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Earlier this week, Huntington Mayor Steve Updike held a press conference relaying information of coming citywide layoffs. The only position, at that date, to be announced in the layoff was the Mayor's secretary. He went on to say that six more layoffs were expected this week. Yesterday it was announce that......

The monster Station Fire burning north of Los Angeles was human-caused, a U.S. Forest Service official said Wednesday. Meanwhile, fire crews prepared for potential setbacks because of returning drier conditions, MSNBC.com reported. Investigators don't know specifically how the Station Fire was started but have enough information to determine it was caused by a person, the Forest Service's deputy incident commander Carlton Joseph said during a news conference. Investigators were determining whether the fire was accidental or arson and identified the point of origin as mile marker 29 on Angeles Crest Highway. Firefighters caught a weather break Tuesday when moister, cooler...

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Aug. 10, 2009 – NATO’s International Security Assistance Force is giving voice to residents of this remote area through a radio station run by one of their own. Shaib Dad Hamdard works as a radio disc jockey in his native Nuristan province, Afghanistan, Aug. 3, 2009. The station, funded by NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, offers the people of the remote mountain area a variety of news and entertainment programs. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Matthew C. Moeller  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. When Shaib Dad Hamdard was growing up here near the Pakistan border, he...

<p>Vice President Joe Biden, who infamously advised Americans against entering confined transportation spaces during the current swine flu outbreak, will enter the Wilmington Amtrak train station in Delaware this morning.</p> <p>For all 36 years of his long Senate career, Biden used the Wilmington station daily on his commute to and from the Capitol. Which means that Biden was riding the rails as a U.S. senator way back when the current president was on an elementary school playground.</p>

On September 27th, a Chinese Shenzhou space capsule came within 45 kilometers of the International Space Station, and two of the three crewmen made the first Chinese space walk (going outside the spacecraft in their space suits.) Later, a small, 88 pound microsatellite (the BX-1) was released from the Shenzhou. This was supposed to be a science experiment, but the fact that the Shenzhou came so close to the International Space Station, and then released a smaller, maneuverable (via small gas jets) BX-1, indicated another satellite destruction drill. The BX-1 could easily have been directed at the nearby space station,...

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080722/NEWS/807220363/1001/news Link only per posting rules

LONDON - Britain is rethinking its decision to stay out of the manned space race, the country's science minister said Thursday as the government outlined plans to build an international space research facility. Science Minister Ian Pearson said it was time to reconsider Britain's 1986 decision not to invest in a manned space flight program, predicting the world is going to witness "a new international wave of new space exploration in the next 10 to 20 years.'' "What we want to do is review the situation to make sure the U.K. does not get left behind,'' he told British Broadcasting...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Soldiers and leaders of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team attended the opening ceremony of a radio station in Wehida, Iraq, last week. Maj. Nathan Haas, 3rd HBCT information operations officer, said the idea for the station came from 3rd HBCT Commander, Col. Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., last December. Haas contacted Ahmed Sabir, station manager for Peace 106, a radio station out of FOB Rustamiyah, near Baghdad, to put the project in motion. Haas said Sabir was the perfect candidate for the job. Sabir has trained Iraqis in radio station operations, speaks English fluently and...

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 17, 2008 – Surrounded by snow-covered mountains, the medical personnel of Task Force Saber work side-by-side to provide a first-class, life-saving aid station on Forward Operating Base Naray located in northeastern Afghanistan along the Pakistan border. U.S. Army Spc. Melissa A. Hoffman, from Avondale, Ariz., assigned to Charlie Company, 173rd Brigade Support Battalion, prepares an Afghan mother to draw blood for testing Jan. 3, 2008, at FOB Naray Aid Station in northeastern Afghanistan. The aid station has seen more than 5,400 locals since Task Force Saber took over in May 2007. (U.S. Army photo by...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A giant leap is about to be made for womankind. When space shuttle Discovery blasts off Tuesday, a woman will be sitting in the commander’s seat. And up at the international space station, a female skipper will be waiting to greet her. It will be the first time in the 50-year history of spaceflight that two women are in charge of two spacecraft at the same timeThis is no public relations gimmick cooked up by NASA. It’s coincidence, which pleases shuttle commander Pamela Melroy and station commander Peggy Whitson.

