It’s that time of year again.  Kind of a love hate relationship.  We loose an hour tonight, but that sacrifice will bring seemingly longer days as the sun stays bright later into the day.  Officially Sunday Morning at 2AM the time will shift forward to 3AM leaving us all a little more tired come wake up time.

If you think the change is a little early, then you might still be getting used to the changes enacted by congress a few years ago.  “Spring Forward” used to occur the first Sunday of April.  The changes create more Daylight savings in for the year and are supposed to save energy.

The Uniform time Act created in 1966 was the first widespread use of daylight savings.  Previously the idea credited to  Bejamin Franklin was used during World War I for its energy savings.  The law was reformed in 1986 and then again in 2006 when it was lengthened for the sake of more energy savings.

Daylight savings changes are an excellent time to remember to change your batteries in all of you fire alarms and check that they are in working order and not expired.  If you get in the habit of doing that twice a year corresponding the change, you can be sure that it gets done.  Experts recommend changing the batteries twice a year to prevent fire alarm failures.

Daylight saving time goes through the first sunday in November.

GRAHAM, Washington – An email apparently left by Josh Powell, to his attorney stating simply “I’m sorry, goodbye,” was received shortly after Powell’s home burned down, killing him and his two adolescent boys inside.

Powell’s email revealed that his life had become anything but private over the past two years, ever since his wife disappeared. As he was the only suspect in the disappearance of his wife, the police along with the media had put Powell’s life under such scrutiny that he couldn’t live a normal life. The email he sent to his lawyer was received just a short time before he had set his home ablaze, authorities said.

The reason Powell decided to commit suicide and to kill his two sons was no doubt triggered after he was required to submit himself to psycho-sexual evaluation tests, and then denied custody of his boys. Firefighters and sheriffs working around the debris that was once a home found three bodies, the bodies are believed to be those of Powell and the two adolescent boys.

On Feb.5, a case worker from Child Services delivered the two boys to their father’s home for a supervised home visit, but as soon as the boys got out of the car, they ran into the home. Josh Powell then closed the front door and locked it behind them, which prevented the case worker from entering.

The case worker had smelled gas coming from within the home and then an explosion had occurred causing the house to become engulfed in flames. The death of Josh Powell and that of his children has brought an unfortunate ending to an extremely public scandal, one that had begun with the disappearance of Susan Powell, in 2009, and ending in a horrific loss of innocent lives.

Losing weigh is an obstacle that many people come in contact with. It can be very hard to track your progress and monitor your habits all by yourself and doing both of those things are key to a successful weight loss. If you have an iPhone and are on the journey to lose weight there several apps that you can buy right from the app store that will help you to achieve all of your weight loss goals. All that you have to do is go to the app store and look at the apps about to be mentioned, download them and then begin monitoring your progress.

An app that is great in helping you to monitor your eating habits and calorie intake is, Lose It! With this app, everyday you record all of your meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner. The app knows the calories of must foods and will help you to keep count of your calories. The app claims that 85% of its users have lost weight.

Another app that will help you lose weight is, iPump Free Workout! Working out is one of the keys to losing weight. Not everyone can always make it to the gym so this app provides you with work out videos that you can do right from your home. There are two full body workouts with this app so you know you will be seeing results.

For those who like to walk for a workout then StepTrackLite is a great app for you. This app is a simple pedometer that will keep track of all of your steps.

All in all the iPhone is a great aid when it comes to losing weight. There are countless workout and calories tracking apps that will make your road to weight loss a stress free one. You are going to be more than satisfied with the results.

A lot of cheering gay couples rushed last Saturday to make wedding arrangements that they have been dreaming off for decades after the legislation of same-sex marriage in New York took place. The legislation may actually turn a traditional gay pride parade into a huge engagement party/

Just a few minutes after Democratic Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo signed the law legalizing gay marriage in the city, sparkling diamond rings were offered and accepted with the promise of a grand wedding. The Independent Democratic Conference reported an estimated $284 million additional income for the state with these gay weddings alone. The report also said that than an average of 21,000 lesbian and gay couples from New York may get married within the next three years and around 42,000 would travel to New York for a “destination wedding.”

