HoTTalk Radio is "Where America Speaks Out". Today more than ever, we live in an information society. Everyone is concerned and frustrated with current events. Everyone is thirsting for understanding and knowledge. HoTTalk Radio through its broadcast signal, streaming audio on the Internet and Web News Center brings news, commentary and information to the world. HoTTalk Radio is the focal point and leading source for information for the 21st Century.

EARLY EDITION
Tornadoes Tear Across Central U.S.
Crews and search dogs hunted Sunday for survivors or bodies in piles of debris after tornadoes and storms rumbled across the region a day earlier and killed at least 23 people in three states. Seven people died in Picher, once a bustling mining center of 20,000 that dwindled to about 800 people as families fled lead pollution here, and officials held out hope that they wouldn't find any more bodies. Residents said the tornado created a surreal scene as it tore through town Saturday afternoon, injuring 150 people, overturning cars, damaging dozens of homes and throwing mattresses and twisted metal high into the canopy of trees. Fox News

Families Will Make Case For Vaccine Link To Autism
Families claiming that a mercury-based preservative in vaccines triggers autism will challenge mainstream medicine today as they take their case to a federal court. They seek vindication and financial redress from a government fund that helps people injured by shots. Two 10-year-old boys from Portland, Ore., will serve as the test cases that determine whether the children and their families should be compensated. Attorneys for the boys will attempt to show the boys were happy, healthy and developing normally. But, after being exposed to vaccines with thimerosal, they began to regress and show symptoms of autism. ABC News

Confusing Ballot Designs Still Plague Elections
The solution should have been a no-brainer, voting experts say. After all, it was a badly designed ballot that enflamed the 2000 election meltdown and introduced the vagaries of chads to the political lexicon pregnant, hanging and otherwise. So it would seem that redesigning ballots to make them simpler should have been a high priority. But that hasn't been the case, voting experts say. Eight years after the fiasco in Florida's Palm Beach County, confusing ballots continue to stymie voters and plague elections in this primary season. Newsday

PLEASE DO BUSINESS WITH THOSE WHO DO BUSINESS WITH US -- OUR ADVERTISERS.

Obama Camp: Clinton Not Looking For A Deal
Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign rejected suggestions Sunday that Sen. Hillary Clinton is staying in the race in hopes of brokering some kind of agreement with the likely Democratic nominee. Sen. Hillary Clinton isn't interested in the No. 2 spot, her campaign said Sunday. Last week, Obama sparked rumors that his campaign would pay off Clinton's campaign debts once he secured the nomination. Obama on Sunday called the discussion "premature," and said he believes Clinton "will have the capacity to retire her debt." CNN

Edwards: Clinton Now A Stronger Candidate
Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said that in recent weeks Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has become a stronger candidate, and has made a compelling base for her continued candidacy for the nomination. However, Edwards said, the math is very, very hard for her. Edwards, told Face The Nation host Bob Schieffer that his own reasons for pulling out of the race for the White House came out of both a recognition that he would not accumulate enough delegates to secure the nomination and that his continued candidacy would likely prolong the selection of a nominee. CBS News

THANK YOU FOR VISITING OUR WEB PORTAL.  PLEASE TELL A FRIEND.

Drilling For Oil … In Downtown L.A.
Record prices are prompting oil prospectors to renew interest in drilling in Los Angeles, where urban sprawl, environmental opponents and decades of production make for one of the world's toughest oil fields. "We're more active than ever," says Venoco, which is running wells and reviving old ones in the city and elsewhere in California. Oil has been produced in Los Angeles since the early 1900s, directly offshore as well as along city streets. To meet the demands of environmental opponents and gain needed permits, oil drillers have come up with a variety of methods to disguise oil wells so that most passersby don't even know oil drilling is going on. ABC News

Insurance Model Follows American Tradition
Call it Obamacare or call it Clintoncare. But don't call it "socialized medicine." And don't think that the health care systems that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have promised to put into effect if they get into the White House would be anything like the universal health coverage offered in Great Britain or Canada. Clinton and Obama aren't proposing government hospitals or government doctors. They want people to have health insurance, and they want people to be able to choose from a variety of policies. The menu would include private plans as well as an option similar to Medicare. Tax breaks would help lower- and middle-income people pay their monthly premiums. Las Vegas Sun
VOA VIEW: Liberal media cover-up.

