RETAIL SALES FOR AUGUST ARE UP FOR THE SECOND MONTH IN A ROW ACCORDING TO A REPORT ISSUED JUST MINUTES AGO (8:30 A.M. Friday) BY THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT IN WASHINGTON. HIGHER GASOLINE PRICES ALONG WITH IMPROVED NEW CAR AND TRUCK SALES, UP ONE-POINT THREE PERCENT BOTH HELPED CONTRIBUTE TO LAST MONTH’S RETAIL PERFORMANCE. PROTESTS AGAINST [...]

AT SHANKSVILLE PENNSYLVANIA, THE PENTAGON AND IN LOWER MANHATTAN THERE WILL BE CEREMONIES GIVING PAUSE TO HONORING THE MEMORY OF THE NINE-ELEVEN TERROR ATTACKS ON THEIR ELEVEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY TODAY. ON THIS SOLEMN OCCASION, SOME GOOD NEWS IS HEADED THE WAY OF NINE-ELEVEN SURVIVORS WHO STILL FACE HEALTH CONCERNS FROM THE WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACKS [...]

TWO STORIES AT NEARLY OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE GULF OF MEXICO ARE NEWSWORTHY ITEMS ON THE NATIONAL SCENE THIS MORNING…. THE 2012 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION BEGINS IN TAMPA TODAY, SHORTENED SLIGHTLY AS IT IS BY TROPICAL DISTURBANCE ISSAC. SCHEDULED SPEAKERS BEFORE THE G-O-P FAITHFUL ON THIS FIRST DAY WILL INCLUDE CHRIS CHRISTIE AND ANN ROMNEY [...]

THE TEN-YEAR-LONG WAR IN AFGHANISTAN HAS MADE HEADLINES OF LATE WITH A SERIES OF ATTACKS BY THE TALIBAN AND AFGHAN SECURITY FORCES AGAINST COALITION TROOPS THAT HAVE LED TO DEATHS OF U-S SERVICE PERSONNEL. THE CONFLICT, WHICH PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA HAS TERMED A “WAR OF NECESSITY” HAS DRAGGED ON AND 80-THOUSAND AMERICANS REMAIN STATIONED THERE [...]

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IS CONSIDERING A POSSIBLE RELEASE OF SOME OF THE NATION’S STRATEGIC OIL RESERVES IN AN EFFORT TO ADDRESS RISING PRICES AT THE PUMP, CAUSED IN PART RIGHT NOW BY REFINERY FIRES IN THE WEST AND OTHER FACTORS. ACCORDING TO REUTERS, THE WHITE HOUSE IS “DUSTING OFF OLD PLANS” TO TAP INTO THOSE [...]

THERE ARE GLOBAL JITTERS BECAUSE OF SIGNS THAT FOOD PRICES COULD GET AS OUT OF CONTROL AS THEY DID SOME FOUR YEARS AGO, PROMPTING A FULL-BLOWN CRISIS OF FOOD PRODUCTION. ECONOMISTS WITH THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE U-N SAY THE POTENTIAL NOW EXISTS FOR ANOTHER CRISIS ON THE ORDER OF WHAT HAPPENED IN [...]

ON THE SURFACE OF MARS, THE ROBOTIC PROBE CURIOSITY CONTINUES TO BE A SOURCE OF NEW DISCOVERIES IN THE EXPLORATION OF SPACE AND THAT PLANET IN PARTICULAR. HERE ON EARTH, THINGS ARE A BIT DIFFERENT TO SAY THE VERY LEAST. CHANGES IN THE CLIMATES OF THE POLAR REGIONS, THE OCEANS AND THE CONTINENTS ARE NOTED [...]

TED CRUZ – A REPUBLICAN WITH THE BACKING OF TEA PARTY ORGANIZATIONS — WON A RUNOFF ELECTION IN TEXAS TO DETERMINE A CANDIDATE FOR AN OPEN SEAT IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. CRUZ HAD FAILED TO GET ENOUGH VOTES BACK IN MAY DURING THE TEXAS PRIMARY IN ORDER TO AVOID TUESDAY’S RUNOFF ELECTION AGAINST LIEUTENANT [...]

A HEADWIND IS DEFINED AS A WIND THAT BLOWS AGAINST THE DIRECTION THAT A SHIP OR PLANE IS MOVING IN. AND IN STEERING THE SHIP OF STATE, PRESIDENT OBAMA WARNED MONDAY THAT MORE ECONOMIC HEADWINDS ARE TO COME FOR THE UNITED STATES OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. AS RECENTLY AS EARLY JUNE, THE PRESIDENT USED [...]

FORMAL CHARGES WILL BE BROUGHT TODAY AGAINST JAMES HOLMES, THE 24-YEAR-OLD MAN CHARGED IN THE SHOOTINGS A LITTLE OVER A WEEK AGO AT A COLORADO MOVIE THEATER WHICH LEFT 12 PATRONS OF THE MULTIPLEX DEAD AND INJURED 58 OTHERS. DEFENSE ATTORNEYS IN THE CASE ARE ALREADY SEEKING A MOTION OVER THE LEAK OF INFORMATION ABOUT [...]