Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Facing huge budget shortfalls, the United States Postal Service has proposed solutions including closing hundreds of post offices and eliminating Saturday deliveries. Now it may be considering jacking up the price of stamps, too.

The popularity of internet services like online bill pay have led in part to a 1.7 percent decline in mail volume, causing the USPS to anticipate losing $14.1 billion in 2012 — with bigger losses expected in the years to come.

In response, postal officials sent a letter to Congress last Thursday in which they recommended several changes, including the possibility of increasing the price of a stamp from its current 45 cents up to 50 cents. While stamp prices have gone up four times since 2006, chief financial officer Joe Corbett said, “Clearly, we’re [still] underpriced [and] would like the ability to move that price up.”

The USPS says the extra nickel, which would likely be added in one or two-cent increments until 2015, would raise revenues by $1 billion annually. Although taxpayers don’t foot the bill to keep the postal service running, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe told Congress that failing to help the organization limit its losses would result in a “long-term burden to the American taxpayer.”

[Time]

Steve Powell, Getty Images

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history:

1819 – By the Adams-Onís Treaty, Spain sells Florida to the United States for $5 million (More info)

1879 – In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many of five-and-dime Woolworth stores (More info)

1924 – President Calvin Coolidge becomes the first commander-in-chief to deliver a radio broadcast from the White House (More info)

1980 – In what would come to be called the Miracle on Ice, the US men’s hockey team beats the heavily-favored Soviet Union team 4-3 at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York (More info)

2006 – At least six men stage Britain’s largest robbery in history, stealing $92.5 million from a Securitas depot in Kent (More info)

Paul Morigi, Getty Images

State lawmakers in Indiana were recently presented with a resolution to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts organization and honor the positive influence the group has had on American women. Representative Bob Morris, a Republican from Fort Wayne, was the only representative to refuse to sign, citing a belief that the Girl Scouts is a “radicalized organization.”

The Indiana lawmaker sent a letter to his colleagues saying he plans to pull his daughters from their Girl Scout troop after he found information online claiming that the group “sexualizes” girls and promotes homosexuality. One source he cited was a conservative “news” website called World Net Daily.

In his letter, he claimed to have found allegations that the Girl Scouts are actually a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood that encourages the girls to have sex. He continued to say that the people who the Girl Scouts consider to be role models are all “feminists, lesbians, or Communists.”

He also mentioned an allegation that the organization allows transgender females to join. This misstatement of the facts was most likely based on a situation that arose last fall when a transgender male child was refused membership in a Colorado troop, but then allowed to join by the national organization, which encourages inclusiveness.

The scouts have received criticism for this inclusiveness and many groups and websites have been working very hard to “expose” them. Diane Tipton, president of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital said in response, “Misinformation is passing as fact. The Girl Scout organization does not take a position on abortion or birth control, and these topics are not part of the Girl Scout program or our materials. We believe these matters are best discussed by girls with their families.”

At this time, the Girl Scouts are not planning any changes in policy, but they have released a statement explaining where they stand on sensitive issues.

[via Huffington Post]

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Federal health officials are warning that deaths from the liver-destroying hepatitis C virus are on the rise, and that baby boomers are especially at risk.

It is estimated that two-thirds of those with hepatitis C were born between 1945 and 1965. So some experts are recommending boomers get a one-time blood test to check for the virus — one that can otherwise go undetected and cause damage for decades.

Needle-sharing during illegal drug use is the biggest risk factor for becoming infected with the blood-borne hepatitis C virus, but before 1992, when widespread testing of the blood supply began, it was often spread through blood transfusions.

“One of every 33 baby boomers are living with hepatitis C infection,” Dr. John Ward, hepatitis chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Associated Press. “Most people will be surprised, because it’s a silent epidemic.”

Officials are urging testing in light of two new drugs that have the potential to provide a cure. Research published Monday by the CDC indicates the cost of testing millions of middle-aged people would be worth it, since thousands of lives could be saved in the process.

The CDC study analyzed a decade of death records and found the 15,000 deaths related to hepatitis C in 2007 were higher than previous estimates. What’s more, they even surpassed the nearly 13,000 deaths caused by HIV/AIDS virus.

“Mortality will continue to grow for the next 10 to 15 years at least unless we do something different” to find and treat the silent sufferers, Dr. Ward said.

Source: TheCheckup.com

Virgin Galactic

Last month Virgin Galactic announced it would begin offering commercial space flights later this year.

The two-and-a-half hour trip just cracks the space barrier and offers about five minutes of weightlessness. It also comes with a fairly prohibitive price tag of $200,000 a pop.

