Peanut Butter News

Full Story atmsnbc.msn.com

LAVEEN, Ariz — Don’t tread on Andy C. McDonel.

This year, Mr. McDonel began flying a yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flag on his roof in this unincorporated area just outside Phoenix. The historic banner — which dates to 1775, when it was hoisted aboard ships during the initial days of the Revolutionary War — has been adopted by the Tea Party movement. But Mr. McDonel said that he had unfurled the flag for its historical significance and nothing else

Full Story msnbc.com

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Thursday gave up plans to attempt to pass an energy-global warming bill that caps greenhouse gases, abandoning a priority of President Barack Obama.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said no Republican was willing to back a comprehensive energy bill, a development he called “terribly disappointing.”

Democrats have been trying for more than a year to pass a plan that charges power plants and other large polluters for their heat-trapping carbon emissions, which contribute to global warming. The House voted 219-212 last year for a “cap and trade” plan featuring economic incentives to reduce heat-trapping gases from power plants, vehicles and other sources.

Full Story at CNN.com

New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) — The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that removes limits on financial damages that can be awarded for accidents off the U.S. coastline, such as the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 workers.

The bill updates maritime laws that have been on the books since the mid-1800s and early 1920s. Those laws restricted the amount of money families could obtain to compensate for lost wages and funeral expenses. The bill passed by the House Thursday would allow compensation for non-monetary losses such as pain and suffering.

Full Story at CNN.com

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (CNN) — Brazil’s high court has halted the return of a 9-year-old boy to the United States, his American father told CNN.

Thursday’s ruling comes one day after a lower court unanimously upheld a decision last June by the 16th Federal Court in Rio de Janeiro, which ordered Sean Goldman returned to his home with his father, David Goldman, in New Jersey. That decision was made in accordance with the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abductions.

“It is very, very discouraging,” David Goldman told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “I’m very disappointed. This ruling … has nothing to do with the merits of the case.”

Full Story at Reuters.com

TEPCO, Japan’s largest utility, has entered a binding agreement with project partners for the purchase of 1.8 million tonnes per year (mtpy) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for a period of 20 years, Exxon said in a statement.

The contracted volume includes the plant’s recently expanded output of 0.3 mtpy, which means all of the project’s 6.6 mtpy capacity has now been contracted, project partner Oil Search (OSH.AX) said in a separate statement.

Exxon and partners have not yet finalized two other gas sale agreements with Taiwan’s CPC Corp and Japan’s Osaka Gas Ltd 9532. ahead of a self-imposed deadline of December 8 for the project’s final investment decision.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court said Monday it will decide whether two people can do the work of five when it comes to resolving labor-management disputes in the workplace.

The National Labor Relations Board, which for decades has had the responsibility to police many of these disputes, has operated with only two members — and three vacancies — for more than a year. The reason for this is that Democrats who retook control of Congress in 2006 objected to President George W. Bush’s labor policies, and thus refused to confirm his nominees.

But the two NLRB members still in place have continued to issue decisions, making about 400 in the last 16 months.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON – The once-indefatigable Ted Kennedy was in a wheelchair at the end, struggling to speak and sapped of his energy. But from the time his brain cancer was diagnosed 15 months ago, he spoke of having a “good ending for myself,” in whatever time he had left, and by every account, he did.

As recently as a few days ago, Mr. Kennedy was still digging into big bowls of mocha chip and butter crunch ice creams, all smushed together (as he liked it). He and his wife, Vicki, had been watching every James Bond movie and episode of “24” on DVD.

Full Story at msnbc.com

While heroic politicians all over America are mandating bicycle helmets, it’s still legal to drive 4,000 pounds of steel 60 miles an hour while your brain is turned to the moron setting.

Oh you know exactly who and what I’m talking about. You know because you are that one guy in all the world who is perfectly capable of operating your automobile and cellular device simultaneously without endangering yourself or those driving around you … all of whom are also operating their automobiles and cellular devices simultaneously, because they too are quite certain that they are that one guy … but of course they’re wrong because it’s you who is that one guy, not any of them … morons.

Full Story at CNN.com

Wayne Coldiron and Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr. are facing murder charges in the Thursday night shooting deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings, said Sheriff David Morgan of Escambia County.

Coldiron, 41, surrendered to investigators Sunday and Gonzalez was arrested in neighboring Santa Rosa County on Sunday evening, Morgan said.

Gonzalez’s age was not immediately released.

The sheriff was in the middle of announcing Coldiron’s arrest to reporters when detectives informed him that Gonzalez was in custody.

Full Story At CNN.com

Now, both the King of Pop and the Godfather of Soul are gone.

Sunday night’s 9th Annual BET Awards is sure to be filled with tributes to Jackson, whose videos and performances were a staple for the network in his heyday. BET has already paid tribute to the singer, going wall-to-wall with Jackson videos Thursday night.

Many of the celebrities scheduled to attend the show were also fans of the singer and it is expected that the night will provide an opportunity for them to salute the star.

“Words cannot capture the impact Michael Jackson has had on pop culture around the world,” said Debra L. Lee, chairman and chief executive officer of BET Networks. “He changed the way we hear and feel and move to music; he epitomized what true musical talent and star power really mean. He is and always will be the King of Pop.”

Full Story At nationalgeographic.com

A U.S. biotech company says it plans to start this summer the world’s first study of a treatment based on human embryonic stem cells—a long-awaited project aimed at spinal cord injury.

The company gained federal permission this week to inject eight to ten patients with cells derived from embryonic cells, said Thomas Okarma, president and CEO of Geron Corp. of Menlo Park, California.

Political Hotsheet Full Story At CBSnews.com

The Senate has overwhelmingly confirmed Hillary Clinton to become secretary of state.

The chamber voted 94 to two to confirm Clinton, a fierce rival of President Obama for the Democratic nomination. Though some Republicans had expressed concerns about conflicts of interest related to Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, they were not enough to derail her nomination.

Clinton will now be immediately sworn in at a private ceremony. She faces daunting foreign policy challenges, including wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the conflict in the Middle East.