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-excerpt- Lt. Dana Eagan of the Dallas County Sheriff's Office says one person was killed and 13 others injured when a possible tornado hit a mobile home park south of Buffalo. She did not have any details on the person who died.

Reports via twitter and storm spotters on WeatherTap that a strong tornado has hit Branson, Missouri. Significant damage reported in populated areas. Damage reported to Capri Inn.

EVERE WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 123 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012 ...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 145 AM CST FOR TANEY COUNTY... AT 119 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A TORNADO NEAR TABLE ROCK...OR 3 MILES WEST OF BRANSON...MOVING EAST AT 65 MPH. THERE ARE STRONG INDICATIONS FROM SPOTTERS AND RADAR THAT A TORNADO IS MOVING THROUGH THE CITY OF BRANSON. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE BRADLEYVILLE...BRANSON...BROWNBRANCH... EDGEWATER BEACH...FORSYTH...HOLLISTER...KIRBYVILLE...KISSEE MILLS... MERRIAM WOODS...OZARK BEACH...POWERSITE...ROCKAWAY BEACH...RUETER... TABLE ROCK...TANEYVILLE AND WALNUT SHADE. OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE TABLE ROCK LAKE. IN ADDITION TO A...

-- Billionaire Richard Branson's next cutting-edge risk will expose him like never before: He'll have his legs shaved in public to dress up and serve as a flight attendant after losing a bet to a rival airline mogul. The winner of a charity auction will pay at least $650,000 for the honor, according to Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia. The Virgin Atlantic founder will hand the razor to one of 160 passengers on a special charity flight from London to Kuala Lumpur that he will personally serve on May 1 while wearing a female flight attendant's uniform, AirAsia said Monday.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Billionaire adventurer Richard Branson on Tuesday unveiled a new single-person submarine that he said will be used to set new world records by exploring the five deepest parts of the world's oceans. Branson said that over the next two years, the solo craft will go to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic's Puerto Rico Trench and South Sandwich Trench, the Diamantina Trench in the Indian Ocean and the Molloy Deep in the Arctic Ocean. Branson's fellow explorer, Chris Welsh, plans to make the first descent later this year to...

WikiLeaks: Richard Branson says 'overeducated' British students are unprepared for business world Richard Branson has criticised the British education system for "overeducating" students and failing to prepare them for the business world, according to leaked diplomatic cables. By Laura Roberts 7:30AM GMT 21 Dec 2010 The entrepreneur made the comments at a business lunch in Beijing, according to a confidential US diplomat's report. Chinese businessmen at the event titled What Makes a Good Entrepreneur, held in January 2008, complained that their British counterparts were "overeducated, too conservative, lacking passion for entrepreneurship and too afraid of failure". The US ambassador Clark...

What is it about trains that stir the imagination of a bygone era? Taking a train excursion is now an adventure for all ages. For a glimpse into the golden era of luxury train travel — complete with dining cars, observation cars and panoramic views — a tour to Branson, Mo., is a great place to start. From the window beside your comfortable reclining seat — a seat with honest legroom — you will have a view into history, not just a vista of the cities and countryside along the way. "Most everyone does a Branson trip by motor coach,"...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.justice.gov/usao/mow/news2010/harrison.ind.htm JULY 9, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BLACK MARKET TRAVEL AGENTS 38 DEFENDANTS INDICTED IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR FRAUD LOCAL INVESTIGATION EXPOSES NATIONWIDE NETWORK THAT USED STOLEN IDENTITIES, CREDIT CARDS TO PURCHASE AIRLINE TICKETS KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that 38 defendants from across the United States have been charged in a series of indictments that allege an extensive network of black market travel agents who used the stolen identities of thousands of victims as part of a multi-million dollar fraud scheme...

Considered lovingly as Branson's first "hillbilly" comedian, Lyle Mabe has died after a long illness. Mabe and his three brothers started The Baldknobbers Show in Branson in 1959. Known as George Aggernite, Mabe played the washtub bass. In the 60s, Mabe went on bus tours during Branson's tourist-offseason spreading word of the city. During the 70s and 80s, Mabe was a pitchman for Empire Gas of Lebanon. Many commercial spots became popular on KY3 starring the comic. Second and third generations still perform for the Baldknobbers Jamboree. Lyle Mabe was 71.

