Abner Pinder' s wife, Ruth, keeps these two attached two- bedroom houses as spotless as her own. A tiny, private sand beach overlooking the ocean is just steps from the patio. A house rental includes the discounted use of a golf cart so you can explore the . . . Originally deeded in 1796 and built by Thomas W.

Johnson, Briland' s first doctor and justice of the peace, this handsome seven- bedroom B& B, in a garden filled with bougainvillea, royal poincianas, and hibiscus, thrives thanks to the loving preservation . . . How many times can you say Wow in one vacation? Let us count the ways at Cape Eleuthera Resort and Yacht Club. Nestled between the aquamarine and emerald waters of Rock and Exuma sounds, gigantic town homes have two bright bedrooms, each with full bath, . . . An elegant yet energetic flair accents this 9- acre oceanfront resort, right on the pink- sand beach.

The main lobby is a study in British colonial style, while the billiard room off the bar attracts a younger hipper crowd. Guest rooms are spread out over . . . Facing west into the sunset, overlooking beautiful Governor' s Harbour, two colonial cottages and a two- story home built in the 1850s are surrounded by a tropical garden with a superb orchid collection. John and Kay Duckworth bought the compound from a . . . This gated residential community and resort has 42 villas, including privately owned homes, and 20 villas available as guest accommodations.

The two- story villas painted in pastel colors have magnificent harbor views of Elizabeth Harbour, and range from . . . This luxurious 78- villa complex boasts one of the island' s few spas, an infinity pool overlooking the ocean, and a poolside patio restaurant. A secluded patch of Emerald Bay Beach is right off the pool, and guests can use kayaks and snorkel equipment. . . .

Laid out on undeveloped Stocking Island is this eco- hotel that is 100% solar powered— though everything still works when the weather' s overcast. Wood cottages have louvered jalousie windows with dark- green shutters and private spacious decks with ocean . . . Jean Davies and her son Pierre own these four tidy apartments on an acre of land across the street from Laughing Bird Beach.

It' s a scenic walk from here to the bank, restaurants, library, and two Internet cafes on Cupid' s Cay. Linens and crockery . . . Palm Bay, one of George Town' s most modern accommodations, is all about light and color.

The bungalows have brightly painted, gingerbread- trim exteriors ( like turquoise with hibiscus pink) and cheerfully sunny interiors with one or two bedrooms. There are . . . Set back on 80 acres of manicured wilderness, and across the street from a pink- sand Atlantic beach, Pineapple Fields is the perfect base for a disappearing act. Hole up in one of 32 condo units, each with front and back verandas, a full kitchen, and a . . .

Immaculate, generously sized cottages, some octagonal— all with large private porches— have sweeping views of the ocean. The resort was renovated in 2009 by new Canadian owners. The restaurant is one of the island' s best, and islanders drive great distances . . . Soft pink with hunter- green shutters, this handsome two- story guesthouse overlooks Kidd Cove from its own petite island. Connected to George Town by a short causeway, the property is only a five- minute walk from town but far enough from the fray to have a . . .

Set on gorgeous rolling grounds, this quiet seaside inn feels far removed from the rest of the island, which is precisely the point. This is not a place you' ll be waited on hand and foot. Rather, longtime guests appreciate the lived- in quality of this . . .

Each of the rustic cottages on this property, owned by the Percentie family, are named after different islands of the Bahamas. The native theme continues inside the lodgings, where recently renovated rooms are individually decorated with simple beach . . . Just south of Governor' s Harbour near North Palmetto Point, this resort has large, tile- floor rooms. The round restaurant, with its pagoda- style natural- wood ceiling, wraparound covered deck, and panoramic view of the beach, makes this restaurant- bar a . . .

With the largest marina on Harbour Island, equipped with 51 slips capable of accommodating yachts up to 170 feet, this resort is ideal if you are a self- sufficient traveler or family that doesn' t require many amenities but enjoys spacious condo- style rooms . . .

Congress is trying to right a four- decade- old federal flood insurance program that was nearly sunk by Katrina and other 2005 hurricanes.

The House on Tuesday voted 406- 22 to add five years to the life of the and carry out changes, such as allowing a bump in premiums, to restore solvency to the agency that now owes some $ 17.

8 billion to the federal Treasury. The flood insurance program, a branch of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, enjoys bipartisan support but has been reeling in recent years both because of the huge costs of Katrina and the inability of Congress to act on needed changes. Since 2006 the has identified the flood insurance program as " high- risk" because of inadequate management and insufficient funds.

