HAYDOCK, England (AP) — Veteran champion Kauto Star rolled back the years by powering to an eight-length victory over rival Long Run at the Betfair Chase at Haydock on Saturday.
The 11-year-old gelding (6-1) showed he still has the legs to compete with Britain's leading steeplechasers, making all the running before streaking away in the …
Local artist Jerri Lisk's "50 Series"
Living in the City of Trees, maybe I take trees for granted. That's the first thought that crossed my mind as I raced into Lisk Gallery to get a look at Jerri Lisk's "50 Series #5." That was the last thing I did quickly. As my attention was captured by Lisk's newest installment, I took a deep breath-maybe breathing in all that good oxygen that trees give off-and then, all I could think was that I do take trees for granted.
Lisk is a local artist who shows that artists can make a name for themselves while still living where they want. She is one of those artists that delightfully nurtures the urban artscape of the Treasure …
Dozens of residents who were forced from their homes after a train derailment spewed toxic fumes into the air could have to stay away for several days, a fire official said.
Crews were struggling to remove the 29 train cars that derailed Monday night in the desert about 140 miles (225 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. One leaked phosphoric acid and another may have leaked hydrochloric acid, said Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes.
Officials still hadn't drained all the toxic acid from several toppled tankers, said Riverside County fire Capt. Fernando Herrera.
"There's at least another three more (tankers) that need to be offloaded, and as …
Children's books, handicrafts, handmade cards and Christianliterature will all be on offer to members of the public over thenext four Sundays.
Church in the Mart (CitM) will return to Thainstone Mart onSunday, September 23 and 30, and October 7 and 14.
CitM supports the work of the Rehoboth …
WHAT'S NEW
Kanebo Gohsen, Ltd. has started sales of "Ionsafe" in August 2002. "Ionsafe" is a knead-in type acrylic fiber and contains natural minerals which generate negative ions.
"Ionsafe" is made by uniformly dispersing and kneading special ceramic powders into acrylic fiber. Thanks to kneading-in, its negative-- ion-generating effects will last semi-perpetually even after dyeing and repeated washings. Because natural minerals are used as raw materials, "Ionsafe" possesses high safety. "Ionsafe" also features a soft touch and a gentle feeling against the skin.
Main applications of "Ionsafe" are apparel, bedclothes, interiors, home sundries and nonwoven fabrics, …
SHANGHAI (AP) — With Michael Phelps and his more illustrious pool swimmers not scheduled to hit the deck for another week, the world's best water polo teams will get a chance to show which are the medal favorites for next year's London Olympics.
Among the favorites in the women's competition which begins Sunday at the Oriental Sports Center are the winners of the first two women's Olympic golds — Australia in 2000 and Italy in 2004. Australia plays fellow Group B team Canada in its opening match while Italy plays Cuba in Group D.
Hungary and Serbia, which have 21 world titles and 18 Olympic golds between them, are the favorites in the men's competition, which starts Monday. …
Yemen deployed several hundred extra troops to two mountainous eastern provinces that are al-Qaida's main strongholds in the country and where the suspected would-be Christmas airplane bomber may have visited, security officials said Saturday.
The reinforcements, aiming to beef up the military's presence in a remote region where the government has little control, were Yemen's latest move in a stepped-up campaign to combat al-Qaida. The United States plans to more than double its counterterrorism aid to the impoverished, fragmented Arab nation in the coming year to boost the fight.
Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. general who oversees the wars in Iraq and …
Glaring as their poor fielding has been, lack of defense isn'tthe main reason the Cubs have been losing.
"The difference between winning and losing to this point isoffense," manager Jim Riggleman said.
"We have good hitters who just aren't hitting."The Cubs lead the majors in the woeful category of errors,entering Thursday night's game with 25 and committing No. 26 in thefirst inning when Steve Trachsel was ruled to have missed coveringfirst base on Al Martin's ground ball.No. 27 came in the ninth inning and allowed the Pirates to scorethe winning run in a 4-3 game on a throwing error by Rey Sanchez."But the opposition has committed 25 against us," …
VIENNA (AP) — The U.N. nuclear agency on Monday confirmed that Iran has begun enriching uranium at an underground bunker to a level that can be upgraded more quickly for use in a nuclear weapon than the nation's main enriched stockpile.
Comment from the International Atomic Energy Agency came after diplomats said that centrifuges at the Fordo site near Iran's holy city of Qom are churning out uranium enriched to 20 percent. That level is higher than the 3.5 percent being made at Iran's main enrichment plant and can be turned into fissile warhead material faster and with less work.
"The IAEA can confirm that Iran has started the production of uranium enriched up to 20 percent …
This summer on the oil-stained Gulf Coast promises to be like no other.
Just off Louisiana on Grand Isle, which was hit with oil from the spill, the beach reopened for Memorial Day weekend but with several caveats: No swimming or fishing, and stay away from oil cleanup crews. Elsewhere, fishermen were idled during what's normally a busy season, and floating hotels are being set up to house workers who will try to mop up the crude seeping into marshes.
With BP making yet another attempt to stem the flow from a blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico - this time only to contain the leak, not stop it - signs point to August before any real end is in sight. On top of …
Waldheim, Sask.
Shekinah Retreat Centre the "Sing the Journey-Refreshing Winds" retreat this winter.
The resource persons for the weekend were Marilyn Hauser Hamm and Irma Fast Dueck. Hamm introduced new songs and new ways of singing old songs, with variations that could be used in church worship services. Her use of melody and accompaniment in a variety of ways fit them into various settings unobtrusively, making them unique and meaningful.
Dueck fittingly pulled one thread out of the large worship tapestry-grief and lament-something that is …
Wall Street jumped in early trading Wednesday, driving the Dow Jones industrials up more than 100 points after a top Federal Reserve official hinted that the central bank may lower interest rates again.
Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn told the Council on Foreign Relations that recent financial turbulence has reversed some of the improvement seen in markets in previous weeks, and could squeeze credit for households and businesses. He said tight financial conditions may merit "offsetting" policy from the central bank.
For investors, the possibility for lower rates seemed more compelling than persistent concerns about economic growth.
The …
A resident of a North Side lakefront high-rise was killed earlySunday by a fire that apparently was caused by careless use ofsmoking materials, Chicago Fire Department officials said.
Howard Plotkin, 60, of Shoreline Towers Condominium, 6301 N.Sheridan, was pronounced dead at Edgewater Hospital.
The Fire Department was called about 4 a.m., said TerrenceO'Brien, deputy chief of its 3rd District.Firefighters believe the fire started in a mattress in abedroom. Plotkin was found in a living room chair, wherefirefighters believe he fell asleep.Plotkin lived on the 14th floor, O'Brien said.There were smoke detectors in Plotkin's unit, "but they didn'toperate because they had no batteries," O'Brien said.Smoke detectors in the hallway were in working condition,O'Brien said.Plotkin's unit was extensively damaged, but there was no seriousdamage to other units in the building, O'Brien said.A woman in the building who has asthma was treated at WeissMemorial Hospital for smoke inhalation and released.
