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The fissure was first spotted in October on Rattlesnake Ridge in south central Washington State, overlooking Interstate 82 and the Yakima River. Since then, a 20-acre chunk of mountainside — roughly four million cubic yards of rock, enough to fill 25 football stadiums to the top of the bleachers, eight stories up — has been sliding downhill. Geologists can measure its current speed — about two and a half inches a day — but they cannot say for certain when, or if, it might accelerate into a catastrophe. And they are powerless to stop it. “The mountain is moving, and...

NEW YORK — With Election Day less than two months away, Democrats are increasingly worried that Hillary Clinton has not built a formidable lead against Donald Trump despite his historic weaknesses as a national party candidate. Even the Democratic nominee’s advisers acknowledge that she must make changes, and quickly. Clinton leads Trump by a mere three percentage points, having fallen from her high of nine points in August, according to the latest Real Clear Politics average. That tightening has frustrated many Clinton allies and operatives, who are astonished that she isn’t running away with this race given Trump’s deep unpopularity...

Video: http://nation.foxnews.com/michele-bachmann/2011/07/05/michele-bachmann-dances-storm

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Nicaraguan mother Lorena Aguilar hawks a television set and a few clothes on the baking sidewalk outside her west Phoenix apartment block. A few paces up the street, her undocumented Mexican neighbour Wendi Villasenor touts a kitchen table, some chairs and a few dishes as her family scrambles to get out of Arizona ahead of a looming crackdown on illegal immigrants."Everyone is selling up the little they have and leaving," said Villasenor, 31, who is headed for Pennsylvania. "We have no alternative. They have us cornered."The two women are among scores of illegal immigrant families across Phoenix...

A new public opinion survey for NPR shows just how difficult it will be for Democrats to avoid big losses in the House this November. Democrat Stan Greenberg and Republican Glen Bolger conducted the first public battleground poll of this election cycle. They chose the 70 House districts experts regard as most likely to oust incumbents this fall. What they found was grim news for Democrats. For this poll, Bolger and Greenberg chose the districts where incumbents are considered the most vulnerable, and, in the case of open seats, the ones most likely to switch party control in November. Sixty...

U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan “are not winning yet, but we are going to win,” Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, told Stars and Stripes in an interview Friday. But the general said it was not possible to say how long it will take to achieve victory, which he defined as a situation where “the insurgency is not an existential threat to the government or the people” of Afghanistan. He added that protecting civilians remains the goal of the allied counterinsurgency strategy. “There’s no way to put an exact timeline on it, because as...

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday unveiled a new carbon tax to help combat global warming, calling it a "fiscal revolution" and overriding strong public opposition to the plan. The new levy on oil, gas and coal consumption by households and businesses will come into effect next year, making France the biggest economy yet to impose a straight-up carbon tax. "It is time to create green taxation," Sarkozy said in an address in Culoz, a town near the French border with Switzerland. "This is a major fiscal shift, an important innovation," he said. "It is the first step of a...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is pushing ahead with plans to shore up dwindling federal reserves for highway construction and establish a government-run bank to pay for future transportation projects.

New York - America's aviation system could be at risk of collapsing by the beginning of next year. --snip- .. there is agreement among airline officials and analysts that Washington and the two presidential candidates need to recognize the severity of the crisis and take some action now to avert an economically crippling collapse in the near future. "Unless something is done to move toward some kind of fix, we're going to see every one of our major airlines in bankruptcy," says Robert Crandall, former chairman of American Airlines. ... As a result of the spike upward in oil prices,...

Gore edges ahead of Hillary in key state By Alex Spillius in Washington Last Updated: 2:08am BST 29/06/2007 Democrats in the key state of New Hampshire would prefer Al Gore to run for president in 2008 even though he has yet to enter the race for the nomination. Al Gore has said he has 'no intention' of running A survey of Democrats in the US state has shown that the former vice-president would force Hillary Clinton, the current frontrunner, into second place by six percentage points. Without Mr Gore the former first lady polled 37 per cent over her nearest...

WASHINGTON, June 20, 2007 – Iraqi and coalition forces anticipate a summer of hard fighting, but are confident there is a good prospect for continued progress in the months ahead, a senior military official said during a Baghdad news conference today. “Hopefully this can be matched by progress in the political and economic areas in Iraq and again give us hope for the way ahead,” said Navy Rear Adm. Mark Fox, Multinational Force Iraq communications division chief, during the first news conference held for local media since the mosque bombing in Samarra June 13. Fox told reporters that all requested...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2007 – The combination of available money and around-the-clock work is enabling the Army to increase the pace of refurbishment of equipment that’s damaged or worn out from service in Afghanistan and Iraq, senior military leaders testified before a joint U.S. House committee on Capitol Hill yesterday. Gen. Benjamin Griffin, commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command, shows Army Secretary Francis Harvey a metal vehicle track that was to soon have new rubber tread applied to it at Red River Army Depot, in Texarkana, Texas, on Jan. 25, 2006. Army equipment that’s been worn or damaged during...

