Washington D.C. To Swear In Secretary Of Love

Tourism officials in the nation's capital have picked Dr. Ruth Westheimer to be the honorary secretary of the "Department of Love and Relationships." She'll help announce a new "stimulus plan" for the city's tourism business. Dr. Ruth will be sworn in Thursday.

DEBORAH AMOS, host:




Good morning. I'm Deb Amos.



Move over, Mr. Geithner. There's a new secretary coming to the nation's capital. Today, D.C. will introduce the secretary of love and relationships. And officials have tapped the queen of romance herself, Dr. Ruth, to fill that role. It's all part of D.C.'s month-long stimulus plan to boost tourism. Officials say the effort has been inspired by the Obama's romantic date night. The romance is in time for Valentine's Day. It's MORNING EDITION.

Source:npr.org/

FAMU student selected for prestigious Washington, D.C., internship

Florida A&M student Reamonn Soto, 23, of Tallahassee has been selected to participate in the Congressional Black Caucus’ internship program this spring.

The program in Washington, D.C., is known as the Emerging Leaders Internship Program – a semester-long paid internship in which he will have the opportunity to work on Capitol Hill at federal agencies and for nonprofit organizations.
Soto plans to drive to D.C. this weekend, and the program will officially start Monday.


As a recipient, he will receive housing, a stipend and an all-expenses paid semester at the George Washington University’s Semester in Washington Program.
Source:tallahassee.com/

Smithsonian Exhibits Celebrate Elvis in DC, LA

On the 75th anniversary of Elvis Presley's birth, the Smithsonian Institution is showcasing the King of Rock 'n' Roll's ubiquitous image through exhibits opening Friday in Washington and Los Angeles.

"One Life: Echoes of Elvis" will be on view at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington through August. The one-room exhibit is devoted to the evolution and influence of Presley's image after his death.

"Think of all the entertainers you know, and how many of them do you know the names of their homes?" said curator Warren Perry. "Everybody needs to have a moment with Elvis."

The exhibit features portraits, images from Graceland, Elvis merchandise and a reminder that Elvis' manager put his face on just about anything that could be marketed. The commercial images include an Elvis-imprinted lunch box, nutcracker, action figure and snow globe.

Original artwork from a 1992 Elvis stamp design competition is on view, along with the 1993 stamp with Presley's likeness that became the most popular U.S. postal stamp of all time, with a printing of 500 million.

A gold bust of Elvis as Julius Caesar by sculptor Robert Arneson anchors another wall. A museum docent recently discovered a surprise in the sculpture that had been in storage at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum: A small heart was carved in the back.

"The people who call themselves Elvis fans, I'm sure there are fanatics, but these people have a loving affection for Elvis," said Perry, who is from Memphis, Tenn., where Elvis lived after his family moved from Mississippi. "It's conversational. It's intimate."

One of Perry's favorite pieces is a scrapbook found in an abandoned Chicago warehouse with newspaper headlines and pictures carefully cut out and pasted in a thick book shortly after Presley's death at age 42 in 1977.

"You can tell it was put together by a fan," Perry said.

Presley sat for only one portrait painter. A painting by Ralph Wolfe Cowan, usually on display in the gallery's entertainment section, is the exhibit's central image. It was completed from sketches Cowan made in 1969 while creating another portrait that hangs at Graceland.

