DUE MAY 22 - Don't forget: focus on Who? What? When? Where? How?

John Grunsfeld and Andrew Feustel also swapped out an old camera for a new one the size of a baby grand piano, the first step to making Hubble more powerful than ever.

"Let there be light," quipped Grunsfeld as ground controllers switched on the power to the new camera.

Grunsfeld and Feustel also replaced a data-handling unit that broke down last fall.

In a foreshadowing of Hubble's eventual fate, they hooked up a docking ring so that a robot spacecraft can "de-orbit" the telescope by steering it into the Pacific at the end of its useful life in a decade or so.

The repair job — all the more dangerous because of the high, debris-ridden orbit — got off to a slow and rocky start.

Grunsfeld and Feustel had trouble removing the old camera from the telescope because a bolt was stuck. They fetched extra tools, but none seemed to work.

Finally, Mission Control urged the astronauts to use as much force as possible, even though there was a risk the bolt might break.

If that had happened, the old camera would be stuck inside, leaving no room for its souped-up replacement.

"OK, here we go," Feustel said. "I think I've got it. It turned. It definitely turned." And then: "Woo-hoo, it's moving out!"

Atlantis and its crew are traveling in an especially high orbit, 350 miles above Earth, that is littered with pieces of smashed satellites.

A 4-inch piece of space junk passed within a couple miles of the shuttle Wednesday night, just hours after the shuttle grabbed Hubble. Even something that small could cause big damage.

For the first time, another shuttle is on standby in case it needs to rush to the rescue.

Once the sticky bolt was freed, Feustel pulled out the old camera, the size of a baby grand piano.

"This has been in there for 16 years, Drew," said Grunsfeld, "and it didn't want to come out."

The spacewalkers followed up with the installation of the replacement camera. From inside Atlantis, spacewalk overseer Michael Massimino congratulated Grunsfeld and Feustel for "adjusting to the curve ball that was thrown at you."

The newly inserted wide-field and planetary camera — worth $132 million — will allow astronomers to peer deeper into the universe, to within 500 million to 600 million years of creation.

The old one was installed in December 1993 during the first Hubble repair mission, to remedy the telescope's blurred vision.

It had corrective lenses already in place and, because of the astounding images it captured, quickly became known as the camera that saved Hubble.

It's also been dubbed the people's telescope because its cosmic pictures seem to turn up everywhere.

The camera — which has taken more than 135,000 observations — is destined for the Smithsonian Institution.

DUE MAY 15 - No Current Events :)

DUE MAY 8 - Don't forget: focus on Who? What? When? Where? How?

U.S. District Judge James Selna issued the ruling Friday after a 16-month legal battle between student Chad Farnan and his former teacher, James Corbett.

Farnan sued in U.S. District Court in 2007, alleging that Corbett violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment by making repeated comments in class that were hostile to Christian beliefs.

During the course of the litigation, the judge found that most of the statements cited in the court papers did not violate the First Amendment because they did not refer directly to religion or were appropriate in the context of the classroom lecture.

But Selna ruled Friday that one comment, where Corbett referred to creationism as "religious, superstitious nonsense," did violate Farnan's constitutional rights.

Farnan is not interested in monetary damages, said his attorney, Jennifer Monk of the Murrieta-based Christian legal group Advocates for Faith & Freedom.

Instead, he plans to ask the court to prohibit Corbett from making similar comments in the future. Farnan's family would also like to see the school district offer teacher training and monitor Corbett's classroom for future violations, Monk said.

There are no plans to appeal the judge's rulings on the other statements listed in the litigation, she said.

"They lost, he violated the establishment clause," she told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "From our perspective, whether he violated it with one statement or with 19 statements is irrelevant."

In making his decision, Selna wrote that he tried to balance Farnan's and Corbett's rights.

"The decision also reflects that there are boundaries. ... The ruling today protects Farnan, but also protects teachers like Corbett in carrying out their teaching duties."

