If Taylor Swift is as gifted at writing catchy phrases for greeting cards as she is at writing hit songs Hallmark better watch out. Swift signed a deal with Cleveland based greeting card maker American Greetings. The agreement will create a line of greeting cards, gift packaging, stationery, online photo personalization products and online greetings.

Swift says:

"My idea of a great song is a song that says how I feel better than I could. I feel the same way about greeting cards," Taylor says. "I've always been fascinated by feelings and how we express them to each other. Getting to write and design these cards is a wonderful experience."

American Greetings said in a statment announcing the news:

"We are absolutely thrilled and honored to introduce Taylor Swift as the newest writer and creative contributor to the American Greetings family," stated Zev Weiss, Chief Executive Officer at American Greetings. "Her abilities as a storyteller and songwriter make her a natural at writing cards for consumers of all ages. She has the unique ability to connect with her fans through life experiences and greeting cards do the same--cards help people express, connect and celebrate these events with the important people in their lives. We believe it's a natural fit!"

Last month it was rumored that the Associated Press may need to make hundreds of layoffs before the year's end. Now a tipster tells Gawker.com that some of those layoffs could be coming down today.

The source reveals that the word amongst AP union members is that today may be the day that "70 or 80" get laid off. While rumors indicate that the layoffs will be spread across the company nationally, New York staffers have supposedly been summoned to an "important meeting" this afternoon.

In the day and age where newspapers are cutting more staff by the day and relying more and more upon the AP and its writers to fill their pages and websites, cuts like these are indicative of just how bad of shape the print industry is in.

If you have any inside info or tips, as always, be sure to let us know by using the "contact" form on our site.

Veterans Day is this Wednesday, November 11th. Honoring all those who have served for this country, a number of restaurants and retail outlets are giving away freebies for veterans. Here are a few of the ones we've been informed about:

• Applebee's - free dinner on Nov. 11th at any time of the day
• Outback Steakhouse - free Blooming Onion and beverage on Nov. 11th.
• Golden Corral - free buffet dinner on Nov. 16th from 5 to 9pm.
• Krispy Kreme - 1 free doughnut, any variety.
• Lowe's & Home Depot - extra 10% off.
• Texas Roadhouse - free dinner on Nov. 11th/li>

Before you head out, call to make sure your store is participating and be sure to bring along proof that you are a veteran. If you know of any other freebies for veterans, be sure to let us know in the comments and we will update the list above.

On Friday, the Labor Department revealed the latest jobs report and the picture was not pretty. Their broadest measure of unemployment and underemployment has reached its highest level in decades, and if their statistics went back so far, it would most certainly be at its highest level since the Great Depression.

One out of every six workers, or 17.5%, were unemployed or underemployed in October 2009. The previous record high was set in December 1982 at 17.1%. WIthout an end in site to our economic woes, the figures could go even higher in the coming months.

That 17.5% figure includes the officiall unemployed, which are those who have looked for work in the last four weeks. It also includes discouraged workers who have looked in the past year, and millions of part-time workers wanting to be full-time.

The official jobless rate is at 10.2% for October, and remains lower than the early 80's peak at 10.8%. But again, this latest figure continues the upward trend, and isup from 9.8% in September 2009. It is highest in those states which had big housing bubles, such as Arizona and California, and those with large manufacturing sectors, including Ohio, South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Oregon.

With his cute round features and high-pitched voice, Disney's iconic character Mickey couldn't possibly be evil... or could he? For the past year, Disney and Nintendo have worked on redesigning the 81-year-old character for an upcoming Nintendo Wii video game.

The new Mickey is now leaner and meaner. While it is a departure from the Mickey we've come to know and love, it's actually a closer depiction to the original incarnation in 1928's "Steamboat Willie", in which he got into fistfights, played tricks on his friends, and amorously pursued Minnie.

The new Mickey still sports his trademark red shorts, yellow shoes, and white gloves. But he now has longer limbers and a bit edgier facial expressions that some have even called "demonic". Demonic might be going a little too far, but it is definitely a look that conveys that this Mickey isn't all sweetness and nice.

With the makeover, company execs are hoping that it will keep Mickey relevant in a generation growing up with Nickelodeon and Pixar. And what better a way to do that than to put him in a video game.

