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President Obama and his family are likely headed to Martha's Vineyard for a summer sojourn again this year. A source tells POLITICO that the Secret Service has started booking accommodations on the toney island off the Massachusetts coast. So far, the White House isn't saying anything, but the Vineyard is abuzz with the news. The first family is expected toward the end of August, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a chief proponent of the longer school year, says American students have fallen behind the world academically. "Whether educators have more time to enrich instruction or students have more time to learn how to play an instrument and write computer code, adding meaningful in-school hours is a critical investment that better prepares children to be successful in the 21st century," he said in December when five states announced they would add at least 300 hours to the academic calendar in some schools beginning this year....

WASHINGTON—The relentless, weather-gone-crazy type of heat that has blistered the United States and other parts of the world in recent years is so rare that it can't be anything but man-made global warming, says a new statistical analysis from a top government scientist. The research by a man often called the "godfather of global warming" says that the likelihood of such temperatures occurring from the 1950s through the 1980s was rarer than 1 in 300. Now, the odds are closer to 1 in 10, according to the study by NASA scientist James Hansen. He says that statistically what's happening is...

<p>Triple-digit temperatures expected to feel as hot as 110 degrees have prompted excessive heat warnings across the D.C. area on Saturday and could threaten all-time highs.</p> <p>The day continued a trend in the area that hasn’t seen high temperatures lower than 95 degrees since the month began.</p>

IMPOSSIBILITIES IN THE WORLD 1. U can't count your hair 2. U can't wash your eyes with soap 3. U can't breathe when your tongue is out Put your tongue back in fool. 10 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT YOU... 1) U are reading this. 2) U are human. 3) U can't say the letter ''P'' without separating your lips 4) U just attempted to do it 6) U are laughing at yourself 7) U have a smile on your face and you skipped No.5 8) U just checked to see if there is a No.5 9) U laugh at...

It is summer for sure. Colorado is experiencing 90-100 degree F days in the north east plains. Forest fires, high winds and dust complicate the time we can have the windows open as even at 80Deg in the house, the low humidity makes it comfy. The Carrier AC unit for this house (3,500+sq ft, 4BR, high ceilings) has had issues since I moved in. Refrigerant leaks and an electrical issue. Now, with the heat of the summer coming back, the AC unit can't keep up again. I've cleaned the unit outside, replaced the inside filter and am still getting some...

Well, Summer is almost here. I have updated my Summer Song Playlist. These songs are either about summer or remind me of summer. It's Summertime, Summertime - The Jamies Vacation – Connie Francis A Summer Song - Chad and Jeremy Beach Baby - First Class Coney Island Baby - Julien Neel Feelin’ Hot Hot Hot – Buster Poindexter Gimme Dat Ding - The Pipkins Girl from Ipanema - Astrud Gilberto / Stan Getz Good Day Sunshine - The Beatles Hawaii Five –O Theme Heat Wave - Martha and the Vandellas Hot Fun in the Summertiime - Sly and the Family...

Obama refines economic pitch by focusing on steady jobs growthBy Amie Parnes - 05/27/12 04:30 PM ET Obama is highlighting job growth and a steep decline in the unemployment rate to convince voters his policies are working. President Obama’s campaign is highlighting job growth and a steep decline in the unemployment rate over the last year to sell the public on the idea that his economic policies are working. Obama’s greatest challenge this campaign cycle is convincing voters to give him another four years to try to improve the economy, the central issue of the 2012 campaign. Republican Mitt Romney...

Donna Summer -- the Queen of Disco -- died this morning after a battle with cancer ... TMZ has learned. We're told Summer was in Florida at the time of her death. She was 63 years old. Sources close to Summer tell us ... the singer was trying to keep the extent of her illness under wraps. We spoke to someone who was with Summer a couple of weeks ago ... who says she didn't seem too bad. In fact, we're told she was focused on trying to finish up an album she had been working on. Summer was a...

To brighten up your day, a guest on MSNBC just said (indirect quote) "I have never seen a movement in America to quiet a musical genre as the anti-disco fever which was a slap to Donna Summer. It is similar to today's marriage equality: get back in the closet." He said this while an image of Donna Summer was on the screen. Liberals have absolutely no shame.

