If you want to see what a billion dollars can buy, come to Holly Springs, North Carolina. It’s home to the nation’s first Cell Based Flu Vaccine Manufacturing facility. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services footed part of the bill, paying 40 percent of the billion plus it cost to build the plant.  Swiss drug maker Novartis paid for the rest. So what is cell-based flu vaccine?

It’s a faster way of making vaccines that’s been around since 2000, and is currently used in many European countries. The method uses replicated animal cells instead of chicken eggs which is the fifty-year old traditional method of making flu vaccines. As shown with the current pandemic, sometimes it takes the virus a long time to grow in eggs, which leads to vaccine shortages.

Cell based technology has yet to receive FDA approval here in the U.S.  Why?

Federal Health Officials say when it comes to vaccines, they exercise an abundance of caution. In order for the FDA to approve a vaccine of any kind, it usually involves extensive testing and clinical trials. Those trials take time, but we are dealing with a pandemic right now. Many people are still waiting in long lines all over the country to get the 2009 H1N1 Vaccine. For them, the threat is real, and they want to know that something is being done to prevent flu vaccine shortages in the future. The facility here in Holly Springs is slated to be fully operational in 2012, but plant officials say they could get emergency approval to produce cell based vaccines as early as 2011, in the event of another pandemic threat. Once it gains FDA approval, the plant can make up to 150 Milllion doses of Flu Vaccine within six months of a declared pandemic. That’s four times the amount of vaccine federal officials had hoped to have by now, seven months after swine flu first emerged.

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It’s the biggest company you’ve probably never heard of, and today, according to Governor Bobby Jindal, CenturyLink is hiring. Up until this year, CenturyLink was CenturyTel, a company of about 6,000 employees based in a sleepy corner of Northeast Louisiana. Last year, CenturyTel announced they were buying Kansas-based Embarq., a company three times the size of CenturyTel. The new combined company has 20,000 employees/workers. CenturyLink is now the fourth largest communications company in the country. Not bad for a little telephone company that started in someone’s living room back in the ’30s.

Governor Bobby Jindal announced today that CenturyLink has agreed to stay in Monroe through 2019 and will add 350 jobs. The announcement couldn’t come at a better time for the region. Unemployment in the region hovers around 10%, well above the state average. and traditionally, this has been one of the poorest parts of the country. Almost everyone I talked with today mentioned how devastating it would have been if CenturyLink were to have relocated. It’ll be interesting to see how the company grows from here. Walk around CenturyLink headquarters and it feels more like a family business than a future Fortune 500 company. Employees greet each other like they’re at church and call out to one another by first name. They all turned out for the governor’s announcement in the atrium and then celebrated with a lunch of turkey and all the fixings. It may be just a tiny blip of good news in a sea of bad economy stories, but it’s happening in a place where they can really use it.

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By FNC Reporter David Lee Miller

If you are reading this online you know at least something about the Internet. Chances are however, you don’t know the Internet is running out of addresses.

I don’t mean domain names like Fox News.Com Internet address are the numerical designations assigned to each Web site. They operate invisibly behind-the-scenes. After all, computers don’t understand English. They speak numbers.

The address shortage could end Internet expansion. No new Web sites for schools, businesses and the government. Forget the hope of one day connecting your toaster oven to the Net.

When the current system called IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) was created decades ago no one could imagine the explosive growth of the Internet. In addition to computers, nowadays phones, cars, and even household appliances are connected to the web or soon will be.

The computer scientist nicknamed the father of the Internet, Vint Cerf,  said when he helped create the current address system decades ago, he never imagined it’s 4.3 billion addresses would not be sufficient.   If someone made the suggestion a larger system was needed, Cerf said he would have thought they were “out of their gourd.”

Cerf is now advocating a new address system called IPv6. According to the experts who administer the Internet the number of potential address is a number so large it is hard to fathom. To put the expansion in perspective, if the current system is a golf ball, the experts say, the new one is almost the size of the sun.

As Cerf might explain, in order to imagine a number this big, it helps to be out of your gourd.

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“If you mess with America’s feelings, America will hurt you.” A line delivered by Richard Heene’s Defense attorney, David Lane, when asked by someone in the crowd of reporters what he’s learned from the case unofficially known as Balloon Boy.

