National
There is a bill proposed in Congress to remove military slot machines overseas. The Defense Department uses the profits from the slot machines to pay a small portion of its morale, welfare and recreation programs. He says that if these American men and women are willing to fight for our country and risk their lives they should not have to pay for these recreational activities. He feels that they deserve these activities for free. The bill's sponsor is Rep. Lincoln Davis from Tennesee. There have been studies done, linking gambling addiction with the military. Some government officials feel that the profit is not worth the risk for these men and women.
World
International health experts are heading to Pakistan to investigate South Asia's first case of the bird flu in people. There have been several cases found, and many potential cases are being investigated. Six people have tested positive for the virus within the last month. Health experts are trying to find the cause of this. They are trying to determine whether or not the virus has been spread by humans. This virus is also known as the The H5N1. Two men in this area have died from it, while others reported only mild symptoms. The H5N1 virus has killed at least 208 people worldwide, mostly in Southeast Asia and China. So far, most human cases have been linked to contact with sick birds. Poultry vaccine campaigns have been started in Pakistan, and all of the farms in the area have been closed.
Health
Many studens rely on all nighters to do well on a test or write papers, however, a new study has shown that students who do not pull all nighters have slightly higher GPA'S than those who do. A Psychology took a survey of 120 students at St. Lawrence University and found that students who have never pulled an all-nighter have average GPAs of 3.2, compared to 2.95 for those who have. Health experts say that many college students have indadequate or irregular sleep paterns as a result of excessive caffeine or just poor time management. One problem that many students may have is that they have trouble remembering material that they studied in the middle of the night. Some students may be able to pull of these all nighters better than others, because some students have more of a 24 hour body clock than others.
Election
One of Hilary Clinton's main advisors is stepping down after she made an inappropriate remark about Senator Barack Obama. She said that his admittance to previous drug use would hurt him in his chance to become elected. After she made this comment Clinton personally apologized to Obama for her advisors comment. Officials say that Obama accepted the apology and said that he thinks these comments are just a result of people being concerned about the polls. Shaheen, Clinton's former adviso, told a Washington Post reporter on Wednesday that Republicans would exploit Obama's admission of past drug use if he won the Democratic Party's presidential nomination and that they may even suggest Obama once dealt drugs. Shaheen did apologize for his comments and said that in no way were they condoned by the campaign. Clinton also says that she did not condone this comment, that it was innapropriate, and that he has apologized.
Technology
Many parents who have waited to do last minute Christmas shopping are having a hard time finding the Nintendo Wii, a popular game system. Nintendo recognized this, and decided to create gift certificates. Parents can go to a Gamestop store, and pay $249 dollars for the sold out system, and then will recieve an IOU in return. They can then pick up the game system in the beginning of January after the holdiays. They think that this will solve parents problems of having nothing to put under the tree. This raincheck has pleased some customers, while others are still willing to pay the 200-300 dollar premium to purchase the system on sites like Ebay.
Source: http://techland.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2007/12/14/nintendo-offers-a-raincheck-for-wii-shortage/
Local
For many Anderson residents the year 2007 started off negatively, with the loss of a job. Guide started off the year by closing down the plant, and will end it by demoloting it. Guide closed on January 12. It had around 1200 people working at the plant. The plant is 2.2 million square feet, and demolition started in the southeast corner. There are some environmental concerns in demoliting the plant including asbestos, lead-based paint items and some mercury. Demolition could last anywhere from 18 to 22 months. They are trying to recycle many things from the site.
