Michelle Obama visits Washington private schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama visited at least two well-known private schools Monday as she and President-elect Obama prepare to move their two young daughters to the White House in January.

The soon-to-be first lady toured Georgetown Day School in the morning and Sidwell Friends School, which Chelsea Clinton attended, in the afternoon. In between, she spent about two hours visiting the residential portion of the White House with first lady Laura Bush. Their husbands met privately in the Oval Office.

Michelle Obama flew from Chicago to Washington and back separately from her husband, who did not visit the schools. It was not clear whether the Obamas will look at other schools, and their staff provided no details.

Ten-year-old Malia Obama and 7-year-old Sasha now attend a private school in Chicago. Sasha will be the youngest White House resident since the Kennedy administration and Washington is abuzz with speculation about where they will attend school, how much they will appear in public, and other details.

"She's so tall, oh my gosh! And she's prettier in person," Ellie Lasater-Guttmann, an eighth-grader at Georgetown Day, said in an interview near the campus after glimpsing Michelle Obama.

Ellie, who is 13, said she hoped the Obama girls would attend Georgetown Day. "It's really our turn," she said, noting that Sidwell Friends had been the presidential family's choice in the past.

Mac Andrews, a sixth-grader at Georgetown Day School, said having the Obama girls as classmates would give him "bragging rights" with his friends. Mac, who went to the Democratic National Convention this year, said the school held a mock election and Obama won "88.999 percent" of the vote.

Students at Georgetown Day said they were told Monday morning that Michelle Obama would visit the school sometime this week. She walked in shortly before noon, accompanied by Secret Service agents and the head of the school, they said.

Reporters and TV crews had camped out at Georgetown Day, Sidwell Friends and the Maret School.

Georgetown Day, founded in 1945, was an early pioneer in integration and prides itself on its diversity. A report posted on the school's Web site says about 35 percent of its estimated 1,000 students are of color.

About four hours later, Michelle Obama arrived at Sidwell Friends. Students gathered outside the private Quaker school and waited near the door with their cell phones, hoping to take pictures and possibly shake her hand.

One woman stood nearby with a "Vote Obama" poster.

Benjamin Glassman, 15, of Chevy Chase, Md., said his older brother was a student at Sidwell Friends when Chelsea Clinton attended.

"He said they still went to parties together, and it wasn't really a big deal," Glassman said.

Bill Clinton would go to PTA meetings and other events, he said.

At the Maret School, another private school in northwest Washington, a woman who answered the telephone said she would not comment on whether Michelle Obama planned to visit, citing the school's policy of protecting families' privacy.

There are some public schools in the District of Columbia that the Obamas could consider, including a few in affluent northwest Washington that have been recognized nationally as Blue Ribbon Schools.

Racy Adrienne Bailon pics circulate on the web

Clean-cut 'Cheetah Girls' singer and actress Adrienne Bailon is the latest Disney star to be hit by scandal after pictures of her posing in nothing but a bra were circulated on the internet, according to anythinghollywood.com.

It's the second such recent embarrassment for Disney, with racy shots of 'High School Musical' star Vanessa Hudgens which were intended for her boyfriend also finding their way onto the web.

A spokesman for former '3KW' singer Bailon said the private pics of the star reached media sources after her laptop was stolen. The pretty actress, who has released a public apology to her young fans, “will be pursuing legal action against the person or persons sending these private photos out,” the spokesman added.

Terry McAuliffe Files Papers For Possible Governor Run In Virginia

Terry McAuliffe, who served as the chairman of the Democratic National Commitee from 2001 through 2005, may run for governor of Virginia in 2009.

McAuliffe told The Associated Press that he had filed the initial paperwork and will be forming an exploratory committee, the first steps for a possible run next year.

While the state had previously been dominated by Republicans, it has been trending Democratic the last few years. The past two Governors have had a (D) beside their names and in 2006, Jim Webb knocked out incumbent George Allen for one of Virginia’s Senate seats.

And, of course, Barack Obama won the swing state over John McCain this past Tuesday.

In 2007, McAuliffe’s book, What A Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, and Other Wild Animals hit the shelves to mixed reviews.

Newspaper ignores Obama victory: Terrell Tribune under fire

The Terrell Tribune, serving Kaufman County, Texas, ignored Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election, preferring, instead, to reserve their cover story for Jackson's victory over Schoen in the local county commissioner race.

