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European food contamination kills 16, sickens 1150

BERLIN – A massive and unprecedented outbreak of bacterial infections linked to contaminated vegetables claimed two more lives in Europe on Tuesday, driving the death toll to 16. The number of sick rose to more than 1,150 people in at least eight nations.

Nearly 400 people in Germany were battling a severe and potentially fatal version of the infection that attacks the kidneys. A U.S. expert said doctors had never seen so many cases of the condition, hemolytic uremic syndrome, tied to a foodborne illness outbreak before.

Investigators across Europe were frantically trying to determine how many vegetables were contaminated with enterohaemorrhagic E.coli — an unusual, toxic strain of the common E. coli bacterium — and where in the long journey from farm to grocery store the contamination occurred.

The highly politicized mystery over the source of the E. coli contamination deepened in the light of new evidence that two strains of the bacterium may be involved. German officials said they were still looking at Spanish produce but Spain said the discovery was proof its farms were not the source.

E. coli is found in large quantities in the digestive systems of humans, cows and other mammals. It has been responsible for a large number of food contamination outbreaks in a wide variety of countries. In most cases, it causes non-lethal stomach ailments.

But enterohaemorrhagic E.coli, or EHEC, causes more severe symptoms, ranging from bloody diarrhea to the rare hemolytic uremic syndrome. In Germany, at least 373 people have come down with the syndrome, or HUS, in which E. coli infection attacks the kidneys, sometimes causing seizures, strokes and comas.

"The idea of an outbreak of over 300 hemolytic uremic syndrome cases is absolutely extraordinary," said Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of foodborne, waterborne and environmental diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

"There has not been such an outbreak before that we know of in the history of public health," Tauxe said, adding that the German strain of E. coli has not been seen in the United States.

German officials say that investigations including interviews with patients have shown people were likely infected by eating raw cucumbers, tomatoes or lettuce, and they are warning consumers to avoid those vegetables.

European Union officials say Germany has identified cucumbers from the Spanish regions of Almeria and Malaga as possible sources of contamination. They say a third suspect batch, originating either in the Netherlands or in Denmark and sold in Germany, was also under investigation.

They noted that imported cucumbers could have been contaminated at any point on the long route to retail customers. Denmark said that no traces of EHEC bacteria were found in tests of vegetables conducted there over the weekend. Exports of Dutch cucumber to Germany were halted but authorities said tests of a cucumber grower and a warehouse found no EHEC. bacteria there either.

Authorities in Hamburg said last week that they had detected EHEC on four cucumbers, three of them imported from Spain and the fourth of unclear origin, which were on sale in a market in the city.

On Tuesday, however, officials said they had found a slightly different type of EHEC on the cucumbers than the type detected in the feces of sick people in Germany, though reiterated that even though that meant those vegetables did not cause the outbreak, they still posed a health risk.

Spain's agriculture minister, Rosa Aguilar, seized on it as evidence that "our cucumbers are not responsible for the situation."

Spain exports most of its produce to other countries in Europe.

The vast majority of EHEC infections have affected either Germans or people who recently traveled to Germany. Germany's top health said 796 people in the country have been hit by less serious infection with the EHEC bacteria. The northern city of Hamburg and surrounding areas have been worst affected.

Other cases have been reported in Denmark, France, the Czech Republic, the U.K., the Netherlands and Switzerland but the World Health Organization said it only had confirmation of the German cases and another six cases in France.

There is frequently a lag between reports of disease outbreaks by national authorities and confirmation by the WHO.

German regional officials have said they are seeing a sharp drop in the number of new cases.

Officials in the northwestern city of Paderborn said, however, that an 87-year-old who suffered from a variety of ailments including recent EHEC infection had died early Tuesday.

In Sweden, hospital medical chief Jerker Isacson said that the Swedish woman who died had been ill for a few days before she arrived at the hospital on Sunday and died early Tuesday.

"She developed serious complications, among other things on the kidneys," he said.

The Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control on Monday said 41 Swedes have been infected with EHEC so far, including 15 with HUS.

Britt Akerlind, spokeswoman at the institute, said it is unclear why so many Swedes had been infected, but said it could be that efficient reporting mechanism in the Nordic country means more cases have been discovered here.

In the meantime, Russia's chief sanitary agency on Monday banned the imports of cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh salad from Spain and Germany pending further notice.

It said that it may even ban the imports of fresh vegetables from all European Union member states due to the lack of information about the source of infection.

Cheng reported from London. Mike Stobbe in Atlanta, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Karl Ritter and Malin Rising in Stockholm contributed to this story.

Sarah Palin: The Call at Gettysburg

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (CNN) - Sarah Palin is going rogue again. Want to cover the potential Republican presidential candidate? Better bring your running shoes.

Unlike most carefully choreographed presidential campaigns that routinely release detailed candidate schedules, Palin's staff is keeping most of the national news media in the dark about her political action committee's bus tour this week.

Sarah Palin pulled a clever bait and switch on reporters in Gettysburg on Tuesday, as her "One Nation" bus tour rolls into its third day.