Source:abcnews.go.com/

Commissioners to visit D.C., Harrisburg

The Clearfield County Commissioners are planning a trip to Washington, D.C. and Harrisburg to meet with local representatives in Congress and the state legislature.
Commissioner John Sobel made the suggestion at yesterday's workshop meeting. He said he hopes the trip would be similar to a trade mission in which the commissioners can meet with all of the local representatives to discuss the economy and other issues Clearfield County is facing.
He said this is especially true now that Clearfield County is emerging as a major energy producer in ethanol, natural gas and coal.
Commissioner Joan Robinson McMillen said it was a good idea and said it would be a good opportunity for the commissioners to explain the impact state and federal mandates and budget cuts can have on local government.
Sobel suggested they take the trip during a slow period in the summer.
The commissioners also held a special meeting to reorganize, and Sobel was elected chairman
Sobel and his fellow Republican Commissioner, McMillen, being the majority party, alternate the chairmanship from year to year. Mark McCracken is the third commissioner.
Kim Kesner was reappointed as solicitor, and Kevin Hudock was hired as deputy controller at a salary of $32,000 per year.
The commissioners also approved the 2010 salaries list for county employees. Non-unionized employees received a 2-percent increase in wages, and unionized employees such as employees at the Clearfield County Jail and Children, Youth and Family Services received a 3-percent increase.
The salary list was approved as follows:
Elected officials: Anthony Scotto, controller, $41,491; Carol Fox, treasurer $41,491, Ellen Harry and Linda Hatcher, jury commissioners, $7,324; Chester Hawkins, sheriff, $41,491; R. Joel Heath, coroner $41,491; Maureen Inlow, register and recorder, $45,843; Mark McCracken, Joan McMillen and John Sobel, commissioners, $46,372; William Shaw, prothonotary, $45,843; and William Shaw Jr., district attorney, $160,850.
Non-elected officials: Debra Archer, quality assurance, $35,846; Jeffrey Aveni, juvenile probation officer, $35,514; Christopher Beck, assistant MIS director, $27,070; Daniel C. Bell, guard ad litem, $20,504; Daniel C. Bell, public defender, $42,807; F. Cortez Bell III, chief assistant district attorney, $43,932; Allen Bietz, juvenile probation officer, $29,982; Charles Brace, first assistant public defender, $39,292; Jodi Brennan, county planner and solid waste director, $53,000; Donna Bumbarger, voter registration director, $25,548; Scott Cline, adult probation officer, $33,241; Gregory Collins, assistant deputy warden, $35,840.
John Crance, fiscal operations director, $27,540; Adam Curry, assistant MIS director, hardware, $27,070; Christine Davis, juvenile probation supervisor, $41,320; Stephanie Donaldson, adult probation officer, $31,032; Aaron Dugan, adult probation officer, $34,480; James Dunsmore, DuBois office supervisor, $33,093; Susan Duttry, caseworker supervisor, $35,104; Andrew Edinger, juvenile probation officer, $24,995; Doris Folmar, judicial secretary, $25,009; Donald Gibboney, court attorney, $35,000; Steven Gillespie, adult probation officer, $31,032.
Noell Gilson, adult probation officer, DUI victim impact, $24,995; Dawn Graham, elections director, $21,000; Deanna Graham, caseworker supervisor, $33,073; Jeffrey Graham, tax claims assistant, $36,988; Beau Grove, law clerk, $38,533; Jason Hamilton, CYS director, $55,590; Jennifer Hutton, juvenile probation officer, $31,032; John Kaskan, GIS director, $36,970; Jacqueline Kendrick, deputy prothonotary/clerk of courts, $28,135; Lisa Kovalick, community development specialist, $42,024; Bonnie Kuklinskie, deputy treasurer, $27,445; Domenick Kurtz, veterans director, $31,512; Betty Lansberry, deputy register and recorder, $26,265; Earle Lees, assistant district attorney, $37,740; Samuel Lombardo, warden, $44,813.
David McClure, deputy director operations and training, $33,671; Donald McClusick, probation director, $48,388; Lisa McFadden, chief clerk, $34,335; Joseph McGovern, lieutenant, $28,795; Lisa McLaughlin, clerical supervisor, $25,506; Shawn McMahon, part-time assistant public defender, $19,350; Robert McQillen, juvenile probation officer, $38,402; Scott Mignot, deputy warden, $30,090; Warren Mikesell II, part-time assistant district attorney, $22,850; Joseph Mitchell, deputy director logistics and tech, $32,640; Leanne Nedza, assistant district attorney, $41,618.
Beverly Oswalt, domestic relations assistant director, $39,362; Gerald Pollock, EMA deputy director planning, $34,669; Jason Pudleiner, assistant public defender, $35,000; Joshua Quigley, EMA director, $41,209; Lisa Redden, adult probation supervisor, $41,752; Rick Redden, DRO director, $46,213; Laurie Reed, adult probation supervisor of collections, $36,771; Nikki Rohrback, juvenile probation officer, $27,988; Dawn Rowles, judicial secretary, $25,009; Timothy Ryen, adult probation officer, $25,870.
Marianne Sankey, human relations coordinator, $33,405; Christine Semelsberger, caseworker supervisor, $30,990; Judy Shirey, victim/witness director, $30,636; Robert Snyder, chief deputy sheriff, $36,651; Dennis Socash, conference officer supervisor, $33,962; James Strickland, MIS director, $39,932; Robert Thomas, planning specialist, $33,201; Thad Wallstrom, adult probation officer, $25,870; Tonya Weitoish, caseworker supervisor, $30,990; Julee Welker, enforcement officer supervisor, $33,962; Kurtis Wisor, adult probation community service, $27,304; Jennifer Wooster, tax assessor director, $44,100.