The Obama presidential victory, however, wasn't pushed back to page A2, say, or A3, it wasn't included at all.

The decision has led to a protest outside of the Tribune's offices.

"That's what I wanted, a keepsake," said Lera Duncan, who was among the protestors. "And this was very disappointing to me."

Bill Jordan, the publisher of the newspaper, was unmoved by the protest, and was unapologetic:

"We run a newspaper, not a memory book service," he said. "We covered the local commissioner's race. We thought that was more important."

Here's a video from WFAA-TV recounting the news story.

UPDATE: While the paper is very locally-focused, on the day of the election the Tribune's cover story was about John McCain. The headline read "McCain makes Election Day stops."

Posted by P.M. Jaworski on November 10, 2008 in Media, U.S. politics

Sites being asked not to sell inaugural tickets

From: www.ap.org

The senator overseeing Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony is writing to Internet sites like eBay asking them not to sell scalped inauguration tickets.

Senator Dianne Feinstein of California is also writing a bill that would make it a federal crime to scalp tickets to the historic event January 20.

Feinstein, who chairs the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, says she foresees overwhelming demand for the 240,000 available tickets and has heard reports of them being sold for as much as $40,000 online.

The tickets are supposed to be free to the public and distributed through congressional offices. The offices won't get the tickets until shortly before the inauguration, to try to prevent scalping

World's ugliest dog dies after battle with cancer

GULFPORT, Fla. – A one-eyed, three-legged dog that won the title of world's ugliest pooch this summer has died. The St. Petersburg Times in Florida reports that Gus, a Chinese crested dog, had cancer. He was 9. Gus was rescued from a bad home and went on to win the annual World's Ugliest Dog contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in northern California.

Gus came from humble origins. According to the fair, his adopted family in Gulfport, Fla., rescued him after learning he was being kept in a crate inside someone's garage.

He had one leg amputated because of a skin tumor and lost an eye in a cat fight.

Gus' owner had said the prize money from the contest would be put toward the dog's radiation treatment.

Palin: GOP ticket was too ‘status quo’

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Sunday that she and running mate John McCain lost because the Republican ticket “represented too much of the status quo.”

In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News posted on the paper’s site Monday morning, Palin pointed a finger at the Bush administration for souring the GOP brand, adding that it was “amazing” that the McCain campaign did as well as it did.

“I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration? How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration?” Palin said.

“If we’re talking change, we want to get far away from what it was that the present administration represented, and that is to a great degree what the Republican Party at the time had been representing. So people desiring change, I think, went as far from the administration that is presently seated as they could. It's amazing that we did as well as we did.”

Looking back on the race, the Alaska governor said that she was “frustrated” by misinformation spread about her, especially related to her family.

“Some of the goofy things, like who was Trig's mom. Well, I'm Trig's mom, and do you want to see my medical records to prove that? And banning books. That was a ridiculous thing also that could have so easily been corrected just by a reporter taking an extra step and not basing a report on gossip or speculation,” Palin said.

“Just looking into the record. It was reported that I tried to ban Harry Potter when it hadn't even been written when I was the mayor. So, gosh, we have so many examples, I mean every day, especially the first few weeks, every day something that was thrown out there.”

After railing against earmarks and congressional spending on the campaign trail, Palin promised “fewer earmark requests” for projects “that can help on a national front, not just on a state front.”

Asked about running for the Republican nomination in 2012, the Alaska governor seemed cool to the prospect, pointing out that current polling showing favorable prospects in a potential GOP primary field are likely to shift.

“Look how fickle poll numbers are,” Palin said. “Look where I've gone, up and down, up and down, even in the state of Alaska the last couple of months. We can't pay attention to those numbers.”

Obama arrives for White House tour, talk with Bush

WASHINGTON – President-elect Obama and President Bush met in the Oval Office Monday, a visit that comes during a historic shifting of power to a new administration.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, arrived at the South Portico 11 minutes early with President Bush and first lady Laura Bush waiting for them. Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Obama enjoyed a warm greeting, while the president and his successor exchanged smiles and a handshake.

Taking a bit of prerogative, the president-elect put his left hand on Bush's back as the two couples entered the Diplomatic Reception Room.

