Gigantic Coal Spill (2.6 Million Yards) at TVA in Tennessee

KBR Knowingly Exposed US Troops to Toxins!!!

By David Edwards and Muriel Kane for Raw Story
A CBS News investigation has obtained evidence that a subsidiary of Halliburton, the giant energy company formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, knowingly exposed United States soldiers to toxic materials in Iraq.
CBS interviewed Commander James Gentry of the Indiana National Guard, who is dying of a rare form of lung cancer that he believes is the result of "months of inhaling hexavalent chromium" after his battalion was assigned in April 2003 to protect contractors from Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) working in Iraq at a local water plant. Other members of his unit are also suffering from cancers or rashes associated with the toxic chemical, which was all over the plant.
"We didn't question what we were doing," a grief-stricken Gentry told CBS. "We just knew we had to provide a security service for the KBR. ... We would never have been there if we would have known."
CBS has obtained documents which indicate that KBR knew about the danger months before the soldiers were informed. KBR employee depositions show there were "concerns about the toxins in one part of the plant as early as May of 2003," while later minutes detail symptoms of exposure, including bloody noses and rashes.
It wasn't until the end of August that the Indiana National Guardsmen were informed that the plant was contaminated, and some say they have only just learned about it this year.

California Might Go Broke???

By Judy Lin for the Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California's chief financial officer warned Monday that the state would run out of money in about two months as hopes of a Christmas budget compromise melted into political finger-pointing by the end of the day.

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger began the day on a cheerful note, suggesting that negotiations with Democratic leaders could lead to a budget deal as early as this week to help close the $42 billion shortfall that is projected through June 2010.

Madoff Investor Commits Suicide After Losing $1.4 Billion in Ponzi Scheme

A friend of French money manager Thierry de la Villehuchet told a paper that he committed suicide in his New York office this week. His death has been confirmed by the medical examiner.
Villehuchet had plowed over a billion dollars he managed into Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
Villehuchet, 65, was the co-founder of Access International, a company that raised funds on European markets to invest with Madoff, the former pillar of Wall Street accused of running a multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
One of his close friends confirmed a newspaper report that Villehuchet committed suicide early on Tuesday, saying he had spoken to an employee at the company's New York office and that police were at the scene.
Villehuchet "could not cope with the pressure following the outbreak of the scandal," the website of La Tribune daily quoted an associate as saying.
Reportedly, 3/4 of the money Villehuchet managed was in Madoff's fund.
Bloomberg reports Thierry de la Villehuchet was found Tuesday morning:

$1.6 Billion Paid to Bailout Bank Execs!!!

Frank Bass and Reata Beamish--Associated Press
Banks that are getting taxpayer bailouts awarded their top executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits last year, an Associated Press analysis reveals.
The rewards came even at banks where poor results last year foretold the economic crisis that sent them to Washington for a government rescue. Some trimmed their executive compensation due to lagging bank performance, but still forked over multimillion-dollar executive pay packages.
Benefits included cash bonuses, stock options, personal use of company jets and chauffeurs, home security, country club memberships and professional money management, the AP review of federal securities documents found.
The total amount given to nearly 600 executives would cover bailout costs for many of the 116 banks that have so far accepted tax dollars to boost their bottom lines.

NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW MR. VP!!!!!!!!

The State of America's Middle Class!!!!