Boston Celtics backup guard Tony Allen declined to discuss a reported death threat against him, responding with silence when asked about it on Saturday.
Several media outlets reported Allen has been receiving threats, and the NBA has increased security around him.
"That issue is not a new issue for us in our league over …
As autumn approaches, many people are planning either to move orto refurbish their homes.
That often means moving heavy furniture and risking back injury.Such injuries are painful and can do lasting damage. They usuallyare brought on by improperly lifting heavy objects.
For those people, here's some back-saving advice from theNational Safety Council.
Put one foot alongside the object and the other foot behind it.Bend your knees. Keeping your back straight, grasp the object firmlyand bring it close to you, centering all the weight over your feet.Lift the object slowly, using your leg muscles for support.
GOURMET TIDBITS: Try a new taste sensation …
LONDON (AP) — Britain's equality commission says new rules for spies and soldiers on handling detainees held overseas are unlawful because they don't rule out the use of torture.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission was opening a legal challenge on Tuesday over revised guidelines published last July after concern over the actions of some British officials.
Britain's rules set out …
Singapore's first casino-resort partially opened Wednesday, a key part of a government plan to reduce reliance on manufacturing and brand the tightly controlled city-state as a cosmopolitan Asian capital.
Resorts World Sentosa, built by Malaysia's Genting Bhd for 6.6 billion Singapore dollars ($5 billion), opened 1,340 rooms in four hotels, including a Hard Rock hotel and a property designed by architect Michael Graves. Its 7,300-seat ballroom, one of Asia's largest, will host its first event at the end of this month.
A Universal Studios theme park is expected to open in the coming weeks on the sprawling 49-hectare complex on Sentosa, an island a quarter of …
The case of a man accused of stabbing a dog to death has beencontinued for a week.
Patrick O'Neill appeared from custody at Aberdeen Sheriff Courtyesterday.
O'Neill, whose address was given on court papers as 30f FerrierCrescent, Aberdeen, denies stabbing a …
Foods that Harm - Foods that Heal: An A-Z Guide to Safe and Healthy Eating
Edited by Reader's Digest
Published by Reader's Digest, 215 Redfern Ave.,
Westmount, PQ H3Z 2V9, 1997
Pp: 400; Hard Cover; CAN $39.95
ISBN: 0-88850-536-1
Foods that Harm - Foods that Heal is the latest in the Reader's Digest series of health-wise books and is billed as an authoritative, no-nonsense, lifetime health manual. It is designed for easy reference in an alphabetically format. The book was developed by an extensive team of writers in Canada and the United States in consultation with physicians and dietitians. As well, information from organizations such as the …
Pope Benedict XVI praised the Australian government Thursday for its "courageous' apology to the country's indigenous Aborigines for past injustices, saying it offered hope to all the world's disadvantaged peoples.
The remarks came in the pope's first public appearance on a 10-day visit to Australia to lead the Roman Catholic church's youth festival, which has drawn more than 200,000 pilgrims to Sydney from across the world.
Benedict said Australia's original inhabitants were an essential part of the country's cultural landscape, and cited their plight since the first British convict settlers arrived 220 years ago.
"Thanks to the …
White Sox general manager Ken Williams had a meeting Thursday withstarting pitcher Freddy Garcia to discuss comments the right-handermade the day before.
Garcia told the Sun-Times that he was prepared to be the pitcherwho is traded this offseason when the Sox make room in the rotationfor Brandon McCarthy.
"Yeah, I know it's going to be me," Garcia said. "I think about ita little bit, and I know it's going to be me. I understand that. Italmost happened [last] offseason, so if they trade me, what can Isay?"
Williams was adamant that Garcia was not discussed in trade talkslast winter.
"Obviously, it was bothering Freddy, so I went directly up to …
Chinese historical documents contain abundant descriptions of weather conditions that can be used to reconstruct the climate over hundreds and perhaps thousands of years-in this case precipitation between 1736 and 1911.
Long-term, high-resolution climate data are needed to study regional climate variability on decade-to-century time scales, and for evaluating climate model simulations of past climate. Historical documents, in which weather conditions are described qualitatively, and sometimes even quantitatively, provide a unique source for climate reconstruction of the past few centuries (Zhang and Crowley 1989; Bradley et al. 1993; Pfister 1995; Mikami 1999; Pfister et al. 2002; …
In his final acts of clemency, President George W. Bush on Monday granted early prison releases to two former U.S. Border Patrol agents whose convictions for shooting a Mexican drug dealer fueled the national debate over illegal immigration.
