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Paramedics drop organ in front of photographers after it was rushed to hospital by police helicopter for transplantIt was a heart-stopping moment – or nearly so: rushing from a helicopter, two Mexican medics dropped a human heart being ferried to hospital for a transplant. And to compound their embarrassment, press photographers were there to capture the mishap. Thankfully, the transplant was carried out successfully, although that has not stopped the medics being widely ridiculed online. The heart was being transported by a police helicopter to a hospital in Mexico City on Wednesday, in what police described as "a rapid,...

Scholastic Inc. is a nearly century-old educational publishing company that distributes books, magazines, and other teaching materials through the schools. If you have kids (or remember from your own grade-school days), Scholastic puts out news bulletins that get sent home weekly or monthly. One of those items is Scholastic News, which bills itself as “America’s Leading News Source for kids.” Reader Edward has a daughter in fourth grade who brought home the December issue of Scholastic News — and he wasn’t too happy when he saw the publication’s coverage of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Read for yourself (click for...

Public support for the new healthcare law dropped significantly in October, a new survey shows, dealing a blow to the Obama administration as Republican presidential candidates keep up their pledges to repeal the president’s signature domestic legislative achievement. More than half of Americans now view the law unfavorably, according to a tracking poll by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. And just 34% of Americans view the law favorably, the lowest level of support since the president signed the law in March 2010. Much of the decline appears to have been driven by faltering support among Democrats, just 52% of whom...

Unmoved by sharp criticism and media antics from Palestinian Authority officials the United States on Wednesday formally asked Ramallah to drop its bid for recognition of a PA state based on pre-1967 lines at the United Nations later this month. The request was relayed to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas by US envoy David Hale during a meeting in Ramallah, officials in Ramallah said. The meeting was attended by US envoy Dennis Ross and US Consul-General in Jerusalem, Daniel Rubenstien. The officials complained US envoys did not carry any new proposals for reviving the peace process and intimated the PA...

As you may have heard once or twice before, it’s a marathon, not a sprint (unless, of course, you’re talking about a sprint, then it’s a sprint, not a marathon). But we digress. Mark Rosenthal, CEO of Current TV, uses the sports metaphor to express his lack of concern over the second-week ratings drop for Keith Olbermann’s Countdown. The show saw its ratings shrink by nearly a third during the week of June 27, averaging 93,000 viewers in the key 25-54 demographic.

Abbas advisor says if Quartet calls on Israel to withdraw from '67 territories, halt settlement construction, PA will abandon September plan; Netanyahu says his stance hasn't changed. The Palestinian Authority will abandon its plan to ask the UN in September to recognize a Palestinian state along pre-1967 lines if Quartet members ­ the US, EU, UN and Russia ­ recognize the two-state principle as the basis for a settlement and call on Israel to withdraw from the territories captured in 1967, including east Jerusalem, an advisor to PA President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday. Nimer Hammad, political advisor to Abbas,...

I’ve been keeping you abreast of all the Obama administration’s Project Gunrunner stonewalling since March (links/chronology below). Today, vigilant GOP House Oversight and Reform Committee chairman Darrell Issa is holding another hearing to pressure Team Obama for the whole truth. On Monday, Issa and GOP watchdogs spotlighted DOJ obstructionism (Sipsey Street Irregulars has a rundown here.) More fit is hitting the shan. And in one of those rare confluences, other MSM outlets have joined CBS News in exposing the story. First, new documents. Just in from Issa’s office: Moments ago in his opening statement at today’s hearing, Operation Fast and...

The maternity business has experienced a recession, too, it appears. Births fell 4% from 2007 to 2009, the biggest drop for any two-year period since the mid-1970s, according to federal government data released Thursday. The rate, 66.7 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, isn't the lowest in recent memory. The 1997 rate was an all-time low of 63.6. But the authors of the report say preliminary data show the birth rate continued falling through the first half of 2010. (Snip) Fewer families are having more than two children. Almost 75% of births in 2009 were first or second

A storm of factors, from a decline in demand to more fuel-efficient vehicles, will lead to a long-term decline in U.S. gas demand, according to a recent report from The Associated Press. By 2030, gasoline use in the U.S. will drop “at least 20%” from where it is today, experts say. We’ve already seen an 8% drop in gasoline demand since it peaked in 2006. The more severe decline will be attributed to higher fuel efficiency in new cars mandated by the government as well as electric vehicles and alternative-fuel vehicles that burn ethanol and biofuels. The government will mandate...

