SHFW | Scripps Howard Foundation Wire -

Bush, officials break ground for new military hospital

jbeck — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:15:36 -0400

Click on photo to enlarge or download: President Bush breaks ground on the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., with Army Staff Sgt. John Borders, left, and U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Ray Baronie. SHWire photo by Jackie BestBETHESDA, Md. - Defense Department officials, wounded soldiers and President George Bush broke ground Thursday for the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at the National Naval Medical Center.

Future airline travel could look like the 1950s

jbeck — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:13:02 -0400

WASHINGTON - For now, George Hoffer is used to flying a lot.

He and his 26-year-old son have been traveling to baseball games and NCAA tournaments across the country since his son was in middle school. Usually, they fly - they've flown into about 60 airports. It's a common, modern mode of transportation, and he said ticket prices haven't gone up significantly over the last few years.

But he doesn't expect it to always be that easy.

'Army Wives' casts goes to Army hospital for red-carpet event

jbeck — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:15:20 -0400

[img_assist|nid=6724|title=Click on photo to enlarge or download|desc=From left, Army Iraq veteran Lt. Col.

Teachers’ union blasts No Child Left Behind, calls for reform by 2020

jbeck — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:27:49 -0400

WASHINGTON - The National Education Association, the largest teacher's union in the country, attacked the "fundamentally flawed" No Child Left Behind Act Wednesday at the unveiling of its education reform plan.

"No Child Left Behind demanded outcomes and promised resources to achieve those outcomes," NEA President Reg Weaver said. "Those promises to our children, we believe, have been broken."

Don’t let computers use you, experts advise

jbeck — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:23:09 -0400

WASHINGTON - Cheatcodes.com claims to have "more cheats than anyone on the planet." Gamespot.com offers 44 cheat codes for the game "Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories," and a Google search on video game cheat codes turns up at least 700,000 results.

National Geographic Kids magazine sets world record for longest chain of shoes

jbeck — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:23:04 -0400

Click on photo to enlarge or download: National Geographic Kids magazine set a Guinness World Record for the longest chain of shoes with 10,512 shoes, lined up toe to heal in the National Geographic Society courtyard. SHWire photo by Jackie BestWASHINGTON - The largest number of dirty old sneakers was collected in one place Wednesday, and it wasn't in the back of a closet or shoved under a bed.

Obama, McCain face the smears and lies of politics

jbeck — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:56:08 -0400

WASHINGTON - Donald Segretti says there's no second place in politics. Candidates either win or lose. And, sometimes, dirty tricks play a part.

Segretti, a political operative for the Committee to Re-elect the President during Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign, had a role in the Watergate scandal.

In 1974, he served 4½ months in prison after pleading guilty to three misdemeanor counts of distributing illegal campaign literature.

Beckham thrilled by MLS reception

jbeck — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:35:40 -0400

WASHINGTON - Girls, women and even middle-aged men waited patiently in the humid hallway of Robert F. Kennedy Stadium. Even in the 90-degree heat and humidity, Washington soccer fans awaited the arrival of David Beckham after the Los Angeles Galaxy lost 4-1 to D.C. United Sunday.

The international soccer star made his way through the line, never moving more than a step at a time. Beckham posed for photos with babies, girls, men and women of all ages with the loss still lingering in the back of his mind.

All the way from Brazil, Emilio shines for D.C. United

jbeck — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:30:52 -0400

WASHINGTON - D.C. United forward Luciano Emilio scores goals, and lately he scores more often than not. After starting the season in a slump (just one goal in his first nine games), Emilio found the net nine times in the last six.

Two of the goals came in a 4-1 win against David Beckham and the first-place Los Angeles Galaxy (6-5-3) Sunday at RFK Stadium before 35,979 fans.

United (7-7-1) has a six match unbeaten streak and moved to third place in the Eastern Conference.

U.N. atlas displays Africa’s changing landscape

jbeck — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:59:43 -0400

Click on photo to enlarge or download: The Gishwati Forest in Rwanda was still large and dense when this photo was taken in 1978.Click on photo to enlarge or download: This photo, taken in 2006, shows how the forest has almost disappeared because its trees were cut down for fuel, food and medicine.

Latino contributions spotlighted at White House T-ball game

jbeck — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:16:39 -0400

[img_assist|nid=6703|title=Click on photo to enlarge or download|desc=President Bush greets players from the Little League Angels of Manati, Puerto Rico, before they face off against the Little League Red Sox of Camden, N.J, in a T-ball game on the White House South Lawn.

The cat came to town. The kids took a look. He told them all to go read a book

jbeck — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:41:30 -0400

Click on photo to enlarge or download: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library was filled with 5- and 6-year-olds, NEA volunteers, teachers and parents Monday, all wearing red and white “Cat in the Hat” hats. SHFWire photo by Alyse KnorrWASHINGTON - The lobby of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library was filled with red and white balloons, kid-sized fuzzy stools and purple and pink inflatable chairs. Brightly colored circular mats covered the floor. Dr.

Some parents, authorities disagree on safety of childhood vaccines

jbeck — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:38:00 -0400

WASHINGTON - Vaccines are becoming more common all the time. They are preventing more diseases and saving more lives. But some people worry that they are doing more harm than good for a number of children.

Threats to thoroughbred health caused by more than just steroids

jbeck — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:54:38 -0400

Click on photo to enlarge or downloadMay 3, the day of the 134^th Kentucky Derby, marked one of horse racing's most anticipated days of the year.

But by the end of the race, it would be remembered as one of the sport's most tragic.

Just minutes after passing the winning post at the Churchill Downs track, Eight Belles, the filly who finished second in the famous race, collapsed with two broken front ankles.

National Geographic to air the tale of a gorilla massacre

jbeck — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:26:40 -0400

WASHINGTON - It all began with a photograph: a dead, 500-pound silverback gorilla named Senkwekwe tied to a bed of wooden poles being carefully carried through a field on the shoulders of 15 mourning, African men.

Chris Johns, editor in chief of National Geographic magazine, first saw the photograph in Newsweek magazine while he was in Cape Town, South Africa, in August.