 EXCLUSIVESubmergin' Atlantic  Plane sailing ... Branson's submersible 'plane'   ADVENTURER Sir Richard Branson has unveiled his new toy - an underwater "plane" for a voyage to the bottom of the sea. The Virgin Atlantic boss hopes the submarine with fighter jet technology will explore unchartered depths at 35,000ft Deep pockets ... Branson's sub is set to explore at the very bottom of the sea The £415,000 carbon fibre prototype Necker Nymph will swoop 130ft under the surface but Sir Richard, 59, is building a stronger version to go deeper than any sub has ever been.   Branson ... plans sea...

Roy Rogers and his trusty steed Trigger may have come to the end of their "Happy Trails" - television's most famous horse is going on the auction block, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively. The beloved golden palomino's home, the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum, has closed - doomed by bitter family feuding, greed, mounting debts and IRS demands. Trigger - stuffed in a familiar pose, rearing majestically on hind legs - will join Dale Evans' horse Buttermilk, their beloved German shepherd Bullet and other Rogers memorabilia in bidding that's expected to reach into the multimillions of dollars. Fans around the...

SpaceShipTwo (SS2) and its mothership, VMS Eve (WhiteKnightTwo) herald a new era in commercial space flight with daily space tourism flights set to commence from Spaceport America in New Mexico after test program and all required US government licens Virgin Founder, Sir Richard Branson and SpaceshipOne (SS1) designer, Burt Rutan, today reveal SS2 to the public for the first time since construction of the world’s first manned commercial spaceship began in 2007. SS2 has been designed to take many thousands of private astronauts into space after test programming and all required U.S. government licensing has been completed. The unveiling represents...

Last year Sir Richard Branson said that there is a real possibility that space travel could become a commercial and scientific norm in the near future. Some important progress is being made toward this prediction with yesterday’s news that an investment vehicle of the Abu Dhabi Government, Aabar, has taken a 32 per cent stake in Sir Richard’s Virgin Galactic. Another $100 million will be set aside for the development of a small satellite launch site in Abu Dhabi that could include spaceport facilities to host flights for space tourists.

Springfield MO, 200+ people arrived in 35 degree weather to show their support to the nationwide "tea party" movement, and the disgust at the obscene expansion of wasteful government spending.

His aunt says he is undergoing major surgery for a broken back and broken heel. While he was lying on the ground, she wonders why Ozark police used an electric stun gun on him up to 19 times. “I'm not an officer, but i don't see the reason for ‘Tasering’ somebody laying there with a broken back. I don't consider that a threat,” His dad says the use of the stun gun delayed what would have been immediate surgery by two days. “The ‘Tasering’ increased his white blood cell count and caused him to have a temperature so they could...

LONDON — The British government announced Sunday that it would bring Northern Rock, the struggling mortgage lender, under its control. It was the first nationalization of a bank in more than a decade and a huge blow for the government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The government rejected two takeover proposals for the lender, which ran into trouble last year because of a funding shortage that followed the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States. The government was forced to shore up the company with about £55 billion, or $107 billion, in loans and guarantees. “The government has completed its...

Entrepreneur Richard Branson today unveiled a model of the spaceship he hopes will be the first to take paying passengers into space on a regular basis next year. Branson, whose Virgin Galactic is one of several commercial enterprises vying to offer the ultimate in sightseeing, said his SpaceShipTwo will start test flights later this year.Two thousand eight is going to be the year of the spaceship. We're excited about this, and everything it will do," said Branson at a media event at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan." Virgin Galactic, part of Branson's airline, vacation and retail company...

Branson tells strikers to resign Sir Richard Branson has told Virgin Atlantic staff who are threatening to strike over a wage deal offered by the airline to consider working elsewhere. In a letter to 4,800 cabin crew, the Virgin boss warned he would not be meeting pay demands. Workers' union Unite called the letter from Sir Richard "provocative". It comes after union members voted to strike in January in protest over pay levels they say are lower than at other airlines, including British Airways. The 48-hour strikes are scheduled for 9 and 10 January, and 16 and 17 January. The...

Google co-founder Larry Page is expected to marry his girlfriend this weekend on Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island. Sources say Page - who is estimated to be worth around $20 billion - will tie the knot with Lucy Southworth on Saturday. The couple will hold the ceremony on an island enclave owned by Richard Branson, the billionaire owner of Virgin Group... They are being flown in on private jets ... Page is also providing private planes to fly in guests from around the globe. "Planes are leaving from all over," ... Page and his Google internet search engine co-founder Sergey...

Country-entertainment mecca Branson, Mo., is becoming the GOP's answer to Hollywood when it comes to raising big bucks from the entertainment community. Presidential hopefuls have found their own little slice of hillbilly heaven nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks. Branson serves up its politics the same way its restaurants serve up food -- down-home, country-style, and unapologetically old-fashioned. Here you'll find no Barbra Streisands, Jane Fondas, or other denizens of Tinseltown's left-leaning elite. Branson entertainer and theater owner Jim Stafford calls it “families entertaining families,” From the flags draping Highway 76 to the stars and stripes lavishly splashed on...