Source:theprogressnews.com/

D.C. cops uncover multiple rapists

District police face the possibility that nearly a dozen rapists who each have claimed multiple victims are still preying on area women after forensic scientists linked 11 unsolved rapes to similar attacks in the region, The Examiner has learned.

Forensic technicians tested DNA samples from dozens of unsolved crimes and found nearly two dozen "hits," or matches with an FBI database, a law enforcement source said.

D.C.'s DNA "hits"
» 23 matches to the FBI database

» Two homicides linked to two different known offenders.

» Eight unsolved rapes linked to eight different known offenders.

» 11 unsolved rapes linked to 11 other unsolved rapes.

Two homicides have been linked to offenders who were already in the massive database; another eight unsolved rapes have been linked to eight separate convicts; and 11 unsolved rapes matched the same DNA pattern from unsolved rapes in the region, including one in Northern Virginia, another in Prince George's County and the rest in the District, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the cases.

Detectives are now scrambling to build cases against the known offenders and to find the unknown men behind the DNA traces in the unsolved cases.

Criminologists agree that those who attack strangers are likely to be serial rapists. The crime-to-crime links uncovered by D.C. technicians may be just the tip of the iceberg.

"It could just be a portion of crimes he's committed," said Walter Rowe, chairman of George Washington University's forensic science program. "These people generally rack up a fairly large number of assaults before they're actually caught."

By linking separate assaults, detectives have a better chance of breaking a case because it expands the pool of witnesses, crime scenes and evidence.

The "hits," documented in a memo circulated among detectives, represent the first scientific breakthrough for the department in decades. While other police agencies routinely use DNA evidence to solve even low-level burglaries, the D.C. police department has struggled to build its own forensic program.

In fact, the department is in the midst of a bitter struggle over control of the forensics program. William Vosburgh, the man who was brought in to build up the program -- and whose technicians obtained the most recent "hits" -- wants the crime lab to be independent. Chief Cathy Lanier is fighting to have the lab under her own control.

D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large, a longtime advocate for a modern crime lab, said the DNA matches "show the importance of the technology."

"It'll make a big difference to lock these people up," he said.

Source:washingtonexaminer.com/

Fight Club

While the political parties duke it out over divisive social issues, the majority of Americans remain steadfastly in the middle.

Presidents have been trying, without success, to get Congress to pass sweeping national health-care reform since the administration of Harry Truman. So one might have expected some celebration, at least a moment of recognition for a difficult achievement, when the U.S. Senate voted on Christmas Eve to approve a bill that will extend health-care insurance to 30 million Americans. Instead, the public reaction was ho-hum. Most polls registered a divided or disinterested electorate, and some surveys have suggested considerable confusion over what was actually in the bill. A Washington Post–ABC poll the week before Christmas showed that less than half—44 percent—approved of President Obama's handling of health care, while even fewer—39 percent—thought the Republicans would do a better job. In effect, the American people seemed to be throwing up their hands and scorning the ability of the politicians to govern on such an important matter.