<p>The nation's unemployment rate dropped to 9.4 percent last month, its lowest level in 19 months. That was because more people found jobs, but also because some people gave up on their job searches.</p>

The Palestinian government has removed a report claiming that Jerusalem's Western Wall isn't holy to Jews from an official website, after it provoked furious reaction. The five-page report has been condemned by the U.S. and Israel as incorrect and provocative. Palestinian officials would not comment on the report Wednesday. But its author, Al-Mutawakil Taha, a civil servant in the Information Ministry, says he stands by it.

The dollar is in danger of losing 20 percent of its value over the next few years if the Federal Reserve continues unconventional monetary easing, Bill Gross, the manager of the world's largest mutual fund, said on Monday. "I think a 20 percent decline in the dollar is possible," Gross said, adding the pace of the currency's decline was also an important consideration for investors. "When a central bank prints trillions of dollars of checks, which is not necessarily what (a second round of quantitative easing) will do in terms of the amount, but if it gets into that territory—that...

McDonald's Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul. The move is one of the clearest indications that new rules may disrupt workers' health plans as the law ripples through the real world. Trade groups representing restaurants and retailers say low-wage employers might halt their coverage if the government doesn't loosen a requirement for "mini-med" plans, which offer limited benefits to some 1.4 million Americans.

Factory output dropped by the largest amount in the past year, the Commerce Department announced yesterday. The news cast a pall over Wall Street, and declines in two regional indexes of activity contributed to losses in the stock market. It appears to signal that whatever growth we have experienced since last summer will be as much as we’ll see for the near- to mid-term future: New evidence of a slowing economic rebound emerged Thursday in reports that manufacturing activity is slowing after helping drive the early stages of the recovery.Factory output fell in June, according to a government report on...

According to surveys, no group of Americans is more skeptical of Obamacare than senior citizens—and with good reason. While bits and pieces of the massive law are designed to appeal to seniors—more taxpayer subsidies for the Medicare drug benefit, for example—much of the financing over the initial ten years is siphoned off from an estimated $575 billion in projected savings to the Medicare program. Unless Medicare savings are captured and plowed right back into the Medicare program, however, the solvency of the Medicare program will continue to weaken. The law does not provide for that. Medicare is already burdened by...

Well, they finally did it. Despite more than a year of steadily rising public opposition, manifested in opinion polls and in protest rallies across the country, President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally rammed through Obamacare late Sunday when House Democrats gave the bill their imprimatur. The House vote isn’t the end of the national debate on this issue, however, as the Senate still must accept the House changes in the Senate Obamacare bill. Senate Republicans argue that the House reconciliation bill that makes significant changes in the Senate bill violates the Congressional Budget...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: State-Controlled Media can only talk about how great is the unemployment rate. "Lower than expected." Let's go to the audiotape. VARNEY: The unemployment rate falling to 9.7%. That is an improvement from the previous month. It's better than expected. TODD: The unemployment rate surprisingly dropped below 10% to 9.7%. That's the good news. LEE: ...falling to 9.7%, and that's an improvement from last month and better than expected. JOHNSON: That headline number is absolutely huge. You can't underestimate that. ELAM: We haven't seen unemployment that low since last summer. RUSH: Yeah, except the problem is it's not...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Gasoline futures jumped nearly 2 percent Wednesday after the government reported a surprise drop in the nation's supply. This could eventually tug pump prices higher, but so far that hasn't happened. Retail gas prices have tumbled for three straight weeks. The Energy Information Administration reported that gasoline stockpiles fell by 1.3 million barrels last week. Supplies sank as U.S. refineries continued to churn out less fuel. The EIA report said refineries are operating at the lowest level on record, other than a few weeks in 2008 and 2005 when hurricanes ripped through the Gulf of Mexico...

POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C., Dec. 24, 2009 – You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. But on Dec. 6, it was not a team of reindeer, but Air Force Maj. Jeff Dasher, a navigator in the 95th Airlift Squadron here, who guided the mission for the 440th Airlift Wing's C-130 Hercules that flew a group of “Soldier Santas” across the morning sky. The first paratrooper to jump waits for the "green light" on board a C-130 Hercules Dec. 6, 2009, above Fort Bragg, N.C.. Crews from the National Guard's 145th Airlift Wing from Charlotte, N.C., and the...

