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American portions reduce as food prices rise By Tom Leonard and Alex Spillius Last Updated: 1:57AM BST 30/04/2008 Faced with growing delivery costs driven by higher fuel prices, many US restaurants have done the previously unthinkable and introduced smaller food portions served on smaller plates. The increase in fuel prices was identified yesterday as the biggest issue affecting the lives of ordinary Americans. It surpassed even unemployment and home repossessions, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Until now, Americans have taken for granted the relative cheapness of petrol and food. Although $3·60 (£1·80) for a gallon of...

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday slapped down California's bid for first-in-the-nation greenhouse gas limits on cars, trucks and SUVs, denying a request for a waiver that would have allowed those restrictions to take effect. "The Bush administration is moving forward with a clear national solution - not a confusing patchwork of state rules - to reduce America's climate footprint from vehicles," EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson said in a statement.

WASHINGTON - Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson on Friday proposed reducing benefits promised to future retirees and establishing a system of voluntary personal retirement accounts under Social Security to help shore up the program's finances. "If somebody's got a better idea let them put it on the table," said the former Tennessee senator in a challenge to fellow Republicans as well as Democrats vying for the White House in 2008. President Bush proposed roughly similar changes three years ago, but they proved so controversial that they never came to a vote in either house of the Republican-controlled Congress. Thompson's proposal...

An Iraqi Army Soldier from the 4th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 5th Division, questions the local population about insurgent activity during a foot patrol in Buhriz, Iraq, on Feb. 17. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall. BAGHDAD -- Violence has reduced since moving Coalition forces out of big forward operating bases and into smaller community-based combat outposts as part of the Fardh Al-Qanoon, a senior Army officer serving there said Friday.The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division has seen a significant drop in violence over the past few months in the province of Shula and Kadtimiya,...

Radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has threatened rogue commanders in his Mahdi Army militia with the wrath of God, his principal mouthpiece told worshippers at prayer Friday. The Mahdi Army is one of the most powerful armed Shiite groups in Iraq and has been implicated in a number of recent battles with police, despite orders from Sadr to his followers not to spill Iraqi blood without permission. "This disobedience to the leadership has divided us and earned us multiple enemies," declared Sheikh Jaber al-Khafaji, the preacher who speaks for Sadr at the mosque in the central Iraqi town of Kufa....

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2006 – Iraqi and U.S. troops have used an “isolate, clear and hold” strategy during Operation Together Forward to dampen insurgent activity in some troubled Baghdad neighborhoods, a senior operational officer said in the Iraqi capital today. The operation “is part of a larger effort across Baghdad to significantly reduce the amount of violence that was hindering progress in our area of operations,” said Army Col. Robert E. Scurlock Jr., commander of the 1st Armored Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team. He spoke to Pentagon reporters via a satellite connection from Camp Liberty, Iraq. The 2nd Brigade’s area...

The University of Arizona started class Monday amid questions nationwide about whether college professors are too Liberal. This year and again next year Arizona legislators say they'll try to tame what they see as left-leaning professors at state universities. Among the Conservatives' moves: Lawmakers tried, but failed, to pass a bill that would allow college students to refuse assignments they find sexually offensive. Republican representative Russell Pearce wants to introduce an "Academic Bill of Rights" next year aimed at keeping Liberal bias out of classrooms. A law passed last spring requires schools to display the U.S. flag and constitution in...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats presented two plans for winding down U.S. involvement in Iraq on Monday, one to pull out U.S. combat forces by July 2007 and another to begin withdrawing this year without a deadline for completion. With an election looming in November, Republicans branded the two plans as defeatist and evidence of Democratic disarray. The Senate was to debate the amendments on Tuesday in the annual defense policies bill. "Three and a half years into the conflict, we should tell the Iraqis that the American security blanket is not permanent," said Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting...

California's smog-fighting agency on Thursday approved a sweeping plan to reduce air pollution caused by the ports, rail lines and roadways that move goods around the state. The Air Resources Board's plan sets out long-term goals and strategies to roll back air pollution levels from cargo movement to what they were five years ago. Diesel-related pollution alone would be reduced 85 percent. With the amount of goods entering California ports expected to triple in 15 years, "now is the time to take action," board Chairman Robert F. Sawyer said during a public meeting. "This problem did not occur overnight and...

FORT BELVOIR, Va., April 3, 2006 – The United States is aggressively pursuing ways to lessen the threat from weapons of mass destruction, the director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency said here last week. "Our goal is to combat weapons of mass destruction and protect Americans and U.S. forces, military infrastructure, bases and facilities against their use," Dr. James A. Tegnelia told American Forces Press Service March 31. "The United States has, in my view, a very aggressive program to secure fissile and WMD material." The threat reduction agency's mission is to safeguard America and its allies from all...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal push for cars that run on an alternative fuel straight from the heartland isn't winning many converts among American drivers - but is a hit with automakers who use it to skirt mileage standards. Five million cars across the country are equipped to run on the fuel, but almost no one uses it outside the corn belt. Fortunately for carmakers, a 1988 law designed to decrease oil use gives them credits for building vehicles that run on the alternative fuel whether anyone uses it or not. Those credits allow automakers to relax gasoline efficiency...

