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Man on Flight to Detroit Claims Al Qaeda Ties; Obama Tightens Security DETROIT -- A passenger on a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight tried to detonate an explosive device that was strapped to his leg and later told investigators that he was trying to blow up the plane and had affiliations with al Qaeda, according to a senior U.S. official. The man, who has not been publicly identified by officials, told investigators that he was given the device by Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen, where he was also given instructions on how to detonate it, the official said. The Associated Press...

Romulus, Mich. - A senior U.S. counterterror official says a passenger aboard a Delta Air Lines flight in Detroit was planning to blow up the plane but the explosive device failed. The official said the passenger was being questioned Friday evening. It was not immediately clear why the passenger wanted to attack the flight that was arriving from Amsterdam

Imagine the outrage if any Republican President went on vacation during a recession and spent $4,000 a night on accommodations. On ABC’s Good Morning America Wednesday, correspondent Yunji de Nies seemed to suggest that President Obama’s family will be spending such an amount renting expensive living space at an estate house in Hawaii for a two-week Christmas vacation. De Nies: "Christmas trees here aren't cheap – neither is staying in this $8.9 million house, which runs $4,000 a night. The Obamas rented this one and the two next door for family and friends. When you spend that kind of money,...

Last night I posted a req for info on what to see on my vacation to Germany and Austria, and got some terrific suggestions. One day left at home (we fly out of Boston tomorrow), so please feel free to add any suggestions in Bavaria and Salzburg,

Health Care reform allowing, President Barack Obama will leave behind the detritus of legislative guerrilla warfare and a blizzard that froze the nation's capital to head for vacation. He is going home to the place he was born: Hawaii. The state remains proud of its native son, no matter how many national debates he may spark. Nevertheless, Obama will be coming home to a state struggling with the sour taste of recession. Although a forecast this month by University of Hawaii economists predicted that the new year will bring improvement, unemployment hovers at 7% and, for the all-important tourist...

My wife and I, and our two teenagers are off on a well-earned vacation to Mittersfeld (Black Forest/Bavaria) and Salsberg on Christmas Day thru New Years. I'd appreciate any feedback from my second family as to what to see (or don't bother to see), as well as some out of the way places to visit.

<p>WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama won't leave Washington for his Hawaii vacation until the Senate finishes work on the health care overhaul, even if that means staying in town for Christmas Eve.</p> <p>"My attitude is that if they're making these sacrifices to provide health care to all Americans then the least I can do is to be around and provide them any encouragement and last-minute help where necessary," Obama said Tuesday.</p>

(Dec. 11, 2009) — Just after the aftermath of yet another insult to our allies via the refusal to participate to the traditional events surrounding the award of the Nobel Prize including a dinner with the King, on the pretenses that the recipient was a very busy, sitting “President,” responsible for not one, but two, wars and facing the worst economic crisis “EVAHHH!”, the White House is quietly organizing yet another vacation-time for the Obamas. They would have you believe that nothing has been decided yet, when in fact the logistics of booking their 13 day vacations in Hawaii, from...

If the U.S. fulfills its pledge to shrink greenhouse gas emission, the carbon dioxide reductions are sure to force big cuts and higher prices and taxes in the travel and tourism industry. Are concerns about climate change making you rethink or change your 2010 vacation and travel plans?

Check out this video of the "Oasis of the Seas" cruise ship. This is the biggest and most expensive cruise ship ever built and it recently sailed from Turku, Finland. It just arrived at the ship's home port in Fort Lauderdale, Florida three days ago on November 11 where it faces a challenge to fill its multitude of berths as we Americans are now struggling under Obama's recession and trying to keep our heads above water. Built at the cost of $1.5 billion, this 16-deck cruise vessel is nearly 40 percent larger than the industry's next-biggest ship and five...