12/18/2009 - ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFNS) -- More than 12 months of preparation have gone into ensuring this year's four-day air drop mission, known as Operation Christmas Drop, goes smoothly, with countless fundraisers and many drop-off points made available to those wishing to donate supplies and help support Guam's island neighbors in the Marianas, Carolines, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands and the Federal States of Micronesia. Operation Christmas Drop's mission officially kicked off with a Push Ceremony held Dec. 15. Members of the Andersen family and representatives from the local community were on hand to assist in...

US Shoppers Spent Less Over Black Friday: NRF US, RETAIL, ECONOMY, SHOPPERS, SHOPPING, BLACK FRIDAY, TARGET, WAL-MART, GAP, SAKS Reuters | 29 Nov 2009 | 03:41 PM ET American consumers shopped more for bargains at the start of the U.S. holiday season and spent significantly less than a year ago, according to early data released on Sunday. Consumers said they will have spent nearly 8 percent less on average, or about $343 per person, over the weekend that includes U.S. Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and runs through Sunday, according to the National Retail Federation. While traffic to stores and retail...

LONDON (AFP) – David Cameron, leader of the Conservative party, widely tipped to be the next prime minister, is to drop plans for a referendum on the European Union's key reforming Lisbon Treaty, a newspaper said Tuesday. Cameron is set to announce he will abandon a pledge to hold a vote on the treaty if his party wins the country's general election due by next June, the Daily Telegraph said. A referendum had threatened to cause a headache for the European Union amid delays over the introduction of the treaty in the 27-nation bloc, which must be ratified by all...

New-home sales fall for the first time since March Related stories By Greg Robb, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. sales of new homes unexpectedly fell in September for the first time since March, clouding what had been a sunny period for the beleaguered housing sector. Sales fell 3.6% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 402,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Read complete government report. Economists had expected sales to rise to 438,000 in September, boosted by a tax credit for first-time home buyers and an innovative Federal Reserve policy designed to keep mortgage rates low. See Economic...

Gallup recorded an average daily approval rating of 53 per cent for Mr Obama for the third quarter of the year, a sharp drop from the 62 per cent he recorded from April. His current approval rating – hovering just above the level that would make re-election an uphill struggle – is close to the bottom for newly-elected president. Mr Obama entered the White House with a soaring 78 per cent approval rating.

Back-to-school sales flunk Most retailers posting declines in August, indicating continued weakness in the consumer sector. By Julianne Pepitone, CNNMoney.com staff reporter Last Updated: September 3, 2009: 10:29 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Back-to-school sales for major national retailers fell from last year, but the results were stronger than analysts expected, thanks in part to discounters. August same-store sales, sales at stores open a year or more, fell 2.9% overall from last year, Thomson Reuters reported. Analysts had expected a 3.8% decline as consumers continue to feel the pinch of the recession. "The overall index was not good by...

Global electricity use forecast to fall By Kate Mackenzie in London Published: May 21 2009 19:52 | Last updated: May 21 2009 19:52 Global electricity consumption will fall this year for the first time since 1945, according to the International Energy Agency. The watchdog for developed energy consuming countries will tell energy ministers from the Group of Eight leading economies on Sunday that electricity demand will fall 3.5 per cent in 2009. In China, where power use is seen as a more reliable barometer of economic activity than official economic measures, consumption will be more than 2 per cent lower...

U.S. stocks retreated as concern the government will replace the chief executive officers of some banks snuffed out an early rally spurred by reports signaling the contraction in manufacturing is abating.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration and its European allies are preparing proposals that would shift strategy toward Iran by dropping a longstanding American insistence that Tehran rapidly shut down nuclear facilities during the early phases of negotiations over its atomic program, according to officials involved in the discussions.

Japanese shares dropped, sending the Nikkei 225 Stock Average to the lowest level in a quarter century, on concern the deepening recession will spark more financial losses and diminish demand for resources. Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., Japan’s No. 1 casualty insurer, lost 5.2 percent after American International Group Inc. had the worst quarterly loss in U.S. history, prompting the government to inject more aid. Canon Inc., which gets a third of its sales from the Americas, sank 4.4 percent after U.S. manufacturing shrank for a 13th month. Inpex Corp., Japan’s largest oil and gas explorer, retreated 5.3 percent as crude...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Macy's Inc. reported an almost 59 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday as its results were dragged down by weak sales and one-time costs associated with the consolidations of regional divisions and store closings. The Cincinnati-based company said Tuesday that in the three months ended Jan. 31, it earned $310 million, or 73 cents per share. That compares with $750 million, or $1.73 per share, a year earlier. Sales fell 7.7 percent to $7.93 billion from $8.59 billion a year ago. Same-store sales, or sales at stores opened at least a year, fell 7 percent. Same-store...

