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Posted: 5:18 a.m. Monday, Sept. 13, 2010

KRMG Morning News "Stack of Stuff" and Notes 9/13/2010 

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By Joe Kelley, Host of the KRMG Morning News

  • KABUL (Reuters) - Two people were killed on Sunday in a third straight day of violent Afghan protests sparked by a U.S. pastor's threat to burn copies of the Koran. Hundreds of Afghans kept up the angry demonstrations, some apparently unaware that pastor Terry Jones had dropped his plans. Two protesters were shot and killed in the eastern province of Logar, a district official said, taking the death toll since last Friday to three. The furor over Jones's plan -- a grave insult to Muslims who believe the Koran to be the literal word of God -- overshadowed the lead-up to commemorations of the September 11 hijacked airliner attacks on the United States. Other parts of the Muslim world saw protests last week but Sunday's violence was confined to Afghanistan, six days before a parliamentary election which the Taliban has vowed to disrupt.
  • Michael Moore's blog - 9/11/2010 - I am opposed to the building of the "mosque" two blocks from Ground Zero. I want it built on Ground Zero. Why? Because I believe in an America that protects those who are the victims of hate and prejudice. I believe in an America that says you have the right to worship whatever God you have, wherever you want to worship. And I believe in an America that says to the world that we are a loving and generous people and if a bunch of murderers steal your religion from you and use it as their excuse to kill 3,000 souls, then I want to help you get your religion back. And I want to put it at the spot where it was stolen from you.
  • NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amid threats of Koran  burning and a heated dispute over a planned Muslim cultural center in New York, Muslim leaders and rights activists warn of growing anti-Muslim feeling in America partly provoked for political reasons. "Many people now treat Muslims as 'the other' -- as something to vilify and to discriminate against," said Daniel Mach of the American Civil Liberties Union. And, he said, some people have exploited that fear in the media, "for political gain or cheap notoriety." The imam leading the project to build the cultural center, including a prayer room, near the site of the September 11, 2001 attacks said there was a rise of what he called "Islamophobia" and the debate had been radicalized by extremists.
  • Seat belts, safer cars and tougher enforcement of laws related to drunken driving have been credited with helping push highway deaths to their lowest level in six decades. The national Transportation Department said last week that traffic deaths declined 9.7 percent in 2009 to 33,808, the lowest number since 1950. That was down 3,615 from the 37,423 deaths in 2008. Oklahoma Highway Safety Office crash data showed 737 traffic deaths in 2009, a drop of 14 (1.9 percent) from the 751 of 2008. These numbers include all traffic-related deaths, whether on highways, county roads or within city limits. Forty-one states recorded declines in traffic fatalities, according to the government report.
  • Oprah Launches 25th And Final Season Monday -- Oprah Winfrey claims this final season of her show will be all about YOU -- at least those of you who have been watching her the past two and a half decades. She says this last year will be "honoring the essence of what has made the show work for the past 25 years and that's the viewer." As for what will be on Monday's final season premiere, you'll have to tune in to find out. It's a closely guarded secret and is said to begin "with one of the biggest surprises in Oprah Show history!" What we do know is that actor John Travolta will help Oprah kick off her final season premiere. In a preview video posted on Oprah.com, Travolta and Oprah open the show dancing to the tune "Love Train" by The O'Jays. After that, who knows what will happen. What dreams will come true?
  • Contrary to press reports that he would not be compensated, uncovered Treasury Department documents reveal President Obama's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, received a $120,830 annual salary. The documents were obtained by the public interest group Judicial Watch in a Freedom of Information Act request filed July 20. Following Judicial Watch's discovery, Feinberg then released a statement saying he did, indeed, receive the salary, but that he gave the money back. Feinberg served as "special master for TARP executive compensation" to establish executive compensation levels at companies bailed out by the federal government. When Obama appointed Feinberg in August 2009, media reported the Washington lawyer would perform his duties "pro bono," or without pay.
  • WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is on track for a record increase  on President Barack Obama's watch, with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty. Census figures for 2009 -- the recession-ravaged first year of the Democrat's presidency -- are to be released in the coming week, and demographers expect grim findings. It's unfortunate timing for Obama and his party just seven weeks before important elections when control of Congress is at stake. The anticipated poverty rate increase -- from 13.2 percent to about 15 percent -- would be another blow to Democrats struggling to persuade voters to keep them in power.
