Top Stories
"Fiscal Cliff Avoidance" Talks Resume
Talks are starting in Washington to try to avoid the “fiscal cliff”, which a lot of analysts say would push us into recession. At least one expert is now saying recession wouldn’t be so bad, if it finally got us to cut spending. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Bloomberg last week that “even if we have to pay higher taxes to get a decline in social benefits, it’s a very cheap price”. He added that there’s no way to stop all this spending without pain.
Israel-Hamas Fighting Intensifies Again
More fighting in Gaza this morning as Israeli aircraft have struck some densely populated areas as they try to stop the rocket attacks by Palestinians. Over the weekend Israel’s defense system, nicknamed the Iron Dome, intercepted several missile attacks from Hamas before they reached their targets. Still there’s no sign that Hamas will stop. Eighty-four Palestinians and three Israelis have been killed so far.
USPS Continues to Struggles
More struggles ahead for the U-S Postal Service, which just endured their worst year ever – losing almost 16-billion dollars. That’s 10-billion dollars more in losses than the year before. 11-billion dollars of that money went to a fund to pay retiree health benefits. There is a glimmer of hope, in that their shipping business grew, but any hopes to right the ship lie in the hands of Congress.
BP to Pay Record Fine
BP will pay a record 4-billion dollar fine after pleading guilty to manslaughter charges in connection with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill a couple of years ago in the Gulf of Mexico. Two BP supervisors have also been indicted on charges. The money will go to the Gulf Coast region as they continue to rebuild.
Tent Recall
Some kids travel tents are being recalled because of a suffocation hazard. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has had 6 reports of kids getting physically distressed inside the tent. CPSC.gov has all you need to know.
Michigan Affirmative Action Ban Struck Down
Michigan’s law banning affirmative action in college admissions has been deemed unconstitutional. Voters approved the ban six years ago, and its been fought out in the courts ever since. The 6th Circuit last week said it violates equal protection laws. The state plans to take it to the Supreme Court.
Lisa Whelchel Has West Nile Virus
You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both & there you have the Facts of Life. Former Facts of Lifer and Christian author Lisa Whelchel is dealing with a little bit of the bad right now, as she just learned that she has contacted West Nile virus. Doctors say it can take a full year to recover. Whelchel doesn’t know for sure where she got it, but chances are it had something to do with being on “Survivor: Philippines”, which wrapped up production in April.
Church Around the WorldNigerian Christian Family Executed
A devastating scene in Nigeria last week as 5 members of a Christian family were shot and then their house set on fire with them still inside. A pastor there told Christian Solidarity Worldwide that the gunfire lasted for more than an hour without any intervention from security personnel, in spite of the fact that there has been an ongoing threat to Christians since the presidential election there back in April of last year.
Pakistani Christian Girl's Trial Yields No Verdict
The trial of a 14 year old Christian girl in Pakistan has ended without a verdict. The judge in the case of Rimsha Masih has decided to reserve judgment. Rimsha is mentally handicapped and was charged with desecrating the Koran after some pages were found in her book bag. However, the police say there’s no evidence against her, and at least one Muslim has admitted to planting the evidence. Still the judge did not dismiss the case.
FamilyNV Judge Rules Against Forced Abortion
A judge in Nevada ruled last week against forcing a 32 year old woman to have an abortion. The woman is mentally challenged and became pregnant after wandering away from a group home in Reno. According to CitizenLink, the woman and her parents are Catholic, and decided to go ahead and have the child – however the county social services asked the court to step in and force the abortion.
Finances & Economy
Small Business Saturday
The holiday shopping season is about to ramp up, and sandwiched in between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is Small Business Saturday, a day dedicated to supporting small businesses around the nation. It is not without corporate sponsors, like American Express, but still last year over 100 million people took part and stayed in their home towns to shop. All you need to know at SmallBusinessSaturday.com.
HealthMigraine Study Sounds A Positive Note
If you suffer from migraines, you know how they can ruin your whole day – but it doesn’t look like they cause any long term damage. Researchers with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders say migraines change your brain tissue, but those changes are temporary – or at least the damage is. Some studies have suggested that these changes may up the risk for things like heart disease and stroke, but the latest tests suggest there’s no need for more aggressive treatments to prevent those kinds of attacks.
COPD Awareness Month
When you hear about the leading killers in America, things like heart disease are usually right up near the top. It might surprise you that Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is number three. Dr. James Kiley says that while there’s no cure, treatment has come a long way in making life more comfortable. He says if you have a chronic cough, or if you can’t catch a breath or difficulty taking a big breath those are thing you may want to be on alert for. November is National COPD Awareness Month. More tips at the website for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Work
Banks Trimming Payrolls
Major banks are the latest to announce job cuts as more changes come to the industry in the next year. An analysis of the top 29 banks in the world showed more than 160-thousand job cuts, although there seem to be more in Europe than in the U-S .. but that doesn’t include the ripple effect on smaller banks.
Super Storm Sandy
Clothed in CompassionNick Sippl is from Northern Michigan. He is in New York helping victims of Super Storm Sandy through his job. Seeing the need first hand, he has organized a clothing drive. He says The police and the National guard were literally not knocking on doors, but kicking in doors to see if anyone was home. They had to be evacuated the water was rising so much. This lady I talked to was about five and a half feet tall. She told me when she came out of the house they were holding their children over their heads. When she came down to the street level, the water was up to her neck. They had pretty much lost everything. When they came in, we got them dried off. "That’s what got me thinking, these people have nothing." If you live in the area, please drop clothing off at Ogemaw Hills Free Methodist Church. Click here for their address and phone number. There's a trailer parked outside where you can place your donation. Salvation StylePearl Foy is using one of the talents God has given her to raise money for Super Storm Sandy victims. She will give it to the victims by way of the Salvation Army. She's organizing a Hair Cut-A-Thon. It will be held on Sunday November 11th from 10am-5pm in the Phoenix Arizona area. There are two locations. One is located at the Turning Point Beauty College in Mesa. The other will be held at Kor Beauty Academy in Peoria. .jpg "Salvatino Army logo") Help Salvation Army Relief Efforts with A Simple Text
Text the word "STORM" to 80888. Then respond with a "yes" when the text response comes to you.
Give Blood and Money Through Red CrossBecause many blood donation centers on the east coast are closed, it is even more important for we who are out of harm’s way to donate. www.RedCross.org has all you need to know. You may also give money via that web site, or you can give $10 via text message by texting the word “RedCross” to 90999. Slice of Family Life Nation reaches Out to Sandy victimsNick Sippl is from Northern Michigan, but he’s in New York right now
helping the victims of Hurricane Sandy.
Nick has gone the extra mile to organize a clothing drive after seeing
one family’s struggle. Nick told FLR News, “The police and the National guard
were literally not knocking on doors, but kicking in doors to see if anyone was
home. They had to be evacuated the water was rising so much. This lady I talked
to was about five and a half feet tall. She told me when she came out of the
house they were holding their children over their heads. When she came down to
the street level, the water was up to her neck. They had pretty much lost
everything. When they came in, we got them dried off. That’s what got me
thinking, these people have nothing.” Nick says the National Guard had to
literally kick in some people’s doors to see if they were home. We’ve got more stories and links up on this
page.
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