Hello, everybody. As always, there's so much to get to on this Cinco de Mayo, so first up...

We have been learning new developments into the Times Square bomb plot from last weekend as Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, was arrested on charges of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction for rigging an SUV with explosives and trying to blow it up at the famed New York tourist attraction.

Shahzad was in custody after being taken off a plane bound for Dubai at John F. Kennedy Airport Monday night despite being on the "no-fly" list. Shazad had been in constant watch for some time at his Connecticut home, but authorities lost track of him. The criminal complaint recorded that Shazad confessed to buying the SUV, a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder, and rigged it with bombs before driving it to Times Square. President Obama said that "hundreds of lives" may have been saved thanks to the quick action of citizens and law enforcement who X-rayed the parked vehicle.

Now in an ironic twist of fate, "The Simpsons'" newest episode last Sunday was about hundreds of surveillance cameras rigged up all over Springfield in light of a bomb scare. Cameras on every block sound like an invasion of privacy to me (except for that "Big Brother" show), but most high-end homes have beefed-up home security which includes cameras. Me? I'm fine with the original home security device there is: my dog.

Another huge story we're following is the oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico that is threatening the Mississippi and Alabama coastlines, as they've been trying to do everything it takes to not become another Prince William Sound.

Yes, Prince William Sound...ground zero for until now, what was the most costliest oil spill in U.S. history with the Exxon Valdez in 1989. The current one is bringing back to us memories of over 20 years ago, and I remember it being on the front pages of all our papers for weeks.

This time, BP is responsible for the almost one million gallons that have exploded off an oil rig outside Louisiana so far, and that's more than the Exxon Valdez. I hope all this gets cleaned up in time for summer to begin.

Now two stories have been making news for the last few days here in the United States...but 24 hours from now, the attention will shift across the waters to Britain as we find out who'll gain tenancy at 10 Downing Street in their general election. Gordon Brown as Labour Party leader may be in his last few moments as incumbent Prime Minister, while David Cameron (Conservatives) and Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrats) have been making their moves since the election was called a few weeks ago. With all 650 seats up for grabs, all bets are off as the forecast may call for the same kind of change we experienced in 2008: a Conservative majority with Cameron in charge.

This campaign was unique in more ways than one, as for the first time ever, the party leaders debated each other in primetime in U.S. style debates for three weeks; first on ITV, then Sky News, and finally the BBC. But unlike us, there are no 30-second "(insert party) approves this message" ads aired on the main networks. Instead, five-minute paid political broadcasts by each of the three parties are aired nightly before the news.

Also, the polls on Thursday close at 10:00pm British Time (all other time zones, you do the math) and the counting by hand lasts into the middle of the night, meaning it would be the crack of dawn before 100% of the numbers are in. In most U.S. elections, most polls close at 8:00pm their time; and with today's modern voting methods like Accu-Vote here in Alaska, we'd have 100% of the count within three to four hours! In other words, by the time we hit to bed we'd know who won, and that will be the very same case in the gubernatorial primaries this summer followed by the big general election (and the mid-terms) on November 2 when we find out whether or not Sean Parnell will be given an additional four years of residency at the Governor's Mansion in Juneau!

But no matter what the outcome will be on Thursday night, it could mean an advantage to either the Democrats or Republicans on this side of the Atlantic in November. May the best party win. So long and stay strong.