Latin America, The Hotspot To Travel To?

By: Samantha Miller
Why is Latin America the new hot spot for tourists? In the past severl years, Latin American countires have emphasized the importance of tourism to their economy. With this thought, they have improved their locations and offerings for the tourists, especially those from the U.S. Latin American countires have afforadable prcies, several airline routes, newly constructed hotels, and leisure programs for travelers.
There have been statistical facts showing a 6.7% increase of tourists from the year 2008 to 2009. The country is essentially working on three fronts, (1) to improve the destination with new hotels and services, (2) to talk to the tourism sector and promote tourism abroad, with the U.S. as its No. 1 market and (3) to change perceptions about the country's safety.

New 4G Apple Iphone Found in Bar

By Kathleen Kellerman

In Redwood City, California a man walked into a bar carrying what looked like the iPhone 3G. The bar happened to be located about 19 miles from Cupertino which is where the Apple Headquarters is, and the man happened to be carrying the new iPhone 4G, that isn't supposed to be released by Steve Jobs until June. The Daily News begins thier article on this by stating "A fourth generation iPhone walks into a bar ... and the joke's on Apple."
The man ended up leaving the phone in bar, resulting in an uproar. Apple pleaded for the return of the phone, "California's laws require that the finder of lost property must inform the owner". However, the man who found the phone has released photos and details of the new gadget which reportedly includes according to the Daily News, "a camera flash, higher resolution screen, front-facing camera and a slimmer, glass-like case made of ceramic." Unfortunately for Apple, who is notorious for not releasing any details about products until their release date has found themselves in quite the crisis.

Grinding To A Halt

Steve Gida




After weeks of what seemed like an unstoppable expansion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a freeze on all settlement building in the eastern portion of Jerusalem. Being such a controversial issue, the PM had halted what was once called "unstoppable" by many hard liners in the Israeli government, opening up chances to heal the diplomatic rift that exists between the U.S. and Israel. Another pursuit of real peace, or a gimmick? Find out here.

Enjoy the summer break everyone! Stay safe!

Volcano of Iceland

By: Tyler Meissner
According to the Associate Press, ashes drifted between 20,000 to 36,000 feet, had the strength to shut airplane engines down, and stranded travelers on six different continents. . Meteorologists from the AccuWeather forecasting service in Pennsylvania said the current ash plume will threaten air travel over Europe through Sunday at the least. The eruption of the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier caused the largest flight disruption since the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Not only where the ashes of the eruption dangerous, but due to possible floods because of the volcano’s location; over 700 civilians were evacuated from Southern Iceland.

GM repays U.S. & Canadian loans

Faster than anyone imagined, GM Motor Company fully repaid $8.1 billion in loans to US & Canadian governments (AP). GM Chief Executive, Ed Whitacre stated, "This is the new pace of GM today. GM's ability to pay back the loans ahead of schedule is a sign that our plan is working." GM’s strategy for repayment has been giving large portion of the company away. With the U.S controlling 61% & Canada approximately 12%, GM is still in debt to both.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/04/21/gm-pays-debt/
http://in.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idINIndia-47888820100421

Hulu and Online Movie Betting

By: Arianna Fragiacomo

Hulu will start charging a $9.95 monthly service fee, according to Fast Company and The LA Times, that will begin testing on May 24 for any viewers that wish to watch old episodes of their favorite shows. While the latest five episodes of the television shows will still be available to viewers for free, but if you want to watch anything older you will need to pay the subscription fee.

In conflicting reports made by The Associated Press and Business Week, it is still unclear whether online movie betting will become a household pass time.

Haiti

BY: Jane Caragher

On January 12, 2010, an earthquake struck Haiti killing more than 230,000 people and damaging the main city of Port-au-Prince. Even though this happen about 4 months ago, Haiti is still not fully recovered from the damage and people aren’t sure when they will be fully recovered. According to an article in The New York Times, President Obama says that “the situation on the ground remains dire and people should be under no illusions that the crisis is over.” Even though the US military is starting to leave Haiti, Obama says that the US is committed to providing financial assistance and humanitarian relief to help Haitians rebuild and recover from their devastating earthquake.