Alcoa announced today that it wll rebuild and enhance the forging press at its Cleveland plant. The company will put $110 million into the project.

“This could not have happened without the support of our employees, community leaders and leadership of United Auto Workers Local 1050,” said William F. Christopher, Alcoa executive vice president and president of Alcoa Engineered Products and Solutions. “When this project is completed, Cleveland Works will be the home of the most advanced, productive large forging presses in the world.”

State leaders applauded the news as well. Governor Ted Strickland stated:

Babies are unable to speak in a language that adults can fully understand, and instead communicate their needs through crying. While many parents are often able to distinguish the meaning of their baby's cries, that is not always the case. Now, there is a handy iPhone app that promises to tell you why your baby is crying.

A company based out of Barcelona recently launched an iPhone application that they say tell you why your baby is crying in just 10 seconds. Dubbed "The Cry Translator", creators Pedro Barrerra and Luis Meca say the app "involves a revolutionary technology that quickly identifies an infant's cry, based on one of five emotional or physiological states: hunger, fatigue, annoyance, stress or boredom".

The creators say:

'These five cries are universal to all babies regardless of culture or language.'

So how does it work? Parents are instructed to place their iPhone about a foot away from the crying baby and then press the "Start" button. The cries are then analyzed and identified within 10 seconds with a 96 percent degree of accuracy. After the cry is identified, tips are then given on how to remedy the situation and calm the infant.

There are privileges that come along with working on Wall Street, and one of those is apparently getting your swine flu vaccine before other high-risk groups that actually need it. Thousands of at-risk Americans sit patiently waiting for their turn to get the hard-to-find shot, while some Wall Street banks have already secured supplies of the vaccine.

The New York Stock Exchange, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and the Federal Reserve have all received H1N1 vaccine doses to administer to their employees. Like other companies, Wall Street banks put in a request to receive doses, but it appears they have a leg-up on other applicants. Case in point: Goldman Sachs received 200 doses, the same amount as Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. There's something seriously wrong with this picture.

NBC's chief medical editor, Dr. Nancy Schnyderman commented:

"I think they probably played by the rules, there are corporations all over the country who put in there dibs...But, what a sore eye for Wall Street. Wouldn't have been lovely if they had said, look we put it in our dibs, we played by the rules, but we're going to donate our 200 doses."

Since January, first-time homebuyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 as part of an economic stimulus package put into place earlier this year. That program, which left those who are not first-time home buyers out in the cold, was set to expire at the end of November 2009. On Wednesday, the Senate voted to extend and expand the tax credit to include many buyers who already own homes. Now it just needs to get through Congress, where a vote will take place Thursday.

Buyers owning their current homes at least five years will be eligible for tax credits up to $6,500. First-time homebuyers or those who haven't owned a home in the last three years would get up to $8,000. Both groups would have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010 in order to be eligible.

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia), said, "This is probably the last extension."

Also included in the bill passed in the Senate is a plan to extend unemployment benefits for those without a job for more than a year, and a clause that would allow companies now losing money to recoup taxes paid on profits earned in the previous five years.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said:

Have you ever wondered what you would look like with bigger breasts or poutier lips? Now you can find out using a simple app made for the iPhone. There are now two plastic surgery applications for the Apple iPhone that offer users information, games and the chance to see what they would look like with a face lift, new nose, and many other procedures.

The firs plastic surgery app - The Shafer Plastic Surgery App - launched in October. It's the first app of its kind amongst Apple's 85,000 offerings in the iPhone App Store. It was created by Dr. David Shafer of New York, and taps into more than 1,000 questions and answers about specific cosmetic procedures.

The second iPhone plastic surgery app will soon hit the iPhone App Store, and it's called "iSurgeon". iSurgeon was developed by Miami cosmetic surgeon Dr. Michael Salzhauer, who is also well known for authoring the 2008 book "My Beautiful Mommy" - a book aimed at helping 4 to 7 year old children cope with their mother's plastic surgery.

iSurgeon will feature a fun game mode that allows users to try their hand at surgery, giving people the chance to instantly modify images of themselves or their friends through breast augmentations, lip enhancements and dozens of other procedures.