The Heenes did not make a statement today and were clearly not interested in the flurry of media attention this time around. Instead, Mayumi, the mother of the Heene clan, quietly listened as Judge Stephen Schapanski explained the charge against her of false reporting to authorities. It’s a misdemeanor offense and a lesser charge than she may have faced had her husband not plead out to a class 4 felony.

According to the attorneys in this case and affidavits filed in the Larimer County Courthouse, Mayumi admitted in a videotaped interview with a police officer that the events of October 15th, when people around the globe watched in terror (and curiosity) as a giant saucer shaped balloon drifted in the Colorado sky supposedly carrying her son, was a hoax. The family had been planning it for two weeks, Mayumi said. This admission, attorneys say, could have cleared the way for authorities to charge the 45 year old mother of three with a felony.

This was a risk the family says it could not afford. You see, if Mayumi Heene were convicted of a felony, as a Japanense citizen, she would be deported to her native country. In a statement released by David Lane, Mayumi’s husband Richard chose to “fall on his sword,” and plead guilty to a more serious charge, so that his wife would not have to. It was a package deal, said Lane. After both Heenes voluntarily admitted to the charges against them, Judge Shapanski let both know that restitution would be sought and that jail time was a possibility. The cost of the four hour chase last month, that involved the cops, sheriff’s deputies, the national guard and the Federal Aviation Administration, is till unknown, but estimates start around 60-thousand dollars. Judge Shapanski will make the final decision during the Heenes sentencing hearing in December.

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I’ve covered enough high profile search and rescues to know that if the missing would have had some kind of a GPS locator beacon they probably would still be alive. James Kim, the San Francisco techie who got stuck in the Oregon mountains during a snowstorm could have been saved by technology. He left his family in the car while he went for help only to die of hypothermia while teams looked for him. Cases like that, led many people to buy the latest locator gadget. And now authorities are starting to see some abuse of the products by people who have little experience in the back country. They call it Yuppie 9-1-1.

Mostly it’s people hitting the S.O.S. when they’re tired or cold and don’t want to work to get out of the woods. Another abuse takes the cake. A father and son were camping in Arizona. They initiated a search three days in a row. The last time was because they drank water from a stream that tasted salty. Irritated rescuers finally yanked them out of the woods. Over a 15 year period search and rescues in national parks alone cost taxpayers more than $58-million. Beacons can actually reduce the cost of legitimate emergencies by giving rescuers an exact location to pinpoint the search. But abuses are frustrating sheriff’s departments and the many volunteers who conduct these operations. There’s no substitute for preparation. And if these novice outdoorsmen continue to be the ‘hiker who cried wolf’ they could end up getting charged for their ‘rescue’. Currently New Hampshire is the only state that allows for a rescue bill, but if the Yuppie 9-1-1 trend accelerates look for other states to follow.

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By FNC Reporter Anita Vogel

It’s hard to look at the video of 19-year-old Patty Phommannyong.  She was vibrant with her whole life ahead of her until her tragic accident.

Patty was taking part in a high-flying cheerleading stunt when something went terribly wrong, causing her heart to stop.  She fell into a coma and is now paralyzed and lives in a nursing home.  Her parents are devastated and drowning in medical bills.

What happened?  A lack of supervision say officials involved in the cheerleading industry.

Cheerleading has become the single most dangerous girls sport – responsible for more than 60 percent of women’s sport’s-related injuries.

What can be done?  One recommendation is for coaches to become certified by the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators.

Right now, only 13 states require that coaches have any sort of certification at all and there’s also a movement to make cheerleading an actual sport in the NCAA so far no movement on that.

Another simple thing parents can do is to ask questions about whether the cheers squads will be using mats and spotters like private cheer clubs.

They can make the difference between a safe routine and life-changing accident.

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And the big winner of the night at this years CMA Awards… Taylor Swift! Taking home 4 awards including Best Female Vocalist, Album of the Year, and the coveted Entertainer of the Year! Swift came by backstage to talk with us about all her wins, so did Brad Paisley who served as host and will go home with an award.

