2012-08-31

Karmazin sells more stock options.

Briefing by Inside Radio

The satcaster says Karmazin has adopted a new trading plan to sell up to 30 million options he holds starting in mid-September. 

Sirius XM says it’s part of Karmazin’s ongoing “personal financial planning strategy of asset diversification and liquidity.” 

But with his contract up in a few months and a looming Liberty Media takeover, those stock sales are being seen in a very different light.

2012-08-29

Rescues under way as Hurricane Isaac's storm surge overtops Louisiana levee




Updated at 1 p.m. ET: New Orleans' levees and pumps were holding up to the rain and storm surge caused by Hurricane Isaac, but areas outside the defense network saw flooding, including an 18-mile stretch to the south where up to 12 feet of water invaded streets and homes.

Officials in Plaquemines Parish, where the surge overtopped an 8-foot levee, said National Guardsmen and even residents were rescuing people trapped in homes. Up to 60 people appear to be trapped, NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reported from the area. Rescuers earlier pulled several dozen to safety.

"We have flooding, inundated four-to-nine feet in areas on that side" of the levee, parish emergency management official Guy Laigast told the Weather Channel. "We've got homes that have been inundated. We have folks who are trapped in their residences."
Read more »

March on Washington Anniversary

Trice Edney Communications

August 28 - A Story of American Struggle
By U. S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)

WASHINGTON - Next year this nation will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington on August 28, 2013. Many of you will be on your way to DC to honor the legacy of a movement that helped liberate, not only African Americans but all Americans from the chains of legalized segregation. As we approach this significant moment in our history, I challenge you to dig even deeper into your own legacy and reflect upon the importance that this one day-- August 28th--has played in our history. You will find that its history reads like a chronicle of the modern African American story.

It was on August 28, 1955, that a 14-year-old boy named Emmett Till was kidnapped from his uncle's home in Money, Mississippi and lynched. Many historians mark his death as the launch of the modern-day Civil Rights Movement in America. Just a few months later on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks' action would inspire the boycott of segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama that lasted 381 days.

On August 28, 1957, Strom Thurmond, a Republican senator from South Carolina and a staunch segregationist held the longest filibuster any one senator ever conducted to block passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The bill was written by then Senate Majority Leader, Lyndon Johnson, and originally devised as an attempt to mandate voting rights for African Americans by outlawing intimidation and coercion at the polls. The filibuster ended with alterations to the bill, but it did not stop its passage. It was ultimately signed into law by President Dwight Eisenhower, establishing the Civil Rights Commission and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Those two agencies continue to play powerful roles in helping to ensure that the voting rights and civil rights of African Americans and all Americans are enforced to this day.

On August 28, 1963, Dr. King gave his historic I Have A Dream Speech on the National Mall at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was a testament to the power of non-violent resistance. But just one year later on August 28, 1964, acts of police brutality incited rioting in Philadelphia. Over 300 were injured and over 700 arrested. Altogether seven American cities experienced rioting that summer including the Harlem riots and, Rochester, New York and those in Paterson and Elizabeth City, New Jersey. Violence struck again on the 28th in1968 outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago due to another episode of police brutality.

By midday on August 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed the New Orleans coast with 145 mile an hour winds prompting a mandatory evacuation of Orleans Parish. And finally on August 28, 2008, as if to link this great past to a turning point in America's future, Barack Obama became the first African American Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

The story of August 28 tells a powerful tale of the African American struggle to demand respect for human dignity in America. I was there when Dr. King pricked the moral conscience of the nation calling us to lay down the burdens of hate and division. As the last remaining speaker from the March on Washington I can tell you that the lessons of that make it plain that we cannot defeat the adversaries of justice in one day, a week or a year. Ours is the struggle of a lifetime. We must dedicate ourselves to this higher calling and stay in the struggle. The only way to make a difference is to get involved and stay engaged, through the highs and lows, the easy times and the difficult struggles. That is the lesson of August 28th. We have to keep on pushing and pulling knowing without a doubt that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it always bend toward justice."

That is why we must vote in November and vote like never before, not because we have gotten everything we ever wanted from the political process. But because, if we do not join forces together and continue to take action,we cannot ever expect to get what we so rightly deserve.

Republican National Convention: Where are the African Americans?

Story by Washington Post 

Written by Raynard Jackson

Photo by Getty's Mark Wilson


If the most segregated time in the United States is 11 a.m. Sunday mornings, then the most least-diverse time in America is during a period every four years at the end of the summer: the Republican National Convention.
 
This is the fourth Republican convention that I have attended, and it is by far the least diverse. I now know what America would look like if all blacks and other people of color mysteriously disappeared. Reporters have been calling me, practically begging me to find them some blacks to interview for their various media outlets. Is this really the 21st century? I have not been showered with this much attention since I was a little baby!

But even more alarming than the lack of blacks as convention attendees, delegates or Mitt Romney staff members is the lack of blacks in the pipeline to be future party operatives.

When I came into the party with George H.W. Bush, there was a pipeline of other African Americans who worked for the Republican National Committee in the headquarters, staffers who worked for Reagan, etc.

We are now some of the most experienced operatives in the game; many of us have our own firms or work for corporate America. Unfortunately, we are never consulted on party issues unless there is an overtly black angle or, more typically, someone in the party leadership has done something stupid and they expect us to go on camera to provide cover. Those of us with integrity have never allowed ourselves to be used in such a manner, though, some blacks have.

Today, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus doesn’t appear to have any African Americans in significant decision making positions on his staff. The same can be said for the Senate and House campaign committees. So, where will the next generation of black political operatives come from?

If there are no blacks in these pipelines, then the party has made the decision that there will be no blacks in the party’s future. Imagine there were no college football programs; where would the NFL get its players from? Who would provide players for their future?