Bush and Obama strolled along the Colonnade and waved for their cameras while their wives began a meeting of their own. The president and the president-elect then headed into the Oval Office to talk about the future of the country, with topics likely including the financial crisis and the war in Iraq.

It was the president-elect's first visit to the White House since his landslide election victory — and his first visit ever to the Oval Office.

The scene was a sunny fall day with moderate temperatures and colorful — but fading — autumn leaves.

Their arrival had the look of a foreign head-of-state state visit — although there were no fife and drum bands, speeches or official pageantry.

Earlier, Obama arrived in Washington, stepped of his plane and was greeted by transition manager John Podesta, the former chief of staff to President Clinton.

Obama climbed into a black limousine with tinted windows, instead of his normal SUV; the limo looked just like the one that the president rides in, without the seal or flags. The entire motorcade was upgraded from campaign mode to presidential-level, with a second identical decoy limousine, a black haz-mat truck, a communications truck and the counter-assault team hanging out the back of an SUV.

Mrs. Bush was to give Mrs. Obama a tour of the first family's living quarters, including the bedrooms used by children of past presidents. White House press secretary Dana Perino said the two women were expected to talk about living in one of the world's most famous building, from family life to the help provided by executive staff.

The Obamas have two daughters: Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7. Obama started his day in Chicago, dropping the two girls at school, each with a kiss, and then going to a gym for a workout.

Ahead of the meeting, Obama told reporters last week that he was headed to the White House meeting with "a spirit of bipartisanship."

Obama won the presidency in an electoral landslide on Tuesday. He ran a campaign in which he relentlessly linked Republican opponent John McCain to Bush and presented his ideas as a fresh alternative to what he called Bush's failed policies.

Yet the tone changed almost immediately after Obama's win.

Bush, who had endorsed McCain, lauded Obama's victory as a "triumph of the American story." He warmly invited the Obama family to the White House.

Obama, in turn, thanked Bush for being gracious. The president-elect has made clear to the people of the United States and those watching around the world that there is only one president for now, and that's Bush. Obama is in the transition to power but does not assume the presidency until Jan. 20.

Josh Bolten, Bush's chief of staff, said Bush and Obama will likely each have a list of issues to go down.

"I know the president will want to convey to President-elect Obama his sense of how to deal with some of the most important issues of the day," said Bolten, interviewed on C-SPAN by reporters from The Associated Press and The Washington Post. "But exactly how he does that, I don't know, and I don't think anybody will know."

Unlike the incoming president, Bush knew his way around the Oval Office by the time he was elected in 2000 — his father had been president. Still, like many before them, President Clinton and President-elect Bush had their own private meeting, keeping up a tradition that temporarily puts the presidency above politics.

Obama has been to the White House before, including an emergency leadership session to deal with the financial crisis in September.

But an Obama spokeswoman said the president-elect had never been in the Oval Office.

BY BEN FULLER

Find missing money -- without paying a fee

This post comes from David Wood at partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com.

With the economy suffering a bad case of the blues, most of us would welcome a few extra dollars that came with no strings attached.

That makes us prime targets for "free money" enticements. Sure enough, the Internet is crowded with advertisements like "Claim your missing money" or "Free search for unclaimed money."

One of the older and better-known promoters is FoundMoney.com. Started by Edward Palonek™ -- who, by the way, claims to have trademarked his name -- FoundMoney.com calls itself the "leader in unfound assets" and provides a "free national search for lost money."

I wanted to see if I had unclaimed assets, so I typed in my name and discovered hundreds of results with various amounts of unclaimed funds. However, there was no physical address listed with the names, not even a state. To find out more information I would have to purchase a membership, which sort of negates the value of the "free" search.

I didn't think I wanted to invest in a membership because, according to complaints filed with ConsumerAffairs.com, other consumers have paid for a membership only to discover there was no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

"I used the free search and it came up with two accounts in my name," wrote Sharon, of Salisbury, N.C. "After paying for the real search, guess what? Nothing shows up in my name. I requested a refund and was told you only get a refund if your name shows up and you're unable to get the funds," Sharon said.

Michael, of Elko, Nev., said that he laid out $24.95 for a membership for nothing. "I felt I could trust the site because it said that Oprah (Winfrey) and Maury (Povich) both had the founder on their show," wrote Michael. "I am just like all the rest of the people that spent money and got burnt."

