var playNews = true;

function playNewsNow() {
	playNews = true;
	flipFeatured();
}

function flipPlayNews () {
	if (playNews) {
		playNews = false;
	} else {
		playNews = true;
	}
}

function flipFeatured() {
	for (i=1; i <= flipSlide; i++) {
		var myObj = document.getElementById('featured'+i);
		var myCaption = document.getElementById('featuredText'+i);
		if (myObj.style.display == 'block') {
			myObj.style.display = 'none';
			myCaption.style.display = 'none';
			if (i == flipSlide) {
				// have reached the end, start back at the beginning
				document.getElementById('featured1').style.display = 'block';
				document.getElementById('featuredText1').style.display = 'block';
			//	var newNewsNumber = document.createElement('span');
			//		newNewsNumber.setAttribute('id','newsNumber');
			//		newNewsNumber.appendChild(document.createTextNode(1));
			//	var oldNewsNumber = document.getElementById('newsNumber');
			//	oldNewsNumber.parentNode.replaceChild(newNewsNumber,oldNewsNumber);
			} else {
				i++;
				var myFeatured = 'featured'+i;
				changeOpac(0, myFeatured);
				document.getElementById('featured'+i).style.display = 'block';
				document.getElementById('featuredText'+i).style.display = 'block';
				shiftOpacity(myFeatured, 1000);

			//	var newNewsNumber = document.createElement('span');
			//		newNewsNumber.setAttribute('id','newsNumber');
			//		newNewsNumber.appendChild(document.createTextNode(i));
			//	var oldNewsNumber = document.getElementById('newsNumber');
			//	oldNewsNumber.parentNode.replaceChild(newNewsNumber,oldNewsNumber);
			}
		}
	}
}

function shiftOpacity(id, millisec) {
    //if an element is invisible, make it visible, else make it ivisible
    if(document.getElementById(id).style.opacity == 0) {
        opacity(id, 0, 100, millisec);
    } else {
        opacity(id, 100, 0, millisec);
    }
}

function opacity(id, opacStart, opacEnd, millisec) {
    //speed for each frame
    var speed = Math.round(millisec / 100);
    var timer = 0;

    //determine the direction for the blending, if start and end are the same nothing happens
    if(opacStart > opacEnd) {
        for(i = opacStart; i >= opacEnd; i--) {
            setTimeout("changeOpac(" + i + ",'" + id + "')",(timer * speed));
            timer++;
        }
    } else if(opacStart < opacEnd) {
        for(i = opacStart; i <= opacEnd; i++)
            {
            setTimeout("changeOpac(" + i + ",'" + id + "')",(timer * speed));
            timer++;
        }
    }
}

//change the opacity for different browsers
function changeOpac(opacity, id) {
    var object = document.getElementById(id).style;
    object.opacity = (opacity / 100);
    object.MozOpacity = (opacity / 100);
    object.KhtmlOpacity = (opacity / 100);
    object.filter = "alpha(opacity=" + opacity + ")";
} 

var activationTimer = setInterval('flipFeatured()', 7000);