Weekly News

Deadly Chinese Earthquake May Have Been Man-Made.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,487967,00.html
Scientific research seems to be showing that the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred last May in China may have been man-made. Fan Xiao, a chief engineer at the Sichuan Geology and Mineral Bureau said that the extra pressure from the 315 million tons of water stored behind the Zipingpu dam may have added additional pressure to the nearby fault causing the earthquake. Others argue that the dam may have sped up the timing of the earthquake or caused it to be more severe, but doubt that the dam actually caused the earthquake.

Obama Signs Children’s Healthcare Bill
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5135JJ20090204?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
On Wednesday Obama signed a law which expands health care coverage to 3.5 million uninsured children. This decision is apparently embraced by the U.S. House of representatives as they just voted in favor of a $32.8 billion expansion of SCHIP or State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Others are not so sure of this plan as it will lead to higher taxes on things, especially cigarettes. The Obama administration believes this will not only help to cover more children but discourage smoking. But the others are also afraid of the major changes it will bring to current insurance plans.

FBI Announces Review of Evidence In Tylenol Deaths
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-02-04-fbi-investigation_N.htm?csp=34
Almost 25 years after several Tylenol related deaths in 1982 the investigation is still ongoing. Apparently several people ended up dead after taking Tylenol. This nation wide scare caused the safety seals which are now standard on all bottled products today. The FBI has been searching for someone to blame for the deaths for several years. James W. Lewis has been one of the prime suspects as he was able to explain to police the whole process of how one might put poison in a Tylenol pill and return it unnoticed.

Congress Backs Delay of Digital TV Switch to June
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100256989&ft=1&f=1001
After a bout of complaints Congress has decided to delay the Digital transition. The complaints mostly said that millions of Americans are not ready for the change. Especially rural, low-income, elderly, and non-English speaking families. Apparently more than 6 million families are still relying on analog TV sets. And some 3 million families are still waiting to receive coupons for the digital converter boxes. And to make things worse the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has declared that it has run out of money for the program.