And Then There Were Four
Tuesday, Super Tuesday is February 5th and New Jerseyans will vote in primary elections held that day. The number of candidates to chose from has just gotten smaller with John Edwards and Rudolph Giuliani both withdrawing from the presidential nomination race. The front running candidates for the Democratic nod are Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama. The top candidates for the Republican nod are John McCain and Mitt Romney. Super Tuesday could potentially make clear a single frontrunner in both parties.
Rudolph Giuliani withdrew his name from the Repubican nomination and endorsed John McCain.
In John Edwards departure from the race for the nomination, he noted that the Democratic party is poised to create history with its nominee. He said he was stepping aside “so that history can blaze its path”. Edwards did not endorse either nominee, though he did say he intended to talk to both Obama and Clinton before he makes a decision.
Well, Tiger Woods is on the record breaking road again. This time he has tied the record of 62 PGA tour wins held by Arnold Palmer. Woods won the tournament by a record eight strokes over Ryuiji Imada who came in second. The win also puts him two wins behind Ben Hogan’s record.
It is a painful thing when someone dies. Often even when it is expected it is a shock but when it happens to an otherwise healthy young person it seems a tragedy. Heath Ledger died at the age of 28 but his life touched millions through his acting. Mr. Ledger took on challenging roles and did not seem to falter in his choices as his accolades for Brokeback Mountain suggests. It is hoped that Heath may be allowed to rest in peace soon. We at Mercer County Community Blog and FreddieMoorer.com offer our condolences to his bereaved family and friends. 
With Americans getting larger each year one would think the idea of making it convenient for folks to find out the number of calories a dish a restuarant offers would be a no-brainer. After all, if the idea is for customers to keep coming back so they need stay health and well… alive. Ideally when on some cold afternoon a customer heads over to Starbucks for that grande-size white hot chocolate with whole milk and a dollop of whipped cream, he or she will know it uses up 520 calories (granted it is some of the best tasting calories) of their daily allotment. Would knowing the calorie amount stop me from getting the white hot chocolate once I was in the Starbucks? Probably not, but what it would do was cause me to look at other areas in my day where I can make room for the hot chocolate. 
Screening Test for Flu and Other Viruses
With so many drugs being found inappropriate for children 2-11 years old, on study took a look at the effectiveness of a salt-water wash in helping cure colds. The study by researchers in the Czech Republic for that 6-10 year olds in the test group had “noses that were less stuffy and runny the second time they were checked, the study said. And eight weeks after the study began, those in the saline group had significantly fewer severe sore throats, coughs, nasal obstructions and secretions than those given standard treatments.” Also in the kids in the saline group “had to use fever-reducing drugs, nasal decongestants and mucus-dissolving medications or antibiotics, the researchers said. In addition children who used the salt spray were sick less often and missed fewer school days.”
A study on the relationship between caffeine and miscarriage suggests women who ingest 200 milligrams (about a 10 ounce cup of coffee or 25 ounces of tea) or more of caffeine a day may double there chances of miscarriage. The study appeared in Monday’s American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.