7.15.2009

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Details on funeral arrangements for both Piedmont soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan: The body of Army Capt. Mark Garner will return back to his hometown of Elkin later this morning. Around noon: a processional will run along North Bridge to East Main Street…then down Memorial Park Drive to Hodges Funeral Home in Elkin. The family will receive friends at the First Baptist Church in Elkin on Friday night at 6 p.m. The funeral will be this Saturday at 2 p.m. at the church.
Also, the funeral for Marine Lance Corporal Roger Hager, of Gibsonville, will be this afternoon at 2pm.
(Breaking News) An Iranian passenger plane crashed soon after take-off this morning in Northwestern Iran. Early reports saying that there are likely NO survivors. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/15/iran.plane.crash/index.html

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of New Zealand's South Island earlier today…prompting a tsunami warning that was later canceled. Twenty minutes later, a 5.8-magnitude aftershock struck the same region.

Fire damaged a section of the Gatewood Apartments yesterday afternoon displacing 90 residents. The apartments are located off Waughtown Street near the School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. None of the residents were hurt…but a firefighter was taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion. (WS Journal)
House Democratic leaders, pledging to meet the president's goal of health care legislation before their August break, are offering a $1.5 trillion dollar Healthcare plan that for the first time would make health care a right and a responsibility for all Americans. In the proposed healthcare plan…left to pick up most of the tab: medical providers, employers and the wealthy.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090715/D99EQTEO2.html

Fans of Harry Potter lined up early for the late show (early this morning) at theaters all over the world. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is sixth film in the Harry Potter series. There were more than 1,500 midnight screenings of the movie last night…and finished just behind "Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" in advanced ticket sales.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/15/potter.premiere/index.html?iref=hpmostpop

Michael Jackson's 50 date concert tour will never happen, but you can still get the T-shirt. Merchandise from Jackson's "This Is It" tour, which was scheduled to begin Monday in London, will be available online and at retailers across the US. Among the items for sale: T-shirts, sunglasses even replicas of the varsity style ‘red’ jacket that Jackson wore in the "Thriller" video. Jackson died June 25 in LA while preparing for the 50-date concert tour.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090714/D99E3G2O0.html

THE ISSUE OF ABORTION HAS BEEN ADDRESSED BY SUPREME COURT JUSTICE NOMINEE JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR IN HER SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARINGS. Sotomayor did not state outright whether she agreed with the High Court's 1973 Roe-v-Wade decision which legalized abortion in the US…but, she considers abortion rights to be ‘settled law’.
However, Precedent-setting rulings from the Supreme Court can be reversible.
Will the 6th time be a charm? Lift-off for the Space Shuttle Endeavour is set for around 6pm this evening at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SPORTS: MLB All-Star Game: Another win for the American League
Thanks to everyone who came out yesterday in support of the 4th annual Jackie Johnson Blood Drive and Bone Marrow Registry at Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. 487 pints of blood were donated.