It's not hard to see why. Compromise is often painful, but the push to get a bill out of the Senate verged on the squalid. Senators joked bitterly about the "Cornhusker kickback," the generous concessions made to Sen. Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, to win his 60th and deciding vote. The atmosphere on the Senate floor was at times poisonous as the parties postured and squabbled. "This body prides itself on being the world's greatest deliberative body," said Sen. Arlen Specter, Democrat (formerly Republican) of Pennsylvania. "That designation has been destroyed with what has occurred here the past few days." The low point may have come when Sen. Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, declared, "What the American people ought to pray is that somebody can't make the vote." At the time, there was some question whether the ailing Sen. Robert Byrd, 92, would live long enough to give the Democrats their filibuster-proof majority. "This statement goes too far," responded Sen. Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat. "We are becoming more coarse and divided here."



More divided, that's for sure. Congress has always had its cruder elements—during the late 1950s and early 1960s, senators from both parties patronized prostitutes at the Quorum Club at the Carroll Arms Hotel, just across the street from the Capitol. The bar was run by Bobby Baker, the Democratic secretary of the Senate. But lawmakers in that era more often reached across the aisle to vote together as well as to play together. The congressional culture of the 1950s and early 1960s—"where Democrats and Republicans generally treated each other with civility during working hours and many drank, played poker, and golfed together after hours—is long gone," writes Morris Fiorina, a scholar of political science at Stanford University. In his new book, Disconnect: The Breakdown of Representation in American Politics, Fiorina argues that while the political class—the pols and their partisans in interest groups and in the media—has grown increasingly contentious over social issues like abortion and immigration, the vast majority of voters are more moderate. They are turned off by the rigid, angry battles between the politicians of the right and the left, and their cheering sections and hangers-on in Washington.

Fierce partisanship is hardly new, unexpected, or, for that matter, unwelcome on Capitol Hill, and at earlier times in our history elected representatives have, in the heat of debate, attacked each other with their fists. But as the rancorous and seemingly endless health-care debate dragged on, Congress appeared ever-more polarized. Lawmakers fought bitterly over whether to fund abortions—a question that inspired passion, but was only marginally relevant to overall health-care reform—and they drew lines in the sand that seemed baffling to many Americans, at least those who aren't glued to the perpetual shouting matches on Fox or MSNBC. Left-wing supporters of the much-contested "public option" deemed it essential to reform, while those on the right cried "Socialism!" Actually, the Congressional Budget Office found that the public option would make little difference to the number of people covered or to the cost of premiums. Its importance was far more symbolic than real.

Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine is one of the last two moderate Republicans in the Northeast, once a thriving tribe (the other is the state's junior senator, Susan Collins). Snowe was the one Republican who might have voted for the health-reform bill, though in the end even she did not. But in a speech on the Senate floor in early December, Snowe pointed out a disturbing historical fact: health-care reform is the only piece of major social-welfare legislation ever to pass the Senate on a straight party-line vote. When Social Security was enacted during the New Deal, significant majorities of Republicans in both the House and Senate voted for the measure, even though Democrats controlled Congress. Likewise for the passage of civil-rights legislation in the 1960s. Significant numbers of Republicans (41 percent in the Senate, 50 percent in the House) voted for Medicare in 1965. "Policies that will affect more than 300 million people simply should not be decided by partisan, one-vote-margin strategies," said Snowe.

Professor Fiorina notes that the political parties are becoming more extreme. The percentage of Republican delegates to nominating conventions who identify themselves as "very conservative" has risen from about 12 percent to more than 30 percent since 1972, and the percentage of "very liberal" Democratic delegates has grown from about 8 percent to nearly 20 percent. By contrast, surveys of the general public show little change in "very conservative" and "very liberal" percentages. Voters tend to be quirkier in their opinions—they don't go down a checklist on "wedge issues," but rather show inconsistency and ambivalence. A self-described conservative who hates big government may nonetheless want government to cut the bonuses of Wall Street financiers.