Week of Nov. 5, 2005; Vol. 168, No. 19 , p. 294 Volcanic Suppression: Major eruptions can reduce sea level Sid Perkins Large volcanic eruptions can temporarily cool Earth's climate and, a team of scientists now suggests, lower sea level worldwide. BLOWING ITS TOP. Ocean cooling following the June 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines caused sea level worldwide to temporarily drop about 5 millimeters. D. Harlow/U.S. Geological Survey The tiny particles of broken rock and droplets of condensed gases that a volcano ejects high into the atmosphere reflect sunlight into space. So, after an eruption, there's less...

Millions 'wasted' planting trees that reduce water By Charles Clover, Environment Editor (Filed: 29/07/2005) Millions of pounds in overseas aid are wasted every year planting trees in dry countries in the belief that they help attract rainfall and act as storage for water, scientists said yesterday. In fact, forests usually increase evaporation and help to reduce the amount of water available for human consumption or growing crops, according to a four-year study. Research on water catchments on three continents says it is "a myth" that trees always increase the availability of water. Even the cloud forests of tropical Costa Rica...

Sailors who traditionally dumped barrels of oil into the sea to calm stormy waters may have been on to something, a new study suggests. The old practice reduces wind speeds in tropical hurricanes by damping ocean spray, according to a new mathematical “sandwich model”. As hurricane winds kick up ocean waves, large water droplets become suspended in the air. This cloud of spray can be treated mathematically as a third fluid sandwiched between the air and sea. “Our calculations show that drops in the spray decrease turbulence and reduce friction, allowing for far greater wind speeds – sometimes eight times...

ALHAMBRA, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday urged Californians to conserve energy this summer while promoting his plan to create a state energy agency. He said he doesn't want a repeat of the power crisis of 2000-2001, which followed the state's foray into deregulated energy markets and led to rolling blackouts and soaring utility bills. "There is no doubt about it that California will face big energy challenges this summer and probably for years to come," said the governor, speaking at the office of the Independent System Operator, which manages most of the state's power grid. "Conservation saves...

BANGKOK, Thailand - Thai policemen with waistlines larger than 40 inches have been ordered to reduce their weight in order to look good when they direct traffic, the police department announced Tuesday. Recent medical examinations of 4,150 police officers in Bangkok found that 49 percent have high cholesterol and are overweight, which is "an obstacle" in directing traffic, said a statement from the Metropolitan Police Bureau. Eighty-eight of the overweight officers whose waistlines ranged between 40 and 49 inches were ordered to join the "Smart Police," a one-month weight-loss program. Participants will have to eat according to doctors' instructions and...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The state's improving economy is expected to provide Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger with a windfall of several billions dollars next year that could help him close the budget deficit without raising taxes or imposing severe service cuts. But Schwarzenegger, whose revised budget is set for release Friday, is more likely use a large portion of those unanticipated dollars to reduce the amount of borrowing the state will need in 2005-2006, according to administration officials. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst has estimated that the state would have about $2.2 billion in unexpected income next year. But rumors have been swirling...

Uncertainty over the direction of US pension reform is leading some companies to scale back their contributions despite a deficit of more than $100bn among the top 100 schemes. Milliman, a firm of actuaries, said a number of companies had privately admitted postponing voluntary payments for fear they would lose flexibility over their contributions in future. This comes as Congress considers rule changes to make companies more responsible for their pension promises to employees. Changes to accounting standards are also expected to give investors more visibility of pension liabilities. Schemes which promise a guaranteed percentage of salary at retirement are...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Southern California clean air regulators adopted a plan Friday to reduce emissions at about 300 power plants, factories and refineries by 20 percent over five years. The plan, which takes effect beginning 2007, amends a program started 10 years ago by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and seeks to reduce smog-causing emissions by a total of 7.7 tons per day over the five-year period. "We believe the changes meet state law requirements and maintain the integrity of the program, while continuing to move closer to the region's air quality goals," Barry Wallerstein, executive officer...

Evidence Cigarette Tax Hikes Increase Crime, But Don't Reduce Teenage Smoking Between 1984 and 1993, Canada doubled its tax on cigarettes with the aim of reducing smoking and increasing tax revenues. Last December, Sgt. Alain Giroux testified on the effects of those tax increases before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on behalf of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. * He reported that only did underage smoking fail to decrease, but an estimated 40 percent of Canada's cigarettes are now sold on the black market -- most of which are smuggled over the U.S.-Canadian border. * The growth in the black market...