**Mitch** Swine flu vaccines are being delayed on the Texas State campus. Thanks for watching Bobcat Update. I'm Mitch Shubert. **Summer** And I'm Summer Ratliff. We'll also show you what Texas State students are doing to get ready for graduation. **Summer** The Texas State Student Health Center will not receive its shipment of the H-one-N-one flu vaccine on time. The vaccine was set to arrive on October 25th but now could be delayed until December. Texas State has 22-thousand doses of the vaccine on reserve. According to the University Star, reports of flu-like symptoms on campus have gone down in the past month. Even though the seasonal flu has had a greater impact than the H-one-N-one strain this season, people are encouraged to continue washing their hands on a regular basis and cover their mouths when coughing. **Mitch** It's tough for smokers to give up the habit, but every year the Great American Smokeout is held to encourage them to do just that. At Texas State University, the Quad was a hub of activity today Ð all in an effort to promote healthier lifestyles. Free lung function tests were offered, and T-shirts were traded with those who would give a pack of cigarettes. Also, the Student Health Center gave coupons to those who want help to stop smoking. It's estimated that smoking kills 50 people every hour as it contributes to heart and lung diseases, which can be prevented. **Summer** Students are standing up to the Winter Challenge. The Winter Challenge is an initiative to discourage students from driving under the influence of alcohol during the holidays. The Network is a peer group at Texas State, which is leading the challenge to educate students about living healthy lifestyles. The group is asking students to sign pledges not to drink and drive. The message was reinforced with a portable demonstrator -- set up by the University Police Department. The demonstrator allows students to experience what it feels like to drive drunk. **Mitch** An article published last week in U-T's Daily Texan is creating quite a stir. Claudia Mickle has more in this Bobcat Update. **stop** **Mitch** The San Marcos police department is trying to assure residents that the city is safe after several home break-ins. According to the University Star, the police chief held a neighborhood meeting this week. He says people are getting a twisted perception of the city because of crime in the headlines, but he says San Marcos is one of the safest college cities in the state. He said most of the break-ins were drug related and not random acts of violence. The chief also says the intruders are people coming from out of town and have no permanent attachments to San Marcos. **Summer** Republican governors from around the country are in Austin this week for their annual meeting. The Republican Governors Association has a lot on the agenda this year. First item: the celebration of their success in the elections of Republican governor Chris Christie in New Jersey and Bob McDonnell in Virginia. Both Christie and McDonnell beat Democrat incumbents in the November 3rd election. Next year, 37 states will be electing governors, including Texas, where Rick Perry is seeking an unprecedented third term. **Mitch** The mayor of Sugar Land, Texas, says he was robbed at gunpoint this week -- in the driveway of his own home. Mayor James Thompson told police he was robbed just after he returned home from a city council meeting. He said a man tapped him on his back and pointed a pistol at him. At a news conference yesterday, the mayor said the robber threatened to shoot him. The gunman got away with Thompson's cell phone and between 80 and one-hundred dollars in cash. The mayor was not hurt. **Summer** Exercising at the Rec Center could help Texas State "go green." **Mitch** We'll tell you why -- next on Bobcat Update. **stop** **Summer** Students at Texas State will soon be a source of some much needed energy, and they'll provide it through their exercise. The student recreation center is retro-fitting 30 elliptical machines that will give the equipment the capability of converting exercise into renewable energy. The machines will be connected to the university's power grid. A typical 30-minute workout will convert into 50-watt hours, which is enough to power a computer for 30 minutes. The nearly 20-thousand dollar project will be funded by the Department of Campus Recreation and is set to be unveiled on December 8th at the student recreation center. **Mitch** Another chapter in the spurs, Mavs rivalry was written last night. The game was all tied up heading into the final seconds of the 4th, when Jason terry clangs a shot off the rim, but Dirk Nowitski is there with the tip-in to put the Mavs ahead by 2. After a timeout the Spurs go to? Timmy! The Big Fundamental