It was warm enough to bring out some foraging honey bees and afew wasps Wednesday before the mercury plunged from a high of 55 atnoon to its usual December norm in the low 30s, as predicted fortoday.
The bees will return to their combs and the greening dandelionrosettes in your lawn will go dormant again, said Ron Losew,naturalist for the Cook County Forest Preserve District.
"A couple rhododendrons may have been forced (by springlikewarmth), but they're exotics," said Kris Jarantoski, horticulturistand assistant director of the Chicago Botanic Gardens.
"Our native plants know better" than to be fooled by theweather, he said. "Their own internal dormancy protects them" bykeeping them asleep, he said.
If your bulbs started sprouting during the last few days, it wasa "fluke," said Losew, and there is nothing you can do about it.They may not bloom next spring but should recover by the followingyear.
Plants get hardier and hardier as they go into the cool andcold of fall and winter, said Jarantoski.
"If you expose plants to minus 20 in July, they'll die," hesaid. "But when it hits minus 20 in January, they'll be fine."
Both men recommended against throwing mulch on the garden now.It's not cold enough. Wait till the ground is frozen, because youwant to keep the plants cold, not warm.
Mulch prevents thawing on bright sunny days, said Losew.Alternate thawing and freezing heaves the plants out of the ground.If you've already mulched, you've made a nice warm nest for rodentsthat will move in and eat your plants all winter, said Jarantoski.
China's top economic official said Wednesday the economy is showing positive changes but the basis of a recovery is not stable and the country should prepare for long-term difficulties, a state news agency reported.
Premier Wen Jiabao's comments at a Cabinet meeting reflected government efforts to reassure its public and encourage consumers and companies to stimulate growth by spending more while also warning against complacency.
Wen cited rising investment, consumption and industrial production but also noted that exports are sluggish, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The report gave no new details about economic performance and mentioned no new initiatives.
Beijing is pouring money into a 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus aimed at shielding China from the global slump by boosting domestic consumption through spending on construction and other projects.
Wen said "economic performance had started to show positive changes, favorable factors were increasing, the overall situation had stabilized and was moving upwards," Xinhua said. It said Beijing's measures were "correct and effective."
Domestic investment in factories, real estate and other fixed assets surged 32.9 percent in the first five months of the year while May retail sales rose 15.2 percent from the same period last year. But May exports plunged 26.4 percent from a year earlier.
"It should also be noted that the foundation for economic recovery was not stable and many uncertainties remained," Xinhua said, paraphrasing Wen.
It said the premier "called for clear-headed judgment and readiness for difficulties and complexities that might occur in the long term."
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Chinese Cabinet (in Chinese): http://www.gov.cn
Hungry people swarmed the few open shops and fistfights broke out over food and water in Myanmar's swamped Irrawaddy delta Wednesday as a top U.S. diplomat warned that the death toll from a devastating cyclone could top 100,000.
The minutes of a U.N. aid meeting obtained by The Associated Press, meanwhile, revealed the military junta's visa restrictions were hampering international relief efforts.
Only a handful of U.N. aid workers had been let into the impoverished Southeast Asian country, which the government has kept isolated for five decades to maintain its iron-fisted control. The U.S. and other countries rushed supplies to the region, but most of it was being held outside Myanmar while awaiting the junta's permission to deliver it.
Entire villages in the Irrawaddy delta were still submerged from Saturday's storm, and bloated corpses could be seen stuck in the mangroves. Some survivors stripped clothes off the dead. People wailed as they described the horror of the torrent swept ashore by the cyclone.
"I don't know what happened to my wife and young children," said Phan Maung, 55, who held onto a coconut tree until the water level dropped. By then his family was gone.
A spokesman for the U.N. Children's Fund said its staff in Myanmar reported seeing many people huddled in rude shelters and children who had lost their parents.
"There's widespread devastation. Buildings and health centers are flattened and bloated dead animals are floating around, which is an alarm for spreading disease. These are massive and horrific scenes," Patrick McCormick said at UNICEF offices in New York.
Myanmar's state media said Cyclone Nargis killed at least 22,980 people and left 42,119 missing.
American diplomat Shari Villarosa, who heads the U.S. Embassy in Yangon, said the number of dead could eventually exceed 100,000 because safe food and water were scarce and unsanitary conditions widespread.
The situation is "increasingly horrendous," she said in a telephone call to reporters. "There is a very real risk of disease outbreaks."
Myanmar's state television Thursday showed Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Thein Sein distributing food packages to the sick and injured in the delta and soldiers dropping food over villages. The date of the distributions was not given.
A few shops reopened Wednesday in the Irrawaddy delta, but they were quickly overwhelmed by desperate people, said Paul Risley, a spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program in Bangkok, Thailand, quoting his agency's workers in the area.
"Fistfights are breaking out," he said.
A Yangon resident who returned to the city from the delta area said people were drinking coconut water because there was no safe drinking water. He said many people were on boats using blankets as sails.
Local aid groups distributed rice porridge, which people collected in dirty plastic shopping bags, he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared getting into trouble with authorities for talking to a foreign news agency.
U.N. officials estimated some 1 million people had been left homeless in Myanmar, which also is known as Burma.
Some aid workers said heavily flooded areas were accessible only by boat, with helicopters unable to find dry spots for landing relief supplies.
"Basically the entire lower delta region is under water," said Richard Horsey, the Thailand-based spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid.
"Teams are talking about bodies floating around in the water," he said. This is "a major, major disaster we're dealing with."
International assistance began trickling in Wednesday with the first shipments of medicine, clothing and food. But the junta, which normally restricts access by foreign officials and groups, was slow to give permission for workers to enter.
"Visas are still a problem. It is not clear when it will be sorted out," said the minutes of a meeting of the U.N. task force coordinating relief for Myanmar in Bangkok.
McCormick, the UNICEF spokesman, said the agency had 130 people in Myanmar but needed to get more in.
"We're hopeful they will start fast-tracking visas for humanitarian personnel," he said. "The government clearly weren't prepared and needs to step up to the plate. We can't work in a vacuum, and we need the host government to work with us and to eventually take over."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the junta to speed the arrival of aid workers and relief supplies "in every way possible."
As they wrangled with Myanmar officials over visas, aid groups struggled to deliver supplies.
"Most urgent need is food and water," said Andrew Kirkwood, head of Save the Children in Yangon. "Many people are getting sick. The whole place is under salt water and there is nothing to drink. They can't use tablets to purify salt water."
State television said Myanmar would accept aid from any country. It also said planes flew in Wednesday with tents from Japan, medicine and clothing from Bangladesh and India, packets of noodles from Thailand and dried bacon from China.
