Obama is at the White House

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Barack and Michelle Obama were at the White House on Tuesday to meet with President Bush, as hundreds of thousands gathered at the Capitol for Obama's inauguration.

The Obamas attended a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church on Tuesday morning and then headed to the nearby White House for a meeting with the outgoing president and first lady Laura Bush.

Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, arrived at the White House shortly before the Obamas. The Obamas, Bushes and Bidens were expected to have coffee at the before heading to the Capitol.

The 9 a.m. church service kicked off a day of events for the man who will become the nation's 44th president at noon ET.

As many as 2 million people are expected to crowd into the area between the Capitol, the White House and the Lincoln Memorial as Obama takes the oath of office.

Gerrard Coles of Norwalk, Connecticut, had staked out a position in front of St. John's.

"Everyone's down here -- hopefully to catch a glimpse of Barack, just for a split second," he said. "I think this was a beautiful thing. It's something I always wanted to do. It's not every day that you get to be a part of history. Rather than just watch it on TV, you actually get to partake in it and you have a story to tell your kids."

A crowd gathered at a barricade near the church was letting children and shorter onlookers move to the front of the crowd so they could get a better view.

Some spectators will be more than a mile from the swearing-in ceremony, watching on giant TV screens erected along the National Mall.

Thousands arrived before daylight Tuesday in standing-room-only trains. They carried blankets and wore Obama scarves to ward off the wind chills of minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

Suburban Washington train stations were jammed. A four-story parking deck at the Springfield, Virginia, station was filled at 5 a.m. Trains rolling into the stop about 15 miles south of the Capitol had no room for the hundreds on the platform.

The Metro rail system's Red Line was shut down about 9 a.m. after a pedestrian was hit by a train, further snarling the already overloaded train service, fire officials said.

On Monday night, visitors wandered around the Mall, snapping pictures and shooting video of the Capitol and monuments.

The scene around Lafayette Square was almost chaotic, with cars turning around in the street as they were confronted with barriers to closed-off areas and clots of pedestrians crossing streets against the light.

The visitors' excitement rubbed off on some of the jaded locals, one of whom said D.C. residents were "cynical of government."

"The energy on the streets is something I've never seen before," said Nancy Wigal, a 45-year-old technical writer who lives in the Mount Vernon Square area. "People are walking lighter, standing taller and are reaching out to one another. It feels like hope. It feels like shared happiness."

The morning began at 4 a.m. for many as those without tickets made a land grab on the Mall, rushing to stake out positions for the ceremony.

After Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden take their oaths of office on the western front of the Capitol, Obama will deliver his inaugural address, which Obama aides say will emphasize that America is entering a new era of responsibility.

In the approximately 20-minute speech, Obama will say America has been hurt by a "me-first" mentality that contributed to the current economic crisis, aides say, and he will call on individuals -- as well as corporations and businesses -- to take responsibility for their actions.

After a formal farewell to President George W. Bush and lunch with congressional leaders, Obama will head up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, where he and his family will watch the inauguration parade from a reviewing stand. The parade begins at 3:45 p.m. ET.

The new president and first lady will then close the night by attending 10 official inaugural balls.

Officials say they really don't know how many will show up, but estimates range from 1 million to 2 million.

Organizers have said about 280,000 people can fit into the secure zones around the Capitol and roughly 300,000 into the area around the parade. A mere 28,000 seats are available on Capitol grounds.

Those with tickets to the inauguration will undergo tight screening, including passing through magnetometers, when they enter the seating area in front of the Capitol.

Spectators without tickets will be routed to the Mall, which for the first time will be open from end to end for an inauguration. Security there will be less stringent.

Jeri Pickett of Rochester, New York, was one of the few who got a ticket.

"I'd just like to see the inspiration of America," said Pickett, when asked what he was expecting from Inauguration Day. "There's so much warmth here now, and excitement -- rejuvenation."

Transportation officials say they will run subway trains on rush-hour schedules starting at 4 a.m. as well as extra buses. The Metro expects more than 1 million riders.

Inauguration events have already drawn record crowds. A crowd attending an inauguration concert Sunday was estimated between 300,000 and 400,000 and stretched from the Lincoln Memorial all the way to the Washington Monument, which stands at the midpoint of the Mall.

While Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan said Monday there was "no credible threat" to the inauguration events, a security cordon has been put in place around the city's core, turning much of downtown Washington into a pedestrian-only zone.