The Republican line is that the overwhelming majority of blacks will vote for Obama because he is African American. I find this thinking extremely insulting as a black Republican. The reason the majority of blacks will vote for Obama is because Republicans have not given African Americans a reason to vote for Republicans or Romney.

A Wall Street Journal poll earlier this week showed Romney polling at zero percent of the black vote. (A Washingotn Post poll found that 4 percent of black registered voters would choose Romney) How is that even mathematically possible?

I am embarrassed at the lack of diversity at this convention. Have the Republicans not noticed the demographic changes that are taking place in this country? Numerically, there are not enough old, white, balding males to win a national election.

The sad thing is that many of the party leaders agree with me in private conversations, but over the years, they have done absolutely nothing to address this issue. When all is said and done, there has been more said than done when it comes to changing the whiteness of the party.

In the immortal words of the Doobie Brothers: “What a fool believes, no wise man has the power to reason away; what seems to be is always better than nothing at all.”

If the Republican Party think they can continue to have a white strategy for electoral victory, what a fool!

Hurricane Isaac's storm surge overtops levee, sends 12-foot flood into La. homes

Videos by NBC News









Image: Research students from the the University of Alabama measure wind speeds as Hurricane Isaac makes landfall, Wednesday, in New Orleans, La.






Hurricane Isaac storm surge tops levee in Plaquemines Parish

Story by Yahoo News
Written by Dylan Stapleford
______________________________

A storm surge pounds the seawall along Lake Pontchartrain as Isaac makes landfall. (AP)
___________________________________

A storm surge from Hurricane Isaac topped a levee in Plaquemines Parish south of New Orleans early Wednesday, officials said, trapping those who chose not to evacuate.


Plaquemines Parish president Billy Nungesser said the 18-mile, 8-foot-high levee--which is not part of the $1.5 billion federal levee system constructed after Hurricane Katrina--was in the process of being raised.

"The levees are topping in several locations," Nungresser said on CNN. "We're trying to get the few people who have stayed out. ... We've got a serious situation over there."

Hundreds of Talk Show Hosts from Across Country Broadcasting from RNC

Story by TALKERS.COM

The invention of the “radio row” – largely developed in the modern talk radio era by Washington, DC-based Talk Radio News Service – has really come into its own at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

Numerous Networks and Syndicators have set up shop in elaborate clusters of tables, microphones, remote equipment, banners and, of course, big talking personalities on both sides of the mic. One of the biggest of these assemblages is again hosted by Talk Radio News Service for its affiliates, which include the likes of Rusty Humphries, Phil Valentine, Roger Hedgecock and many more.

TRNS bureau chief Ellen Ratner (pictured left) tells TALKERS, “We have more stations than ever – about 40 stations and programs. The RNC gave us a prime spot, right next to their booking office. We are not in the arena but in the building next to it that houses all the press. Other than press conferences, some longer television interviews and hall confrontations between the news media, radio row is the only place to have an in-depth conversation.  Radio might have lost some of its audience to the internet, but you would never know it from radio row. Big time politicians want to be there and obviously feel they will get a chance to say what they want. It is still the spot to be and the place to be heard.”

______________________________________________________________________________

On Talk Radio News Service's Radio Row, WMAL Morning Hosts are on the Scene in Tampa.  Talk radio and the national press have been busy bringing the political talk home to their constituents.

Pictured here are WMAL-AM/FM, Washington morning drive team Brian Wilson (c) and Bryan Nehman (r) interviewing former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton (l).
 _______________________________________________

Republican National Convention, Tropical Storm Isaac, and Iran-Syria Connection Among Top News/Talk Stories Yesterday (8/28).  The progress of tropical storm Isaac and the activity from the Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay were two of the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio. The growing connection between Iran’s military and the violence in Syria was also a major topic.

2012-08-28

Gulf Coast: State-by-State Preparations



(Evacuation Maps: Louisiana | Mississippi | Alabama)

Story by Weather.com

Louisiana

A hurricane warning continues early Tuesday for New Orleans, while hurricane watches remained in effect for many coastal Louisiana parishes, especially those adjacent to Lake Pontchartrain.

"Isaac has now formed into a hurricane.  We are officially in the fight. And the city of New Orleans is on the front lines," said Mitch Landrieu, Mayor of New Orleans.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said they are ready for recovery efforts after the storm, and plan is to have 40 pods available for Southeast La., another 20 pods for North La.  Each of those pods can each feed 5,000 people. They are already positioning those pods and are preparing to ramp up additional pods as necessary.

