Obama Returns to Vacation Home as Ambulance Speeds to Compound; Friend Injured in Surfboard Accident

BREAKING NEWS: Reports indicate President Obama suddenly left the golf course in Hawaii where he was playing a round of golf to return to his $9 million vacation estate where a "family friend" has reportedly been injured in a surfboard accident: President Barack Obama has abruptly ended a round of golf and sped toward his family's vacation home for what is being described as a "personal matter." An ambulance was seen speeding toward their compound. White House aides said the speedy departure and return to the president's home was not a matter of national security or because of a threat...

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Closure of Calif. surfboard foam company wipes out industry

Closure of Calif. surfboard foam company wipes out industry GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press (this contains excerpts) SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. - For more than 40 years, everyone from casual weekend waveriders to top competitive surfers has shared one thing: Customized boards that began as nondescript foam blocks mass-produced by one Southern California company. Clark Foam, an icon in California surf culture, enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the blocks that have been shaped and hand-painted by everyone from backyard do-it-yourselfers to design shops that churn out thousands of handcrafted boards each year. That's why the company's sudden closure this week has the...

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WINDSURFER WATERLOO (why the surfboard--not the snowboard--is Kerry's Achilles' heel)

WINDSURFER WATERLOOwhy the surfboard--not the snowboard--is Kerry's Achilles' heel by Mia T, 9.26.04 THE HOT DEBATE OVER THE WINDSURFING AD [09/23 11:54 AM] There is apparently much debate about the windsurfing ad over at the Corner. Here's the CNN summary of the charges and countercharges so far: Underscoring the Bush attacks was a new television ad showing Kerry windsurfing to the strains of the "Blue Danube" waltz. A narrator reads a list of what the Bush campaign contends are the senator's vacillating positions on the Iraq war, education and Medicare. The ad ends with the tag line: "John Kerry. Whichever...

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Aussie surfers testing boards fitted with electronic shark repellents

Aussie surfers testing boards fitted with electronic shark repellents Wed Jul 14, 1:19 PM ET SYDNEY (AFP) - Surfboards fitted with electronic shark repellents are being tested and will be available by the year's end, its manufacturers said, just days after a local man died in an attack off Australia's west coast. South Australian-based SeaChange technology said the devices emit an electronic field that surrounds the surfboard and affects special receptors on a shark's snout. The receptors connect to the shark's central nervous system and when it first encounters the electronic field it feels some discomfort. If it proceeds the...

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