NASCAR team owner Richard Childress and his family are donating $5 million to start a pediatric trauma institute at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. Construction will begin later this year.
www.salisburypost.com/Area/073108-BC-NC-ChildressDonation-for-child-trauma-center
The United Nations has voted to end ‘peacekeeping’ efforts on the border between the African nations of Ethiopia and Eritrea . The U.N. has warned that a new war could break out if the 1,700 UN peacekeepers leave the region entirely. Christian rights groups say Eritrea is notorious for its harsh treatment of Christians within its borders.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7533156.stm
Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will step down in September. Olmert is being investigated for illegal payments from a US citizen involved in fundraising for Israeli politics.
Access denied: Reporters using the Olympic Village press center in Beijing have been unable to access a number of politically sensitive internet pages via the web. The restrictions come despite assurances from Beijing officials and the IOC that reporters would have full access to the Web. (International Herald Tribune)
With the summer Olympics just a week away, Chinese officials are going to extremes to deal with Beijing's persistent pollution problem. The plan includes a complete halt to all construction projects and further reduction of the number of vehicles on the streets at any one time.
080808…2008 Beijing Summer Olympics www.nbcolympics.com/
(Slidell, Louisiana) 11-year-old Devin Funck and two friends were playing near a body of water close to Devin’s home on Wednesday. An alligator attacked the boy and swallowing his arm. Officials jumped into action…searching for, catching and cutting the animal open to retrieve the limb from the alligator's stomach after. The boy was airlifted to the hospital were surgeons attempted to reattach the severed arm. www.wdsu.com/news/17042575/detail.html
The North Carolina Sales Tax Holiday Weekend is coming up this weekend (August 1-3) www.dor.state.nc.us/taxes/sales/salestax_holiday.html
Wait for your luggage or catch your next flight?
The automated baggage sorting system used by American Airlines at JFK in New York stopped working yesterday. At least one-thousand pieces of luggage were separated from their owners. The problem also delayed 35 flights.
On Tuesday, Delta Air, the nation's third-largest carrier, announced that it will double its charge for checking a second bag on domestic flights from $25 to $50. Most major carriers already charge $25 to check a second suitcase.
Luggage-free travel? If you pack ahead of time, FedEx and UPS will ship your luggage to anywhere in the United States for about as much as it would cost to check it.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/30/pf/luggage_delivery/index.htm?cnn=yes
FYI: Voluntary Water Restrictions are in effect for residents in Forsyth and Stokes Counties. Please limit your water usage!