Gas Prices Knock Bicycle Sales
Four-dollar-a-gallon gas is good for business, if you run a bike shop. Commuters around the country are dusting off their old two-wheelers or buying new ones to cope with rising fuel prices, bicycle dealers say. About 18 million bicycles have been sold annually in the U.S. over the past few years, accounting for about $6 billion in annual sales. Bicycle shops across the country are reporting strong sales so far this year, and more people are bringing in bikes that have been idled for years. Newsday

Dollar Bulls Gain Control As Futures Signal Euro Close To Peak
For the first time since December 2005, futures traders are turning bullish on the dollar. The difference in the number of wagers by hedge funds and other large speculators on a gain in the greenback versus the euro, known as net longs, was 21,315 on April 29, figures from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington show. There were net-short positions in each of the previous 123 weeks. At the same time, traders have stepped up their purchases of options that profit from the dollar's appreciation. Bloomberg

YOU can speak out and be heard by having your own "Column" - Visit the "Public Opinion" Section above.

Feminists Divided Over Clinton And Obama
No constituency is more eager to see a woman win the presidency than America's feminists, yet despite Hillary Rodham Clinton's historic candidacy the women's movement finds itself wrenchingly divided over the Democratic race as it heads toward the finish.At breakfast forums, in op-ed columns, across the blogosphere, the debate has been heartfelt and sometimes bitter. Are the activist women supporting front-runner Barack Obama betraying their gender? Are Clinton's feminist backers mired in an outdated, women's-liberation mind-set? CNN

Supreme Court Avoiding 5-4 Decisions
This could be the Supreme Court term, one court watcher joked recently, that Justice John Paul Stevens remembers he is a Republican. A 1975 appointee of President Gerald Ford, Stevens is regarded as the anchor of the court's liberal wing. But he has joined with his more conservative colleagues in three high-profile cases that defied predictions they would showcase deep ideological divisions on the court. Last term was marked by an unusually high number of 5-4 decisions, and many experts believed this term's notable cases would produce similar outcomes. But the biggest cases decided so far upholding lethal injection procedures, photo identification requirements for voters and Texas' treatment of a Mexican on death row have had six or seven justices, including Stevens, in agreement on the outcome. MSNBC

Retail Sales Probably Dropped
Sales at U.S. retailers probably fell in April as the biggest housing slump in a quarter century, record gasoline prices and the loss of jobs took their toll, economists said before reports this week. Purchases fell 0.2 percent, following a 0.2 percent gain the prior month, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey before the Commerce Department's May 13 report. Other reports may show housing starts fell to a 17-year low and rising food and fuel prices continued to push up the cost of living. Bloomberg

Renault-Nissan Seen Investing Up To $1 Bln In Electric Car
The head of an electric car project estimated that its partner, the Renault-Nissan alliance, would likely invest $500 million to $1 billion in the swappable-battery electric cars. Renault and Nissan signed a deal with Better Place in January to begin mass producing electric cars as a part of a project to develop alternative energy sources and slash oil dependency. Better Place will build the first electric grids in Israel and Denmark, with initial deployment slated for 2010. Reuters

ATTENTION TALK SHOW HOSTS:We are honored that many radio talk show hosts use our Web Portal for their "show prep."  We would appreciate your occasional mention of our site to your audience.  Thanks!

Number Of Disabled Veterans Rising
Increasing numbers of U.S. troops have left the military with damaged bodies and minds, an ever-larger pool of disabled veterans that will cost the country billions of dollars for decades to come even as the total population of America's veterans shrinks. Despite the decline in the total number of veterans as soldiers from World War II and Korea die the government expects to be spending $59 billion a year to compensate injured warriors in 25 years, up from today's $29 billion, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press. And the Veterans Affairs Department concedes the bill could be much higher. Fox News

The Price Of Bananas
 For American corporations, the rewards of doing business abroad are enormous, but so are the risks. And over the past 25 years no place has been more perilous than Colombia, a country that is just beginning to emerge from the throes civil war and narco-terrorism. Chiquita Brands International of Cincinnati, Ohio, found out the hard way. It made millions growing bananas there, only to emerge with its reputation splattered in blood after acknowledging it had paid nearly $2 million in protection money to a murderous paramilitary group that has killed or massacred thousands of people. CBS News

Cablevision Near Deal To Buy Newsday
Tribune Co is close to an agreement to sell its Newsday newspaper to Cablevision Systems Corp and an announcement could come as early as Monday, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday. Newsday reported that the deal would be valued at $650 million, according to a report on the Long Island newspaper's website. The agreement was expected after Rupert Murdoch's News Corp said on Saturday it was withdrawing its $580 million bid for Newsday. A Tribune spokesman declined to comment. Cablevision was not immediately available for comment. Reuters

At Least 427 US Military Deaths In Afghanistan
As of Sunday, May 11, 2008, at least 427 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures May 3 at 10 a.m. EDT. Las Vegas Sun

ADVERTISEMENT:If you want to advertise your business or web site on this Web Site, send us an email by clicking on to "Contact" above.  It could be the best business decision you make.