We also spoke with Lady Antebellum, winners for two categories: Best Single of the Year and Vocal Group. They say although this isn’t their first industry nod, they still have a lot to prove.

Next up, Best Duo: Sugarland, who used their acceptance speech to give a shout out on stage to fellow nominees Brooks and Dunn who’ve announced a split. Sugarland came by (CMA in hand) and talked about how good it feels to be the 43rd winner in this category.

And… we got to drop in on his CMA rehearsal, now he’s a CMA winner – Darius Rucker! We can stop calling him new to the genre now I think… A bonafide country star with the statue to prove it. One he says will go on display right between his Grammys.

And that’s a wrap from the 2009 Fox News coverage of the CMA Awards. Now its time to make your predictions for 2010…click “comment” below to do so!

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Ashley and Jill Dobson on the red carpet!

Plenty of cowboy hats and a couple of boots made it onto the red carpet at the CMA’s tonight, as all the country stars dressed to the nines to celebrate the night and honor their peers. 

To name a few we caught up with… Reba McEntire, who wore her own “Reba” line dress! A shiny black floor length gown fitting for county royalty. The multi-tasking star discussed all her latest projects and from clothing to furniture and of course new music this year, she’s been busy.

Several former American Idols made there way over too like Diana Degarmo in bright pink and Danny Gokey (who we spoke to already earlier in the day, but we wanted to know how his first CMA red carpet was going!)  

The Judds (Wynonna and Naomi) came by too and made sure to recognize Veterans Day. They also spoke with us about working together and what this year means to them since 25 years ago today they won their first award as The Judds at the CMAs. 

Now the show is going on and we are backstage waiting for all the winners to tell us if it really is an “honor just to be nominated” or… if its always better to win!
Stay tuned for more from here at the Sommet Center in Nashville.

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I have the privilege of spending Veterans Day in a place where it carries special meaning this year. Last week, a gunman stationed at Ft. Hood in central Texas, started shooting and killed 13 people. Twelve of the victims were members of the military. At a time when soldiers risk their lives every day in Afghanistan and Iraq, they certainly don’t expect to risk their lives once they make it safely home. As the investigation continues, and the wounds of the injured begin to heal, the family of those killed will begin to bury their dead. Their sacrifice is a world apart. Even though they were not killed on the battlefield, in the end they were killed because they had a commitment to serving their country. No one but soldiers and those serving soldiers were killed or wounded that day.

Today at a press conference, three soldiers wounded during the attack were in front of the cameras. They are part of a unit who lost three people in the shooting. I can only begin to imagine the pain they and their families are experiencing. They will deploy to Afghanistan before the year is out.

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When the military wants to get something done, it can do so with amazing speed and efficiency.  I’ve seen this firsthand in some pretty far-flung locations like Afghanistan and Iraq …  and was reminded of it by the building of the security wall at Fort Hood, Texas.

Using massive forklifts and Con-Ex shipping containers, the U.S. Army has built a protective barrier around a field in front of the III Corp Headquarters Building to keep families, dignitaries and the President safe and out of sight.

By my calculation, the main portion of the wall runs nearly 900 feet long and stands almost 30 feet tall.  A side wall runs more than 200 feet with containers stacked two and three high.  Several members of the White House Press Corp told me they’d never seen anything like it, although I’ve been told by others that both former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney got similar treatment at visits to other military posts.

Inside the wall the majority of press is assembling in a penned in area at the very rear in a corner (is there an underlying message here…?).  Some 2000 chairs have been set up much closer to the platform and podium built near the driveway in front of the HQ, where family members of the Fort Hood victims and some of those wounded who were treated and released will join politicians, officers, friends and members of the public wishing to pay tribute to the fallen.

The mood here has been somber, respectful and reflective.  There is little discussion between soldiers and the press about warning signs that may have been missed by investigators regarding suspect Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s reported contact with radical islamists overseas.  They’re not looking to place blame or point fingers, at least not to us.  What we’re hearing time and again is how proud they are of their fellow soldiers in the way they handled the incident, treating the wounded (including the alleged killer himself) and supporting each other in a time of crisis. The focus here is on healing and staying on course, allowing the investigation to move forward while learning lessons to try and prevent anything like this from ever happening again.