Corbett, a 20-year teaching veteran, remains at Capistrano Valley High School.

Farnan is now a junior at the school, but quit Corbett's Advanced Placement European history class after his teacher made the comments.

The establishment clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from making any law establishing religion. The clause has been interpreted by U.S. courts to also prohibit government employees from displaying religious hostility.

In a ruling last month, the judge dismissed all but two of the statements Farnan complained about, including Corbett's comment that "when you put on your Jesus glasses, you can't see the truth."

Farnan's family released a statement Friday calling the judge's ruling a vindication of the teen's constitutional rights.

The Capistrano Unified School District, which paid for Corbett's attorney, was found not liable for Corbett's classroom conduct.

DUE MAY 1 - Don't forget: focus on Who? What? When? Where? How?

DUE APRIL 3 - DON'T FORGET THERE ARE 3 CURRENT EVENTS - CHECK THE OTHER LINKS UNDER "CURRENT EVENTS" TOO!

Due May 23

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday said her opponent Barack Obama may be getting a little ahead of himself in acting like the party’s nominee before the final contests of the primary season are over.

Clinton and Obama are still set to face off in several more primaries, including two in Kentucky and Oregon on Tuesday, but Obama has been increasingly portraying himself as the nominee already facing Republican John McCain. Obama has scheduled appearances later this week in Iowa and Florida as he looks ahead to the swing states in the general election.

“You can declare yourself anything, but if you don’t have the votes, it doesn’t matter,” Clinton said Monday in a satellite interview with an Oregon television station before a campaign appearance in Kentucky.

The former first lady trails Obama in the delegate count by such a margin that it is mathematically unlikely for her to overtake him in the remaining primaries, which end June 3 with Montana and South Dakota.

But both candidates have been angling to win over the party leaders and elected officials known as superdelegates, whose support will likely determine the nominee.

Clinton has been making her case to the superdelegates by casting herself as the more tested and experienced Democrat with a better chance of beating McCain in November.

She said Monday that she is the “more progressive candidate” and dismissed the hype surrounding Obama that results in the large crowds like the record rally of an estimated 65,000 he drew in Portland on Sunday afternoon.

Clinton said Obama, who has refused to debate her since they last faced off just before the Pennsylvania primary last month, would “rather just talk to giant crowds than have questions asked.”

Later, while speaking to several hundred people in a high school gymnasium, Clinton picked up her campaign’s argument that Obama’s victories in states that had caucuses instead of primaries are somehow less significant because turnout was lower.

Clinton also revived her pitch that many of the states where he has beaten her, like Alaska, Idaho and Utah, matter less because they would not be competitive for Democrats in November. Anybody “who’s really analyzing this” should come to the same conclusions, she said.

“So I’m going to make my case and I’m going to make it until we have a nominee, but we’re not going to have one today and we’re not going to have one tomorrow and we’re not going to have one the next day,” Clinton said. “And if Kentucky turns out tomorrow, I will be closer to that nomination because of you.”

Due May 15

McCain urges free-market principles to reduce global warming

By GLEN JOHNSON – 1 day ago

PHOENIX (AP) — Republican John McCain, reaching out to both independents and green-minded social conservatives, argues that global warming is undeniable and the country must take steps to bring it under control while adhering to free-market principles.

In remarks prepared for delivery Monday at a Portland, Ore., wind turbine manufacturer, the presidential contender says expanded nuclear power must be considered to reduce carbon-fuel emissions. He also sets a goal that by 2050, the country will reduce carbon emissions to a level 60 percent below that emitted in 1990.

"For all of the last century, the profit motive basically led in one direction — toward machines, methods and industries that used oil and gas," said McCain. "Enormous good came from that industrial growth, and we are all the beneficiaries of the national prosperity it built. But there were costs we weren't counting, and often hardly noticed. And these terrible costs have added up now, in the atmosphere, in the oceans and all across the natural world."