In addition to Secret Service, the security effort will involve 8,000 police officers from the District of Columbia and other jurisdictions, 10,000 National Guard troops, about 1,000 FBI personnel, and hundreds of others from the Department of Homeland Security, the National Park Service and U.S. Capitol Police.

Another 20,000 members of the National Guard are ready to respond if there is an emergency, according to outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

Inauguration Day 2009 - Barack Obama

By ALAN FRAM,

WASHINGTON – The streets of the nation's capital pulsed with expectation Tuesday as crowds determined to witness the swearing-in of President-elect Barack Obama overwhelmed mass transit lines and clogged security checkpoints.

Energized by the historic moment, tens of thousands of people turned this city's orderly grid of streets into a festive party scene. Ready to endure below-freezing temperatures, they streamed up from subway stations and thronged past parked buses, emergency vehicles and street vendors, bound for Pennsylvania Avenue and the National Mall for the inauguration.

"This is the culmination of two years of work," said Obama activist Akin Salawu, 34, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who helped the candidate as a community organizer and Web producer. "We got on board when Obama was the little engine who could. He's like a child you've held onto. Now he's going out into the world."

By 4 a.m., lines of riders formed in suburban parking lots for the Metro transit system, which opened early and put on extra trains for the expected rush. Many parking lots filled up and had to be closed.

Streets around the Capitol quickly filled with people, and security checkpoints were mobbed. The cold registered at 21 degrees Fahrenheit at 7:45 a.m.

Warming tents and other facilities on the Mall were late opening because traffic and crowds delayed staffers from reaching them. Ticket holders approaching the Inaugural site on Capitol Hill awaited security sweeps in a line estimated at thousands.

Connie Grant of Birmingham, Alabama, said she got up at 3:30 a.m. after coming to Washington with a group. Three hours later she was still on 7th street waiting for police to clear the way into the Mall.

She said the wait didn't matter. "I sacrificed and came here. To me, this is very historic. I just wanted to be here."

Christian Alderson of Berryville, Va., went to Memphis, Tenn., in 1968 to support the sanitation workers strike and said he was there when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

"That day was sorrowful," Alderson, 73, said as he stood near the mall. "This is a dream come true for me."

At the opposite end of town, Georgetown University students chanted "Obama!" and "Fired up Ready to Go!" as they walked down M Street toward the Mall.

A flea-market atmosphere prevailed on downtown streets, with white tents set up to sell Obama T-shirts and mugs as well as food, bottled water, snacks, scarves and footwarmers. The scent of grilled coiled sausages and steaming Chinese food greeted those who walked toward the parade route, more than six hours before Obama would pass by.

As the first waves of people began moving through security screenings, they scrambled for prime viewing spots along Pennsylvania Avenue — sitting on the curb, staking out plots of grass, or clambering on to cold metal benches.

Suburban subway riders also seemed to be in a jubilant mood, despite the early hour. In Fredericksburg, Va., an hour south of Washington, chants of "Obama! Obama!" rang out at a commuter rail station when the line started moving at 5 a.m. for the first trip into Washington.

World history teacher Calvin Adams of Arlington, Va., said he got up extra early so he could witness history being made first-hand and teach it to his classes.

"Eventually I'll teach American history," said Adams, 23. "I'll say, 'This is how it works because I've been there, I've seen it.'"

The joyous mood was tempered only by delays and by the dashed expectations of revelers eager to get an up-close look at history.

Alice Williams, a 51-year-old teacher of gifted children from Kansas City, Mo., had the coveted purple ticket that would placed her in front of the Capitol, but she got caught in the crowd bottleneck and instead was stuck a half mile away.

"We got blocked off; there was too much traffic and no guidance," she said forlornly. "I've been walking for an hour and a half. All I want to do is see my president sworn in"

One parade entrance was supposed to open at 7 a.m. The crowd, which was one-block deep, counted down at 7 a.m. The gate did not open. The chants got louder at 7:30 a.m., but the gates remain closed.

