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Health and Human Services Department Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (R) speaks to members of the news media as Sesame Street character Elmo stands besides her in Washington, DC in May 2009. As US kids go back to school facing a likely resurgence of (A)H1N1 flu, the US government Tuesday enlisted Sesame Street muppets Elmo and Gordon in a new health campaign.

Whatever the reason(s) for the decline, this may be the beginning of what many are calling an overdue correction after a big run, and Tuesday's decline is certain to revive stories about the market's historic struggles in September. The Dow has lost 1.3% on average since 1928 in September, making it the market's worst month, according to Bloomberg.

The cash for clunkers law, signed by President Barack Obama, gave the Transportation Department the authority to audit car dealerships at any time, for any reason... the Transportation Department is focusing on possible fraud in the disposal of trade in vehicles. The government is making sure dealers completely destroyed the engines of all trade-ins... The government seems to be more interested in auditing early on rather than paying early on... only 5.7% of all ‘clunkers’ deals have been reimbursed.

Hunters purchased nearly 2,600 wolf licenses Monday, the first day they went on sale in Montana. The sales occurred on the same day U.S. District Judge Mike Molloy of Missoula heard arguments from animal rights and environmental groups seeking to block hunts in Idaho and Montana. Idaho's hunt started Tuesday as Molloy took the arguments under consideration. the slower sales — compared to the 4,000 sold on the first day licenses were available in Idaho — might have been due to the uncertainty of the court decision. If the hunt is halted before the season starts, holders will be refunded...

As Jaycee Dugard gets to know her family again after 18 years in depraved captivity, a California sheriff admitted today that his officers booted a chance to rescue Jaycee nearly three years ago. "We missed an opportunity to bring earlier closure to this situation," Contra Costa County Sheriff Warren E. Rupf said in a news conference today.

The RNC released a national television ad Tuesday touting its "seniors' bill of rights." “Republicans strongly support common-sense health care reform that would lower health care costs, preserve quality, keep families and doctors in charge of health care decisions, and end frivolous lawsuits. However, the first measure of any comprehensive health care reform must be to first do no harm, especially to seniors. The time has come for President Obama and Congressional Democrats to scrap their plans for a government-run health care experiment and join Republicans in agreeing on these important health care protections for seniors.”

In Megan for September’s Wonderland, lensman Mariano Vivanco adroitly pastiches a wonderful dance of earthly elements, cool, beautiful, and possessive along with the more lovely than life, hot, fiery Romani-esque sensuality of Megan Fox. Together, they make for a ying/yang wonderland of striking symbolism.

Japans's tax revenues have collapsed by 27pc over the last year, leaving it unclear how the incoming Democrats can pay for their blitz on welfare spending without flooding the debt markets. The International Monetary Fund already expects Japan's budget deficit to top 10pc of GDP this year and next. Gross public debt will reach 215pc of GDP in 2009, the highest in the world. "Japan faces a very difficult fiscal situation," said the Fund in its latest country report. Democrat leader Yukio Hatoyama, who won a landslide victory over the weekend, has pledged that there would be no increase in...

LOS CABOS, Mexico (Reuters) – Hurricane Jimena, an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, slammed Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Tuesday, drenching the Los Cabos resort area where tourists hunkered in boarded-up hotels. Sheets of rain poured down from gray skies as Jimena's howling winds hit the tip of the peninsula, home to world-class golf courses, yachting marinas and five-star hotels. The hurricane was set to make landfall on Wednesday in a sparsely populated area farther up the peninsula. Hotels nailed boards over their windows, wrapped exposed furniture with plastic and turned conference rooms into storm shelters with camp bedding and...

Obama: Sneeze into Your Sleeve, Not Your Hands Posted by Stephanie Condon Every American has a role to play in responding to the H1N1 flu virus, President Obama said today. During an afternoon statement in the Rose Garden of the White House, Mr. Obama had a message for people to prevent the spread of the disease: Wash your hands frequently, and cover your sneezes with your sleeve, not your hands. "I don't want anybody to be alarmed, but I do want everybody to be prepared," the president said. The new government push about H1N1 prevention also includes a new White...

I'd like to know just exactly what Obama intends to say to all these little kids. I suspect that it will be indoctrination and propaganda, pure and simple. I've contacted a friend on the local school board. I won't be surprised if he doesn't even know about this.

The 48-year-old female was visiting from California ... She was unfamiliar with the area and did not carry water, bear spray, a map or a cell phone with her. She became lost and had jogged to the Idaho/Montana border before turning around. The Sheriff's office reminds the public that recreating alone in unfamiliar areas can be hazardous, and carrying the appropriate equipment ...can save your life.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) - Avoiding local television blackouts will be a challenge as the NFL approaches its first full season in the economic downturn, commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday. During a visit to the Washington Redskins, Goodell was asked specifically about the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose season-ticket base dropped from 42,000 to about 25,000 this season. The decline is such that the club might not even bother asking for extensions in hopes of avoiding blackouts this year.

A spokesman for House Chief Administrative Officer Daniel Beard says that after a three-week trial period constituents will once again hear patriotic favorites while on hold -- after the House temporarily switched over to smooth jazz. So long, John Philip Sousa. Hello, Kenny G. That was the short-lived message House leadership sent to lawmakers over the break, as the "on-hold" music that so many constituents hear when they call their congressman was switched from patriotic tunes to smooth jazz standards -- or, as one lawmaker complained, "elevator music." The switch was quickly reversed, though, following complaints and controversy.

Here is video of a new RNC Ad targeted to Senior Citizens. It features RNC Chair Michael Steele talking about a new "Senior Bill of Rights" that should be the basis for any Health Care Reform. At the end, Steele says: "Oh, and President Obama, it's not too late to change your mind. Stand with us and stand with Senior Citizens. After all, they've earned it." (Watch Video)

WWF condemns 9/11 print ad by DDB Brazil [NOTE: The WWF says it never approved this ad and is condemning it. See the updates below.] Just in time for the anniversary of 9/11 comes this tasteless, nightmarish print ad for the World Wildlife Fund, showing dozens of planes headed for lower Manhattan. See a larger version here. The copy reads: "The tsunami killed 100 times more people than 9/11. The planet is brutally powerful. Respect it. Preserve it." Unfortunately, respect is the main thing lacking here. Exploiting one tragedy to try to prevent another is just stupid and self-defeating, and...

In the comment section of a recent post, I drew some fire for making the following, apparently shocking claim: We [Americans] see America, from the Pilgrims who signed the Mayflower Compact to the Biblical scholars… who birthed the nation, to the spirit of sacrifice and charity that thrives to this very day, not as a nation of Christians (for that freedom is at the deepest core of our common philosophy) but as a Christian nation. It seems that there is a growing belief that because our Founders were stalwart advocates for religious liberty, and because some of them had very...

The Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security and other big agencies are already soliciting comment from the public in new online venues. Now the President is about to enter a virtual “Troop Town Hall." As Obama explains in a video posted at townhall.militaryonesource.com, troops can submit questions online and then vote on them. Questions will be answered later by Obama or Defense Secretary Robert Gates. “And I promise not to give all the hard ones to Gates,” Obama said on the video Gates and U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen announced in August they would virtually interact with troops and...

Bunker, Sweet Bunker 3:55 pm Tuesday Sep 1, 2009 by Caroline Stanley German-based architect Rainer Mielke has been repurposing old World War II bunkers into bright, airy apartments for the past ten years. In the future he plans to design a food bunker, office bunker, and music bunker — for bands having trouble finding practice space — as well. More images, including some cheery interior shots, after the jump. [via The Local]

It worked for me. Using computer generated visuals to define your personality.