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McDonald’s is debuting several small changes to its Big Macs and Classic Cheeseburger that the company believes to be a huge improvement in their overall quality. Known internally as “Best Burger,” the changes involve the tenth-pound burgers used in its classic Hamburgers and Cheeseburgers, McDouble, Double Cheeseburger and Big Mac. The changes will include softer buns that are toasted, melted cheese and onions that are added to the patties while they are on the grill to give them a caramelized flavor. The company is also adding more sauce to its Big Macs, to ensure customers get more sauce in every...

The inspector general for the U.S. Capitol Police testified on Tuesday that the department has not made enough improvements since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, telling lawmakers that more has to be done “to achieve the goal of making the Capitol Complex safe and secure. “Although the Department has addressed some of our recommendations and have made security improvements throughout the Capitol Complex, much work still needs to be addressed in relation to Training, Intelligence, cultural change and Operational Planning,” Michael Bolton told the Senate Rules and Administration Committee in prepared remarks. Bolton said that of the 200...

After years of work, the Interstate 35 reconstruction project in Bell County is pretty much done, while a similar project to widen Interstate 14 still has years of work ahead. “Overall, the I-35 Reconstruction Project ... particularly in Waco, is continuing at an aggressive pace, well on track for a 2023 completion. Bell County work remains substantially complete with minor ‘punch list’ items such as completion of the Temple Welcome Monument and the standard establishment of vegetation along the corridor within the Temple/Troy area remaining, prior to final acceptance of the project,” Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Ken Roberts said...

The traffic jams over the Occoquan are so much worse than on any other part of Interstate 95 in Virginia that they throw off the scale of a review of potential traffic improvements for I-95 from North Carolina to the Potomac River. Initial analysis ahead of public meetings this week to identify the Virginia trouble spots shows people spend more than 1.2 million hours a year in delays in just the 1-mile southbound stretch over the Occoquan River. The miles leading up to that are only slightly better, regularly slowed to around 30 mph. Overall, at least 70% of delays...

WINCHESTER — The Frederick County Transportation Committee on Monday expressed concerns that the county may not get the Interstate 81 improvements it needs to reduce traffic congestion and accidents. The Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Department of Rail and Public Transportation are studying the entire length of the I-81 corridor in the Virginia, as directed by the General Assembly, to identify changes that will reduce traffic backups and crashes as well as find the funding to make those changes. The I-81 study team identified 105 projects — valued at $4.25 billion —...

In case you wanted some inspiring ideas for all that disposable income you’ve got just sitting around.

DEUTSCHE BANK: The New Estimates For The US Budget Are A Total Gamechanger For Fiscal And Monetary Policy Rob Wile May 15, 2013, 5:08 PM The CBO said this week that America's fiscal deficit will be much smaller than anyone thought, and that long term debt growth will slow by at least 3 points through the next decade. That's good news right? In his note today, Deutsche Bank's Joe LaVorgna says there is even more than meets the eye in the report. Specifically, the rosier CBO report means there's now less pressure on Congress to keep the Sequester, and more...

WASHINGTON - Interstate 270 is considered one of the most choked roads in the Washington region, but solutions for the gridlock are few and far between. Figures from the Maryland Department of Transportation show about 114,000 cars use I-270 daily, and that number is expected to jump to 200,000 in the next 10 to 15 years. "Everyone who is familiar with 270 knows it is jammed up in the morning rush hour and evening rush hour," says Gus Bauman, who studies transportation and funding and who chaired a Maryland Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding. One proposal to ease congestion...

PATROL BASE MAHAWIL, Iraq, Aug. 18, 2009 – Despite the threat of sandstorms and extreme heat Aug. 6, the Multinational Division South command sergeant major visited soldiers of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, to view the improved living conditions and morale at this patrol base. Army 1st Sgt. Richard A. Mitchell, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, talks with Army Command Sgt. Maj. Doug L. Julin, Multinational Division South senior enlisted leader, at Patrol Base Mahawil, Iraq, Aug. 6, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Bethany L. Little  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “I came to...

FORT MONMOUTH, N.J., Aug. 3, 2009 – Army Sgt. 1st Class Debra Tanacea was eager to begin her first deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She had been wearing the Army uniform for 16 years, she said, and felt more than ready to accept the challenge of serving in a hostile environment. But after learning the requirements of one particular project, she wasn't sure it was a mission she could accomplish. Her job was to collect personal protective equipment, or PPE, damaged by improvised explosive devices for forensic testing so that it could be improved. But it was the...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq, Dec. 1, 2008 – A task force of National Guard soldiers has spent nearly $450,000 during the past three months to improve living conditions for residents of eastern Baghdad’s Rusafa district. Residents of Baghdad’s Rusafa district working for an Iraqi company clean up trash on a street Nov. 23, 2008. Leaders of Task Force Gold Spike contracted the company to remove trash as part of a mandate to improve living conditions for the people of Rusafa. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Eight Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers from the Mississippi National...