Come visit Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome! I am warning you, if you go to this link you may be stuck on this website for hours, as I was yesterday: http://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/san_giovanni/vr_tour/Media/VR/Lateran_Apse/index.html A map of the project is here: http://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/san_giovanni/vr_tour/index-it.html An article about the project is here: http://cnsblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/inside-scoop-on-vaticans-groundbreaking-virtual-tour/#comment-10076 And the real reason I am posting this is my question. When will the other Vatican related buildings pictorial projects be finished? I cant figure this out. How will we know? Where will they be posted? Is there a good site out there that we can use to find out the...

Monday, the Vatican unveiled a stunning website that offers a virtual tour of the Lateran Basilica.

President Barack Obama will leave the country for a four-nation tour of Asia starting Wednesday despite a host of domestic concerns, including the massacre at Fort Hood, a sharply rising jobless rate, his health care legislation stalled in the Senate and his Afghanistan troop decision still pending. He planned his Nov. 11-19 trip around the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Singapore, but added stops in Japan, China and South Korea. The itinerary reflects the growing importance of East Asia — especially China — to everything from financing U.S. debt and powering the global economic recovery to climate change, disease...

If it’s Sunday, expect to find Obama golfing at Fort Belvoir. This week, though, his foursome includes Melody Barnes, President Obama’s chief domestic policy advisor -- and the first woman who’s played golf with Obama during his 24 trips to the links since taking office. Barnes, wearing a baseball cap, dark long sleeve shirt and beige pants, joined Obama the same day that the New York Times is running a front page story, Man’s World at White House? No Harm, No Foul, Aides Say, the latest in a round of similarly stories triggered by a high-profile, all-male basketball game the...

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that New Line (a division of Warner Bros.) is developing a sequel to the “Vacation” franchise. There have been four movies (and a made-for-TV movie entitled “Christmas Vacation 2”). This new film would apparently focus on Rusty Griswold, who is now a father himself, as he takes his family on a road trip vacation. For the love of God, New Line, please bring original “Rusty” actor Anthony Michael Hall back! Otherwise, I want no part of this movie. This got me to thinking though: What is your favorite “Vacation” movie? Internet debate is fierce. Most...

Unused Vacation? It May Pay by Laura Saunders Tuesday, September 29, 2009 Taking vacation pays dividends -- especially if your company allows you to put unused vacation or sick-leave days into your 401(k) or profit-sharing plan. To encourage savings, the Obama administration recently blessed such transfers. While companies may have to amend their benefit plans to allow it, the administration hopes firms will do so. "We tried to build in as much flexibility as possible to make it attractive," says Mark Iwry, a senior Treasury official. The techniques are available for use with all qualified plans, which include 401(k), Keogh...

With growing pressure for decisions on life-or-death issues in Afghanistan and Iran, this morning the White House announced that President Obama will soon travel to…Copenhagen. Obama will be in Denmark for just a few hours -- he leaves this Thursday and returns Friday -- which is just enough time to make a pitch for Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. He'll be following First Lady Michelle Obama, who is also going to Copenhagen as part of the promote-Chicago team. Here is the White House press release:.....

President Obama wants kids to spend more time in school. Students in the U.S. need more class time to remain competitive with students around the world, the President said. Obama advocates schools adding time to classes, extending hours into evenings and weekends, and shortening summer vacation. "Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas, not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom," Obama said. Some schools that extended their hours have seen positive results. Early results...

WASHINGTON – Students beware: The summer vacation you just enjoyed could be sharply curtailed if President Barack Obama gets his way. Obama says American kids spend too little time in school, putting them at a disadvantage with other students around the globe. "Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," the president said earlier this year. "Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom." The president, who has a sixth-grader and a third-grader, wants schools...

WASHINGTON – Students beware: The summer vacation you just enjoyed could be sharply curtailed if President Barack Obama gets his way. Obama says American kids spend too little time in school, putting them at a disadvantage with other students around the globe. "Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," the president said earlier this year. "Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom." The president, who has a sixth-grader and a third-grader, wants schools...

