Sesame Street Asks Obama to Remove Big Bird Ad

Sesame Workshop, which runs Sesame Street, has asked the Obama campaign to take down a satirical ad, which attacked Mitt Romney.

They released a statement saying, "Sesame Workshop is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and we do not endorse candidates or participate in political campaigns. We have approved no campaign ads, and as is our general practice, have requested that the ad be taken down."

The Obama campaign has been using Big Bird as a victim ever since the Presidential debates, last week. During the debate, Romney stated that he would end government funding of PBS and Big Bird.

PBS, who's executives make six figures a year, has no actual need for government funding, due to the success of their pledge drives and volume of commercial sales.

Obama's campaign has yet to actually take down the ad, only saying that they would consider the request.

Netanyahu Announces New Elections

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced new elections for the country.

Elections were not scheduled for at least a year, but his announcement will set them to happen within the next three months, likely in late January or early February.

Early elections are quite common, in Israel, where the balance of the coalition government can change constantly.

Netanyahu is under no threat to lose his spot, he's at one of his most popular points.

However, holding them earlier, will ensure that he is when they occur, and put off til longer a time when he could be forced with mandatory elections, not at the time of his choosing.

Meningitis Toll up to 11 Dead, 119 Sick

The toll from meningitis has now reached eleven dead and one hundred and nineteen sick.

That's up slightly from where it stood Monday.

As many as thirteen thousand people may have been infected by the fungal meningitis that was accidentally spread in spinal steroid injections.

So far, all the ill are in nine states, but the steroid was shipped to ninety-six facilities in twenty-three states.

New England Compounding Center, which manufactured the injections, is doing everything it can to aid the government in it's investigation. They've handed over their operation licenses and voluntarily recalled all of their other products as well.

Local police agencies have been tasked with checking in on people, who received injections, that the CDC has not been able to reach.

Felix Baumgartner's Jump Delayed by High Winds

Felix Baumgartner has been planning his next big challenge, since February. Already the holder of multiple records for skydiving and base jumping, he is currently planning a jump that will set even more. The plan this time is to jump from a balloon at 120,000 ft. If successful it would gain him four more records: the highest altitude free fall, the highest manned balloon flight, the longest distance traveled in free fall and the speed record for the fastest free fall; and he will also break the sound barrier during his fall to the earth. He also hopes that his jump will prove real scientific information and help open up space tourism and new extreme sports, like space jumping.

He will make his way up in an adapted weather balloon. The 400 ft wide scientific balloon will carry a pressurized capsule, with him in it. At 120,000 ft up 23 miles up, he will have to endure temperatures as low as -94 F as well as lack of oxygen and an air pressure that would make his blood boil. To protect him from these difficulties, a suit has been specially designed. The custom suit is also pressurized in a very similar way to the ones NASA astronauts use and carries a supply of 20 minutes of oxygen. His helmet was also specially designed to try and keep him from blacking out when he causes a sonic boom passing through the sound barrier. Due to the difficulties of reaching his parachute's cords whilst in the suit, it also had to be adapted to make the jump possible.

Once he jumps out of the capsule, and away from the balloon, it should take him ten minutes to reach the ground. Thirty-five seconds later he'll break the sound barrier. He'll be traveling close to 700 miles an hour, for the first five minutes, until he reaches 5,000 ft and opens his chute. Five minutes later he hopes to have reached the ground safely, hoping to land in a specific area of New Mexico, but even a slight breeze could cause him to drift 150 miles.

During his jumping blacking will be his worst fear, it would very easily prove deadly. Breaking the sound barrier, the sheer force of the fall, or going into a spin could cause it to happen. Baumgartner stated during an interview that, "I always feel the danger because you might always be subject to an unexpected or emergency event. One single mistake might cause a real catastrophe. You are worried about being where humans shouldn't be."

Early Tuesday morning was the scheduled time for the launch. However, gusty winds delayed it throughout the morning, until it was scrubbed, to be rescheduled, just before noon MDT.

18 Year Old Loses Part of Stomach to Liquid Nitrogen Drink

Gaby Scanlan was celebrating her eighteenth birthday, Thursday, when she was given a drink that used liquid nitrogen in it's making.

Liquid nitrogen is added to alcoholic drinks as it gives off a smoky, cauldron look.

This time however it was given to Scanlan before all of the nitrogen had hit it's gaseous form.

Within in moments she was unable to breathe and in extreme abdominal pain.

Rushed to the hospital, she underwent emergency surgery to remove part of her stomach, as it had been flash frozen by the liquid nitrogen, which has a temperature of negative 321 degrees Fahrenheit.

When the walls of her stomach froze, they died, allowing for the gastric acid to burn through.

Scanlan is still in serious condition, but the doctor's efforts seems to have been successful in saving her life.

Doctors around the world are now warning people away from the drinks, citing their obvious dangers.

Despite the dangers, this is the first recorded case of such an incident, despite their growing popularity.

9 States Form Religious Freedom Caucuses

Tuesday saw a bipartisan group of more than one hundred and twenty state lawmakers agree to form religious freedom caucuses.

A national teleconference was organized by the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s American Religious Freedom Program, and included nine states.

Their hopes is that by the end of 2013, all fifty states will be involved.

Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Tennessee will now hold their own caucuses to "set state specific agendas for strengthening religious liberties, learn from the experiences of sister states, and formulate religious freedom policy based on input from each state's diverse faith communities".

Organizers and participants hope that this will lead to further religious coexistence, in the US.

They also believe that furthering understanding will allow for religions to be able to express themselves, outside of their places of worship, without being attacked for it.

Denver Expanding BCycle

Denver's City Council unanimously approved an expansion of B Cycle stations in the city, Monday night.

For $1.1 million, the city will be adding twenty-seven new locations, to the fifty-three that already exist.

B Cycle is a program which stations bicycles around the city.

Users use their credit card to rent a bike, and then pay for it once they return it to the same, or another, station.

The program has been gaining in popularity and demand had been over growing supply.

Denver hopes to continue expanding locations, throughout the metro area, allowing for yet another way to decongest roads and highways.

Taliban Attempts Assassination of 14 Year Old Pakistani Activist

Malala Yousufzai, fourteen, was shot in the head and neck, Tuesday, as she was leaving school.

She was in extremely critical condition, but doctors at the Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital, in Mingora, were able to save her life, and she is now listed as stable.

Two other girls were injured in the attack, when gunmen fired into the schools bus, that was transporting the girls.

The Taliban admitted to targeting Yousufzai for her activism against them and for her pro west views.

Yousufzai started getting international recognition, in 2009, after the BBC published a blog she started writing when the Taliban took over her part of Pakistan.

Since the country regained the area, she had continued her activism, working for peace and education for women.

Last Day for Voting Registration

Today, Tuesday October 9, is the last day to register to vote here in Colorado, and in many other states.

With valid Colorado ID you may register online, but that has been filled with errors and difficulties.

If the online registration tool does not work for you, you can print an application from the website, scan it or photograph the completed form, and email it to elections@sos.state.co.us.

Alternately, you can register in person, at your county clerk's office.

All applications must be turned in by 11:59 MDT on October 9.

The website is also supposed to let you confirm your information and change your address if necessary, but that has not worked at all in any of our tests.

Haitian Sin Tax

Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe has proposed a new tax to raise money for schools in Haiti.

Lamonthe calls the plan a "sin tax", and it would increase taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, and gambling.

Parliament will have to approve the legislation, but it's aim would be to raise one hundred million dollars.

That money would be put into building two hundred schools, fixing up two thousand others, and for training thousands of teachers.

The tax is expected to pass, and it's supporters hope that it will bring about a new age for the country.