D.C. police have projected inaugural crowds between 1 million and 2 million. Planners say attendance could easily top the 1.2 million people who were at Lyndon B. Johnson's 1965 inauguration, the largest crowd the National Park Service has on record.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs Takes Medical Leave of Absence

Well this doesn't sound good at all for Apple. I know that Apple Stock has dropped almost 10 % in after hours trading which is to be expected right after news like this. It will be interesting how Apple moves foreward from this. They should have some new gizmo in their back pocket that they can unveil while Jobs is out so it will show more confidence that Apple can survive without Jobs in the Long run. And who knows maybe Apple has that up their sleeve. It will also be interesting to see if Apple now goes through Layoffs or if Jobs even comes back at all. It doesn't sound good for the future of the company. But Jobs should of made a strong foundation that should have Apple running lightyears after he passes anyways.

By Mike Musgrove and Peter Whoriskey

Washington Post Staff Writers

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs today announced that he will take a leave of absence as a result of health concerns.

"During the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought," Jobs wrote in an e-mail sent to all Apple employees.

He said he intends to return to the company at the end of June.

Speculation about Jobs's health has swayed the company's share prices during the past year as his increasingly gaunt appearance left some investors worried. The iconic tech leader, who is often viewed as the main driving force for his company's recent successes, was treated for pancreatic cancer several years ago.

Jobs did not deliver a keynote at the recent Mac-centric trade show this year, citing a hormone imbalance. The company's share price rose 4 percent on the news, a result of investor relief that Jobs was not suffering a recurrence of cancer.

Apple products, particularly the iPod and iPhone, have gained a rare kind of loyalty from customers, and much of the credit is given to Jobs's demanding leadership. He is reputedly relentless in his demands that Apple engineers make products that simplify technology, an approach that often gives the company's products a minimalist chic.

In 2004, Jobs received a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and had surgery, which apparently was successful. Last June, however, Jobs appeared gaunt and the uncertainty over his health created new worries for investors. Stock prices suffered as a result.

Concern about Jobs's health heightened Dec. 16, when the company announced that he would not attend Macworld, a conference that he has addressed in his trademark black turtleneck for several years. Instead, the company sent marketing chief Philip Schiller to make a presentation.

Apple's stock fell as much as 10 percent after the company made that announcement.

Jobs was forced to address the rumors last week. In recent months, Jobs and the Apple board had declined to provide more information about the chief executive's health.

"Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed," he wrote on Jan. 5. "I've decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

"As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008," his note said. "The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors."

Jobs said that the cause of his troubles was a "hormone imbalance."

But many health professionals said then that hormone imbalance is not a specific medical diagnosis

While Jobs is away from the company he founded, Apple will be steered by chief operating officer Tim Cook.

American Idol Bikini Girl Katrina Darrell Photos, Video: Off To Hollywood

And I missed the episode too. Oh well at least I can look up pictures up on the internet like everyone else is this morning. I quit watching because it is the same old thing every year.

by Mitch Marconi

American idol bikini girl Katrina Darrell has become the latest viral hit of American idol season Number 8.

Katrina Darrell wore as little as she was legally able to American Idol auditions in Phoenix, Arizona and it appears that the 20-year-old model from Chino Hills, California is on her way to Hollywood.

Darrell takes the stage and sings "Vision of Love" wearing high heels and a string bikini.

After judges Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell voted yes, new judge Kara DioGuardi put her foot down, sung a few bars herself to show how the song should have been handled.

Yet the sassy Darrell made it through to the next round.

Leading up to Tuesday night's premiere of "American Idol," the stage was set for big changes: co-creator Nigel Lithgoe was out, a new fourth judge was in, and producers promised fewer bad auditions and more "reality."

It ended up being the same old same old.

Elvis Presley's Birthday Celebrated All Around the World

Elvis B-day is here again. I expect their will be a lot of great movies on tonight if you have cable. They might even bring some to Basic if you are lucky. I am not as big of a fan of Elvis to go all the way to Graceland, but then again I wasn't around during Elvis time.

by Robert Dougherty

Elvis Presley fans celebrate the milestones of the King's life like clockwork. Graceland is fuller than usual on certain anniversaries, like last year when the 30th anniversary of Elvis's death was commemorated. Today, Elvis Presley fans celebrate a less morbid milestone, of the day when it all bega

Elvis Presley's birthday will be celebrated today by Elvis fans, many of which are in Graceland already. The 74th birthday celebration should be a mere prelude to the bigger milestone of his 75th birthday in 2010.

Nevertheless, Elvis birthday tributes will be taking place all over, especially in Graceland. Elvis's birthday has already been celebrated with a few days worth of events, with a few more to come the rest of the week.