The Palin family and a few members of her staff snuck out of their hotel early, leaving their flashy bus behind in the hotel parking lot to give reporters chasing her the impression that she was still readying for the day.

As members of Palin's advance staff began to roll out luggage to the bus on Tuesday morning, a crush of media and tourists gathered to meet the potential presidential candidate on her way out of the hotel.

But CNN was soon tipped off that Palin was long gone, off to visit the Civil War battlefields and onward toward Philadelphia.

Todd Palin told a handful of reporters Tuesday that his wife will decide on her own whether or not to seek the presidency. He is not pushing her one way or the other, he said.

But he emphasized that if the former Alaska governor does choose to embark on another national campaign, he and their children will be ready.

"This family has been tested," Palin said. "When people talk about how she was just plucked up out of Wasilla, you have to look at her career. Every step in her career is another step for the family, and we were prepared.

"These kids grew up around the mayor of small town," he added. "Local politics is in your face every day. It's not like you get on a plane and fly to D.C. or Juneau."

The normally-reserved Palin opened up about his family for a few moments after he and Sarah pulled over their "One Nation" bus at Coffee Express, a charming café in the central Pennsylvania town of Dillsburg.

Palin said there is a list of "pros and cons" that the family is weighing. "But this country, we have to get back on the right track," he said.

Echoing his wife's earlier declarations that the presidential field will take time to settle, Todd Palin said she has time to make up her mind.

The race is "a long ways away," he said - a calculation that is sure to be disputed by other Republicans who are already laying presidential groundwork in key early caucus and primary states.

"It's up to her what she decides to do," Palin said. "I am not pushing her either way. It's her decision."

He said Palin has no plans to invite reporters onto their tour bus for gab sessions, in the style of John McCain's 'Straight Talk Express' bus from the 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns.

"It's a different scenario," he said. "She's employed by Fox."

On Memorial day Sarah Palin delivered the following speech:

The Call at Gettysburg
Posted on May 31, 2011

When I first visited Gettysburg years ago, I was overwhelmed with the sense of sacrifice made to secure our union, but my most recent visit this morning was even more significant as subsequent visits allow reflection on the state of our union today. Striking to me is how ready and willing troops and civilians were in 1863 to lay their lives on the line. Are we as ready and willing to accept the call for sacrifice today in order to keep our union secure?

Hopefully the kids on school field trips whom we met this morning grasped the poignant irony at the site we toured together: that such a beautiful stretch of the Pennsylvania countryside should have been the site of the bloodiest battle in the Civil War. But perhaps it’s fitting that such a sacred place should be so beautiful now in order to commemorate the terrible sacrifices made to bring about, in the words of Lincoln’s famous address, "a new birth of freedom."

But this "new birth of freedom" wasn’t fully realized by the generation that paid the price for it. Over 100 years after the battle, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and declared, "Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children." It took the struggle for Civil Rights to truly complete what Lincoln called "the unfinished work" for which the heroes of Gettysburg "gave the last full measure of devotion."

Today, when we speak of "fundamentally restoring all that is good in America," we remember the debt of gratitude we owe to those who sacrificed to create and preserve our union. From the Civil War to the struggle for Civil Rights, generations of Americans have made great sacrifices necessary to pass on to us this great gift of freedom. It’s our duty to them to preserve it, cherish it, and pass it on to our children, so "that these dead shall not have died in vain…and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

When duty calls, are we willing to answer today? Please remember that freedom isn't free - the price paid for our liberty has been great.

The reminders of the past costs are seen at Gettysburg. The way forward in protecting our unified body is encapsulated in Lincoln's 2nd inaugural address: "...with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds."

- Sarah Palin

2 Iraqis indicted on terrorism charges in Kentucky

An Iraqi citizen who allegedly carried out numerous improvised explosive device attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and another alleged to have participated in the Iraqi insurgency have been arrested and indicted in Kentucky on federal terrorism charges, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Alwan and Hammadi were arrested on May 25, 2011, on criminal complaints and made their initial appearances today in federal court in Louisville, Ky.   Each faces a potential sentence of life in prison if convicted of all the charges in the indictment.   Both defendants were closely monitored by federal law enforcement authorities in the months leading up to their arrests.   Neither is charged with plotting attacks within the United States.

Waad Ramadan Alwan, 30, and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 23, both former residents of Iraq who currently live in Bowling Green, were charged May 26 in a 23-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Bowling Green.

Alwan is charged with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals abroad; conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives) against U.S. nationals abroad; distributing information on the manufacture and use of IEDs; attempting to provide material support to terrorists and to al-Qaeda in Iraq; and conspiracy to transfer, possess and export Stinger missiles.

Hammadi is charged with attempting to provide material support to terrorists and to al-Qaeda in Iraq, as well as conspiracy to transfer, possess and export Stinger missiles.

