Clear 365 Blogs

1/22: The Public Observer on upcoming news and a photo roundup

Jan. 22, 2010

The Public Observer takes a look at upcoming news and presents a photo roundup of recent images provided by The Associated Press.

BERNANKE'S FUTURE

A Senate confirmation hearing could be held next week on the nomination of Ben Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Senate opposition has been mounting against another four-year term for Bernanke, who has the support of the White House. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has endorsed Bernanke, but the roster against him also has been growing, with Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer of California and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin announcing their opposition. Bernanke's term expires Jan. 31.

STATE OF THE UNION

President Barack Obama on Wednesday will deliver his first State of the Union speech to both houses of Congress. The Obama administration has lost some momentum with health care reform stalling, the continued high unemployment rate and the recent GOP gain of a Senate seat in Massachusetts. The pompous affair could give Obama an opportunity to dust himself off and set the agenda for the coming year.

AFGHANISTAN-YEMEN CONFERENCES

The British government is co-hosting an international conference on the future of Afghanistan in the coming week in London. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to attend meetings Wednesday and Thursday. The conference will be co-hosted by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. There also will be a separate international conference on Yemen with talks expected to center on how to prevent the poor Arab country from becoming a failed state and haven for terrorists.

APPLE'S LATEST

Apple Inc. is holding a media event Wednesday in San Francisco to unveil its latest product. Most industry observers have been speculating that the iPhone maker will unveil a new tablet device -- a small computer with touch screens and no keyboard that is bigger than a phone but smaller than a laptop.

DAVOS

Beginning on Wednesday, business and political leaders will gather in the Swiss Alps for the 40th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

PHOTO ROUNDUP

Here's a look at some recent images provided by The Associated Press.

 

A model wears a creation by Amapo, during the Sao Paulo Fashion Week Fall Winter collection, in Sao Paulo on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

A Russian Orthodox believer jumps into an ice hole made in the shape of a cross Tuesday during a traditional Epiphany celebration in a lake near Valdai-Iverskiy Monastery, in Valdai, Novgorod region, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of Moscow, Russia. Temperatures in the region plunged to -28 degrees Celsius (-18 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

U.S. Army mortarmen, left to right, Pfc. Jesus Valerio, of Schuyler, Neb., Pfc. Matthew Barnes, from Trinity, N.C., and Pfc. Cody Austin, from Preston, Idaho, fire a 120mm mortar Tuesday at a Taliban position from an emplacement set up inside Combat Outpost Michigan, in the Pech Valley, Kunar province, northeastern Afghanistan. The soldiers from Task Force Lethal at COP Michigan regularly receive small and large-arms fire from Taliban militants who operate in the hillsides overlooking the base. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

A woman walks past fire and through rubble Monday in the market area in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 18, 2010. On the streets, people were still dying, pregnant women were giving birth and the injured were showing up in wheelbarrows and on people's backs at hurriedly erected field hospitals after nearly a week after the devastating earthquake. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 

An Afghan refugee girl reacts Tuesday during a daily lesson on how to read verses of the Quran, Islam's Holy book, outside a house in a poor neighborhood of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

Liza Markus, of Seattle, holds a baby doll during an anti -war demonstration outside of the White House, in Washington on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A peacock uses its plumage to show off Wednesday during a winter afternoon at the Philadelphia Zoo. (AP Photo/Camden Courier-Post, Jose F. Moreno)

Buddhist monks supporting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa attend an election rally Tuesday in Kandy, 110 kilometers (69 miles) northeast of Colombo. The Jan. 26 presidential election pits Rajapaksa against Sri Lanka's former army chief Gen. Sarath Fonseka, both men regarded as the architects of the government's victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels last May. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

People watch a traditional cock fight Friday during the Jonbeel fair in Jagiroad, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of Gauhati, India. During the fair,tribal people from the hills exchange goods with people from the plains in the old barter system of transaction. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath) 

 

An leprosy infected womanwaits for her turn to be treated by the volunteers of US based Arpan Global Charities (AGC), a medical volunteer organization, in Amritsar, India, Friday, Jan. 22, 2010. AGC provides free medical services to the medically underserved populations of the world. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

-- Paul Chavez, Clear365 News Editor

1/15: The Public Observer on upcoming news and a photo roundup

Jan. 15, 2010

The Public Observer offers a look at upcoming news and presents a photo roundup of recent images provided by The Associated Press.

HELPING HAITI

Disaster relief for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti will continue to pour into the impoverished nation as international aid makes its way to the island country. Aid groups said that overcoming logistical nightmares, such as the damaged airport, partially destroyed port and blocked roads, will be key to providing support.

UKRAINIAN ELECTIONS

Voters in the Ukraine will head to the polls Sunday in the first round of voting in a bitterly fought presidential campaign. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a leader of the 2004 Orange Revolution, is trailing Viktor Yanukovych and his Party of Regions. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, as expected, a runoff will occur sometime in February between the top two vote getters.

Yanukovych, a pro-Russian candidate, won in 2004 but the vote results were thrown out by the Supreme Court following the Orange street protest and allegations of widespread voting fraud. Both candidates have claimed they would revive ties with Russia if elected, a move that would mark the end of the Western-oriented leadership that was brought in by the 2004 Orange Revolution.