The first U.N. flights, carrying 45 metric tons of high energy biscuits, were due to arrive early Thursday.
Some aid workers told the AP that the government wanted emergency supplies to be distributed by relief workers already in place, rather than through foreign staff brought into Myanmar.
President Bush said the U.S. was ready to deliver aid and was prepared to use Navy ships and aircraft to help search for the dead and missing. But it wasn't known if the junta, which regularly accuses Washington of trying to subvert its rule, would accept an American military operation in its territory.
Three Navy warships participating in an exercise in the Gulf of Thailand were standing by. A U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo plane also landed in Thailand and another was on the way, Air Force spokeswoman Megan Orton said at the Pentagon.
In Yangon, many angry residents complained that the military regime had given vague and incorrect information about the approaching storm and provided no instructions on how to cope when it struck.
Officials in India said they had warned Myanmar about the cyclone two days before it roared into the low-lying Irrawaddy delta. B.P. Yadav, spokesman for the Indian Meteorological Department, said the agency spotted the developing storm on April 28 and gave regular updates to all countries in its path.
Myanmar told the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva that it warned people in newspapers, television and radio broadcasts of the impending storm, said Dieter Schiessl, director of the WMO's disaster risk reduction unit.
Jim Andrews, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, said satellite photos showed flooding of similar magnitude to that of Hurricane Katrina. "It's a similar kind of land to New Orleans ... an intricate network of tidal creeks and openings that allow easy access for a powerful storm surge to penetrate right into populated land," he said.
State television quoted a government official, Gen. Tha Aye, as reassuring people the situation was "returning to normal."
But residents of Yangon faced doubled prices for rice, charcoal, bottled water and cooking oil.
At a suburban market, a fishmonger shouted to shoppers: "Come, come the fish is very fresh." But an angry woman snapped: "Even if the fish is fresh, I have no water to cook it!"
Most residents of Yangon rely on wells with electric pumps for water, and power had been restored to only a small part of the city.
The cyclone came a week before a referendum on a proposed constitution backed by the junta. State radio said Saturday's vote would be delayed in areas affected by the storm, but balloting would proceed elsewhere.
A top U.S. envoy to Southeast Asia said the junta should be focusing on helping cyclone victims.
"It's a huge crisis and it just seems odd to me that the government would go ahead with the referendum in this circumstance," said Scot Marciel, the U.S. ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
This week, first lady Laura Bush called the referendum a sham, and she also criticized the junta's handling of the storm. "We know already that they are very inept," she said.
The comments drew rebukes even from some Myanmar exiles, who normally are strongly critical of the ruling generals.
Aye Chan Naing, editor of the Democratic Voice of Burma, a Myanmar opposition media operation based in Norway, said it wasn't the right time to be chastising the junta.
"Everybody knows what kind of regime they are, so there is no question about that. The question right now is how to get the aid into the country," he said. "So the best way is to use a diplomatic way and to have an open dialogue and keep talking until they agree."
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Associated Press writers Carley Petesch and Lily Hindy in New York contributed to this report.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo capped a three-day Formula One testing session for young drivers on Thursday by setting the week's fastest time.
The British F3 champion set a quickest time of 1 minute, 17.418 seconds from 77 laps around the Jerez circuit in mostly dry conditions that included a brief shower.
Paul di Resta of Force India was second, more than a second behind Ricciardo.
Gary Paffett of McLaren was third ahead of Mercedes GP driver Mike Conway and Niko Hulkenberg of Williams.
These sessions are meant to give young drivers experience, as teams are banned from testing during the F1 season.
Wooden drawer knobs have a way of working themselves loose inthe warm, dry atmosphere of some homes during the winter. You canpatch up such holes easily and inexpensively. Coat a wooden golf teewith wood glue and stuff it into the hole on the drawer front. Sincea tee is tapered, it'll fill almost any size hole. After the gluehas had time to set up, cut the golf tee off flush with the surface.With the original hole plugged up, it will be like starting againwith brand new wood.
DEAR AL: I have a couple of those wire mesh chairs that Ienjoyed outside last summer. Rather than let them spend the winterout-of-doors, I brought them in. To make them more comfortable, Iwove cloth strips in and out of the mesh holes across the back andseat. It's perfect for the sunroom, and with the chairs indoors,they might last even longer. W.E.
A SUPER HINT: Although it's tempting, don't cover your wood pilewith plastic to protect it from rain or snow. Moisture will causeproblems, but covering the pile too tightly will actually trap themoisture in the air. If you want to, cover the top and one side toblock some precipitation, but make sure there's enough ventilation tokeep the wood from remaining wet.
DEAR AL: I liked your idea of using ice cubes to help clean mykitchen sink garbage disposal. But I came up with an improvement. Inow make my ice cubes out of vinegar, by filling an ice tray withvinegar and letting it freeze. The ice still cleans but the vinegarcleans even better, plus it removes mineral deposits and evendeodorizes the disposal. G.B.
DEAR G.B.: A nifty idea, as long as you don't accidentally usethese cubes in a drink.
DEAR AL: We had a pipe in the basement that kept on rattling aswater went through it. The metal pipe clamp was too large so thepipe was not really anchored and could move within the clamp. We cuta strip from a discarded tire inner tube. With the clamp loosened,we wrapped the rubber piece around the pipe. When the clamp wastightened back down, the pipe could no longer move so we solved theproblem. Since this is a common problem, maybe our cure will helpothers. I.J.
SHOP TALK: The sliding glass patio door is a popular target forburglars. The most common deterrent to this problem is a broomhandle cut to fit in the track to jam the door closed. There is nowa better way. The Security Alarm Bar will fit snugly inside theframe to prevent opening. But if an intruder even tries to pull thedoor open, the bar becomes an alarm. The unit has a sensor that willsound at 90 decibels. Also, a light will start flashing. The noiseand lights should spook the intruder. The bar is adjustable to fitwindows also and is made from heavy-duty steel. Check for it at homecenters and hardware stores. It is made by Honeywell Inc., HoneywellPlaza, Minneapolis, Minn., 55408, or call them at (1-800) 468-1502.
Send your tips or questions to Al Carrell, The Super Handyman,in care of Chicago Sun-Times Features, 401 N. Wabash, Chicago, Ill.60611.
President Barack Obama says he is not ready to offer a second stimulus plan even though the U.S. economy continues to struggle.
The president said Tuesday that more time is needed to assess the effectiveness of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan enacted early this year.
Obama said the U.S. unemployment rate is likely to exceed 10 percent even though he originally predicted it would not go over 8 percent.
At a White House news conference, he said that neither he nor the American people are satisfied with the rate of economic recovery. But he said he remains hopeful that conditions will improve over time.
