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Martin Kaymer Takes the PGA Championship 2010

newsplet — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 13:04:59 +0000

Martin Kaymer takes the PGA Championship 2010 at Whistling Straits. The 2010 PGA Championship was devoid of big names like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, ensuring that Tiger keeps his #1 ranking – at least for now. The Championship was won by Martin Kaymer, whose win was marked by penalty strokes taken by both Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson. Dustin Johnson was given a two stroke penalty for grounding his club at the 18th hole. As Johnson walked off the green, rules official David Price approached him and said: “We’ve got an issue. I think you grounded your club in the bunker.” Johnson’s reply was “What bunker?” Bubba Watson settled in to a comfortable second place standing. Tiger Woods did not place in the top of the leaderboard. Looks like we could be seeing the next generation of golfers rising to the top!

The Right Car for Teens

newsplet — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 13:02:42 +0000

“Often parents think that putting their child in the biggest car is the safest thing they can do, but that’s not so. Teens are the most inexperienced drivers on the road, so you want to make sure they’re driving something that handles well, is agile and has as many safety features as possible- especially electronic stability control,” said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports Automotive Test Center in East Haddam, Connecticut. When looking for the right car for teens, Consumer Reports recommends picking cars with safety features such as electronic stability control and curtain airbags and good crash-test results. “When it comes to finding the right cars for seniors, we recommend vehicles that offer easy access, good visibility, a roomy driving position and comfortable seats,” Champion added. Consumer Reports named only one car suitable for all four driver types: the Honda Accord.

Prepaid Tuition…. An Alluring Pitch

newsplet — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 13:00:28 +0000

The prepaid programs that allow you to pay for college at today’s rates to be able to avoid future increases when your child does go to college may be too good to be true. Prepaid plans are a subset of state-sponsored 529 plans that allow tax-free investing for college. The majority of 529s are “savings-type” plans offering a menu of mutual funds that can leave a family open to loss if the stock and bond markets fare poorly. But, many so-called prepaid tuition plans charge considerably more than the current rate and do not guarantee that a year’s worth of credit bought today will cover expenses years later. Prepaid plans are meant to serve families who want to minimize risk. But there’s no guarantee a prepaid plan will be the best choice. If the stock market takes off, with gains exceeding college tuition hikes, a savings-type 529 will fare much better. Still, a prepaid plan that doesn’t charge a hefty premium and offers strong protections is worth considering when evaluating your college savings options.

Goldman Sachs CEO Reaped a $6.1million Gain

newsplet — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 12:58:26 +0000

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein is now $6.1 million richer after cashing in more than 90,000 stock options. The options were due to expire in November and were part of a windfall package supplied to Blankfein by Goldman Sachs, prior to the economic crisis. Blankfein realized the money last week when he exercised his right to buy 90,681 Goldman shares at $82.875. He then sold the stock at prices ranging between $149.49 and $152. That is a 79% increase from the stock’s price in November when Blankfein received the options. Goldman is considered the leading Wall Street bank, almost always outdistancing its rivals with its trading and investment banking operations. Goldman has been highly criticized for its high compensation levels after it accepted a $10 billion government bailout during the financial crisis in 2008. It also received $13 billion from insurer American International Group Inc. after the government bailed that company out.

AT&T’s Wireless Network Not That Bad

newsplet — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 12:57:11 +0000

Despite what is commonly believed, AT&T’s wireless network is not actually that bad overall. The bad part comes for people who are in the wrong places. Those that are tech- and media- types in New York and San Francisco, California are the ones that experience problems. These two cities and other larger cities create a kind of perfect storm for AT&T. With the cities’ tall buildings, landlords and construction processes, running a wireless network can be very challenging. This is the reason for many dropped calls and shaky reception from the AT&T wireless network. Even with these downfalls, AT&T’s customer statistics seem to be doing well. You would think people are fleeing form the carrier, but the reality is that they aren’t. Hopefully new cell towers in the cities will increase AT&T’s productivity and make their customers happy.