ELECTION IN CHILE

In Chile, voters will cast ballots Sunday in the second round of the presidential election. None of the candidates gained enough votes to win the presidency outright last month and the top two candidates will square off. The race pits the center-right candidate Sebastian Pinera against center-left rival Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle. The winner will succeed Michelle Bachelete and will take office in March. The ruling center-left coalition could lose power for the first time since the restoration of democracy. Chile was under a military regime from 1973-1990 and tens of thousands of people were imprisoned, killed or disappeared during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

MASSACHUSETTS ELECTION

An election to fill the seat held by the late Sen. Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy will be held Tuesday in Massachusetts and Democratic heavyweights, including President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton, will travel to the state to endorse endangered Democratic candidate Martha Coakley. A recent poll showed Republican candidate Scott Brown holding a slight edge in the seat that Democrats have held for over a half-century. If the Democrats lose the seat, it could be the death knell for the 60-vote Senate supermajority that Obama has been relying upon to stop Republican filibusters and pass items on the administration's legislative agenda, including health care reform.

PHOTO ROUNDUP

Here's a look at some recent images provided by The Associated Press.

 

A model wears a design of the Coven collection Sunday during the Fashion Rio Fall Winter 2010 in Rio de Janeiro. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A man takes a nap next to a life size human figure built with the lego toy blocks displayed at a shopping mall Tuesday in Beijing. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Cindy Terasme screams Thursday after seeing the feet of her dead 14-year-old brother Jean Gaelle Dersmorne in the rubble of the collapsed St. Gerard School in Port-au-Prince, Haiti,. A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

 

Sultan Kosen of Turkey, 27, right, and He Pingping of China, 21, are seen during an event organized by the Guinness World Records in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday. The towering Turk, Kosen, is the tallest man walking the planet with a height of 246.5 cm ( 8 feet 1 inch) and He is officially the world's shortest man with a height of 73 cm (2 feet 5 inch). (AP Photo/Ibrahim Usta)

Models pose at the CT&T electronic car exhibit area Tuesday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

A week old baby gorilla is seen with its mother N'Yaounda, at Budapest Zoo, in Budapest, Hungary on Wednesday. The newborn gorilla is the first offspring of its mother and animal keepers estimate its weight at approximately 1.5kg (63 ounces).

Egyptian archaeology workers ferry sand in trolleys on rail tracks Monday in front of the Great Pyramid, in Giza, Egypt. Egyptian archaeologists discovered a new set of tombs belonging to the workers who built the great pyramids, shedding light on how the laborers lived and ate more than 4,000 years ago, the antiquities department said .(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

 

Lightening flashes across the sky Tuesday over the Cas Port in Rio de Janeiro. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

  The reflection of the West End Bridge glimmers on the water and thawing ice as a towboat pushes a platform up the Ohio River in Pittsburgh on Thursday. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Presidential candidate of the opposition Coalition for Change, Sebastian Pinera, dances Cueca, Chile's national dance, during a campaign stop in Santiago on Wednesday. Chileans will go to the polls to choose between Pinera and Eduardo Frei, the candidate of the government coalition, in a runoff presidential election on Jan. 17. (AP Photo/Ferran Mallol)

People gather in a subway station during the 9th annual "No Pants Subway Ride" in New York on Sunday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

-- Paul Chavez, Clear365 News Editor

1/8: The Public Observer on upcoming news and a photo roundup

Jan. 8, 2010

The Public Observer takes a look at upcoming news and presents a photo roundup of recent images provided by The Associated Press.

AMERICAN NEEDLE VS. NFL

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Wednesday in an anti-trust case brought against the National Football League by headwear manufacturer American Needle, Inc. At issue in the case is a legal doctrine known as "single entity," which if agreed to by the high court would allow the NFL to be considered a single entity, instead of 32 separate teams competing with each other. American Needle brought the case after the NFL entered into an exclusive deal with Reebok to produce caps and hats with NFL logos, excluding American Needle from becoming a licensee. The NFL won the case in lower courts and surprisingly agreed to American Needle's petition for review by the Supreme Court, in hopes of establishing the single-entity principle on a wider basis. The NFL players' union is vehemently opposed to the single-entity designation, fearing that owners could attack free agency, restrict player movement and create new salary schedules without fear of anti-trust lawsuits.

New Orleans Saints starting quarterback Drew Brees in this Washington Post opinion piece outlined the players' argument against the court granting the NFL wide "single-entity" status.

DETROIT AUTO SHOW

Top lawmakers and members of President Barack Obama's administration will meet with auto company executives, state and local leaders and tour vehicle displays Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The government last year took large ownership stakes in General Motors, Chrysler and auto lender GMA Financial Services as the auto industry reeled from the recession.

The auto show will feature 60 vehicle debuts and is expected to attract more than 5,000 reporters from 50 countries. Green technology will be the focus with electric vehicles, hybrids and small cars on display. Green vehicles from a dozen manufacturers will be showcased in a 37,000-square-foot venue called "Electric Avenue."

CLINTON ROADSHOW

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will embark Monday on an eight-day trip to the Pacific. She will deliver a policy speech Tuesday in Hawaii and then will travel to Papua New Guinea before heading off to New Zealand. She will then go to Australia along with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to participate in meetings over global and regional security challenges.

NIGERIA POWER VACUUM

The ill president of Nigeria has been out of the country since Nov. 23 and the nation of more than 149 million people has effectively been without a leader. President Umaru Yar'Adua had been suffering from kidney problems and went to Saudi Arabia to recover. The president's doctor has released a statement saying that Yar'Adua was suffering from acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac around the heart. A leading member of Nigeria's House of Representatives said lawmakers on Tuesday would discuss the president's long convalescence. Yar'Adua did not formally grant his vice president power to serve in his absence, leading to fears of a constitutional crisis.

PHOTO ROUNDUP

Here's a look at some recent photographs published by The Associated Press.

