Maersk Alabama captian Richard Phillips rescue is fully engaged

The first seizure of a U.S. crew in more than 100 years, but the 20 U.S. crew members fought them off.

Four or five pirates in what one Defense Department official described as a "fishing skiff" attacked the 17,000-ton shipping vessel. The crew managed to tie up one of the pirates,
but the others escaped taking with them the ship's captain, Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vt.
In what the official described as a life raft.

Thursday, the ship's operator, Maersk Line, said that information it is receiving suggests that the captain is unharmed.

At the FBI, spokesman Richard Kolko described the bureau's hostage rescue team as "fully engaged"

"We share the concern about the well-being of the crew with the families," he said. "The safe return of the captain is our foremost priority. Everything we have done over the past day is meant to increase the chance of a peaceful outcome."

The pirates were still holding the 55-year-old Phillips, from Underhill, Vt., after the American crew retook the ship Wednesday and the hostage-takers fled into the lifeboat. Hostage negotiators and military officials have been working around the clock to free Phillips.

Digital Photo Converter

Digital Photo Converter transforms your treasured photographs into 5-megapixel digital files with the push of a button. Simply connect to your computer's USB port and begin scanning and uploading photos. Only works with windows.

An easy and fast way to input your photos onto your computer.

Maersk Alabama Attacked by Pirates offshore Somali

The Danish-owned, U.S.-operated container vessel "Maersk Alabama"was seized Wednesday morning by Somali about 7:30 a.m. local time.

This is a U.S. flagged ship and up to 20 Americans are believed to be apart of the crew.

The Cargo ship was in route to Mombasa, Kenya. The ship was seized about 310 miles off Somalia's Coast.

The U.S. Navy issued another warning to mariners that the Piracy activity was extending hundreds of miles off shore.

Simple steps to prep for the Big SAT Test

May SAT Late Registration Deadline Extended

The May SAT late registration deadline has been extended to 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time),Friday, April 17, 2009, for online and phone registrations. This extended deadline applies to registrations for test centers within the United States and U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico. This extensiondoes not apply to international registrationsor to mailed registrations.

1. Take practice SAT’s
There is no better preparation than taking practice SAT’sand carefully reviewing your mistakes. You can find practicetests at book stores and online.

2. Brush up on Old Math
Re-read your old geometry and algebra books to do well in this section of the test.

3. Practice Your Vocabulary
Most of the verbal section of the SAT is based on vocabulary. The SAT frequently presents unusual words that sound like simplerwords but have different meanings.

4. Practice your writing skills daily
Writing is a skill that only gets better with practice. Write afew SAT-style essays every day and you will soon be able to do them quickly and without being nervous.

5. Be Well Rested and Fed
Make sure you get a lot of sleep the night before the test. Get to the test location with plenty of time to spare.

6. Don’t Guess
If you have a multiple choice question and are able to narrow down the correct answer between one choice or another,that would be worth making an educated guess since then your odds are much better at getting it correct.

7. Take the SAT early
You can take it again if you are not happy with your score. Regardless how many timesyou take the SAT, colleges accept your highest score for their consideration of admittance to their school.

The SAT is a long, dull test, so don’t be nervous.

So what is a good SAT score?

The exam consists of three parts:Critical Reading, Mathematics and Writing. The scores from each section can range from 200 to 800, so the best possibletotal score is 2400. The average score for each section is roughly 500, so the average total score is about 1500.

Could this 2009 Red Sox team be among the all-time greats in Boston history?

The Red Sox kick off the 2009 season at home Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays,the defending American League champions, and the team that bumped them out ofthe playoffs last season in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series.

Here's what your 2009 Red Sox look like to start the season:

Pitchers: Josh Beckett, Manny Delcarmen, Jon Lester, Javier Lopez, Justin Masterson, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Okajima, Jonathan Papelbon, Brad Penny, Ramon Ramirez, Takashi Saito, Tim Wakefield

Catchers: George Kottaras, Jason Varitek

Infielders: Nick Green, Mike Lowell, Jed Lowrie, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis

Outfielders: Rocco Baldelli, Jason Bay, Chris Carter, J.D. Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury

Review of the 2009 ACM Awards

GAC will be re-airing the awards on Sunday, May 31 in case you missed it tonight.

Opening segment with Brooks & Dunn, Taylor, Carrie, Rascal Flatts, and Sugarland.
Kenny Chesney sings Out Last Night.
Song of the Year award for In Color, Jamey Johnson.
Heidi Newfield singing Johnny and June.
Top Vocal Group awardgoes to to Rascal Flatts.
Toby Keith sings God Love Her. Jamey Johnson sings In Color.
George Strait who sings Troubadou.
Top New Artistis Julianne Hough, introduced by Jack Ingram and Jason Aldean.
David Copperfield does his thing and makes Taylor Swift appear. She sings You're Not Sorry.
Taylor gets the Crystal Milestone Award presented by Reba.
Lady Antebellum sings I Run To You.
LeAnn Womack sings Solitary Thinkin'.
Top Vocal Duo awardgoes to Sugarland.
Keith Urban performs Kiss A Girl.
Miranda sings Dead Flowers.
LeAnn gets her Humanitarian Award presented by Rascal Flatts.
John Rich sings Shuttin' Detroit Down.
Miley sings The Climb, introduced by her daddy..
Montgomery Gentry performs.
It's the lava dress. Carrie Underwood performs I Told You So..
Brad Paisley wins Top Male Vocalist.
Reba performs Strange.
Carrie Underwood wins Top Female Vocalist.
Trace performs Till The Last Shot's Fired with glee club.
Sugarland performs What I'd Give.
Jennifer Nettles gets her own Milestone Award for songwriting.
Single of the Year award goes to Trace Adkins for You're Gonna Miss This.
Blake Shelton sings She Wouldn't Be Gone.
Album of the Year award goes to Taylor Swift for "Fearless."
Rascal Flatts sings Here Comes Goodbye.
Entertainer of the Year goes to Carrie Underwood.

Reveiws on the movie Twilight

There’s nothing remotely scary or even very threatening in Twilight. Its targeted for a younger generation.
Horror writer and long-standing pop culture phenomenon Stephen King may have just picked a fight with Twilight author Stephanie Meyer. In a recent interview with USA Weekend, King let loose with his thoughts on fellow phenoms J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer: "Both Rowling and Meyer. The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She's not very good."
So if you’re up for that experience, perhaps because you’re one of the millions of dedicated fans of the novels, you probably won’t be too disappointed by Twilight. If you like vampires and romances with a gothic flavor then this is one to check out.

2009 ACM Awards

44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegason Sunday evening April 5 @ 8PM ET/PT on CBS.
Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire, Sugarland, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts and Miley Cyrus.
Miss Cyrus just so happens to be on the list of performers during the evening,as she’ll be taking the stage to play her song “The Climb”.

DC's 25th Annual Army Ten Miler

Registration begins April 1, 2009; race organizers expext this year's race to fill up by mid-May.
Be sure to register early. Te field has been increased to 30,000 runners. Don't miss out on
one of the best races DC has to offer.