On assignment

What we're covering November 27, 2008

Good morning from WMBF News and Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

State highway patrol investigators are trying to figure out what caused a deadly accident overnight in Williamsburg county. The Highway Patrol reports a single car ran off the road overturned several times throwing out the driver. The accident happened on Secondary 35 and so far police have released very little information about the accident.

The Grand Strand Community Kitchen is preparing for a big Thanksgiving Day meal. They'll be serving up their dishes tonight live on WMBF News at 4, 5 and 6. Greg Argos will be reporting what went into making this Thanksgiving meal possible.

For many public safety officials, they are spending this Thanksgiving day working to keep all of us safe. That means they are away from their families and loved ones, so WMBF News Reporter Laura Thomas has headed over to a local fire department to see how they are spending their day. She'll be reporting on how they spent their day keeping us safe.

Live Local Late Breaking news all day on WMBFNews.com and starting at 4. We hope you'll join us.

Kyle

Kyle Grainger | Kgrainger@wmbfnews.com

Something to Smile About

The afore mentioned "sweeps" is over today. Hooray!  It also is ending (obviously) before Thanksgiving.  For the first time in seven years, I am not working on Thanksgiving.  Usually, the ratings period lasts the entire month of November, including Turkey Day, so this year a bit of a treat for the news people of the world.

Another thing to smile about?  My mother and step-father are in town right now.  They flew in from Kansas City last weekend and we've been walking on the beach, running around town and having wonderful dinners for the last four days.  Tomorrow we are going to cook up a great little feast.  This is also my first Thanksgiving married to my husband, so staying in our own house, hosting part of our family for the holidays is something new for us.  So far, so good.  That said ... the husband is in charge of frying the turkey tomorrow ... I may change my tune.

The last thing I smile about?  My health ... my home...my family... food on the table...and a job that I love in a community I'm getting to know more and more every day.  When you make life changing decisions as I have in the last year, you get a little retrospective when it comes to holidays like Thanksgiving.  I'm thankful you, as viewers, are letting WMBF news into your life, maybe giving us a try.  It's a big year to be thankful ... and take a second and smile about it all.

It's the Little Things in Life

In the spirit of Thanksgiving this week, I've been working to come up with a list of things I am thankful for.  Now, I can think of so many things off the top of my head because I have been so blessed in life.  I have a great big healthy family, caring friends, a fun-loving dog and a job I enjoy. 

So I thought I would compile a list of the little things in life, that just seem to make it all a little better... at work (I had to widdle the list down somehow).

First, the Dove dark chocolates I have in my desk.  They were sent to me by our morning director's grandmother, who lives in the town I used to work in.  Everytime I start to get stressed at work, I enjoy a piece (or two) of a chocolate and things seem brighter.  This has started to be the case for everyone at work who knows I now stash goodies in my desk.

Second, I'm thankful for the opportunity to laugh each day.  We have a really fun crew in the morning and even when something goes wrong (which it will, this is live TV folks) we can usually find the silver lining in it.  Take this morning for example, when my alarm didn't go off.  Our producer, Shannon Mortimer, called me and I got to work about an hour before show time.  Boy, you should have heard some of the funnies they came up with for why I was late.

Ok... one more before I go.  I'm thankful for a new step stool that was built in my honor.  See, there's a shot we use on our set that a few of us are too short for, and since I don't care for wearing heels at work, I would always have to stand on my tip-toes.  Well, tip-toes no more... our engineering department made me a great, top of the line step stool!  I was expecting a wood block, but what I got was a carpeted masterpiece with a handle for easy carrying to and from the set!  Take a look below!

 

There's nothing like a carpeted block of wood to really make you thankful this holiday season;)

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Paula Caruso | pcaruso@wmbfnews.com

What we're covering November 26, 2008

Good morning from WMBF News.

Gas prices have dropped and weather forecasts for much of the country are clear, but still travel experts say this Thanksgiving travel may not be a busy. Travel experts say economic worries will keep more people at home this holiday. Triple A estimates about 41 million Americans will make trips of at least 50 miles this week. Tonight a look at travel around the Carolinas on the ground and in the air.

Holiday parties and lots of people can create a lot of trash at your home. But there are ways you can help save the environment and recycle. WMBF News Anchor Kerri O'Hara has headed out to the recycling center in Conway to talk with the solid waste authority about some things you can do in your home to create less trash this holiday season. That's today starting at 4.

We have been following developing news this morning out of Horry County this morning. Two men have been detailed by police after walking around at an apartment complex with guns. Horry County Police say they were called to the River Landing Apartments off Highway 501 around 9 o'clock this morning. Investigators are still trying to figure out what's happening.

Live Local Late Breaking news all day on WMBFNews.com and starting at 4. We hope you'll join us.

Kyle

Kyle Grainger | Kgrainger@wmbfnews.com

Working Through the Holidays

When you watch WMBF News on Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas, you'll see me anchoring the news. In fact, other than weekends, I'm not sure I have a day off between now and 2009. But you know what, I don't mind at all. I had a few days off over Labor Day to see family. And, when I watched WMBF News reporter Laura Thomas' story today on long unemployment lines, I think I'm pretty lucky to have a job at all.

Jason Barr

What we're covering November 25, 2008

Good afternoon from WMBF News.

Darlington Police are trying to find out who is responsible for a home invasion last night. Police say someone went in on an elderly lady while she read her bible, assaulted her and stole some items from her home. Police say they are trying to track down the suspects and we'll have more tonight on WMBF News.

