Five Things to Know About Memorial Day

Today, Memorial Day, is one of America’s most solemn observances. We honor the men and women who died serving and defending our country—unlike Veterans Day, the day to honor all veterans.

Amid the parades, 21-gun salutes and long weekend trips, how much do you know the holiday? Here are five Memorial Day facts.

1. The sheer carnage of the Civil War, America’s deadliest war, inspired Memorial Day as a way to honor the war dead. The observances originally were called Decoration Day because thankful Americans decorated and cared for soldiers’ graves. “Memorial Day” usage began appearing in 1882, but “Decoration Day” was common until post-World War II. Congress officially changed the name in 1967.

2. This year’s Memorial Day falls a few days shy of the first national observation. Memorial/Decoration Day was observed on May 30 every year until 1971, when Congress moved it to the last Monday of May. Gen. John A. Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued an order in 1868 that May 30 be “designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country.”

3. On that first national Decoration Day in 1868, approximately 5,000 citizens decorated 20,000 Civil War soldiers’ graves—both Union and Confederate—in Arlington Cemetery. But the show of solidarity did not last. Southern states protested what they saw as a holiday primarily honoring Union soldiers. Many Southern states created their own observances on separate days, and did not rejoin the Memorial Day traditions until post-World War I, when the day evolved to honor the dead who served in all wars.

4. Not content to simply observe the holiday, several towns squabbled about which could lay claim to founding Memorial/Decoration Day. Historical accounts say women in the Confederate states decorated soldiers’ graves before it ever became a national movement. A handful of towns nationwide argued they were the first to mark Memorial Day. President Lyndon B. Johnson (tried to) put the issue to rest in 1966 by declaring Waterloo, NY, the birthplace of Memorial Day. Waterloo won out because it had first marked Memorial Day on May 5, 1866, and since made it an annual community observance.

5. Enjoying the three-day weekend with a trip to the beach, backyard barbecue or other fun pursuits? Some critics wish you wouldn’t. Ever since Congress moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May, creating a three-day weekend, critics blame the change with removing the solemnity and original purpose from the day. Hawaiian Sen. Daniel Inouye (D) has tried since 1987 to get Congress to move Memorial Day back to May 30.

Bonus fact! Keep noon and 3 p.m. local time in mind today. At noon, all flags lowered to half-staff should be raised completely for the remainder of the day. And at 3 p.m., a National Moment of Remembrance takes place. President Bill Clinton started the tradition in 2000.

"I basically make $6,000-$8,000 a month online." - Kelly Richards

Have You Ever Considered Beating The Recession?

Kelly Richards of Brooklyn, NY was tired of worrying all the time where the next dollar is coming from. Life seemed merely a succession of bills and worrying about how to pay them. One late night while surfing the internet, her long hours of research had finally paid off and she discovered her tight lip secret to getting a break in life and beating the recession. She was finally able to provide for her three children while staying home with them.

I read Kelly's blog last month and decided to feature her story in our local job report. In our phone interview she told me her amazing story. "I basically make about $6,000-$8,000 a month online. It's enough to comfortably replace my old jobs income, especially considering I only work about 10-13 hours a week from home.

Working online has been a big break for Kelly, who struggled for months going from one dead end job to another. "I lost my job shortly after the recession hit, I needed reliable income, I was not interested in the "get rich quick" scams you see all over the internet. Those are all pyramid scams or stuff where you have to sell to your friends and family. I just needed a legitimate way to earn a living for me and my family. The best part of working online is that I am always home with the kids, I save a lot of money."

Blast rocks Kenyan capital, at least 15 hurt

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A blast struck a shopping complex in Nairobi's business district during Monday's lunch hour, wounding more than a dozen people, but it was not immediately clear what had caused the explosion.

Dense black smoke billowed from the badly damaged building and sirens blared as emergency service crews rushed to Moi Avenue, a major road running through the city centre.

Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere said it was too early to determine the cause of the blast. He said blackened wires inside the trading centre indicated a possible electrical fault but did not rule out a bomb.