Fiorina's somewhat sweeping conclusions in Disconnect are questioned by other political experts like Pietro Nivola of the Brookings Institution, who argues that the voters are almost as partisan as their representatives—that the red state–blue state divide is real and growing deeper. But differences between the scholars seem to be questions of degree, and all seem to share the view that Capitol Hill has become disturbingly uncivil and polarized. The politicians are egged on by ever-more powerful interest groups and the attack-mode spirit of radio talk shows and cable TV. President Obama has tried, fitfully and without not-able effect, to inspire lawmakers to rise above petty factionalism. If he wants to get anything more accomplished over the course of his presidency, he will have to try harder. There is no other obvious cure to the problem of political polarization. Fiorina offers none. He suggests only that in time, we will become so weary of our punitive politics that the system will, out of necessity, "outgrow" or "outlive" its current fractiousness. Which is a polite way of saying that things are probably going to get worse before they get better.

Source:newsweek.com/

Washington, D.C., votes to allow same-sex marriage

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Washington City Council voted on Tuesday to approve same-sex marriage, putting the U.S. capital on course to become the sixth state or region in the United States to allow gay marriage.


The legislation, which passed by an 11-2 vote, will go to the desk of Mayor Adrian Fenty, who has promised to sign the bill.


All local legislation in the capital, home to 590,000 people and formally known as the District of Columbia, must undergo a mandatory 30-day review period by the U.S. Congress before it can become law.


Same-sex marriages can be held only after the congressional review, which gay rights activists and local media reports said was not expected to alter the bill.


The D.C. Council earlier this year passed a bill recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states, and Tuesday's passage of the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 was widely anticipated.


The states of Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont and Connecticut already allow same-sex marriage. New Hampshire will join that list on January 1.

Source:montrealgazette.com/

Temple Football Fans Head to DC for Bowl Game

by KYW's Al Novack

A charter bus loaded with about 60 Temple University alumni left the Liacouras Center Tuesday morning bound for Washington, DC to cheer on the Owls as they take on UCLA in the Eagle Bank Bowl.

The spirits were high, many noting this will be only the 3rd bowl game in Temple’s history and the first one since 1979.

Vince Boccollo of Newtown, graduated in 1978 so he missed that 1979 bowl game but, he said, he wouldn’t miss this for anything in the world and he predicted a big win.:

“I feel good. I feel that, you know hopefully Pierce will have a good game. Golden has done a great job, the guys he’s recruited, he’s turned the program around, getting some notoriety. It’s only going to happen again and again and again. I think he’s going to have a good drafts coming up because of this.

The fans on the bus were all predicting victory.

Source:kyw1060.com/

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D.C. police kill man they say lunged at them with knife

A man who reportedly lunged at officers with a knife was fatally shot by police Saturday in Northwest Washington, D.C. police said.

Officers fired at Tremaine Flythe, 32, of Northwest, about 1 p.m. during separate confrontations in the 400 and 600 blocks of Kenyon Street, police said.

At both spots, police said, Flythe lunged at the officers "in an attempt to inflict bodily harm."

The officers were "in imminent fear of their lives" and fired their service weapons, the police said in a news release.

They added that the officers were sent to the area in response to a 911 call, but details were not available.

Flythe was being investigated in connection with an earlier offense, police said, but no information about the offense was provided.

The officers, both assigned to the 3rd Police District, were not identified. One has been on the force for five years, the other for six, police said.

The matter is under investigation.

Source:washingtonpost.com/

Americans in Pakistan terror probe

Police in Pakistan are trying to determine whether five arrested Americans planned to attack a complex that houses nuclear power facilities.

