Cash for Clunkers 2009 Program Launched
The much anticipated Cash for Clunkers Program is officially in full swing. The U.S. Government is finally giving a chunk of the bailout back to the everyday person, offering between $3500 and $4000 for old vehicle trade-ins with the purchase of a new vehicle. Not too shabby if you’re in the market for a new car or have an old one laying around.
Clearly, the strategy here is two-fold: the first part of the plan is to cut back on fuel demand and greenhouse gases by getting rid of old clunkers and trading them for modern, fuel-efficient cars; the second part is to stimulate the economy by getting people to open up their wallets and spend some cash. Uncle Sam says he has a pool of around $1 billion to devote to the Cash for Clunkers Program. The program is slated to go until November 30th of this year, but will stop early if funds are depleted. So go and trade your clunker in while there’s still some loot left!
Giant Shark Washes Up on Long Island Beach
A massive Basking Shark washed up on Gilgo Beach in Long Island, NY this morning. A far cry from the mysterious Montauk Monster, the shark measured around 20 feet long and weighed about a ton! Crowds gathered around the shark, as the surf tossed around it’s lifeless body on the sand.
Unlike other sharks such as the Great White Shark, the Basking Shark is generally considered harmless, especially to humans. Because of their tiny teeth and the fact that they generally feed on plankton, they’ve never been seen as a threat to swimmers.
Basking Sharks typically hangout in the waters of the Northeast U.S. during the summer months, then head down south to warmer waters once the winter hits. Though they’re common around Long Island beaches and other beaches around the coast, the site of a 20 foot shark washed up on shore is still quite amazing!
Entourage Season 6 Episode 1 Debuts Tonight
We’ve all been waiting quite some time for HBO’s hit series Entourage to come back on and bring a little joy to our Sunday nights before the Monday through Friday “battle” begins. To no real surprise of anyone, Vince and his crew are back on top at the start of season 6. In the last episode of season 5, Vince lands a gig as the second lead in a Martin Scorcese-directed flick call Gatsby. Gatsby is the story of race car driver and founder of Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari.
Vince and the rest of the guys are back in a beautiful California mansion, living it up, waiting for the premier of the highly-acclaimed flick. One big thing to look for in this season are the addition of Ari’s old friend Andrew Pressman, to the staff at the Miller Gold Agency. Will they go on to make millions and recapture the success they were destined to have years ago? My hunch is that there’s only room for one alpha male at Miller Gold.
Another interesting twist in Season 6 is that Turtle actually has a girlfriend! Not just any girlfriend, but Soprano’s star Jamie Lynn Siegler. Nice catch, Turtle! Were rooting for you – don’t mess this one up.
Fire Shuts Down Throgs Neck Bridge
The Throgs Neck Bridge caught on fire Friday morning, causing massive traffic jams all through New York. Traffic in New York…what else is new?! As a native New Yorker, I’m used to all sorts of traffic, but I’m thankful I wasn’t caught up in this particular jam.
The bridge, which connects the Bronx and Queens, was engulfed in flames caused by a fire started on a construction platform hovering just beneath the bridge. Initially, some lanes were kept open as firefighters fought the blaze early in the morning on Friday, around 5am. Eventually, they shut the bridge down altogether, pushing the line of cars back miles into Queens.
It’s still unclear whether the fire has caused any structural damage. Initial reports indicate that the bridge is still very much sturdy and secure, but there will be experts weighing in on that in the next few days. In my opinion, it would take a very hot, big and long-burning fire to cause any serious structural damage to a massive steel bridge.
Google to Launch Chrome Operating System, Competes with Microsoft
Google is branching out from its domination in the online search market into the realm of operating system software. They’ll be going head-to-head with OS giant and pioneer, Microsoft. Microsoft has long been lagging in the search market to both Yahoo and Google, but has maintained a legal monopoly, of sorts, on the OS market around the world.
In keeping with their typical product style, Google is setting out to revolutionize the standard operating system model as we know it with the launch of their Google Chrome OS. They plan to incorporate web into the operating system and make it much faster than Windows, all the while keeping it somewhat open-source, allowing outside developers to contribute to it by fixing bugs and adding features that will enhance its operation.