TMZ is reporting that Donna Summer has passed away in Florida this morning. She was reportedly battling cancer.

The Obama administration proclaimed Recovery Summer on June 17, 2010 to spotlight the imapact President Obama's economic program after passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (or "Stimulus package") by the Democratic controlled 111th Congress in 2009. Vice President Joe Biden was placed in charge of the effort. During Recovery Summer 393,000 jobs were destroyed according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rose, and economic growth slowed from 5.7% to 1.6%. The number counted by the Department of Labor as unemployed at the start of Recovery Summer was 14,599,000 Americans in July 2010; by September there were 14,767,000...

Bon Jovi helps White House launch summer jobs initiativeBy Alicia M. Cohn - 01/05/12 01:40 PM ET Rock icon Jon Bon Jovi visited the White House on Thursday. The singer tweeted about his visit and also participated in a Twitter chat with Jon Carson, the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Carson tweeted a picture of the meeting. Bon Jovi’s visit was meant to raise awareness for the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation’s participation in a new White House initiative announced Thursday. The White House issued a call to action it named "Summer Jobs+," part of President...

Texas has warmest summer on record of any state The blistering heat experienced by the nation during August, as well as the June through August months, marks the second warmest summer on record according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, N.C. The persistent heat, combined with below-average precipitation across the southern U.S. during August and the three summer months, continued a record-breaking drought across the region. The average U.S. temperature in August was 75.7 degrees F, which is 3.0 degrees above the long-term (1901-2000) average, while the summertime temperature was 74.5 degrees F, which is...

VINEYARD HAVEN, Massachusetts -- President Barack Obama, perhaps seeking a break from harsh reality after a tough summer battling the economy and Republicans in Congress, has picked a summer reading list that is long on fiction. The White House says four of the five books that Obama has to choose from during a nine-day family vacation here are novels. Obama's reading list -- like the criticism from Republicans for vacationing while the economy is stumbling -- is a rite of the summer. But his choices ignored the weighty biographies of great Americans typically on a president's reading list.

Liberals complain about Obama's choicesAssociated Press Published Saturday, August 20, 2011 12:29 AM WASHINGTON -- Liberals argue that he caved on the debt ceiling. Unions are upset over his handling of unemployment and labor issues. Hispanics brought the immigration debate directly to his campaign doorstep. President Barack Obama's summer of discontent has been marked by rumblings within his Democratic political base over his willingness to fight congressional Republicans and his approach to fixing the economy. Liberals disappointed with Obama for compromising with the GOP during the debt-ceiling showdown now are calling on him to hold firm against Republicans this fall....

Just as students head back to college and families finish summer vacations comes the latest bad news from pest control companies: Bedbug infestations are getting worse and becoming more common in some places, including dorms, hotels, nursing homes, hospitals, office buildings, and schools and day-care centers. According to a survey released Wednesday by the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky, pest control companies say there has been double-digit growth in infestations in the past year. About 54 percent of pest companies reported treating bedbugs in college dorms, compared with 35 percent in 2010; 80 percent reported treating...

(And you wonder why Britain is in trouble ....) After just one day of classes at her summer school of choice, Emily Birkenshaw had already learned a crucial lesson: how to "go floppy" when facing arrest. "You're heavier then, so you can't be carried," she said, with the genuine delight of a new recruit. The 24-year-old been practising by linking arms with her classmates and singing loudly at a pretend policeman. "It just felt really empowering," she said. "If that happened [in real life] – and I hope it wouldn't – I'd know how to do it without getting hurt."...

It’s summer time, which (hopefully) means vacations and lazy days at the beach or in the hammock. Here’s DogWatch’s list of some dog-related summer reading to help you pass the time!

"Some of my friends tried to stop him by talking to him. Many people thought that it was a test ... comparing it to how it is to live in Gaza." Eyewitness statement the day of the shooting. (ABC News) The day of the Norway shooting, I was blindsided by one of the survivor's statements to the press immediately after the shooting (see above). It was so outside the box, I thought it was the kneejerk response of an anti-semite in shock. I didn't blog on it because I thought it anecdotal, badly anecdotal. But the more that is revealed...