The young Muslim men from the Washington DC area were picked up in Pakistan earlier this month in a case that has spurred fears that Westerners are travelling there to join militant groups.

Pakistani police and government officials have made a series of escalating and, at times, seemingly contradictory allegations about the men's intentions, while US officials have been far more cautious, though they, too, are looking at charging the men.

A Pakistani government official said that the men had established contact with Taliban commanders and planned to attack sites in Pakistan.

Earlier, local police accused the men of intending to fight in Afghanistan after meeting militant leaders.

The men had a map of Chashma Barrage, a complex that along with nuclear power facilities houses a water reservoir and other structures, said Javed Islam, a senior police official in the Sargodha area of Punjab province.

He stressed the men were not carrying a specific map of any nuclear power plant, but rather the whole of Chashma Barrage.

The detained men had also exchanged emails about the area, Islam said.

"We are also working to retrieve some of the deleted material in their computers," he said.

Pakistan has a nuclear weapons arsenal, but it also has nuclear power plants for civilian purposes.

Source:AFP

Washington DT Haynesworth fined US$10,000; Giants RB Jacobs hit for $7,500

NEW YORK — Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth has been fined US$10,000 by the NFL and New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs has been hit for $7,500.

The players were fined Thursday for an altercation late in New York's 45-12 victory at Washington. Haynesworth struck Jacobs after a play ended and Jacobs struck back.

Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall also was involved, but was not fined.

The league also fined Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams $5,000 for a tackle at the knees on Carolina Panthers quarterback Matt Moore.

Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hj7urk-6BDYVvAh7tZw_GBGgHilA

Chantix to see Competition from New Anti-Smoking Vaccine

Washington, DC: It's all over the television now—ads for Chantix that depict a smiling, real-life Chantix user going about her everyday business without a cigarette between her fingers, while the announcer rattles off a warning about potential Chantix side effects, including suicide and aggression. Chantix side effects, for some, can be nasty.

And now a new vaccine that works in similar fashion to Chantix may be coming to a family doctor or pharmacy near you.

Many companies over the years have experimented with vaccines that do what essentially Chantix does—block neuron receptors in the brain that react to nicotine, producing the dopamine that's largely responsible for the pleasure that comes from smoking.

Now a company in Rockville, Maryland has announced the testing of an experimental vaccine. Nabi Biopharmaceuticals is in the midst of Phase 3 trials of what it calls NicVax, which shares a common modus operandi with Pfizer's Chantix. What’s more, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has entered into an agreement in principle with Nabi to undertake the cost and marketing of the new vaccine.

NicVax causes the immune system to create antibodies that bond with the nicotine molecule if it enters the bloodstream. The result is a molecule too large to pass along to the brain, essentially making the body immune to nicotine.

If smokers can't get a buzz from lighting up a cigarette, the thinking goes, there's no reason for them to continue the habit. Antibodies created by NicVax are thought to stay in the body for long periods, lowering the chances that a smoker will quickly return to the habit.

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that Nabi will realize a financial windfall from GSK, provided that Nabi completes Phase 3 testing sometime in 2011.

Under the terms of the agreement with GSK, Nabi will reap $40 million for the exclusive worldwide licensing of NicVax. GSK could wind up paying Nabi as much as $500 million if Nabi meets a number of developmental and marketing milestones in the coming years. That figure does not include royalties Nabi would earn if NicVax makes it to market.

Analysts predict there is still a vast amount of money to be made from the smoking cessation market. Chantix, on the market for three years, is already worth a reported $800 million in sales to Pfizer, in spite of a spate of negative publicity.

While smokers have declined steadily over the past few decades, the trend has flattened in recent years: 20.9 percent of Americans counted themselves as smokers in 2004, compared with 20.6 percent in 2008.


Source:Lawyersandsettlements.com/

Senate Republicans fight health care reform

WASHINGTON D.C. -- As Senate Democrats prepare for what's expected to be a health care victory Thursday morning, Republicans today took one last shot a defeating the legislation.