Bush, responding to heavy pressure from Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike, commuted the prison sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. The two guards from El Paso, Texas, each were sentenced to more than 10 years for the shooting, which they tried to cover up. They will be released within two months.
Opposition to their convictions, sentencing and firings has simmered ever since the shooting occurred in …
Veteran Chicago newsman John Madigan, who announced hisretirement earlier this year as political editor and media critic forWBBM-AM (780), was named Thursday as the first public informationofficer for the Illinois Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Thomas J. Moran, who has known Madigan since WorldWar II, said Madigan was picked for the job because of his "publicrelations skills and distinguished credentials" spanning more than 50years of journalism.
"The courts, no less than any other public or privateinstitution, must do a better job of informing the citizens ofIllinois," he said in explaining why the court created the part-timepost.
Madigan, 70, will work …
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong authorities say a New Zealander who was arrested after going on the run following a bank mistake that gave him a multimillion-dollar line of credit will be extradited.
Hong Kong officials said Monday that a New Zealand application for the extradition of Hui "Leo" Gao was approved by a judge Oct. 27. They gave no more details, but Hong Kong extradition cases also typically need to be …
DAILY MAIL SPORTSWRITER
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Physically Byron Leftwich is likely the mostimposing quarterback Florida will face this season.
The concern for Marshall University fans is whether the shouldersof Leftwich's 6-foot-6, 240-pound frame are big enough to carry theThundering Herd against the top-ranked Gators.
He's already shown he can thread the needle against Mid-AmericanConference competition.
"Physically he's a lot like Quincy Carter," Florida DefensiveCoordinator Jon Hoke said, comparing Leftwich to the Dallas Cowboyquarterback.
"He's athletic. He'll run the football. He doesn't option asmuch, but to me he's a lot like Quincy Carter."
Leftwich has been getting a special player's share of attentionthis week. Monday he participated in an ESPN.com chat room on line.Tuesday he spoke via telephone at Florida's media luncheon.
"The attention is the fun part," said Leftwich, who'll take thefield in Gainesville at 7:15 p.m. today when the Herd and Gatorsbattle in an ESPN2 game. "It's the first game for them, it's ourfirst game. Everybody loves college football and wants something totalk about. I'm just having fun with it. I'm happy to be playingagainst another team."
Another team, and at least for now, the team chosen as the bestin the country by both the coaches and the media. Leftwich has beenpreparing since January for this opener, according to OffensiveCoordinator Ed Zaunbrecher.
"Byron has been preparing well," Zaunbrecher said. "From themiddle of last season till now he's just gotten better and better.I'm pleased with the way he's been working, leading, and doing thethings a quarterback is supposed to do."
Last season Leftwich hit 279 of his 457 passes (.611) for 3,358yards, 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions, despite spending muchof MU's first four games on his back.
He averaged 279.8 passing yards per game. In his first six, hethrew for 1,504, an average of 250. In the final six, he added 1,854for an average of 309.
Can Marshall and Leftwich be productive against Florida'sdefense?
"They have the kind of athletes who you can have blocked and havethe angle on them and they can get off blocks and go make theplays," Zaunbrecher said. "That's why they have such a good defense,they have the athletes to go do it."
Leftwich doesn't see a big gap in the Gators' athletes versus theHerd's.
"They're kind of similar. You look at their speed and our guys'speed on film and you don't see too much of a difference," Leftwichsaid. "That's what our defense goes on is speed, and I see thatevery day. I should be able to go against those guys (today)."
"We just need to run our plays as well as we can," Zaunbrechersaid. "When you play a defense like that, if you try to do too muchyou just mess yourself up. So you do the things you do the best. Ifyou do that well enough, you should be able to move the football.
"When you play against a good team, they're always going to makesome plays. You just have to minimize what they do and the amount ofdamage they do when they do make a play.
"If they get in there and get penetration, we want to avoidturnovers. We want to kick the ball at the end of the series. Ifthat's the case, we should be OK."