More than ten people have been killed in a string of attacks in Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa since Kenya sent troops into Somalia in October to fight al Qaeda-linked militants.

Nairobi has blamed the al Shabaab militants, who merged with al Qaeda earlier this year, for the surge in violence and kidnappings that has threatened tourism in east Africa's biggest economy and wider regional destabilisation.

A military helicopter hovered in the skies above downtown Nairobi and the security forces cordoned off nearby streets.

Medics applied bandages to the walking wounded gathered by nearby buildings and some bystanders wailed in shock. Clothing, shoes and blown out windows littered the road.

Crowds carried away people seen with blood streaming down their faces.

"There was a huge bang followed by people screaming and shouting," said one witness who declined to be named.

Assistant Internal Security Minister Joshua Ojode said 15 people were wounded, 11 of them critically. A Reuters cameraman at the main public hospital said medics reported 27 casualties.

There have been several attacks near the border with Somalia since Kenya's military incursion. At least five people were killed in two separate attacks in the remote region on Saturday.

Currency traders said the blast weakened the Kenyan shilling At 1115 GMT the local currency traded at 85.55/75 against the dollar after earlier trading at 85.30/50.

"We have seen a bit of depreciation on the local currency. It's right in the central business district, so it's not very good news to be getting, and I think that causes some fear," said Duncan Kinuthia, head of trading at Commercial Bank of Africa.

Budget on a tightrope

From the way Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh is talking these days, it seems like the budget is going to be just like the smile of the Mona Lisa: all things to all people.

In one venue he assures his audience that the budget will be “people friendly”, and in another he assures a group of foreign investors that there will be “no new taxes”. To an industry body he says the budget will be “growth oriented” and seek to create jobs, then elsewhere in a “pre-budget seminar” he says austerity measures are required to cut bank borrowing. In the same speech he says they plan to enhance the Public Sector Development Programme, and that “present economic policies will be continued”.

None of this is surprising. The eclectic stew of commitments that Mr Shaikh is serving up in the run-up to the speech on June 1st in fact reflects the complicated circumstances under which the budget is being drawn up.

This is an election year budget, which means pressure for goodies such as development projects will be immense. Most governments find it very hard to raise revenue or control spending during election time.

On the other hand, the government has quietly approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan, as outflows of foreign exchange are set to accelerate as debt repayments rise to more than $5 billion in the forthcoming fiscal year. For the IMF the yardstick to judge performance is fiscal prudence, and deficit reduction.

The prevailing view amongst bankers and industry leaders is that the budget is so hamstrung by contradictory pressures, and so hemmed in by the large allocations for debt servicing — estimated at 80 per cent of net federal revenues — defence and subsidies, that there is little more for Mr Shaikh to do than tinker at the margins and hope for the best.

“I think they will simply muddle through till the interim government comes in,” says a top banker based out of Lahore. “They’ll run the reserves down and let the interim government do the dirty work of getting onto an IMF programme. At this point, this government is in no position to make any decisions on anything.”

The fresh approach to the IMF comes at a time when Pakistan’s relationship with its western creditors is in tatters. The last IMF facility, signed in Nov 2008, was terminated prematurely in October 2011 for failure to implement a key provision: the VAT.

And goodwill amongst the international community, something the government was able to call upon on at least two occasions while its cooperation in the war on terror was visible, is now exhausted.

“Pakistan must make all efforts to ensure the resumption of financial inflows,” the State Bank warned in its last quarterly report, hinting at the economic cost of staying in a defiant posture towards our creditors and allies in the west.

That advice is now gaining urgency and perhaps lies behind Mr Shaikh’s hushed approach to the IMF. What preconditions will the IMF set for any assistance?

“A key element of the last programme was the ending of exemptions and special regimes (SROs) under both the GST and the income taxes,” says Dr Ehtesham Ahmed, who served as an Executive Director on the board of the IMF, looking after Pakistan’s programme.