The Arizona senator promised to challenge China and India, two economic rivals that are fueling their challenge to U.S. market supremacy with heavily polluting fuels such as coal, gas and oil.

"For all of its historical disregard of environmental standards, it cannot have escaped the attention of the Chinese regime that China's skies are dangerously polluted, its beautiful rivers are dying, its grasslands vanishing, its coastlines receding and its own glaciers melting," said McCain.

He also took a swipe at President Bush, who balked at the beginning of his first term at signing the Kyoto global warming protocols. McCain said he would return to the negotiating table.

"I will not shirk the mantle of leadership that the United States bears. I will not permit eight long years to pass without serious action on serious challenges. I will not accept the same dead-end of failed diplomacy that claimed Kyoto. The United States will lead and will lead with a different approach — an approach that speaks to the interests and obligations of every nation," he said.

The language highlighted the political stakes for McCain, his party's presumed nominee. His visit to Oregon came just days after the two leading Democratic contenders, Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, campaigned in the state.

Oregon is among the expected general election battlegrounds, and its Columbia and Hood rivers are playgrounds for many outdoorsmen and environmentalists.

Global warming also stands with abortion rights and an array of social causes as important issues to the evangelicals and Christian conservatives whom McCain hopes will bolster his political base this fall.

Democrats derided McCain's record on the issue, noting contributions to his campaign from energy lobbyists, his recent proposal to temporarily suspend the federal gasoline tax as a means of making driving cheaper and some votes against alternate energy sources.

"Senator McCain's campaign rhetoric on the environment means nothing when he's willing to give his donors sweetheart deals and appoint right wing judges bent on gutting environmental regulations, which is one more reason he is the wrong choice for America's future," said a statement from Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.

McCain has long expressed a belief in global warming, arguing that even if he is wrong, acting as if the planet's temperature were increasing would only benefit the environment if scientists subsequently proved he was mistaken.

McCain traveled to the Pacific Northwest from Arizona, where he and his family spent Mother's Day.

In his speech, he highlighted his personal experiences viewing evidence of glacial recession. He also cited evidence of a shift in animal migration patterns.

"You would think that if the polar bears, walruses, and sea birds have the good sense to respond to new conditions and new dangers, then humanity can respond as well," he said.

McCain's major solution is to implement a cap-and-trade program on carbon-fuel emissions, like a similar program in the Clean Air Act that was used to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions that triggered acid rain.

Industries would be given emission targets, and those coming in under their limit could sell their surplus polluting capacity to companies unable to meet their target.

McCain wants the country to return to 2005 emission levels by 2012; 1990 levels by 2020; and to a level sixty percent below that by 2050.

"As never before, the market would reward any person or company that seeks to invent, improve, or acquire alternatives to carbon-based energy," he said. "More likely, however, there will be some companies that need extra emissions rights, and they will be able to buy them. The system to meet these targets and timetables will give these companies extra time to adapt — and that is good economic policy."