London - An estimated two billion people worldwide have watched the Live Earth concerts on the television. The shows designed to highlight climate change were organised in Australia, Asia, Europe, South Africa and the United States. Dozens of stars such as Crowded House, Madonna and The Red Hot Chili Peppers performed in cities which included Sydney, New York and London. The global series of concerts kicked off in Sydney Australia where the show started with a traditional welcome dance by members of the Aboriginal community. Live Earth is the brainchild of former US presidential candidate Al Gore. He opened the...

This qualifies as one of the outrages of the year: Virgin Atlantic Airlines is showing the evil, dishonest 9/11 conspiracy film Loose Change as inflight entertainment.

TORONTO (Reuters) - British billionaire Richard Branson promised a music festival prize on Wednesday to the Canadian community that does the most to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in an environmental challenge called Flick Off. Branson, an entrepreneur who has already promised to channel profits from his Virgin Group business empire into the fight against global warming, said the contest was designed to encourage individuals to cut energy use. "Because we know that everybody loves a challenge, there is a reward for the community that can make the biggest cut in their emissions," he said, promising more details of the...

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Come April 3, the voters of this sun-baked area near the Mexican border will have an unusual question to answer: Are they happy enough as home to some hardy cotton and chile farmers, a branch of the state university and a growing population of retirees from up north? Or do they want quite literally to blast into a very different future? In a referendum, the people of Las Cruces and surrounding Do?a Ana County will be voting on a proposal to slightly raise their county sales tax, a highly unpopular idea these days. But in return,...

HERE'S a sobering thought: Sir Richard Branson getting around at three times the speed of sound. If you thought the Virgin founder was already packing a lot in lately, wait until he goes galactic. In a dizzying past few weeks, Sir Richard, 56, has launched a new health bank to store the stem cells from babies' umbilical cords; sprayed the Virgin Media logo all over cable group NTL and produced a $US25 million ($32 million) prize for whoever cracks extracting greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Have at it fellow FReepers!

British tycoon Sir Richard Branson Friday announced a $25 million prize for the scientist who comes up with a way of extracting greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The Virgin Group chairman was joined by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and other leading environmentalists, as he announced the challenge to find the world's first viable design to capture and remove carbon dioxide from the air. A landmark report by the world's leading climate scientists and government officials, published in Paris last week, warned global warming will continue for centuries, creating a far different planet in 100 years. "Man created the...

Prof Stephen Hawking is planning a space flight. The world's best-known scientist, who is 65 today, told The Daily Telegraph: "This year I'm planning a zero-gravity flight and to go into space in 2009." A zero gravity flight is what astronauts call the "vomit comet", in which an aeroplane flies in such a way that people inside are temporarily weightless. Stephen Hawking is 65 today. He was struck down by motor neurone disease when he was 21 and given a year or two to live Prof Hawking's next step towards the cosmos then depends on the Virgin Galactic space tourism...

BRANSON, Mo., Nov. 9, 2006 -- More than 50,000 veterans and their families are expected to attend the 13th Annual Veterans Homecoming event, which kicked off Nov. 5 in Branson, Mo. The homecoming, with the theme, “Branson Doesn’t Forget,” includes numerous events, many free to veterans or active-duty servicemembers. It will conclude Nov. 11 with the 72nd annual Veterans Day Parade. Sponsored by the nonprofit group Branson Veterans Task Force, the 13th annual event is a tribute to all veterans and active military members and those who support them. Among the special guests who will share the week's events...

UPHAM — An unmanned rocket that took off in the inaugural launch from New Mexico's spaceport crashed in the desert Monday, failing in its mission to reach sub-orbital space. The 20-foot SpaceLoft XL rocket, among the first to be launched from a commercial U.S. spaceport, was carrying various experiments and other payloads for its planned journey 70 miles above Earth. The rocket took of at 2:14 p.m. and was due back about 13 minutes later at White Sands Missile Range, just north of the launch site. Something went wrong shortly after takeoff, sending the rocket prematurely to the ground. Officials...

LONDON (AFP) - British businessman Richard Branson made a multi-billion-dollar pledge to fight global warming under pressure from US media mogul Ted Turner and former vice-president Al Gore, he has said in a newspaper interview. He told the Independent on Sunday that global warming was approaching "a tipping point" and Turner and Gore had convinced him it was time to act. "We just have to hope that it has not come already," he said. "We have to try to do something about it. One way is to try to come up with a clean alternative fuel or fuels." Branson said...