Mother Nature always seems a bit confused this time of year. The bluster and snow of winter one day followed by the blissful inklings of spring the next means that confusion Infiltrates every aspect of life from what to wear (layers) to where you can go to get outside.
But one rec-related quandary Is actually pretty easy to answer: If a trail is muddy, stay off It.
It's the same seasonal reminder that the crew at Ridge to Rivers puts out every year in an effort to keep the trails from getting rutted, widened and otherwise destroyed. But with the recent cycle of rain, snow, sun, rain, foretelling the trail conditions is a bit like looking into a crystal ball.
A voluntary trail closure program began several weeks ago, asking trail users to stay out of the most heavily used areas after 10:30 a.m., when trails usually begin to thaw. But with warmer overnight temps, even those time restrictions are blurry.
David Gordon, trail program coordinator for R2R, said the group Is providing daily trail updates on its website (ridgetorivers. cityofboise.org). Updates are posted early in the morning, and Gordon said he's encouraging people to log on before heading out.
He said by and large, the public has mostly respected the closures.
"People have been fantastic," he said. "It's been light years better than I thought. There's been terrific support for taking that step."
The voluntary closures will end once prevailing weather patterns begin to dry out and warm up, but until then, just remember, if the mud is sticking to your shoes or tires, stay off the trail.
But even If things are too muddy in the Foothills, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is making sure there's something to do on the water. The department has been busy releasing more than 17,000 rainbow trout - of catchable size - in rivers and waterways around the area throughout March.
For more details on fish stocking, visit fishandgame.idaho.gov.
If you're still dedicated to winter, the folks at Sun Valley Resort are making spring skiing just a little easier - at least for full-time college students.
Students can pick up a three-day pass for just $99 through the end of the ski season on Sunday, April 24. Better yet, the pass does not have to be used In three consecutive days, so you can spread out a few last runs though the spring.
Visit sunvalley.com for more details.
- Deanna Darr
[Sidebar]
If the ground Is muddy, be a trail's buddy.
WASHINGTON - As America prepares for a string of primaries and caucuses to determine who will be its next Democratic and Republican nominees for president, the majority of the 42member Congressional Black Caucus who have chosen to endorse in the race is split 15-15 between CBC member Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. In recent interviews, CBC members pointed mainly to the candidates' stances on specific issues as the reasons for their endorsements.
"He is the most likely to actually produce change in areas that make a difference - home ownership, education, health care, crime policy," says U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), explaining his endorsement of Obama.
Scott, who chairs the House Crime Subcommittee, says, "For years we've concentrated on and focused more on codifying... sound bites rather than seriously addressing crime."
He adds that he is impressed with Obama's record on health care and the war in Iraq. "He led the charge to get more people health insurance in the Illinois legislature.. .He also had the strength of character and courage to stand up against the Iraqi war."
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), who has announced her endorsement of Clinton, says she believes Clinton's long record of service to children shows where her heart really is.
She says she is especially impressed that Clinton, as a young lawyer, served as a staff attorney for Marian Wright Edelman's Children's Defense Fund during her post graduate studies and that she served as a consultant to the Carnegie Council on Children.
"This is a very important election and I do think that as people begin to know Sen. Clinton and they know her personally and they know her story, she has an enormously convincing story of someone who has empathy and out of empathy, one can act upon the pain of others and the joy of others," says Jackson-Lee.
While Scott says his endorsement of Obama has nothing to do with the fact that he is Black, Jackson-Lee made no bones about what she sees as an opportunity to raise the ceiling for women in America.
"I do think that as women, whether it is minority women or majority women, we have a long way to go. Now, it is frankly innovative and inspiring that America would find its way to possibly selecting someone who has both talent and experience who happens to be a woman, which would make us move to where countries around the world have already gone in selecting women as heads of state," Jackson-Lee says.
John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, has three endorsements from CBC members.
"Too many women are not getting the health care they need," said U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) in a statement posted on the Edwards campaign website.
"John Edwards is the only candidate to outline a specific plan to provide universal coverage and I'm proud to be part of a campaign-the only campaignwith a detailed plan to cover all Americans."
Eight CBC members had not made public endorsements by NNPA deadline.
The 15-15 Clinton-Obama split among the CBC members closely reflects the dividing fines among Black voters, according to polls. A poll taken between Oct. 5 and Nov. 2 by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies showed Clinton with 83 percent of Black votes, compared to Obama, who then had 74 percent.
About 10 percent of those surveyed viewed them both negatively.
Voters must decide between two Democratic front-runners in a heated race for the White House, which has been run by Republican President George W. Bush for eight years.
Most Bush performance approval ratings are under 40 percent.
Plus, about 160,000 troops are still stationed in Iraq in a war that more than half of Americans want ended, according to Pew Research opinion polls.
Democrats are banking on these facts to win back the White House.
Leading Republican candidates are former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Tennesee Sen. Fred Thompson, Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. In recent history, Blacks have overwhelmingly supported Democratic candidates for president.
The split between the allDemocratic members of the CBC is as follows:
Endorsing Sen. Clinton are Lee, Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio; Kendrick Meek, Corrine Brown and Alcee Hastings of Florida; Yvette Clarke, Charles Rangel, Gregory Meeks and Edolphus Towns of New York; Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri; Dianne Watson and Laura Richardson of California; David Scott and John Lewis of Georgia; and Donna Christian-Christensen (VI).
Endorsing Sen. Obama are Scott, Danny Davis, Bobby Rush and Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois; Barbara Lee of California; Artur Davis of Alabama; Gwen Moore of Wisconsin; Lacy clay of Missouri; Elijah Cummings of Maryland; Sanford Bishop and Hank Johnson of Georgia; John Conyers of Michigan; Keith Ellison of Minnesota; Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania and Al Green of Texas. Endorsing John Edwards are: Johnson of Texas; Mel Watt and G. K. Butterfield of North Carolina.
Those who had not endorsed by NNPA deadline were: Eleanor Holmes Norton of D. C; Jim Clyburn of South Carolina; Bennie Thompson of Mississippi; Al Wynn of Maryland; William Jefferson of Louisiana; Donald Payne of New Jersey, Maxine Waters of California and CBC Chairwoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan.
The Clinton-Obama choice is complicated by questions over whether America will really elect Clinton as its first woman or Obama as its first African American president while both race and gender - specifically the Black race and the female gender have historically been excuses for prejudice and discrimination in America.
However, poll readings show both Democratic front-runners as being well ahead of their Republican opponents.
The focus is currently on the state of Iowa and its early Democratic Presidential Primary Jan. 3 and the New Hampshire primary Jan. 8.
Obama leads slightly in Iowa and Clinton in New Hampshire. But, pundits predict that Super Tuesday, Feb. 5, will be the deciding factor for who will likely win enough delegates for the Democratic nomination in Denver Aug. 25-28.
Super Tuesday is when 22 states will hold primaries and caucuses. Scott says he believes Obama could win a gen-eral election despite racial prejudices.
