SEOUL — South Korean officials say North Korea fired the missiles throughout the day Saturday, launching them in the morning, early afternoon, and early evening.

The missiles were apparently launched from a facility on North Korea’s east coast, and are believed to have flown approximately 400 kilometers each.

The Foreign Ministry in Seoul issued a statement calling the launches a “provocative act” and expressing “deep regret over North Korea’s continued acts to escalate tensions in Northeast Asia.”

South Korean officials say the launches violate the latest United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874, passed after Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons test in May.  That measure prohibits the North from launching any ballistic missiles whatsoever.

The test launches coincided with the United States’ Independence Day holiday, drawing comparisons to North Korea’s test of a long-range missile on the July 4 holiday three years ago.  The North’s May nuclear test fell on the U.S. Memorial Day holiday.

On Thursday, North Korea fired several short range missiles as talks between North and South Korea concluded without progress.  South Korean Defense Department spokesman Won Tae-jae says such launches are aimed at getting the South’s attention.

He says when North Korea launches missiles with less than a medium range trajectory, they are mostly against South Korea.  He adds, South Korea is constantly monitoring signs of such launches.

North Korea is known to possess hundreds of similar short and medium range missiles capable of striking all of South Korea and most of Japan.  Military analysts say a North Korean missile barrage could easily kill hundreds of thousands of people here in the capital, Seoul, within a matter of hours.

A maritime advisory issued by North Korea for boats to steer clear of its eastern waters remains in effect until this Thursday.  For that reason, nobody is ruling out the test launch of more missiles in the days to come.

Americans are celebrating the July 4 Independence Day holiday with fireworks, parades and concerts.

Washington and New York are among the cities that will have spectacular fireworks displays Saturday night. Many small towns have been forced to scrap or scale back their celebrations because of the economic crisis.

In his weekly Saturday address, U.S. President Barack Obama encouraged Americans to “kick back” and “enjoy a little time off.” But he also reminded people the country is facing challenges “on a scale unseen in our time,” from the severe economic recession to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. Obama said meeting the challenges will require “extraordinary effort on the part of every American,” and he urged support for his plans to reform U.S. education, health care and energy policies.

The Fourth of July holiday marks the day in 1776 when the 13 original American colonies officially declared independence from Britain.

President Obama will celebrate Saturday with a Fourth of July event at the White House accompanied by military families.

The Public Broadcasting Service and the National Park Service will hold a free gala concert Saturday in front of the U.S. Capitol building. The performers, who include singers Barry Manilow and Aretha Franklin, treated spectators Friday to a full concert dress rehearsal.

New York’s Coney Island holds its famed hot dog eating contest every year on the Fourth of July. The eat-off is broadcast nationally on the ESPN sports TV network.

Despite the money crunch, many Americans, whether at home or traveling, will find ways to relax and enjoy the holiday with outdoor summertime activities such as barbecues and beach parties, and spending time with family and friends.

WASILLA, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin announced today that she will not seek a second term as Governor of the State of Alaska and will relegate the power of governor to Lieutenant Gov. Sean Parnell in order to serve Alaska’s best interests. Lieutenant General Craig Campbell will move into Parnell’s current role.

Parnell will be sworn into office July 25.

“People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing’s more important to me than our beloved Alaska,” Palin said. “Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine.

“I am determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is not the easiest path,” Palin said. “Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional ‘Lame Duck’ status in this particular climate would just be another dose of ‘politics as usual,’ something I campaigned against and will always oppose.”

ATLANTA – For the fifth consecutive year, Cox Communications, in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and America’s Most Wanted host and children’s advocate John Walsh, will present the results of a new survey on the behavior of young people online. This year, the survey also looks at teen behavior using wireless devices.

Under the auspices of Cox’s Take Charge! program, the partners are helping parents understand the potential dangers of the Internet and learn ways they can help keep their kids safer online. The initiative includes both the survey about teen behavior and a frank discussion with a teen focus group at the Cox Communications’ Annual National Summit on Internet Safety.