Due May 9

Dale Nolan Stevens, of Vernal, claims to be the chief of the Wampanoag Nation - formed during a meeting at an Arby's restaurant.
    Thomas Smith, a St. George resident who also goes by the name War Hawk, says he is the chief tribal judge and chief of the Ministry of Communication. Martin Terry Campbell, of Vernal, insists he holds the office of minister of law enforcement for the eastern Utah "tribe."
    U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot, though, says the three, as well as fellow member James W. Burbank, of Vernal, are not entitled to the status of American Indians. The judge said they used that phony tribal membership in an attempt to intimidate and extort Uintah County public servants.
    And the Wampanoag Nation, Tribe of Grayhead, Wolf Band - the association's formal name - is a "complete sham," the judge declared in a ruling handed down last week at the conclusion of a trial in Salt Lake City.
    In his ruling, Friot threw out millions of dollars in judgments purportedly awarded to the group's members by the so-called Western Arbitration Council, which he said was working in concert with the ''tribe.'' The phony judgments included a $250 million award against Uintah County Attorney JoAnn Stringham and a $3.5 million award against Deputy Sheriff John Laursen.
    Friot also ordered the defendants to pay attorneys' fees and $63,000 in damages to Uintah County. Also liable for the damages are the Wampanoag Nation, Grayhead Tribe, Wolf Band; member Curtis Richmond of California; and the Order of White Light, a Duchesne County corporation that does business as the Western Arbitration Council.
    According to court records, the Wampanoag Nation was formed in an Arby's restaurant in Provo in April 2003. Members of the group, which has no relationship to the historical Wampanoag Nation of Massachusetts, claimed immunity from local, state and federal laws.
    They then began filing claims against prosecutors, law enforcement officers and judges. Stevens alleged he won the $250 million award against Stringham because she prosecuted him for driving with a tribal license plate, rather than a state-issued one.
    Burbank filed suit in U.S. District Court in 2004 seeking payment of $375 million in damages from Uintah County for citing him for having an unregistered vehicle. The county filed a counterclaim against Burbank and the other defendants asking for a ruling that the tribe is a fake.
    U.S. District Judge John E. Conway ruled in 2006 that the Vernal group was not a legitimate tribe and threw out Burbank's suit. The counterclaims proceeded to trial.
    Friot, an Oklahoma federal judge, and Conway, who sits in New Mexico, were brought in to hear the case because the group had either sued the Utah federal judges or challenged their assignment to the case.
    The defendants do not have listed phone numbers and could not be reached for comment. Burbank, Stevens, Campbell and Smith defended themselves at trial and insisted their actions were legal. Stevens has previously said the tribe is legitimate.

Due April 25

Late night television infomercials seem to have a cheap fix for anything: lose weight, banish cellulite or improve conditions like diabetes, arthritis and insomnia. Or, all of the above.

Ads for Kinoki Foot Pads made exactly that bold claim, saying the pads use secrets of ancient Japanese medicine to cure or lessen many health woes, all for $19.95, plus shipping and handling.

"I think those are too many claims," said Dr. Ka-Kit Hui, director of UCLA's Center for East-West Medicine.

The federal Food and Drug Administration may share Hui's suspicions. They recently launched an investigation into the foot pad maker's claims in television and Internet ads, according to FDA spokesman Rita Chappelle.

Although she could not address the specifics of the open case, Chappelle says "basically, when we open up a case it means that the violation might be in terms of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, such as when (product makers) make false, misleading claims."

A lawyer for New Jersey-based Xacta 3000, Inc., the distributors of Kinoki Foot Pads, says that the company has revised its advertising to tone down the more eyebrow-raising parts.

"The claims made for the product seem to exceed the evidentiary support available," said Jonathan Emord, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer for the company. "They have modified the claims for the product."

Specifically, the foot pads won't claim to eliminate toxins from the body anymore.

"The product has a cleansing action upon the foot, so that you can use it to clean your foot, but (present evidence) does not support the proposition that the product eliminates contaminants from the rest of the body," Emord said. "The unfortunate thing is that the company in the first instance relied too heavily on the manufacturer's representations."

The science of the foot pads, as explained by the commercials, is this: teabag-like pads are attached to the bottom of the foot with an adhesive patch and worn overnight.In the morning, users remove the pad to find it darkened with "heavy metals, metabolic wastes, toxins, parasites, chemicals, cellulite and more," according to the initial TV commercial.

Western doctors are skeptical of claims that toxins can be removed through the skin. Dr. Stephen Barrett, a retired psychiatrist who operates the Web site Quackwatch.org, said skin is "not a detoxifying organ" — it excretes just water and salt. The liver removes toxins and the kidneys excrete them.

The Japanese medicine tradition kampo makes use of topical medicines and herbs, but Hui said he is wary of the Kinoki Web site's scant listing of the ingredients used: "bamboo vinegar, tourmaline, chitin and detox herbs."