 

Fireworks light up, Burj Khalifa , the world's tallest building Monday during the official opening ceremony in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

 

Young Indian street performer Mehdi, 9, performs with a rabbit Thursday outside the Mahabodhi Buddhist temple where Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama has been teaching in Bodh Gaya, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Patna, India. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

 

Icicles cling to oranges Wednesday in Lakeland, Fla. Farmers spray their crops to help protect them against the cold temperatures. Temperatures in the area dipped into the mid-20's, and farmers have been working to salvage millions of dollars' worth of strawberries and other crops. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

 

Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division President Robbie Bach speaks Wednesday during CEO Steve Ballmer's keynote address at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

 

Lady Gaga appears a the Polaroid booth Thursday to announce a partnership during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

 

A view of the ice palaces assembled from blocks of ice at the Harbin International Ice and Snow festival held Thursday in Harbin in northeastern China's Harbin province. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A horse rolls around in the snow Tuesday in Gates Mills, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

 

A school boy, who was killed by an explosion, is seen surrounded by relatives Wednesday, as some chant anti U.S. and Afghan government slogans, in the back ground, in Rodad, Nangarhar province east of Kabul, Afghanistan. Four Afghan children and a policeman were killed and at least three U.S. soldiers and dozens of civilians wounded when the explosion tore through a group of local residents and soldiers observing a road-construction project on Wednesday, officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

 

A Pakistani girl looks on as she lines up with other women to get a ration of rice Wednesday during a donated food distribution in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

 

Bulgarians sing and dance Wednesday as a boy holds the holy cross in the river of Tundzha, as they celebrate Epiphany day in the town of Kalofer. The Eastern Orthodox priests throw a cross in the river and the men take it out. It is believed that those who dance in the river will be healthy throughout the year. (AP Photo/Petar Petrov)

A member of the Bridge Crew watches over a fire line Wednesday in case the prescribed burn jumps the line and ignites on the other side of Kings Pinnacle in Crowders Mountain State Park in Gastonia, N.C.. Officials at Crowders Mountain State Park conducted the burn of more than 500 acres on Kings Pinnacle near the Gaston and Cleveland County line. The reasons for the burn was decades of forest refuse like leaf litter and downed trees can be a wild fire hazard and there are certain species of plants like bear oak that need fire to germinate. (AP Photo/The Charlotte Observer, John D. Simmons)

-- Paul Chavez, Clear365 News Editor

The Public Observer on the year ahead and a New Year's photo roundup

January 2010

The Public Observer takes a look at news and events in 2010 and offers a photo roundup of New Year's images from The Associated Press.

ECONOMY

The global economy last year suffered its worst recession since the Great Depression and will remain an issue throughout 2010 as sluggish expansion takes hold. Economists at the International Monetary Fund predicted in their World Economic Outlook released in October that advanced economies will continue to experience rising unemployment rates until late in 2010. Clear signs of economic recovery likely won't appear until the end of the year on a fourth-quarter-over-fourth-quarter basis when real GDP is expected to rise by about 1 3/4 percent from 2009:Q4 to 2010:Q4, according to the IMF.

MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Voters will head to the polls on Nov. 2 in midterm elections that will serve as a referendum on President Barack Obama's administration. The hurting GOP hopes to gain some seats in Congress to offset the majorities enjoyed by the Democrats in both the House and Senate. The aforementioned economy likely will play a key role in the election, particularly if unemployment rates have not fallen. The looming election also will influence the Obama administration's playbook during the first half of the year, particularly over partisan issues such as energy legislation and comprehensive health care reform.

BIG-BANG MACHINE

The world's largest cosmotron will ramp up its energy level this year when the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider starts conducting experiments to examine suspected physics phenomena such as dark matter, antimatter and the condition of the universe shortly after the Big Bang billions of years ago. Major new scientific discoveries are expected after the atom smasher gets up to full speed in February.

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

Efforts to legalize marijuana will occur in California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Washington state in 2010 as cash-strapped states look for a way to tax pot. Marijuana is illegal under federal law, but the Obama administration has loosened guidelines on federal prosecution. The Associated Press reported last week that about two dozen states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Wisconsin, are considering pot-related bills that range from medical marijuana to decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot.

PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

The foundations of a Palestinian state could be laid in the Middle East in 2010 if peace talks that broke off a year ago between the Palestinians and Israel can resume. Egyptian-sponsored talks to reconcile the militant Palestinian group Hamas with the rival Fatah movement showed some progress in recent months and their reconciliation would remove a major roadblock to the stalled peace process. U.S. envoy George Mitchell has been trying to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table for months and is expected in the region in the coming weeks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week presented Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak with ideas for resuming peace talks. Egypt, which was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, has long been a mediator between the Jewish state and the rest of the Arab world.

NEW YEAR'S PHOTO ROUNDUP

Here's a look at some New Year celebration images provided by The Associated Press.