Leftwich agreed, adding, "My attitude is we just need to executeour offense. If a guy is open, I've got to hit them. No matter wherehe's at, no matter if he has pressure. If a guy is open, and I canget rid of the ball, I should hit him every time."
Confidence will help Leftwich stand tall in the pocket,experience will help him get rid of the football when he needs to.MU's receiving corps is not yet blessed with as much gameexperience.
But Leftwich believes in them.
"Those guys are going to do a great job," he said. "They're inthe situation now I was in last year. People don't know about JoshDavis. People know about Curtis Jones, but he hasn't played thatmuch.
"They don't know about Denero Marriott or Chris Martin. Thoseguys were behind four receivers last year that were pretty good. Twoof them are in the NFL. They just had to wait their turn. Now istheir time to shine. I know they're going to step up, face thechallenge and do real good for us."
Zaunbrecher expects five to seven receivers to play in thefootball game, whether NCAA punishment will have a hand in it is asyet unknown, though Leftwich is uninvolved. Those impact receiversare Darius Watts, Jones, Davis, Martin, Marriott, Chris Ray, BradBates and Demetrius Doss.
"They've all been working with the first two groups," Zaunbrechersaid. "Hopefully they'll be able to go in there and know whatthey're doing and they'll be able to go in there and play. Most ofthem know more than one position so that gives you more depth."
While Davis was the step-up guy this spring, Marriott hasasserted himself this August.
"Marriott has really worked hard to make himself a receiver,"Zaunbrecher said. "When he first moved over there (from thesecondary), he wasn't a natural at the position. But he's workedhard and developed by taking to the coaching and putting in extratime."
Japanese shares rose for a second day Wednesday, with buying triggered by the dollar's rebound against the yen and strong gains booked overnight on Wall Street.
After a up-and-down session, the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index ended up 7.7 percent, or 589.98 points, at 8,211.90, retaking the psychologically key 8,000 plateau for the first time in a week. That follows a 6.4 percent gain Tuesday.
Investors are beginning to look at market fundamentals again as the panic mode of the last few weeks subsides, said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at Daiwa Securities.
"We're seeing people get back into the market after the recent losses, and a reaction to foreign exchange," he said.
The yen, which last week hit its strongest point against the dollar in over a decade, has weakened after hitting a 13-year high on Friday of about 91 yen to the dollar. In Asian trading Wednesday, the dollar was at 96.76 yen, down from 98.45 yen late Tuesday in New York.
The gains came after U.S. shares soared Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrials gaining nearly 900 points, the second-largest point gain ever. The Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 index each finished with a nearly 11 percent rise.
The Nikkei index jumped in early trading before surrendering most of its gains in the early afternoon, then rallied late to close out the day. That volatility resembled its performance Tuesday, when it recovered to end over 6 percent higher after temporarily slipping below the 7,000 mark for the first time in 26 years.
Exporters gained, led by Honda Motor Co., which shot up over 18 percent to 2,440 yen, even though on Tuesday it reported a 41 percent drop in quarterly profit and cut its forecast for the full fiscal year.
Printer and camera maker Canon was up 6.9 percent at 2,730 yen.
Investors also bought into stocks that have taken a beating in recent weeks. Massive banking concern Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group was up 7.8 percent at 594 yen. The stock was over 900 yen a month ago.
After the market closed, Sony Corp. reported a 72 percent plunge in quarterly profit as a surging yen wiped out perks from flat-panel TV and PlayStation 3 sales. Sony shares rose 2 percent to 2,046 yen.
A New York-based Pentecostal faith healer was released on bail in his native Jamaica on Monday, nearly two weeks after being charged with sexually abusing a teenage girl.
Paul Lewis, who was charged with carnal abuse and indecent assault for allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old girl, was released on $5,600 bail and ordered to surrender his travel documents until a July 7 court date, his lawyer Michael Erskine told reporters.
Erskine declined further comment, but he previously said his client denied the charges.
Lewis was born in Jamaica but moved to the United States as a child. His Web site identifies him as pastor for The Messengers for Christ World Healing Center in Brooklyn. The church has not responded to requests for comment.
The Web site says he has preached in the Bahamas, Canada, Jamaica, Europe and Africa. In infomercials and on his Web site, Lewis has pitched a "miracle olive oil soap" that he claims can cure diseases like AIDS and cancer and bring prosperity.