Rick Waits for the ceremony to begin.

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Kris interviews Capt. Reis Ritz ER Physician

We’re live at Ft. Hood, just a day after a gunman killed now 13 people and hurting another 28 other people. Investigators are still trying to piece together what happened yesterday. At this point, they’re saying the suspect, a solider, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, acted on his own when he came into the Solider Readiness Center and started shooting. Investigators would not comment on a potential motive – they say, it’s just too early to tell. They interviewed witnesses through the night in the search for answers.

Ft. Hood is in a day of mourning today. Of the thirteen people killed, twelve were soliders and the other was a civilian. Of those hurt, all are in stable condition. The suspect is also in stable condition.

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Health officials have told us all along to get the H1N1 vaccine, it’s our best defense against the deadly virus. At the same time, we’ve been reminded not to forget about getting our seasonal flu shots. That’s why it’s frustrating for people waiting in long lines all over the country, only to be turned away. Vaccine supplies are running low because of production delays, but adding to the problem is an increased demand for the seasonal vaccine. Concerns over H1N1, have led many people to get vaccinated who normally wouldn’t. So far, 85 million people have gotten seasonal vaccine. That’s 25 million more than this time last year.

Now reports that some large employers, including Wall Street banks, have received H1N1 vaccine even while hospitals and clinics are trying to accommodate those in high risk groups.  In a story that first broke in a BusinessWeek article, some financial companies like Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup have received shipments: Goldman got 200, Citigroup received 1200 doses. Goldman confirms the order, but says it’s up to the CDC to make decisions on distributing vaccines, and the shots will go to high risk employees.

During a House Sub Committee meeting in Washington yesterday, Federal Health Officials were questioned at length about Flu vaccine shortages and production delays. CDC Director, Dr.Thomas Frieden, said the shortages are very frustrating, but said they can’t do anything about them. So far, there have been almost no cases of seasonal flu, it’s all H1N1. Then again, seasonal flu usually doesn’t show up until late winter. Manufacturing companies are focusing their efforts on making more H1N1 Flu vaccine, because health officials expect it to peak before vaccine supplies can catch up.

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by FNC Reporter Alicia Acuna

The state of Arkansas is run by a popular Democratic governor and predominantly Democratic legislature.  The congressional delegation is made up of one Republican U.S. Representative, three Democratic ones and two Democratic U.S. Senators.  But if you ask folks around here, most will describe their state as conservative.  After all, they chose Senator John McCain over Barack Obama by 20 percent in 2008.  President Obama did not make Arkansas a campaign stop last year, and everyone we interviewed on this story mentioned it.  He clearly didn’t need it to win, but he may need Arkansas in 2010.  That’s because Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln is running to keep her seat in Washington and her opponents are talking like they can already taste the sweet victory.

Doyle Webb, Chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party predicts, “This seat will change hands next year. Arkansans are ready for a change, Senator Lincoln has not been the United States Senator that they thought she was when she was elected. She’s drank too much of that Potomac River water and she’s forgot what it is to be an Arkansan, and become more of a Washitonian”.  Senator Lincoln rejects that notion.  While she acknowledged in an interview with us that, “2010 is a gonna be a tough election year,” Lincoln said, “it always is when you run midterm of a new administration.  I did it in 1994 when our own Bill Clinton…had just won the presidency, it was midterm of his first term. And it’s always difficult.”

Adding to the Senator’s challenge, is the debate on healthcare reform.  Dr. Art English a professor with The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Political Science department says, “I actually think she’ll win re-election but it may be a bit of a struggle. But right now I think with the health care debate, of course she’s been right in the vortex of that because of her re-election.”

Senator Lincoln says she does not support a government run, government funded option, but says the country needs to reform its health care system. In its current version, the health care reform bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, is not popular with Arkansans.  This state has the second largest senior citizen population in the country (Florida is first). Concerns about potential Medicare cuts and increased taxes prompted a group called, 60plus.org to run TV ads appealing to Senator Lincoln.

