Though the winds have calmed down since Monday, firefighters still have a long battle ahead, as the fire has already engulfed dozens of homes in an area known as the Boulder Foothills.  Officials hope the calmer winds Tuesday will allow them to dump more fire retardant from above, as many air tankers had to be grounded earlier in the week.  A Boulder County Sheriff’s spokesman, Commander Rick Brough, did say, however, that those tankers were still grounded, not because of high winds, but because the resulting smoke made it difficult for pilots to hit their targets.

Brough went on to say that the fire started in an area northwest of Boulder, known as four mile canyon. It quickly spread as 45 mph wind gusts fanned the flames in different directions, even claiming the homes of four firefighters. They were relieved of their stations to take care of their families after losing their homes.

Firefighters were able to save the historic area of Gold Hill, including a stagecoach stop over and an Old West general store.  But, flames became so erratic that fire crews had to relocate their own firefighting equipment several times to avoid the wildfire.

Evacuation efforts did not go as smoothly as officials would have liked. Brough said the county’s automated phone alert system was down for a couple hours, forcing officials to rely on media outlets to get the word out to residents in the area.

Brough also said that, though numerous homes had been lost, there were no reports of any injuries to firefighters or residents.  He also said, there was no reason to believe the fire had been intentionally set.

The storm came ashore Tuesday in Mexico and lashed South Texas with high winds and plenty of precipitation, but, not much in the way of damage.  Officials reported a hotel roof being “peeled back”, as well as losing electrical power in some Lone Star State-locales.

South of the border, however, things were a little more serious.  About 20 homes were damaged, and about 3,500 residents of Matamoros, Mexico had to be evacuated as the storm came ashore.  Officials there did say, however, that there were no reports of people being injured or killed by the storm.  Earlier this Summer, 12 people died in flooding caused by Hurricane Alex.

There were no reported injuries in Texas and officials said that evacuation orders, even in the area’s closest to sea level, did not have to be issued.  According to officials there, much of the five to twelve inches of rain fell over the Gulf of Mexico.

Some flash flood advisories are in effect for regions located north of where Hermine came ashore. Meteorologists also said that the “remnants could spread as far north as Oklahoma and Kansas.”

Kosuke Tsuneoka managed to get a message out of the prison, via Twitter, after one of his captor’s asked him how to use his new cellphone.  Days before his release, one of the militants charged with guarding Tsuneoka came to the freelance writer with his new cellphone and asked him if he could help set it up.

According to Tsuneoka, the militants wanted to watch Al-Jazeera TV on the phone, but, the cunning journalist turned them on to Twitter, getting the captors to ask for a demonstration.

“That’s how I got the message out,” said Tsuneoka during a Tuesday news conference, “I’m sure they never thought they were tricked.”

Tsuneoka said,  a couple of days later he was freed,  after the militants learned that the Japanese journalist was Muslim.  He converted to Islam in 2000.

This wasn’t the journalist’s first time being held captive.  Tsuneoka disappeared in the former-Soviet republic of Georgia in 2001 and was held for several months by unidentified captors, the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement.

This time around, Tsuneoka was abducted in April after visiting northern Afghanistan, an area known to be controlled by the Taliban.  He was released over the weekend to the Japanese Embassy.

Petreus released a statement Monday, condemning the act of protest, planned for September 11th, by Jones’ church, Dove World Outreach Center.

“Images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence.” The General went on to to say that “Such images could, in fact, be used as were the photos from Abu Gharyb. And this would, again, put our troopers and civilian in jeopardy and undermine our efforts to accomplish the critical mission here in Afghanistan.”

15 people died and many more were injured in Afghanistan in 2005 after false rumors spread that soldiers at Guantanamo Bay had flushed a single copy of the Quran down a toilet.

The Gainesville, Florida-based church where Jones serves as Pastor, calls the protest an “act of love nor of hate,” but rather because the “world is in bondage to the massive grip of the lies of Islam.”  Named “International Burn a Quran Day,” the act seems to be consistent with the 58 year-old Pastor’s somewhat controversial views on the World’s second largest religion.  Jones is the Author of the book, “Islam is of the Devil” and seems to openly preach this doctrine to the 50 or so followers who regularly attend his sermons.

Jones explained that the pyre, slated for the 9th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, would involve a couple hundred copies of the Quran.  He said hundreds were expected to attend the protest.

Shadra Bruce is a contributing writer for News By The Second

The company, which has a reported value of more than $2 billion, has suffered a drop in sales of more than 2 percent during the current fiscal year, even amid their attempt to revamp their menu and remain competitive against McDonalds and the rising star of quick food options, Subway.

While there are rumors about what private equity company may be interested in buying the restaurant chain, Burger King corporate is unwilling to comment on the sale, issuing a statement that said, “Burger King Corp does not comment on rumours or speculation.” Two companies have risen to the top as the most likely candidates, 3i out of London and 3G Capital, a Brazilian investment firm.

There are 12,000 Burger King restaurants operating in nearly every country and on many military bases around the world. Both 3i and 3G Capital have similar strategies, looking for business opportunities in which they can obtain excellent returns on their capital investment by buying companies at a discounted rate.

Burger King was founded in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton, with the Whopper being introduced in 1957.

Shadra Bruce is a contributing writer for News By The Second

Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia has declared a state of emergency in his state in anticipation of the expected storm surge that will wreak havoc with their coast. If Hurricane Earl’s path continues as it has been tracking, it will still be a level 3 when it hits the East Coast along the Carolinas, extending the stormy weather as far as Long Island and Cape Cod.

