A government exercise involving low-flying planes created a big scare in New York City this morning. Mayor Bloomberg is understandably outraged. The low-flying plane was apparently a photo-op.
President Barack Obama Addresses Joint Session of Congress
President Barack Obama gives his first speech to a joint session of Congress. The president struck an optimistic down while also explaining the challenging economic situation the country is in. You can read a transcript of the speech here on Whitehouse.gov. Below is a video of President Obama's speech.
A video captured
A video captured the landing of the US Airways Airbus A320 as it crash landed in the Hudson. The plane's pilot Captain Chesley Sullenberger has been called a hero for saving the passengers with an incredible landing in the Hudson Bay after a flock of birds damaged the plane's engines.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been impeached by the Illinois state government. It's the first time in the state's history that the governor has been impeached. There will be a Senate trial in Illinois to see whether or not Blagojevich should be thrown out for allegedly trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.
A severe ice storm has crippled several Northeast states. The ice storm has knocked out power to millions and recovery will be slow as there has been extensive damage to power lines. In some areas the entire infrastructure of of the electrical delivery system will have to be replaced. A State of emergency has been declared in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and in parts of Maine and New York. There have been at least four storm-related deaths.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich Arrested for Conspiring to Sell Senate Seated
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been arrested and charged with conspiring to sell the Illinois Senate seat left vacant by Barack Obama. No one is saying that Barack Obama had anything to do with this situation. Barack Obama has called for the resignation of Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich.
Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States tonight. He will be the President-Elect until he takes office on January 20th, 2009. You can see the results of the election here, here and here. Below are the videos of John McCain's concession speech and Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago.
Vice President Dick Cheney Experiences Abnormal Heart Rhythm
Vice President Dick Cheney was experiencing an abnormal heart rhythm today. He canceled a campaign event today in Illinois. He underwent a procedure at George Washington University Hospital and his heart has returned to a normal rhythm. Dick Cheney suffers from what's known as an atrial fibrillation - an abnormal rhythm involving the upper chambers of the heart. You can more about Cheney's heart woes here, here, here and here.
Hurricane Gustav made landfall near Houma, Louisiana. The Wikipedia entry lists the damage estimate at $20 billion. Both FEMA and the Bush administration acted very early on Gustav to try and ensure that the failures of 2005 with Hurricane Katrina were not repeated. Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans also worked extremely hard to evacuate the city. Fortunately, the levees held and there was not catastrophic flooding inside the city of New Orleans. However, there was significant damage to the southwest of the city. The video below shows some of the damage in the hard hit city of Houma, Louisiana.
Earlier this month the FBI's suspect in the anthrax case, Dr. Bruce E. Ivins, 62, committed suicide just as the Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against him. Dr. Ivins worked at Ft. Detrick on anthrax research and he helped the FBI on the 2001 anthrax cases.
A top government scientist who helped the FBI analyze samples from the 2001 anthrax attacks has died in Maryland from an apparent suicide, just as the Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against him for the attacks, the Los Angeles Times has learned.
Bruce E. Ivins, 62, who for the last 18 years worked at the government's elite biodefense research laboratories at Ft. Detrick, Md., had been informed of his impending prosecution, said people familiar with Ivins, his suspicious death and the FBI investigation.
Many of his co-workers and friends did not see Ivins as a threat.
To some of his longtime colleagues and neighbors, it was a startling and inexplicable turn of events for a churchgoing, family-oriented germ researcher known for his jolly disposition - the guy who did a juggling act at community events and composed satiric ballads he played on guitar or piano to departing co-workers.
"He did not seem to have any particular grudges or idiosyncrasies," said Dr. Kenneth Hedlund, a retired physician who once worked alongside Ivins at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Frederick. "He was the last person you would have suspected to be involved in something like this."
One person who did perceive Ivins as a major threat was his therapist Jean Duley. This video has a recording from a court hearing where frightened therapist Jean Duley sought a protective order from Dr. Ivins on July 24th. Duley feared for her life and called Dr. Bruce Ivins a psychotic "revenge killer."
The government's position is that Ivins is guilty and that he acted alone in distributing the deadly anthrax in 2001, which killed five people. Journalists continue to ask questions about the investigation. One reason for this is because bio-weapons expert Steven Hatfill was at one point wrongly accused for this same crime. There are also questions being raised as to why someone with mental problems was allowed near the deadly anthrax in the first place.