"What are these detox herbs?" Hui said. "They can't just not let us know what's in it, because when you expose the body to herbs it can be good and it can be bad."

And though Kinoki makers say their product is based on acupressure points used in Chinese medicine, substantial stress can be relieved very simply by using a golf ball in self-massage instead, Hui said.

Dr. Sudha Prathikanti at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco agreed with Hui that the Kinoki claims seemed to be too far-reaching.

"For me, it really doesn't have the kind of backing it needs," said Prathikanti. "This random hodgepodge, it's some kind of Frankenstein medicine."

"This idea of one treatment for everyone, for all conditions really just doesn't make sense," she added.

Even in traditions that do make use of herb poultices applied to the skin, such as Ayurveda, those treatments are tailored to each patient: "You don't just randomly do the same treatment for every person."

Hui says that the foot pad sellers ought to open up their product to proper scientific study.

Emord said the company is doing exactly that, and has contracted with a research firm in Israel to conduct a scientific study of the product.

Due April 4

MARCH 10

March 10 (Bloomberg) -- Obama touted his front- runner status in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination today and rejected rival Clinton's recent suggestion he might be her running mate.

``With all due respect, I won twice as many states as Senator Clinton. I won more of the popular vote than Senator Clinton. I have more delegates than Senator Clinton,'' Obama said while campaigning in Mississippi, which is holding a primary tomorrow. ``I don't know how somebody who is in second place is offering the vice presidency to somebody who is in first place.''

Obama, a senator from Illinois, said voters shouldn't think that somehow they can ``get both'' New York Senator Clinton and himself on the Democratic ticket.

``We are in a tough battle, and I don't presume I have won this election,'' Obama, 46, said in Columbus, Mississippi. ``But I want everyone to be absolutely clear. I'm not running for vice president. I'm running for president.''

Obama is favored to win the Democratic primary in Mississippi and the majority of the 33 pledged convention delegates at stake, according to recent polls in the state. Clinton, after winning in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, is focused on the Pennsylvania primary on April 22.

Delegate Count

Obama leads Clinton in delegates 1,578 to 1,468, according to an unofficial tally by the Associated Press. That includes superdelegates, who are party officials and office holders not bound by the results of primaries and caucuses. A candidate needs 2,025 to get the nomination.

Clinton and her husband have raised the prospect of a possible Clinton-Obama ticket to run in November against Senator McCain of Arizona, who has clinched the Republican nomination. The New York senator, speaking in Mississippi on March 7, said it ``might be possible some day'' to get both Clinton and Obama on the same ticket and Bill Clinton at a separate event called the combination tough to beat in November.

While campaigning today in Pennsylvania, Clinton said the subject of a ticket consisting of the two contenders has taken on ``a life of its own.''

`Premature' Talk

``Obviously, Democrats have to make a choice,'' Clinton said, adding, ``It's premature to talk about whoever might be on whose ticket.''

Obama said Clinton is trying to ``bamboozle'' voters by contending that he isn't experienced enough at the same time she is suggesting she would consider him as a running mate.

``You can't say that he is not ready on day one unless he is willing to be your vice president,'' Obama said today to the crowd of more than 1,700 at the Mississippi University for Women.

Obama's advisers also sought to counter Clinton's argument that her experience makes her the more qualified candidate.

``But we do not believe that, as of this point, Senator Obama has passed that key commander-in-chief test,'' he said. ``And there's a long way to go between now'' and the Democratic National Convention in August.

MARCH 3

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Gregory Smith said Jar Allah, also known as Abu Yasir al-Saudi, and another Saudi known only as Hamdan, were both killed Wednesday in Mosul.

According to the military, al-Saudi conducted numerous attacks against Iraqi and U.S. forces, including a Jan. 28 bomb attack that killed the five U.S. soldiers.