A number of people are out of work, and are relying on unemployment benefits. President Bush just signed a bill that will give a three month extension to unemployment benefits. So today we're looking into what that means for people who are on unemployment and what that could mean for the unemployment system.

A recent study identifies Myrtle Beach as the 14th most dangerous city in the nation. That report by CQ Press released today shows the Myrtle Beach Metro area was the 14th most dangerous in "City Crime Rankings 2008-2009: Crime in Metropolitan America." The City of Myrtle Beach, Chamber of Commerce and other county leaders met to talk about the rankings. Tonight hear what they say about these rankings and why the ranking is so high.

Live Local Late Breaking News all day on WMBFNews.com and starting at 4. We hope you'll join us.

Kyle

Kyle Grainger | Kgrainger@wmbfnews.com

What we're covering November 24, 2008

Good Morning from WMBF News.

Three people died in two separate house fires last night. According to Horry County Coroner Robert Edge, a man died in a house fire on Bennett Loop late Sunday evening and two more people died this morning in a house fire. So far Horry County Fire officials have not figured out the cause of the fires. Tonight on WMBF News we will look at safety in your home and how to help your family create a safety plan, that's today starting at 4.

The search continues in Johnsonville for a missing Conway man. Officials are looking for 51-year-old Robert Canteen of Conway. His wife, Pearl Canteen, tells WMBF News she last saw her husband at the launch site in Johnsonville at about 8 a.m. last Wednesday when she had dropped him off to go fishing. WMBF News returns to the search site today for an update on the search.

WMBF News reporter Brandon Herring is spending part of his day with security officers. He's looking into how you can see safe while out shopping this holiday season, and what security officers are doing to watch out for your safety. Brandon visits the Market Common to talk with security officers there on security features there. We'll be reporting on what we need to know about safety this season, his live reports are tonight starting at 4.

Live Local Late breaking information all day on WMBFNews.com and starting at 4 on WMBF News. We hope you'll join us.

Kyle

Kyle Grainger | Kgrainger@wmbfnews.com

Bailout numbers losing shock value

Remember just a couple of months ago when $700 billion dollars sounded like a big number?

That's how much Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he would need to bail-out America's banks and avoid another Great Depression-style calamity. We've seen tens of billions go to this bank and tens of billions go to another bank. Meanwhile, the stock market has not recovered, consumers aren't spending, and economists say hardly anyone wants to make a loan. That's not to argue the $700 billion was misspent. After all, as President-elect Barack Obama pointed out in an interview with "60 Minutes," that money may have prevented a bigger downturn than we saw.

Now he's sending signals that he may need another $700 billion when he takes office in January for a new economic stimulus package that, he hopes, will eventually create 2.5 million jobs.

As we are featuring in the Today's Big Stories segment on WMBF News Today, those jobs would include building roads and schools as well as working in "green" areas of the economy such as the solar and wind energy industries.

Who's to say whether another $700 billion is what the country needs? That's for the economists, voters, and members of Congress to debate.

What I'm struck by, though, is how that number --- $700 billion --- isn't so shocking anymore. I guess that goes to show just how deep this crisis is when figures like that don't cause a gasp. Had Obama proposed such a large plan even a month ago, many Republicans and fellow Democrats probably would've called him irresponsible.

Now, I suspect, he may get what his advisers are asking for: a Congress ready to pass this ambitious plan by the time the new president takes office. And because this money is targeted at average Americans rather than Wall Street behemoths, it will be hard for members of Congress to say no. In fact, with all the billions already in the pipeline, they may not even blink.

  Matthew Nordin | mnordin@wmbfnews.com

 

Watching the game and watching the snow

My favorite football team is the Pittsburgh Steelers, so naturally I went to Oscars to watch the game Thursday night.  It was great because the black and gold won, but I noticed snow coming down hard back in Pittsburgh.  Living in South Carolina is a new experience for me. Lately, the temperature here has been lower than what people are used too, but I'm still thankful that I can bundle up without sliding around on the white stuff. 

Johnny Depp? Sure...Modern day pirates?... Not so much.

<P>I have always had a thing for pirates. I love the movies. the swag, jewerly, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp;I became even more interested when I heard about modern day pirates in the news. Then I had to pinch myself because these guys are doing really horrible things to innocent people. </P>
<P>&nbsp;A Somalian&nbsp;pirate commander recently said,&nbsp;"We hijack ships every opportunity we get." Why do they do this?&nbsp;Earlier this month they seized a Danish cargo ship...just one of&nbsp;nearly 16,000 cargo ships that pass through the Suez Canal every year. They're still holding a&nbsp;Ukrainian freighter with Russian tanks they hijacked in September.</P>
<P>The United Nations has tried to step in to help but extremists&nbsp;have killed aid workers-forcing them to flee.&nbsp;My biggest question is,&nbsp;how can we stop these pirates from robbing ships and killing their own people?&nbsp; It's hard to promote order in a place that hasn't had organized government in 17 years. </P>
<P>These pirates have hijacked over $30 million in ransom and each time they catch a big one, they just become more aggressive for the next&nbsp;attack. &nbsp;I think if Somalia was ruled by government instead of warlords, equaling an&nbsp; opportunity for Somalians to earn money and survive, they may not feel so obligated to piracy.These aren't the day's of Johnny Depp and pirate flags and eye-patches anymore. These guys need a government to keep them in line.</P>
<P>Tayleigh Davis <A href="mailto:|Tayleighdavis@wmbfnews.com">|Tayleighdavis@wmbfnews.com</A></P>
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