During  his third State of the Union Address, President Obama encouraged  the US Congress on Wednesday (Manila time) to submit  to him for his signature a bill that will utilize  a combination of tax incentives and disincentives created to make American and multinational firms in the US produce  jobs in that country instead of overseas.

In addition to that, the US President also asked the US Congress to pass immigration legislation that would permit  young people in America from  foreign descent to obtain a  US citizenship.
 
“The opponents of action are out of excuses.  We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now.  But if election-year politics keeps Congress from acting on a comprehensive plan, let’s at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, defend this country.  Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship.  I will sign it right away,” the US president said.

On Tuesday, it was announced that the  captain of a luxury liner Costa Concordia which ran aground off the coast of Italy last week will be removed  from prison but instead to be  put under house arrest, his defense lawyer told journalists on Tuesday.

Judge Valeria Montesarchio ordered  that Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino should be placed under house arrest, lawyer Bruno Leporatti said.

Schettino is still on hold  waiting for the  trial on allegations  of multiple homicide and abandoning ship while passengers were still on board.     He was detained since  Saturday when chief prosecutor Francesco Verusio said he was an escape risk.

The vast Costa Concordia cruise ship carrying over 4,000 passengers flipped sideways after hitting a rock .  Around  11 people have died and 29 are still missing.

Record shows  that the number of US pedestrians who have been hurt or killed  because of  wearing headphones has tripled in six years, according to a study published Tuesday.

The yearly tally has increased  from 16 in 2004 to 47 in 2011, making the total of cases to 116 over this period, say the authors.

More than half of the incidents linked to pedestrians who were run down by trains.

Two-thirds of the victims were males and under the age of 30.

The research which was published in the British journal Injury Prevention, was lead  by Richard Lichenstein of the University of Maryland Hospital for Children in Baltimore.

The probe  of US accident statistics covered iPods, MP3 players and other musical devices. Meanwhile it did not include mobile phones.

 The  huge cruise liner accident off the coast of Italy is not just a disaster for the ship’s owners, however, it could also affect  the industry which is already facing stiff headwinds.

On Friday, the Costa Concordia, carrying  more than 4,000 people on board, flipped on its side when it hit  a rock on Friday night  near an  island of Giglio, off Italy’s west coast.

 Around five people were reported dead in the accident.

Good news for job hunters out there!

Excel Service Holdings, a New York-based global provider of outsourcing and transformation services made an announcement that  they will be adding an additional facility in the Philippines.

The opening  will give operations in insurance, healthcare, customer service, finance, accounting and legal services, which will most likely  create about a thousand high-level jobs in the Philippines.

Currently, Excel Services  in the Philippines has already employed 1,500 professionals.

Meanwhile, a report from the US Labor Department yesterday  states that an increase of 24,000 more people filing for unemployment benefits last week.
 

Giving up is the last thing on his mind.

Mexican boxer Erik "El Terible" Morales is calling out  for a fourth fight against Filipino boxing champion Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao after  his two losses in their trilogy.

Morales was the last man to beat  Pacquiao, accepting  a unanimous decision win against the Filipino boxer in March 2009.

However, Pacquiao was dominant in their two subsequent rematches, knocking out Morales in the 10th round of their second fight and then in the third round of their trilogy fight.

Ignoring  those two losses, Morales  continued his boxing career, succeeding  a title at the junior welterweight division. In an interview with Boxing Scene, he said  that he wants to face  Pacquiao for a fourth time, to fight  for his poor showing in their second and third fights.

"I accepted a fight with Pacquiao in a division where I knew I couldn’t make a weight," Morales said, referring to their bouts in the super featherweight division. "My life outside the ring was in shambles."

"I wasn’t in shape for the Pacquiao fights, because I wasn’t putting my full concentration on boxing," he added.

Morales claimed  that he still has what it takes to beat Pacquiao again.

Starting to push the  US businesses to stop outsourcing  overseas, President Barack Obama appealed to the public  as he revealed  a new election-year theme on Saturday focused at courting middle-class voters.
 
In his weekly radio and video address, Obama gave an idea about  an event he will hold next week with business executives to emphasize  the advantages of investing in the United States.

"We’ll hear from business leaders who are bringing jobs back home and see how we can help other businesses follow their lead," Obama said.
 
The forum in White House forum  "Insourcing American Jobs" will happen  on Wednesday.  Officials  from more than a dozen companies willcome, even the  padlock maker Master Lock, furniture company Lincolnton Furniture, software application developer GalaxE Solutions, and chemicals company DuPont.
 

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum will be coming  to Manila next week to meet with his valuable  fighter Manny Pacquiao.

Arum said the meeting will be all about Pacman’s  options for 2012.

"I’m going to the Philippines on January 8, and I should be there on January 10. I’m going to shortly, thereafter, meet with Manny," Arum said in RingTV.com.

“We’re going to be offering Manny four potential opponents – [Miguel] Cotto, [Juan Manuel] Marquez, [Timothy] Bradley and [Lamont] Peterson," he added.

Arum added that the selection process will start  after their discussion.

Pacquiao plans  to make his comeback  to the boxing ring in May or June.   

 Second-generation North Korean dictatorKim Jong Il, who defied global condemnation to create nuclear weapons even when his people were starving, has died, Yonhap News reported. He was 70.
 
 The news was reported through a radio broadcast at noon local time, Yonhap reported, quoting North Korea’s official media. Kim who had a stroke in August 2008 and may have also contracted pancreatic cancer, according to South Korean news reports.

Every good deed has its measure.  On Sunday, CNN readers awarded  FilAm Robin Lim as ’2011 Hero of the Year.’

Lim, "Mother Robin" or "Ibu Robin" as she is called by the locals, is the founder of Evry Mother counts and  has delivered more than 4,000 babies for free in Indonesia.

Apart from the recognition was a $250,000 grand prize for her work with Yayasan Bumi Sehat (Healthy Mother Earth Foundation). The foundation gives free prenatal care, birthing services and medical aid in Indonesia. There,  mothers face a high mortality rate because they often can’t afford proper care, CNN reports.

"Today, on our earth, 981 mothers in the prime of their life will die," Lim said after receiving her award. "All of us can help change that. We can save lives together, mothers and babies. Every mother counts and healthcare is a human right."
"I do believe we can build world peace — one baby, one mother at a time," Lim said during the ceremony. "I found my life’s purpose really is love. If I wasn’t living for love, every minute of every day, what is the point?"