Forex reserves drop for first time since 2003(China Daily) Updated: 2008-12-24 07:38 China's foreign exchange reserves have declined for the first time in five years after peaking at $1.9 trillion at the end of September, a State Administration of Foreign Exchange official has said. Cai Qiusheng, head of the foreign debts section under the capital-account management department, made the remarks at an annual meeting of China's import and export enterprises held over the weekend, Shanghai Securities Journal reported yesterday. But Cai did not say in which month, October or November, the forex reserves fell below the $1.9-trillion level, nor did...

Let's see how the liberals spin this: Stocks can't really be predicted or even discussed (disgusted) lately in any rational sense - every day is different with swings up and down that are responding to every announcement from Washington. But notice the very sudden drop (from 8550 at 2:30 to 8200 at 3:30.) Can anybody really say that these changes actually reflect any economic sense at all?

The current two day drop of the DJIA figure is the largest post election crash in U.S. History. The DJIA figure was off 915.92 a few minutes ago, that's 9.5% since Obama became President elect. Pundits who just days ago were saying that U.S. Citizens had more faith in Obama when it related to the economy are now having to hurriedly work up stories reassuring the public that this drop isn't related to public fear that Obama is not up to the task of managing the current economic problems.

NEW YORK – Oil prices fell below $79 a barrel in choppy trading Tuesday as investors took profits from the previous day's rally and shifted their focus back to signs of dwindling world energy demand. A falling U.S. stock market, a day after a record-breaking advance, also weighed on crude prices as oil market traders continued to fixate on equities as a barometer for the overall confidence in the shaky world economy. At the pump, retail gas price kept dropping. A gallon of regular dropped 4.3 cents overnight to a new national average of $3.163, according to auto club AAA,...

US STOCKS-Wall St drops as credit worry persists Thu Oct 9, 2008 11:06am EDT (Updates with market extending losses) NEW YORK, Oct 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell further in choppy trade on Thursday as persistent fears that the widening credit crisis will tip the global economy into recession derailed an attempted rebound, with financials leading the slide. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slid 124.96 points, or 1.35 percent, to 9,133.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX tumbled 16.01 points, or 1.63 percent, to 968.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC shed 6.31 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,734.02.

Oil falls to three-month low of $118 By Alex Lawler Reuters - 1 hour 9 minutes ago LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell to $118 a barrel on Tuesday, a three-month low, as investors focused on rising OPEC supply and declining demand in the United States and Europe. (Advertisement) The loss extends a slide from the July 11 record high of $147.27 a barrel, despite a Gulf of Mexico storm that has curbed oil output, and is prompting some to say that oil's rally has run its course for now. "Most of the hedge funds have been taking profits," said Angus...

US markets falter following home sales figures Tom Bawden in New York America’s main stock markets tumbled by more than 2 per cent yesterday after new data showed the number of previously-owned homes sold in June fell by more than twice the expected volume to the lowest level in at least ten years. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell by 29.62 points, or 2.3 per cent, to 1,252.57, with builders and financial services groups taking the biggest hit because they have the most to lose from the housing crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 283.1, or 2.4...

BAGHDAD (AFP) — The number of Iraqis killed in political violence in June fell to 509, a near 10 percent fall compared to the previous month, security officials said on Monday. Insurgent and militia attacks killed at least 448 civilians, 40 policemen and 21 soldiers, the officials said quoting figures collected from the interior, health and defence ministries. In May, violence claimed the lives of 504 civilians, 32 policemen and 27 soldiers. By contrast US military losses rose to 29 in June compared with 19 in May, which marked the military's lowest monthly death toll since the March 2003 invasion,...

The price of crude oil has jumped as high as $135 lately, up from $87 in early February. The news encouraged some Wall Street analysts to suggest oil might approach $200 before long. In fact, that's quite impossible: The world economy can't handle current energy prices, much less a big increase. Which in turn means that oil prices will fall. Market analysts often claim oil prices are almost entirely determined by supply. Demand is said to be insensitive ("inelastic") to price. The standard example is that many Americans have to drive to work and most gas-guzzling SUVs will still be...

U.S. stocks hard hit by GE's disappointing results Nasdaq fronts weekly decline, off 3.4%; Dow, S&P slump more than 2% By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch Last update: 4:37 p.m. EDT April 11, 2008Print E-mail RSS Disable Live Quotes NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks on Friday sunk to April lows and weekly losses, with the market undone by General Electric Co.'s earnings miss, jolting investors and casting a bleak light on a slew of earnings reports next week. "GE never surprises us, and they had the whole month of March to let us know. All they had to say is, for...

