The following is political activity for Tuesday, August 31, 2010, going on in Washington and across the nation. It is courtesy of Scott Wilk, Community Organizer, and Anchor Consulting group. The Beacon will be posting these daily as they become available.

IN THE HOUSE

• The House is not in session.
• House Travel Stipends Probed – Congressional investigators are questioning a half-dozen lawmakers for possibly misspending government funds meant to pay for overseas travel, according to people familiar with the matter. (Wall Street Journal)

IN THE SENATE

• The Senate is not in session.
• Alaska poll offers ‘glimmer of hope’ to Dems in Senate race  -  Alaska poll offers ‘glimmer of hope’ to Dems in Senate race  -  A poll of Alaska voters finds that tea party favorite Joe Miller is leading Democrat Scott Adams by eight percent in the race to become Alaska’s next senator and is ahead of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski in a 3-way race, if she were to run on the Libertarian ticket — a possibility on Monday that the Libertarians rejected. (Miami Herald)

OTHER NEWS

• Obama Weighs Smaller Measures on the Economy  -  President Obama is weighing new steps to bolster the economy, he said Monday. But any measures he takes seem likely to be small ones, and his options are limited with Congress showing little appetite for more spending in a hotly contested midterm election year. (New York Times)
• U.S. sues over Arizona immigration practices  -  The Justice Department filed another lawsuit against immigration practices by Arizona authorities, saying Monday that a network of community colleges acted illegally in requiring noncitizens to provide their green cards before they could be hired for jobs. (Washington Post)
• U.S. proposes grading cars on emissions, efficiency  -  Gasoline misers like the Toyota Prius would get an ‘A-’ while muscle cars — including the Ferrari 612 — would get a ‘D’ under a labeling program proposed by Obama administration, which wants to convince consumers to buy vehicles that use less energy. (Reuters)
• Baseball: Roger Clemens pleads not guilty in federal court  -  Roger Clemens put his right hand on the lectern, leaned down toward the microphone and made what might be the most important pitch of his life: “Not guilty, your honor.” (San Jose Mercury News)
• NYC House race boils down to Wall Street visions  -  It’s an audacious gamble, even with anti-establishment fever running high: a former hedge fund lawyer trying to unseat a nine-term congresswoman popular in her district. (AP)

FEDERAL GRANT OF THE DAY

• The Role of Human-Animal Interaction in Child Health and Development- This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits Research Project Grant (R03) applications from institutions/ organizations that propose to study the impact of human-animal interaction (HAI) on children’s health and development and to test the efficacy of therapeutic uses of HAI with children.  In 2008, NICHD and The WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, a division of Mars, Incorporated, entered into a public-private partnership to explore the interaction between humans and animals. The partnership encourages research on Human-Animal Interaction (HAI), especially as it relates to child development, health, and the therapeutic use of animals with children and adolescents. This shared interest resulted in The WALTHAM Centre donating funds to NICHD to enhance NICHDs ability to support research in this field.  The purpose of this FOA is to build an empirical research base on how children perceive, relate to and think about animals; how pets in the home impact children’s social and emotional development and health (e.g., allergies, the immune system, asthma, mitigation of obesity); and whether and under what conditions therapeutic uses of animals are safe and effective.  For more information, see NIH. Application deadline: December 21, 2010

TODAY IN HISTORY

• August 31, 1888- On this day, Mary Ann Nichols was found murdered in London’s East End. She is generally regarded as the first victim of Jack the Ripper.

Source and thanks to www.anchor-consult.com / For more information, contact Anchor Consulting at 703-333-6013