Baton Rouge Parish
  • Louisiana State University closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • All East Baton Rouge Parish public schools closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • All Zachary schools closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • The Child Development Cooperative and Parkview Baptist School closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • All State Offices in East Baton Rouge Parish closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Jefferson Parish
  • Under a state of emergency, evacuation orders issued in Crown Point, Barataria, Grand Isle and Lafitte.
  • Head Start classes canceled.
Orleans Parish
  • Under a state of emergency.
  • As of 2am Tuesday, Lakeshore Drive is closed to the public.
  • Libraries closed through Tuesday. 
  • Tulane University and Loyola University classes canceled through Wednesday.
  • World War II Museum closed Monday and plans to reopen Thursday.
Plaquemines Parish
  • Under a state of emergency.
  • Mandatory evacuation for the east bank in in place as of noon Monday. A shelter has been set up.
  • Officials have ordered a dusk to dawn curfew for the entire parish.
St. Bernard Parish
  • Mandatory evacuations are in place.
  • Schools closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • Oyster Harvest areas 1-28 will be closed as of sunset Tuesday.
St. Charles Parish
  • Under a state of emergenc
  • Mandatory evacuations are in place.
St. Tammany Parish
  • Voluntary evacuations issued for southern areas.
Terrebonne Parish
  • Terrebonne Parish officials ordered evacuation Monday for parts of the parish prone to coastal flooding. Monday's mandatory evacuation affected at most 20,000 of the parish's 113,000 residents, Parish President Michel Claudet said.
  • Shelters opened Monday at the Houma Municipal Auditorium and at the West Houma Gym for animals belonging to people staying at the auditorium.
Washington Parish
  • Bogalusa City Public Schools closed Tuesday through Thursday.
Transportation 
  • All flights into and out of New Orleans canceled for Tuesday.
  • Amtrak canceled train service Tuesday and Wednesday in Louisiana (the Crescent and Sunset Limited routes).
  • The U.S. Coast Guard plans to close maritime access to  navigable channels in the Greater New Orleans area and will prohibit unapproved mooring in the New Orleans area navigation canals within the levee system.
  • Road Closures
    • Airline Highway is closed at the St. Charles Parish/Jefferson Parish line due to sandbagging
    • Florida Avenue Bridge is closed for the duration of the storm
    • Highway 45 near the Jean Lafitte National Park in St. Bernard Parish closed due to floodgate closing
    • Highway 90 is closed at the St. Charles Parish/Jefferson Parish line due to sandbagging
    • LA-23 is closed to southbound traffic below Oakville in Plaquemines Parish closed due to floodgate closing
    • LA-23 will close to northbound traffic in Plaqumines Parish at 6 a.m. Tuesday due to floodgate closing
    • LA-39 at the Caenavaron Canal in Plaquemines Parish closed due to floodgate closing
    • LA-39 at the Plaquemines Parish/St. Bernard Parish line closed due to floodgate closing
    • LA-46 at Verrett Road in St. Bernard Parish closed due to floodgate closing
    • LA-300 at Verrett Road in St. Bernard Parish closed due to floodgate closing
    • Lakeshore Drive is closed
Sports
  • New Orleans Saints practice and meetings were canceled Monday to allow the NFL team's players to evacuate their families. The contingency plan is to practice in Nashville on Tuesday.
  • Louisiana State University closed Tuesday and Wednesday, though the season-opening football game is still set for Saturday at 6 p.m.
Oil Rigs
  • 12 rigs evacuated
  • 5 monitoring and may evacuate
(MORE: Full List of Louisiana Shelters, Closures and Response to Isaac)

Mississippi

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) urged Mississippi residents Monday to prepare for Isaac as if the storm will impact them directly. The entire state of Mississippi is under a state of emergency, and hurricane warnings were issued for Gulfport and Biloxi, Miss.

"Even a tropical storm or hurricane making landfall in the Florida Panhandle or Alabama coast could have a significant impact on our state," said MEMA Director Robert Latham. Residents are urged to have a fully stocked emergency supply kit that can support them for at least three days.

Harrison County
  • The Beau Rivage Hotel in Biloxi will close at 8a.m. Gaming will remain open until further notice.
  • A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for low-lying areas.
  • A mandatory curfew is in effect beginning at 7p.m. Tuesday.  No one will be allowed on county or city roads.
Forrest County
  • Forrest County community shelter opened Monday at 946 Sullivan Road in Hattiesburg.
Hancock County
Two general population emergency shelters opened Monday in Hancock County:
  • Kiln Shelter at 18320 Highway 43
  • Dedeaux Shelter at 11328 Road 350 off Standard Dedeaux Road
At both shelters, evacuees were asked to bring bedding, toiletries, medicines, hygiene and other necessities. 
Harrison County
  • State of emergency declared for Harrison County, all county government offices closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Jackson County
Local state of emergency declared.  Shelters open:
  • St. Martin High School
  • Vancleave High School
  • East Central High School
  • East Central Community Center (special needs shelter)
Lauderdale County
  • Shelters opened at Northpark Church and North Crest Baptist Church in Meridian.
(MORE: Full List of Mississippi Shelters)

Alabama

Gov. Robert Bentley declared a statewide state of emergency Sunday and issued a mandatory evacuation order ahead of Isaac's landfall along the Gulf Coast. Bentley urged residents to take preparations now, adding that his biggest concern is the potential tidal surge in Mobile Bay around Baldwin County.

A hurricane warning was in effect late Monday for Mobile, Ala., where Tuesday's flights were canceled at Mobile Regional Airport.

Baldwin County
  • Zone 1 under a mandatory evacuation order, zone 2 is modified to include only low-lying, flood prone areas or mobile/manufactured homes.
  • Gulf Shores officials declared a state of emergency and issued a voluntary evacuation for all tourists and visitors.
  • Baldwin County public schools closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • Elections scheduled this week in Baldwin County postponed.
Mobile County
  • Zone 1 under mandatory evacuation order including Dolphin Island and other low-lying flood prone areas.  Zone 2 evacuations have been modified to only include low-lying areas that are flood prone.
  • Schools in Mobile counties closed through Wednesday.
(MORE: Full List of Baldwin County Shelters | Mobile County Shelters)

It's now Hurricane Isaac as New Orleans hunkers down


Updated at 2 p.m. ET: Isaac finally reached hurricane strength on Tuesday, closing in on New Orleans and the entire Louisiana coast as a slow-moving giant of a system expected to make landfall Tuesday night or early Wednesday.

"We fully expect that we will get the brunt of it," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said at a briefing Tuesday afternoon. "We think that we're well prepared," he added, while emphasizing that much depends on how well residents heed warnings to hunker down.

President Barack Obama added his voice to those of local officials urging residents to hunker down or evacuate if told to do so. "Now's not the time to tempt fate," he said in brief comments Tuesday morning. "Listen to your local officials and follow their directions, including if they tell you to evacuate."