Swimmers brave the icy waters of the North Sea in Ostend, Belgium on Saturday. More than 6,000 swimmers took part in the annual New Year's wim in freezing temperatures. (AP Photo/Yves logghe)

In this image made from APTN, people wave red flags during a march through Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea on Saturday,. Tens of thousands of North Koreans rallied in the capital Saturday to support the communist government's policies for the new year, including improved relations with the U.S. and South Korea and a higher standard of living. (AP Photo/APTN)

 

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 1, 2010, a giant dragon head is used in a performance to usher in the new year in Aojiang town of Pingyang county in Wenzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province. The 78-meter-long dragon weighing as much as 3 tons was carried by more than 200 artists. (AP Photo)

A dipper plunges into Lake Ontario during the New Year's Day Courage Polar Bear Dip in Oakville Ontario on Friday Jan. 1, 2010. Organizers estimate over 500 people took part in the dip which raises funds for charity. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

A woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty marches in London's New Year's Day Parade, Friday, Jan. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

People lift their hands to the sky at sunrise on New Year's Day in Cancun, Mexico, Friday, Jan. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Israel Leal)

Jennifer Lopez performs on the Nivea Countdown Stage on Times Square in New York Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Italy's Marco Fois dives into the Tiber River from the 18 meter (59 feet) high Cavour Bridge in Rome, Friday, Jan. 1, 2010, to celebrate the New Year. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Fireworks from the Space Needle light up downtown Seattle, to welcome the new year Friday, Jan. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Cliff DesPeaux)

In this photo provided by the Las Vegas News Bureau, fireworks burst over the Las Vegas Strip at midnight on New Year's Day Friday Jan. 1, 2010, as seen from Trump Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Las Vegas News Bureau, Darrin Bush)

Thousands of people watch fireworks over Copacabana beach during New Year celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, Friday, Jan. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Fireworks light the sky above the Quadriga at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin shortly after midnight, greeting the New Year Friday, Jan. 1, 2010. Hundred thousands of people celebrated the beginning of the New Year 2010 in Germany's capital. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer)

400 spotlights illuminate the Eiffel Tower during the New Year's Eve in Paris, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009. The Eiffel Tower, the 324 meters (1,063-feet) high tower, mark its 120th birthday in 2009. (AP Photo/ Michel Euler)

A blue moon rises above Dyche Hall at the University of Kansas Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009, in Lawrence, Kan. While not blue in color, the second full moon in a calendar month is called a Blue Moon. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

--Paul Chavez, Clear365 News Editor 

12/18: The Public Observer on upcoming news and a photo roundup

Dec. 18, 2009

The Public Observer offers a look at upcoming news and presents a photo roundup of recent images provided by The Associated Press.

HEALTH CARE REFORM

It's the endgame for President Barack Obama's signature initiative of revamping the nation's health care system. The Senate plans on working through the weekend again as Democrats hope to meet their self-imposed deadline and deliver a health care reform bill to Obama as a Christmas present.

CHRISTMAS

Christians will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Dec. 25 with gift-giving and celebrations among family and friends. The Vatican's traditional Midnight Mass will beging two hours earlier to give Pope Benedict XVI more time to rest for his busy Christmas Day schedule.

This Yuletide season is also the time of year when governments across the land are reminded about unconstitutional government endorsements of religion. A creche and menorah were removed from a Pennsylvania courthouse lawn this week after two civil liberties groups threatened legal action.

(AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Sarah Ivey)

The above photo shows a billboard outside the St. Matthew-in-the-City Anglican church in Auckland, New Zealand, on Thursday before it was smeared with paint by a vandal. The billboard shows a downcast Josephy lying in bed with Mary with a heading that says "Poor Joseph, God was a hard act to follow." The billboard stirred up some heated debate in New Zealand and had some considering the meaning of Christmas in a different light.

BOWL-A-THON

The nation's best college football teams will square off against each other in a series of bowl games starting with the Dec. 19 New Mexico Bowl pitting Wyoming against Fresno St. The games culminate with the BCS national championship game Jan. 7 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., where Texas will play Alabama. The Associated Press' college football writer, Ralph D. Russo, offers his picks for the pre-New Year's Day bowl games here.

PHOTO ROUNDUP

Here's a look at some recent photos provided by The Associated Press.

Polish shipyard workers burn tires and shout slogans Tuesday as they demand that the government protect their jobs in Warsaw, Poland. Thousands of workers from the Solidarity trade union marched in the Polish capital to demand government protection for industrial jobs. The workers rallied Tuesday in front of Prime Minister Donald Tusk's office in central Warsaw, carrying the white and red flags of the Solidarity trade union, blowing on horns and setting a pile of tires on fire. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

 

A Palestinian model displays her dress Wednesday during a fashion show in Jerusalem. The show consisted of two Palestinian designers - Maro, whose designs reflected Jerusalem across the ages - and Hamada Atallah, whose pieces symbolized events, political situations, and moods from different eras in Jerusalem's history. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

 

Lindsey Vonn of the United States celebrates Friday after winning a World Cup super-combined race in Val D'isere, France. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

 

People pass by a cross made of candles Wednesday in Timisoara, western Romania. Romanians, in small numbers, paid homage to the fighters who took to the streets of this Transylvanian city 20 years ago, sparking the revolution that swept Eastern Europe's most repressive dictator from power. It was here that residents flocked to the defense of an ethnic Hungarian dissident pastor who was being threatened with forced relocation, leading to rapidly escalating confrontations with police. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

 

The statue of Christ the Redeemer is seen Tuesday during sunset in Rio de Janeiro. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

 

A figure of Italian Premeir Silvio Berlusconi, displayed in a nativity scene, is shown Tuesday in Naples, southern Italy. Berlusconi was struck by a man holding a souvenir statuette during a rally in Milan on Sunday. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

 

The sun shines over boat houses on the Kochelsee Lake in Schlehdorf near Murnau, southern Germany on Friday. The lake, with an area of around six square kilometers, sits on the edge of the Upper Bavarian Alps.(AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

 

Evacuees cook their meals amidst lava cascading down the slopes of the Mayon volcano in Legazpi city, Albay province, at dawn Thursday, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Manila, Philippines. Security forces will forcibly evacuate thousands of residents reluctant to leave their farms near the smoldering volcano in the Philippines despite fears of a major eruption, officials said. (AP Photo/Dan Amaranto)