NEW YORK - British business mogul Richard Branson on Thursday pledged to invest about $3 billion over the next decade to combat global warming and promote alternative energy, saying that it was critical to protect the environment for future generations. Branson, the billionaire behind the multi-platform Virgin brand, said the money would come from 100 percent of the profits generated by his transportation sectors — trains and airline companies. It will be invested in efforts to find renewable, sustainable energy sources in an effort to wean the world off oil and coal. The so-called "rebel billionaire" — wearing a dress...

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has committed £1.6bn over 10 years to fight global warming.... will hand over all the profits from the Virgin Group's transport business to support the cause. (snip) [Branson] said the profits from Virgin's train and airline businesses would be invested in efforts to find renewable, sustainable energy sources.

British business mogul Richard Branson said Thursday he would invest about $3 billion to combat global warming over the next decade. Branson, the billionaire behind the multi-platform Virgin brand, said the money would come from 100 percent of the profits generated by his transportation and airline sectors. It will then be invested in efforts to find renewable, sustainable energy sources in an effort to wean the world off of oil and coal. Branson made the announcement on the second day of the Clinton Global Initiative, an annual conference of business, political and nonprofit leaders hosted by former President Clinton. "Our...

The tenth anniversary of Free Republic is coming up (this November!) As a result, I would like to see some sort of a get-together take place, in either San Diego, Arizona, Texas or Florida (or some other venue in a Freeper-friendly part of the country). What I would really like to see is someone, perhaps a well-known or wealthy lurker, help organize a Freeper Convention that would include banners, flags, Freeper stuff for sale at booths, a Freeper "museum" with displays centering on famous Freeper moments (threads, Freeper Actions, well-known and infamous Freepers, and Freeper lore, etc). Also, I'd like...

SIR Richard Branson is taking a giant leap for mankind by drawing up plans to build the worlds first space hotels, his space flight company Virgin Galactic has told The Business. Alex Tai, its operations director, who will pilot Virgins first commercial space flight in 2008, has held talks with US hotel entrepreneur Robert Bigelow about the project, Virgin Galactics president Will Whitehorn confirmed. Bigelow Aerospace is developing inflatable pods it believes could receive the first space travellers by the end of the decade. Branson, Virgin Galactics chairman, revealed the space hotel discussions in Dubai last week. Branson said: We...

BRANSON -- Police are responding to a plane crash south of Highway 76 near the intersection of Aaron Way and Highway 165. Police say Highway 165 is closed between Highway 76 and Aaron Way. Witnesses said the plane went down behind the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. The Taney County Sheriff told KTTS-FM all four people on board died. Police said the Federal Aviation Administration notified them that the plane took off from the M. Graham Clark Airport at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo. An FAA spokesman said the plane took off around 12:30 and...

Has anyone noticed the almost complete disappearance of Protestants from our nation? "What!" I can hear my readers exclaim, "Storck has really gone off his rocker this time. Why, just down the street there's an Assembly of God church and two or three Baptist churches and the Methodists and so on. My cousin just left the Catholic Church to become a Protestant and my niece just married one. Moreover, evangelical Protestants have many media outlets of their own and they have great influence in the Bush Administration. They're everywhere." All this, of course, is true. Except that for some...

SANTA FE— Our fleet is not as big as his, but that didn't stop New Mexico from using its new jet to fly billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson here last week for his space tourism pitch. Branson, known for brash antics such as inscribing aircraft with a "Mine is bigger than yours" slogan, owns several of his own airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Express and Virgin Blue. But a New Mexico economic development spokeswoman, Katie Roberts, said there will be no taxpayer cost for flying Branson here on the state's $5.5 million Cessna Citation Bravo. Branson came to New Mexico...

Indian millionaire Vijaypat Singhania today broke the world record for the highest flight in a hot air balloon, reaching the fringes of space, his son claimed. Singhania, 67, hit 21,000 metres a little more than two hours after taking off in his 40-tonne balloon, and has started his descent, his son Gautam said. "We have the world record at 69,000 feet" (21,000 metres), said Gautam Singhania. "We're bringing him down now." The previous world record was 19,811 metres, set by Sweden's Per Lindstrand in Plano, Texas, in June 1988. Singhania lifted off from downtown Bombay at 6.45am (1215 AEDT) enclosed...