At 12:20 p.m. ET, Isaac had 75 mph sustained winds, a mile above the speed needed for a Category 1 hurricane.
Read more »

Sylvester Stallone has suffered the loss of another loved one.


 
Story by Yahoo OMG

Six weeks after his 36-year-old son, Sage, died unexpectedly, the actor has lost his only sister. Toni Ann Filiti, the 48-year-old half-sister of “The Expendables 2” star, succumbed to lung cancer on Sunday. She died at their mother Jackie Stallone’s Santa Monica home after choosing to leave UCLA hospital.

“I was holding her in my arms,” Jackie, 90, told the NY Daily Times. “I had just washed [her] face and told her how pretty she looked, and she just fell asleep. … She’s too young to go, but she wasn’t feeling any pain.”

Jackie, an astrologer and psychic, personally broke the news of Toni’s death to her famous son. “He said he can’t take any more pain,” she told the newspaper. “He said he’ll always be there for her son. ... What a terrible month – first Sage and now Toni. It’s hard. At least they’re together now in heaven.”

On July 13, the actor’s son Sage Moonblood Stallone was found dead in his Studio City, California, apartment. Authorities said there were no signs of foul play, but there were reportedly numerous pill bottles nearby. Sasha Czack, Sage’s mother and Sly’s first wife, said Sage was in pain after dental surgery. A toxicology report is pending.

Isaac nears New Orleans with 'a lot of hazards' -- surge, rain and maybe twisters


Story and Video by NBC News
Written by Miguel Llanos

Updated at 10:30 a.m. ET: A slow-moving giant of a system, Tropical Storm Isaac early Tuesday was making its way toward landfall, most likely as a Category 1 hurricane, along the Louisiana or Mississippi coast Tuesday night or early Wednesday.

President Barack Obama added his voice to those of local officials urging residents to hunker down or evacuate if told to do so. "Now's not the time to tempt fate," he said in brief comments. "Listen to your local officials and follow their directions, including if they tell you to evacuate."


Isaac has 70 mph sustained winds, four miles below hurricane strength. "The wind hasn't quite gotten there yet," National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb said of its strength.
Read more »

Radio One goes “old school” in Charlotte.

Briefing by Inside Radio

Radio One has made one format change in Charlotte. 

It appears another is in the works following the $7.75 million deal to buy regional Mexican “Poder 105.3” WNOW-FM. 

The company has launched “Old School 105.3.”

2012-08-27

Mandatory evacuations outside New Orleans as Isaac nears hurricane strength






Story and Video by NBC News
Written by Miguel Llanos, NBC News

Updated at 8:22 p.m. ET: Residents in unprotected, low-lying areas outside New Orleans were evacuating Monday as Tropical Storm Isaac grew closer to becoming a hurricane that could make landfall in or near Louisiana almost seven years to the day that Hurricane Katrina struck.

"All preparations to protect life and property should be completed tonight," said Ed Rappaport of the National Hurricane Center in his 8 p.m. ET update. He emphasized that water from rain and storm surge would be the biggest threat -- 6 to 18 inches of rain are expected.

Isaac's wind speed increased to 70 mph, just 4 mph short of a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said in a late afternoon update. It also forecast Isaac would reach Category 2 status with 100 mph winds late Tuesday night. That's a stronger Isaac than forecast earlier Monday.

By 8 p.m., the center of the storm was 230 miles southeast of the southeastern-most part of Louisiana. Isaac was predicted to slow down upon landfall, which forecasters say could be the ultimate test of $14 billion upgrade to its levees and pumps.

In areas near New Orleans, mandatory evacuations were ordered Monday morning for "our low-lying areas — those outside the hurricane protection system — such as Lafitte, Crown Point, Barataria and Grand Isle," Jefferson Parish President John Young told TODAY.
Read more »

Neil Armstrong 1930-2012 - Made ‘Giant Leap’ as First Man to Step on Moon

Neil Armstrong, as photographed by Buzz Aldrin, near the Eagle lunar module after landing on July 20, 1969 (NASA)

Story by NY Times
Written by John Noble Wilford 
John Schwartz contributed reporting. 
Susan C. Beachy contributed research

Neil Armstrong, who made the “giant leap for mankind” as the first human to set foot on the moon, died on Saturday. He was 82.  

His family said in a statement that the cause was “complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.” 

He had undergone heart bypass surgery this month in Cincinnati, near where he lived. His recovery had been going well, according to those who spoke with him after the surgery, and his death came as a surprise to many close to him, including his fellow Apollo astronauts. The family did not say where he died.

A quiet, private man, at heart an engineer and crack test pilot, Mr. Armstrong made history on July 20, 1969, as the commander of the Apollo 11 spacecraft on the mission that culminated the Soviet-American space race in the 1960s. President John F. Kennedy had committed the nation “to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.” It was done with more than five months to spare.

On that day, Mr. Armstrong and his co-pilot, Col. Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., known as Buzz, steered their lunar landing craft, Eagle, to a level, rock-strewn plain near the southwestern shore of the Sea of Tranquillity. It was touch and go the last minute or two, with computer alarms sounding and fuel running low. But they made it.

“Houston, Tranquillity Base here,” Mr. Armstrong radioed to mission control. “The Eagle has landed.”

“Roger, Tranquillity,” mission control replied. “We copy you on the ground. You’ve got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot.”

The same could have been said for hundreds of millions of people around the world watching on television.

A few hours later, there was Mr. Armstrong bundled in a white spacesuit and helmet on the ladder of the landing craft. Planting his feet on the lunar surface, he said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” (His words would become the subject of a minor historical debate, as to whether he said “man” or an indistinct “a man.”) 