Dark times ahead for chocolate By David Derbyshire, Consumer Affairs Editor (Filed: 14/10/2006) Britain's taste for chocolate is growing more sophisticated, figures out yesterday suggest. Sales of dark chocolate have trebled in a year, while the number of dark mainstream brands has risen tenfold. Confectionary analysts say the figures reflect a more discerning palate. They also follow several studies — some funded by chocolate makers — indicating that dark chocolate can have health benefits. Antioxidants in dark chocolate can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure, say researchers. However, dark and milk contain the same amount of fat and sugar. Although...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2006 -- A U.S. railroad freight firm has earned the right to blow its locomotives’ whistles in celebration of Defense Department recognition for superb support of its employees in the National Guard and Reserve. BNSF Railway, with headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, is one of 15 U.S. businesses selected to receive the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award for 2006. “BNSF is very pleased to have been nominated and selected to receive this award,” said Connie McLendon, BNSF’s military staffing manager. “This is an important distinction that very few companies receive, recognizing outstanding support for our...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 11, 2006 – Foreign observers of the U.S. military often say what puts it above other militaries is the quality of the noncommissioned officer corps. Many other nations want the same for themselves. The Afghan National Army is learning from Western military trainers who stress the central role of NCOs in a world-class military. Afghan army Chief of Staff Gen. Bismullah Khan stressed the role of NCOs in the new military by recently appointing the nation's first sergeant major of the army, Roshan Safi. Senior American NCOs say the appointment is crucial to developing an NCO corps...

LAREDO, Texas, July 17, 2006 – National Guard troops flowing to the Southwest border are highly visible to drivers at an Interstate 35 inspection station north of this Texas border town as soldiers assist U.S. Border Patrol agents scrutinizing every northbound vehicle. A Texas National Guard soldier and Border Patrol Senior Agent Chad Wamsley accompany Ricky I, a Belgian Malinois, as the detection dog checks a tractor-trailer truck for drugs or concealed people at the Border Patrol's Interstate 35 checkpoint, north of Laredo, Texas. The soldier, who is not being named for security reasons, volunteered to serve for a...

WASHINGTON, May 28, 2006 – Although progress has been made, the war in Iraq is complex and many challenges are still on the horizon for Iraqi and coalition forces, Iraq's deputy prime minister said today. "We are dealing with a tough war against international terrorism and the remnants of the Saddam (Hussein) regime," Barham Salih said in an interview on CNN's "Late Edition" with Wolf Blitzer. "We're dealing with a difficult, difficult political and security challenge." With widespread sectarian violence and insurgent attacks, an immediate challenge for the country is the selection of a permanent defense minister and interior minister,...

The roots of radio-frequency identification technology stretch at least as far back as World War II, when transponders helped distinguish between Axis and Allied aircraft. Over the years the concept has been greatly miniaturized, landing RFID technology in such settings as animal tags, toll-collection devices, passports, keyless entry systems for cars and wireless credit cards. But perhaps none of these projects will have as much impact for consumers as the adoption of RFID in the supply chains of huge retail stores. Mega-retailers led by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) have gotten their biggest suppliers to add RFID chips to pallets and...

Full steam ahead: Brussels draws up plan for 'EU navy' By Justin Stares in Brussels (Filed: 21/05/2006) The European Commission has drawn up plans to set up a European coastguard, which critics fear is a back-door attempt by Brussels to create an EU navy with its own powers to stop and search shipping. Plans to upgrade the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) into a fully-fledged coastguard are buried in a document revising European Union (EU) transport policy that is due to be published next month. Armed coastguard will be embryonic naval service They come on the back of other "empire...

AL TAQADDUM, Iraq (May 8, 2006) -- Another day on the sand-bitten streets of a small town in Iraq lapsed for the passersby, who carelessly walked to and from their normal routine tasks. A few insurgents entered the town, choosing it as their safe haven while preparing their next strike against the U.S. service members. Cruising just below its ceiling at approximately 15,000 feet, a small unmanned aerial vehicle hovered over the dusty community just beyond earshot, as it tracked the insurgents to their current location with real-time video and relayed the information to the people who could do something...