"If he wins Iowa, he would be favored in New Hampshire and if he wins New Hampshire, he'll have a lock on South Carolina, which would put him wellpostured to compete on Super Tuesday and he'll have enough money," Scott says.
It'll be easier for Obama to win a national election than a Republican, Scott predicts.
"You have the worst job performance since Herbert Hoover.
"You've got the fore-closures at record highs. You've got the median income significantly lower," he says.
"By the time the year is out, if people have a chance to look at the Republican administration, I think any Republican candidate will be hard-pressed to do well."
NNPA
At 9 a.m. tomorrow, WFMT-FM (98.7) will start its 35th birthdaycelebration with a typically offbeat flourish.
The station commissioned eminent American composer Morton Gouldto compose an anniversary fanfare. However, instead of writing awork for blazing brass, Gould's fanfare is for flute. Donald Peck,principal flutist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, recorded thepiece, which will be repeated several times today and tomorrow on thestation.
"Morton Gould is such a great composer," said Norm Pellegrini,WFMT's program director, "and such an amiable guy. He was here lastyear and we decided to ask him if he'd like to do a fanfare for us."
The station has included several birthday events on thisweekend's program schedule. At a time when so many radio stationssound alike, WFMT is reveling in its ability to do more than playrecordings. The birthday concerts will be broadcast live from WFMT'stwo-story, in-house performance studio.
Between 9 and 10 a.m. tomorrow, the Chicago Ensemble, a chambergroup led by Gerald Rizzer, will perform a Beethoven piano trio andJewish songs in honor of Hanukkah. At 10:30 a.m., another group oflocal musicians will play chamber music, including "Scriabiana," asuite from music of Scriabin by CSO bassoonist Willard Elliot. Nineplayers, led by CSO clarinetist John Bruce Yeh, will perform anarrangement for clarinet and strings of Mozart's Piano Trio, K. 496at 12:15 p.m.
From 11:15 p.m. to 3 a.m. Sunday, "The Midnight Special," thestation's long-running program of "madness and escape," will bealmost entirely live. Folk singers Bonnie Koloc, Corky Siegel,Gamble Rogers and Fred Holstein will appear. Larry Rand, acomposer-songwriter whose credits include a lament about life inSkokie, will introduce the WFMT anniversary song.
The weekend's programming will be punctuated by "Moments in WFMTHistory," brief excerpts from notable WFMT interviews.
WFMT-FM came quietly into existence on Dec. 13, 1951. There wasno raucous change of format, nothing like the playing of "Roll Over,Beethoven" that happened several years ago in Chicago when aclassical station switched to rock 'n' roll. Bernard and Rita Jacobssimply took over WOAK, a small station at the far right end of the FMdial (105.9) that had been playing a mixed programming format. Theyhad been involved with the station previously, left to form their ownclassical station and then returned after that failed, Pellegrinisaid. Pellegrini had worked with Jacobs previously and rejoined himthat first year. That first day, Pellegrini said, WFMT was on theair from 3 to 11 p.m.
Over the years, WFMT became a place to hear the sounds ofChicago, whether the newest young playwright in an interview withStuds Terkel or live broadcasts of the CSO and Lyric Opera. MikeNichols, then a University of Chicago student, became a WFMTannouncer in 1951. A programming mix of talk, records and livebroadcasts was set early on.
Pellegrini especially values WFMT's commitment to livebroadcasting. The in-house performance space at WFMT's new studiosin Three Illinois Center was his pet project, according to stationstaffers.
"I think the live broadcasts are an enormously important elementof what we do," Pellegrini said. "It's very important to theaudience, that extra element of excitement and communication. Liveperformance gives a vitality to the listeners and the station aswell." It also is a way of supporting worthy local performers andartists, he added.
WFMT has become a classical "superstation" since that firstbroadcast day in the Guyon Hotel, at Washington and Pulaski. Itsprogramming is available to cable companies and is now heard in 357U.S. cities. Its schedule includes broadcasts from the majorEuropean music festivals, such as Bayreuth, Salzburg and Aldeburgh.
For each boy, the new school offered an escape and a chance at a life that seemed beyond reach.
Krishaun Branch was getting D's, smoking reefer a lot, skipping school twice a week. His mother was too busy working to know what he was doing. He liked to hang out in the streets; having relatives in gangs was his armor.
When a young man came to tell his eighth-grade class about a new high school on Chicago's South Side, Krishaun wanted no part of it _ until he heard students would have laptops. Suddenly, he was on board.
Marlon Marshall was nonchalant about everything, school included. His mother pressed him to go to college, but it seemed like a pipe dream. Sometimes she'd yell at him and his brothers for his bad grades. Once she just cried when she picked up their report cards.
Marlon had heard, too, about the new school. Students would be accepted by lottery so his mediocre grades wouldn't disqualify him. He thought it was worth a shot.
Marcus Bass figured there just had to be something better for him. Barely a teen, he'd been shot at, robbed a couple of times and had seen terrible things in his housing project. His parents argued constantly; life was chaotic.
He was sold by the recruiter's description of a "different" high school.
Urban Prep would be a charter high school. It would bring together some 150 boys from some of the poorest, gang-ravaged neighborhoods and try to set them on a new track. They'd have strict rules: A longer school day _ by two hours. Two classes of English daily. A uniform with jackets and ties.
And Urban Prep had a goal _ one that seemed audacious, given that just 4 percent of the Class of 2010 was reading at or above grade level when they arrived at the school in 2006.
In four years, they were told, they'd be heading to college.
___
From the very start, Tim King had a grand plan.
"I wanted to create a school that was going to put black boys in a different place," says the founder of Urban Prep, "and in my mind, that different place needed to be college."
It had taken four years for King to win permission to open the Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men, which receives about 75 percent of its funding from the Chicago public schools; the rest is private.
King's plan was both idealistic and grounded in the harsh realities of inner-city life: He'd take boys from tough situations, many way behind in school, and if they followed his road map, they'd get into college.
If the premise seemed simple, implementing it was anything but.
About 85 percent of the Class of 2010 came from low-income families, the overwhelming majority single mother households. The students would face problems far beyond poor academics.
Safety, for example. Some kids had to alter their bus routes so they wouldn't face gangs who might see their blazers and ties as inviting targets.
The uniforms are part of a philosophy that blends discipline with an oath that is the school's guiding principle. Every morning, students repeat the creed:
"We believe... We are college bound. ...
"We are exceptional _ not because we say it, but because we work hard at it ....
"We believe in ourselves. ... We believe."
___
Krishaun didn't believe.
When he discovered what he'd signed up for, he wanted out immediately.
No girls? School until 4:30 p.m.? A jacket and tie? You've got to be kidding. But his mother urged him to hang in. So did an aunt who threatened to stop buying him clothes and giving him spending money.