“This could have been done without reference to Parliament, and was indeed Plan B, attempted with IMF support in March 2011—but then you had SRO 283 of April 1, 2011”

SRO 283 was the infamous order issued by the FBR last year that resurrected tax exemptions for a long list of items only days after the government had tried use executive action to clamp down on this culture of exemptions and special regimes that has punctured holes in our tax code, making it look like a lump of Swiss cheese.

Removal of these exemptions was meant to be “plan B” launched in the aftermath of the failed RGST effort of 2011, but did not survive more than a week under pressure from the business community.

The order listed 185 items that would enjoy special rates of Sales Tax, most at zero per cent, and it infuriated the IMF which signalled its displeasure in strong language shortly afterwards and discontinued all disbursements.

“So a key test will be the repeal of SRO 283, and other assorted SROs since then,” continues Dr Ahmed.

Pakistan will also have to fight to be heard as the western world becomes increasingly preoccupied with the economic crisis engulfing the Eurozone.

“Already, Greece is asking for Pakistan terms,” says Dr Ahmed, pointing out that the IMF cannot afford to show leniency to one country without creating a chorus of demands for similar treatment from another group.

But repealing these tax exemptions is likely to create a furore amongst the country’s powerful business community, whose leaders enjoy privileged access to the top corridors of political power. Under the present circumstances, the government is unlikely to pick a battle with
this powerful constituency.

Stuck on this tightrope, Mr Shaikh is now left with little choice but to give all commitments to all constituencies, and hope that he can bargain some ground back through private quarters at a later stage. As a result, he’s playing his cards close to his chest.

But the real fear is that he’s not holding any cards, has no strategy and is only biding his time till his term ends. The real fear is that nobody is in charge, that the budget is going to be the Mona Lisa smile without the enigma, and certainly without the genius of Da Vinci standing behind it.

Ashley Judd "so proud" of husband Dario Franchitti's third Indianapolis 500 win

(CBS News) Dario Franchitti won his third Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, and wife Ashely Judd was there cheering him on.

The "Missing" actress, 44, joined her husband in Victory Lane after the win, where they kissed and celebrated.

Dario Franchitti wins his third Indy 500

"[It's] just such an extraordinary achievement," Judd said of Franchitti's three Indy 500 victories, according to the Los Angeles Times. "I am so proud of him."

Franchitti, who drank the traditional bottle of milk in Victory Lane after the win, donned white sunglasses during the race in tribute to Dan Weldon, the two-time Indy 500 winner who was killed in a crash last October in Las Vegas during the Indy 300.

Weldon's wife, Susie, reportedly went to Victory Lane to congratulate Franchitti. She also joined him and Judd for the traditional winner's lap around the track in the pace car, the Daily Mail reports.

Franchitti and Judd, who married in 2001, also posed with the Borg-Warner Trophy at the race's start/finish line Monday during the traditional winner photo session.

MSNBC host Chris Hayes says he has trouble calling fallen soldiers 'heroes,’ sparks controversy

An MSNBC host is dodging attacks after arguing he was “uncomfortable” calling fallen soldiers “heroes.”

Chris Hayes made the remark on Sunday, the eve of Memorial Day, on his show, “Up With Chris Hayes.”

“I feel uncomfortable about the word hero because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war,” Hayes said.

He added that “there are individual circumstances in which there is genuine, tremendous heroism, you know, hail of gunfire, rescuing fellow soldiers,” but that “it seems to me that we marshal this word in a way that is problematic.”

On Monday, a top veterans group called for Hayes to apologize.

“Chris Hayes’ recent remarks on MSNBC regarding our fallen service members are reprehensible and disgusting,” said Richard DeNoyer, National Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars, to FOX News.

“His words reflect his obvious disregard for the service and sacrifice of the men and women who have paid the ultimate price while defending our nation. His insipid statement is particularly callous because it comes at a time when our entire nation pauses to reflect and honor the memory of our nations’ fallen heroes.”

Online, critics were no less harsh.