But let’s say money was no object. Would you want to be among the first commercial space travelers?

Poll Position asked 1,145 adults that very question and found that only 23 percent thought the thrill of the great beyond outweighed the risks. Fifty-two percent said they would not be willing to take such a flight and 26 percent had no opinion.

[Poll Position]

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Love to eat curry? It may do more than tingle your tastebuds.

According to a new study, curry spice components may help slow the growth of tumors in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients.

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University’s Kimmel Cancer Center found that curcumin, the active ingredient of Indian curry spice, supresses two nuclear receptor activators, p300 and CPB, which have been shown to work against androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), a prostate cancer treatment.

ADT inhibits the androgen receptor, which is a vital male hormone in the development and growth of prostate cancer. But sophisticated tumor cells, with the help of p300 and CPB, sometimes bypass the therapy.

In their study findings, researchers learned that curcumin increased the results of ADT, and lowered cell number compared to ADT alone. In addition, curcumin was found to be a strong fighter of both cell cycle and survival in prostate cancer cells. These results were confirmed in lab mice — as tumor growth shrank in substantial levels when the mice were given the spice.

“This study sets the stage for further development of curcumin as a novel agent to target androgen receptor signaling,” said Karen Knudsen, Ph.D., a Professor of Cancer Biology, Urology and Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University. “It also has implications beyond prostate cancer since p300 and CPB are important in other malignancies, like breast cancer. In tumors were these play an important function, curcumin may prove to be a promising therapeutic agent.”

Findings were published in the journal Cancer Research.

Source: TheCheckup.com

More info at The Guardian

And here’s a video showing just how classy this Britsh Boxer Dereck Chisora is

Express Newspapers, Getty Images

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history:

1848 – Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish ‘The Communist Manifesto’ (More info)

1878 – The first telephone book is issued in New Haven, CT (More info)

1948 – The National Association for Stock Car Racing, aka NASCAR, is officially incorporated (More info)

1965 – Malcolm X is assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City (More info)

1972 – President Richard Nixon arrives in China, becoming the first US president to visit to the world’s most populous nation (More info)

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You can get clothes, books, even brides through the mail. Why not condoms? A pilot program in California will give teenagers in certain counties access to free condoms through the mail.

The condom access program will allow teens between the ages of 12 and 19 to order condoms, lubrication and health brochures on a website run by the California Family Health Council. The products will be mailed to the teens home in a nondescript yellow envelope.

The program is aimed at reducing teenage pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. Teens and young adults have the highest rate of gonorrhea and chlamydia of all age groups in the state, according to the California Department of Health.

The program launched this week and limits teens to one package of condoms per month.

Source: TheCheckup.com

Chris Chambers, Getty Images

Even if you aren’t a sports fan, you’ve probably been hearing an awful lot about this Jeremy Lin fellow. The New York Knicks point guard’s completely-out-of-nowhere run began on February 3rd when the-then obscure bench warmer came off the pine to spur the Knicks to a victory over the New Jersey Nets. He was inserted in the starting line-up after that, and since then has led the Knicks — who were previously league laughingstocks — to six more wins in a row.

With this improbable success, the Jeremy Lin story has captured the imagination of all of America. There hasn’t been a sports figure with such sudden cultural relevance since, well, Tim Tebow a couple months ago. Lin is so hot that reportedly Kim Kardashian wants to use him for his fame go out on a date with him. Learn more about the man behind this rampant “lin-sanity.”

He Graduated from Harvard

Part of what makes Lin unique is that he is a Harvard graduate, the first to play in the NBA from that elite institution since 1954. In fact, Lin is the first NBA player from the entire Ivy League since 2003. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other players in the league who recieved top-flight educations. There are currently 14 players who went to Duke on NBA rosters, and Lin’s New York Knicks backcourt mate Landry Field graduated from Stanford.

Robert Spencer Getty Images

He Is One of The First Asian-Americans to Play in the NBA

Jeremy Lin is not the first American-born Asian player in the NBA. That would be 5-foot-7 inch Japanese-American guard Wataru Misaka, who played briefly in 1947. Since then two players with Asian mothers, Raymond Townsend and Rex Walters, have made the Association. But Lin is the first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the league, and is probably already basketball’s most famous Asian-American.

Chris Chambers, Getty Images

He Can Do “The Dougie”

Lin has joined an exclusive club, which includes CNN personality Wolf Blitzer and fellow ‘Sports Illustrated‘ cover model Kate Upton, by having his “Dougie” skills featured in a viral video. While he’s clearly better than Blitzer at the popular dance, how he measures up to Upton probably has a lot to do with whether the viewer is male or female.