MADISON, Wis. Gov. Tommy G. Thompson says he would go along withlowering Wisconsin's drinking age, but only to age 20 and not if itreduces federal highway construction funds.
A legislative committee recommends reducing the minimum drinkingage to 19 if Congress ends the threat to withhold highway funds fromstates whose minimum age is less than 21.
Thompson said he doubts Congress will rescind the requirement.If it does, he does not think a new minimum age should include teens.
The Assembly's State Affairs Committee endorsed a bill Tuesday7-3 to lower the age to 19.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation calculates thatreducing the age with the federal rule in force would cost the state$9 million the first year and $18 million each subsequent year.
"Until the federal government acts, I don't see much reason toget excited about the bill," Thompson said.
Rep. Scott Klug (R-Wis.) is sponsoring a bill to cancel thefinancial penalty. The bill was delivered Feb. 2 to a Housesubcommittee whose chairman is Rep. Thomas E. Petri (R-Wis.).
Opponents of Wisconsin lowering its age argue it would increasehighway traffic as young people from neighboring states ride toWisconsin taverns.
Gov. Edgar would object to an adjoining state lowering its age,spokesman Eric Robinson said.
Two hairdressers from the same salon are snips away from successfor top industry awards.
Hairdresser of 20 years Michelle McKay, 37, has been nominated forBritish Men's Hairdresser of the Year.
She joins Phillip Bell who is shortlisted to be ScottishHairdresser of the Year, as reported in the Evening Express earlierthis week.
Both hairdressers of the Aberdeen's Ishoka salon at Albyn Terracehave been nominated before.
The pair will find out if they have won at a London ceremony onNovember 26.
Svetlana Kuznetsova eliminated top-seeded Jelena Jankovic from the Pan Pacific Open on Friday and ended the Serb's hopes of a swift return to the world's No. 1 ranking.
Kuznetsova, seeded fifth, rallied from a set down for a 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 win in a quarterfinal that lasted 2 hours, 26 minutes at Ariake Colosseum.
Kuznetsova took a 6-5 lead in the deciding set when she broke Jankovic for the fourth time.
The Russian took a 40-30 lead with a smash at the net and then won the match on a drop shot that Jankovic couldn't reach.
"I knew I had to be more aggressive in the third set," said Kuznetsova. "If you don't take a risk you don't drink champagne."
It was a disappointing loss for Jankovic, who had been hoping to reclaim the world's top ranking with a tournament victory. The Serb struggled on serve with eight double faults.
"I played well in the first set and then my percentage of serves started getting lower and lower," said Jankovic. "I made double faults at the wrong time and lost my serve many times and that was the key."
Kuznetsova will face qualifier Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia in the semifinals on Saturday.
Srebotnik upset Olympic gold medalist and third seed Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-4.
Jankovic lost to Serena Williams in the final of the U.S. Open and was hoping to replace Williams at the top of the rankings.
"Coming off the U.S. Open it's hard to be at the top of your game," said Jankovic. "I have five tournaments left this year and still have a chance to finish at the top of the rankings and that's the most important thing to me."
Russia's Nadia Petrova also advanced to the semis with a 6-3, 6-0 win over sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. She will face the winner of the match between fourth-seeded Dinara Safina of Russia and Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.
Maine East senior Mindy Weiner, the defending state singleschampion, knows the importance of off-season competition "is criticalin keeping us technically, tactically and physically sharp."
To stay sharp, Weiner had been anticipating her usual volume ofnational and regional tennis tournaments this summer. In June,however, her summer plans suffered a setback. In a softball game,she broke her right ankle. She was told she would be unable tocompete in tennis for nearly two months.
So she learned how to combat adversity.
"My ankle was put into a cast for six weeks," she said. "Atfirst, I was quite disheartened. Tennis has always been such a bigpart of my life. Also, I knew I'd need the strong summercompetition to be ready for the 1989 high school season. There areseveral excellent players who will be trying to take my (state)championship."
Weiner regards 1988 state runner-up Jennifer Nasser of Hersey,Regina Dominican's Sheila Considine, Lyons' Laura Dvorak, New Trier'sMegan Mawicke and Homewood Flossmoor's Iffy Okorafor as her major challengers.