Soon Colonel Aldrin joined Mr. Armstrong, bounding like kangaroos in the low lunar gravity, one sixth that of Earth’s, while the command ship pilot, Michael Collins, remained in orbit about 60 miles overhead, waiting their return. In all, 12 American astronauts walked on the moon between then and the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

The Apollo 11 mission capped a tumultuous and consequential decade. The ’60s in America had started with such promise, with the election of a youthful president, mixed with the ever-present anxieties of the cold war. 

Then it touched greatness in the civil rights movement, only to implode in the years of assassinations and burning city streets and campus riots. But before it ended, human beings had reached that longtime symbol of the unreachable.

The moonwalk lasted 2 hours and 19 minutes, long enough to let the astronauts test their footing in the fine and powdery surface — Mr. Armstrong noted that his boot print was less than an inch deep — and set up a television camera and scientific instruments and collect rock samples.

After news of Mr. Armstrong’s death was reported, President Obama, in a statement from the White House, said, “Neil was among the greatest of American heroes.”

“And when Neil stepped foot on the surface of the moon for the first time,” the president added, “he delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten.”

Charles F. Bolden Jr., the current NASA administrator, said, “As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind’s first small step on a world beyond our own.”

Mr. Bolden also noted that in the years after the moonwalk, Mr. Armstrong “carried himself with a grace and humility that was an example to us all.” The historian Douglas Brinkley, who interviewed Mr. Armstrong for a NASA oral history, described him as “our nation’s most bashful Galahad.” His family called him “a reluctant hero who always believed he was just doing his job.”

Indeed, some space officials have cited these characteristics, as well as his engineering skills and experience piloting X-15 rocket planes, as reasons that Mr. Armstrong stood out in the astronaut corps. After the post-flight parades and a world tour for the three Apollo 11 astronauts, Mr. Armstrong gradually withdrew from the public eye. He was not reclusive, but as much as possible he sought to lead a private life, first as an associate administrator in the space program, then as a university professor and director of a number of corporations. 

Neil Alden Armstrong was born on Aug. 5, 1930, in the small town of Wapakoneta, Ohio, to Stephen Armstrong and the former Viola Louise Engel. His father was a state auditor, which meant the family moved every few years to a new Ohio town while Neil was growing up. At the age of 6, Neil and his father took a ride in a Ford Trimotor airplane, known as the Tin Goose. It must have made an impression, for by the time he was 15, he had learned to fly, even before he got his driver’s license.  

Neil became an Eagle Scout when the family later moved back to Wapakoneta, where he finished high school. (The town now has a museum named for Mr. Armstrong.) From there, he went to Purdue University as an engineering student on a Navy scholarship. His college years were interrupted by the Korean War, in which Mr. Armstrong was a Navy fighter pilot who flew 78 combat missions, one in which he was forced to eject after the plane lost one of its ailerons, the hinged flight-control panels on the wings.

In “First Man: The Life of Neil Armstrong,” James R. Hansen wrote that in Mr. Armstrong’s first year at Purdue, Charles E. Yeager broke the sound barrier in the rocket-powered Bell X-1. It was exciting but bittersweet for the young student. He thought aviation history had already passed him by.

“All in all, for someone who was immersed in, fascinated by, and dedicated to flight,” Mr. Armstrong told his biographer, “I was disappointed by the wrinkle in history that had brought me along one generation late. I had missed all the great times and adventures in flight.”

During the Korean War, Mr. Armstrong was in the unit that the author James A. Michener wrote of in “The Bridges at Toko-Ri.” Back at Purdue after the Navy, Mr. Armstrong plunged more earnestly into aeronautical engineering studies, his grades rising and a career in sight.

By this time, he had also met Janet Elizabeth Shearon, a student in home economics from Evanston, Ill. Soon after his graduation, they were married, in January 1956.

They had two sons, Eric and Mark, who survive. A daughter, Karen, died of an inoperable brain tumor in 1962. The couple were divorced in 1994; Janet Armstrong lives in Utah. In 1999, Mr. Armstrong married Carol Knight, a widow 15 years his junior; she also survives. They lived in Indian Hill, a suburb of Cincinnati.
Other survivors include a stepson and stepdaughter; a brother, Dean; a sister, June Armstrong Hoffman, and 10 grandchildren.

After his first marriage, the newlyweds moved to California, where Mr. Armstrong had been hired as an experimental test pilot for the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, the forerunner of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, at Edwards Air Force Base. His first flight in a rocket plane was in the Bell X-1B, a successor to the plane Mr. Yeager had first flown faster than the speed of sound.

Mr. Armstrong impressed his peers. Milt Thompson, one of the test pilots, said he was “the most technically capable of the early X-15 pilots.” Another colleague, Bill Dana, said he “had a mind that absorbed things like a sponge and a memory that remembered them like a photograph.” He made seven X-15 flights at 4,000 miles per hour, reaching the edge of space, and piloted many more of the most innovative and dangerous aircraft ever developed.

In 1958, Mr. Armstrong was chosen as a consultant for a military space plane project, the X-20 Dyna-Soar, and was later named one of the pilots. But the young test pilot was attracted by another opportunity. NASA was receiving applications for the second group of astronauts, after the Mercury Seven. His reputation after seven years at the NASA flight center at Edwards had preceded him, and so he was tapped for the astronaut corps.

“I thought the attractions of being an astronaut were actually, not so much the Moon, but flying in a completely new medium,” Mr. Armstrong told his biographer.

