Large amounts of rains caused flooding around the entire local area. The rain came from the remnants of Hurricane Jeanne that slammed into the North Carolina coast over the weekend. The Schuykill expressway was closed down due to large amounts of water. Some commuters had to be rescued by the Philadelphia police. Many cars were abandoned on the side of the road. Amtrak was also affected due to the severe weather, according to NBC 10 News.
O’Brien replaces Leno
NBC officially announced on Monday, Sept. 27 that Conan O’Brien will officially take over the “Tonight Show” in 2009. The “Tonight Show” is one of the biggest money making shows for the network and recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. When Leno hands over the show to O’Brien it will be his 17th year hosting. Leno is reportedly very happy with who was chosen, according to Reuters.
Gas prices continue to rise
Gas prices soared to $50 a barrel this week. One cause of the prices rising is the recent hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico. Many oil rigs are placed in the Gulf and were forced to evacuate their workers several times due to the rough waters. The rise affected the stock market, the Dow Jones was below the 10,000 mark. Terrorists are also playing a role in the rising prices. They continue to target oil destinations in order to disrupt world economics, according to the Washington Post.
China tops paralympic games
As the Paralympic Games came to a close Tuesday Sept. 28, China was the country on top with a dominating 141 Paralympics medal haul. Attributing the nation’s strong performance to government support and training, China expects bigger things come the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. The United States finished fourth with 88 medals, according to the washingtonpost.com.
Blair apologizes for judgements
In a move recognizing the decline in Britain’s trust of its governments military actions in Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Blair offered an apology for some of the judgments he had made in taking his country to war. Blair acknowledged the failure to find weapons of mass destruction but stated he would not apologize for removing Saddam Hussein. A small group of protesters slipped into the address yelling that the prime minister had “blood on his hands,” according to the newyorktimes.com.
Producer freed from capture
CNN producer, Riad Ali was freed Tuesday Sept. 28, almost 24 hours after armed gunmen kidnapped him. He is currently now in the custody of Palestinian police. A video recorded while Ali was held captive called for the Druze not to serve in the Israeli military, stating that the basis of the Druze is the same as that of the Palestinians. The Druze Arabs are an Arabic-speaking, non-Jewish minority in Israel. Many Druze have assisted in the Israeli military, according to cnn.com.
Bonds faces lawsuit
Barry Bond’s 700th homerun is the debate in a lawsuit that was filed by a San Francisco fan, Tim Murphy, alleging it was stolen from him during a mad scramble. In possession of the historic ball is Steve Williams who says the ball was not stolen but found at the bottom of the pile, according to espn.com.
Posted to the Web by Lori Iannella