Dan Gallagher, 46, did not wait for the ink to dry before dropping down in one knee in the middle of Central Park, asking the million-dollar question – “Will you marry me”? Gallagher and his partner Peter Shearer have been together for 14 years and are raising a 4-year old son.

Tim Ford, a 45-year old actor said that it makes him feel like they are equal with the rest of New Yorkers. He is engaged to marry 44-year old Michael Beltran, his partner for 18 years. Beltran said, while choking back tears that they had been waiting for this moment for a very long time. He added that it was a very emotional moment for both of them.

New York is the most populous among six states that legalizes same sex marriage. Civil unions are also legal in Hawaii, Delaware, New Jersey, and Illinois. Same sex marriage, however, is banned in 39 states.

Ayman al-Zawahri, second in command to Osama bin Laden, is officially the leader of al-Qaida, the group announced Thursday.

Al-Zawhari is said to be the brains behind al-Qaida as he is extremely skilled in logistics and planning. After the declaration of al-Zawahri’s leadership, many analysts are saying that he would probably give a spectacular attack to establish his credentials as the world-renowned terror group’s leader. They added that he might also want to establish the name of al-Qaida in Yemen under his leadership.

Al-Zawahri is known for his deep hatred towards the United States and Israel and that hatred would most likely define his reign and al-Qaida’s future actions. A 2001 treatise showcased his fascination for violence as he said that the group’s goal is to inflict as much casualties on the Americans as possible. He added that killing the Jews and Americans is not precisely an impossible task. In fact, he said, that they can easily be killed with either a bullet, a stab of a knife, or even a bomb.

This hatred towards the Americans is rooted on something really deep – his family. It is said that al-Zawahri’s wife and two of their children were killed in an airstrike launched by the United States. The airstrike happened after the al-Qaida 9/11 attacks.

Everyone already expected to al-Zawhari to inherit the leadership of Osama bin Laden after he was killed on May 2. The delay in the announcement, however, led counterterrorist groups to think that there was a power struggle within al-Qaida.

Pakistan’s Taliban group welcomed al-Zawhari’s leadership and committed in to working alongside the al-Qaida group in their fight against the United States.

On Sunday, a House Democrat joined the party that is fervently requesting Representative Anthony Weiner to resign from his public post following his “sexting” scandals. The New York representative responded to the request by submitting a temporary leave of absence.

The chairman of the Republican Party criticized the Democrats for not taking more solid and forceful actions regarding the matter. The Republican Chairman said that the incident has taken a good portion of the attention of the people of Capitol Hill side-stepping from more important matters.

Weiner has earlier admitted to the allegations acknowledging the fact that he indeed engaged in sexual and explicit activities with a couple of women online. The most recent gossips were revealed in a TV gossip show and website TMZ.

The photo that was posted on the TMZ website Sunday shows a half-naked Weiner with nothing on but a towel wrapped around his waist. He was also holding his crotch in the said photo. The photo, TMZ said, was sent to at least one woman.

Maryland Representative Steny Hoyer said that it will be extremely difficult for Weiner to effectively represent New York following his bizarre and highly unacceptable behaviour with young women.

In New York, Weiner’s supporters and enemies are up against each other. 61-year old New Yorker Jim Scott, one of the several people who protested in front of Weiner’s office said that he thinks Weiner is not fit to represent them anymore. He added that New Yorkers are sick of them and he should just resign.

On the other hand, 18-year old Olivia Lurrie said that Weiner is a great leader who just like many human beings, made a mistake.

Everyone is at the edge of their seats waiting for what’s next in the scandal Weiner got himself in to.

When Dian Granito started as the events manager for New Mexico’s Children Youth and Families Department, she was asked to review the pictures of all the children available for adoption. The first thing she noticed was how ugly the picture quality was. She immediately realized that in order to draw more people to adopt children, the photos have to be improved.

Granito thought back then that a large-scale art show would definitely help spread the word and so she invited the state’s most talented photographers to capture the beauty and spirit of the children. This weekend is the 10^th year anniversary of the Heart Gallery.