In that attack, insurgents blasted a U.S. patrol with a roadside bomb and showered survivors with gunfire from a mosque. The soldiers died in the explosion, the deadliest on American forces since six soldiers perished Jan. 9 in a booby-trapped house north of Baghdad.

Intelligence gathered in the Mosul area led the U.S. military to al-Saudi, who was in a car with Hamdan. A precision helicopter strike killed both and destroyed their vehicle. U.S. forces then confirmed the men's identities.

Smith said their deaths brought to 142 the number of Al Qaeda insurgents killed or captured in Mosul since the beginning of the year.

Al-Saudi was the man who headed up the Al Qaeda network in southeast Mosul, an insurgent hotbed where U.S. forces wage daily battles against the group.

"Mosul is the center of Al Qaeda's terrorist activities today. Mosul is a critical crossroads for Al Qaeda in Iraq. Baghdad has always been Al Qaeda's operational center of gravity, but Mosul remains their strategic center of gravity as it provides access to the flow of foreign fighters," Smith said.

Mosul is located at the locus of roads that connect Iraq with Syria to the west, Turkey to the north and Iran to the east. Many fighters smuggled in from Syria make their way through Mosul, where they can easily blend in with city's ethnically and religiously diverse population.

"It is their strategic center of gravity. One-half to two-thirds of attacks in Iraq today are in and around Mosul," Smith said.

A successful program to recruit and fund Sunni tribesmen has also slashed Al Qaeda's influence in Baghdad and western Anbar province, pushing the group into Diyala province and up toward Mosul — fighting as they retreat north.

In one incident Sunday, 13 gunmen were killed and eight were injured in clashes with American and Iraqi forces in the town of Tal Afar — on the road from Syria to Mosul. Tal Afar Mayor Maj. Gen. Najim Abdullah said that two police officers were also killed and four were injured.

In two other separate attacks in Diyala, police reported that five people were killed when a roadside bomb hit a bus, while another assault killed a patrolling police officer.

It remains unclear if Al Qaeda was responsible for Friday's kidnapping of Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho and the killing of three people who were with him. Smith said that Iraqi and U.S. forces were searching for those who abducted the cleric as he left Mass in the northern city of Mosul. The European Union also appealed for his release and condemned the kidnapping in an announcement.

Smith said there was no way to predict when Mosul would be rid of Al Qaeda, adding that "there is no timetable per se to turn over security in any particular area of Iraq, including Baghdad" to Iraqi forces.

According to the military, al-Saudi planned and conducted numerous attacks against Iraqi and U.S. forces, including a reported attempt with a 5,000-lb vehicle bomb that would have killed hundreds of people if it had exploded.

Al-Saudi was a close associate of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri and arrived in Mosul with a group of foreign fighters last August after spending time fighting in Afghanistan.

"After fighting and training in Afghanistan, he was brought to Iraq by Abu Ayyub al-Masri in November 2007, one of four Saudi Arabians appointed to supervise Al Qaeda activities in Mosul. He was quickly moved up to run all of the terror network's operations in southeast Mosul, becoming the most visible and active Al Qaeda operative in the area," Smith said.

In another incident, the military expressed regret over the killing of a teenager Friday by a helicopter gunship that thought it was firing on suspected roadside bombers planting a device, the military said.

It added that residents later told troops that a group of boys had been digging up roots for firewood.

FEBRUARY 25

As spring arrives in the Arctic, new research suggests average temperatures are rising and ice caps are quickly melting. The melting ice threatens to shrink glaciers. The shrinking could raise sea levels around the world.

Rising Waters
The new research on the polar ice caps in the Arctic and Antarctic is outlined in the latest issue of the journal Science. What happens at the polar ice caps could affect the entire globe, said Bette Otto-Bleisner of the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

A large amount of polluting gases are produced when people burn fossil fuels such as coal and oil to produce power for cities, factories and cars and to heat homes.

According to the studies, an increase in the release of these gases could raise Arctic temperatures by 5 to 8 degrees within the next 100 years. That warmth could melt ice caps. The melting ice could then raise sea levels one to three feet over the next 100 to 150 years.