WASHINGTON – Students beware: The summer vacation you just enjoyed could be sharply curtailed if President Barack Obama gets his way. Obama says American kids spend too little time in school, putting them at a disadvantage with other students around the globe. "Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," the president said earlier this year. "Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom." The president, who has a sixth-grader and a third-grader, wants schools...

This article focuses on health care issues when going on vacation. Everyone loves a vacation. Americans are known to for going on vacation during various times of the year, and usually those times coordinate with work schedules or school calendars. Spring break, summer time, and major holidays are the most frequent times. You can spend a little or a lot, and you can have tons of activities or do nothing at all--just relax. Vacations are what you make them, and many times can be the best way to get time away from work, school, or the hectic pace of everyday...

If Malia and Sasha Obama write "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" essays as they head back to school this week, oh, the stories they can tell. The tweens have prowled the Kremlin in trench coats, roamed a Harry Potter movie set in London, and studied slave history in Africa as they racked up tens of thousands of miles crisscrossing the Atlantic Ocean, time zones and international borders with their parents this summer. Stateside, 11-year-old Malia and 8-year-old Sasha explored the American West on a family tour of Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon. They went whitewater rafting in...

Camp David's woodsy confines lure him to 10th visit WASHINGTON - -- Why hasn't President Barack Obama kept his pledge to make Chicago's South Side his "Kennebunkport"? Two words: Camp David. The ultra-private, presidential mountain retreat -- a half-hour from the White House by helicopter -- has quickly found fans within the First Family. Their stay for Labor Day weekend was Obama's 10th visit.... ...With Obama's return Sunday, he has logged all or part of 26 days at Camp David, White House officials say.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits climbed further last week, a reminder that labor-market conditions remain difficult. But in a gauge designed to predict the course of the economy, the index of leading indicators rose for the fourth consecutive month in July. Initial claims for jobless benefits rose 15,000 to 576,000 last week...

RUSH: President Obama has arrived at Marxist Vineyard, has told the press no coverage, just leave us alone, we don't want any coverage here, just leave us alone. I feel like waiting for the next headline on Drudge to be: "People to President: Leave Us Alone! Keep your hands off our health care; keep your hands off our Social Security; keep your hands off everything, just stay up there in Marxist Vineyard with your buddy skip Gates and go play a couple rounds of golf." In fact, I have a very good friend -- I wonder if I should say...

Perhaps President Obama didn't want to look uncool on his bike ride Thursday, but his decision to skip the helmet had safety experts banging their heads. Obama, on vacation with his family in Martha's Vineyard, joined the First Lady and his daughters yesterday for a ride in Aquinnah, a town at the western, most rural end of the island. The President appeared to be the only one with no helmet. Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group in New York, speculated the President might have been concerned about his image. "Helmets look goofy - you look...

Give the guy credit for trying. President Obama came to this tiny, upscale island of Martha's Vineyard for a break from his day job, a week-long respite from the angry town halls and the pessimistic pundits and the Democratic lawmakers who just won't seem to fall into line. It was supposed to be a vacation. But alas, the modern presidency hardly grants full escapes. There is, the 44th president is quickly discovering, no way to shrug off the burdens of the economy, the adoring crowds who hold digital cameras high over their heads, or -- it sadly turns out --...

The president schedules a post-vacation vacation (Cannot be posted per FR rules)

US President Barack Obama rides his bicycle with his daughter Sasha and other family friends along the Lobsterville beach on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Obama will head to his Camp David retreat next week, seeking the rest and relaxation which has been elusive on his frenetic stay on Martha's Vineyard. U.S. President Barack Obama waves from the balcony of Gay Head lighthouse as he tours it with his family in Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard, August 27, 2009. The lighthouse first opened in 1799. U.S. President Barack Obama watches as the Gay Head Lighthouse's beacon spins around in Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard,...