So he stayed, and raised hell.
He fought, he cursed the teachers, he got suspended. He wanted to get kicked out.
"I went to the principal and said, 'I don't want to be here. Just send me home,'" he recalls. "I didn't like the discipline. I didn't like the surroundings. I didn't like the uniform. I didn't like anything.'
Krishaun started sophomore year on probation. He was failing some classes and straddling two worlds: A student at Urban Prep. And a kid clinging to street life who'd tuck a white T-shirt into his bag _ part of the uniform of the gangbangers _ so he could hang out with them.
After fighting with another student sophomore year, Krishaun transferred to a Chicago public school. But he couldn't stop his downhill slide, earning lots of F's and D's.
Then came a brutal wake-up call. A close friend was beaten to death.
Krishaun started seeing Urban Prep in a new light. He pleaded to return.
"I knew I was going down the wrong path," he says. "I had to graduate or my life was going to be nothing. ... I'd seen the streets were not going to get me anywhere."
He lobbied Evan Lewis, the recruiter who'd visited his elementary school and had become a mentor.
"He didn't take no or maybe for an answer," Lewis says.
Krishaun was readmitted. He buckled down, and during his junior year was honored five times with a "student of the week" designation.
"My personality changed," Krishaun says. "My posture changed. My speech changed. A lot about me has changed."
But Krishaun still has a glint in his eye and an easy charm that helped him become president of the Student Government Association.
"He has made if not a 180-degree turn, maybe a 160-degree turn ... ," says Lewis, vice president of institutional advancement. "He's a very smart kid, a very savvy kid. He sees the big picture. That's the reason he survived on the streets. That's the reason he'll be successful."
___
At Urban Prep, every student has at least one mentor _ maybe a coach or a teacher. About 60 percent of teachers at the Englewood campus (Urban Prep has another school and plans to open a third this fall) are black men. They serve as confidantes and role models to students, many of whom have no fathers in their lives.
All staff members have school-assigned cell phones so students (and parents) can phone day or night. And they do.
Just ask Corey Stewart, a 24-year-old history teacher.
Students will call and say, "'I'm stranded and I don't have a way from downtown to get home,'" Stewart says. "'Can you come pick me up?' Absolutely, I'm on my way. Or 'Mr. Stewart, I'm afraid that I might get jumped on after school today. Is it possible you can take me home?' Of course."
Stewart says he doesn't worry about becoming too friendly with his students and won't hesitate to fail someone who's not measuring up.
Stewart leads a "pride" (more lion imagery) _ another name for home room that meets three times a day.
It's one of the unorthodox steps taken for a student population that requires extra attention. That's the reason for longer school hours, the double dose of English and mandatory 20 minutes of reading daily, the assessments every six weeks, Saturday classes and summer school for those who need it.
Of the 150 teens who started in 2006, 95 lasted four years. (Another dozen were transfers.) They've become a tight-knit group.
So when Cameron Barnes' mother died last year, he returned to school the next day. "It was like being with family," he says.
And when it came time for his mother's funeral, the members of his "pride" stood with him.
___
Marlon Marshall was in a bind.
His mother announced she was moving to Michigan. She was tired of the violence engulfing her neighborhood; her brother was shot on their front porch.
Marlon wanted to attend Urban Prep his senior year. But he had no home.
Urban Prep staff huddled, and with his mother's permission, he was taken in by assistant principal Richard Glass, a Don Cheadle lookalike with an unflappable manner and a buttery voice made for radio.
After nine months under the same roof, Marlon calls Glass "godfather" or "Pops."
Glass calls Marlon "a great young man" who falls in love easily _ a declaration that prompts the 18-year-old to rub his hand over his face in embarrassment.
Marlon had moved around a lot, frequently living in neighborhoods so dangerous his mother kept him indoors.
"Living here has given me so much freedom just to be a kid," he says, sitting in Glass' spotless kitchen. "I really haven't had a childhood. I couldn't go outside."
Just having a curfew (11 p.m.) was thrilling. "I can't even the explain the feeling I had when we were going over the rules," Marlon says. "I need structure. I sometimes get sidetracked or a little bit lazy."
And when Marlon's grades began slipping, Glass pushed him to turn things around _ and he earned a 3.0 average his senior year, his best ever.
__
The acceptance letters began arriving this spring.
Trinity College. The University of Illinois. Howard University. The University of Virginia. Morehouse College. Indiana State University. Tuskegee University. And on and on.
When all 107 seniors had received letters, there was a celebration.
Marcus Bass wanted to cry _ but he refrained. It had been a rocky four years, riddled with doubts, struggles in biology and an attitude adjustment.
"At first, I thought everybody was out to get me," Marcus says in a barely audible voice. "I wasn't used to taking orders from anyone. I was used to just doing my own thing."
There were warnings, he says, from teachers and administrators. There were outside pressures, too.
Guys he grew up with, would say "'you ain't even with us no more ... ,'" Marcus says. "I try to tell them there's something better than that. They just ... blow me off."
He's convinced Urban Prep has kept him out of trouble. "It's hard to say how they've saved my life," he says, "but they have."
But the Urban Prep graduation is an unfolding story and King knows it.
"It's just a milestone," he says. "It's not an endgame. This is not the fulfillment of our mission. (That) comes when we are able to see our students succeed in college and that may not be apparent for four or five years."
___
On a muggy June night, the graduates are gathered in cap and gown, reflecting on their journey.
Krishaun Branch, the kid who stopped himself from going over the edge, is heading to Fisk University in Tennessee.
He rattles of his emotions: "Happiness. Sadness. Proud. Proud of myself. Thankful. Successful."
Marcus Bass, the kid who wondered if he'd make it, grins with relief as he ponders a future at Jackson State University in Mississippi.
"It feels like I don't have anything to prove to anyone but now I have to prove something to myself _ and that's making it through college," he says.
And Marlon Marshall, the kid who found a new anchor in life, will attend Earlham College in Indiana. "Everybody said we wasn't going to make it," he says, "but we're here and about to do bigger and better things."
Marlon's father _ he left the family when his son was 3 months old _ is in from Mississippi, his mother from Michigan.
Marlon doesn't remember when he last saw his dad, but on this night, they share a tearful embrace. "You're a much better man than I ever was," Marlon Sr. says, burrowing his face in his son's chest.
"Don't blame yourself 'cause I never stopped loving you ... ," his teary-eyed son consoles him. "I never gave up on you, man. I always knew that you was trying."
There would be another embrace before graduation night was over when Marlon Sr. thanked Richard Glass _ the man who guided his son to the finish line.
___
Tim King asks the graduates to take the stage and recite their creed one final time.
They repeat the lines, rapidly and forcefully. The last words are joyous, and emphatic.
"WE BELIEVE."
A few raise their arms in triumph.