Melting Glaciers
Another study reports an increase in earthquakes caused by melting glaciers. The number of glacial earthquakes in Greenland�s polar region has more than doubled since 2002.

"People often think of glaciers as ... slow moving, but in fact then can also move rather quickly," researcher Goeran Ekstroem of Harvard University said.

Some glaciers are as large as Manhattan, New York, and as tall as the Empire State Building! How do warming temperatures contribute to earthquakes? As glaciers melt, flowing water eases their path. This can cause sudden movement, which makes the ground shake.

JANUARY 28

Mitt Romney rarely discusses his Mormon faith on the campaign trail, saying the race is not about his religion, but on Monday offered his perspective on Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who died Sunday night.

“The president of my church Gordon B. Hinckley passed away last night. He was in his 97th year, I believe. We will miss him as a family, respect him as a man of great character and courage, but particularly his humility and ability to touch the lives of each individual is something for which he will long be noted. His ability also to talk to people throughout the world and to make close relationships with people in the public sector and in the media distinguish him as one of the great leaders in our faith and his effort to reach out across the world and to faraway lands and to build temples for our church is something which will also give him a legacy that will last many, many years, indeed. And we will miss his leadership,” Romney said from a Florida gas station where he was also discussing a proposal by opponent, John McCain, to create a Climate Stewardship Act.

Asked about his relationship with Hinckley, Romney said he didn’t know him personally until Romney took charge of planning the 2002 Winter Olympics that were held in Salt Lake City, Utah, headquarters of the Mormon church.

“Because of the Olympics’ significant need for church assets, such as property next to our ski jump facility as well as a medals plaza, I got the chance to make a presentation to him and make various requests, including a request for a contribution by the church to the Olympics, so I met with him probably three or four times along with his counselors, made my requests. Most of them were approved. Some were denied.

“I was impressed by his knowledge of the detail. We asked for the ability to use a city block which the church owned which had four parking lots on it … for us to level the parking lot and turn it into a plaza for the medals ceremonies. It would seat, as I recall, approximately 10,000 people and another 10,000 would be standing, and he turned to the other counselors that were there of his and he said, ‘Arent the sewer pipes too close to the surface on that lot for them to be able to level it?’ He literally was aware of the septic system for the, or not septic, the sewer system for the lot well enough to recognize that was an issue.

“He became friendly with Mike Wallace and when I saw Mike Wallace, when he interviewed me for 60 minutes he asked me if I remember President Hinckley, if I saw him. They apparently struck up a degree of mutual respect, which I think touched Mike Wallace and I know touched President Hinckley as well.

“But like millions of other members of my faith, I didnt get to know President Hinckley on a very personal one-to-one basis. Instead I knew him as a member of my church and saw him as a leader of great capacity, of great ability to reach out and touch a large number of people with a very personal and human connection. And his humility and gentleness I think will always be a part of the memory we have of President Gordon B. Hinckley.”

Romney, who said he hopes to be able to attend Hinckley’s funeral in Salt Lake City on Saturday, also discussed his visit with Hinckley to tell him about his decision to enter the 2008 presidential race.

” I was in Salt Lake and had the chance to go by him and see him and told him that our family was going to be thinking about running for president, and he smiled and said it would be great experience if you won and a great experience if you lost.”

JANUARY 21

On January 21, the nation honors one of history's most important civil rights leaders

On January 21, the nation will pause to remember civil rights hero with a national holiday. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential and respected civil rights leaders of the 1950s and 60s. King inspired the world and helped bring about laws that ensure fairness and equality for all Americans. A firm supporter of bringing about change with nonviolent protest, King's own life ended violently when he was shot on April 4, 1968.