Chino Earthquake Reactions: Judge Judy and Big Brother
Yesterday's 5.4 magnitude earthquake near Chino, California mostly created anxiety for residents in Southern California. There were many cameras rolling in the area and this Associated Press video shows how people on the sets of Judge Judy and Big Brother reacted when they felt the quake.
An 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck South California today. The USGS puts the quake's epicenter near Chino Hills, California - about twenty-eight miles from Los Angeles. A story in the L.A. Times shows product that was knocked off store shelves during the earthquake. Many people reported a sensation of shaking and rolling. The 5.4 magnitude quake lasted about 20 seconds. It shook a lot of buildings in downtown Los Angeles and scared a lot of people. Fortunately, it was not the "big one" that people have been fearing.
Ted Kennedy was released today after being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The AP says the life expectancy for this kind of brain tumor has increased. It used to only be a year but it is still rare for patients to live longer than five years after the diagnosis. Kennedy and his physicians have not yet determined how they will fight the cancer. Senator Robert Byrd gave an emotional message to Kennedy on the Senate floor.
CBS has posted the video of Walter Cronkite reporting Martin Luther King's assassination on April 4th, 1968. Walter Cronkite had almost finished broadcasting the "CBS Evening News" when he received word of Martin Luther King's assassination. Cronkite's report detailed the shooting and the nation's reaction to the tragedy. This is the 40th anniversary of that tragic day. NPR has a feature with Martin Luther King's song recalling April 4th, 1968.
Grim Milestone: 4,000 U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq War
A roadside I.E.D. killed four U.S. soldiers on Sunday. This brought the U.S. death toll in Iraq to 4,000. A Reuters story said that the White House called the 4,000 milestone a "sober moment."
President George W. Bush is saddened by the loss of 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and will focus on ensuring the U.S. succeeds in the 5-year-old conflict, the White House said on Monday.
"It's a sober moment, and one that all of us can focus on in terms of the number of 4,000," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said after a roadside bomb in Iraq killed four U.S. soldiers, pushing the U.S. death toll to a new milestone.
"The president feels each and every one of the deaths very strongly and he grieves for their families," Perino said. "He obviously is grieved by the moment but he mourns the loss of every single life."
The 4,000th U.S. death came days after Bush marked the fifth anniversary of the war and said the United States was on track toward victory.
An Associated Press news story contains some data about those 4,000 deaths including the following statistical information:
Percentages by service branch: Army: 72 percent; Marines: 24 percent; Navy: 2 percent; Air Force: 1 percent (Coast Guard had one death.)
Percentages by service force: Active duty: 83 percent; National Guard: 10 percent; Reserve: 6 percent.
Percent who died since President Bush declared major combat ended: 97 percent
Months with the most deaths since the start of the war: November 2004: 137; April 2004: 135; May 2007: 126; December 2006: 112; January 2005: 107
The average number of U.S. soldiers dying monthly in Iraq is down considerably since the surge began. Before the surge there were consecutive months with 80 ore more troops dying each month. Since the surge began the highest number of U.S. troops lost in a single month was January, 2008 when 40 U.S. troops were killed. Over the past few weeks there has been a reported upswing in the violence in Iraq that has some concerned the insurgents might be finding a way around the increase in troops. General Patreaus has said that U.S. troops need some political gains in Iraq to coincide with their military successes.
Wired's Danger Room blog notes that the New York Times has faces and stories of the fallen soldiers in its Casualties of War feature. The Iraq Coalition Casualties website has data and statistics.
Massive power outages have hit the state of Florida. South Florida has been the area most affected by the outages. CNN reports that 4.4 million customers in South Florida have lost power.
About 4.4 million customers across South Florida were affected, Florida Power and Light officials said.
The outage struck shortly after 1 p.m., as scattered thunderstorms passed through the region. But the cause of the outage was not immediately known.
In Washington, officials at the Department of Homeland Security said there was no immediate concern that terrorism was behind the outage.
Stan Johnson, a spokesman for the North American Electric Reliability Council, said eight power plants were off-line across the region, but officials believe the outage has been contained.
Detective Robert Williams, a Miami-Dade County police spokesman, said power was out across the entire county.
A roadside I.E.D. killed four U.S. soldiers on Sunday. This brought the U.S. death toll in Iraq to 4,000. A Reuters 
Massive power outages have hit the state of Florida. South Florida has been the area most affected by the outages. CNN 