“Over the course of roughly eight years, Waad Ramadan Alwan allegedly supported efforts to kill U.S. troops in Iraq, first by participating in the construction and placement of improvised explosive devices in Iraq and, more recently, by attempting to ship money and weapons from the United States to insurgents in Iraq.   His co-defendant Mohanad Shareef Hammadi is accused of many of the same activities.   With these arrests, which are the culmination of extraordinary investigative work by law enforcement and intelligence officials, the support provided by these individuals comes to an end and they will face justice,” said Todd Hinnen, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

The indictments were unsealed Tuesday and announced by the Justice Department’s acting assistant attorney general for national security, along with the U.S. attorney’s office and FBI in Louisville and the Louisville Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The unsealed indictments can be read in full at:  http://www.justice.gov/

Red Skelton: A lesson in American History


Red Skelton made us laugh just by looking at him, but he gave us his best performance in this heart felt defense of the Pledge of Allegiance many years ago. Sometimes the lesson's of the past need to be revisited.  Now is one of those times! Please pause for a moment today and consider how the efforts of the men and women of America's Armed Forces has contributed to the greatness of our nation.

People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
 - -George Orwell--

Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly the perils of war.
--Thucydides--

The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
--George Patton-

A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living.
--John F. Kennedy--

From time to time, the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots.
 --Thomas Jefferson-

Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don't have that problem.
--Ronald Reagan--

Once we have a war there is only one thing to do. It must be won. For defeat brings worse things than any that can ever happen in war.
  --Ernest Miller Hemmingway-

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
                                          --John Stewart Mills                                           

Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
-Winston Churchill--

We make war that we may live in peace.
--Aristotle-

Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good is coming July 4, 2011


The first publicity roll out for the July 4, launch of "Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good" will start with a short segment on the Documentary Channel (DISH 197 and DIRECT 267) on Memorial Day and then run into the month of June. It's the first of much to come!

It will also be uploaded next week at documentarychannel.com/getdoc.

Thanks for supporting our troops, first responders and their families!
Jonathan
Scott Hopkins, Pop Bitez


The Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good is a moving documentary feature film that celebrates America’s heroes and chronicles the journey of Academy Award Nominated actor, Gary Sinise, who since 9/11 has vowed to never to forget those who are willing to give all.


At it’s heart, Lt. Dan Band: For the Common Good is about America and our relationship with the brave men and women of our armed forces, the first responders, their families and the many wonderful citizens that support them. It is, in many ways, a celebration and tribute to the best of our best and, to the filmmaker’s great credit, it’s all presented in a completely non-partisan way, honestly and free of bravado or jingoism.




The Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good has an amazing soundtrack and special appearances by numerous celebrities, including John Ratzenberger, Melina Kanakaredes, Mykelti Williamson, Connie Stevens, and Academy Award Winners, Jon Voight and Robert Duvall.
Produced and directed by Hollywood filmmaker  Jonathan Flora, this inspiring film provides a rare glimpse at the inner workings of Sinise’s heart-felt commitment to our troops as we follow the actor/ musician and his band to several military bases around the world.


“When we first started deploying to Afghanistan and started losing troops, I immediately called the United Service Organization asking what I could do,” Sinise explained in the film. He said he felt for the families of the fallen, and felt it was his responsibility to do something for the troops who were sacrificing so much after the events of 9/11.

The behind-the- scenes look at how a USO tour is put together is as enlightening as it is fun and, with interviews of the soldiers and military personnel interspersed, Producer Jonathan Flora does an excellent job of showing us the “how” without ever losing sight of the “why”

About the director:

After serving 12 years with the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division, Jonathan Flora received his B.S.A. in Television Performance and Production (Telecommunications) from Ohio University.  Following three years as a radio sports broadcaster in Southern Ohio, Jonathan returned to O.U. to earn his M.S.A. in Marketing (Sports Administration) and went on to serve as the Director of Marketing and Corporate Sponsorships with the World Wrestling Federation for six years.  Jonathan Flora is a producer with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and has won numerous Key Art and Promax Awards. Along with his wife Deborah, they formed Lamplight Entertainment in 2009.The LT. DAN BAND: FOR THE COMMON GOOD moovie is the first major release for Lamplight Entertainment.    http://www.lamplightent.com/






“As a veteran and filmmaker working in Hollywood, it is a privilege to be able to support our troops and first responders through our medium.  The spirit of service and commitment to the greater good has always served as an example to me. 



Lt. Dan Band is about remembering those who are willing to lay down their lives for others and those who are left behind.  Gary Sinise is a man who has chosen to remember and to honor.  Gary truly is the Bob Hope of this generation.”


Jonathan currently serves on the Advisory Board for the GI Film Festival, formed to honor films that celebrate the successes and sacrifices of the American military.


 Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good
Reviews:

"A wonderful and inspiring chronicle of Gary and his fellow musicians, as they journey across America and the world. But the real point of the film, as it should be, is to shine a much-needed light on those in uniform, whose tremendous sacrifices can never — and must never — be taken for granted." — Jerry Bruckheimer, Hollywood Producer: Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, Blackhawk Down, Remember the Titans 

"A powerful and compelling tribute that continues to resonate long after the movie has ended. It is also that rare film that entertains even as it inspires. It's a clear reminder of my friend, Gary Sinise's talent and character. He's one of our 'good guys.'" — Ron Howard, Hollywood director, producer, actor


"What a compelling piece of work... very moving! A must see for all Americans... It leaves one feeling inadequate and certainly wanting to do more." — Pat Riley, NBA Hall of Fame Coach-Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, President — Miami Heat

"It made me proud not only to be the Chief of Department of the greatest Fire Department but also to be an American!" — Salvatore J. Cassano, Fire Commissioner, City of New York

"Gary Sinise is the Bob Hope of our generation!"
— Major General John F. Campbell, Commanding General, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)



"Jonathan Flora has delivered a moving portrayal of service and sacrifice! Connects in powerful ways with troops, first responders, and their families!" — Sloan Gibson, President, USO

“Lt. Dan Band” received the Crystal Heart Award from the 2010 Heartland Film Festival in October.  With a special appearance by actor Gary Sinise, the screening was a packed house and received five standing ovations.  http://www.heartlandfilmfestival.org/

This inspiring film will be available to watch in the comfort and privacy of your own homes beginning on July 4th! By logging onto http://www.ltdanbandmovie.com/ you’ll be able to stream the movie andone of out of every four dollars will be donated to organizations that support the military and their families such as the USO, Snowball Express, Operation International Children and more.
*Scott Hopkins, Pop Bitez contributed to this article.






In honor of those who gave all please consider donating to one of the following:

Marilyn Monroe: Never before seen pictures bought for $2 at Garage Sale!


By Jennifer Madison-30th May 2011

When a U.S. photographer bought two envelopes of negatives at a 1980 garage sale, he scored the bargain of a lifetime - but he didn't even know it.

Anton Fury has unveiled never-before-seen images of a young Marilyn Monroe, which he purchased for $2 at a sale in Parsippany, New Jersey.

One envelope contained eight images, including several of the bikini-clad actress striking poses at a poolside photoshoot, and a photo of the famous blonde lying in a bed with a mystery man by her side.

The second envelope contained about 70 negatives of late actress Jayne Mansfield.

It wasn't until Fury took the packages home, and gave the black-and-white negatives a closer look that he realized his discovery - which he has kept secret for more than three decades, he told CNN.

Fury recalled: 'I found an envelope of negatives, didn't know what they were, but I realized they were old.


'I took it home, put them on the lightboard with a loupe, and, needless to say, these are Marilyn,' he said. 'That was probably my greatest garage sale discovery ever.'

He kept the findings under wraps until last week, when he took them to Beverly Hills art dealer and appraiser David W Streets, who is experienced with Monroe archives.

Poolside: Images feature Monroe wearing two bathing suits, including a bikini

Art appraiser David W Streets believes the photos were taken in 1950. Monroe would have been 24

Pre-fame: Art appraiser David W Streets believes the photos were taken in 1950. Monroe would have been 24

While he is certain the images of the world's most famous blonde are authentic, questions remain over who shot them and exactly when they were taken.

He suspects, in 1950, before her breakout roles in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve, when she sported a shorter hair style.

Monroe would have been 24 at the time these photo's were taken.


Streets told CNN: 'I've looked for early photographs, early test shots, magazine shots, books, and haven't been able to find anything yet, so the mystery we're just beginning to unravel.'
Rare finds: While one envelope contained the images of Monroe (seen here), a second contained about 70 negatives of late actress Jayne Mansfield

Rare finds: While one envelope contained the images of Monroe (seen here), a second contained about 70 negatives of late actress Jayne Mansfield

A lead: Monroe (seen here) and Mansfield were known to be friends, which could help art dealers uncover more details about the photos

A lead: Monroe (seen here) and Mansfield were known to be friends, which could help art dealers uncover more details about the photos

He is sure, however, the images were taken in Los Angeles, citing the 1950s architecture and Hollywood Hills seen sloping in the background.


Streets is investigating leads as to who took the photos, noting there is one man pictured in both the Monroe and Mansfield photographs, who could be the photographer.

He explained: 'We know that Monroe and Mansfield were here working at the same time, were contemporaries and friends. So, there's an intertanglement there that we're going to unravel.'
Mystery man: Streets is investigating leads as to who took the photos, noting there is one man pictured in both the Monroe and Mansfield photographs, who could be the photographer

Mystery man: Streets is investigating leads as to who took the photos, noting there is one man pictured in both the Monroe and Mansfield photographs, who could be the photographer

For sale? Fury has not ruled out selling the images although he risks the mystery photographer revealing himself to make copyright claims by going public

For sale? Fury has not ruled out selling the images although he risks the mystery photographer revealing himself to make copyright claims by going public.



Fury has not ruled out putting up the images for sale to the public, although making his findings public he risks the mystery photographer revealing himself to make copyright claims.

Fury said: 'That's kind of what we're trying to figure out. There's way more questions than there are answers at this point. We don't know where this is going to lead.'

Fury doesn’t mention why he kept the photos to himself for more than thirty years.



In separate news but at a fitting time, starting June 1st (the day Marilyn would have turned 85-years-old) the Andrew Weiss Gallery will open an exhibit in Marilyn’s honor. It will include photos by famous photographers like Bill Carroll, George Barris, and Laszlo Willinger.