Key results from the survey conducted by Harris Interactive among a representative sampling of U.S. teens between the ages of 13 and 18 years include:

• Technology enabled: Ninety-one percent of teens have an email address and 60 percent have an instant messenger screen name. Seventy-three percent of teens have a cell phone and 59 percent have a digital camera.
• Acceptance of Social Networking: Seventy-two percent of teens surveyed have online profiles on social networking sites where many have posted photos of themselves and their friends, along with personal information.
• Conflicted over Safety: Most teens surveyed are aware and concerned about the risks of putting personal information out in the open. Fifty-nine percent say having personal information or photos on a public site is unsafe, and 26 percent say they know someone who has had something bad happen to them because of this. Still, 62 percent of teens post photos of themselves on blogs or social networking sites and greater than 40 percent name their school or the city in which they live.
• Prevalent Cyberbullying: More than one-third of teens surveyed have been cyberbullied, perpetrated cyberbullying or know of friends who have experienced or perpetrated it, and 68 percent think it is a serious problem. About 4 in 5 teens (81 percent) think that bullying online is easier to get away with or to hide from their parents than bullying in person.
• Engaging in Sexting: Nineteen percent of teens surveyed have engaged in sexting — sending, receiving or forwarding sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude photos through text message or email. Sixty percent of teens who sent sexts say they send photos to their boyfriend/girlfriend, but 11 percent say they have sent sexts to someone they don’t even know. Eighty-one percent of teen sexters are under 18.
• Online wirelessly: Nineteen percent of teens surveyed go online via their cell phone and 19 percent say their parents are unaware. The vast majority of teens (80 percent) whose parent know they go online via their cell phone say they are not given any limits or controls — far fewer than are given boundaries on their desktop PC or laptop.

“Teens are not only online, they are active in every nuance of cyberspace. Many have no controls over what they do online and of those who do, nearly 30 percent figure ways around the boundaries set by their parents,” said John Walsh. “Those parents who have been vigilant over their kids’ use of the Internet via their computers, haven’t extended their watch to their kids’ use of the wireless devices, which are increasingly offering predators all the access they need to our precious and vulnerable young ones. Teens are prone to choosing risky behaviors even though they know better, so parents must continue to regularly talk with their children and monitor their activities.”

At the June 24 summit, Walsh will lead teen participants from Cox Communications’ markets across the country in a discussion of cyber-safety and ways parents, guardians and teen mentors can help children stay safer online.

Results of the survey and information from teen discussion at the summit will be presented immediately following during the live virtual media conference (details to be announced via media alert immediately prior); Walsh and select teens will be available to answer questions. Teens participating in the Summit will also deliver the news directly to Capitol Hill in meetings with members of Congress on June 25.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator John Thune, R-S.D., introduced the Government Ownership Exit Plan Act, a bill that would require the federal government to end its ownership of private entities acquired under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) by July 1, 2010.

The bill also prohibits the future acquisition of new or additional ownership interests in private firms through the use of TARP funds and prevents the federal government from making management decisions in private companies in which it has an ownership interest.

“Thanks to the federal government’s unprecedented intervention in the private sector, the president has become a de facto CEO managing large segments of our economy and Congress is acting as a 535 member board of directors,” said Thune. “Having the federal government call the shots for private industry is bad for business, bad for the economy, and bad for taxpayers. Government needs to get out of the business of owning American companies, and this legislation establishes a reasonable end date for government ownership and provides a clear exit strategy for taxpayers.”

The Government Ownership Exit Plan would require the sale of any ownership interest such as warrants, preferred stock, or common stock and apply any revenue from the sale of those assets to the reduction of the national debt. The plan would also prohibit the federal government from making or unduly influencing management decisions of private companies such as appointing senior executives and board members.

The United States said Monday that a scientific analysis of North Korea’s May 25 nuclear test shows it to have had only a fraction of the explosive force first estimated. The U.S. intelligence report came as President Barack Obama prepared for talks Tuesday on the North Korean nuclear program and other issues with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

A brief statement from U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said North Korea probably conducted an underground nuclear test on May 25 that had an explosive yield of a few kilotons, the equivalent of a few thousand tons of TNT.

Although it was a sizable explosion, the test was small by nuclear weapon standards and only a fraction of the 10 to 20 kiloton estimate by Russia’s Defense Ministry issued a few days after the event.

By contrast, North Korea’s first nuclear test, in November 2006, was estimated at just one kiloton and is considered by some experts to have been a partial failure.