Japan's Nikkei down 3.3 pct on U.S. recession fears Fri Mar 7, 2008 1:09am EST (Updates to close) TOKYO, March 7 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average fell 3.3 percent to a fresh six-week low on Friday, with investors dumping blue-chip exporters like Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) on a stronger yen and fears of a U.S. recession, while silicon wafer maker Sumco Corp (3436.T: Quote, Profile, Research) tumbled more than 10 percent after predicting weaker profits. In a broad sell-off tracking sharp falls on Wall Street, banks such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T: Quote, Profile, Research)...

Asia markets sink amid pessimism over US By CARL FREIRE, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 22 minutes ago Stock markets across most of Asia fell Monday following declines on Wall Street last week amid investor pessimism over the U.S. government's stimulus plan to prevent a recession. A contraction in the American economy would likely hurt profits at Asian exporters, although rising trade and investment within the region has made Asia less dependent on the U.S. economy than in the past. Investors sold off shares, unimpressed by the economic stimulus plan President Bush announced Friday. The plan, which requires approval by...

PUEBLA, Mexico - A cold front moved over most of Mexico Wednesday, leaving coastal cities chilly and windy, and dusting mountaintop towns with snow. In the central state of Puebla, temperatures dropped to a low of 23 degrees, and more than 100 shelters were opened for residents who live in frigid shacks. Winter snow is not uncommon at high altitudes in Mexico, including atop the Popocatepetl Volcano outside the capital. But this week's frost dusted buildings in towns that normally don't see such cold weather. In Mexico City, residents accustomed to 80-degree afternoon temperatures bundled up in winter coats as...

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - A top American general said Sunday that attacks along the Afghan-Pakistan border have dropped more than 40 percent since July and the U.S. and its allies are making progress in the fight against the Taliban. Brig. Gen. Joseph Votel said the decrease in insurgent activity along the border could be attributed to the onset of winter, a rise in insurgent attacks in Pakistan and an increase in communication and coordination among NATO, Afghan and Pakistani forces. Recent media and analysts' reports have said the international mission is not succeeding and Afghanistan is becoming increasingly unstable. This year...

Disappointed by the slow pace of change in Washington, California voters gave Congress its lowest rating in 10 years, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, saw her approval rating take a sharp drop during the past five months, according to a Field Poll released last week. Approval of the new Democrat-controlled Congress as an institution is down to 20 percent, a few points lower than the rating last year under Republican leadership. And the approval rating for Pelosi, who became speaker in January, fell from 48 percent in March to 39 percent this month. Californians' dismal view...

BAGHDAD — The Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman and the commanding general of the Ground Combat Element, Multi-National Force-West, held a press conference at the Combined Press Information Center Wednesday. U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, the MNF-I spokesman, and U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. C. Mark Gurganus, commanding general of GCE, MNF-W, discussed progress in operations and security in western Iraq. “We want to help the Iraqi people develop a secure, stable and self-governing nation they can be proud of,” said Caldwell. “We are here to help the Iraqis build institutions, which will offer their children a better life...

Stocks plummet on subprime lending woes By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer 8 minutes ago Stocks plunged Tuesday, driving the Dow Jones industrials down more than 240 points to their second-biggest drop in almost four years, as troubles piled up for subprime lenders. Investors, bracing for a wilting economy, fled the already deflated subprime mortgage sector on more news that lenders New Century Financial Corp., Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. and General Motors Acceptance Corp.'s residential unit are facing financial problems. The Mortgage Bankers Association bolstered the belief that the struggles are widespread after it said new foreclosures surged to...

SSE Composite Index (Shanghai:000001.SS) Delayed quote data Index Value: 2,797.19 Trade Time: 2:00AM ET Change: 83.88 (2.91%) Prev Close: 2,881.073 Open: 2,877.203 Day's Range: 2760.91 - 2878.35 52wk Range: 1,238.16 - 3,049.77 New! Try our new Charts in Beta 1d  5d  3m  6m  1y  2y  5y  max 

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WASHINGTON — Sales of existing homes fell for a sixth straight month in September and the median sales price dropped on an annual basis by the largest amount on record, further documenting a lukewarm housing market. The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes fell by 1.9 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted sales pace of 6.18 million units, the slowest sales rate since January 2004. The median price of a single-family home fell to $219,800 last month, a drop of 2.5 percent from the price in September 2005. That was the biggest year-over-year price...