Dan Wheldon pulls off lucky Indy Win!

Dan Wheldon pulls off a lucky Indy win as race leader Hildebrand slams wall at turn four!

100 yrs of Indy 500 racing

Three thousand or so drivers and one field of 33,  but only one man (or woman) will make the history books crowned as a legend today.


A.J. Foyt Jr. takes pole for all-time lineup at the Brickyard. Row 1 – A.J. Foyt Jr., Rick Mears, Al Unser Sr.

Four victories, 35 races, 12,272.5 miles and 53 years as either a driver or owner not only put A.J. on the pole, they make him Mr. Indy. And who else to sit alongside but the other two four-time winners?

Row 2 – Bill Vukovich, Wilbur Shaw, Helio Castroneves

Vukovich beats out two three-time winners as perhaps the most iconic figure in Speedway history. He wasn’t around long – just five years – but in those five years he won twice (1953-54), broke down just nine laps from another victory (1952) and was on his way to a third straight victory when he was killed while leading in 1955. Row 3 – Louis Meyer, Mauri Rose, Bobby Unser

Will three time Indy winner Helio bring home a fourth win? He is only the 9th driver to achieve three wins and the first foreign-driver to do so.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has spent the past few years celebrating what it's called the "Centennial Era," which is marketing shorthand for "years building up to the hundredth anniversary." This has essentially meant a few fancy logos, a revamp of the storied speedway's museum, and not much else, until now. This is the big one, the actual anniversary celebration, and it's a doozy. No other motor race on the planet has run for as long in the same place, or under such consistent circumstances. And no other motorsport event is as widely recognized. It is also the world’s largest single-day sporting event attracting more than 400,000 fans. Nearly everyone on the planet has heard of it.

 Topping things off, vintage-rubber specialist Coker Tire is building a running replica of the Marmon Wasp, the first 500 winner . The “Wasp” Ray Harroun drove to victory in 1911 will be featured in two ceremonial laps during pre-race festivities for the 100th anniversary edition. Parnelli Jones, the 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner, will drive the No. 32 Marmon “Wasp” during both laps.

Only 40 cars stared the race in 1911, all powered by a 600 cu in engine. The race was won by Ray Harroun in his Marmon Model 32-based Wasp racer, a car that featured his invention, the rear view mirror. At the race, there were 80,000 spectators and many of them considered Harroun a real danger during the race, being the only one driving without the mandatory riding mechanic.

Also, 11 Indianapolis 500 winners will drive 11 Indianapolis 500-winning cars in another parade lap. Leading the winners’ parade lap will be Indianapolis Motor Speedway Chairman of the Board Mari Hulman George and four-time winner A.J. Foyt Jr. “Super Tex” will drive the Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Coupe that served as the pace car at the 1977 Indianapolis 500, Foyt’s fourth career win. Also driving in the winners’ lap will be legendary winning car-owner Andy Granatelli, in a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro convertible Pace Car.


Race Day at Indianapolis (all times ET)

8 a.m. Spectacle of Bands
9:25 a.m. 500 Princess Lap
9:50 a.m. 1911 Race Cars Pace Lap
10 a.m. Past Indy 500 Winners Pace Lap
10:30 a.m. Fearless at the 500 Stunt
11 a.m. Decade Cars Pace Lap
11:10 a.m. Military Salute Pace Lap
11:30 a.m. Driver Intros
11:47 a.m. America the Beautiful, performed by Miss America, Teresa Scanlan
11:51 a.m. God Bless America, performed by Florence Henderson
11:54 a.m. Our National Anthem, performed by David Foster, Seal and Kelly Clarkson
11:57 a.m. Invocation, given by Bishop Christopher Coyne
12:02 p.m. Taps
12:03 p.m. Back Home Again in Indiana, performed by Jim Nabors
12:05 p.m. Command To Start Engines, given by Mari Hulman-George
12:10 p.m. Pace Laps, led by A.J. Foyt
12:12 p.m. Start

 In 1936 a tradition was born when the winner of the race, Louis Meyer drank a bottle of buttermilk right after the race was over.

In 2005, Danica Patrick became the first woman to lead the race, only four laps before the end. However, the female rookie driver was not able to hold off Dan Wheldon, who managed to win the race.

 What began as highlights on “ABC’s Wide World of Sports” in 1965 with Jim Clark’s victory in a Lotus/Ford moved to a same-day, primetime program in 1971 and became a live telecast (except in Indianapolis) in 1986.

ESPN on ABC’s production will use 64 cameras, including a 360-degree rotating onboard camera mounted behind the driver on multiple cars. Unique views will come from Batcam, a high-definition camera running on a cable over pit road and the frontstretch that can move at more than 80 mph.

All 33 cars will carry GPS boxes for the Sportvision RaceFX system to provide telemetry and pointers to help identify the cars for viewers. ESPN will use a radio replay system that can record, play back and edit radios from any of the 33 drivers, and viewers will learn more about the technical aspects of the sport with segments from the Emmy-winning ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.