Then they toss their mortarboards in the air, red-and-gold tassels flying as the crowd cheers.
NEW YORK (UPI) Nine members of a religious sect were arraignedyesterday on charges of beating children with wooden rods andreligious statues and forcing them to beg for money on the streets.
Five children, ages 9 months to 8 years, were in the custody ofthe city's special services office.
Police in pre-dawn raids on two Queens homes rounded up thechildren and their parents, who are members of the Yahweh Temple,also known as the Black Hebrew Israelites.
The euro has dipped against the dollar despite efforts by eurozone finance ministers to defend the common currency in a meeting in Brussels.
The 16-nation currency bought $1.2382 in early Tuesday trading, down slightly from the $1.2392 it fetched in New York overnight. On Monday the euro slid to four-year lows against the dollar amid persistent uncertainty in the markets over the government debt crisis gripping Europe.
Finance ministers from all 27 European Union members are meeting Tuesday in Brussels to set new rules to regulate hedge funds.
The euro also dragged down other currencies, bringing the British pound to $1.4473 from $1.4493 in late New York trading. The dollar bought 92.73 Japanese yen, slightly up from 92.54 yen overnight.
HONOLULU (AP) — The Honolulu medical examiner's office says the man a federal agent allegedly shot and killed inside a McDonald's restaurant had alcohol in his system.
The office said Wednesday that Kollin Elderts' blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent, based on blood drawn during an autopsy. A preliminary toxicology screen detected another substance but a blood sample is being sent to a mainland lab for further testing.
The 23-year-old Kailua man was shot in the chest Saturday during an altercation at the Waikiki McDonald's. State Department Special Agent Christopher Deedy is charged with second-degree murder and was released after posting $250,000 bail.
Police would not comment on whether an alcohol test was administered on the 27-year-old agent. He was in town to help with security at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.
Jakes declares second victory in federal probe
The Rev. Paul L. Jakes Jr. Thursday declared a second victory upon learning that the U.S. Dept. of Justice has asked the FBI to investigate the alleged assault of 11-year-old Timia Williams by Chicago policemen.
Jakes received a letter from Acting Assistant Attorney General William R. Yeomans from the Civil Rights Division confirming that his request has been accepted and that it will be reviewed by the FBI.
"Different from months back, we have finally heard a response from the U.S. Justice Dept., and I am pleased that they are putting more of a face in the Black and brown communities to investigate Klan-like attacks upon our people," Jakes said.
"We plan an action (protest) at State's Attorney Dick Devine's office in the future to raise one question: When are you going to start prosecuting dishonest and brutal police officers?"
"Since 1996, Devine has prosecuted one police officer since he was elected to office, and that is not good enough."
"Even though the Justice Dept.'s announcement is a positive move, we still haven't heard the response from the Office of Professional Standards as to whether the officers involved in the attack of little Timia will be disciplined or not," Jakes told the Chicago Defender.
"We still are waiting for a response from OPS, Police Supt. Hillard and State's Attorney Dick Devine," he stated.
Article Copyright Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc.
Berger, Roman, Slovak composer and writer on music; b. Cieszyn, Poland, Aug. 9, 1930. He was the son of an evangelical pastor. His youth was disrupted by the Nazi attack on Poland in 1939, and he later was sent to the Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps. Following his liberation at the end of World War II, he entered the State Higher School of Music in Katowice in 1945. In 1952 he and his family were forced to leave Poland, and they settled in Bratislava, where he studied piano (graduated, 1956) and composition (graduated, 1965) at the Academy of Music and Drama. He also worked at the Cons, there until 1966. In 1967–68 he was secretary of the composers' section of the Union of Slovak Composers. From 1969 to 1971 he worked in the dept. of theory at the Academy of Music and Drama, but then was expelled from the Union of Slovak Composers and was left unemployed. In 1980 he was able to find employment in the Art History Inst. of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. However, his theoretical writings led him to be classified as a dissident and subjected to harassment by the Communist authorities. With the collapse of the Communist regime in the wake of the "Velvet Revolution" in 1989, he served as a member of the advisory board of the Ministry of Culture until 1991, the year he left his position at the Slovak Academy of Sciences. In 1967 he received the Ján Levoslav Bella Prize for composition, in 1967 the prize and in 1990 the diploma of the Czechoslovak Music Critics for composition, and in 1988 the Herder Prize of the Univ. of Vienna for his compositions and writings on theory. His works are formally well disciplined, melodically atonal, and harmonically complex.
DRAMATIC: Stage music and film scores. ORCH Suite in the Old Style (1963–78); Transformation (1965); Memento (1973). CHAMBER: Romance for Violin and Piano (1960); Trio for Flute, Clarinet, and Bassoon (1962); Convergencies I for Violin (1969), II for Viola (1970), and III for Cello (1975); Violin Sonata (1983); Adagio (No. 1) for Jan Branny (1987), No. 2, Repentance (1988–89), and No. 3 (1988, 1994) for Violin and Piano. KEYBOARD: Piano: Frafflsifl quasi una sonata (1955); 3 Inventions(1959–61); Sonata 1960 (1960); Suite (1961); Sonata da camera (1971); Inventions II, 10 studies (1987–90); November-Music I (1989). Organ: Exodus II (1981) and IV-Finale (1982). VOCAL: Lullaby for Mezzo-soprano and Chamber Orch. (1962); In the Silence so Dearly Redeemed for Chorus (1962); Black and Red for Chorus and Percussion (1967); Litany to Trees for Men's Chorus (1975); De profundis for Bass, Piano, Cello, and Live Electronics (1980); Wiegenlied for Alto and Piano (1992). Electroacoustic: Elegy in memoriam Jan RúÃka (1969); En passant (1970); Epitaph for Mikuláš Kopernik (1972); Transgressus I (1993).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire
LOS ANGELES -- George Lopez has undergone a kidney transplant withan organ donated by his wife.
George and Ann Lopez "are resting comfortably in their Los Angeleshome and are both expected to make a full recovery," according to astatement released this week by a publicist for the actor-comedian.
The operation occurred last week at an undisclosed hospital in LosAngeles. Lopez, star of the ABC comedy "George Lopez," had a geneticcondition that caused …
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has upheld a $5 million judgment to the maker of a patented deep fryer, but in a ruling that makes it harder to claim patent infringement.
The justices voted 8-1 Tuesday in favor of France-based SEB, S.A., on claims that a Hong Kong company copied features of its innovative home fryer in which the outside stays cool to the touch. A unit of Global-Tech Appliances Inc., began selling its own fryer, based upon the SEB-owned technology.
The high court upheld an appeals court ruling for SEB, but adopted a tougher standard than the appeals court used for proving the patent violation.
Computer and other technology companies argued for the higher standard. Pharmaceutical manufacturers wanted stronger patent protection.
The case is Global-Tech Appliances Inc., v. SEB, S.A., 10-6.