 

A woman on a ski tour crosses the Aelpli towards the Stelli, 2052 meters above sea level, above Untervaz in the Rhinevalley, Switzerland, during a frosty day at minus 13 degrees Celsius (8.6 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday. (AP Photo/Keystone, Arno Balzarini)

 

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers makes the game-winning basket over the Milwaukee Bucks' Charlie Bell (42) Wednesday during overtime of an NBA basketball in Milwaukee. The Lakers won 107-106. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

 

A collapsed worker is assisted as riot police use pepper spray during clashes with thousands of workers protesting layoffs near the headquarters of the ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party, the AKP, in Ankara, Turkey on Wednesday. Riot police also used truncheons and shields to push back the workers of the Turkish state tobacco and liqueur company Tekel. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

 

Immigrants take part in a protest in central Athens on Thursday. Several thousand supporters of a Communist-backed trade union marched through the city center Thursday to protest public spending cuts by Greece's Socialist government. The marches went ahead despite a split among unions over the government measures, which are aimed at curbing the country's huge deficit at a time when Greece is under pressure from European Union countries and financial markets. (AP Photo/ Marita Pappa)

 

Supporters of various left parties shout slogans against the government to protest the rising prices of food items and for implementation of job security in New Delhi, India on Wednesday. Hundreds of protesters participated in the rally urging the government to control prices of consumable items that have risen heavily in the past few months. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

 

A soldier stands behind a body identified by navy officials as that of alleged drug cartel chief Arturo Beltran Leyva in Cuernavaca, Mexico on Wednesday. Navy marines stormed an upscale apartment complex and killed Leyva along with six members of his organization in a two-hour gun battle. (AP Photo/Valente Rosas, Agencia El Universal)

 

A clown prays while holding an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe on Wednesday as they are doused with holy water during a pilgrimage to the Virgin's Basilica in Mexico City. (AP Photo/ Gregory Bull)

 

ESPN reporter Erin Andrews talks with reporters after Michael David Barrett, who secretly shot nude videos of Andrews, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of stalking, in federal court in Los Angeles. Andrews repeatedly called her stalker a sexual predator and said she hopes he "never sees the light of day." (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

A flock of migratory flamingos is seen Tuesday in a pond on the outskirts of Ahmadabad, India. According to news reports, ornithologists have warned the number of birds migrating could be much less this year due to indiscriminate habitat changes. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

--Paul Chavez, Clear365 News Editor

12/11: The Public Observer on upcoming news and a photo roundup

Dec. 11, 2009

The Public Observer offers a look at upcoming news and presents a photo roundup of recent images by The Associated Press.

COPENHAGEN CLIMATE CONFERENCE CONTINUES

The United Nations' climate summit in Copenhagen goes into its second week with representatives from 192 countries starting to get down to the nitty-gritty details and bargaining. Environment ministers are considering a draft proposal that will come sharply into focus late in the upcoming week when 110 heads of state and government arrive in Copenhagen, including U.S. President Barack Obama.

ELECTIONS IN CHILE

Voters in Chile will head to the polls Sunday to elect a new president and opinion polls show that a right wing candidate could come to power for the first time since democracy was restored 19 years ago. The leading candidate is Sebastian Pinera, a billionaire with investments in Chile's main airline, most popular football team and a leading TV channel. Pinera, 60, lost a 2006 presidential bid to outgoing President Michelle Bachelet, who has proven to be a popular leader with approval ratings of 78 percent. If Pinera doesn't win the election outright Sunday, a second round of voting would take place Jan. 17.

OBAMA MEETS LEBANESE PRESIDENT

President Obama on Monday will meet with Lebanon President Michel Suleiman at the White House. The Lebanese parliament on Thursday approved a new national unity government that voted to allow Hezbollah to keep its arms. Hezbollah, a militant group opposed to Israel, has seats in the parliament and Cabinet and increasingly has become a potent political force in Lebanon. Suleiman heads a government that is slightly pro-Western, so he and Obama likely will discuss ways to strengthen relations between the two countries.

PHOTO ROUNDUP

Here's a look at recent images provided by The Associated Press.

 

Ice coats the cliff walls surrounding Multnomah Falls near Bridal Veil, Ore., on Wednesday after a cold snap hit the area. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

 

People walk past Christmas lights Monday in the town of Varna, east of the Bulgarian capital Sofia. (AP Photo)

 

Christmas trees decorate the square in front of the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco on Thursday. (AP Photo / Lionel Cironneau)

 

A strange light phenomenon is seen in the night sky above Skjervoy in northern Norway early Wednesday. According to some reports, the unexplained light may have been caused by the failure of a new Russian anti-submarine-based intercontinental missile which was being tested across the Norwegian-Russian border.(AP Photo/Anita Olsen, Scanpix, Norway)

 

Five surfers drop down the face of a large wave Monday at Waimea Bay located on the north shore of the island of Oahu. They were participating in the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau surf contest which has a 30- to 40-foot wave height requirement. (AP Photo/Eugene Tanner)

 

Majid Hassan, 37, weeps over his wife's coffin before her burial Wednesday in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, Iraq. She was killed when series of coordinated attacks struck Baghdad on Tuesday and killed more than 125 people. (AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani)

 

Pearl Harbor survivors are honored Monday during the 68th anniversary of the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor during ceremonies at Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

 

Actor Robert Downey Jr. is cheered Monday by his wife Susan, left, during a ceremony to put his hands and feet in cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

 

A winter storm passes over downtown Los Angeles on Monday. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