In addition, the IMS Radio Network will broadcast live, with pre-race coverage also starting at 11 a.m. (EDT). Coverage also can be heard on SiriusXM, the Official Satellite Radio Partner of INDYCAR. SiriusXM listeners can hear the race on Channel 94 on XM and Channel 212 on Sirius Premier.
ABC will televise the Indianapolis 500 for the 47th consecutive year Sunday, with live pre-race coverage starting at 11 a.m. (EDT) and race coverage at noon.

Wounded Warriors arrive on Grand Strand for Memorial Day Weekend

Wounded Warriors arrive on Grand Strand for Memorial Day Weekend

AccuWeather.com - Weather Video - Storms Cause Damage in the East

AccuWeather.com - Weather Video - Storms Cause Damage in the East

Joplin Teen Found, Twister claim's 147 lives!

Aunt confirms Joplin teen missing after graduation has died.

Harsh Facts about the Joplin twister:

-Death toll from Joplin tornado to date 147.
-More than 900 injured.
-105 people unaccounted for.
-Tornado rated an EF5 packing 200mph winds.
-30% of Joplin destroyed.
-Tornado left a swath of destruction 1/2 mile wide and 13 miles long.
-8,000 buildings destroyed.
- Morgue has 142 human remains.
-Deadliest single twister since 1947,
-31 positively identified so far.
- Only 19 of the dead identified and released to families.
-2011 deadliest year for tornadoes since 1950.
-273 tornadoes in just 6 days.
-Total for the year so far, 520.




A massive EF-5 tornado struck the small Missouri town of Joplin on May 22.  It scored a direct hit on the city of 50,000 people killing more than 100 people. Hundreds more were injured and rescue teams are still searching the rubble for survivors. It left a swath of destruction nearly a mile wide, damaging some 8,000 buildings.

Some 156 people were still unaccounted for on Friday, as dozens were confirmed alive, six were determined to be dead and others were reported missing and added to the list of names authorities had released on Thursday, officials said.

Investigators were also using tips from family and friends as well as Facebook and other social media posts to separate the missing from the dead.

"We are working around the clock to expedite this process so that families can have their loved ones returned to them," Missouri Deputy Director of Public Safety Andrea Spillars said.

Authorities also said the remains of only 19 of the dead have been identified and released to families.
The massive twister destroyed an estimated 30 percent of the city; entire neighborhoods were reduced to vast piles of rubble. "It's like taking a mower through tall grass. That's what it looks like. The devastation is complete. It is down to the ground," said State Senator Ron Richard.

St. John's Hospital, one of two Joplin hospitals, sustained heavy damage and hospital officials said Friday it was beyond renovation. They plan to open a 60-bed mobile hospital Sunday and officials said teams were evaluating new Joplin sites. (Reuters contributed to this article)


Below are organizations that are working on relief and recovery in the region.

AMERICAN RED CROSS: Opening emergency shelters for families affected by the severe storms.  To designate your gift to Red Cross Disaster Relief, select "National Disaster Relief" in the designation field. Donate here. http://www.redcross.org/

AMERICARES: AmeriCares is working with the National Conference of Community Health Centers to assess needs and mobilize a response for communities affected by the deadliest series of twisters in more than 40 years. To designate your gift to US Disaster Relief, write "US Disaster Relief Fund" in the designation field. Donate here.
http://www.americares.org/

DIRECT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL: Assisting local clinics and healthcare providers whose facilities have been destroyed or evacuated. To designate your gift to Disaster Relief, write "Emergency Preparedness & Response" in the designation field.
http://www.directrelief.org/

Asteroid could smash into Earth, or it could unlock the secrets of life

The asteroid named RQ36 orbit's around the Sun and occasionally dangerously close to Earth. Scientists say it could actually smash into us in as little as 50 years.

Maria Eugenia Sansaturio of the Universidad de Valladolid in Spain last year put the odds of a collision at about 1000 to one, and said it could happen as early as 2060.

The years in which a collision was most likely were 2162 and 2182, Dr Sansaturio said.

RQ36 is approximately 580m — or half a kilometre — in diameter. OSIRIS-REx is expected to reach it in 2020, after travelling for four years, and return to Earth in 2023.

Scientists have observed that each time RQ36 completes its 20-year orbit of the Sun, it swings a little bit closer towards Earth.

In 1900, Russian engineer Ivan Yarkovsky proposed that thermal radiation emanating from the "night side" of asteroids — the side facing away from the Sun — could potentially change their orbit.

In 2016, researchers will send the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on a journey to an asteroid called 1999 RQ36 to collect samples from the body as it travels through space.

The NASA project to collect samples from RQ36 with a robotic arm is expected to cost about $US800 million.

As part of the mission, NASA also hopes to learn more about whether the "Yarkovsky" effect is pushing the asteroid closer to Earth.NASA is setting out to search for traces of life on an asteroid which could potentially wipe it out.

According to NASA, RQ36 is the perfect place to look for material dating back more than 4.5 billion years to the solar nebula which collapsed to create our solar system.

"This asteroid is a time capsule from the birth of our solar system and ushers in a new era of planetary exploration," said Jim Green, director of NASA’s planetary science division in Washington.