Switzerland's popular Glacier Expess tourist train derailed Friday in the Alps, killing one person and injuring 42 others on its spectacular journey between Zermatt and St. Moritz.
Police said six of the injured were in serious condition and most of the passengers were Japanese tourists. Rescue workers were seen loading a few injured passengers onto medical helicopters to be flown out for treatment in Lausanne and Geneva. Police declined to identify the person who died.
Rail interruptions, let alone accidents, are rare in Switzerland. The Glacier Express _ dubbed the "slowest express train in the world" _ is known as much for its majestic mountain climbs as for its pedestrian 18 mph (30 kph) average speed.
Valais authorities said two of the train cars drove off the tracks and a third tipped over, but the cause of the accident wasn't immediately known. The three cars were at the back of the train and the derailment took place near the town of Fiesch and the mouth of the Aletsch glacier, Europe's largest icemass.
Rail traffic remained closed near the accident site Friday evening and local police were investigating.
The 80-year-old Glacier Express runs several times a day all year round, carrying some 250,000 passengers a year.
It starts in Zermatt, at the base of Switzerland's iconic Matterhorn mountain, and rumbles through terrain over a mile (1.6 kilometers) above sea level, surrounded by many of the highest Alpine peaks. After 7 1/2 hours, 291 bridges and 91 tunnels, it ends in St. Moritz _ one of the world's ritziest winter resorts. Train cars have special large windows that sweep high onto the roof so tourists can take in the vast mountain vistas.
A celebration of Swiss engineering, the Glacier Express offers breathtaking views of mountains, glaciers, viaducts across rushing streams and switchback rail lines that sometimes go in full circles to spiral up or down the steepest slopes.
The accident was the country's worst rail mishap since 2006, when three men died after a runaway train traveled for miles (kilometers) without brakes before crashing into another train.
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. When the match to clinch a medal ended, MaryJoe Fernandez met best friend Lindsay Davenport at the net with a hugand a pat on the back.
Later in the locker room, Davenport broke into tears.
"Don't cry," Fernandez scolded. "If I was crying, you'd tell menot to cry."
Davenport wept Wednesday not because she lost, but because shewon, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6). Beating her pal in the semifinals wasn't muchfun, even if it guaranteed Davenport at least a silver medal.
"I was playing someone who's my …
(ADPnews) - Apr 28, 2010 - Analysts of EVO Securities today upgraded oil major Royal Dutch Shell plc's (AMS:RDSA) recommendation to "add" from "reduce", following the release of first-quarter figures.
According to the brokerage, the company's results were robust, with most of the divisions showing an improvement. Analysts expect a rise in profits in 2010 and the next years. No share price target was provided.
…
Here are recent reports of public health inspections conducted at Albany County businesses: Aug. 26 Picard's Grove, 111 Picard Road, New Scotland. Routine inspection. Blue item: Cases of food items stored on floor of walk-in cooler.
Aug. 27 Ice Cream Plaza, 2113 Central Ave., Colonie. Routine inspection. Blue item: Floor under equipment soiled.
The Pretzel Shop, 800 New Loudon Road, Colonie. Routine inspection. Blue item: Floor storage of food items.
Tee-Off Inn, 418 Consaul Road, Colonie. Routine inspection. Blue items: Bottom of reach-in cooler in disrepair; drawers under grill greasy, paint chipping; shelves in various coolers rusted; ice machine …
As part of a larger strategy to improve its capital structure, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced last week that it is in the market with a $3.35 billion refinancing deal. The announcement was made in connection with news from the company that it expects to report stronger fourth quarter results.
Syndication was launched last Friday on two components of the deal: a $1.5 billion asset-based credit facility, which is comprised of a revolver and a term loan; and a $1.2 billion second lien term loan. A bank meeting is slated for March 3 for the euro equivalent of $650 million in credit facilities for its Goodyear Dunlop Tires Europe affiliate.
JP …
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — England all-rounder Paul Collingwood says he is confident he will regain his batting touch at the World Cup after suffering a drastic loss of form.
Collingwood has been a key member of the England team for 10 years but scored …
PIERRE, S.D. -- A mansion that was home to more than half of SouthDakota's governors now sits in three pieces, nearly forgotten on astorage lot.
If you want it, it's yours. Free for the taking.
There is one catch -- the 5,200-square-foot, 18-room structuremust be used for a public purpose.
The residence is being replaced by a $3.25 million home where theold one once stood along Capitol Lake. Money for the new mansion,expected to be finished about June 1 for occupancy by Gov. MikeRounds and his family, has come solely from donations.
Rounds was the 16th governor to live in the old mansion, built in1936 and listed on the National Register of Historic …
My wife and I have enjoyed using our Skyhawk to make trips to visit family and friends, including several trips from out home airport in Frederick, Md. (KFDK), to Lake City, Fla. (KLCQ), where my mother-in-law resides. On one of these trips, I was reminded how important it is to properly preflight the airplane, not rush the process, nor skip any items.
A trip from KFDK to KLCQ requires at least one stop, and depending on winds, weather and comfort, we have made the trip with two legs. This trip, the first leg took us nearly halfway; we got fuel, and had lunch. I seldom miss an opportunity to top off the tanks--having been schooled that fuel on the ground is of little use once …
Byline: JAMES M. ODATO - Capitol bureau
ALBANY - Gov. Eliot Spitzer and legislative leaders are considering taking on $900 million of additional debt for capital projects, although the total seems to be a moving target.
"I'm not going to put numbers on it," the governor said after a public meeting with legislative leaders demanding a chance to get priority projects funded before the session ends June 21.
The meeting yielded no solid deals other than an agreement to extend the Power For Jobs program through next June.
The program provides discount electricity to employers across the state. Lawmakers and Spitzer want to amend the program but …
Byline: WILLIAM RASPBERRY
WASHINGTON -- The National Collegiate Athletic Association, under pressure from the Department of Justice and presumably prodded by human compassion, is about to commit a bissagiatt.
I'd better explain what a bissagiatt is. It is my word for any innovation that, when put into practice, leads people to say: ``But It Seemed Such A Good Idea At The Time.''
California's Proposition 209, which has decimated the ranks of blacks and Hispanics at the state's elite universities, may be a good recent example. Right-on-red -- also out of California? -- is another.
And now the NCAA. Under newly adopted rules, the organization …
Byline: Thomas Jefferson University
PHILADELPHIA, May 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists at Jefferson Medical College are using tobacco plants to produce monoclonal antibodies - tiny guided protein missiles - that can target and hunt down cancer cells. The plants promise to provide a cheaper, faster method of producing anticancer antibodies, raising hopes that the technology can one day be used in humans.
Scientists, led by Hilary Koprowski, M.D., professor of microbiology and immunology and director of the Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories and the Center for Neurovirology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and …
