Obama Signs Lilly Ledbetter Act

Former Goodyear employee Lilly Ledbetter of Alabama cut an ad for President Obama during his campaign for office. Today, the fair pay law named after her gets signed by the man she helped elect. Obama's statement on the law this morning:

It is fitting that with the very first bill I sign - the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act - we are upholding one of this nation's first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness.

It is also fitting that we are joined today by the woman after whom this bill is named - someone Michelle and I have had the privilege of getting to know for ourselves. Lilly Ledbetter didn't set out to be a trailblazer or a household name. She was just a good hard worker who did her job - and did it well - for nearly two decades before discovering that for years, she was paid less than her male colleagues for the very same work. Over the course of her career, she lost more than $200,000 in salary, and even more in pension and Social Security benefits - losses she still feels today.

Full story and video here:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/01/29/obama_signs_lilly_ledbetter_ac.html?hpid=topnews

Anti Gravity Yoga

Downward-facing dog has been given a whole new meaning with the latest incarnation of yoga for New York's fashion-conscious.

A hammock suspended from the ceiling is the contraption which allows people to stretch in entirely new directions, including upside-down.

Dumeetha Luthra went to hang out with a class at a Manhattan gym.

Watch the video here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7820726.stm

Obama Inaugural Address

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.

At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

Read the entire speech here:
http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story/President-Obamas-Inaugural-Address/SW57v8H5jEuWYmo5PeEM-w.cspx?rss=702

McGahee Update

The Associated Press reports the Baltimore Ravens said RB Willis McGahee (neck) has "significant neck pain" but movement in his arms and legs. Head coach John Harbaugh said after he heard the doctors talking to McGahee "and see him move around, you felt like it was going to be OK. Both sides obviously had concerns, but we were happy it was not immediately serious at that point."

See video of the hit here:

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_212200969.shtml

Circut City Closing

Circuit City to Go Out of Business After 60 Years

By Steven Church and Mark Clothier

Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Circuit City Stores Inc., the bankrupt consumer-electronics retailer, will shut down all of its 567 U.S. stores after failing to find a buyer that would keep the chain in operation.

Great American Group WF LLC; Hudson Capital Partners LLC; SB Capital Group LLC; and Tiger Capital Group LLC won the right to liquidate the company’s assets in a court-sanctioned auction. Circuit City creditors are guaranteed to get the first 70.5 percent of the value of the $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion in inventory. Stockholders will probably get nothing, Circuit City said today in a statement.

Sales declined at Circuit City, once the biggest U.S. electronics retailer, as it lost market share to Best Buy Co., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and online retailers. On Nov. 10, it filed for bankruptcy in Richmond, Virginia, after suppliers cut off credit and demanded cash up front for shipments. At the time, Circuit City, which employs more than 30,000 people in the U.S., planned to exit court protection as a going concern.

“You can’t ignore the economic backdrop,” said David Schick, a retail analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in Baltimore. “Had Circuit run into all these problems and had to go Chapter 11 in any other year, they wouldn’t have had this outcome.”

Best Buy jumped $2.11, or 8.1 percent, to $29.34 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the largest increase in a month. The Richfield, Minnesota-based company is the biggest U.S. consumer-electronics chain.

Going-out-of-business sales at Circuit City’s remaining U.S. stores will start tomorrow and end by March 31. The liquidation agreement, which was approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin R. Huennekens, comes a day after the company held an auction described in court papers as its last chance to survive bankruptcy as a smaller chain.

Read the full article here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ao7Sc7m4zbRI&refer=home