A snow goose comes in for a landing to join others feeding on a farm field Thursday near Conway, Wash., in the Skagit Valley. According to the Audubon Society, up to 55,000 snow geese winter in western Washington, most gathering in the Skagit River Delta from mid-October to early May. Washington's population of the geese nest on Wrangel Island in Russia, north and west of the Bering Strait. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

 

People watch a dog fight Friday as the master of ceremony gestures in Kabul, Afghanistan. Every Friday, the Muslim day of rest, hundreds of people participate in the dog fights, which were banned when the Taliban religious army was in power. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

 

Czech model Eva Herzigova attends the British Fashion Awards at The Royal Courts of Justice in London on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jorge Herrera)

 

Boys play in smoke rising from an area fumigated by a health worker, unseen, in Mumbai, India on Thursday. Municipal bodies often take up fumigation as a method of pest control especially to control mosquito related diseases like malaria and dengue fever. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

--Paul Chavez, Clear365 News Editor

12/4: The Public Observer on upcoming news and a photo roundup

Dec. 4, 2009

The Public Observer offers a look at upcoming news and presents a photo roundup of recent images by The Associated Press.

OBAMA UNVEILS JOBS PLAN

President Barack Obama on Tuesday will outline his ideas for a new jobs bills during a speech in Washington. He'll likely endorse the expansion of a program that gives people cash incentives to improve their homes with energy-saving materials. He's also looking at providing more incentives for small businesses to hire new employees and more spending on infrastructure.

COPENHAGEN ENVIRONMENT SUMMIT

World leaders will gather for an international climate summit in Copenhagen from Dec. 7 to 18 in hopes of reaching agreements to curb global warming. Obama on Friday changed the timing of his visit to Copenhagen and instead will be at the summit on Dec. 18, a crucial period when more world leaders will be in attendance. The United States, India and China have all for the first time put specific proposals on the table to limit carbon emissions that lead to global warming. It's unlikely that the world's leaders will reach a legally binding agreement, but they can still gain commitments from the world's top emitters of carbon dioxide and financing for developing countries.

OBAMA COLLECTS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

President Obama will travel to Oslo, Norway, where he will accept his Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday, an award given for his "efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." As an example, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed during a Moscow summit in July to cut the number of nuclear warheads possessed by each country to between 1,500 and 1,675 within seven years as part of a broad new arms control treaty. The 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the two countries expired Friday but the United States and Russia said they would continue to honor its provisions while working on a new arms control treaty.

PHOTO ROUNDUP

Here's a look at recent photographs provided by The Associated Press.

A man dressed as Santa Claus receives his H1N1 flu vaccine during a dress rehearsal Thursday before his weekend performance in Budapest, Hungary. The H1N1 flu has officially reached epidemic proportions in Hungary with 16 people reported to have died from the virus and some 300 others hospitalized. The Hungarian government has issued recommendations for every Santa Claus to get vaccinated before they distribute presents to children at Christmas, or attend other meetings with children. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

A child poses for a photo in front of a Christmas decoration displayed Wednesday outside a shopping mall in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

The red skyline over Victoria, Texas, is shown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Victoria Advocate, Frank Tilley)

A double-banked, steam hauled, Brockenbahn train arrives Thursday at the 3,743-feet high Brocken mountain station, in eastern Germany. The Brockenbahn runs from Drei Annen Hohne where it joins the Harzquerbahn, via Schierke and the Bode River valley to the summit of the Brocken, the highest mountain of the Harz in the Harz National Park. During the Cold War era the Brockenbahn was in use to supply a garrison at the summit and the area was off-limits to non service personnel. The line was reopened for the public in 1991 and the steam trains have become popular for thousands of tourists every year. (AP Photo/Eckehard Schulz)

Sarah Palin, left, waves to supporters as she holds her son Trig Palin as she arrives Tuesday for a booking signing to autograph copies of her book "Going Rogue" at a Costco in Tempe, Ariz. Hundreds of Palin supporters showed up to buy her book and meet the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

This photo provided by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on Thursday shows a sport utility vehicle after it crashed into Stepping Stones Child Care in Indianapolis. Two robbery suspects fleeing police lost control of their sport utility vehicle and crashed into a day care center Thursday, injuring four children and an employee in a shower of bricks and other debris, police said. (AP Photo/Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department)

Spanish actress Penelope Cruz poses for the photographers Thursday prior to the world premiere of her latest film 'Nine' in central London. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke holds up the name South Africa as Actress Charlize Theron reacts Friday during the 2010 World Cup draw in Cape Town, South Africa. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

 

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies Thursday on Capitol Hill in Washington before the Senate Banking Committee hearing on his renomination. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

 

A sculpture by artist Evan Gruzis of New York titled Monument to Fashion is shown Wednesday on display by the Deitch Projects during the Art Basel Miami Beach Vernissage in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

 

A cow crosses a flooded farm Thursday in Ibicuy, northeastern Argentina. Thousands of people affected by floods, caused by heavy rainfall and the overflowing of the Uruguay river, were evacuated. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

 

United States Marine Cpl. Joseph Kelly, of Va., from the 2nd MEB, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion walks past Afghan youths during a patrol Friday near Khan Nashin in the volatile province of Helmand, southern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

 

In this image taken Tuesday Dec. 1, 2009, horses' shadows flicker across illuminated panels in "Darshan," the innovative new show by Bartabas, the French equestrian master who goes by only one name. "Darshan," which puts the horses on the outside of the ring and the spectators on the inside, premiers on Friday at Bartabas' theater in the Paris suburb of Fort d'Aubervilliers. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

--Paul Chavez, Clear365 News Editor

12/2: I'm a BLVR

BLVR covers the Bruins, Lakers, Vikings and Reds, who by fate or destiny became the favorite teams long ago of a young kid growing up in Southern California.

