You have faced an extraordinary array of urgent problems. Is decision making under crisis conditions different from decision making in normal times?
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Exclusive Interview: Obama 'Never 100 Percent Certain'
You have faced an extraordinary array of urgent problems. Is decision making under crisis conditions different from decision making in normal times?
Ban On H.I.V. Positive People Entering USA Lifted
Promising to end the ban before year-end, Obama at a White House ceremony announced publication of a rule cancelling the ban Monday, taking effect after a routine 60-day waiting period.
The United States is one of only a dozen countries to ban people with H. I. V. from entering the country.
The process of repealing the statute on which the ban was based, was initiated by President George W. Bush last year when he signed legislation passed by Congress in July 2008, even so, the ban remained in effect.
Valley's Bank USA among nine banks closed by regulators Oct. 30
This latest closure — along with eight other banks owned by parent company FBOP Corp. of Oak Park, Ill. — brings the nation’s total number of bank failures this year to 115.
U.S. Bank NA of Minneapolis, a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, has assumed all the deposits and essentially all of the assets of the nine banks, including Bank USA, which had two Valley branches in Scottsdale and Phoenix.
FBOP Corp. was not closed and was not subject to today's actions.
Incident: British Airways B772 near London on Oct 31st 2009, medical emergency
Authorities reported, that they received the call about one hour prior to landing of the aircraft. They entered the aircraft with protective suits as it was unclear whether hazardeous material, virusses or bacteria could have caused the unconsciousness of the passengers. No hazardeous material, bugs or indications thereof were found. The passenger felt light headed before fainting and recovered quickly on the ground. Hazmat services examined the aircraft for two hours before declaring the airplane safe and permitting medical staff to enter the aircraft. Medical services were stood down 3 hours after landing after all six fainted passenger had recovered and didn't need hospitalization. Police concluded, that the incident was "not suspicious", the exact cause however remains unclear.
MLS Playoffs: LA Galaxy Get Set For Chivas USA
Though the teams meet in heated derby matches every year, they have never clashed in the playoffs, with a chance at Major League Soccer's title on the line.
"Every year, they seem to be the most exciting, most intense games we play in," noted Galaxy star Landon Donovan. "Now, with the added element of the playoffs, it's going to be even more so. Everyone's going to enjoy it and hopefully, we enjoy it a little bit more than they do."
Though Donovan and David Beckham are the stand-outs on the Galaxy squad, Donovan himself felt that the club had a number of strong players to count on.
Dinner Time: The Perfect Time to Rebuild Family Togetherness
As a professional counselor, I've learned that food plays an integral part in drawing human beings together. It also plays a big role when it comes to family stability.
Yet we see an ever-increasing trend within society to diminish the amount of time families spend together in enjoying an evening meal or dinner. This trend has been growing at an alarming speed.
The evening meal may in fact be the only time families sit down together (if they even do). Nowadays with the availability of every type of modern media easily accessible, family time faces an even greater challenge when competing with TV and other enticing forms of entertainment. When parents and children don't set aside time to really converse with each other, a key ingredient to keeping the family stable is lost.
One of the most important ways to find out how everyone in the family has been feeling, and what they've been doing all day, is to search for and institute creative ways to make the dinnertime experience fun! Parents can make dinnertime a unique, special and enjoyable time to build values they wish their children to live by.
Canadian folk singer killed by coyotes, park official says
Taylor Mitchell, 19, was at the beginning of the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on Tuesday afternoon when she was attacked, according to Chip Bird, the Parks Canada field unit superintendent for Cape Breton.
Bird said hikers saw the coyotes attacking Mitchell and called 911. She was airlifted to a hospital in Halifax, where she died about 12 hours later, he said.
NASA's new moon rocket makes first test flight
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA's newest rocket successfully completed a brief test flight Wednesday, the first step in a back-to-the-moon program that could yet be shelved by the White House.The 327-foot Ares I-X rocket resembled a giant white pencil as it shot into the sky, delayed a day by poor weather.
Nearly twice the height of the spaceship it's supposed to replace — the shuttle — the skinny experimental rocket carried no passengers or payload, only throwaway ballast and hundreds of sensors. The flight cost $445 million.
NASA said the flight was a tremendous success, based on early indications.
"Oh, man. Well, how impressive is that," said Jeff Hanley, manager of NASA's space frontier program, known as Constellation. "You've accomplished a great step forward for exploration," he told launch controllers.
Numbers, not shouting, overwhelm health care debate
Washington, DC — We have the best medical professionals in the world, but fewer and fewer Americans can afford to pay for the care they can provide. The trends indicate that problem will get much worse.
About 17 percent of our $14 trillion dollar economy is dedicated to health care. We pay more for health care than we do for food. Too much of what we spend on our care does nothing to improve our health. We pay for our highly bureaucratic and unwieldy health care system not just with dollars, but with the lives and well-being of millions of Americans. The Affordable Health Care for America Act will reform our health insurance industry so companies prioritize policyholders’ health instead of investors’ profits.
The insurance industry has done everything possible to make you think otherwise. This summer’s massive disinformation campaign – exposed by Tim Dickinson in Rolling Stone magazine last month – has distracted millions of honest, engaged citizens during this debate. During two town halls in my District this summer, I witnessed first hand how fear hijacked a much-needed serious conversation.
About 17 percent of our $14 trillion dollar economy is dedicated to health care. We pay more for health care than we do for food. Too much of what we spend on our care does nothing to improve our health. We pay for our highly bureaucratic and unwieldy health care system not just with dollars, but with the lives and well-being of millions of Americans. The Affordable Health Care for America Act will reform our health insurance industry so companies prioritize policyholders’ health instead of investors’ profits.