She’s  in a tough spot: does she go with national party loyalty? Or cast a vote that reflects the constituents back home?  Either way, she loses something.  What Senator Lincoln does seem to get is the impatience growing around the goals of this administration. She told us, “People’s expectations have been high and most of them know that we don’t move at breakneck speeds in Washington.  But unfortunately when expectations go up, people want to see the results, and I want to bring them results, but I want to make sure that it’s positive and it’s what’s right for Arkansas, it’s what’s right for the country”.

Election day 2010 is not only a year away, it’s an eternity away in political time. A lot can happen, and probably will.

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by FNC Reporter Molly Line

Voters in upstate New York hit the polls today in the wake of whirlwind developments shaking up the race for the 23rd Congressional district’s open seat.
Two very different candidates are left standing in this battle- Democrat Bill Owens and the Conservative Party Candidate Doug Hoffman.

Republican Dede Scozzafava pulled out and the repercussions are still echoing.
Democrat Bill Owens picked up her endorsement and garnered last minute backing from organized labor- a vote was split before Scozzafava, who’s husband is a union leader, pulled from the contest.

Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, has grassroots support that helped him climb up in the polls.

Hoffman is a pro-life fiscal conservative who promises to cut taxes and reduce government spending. His campaign has the backing of Tea Party activists and prominent conservatives, like Fred Thompson and Sarah Palin.

The Republican National Committee first endorsed Scozzafava but, were quick to throw their backing to Hoffman when she left the race- the RNC and the National Republican Congressional Committee have made 140,000 calls on Hoffman’s behalf since Sunday.

Hitting the polls early this morning, Owens says voters have a clear choice.

“We can go backward to the Bush agenda which includes tax cuts for the very wealthy, privatization of social security and tax credits for companies that send jobs overseas, the recession, a 4.9 trillion dollar addition to the deficit, or they can move forward with us,” Owens said.

Doug Hoffman says he’s fighting for the heart and soul of the Republican Party, backed by grassroots support.

Republican Scozzafava freed her supporters but, it’s unclear where her votes will go now.
As a pro-choice, pro-gay marriage candidate with moderate views on tax issues she appealed to some Democrats and Independent voters who could peal away towards the Owens camp, however, the majority of her voters identified with the GOP and their support could benefit Hoffman who now has the backing of national party leaders.

The unusual battle has sparked much debate over whether the results are evidence of a rift in the GOP or just a anomaly resulting from unique circumstances that allowed local republican leaders to hand-pick a nominee, rather than voters.

House Minority Leader John Boehner weighed in today saying political rebellion among conservatives is bigger than most people imagine.

“They don’t have a primary in New York. If they had a primary this would have been resolved weeks ago but, what has happened over the last two or three weeks, basically has been the republican primary,” Boehner said.

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It’s election day in New Jersey, and though the sun is shining – not much is clear.  The polls put the match up between incumbent Democrat Governor Jon Corzine and his Republican challenger Chris Christie at a dead heat.  That’s a significant shift from this time last year when President Obama carried the Garden State by a 15 point margin.  Obama has invested time in this race, trying to buoy Corzine going into the homestretch, but any boost has yet to surface in the polls.  After voting today, Corzine sounded optimistic.  “I feel like we’ve got a lot of momentum coming from behind,” Corzine continued, “the only poll that counts is the one that’s going on right now between 6 and 8.”

The Christie camp remains upbeat as well, encouraged by what it sees as a swing away from Corzine and toward Christie in recent polling data.  The candidate is confidently predicting victory.  “I believe the Republican party will be much stronger tomorrow because we will have a Republican governor of New Jersey.”  To make that a reality Christie will have to do what no Republican has been able to accomplish since 1993 – unseating an incumbent Democratic governor.  Christie says he welcomes the challenge, and sees a win tonight as just a beginning.   Christie commented today, “It’s also going to place a great deal of responsibility on our party then to govern.”

Still in the mix, though not as a top contender, is Independent Chris Daggett.  What happens with his supporters today could swing the race in one direction or another.  “Unaffiliateds” make up the state’s largest pool of registered voters at 2.4 million.  It’s all the unknowns that will make the New Jersey gubernatorial race such an interesting race to watch when the polls close at 8:00pm EST.

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In sports “helmet cams” offer a unique, first-person perspective of events as they happen on the racetrack or the football field.

