Coons, O'Donnell debate First Amendment - NECN

(NECN/CNN) - Delaware Senate candidates Christine O'Donnell (R) and Chris Coons (D) clash over the Constitution.

At one point during their debate Tuesday, O'Donnell appeared to question Coon's assertion that the First Amendment calls for the separation of church and state. They'd been discussing whether creationism should be taught in public schools

Coons: The 1st amendment establishes the separation, the fact that the federal government shall not establish any religion, in decisional law by the Supreme Court over many, many decades.

O'Donnell: The 1st amendment does?

Source: WDEL-AM Wilmington

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First lady stumps for 'handsome' Giannoulias - Chicago Tribune

First Lady Michelle Obama offered a personal character reference Wednesday for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias, whose integrity is under attack from Republican opponents.

On her first day on the campaign trail since 2008, Obama told about 250 donors at the University Club that Giannoulias has maintained high ethical standards both as state treasurer and candidate.

Obama noted that the president had praised Giannoulias' character.

"I know that he will be a phenomenal U.S. senator. I am proud of him. We have seen him grow. He is always pushing to the next level, and he is doing it with grace and dignity," Obama said.

Giannoulias has faced questions about his role as a senior loan officer at his family's failed Broadway Bank when it made loans to convicted felons. In addition, the GOP has targeted him with campaign ads accusing him of misleading investors about the losses in a college savings program overseen by the treasurer's office. Giannoulias has said he did nothing wrong in either case.

Obama spent most of her speech touting health care reform, tax cuts, access to education and a laundry list of the president's achievements, rather than Giannoulias. But she described the Senate race as a key to ensuring the president's promise of change will become a reality.

"My husband can't do this alone," said Obama, who drew laughter when she referred to Giannoulias as a "handsome young man."

Obama did not mention Republicans, including Giannoulias' GOP opponent, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk.

Giannoulias introduced the first lady as "someone I love dearly."

Obama was also in Chicago for a separate fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which raised money for incumbent U.S. Reps. Bill Foster and Debbie Halvorson and for Dan Seals, who is seeking Kirk's North Shore congressional seat.

A Giannoulias spokesman did not immediately have figures on how much Wednesday's event raised.

oavila@tribune.com

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Branson's Virgin Galactic Completes First Solo Space Flight - PC Magazine

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic on Sunday completed its first manned free flight of a spaceship intended to eventually take customers on commercial space flights.

SpaceShipTwo, also known as the VSS Enterprise, was piloted by Pete Siebold and Mike Alsbury. Virgin Galactic was testing whether the spaceship could successfully release from its mothership and glide back to Earth. The ship did indeed release at 45,000 feet and land safely at Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

The mothership, named the WhiteKnightTwo, had flown 40 times prior to Sunday's free flight, including four trips during which the VSS Enterprise was attached. On July 15, Virgin Galactic flew for the first time with a crew on board.

"The VSS Enterprise was a real joy to fly, especially when one considers the fact that the vehicle has been designed not only to be a Mach 3.5 spaceship capable of going into space but also one of the worlds highest altitude gliders," Siebold said in a statement.

Virgin Galactic space flights are the brainchild of Branson, who heads up the Virgin empire.

"This was one of the most exciting days in the whole history of Virgin," Branson said in a statement. "For the first time since we seriously began the project in 2004, I watched the world's first manned commercial spaceship landing on the runway at Mojave Air and Space Port and it was a great moment. Now, the sky is no longer the limit and we will begin the process of pushing beyond to the final frontier of space itself over the next year."

A seat on Branson's spaceship will cost $200,000 per person, with refundable deposits starting at $20,000. There is interest, however. Virgin Galactic has managed to sell 700 seats thus far.

In September, Boeing announced that it is partnering with Virginia-based Space Adventures to sell commercial space flights. The CST-100 spacecraft can fit seven people, and is expected to be operational by 2015.

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