AP Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks to marchers at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Aug. 28, 1963

All across the country, people will remember King's efforts and honor his legacy. In addition to public ceremonies and commemorative marches, thousands will participate in service projects. Throughout his life, King advocated lifting up the less fortunate and empowering the voiceless by attending to their basic needs: providing food and shelter, teaching them to read. On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, individuals and service groups will conduct food drives, community clean-ups, literacy workshops and more.

To find a project in your area, go to mlkday.gov. The King family, along with many others who champion the rights-leader's legacy, encourage all Americans to make the holiday "a day on, not a day off." That is a notion that would surely please King.

JANUARY 14

Stocks gained ground Monday, attempting to recapture large losses from the first two weeks of the year.

News from the financial sector continued to worry investors Monday, with Merrill Lynch (MER) still looking for extra capital and smaller banks reporting hits from deteriorating credit. News reports also circulated of a potential $24 billion writedown from Citigroup (C). But technology giant IBM (IBM) offered investors some rare good news.

In late trading Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 154.04 points, or 1.22%, to 12,760.34. The broader S&P 500 index moved 12.10 points, or 0.86%, higher to 1,413.12. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 34.98 points, or 1.43%, to 2,474.92.

Nineteen stocks were rising for every 11 falling on the New York Stock Exchange, while the ratio on the Nasdaq was 16 to 12 positive.

Oil prices were rising again on Monday. February NYMEX crude oil was up $1.02 to $93.71 per barrel. Worries about a U.S. recession had hurt oil prices last week, Action Economics says, but on Monday geopolitical concerns, including rebel violence in Nigeria and tensions between the U.S. and Iran, were weighing on traders' minds.

Among stocks in the news Monday, IBM (IBM) beat expectations by announcing preliminary earnings of $2.80 per share in its fourth quarter, vs. $2.26 a year ago as revenues rose 10%. The stock rose 6% as executives said international strength explained the results.

The fourth quarter earnings season is getting underway, and expectations are low. So far, 31 companies in the S&P 500 have announced earnings, and another 27 report this week, followed by 85 next week. Reuters Estimates says analysts expect earnings to fall 9.1% in the fourth quarter from a year ago.

Sears Holdings (SHLD) said same-store sales at Sears domestic stores dropped 2.8% in the nine weeks ended Jan. 5. Kmart's same-store sales fell 4.2%. Due to falling sales and profit margins, the company expects earnings of $2.59 to $3.48 per share, compared to $5.33 last year. Goldman Sachs analysts have reportedly downgraded the stock from neutral to sell.

Citigroup (C), which announces earnings on Tuesday, is planning to lay off more than 17,000 employees, CNBC says.

Merrill Lynch (MER) is seeking about $4 billion in capital, with the Kuwait Investment Authority likely to become a significant investor, the Financial Times reports. Also, the Wall Street Journal says the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigated current and former Merrill employees on allegations they placed trades for the firm ahead of client orders.

Damage from the financial crisis continues to be felt across the banking sector. Sovereign Bancorp (SOV) said it expects fourth quarter financial results to be hurt by charges related to financial market volatility and the deterioration of the credit environment.

Also, Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL) expects earnings of 9 cents per share in the fourth quarter, a sharp drop from third quarter's earnings of 35 cents per share. The results are primarily due to increased loan loss provisions, an expense of $13.9 million.

General Motors (GM) said GMAC Finance's auto loan delinquencies are up slightly, but problems for auto loans aren't nearly as severe as problems afflicting mortgages on real estate.

Apple (AAPL) shares moved higher Monday after an analyst at RBC Capital said the available data suggested "massive" sales of Macs over the holidays.

European stocks moved higher Monday. In London, the FTSE 100 index rose 0.22% to 6,215.70. In Paris, the CAC 40 index moved up 0.6% to trade at 5,403.51. Germany's DAX index gained 0.18% to 7,732.02.

In Asia, Japan's stock market was closed for a national holiday, but in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slipped 1.48% to trade at 26,468.13. On mainland China, the Shanghai composite index climbed 0.24% to 5,497.90.