He is a Devout Christian

One of the reasons Lin gets linked with Tebow is that, like the Denver Broncos’ Quarterback, Lin is a devout Christian who is open about his faith. After leading the Knicks to their fifth straight win, Lin told reporters “I’m thinking about how I can trust God more. How can I surrender more? How can I bring Him more glory?” Whether or not he’ll kneel in prayer during games and create an internet meme is another story.

Jim Rogash, Getty Images

The Knicks Almost Cut Him

There have been reports that the Knicks were on the verge of cutting Lin last month. Journeyman guard Mike James recently confirmed that the Knicks contacted him in January about taking Lin’s roster spot, but then decided to keep Lin at the last minute. So “Linsanity” was this close to never happening.

Getty Images

He Was the Editor of His School Paper

Lin was a great basketball player in high school, leading Palo Alto High to the 2006 California state championship. He was also the editor of the school’s paper, The Paly Voice. Lin combined these two achievements in a column he wrote about winning the championship, which The Paly Voice just reprinted.

Nathan Lui

His Name Is Now The World’s Most Famous Pun

For whatever reason, folks can’t get enough of making Lin’s last name into blended words like “lin-credible.” In fact, there is now a website called Linwords which generates an almost endless list of these lin-guistic masterpieces. From now on, any time a baby holds a basketball he will be known as a lin-fant.

Chris Trotman, Getty Images

He’s A Funny Guy

Lin mocked his Harvard pedigree, as well as stereotypes about hard-working Asian high school students, in a comedy short called “How I got Into Harvard.” Lin shot the video in 2011 as a rookie with the Golden State Warriors, and it’s recently become a YouTube favorite. As you can see, Lin is almost as natural in front of the camera as he is running the pick and roll.

He Lived On His Brother’s Couch

When Lin started his improbable run a couple weeks ago his home was a couch in the living room of his older brother’s New York City apartment. Although Lin had signed a $800,000 contract with the Knicks, the money wasn’t guaranteed, so he must have not felt comfortable about committing to his own place in a city with such high rents. Now that he’s feeling a little more sure of himself, Lin just leased a $3,800 a month apartment from former Knick David Lee, which is located next to the team’s practice facility in White Plains, New York.

Vicous Bits, Flickr

He might be the real deal

In his first four shots off the bench, Lin had at least 20 points, at least six assists and shot over 50 percent. According to statistician extraordinaire Nate Silver, that has only happened 41 times since 1986, and the players who have accomplished this feat have typically been all-star, if not hall-of-fame level, perfomers. In other words, Jeremy Lin’s no fluke and “lin-sanity” just might be here to stay.

Chris Trotman, Getty Images

Source: TheFW.com

DoctorWho, Flickr

After Hurricane Katrina devastated the Atlantic Coast in 2005, New Orleans, and the region as a whole, gained more prominence in the national and international news, and rightly so.

Although the folks living there have been through a great deal recently, their spirit still shines through. Nowhere is that more evident than in the riotous party known as Mardi Gras.

The origins of Mardi Gras stretch way back into time, thousands of year before the advent of Christianity. It was a wild festival in honor of fertility and the arrival of spring. As Christian emperors began to rule in Rome, the celebrations were integrated into the new faith. ‘Carnival’ became one last crazy party before the austerities of Lent, when people had to give up some, if not all, of the vices they so cherished.

The French were the first European settlers of New Orleans. They brought with them the tradition of carnival, and held Mardi Gras on the North American continent as early as 1699. When the Spanish took over the region later, they promptly outlawed the parties. The festivities were only reinstated after Louisiana was acquired by the United States in 1812.

Many of the costumes and ideas of Mardi Gras come from traditional Catholic carnivals celebrated all over the world, plus a few innovations unique to New Orleans. The krewes, or organizations that host balls and parades as part of the celebrations, were first created in the American South — Southern culture at its finest. The music, marching bands, beads, King Cake and colorful floats evolved over time, making Mardi Gras the grand party that it is today.

[History]

Source: TheFW.com

Portraits of Nascar

We’ve got a stock pile of books we want to give to our biggest fans. We have books from Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, Jason Lewis and more. Get them before they are gone!

Bill O´Reilly´s ´Kids Are Americans Too´

Biography of Yogi

Glenn Beck An Inconvenient Book

Glenn Beck Arguing with Idiots

Glenn Beck Being George Washington

Glenn Beck´s Common Sense

Jason Lewis Autographed Book

Mission to Berlin Hardcover

Numbelievable

Portraits of Nascar

Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

In a “d’oh!” moment of massive proportions, the pilot of a private plane wandered into protected airspace over Los Angeles on Thursday — an area temporarily restricted because President Obama happened to be in town.