JetBlue Airways Flight Diverted Due To “Unruly Passenger”

newsplet — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 12:55:44 +0000

On Friday a JetBlue Airways flight was diverted to Washington-Dulles International Airport because of an “unruly passenger,” according to the airline. The flight was bound from Boston to the Dominican Republic when the passenger most likely had an anxiety attack in the middle of the flight. A TSA official familiar with the incident came to this conclusion. JetBlue spokesman Steve Stampley said law enforcement officers took the passenger into custody after the flight landed at 1:13 p.m. on Friday. After 45 minutes at Dulles, the JetBlue Flight 691 continued with it’s trip to Santo Domingo at 2 p.m. according to Stampley. Although the incident forced the the flight to stop, Stampley also said none of the crew members or 149 passengers were injured.

A Positive Father and Son Relationship Allows Stress to Be Handled Better

newsplet — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 12:53:18 +0000

A father and son relationship is very important and can affect the son in more ways than one in years to come. The way a father treats a son may even be more influential than you think. Men who had good, positive relationships with their fathers actually dealt with the stress of everyday life better than men who had strained relationships with their fathers, according to the study presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association. Melanie Mallers of California State University, Fullerton, said, “A big take-home message is that if there is a father present in a child’s life, he needs to know how important it is to be involved.” The study mainly showed that men who claimed to have bad relationships with their fathers during childhood were more likely to stress over the difficulties of daily life. Although 912 men and women were interviewed, the same effect was not found as commonly in women.

Abbey Lincoln Dies At the Age Of 80

newsplet — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 12:51:12 +0000

Abbey Lincoln died on Saturday at the age of 80 in New York City. A friend of hers, Carol Friedman, reported the jazz singer, songwriter, actor and activist’s death to CNN. Friedman has been working on a documentary about the singer for a total of 20 years now. She said that Lincoln died on Saturday morning of natural causes, but she did not provide any more details. Lincoln began her career with her first album, “Abbey Lincoln’s Affair… A Story of a Girl in Love,” which she preformed in the 1950s. After this she wrote and performed for six decades. Lincoln was also known for her acting in “For Love of Ivy,” and she became involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. She said of her life and art before her death on National Public Radio, “You know, when everything is finished in a world, the people go to look for what the artists leave. It’s the only thing that we have really in this world — is an ability to express ourselves and say I was here.”

Prices of Gas Level Off

newsplet — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:37:10 +0000

With the end of the summer driving season in sight, prices of gasoline is almost unchanged since last Friday. The national average price of self-serve regular today is $2.77 a gallon. That is down less than a penny from last Friday according to AAA. Prices are more than a nickel higher than a month ago. The price of diesel fuel is $2.998 a gallon which is two cents higher than a week ago. Supplies remain ample in the U.S. as the Labor Day weekend approaches. In the last week, the Energy Information Administration reports U.S. gasoline stockpiles rose by 400,000 barrels- a larger than expected increase. Taking their cue from crude oil, gasoline prices have remained stable as oil has traded in a range between $70 and $80 a barrel. Oil prices have been unable to maintain upward momentum because of doubts about the global economic recovery.

BP & U.S. Officials Evaluating How to Plug Well Indefinitely

newsplet — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:36:05 +0000

U.S. officials have ordered BP to finish the relief well after pressure tests have failed to prove that there is no further risk of oil leaking from the well, said National Incident Commander Thad Allen. “The relief well will be finished and we will kill the well,” Allen said. “The question is how to do that.” BP and government scientists are reviewing how to move forward after determining that about 1,000 barrels of oil are trapped in the Macondo well by a cement plug poured from the top last week. Injecting mud and cement from the bottom, as had been planned, may force oil out the top and wreck the existing seal, creating a new route to the surface for oil and gas, Allen said during a conference call. The pressure test indicates the cement plugged the well’s central core, or production casing, then flowed into the oil reservoir and back up to plug the annulus, a space between the production casing and the outer casing that runs all the way to the top of the well. BP and U.S. officials will continue the evaluation as to how to proceed with a relief well that is intended to make sure BP’s damaged well will never leak again.