Walmart Expands Same-Day Grocery Delivery To Denver

Walmart today announced its plans to expand its same-day grocery delivery service, a part of its “Walmart To Go” offering, to a new market: Denver, Colorado. This move follows the company’s ongoing grocery delivery tests which have been taking place over the last couple of years in San Jose and San Francisco. The Denver area test is currently a closed beta, meaning customers will be allowed to trial the new service on a first-come, first served basis only. For now, they can request access by signing up at Walmart.com/togo. The retailer says it began online grocery delivery in San Jose and San Francisco back in April 2011, where the service is also available to most cities along the peninsula. Customers can choose from tens of thousands of eligible items online, including fresh produce, meat and seafood, dairy, bakery items, and even non-grocery items like health and beauty products, electronics and toys. Shoppers designate a two-hour slot for their delivery, then orders are fulfilled by local Walmart Supercenters and delivered in Walmart To Go trucks. These branded trucks have previously been used in the San Jose and San Francisco areas, and are now coming to the Denver area, too.  Denver was already participating in Walmart’s broader efforts in same-day delivery, which began in select markets last fall. Denver in particular gained same-day delivery in November 2012. For background, last October, Walmart announced its intentions to experiment in this area of same-day delivery, which began with tests in Northern Virginia (outside D.C.), Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and San Jose/San Francisco, initially. Customers in those regions could shop online – though not necessarily for groceries – then have their orders sourced and fulfilled by their local Walmart stores. The company is still experimenting with price points for this service, it seems, as they note that the Denver area delivery fees will be “in the $5 to $10 range.” However, it will run some introductory offers for new participants in order to encourage sign-ups, including some free delivery options, we’re told. Same-day delivery is available for orders placed by 8 AM M.T. in the Denver market, and returns can be handled at the time of delivery, in-store, or by phoning to have a driver return to pick up the item. Though Walmart remains the largest brick-and-mortar retailer worldwide, it has lost ground online to Amazon.com over the years, which threatens its business as more consumers shift their shoppingSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/eEJF8he-20E/
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Welcome To Week Three Of The Shutdown

Speaker of the House John Boehner arrives at the U.S. Capitol on Monday. House Republicans remain an obstacle to any emerging deal.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Speaker of the House John Boehner arrives at the U.S. Capitol on Monday. House Republicans remain an obstacle to any emerging deal.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The partial government shutdown begins its third week on Tuesday as the debt ceiling deadline looms just two days from now. Congressional leaders seem to be inching toward a deal that could prove acceptable to both sides and the White House. But, we've been here before.

USAToday describes the broad outlines of the emerging deal:

"A flurry of negotiations occurred throughout [Monday] as [Sen. Majority Leader Harry] Reid and his Republican counterpart, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, engaged with each other, their own members, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and White House staff on the terms of a deal to end the budget impasse, which has kept the government partially shut down since Oct. 1.

McConnell said Monday morning, 'I share his optimism that we will get a result that is acceptable to both sides.'

The draft proposal still under negotiation would approve a stopgap funding bill to reopen government through Jan. 15; suspend the debt ceiling until Feb. 7; and create the framework for formal budget negotiations to conclude by Dec. 15 with long-term recommendations for funding levels and deficit reduction."

The Washington Post fleshes out some details.

"In the meantime, policymakers would launch a new round of talks over broader budget issues in hopes of developing a plan to replace deep automatic spending cuts known as the sequester before Jan. 15. That is when the next round of sequester cuts is scheduled to slice another $20 billion out of agency budgets, primarily from the Pentagon.

The framework under consideration includes only minor changes to President Obama's signature health-care law, falling well short of defunding it or delaying major provisions as conservative Republicans initially sought. Instead, Republicans would get only new safeguards to ensure that people who receive federal subsidies to purchase health insurance under the law are eligible to receive them.

But talks were hung up over another provision, aides and lawmakers said: a demand by Democrats to delay the law's 'belly button tax,' a levy on existing policies that is set to add $63 per covered person — including spouses and dependents — to the cost of health insurance next year. Republicans derided the proposal as a special favor to organized labor."

The Chicago Tribune warns of the potential for a Senate filibuster:

"A potential filibuster could prolong the debate. But experts have said the promise of a deal could calm the restless financial markets. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who spearheaded the drive to kill or delay Obama's healthcare law using the government-funding bill, held out the possibility that he would filibuster, but said, "I want to wait to see what the details are."

And, as NPR's Alisa Chang reports, whatever the deal, even if it passes the Senate, it's – not surprisingly — going to be a hard sell to House Republicans. She reports:

"[For] the stalwart Republicans who have been determined to cripple the healthcare law, the Senate deal won't do enough devastation to Obamacare. The proposal will likely require tighter income verification for people who get healthcare subsidies, but Tim Huelskamp of Kansas says that's nowhere near adequate.