BRUINS

The UCLA football team is waiting for a bowl invitation, which may or may not come, after finishing the regular season 6-6 after losing 28-7 to USC in the annual cross-town rivalry game. We agree with Los Angeles Times sports columnist T.J. Simers who calls them how he sees them and he saw USC head coach Pete Carroll displaying poor sportsmanship at the end of the game. UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel had three timeouts late in the game with the Bruins trailing by two touchdowns and used one of those timeouts after USC took a knee to start running out the clock. Carroll, being the smug and arrogant coach that he is, then called for a deep pass play that the Trojans hit for another touchdown. And people wonder why Stanford went for the two-point conversion en route to their 55-21 whipping of the Trojans. As Simers points out:

"If anything, it was a shaky football decision made by Carroll, an incomplete pass as good as another timeout for UCLA. Most classy coaches probably call a running play if they are going to do anything other than kneel.

The best thing that can be said about Carroll after showing such poor sportsmanship -- he didn't go for two points after USC scored.

His players, though, taking the lead of their leader, began acting as poor winners -- jumping up and down on the sideline and moving onto the field to taunt UCLA."

USC's players danced around and taunted the Bruins, who crossed midfield en masse. A fight was about to break out due to the USC coach's complete lack of class.

UCLA probably would have won that game if our starting quarterback didn't get hurt in the second half. I hope all those upstanding Trojans fans enjoyed the win, because it's going to be the last one for a very long time.

Congrats to the 11 UCLA football players who made the Pac-10 Conference All-Academic teams, more than double the number of Trojans.

The Bruins basketball team is in shambles, having lost this season to Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State, teams the Bruins should never lose to. A team leader, senior Nikola Dragovic, also was charged with felony assault and briefly suspended and this week starting sophomore center Drew Gordon announced he was leaving the team as part of a mutual decision between the player and Coach Ben Howland. It's only going to get worse before it gets better for the Bruins, they face top-ranked Kansas on Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.

LAKERS

The Lakers are the best team in the NBA and have gone undefeated, a perfect 6-0, since forward Pau Gasol returned from a hamstring injury. Gasol, who forever more will be known as "The Big Paella," so far this season is averaging 10.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 17.7 points a game. The Orange Country Register sports reporter Kevin Ding had a good story Monday on Gasol and his contributions to the Lakers under the clever headline: Boom boom Pau: Gasol is one of the NBA's best

Lakers forward Ron Artest told the Sporting News in an interview for an upcoming story that he used to drink Hennessy at halftime when he was playing for the Chicago Bulls, who he played for in 1999-2002.

VIKINGS

The Vikes are 10-1 and will face the Arizona Cardinals (7-4), losers in last year's Super Bowl, this Sunday in Tempe, Ariz. Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner was expected to play Sunday, but recently said he wanted to see an eye doctor for lingering post-concussion symptoms, which kept him out of last Sunday's game. The Cardinals were forced to play backup quarterback and ex-USC signal caller Matt Leinart this past Sunday and lost when Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young completed a touchdown pass with time running out, reminiscent of Young's heroics in college when he lead the Texas Longhorns to a last-minute win over the Trojans and Leinart in the BCS national championship game in January 2006. Young essentially channeled Achilles in that game and single-handedly slew the Trojans. I've been calling him Achilles ever since.

Vikings quarterback Brett Favre was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for leading the Vikes to a 4-0 record in November.

REDS

The Cincinnati Enquirer has a story about the upcoming Redsfest in Cincinnati and talked to GM Walt Jocketty about the fan festival and the team's prospects for next year. Jocketty told the Enquirer that he didn't expect the Reds to be active in the free agent market and said the young roster in spring training will pretty much look how it does now.

Happy Birthday to former Reds pitcher Pedro Borbon, a key member of the Big Red Machine's bullpen. Borbon is a member of the Reds Hall of Fame and will be inducted during the 2010 season.

--Paul Chavez, BLVR

11/27: The Public Observer on upcoming news and a photo roundup

Nov. 27, 2009

The Public Observer offers a look at upcoming news and presents a photo roundup of recent images by The Associated Press.

OBAMA UNVEILS AFGHANISTAN STRATEGY

President Barack Obama on Tuesday will announce his battle plan for Afghanistan during a national address from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. White House officials have said the military plan calls for an increase of about 30,000 additional U.S. and allied soldiers in Afghanistan beginning next year. There are more than 100,000 international troops currently in Afghanistan, with 41 NATO and other allied countries accounting for about 36,000 of them, while the remaining are U.S. soldiers. The proposed expansion would be the largest since the war started eight years ago, after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

NATO has scheduled a conference on Dec. 7 and member governments may pledge up to 6,000 more troops in response to Obama's plan.

CLIMATE CONFERENCE IN COPENHAGEN

Global warming and government-imposed curbs on greenhouse gas emissions will be a major focus of attention in the coming week as leaders from 75 nations prepare to attend a United Nations conference on climate change in Copenhagen. President Obama will attend the conference Dec. 9, before traveling to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. It was hoped that the climate conference, which runs from Dec. 7 to 18, would end with a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol, but world leaders admit that is unlikely due to the disagreements on how to reduce heat-trapping carbon emissions blamed for global warming. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also will attend the climate conference and China already has announced plans to slow its carbon emissions growth. The Chinese announcement came a day after Obama announced that the United States would lay out its own plans to cut carbon emissions at the summit.

