Current Events 5-Los Angeles Bakes at Record 113 Degrees

In Los Angeles, California temperatures rose to an all time record of 113 degrees on Monday. Downtown it was 113 degrees for a few minutes at about 12:15 which breaks the old record of 112 degrees on June 2, 1990. Gregg Fishman, spokesman for the California Independent System Operator, said the Electrical demand was a lot higher than normal for this time of year but that it is manageable. The demand was expected to reach 46,000 megawatts compared to 38,300 megawatts from last year. Most people went to the beaches this weekend to get a little relief from the heat wave but couldn’t because so many people showed up. A lot of people didn’t go to work or school because it was so hot, said Los Angeles County lifeguard Capt. Angus Alexander. He said that Monday was so good and clear that he could see all the way to Santa Catalina Island about 20 miles off the mainland coast. To clear out the beaches people were asked to use parks, recreation facilities, senior citizen centers, and libraries as cooling centers.  The National Weather Service said that the cause for the heat was a ridge of high pressure over the West that was keeping the moist and cool influence at the Pacific Ocean’s bay. Red Flag warnings were posted in a couple areas but mostly because of the withering effect on vegetation instead of the big winds linked to wildfires or the low humidity and off shore winds. The early fall blast of intense heat follows an unusually cool summer that often found beaches covered in overcast and whipped by chilly winds.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39387278/ns/weather/?gt1=43001                

What was the old record that the temperature had to break?

Current Events 4-Halloween Spending Expected to Hit $5.8 Billion

Americans are estimated to spend 5.8 billion dollars on Halloween which is a lot more compared to last year. A survey by National Retail Federation showed the single largest expense will be on costumes for children, adults and pets. Matt Shay, the federation’s chief executive says that this year people are expected to live out Halloween with more enthusiasm and that the holiday has given Americans a break from the stress of economy problems. Two out of five Americans plan to wear a costume this year, up from one-third last year, and about 11.5 percent of them will dress up their pets. Americans will spend an about $66.28 on Halloween, which includes their costume, candy, and decorations. The total has increased by 17.7% since last year. Even though Halloween is small compared to Christmas and back-to-school, it raises consumer spending to U.S. retailers. A survey showed that since many people are still scared by the economy, about 30% will cut their spending plans in candy instead of costumes. BIGresearch executive vice president, Phil Rist, said that even though Americans are excited about Halloween they are still being careful about spending. Even if how much we spend on Halloween goes back to how it was in 2008 it would still only be even with when the spending went into a downfall following the economical crisis.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39346852/ns/business-retail/

What will most Americans cut their spending on?

Current Events 3-Best Drugstore Beauty Bargains

New York makeup artist Kristofer Buckle says that mass-market makeup brands are usually the ones with a lot of money for research and development. Most products used by trusted professionals can be found on the shelves of drug stores.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-look/makeup-skin-care-hair/staticslideshowgh.aspx?cp-documentid=25399752&icid=LIFESTYLE2&GT1=LIFESTYLE2

What makes makeup brands so successful?

Current Events 2-Terror Groups Using New Attack Strategy

Terror attack groups are moving away from planning attacks that involve months of planning and a lot of people (similar to 9/11). It's more difficult to detect and disrupt plots against the United States, according to three of the nations top counterterrorism officials. Michael Leiter, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said that the past year has brought the largest number and quickest pace of attempted attacks since 9/11. Michael Leiter, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and FBI Director Robert Mueller told the Senate Homeland Security Committee that groups and individuals are switching to smaller scale attacks that are easier to plan and carry out, involving fewer people, and put together more quickly. Mueller said that terror groups understand that launching a larger and more devastating attack is not worth the additional effort when you can get the same coverage and impact with smaller attacks. The past 12 months saw Najibullah Zazi's plot to bomb New York City subway stations, Faisal Shazad's plan to set off a car bomb in Times Square, and the attempt to blow up a U.S. jetliner for Detroit on Christmas day. The Internet and 3 officials agreed it is making it much easier for Islamic extremists to find U.S. citizen who can be persuaded to do training and carry out attacks here. But they also agreed that the Muslim community in the U.S. is becoming more willing to report potential trouble and to persuade members of their families not to go to countries overseas where they could become terrorism recruits. Leiter says that he hopes that greater awareness with these communities of the risks to their families traveling overseas will overtime reduce the likelihood of radicalization. FBI director Mueller says that the worst thing that could happen to the Muslim community is another attack.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39310466/ns/us_news-security

In what city does Najibullah Zazi plot to bomb subway stations take place?

Current Events 1- Obesity Hurts your Wallet and your Health

George Washington University researchers found the annual cost of being obese is $4,879 for a woman and $2,646 for a man. The cost for just being overweight is $524 for women and $432 for men. That is a big difference. The reason there is such a big difference between costs for men and women is because studies show that larger women earn less than skinnier women. For some reason the pay doesn’t change at all if men gain weight. Obesity is also a cause of earlier death. Tow thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese and in the past three decades childhood obesity has tripled. 18% of teenagers are obese and will have diabetes, heart disease, and/or other ailments in the future. Dietary changes over the past 30 years and physical environments that don’t encourage physical activity may help policy makers consider the value of spending more money to prevent obesity. It is causing large problems for our economy. Many people believe that we need to make a really big effort to solve the problem of obesity to save young children from becoming over weight, diabetic, middle aged people. A big study that was done last year found that medical spending averages are $1,400 a year more for obese people than normal weight people. It also found that nearly 1 billion additional gallons of gas are used every year because car passengers’ weight has increased a lot since 1960.

http://www.klewtv.com/news/health/103445739.html

Why is the annual cost for being obese higher for men that it is for women?