Mandela wins BBC's 'global election'   Mandela was selected by more than half the players Former South African President Nelson Mandela has topped a BBC poll to find the person most people would like to lead a fantasy world government.More than 15,000 people worldwide took part in the interactive Power Play game, in which players were invited to choose a team of 11 to run the world from a list of around 100 of the most powerful leaders, thinkers and other high-profile people on the planet. The second choice was former US President Bill Clinton. The winning 11 were...

THINK you are upset about high gas prices? Maverick British entrepreneur Richard Branson is so furious he wants to build his own oil refinery. Like the rest of the airline industry, Mr Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways has been stung by higher jet fuel prices and was forced to raise fuel surcharges for the second time in four months. Hurricane Katrina sent oil prices soaring to $US70 a barrel because it shut several US Gulf Coast refineries, which turn crude oil into products like diesel, gasoline and jet fuel. "If we don't start now to get more refineries built then fuel...

MISSOULA, Mont. -- A song honoring veterans will open the Operation Homecoming USA concert in Branson, Mo., next month. ...Carlson said the inspiration for her song was her brother, Gary, a Vietnam veteran now suffering a debilitating illness contracted during his tour of duty. Operation Homecoming USA, which will be held June 13-19, also plans to feature performances by the Beach Boys, the Fifth Dimension, the Supremes and the Oak Ridge Boys. The Doobie Brothers, Creedence Clearwater Revisited and Tony Orlando also are to perform, Carlson said. "It's the national homecoming we never gave our Vietnam vets," she said.

Vietnam vets to get 'true homecoming' Grand-scale, weeklong event with 100,000 to say thank you -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: January 14, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com On the 30th anniversary of the end of the war, Vietnam veterans will be given the "homecoming celebration they never received" at a conference organizers hope will draw 100,000 people. Vietnam veterans memorial in Washington, D.C. "During those three decades, the brave men and women who served in that conflict have never been given the recognition they deserve for their heroic sacrifices in service to our country," the organizers, Operation Homecoming USA, say...

Notwithstanding the megawatt smile, flamboyant British billionaire, Sir Richard Branson, was almost deported from Mumbai last morning. The chairman of Virgin Atlantic landed at Sahar international airport, without a valid visa. Immigration authorities at Mumbai airport found that his visa had expired in February and he was issued a ';refused to land' certificate. Taking it in his stride, Branson then allegedly called the PMO in Delhi and got himself a Temporary Landing Permit (TLP), which is issued in special cases only and generally to airlines' cabin crew. "While he was waving flags and dancing on the airport tarmac his officers...

At New York International Auto Show, Thursday, March 24, 11:50 a.m. WHAT: Volvo Cars of North America will be joined by billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson to unveil the winner of a trip on a sub-orbital flight to space on Sir Richard's Virgin Galactic. WHEN: Thursday, March 24, 2005 11:50 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (video and still photographers should arrive at 11:35 a.m. for positioning) WHERE: Volvo Cars of North America Level 3, Booth 204 2005 New York International Auto Show Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 11th Ave. between 34th & 39th Sts. New York City. WHO: Sir Richard Branson,...

Sir Richard Branson's airline Virgin Atlantic is to begin flying relief supplies to Iraq, and plans to reintroduce scheduled services to Baghdad. Sir Richard said: "The first few flights would be humanitarian flights delivering doctors, nurses and much-needed aid and supplies to the Iraqi population. "We're working with aid agencies and hope to operate flights as soon as we can. "In addition, by reintroducing scheduled air services we would play our role in the post-war reconstruction of Iraq." Sir Richard added: "Flights to and from Baghdad will be a key element in helping Iraq's long term regeneration, and reuniting families...

SIR Richard Branson tried to prevent the Iraq war in a secret deal with Nelson Mandela. The Virgin boss hoped to send the former leader of South Africa to meet Saddam Hussein and persuade him to go into exile. He even got United Nations chief Kofi Annan's approval for the plan, despite fears that Saddam might kidnap Mandela. A private jet was ready to fly the Nobel Peace Prize winner to Iraq. Branson offered to join him on the peace mission. But coalition forces invaded Iraq just before they went. Branson opposed invasion plans and believed if they could offer...

A maverick aviator with Elvis-like sideburns, Burt Rutan spread his futuristic vision Friday of space travel no longer dominated by the government but by daring engineers like himself. Seeking to inspire students, faculty and visitors at the University of California at Los Angeles, Rutan offered a new vision for 21st Century commercial travel--including "spacelines" instead of airlines and resort hotels in orbit--taking average citizens where only handfuls of astronauts have tread thus far. Dressed in blue jeans and a matching shirt, Rutan called for a new era in aviation, saying risk-taking adventurers like the Wright brothers are needed again to...

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