| The CNN Wire: Thursday, Oct. 18
House Dems fail to override president's veto on children's health care bill WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Failing to garner a two-thirds majority, the Democrat-led House Thursday was unable to override President Bush's veto of a plan to expand the state-run Children's Health Insurance Program. The vote was 273-156, 13 short of the two-thirds majority needed, even though 44 Republicans sided with the Democrats for the measure. House Democratic leaders have vowed to continue the fight to get some kind of legislation passed on the issue. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was adamant the plan -- which would provide $35 billion for children's health care and which supporters say will cover 10 million children -- would not be scaled back. (Posted 1:37 p.m.) Tornado damages Pensacola church (CNN) -- A tornado accompanied by heavy thunderstorms and gusty winds touched down in Pensacola, Fla., Thursday, damaging a church with an attached day care center, and snapping power lines and trees in the Gulf Coast community.
Lost scholarships upset governor
Last year, Bredesen proposed putting money into a fund that would be used to help schools get better interest rates on loans for building projects. The proposal did not make it through the General Assembly, nor did a plan backed by Senate Republicans to give school districts grants from the lottery surplus to use on construction projects. The Senate Education Committee will take up a passel of lottery bills Wednesday. The governor also said he would like to see more money put into non-lottery scholarship programs that are geared to help students with financial need. "I couldn't have gone to college without that kind of help," said Bredesen, who graduated from Harvard University in 1967 with a degree in physics.
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Four regional fires, but no real trouble
CFA incident controller Mark Cartledge said the fire posed no real threat to life or property. "However, if it was on a day of total fire ban, it would have been a totally different story," Mr Cartledge said. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined. Nine hours later at Learmonth, a fallen powerline sparked a small grass and scrub fire at 9am in Pattersons Rd. The fire, which was quickly brought under control, destroyed half an acre of farmland. It was attended by crews from Learmonth and Invermay. Less than two hours later at 10.54am, a faulty powerline once again caused a "very small" fire, this time in Alfredton near the Sturt St end of Ring Rd. The spot fire, which started after the powerline blew a fuse, was put out by a passerby, who fortunately happened to be a member of the Smythesdale Fire Brigade.
Different Clinton, more painful bill
It was like turning the clocks back 16 years when Hillary Clinton put her campaign to become the first woman president of the United States back on track with victory in New Hampshire. It was, of course, the same small north-eastern state where Bill first won his spurs as the comeback kid. The similarity does not end there. Just as in 1992, the US economy is a mess. Unemployment is rising, the federal deficit is enormous, personal debt frighteningly high, the real estate market is in freefall. For the first time since George Bush Sr was booted out of the White House, the economy is going to be absolutely central to this year's struggle for the presidency. Whoever wins the race - be it a Republican or Democrat - will take comfort from the fact that if economic recovery could be achieved in the 1990s it can be achieved again.
With friends like these ...
Doesn't it rather disconnect us, since instead of doing something enjoyable such as talking and eating and dancing and drinking with my friends, I am merely sending them little ungrammatical notes and amusing photos in cyberspace, while chained to my desk? A friend of mine recently told me that he had spent a Saturday night at home alone on Facebook, drinking at his desk. What a gloomy image. Far from connecting us, Facebook actually isolates us at our workstations. Facebook appeals to a kind of vanity and self-importance in us, too. If I put up a flattering picture of myself with a list of my favourite things, I can construct an artificial representation of who I am in order to get sex or approval. ("I like Facebook," said another friend. "I got a shag out of it.") It also encourages a disturbing competitivness around friendship: it seems that with friends today, quality counts for nothing and quantity is king.
Off the map in Africa
And most oil companies are neither based in Geneva, best-known for United Nations' agencies and secretive banks, nor expect takeover offers from Asian energy interests, the exit scenario considered most likely by Mr. Gandur, Addax's chief executive officer and controlling shareholder. "We are the reverse of most companies," he said. .
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