Although the statement by the U.S. intelligence chief spoke of a “probable” nuclear test, officials say they do not have serious doubts that the May 25 detonation was nuclear, given the difficulty and cost of simulating a blast of that magnitude with conventional explosives.

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously last Friday to tighten financial and other sanctions against North Korea because of the test - actions Pyongyang responded to defiantly with vows to build more plutonium bombs and start a new weapons program based on uranium enrichment.

At a news briefing on Monday, State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly called on Pyongyang to end its bellicose threats and return to Chinese-sponsored six-party negotiations on its nuclear program.

“We just passed an extremely tough resolution on Friday that showed incredible unity among the Security Council and with South Korea and Japan,” said Ian Kelly. “We’re going to be focused on implementing that resolution. And beyond that, North Korea knows what it has to do. North Korea needs to give up all this, all this rhetoric and belligerent actions, and return to the six-party talks unconditionally.”

North Korea agreed in principle in 2005 to give up its nuclear program in return for aid and diplomatic benefits. But the six-party talks stalled last year and Pyongyang withdrew from them earlier this year after U.N. criticism of a long-range missile test North Korea says was a satellite launch.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak arrived in Washington on Monday and held a late afternoon meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in preparation for his White House meeting with President Obama on Tuesday - both of which are expected to be dominated by the nuclear issue.

Before leaving Seoul, the South Korean leader said that despite recent North Korean rhetoric, the danger of a regional nuclear conflict is remote. He said the real threat is that North Korean nuclear technology might be sold to rogue states or terrorist groups. 

NEW YORK — The United States Government has announced that tourists will once again be allowed to climb inside the Statue of Liberty - all the way up to her famous crown.

The small viewing deck has been closed ever since the September 11 terrorist attacks of 2001. Eight years later, on America’s Independence Day (Fourth of July), the crown observation deck will be re-opened to the public.

The Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable statues in the world - viewed as a beacon of hope by more than a century’s worth of immigrants passing through New York in search of a better life. It is also a major tourist attraction.

But ever since the 2001 terrorist attacks at New York’s World Trade Center, a small part of this structure - Lady Liberty’s crown - has been closed to the public.

Due to security and safety concerns, the crown has been off limits to visitors for nearly 8 years. But on July 4, known as U.S. Independence Day, the Crown will once again be open to the public.

Darren Boch works for the National Park Service which oversees operation of the Statue of Liberty. “On America’s Birthday this July 4th 2009 - eight years later - we are very excited about offering the opportunity once again to the American People and to people all over the world to visit the crown of the statue of Liberty,” he said.

A journey to the top is not for everyone. First, visitors have to climb more than 200 steep steps through the center of the statue.

Then, when you get to the top, the experience is cramped and the views a little limited, but that has not stopped people from trying to book their place in line in advance.

“There have been a number of phone calls and e-mails and communications to the National Parks service all asking us how can we be one of the first people to get up to the crown,” Boch said.

Officials say demand has been so great that their Website froze the day it was announced the crown was to reopen. But they also forsee disappointment.

The number of people who can climb to the crown will be limited. Details have yet to be finally decided, but visitors are expected to be limited to about 150 visitors a day.

Liberty Island currently gets 3.6 million visitors a year, so even though it is a climb, Liberty’s Crown is likely to be one of the most sought after tickets in town come July 4.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has nominated federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the United States Supreme Court. The president chose a woman who, if confirmed, will become the first justice of Hispanic descent.

The president says he made his pick for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court after a rigorous selection process.

“I have decided to nominate an inspiring woman who I believe will make a great justice, Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the great state of New York,” he said.

With the new nominee at his side, the president went before an audience in the White House East Room and talked about the qualities he looked for in a Supreme Court justice.

He said strong intellect and an understanding of the role of the judiciary are key. But he says Sonia Sotomayor brings more to the court.

“Over a distinguished career that spans three decades, Judge Sotomayor has worked at almost every level of our judicial system, providing her with a depth of experience and a breadth of perspective that will be invaluable as a Supreme Court justice,” he said.

He noted she has been both a government prosecutor and a private attorney. She became a trial judge in 1992.

“It is a measure of her qualities and her qualifications that Judge Sotomayor was nominated to the U.S. District Court by a Republican president, George H. W. Bush, and promoted to the Federal Court of Appeals by a Democrat, Bill Clinton,” said Mr. Obama.