Link only - Biden's White House Influence Seen From Stimulus to Debt Talks

At 5:20 PM EST(4:20 local time), 7-11-2011, the Weather Underground website showed the heat index in Paducah, KY, to be 153 degrees (99 degrees with a 92 degree dew point). I've never seen it like this. (I'm in another part of the state, where the heat index is a paltry 111...I feel like a piker). Post your astounding summer weather reports here...how hot is it where you are?

When it comes to movies, let’s just call this the summer of “bad.” It’s not just grown-ups behaving badly – though there is plenty of that. From Jennifer Aniston as a rapacious dentist in “Horrible Bosses,” which opens Friday, to Cameron Diaz as every student’s nightmare in “Bad Teacher,” to the projectile body functions in “Bridesmaids” and “Hangover 2,” multiplexes are awash in R-rated adult comedy. But this is also a record summer for just plain bad movies – doing very well. Roundly panned films such as “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “Green Lantern,” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On...

It's Summertime, Summertime - The Jamies; A Summer Song - Chad and Jeremy; Beach Baby - First Class; Coney Island Baby - Julien Neel; Feelin’ Hot, Hot, Hot – Buster Poindexter; Gimme Dat Ding - The Pipkins; Girl from Ipanema - Astrud Gilberto / Stan Getz; Good Day Sunshine - The Beatles; Hawaii Five-O Theme; Heat Wave - Martha and the Vandellas; Hot Fun in the Summertime - Sly and the Family Stone; In the Good Old Summertime - Julien Neel; Kokomo - The Beach Boys; Love Letters in the Sand - Pat Boone; In the Summertime - Mungo Jerry;...

<p>Totally Fried Kool-Aid is the latest rage in all things awful to eat. Making its debut at the San Diego County Fair (better known as the Del Mar Fair to locals), the Kool-Aid ball has seemed to capture the country’s insatiable urge for making their meals as processed and fake and fattening as possible. Well done, us!</p>

IEA asks for release of emergency oil reserves NHK has learned that the International Energy Agency is finalizing talks to release emergency oil reserves of its oil-consuming member nations to help stabilize crude oil prices. The autonomous organization of 28 major oil consuming countries, including Japan and the United States, is said to be close to securing agreement for the coordinated operation. The release operation, the first of its kind since 2005, is being planned ahead of an expected rise in gasoline use in the northern hemisphere during the summer holiday season. Rising crude oil prices since January, due mainly...

What Happened to the White House's "Summer of Recovery"?By Elizabeth MacDonald Published June 17, 2011 | FOXBusiness **SNIP** June 17, 2010 -- The White House declares: "This summer is sure to be a Summer of Economic Recovery" Summer 2010 -- Summer of Job Losses "The point of my talking to you today is that, although more people are going to be put to work this summer" -- Vice President Joe Biden, June 17, 2010. The job losses came in as follows, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: June: -192,000 July: -49,000 August: -59,000 September: -29,000 Job Creation "The pace...

THE ECONOMIC ICE AGE 10 June 2011 by Cullen Roche Some pretty interesting thoughts here from Societe Generale on the economic “ice age”. This is what their analysts refer to as the period after a bubble bursting has occurred. They’ve used the same Japan analogy that I am fond of. Pretty pessimistic thoughts (more so than mine), but I think they’ve got the macro situation understood better than most: “In the aftermath of last week’s stunningly weak economic data the market is now beginning to acknowledge that, without a further round of QE a relapse back into economic stagnation or...

Were all the great summer songs written decades ago? Click back for what's a mostly nostalgic sonic step into the sweltering season—with songs from The Drifters, Dolly Parton, the B-52's, and yes, The Fresh Prince. The Lovin' Spoonful: "Summer in the City" (duh!) The Drifters: "Under the Boardwalk" Martha & The Vandellas: "Heat Wave" "Summer Lovin'" from Grease! Sly & the Family Stone - Hot Fun in the Summertime Bananarama: "Cruel Summer" DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince: "Summertime" Dolly Parton: "Sweet Summer Lovin'" The B-52's: "The Summer of Love" Janis Joplin: "Summertime" The Who: "Summertime Blues" Sha Na...

Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries did not reach a new agreement on oil production quotas at Wednesday's meeting in Vienna. Oil prices rebounded in New York and London after the news. Oil prices had been declining in anticipation that OPEC members might work out a deal to boost production. The OPEC nations pump about 40 percent of the world's oil, and the organization's quotas officially limited members to producing a bit less than 25 million barrels a day. Some OPEC members have said the international energy markets are well-supplied with oil, and blame high prices on "speculation"...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Oil prices breached the $100-a-barrel mark Wednesday after OPEC said it could not reach an agreement about raising crude production. U.S. crude jumped $1.70, or 1.7%, to $100.81 a barrel. Oil prices were trading down about $1 just before the OPEC announcement. The price of brent crude - the European benchmark - rose 1.2% to $118.20 a barrel. OPEC's quarterly meeting was widely watched by analysts. The cartel had been under intense pressure to raise production as oil prices approached $120 a barrel last month. But cartel members were unable to reach a decision to do...

Mauna Kea, the highest island mountain in the world, is cloaked with snow--a sight you don't normally see during the early summer months. Video at the link

No American president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt has won a second term in office when the unemployment rate on Election Day topped 7.2 percent. Seventeen months before the next election, it is increasingly clear that President Obama must defy that trend to keep his job. Roughly 9 percent of Americans who want to go to work cannot find an employer. Companies are firing fewer people, but hiring remains anemic. And the vast majority of economic forecasters, including the president’s own advisers, predict only modest progress by November 2012. The latest job numbers, due Friday, are expected to provide new cause...

As the summer travel season approaches, airline industry experts predict that soaring fuel prices and a sharp pickup in passenger demand will push airfares up 15% over a year earlier — to levels not seen since before the economic downturn. Fare hikes have already begun, with six of the nation's largest airlines each raising rates at least five times since Jan. 1 for nearly all routes. By the time the peak summer travel season rolls around, travel industry experts predict, domestic airfares may reach an average of nearly $390, up from a low of $302 two years ago.

Joe Biden update: Now, he takes lead on budget talks too; what's left for Obama?Political commentary from Andrew Malcolm March 3, 2011 | 2:54 am What isn't Joe Biden in charge of these days? For someone who was brought on board the presidential train in 2008 to lend some experienced gravitas to the ex-state senator savior's ticket and add a humorous effing gaffe here and there, the vice president seems to be running most everything these days for this Democratic White House. Everyone remembers Biden's crucial congressional role in smoothing the way for the vast stimulus spending bill two years...

Summer of recovery? Checking stimulus state by stateBy Adam Bitely ALG Posted Sep 27, 2010 @ 10:40 AM Washington — Continuing on Americans for Limited Government’s series investigating the effects that the “Summer of Recovery” and the “Stimulus” had on the states we covered Montana, Oklahoma, Idaho, Rhode Island and Utah over the past week. With news this week that the recession ended in 2009, it is hard to notice any “recovery” in the states we have examined. Further, with the most recent release of the unemployment situation state by state for the month of July, it is more evident...

Did YOU have a Recovery Summer?

Biden, Strickland march in Toledo's Labor Day paradeMonday, September 06, 2010 Democrats facing plenty of anger over the nation's economic hard times along with troubling poll numbers called in Vice President Joe Biden to energize party loyalists at a Labor Day parade on Monday. Biden spent the holiday in this prized swing-voting state with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who is facing an uphill re-election bid just two years after Democrats here helped elect President Barack Obama and seemed positioned to lock up political control. The vice president dashed along the downtown parade route, shaking hands and hugging supporters, many of...

As the first family has traveled up and down the Eastern seaboard (and occasionally beyond) for various summer excursions, they’ve given us a number of picture-perfect moments. Remember when the president and Sasha took a dip in Panama City Beach, Fla.? Or how Michelle Obama strode through the streets of Marbella in southern Spain? Not to mention the almost-famous bike ride President Barack Obama took (in long pants!) at Martha's Vineyard. Malia made it to the Vineyard too; sadly, however, we didn’t get a peek of her at sleepaway camp. With summer coming to an end, POLITICO takes a look...

'Recovery Summer' Ends With Economic Potholeby Scott Horsley September 3, 2010 Whatever happened to recovery summer? This was supposed to be the season the economy heated up, thanks to a wave of public works projects, funded by the government's stimulus program. But summer is coming to an end, and the recovery has not taken root. (The Labor Department on Friday reported a slight rise in the unemployment rate to 9.6 percent in August as more people were looking for work.) And before long, stimulus dollars will be fading like autumn leaves. None of that is encouraging for President Obama, who...

