home, not in failure, but in honor," Lieberman says in excerpts that were released in advance of his speech Tuesday to the Republican National Convention. Lieberman says that in times like these, country matters more than political parties.

What do you think about Lieberman speaking at the Republican National Convention?

Thanks for blogging,

Corrina

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- In a day of stunning disclosures, John McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, said Monday her 17-year-old unmarried daughter was five months pregnant, and it was revealed an attorney was hired to defend the governor in a probe into the firing of her public safety commissioner.

The revelations threatened to steal any remaining thunder from Day One of the Republican National Convention, which already was overshadowed by Hurricane Gustav -- and brought unwanted attention to the 44-year-old governor, a self-described "hockey mom" with little experience on the national stage. The GOP convention had already been scaled back because of the hurricane, and just three days after McCain named Palin as his vice presidential running mate.

Coming after the randomness of Gustav, the revelations added to the sense of unscriptedness hanging over the convention. "Life happens," said McCain adviser Steve Schmidt, talking about the pregnancy story. "An American family," added colleague Mark Salter.

In a brief respite from partisanship, Democratic rival Barack Obama weighed in: "I think people's families are off limits and people's children are especially off limits."

McCain aides said the announcement about the pregnancy of Palin's daughter, Bristol, was aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's own youngest son, born in April, was actually the daughter's The national convention, which a political party counts on to send its candidate surging into the fall campaign, already had been relegated to a distant second to the hurricane on TV, in newspapers and on Internet Web sites.

The pregnancy statement, attributed to Sarah and Todd Palin and released by the campaign, said that Bristol Palin would keep her baby and marry the child's father, identified only as a young man named Levi. The baby is due in late December.

"Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents," Sarah and Todd Palin said in their brief statement.

Palin had told McCain's team about the pregnancy during lengthy discussions about her background, aides said. At several points, McCain's team warned Palin that the scrutiny into her private life would be intense and there was nothing she could do to prepare for it.

What do you make of today's announcement?

Thanks for blogging,
Corrina

DENVER (AP) -- John McCain is airing a one-evening-only ad with a simple message for Barack Obama: "Job well done." The ad coincides with Obama's nomination acceptance speech. McCain congratulates Obama for his nomination. McCain recognizes the symbolism of a black man accepting the nomination on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. The ad will run Thursday on national cable television before and after Obama's address. McCain says: "Senator Obama, this is truly a good day for America. Too often the achievements of our opponents go unnoticed. So I wanted to stop and say, congratulations. How perfect that your nomination would come on this historic day. Tomorrow, we'll be back at it. But tonight Senator, job well done."

What do you think? Classy or suspect?

Thanks for blogging,

Corrina

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Federal Aviation Administration said a communication failure Tuesday at a Georgia facility that processes flight plans for the eastern half of the U.S. was causing flight delays around the country.

An FAA web site that tracks airport status showed delays of 16 to 45 minutes involving some three dozen major airports across the country. The site advised passengers to "check your departure airport to see if your flight may be affected."

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen in Atlanta said there are no safety issues and officials are still able to speak to pilots on planes on the ground and in the air.

She said she doesn't know how many flights are being affected. Bergen said the problem that occurred Tuesday afternoon involves an FAA facility in Hampton, Ga., south of Atlanta, that processes flight plans. She said there was a failure in a communication link that transmits the data to a similar facility in Salt Lake City. As a result, the Salt Lake City facility was having to process those flight plans, causing delays in planes taking off. She said there were no problems with planes landing.

"There will be flight delays," Bergen said. "It could be any location, because one facility is now processing flight data for everybody."

A spokesman for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport, did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the impact there. Bergen said officials at the Atlanta airport were entering flight data manually to try to speed things up.

Discount carrier AirTran Airways, which has its hub at the Atlanta airport, said in a statement that because of the suburban FAA center snafu it is taking up to an hour for the FAA to get clearances to the towers for departures.

Delta Air Lines Inc., which has its main hub in Atlanta, said flights are processing for takeoff, but slowly.

...Allen Kenitzer, a western regional spokesman for the FAA, said the Utah system could handle the extra load while workers tried to get the Atlanta system back online, but it was expected to slow down air traffic. "We're not going to let an unsafe condition exist. It's just going to be slower," Kenitzer said.

An OIA spokesperson reports minimal impact at this point.  What do you make of the glitch.  Make you nervous to fly? 

Thanks for blogging,
Corrina

((FOX)) IN A SURPRISE MOVE, AWARD WINNING SONGWRITER AND PRODUCER KARA DIOGUARDI HAS BEEN NAMED THE FOURTH 'IDOL' JUDGE FOR THE UPCOMING 8TH SEASON OF THE FOX HIT SHOW.

What do you think about decision?  Think four's a crowd?

Here's a link to her website for bio info:

http://www.karadioguardi.com/kd/index.htm

Thanks for blogging,

Corrina

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Barack Obama's potential running mates ducked, dodged and semi-denied their way through a day of political intrigue Friday as the Democratic presidential contender readied a high-tech announcement of his pick for vice president.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, nooooo," Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told reporters who asked for her latest thoughts on the months-long search.

Three days before Democrats open their convention in Denver, several officials said Rep. Chet Edwards, whose district includes President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, had made the roster of potential running mates. Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware and Evan Bayh of Indiana were also in the mix, as were Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Sebelius -- and any unknown others Obama had managed to keep secret despite intense scrutiny. Hillary Rodham Clinton's prospects remained unlikely.

...Obama told reporters on Thursday he had made his choice, and aides used the prospect of a text-message announcement to try and attract additional supporters by soliciting their cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Even that became occasion for intrigue.

Late Friday, several officials said the text message announcement would be distributed Saturday morning, a few hours before a scheduled rally at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., where the Democratic ticket would appear for the first time.

Several GOP officials said Friday that Arizona Sen. McCain, Obama's Republican rival, had not settled on a running mate -- nor offered the job to anyone -- although former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty were under serious consideration. It's likely McCain will wait to see who Obama selects before picking his running mate.

Officials said the campaign also was preparing for an "unconventional" nominee, an indication that oft-mentioned former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, an abortion-rights supporter, or Connecticut Democrat-turned-independent Joe Lieberman still could be in the running. That category also could include non-politicians whom McCain deeply admires, such as Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Two officials close to Romney said he had not been offered the job.

We want you to make your predictions.  Who do you think Obama will pick? How about McCain?

Thanks for blogging.

Have a nice weekend,

Corrina