Now, the San Jose police department is set to become the first in the nation to test out a similar – though much smaller – technology to help officers collect evidence and protect themselves from false allegations of misconduct.

Last week, a few dozen officers attended a demonstration of the cameras, which will be integrated into their uniform, and worn over their ear like a bluetooth. Some cops found the headsets cumbersome, and i tried on several for a stand-up before finding a way to make one fit correctly (lots of napkins stuffed behind my hair to make it snug!). We thought rank and file cops might be opposed to recording their every move in the field. But when so much of what they do is called into question later, and it’s just their word against someone else’s – many officers said they’d welcome the technology as evidence to support their account of events. Right now the department has no set policy about when the cameras must be turned on, though they expect to have very clear guidelines set once this test period is over. I suspect the department will require the cameras be used more often than not, and seriously question those officers who don’t hit “record,” when the action starts.

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Easton, Pennsylvania is a historic town nestled in the Lehigh Valley at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers. It was the site of one of the three public readings of the Declaration of Independence on July 8th, 1776 and is home to Lafayette College, Crayola Crayons and former Heavyweight Boxing Champion Larry Holmes, aka “The Easton Assassin”.

Easton is also roughly 72 miles from both New York City and Philadelphia, PA, which means there are Yankee fans and Phillies fans living and working side by side. Actually a lot of people here root for both teams since they rarely play each other (the only other time they met in the World Series was 1950 when the Bronx Bombers swept the Phillies in 4 games).

The Mayor is one of those people having a tough time choosing sides, especially since he grew up and went to school in the city.

“If the Yankees had made it and the Phillies hadn’t, you would have rooted for the Yankees?” I asked Mayor Salvatore Panto. “I definitely would have been a full Yankee fan.”

“And if the Phillies had made it and the Yankees didn’t…” I continued “you would have definitely rooted for the Phillies? Definitely …” he replied. “So now with both in there together…?” I asked. He laughed “It is a tough struggle!”

Larry Holmes grew up in Easton and never left, despite winning 69 prize fights (including his first 48) and millions of dollars in purses. He was Champ for 7 1/2 years, beating opponents including Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton, Earnie Shavers, Gerry Cooney and James “Bonecrusher” Smith. He invested in real estate in town over the years, buying a hotel and office buildings and plots of land, some of which he recently sold off. He’s a great grandfather (twice) about to turn 60 and looking to simplify his life but still owns a bar/restaurant in town (on Larry Holmes Drive) and that’s where we met for our interview.

Me: “Is it hard to decide which team to root for?”
Champ: “No because I know who I like and I want to see win and I want to see the Phillies win.”
Me: “But you spent a lot of time in New York…?
Champ: “I started my boxing career there on 149th street in the Bronx. I got my butt kicked! That’s probably one of the reasons I don’t like New York!”
Me: “If someone starts rooting for the Yankees in your bar are you going to throw them out?”
Champ: “No because they have a right to root for whoever the want to.”
Me: “Are you going to beat them up?”
Champ: “(laughs) no but if you were rooting for the Yankees in my bar I would throw YOU out!”
Me: “Any message for Yankees fans?”
Champ: “Go cry, it’s going to be alright, you got next year!”

The Champ bought everyone pizza for lunch (delivered to the restaurant) since his kitchen was closed so we made a bet. If the Phillies win I’m buying the next pie. If the Yankees win he owes me a beer.

I think it’ll be worth the drive back to collect.

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By FNC Reporter Shannon Bream

On the campaign trail today it’s a drizzly, gray day in northern New Jersey, but Republican challenger Chris Christie is clearly optimistic.  A new poll from Rasmussen Reports give Christie a slight lead over the Democratic incumbent, Governor Jon Corzine – 46% to 43%.  The wildcard is third-party candidate Chris Daggett.  While his share of the pie slipped to just 7% in the Rasmussen poll, a number of analysts say he is hurting Christie more than Corzine.  Christie seems unconcerned about Daggett, and is quick to lump him in with Corzine.  We’ll find out if voters are buying the strategy, one week from today.