For Elvis's actual birthday today, Graceland will have gospel tributes, Elvis-style renditions of Happy Birthday, a special ceremony hosted by Priscilla Presley, birthday toy beat scavenger hunts, and more.

The Elvis birthday tributes continue on at Graceland up to Sunday, January 11. Countless other Elvis fans will likely have their own tributes set up in the rest of the country.

The Elvis birthday bashes are taking place as the Elvis industry in general continues to thrive, even during the recession. Elvis continues to be the number 1 earner among dead celebrities, according to Forbes Magazine. Presley's song "If I Can Dream" will even be used as part of Barack Obama's inaugural ceremony.

Graceland continues to see a steady supply of tourists, with attendance only down in 2008 because 2007 was the anniversary year of Elvis's death. Graceland will undergo more developments and improvements in the years to come.

The anniversary of Elvis's birthday is more joyous to celebrate than his death, one would imagine. His first birthday on January 8, 1934 is when the whole Elvis phenomenon technically kicked off, after all.

The anniversary of his death, on August 16, is a bit more mournful, especially considering what Presley had become by then. But it may not be so sad for those who are in the "Elvis is still alive" camp.

Still, Elvis's birthday is another occasion to celebrate the King's life, especially when it was facing happier times.

Sources

Elvis.com- "The Elvis Presley Birthday Celebration" www.elvis.com/graceland/calendar/elvis_birthday.asp

UPI.com- "Elvis business good, despite economy"

Macy's will shutter 11 stores in 9 states

Looks like macy's is hurting even worse than most originally thought. It has yet to be said if they will continue to host the thanksgiving parade in the future. Hopefully within time they will be able to reclaim their lost stores.

Macy's will close 11 underperforming stores in 9 states; Dec. same-store sales fall 4 percent

* Mae Anderson, AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Department-store operator Macy's Inc. said Thursday it will close 11 underperforming stores in nine states -- affecting 960 employees -- and lowered its forecast for the fourth quarter after one of the weakest holiday seasons in years.

Stores slated to close include locations in Los Angeles, West Palm Beach, Fla., Nashville, Tenn., and St. Louis, among others. Cincinnati-based Macy's Inc. says the closures will cost about $65 million, most of which will be booked in the 2008 fourth quarter.

Clearance sales at the stores begin next week.

"These closings are part of our normal-course process to prune underperforming locations each year in order to maintain a healthy portfolio of stores," said Macy's Chief Executive Terry J. Lundgren in a statement.

Employees at the stores that are closing may be considered for open positions at other Macy's stores, the company said.

Department-store operators have been among the harder-hit in the retail sector as consumers cut back amid the recession, hunting for bargains and trading down to discounters.

Macy's reported Thursday that its December sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, fell 4 percent -- still not as bad as the 5.3 percent drop analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting.

Total sales for the five-week period ended Jan. 3 fell 5 percent to $4.4 billion from $4.61 billion last year.

Same-store sales fell 7.5 percent during the combined November and December holiday period. Macy's said the holiday season ended with improving sales in the fourth and fifth weeks of December but that sales were sluggish before that.

The company said it marked items down sharply in the fourth quarter to gain sales and reduce its inventories, but that hurt its margins and led it to lower its profit forecast for the fourth quarter and full year.

Macy's now expects earnings of 90 cents to $1 per share in the fourth quarter, down from its previous guidance of $1.10 to $1.30 per share. Analysts expect earnings of $1.11 per share.

For the full year, the company now expects to earn $1.10 to $1.20 per share, down from its previous forecast of $1.30 to $1.50 per share. Analysts expect a profit of $1.35 per share.

Steve Jobs Death Rumor A Hoax! Jobs Is Alive

Wow I wonder who is behind this. Can somebody tell me where Bill Gates was at this time. I wonder if this was just another hacker trying to be funny, corporate espionage, or somebody who was trying to short on Apple stock and found a way to try and make some big money. Anyway you slice it, it is pretty bad that you are trying to tell the world that the person who brought us the ipod is dead. Steve Jobs is alilve of course.

by Mitch Marconi

Surfacing rumors of Steve Jobs death have been going around the internet as of late. MacRumors, one of many cover sites for Apple's annual Macworld prodcut launches, was apparently hacked.

The people who hacked MacRumors made false news of Steve Jobs' death. Valleywag.com had posted an image of what the hacked page looked like. Steve Jobs is still alive, despite is weight loss he is working on himself currently according to reports.

