Good morning Qcity! As you can see, it’s going to be another wet and rainy day around Charlotte. The weather man is calling for clouds, showers and thundershowers with a high around 73°. Tonight, a stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Lows will be in the high 50’s.

Here’s what’s brewing in the news:

Obama raises a toast to more jobs

President Barack Obama’s $447 billion job-creation package of tax cuts and new spending was defeated Tuesday in the U.S. Senate. The bill fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance in the 100-member Senate. The initial tally had been 51-48, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid switched his vote to "nay" so that he could force a future revote. 

In a statement, the president said the vote was not the end of the fight to pass the measure. He accused Republicans of obstruction and said he will work with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to ensure that the individual proposals in the bill get a vote as soon as possible.

"Tonight's vote is by no means the end of this fight," Obama said in a statement after the vote. "With so many Americans out of work and so many families struggling, we can’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Fox News reports that on the day of the vote, Obama, who has been campaigning in Florida, met four unemployed construction workers in Orlando for a round of beers to solicit opinions on the jobs situation. He said he was trying to figure out how to get the construction trades back to work. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/11/obama-joins-unemployed-men-for-beers-as-jobs-bill-is-defeated/

The three unemployed pipe fitters and one unemployed plumber drank beer and soda; Obama had a Guinness. They all toasted "to more jobs."
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Irate crowd jams Duke hearing

Duke Energy’s proposal to increase rates by 15 percent for North Carolina customers was met with heavy opposition by an overflow crowd at last night’s hearing before the N.C. Utilities Commission. During the four-hour hearing, over 40 speakers took to the microphone. Many were irate about the timing of the rate increase, as many customers are already struggling in a troubled economy. They also took issue with the $6.9 million salary of Duke’s chief executive. “All around us, people are struggling to find enough to eat while (CEO) Jim Rogers' pay went up 25 percent in 2010," said Tommy George, a small business owner in Charlotte. Others insisted Duke needs the additional revenue for the wrong reasons - to continue burning fossil fuels and investing in nuclear power instead of moving toward renewable energy. (Read more) 
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Bump that, Beyonce says her belly is real

Ever since Beyoncé announced her pregnancy during the MTV Music Video Awards, rumors have been swirling that she is faking her baby bump by wearing a prosthetic stomach. The buzz that a surrogate is carrying her child heightened after photos and the following video clip surfaced online that appeared to show her bulging mid-section collapse as she sat down during an appearance on an Australian talk show. Although the pop diva seldom responds to the rumor mill, her spokesperson Yvette Noel-Schure, made a statement calling the fake-bump rumors "stupid, ridiculous and false."

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