Update: Veteran Bill Burtner/Donations

Following up on the story of assault victim and Vietnam veteran William "Bill" Burtner, efforts have been made to solicit donations to replace what was cruelly stolen.

Donations can be made Bill's VFW Post 25-80 in support of the event "Honor Flights" as detailed below:

Attention: Debbie Halloran

Honor Flights

14817 South Pulaski, Midlothian, IL 60445

If you have any information or tips on the case please call:

 

Midlothian Police Dept: 708 385 2534

Breaking: First pics Miley Cyrus-owned Bus Crash

Just getting pics in of the bus that's owned by teenaged performer Miley Cyrus.  Virginia State Police say one person has died... after the tour bus overturned.  16 year old Miley was not on the bus.

The bus crashed this morning on Interstate 85 in Dinwiddie.  That's about 40 miles south of Richmond, VA.  One person was killed... another has non-life threatening injuries, according to cops at the scene.

Operation Santa!

Attention parents -- you don't have to tell your children that they can't write to Santa Claus this year!

Children can still send their letters to Santa to be answered, as USPS Agency spokesperson Pam Moody says the Postal Service will continue to run their Operation Santa Program. What has changed, is that generally addressed letters to “Santa Claus, North Pole” will no longer be forwarded to volunteers in the Alaskan town of North Pole. However, Mayor Isaacson has stated that letters addressed to "Santa House, North Pole, Alaska" or "Santa's Mailbag, North Pole, Alaska"  will get a reply.

Of course, for some the concern remains that names, addresses and other private information about small children could get into the wrong hands. However, United States Postal Service policy now prohibits volunteers in such programs to have access to children's last names and addresses.

Now, where’s my pen?

Intern's Insight

Image is everything…or at least, that’s what some would have you believe. It’s a sentiment that works especially well in politics! Take a moment and ask yourself:  “which presidents stand out as most memorable?” Probably those with a less than perfect public image, as those are the figures about which multi-million dollar movies are made and best-selling books are written!

Of particular interest to me this week was President Obama’s trip to China. China, as you very well may know, is known for having particularly stringent censorship of information through various media outlets (internet, television, radio, etc). Obama, a president who captured the hearts of many Americans through his gregarious persona and accessibility, will always be known as an individual who won the 2008 presidential election partially because of his effective use of media. What was particularly intriguing during his trip abroad to China was how his demeanor, and thus persona, seemed to have changed over the course of his public appearances during the week. A more demure and subdued Obama emerged, seemingly at the request of Chinese leaders who wanted to avoid an instance of “Obamania,” and it should come at no surprise that everything being said by Obama on live television was moderated closely. In addition, no concessions to Obama’s popular “town hall” style of press conferences and appearances were made.

To this end, I have a question for you, readers: Should an American president traveling abroad change his personal communication style to accommodate foreign preferences? Or should he continue to act in a manner to which he is accustomed to in the U.S.? The subject of whether an elected president should make concessions to local styles and governments is an interesting subject – let me know your thoughts after the jump!

-N

Coming Up on Happening Now

Although there are a slew of stories coming your way soon in just a few hours on this morning’s edition of “Happening Now,” we’re going to be covering one feature that’s particularly heartbreaking.  William "Bill" Burtner survived two tours of combat in Vietnam and yet, as the target of a bank robbery and attack just a few days ago, died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease and fractured ribs from the assault.

He had dedicated his life to helping other veterans, and was entering a Midlothian bank located in a suburb of Chicago to deposit thousands of dollars he had raised as part of his efforts with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2580. The money was to have been used for Chicago-area World War II veterans so they could visit a war memorial in Washington, D.C. Such a sad story, but you know we'll be bringing you the latest details and other news soon-

Coming Up on Happening Now

Wow! There’s so much going on today! We’ll be covering the latest concerning the health care debate, with today’s news conference and we’ll be bringing you insightful commentary with guests Bob Beckel (Professor at GWU) and Ari Fleischer (Former White House Secretary). We’ll also be interviewing U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) regarding the impeding trial for 9/11 detainees.

We have a few other stories in the works, including one about life on Mars (what? you’ll have to tune in to find out about this one!) and a shocking story concerning a family that was held captive for 3 days. You won’t believe the conditions under which this happened! All this and more – see you at 11am ET!

USPS Cancels Santa's Letters

If you're writing letters to the jolly man at the North Pole this holiday season you likely won't get a response from Santa Claus or his helpers.  The U.S. Postal Service is dropping a popular natinal program begun in 1954 in the small Alaska town of the North Pole.  Volunteers have been opening and responding to thousands of letters addressed to Santa each year.  Replies come with North Pole postmarks.  But, last year, a postal worker in Maryland recognized an Operation Santa volunteer there as a registered sex offender. The postal worker interceded before the individual could answer a child's letter, but the Postal Service viewed the episode as a big enough scare to tighten rules in such programs nationwide.

Coming Up on Happening Now

Sean Hannity will talk to us about his Sarah Palin interview. What did she tell him?

Karl Rove will also join us with his take on the health care bill. What to the numbers add up to? Will it pass?

Shoppers in a Florida TJMaxx never thought they would be held hostage by armed men. Now the gunmen are in loose. We'll have an update at 11:10 am.

6.6 magnitude quake & people feeling the shakin'

USGS confirms to Fox a 6.6 quake has hit off the coast of British Columbia, Canada.  It's not too far from Vancouver-- the biggest city and people are reporting they did not feel the tremor there.  But, in the closer and small-populated areas of Prince Ruper and Queen Charlotte City... two popular vacation resort areas with beautiful hotels... customers on higher floors say they definitely felt the shaking and movement and it seemed to last for a couple of minutes.  No injuries and no damage reported.

H-out