Could the hackers been trying to spook people? Many fix the stocks? Who knows, but hopefully the criminals are caught.

U.N. protests school hit as Israel attacks intensify

The Israeli military stepped up its offensive in Gaza Tuesday, surrounding densely populated Gaza City with its ground forces after at least 50 air strikes pounded the region overnight.

The United Nations said one Israeli air attack struck an elementary school in Gaza City where hundreds of Palestinians had taken shelter, killing three men.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency said Asma Elementary school was clearly marked as a U.N. installation. It said over 400 people had been given shelter at the school when it was hit Monday night.

"Well before the current fighting, UNRWA had given to the Israeli authorities the GPS (global positioning system) co-ordinates of all its installations in Gaza, including Asma Elementary School," the agency said in a news release.

"UNRWA is strongly protesting these killings to the Israeli authorities and is calling for an immediate and impartial investigation," it added.

Other air strikes hit the homes of people linked to Hamas, including the Wadi family in Jabalya, Hamas security sources said. Eight people were killed in that strike. An overnight air strike hit the Jabalya home of Imad Siam, one of the leaders of Hamas' military wing. Another attack hit the home of a Hamas-affiliated family in Gaza City, killing at least three, according to an eyewitnesses.

Israel claimed Tuesday to have killed 130 Hamas fighters since beginning a ground offensive at the weekend.

As its forces continued to encircle Gaza City -- which has a population of about half a million people -- European diplomats swarmed into the region trying to pull together the elements for a cease-fire. But neither Israel or Hamas has showed any real interest in international calls for a truce.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told French President Nicholas Sarkozy Monday that Israel wanted a "full solution" to the conflict, not just a cease-fire that allowed Hamas to fortify itself, Mark Regev, Olmert's spokesman said.

"Before the last cease-fire with Hamas began, Hamas had missiles with a range of 20 kilometers," Regev said Tuesday. "By the end of the cease-fire, the range of the missiles grew to 40 kilometers. Israel does not want the next cease-fire to allow them to get missiles with a range of 60 kilometers."

A Hamas rocket penetrated farther than ever before into Israel on Tuesday, landing in the town of Gadera, about 36 kilometers (23 miles) north of the Gaza border, the Israeli military said. On Monday, a rocket hit a kindergarten in Ashdod, about 26 kilometers (16 miles) north of Gaza.

Hamas had fired 30 rockets at Israel by Tuesday afternoon, the Israeli military said. Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida warned Israel that the militants would continue rocket attacks "for many months" and vowed to strike deeper into Israeli territory.

Three Israeli soldiers were killed in northern Gaza late Monday in a "friendly fire" incident involving an explosion from a tank shell that hit a building the troops were in, bringing the Israeli troop deaths from the Gaza ground operation to five, the military said. Two dozen troops were wounded in the explosion -- one critical, three severely.

With no end in sight to the conflict, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated. Hundreds of wounded people swarmed into Gaza's largest hospital and scores of Gazans headed for the morgues -- where two bodies are crammed into each drawer.

"Everybody here is terrorized by the situation," John Ging, the director of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in Gaza told CNN, from Gaza City. "There's no place that you can be safe if you're a civilian here. It's not safe in your home.

The Israeli military said another 80 trucks with humanitarian aid would be allowed to pass into Gaza on Tuesday at the Kerem Shalom crossing

According to Palestinian medical sources, at least 23 people were killed in Gaza on Tuesday, bringing the Palestinian death toll to 555 since Israel launched its operation on December 27. Most of the deaths are militants, but include at least 100 civilians, the sources said. Another 2,750 Palestinians have been injured, most of them civilians, the sources said.

The Israeli ground assault was launched Saturday night. Israel says it is the second phase of an operation to stop militants from firing rockets and mortars into southern Israel.

The incursion followed eight days of air strikes on the territory to stop the rocket attacks, which have killed four Israelis since the military operation began.

FBI jobs, homeland security jobs looking to Hire

I am going to have to apply for one of these jobs I think. I always wanted to be in law enforcement, but I could never take the time off from work to go to the academy. I always needed the money I was currently earning.

By Terry Frieden

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Despite a bleak economic environment featuring wide-ranging layoffs and rising unemployment, the nation's premier law enforcement agency is touting "one of the largest hiring blitzes in our 100-year history."

The FBI is about to embark on its biggest hiring spree since immediately after the September 11, 2001.

