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The Talk Shows August 11th, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Steve King, R-Iowa; Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; Anu Bhagwati, executive director, Service Women's Action Network.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Reps. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., and Peter King, R-N.Y.; Michael Hayden, a former head of the CIA and the National Security Agency.THIS WEEK (ABC): Edward Snowden's father, Lon; Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.; Reps. Ed Royce, R-Calif., Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, and Louie Gohmert, R-Texas; Donald Trump.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN):...

Rev. Talbert Swan, president of the Springfield branch of the NAACP, has requested meetings with the four companies that have expressed interest in bringing a casino to the city, as well as Mayor Domenic Sarno, to discuss efforts to hire minorities and women should voters approve one of the proposals. "In a stricken economy, where communities of color are the most heavily affected, a proposal to create hundreds of permanent jobs along with many temporary construction jobs should include a plan to ensure fair participation by residents of color," Swam wrote in a letter to the four casino operators, MGM...

Following the June 28 election that brought new officers into the fold, the Springfield branch of the NAACP is focusing its attention on five key areas to promote its agenda of equality. At a short press conference before the dedication of the New Macedonia Church of God in Christ, the Rev. Talbert W. Swan II, the newly elected president of the Springfield branch of the NAACP, said the group will be taking a renewed focus on education, health, economic empowerment, political action and social justice advocacy. Swan said the group will work with city school officials to reduce the dropout...

This song went #1... and Swan recorded it in two takes -without overdubs- with an RMI organ that Kris Kristofferson and singer Rita Coolidge had bought for him as a wedding gift. Billy Swan (dob 12 May 1942) is a multi-talented American musician, songwriter and singer, best known for the 1974 #1 single I Can Help. Born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Swan learned drums, piano and guitar at a very young age, then immediately took to writing songs. The first big break came in 1962 when Clyde McPhatter recorded Lover Please, a song written by Swan. McPhatter's version quickly became...

Dubai Friday: The Black Swan Rears Its Ugly Head by: TraderMark November 27, 2009 So much for a sleepy Thanksgiving week Friday... a tiny Black Swan called Dubai reared its ugly head. There has been some hand wringing in the UK papers about the debt situation in Greece (all of which ignored by giddy US traders who only know one trade anymore: "US dollar down, buy anything"), so Dubai was a bit out of left field. You might say Dubai what? Greece who? Small peanuts... but they key is contagion risk. In the late 90s a small economy (Thailand) caused...

This doting mother swan has really taken her babies under her wing. Six tiny cygnets could be seen peeking from beneath her feathers as she floated on the pond at the Bicton Park Botanical Gardens in Devon. The swan, who had been swimming with her brood behind was forced to play piggyback after the young birds became tired.Amazed visitors watched as the swan spread her wings to allow the cygnets aboard, before before tucking them back protectively to stop them falling off. She then continued on her way across the pond, occasionally turning her head around to check on her...

LONDON: A Muslim man who was so hungry while fasting during Ramazan that he killed a swan to eat was jailed for two months at a court in Britain on Wednesday. Shamsu Mian (52) killed the mute swan at a boating pond in Llandudno on September 25 – only the second day of fasting in Britain. All mute swans in Britain belong to the sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II, a historical quirk dating from the 12th century. When challenged by police, Mian said, “I am a Muslim, I am fasting, I needed to eat.” Llandudno Magistrates Court heard that Mian had...

Petra the swan reunited with her pedalo lover Last Updated: 1:13am GMT 29/03/2008 Petra the swan, who fell in love with a swan-shaped boat only to abandon it for a real bird, has returned to her faux friend after being cruelly dumped. Officials at a zoo in Munster, Germany, where Petra has been spending the winter, took her to a nearby lake to be with the white paddleboat. Petra the swan and her plastic pedalo lover In recent months, Petra, a black swan, had struck up a relationship with a real white swan. However, he abandoned her last weekend –...

MUENSTER, Germany - Petra the black swan has been reunited with her beloved swan-shaped paddleboat after a failed romance with a real bird. Officials at a Muenster zoo where Petra has been spending the winter took her to a nearby lake Friday and released her next to the paddleboat — shaped like a giant white swan. Petra became so attached to the boat back in 2006 that she refused to leave its side. When winter came around, she and the boat were taken into the zoo. In recent months, Petra had struck up a relationship with a real white swan....

Marburg - A pedestrian in Germany survived unhurt when a dead swan fell onto him out of the sky, police in the central city of Marburg said on Tuesday. The man, 21, felt something hit his back, turned around and saw the dead bird on the ground. It had apparently been electrocuted on overhead wires from a nearby power station.

Samsung Electronics Launches Swan New Monitors Samsung Electronics has launched a series of four new monitors whose “neck” distantly recalls the shape of a swan’s. The new models target the market for medium-sized and large monitors. They are the 20-inch SyncMaster CX2032GW/BW models and 22-inch SyncMaster CX2232GW/BW models. Each pair consists of a wide-screen and Magic Clear panels. Only six months after their global debut in January this year, the Swan monitor series became million-sellers. More than 3 million Swan monitors are expected to be sold by the end of 2007. The monitors’ hinges are made of an elastomer...