At Houston, the new astronaut began training for flights in the two-person Gemini spacecraft, the successor to the smaller Mercury capsules and forerunner to the three-person Apollos. Mr. Armstrong became the first American civilian astronaut to fly in space, as commander of Gemini 8. He and his co-pilot, David R. Scott, were launched on March 16, 1966. They performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space, their Gemini linking with an unmanned Agena in an essential test for later operations on lunar flights. 

Once docked, however, the joined spacecraft began to roll. Attempts to steady the vehicle were unavailing. On instructions from Mission Control, Mr. Armstrong separated Gemini from the Agena, but the rolling only increased, to the point that the astronauts were in danger of passing out. The problem was evidently in the Gemini itself. The astronauts turned the control thrusters off, switching to the re-entry control system. Stability was restored, but once the re-entry propulsion was activated, the crew was told to prepare to come home before the end of their only day in orbit.  

Next, Mr. Armstrong was the backup commander for Apollo 8, the first flight to circumnavigate the Moon, doing so at Christmastime in 1968. It was the mission that put Apollo back on track after a cockpit fire during a launching pad rehearsal had killed three astronauts in January 1967. And it put Mr. Armstrong in position to command Apollo 11.

If everything went well with the lunar module test on Apollo 9 and with a shakedown flight to lunar orbit on Apollo 10, then Mr. Armstrong was in line to land on the Moon with Buzz Aldrin and with Michael Collins as the command module pilot. As the commander, NASA officials decided, Mr. Armstrong would be the first to walk on the Moon.

About six and a half hours after the landing, Mr. Armstrong opened the hatch of the four-legged lunar module and slowly made his way down the ladder to the lunar surface. A television camera followed his every step for all the world to see. A crater near the landing site is named in Mr. Armstrong’s honor.

Mr. Armstrong and Colonel Aldrin left a plaque on the Moon that read: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”

After leaving the space program, Mr. Armstrong was careful to do nothing to tarnish that image or achievement. Though he traveled and gave speeches — as he did in October 2007, when he dedicated the new Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering at Purdue — he rarely gave interviews and avoided the spotlight.

In the biography “First Man,” Dr. Hansen noted, “Everyone gives Neil the greatest credit for not trying to take advantage of his fame, not like other astronauts have done.” To which Janet Armstrong responded: 
“Yes, but look what it’s done to him inside. He feels guilty that he got all the acclaim for an effort of tens of thousands of people.” Then she added: “He’s certainly led an interesting life. But he took it too seriously to heart.”

For a time, he was an associate NASA administrator for aeronautics, but he tired of a Washington desk job. Ignoring many high-level offers in business and academia, he returned to Ohio as a professor of aeronautical engineering at the University of Cincinnati and bought a farm near Lebanon, Ohio. He also served as a director for several corporations.

“He remained an advocate of aviation and exploration throughout his life and never lost his boyhood wonder of these pursuits,” his family said in the statement.

Mr. Armstrong re-entered the public spotlight a couple of years ago to voice sharp disagreement with President Obama for canceling NASA’s program to send astronauts back to the Moon. Later, he testified to a Senate committee, expressing skepticism that the approach of relying on commercial companies would succeed.

Last September, Mr. Armstrong testified to a House committee that NASA “must find ways of restoring hope and confidence to a confused and disconsolate work force.”

Almost as soon as the news of his death was announced, there was an outpouring of well wishes and fond memorials on Web sites and social media, a reflection of the extraordinary public acclaim that came to a very private man.

“As much as Neil cherished his privacy, he always appreciated the expressions of good will from people around the world and from all walks of life,” his family said. “While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves.”

2012-08-24

U.S. Stocks Rise as Fed Sees ‘Scope for Further Action’



U.S. stocks rose, paring the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s first weekly decline in almost two months, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said he saw “scope for further action,” increasing speculation the central bank will act to boost economic growth.
Read more »

MLK Memorial One Year Old


MEDIA ALERT:
The Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Celebrates One Year By Inspiring Individuals With King’s Messages

What:                  On August 28, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial will celebrate its one year anniversary being open to the public.

To mark this occasion, the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. invites the public to join them as they celebrate this anniversary.  This historic memorial was officially opened in August 2011 and was formally dedicated by President Obama on October 16, 2011.

Since its opening, millions of visitors from around the world have been able to witness firsthand the message of hope, justice, democracy and love that resonates from the crescent-shaped walls of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, which proudly sits between two Presidents. The Foundation will also discuss their plans to continue to promote awareness around the Memorial and its tenets of democracy, justice, love, and hope.

The brief program will take place on Tuesday, August 28 at 7:00 p.m. and will include remarks by Harry E. Johnson, president and CEO of The Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation and Robert G. Stanton, senior advisor to the Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. Following the program, there will be a screening of the film The Long Walk Home – a riveting movie about two women in Montgomery, Alabama, that decide to stand up for democracy and justice in response to the famous 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott lead by Martin Luther King, Jr.

The program is free and will be open to the public. For more information about the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, please visit www.buildthedream.org.

When:                 Tuesday, August 28, 2012
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
                               
Where:               The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
                                1964 Independence Avenue, SW
                                Washington, DC 20024

Who:                    Harry E. Johnson Sr., president and CEO, Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation
                                Robert G. Stanton senior advisor to the Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
                               
Media
Contact:             Darrell Jackson, The Caraway Group, Inc.
                                803.730.5941, Darrell@thecarawaygroup.com


About the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.:
The Washington, DC Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that lead the collaborative effort to complete the Memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the National Mall.  The Memorial is situated adjacent to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and in a direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Congress passed a Joint Resolution in 1996 authorizing Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to establish a Memorial in Washington, D.C. honoring Dr. King. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial was officially opened in August 2011.. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.buildthedream.org.