“Memo to Chris: they are heroes, and you don’t get a vote,” wrote Breitbart’s Kurt Schlichter.

Schlichter accused Hayes of making the comment to prove he’s “edgy.”

“And what’s edgier than taking on our troops?”

Political pundit Ann Coulter mocked Hayes on Twitter:

“Chris Hayes ‘Uncomfortable’ Calling Fallen Military ‘Heroes’ – Marines respond by protecting his right to menstruate,” she wrote.

The only defense of Hayes’ comment appeared to come from Hayes himself.

The host took to Twitter to urge followers to watch the entire hour of the show before jumping to conclusions. He also directed them to another one of his show’s segments, in which he discusses how the relationship most Americans have to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is, for the most part, abstract

Memorial Day quiz: Test yourself

1. Memorial Day was a response to the loss of American lives in which war?

a) Revolutionary War

b) Civil War

c) World War I

d) World War II

2. What was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history?

a) Battle of Antietam

b) Battle of Gettysburg

c) Battle of Shiloh

d) Battle of Okinawa

3. What was the original name of Memorial Day?

a) Remembrance Day

b) Commemoration Day

c) Decoration Day

d) Dedication Day

Dario Franchitti wins 3rd Indy 500

INDIANAPOLIS –  It was an hour before the Indianapolis 500, and Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan found a quiet corner to prepare for the race. They were interrupted by Parnelli Jones, Bobby Unser and Johnny Rutherford, three of the greatest drivers in IndyCar history.

"T.K. and I were getting our pictures taken. We were like a couple of kids," Franchitti said. "We were with the legends of the sport."

Hey, Dario, you're a legend now, too.

Franchitti became the 10th driver in the 96 years of Indianapolis to win three or more 500s, picking up his third on Sunday by winning a last-lap trophy dash with Takuma Sato to the checkered flag. Sato tried to pass for the lead going into the first turn, pulled even with Franchitti, then spun hard into the wall after their wheels appeared to make contact.

It let Franchitti sail away to the win on a day that started and ended as a tribute to Dan Wheldon, who won the race a year ago but was killed in an October crash in the IndyCar season finale. Finishing right behind him was teammate Scott Dixon and then Kanaan — three of D-Dub's closest friends.

"Everybody up there was a friend of Dan's, and that about sums it up. Everybody loved him," Franchitti said as bagpipes played over the public address system. "I think D-Dub would be proud of that one."

Franchitti can be proud of what he's done.

The Scot has long been reluctant to consider his place in IndyCar history, even though his accomplishments have clearly made him one of the greats. He's won the last three championships, has three Indy 500 wins and with 31 career victories is tied with Sebastien Bourdais and Paul Tracy on the all-time wins list.

One more win will move Franchitti into seventh place in the record books. The only drivers ahead of him? The giants of open-wheel racing: three Unsers, two Andrettis and A.J. Foyt, the all-time wins leader.

"I'm very proud of the achievements, whether it's Indy wins, championships, every one of the race wins," he said. "Sometimes I look back, but generally I'm trying to look forward. When I retire, that's the time to look back."

Much of his success has come since 2009, when he returned from a brief foray into NASCAR. Franchitti ran only 12 races in stock cars in 2008, missing a stretch with a broken ankle before owner Chip Ganassi pulled the plug on the team because of sponsorship woes.

He was back in IndyCar the next year, rolling on to become the most decorated driver in the series. Franchitti has 13 wins, two Indy 500s and three consecutive championships since his return.

"He was back to something that he was really comfortable with and around the people that he knew really well," Dixon said. "I think he was actually hungry after that, too, because he wanted to prove when he came back that he was still the driver that he was. He's definitely done that — maybe a little too much."

It's fitting that his latest feat came at Indy, where Wheldon was on everyone's minds Sunday.

And as his three friends lined up with six laps remaining for the final restart — Kanaan out front, Franchitti and Dixon second and third — they couldn't help but wonder if Wheldon was at play.