The bill, which has the support of the , now goes to the Senate. Speaking in support of the legislation, the first long- term extension of the flood insurance program since 2004, were several lawmakers from Mississippi and Missouri River area districts that have been hit hard this year by flooding. " It' s been a very tough spring for North Dakota, " said Rep.

Rick Berg, R- N. D. , who pushed an amendment that would protect homeowners who buy policies at least 30 days before their property is damaged even when declares that there is a flood in progress.

The legislation would make the program more fiscally sound by phasing in actuarially sound rates for policyholders and increasing the minimum deductible for properties. The flood insurance program would have more flexibility in raising premiums.

It reduces some subsidies and removes barriers that have kept private insurers from competing in the market. The bill also allows communities required to buy flood insurance because of the findings of new mapping to seek a suspension of that requirement for up to five years while they fix their flood protection systems.

The NFIP was founded in 1969 to allay the federal costs from flood disasters, and since then has paid more than $ 30 billion in claims. About 20, 000 communities across the country participate in the flood insurance program by carrying out floodplain management plans in exchange for federally backed flood insurance for homeowners, renters and businesses. With private insurers unwilling or unable to compete in the market, the federal government handles almost all flood insurance.

The program now has about 5. 6 million policies bringing in $ 3. 4 billion a year in premiums.

Supporters said the legislation, if enacted, would increase the flood insurance program' s income by about $ 4. 2 billion over 10 years. The NFIP said premiums average about $ 500 a year. The program was generally self- sustaining before 2005, but with the hurricane disasters of that year Congress increased its borrowing authority three times, from $ 1.

5 billion to $ 20. 8 billion. Without the reforms in the legislation, said its sponsor, Rep. Judy Biggert, R- Ill. , " homeowners and businesses will have limited or no access to flood insurance and Congress will inevitably have to bail out flood disaster victims as it did prior to 1968. " One of the few voices of dissent came from Rep.

Candice Miller, R- Mich. , who said the flood insurance program was a " boondoggle" that needs to be eliminated.

She said one percent of the properties in the program account for 40 percent of the claims because they repeatedly flood and the government subsidizes their reconstruction. A Miller amendment to terminate NFIP and allow states to form interstate compacts to provide insurance fell, 384- 38.

A Yemeni medical official says soldiers loyal to Yemen' s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, have stormed a protest camp in the southern city of Taiz and fired on the crowds indiscriminately, killing at least 20. After the attack on the anti- government protesters, residents say Yemen' s air force launched an offensive against Al Qaeda and Islamic militants who overran the city of Zinjibar.

Residents also told Reuters that Zinjibar was being shelled with artillery. Hospital sources told Reuters that at least 120 were wounded in the Taiz attack. The crowds gathered to demand the release of a fellow protester who was arrested Saturday, Reuters reports.

Security forces first tried to clear the square in Taiz with water cannons, tear gas and sound bombs, sending thousands rushing for shelter. Forces from the Republican Guard, which is commanded by one of Saleh' s sons, then moved in before dawn with tanks and bulldozers, said Sadek al- Shugaa, head of a field hospital at the protest camp. Republican Guard soldiers along with security forces and armed men in civilian clothes attacked the protesters. Some set fire to dozens of tents used by the protesters, and bulldozers ran over hundreds of other tents without checking whether any protesters were still inside, two witnesses said.

One of them, Mohammed al- Zarafi, said he saw tents being set on fire while injured protesters were still inside. The other witness, protester Boushra al- Maqtali, called the attack " a real massacre. " " The square and the ( field) hospital are in ruins, " she said. " The tanks took the place of hundreds of tents that were set up there.

The artillery units are occupying the whole space to make it impossible for the youth to return to the square, " she said. The violence took place in Freedom Square - - a popular gathering point for thousands of anti- government protesters that have been camping there since January to demand Saleh' s overthrow, Reuters reports.

As police set two tents in the square on fire, protesters responded by hurling molotov bombs and rocks at them. Troops also attacked the Majeedi Hotel overlooking the square, where journalists were detained, al- Shugaa said. Then snipers took over the top of the building to shoot at protesters.

Amateur video aired by Al- Jazeera TV showed masked men with rifles shooting from rooftops at the protesters in the street. Al- Shaga said " most of the injuries are critical in the head, chest and neck. " He said several dozen of the injured were dragged away by security forces and vanished.

The city of Taiz has been a hotbed of anti- government protests since crowds began calling for Saleh' s ouster in early February. In Zinjibar, resident Ali Dahmas says he saw fighter jets firing at the southern outskirts of the town and heard loud explosions that sent up columns of smoke. He spoke to The Associated Press by phone on Monday. Military units battled the militants in Zinjibar overnight and into the morning in an attempt to clear the fighters from the town, where they' ve blockaded themselves behind barricades and rocks.

Shelling killed at least four of the fighters, bringing the death toll there since Saturday to 34, according to an official at al- Razi hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to talk to journalists In the capital city of Sanaa, residents told Reuters that seven explosions were heard Sunday night, although no immediate details were available on their source.

A Yemeni rights activist said Sunday that a brigade of the powerful Republican Guard run by the son of Saleh has defected to the opposition in a southern province. It' s the first reported defection among the elite troops, which have been the core of Saleh' s hold on power despite three months of massive street protests and defections by some military and tribal allies. Activist Abdul- Rahman Ahmed says a letter from Brig. Gen.

Ibrahim al- Jayfi, commander of the Guard' s Ninth Brigade was read to thousands of protesters in the provincial capital of Damar on Sunday. Experts say the uprising' s future will be determined by the number of tribes and security forces that turn against Saleh.

Many already have, including the Hashid confederation, to which Saleh' s tribe belongs. Some army units have also left Saleh to back the protesters, though they did not join the fight against his forces. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Published May 31, 2011 Many make millions. Some are stars. But as the NFL lockout drags on, a few football players have said that life on the gridiron is really like being . . . a slave. Published May 19, 2011 They are like two quarterbacks looking for the end zone, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and player representative De. Maurice Smith.

Published May 17, 2011 The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled the NFL lockout can continue through the appeals process, until the next court hearing on June 3. That means the continuing legal scrimmage pitting owners against players will continue, with the dominating issue how they split billions.

Published May 04, 2011 Google' s unofficial motto may be " Don’ t Be Evil, " but a new book questions that pledge. Published April 20, 2011 Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the U. S. color- coded terror alert system will be replaced next week by two warnings - - elevated and imminent. Published April 15, 2011 Four prospective Republican candidates appeared together at a Tax Day- Tea Party rally in New Hampshire Friday, calling for lower taxes and major cuts in federal spending.

Published April 06, 2011 The defunct political advocacy group ACORN has pleaded guilty to one count of an election law violation in Las Vegas, Nevada. Published April 05, 2011 Minnesota resident Jim Stene voted last November - - and thought he was casting his ballot for President Gerald Ford. Published March 01, 2011 The United Nations General Assembly decided unanimously to suspend Libya' s membership on the Human Rights Council, a move that puts additional international pressure on Muammar al- Qaddafi.

Published February 16, 2011 Carolyn Bethea and Gloria Abner thought one buck would make them each homeowners.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. & # 8211; & nbsp; A Pennsylvania man has been sent to prison for at least seven years for shooting another man because the victim looked at his " very hot girlfriend. " The Morning Call of Allentown reports that 22- year- old Joel Ciprian was ordered Thursday to spend up to 15 years in prison for the September shooting of 45- year- old . Authorities say Ciprian told investigators that he began yelling at Stewart because he thought the man was checking out his girlfriend. Stewart was shot twice outside an Allentown bar and spent nearly three weeks in the hospital.

At his sentencing, Ciprian called the shooting accidental but Lehigh County Judge Robert Steinberg asked how that could be, since Stewart was shot twice. Ciprian says he meant to fire the shots into the air. Information from: The Morning Call, http: / / www. mcall. com

Wow. So & # 8220; Hurt Locker& # 8221; received nine Oscar nominations on Tuesday. An Iraq- war film that took in just $ 12 million at the box office now goes against mighty & # 8220; Avatar, & # 8221; which grossed nearly $ 2 billion, and also earned nine nominations.

Talk about your underdog story- - think & # 8220; Rocky, & # 8221; back in the 70s. And there& # 8217; s a great subplot, too: & # 8220; Locker& # 8221; was directed by , who happens to be the ex- wife of & # 8220; Avatar& # 8221; director . Next month at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, those dueling directors will see their names and their work cited in the & # 8220; best director& # 8221; category, as well as & # 8220; best picture. & # 8221; There& # 8217; s a whole movie here, just about these two moviemakers. But in terms of the big prize itself, & # 8220; Locker& # 8221; has the edge. It has been winning a string of critics& # 8217; awards for the past six months; just two days ago, Bigelow won the & # 8220; best director& # 8221; award from the Directors Guild of America ( DGA) .