In response to published complaints, we heard from Kathy at FoundMoney.com.

"We are committed to client satisfaction and offer a full unconditional 100% money back guarantee on all our services. Clients are NEVER at financial risk of not getting their desired service," Kathy wrote.

Kathy said that negative consumer reviews are actually the work of disgruntled competitors dazzled by the brilliant success of FoundMoney.com.

"We hate to brag, but our package of services together with our customer care and satisfaction is so great that many of our competitors have become extremely jealous of our success and have resorted to a number of unscrupulous online negative marketing tactics," she claimed.

"We would ask you to strongly consider, that most if NOT all of the (obviously overboard!) supposed complaints about FoundMoney.com and its online unclaimed property business are unfounded and probably manufactured (by) our less successful competition!"

We decided that not only would we strongly consider Kathy's claim, we would actually ask complaining consumers about it. They were not amused.

"I am not nor have I ever been associated with the competition of FoundMoney.com. The allegation is ludicrous," said Lee, of Sacramento, Calif.

Michael of Elko said, "I'm just a blue-collar worker trying to raise five kids, and for them to suggest that I work for their competition, all I have to say is that they need to back off."

Never say never

In fact, there is a way to find unclaimed money without paying a fee.

"All states provide a way to search for missing money for free, and unlike the sites that charge, the state Web sites provide identifiable information such as a mailing address," said Steve Larson, deputy state treasurer of Iowa and president of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. "People also need to understand that the states have the latest data whereas with non-state sites, it's anyone's guess how often the data is updated."

It is estimated that state treasurers and various agencies are holding more than $32 billion in unclaimed property. The phrase "unclaimed property" refers to abandoned savings or checking accounts, stocks, payroll checks, insurance payments or refunds, customer overpayments, and other sums of money.

Where to go

While many Web sites say they're the "official" site for unclaimed funds, only one destination is officially endorsed by NAUPA -- MissingMoney.com.

MissingMoney.com allows you to perform a free detailed search for unclaimed property in more than 40 states, all from one centralized location. It also has links to the unclaimed property division of each state that is not a part of the MissingMoney.com database.

The majority of states handle everything for free, although a handful charge some type of processing fee once it has been confirmed that you are owed money.

A good example is Ohio. "In 1991, the Ohio General Assembly established a 5% administrative fee to be assessed to each claims account," said Dennis Ginty, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Commerce.

As with the other states that charge a fee, Ohio won't charge you anything to search. In short, you will not pay a cent unless you know that a check is on the way.

"For instance, if the consumer has $100 in unclaimed funds, the state would keep $5 for processing the claim and the consumer would receive a check for $95," Ginty said.

I decided to use the free detailed search provided by my state and discovered that I was owed $50. The money came from an old P.O. box I had in 1999.

Once I fill out the form and provide my state with routine identity information, it will send me a freshly printed $50 check from the state treasurer.

I guess that proves you really can get something for nothing every now and then.

Marine Corps Birthday

by Guest Blogger, Greg Verone

Happy Birthday Marines – Wherever You Are! On this day, 233 years ago, the United States Marine Corps was founded. For over two centuries Marines have defended our freedom in Every Clime and Place.

Today is a celebration as well as recognition. I associate Marines with excellence, the best of the best. The path every Marine travels dictates that regardless of how they enter the Marines, they leave as one – one heart, one mind, one body. As a DI once told me, they come in many shapes, they leave looking like Marines. I always understood that to mean more than just physically.

What we do for Marines is essential for their health and well being. Because Marines are Marines, they expect nothing less from us than excellence. We work hard to provide a better day to each individual Marine we touch. I work hard because I know that what we are doing makes a difference. You make a difference. Together we all make a difference. Happy Birthday Marines – Wherever You Are!

USMC Birthday - November 10

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Greg Verone, President
Sodexo Government Services


Greg Verone, President of Government Services for Sodexo, Inc., is responsible for delivering on the mission of “Improving the Quality of Daily Lifesm” for government personnel and their families. His responsibilities include the delivery of Food Service, National Brands, and Equipment Repair and Maintenance for 55 Marine Corps Garrison Mess Halls and 100+ Retail Food Service Outlets in the Federal and Defense MWR sectors as well as support of Universal Sodexo in International Defense Logistics.