About 75 prospective voters showed up at Garvey’s Pub in Monroe Township, New Jersey, on Tuesday to talk with Christie firsthand.  They posed tough questions about job losses, health care and taxes.  The crowd was polite, but passionate.  They included a man who has plastered the side, front and back of his large RV with bright orange letters touting Christie as the answer to all of New Jersey’s problems.

The Corzine camp, flush with cash and big-name support, will welcome former President Bill Clinton for a second appearance tonight.  Then, President Obama will join Corzine for the third time on Sunday.  Of the visits, Corzine says, “I think it’s helpful that a popular president believes that I could be a better partner with him than other candidates in the race.”  To which Christie replied, “In the end, he’ll get on the Air Force One and leave.  He’s not gonna stay here and help run New Jersey.”  Christie continued, “The people of New Jersey are too smart for that.”

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4 years in the making, yet the NASA rocket scientists will have to wait at least 1 more day.  A freighter in the danger zone and chronic unfavorable weather forced NASA’s Ares 1 X launch director to scrub the launch attempt Tuesday.    For 4 hours, mission managers went through delay after delay.  First it was too many clouds.  NASA has a triboelectrification flight rule, which means if there are clouds between 22,000 and 72,000 feet, through which the Ares 1 X rocket would fly, that could create electricity which could then strike the rocket and ruin the test flight.  After that, there was a short delay as a sensor cover was removed from the tip of the 327-foot tall rocket, but got stuck.  Once that fell out of the way, the weather again looked good—green for go-launch—but then a cargo ship entered the danger zone east of the launch pad.  By the time the ship’s pilot was contacted and turned around out of the way, the weather soured again.  And then winds violated the “no winds within 10 nautical miles of the launch pad that exceed 20 miles an hour” rule.

By 11:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, after 3 ½ hours of excitement and anticipation, the highly anticipated test flight was scrubbed for the day.

This flight is more than 4 years and $3 billion in development.  It’s the first test flight of the new Constellation space flight system that will replace the current space shuttle program once it’s retired, currently scheduled for 2010. The flight plan is for a short flight, just about 6 minutes from liftoff to splashdown.  The first  2 minutes are the crucial ones, where sensors on board the world’s tallest rocket will record vibration, thermal and aerodynamic data to help in the final design of the Ares 1 rocket.   The next launch attempt will be Wednesday at 8a.m. Eastern time at the soonest.

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The search for a 7 year old missing North Florida girl has now turned into the search for a child killer.  Somer Thompson disappeared Monday afternoon in Orange Park, Florida as she was walking the mile home from elementary school with her twin brother, 10 year old sister and several friends.  At some point, they noticed Somer was missing.  Almost 2 days to the hour from that moment, investigators at a Georgia landfill discovered two small legs protruding from the trash heap.

Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler identified the body this morning as Somer Thompson, due to a distinct birthmark Somer had on her leg as well as the clothing Somer’s mother said she wore to school Monday.   A Georgia medical examiner began the autopsy in Savannah, Georgia this morning, to determine the exact cause of death, try to discover any DNA other than Somer’s on the body and also use dental records to officially declare the body found in the landfill is that of the missing 7 year old.

Investigators from a dozen local, state and federal agencies are now involved in the hunt for Somer Thompson’s killer.

Stay tuned to Fox News Channel for the latest in this story.

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Making biodiesel in a high school lab.

What if school buses could run on fuel made by students? It’s happening on a small scale at East Burke High School in Connelly Springs, NC.

Science teacher Bob Smith is showing students how to turn used cooking oil from a local restaurant into biodiesel fuel for use in school buses. In the process, his students learn about chemistry, environmental science and even public speaking (the school’s biodiesel program, after all, is attracting local and national media attention).

“We wanted to do something hands on in the lab that would utilize classroom lessons with a real world problem,” Smith said. The instuctor also hopes the biodiesel project will encourage some of his students to pursue careers in science and engineering.

“We’re using chemistry in everyday life,” said Nou Yang, a high school senior who is considering a career pediatric medicine. “Cooking is chemistry. We’re just not baking a cake, it’s about molecules reacting to each other.”

The same goes for driving.

The process of refining vegetable oil into an odorless fuel takes about 6 to 7 hours of work in the lab followed by an overnight waiting period to allow the product to settle.