Insiders consider that tantamount to victory; in 55 of the 61 years since the DGA has been giving out its own award, the DGA winner has also carried home the Oscar. But why the enthusiasm for & # 8220; Locker, & # 8221; which enjoyed only limited release last year? Let& # 8217; s start with the fact that it& # 8217; s a terrific movie; according to the critical compendium Web site , the film earned a 97 percent & # 8220; fresh& # 8221; rating. But there& # 8217; s a deeper reason. It has to do with the nature of the movie- - about Iraq, and about how the is changing in perceptions, as passions about the war cool down.

It was no secret that the bulk of , as well as the bicoastal chattering classes, were opposed to the war. Putting its politics on its sleeve, Hollywood made a string of anti- war movies- - & # 8220; Stop Loss, & # 8221; & # 8220; In the Valley of Elah, & # 8221; & # 8220; Rendition, & # 8221; and & # 8220; Lions for Lambs, & # 8221; including some big stars, such as , , , and Tommy Lee Jones- - and they were all failures. Why? Because Hollywood was on the wrong side of the public.

The public was by no means unanimous in its support of the war, but ticket- buyers did not want to see the military trashed. To be sure, Hollywoodites would say that these movies weren& # 8217; t anti- military, only anti- war, but that& # 8217; s too fine a distinction to make. To most people, to be loudly anti- war was to be at least quietly anti- military. And so, the Dixie Chicks, for example, were toast after their lead singer, Natalie Maines, attacked then- President George W.

Bush in March 2003, on the eve of . And Reese Witherspoon, America& # 8217; s sweetheart, badly hurt her career by playing the wife of an Arab accused- - falsely, of course- - of being a terrorist in & # 8220; Rendition. & # 8221; But now, for all practical purposes, the fighting is over in Iraq. And so what do we want the memory to be? Do we want to dump on the war, which is to say, dump on the troops?

Of course not. Instead, what& # 8217; s happening is an outpouring of just the opposite. & # 8220; Locker& # 8221; takes absolutely no position on the war. There& # 8217; s no politics, no discussion of Bush, or Cheney, or Rumsfeld, or even of 9/ 11. It& # 8217; s just taken as a given that this is what these men do: they fight. More precisely, they work in Explosive Ordnance Disposal ( EOD) , and so they are, literally, lifesavers.

The men are presented as technicians, coolly doing a cool job- - if you think of life on the edge as cool. ( Which, of course, many people do, especially if they are young and male. ) But the & # 8220; Locker& # 8221; - men are more than technicians. They are heroes. Competent, yes, but courageous beyond any regular comprehension. So by that reckoning, & # 8220; Locker& # 8221; would rate as pro- war, because the warriors are presented as better versions of ourselves.

Any one of us would want the men of & # 8220; Locker& # 8221; by our side in a fight. And it is all men; women play only the tiniest of roles in the film. & # 8220; Locker& # 8221; has the same dynamic as a male sports team - - and male sports are popular, too, even with women.

We have seen this retrospective love- bombing before, in the wake of Vietnam.

Back in the 60s, when the war was raging, Hollywood opposed the war ( yes, had enough muscle to make & # 8220; The Green Berets& # 8221; in 1968, and the film was reasonably successful, but Hollywood hated the war so much that there was no sequel) . Instead, Hollywood made mostly anti- Vietnam allegories, in which bad Americans in other wars stood in for the bad Americans in Vietnam- - for example, & # 8220; Little Big Man, & # 8221; presenting General Custer as a Lieutenant Calley- like baby- killer.

After the war ended in 1975, Hollywood ventured forth with the anti- Vietnam & # 8220; Coming Home, & # 8221; starring- - who else? - - . But the film, which showed by- the- book military types as psychoes, gained little traction. The big Vietnam movie, post- Vietnam, was & # 8220; The Deer Hunter, & # 8221; appearing in 1978. It portrayed the Americans as naive good guys, while the Vietnamese were shown as cartoonishly villainous.

If the Vietnamese weren& # 8217; t worth helping, the movie seemed to say, why should be sorry that we are no longer fighting for them? There was a comforting message to American audiences. & # 8220; Deer Hunter& # 8221; was nominated for nine Oscars, winning five, including best picture and best director. The Hollywoodites saw their chance to reconnect with the American people- - and they jumped on it. So now, why is & # 8220; Hurt Locker& # 8221; doing so well among the critics and chatterers? Answer: Because it& # 8217; s quietly pro- war.

After another divisive war, Hollywood has a chance to get back in the good graces of the American people, who always want to see our fighting men portrayed positively. James P.

Pinkerton is a writer and founder/ editor of . He is a Fox News contributor.