Throughout Greg’s 30-year career with Sodexo he has contributed in many diverse ways to support the organization. In 2006 Greg was selected to serve on the Board of Directors for the Armed Services YMCA and has been involved in Diversity initiatives such as the Women’s’ Network Group, and Mentoring.

Greg received an MBA from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA and a BA from Rutgers State University of New Jersey.

Circuit City files for bankruptcy protection

NEW YORK – Circuit City Stores Inc., the nation's second-biggest electronics retailer, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday but plans to stay open for business as the busy holiday shopping season approaches.

It filed under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, which will allow it to hold off creditors and continue operations while it develops a reorganization plan.

The Richmond, Va.-based company has been struggling as nervous consumers spend less and credit has become tighter, and the retail industry overall is facing what's expected to be the weakest holiday season in decades.

Circuit City also said it would cut 700 more jobs, after announcing a week ago that it would close 20 percent of its stores and lay off thousands of workers.

"This isn't a surprise," JPMorgan analyst Christopher Horvers said, adding that the reorganization could help the company get out of leases for certain bad store locations.

Circuit City, which has had only one profitable quarter in the past year, has faced significant declines in traffic and heightened competition from rival Best Buy Co. and others. It said it decided to file for bankruptcy protection because it was facing pressure from vendors who threatened to withhold products during the holiday season.

"At the end of the day I think it's really about an inventory position," Horvers said. "If they can get inventory into the stores, I can think they'll remain competitive."

The company's biggest creditors are its vendors: Hewlett-Packard has a $118.8 million claim followed by Samsung ($115.9 million), Sony ($60 million), Zenith ($41.2 million), Toshiba ($17.9 million) and others. Smaller creditors include GPS navigation system maker Garmin, Nikon, Lenovo, Eastman Kodak and Mitsubishi.

Horvers added, "I think it's encouraging that they were able to secure financing." Circuit City said it had lined up $1.1 billion in loans to provide working capital while it is in bankruptcy protection. That replaces a $1.3 billion asset-backed loan it had been using.

Loans to operate while in bankruptcy are called debtor-in-possession, or DIP, loans.

"That's a big DIP in the current market," said John Penn, a partner at Haynes & Boone who is not involved in the case. "To secure that size DIP now is quite a achievement. With the news of the cuts last week — and vendors wanting to know they can get paid — having a recognizable source like a DIP can calm a lot of vendor concerns."

The company said in its filing that it had $3.4 billion in assets and $2.32 billion in liabilities, as of Aug. 31.

Circuit City Stores Inc. announced a week ago it planned to close 155 of its more than 700 U.S. stores by Dec. 31. The stores are spread throughout 28 states, including multiple locations in areas like Phoenix and Atlanta. It is laying off about 17 percent of its domestic work force, which could affect up to 7,300 people.

The company also said last week that it will further cut back on new store openings and planned to work with landlords to renegotiate leases, lower rent or terminate agreements while it dealt with tightening credit from its vendors.

Circuit City posted a wider second-quarter loss in September with a 13 percent decline in sales at stores open at least a year. The company has been under new leadership since late September when Chief Executive Philip J. Schoonover agreed to step down. He was replaced by James A. Marcum, who is now vice chairman and acting president and chief executive.

Shares in Circuit City have traded under $1 for more than a month and the company received a warning about that last month from the New York Stock Exchange.

___

AP Business Writer Michael Felberbaum in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.

Matt Lauer marriage: Today’s host Vieira puts her foot in it

Oh Dear on this morning’s Today show with hosts Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira there was a complete stumble and deadly silence when Vieira completely forgot that Matt Lauer has had his share of marital problems and divorce worries when she hit on a very sore subject.

Without thinking Vieira who was talking about what was coming up on the show on a subject as to when is it the right time to get married, turned to co-host Lauer and asked when he got married, but with matt Lauer marriage ending in divorce and with his second wife filing for divorce although she did then withdraw the filing, it really wasn’t a subject that Lauer wanted to discuss in front of millions of viewers.

Lauer clearly was embarrassed about the question and stuttered and stumbled, after a cameraman yelled “nice” Vieira released she had put her foot right in it. View video here.

Source: newsbuster