Paladino's "Democratic Smear"

Kathleen Kellerman

Carl Paladino who intended to run for Governor of New York according to the Daily News has come across a predicament that he can’t possibly escape. The article describes in detail the crude and disrespectful racist e-mails he forwarded to colleagues and friends that included vile and inappropriate pornographic videos as well as photos. Carl Paladino fired back basically cutting them down to nothing more than a “Democratic smear as politically incorrect.” Daily News was the one source that didn’t just lightly touch on the situation but clearly and honestly showed him for what the “wanna-be governor” is, which is sleazy.

Struggling to Stay Afloat

Steve Gida

Launching several days after the close of the first fiscal quarter, Apple’s iPad seems to not have generated the critical hit acclaim predicted by Apple. Noting the “aggressive” price, iPad’s numbers have been low by normal standards of Apple, numbers low enough to delay the overseas launch until the end of May. Reported by Computerworld, “Apple also defended its iPad supply levels, which many have said were far under demand.”

Last Chance for Minnewaska

Despite the looming likelihood of closure, Minnewaska State Park's last chance to remain open is the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), $5 million of which would need to be designated for park operations throughout the state in order to deflect the impact of Governor Paterson's 2010-11 budget cuts. Under Paterson's budget proposal, the park is one of 50 in the state that will likely be shut down or suffer cuts. According to The Daily Freeman, critics fear that using the EPF to keep parks afloat undermines its legitimacy as a fund designated for conservation.

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2010/02/28/news/doc4b89eee3e9fe2498576873.txt

Another Eruption May Happen Soon

By: Arianna Fragiacomo

We have all no doubt heard about the volcano erupting in Iceland and how it has put a stop to air travel because of the ash still in the atmosphere. Just as peoples hopes were getting back up with some airports reopening, there comes more news. Another volcano named "Katla" which is just 12 miles from the first volcano could possibly erupt too. I think this is horrible, obviously we can't control the weather, but there are so many people stuck in airports and so many little towns in the surrounding areas of the volcano that are covered in ash, and just when they think there's hope they may have to deal with an even bigger eruption.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_volcano_science

Are We There Yet??

Steve Gida




Reported from the AP: United States Army General Ray Odierno has stated that the Army is on track in terms of withdrawing from Iraq, effectively drawing the Second Gulf War to a close. The war began in 2003 when former President George W. Bush authorized the controversial invasion that resulted in the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime, and instituting a democratic government.

Current numbers of Army personnel run around the 95,000 mark, but the withdrawal should "be at 50,000 by the first of September," Odierno said on "Fox News Sunday."

Full coverage of the story can be found here!

Recovery Much?

By Steve Gida


Apparently, we've been paying lower taxes as of most recently, due to the fact that "Congress cut individuals' federal taxes for this year by about $173 billion." Most of us would say that we couldn't feel it, but with the recovery now in full swing, the federal government is taking steps to ensure we can get up, dust ourselves off, and begin rebuilding financially. Of course these low taxes won't last forever; when do they ever? Check out the story here!

Conan Comes Back to Television

By: Jane Caragher

Conan O'Brien is returning to television but he will not be doing so on a network channel, he is coming back on cable. O'Brien has agreed to star in a late night show on TBS during the 11 o'clock time slot. O'Brien will be followed at 12 o'clock with The George Lopez show.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/business/media/13conan.html

Education Cuts

No matter what town or state you live in you will hear about education cuts. There are thousands of kids in New York City who don't know what high school they will be attending next year because of budget cuts and school closures. I think it's terrible that the educational system is suffering when it's so essential in society. I came across this article and video about what actors Brian Austin Greene and Meaghan Fox are doing to lash out against budget cuts in California and I think it's a really interesting way to approach the topic.

http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/a-line/megan-fox-takes-on-the-governator/431?nc