with the sweet bankshot in the low-post to tie the game at 84. Mavs get one last shot, but Timmy with the emphatic block on Terry's shot to send the game into overtime. In the extra period, Dirk and the Mavs would prove to be too much to handle for the Spurs, putting up a game high 41 points to win by 5. **Mitch** Texas State welcomed a Muslim leader on campus to help educate students about common stereotypes associated with Islam. Bobcat Update's Rhe-Anne Cannaday has more. **stop** **Summer** A federal court has ruled that the Army Core of Engineers failed to maintain the shipping channel that links New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico - contributing to the catastrophic flooding during Hurricane Katrina four years ago. The ruling states that the Core had an opportunity to take action to alleviate the channel's deterioration - but failed to do so. Six plaintiffs sued the Core and five of them will get money after yesterday's ruling. Those plaintiffs will receive damages ranging from 100-thousand dollars to 317-thousand dollars. **Mitch** Former Governor Sarah Palin is on the campaign trail again -- this time to sell books. The former G-O-P vice presidential nominee kicked off her national book tour yesterday in Grand Rapids, Michigan -- the town which she says inspired the title of her new book, "Going Rogue." The book -- which details her months on the campaign trail with 2008 presidential candidate Senator John McCain -- hit shelves this week. Hundreds of people had lined up before daybreak for her first book signing. **Summer** A computer glitch is now fixed -- but not before delaying hundreds of flights around the country today. The F-A-A said a failed computer system caused delays in some of the country's biggest airports. Due to the outage - air traffic controllers had to enter flight plans manually. And without electronic decision-making tools - the controllers couldn't keep up with the high number of flights. American Airlines said 300 to 500 flights have been delayed today. Airlines are asking travelers to call ahead or check airline websites to see if their flight is delayed. **Mitch** The auto club -- Triple A -- predicts more people will be on the road this year, compared to last. One reason why - a boost in consumer confidence compared to a year ago. Triple A says most of the traveling will be on the road, rather than in the air. Drivers will notice gasoline prices are up compared to last year. We're paying an average of 50 cents more a gallon for regular unleaded this year. Car travel is expected to be up two-point-one percent from last Thanksgiving. The average roundtrip this year is expected to be 815 miles. **Summer** The San Marcos Southside Community Center will be hosting its annual Thanksgiving Feast tomorrow at its location on South Guadalupe. The feast is geared toward less fortunate families in the San Marcos area and starts at Six P-M. The community center is expecting two-thousand people to attend. Turkeys have been cooked and provided by Fuschaks Barbecue. In addition to turkey and fixings, The Jigglebug Express will be there to provide free rides to kids in the community center parking lot. Admission is free and open to all members of the community. **Summer** The Thanksgiving holiday is upon us. Next week most everyone at Texas State will take a break from school-related activities to spend time with family. Bobcat Update's Lianne Thomas asked several people on campus how they'll celebrate the holiday. **stop** **Mitch** Letters sent to Santa Claus addressed to the North Pole will no longer get a response. According to N-P-R, the Operation Santa program is being dropped by The U-S Postal Service. Back in 1954, volunteers in the small Alaska town of North Pole started responding to thousands of letters each year. But last year, it was discovered that one of the recent volunteers was a registered sex offender. The worker was caught before he could respond to any letters, but the Postal Service viewed the episode as a big enough scare to cancel the program. **Summer** For seniors at Texas State, commencement is right around the corner. For those graduating, students are asked to arrive at commencement an hour beforehand. To get ready for the big day, make sure you purchase the official Texas State cap and gown, which can be ordered from the University bookstore in the L-B-J Student Center, or on the bookstore website. The bookstore also sells graduation announcements, diploma frames, and official Texas State rings. The keynote speaker on Saturday's commencement will be billionaire T. Boone Pickens. ((ad lib)) **Mitch** This is the final edition of Bobcat Update for this semester. Thanks for watching. **Summer** Bobcat Update will be back in the spring! See you then. **stop**