Britain Warns Of 'Unimaginable Tragedy'
Britain warned of an "epic" humanitarian disaster unfolding in Burma in the wake of the cyclone, even as international relief finally began to trickle into the stricken country.The foreign secretary, David Miliband, criticised the military regime over its failure to swiftly open up to international aid for its suffering millions and predicted that if it did not alter course soon the massive death toll could rise dramatically. The blunt message over the generals' lack of urgency came as aid agencies echoed his fear, warning of an "unimaginable tragedy" if significant amounts of relief did not arrive quickly to stave off disease. Guardian

US: Israel, Palestinians Need To Show Progress
The Bush administration has told Israeli and Palestinian leaders they will need to show progress in their secret talks soon, or risk a potentially fatal erosion in public support for a process now in its sixth month without any obvious successes. The news comes as President George W. Bush is scheduled to visit Israel and Arab states starting Tuesday, adding to public pressure to demonstrate that US-sponsored peace talks are bearing fruit. Jerusalem Post

Nepal Arrests 560 Tibetan Women
Nepalese police have arrested some 560 Tibetan women, including many Buddhist nuns, after breaking up demonstrations against China's crackdown in Tibet. In the first example of all-women protests, three rallies in Kathmandu were quickly stopped by police. It was the biggest round-up since Tibetan exiles began near daily demonstrations in March. Protestors wearing black armbands wept and shouted ''We want free Tibet" as they were dragged to police vans. Police said those detained were being held in detention centres around the capital, and would be freed later. BBC

Hizbullah Seizes Key Areas Of Lebanon
Iranian-backed Hizbullah and its opposition allies yesterday escalated their armed takeover of key areas of Lebanon held by the western-backed government, gaining control of the Druze heartlands of Mount Lebanon and clashing with pro-government Sunni fighters in the northern port city of Tripoli. The pro-government Druze leader, Waleed Jumblatt, who had controlled the mountain areas south-east of Beirut for generations, ordered his fighters to stand down after fierce clashes with Hizbullah militants in which both sides kidnapped and executed rival supporters. Guardian

'Ghost City' Mosul Braces For Assault
Mosul looks like a city of the dead. American and Iraqi troops have launched an attack aimed at crushing the last bastion of al- Qa'ida in Iraq and in doing so have turned the country's northern capital into a ghost town. Soldiers shoot at any civilian vehicle on the streets in defiance of a strict curfew. Two men, a woman and child in one car which failed to stop were shot dead yesterday by US troops, who issued a statement saying the men were armed and one made "threatening movements". Independent News

1000s Protest Drug Violence In Mexico
Thousands of white-clad people marched silently to protest a surge of drug-related violence in a Mexican city across from Texas where the No. 2 police officer was shot dead. The crowd of several thousand students, church leaders, businessmen and politicians walked for about four miles across Ciudad Juarez to a park near a border crossing, breaking the silence in a burst of speeches, dancing and singing. More than 200 people have been killed so far this year in Ciudad Juarez. The city of 1.3 million across the border from El Paso, Texas, is home base for the powerful Juarez drug cartel. Jerusalem Post

Burma Cyclone Raises Rice Prices
Rice prices have risen for a sixth consecutive day as global supplies continue to be stretched by cyclone damage to crops in Burma. With worldwide demand also at a record high, the cost of rice rose as much as 5.1% to $23.45 per 100lb in electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade. Rice prices had already hit all-time highs after some weak harvests. The rice market is dealing with some serious issues right now The price of US long-grain rice - the global benchmark - has now risen by almost two-thirds since the start of this year. This increase has been replicated around the world, with Thai and Indian rice prices going up by similar amounts. Burma is the world's sixth largest rice producer. BBC

Mangroves Would Have Protected Villagers
Tens of thousands of people died in the Cyclone Nargis disaster because vital mangrove forests had been cut down, destroying the land's protection against the sea. Far more people were killed by a 12ft wave which stormed ashore during the violent storm than by its 120mph winds, the Burmese government admits. But the wave could only be so devastating because the thick mangrove forests had been almost entirely destroyed; intact, they would have absorbed much of the power of the sea. Eighty-three per cent of the mangroves of the Irrawaddy delta, the area worst hit by the cyclone, have been cleared since 1924, first to grow rice, and more recently by people desperate for fuel. Independent News

ABC Online  Canada National Post  Daily Telegraph  The Observer Wired News Xinhua News

VOA VIEW -- Is the opinion of Voice of America, Inc.  The founding fathers of this great nation gave us the First Amendment.  You too can express your opinion on this web site.  Click on the blue "Public Opinion" button at the top of this page for full details.  The opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinions of the ownership or advertisers of this web site.