4 days away from the start of the Dixie Classic Fair. Details about the grand stand concert with NeedToBreathe (Wed, October 7th) online at http://www.wbfj.fm/
Gas prices keep coming down nationwide. In North Carolina…gas prices averaging around $2.39 a gallon.
The government is starting an unprecedented system to track possible side effects as mass H1N1 flu vaccinations begin next month. The idea is to detect any rare but real problems quickly, and explain the inevitable coincidences that are sure to cause some false alarms. "Every day, bad things happen to people. When you vaccinate a lot of people in a short period of time, some of those things are going to happen to some people by chance alone," said Dr. Daniel Salmon, a vaccine safety specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Health authorities hope to vaccinate well over half the population in just a few months against swine flu, which doctors call the 2009 H1N1 strain. That would be a feat. No more than 100 million Americans usually get vaccinated against regular winter flu, and never in such a short period. So the CDC is racing to compile a list of what's normal: 25,000 heart attacks every week; 14,000 to 19,000 miscarriages every week; 300 severe allergic reactions called anaphylaxis every week. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,556160,00.html?test=latestnews
A BAN ON TEXTING IN ALL 50 STATES BY THE YEAR 2013: THAT'S THE GOAL OF A NEW CAMPAIGN JUST LAUNCHED BY TRIPLE A. Currently, 18 states and the District of Columbia have laws that address text messaging by all drivers…two more states have laws that prohibit teens or other new drivers from texting while driving. In North Carolina: a ‘NO texting or emailing while driving’ law goes into effect starting December 1st. Violators could face a $100 dollar fine, plus court costs. The automobile club says its research finds that nearly 20% of U.S. drivers admit to texting while driving at least once in the last 30 days. But Triple A also finds that 80 to 90% of Americans would support a ban on texting while driving. http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/5394218/
Surry County officials said a 5-year-old child near Pilot Mountain who was mauled by five dogs Friday is still in the hospital…but his condition has been upgraded to ‘Fair’ condition. Relatives of the boy said he jumped into the pen with five Rottweilers around feeding time on Friday. http://www.wxii12.com/news/21119584/detail.html
IRAN HAS SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRED A LONG-RANGE MISSILE. Today's test-firing follows the test-firing of several medium-range missiles over the weekend. Tehran announcing last week that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant. President Obama and the leaders of Britain and France have criticized Iran for not letting the United Nations know sooner that it was planning on building the facility.
The Philippines seeing some of the worst flooding in 40 years. The death toll in the northern Philippines has risen to 100. The tropical storm dumped more than a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours. The US is helping by sending money, plus troops and a military helicopter. The UN Children's Fund is also providing food and other aid.
A medical transport helicopter that crashed late Friday night near Charleston, SC killing all three people on board. A thunderstorm moved through the area shortly before the crash, according to the National Weather Service. Authorities have not said whether weather conditions contributed to the accident. http://www.journalnow.com/content/2009/sep/27/medical-copter-crash-kills-three-storm-had-moved-t/
A MUSLIM PRAYER EVENT in DC over the weekend didn’t draw as many supporters as expected. Organizers had been anticipating up to 50 thousand Islamic worshippers. But Christian Post-dot-com reports that only about three thousand people were on hand for the event. Organizers of the Islam On Capitol Hill event said it was not a protest, but a day of prayer, devotion, and working together for the common good.
SPORTS NFL on Sunday:
Lions 19, Redskins 14…Detroit Lions getting their first regular season win since December 2007.
The Vikings remain unbeaten. Brett Favre throwing a TD with 2 seconds left. Minnesota over San Francisco…27 - 24
Monday Night Football: The Carolina Panthers vs The Dallas Cowboys