Workers wash new platforms and sidewalks replaced as part of the Basrah railway station project. The $480,000 project was recently turned over to the Iraqi Ministry of Transportation. The port of Umm Qasr appears in the background. USACE photo by A. Al Bahrani. BASRAH — The rehabilitation of the Basrah railroad station, one of the main transportation projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the south of Iraq, marks an important achievement in developing the basic transportation services and strategic infrastructure for the Iraqi people.“The Basrah Railroad station was recently completed and turned over to the Iraqi Ministry...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Amid various media reports of water shortages in Baghdad, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team (Heavy) continues to help the residents of the Mada’in Qada find short- and long-term solutions to insurgent-created water distribution problems. Soldiers from the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team (Heavy), performed an assessment of the Al Bawi pump station, outside of Salman Pak, Sept. 4. Holland, Ohio, native Lt. Col. Todd R. Ratliff, 42, the BSTB commander, inspected the building, the pumps and the generators at the facility. “This was an assessment to verify information we were getting from...

Yusufiyah Joint Security Station Opens Village council members, residents discuss major projects. By Spc. Chris McCann 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) FORWARD OPERATING BASE YUSUFIYAH, Iraq, May 3, 2007 — In the village of Yusufiyah, Iraq, local government representatives refuse to stand still and allow the fear of explosions to stop them from discussing issues. Several members of the Yusufiyah nahia, or local council, met April 29 at the Joint Security Station in Yusufiyah to discuss projects with civil affairs officers from 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light...

U.S. Army Maj. Gordon Crawford of Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, gets his ear irrigated by Army Sgt. Heather M. Cusson of C Company, 710th, Brigade Support Battalion. U.S. Army photo by Army Pfc. Melissa M. Escobar New Aid Station Increases Quality Care Facility offers X-rays, dental care, physical therapy. By Army Pfc. Melissa M. Escobar 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, March 15, 2007 -- With the expansion of Jalalabad Airfield under way to support the growing numbers of troops coming into the expanding northeastern battle space of Task Force Spartan, the...

The successful development of Genesis I has brought forth the creation of Genesis II. Since our first launch, we have been able to learn and grow from the information we compiled from our orbiting vehicle — expanding our knowledge to improve upon our new creation. We have been able to use and improve upon many of the materials and systems found on Genesis I and incorporate them into the construction of Genesis II, resulting in a similar, yet improved vehicle. With upgrades to vehicle control and sensory equipment, we are able to improve our interaction with the public. These new...

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region North The rehabilitation and new construction at the Tameem Railway Station is part of a vision for the future of the country. Department of Defense photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region North. KIRKUK -- Neglected and oppressed during the Saddam era, the citizens of Iraq’s northern city of Kirkuk are now rising to rebuild their city and their country’s economy. With operations back on-line in the local oil fields, additional infrastructure preparation for further economic growth is underway.The rehabilitation of the Tameem Railway Station illustrates just one case of economic...

Hollywood Recruiting Station Enjoys Brisk BusinessBy Steven Donald SmithAmerican Forces Press Service HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Aug. 22, 2006 -- Hollywood Boulevard may be better known for its glitzy Walk of Fame and seedy nightlife than as a place to recruit servicemembers, but the Armed Forced Career Center here is signing up recruits aplenty. Sgt. 1st Class Bryan Williams, the Army station commander of the recruiting center in Hollywood, Calif., poses for a photo in his office. Photo by Steven Donald Smith  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “Wherever there’s a lot of foot traffic, it’s good for a recruiting station,”...

Maj. Robert Nash, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officer-in-charge of the renovation of the Baghdad Central Train Station sits in the station recently. BAGHDAD -- Karem recalled using Iraqi trains when he was a youngster. Back then, the Baghdad Central Train Station was notorious for nonfunctioning restrooms and the foul odor of sewerage emanating from the basement. “But the trains themselves were always clean, comfortable and a great bargain,” the 33-year-old deputy resident engineer said. Now Karem is overseeing a project that will not only re-introduce train travel to Baghdad, but will make the train station far better than...

This is just way cool, and it is good definition video

Police Transition Team Trainer Sgt. Andre Johnson of the 978th Military Police Company, Fort Bliss,Texas leaves the Talix Saiba Police Station after conducting an assessment of the station. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika Iraqi Police Station is One of the Best Inside the Talix Saiba Iraqi Police Station are some of Iraq’s most dedicated police officers. By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment AD DAWR, Iraq, June 13, 2006 — The Talix Saiba Iraqi Police Station is a large two-story powder-blue building that is riddled with bullet holes, but inside...