The FBI posted openings for 850 special agents and more than 2,100 professional support personnel. Officials say it's the largest FBI job posting since immediately after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The FBI's unexpectedly large number of job openings results more from attrition and a wave of retirements than from growing government appropriations, Bureau officials told CNN.

The FBI routinely advertises openings for individuals with critical skills in computer science and language fluency. But John Raucci, assistant director of the FBI's Human Resources Division, says current needs are much more wide-ranging.

"We're also looking for professionals in a wide variety of fields who have a deep desire to help protect our nation from terrorists, spies and others who wish us harm," Raucci said.

The lengthy list of openings includes positions in finance and accounting, security, intelligence analysis, training and education, nursing and counseling, physical surveillance, electrical engineering, physical and social sciences, and auto mechanics.

Procedures for applying and a full listing of available positions are posted on the Web site fbijobs.gov.

"This is a great time to apply for a great job in the FBI," said the bureau's chief spokesman, Richard Kolko.

Officials note at least a few jobs are currently available in every one of the FBI's 56 field offices across the nation.

The FBI lists openings throughout the year, but seldom has anything close to the current number of available positions.

The present job postings expire on January 16, but a new, possibly smaller set of openings will be posted shortly thereafter, the agency said.

Steve Jobs has hormone imbalance, will remain CEO

I wonder what this is going to do to their stock now? Hopefully not much or it can go higher for all I care. I have some. I am surprised that they Apple finally came out and said something. Sure everyone has known something has been up for awhile now, but they are usually very secretive about everything.

By ANDREW VANACORE

NEW YORK – Apple Inc. founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs, a survivor of pancreatic cancer, said Monday that a hormonal imbalance is to blame for the weight loss that has prompted worries about his health.

Jobs, 53, said he will undergo a "relatively simple" treatment and will remain in charge of Apple.

"A hormone imbalance ... has been `robbing' me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy," Jobs said in a public letter, adding, "Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis."

Speculation about his health percolated in 2008 as Jobs appeared gaunt at public appearances. Those worries intensified after Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple said in December that Jobs would not be making his annual keynote address Tuesday in San Francisco at the Macworld conference.

Officially Apple said Jobs would not appear because this year will mark the company's last appearance at the show, which is run by a separate company, the IDG technology media group. Rather than have its CEO speak even as it prepared to wind down its participation in Macworld, Apple said Phil Schiller, an Apple marketing executive, would give the company's presentation.

But while some analysts expected this week's Macworld to help Apple show it could execute its long-term strategy without Jobs as its public face, others have questioned the company's viability without Jobs, who has emphasized the design principles that made standouts out of Apple's Mac computers, iPods and iPhones.

Investors appeared happy to have some clarity on his health. Apple's shares rose $3.42, 3.8 percent, to $94.17 in morning trading.

In his statement, Jobs said, "The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I've already begun treatment."

He added, "Just like I didn't lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this spring to regain it."

The company's board released a statement separately, saying, "Apple is very lucky to have Steve as its leader and CEO, and he deserves our complete and unwavering support during his recuperation. He most certainly has that from Apple and its Board."

Jobs announced in 2004 that he had undergone successful surgery to treat a form of pancreatic cancer — an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor. The cancer is extremely rare and easily cured if diagnosed early. Jobs did not have a deadlier and more common form of pancreatic cancer, called adenocarcinoma.

John Travolta's Son Jett Dead at 16

You always hate to hear when something like this happens to anybody. Our condolences to the Travolta Family.

NASSAU, Bahamas - John Travolta's teenage son, Jett, died in the Bahamas after falling ill and hitting his head at his family's vacation home, police said Friday. A house caretaker found Jett, 16, unconscious in a bathroom late Friday morning. He was taken by ambulance to a Freeport hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to a statement from chief police superintendent Basil Rahming.

The teenager had last been seen going into the bathroom on Thursday and had a history of seizures, according to the statement. Police said they are planning an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Another police spokeswoman, Loretta Mackey, said Jett apparently hit his head on the bathtub.

A spokeswoman for Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport said she could not release any information because of privacy concerns.

Jett was the oldest child of Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, who also have an 8-year-old daughter. The family arrived on a private plane Tuesday and had been vacationing at their home in the Old Bahama Bay resort community.

"The Travolta family has become like family to us at Old Bahama Bay and we extend our deepest sympathies to them," said Robert Gidel, president of Ginn Resorts, the property's owner.