At present, there are already 130 Heart Gallery organizations nationwide and two other recently started in Canada. Granito also launched Heart Gallery of America, a national organization, with the hopes of expanding in Europe.

Her very first exhibition broke gallery records when they attracted at least 1,200 people in a single night. Granito said that when she walked in the gallery for the first time and saw how the pictures captured the beauty and youth of the children, she knew they were on to something.

True to what she expected, six children were matched with foster families on the first night. One of the six children was adopted by the photographer who took their portraits.

In a matter of years, news about the success of Heart Gallery spread like wildfire and 5,000 children have been adopted because of the program. Garito said that it was all about getting the message across. She added that the portraits hold so much power that they have helped the children get out of the shadows.

Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh underwent surgery in Saudi Arabia following being wounded in an attack to his palace. The people of Yemen cheered and even killed cows (as sacrifice) in celebration to what they hope is the beginning of the end of the president’s 33-year rule.

An official representing the Yemeni government said that the leader will return to the country within a few days. However, the threat of more chaos remains high as gunfights and power struggle continue in many parts of the country.

A medical source from Saudi Arabia said that Saleh is wide awake and his condition is stable. Moreover, the source said that the surgery to remove shrapnel from his chest went very well and the leader is on his way to full recovery.

Ghanem Nuseibeh, senior analyst at Political Capital, thinks that this is the end of Abdullah Saleh’s long reign in Yemen. He added that leaving Yemen has really made it more difficult for the leader to retain his power.

However, many are concerned that if and should Saleh gives up his power, Yemen could become a failed state. That would pose a threat to global security and oil supply. Nuseibeh is hopeful and said there is a very small window of opportunity for Saudi and the West to salvage what is left of Yemen but they need to act fast.

Yemen’s government and military forces blames al Qaeda for the attack, but many analysts all over the globe believe that they are exaggerating the al Qaeda involvement in order to gain global support.

A 16-year old high school student in the United States was shot dead at a hotel in Costa Rica by a security guard while mistaking him for a thief, authorities announced Thursday.

Justin Johnston, a high school senior in Kansas, was shot on his chest on Thursday at the La Cangreja Lodge in La Fortuna de San Carlos, Costa Rica. Johnston was in a school trip to Central America as a part of their school’s Spanish program. He was there with his schoolmates and school district sponsors.

Police said that all the students were sent to bed before 10 in the evening Wednesday but several of them left their rooms to go to another building in the area. They were walking back to their rooms before dawn Thursday when the security guard saw them. Thinking they were a bunch of thieves, the security guard open fired on them. None of the other students were harmed.

The 34-year old security guard identified as Guevara, is in the custody of the police.

Steve Splichal, McLouth School District Superintendent, said that their primary concern is the safety and security of their students. They have already arranged for the rest of the students to come back home early. Splichal said that they are also concerned about Johnston’s parents and all the other students involved in the crisis. He added that the district’s crisis plan has already been activated.

This is not the first time a student from northeast Kansas has been killed during an educational trip to Costa Rica. Shannon Lucile Martin was killed in 2001, days before her graduation, while walking back to her room in Golfito, Costa Rica.

Of all the criminal cases that have been sentenced to death in China, those that involve corrupt officials grab the most public interest. Several examples of those cases are the recent death penalties of the deputy mayors of Hangzhou and Suzhou and the Justice Secretary of Chongqing City.

China has the most number of corrupt officials who have been executed with a death penalty each year. However, it seems not to be enough for the public who craves for that kind of punishment; because even though a lot of public officials have been beheaded due to corruption, many are still willing to put their lives at stake for the sake of money.

Technically, China only relies on their political law when dealing with corrupt officials. The sentences are delivered with the guidance of the discipline inspection of the Chinese Community Party.

While admitting their guilt in court, these Chinese government officials usually say that they have lost themselves in the process and they just judged the situations poorly. Some say that their lack of knowledge of the law could also be blamed.

Corruption is so widespread and systematic in the Chinese political system that most of their university students go to school with the hopes of becoming a politician. The Chinese youth knows that money and power comes quickly when in the government.

Because corrupt government officials are not only taking tax payers’ money, they are also corrupting the minds of Chinese youth; the public is clearly in favor of death penalty.