NASA is also interested to see whether RQ36 is carrying any organic molecules like the kind previously found on meteorite and comet samples.

The asteroid samples could give us new insights into how the solar system was formed and how life began.

That is, if we're around long enough to study them.

*Content and photo's contributed by NASA

Man's Million dollar rare coin collection flies out car window

A FLORIDA man travelling to a coin show with his $1 million rare coin collection blew a tyre on his car, causing it to flip over as many as five times and send his precious change flying across the highway, WESH.com reported today.

The Orlando television station said the unidentified man initially refused to leave the scene, despite injuries and a heart condition.

"He was in pain, but he was more worried about the money," WESH quoted Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Darryl Haywood Jr. as saying.

The station said the man contacted a network of fellow collectors in the area to help recover the coins and about eight to nine turned out with metal detectors.

Police helped as well and a tow truck driver found $46,000 in bills in the trees, WESH said. However, it was not immediately clear how much of the total was recovered.

The man and his wife had been en route from their home in Boca Raton to a coin show in Jacksonville when the accident occurred Thursday night on Interstate highway 95.
WESH.com

AccuWeather.com - Weather Video - Storms Cause Damage in the East

AccuWeather.com - Weather Video - Storms Cause Damage in the East

Michael J. Fox: Receives Order of Canada

 Actor Michael J. Fox was among 43 people invested with the Order of Canada in a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday.

 "To be thought of and recognized as distinctly Canadian is just the highest honour," Fox told CTV's Canada AM Friday from Ottawa, before he was invested by Governor General David Johnston.

At a ceremony on Friday, Fox was named an Officer of the Order of Canada, along with 13 others, to recognize his service to Canada or humanity at large. Another 29 became Members of the Order of Canada.

Fox was born in Edmonton and grew up in Chilliwack and Burnaby, B.C. as well as North Bay, Ont. He says he was fed a diet of hockey, listening to Robbie Robertson and Neil Young and reading Farley Mowat and W.O. Mitchell.

"Being Canadian is intrinsic to who I am," Fox said.


B.C.-born actor Michael J. Fox was honoured for his work to fund medical research into Parkinson's disease. He was diagnosed with the disease in the early 1990s. B.C.-born actor Michael J. Fox was honoured for his work to fund medical research into Parkinson's disease which causes tremors and spastic movements.. He was diagnosed with the disease in the early 1990s. After mostly stepping away from acting after his diagnosis, Fox has spent most of the last 10 years raising funds for better Parkinson's treatments.

"Over the last 10 years, we've put about $225 million into Parkinson's research," he said.

His Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research is now the largest non-profit funder of Parkinson's research. The Canadian branch of the foundation recently gained charitable status, ensuring that Canadian medical researchers can receive the funding they need to work towards the goal of finding a cure.


Fox is perhaps best known for starring in two television series, Family Ties and Spin City, as well as the Back to the Future movie trilogy. He was described as a "respected and accomplished screen actor," but also "an outspoken advocate" for people living with Parkinson’s disease. The actor went public with news he had Parkinson's in 1998.

 What it means to be a Canadian

"It's a seriousness and a sense of humour. It's a lot of contradictions. It's an intensity and also an enjoyment of life and a recognition of the simple pleasures of life and our importance to each other.



When I think about Canada, I think about vast spaces and tight communities and that, I think, was representated in what we heard today and the people that were represented here. They come from all over the country and all different communities, but they're tightly connected."    - Michael J. Fox

After the ceremony, he talked to reporters at Rideau Hall about his work with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. The Canadian branch of his foundation recently gained charitable status.

"When we started the foundation we didn't want to be just a symbol of hope but an agent for change," he said.

In total, Gov. Gen. David Johnston presented 29 members and 14 officers with their insignia of membership.
CTV News Staff, CBC contributed to this article.

For more information and to donate contact:

AccuWeather.com - Weather Video - Tornadoes, Tornadoes, and More Tornadoes

AccuWeather.com - Weather Video - Tornadoes, Tornadoes, and More Tornadoes

It's John Wayne's birthday!

A time to remember John Wayne at his best, and line up some prime viewing for Memorial Day.

In his most popular and enduring non-Western, 1952 "The Quiet Man," he plays a boxer afraid of his own strength because he once killed a man in the ring. He does one of the slowest burns in film history, expressing the splutter with a hitch in his rolling walk and the way he dispatches a butt like a spear to the ground as if to say he finally means business.


And his reluctance to be violent makes him likable, even noble.

That valiant manliness is at Wayne's core as a performer, even when he plays against it in movies like "Red River" (1948) and "The Searchers" (1956). It's what made Wayne an enduring luminary even when his politics and tactics seemed to rival Slim Pickens' riding the A-bomb to Armageddon in "Dr. Strangelove."

"The Duke" had the true star's instinct of delivering what his followers wanted before they even knew they wanted it. For example, in the smash romantic comedy "Without Reservations" (1946), Wayne co-stars with "It Happened One Night's" Claudette Colbert. But Wayne is the one who carries the comedy, especially when espousing values that aren't 19th century - they're 17th century.