What had been a modest comet seen only with binoculars or telescopes flared up this week to become visible to the naked eye [images]. Comet Swan, as it is called, is in the western sky after sunset from the Northern Hemisphere. It remains faint, likely not easy to find under bright city lights but pretty simple to spot from the countryside. It is a "fairly easy naked-eye comet," said Pete Lawrence, who photographed the comet from the UK. "The tail is now showing some interesting features too." UPDATE: Late Thursday, however, Lawrence reported that the comet already may be getting...

BERLIN (Reuters) - A swan has fallen in love with a plastic swan-shaped paddle boat on a pond in the German town of Muenster and has spent the past three weeks flirting with the vessel five times its size, a sailing instructor said Friday. Peter Overschmidt, who operates a sailing school and rents the two-seat paddle boat on the Aasee pond, said the black swan with a bright red beak has not left the white swan boat's side since it flew in one day in early May. "It seems like he's fallen in love," said Overschmidt. "He protects it, sits...

Bird flu swan was from outside UK AREA ON ALERT * Poultry owners within wild bird risk area must keep birds indoors or, if not possible, ensure they are kept away from wild birds * Bird transport within 6 mile (10km) surveillance zone will be curbed * Poultry within 1.8 mile (3km) protection zone must be kept indoors and will be tested A dead swan found in Fife which tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was a whooper swan, DNA tests by government scientists have found. The breed originates from outside the UK but it was...

Avian flu kills swan in Scotland By Anil Dawar (Filed: 06/04/2006) A wild swan has been found dead from avian flu in Scotland. Preliminary tests found "highly pathogenic H5 avian flu" in a sample from the bird, the Scottish Executive said. The bird was found near the coast in an emaciated condition, about nine miles from St Andrews, in Fife. A two-mile exclusion zone was set up around Cellardyke while scientists continued to examine the bird to discover if it was carrying the H5N1 strain of the virus, which can be fatal to humans. Poultry farmers and bird owners in...

During his first run, a presidential candidate visits a certain state 23 times, more than any other state. Four years later as a reigning president, he travels into the same state a record 44 times campaigning for re-election. The same year, the same state holds the most noticed US Senate primary in the country; it features a razor thin race many believed would influence the US Supreme Court for a generation.A few years earlier in 1992, the same state hosted another US Senate race that defined gender politics in the US, and in 1991 the state staged a Senate race...

*snip* In a warm and engaging talk, Swann, who followed booming speeches by no less than former presidential candidate Dr. Alan Keyes and RNC chairman Ken Mehlman, firmly tossed his hat in the ring to contest incumbent Edward G. Rendell, a Democrat, in 2006. "I'm running to be the next governor of Pennsylvania." *snip*

Newsday is cutting as many as 100 jobs through voluntary and non-voluntary buyouts, the Long Island newspaper's publisher said Thursday. "We have been engaged in a thorough review of everything we do, establishing priorities for next year based on our strategic objectives," Publisher Timothy Knight wrote in an e-mail to employees. A story about the cuts was also posted on the newspaper's Web site. "It is clear that we will face continued revenue challenges next year and, as a result, we need to make significant changes in the business in order to have a healthier newspaper for the future," Knight...

Ananova: 'Killer swan on the loose' Residents of a Nottinghamshire village fear a swan on their local pond could have become a killer in its attempt to protect its family. Two dogs swimming in the pond in Warsop have gone missing, and witnesses say they saw one of them being drowned by the cob, or male swan. They say they saw the bird use its powerful wings to batter the springer spaniel before holding it underwater with its beak. The Daily Mail says it's believed the cob may have been acting out of fear that its mate and newly-born cygnets...

Pet owners have been warned to keep their animals under control after two dogs were killed by a territorial swan in a park lake. Mansfield District Council said a dog was drowned last week by a cob while playing in the Carrs park in Warsop, Nottinghamshire. It said the animal had dived into the mill pond, the swan felt threatened and attacked the dog to protect his family. The local RSPCA branch described the event as “highly unusual” The incident is thought to be the second such death, after a dog was found drowned in the same pond two weeks...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 August 11 Elements of the Swan Nebula Credit & Copyright: Russell Croman Explanation: In the depths of the dark clouds of dust and molecular gas known as M17, stars continue to form. Also known as the Omega Nebula and Horseshoe Nebula, the darkness of M17's molecular clouds results from background starlight being absorbed by thick filaments of carbon-based smoke-sized dust. As bright massive stars form, they produce...

A bird that was a national symbol, the last living royal swan of the dozen donated by the Queen in 1967, was not just royal. He was a queen. Patch, a one-eyed white swan, was found dead yesterday near the prime minister's residence. The caretakers of Ottawa's royal swans say that when they look for a new partner for Patch's long-time male mate, Buddy, they will try to accommodate his gender preference. "It happens in the wild from time to time," Christine Hartig, the city employee in charge of the swans, said of the male pairing. Patch and Buddy stuck...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 December 10 M17: Omega Nebula Star Factory Credit & Copyright: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT), Hawaiian Starlight, CFHT Explanation: In the depths of the dark clouds of dust and molecular gas known as M17, stars continue to form. The similarity to the Greek letter capital Omega gives the molecular cloud its popular name, but the nebula is also known as the Swan Nebula, the Horseshoe Nebula, and M17. The...