"Kind of like old times, the three of us back and forwards," Franchitti said. "I thought, 'Dan is laughing at us right now going at it.'"

The elation for Franchitti's win was tempered by the heartbreak for two other deserving drivers. Dixon, a one-time Indy 500 winner, temporarily relocated his family to St. Petersburg, Fla., to support Wheldon's wife and two sons, and Kanaan, 0 for 11 now at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, had openly wept following the death of his former teammate.

"I think a lot of us that were close to Dan, you know, you wanted it that little bit more," Dixon said. "I guess maybe in the back of your mind, you figured he would probably help you out today, too. I think in that situation, seeing how it lined up with the top three, three of Dan's friends, it was a tough one."

The race had developed into what was expected to be a duel to the finish between Franchitti and Dixon. But when the Scot made his final pass of Dixon with two laps to go, he pulled Sato with him and it sapped Dixon's momentum.

So the last-lap pass attempt was Sato's for the taking — "Job done," he later admitted thinking — but he couldn't pull it off as he hugged the inside white line through Turn 1. His wheels appeared to touch Franchitti's, he spun into the wall, and Franchitti pulled away past for the win — this one, just like the first two, under caution.

Dixon crossed the finish line in second, and Kanaan was third, and Franchitti was reminded of the delicate balance in celebrating a team win vs. beating a teammate.

"I want to beat Scott. I know he wants to beat me. I don't think I've met maybe a more competitive individual, except maybe Dan in the early years," Franchitti said. "Out on the track, he's competition, but a teammate, and then afterward he's my friend. I see the disappointment in his face. I see the disappointment in T.K.'s face.

"I think both those guys will get more championships and Indy wins. They're just too good not to. When you beat guys like that, I take that as a big accomplishment because, God, they're not easy to beat."

Kanaan, who used a bold move on a late restart to dart from fifth to first, couldn't hold off Franchitti and Dixon on the last restart. He was OK with the final result.

"I don't think it could have been a better result for Dan," Kanaan said. "Wherever he is right now, he's definitely making fun of Sato, I can tell you that, and he's giving Dario a tap on the back for sure, and he was going to call me a wanker that I didn't win this thing.

"I'm glad this is over. I'm glad that now I hope we can all move on and just remember Dan the way Dan was — a happy guy, a wonderful friend."

Wheldon's wife, Susie, went to Victory Lane to congratulate Franchitti, who hid his tears of joy behind a pair of white sunglasses worn in tribute because they were Wheldon's preference. She then sat next to Franchitti's wife, actress Ashley Judd, in the backseat of the convertible — the same seat she had a year ago for Wheldon's win — for the victory lap around the 2.5-mile oval.

The day opened with car owner Bryan Herta driving a single memorial lap around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the car Wheldon drove to victory last year. Fans were given white sunglasses to wear on laps 26 and 98, marking the car numbers Wheldon used in his two wins.

It was Susie Wheldon's first trip to any race track since her husband's death, and she watched from Dixon's pit stand with his wife, Emma.

So it was apt on this hot day — the temperature hit 91 degrees, just one shy of the Indy 500 record set in 1937 — that one of the most competitive races in history ended with a frantic push from Wheldon's friends. Ten drivers swapped the lead 35 times, shattering the record of 29 in the 1960 race won by Jim Rathmann.

Until the last lap, when Sato made his move for the win, the race was close but largely incident free.

The only multi-car accident came when a spin by Mike Conway collected Will Power, who came to Indy as the series points leader and winner of the last three races this season. It was a somewhat frightening accident as Conway, who broke his front wing when he hit one of his crew members on pit road, hit the outside wall and his car tilted on its side before coming to rest. And Helio Castroneves had to deftly maneuver past a bouncing tire that still grazed one of his own wheels.

Besides that, though, the race was slowed by just seven other cautions — including the one on the last lap — for 39 of the 200 laps.

The series' next stop is June 3 in Belle Isle, Mich.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/05/28/dario-franchitti-wins-3rd-indy-500/#ixzz1wBKllizA