Two dead, nine wounded in shooting near the Empire State Building

 
Story by Yahoo News/ Photo: WABC-TV


Nine people were wounded and two people were dead Friday after a shooting outside the Empire State Building in the Midtown area of Manhattan. The two dead include the gunman, who was shot and killed by police near the tourist entrance of the landmark skyscraper.

The shooting occurred at 9:03 a.m. ET on West 33rd Street. The gunman, a 53 year-old women's accessories designer named Jeffrey Johnson, was fired from his job during a corporate downsizing at Hazan 

Imports and returned to his office Friday morning to target his 41 year-old boss.
Johnson followed his co-worker down 33rd Street and shot him outside of Legends Bar, according to the New York Post. It is unclear if he fired into a crowd of pedestrians outside of the Empire State Building, or if pedestrians were caught in crossfire,  reported the New York Daily News.

A construction worker who witnessed the shooting followed the suspect and then alerted police who were posted nearby. As the officers approached Johnson, he pulled his gun and fired on the officers. They returned fire and killed him, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

None of the other people who were shot were seriously wounded and that they are all expected to recover. Some of those wounded may have been hit by NYPD gunfire, Bloomberg said.

After the shooting, police immediately cordoned off a one-block perimeter around the Empire State Building. 
Around 10 a.m., a lone tourist bus headed down Fifth Avenue, and a guide could be heard over the bus's microphone explaining that they were nearing the landmark. As police waved the bus to detour down 36th Street, the guide was openly mystified. "I don't know what's going on, folks," he said, as the bus turned. By then the bus's passengers were looking up at the sky at a news helicopter floating overhead. Some stood, clutching their cameras.

Along 35th street, hundreds of people stood photographing the scene with iPhones and iPads. Officers could be seen standing in the middle of 34th street around a scene surrounded by police tape. Television producers roamed the crowd looking for witnesses. "Was anybody here when this happened? Was anybody here when this happened?" one NBC producer yelled.

Eyewitnesses told CNN that the gunman was using a rifle or shotgun.

Word of the shooting spread rapidly on social media networks.

"On 5th avenue surrounded by helicopters and police," @CeciliaHalling wrote on Twitter. "I'm very glad I wasn't 20 blocks further down half an hour ago."

We'll update this story as more details are known.

Norway massacre gunman Anders Breivik declared sane, gets 21-year sentence


Image: Anders Behring Breivik listens to the judge in the courtroom, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in Oslo, Norway. 
Story/Video NBC News

OSLO -- A Norwegian court ruled Friday that confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik (right AP photo) was sane, deciding he was criminally responsible for the massacre of 77 people last summer.

Reading the ruling, Judge Wenche Elisabeth Arntzen said that "in a unanimous decision ... the court sentences the defendant to 21 years of preventive detention."

However, such sentences can be extended under Norwegian law as long as an inmate is considered dangerous. Experts have said Breivik is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Norway doesn't have the death penalty.

Prosecutors had demanded a verdict of insanity, a fate Breivik called "worse than death," while many of his victims had said only a sane person could have carried out such a complex attack.


Breivik description of massacre

Breivik, 33, detonated a fertilizer bomb outside a government building that included the prime ministerial offices last July, killing eight, then gunned down 69 people, mostly teenagers, at the ruling Labor Party's youth camp on Utoya island. 
Read more »

2012-08-23

Ethiopia: Leader's swearing in delayed for funeral

Ethiopians carry posters in Amharic reading "Meles We Love You" as they gather to mourn as the body of the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. Meles, Ethiopia's long-time ruler and a major U.S. counter-terrorism ally who is credited with economic gains but blamed for human rights abuses, died of an undisclosed illness after not being seen in his East African country for weeks. He was 57. A European Union spokesman said that Meles died in Brussels. (AP Photo/Elias Asmare)
_______________________
Ethiopians gather on the street of Addis Ababa early morning to mourn as the body of former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi arrived in the Addis Ababa , Ethiopia Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. Meles, Ethiopia's long-time ruler and a major U.S. counter-terrorism ally who is credited with economic gains but blamed for human rights abuses, died of an undisclosed illness after not being seen in his East African country for weeks. He was 57. A European Union spokesman said that Meles died in Brussels. (AP Photo/Elias Asmare)
_________________________________________
Ethiopians carry posters in Amharic reading "Meles We Love You" as they gather to mourn as the body of the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. Meles, Ethiopia's long-time ruler and a major U.S. counter-terrorism ally who is credited with economic gains but blamed for human rights abuses, died of an undisclosed illness after not being seen in his East African country for weeks. He was 57. A European Union spokesman said that Meles died in Brussels. (AP Photo/Elias Asmare)

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia on Thursday postponed the emergency session of parliament to swear in a new prime minister as many leaders attended the funeral of a church leader.

Acting Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn was to be sworn in Thursday following the death on Monday of longtime leader Meles Zenawi.

Bereket Simon, Ethiopia's communications minister, said the country had "ample time" to swear in the new prime minister.

"There is no need to rush into it when the nation is grieving," Bereket said. "What all the lawmakers and their constituencies and the nation at large want to do at this time is mourn the great loss and honor the late prime minister. We want to first honor this and handle the prime minister's funeral with due diligence."

Bereket also said the death of Abune Paulos, the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, was another reason for the delay. Hailemariam attended and spoke at the Thursday funeral.

The funeral for Meles, who ruled Ethiopia for 21 years, has not yet been set. Leaders from around the world are expected to attend. Meles died in a Belgium hospital late Monday from an illness that Ethiopian officials have not revealed.

Hailemariam is a relatively young figure on Ethiopia's political scene and it's not clear if old guard leaders will allow him to hold onto the prime minister's seat until 2015 elections.

Ethiopia is a strong U.S. ally on counter-terrorism issues, particularly in Somalia. Meles was hailed for advancing Ethiopia's economic progress but was denounced by human rights groups for a heavy handed approach to political dissent.

