It was Sunday morning, and Arianna Scudelletti says she was simply having a drink with a male friend outside her grandmother's Naples home before walking down to the beach.

America's moment of truth

George W Bush went up to Capitol Hill to deliver the eighth and final State of the Union address of a failed presidency already eclipsed by the intense contest to succeed him. His spinners might speak of Bush's final months as a 'sprint to the finish', but the ritual applause of Congress fooled no one, not even members of his own party. This is a deeply unpopular president hobbling into the sunset. All the Democrats can agree that he has been a disaster; all the Republicans can agree that they'd really rather not talk about him.

The real excitement took place a few miles away, a few hours earlier, in a sports arena at Washington's American University. Before a young, multi-racial and delirious crowd, Barack Obama was being anointed as the new John F Kennedy. JFK was no saint, but a link to the legend can add lustre to any Democratic aspirant to the presidency.

Law would ban serving obese diners

Lawmakers don't need to protect non-smokers from smokers...non-smokers can leave the establishments that allow smoking. Of course the cry baby non-smokers don't want any restrictions, but they want to place them on everyone else. You act like you can get cancer if you only go to non-smoking establishments. Why take it out of the hands of the restaurant owner?? Because non-smokers are babies that want everything and won't give up anything. " .

Motorist killed by flying pizzeria rooftop

Forbes: A powerful wind gust blew off a section of a Castlewood, Va., pizzeria rooftop, killing a passing motorist when it slammed into his car. Michael Brandon Hess, 19, was traveling on Route 58 Tuesday evening when the roof and possibly remnants of an air conditioning unit landed on his Ford Mustang, police said. .

Conservation can carry load

The Dept. of Energy (and other government agencies, and most economists) live in la la land, where "demand" magically creates supply. Once upon a time a group of economists were thrown in a dungeon, with no food. They were worried, until one of them said: "Let's create a free market here between us, and supply each other with sandwiches". Sorry, but the "invisible hand" is about to slap us in the face. The planet is round, i.e., finite, and endless "growth" is an impossibility. BTW, note that the article did not suggest shutting down the nuke plant - but predicted that electricity prices will rise significantly regardless. A rising price is how supply and demand meet: demand will be depressed to meet available supply. Same as is now happening with oil.Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 11:23 am .

Going green: cash-saving tips that help environment

I would say we save anywhere from two hundred to five hundred dollars a month depending on the time of year," says Andrew. Andrew is one of Salt Lake's City's only eco-brokers, a specially certified real estate agent, trained in educating home buyers and sellers how to make their home more environmentally friendly. “You don't have to start with a home from scratch , you can start with a 100-year home and do some amazing things to it to make it good home, a green home, and keep it going for another 100 years," says Andrew. Andrew took ABC 4 through a walk through of his own home, showing us simple ways he protects mother earth while also saving a ton of cash. “Just one bulb can make a significant difference," says Andrew. Andrew says get rid of those standard light bulbs and start replacing them one at a time with compact fluorescent bulbs or L.E.D.