Huelskamp: 'When you're given 98, 99 percent of Obamacare, I don't see how that would ever pass over here, if it even passes the Senate.'

And as the days rapidly melt away before a debt ceiling breach, John Fleming of Louisiana says House Republicans are not feeling the time pressure.

Fleming: 'I don't think it has anything to do with it for the vast majority of Republicans. As you can see, we're down, how long, two weeks now into this? And we're working to re-open government as quickly as we can, but you know, for us, it's important to get government right.'"

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/15/234621414/welcome-to-week-three-of-the-shutdown?ft=1&f=1014
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Lindsay Lohan Gets Herself A New Tattoo

Home Work

Posted by: Trent on October 14, 2013|

When last we saw Lindsay Lohan here on the blog, she was spotted tooling the streets of NYC with her mother Dina Lohan as the biked together on Citi Bikes. Today we learn that L. Lo went and got herself a new tattoo that she had done in the privacy of her own home. Lindsay posted a photo on her official Instagram profile showing her in the midst of getting her ink done and from the look of the photo, she was in extreme pain. Click below to see the body location she chose for her newest tattoo.

@seanpenncils #HomeWork #behindthescenes

Yeah, that part of the arm is really tender and, therefore, it hurts like Hell when you get a tattoo there. Lindsay has yet to show off her finished so we’re going to have to wait until she decides to show it off. I have to say, I’m quite impressed with how well Lindsay appears to be doing these days. She’s gone months now without getting into trouble and she’s managed to stay completely out of trouble. Even more amazingly, she’s managed to stay out of the tabloid headlines … will miracles never cease? Here’s hoping Lindsay continues on the straight and narrow. Wouldn’t it be amazing if she really remained serious about her recovery?

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pinkisthenewblog/~3/cF7A38t9bHw/lindsay-lohan-gets-herself-a-new-tattoo
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Prioritizing which U.S. bills to pay would be 'chaos': Lew

By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration said on Thursday that a looming U.S. default would hit everyone from Social Security pensioners to bondholders and urged Congress to raise the cap on government borrowing to avoid a crisis.

Appearing before lawmakers, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew tried to shoot down the notion that Washington could prioritize between its many payment obligations.

He warned lawmakers that later this month the government might miss payments on pensions and health care for the elderly. It also must make payments to creditors.

"I don't believe there is a way to pick and choose on a broad basis," Lew told a Senate hearing.

While missing non-debt payments could over time push the economy into recession, a missed debt payment could trigger an even more profound financial crisis.

Washington takes in about 70 cents in taxes for every dollar it spends, so it must borrow to pay its bills. If Congress fails to raise a $16.7 trillion cap on government borrowing soon, the Treasury will not have enough money to cover the nation's obligations.

While there were signs that a debt ceiling deal could be closer, failure to raise the current limit would force the government to stop adding to the national debt by October 17.

Lew said that even if President Obama authorized the Treasury to try to prioritize payments, there was no way the payment system would operate smoothly. "It would be chaos."

Many analysts are convinced the administration would at least try to keep investors whole, and Republican lawmakers have proposed plans that would force the administration to do so.

"The only appropriate thing to do is plan for contingencies," said Pat Toomey, a Republican senator from Pennsylvania.

Toomey pressed Lew to divulge any plans the administration might have for insuring that creditors will get paid, but Lew said this could be impossible.

"Anyone who thinks that it can be done just doesn't know the architecture of our multiple payment systems," Lew said. "They were designed properly to pay our bills; they were not designed to not pay our bills."

Lew also said there were complicated legal issues regarding prioritization of interest and principal on debt.

Gridlock in Washington was already hurting the U.S. economy, he said.

The country's political dysfunction has already led the government to partially shut down, which is sucking money out of the economy by delaying payments to many federal workers.

"We now face a manufactured political crisis that is beginning to deliver an unnecessary blow to our economy," Lew said, adding that uncertainty over the possibility of default was already weighing on financial markets.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by James Dalgleish and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lew-says-u-economy-hurt-manufactured-political-crisis-122531837--business.html
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Citigroup, State Street gear up for possible US debt default: WSJ

(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc and State Street Corp have been exploring ways in which they might impose limits on the use of short-term treasury bills due in the coming weeks as collateral, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Because of the uncertainty over U.S. finances, banks and money market funds are already shunning some government securities that are often used as collateral for short-term loans and to facilitate many other transactions.