HONDURAS ELECTION

Voters in Honduras will vote Sunday on a new president in hopes of ending a political crisis that erupted in late June when President Manuel Zelaya was rousted from his bed by soldiers and flown to Costa Rica.

The country's Congress is scheduled to vote Wednesday on whether Zelaya should be reinstated, but his chances took a blow Thursday when the Honduran Supreme Court recommended that he not be re-instated. Countries in the region that had been united in condemning the coup are divided on whether to recognize the elections, which had been scheduled before Zelaya's ouster. Left-leaning countries, including Brazil and Argentina, say recognizing the vote would be tantamount to whitewashing the coup, while the United States, Costa Rica and other countries have indicated that they would recognize the next Honduran government.

PHOTO ROUNDUP

Here's a look at some recent images taken by The Associated Press.

 

Butchers with butcher knives participate Tuesday in religious rituals before slaughtering buffalos during a mass sacrifice ceremony at Gadhimai temple in Bariyapur, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal. Hundreds of thousands of Hindus gathered at a temple in southern Nepal on Tuesday for a ceremony involving the slaughter of more than 200,000 animals, a festival that has drawn the ire of animal-welfare protesters. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

A member of the group Women in Black holds a pink cross Monday that reads in Spanish: "Not even one more" in reference to the large number of women killed in Ciudad Juarez, northern Mexico. About 100 members of the group finished their caravan from Mexico City to this border city Monday, in an effort to call attention to the hundreds of women killed here since 1993. (AP Photo)

 

An Afghan girl crosses a cemetery Wednesday in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

 

A baboon is shown Tuesday as he attempts to open the door of a car at Cape Point on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. Visitors heading to South Africa's premier holiday destination during the 2010 World Cup maybe worried about becoming victims of the country's high crime rate, but they are more likely to find themselves robbed or mugged by a rather furry kind of felon: baboons. (Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)

The Christmas market on Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt with the French Cathedral, right, the German Cathedral, left, and the Konzerthaus is illuminated Monday in Berlin, Germany. Many of Berlin's 24 or more Christmas markets opened Monday. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer)

 

Baylor's Brittney Griner (42) dunks over Jacksonville State's Candice Carmine (23) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte)

 

In this image from video released by organizers Webtel.mobi, Swiss adventurer Yves Rossy flies prior to ditching in the sea Wednesday while trying to fly from Morocco to Spain on jet-powered wings. Rossy took off Wednesday from Tangiers but halfway through an expected 15-minute flight he went down into wind-swept waters. (AP Photo/ Webtel.mobi)

 

Muslim pilgrims pray Tuesday inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. An estimated 2.5 million Muslims have converged on Mecca to attend the annual hajj pilgrimage. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

--Paul Chavez, Clear365 News Editor

11/20: The Public Observer on upcoming news and a photo roundup

Nov. 20, 2009

OBAMA HOSTS FIRST STATE DINNER

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will host their first state dinner at the White House in the coming week when they dine with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and invited guests. The guest list has been kept a tight secret by the White House, as well as the menu and other details.

HONDURAS ELECTION

Voters in Honduras will head to the polls Nov. 29 in a presidential election in an ongoing political crisis that came to a head in late June when President Manuel Zelaya was rousted from his bed by soldiers and flown to Costa Rica. The country's Congress is scheduled to vote Dec. 2 on whether Zelaya should be reinstated. Roberto Micheletti was named president by Congress after Zelaya was sent into exile, but Zelaya has since returned and has been holed up in the Brazilian Embassy since September 21.

A U.S.-brokered agreement to ease the political tensions with the formation of a national unity government has not taken hold. Micheletti, meanwhile, said he is considering removing himself from office before the vote and at least until Congress makes a decision on Zelaya.

THANKSGIVING

The nation will observe the Thanksgiving holiday Thursday with the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York and turkey dinners in households throughout the country. So what are you thankful for this year, besides the fact that you're not a turkey?

PHOTO ROUNDUP

Here's a look at recent images taken by The Associated Press.

 

The space shuttle Atlantis lifts off Monday from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Six astronauts are headed to the international space station on an 11-day mission. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

 

Former Czech Republic's President Vaclav Havel, background center, places a candle as he joins a group of people lighting candles and laying flowers Tuesday as they commemorate the 20th anniversary of the so called Velvet Revolution, in Prague, Czech Republic. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

 

Rowers hoist a boat over their heads Tuesday as the setting sun reflects in the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

 

Actress Kristen Stewart arrives Monday at The Twilight Saga: New Moon premiere in Westwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

A cow is washed Tuesday before being butchered at a slaughter house on the outskirts of Buenos Airess. The farmer's association Argentine Rural Society says that studies by its economic research department indicate that meat production won't be enough to cover the local demand and the country may need to import beef next year due to a drought and government export controls that prompt ranchers to quit the business. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Joseph Garcia, 17, leaps up to his friends Kenon Edwards, far left, and Jeremy Rodriguez, 17, and Alfredo Alva, 16, all students at Reagan High School in the Heights, as they play Monday on the large red metal sculpture in Stude Park, as the sun begins to set in Houston. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Karen Warren)

 

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and Chinese President Hu Jintao reach out to shake hands Tuesday after a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

 

A model wears a creation Monday from Poland's top designer Maciej Zien women's Spring/Summer 2010 fashion collection, presented in Warsaw, Poland. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

Indian-born American wrestling star "The Great Khali", center, towers above the crowd in Shimla, northern India on Tuesday. The Great Khali, who's real name is Dilip Singh Rana, is more than 7 feet tall (2 meters). (AP Photo)

--Paul Chavez, Clear365 News Editor