The insurance industry has done everything possible to make you think otherwise. This summer’s massive disinformation campaign – exposed by Tim Dickinson in Rolling Stone magazine last month – has distracted millions of honest, engaged citizens during this debate. During two town halls in my District this summer, I witnessed first hand how fear hijacked a much-needed serious conversation.
Clinton puzzled at Pakistan failure to find al Qaeda
LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's said on Thursday it was "hard to believe" that no one in Pakistan's government knew where al Qaeda leaders were hiding, striking a new tone on a trip where Washington's credibility has come under attack.Scores of al Qaeda leaders and their operatives, including Osama bin Laden, are believed to be in hiding in the rugged border territory that divides Pakistan and Afghanistan, but both countries routinely accuse the other of being the main sanctuary
Geithner says economy on the mend
In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Geithner said that Americans were saving much more and borrowing less from the rest of the world.
The economy grew at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the third quarter of this year, the strongest rate of growth seen in two years.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Scientists say curry compound kills cancer cells
LONDON (Reuters) – A molecule found in a curry ingredient can kill esophageal cancer cells in the laboratory, suggesting it might be developed as an anti-cancer treatment, scientists said on Wednesday.Researchers at the Cork Cancer Research Center in Ireland treated esophageal cancer cells with curcumin -- a chemical found in the spice turmeric, which gives curries a distinctive yellow color -- and found it started to kill cancer cells within 24 hours.
The cells also began to digest themselves, they said in a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.
Previous scientific studies have suggested curcumin can suppress tumors and that people who eat lots of curry may be less prone to the disease, although curcumin loses its anti-cancer attributes quickly when ingested.
Business travel pitched as economic engine
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The travel industry is working to redefine itself as a key player in the American economy by showing how it helps companies improve profits, serves as a source of tax revenue and provides jobs.
Geoff Freeman, U.S. Travel Association senior vice president, said factors that include the recession, a spurt of public anger over extravagant business travel and politicians who lashed out at the travel industry resulted in $2 billion worth of events and meetings being canceled when the rancor was at its peak early this year.
If over the years the industry had done a better job of articulating why it is a vital economic force, the damage likely would not have been so great, Freeman said Tuesday at a national marketing forum organized by the association.
New battle over Bosworth's site
It is more than 500 years since the Battle of Bosworth saw the death of Richard III and ushered in the Tudor dynasty.
Since then scholars have argued over the precise location of the battle with several different locations given serious consideration.
Now a team of historians and archaeologists says it has found the site - and it is not where everyone thought it was.
It is one of Shakespeare's most memorable scenes.Richard III, thrown from his horse and maddened with blood lust, offers up his kingdom in exchange for a replacement steed.
Treachery
HAVE YOUR SAY
People will inevitably interpret differently where the battle took place, it doesn't make the current site, its landmarks or the visitor centre, any less historically relevant
David
Today the spot where he is supposed to have met his end - a victim of treachery rather than military genius - is marked by a roughly-cut stone memorial in a quiet grove.
The plaque upon it reads simply: "Richard, the last Plantagenet King of England, was slain here 22nd August, 1485."
Warships track 'hijacked yacht'
A yacht has been spotted by the European Union Naval Force Somalia in the search for a British couple thought to have been captured by pirates.A spokesman said their warships were in "close vicinity' and radar range but were keeping their distance.
Paul and Rachel Chandler, aged 59 and 55, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, sent a distress signal on Friday from the Indian Ocean near the Seychelles.
The Somali government said it was doing everything possible to locate them.
 |  If warships surround us, we shall point our guns at the British tourists  Pirate quoted by Reuters news agency |
The European Union Naval Force Somalia (EU NAVFOR) said on Wednesday the yacht they were tracking was heading northwest towards the Somali coast.
Nationwide post strikes still on
Three days of nationwide postal strikes will go ahead as planned starting on Thursday, the union has said.
Strikes will begin at 0400 GMT, with up to 120,000 workers involved.
Royal Mail condemned the union's decision to walk away from negotiations and go ahead with the planned industrial action.Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have been in talks for three days to try to end the dispute.
The two sides began the latest round of talks on Monday, after agreeing to meet at the headquarters of the TUC, where the agreement to end the last national dispute was brokered in 2007.
'Sensible agreement'
Royal Mail claimed there had been "significant progress" in the talks and urged the union to come back to the table.
"We were once again on the verge of a sensible agreement that would have allowed us to enter into in-depth discussions with the union over the future of Royal Mail in an atmosphere of calm," said Royal Mail's Mark Higson.
Thriving theft on campus
An LSE spokesman stated: “The van was there as part of a continuing operation by the neighbourhood police team to deter and prevent bike thefts. Since the start of term there have been seven bicycle thefts, almost all from Westminster borough cycle racks in this area, and LSE security are very keen to work with police to try and reduce this crime.”
Although the official statistics show that crime in the August-September period this year was lower than the same period last year, the estimated cash losses arising from personal property has gone up from £7,017 to £10,503.
Bush debuts as motivational speaker
Former President George W. Bush made his debut as a motivational speaker Monday night, telling a Fort Worth, Texas crowd it's futile to waste energy chasing popularity.
"It's so simple in life to chase popularity, but popularity is fleeting, it's not real," Bush said at a "Get Motivated!" business seminar, a multi-city event its organizers describe as an "energizing, action-packed, star-studded, fun-filled, spectacular stage show."
The president himself saw wild popularity swings during his eight years in the White House, garnering nearly a 90 percent approval rating in the months following the attacks on September 11, 2001 and exiting office with only the support of 31 percent of Americans, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll.