Governor Napolitano To Go to Washington!

President-elect Barack Obama has turned to Arizona to find the next head of the Department of Homeland Security. Gov. Janet Napolitano has accepted the invitation to join Obama’s Cabinet. If approved by Congress, Napolitano will head to Washington, D.C., after Obama’s inauguration Jan. 20.

“I am humbled and honored by President-elect Obama’s invitation, and I am proud to accept it,” Napolitano expressed in a statement. “I believe that when called upon to serve—particularly at such a critical time in the history of our country—it is my duty as a citizen to step forward and say, ‘Yes.’”

Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer is preparing to step into the role of governor to serve Napolitano’s remaining two years. Brewer would become the fourth woman to serve as governor in Arizona. Republican Brewer will work with a state legislature led by her party when Democrat Napolitano steps down. Napolitano has held the office for six years.

In her statement, Napolitano urged support for Brewer as the new governor will face a challenging job during a difficult time. Napolitano says she will continue to work for Arizona, but “from a different place.”

The Department of Homeland Security was created after the terror attacks of Sept.11, 2001.

Its mission is to protect the United States from dangers and to prepare citizens for emergencies, including natural disasters. The secretary of Homeland Security is responsible for announcing any changes in the color-coded terror alert system and also oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Barbie Gets an Early Christmas Present!

In the battle of the dolls, Barbie’s biggest competition might be going away.

After a four-year battle in federal court, a judge ruled this month that Barbie can wave goodbye to Jade, Chloe, Sasha, Yasmine and all the other Bratz!

Mattel Inc., the biggest toy maker of all-time, owns Barbie. Back in July, a jury found that doll designer Carter Bryant came up with the design of the sassy and big-eyed Bratz dolls when he was supposed to be working exclusively for Mattel. Instead, Bryant took his designs to MGA Entertainment Inc., a RIVAL toy maker.

Barbie, who turns 50 in February, holds almost every sales record in doll history. But the more modern, edgy Bratz won a huge following of kids and teens when they made their debut in 2001. Mattel claims that the Bratz line has brought MGA more than $775 million so far, which has eaten into Barbie’s sales. Overall, the fashion doll industry is huge, bringing in about $2 billion a year.

The jury awarded $100 million to Mattel from MGA. On top of that, Judge Stephen Larson ordered that MGA must stop producing its full line of 40 Bratz dolls and eventually remove them from store shelves! The ruling hands the rights to Bratz over to Mattel, and a lawyer for the company says it will also control Bratz.com.

But the judge has put his order on hold until February. This gives MGA time to appeal the case to a higher federal court in hopes of a better outcome. It also gives MGA and Mattel a chance to come up with a peaceful agreement on what will happen with the Bratz line.

Toy experts say that Barbie and Mattel are in the driver’s seat when it comes to deciding the future of Bratz.

Is Shaq Sinking Suns?

There's a new big man in town; the Phoenix Suns are betting he's the spark they need to win the playoffs.

One of the biggest stars in the NBA universe, Shaquille O'Neal, is now wearing purple and orange. And both Shaq and the Suns have a lot to prove. Shaq, who just turned 36 and has endured knee and hip injuries, wants to show he's still a big force in the NBA. His critics say that the Diesel is too old and too slow for a high-octane, blazingly fast team like the Suns.

During the regular season, the Suns are one of the toughest teams in the West. And while fans love the Suns' exciting and high-scoring brand of basketball, led by two-time League MVP point guard Steve Nash, the team has never won the NBA Finals.

The Suns believe that Shaq is the piece that's been missing. At 7 feet 1 inch tall and 325 pounds, Shaq gives the Suns a true center who grabs rebounds, plays tough defense and passes the ball well. Up till now, Amare Stoudamire has been stuck playing center for the Suns, even though he's really one of the best power forwards in the game. With Shaq in at center, Stoudamire is freed up to do what he does best!

"Psychologically it really helps us out. Guys are much more willing to go to the boards and fight around the basket with Shaq in there," explains Head Coach Mike D'Antoni.

Fans love Shaq's superstar qualities. The big guy has won four NBA Finals and was MVP for three of them! But the Suns have lost their winning ways since Shaq started playing on Feb. 20. In the trade for Shaq, the Suns gave up All-Star forward Shawn Marion, who said he wanted to be traded at the beginning of the season. For years, Marion had been a clutch scorer. As of press time, the Suns have won just two of their last six games and have fallen to fifth place in the Western Conference. Fans wonder whether it's growing pains with the big guy or could it be a bad fit?

'Doomsday Vault' Opens for Business!

SVALBARD ARCHIPELAGO, Norway-Imagine a bank that's so far north that polar bears outnumber the people living there! The bank is located on Norway's Svalbard archipelago just 620 miles from the North Pole. As you may have guessed, it's cold there. During winter's around-the-clock darkness, temperatures can fall to -22° Fahrenheit.

The bank was blasted into the side of an arctic mountain and has reinforced concrete walls to help protect its valuable deposits from natural disasters, global warming and even a nuclear explosion. Welcome to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault-also called the "Doomsday Vault" by the press!

You can find seedbanks all over the world. Native Seeds/SEARCH is a seedbank here in Arizona. Its mission is to protect the diversity of local seed used in farming and their wild relatives. "We have nearly 2,000 varieties in our seedbank, mainly corn, beans and squash," explains Carolyn Owens, who works on grants for the seedbank. "Just like the seedbank in Norway, the seeds need to be kept cold, so they're stored in a freezer," she says. Seeds for the bank come from southwestern states and northern Mexico.

Seedbanks help protect our food supply from the "what ifs" in life-like what if there's drought; what if a disease attacks a certain kind of wheat, or what if global warming changes what can grow around here?

Modern farming has led to fewer and fewer varieties of crops. This has brought about many varieties of food crops being lost forever, and Owens says it's alarming. "It's just more cost effective to grow a single variety...but you don't know what disease is going to come along down the road," she says. A disease could wipe out an entire variety of a crop, leading to food shortages. But if there are enough other seed varieties, like wheat for instance, one of those types of wheat may turn out to be resistant to the disease.

Owens points out that a lot of seedbanks are in politically unstable areas like Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq, and have been looted or destroyed. In the Phillipines, a flood wiped out the country's seedbank.

That's why the Svalbard Global Seedbank was created-to protect the diversity of seeds no matter what happens in the world. Countries can "deposit" different varieties of seeds. If a disaster jeopardizes crops, the country can make a "withdrawal" of seeds.

The vault was built by Norway at a cost of about $3 million. Because seeds are so small, the "Doomsday Vault" can hold up to 2 billion seeds!