Consumer Reports

Do you know someone who collects coins? The U.S. Mint launched a new collectible coin program this year called America the Beautiful , and they’re about to issue a new coin in the series.

Our winners are such rockin’ photographers, I can’t even pick a favorite, so I’m posting all the winning entries for you to enjoy. Thanks to everyone who entered the Celebrate America Photo Contest ! We had well over 100 entries and we’re so happy that so many joined us in honoring the birthday of the United States of America. photo submitted by Amanda Stainslaw photo submitted by Maria Brea-Spahn photo submitted by Ben Y. Shaw photo submitted by Debra Vanderlaan photo submitted by Ethan Watts photo submitted by Amida Gallito photo submitted by Bin H. Lee photo submitted by Diane Ziegler photo submitted by Dallas G. Wittgenfeld

My mom used to tell her school friends that she was related to the actor, Roy Rogers. She wasn’t. As a kid I used to tell people I was half German, half English, half Irish, and half American. Knowing these two things, you could extrapolate that my family tree contains liars and people that can’t do fractions. On my dad’s side, it was believed that my first ancestor in America was born in Germany, because he spoke German. Some relatives said he came to America with a brother and that they were from Frankfurt, Germany. However, these details turned out to be incorrect.

Acknowledge the hard work and commitment of America’s teachers!

There is no ladies’ night in Vancouver . At least not at the ski jump competition . While we may have earned the right to vote , anchor the national nightly news , and nearly took up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, we still can’t ski jump in Olympic competition . As a person who shudders upon hearing the word “rollercoaster” it’s not like this bothers me on a personal level because my skills are being witheld from the world. But it did make me curious… What makes things interesting is apparently, chicks are pretty good at this. In fact, the person who holds the record for the longest jump off the Whistler, B.C.’s ski jump (which was built for the 2010 Olympic Games) is a woman- Lindsey Van . It seems that women aren’t allowed to ski jump at the Olympics pretty much because that’s the way it has always been. While women ski jumpers have petitioned for inclusion since the 1998 Nagano games, it’s been repeatedly denied. The two major requirements for becoming an Olympic sport are: having a world championship and a sizeable number of athletes worldwide. Women’s ski jumping has had a world championship for years, and while it can easily be said that America’s children aren’t bashing down doors to go ski jump, the sport has more participants than the recently added event called ski cross. Go figure. What are your thoughts on this? Are you aware of any other scenarios today that exclude women ?

George Washington’s birthday is a federal holiday–also known as Presidents’ Day–celebrated on the third Monday in February. Learn more about America’s presidents on WhiteHouse.gov.

A consumer survey commissioned by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) revealed widespread misunderstanding of general purpose gift cards, also sometimes called bank or cash gift cards, and most of which are issued by Visa, Mastercard, or American Express. Only 33 percent of a representative sample of 1004 adult Americans know how much these cards cost to purchase, and only 54 percent are aware that ’six to twelve months after purchase, some of these gift cards charge a monthly fee.’

Our guest blogger today is

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today a ban on cigarettes with flavors characterizing fruit, candy, or clove. The ban, authorized by the new Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is part of a national effort by the FDA to reduce smoking in America.

Preserve and protect America’s national heritage by volunteering to plant trees, remove trash and invasive plants, and help build trails at public lands near you.