He sums up his stance in a remarkable speech that memorializes the pioneers:

"Do you think these pioneers filled out form number X6277 and sent in a report saying the Indians were a little unreasonable? Did they have insurance for their old age, for their crops, for their homes? They did not! They looked at the land, and the forest, and the rivers. They looked at their wives, their kids and their houses, and then they looked up at the sky and they said thanks, God, we'll take it from here." - John Wayne

Whether you find that statement inspiring, appalling or both, there was no question Wayne believed in it. It took him 10 years to develop his role in Hollywood movies as the personification of rugged individualism. He sustained it for 3 1/2 decades.

More than any of his peers, he retained a rabid fan base and an image forceful enough to bring Old Western style into modern settings and make viewers of all political stripes enjoy the incongruity. His unpretentious flamboyance evoked nostalgia for wide open spaces even in urban boys and girls.

Wayne had been acting for 10 years as an extraordinarily eager kid, just making friends with the camera, when Ford cast him in 1939's "Stagecoach" as the Ringo Kid and brought out all his rough-edged amiability. The Kid is handy with a gun and cagey around the law. He has a steady intelligence. Yet he's so unworldly that he's surprised when the other stagecoachers shun a whore. When he stares with love at the touching Claire Trevor, he looks ready to melt. Wayne is never more of a man's man in "Stagecoach" than when he's most like a boy.

It took Howard Hawks to toughen Wayne's image into the grizzled patriarch who could make taciturnity seem belligerent. His most famous role for Hawks was as the Captain Bligh of the cattle drive in "Red River." When Ford saw what Hawks could do with Wayne, he gave him even meatier parts.




On Memorial Day weekend, TV channels generally trot out Wayne's World War II pictures. But Wayne's Westerns were often better military movies.


In Ford's "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," which Wayne made the same year (1949) as "The Sands of Iwo Jima," he plays Captain Nathan Brittles, who must try to halt the spread of a vast, pan-tribal Indian war following Custer's defeat at Little Big Horn.

"She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" accents the virtues of Wayne's leathery sagebrush sage, who could handle any job without raising a sweat. Every word Brittles says counts. He isn't overly sensitive - or at least not overtly sensitive - but he feels the ties of family, community and country.

In this movie, Wayne brings an audience inside qualities that in lesser performers could be dramatically intractable, like rough-hewn dignity and reticence. The extra second it takes for him to bark out an emotional command only adds depth to his authority, and when Ford gives him a chance to express his feelings directly - at the graves of his wife and two daughters - he has a mellow, rueful veracity.

Although the movie hardly questions the role of the cavalry in the Indian Wars, Brittles and an Indian chief agree that they are too old to fight wars - and that old men should stop wars.

No movie actor ever showed a more exquisite control over values and emotions like faith, duty, honor, or loyalty than Wayne does in "Yellow Ribbon" or in Ford's "Rio Grande" (1950). In "Rio Grande," co-star Maureen O'Hara embodies just the kind of woman the Wayne hero would set his cap for: fiery, beautiful, independent, not standing for any guff. Few evocations of tormented love equal the scene when the regimental chorus serenades Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke (Wayne) and his estranged wife, Kathleen (O'Hara). As the couple listens to "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen," longing and sadness, sweetness and hurt play through their faces.

Wayne was at his seriocomic peak in Hawks' giddy oater, "Rio Bravo" (1959). He was so confident, so self-sufficient without seeming self-satisfied, that Hawks played the rest of the cast against him for laughs. Wayne could fall down a flight of stairs and knock himself out and risk his neck on the reliability of a wheezing drunk (Dean Martin) and an old geezer (Walter Brennan) without ever losing his dignity.

 It become a trick of nature that nothing could unhinge John Wayne.

Movie buffs remember these specific performances. Most Americans will think of Wayne in random images rolling from the expanse of his prairie-like career. Some may miss the big-cat. Others may miss his dry voice and even delivery, which sometimes went on rambling even after his brain raced ahead.














He could be pompous in propaganda films like "Big Jim McLain" (1952) and "The Green Berets" (1968). But one year after "The Green Berets," he showed in "True Grit" that he didn't have to take himself too seriously. His Rooster Cogburn was an intentional cartoon reactionary, an unwashed, law-and-order autocrat of the drinking table, ordering a rat to stop chomping a friend's dinner and shooting it when it refused.

Wayne never lost the eagerness that was his first discernible trait. In his last film, "The Shootist" (1976) he used it to weld together everything he knew. The film was set up, distastefully, as a premature obituary, with Wayne playing a gunslinger who knew he was dying of cancer. But Wayne knew exactly what he was doing - he was playing an outsized character, a myth, himself. And he lived up to it. Wayne didn't truckle to our sentiments.


It was inevitable that Wayne should end his career with a Western. Wayne helped invest the form with his own brawling good nature - and in films like "Red River," wrestled with its dark side. He created a cowboy legacy that every other Western star or filmmaker would have to grapple with. Even today, you can hear them lining up and saying, "Thanks, Duke - we'll take it from here."