They argued that the bill will increase health care costs for Americans as insurance companies off load the new fees contained in the $871 billion plan.

Missouri's Kit Bond, who chairs a subcommittee on small business, said the democrat's bill will kill job creation by imposing limits on the number of people small businesses can employ and the wages they pay to qualify for health care tax credits.

"The majority party doesn't want Americans to know they're getting a lump of coal for Christmas,” Bond said. “This is Chicago-style politics at its worst, a 2,700 page backroom deal, written behind closed doors, full of political pay offs, vampire votes in the dead of night, all to pass a health care bill before Christmas.”

President Obama told the Washington Post the Bill accomplishes 95 percent of what he wanted.

Source:connectmidmissouri.com/

D.C. passes full marriage law

Washington, D.C.--District councilors passed a same-sex marriage bill through its second, and final, vote on December 15, moving it to the desk of Mayor Adrian Fenty.

Fenty was expected to sign it on December 17, which then sends it to Congress, where it faces a 30-day legislative review period.

The bill passed again by a vote of 11 to 2, with only Councilors Yvette M. Alexander and Marion Barry opposing it, as they did in its first vote on December 1.

Congress can nix the bill, as it has legislative oversight over the District of Columbia, but the measure is expected to quietly pass through its congressional review period, as most D.C. legislation does.

With Fenty’s signature, the District will join Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont, Connecticut and, in January, New Hampshire in offering full marriage.

Source:gaypeopleschronicle.com/

BWI Marshall, DC Metro Shut Down

BALTIMORE -- The massive snow storm pummeling the area has shut down Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall airport, according to an airport official.

In addition, heavy snow in the Washington, D.C., area is having a domino effect at airports across the country. Planes have been sitting on the ground at both Reagan National and Dulles International airports in Washington. Heavy snow grounded all flights for every airline Friday.

Earlier Saturday, BWI reported that it was closing all of its runways.

DC Metro authorities said their trains will stop serving all above-ground stations at 1 p.m. due to heavy snowfall blanketing the region.

Metro General Manager John Catoe issued a statement Saturday that Metro officials feared the exposed third rail would become covered by heavy snow.

He said all Metrobus services would stop at 1 p.m. for safety reasons because of snow-clogged roads.

Airlines are advising travelers to call their airlines before heading to the airport to find out the status of their flights.

Source:wbaltv.com/

Brandon mother stays with sick son in Washington D.C. for Thanksgiving

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - Families gave thanks even in the midst of overwhelming hardships this Thanksgiving. The Helms family in Brandon is no exception. Leah Helms' purse was stolen as she waited in a Washington D.C. hospital where her new born son is fighting for his life. Governor Haley Barbour stepped in and made sure Helms had a valid identification so she could fly back to Mississippi.

Just as first lady Marsha Barbour was on her way to deliver a replacement driver's license, Leah Helms and her estranged husband Brad Helms got word from the hospital that one month old pierce had a bacterial infection. Doctors suggested she stay by his side.

"He's still very critical. We're not able to get surgery right now for him being so young," said Helms. Pierce was born with congenital aortic stenosis, an abnormal narrowing of his aoritic valve. Helms decided to stay in Washington D.C.

"This is our first holiday without her and I was really upset last night. I was just hurting because she's all I have, but I was here with my family and my brothers were here too," said 12 year old Katie Fulton.

Fulton and her two younger brothers are staying with grandparents. She admits she is anxious for her mother and new little brother to return home.

"I'm just ready for him to get better and get the transplant soon and come home so I can see him," said Fulton.

Helms has already suffered the death of one child. In September 2003 a car accident just outside of Brandon on Highway 468 killed two year old Jonathan Dooley. Now with another child fighting for his life the family hangs on to their faith, even keeping a journal on the Caring Bridge website thanking God for His many blessings.

"We're all thankful that we have each other here, that we're a family and that we all can be together. Even though my mom and the baby is not here, we're still here

Sourcewlbt.com