Moscow (EON) - The space agency of Russia has denied that an astronaut could have participated onboard the flying of the Soyuz spacecraft while drunk.
The allegation was that an astronaut was drunk while flying on the Soyuz spacecraft from Baikonur. The chairman of an independent U.S. panel made the allegation toward the Russian spacecraft in conclusion to his report on astronaut health while citing many NASA astronauts flying drunk as well.
Air Force Col. Richard Bachmann Jr. stated that there were many instances of alcohol with astronauts. Bachmann is the panel chairman. He noted one detailed case where an astronautw as drinking heavily before flying on a Soyuz spacecraft which had a desination of the International Space Station.
In response, the Russian Space Agency represented by spokesman Igor Panarian stated “We categorically deny the possibility that this could have happened at Baikonur.”
Russia continued by stating that medical requirements and demands of the job make it impossible to even think about drinking.
Seattle (EON) - Microsoft is facing competition from all sides and will soon have another problem as its leader Bill Gates works on his exit plan to leave the company next year as planned.
Gates was the co-founder of Microsoft 32 years ago and have grown it into an absolutely monstrous software company. The 51-year-old chairman has not slowed down one bit yet but reports are that he still plans to step down next year.
Gates will be leaving Microsoft to devote all of his energy to the $33 billion foundation he set up seven years ago with his wife to help others.
Gates stated “I am in a lucky situation of having way more things that seem interesting to do and very exciting and important, and working with smart people, and highly impactful, way more than a 24-hour day will fit.”
Boston (EON) - The gaming market in Australia has topped the $1 billion mark for the first time last financial year.
This is a huge increase in growth during the second half of the 2007 financial year as there was a 30% increase in gaming related sales. This pushed the gaming market in Australia past the $1 billion mark.
The Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia stated that this is “spectacular for the Australian gaming industry. Breaking through the $1 billion mark highlights the seriousness and sheer scale of the industry in Australia.”
$150 million of that money was spent on 500,000 gaming consoles with $264 million being spent on 5.5 million games during the final six months to June 30th.
New York (EON) - Monster Worldwide, home of the job web site Monster.com has announced they are going to cut 800 jobs as part of a restrucuring program.
This means that 15% of the Monster workforce is being let go by the company. The hope by Monster is that this restructuring will allow for a more streamlined functioning of their operation. The job cuts are going to affect North America for the most part only.
The plan will reduce annual operating expenses by $150 million.
The company revealed a 28% drop in second-quarter income stating that severance and legal expenses harmed the results greatly.
The shares of Monster were down 70 cents to $37.20.
Boston (EON) - RadioShack announced that they as a retailer made $47 million for the quarter ended June 30th. This is a huge increase over announced losses of $3 million last year.
Revenue dropped on RadioShack though from $1.1 billion a year ago to $935 million.
The Fort Worth, Texas retailer stated that “We are increasing our focus on opportunities to offer our customers solutions to their needs, whether those needs can be met with a simple one product solution, or whether a more complex solution requiring our expertisze in connectivity is needed.” That was according to CEO Julian C. Day.
He continued by stating that “Our improved growss margin rate this quarter reflects some success in increasing teh role of the vlue-added products in our mix, as well as our commitment to continue to freshen the merchandise we offer our customers.”
Boston (EON) - Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney have both announced that they will not be taking part in the CNN YouTube debate for the Republian presidential hopefuls which is set for September 17th in St. Petersburg.
Romney formally dropped out of the debate while Giuliani stated that he is “unlikely to participate due to scheduling conflicts.”
The two Republians which have confirmed that they will be there to take part are Senator John McCain and Rep. Ron Paul.
Many are speculating now that since these two big guns in the Republican race have dropped out, the debate may not even take place. It could be rescheduled or scrapped completely if some sort of resolution cannot be made. CNN Washington bureau chief David Bohrman stated “We’re working with the campaigns to resolve any scheduling issues.”
Daytona (EON) - A plane crash occured at the Vectren Daytona Air Show which killed stunt pilot Jim LeRoy on Saturday in front of a very large crowd of people.
The National Transportation Safety Board has taken over the government investigation into the crash. They are looking at safety concerns such as how close the fire engines and such were to where the plans were doing their stunts. Many in the crowd stated that the fire engines were off too far in the distance to be of any immediate help if a crash such as this took place, which it unfortunately did.
The NTSB usually concludes their investigation in a matter of months so it will be awhile before it is all known. Airport spokesman declined to speak on the crash on Sunday.
The coroner’s conclusion is also going to help the matter is it will be able to figure out how long it took for the fire rescue personnel to get to the pilot LeRoy. The report according to Mark Carpenter, the airport’s fire rescue manager, was that fire trucks were there within one minute. Many in the crowd though say it was more like 3 or 4 minutes.
Washington (EON) - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales could be facing a perjury investigation if he does not clear up contradictions made in his testimony about surveillance without a warrant.
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee made the announcement on Sunday in regards to the future and fate of Gonzales stating that his time is running ot and a perjury investigation is hanging over his head.
Senator Patrick Leahy stated “This is going to have a devastating effect on law enforcement throughout the country if it’s not cleared up.”
President Bush spoke on his weekly radio address on Saturday urging Congress to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. The hope is that the law can be updated to work with current technologies.
One the facts are known as perjury investigation may move forward.
Baghdad (EON) - Many in Iraq were hard at work celebrating their underdog national soccer team victory as team Iraq managed to win the Asian Cup which is a very big deal in the soccer world. The celebration was destroyed though when bombings killed 58 people.
A minibus exploded on Monday in Baghdad market where many people were celebrating the victory. This bombing killed 6 people on impact. Three soldiers were also killed in fighting in the province of Anbar.
Bombings and attacks killed 58 people in total on Monday. Soccer fans were very happy to see the Iraqi national soccer team defeat Saudi Arabia in the Asian Cup Final as it allowed them to unite as one and cheer for a common cause. It was a chance for them to escape the reality of their war-torn nation and at least for a few hours have peace watching a game of soccer.
Iraq won the Asian Cup defeating Saudi Arabia 1-0.
It was not long though before reality set back in with bombings and more attacks.
Boston (EON) - Foreign ministers from Southeast Asia has agreed in principal to set up a human rights commission regionally.
The hope is that this human rights commission will help them overcome a lot of the problems from Myanmar which is ruled by the military. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will try and create the human rights body.
Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo stated that “We have agreed that there will be a human rights body. There was a consensus.”
The hope is that the human rights commission will be laid out in terms of its foundation by the time the ASEAN leaders ave their annual summit in November. This is when they are expected to fully approve the charter.