On another spectacular day here, the first family hopped on bikes for a beach-side ride in Aquinnah, a town on the southwestern tip of Martha's Vineyard, and a tour of the island's famous lighthouse. Dressed in a dark shirt, Obama rode ahead of the group, which included Michelle (in an orange tank top), Malia (in a pink capped-sleeve shirt) and Sasha (wearing a bright yellow T-shirt and turquoise shorts) as locals gathered along Lobsterville Road to snap pictures. Also in tow: Eric Whitaker and his family, Obama's brother-in-law Konrad Ng, and a phalanx of helmetless Secret Service agents -- also...

Six Democratic members of Congress enjoyed a Caribbean junket sponsored by Citigroup after Congress had approved the $700 billion bailout of financial services firms in October. The National Legal and Policy Center, a watchdog group, has asked Neil Barofsky, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, for a formal review of the Citigroup’s sponsorship of the trip by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel and five others. The NLPC says the trip violated House rules. The purported purpose of the Nov. 6-9 junket was to attend the Caribbean Multi-Cultural Business Conference on the island of...

President Barack Obama watches his putt on the ninth green while playing golf at Mink Meadows Golf Club, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009, in Vineyard Haven, Mass. Where's the thunder storm when you need it?

On Martha's Vineyard, it's golf today with the first lady and friends. Tomorrow, more golf. A pile of books to read. In between, the Fed chief is renominated. Then it's back to relaxing.It's just your average vacation schedule -- a little reading, a little tennis and golf, a little briefing from the National Security Council. But even though he has advisors in tow at the island resort of Martha's Vineyard this week, President Obama insists he is planning more relaxation than work. And his schedule so far suggests he is serious about holing up with his family. On Monday,...

Here is video shot by CBS News producer Rob Hendin on Martha's Vineyard where he showed how the island is decked out with Obama memorabilia and hysteria for President Obama and family to vacation there this week. They are even selling a "Cup of Joe Biden" for 95 cents. Do you think Obama would pay that much for him right now? . . . . (Watch Video)

CHILMARK, Mass. – President Barack Obama played tennis with his wife and golf with his buddies Monday, starting his first vacation in office on Martha's Vineyard, a picturesque island known as a refuge for the wealthy and privileged. Obama began the day with a workout at his rented retreat, then tennis with Michelle Obama, White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters traveling with the president. Obama later played golf with UBS Investment Bank President Robert Wolf and Chicago physician Eric Whitaker, both friends. White House aide Marvin Nicholson was also in the foursome. White House officials have stressed that the...

I'm visiting my sister in England and we see stuff like this. I took this photo just a little ago. This is what happens when you aren't paying enough attention. Oh...and this is my sister (wazoo1031).

The White House finally made it official on Friday: the Obama family will vacation on Martha's Vineyard in August. Word that the famed vacation island off the coast of Massachusetts would be the Obama family destination had been leaking for months because security agents have been crawling around the place. So now it can be told, according to what was called "preliminary August vacation details" released by the White House. "The Obama family will spend the last week of August vacationing on Martha's Vineyard. They've spent vacation time there before and are looking forward to relaxing together as a family...

Now Barack Obama and his family plan to spend some time next month on the glamorous island. Just off Cape Cod in New England, the island is where America's Democratic elite comes to let its hair down each summer, enjoying "clambakes" on the beach, garden parties, sailing and golf. It has long been a favourite haunt of Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, who is now the US secretary of state.

Just curious...with the 4th of July on a saturday evening, how long of a weekend do you think our fearless leaders of the conservative media, will take for vacation? My bet is, O'Reilly will take off the 3rd and the 6th as well as the weekend, and Rush will take off the 3rd, and not come back until mid week of the next week! Ah, All our valiant leaders! All off with Biggles,and all the sportsmen who always pulled us through. Anyone care to make a guess? >;)

It's getting harder and harder for libs to defend the "Par-tay" President! Consider that this was reported by the Boston Globe, owned by the New York Times. When these guys start criticizing Obama it's something to talk about! Obamas' trip to Paris raises some eyebrows By Joseph Williams Boston Globe June 5, 2009 WASHINGTON - So much for the Obama common touch. After whisking his wife to Manhattan for dinner and a Broadway show last weekend, President Obama is treating his family to a Paris vacation - paid for, in part, by taxpayers. The White House confirmed yesterday that first...