At the conclusion, students load the fuel into a school bus and watch their work in action. Click here to see the live demonstration they did for FOX News Channel.

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It’s been happening everywhere – in every field.  Companies losing revenue, asking employees to take pay cuts, and then sending out the inevitable “envelope” to staff members who open up the bad news with a heavy heart.

Union and non-union members in the New York Times newsroom have been told “the envelope” will be mailed out to everyone this Thursday that will detail the buy out deal. If employees take it, they will have the chance to exit the building with at least a little something to look forward to, however, there is no word on what laid off employees will get when the axe falls. Union employees will reportedly get 3 weeks salary for each year of service – non-union workers will get 2 weeks pay per year served. The bad news came way of a memo Monday from Times executive editor Bill Keller who informed staffers that they have 45 days to decide if they want to take part in the buy out – if they don’t get 100 takers, the higher ups will then be forced to cut jobs. The newspaper industry has been getting pummeled for the last several years with declining circulation numbers for most every newspaper chain. Gannett, the nation’s largest, which churns out 84 newspapers in the United States reported yesterday that it’s third-quarter profit fell 53% from a year before. The reason? Readers say they are abandoning their print subscriptions and going online to get virtually the same product for free. The New York Times execs have said that they are seeing sharp declines in advertising revenue from their printed additions, and Web advertising hasn’t caught up.

So, what will happen to all these well paid and out of work journalists and editors? Media analysts say many will have to wait out the storm, and wait for other newspapers to start to re-staff once the revenue returns, if it does at all.

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They called him “Jazz”, short for Jasper.

He was known as an impact player on the University of Connecticut Huskies football team, a starting corner back since his freshman year who also returned punts, a former standout at Miami Edison High School in South Florida, a kid from the mean streets of the Liberty City neighborhood who made his mother proud, becoming the first from his family to attend college.

Late Saturday night, after celebrating his team’s homecoming victory, which he played a key role in with 11 tackles and a forced fumble at the goal line preventing the other team from potentially tying the game, he was found stabbed.  More than 300 people spilled out into the street in the chilly Storrs, Ct. air.  A fight broke out between a group of non-students and half-a-dozen football players, someone plunged a blade into Jazz’s abdomen.  A fellow player went to his aid, another came to try and stop the bleeding and the police were called.  Ambulances  brought Jazz went to one hospital, but unfortunately he could not be saved.

Police have made one arrest, 21-year-old Johnny Hood, who police say lied about his name when questioned at the scene.  Another wounded player identified Hood as being involved in the fight.  His lawyer says he’s only guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Another lawyer says there are four more “main” suspects and he represents one of them, another young man who apparently admits to being involved in the fight but not with the stabbing.  Police have questioned him and searched his home and seem to be making progress in the investigation.  They’re asking anyone with pictures or home video of the scene outside the dance to forward the images since they could help solve this homicide.

Meanwhile Jazz’s uniform sits unused in his locker and will for the next two seasons, except when the Huskies are on the road.  They plan to bring #6 with them to honor his memory and his loss.

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Have you ever been hiking through a national forest and stumbled upon a small, quaint, old cabin tucked in the woods? Chances are that cabin owner is essentially leasing the land under the cabin from Uncle Sam. Well, now those bucolic cabins may be driven to extinction by the very same government that encouraged them to be built. Back in 1915, people either lived on the farm or in big cities. Few Americans recreated in the national forests let alone live there. Congress wanted our public lands to be used by the public so it lured people to the woods with the Recreation Residence program.

Turns out it worked too well. Thousands of Americans built their tiny vacation cabins, but then others started scooping up adjacent private land and building mcmansion cabins. That has led the feds to think their cabin tenants were getting too sweet of a deal. Congress passed a law calling for new assessments. The result has led to sticker shock. Take the Minard family in Lake Wenatchee, Washington. On top of local property tax and a state tax, they have been paying $1,400 year to the U.S. government. Now that fee has spiked to $17,000 per year. The Minards can’t afford that and nobody wants to buy the cabin when they learn of the fee. So they’re left with only one option…pay to have the cabin demolished, return the forest to its natural state and walk away from five generations of memories.

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