Iraqi men play a game of soccer on a renovated field in front of a renovated school in Baghdad’s Sadr City District, Oct. 30, 2008. Photo by Maj. Michael Humphreys, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — More than $55 million in both U.S. and Iraqi funds have been pumped into Sadr City to improve the quality of life for residents there since the end of major combat operations this past spring. In a combined effort between both Iraqi and American forces, the people of Sadr City have benefited from renovated and re-opened schools, new parks, improved medical facilities, more...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2008 – Coalition forces in the Madain community south of Baghdad are shifting their efforts from predominantly offensive operations to improving central services and further developing the local government, a military official posted in Iraq said today. “Progress in Madain is absolutely phenomenal,” Army Col. Pat White, commander of the 1st Armored Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, known as the Iron Brigade, told Pentagon reporters via teleconference. The Iron Brigade’s main mission in Madain may suggest heavy combat, as they’re responsible for filtering the flow of insurgents and munitions entering Baghdad. But attack levels are down from...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2008 – Citizens of Iraq’s Babil province feel secure, and overall quality of life in the area is improving due to the efforts of Iraqi and coalition forces, a U.S. commander said yesterday. Army Col. Tom James, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, detailed for military bloggers and online journalists the ongoing effort to secure his region of Iraq and stimulate its economy. James has oversight of Babil province, part of the military’s Multinational Division Center area of responsibility south of Baghdad. “Our mission is to secure the population, defeat extremists and neutralize...

The U.S. military’s top-ranking officer encountered one of Iraq’s most dangerous areas July 7 and saw first-hand the improvements Iraqi and U.S. forces have made during recent months. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, received a glimpse of the success that has seen attack levels in Iraq fall to their lowest in four years - a 90 percent decline in attacks during the past year alone. The progress in security has allowed Coalition forces to focus more on other issues, military officials in Baghdad said. Less than 60 days ago, the streets of Jamilla Market...

BAGHDAD, July 7, 2008 – The U.S. military’s top-ranking officer encountered one of Iraq’s most dangerous areas today and saw first-hand the improvements Iraqi and U.S. forces have made during recent months. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, received a glimpse of the success that has seen attack levels in Iraq fall to their lowest in four years -- a 90 percent decline in attacks during the past year alone. The progress in security has allowed coalition forces to focus more on other issues, military officials in Baghdad said. Less than 60 days ago, the...

Capt. Gregory Curry II, commander of Troop A, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division signs over a micro-grant to a general store owner in the Hawr Rajab area. Curry, of Walnut Creek, Ohio, said the purpose of the micro-grants is to improve and jumpstart the local economy. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Paredes. FOB KALSU — With security improving in Hawr Rajab, stores and schools are reopening and a number of programs are revitalizing a community once on the brink of chaos. In November 2007, al-Qaeda launched their last well-coordinated offensives into...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2007 – The improved security environment in Iraq is creating conditions that promote the large-scale infrastructure projects under way to support Iraq’s security forces, a defense official in Iraq told online journalists and “bloggers” today. Navy Cmdr. Patrick Mack, deputy engineer for Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, noted marked security improvements, particularly since August. He noted that when he arrived in Iraq in March, security problems hindered MNSTCI’s efforts to develop or renovate sites for Iraq’s police, national police, army and border patrol forces. Material being shipped to work sites was frequently interdicted, and workers were intimidated...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2007 – After traveling with Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen during Mullen’s first visit to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Joint Staff’s operations director said today that he was struck by “noticeable” security improvements throughout the theater. Army Lt. Gen. Carter F. Ham told Pentagon reporters the troop surge in Iraq that began in the spring is “having the intended effect” of better security. “That's not to say that there’s not still significant work required; there is,” Ham said. But he reported that throughout his travels with Mullen earlier...

Sgt. 1st Class Mendez J. Frith, Bravo Battery 9th Engineer Battalion, enjoys a brief chat with neighborhood youngsters while checking on a variety of essential service projects in northwest Baghdad. USACE photo. BAGHDAD — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing more than $50 million in essential service projects in northwest Baghdad. Water and sewer lines are being repaired, roads paved, and electrical distribution networks upgraded under contracts USACE is managing. “And that’s just a portion of the work being carried out there,” said Lt. Col. Glen Masset, commander of the U.S. Army’s 9th Engineer Battalion, who keeps track of...