  • MEXICO CITY (AFP) - Authorities have arrested one of Mexico's most wanted men, alleged drug trafficker Sergio Villarreal, who is said to work for the Beltran Leyva cartel. Sergio Villarreal, 'El Grande,' was arrested with two other people in a non-violent operation in the (central) city of Puebla. Mexican authorities had offered a reward of up to 30 million pesos (2.2 million dollars) for information leading to his arrest.
  • TROPHY CLUB, Texas - Administrators at Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club suspended a 16-year-old boy on Tuesday because his eyes were bloodshot and they thought he might have been smoking marijuana. The teen said he was not high. Instead his eyes were red because he had been grieving the loss of his murdered father. Kyler Robertson's father was stabbed to death on Sunday. His mother honored his wishes and let him go to school on Tuesday to be with his friends. "I am sure he had a lot on his mind going to school. I had asked him not to go to school," said Cristy Fritz. Before returning to class Kyler had to go to the office to get a tardy slip. That's when school employees accused him of being high because he had red and watery eyes. Fritz said she got a call from administrators who told her Kyler would be suspended for three days. "I was pleading with her to understand the severity of the situation, his emotional well being. How could they do this to him at this time? What are the alternatives?" she said. District spokeswoman Lesley Weaver would not discuss the case with FOX 4, but said when administrators suspect a student is under the influence, a school nurse will observe symptoms like their behavior, odor and their eyes. The district does not actually test students, though. That's left to the parents. Fritz said she was told by the assistant principal that she could have Kyler tested for drugs within two hours and if it was negative he could return to school. She did just that. Kyler was allowed to return to class after he showed school administrators a copy of his negative test results. The teen's mom still wants an apology from administrators and she wants the district to remove the suspension from his permanent record. She is in the process of appealing it. "We had other things to do this week than worry about a three day window for an appeal, a two hour window for a drug test and my son's reputation and high school career," she said.
  • More than half of the jobs created within the next decade will be service class. The problem is: These jobs don't pay well. RICHARD FLORIDA, author of the book "Creative Class," argues that the country needs to start worrying about how to make these jobs lucrative. Florida thinks more than half of all new jobs created by 2018 will be service class --"low-skill, low-wage, routine service work"-- and that out of these 7.1 million jobs, many will be in health care, retail, and customer service. The majority of these positions will be in major urban centers --New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago are likely to enjoy the most service class job growth-- and the biggest projected percentage change is expected to happen in resort towns and tourist spots. No surprise in either case, but Florida warns that in order for the economy to get back on its feet, the public has to make these jobs lucrative, just like earlier generations did with manufacturing jobs.
  • Congrats to all-pro eater JOEY "Jaws" CHESTNUT, who picked up another title over the weekend by downing 47 burritos in 10 minutes at the Garcia's World Burrito Eating Championship at the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque. That tops the previous world record of 33. Each four-ounce burrito added up to more than eleven pounds of beef, beans, and New Mexico green chilies. But, of course, it was no problem for a guy who won the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest for the fourth year in a row this past Fourth of July.
  • Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who may have presidential ambitions, is stepping up the opposition rhetoric aimed at President Barack Obama. In an interview with the National Review Online, the prominent Republican basically called the president a "con" man who only got elected by being "authentically dishonest." Then, yesterday (Sunday), he told Fox News that he thinks Obama has a "Kenyan, anti-colonial" world view. He agreed with an opinion column in Forbes magazine in which a writer suggests that America is currently being led by a person whose views were shaped by "the dreams of a Luo tribesman of the 1950s" --that is, Obama's Kenyan father.
  • Research shows that people who take sleeping tablets are a third more likely to die prematurely than those who do not. After taking into account alcohol and tobacco consumption, physical health, physical activity and depression, researcher Dr Belleville found the drugs were linked to a 36 percent increase in the risk of death. Sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs affect reaction time, co-ordination and grogginess, which raises the odds of falls, she said. Tablets might also suppress the respiratory system, which could aggravate breathing problems during sleep, particularly for those with heart problems. In addition, effects on the brain could affect judgment and moods, increasing the risk of suicide.
 
 

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