As if their business worries weren’t enough, small business owners are now getting even less time off, thanks to the country’s continuing economic problems. Most small business owners (61%), those with five employees or less, work at least six days a week. That includes 24% who work seven days a week, compared to 18% in 2008 and 15% in 2007. According to the latest Discover Small Business Watch data, just eight percent (8%) of all workers put in a seven-day week. Another 14% are on the job six days a week. While the small business owners are working more these...

Rep. Alan Grayson was standing in the middle of Disney World when it hit him: What Americans really need is a week of paid vacation. So on Thursday, the Florida Democrat will introduce the Paid Vacation Act — legislation that would be the first to make paid vacation time a requirement under federal law. The bill would require companies with more than 100 employees to offer a week of paid vacation for both full-time and part-time employees after they’ve put in a year on the job. Three years after the effective date of the law, those same companies would be...

Swine Flu Fallout: Cheap Vacation Deals May 5, 2009 Health officials are seeing some evidence that the spread of swine flu may be starting to ebb. That’s obviously good news from a public health perspective — but it also means that travel bargain hunters may want to take a closer look at booking deals to destinations hit hardest by the hype...

After having exhausted Edinburgh, I announced I was headed on to Belfast, Northern Ireland. I disremember exactly all that was going on at the time--there hadn't been any explosions or murders (there however were to be shortly after I left, dozens and scores murdered, but I was already in Wales by then), but the American embassy strongly advised Americans to not go there, and the British government was trying to discourage all non-residents of Northern Ireland from going there. I have no idea how they knew, but they knew. I was reminded of this, and it was suggested that there...

WASHINGTON -- President Obama went golfing and the Department of Health and Human Services is short a secretary, so other U.S. officials took the controls Sunday as the Obama administration ramps up efforts to find and isolate U.S. cases of swine flu.During a White House briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that HHS will issue a public health emergency warning that will free up resources to address the outbreak that has hit 20 Americans in five states. Richard Besser, acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the agency is prepared to move millions of doses...

DETROIT -- Two people briefed on the plan say General Motors Corp. will close most of its U.S. factories for up to nine weeks this summer because of slumping sales and growing inventories of unsold vehicles. The people did not know exactly when the shutdowns would occur, but both say they will include the normal two-week closure in July to change from one model year to the next. Neither person wanted to be identified because workers have not been told of the shutdowns.

Fellow Catholic Craft inclined freepers. I am going to be on some vacation time day camping low budget ect. I am Not crafty and do not have access to streaming video. I would like to do a craft when on my spell of mini day trip vacations. I would like to make wrist Rosaries. I found the beads (did not purchase of yet) from an ole retired worldy rock hound vender. (I see barter for price and he has implied so) I really need 4th grade level print out intructions diagram/how to / materials needed. If you can help or...

Raleigh, N.C. — While the stimulus debate raged in Washington, D.C., on Monday and North Carolina's economic picture continued to look bleak, Gov. Beverly Perdue was out of state on vacation. Perdue and her husband, Bob Eaves, have taken a weeklong vacation in an undisclosed, warm-weather location, spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson said. The governor and her husband are paying for the trip.

Sorry for posting this, but the family is planning a vacation for July and we were wondering the nicest beaches. Between Florida (where in Florida?), Ocean City (Condos are very old) or North Carolina... We have been to Orlando, Ft Lauderdale, Miami and OC in the past (and other beaches but those sucked and not worth mentioning) so, i was wondering if Anyone can recommend NICE, clear beaches in Eastern/Southern US Thanks in advance