Latest News and Politics from the U.S. - Huffington Post [May ‘11 Series]

Barack and Michelle Obama went out for a pre-Mother's Day date night in D.C. on Saturday.The president and first lady headed over to Tosca, an Italian restaurant. You can check out the menu here. De-lish!More...

Source: Obamas Go On Pre-Mother's Day Date Night (PHOTOS)

Instead of a bouquet or greeting card, she'd really appreciate a new respect for the value of care, in all its forms, and a new vision for what we deserve as Americans when it comes to giving and receiving care.Today, American families celebrate Mother's Day. For centuries, we have venerated mothers for the selflessness and the tender caregiving that allows us to feel safe and to thrive. Beyond the vases of roses, the boxes of chocolate, even the spa gift certificates, we can do more for the caregivers in our families.More...

Source: Why We Need to Think of Our Mothers as Caregivers

By my measure, the mother-daughter relationship is the toughest one in humanity. What could be more complex?  Two women -- one with wisdom, the other with a lot to learn -- and neither of them willing to learn from each other. Mother? Daughter? I'm not saying which is which, or who is who, because I've been on both sides of that fence.I've spent my entire life studying how to be a good daughter and a good mother. As a writer, I have a preoccupation with figuring out how things really work. Here's what I conclude:More...

Source: Don't Tell Me I'm Like My Mother... Yet

McDonald's is taking a cue from Starbucks and upgrading the look and feel of its stores, reports USA Today. The fast food giant has invested over $1 billion in remodeling its 14,000 U.S. franchises and hopes to have most of the facelifts complete by 2015.Simply put, "nicer-looking stores attract more business," as is proven by McDonald's newly redesigned Tampa branch, which has seen a double-digit sales boost in the past year. McDonald's sought inspiration from its outposts in France and Australia, which already have a sleeker, more modern feel.More...

Source: McDonald's To Look Like Starbucks

Graduate students at the University of California voted resoundingly to elect a slate of reformers to lead their union, United Auto Workers Local 2865, according to results released on Sunday night.Reform group Academic Workers for a Democratic Union netted almost 60 percent of the Joint Council seats and took control of the Executive Board, winning 55 percent of the vote across campuses. Cheryl Deutsch, AWDU’s candidate for president, won with 56 percent of the vote statewide. The union, which represents roughly 12,000 graduate students working as teachers, researchers assistants and tutors is the largest UAW local in the West.More...

Source: Reformers Sweep UC Union Election

After doing what they could to prepare, Memphis, Tenn. residents on Monday watched as the Mississippi River swelled to the highest level since 1937.The river level stood at 47.8 feet Monday evening -- about 14 feet above flood stage -- and was expected to crest at 48 feet, a forecaster for the National Weather Service in Memphis, Ryan Husted, told CNN.More...

Source: Tenn. Flooding 2011: How To Help

Is it possible that a major motion picture released as recently as 1995 depicting the transformation of a major American city is already woefully outdated?  In the closing moments of Martin Scorsese's Casino, we see the implosion of iconic landmarks of old Las Vegas and the debris swept aside to make way for the mega properties of the future. Goodbye Sands and the Rat Pack, hello Mirage and Siegfried & Roy. Yet by Las Vegas standards, those sparkling hotels of the early 1990s are already beginning to fossilize and feel somewhat passé. They have been eclipsed by a galaxy of chic newer properties such as Bellagio, Venetian, Wynn, Palazzo, and the ultramodern Aria and Cosmopolitan.  Vegas construction is like Jennifer Love Hewitt's dating life -- a perpetual cycle of buildup, demolition, and more buildup.I get it -- Vegas is not for everyone. But for millions more, Vegas has us under some sort of hypnotic spell. Sure, the local economy has staggered in recent years, with record home foreclosures and unemployment, but Vegas tourism may finally be bouncing back. According to the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, the city's occupancy rate in pre-recession 2007 was 90 percent, with an average hotel room costing $132. In 2010, the occupancy rate was down to 80 percent, and the average room cost plummeted to $95 -- a 28 percent decrease. Combined with 16,000 newly constructed hotel rooms since 2007, these lower occupancy rates and lower room costs, and the ensuing discounts and deals, brought more than 37 million visitors to Las Vegas in 2010, a notable increase from the 2009 level.More...

Source: Vegas Rules: Tips to Stretch Your Vacation Dollars

TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - A long-simmering movement by liberal stalwarts in southern Arizona to break away from the rest of the largely conservative state is at a boiling point as secession backers press to bring their longshot ambition to the forefront of Arizona politics.More...

Source: Liberals In Southern Arizona Seek To Form New State

I broke down the NBA Playoffs on Tuesday  with Noah Coslov of CineSport.Specifically, we discussed how Rajon Rondo's injury impacts Boston's chances against the Miami Heat and just how heavily the Celtics rely on him.More...

Source: HuffPost's Jordan Schultz Discusses the 2011 NBA Playoffs (VIDEO)

Gaze/Mirada: to look for a long time with a fixed stare.

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Source: Her Gaze/Su Mirada at Museo de las Americas