The president also cited what he described as her compelling life’s journey. The child of parents who moved to New York from Puerto Rico, she grew up in government subsidized housing in one of the toughest parts of the city.

“Sonia, what you have shown in your life, is it does not matter where you come from, what you look like, or what challenges life throws your way, no dream is beyond reach in the United States of America,” added President Obama.
In accepting the nomination, Judge Sotomayor said little about the specific issues that she could face on the high court, due to her pending confirmation hearings.

But she talked about her legal philosophy.

“I chose to be a lawyer and ultimately a judge because I find endless challenge in the complexities of the law,” she said. “I firmly believe in the rule of law as the foundation for all of our basic rights.”

The Supreme Court has the final say on such controversial issues as abortion rights, racial integration and the death penalty.

Some Republicans have indicated they will fight the Sotomayor nomination, saying she is far too liberal and is too committed to a political agenda to impartially interpret the law.

But with Democrats holding a strong majority in the Senate, her chances of confirmation - barring unexpected complications - are very good.

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau is giving five lucky winners $10,000 in cash and prizes that include customized beach vacations.

To kick off the summer travel season, this award-winning destination on the Gulf of Mexico beckons with the “REAL. FUN. BEACH.” travel personality video contest. Launching on Memorial Day, and continuing through Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2009, this one-of-a-kind competition offers five epic prize packages tailored to the winner’s travel personality. Every package includes a five-night stay in plush, waterfront accommodations, plus customized vacation experiences, cash prizes and more.

“We’ve had a tremendous outpouring of interest in our new online contest,” says Dan Rowe, CEO, Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Since its soft launch last week, traffic to our new Web site has jumped more than 55 percent. Web visitors hail from near and far - Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Canada, the U.K., Germany and France - to learn more about Panama City Beach’s unique contest and offerings.”

For more information, log onto www.realfuncontest.com or www.visitpanamacitybeach.com.

SAN FRANCISCO — Clean out the cup holders and gas up the ride, as Hotwire.com(R), a leading travel discount site, today revealed the top 10 summer road trip destinations for 2009. The list showcases the most highly-sought summer destinations with the highest percentage of hotel transactions coming from nearby locales. Topping the list for popular road trip destinations are San Diego and Philadelphia.

“Consumers realize that they don’t have to travel around the world to have a fun vacation,” said Clem Bason, President of the Hotwire Group. “With low gas prices and great hotel deals, consumers have the opportunity to explore their local region and have a great vacation without breaking their budget.”

With gas prices at historical lows and hotels looking to fill up their rooms, now is a great time to take a road trip and book hotel rooms. When looking for deals in these top road trip destinations, Hotwire(R) is the place to go. Hotwire works closely with brand-name hotels in top destinations to help fill unsold rooms, so customers get them at prices lower than any other travel site. Guaranteed*.

The top 10 summer road-trip destinations are:

• San Diego: This sun-soaked city in beautiful Southern California boasts some of the best beaches and includes the world-famous San Diego Zoo.
• Philadelphia: The city of brotherly love is home to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall where the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were signed.
• Houston: The fourth-largest city in the US is home to NASA mission control and an up-and-coming Museum and Theater District.
• San Francisco: Leave your heart in the city by the bay, which is home to the famous Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and Fisherman’s Wharf.
• Dallas: Two-step your way around the Big D with visits to its dozens of theme-parks including Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor.
• Los Angeles: With celebrity sightings abound, the city of glitz and glamour offers Hollywood, the beaches of Malibu and the world-famous Disneyland.
• Boston: The unofficial capital of New England, this northeast city gives travelers a taste of colonial America with historical sites such as the Boston Tea Party and a chance to catch a game at the fabled Fenway Park.
• Phoenix: This desert city boasts world-class golf courses, spas and resorts.
• Saint Louis: The “Gateway City” offers a variety of attractions for road-trippers, including the Gateway Arch and plays host to the Anheuser-Busch brewery.
• Washington DC: If you can’t catch a sight of Obama, check out the historical sites and monuments that dot the nation’s capitol, including the White House, Smithsonian and Lincoln Memorial.

And if you are interested in avoiding wear and tear on your own car, or need an alternate sized vehicle, try renting a car. When car rental companies have unsold cars sitting on the lot, they use Hotwire to fill them which means deep discounts on rental cars for consumers — from $13.95/day.