When fighter jets were scrambled to escort it in for a landing, authorities found the plane was loaded with more than 20 pounds of marijuana.

Two F-16s under the direction of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) took off from March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, CA and intercepted the Cessna around 11:30 a.m. PT. It landed without incident and was met by local law enforcement, who then discovered the plane’s illegal payload.

While Secret Service spokesman Max Milien said only that the aircraft was carrying “some type of narcotics,” a law enforcement official said the stash was actually 10 kilograms of what appeared to be marijuana. That’s the equivalent of roughly 22 pounds.

The unnamed pilot was deemed “of no protective interest,” meaning he wasn’t considered a threat, and was turned over to the Long Beach Police Department. The case is expected to be referred to state prosecutors.

[CNN]

Jim McIsaac, Getty Images

Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, nicknamed ‘The Kid’ for the enthusiastic manner in which he played baseball, died Thursday. Carter was 57. He had been diagnosed with malignant brain tumors in May of last year. In his 19-year major league career with the Expos, Mets, Giants and Dodgers, Gary Carter had 324 home runs, 2,092 hits, three Gold Gloves and was an 11-time all-star.

Here are five of the greatest moments of Gary Carter’s career:

Rally Starter

With the Mets down two runs to the Red Sox in Game 6 of the1986 World Series, Carter’s two-out single in the bottom-of-the-10th inning started the rally that culminated when Mookie Wilson’s ground ball through Bill Buckner’s legs plated the winning run. The Mets won the World Series in Game 7. You can see Carter’s clutch hit at 0:33 of this clip.

All-Star Game Homers

Carter was named MVP of the MLB All-Star game in both 1981 and 1984. Carter hit two home runs in the 1981 game at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. In 1984, Carter’s home run at Candlestick Park in San Francisco gave the National League a 2-1 lead that it never relinquished. Here’s his second home run in the 1981 game.

Walk-Off Single

In Game 5 of the incredibly exciting 1986 National League Championship Series against the Astros, Carter singled to score Wally Backman in the 12th-inning, giving the Mets a 2-1 win.

ESPN New York

Welcome to New York

In his first game as a member of the Mets on April 9, 1985, Carter hit a walk-off home run off Neil Allen of the Cardinals in the bottom of the 10th inning to give New York a 6–5 victory on Opening Day.

Last Hit

Carter returned to the Expos for the 1992 season. In what turned out to be Carter’s final at-bat, he ripped a double to score Larry Walker with the game’s only run in the Expos’ 1-0 victory over the Cubs.

bucklava, Flickr

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history:

1801 – The electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is broken by the House of Representatives, which elected Jefferson president (More info)

1820 – The US Senate passes the Missouri Compromise, an attempt to deal with the dangerously divisive issue of extending slavery into the western territories (More info)

1904 – Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly premieres at the La Scala theatre in Milan, Italy (More info)

1933 – Newsweek magazine is published for the first time (More info)

1972 – The 15,007,034th Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line, breaking a world production record held for more than four decades by Ford’s iconic Model T and becoming the best selling car on the planet (More info)

20th Century Fox / Columbia Pictures

There are only two new movies in wide release this weekend, but they both feature marquis names.

Reese Witherspoon stars in ‘This Means War,’ the story of two of the world’s deadliest CIA operatives who are inseparable partners and best friends — until they discover that they’ve fallen in love with the same woman.

And Nicolas Cage reprises the role of Johnny Blaze in the sequel ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,’ in which the former stuntman and bounty hunter of rogue demons helps protect a mother and son being pursued by the devil.

Here’s a sneak peek:

This Means War

Directed by: McG
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Til Schweiger, Chelsea Handler
Get Tickets & Showtimes

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

Directed by: Mark Neveldine
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ciarán Hinds, Violante Placido, Idris Elba, Johnny Whitworth, Fergus Riordan
Get Tickets & Showtimes

If you love to float the Madison, something I just did last year for the first time after 20 years in Bozeman, tonight the Fish Wildlife and Parks is having a meeting tonight at the Comfort Inn in Bozeman from 6-8 talking about charging, regulating or eliminating floating on the Madison.

The reasons for this discussion are many. On the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks site they explain:

The popularity of the Madison River has affected the quality of the recreation experience for some people. Their concerns include congestion on the river and at access sites, conflicts between user groups, trespass on private property, and littering.

You can take a survey from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks here to voice your concerns if you cannot make the meeting.