Citigroup and State Street have large clearing operations, standing in between counterparties to guarantee trades in the event of a default by one party.

Citi has started telling some clients that it may not accept bills maturing October 24 or October 31 as collateral, the Journal said.

There was no set policy in place, but Citi was sounding out certain clients about whether they could instead substitute Treasurys that mature at a later date, the paper said.

Certain units of State Street have been discussing which Treasury bills it may restrict as collateral for loans and trades, the Journal said, citing a person familiar with the matter. (http://link.reuters.com/kez73v)

A spokesman for State Street told the newspaper that the company is monitoring negotiations in Washington and evaluating ways to protect its clients, but had not implemented any changes to its collateral policy.

Citigroup spokesman Mark Costiglio declined to comment on the Journal report when contacted by Reuters.

State Street could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside of regular U.S. business hours.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/citigroup-state-street-gear-possible-us-debt-default-040638993--sector.html
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National Secular Society - New report highlights growing incursion ...

A new report published by the National Secular Society has revealed that publicly funded schools are being targeted and exploited by evangelical Christian groups as part of their missionary work.

The report, Evangelism in state schools – the role of external visitors in publicly funded education (pdf), reveals a determined push by evangelical churches and organisations to gain access to state schools with the intention of proselytizing among young children.

The report finds that the activities of external visitors are often undertaken in schools without parents' knowledge and with little, if any, opportunity for withdrawal.

According to the report, the motivations and aims of religious groups, either out of complicity or naivety, are going unquestioned by head teachers, governors, Local Education Authorities and the Department for Education.

The National Secular Society has written to Education Secretary, Michael Gove, calling for national guidance setting out best practice for working with external visitors and contributors and particularly religion and belief groups.

The report also calls for all schools to publish and adhere to an external visitor's policy which forbids proselytizing and evangelism and makes clear that parents should be given prior and relevant information about school visitors.

One parent, Saul Freeman from Sheffield, said:

"Having sent our child to a non-religious state primary school, we never expected to find ultra-conservative evangelical activity. Our son's school has never been open with parents about its close links with a local evangelical church despite our best efforts to get clarity.

"Adults who come in and lead school assemblies are seen by the children as authority figures in the local community – and this means that the school has conferred a status of trust and respect on a group of individuals who preach hate and a fundamentalist, literalist and creationist approach to religion and life."

Stephen Evans, National Secular Society campaigns manager, said that the educational purpose of religious education is so vague that it is open to exploitation by aggressive religious groups that are determined to reach children in schools.

He said: "The legal obligation on all schools to provide religious education, and a daily act of worship provides a foot in the door to organisations with evangelistic intentions. The ambiguity about the specific aims and purpose of religious education, and its low status in schools, provides an ideal environment for evangelical groups to exploit.

"Given the diminishing interest in religious observance amongst young people and their parents, it's easy to see why evangelical groups are so keen to access schools. But we have to question the appropriateness of state schools being used in this way. The presence of such groups undermines the rights of parents who rightly expect a state education for their child that doesn't run counter to their own religious and philosophical convictions."

Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society, said:

"The targeting of our schools in this way by such dubious organisations must be tackled by the Department for Education. Most parents have absolutely no idea that such groups are present in their children's school until the child comes home and starts repeating the messages they've been given – sometimes about creationism, sometimes manipulative evangelical messages or literature that reinforces a very conservative religious outlook on life."

Mr Sanderson said the whole issue of religion in schools needs to be urgently reassessed.

"Our schools are becoming playgrounds for religious interests who are exploiting their opportunities to the full. The increasing number of faith schools is not going to make this any better. With fewer and fewer people regarding themselves as religious, it is clear that faith groups see schools as their best hope of reviving their fortunes. Children have to be there by law, they are a captive audience."

Read the report: Evangelism in state schools – the role of external visitors in publicly funded education (pdf)

See a list of evangelical groups active in schools

Research into the activities of evangelical groups in schools in ongoing. If you have information or concerns about external visitors in a particular school, please use the form on this page to provide details.

The NSS is calling for religious education to be replaced with a new National Curriculum subject that allows pupils to take a more objective and religiously neutral approach to the consideration of moral and ethical issues. Read our briefing paper setting out the need for comprehensive reform of RE.

Source: http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2013/10/new-report-highlights-growing-incursion-of-evangelical-christians-into-state-schools
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A Super-Tough, Resin-Injected Skateboard That Glows in the Sun

The typical skateboard is made of laminated wood. Wood is durable, relatively lightweight, and has the flex and bounce required by the average sidewalk surfer. What it's not waterproof or particularly exciting. The Hydroflex Skateboard has all these attributes, plus ...

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