More Women, fewer minority GMs in Radio

Briefing by Inside Radio
 
An annual survey by the Radio Television Digital News Association and Hofstra University finds 95% of radio general managers are white. 

That’s up one point from a year ago when the number of non-white GMs totaled 6%. 

The non-representative survey of 743 radio stations also found that 19% of general managers are female. Hofstra journalism professor Bob Papper points out that’s up one point over a year ago.

2012-08-22

Many on FOMC Favored Easing Soon if No Pickup in Growth

Story by Bloomberg
Written by

 Many Federal Reserve policy makers said additional stimulus would probably be needed soon unless the economy shows signs of a durable pickup, according to minutes of their most recent meeting.

“Many members judged that additional monetary accommodation would likely be warranted fairly soon unless incoming information pointed to a substantial and sustainable strengthening in the pace of the economic recovery,” according to the record of the Federal Open Market Committee’s July 31- Aug. 1 gathering released today in Washington.

Policy makers said after the meeting that they will step up record stimulus if needed to spur growth and cut a jobless rate stuck above 8 percent since February 2009. Chairman Ben Bernanke will have an opportunity to clarify his views in an Aug. 31 speech at a forum for central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he signaled a second round of bond buying by the Fed in 2010. Fed officials next meet on Sept. 12-13.

Many participants at the Fed’s meeting said that a new large-scale asset-purchase program “could provide additional support for the economic recovery.”

The minutes also reflected discussion of the merits of purchasing Treasury securities relative to mortgage-backed securities. While “some” members worried about the impact on debt markets, a staff analysis showed “substantial capacity for additional purchases without disrupting market functioning.”
Read more »

**BREAKING NEWS ** Tom Owens exits Clear Channel.

Story by Inside Radio

After serving as its top programming executive from the Jacor years until late 2011, Tom Owens is leaving Clear Channel. His exit occurs as the company’s research division is integrated into its National Programming Platforms group under Tom Poleman.

Owens was the company’s programming chief from 1998 until Poleman was promoted to president of National Programming Platforms last October. He’ll continue to provide strategic programming advice to Senior Management in a new role as a consultant to the company.

Owens, who began his programming career at Cincinnati’s storied WEBN and other rock stations, was the top programming executive at Jacor until it was acquired by Clear Channel in 1998. He took over Clear Channel programming after the acquisition closed and continued in that capacity until last October, when he was reassigned to EVP of Programming Research and Strategy.

Owens will continue to provide strategic programming advice to senior management in a new role as a Consultant to their company.

His exit occurs as Clear Channel Media and Entertainment moves its Programming Research and Ratings Research teams into the National Programming Platforms division. The Programming Research teams will report directly to SVP/GM National Programming Platforms Darren Davis.

In a memo to employees, Chairman/CEO John Hogan says: "Shifting research responsibilities to the national platforms group will allow the company’s programming team “to deploy research and utilize data in a coordinated and more strategic way. This realignment is another example of our willingness to evolve and transform how we do business and our continued commitment to deliver the best programming, products and services to our listeners, partners and advertisers.”

Jimmy Kimmel’s Gain Is Felt as a Loss at ‘Nightline’

Story by NY Times

With Jimmy Kimmel moving to 11:35 p.m. in January, the famed ABC News program “Nightline” will be moving back a full hour to 12:35 a.m. It is a deeply disappointing outcome for many at the news division, which had fought hard to keep the pre-midnight time slot.

On Tuesday afternoon, the news division president Ben Sherwood did not sugarcoat the change in a memo to colleagues. But he said that come Jan. 8, when the new times take effect: “I’m confident that our loyal viewers will stay with ‘Nightline,’ and its immensely talented anchors, correspondents and staff will enjoy many successes for years to come.”

Mr. Sherwood did take note, however, that the “Nightline” staff would be responsible for a new hour in prime time on Fridays, starting in March. His memo is reprinted below.
The Memo
I’m writing to let you know about changes the network is making in late night and prime time.ABC believes it has a stronger growth opportunity in late night if “Jimmy Kimmel Live” precedes “Nightline,” so starting Jan. 8, “Nightline” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” will switch time periods. “Nightline” is moving to 12:35 a.m. ET, and JKL will take over at 11:35 p.m.
In this new arrangement “Nightline” will expand in length to fill the half hour, and, significantly, the “Nightline” team will also produce an additional hour every week in prime time on Friday nights at 9:00 p.m. beginning March 1st.

With its success and growth, “What Would You Do?” will also find a new home on the schedule.

As you all know, growth is a primary objective of ABC and our news division. In the last year the network has supported our important growth initiatives through the Yahoo! digital deal and our innovative joint venture with Univision and has helped us achieve the resurgence we’re enjoying at Good Morning America. And the network remains fully supportive of our strategy to win the present and future of news and information.

I know you’ll have many questions, and we’ll answer them in smaller groups starting today.

For now, it’s important to note that “Nightline” has proven its ability to grow over three decades on the air with the show currently enjoying some of its highest ratings and best editorial work ever.

The “Nightline” team will now bring its excellent journalism to new time periods, and we especially welcome the chance to produce an hour every Friday in prime time, where new audiences will be introduced to the program’s signature storytelling, interviewing and investigations.

These changes take effect 20 weeks from now, and until then, “Nightline” remains in its existing time slot with a lot of important work to do, including covering two conventions, four debates and a presidential election. Our viewers are counting on us to deliver the exceptional journalism that has always defined “Nightline”.

Next year, when these changes are carried out, I’m confident that our loyal viewers will stay with “Nightline,” and its immensely talented anchors, correspondents and staff will enjoy many successes for years to come.