Per CNBC TV.

“Welcome to Recovery” –Treasury Secretary Tim F. Geithner, (Op-Ed, August 3, 2010) CLAIM #1 – A January 2009 report authored by Christina Romer, President Obama’s chief economist, and Jared Bernstein, Vice President Biden’s chief economist and economic policy advisor, predicted that the $814 billion stimulus bill would keep unemployment below 8 percent. * America’s Reality: Since the stimulus was signed into law, the unemployment rate reached a 27 year high of 10.2 percent. Currently, the unemployment stands at 9.5 percent and has not dropped below 9.5 percent in 12 months. CLAIM #2 – On February 17, 2009, President Obama stated,...

So this is the economic growth that by far the largest Keynesian stimulus in American history produces? President Obama’s $814 billion in stimulus, a more than $1.3 trillion annual deficit for the second year in a row, has produced what the administration has declared is the long awaited "Summer of Recovery." Last fall the economy grew at a reasonable 5 percent annual rate, though even that was not particularly fast for a "recovery." Yet, it has dropped since then: during January through March, the growth rate dropped to 3.7 percent and April through June, 1.6 percent. But Americans didn't need...

Democrats move to shore up faltering recoveryBy Lori Montgomery and Neil Irwin Tuesday, August 24, 2010; 11:17 PM A rapidly weakening economy threatens to undermine President Obama's assertion that he has set the nation on a path to prosperity and, with barely two months until congressional midterm elections, Democrats find themselves with few options for reviving the faltering recovery. The latest sign that the economy is losing steam: Home sales fell 27 percent in July, the steepest one-month drop since figures were first compiled in 1968, according to a report released Tuesday. Analysts had expected sales to decline following the...

The Obama Administration announced “Recovery Summer” in June to highlight the expected gains in jobs and economic strength resulting from Obama’s stimulus.. Well, maybe next summer. Initial estimates from the Department of Labor (DOL) suggest the economy shed a whopping 131,000 jobs in July while employment for the prior two months was revised down by 97,000 jobs. The unemployment rate held steady in August at 9.5 percent despite a drop in employment, because the number of people in the workforce also declined as workers appear to be giving up in the face of persistent high unemployment. To an important extent,...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A government report Thursday brought bad news for workers and the economy: The number of unemployed Americans seeking a financial lifeline has reached its highest level in nine months. Last week, the number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance rose for the third time in a row, to 500,000, according to a Labor Department report released Thursday. There were 488,000 claims filed the previous week. "This 500,000 level is very difficult, on both a psychological and semi-technical level," said Tim Quinlan, an economist at Wells Fargo. Initial claims had been hovering in the mid- to upper-400,000s...

The average temperature in July was 79 degrees, five degrees below normal, and the first eight days of this month also have been five to six degrees below normal, weather experts said That could put Southern California on track for a near-record-low summer, but it's still too early to say, according to weather experts. The Los Angeles area, in fact, has had below-normal temperatures every month since April. On Monday forecasters were monitoring a high-pressure system developing to the north that could swing over Southern California by Sunday and heat things into the mid-90s in some inland areas, she said....

... Ms. Jarrin is part of a hard-luck tribe of jobless whose members have taken to calling themselves “99ers,” because they have exhausted the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits that they can claim. For them, the resolution recently of the lengthy Senate scrum over extending jobless benefits was no balm. The measure renewed two federal programs that extended jobless benefits in this recession beyond the traditional 26 weeks to anywhere from 60 to 99 weeks, depending on the state’s unemployment rate. But many jobless have now exceeded those limits. They are adjusting to a new, harsh reality with...

Biden says Recovery Act is on trackPublished: July 30, 2010 at 2:35 PM WASHINGTON, July 30 (UPI) -- Vice President Joe Biden said Friday the 2009 Recovery Act had saved or created 750,000 jobs in the second quarter, the highest quarterly total to date. "This record number reflects the early impact of our surge in projects across the country as part of "Recovery Summer," Biden said in a statement. He said the 750,000 jobs were the result of $80 billion in federal spending, 17 percent of the $787 billion package. Biden said the reporting on the jobs was "not perfect...