Official evacuation orders have been orders for tourists and residents of Ocracoke Island in North Carolina. The National Hurricane center issued a hurricane warning this morning, which resulted in mandatory evacuation orders for visitors to Hatteras Island as well.

The timing has frustrated the many business owners in the area who rely on tourism dollars over the long Labor Day weekend to give a boon to business. This year in particular the Labor Day tourist traffic was being counted on to help make up for lackluster tourism throughout the summer.

The National Hurricane Center has warned that people as far up the coast as Maine should be watching the development and movement of the storm carefully, as it may continue traveling up the coast.

FEMA already has teams ready to respond in North Carolina. Even if the storm does not hit directly, the damage from the waves and rip tides could cause enormous damage to the area. The Caribbean has already felt the wrath of Hurricane Earl, as it moved through over the first part of the week knocking down power lines and sending hundreds to seek refuge in shelters.

Officials are encouraging people along the coast to make sure they have plenty of water and food supplies on hand, as well as candles, to prepare for the onset of the storm.

Shadra Bruce is a contributing writer for News By The Second

Removing the ovaries dramatically reduced the risk for the participants who opted to undergo the surgery, which forces the body into menopause and prevents the woman from ever getting pregnant. Women who had their ovaries removed reduced their risk of getting breast cancer by 8 percent and their risk of getting ovarian cancer by more than 5 percent.

The author of the study, Timothy Rebbeck, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, says, “It’s really critical to have the best information when making such a profound decision.” However, the study involved 2,500 women who had been identified as having the BRCA mutation. All of the women were cancer free and most were under the age of 50 when they began the study. The participants were allowed to choose either the surgery to remove the ovaries or more aggressive screening for cancer.

A tenth of the women opted for a mastectomy and nearly half the women – 40 percent – opted to remove their ovaries. Some of the women opted to do both surgeries. The women who chose to have their ovaries removed had the most dramatic results, but preventative mastectomy also reduced the risk of breast cancer as well.

The faulty BCRA gene has considerable consequences for the women who carry it. Those women with the faulty gene go from a typical risk of 12 percent for breast cancer to an overwhelming 60 percent. Less than one in a hundred women without the BCRA gene get ovarian cancer, while nearly 40 percent of women with the gene will develop the cancer.

Shadra Bruce is a contributing writer for News By The Second

Some employees were able to leave the building, but others remain inside. The Discover Channel, which owns Animal Planet, Discovery Health, FitTV, Investigation Discovery, Military Channel, Planet Green, Science Channel, and TLC, also warned employees over the intercom system about the intruder. The police have not yet been able to identify the gunman or his motives, but have confirmed that at least one person has been taken hostage inside the building.

Montgomery County fire department spokesman Capt. Oscar Garcia has reported that bomb technicians are responding to the scene. Garcia explained that the first report they received was of a suspicious package, but Montgomery County Police Cpl. Dan Friz later reported that a gunman was in the Discovery building. FBI and ATF are also responding to the scene.

A nearby daycare has also been evacuated, and all children have been safely removed from the area. The scene is chaotic and police and other officials are working to develop a plan to deal with the gunman.

Shadra Bruce is a contributing reporter for News By The Second.

Despite these depressed sales figures, movie studios and theater owners are expected to enjoy record highs in total revenue and gross sales. Buoyed by rising ticket prices, it is estimated that this summer’s box office revenue will be about $4.35 billion, a 2.4% increase over last summer.

The average price of a movie ticket in the U.S. currently stands at about $7.88, a 5% increase over last year’s prices. Much of this increase is attributed to the growing popularity and prevalence of 3D movies, tickets for which typically cost about $3 more than standard two dimensional films. More than half of the ticket sales for two of this summer’s top grossing films “Toy Story 3” and “Shrek Forever After” came from viewers who saw it in 3D.  The films had domestic earnings $405.7 million and $238 million respectively.

However, despite generating record revenues many industry observers have speculated that declining theater attendance may be indicative of long term problems for the film industry. In an interview with a reporter the president of Hollywood.com Box-Office Paul Dergarabed said, “When you raise prices and perceive that quality goes down, you have a major problem.” He went on to say that if movie studious fail to produce more films with popular appeal, revenues will ultimately dwindle as theater goers continue to stay home in larger numbers,

Obama emphasized that the final withdrawal of troops met the timeline he had laid out as a part of his campaign for president.

“So tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended…This was my pledge to the American people as a candidate for this office,” he said. “Last February, I announced a plan that would bring our combat brigades out of Iraq, while redoubling our efforts to strengthen Iraq’s Security Forces and support its government and people. That’s what we’ve done.”

The president noted that a transitional force of U.S. troops would remain in Iraq in order to advise and assist Iraq’s Security Forces. They would help to fill the new goal the administration has set, that of supporting Iraq as its endeavors to self-govern.

Obama also announced that after 10 years of combat, troops would begin leaving Afghanistan by August of 2011, although White House officials have explained that the president slipped on this point and the official transition remained scheduled for July 2011, the date previously set.

A large part of Obama’s plan to end the war “responsibly” includes honoring the 4,400 soldiers who lost their lives and committing to provide well for those who return by helping them assimilate back into society and get the health care they need.

With the ending of the war, Obama said he hopes to repurpose war funding that he believes had previously “shortchanged the nation” back into rebuilding core areas of the economy at home: manufacturing, energy policy, education reform and the middle class.