Google certainly isn’t the first to try and take a crack at Microsoft’s Windows monopoly. But where others have failed, I believe Google may succeed. They have a lot of money and talent to throw at their OS, and with the largest base of loyal web followers in the world, it might just catch on. Does it have what it takes to go mainstream and replace Windows as the dominant OS? We’ll have to anxiously wait until the beta version to find out!
Police Say McNair Death is Murder-Suicide
At a news conference this afternoon, Nashville, Tennessee Police Chief Ronal Serpas told reporters that Steve McNair was murdered by his 20-year old girlfriend, who then turned the gun on herself. All the evidence clearly points to a murder-suicide – including the entry and exit wounds and the positions of both bodies. As tragic as it is and as much as friends, family and fans don’t want to believe it, Steve McNair was actually murdered.
McNair’s girlfriend, 20-year old Sahel Kazemi, likely shot and killed McNair while he was asleep on the couch. She shot him once in the head, twice in the chest, then again in the temple. She then positioned herself so that she would fall onto his lap after she pulled the trigger, which is how police found her body.
Michael Jackson’s Funeral Broadcast Online
Since there were very few tickets available to Michael Jackson’s funeral in comparison to the millions of fans he had worldwide, his funeral and memorial service will be broadcasted live over the internet today for free. There are a number of sites where you can watch MJ’s funeral online, including CNN, ABC and NBC>
If you are like me and weren’t able to get tickets to his service, you’ll probably want to tune into one of these websites to watch it online. It’s going to be an event we all remember for the rest of our lives. Whether you were a big MJ fan or not, I’m sure you’d be hard pressed to say that you haven’t heard and/or liked at least one of his many amazing songs.
Former Quarterback Steve McNair Found Dead
Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve “Air” McNair was found shot to death in a Nashville condo today. Beside him was his girlfriend who was also shot to death. A handgun was found on the scene but detective were not immediately able to determine how or why the couple was killed, though it has been ruled a homicide.
McNair led the Titans to the 2000 Super Bowl, where they ended up losing a tight battle. He went on to QB for the Baltimore Ravens before ending his long career as a successful quarterback. It’s a big loss for the NFL community and a tragic situation. Were hoping to learn more about his death in the coming weeks as detectives have time to interview witnesses and analyze evidence.
It is unclear at this time where the gun came from, as is the nature of the relationship between McNair and his girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi. McNair was just 36 years old and his girlfriend was 20.
Pop Icon Michael Jackson Dead
It’s truly a sad day for music fans all over the world, as we learned that pop icon Michael Jackson was pronounced dead today. At just 50 years old, MJ suffered a cardiac arrest and doctors weren’t able to bring him back. A staff member at Jackson’s Holmby Hills home called 911 when they found him unconscious. He was immediately rushed to the UCLA medical center, but attempts to revive him through CPR proved to be futile.
Jackson’s amazing career spanned decades, starting when he was just a child with his siblings performing in the Jackson 5, all the way through to his highly successful career as a solo artist.
To learn more, visit TMZ.com’s article on MJ’s death, the first news outlet to break the story online.
Six Flags Theme Park Files for Bankruptcy
Since I’m not a big fan of roller coasters and other theme park rides, the fact that Six Flags recently filed for bankruptcy doesn’t really bother me.
Six Flags had been staving off the looming bankruptcy, trying to negotiate its increasing debt outside of court with private lenders. However, when they couldn’t reach an agreement, they had no choice but to file for bankruptcy in a Delaware court early Saturday morning.
The New York Times reports that Six Flags had a staggering $2.4 billion in debt and faced a payment of $300 million to preferred stockholders this August. Though the newly-installed management team has done a great job of cutting Six Flags’ net losses over the past 2 years, it wasn’t enough to counterbalance a 24% drop in revenue. And, because of the credit markets still largely frozen, Six Flags had a difficult time trying to offload their debt.