Weiner lifted weights to strengthen her upper body, conditionedher left leg to keep those muscles strong and hit balls with hersister Shelly to keep her reflexes and technique sharp.
In addition, she attended physical therapy sessions at HealthPlus, a sports medicine facility in north suburban Bannockburn. Sheworked out under the supervision of well-known kiniesiologist BobGajda.
"He really helped," Weiner said. "Not only did he speed myphysical recovery, our discussions kept my attitude right. When Ifirst got hurt, my attitude wasn't the best. I thought without thesummer tournaments I might not be physically ready to successfullydefend my championship.
"Now I realize my summer work helped keep me in reasonablecondition. I may be somewhat rusty at the beginning of the seasonbut I believe I'll be ready for the state tournament (inmid-October)."
Weiner will have to be at her best to match last year's 31-0record. She lost only one set - to Nasser in the state final. Shecredits her dream season to her development of greater self-control. To develop patience, she solves jigsaw puzzles. "I think it reallyhelped my mental tennis game," she said.
"Mindy could always hit the ball very hard," Nasser said. "Butthe difference between the 1988 Mindy and the one of previous yearswas her self-control. She didn't let herself get frustrated on thecourt."
"My greatest improvement was emotional," said Weiner, who alsohad to battle sporadic asthma-related problems. "I stopped trying toforce things and stopped letting my eagerness control my game."
SPRINGFIELD Voting rights lawsuits filed against the city'sschool district and park board were thrown out Thursday by a federaljudge.
The suits were filed by black residents who contended thecity-wide election of the two boards has diluted minority votes andprevented them from winning board posts.
But U.S. District Judge Richard Mills said the plaintiffs'proposed solution did not meet the legal requirements to prove thetwo boards violated the federal Voting Rights Act.
The black residents proposed seven election districts for eachboard, with at least one district including a minority population ofat least 50 percent. But because federal law requires that thevoting district's applicable minority population be of voting age,Mills said that quota could not be reached by using the city's 11percent minority population.
Donald Craven, lawyer for the black plaintiffs, said Mills'decision could have national implications if allowed to stand becauseit narrows the scope of the Voting Rights Act.
Earlier this year, another federal judge found Springfield'scitywide city council elections violated the Voting Rights Act, andhe ordered the creation of a new council elected from 10 wards.
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - Members of a commission analyzing Virginia's mental health laws on Friday debated whether language dealing with civil commitments is too narrowly worded to force potentially dangerous people into treatment.
The laws have come under increased scrutiny since the April 16 shooting spree at Virginia Tech, where a mentally ill student killed 32 people and then himself. Seung-Hui Cho had been ordered into involuntary outpatient treatment by a judge in 2005, but there is no indication he ever received the treatment.
A study authorized by the Supreme Court of Virginia's Commission on Mental Health Law Reform and cited at the group's meeting Friday found that judges, psychiatrists, mentally ill people and their relatives are uniformly frustrated by almost every aspect of the state's civil commitment process.
More than 200 people interviewed in the study in 2006 and early 2007 complained that there are not enough beds in willing detention facilities, insufficient time for adequate evaluation, inconsistent interpretation of the law by judges and a lack of direction and oversight. The study also said that most of those who had been committed felt stigmatized and unfairly treated.
"In my opinion, the need for reform is irrefutable," said Richard Bonnie, chairman of the commission, which was created last year. "No one is satisfied with the current situation. The only question is how sweeping the reforms should be."
Bonnie also noted that Cho's case was unusual, and that the commission should be sure to avoid reinforcing "exaggerated associations between mental illness and violence."
The meeting's most spirited debate focused on the state's requirement that people involuntarily committed must pose an "imminent danger" to themselves or others or be "substantially unable to care for" themselves. Most states don't use the word "imminent" in conjunction with danger or harm, making it easier to force treatment.
Some suggested clarifying the meaning of "imminent danger" or eliminating the "imminent" standard altogether and replacing it with "in the near future."
Others argued that such revisions would only complicate matters and raise new questions - such as what "in the near future" means. They also said changing the standard could infringe on people's civil rights and lead to warehousing of the mentally ill.
Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services commissioner James Reinhard said during a break that changing the law's wording is pointless if adequate resources to care for patients aren't made available.
"I think the language is less important than the actual practice," he said. "If you have those resources, potentially some of the wordsmithing on the criteria is irrelevant."
In a separate study conducted after the Virginia Tech tragedy, the commission asked judges and special justices to fill out a questionnaire on every commitment hearing held in May. Data from that study is still being analyzed, but preliminary findings show that about 60 percent of about 1,400 hearings from that month were over in less than 15 minutes and virtually all were over in less than half an hour.
The commission plans to eventually funnel its recommendations into a mental health reform package for the 2008 General Assembly.
House subcommittees are considering spending requests for security along the U.S.-Mexico border and ways to help curb Mexican drug violence.
An appropriations panel is holding hearings Tuesday for Homeland Security Department officials to talk about staffing to secure the Mexican border and the 670-mile fence there. The lawmakers also are looking at what role Homeland Security might play in combatting border violence.
About the same time, a separate subcommittee will hear testimony on the Merida Initiative. That's the U.S. program to help Mexico pay for equipment to combat drug trafficking and improve its police and judicial institutions.
Steinbach, Man.
Old Colony Mennonites in Bolivia and Mexico are under attack for their Christian beliefs by Jehovah's Witnesses. In September, their magazine The Watchtower published a story about the Mennonites in Bolivia, decrying their lack of "progressive Bible study and public preaching," and beliefs in "unbiblical teachings, such as the Trinity, immortality of the human soul and hellfire."
The story also suggested that restrictions on automobiles, radio and television are signs of a lack of spiritual vitality. But Donald Kraybill, an Elizabethtown (Pa.) College professor who has researched and written extensively about Old Order churches, says such measures, deeply rooted in community and history, help church members maintain faithfulness.
Nevertheless, there is no denying that Old Colony Mennonites have problems. In recent years they have experienced increased public scrutiny of issues such as sexual abuse and drug use and trafficking. But that doesn't mean the entire church is entirely spiritually bereft.
"I've encountered enough people who beat me easily [in biblical understanding]," says Kennert Giesbrecht, editor of Die Mennonitische Post, a Steinbach-based German-language newspaper serving colony groups in North and Latin America. "But I've also found people with a very limited biblical knowledge."
That is also the case with any other religious body. Nevertheless, Mennonite troubles seem to particularly draw the attention of churches with a heavy evangelism emphasis.
"Some of these groups really prey," Kraybill says. "If they smell dysfunctionality, they go in and exploit the weakness of the moment."
That has been the case in Bolivia, Giesbrecht says, where shortcomings in the colony educational system have produced members not adept at articulating their beliefs and countering the arguments of other beliefs. That has provided an opening for the Jehovah's Witnesses. "I think they know these people aren't terribly capable of defending themselves," he says.
Stories of proselytizing Old Colony Mennonites seem to abound among Jehovah's Witnesses. According to a 2004 story in The Watchtower, a call was issued in 2000 for German-speaking Witnesses in Europe to go to Bolivia. About 140 responded and made "repeated efforts" to win over colony members, the story reported.
September's The Watchtower reported that 11 Bolivian Mennonites were rebaptized as Witnesses in 2001 and "more have taken this step" since then. But Giesbrecht says he knows of only one family of converts, adding that Mennonite Central Committee workers in Bolivia have developed a brochure for Old Colony Mennonites to shore up defences against proselytization.
Jehovah's Witnesses, Pentecostals and Mormons have also tried to attract members of Mennonite colonies in Mexico. "But people didn't react," says Abram Siemens, who has a Low German-language radio program among the colonies near Cuauhtemoc.
In fact, he says a Pentecostal who tried to start a church is now part of Blumenau Mennonite Church, a German-speaking congregation formally affiliated with the General Conference Mennonite Church. "I don't think he knew there were churches here," Siemens says.
-Rich Preheim
A longer version of this article originally appeared in Mennonite Weekly Review.
DAILY MAIL STAFF
A federal judge has ruled that all three defendants accused ofsetting a Weston house fire that killed five young children willstand trial together this fall in Wheeling. In light of a recentU.S. Supreme Court ruling, Ricky Brown, Barbara Brown and JanetteAbles no longer face the death penalty in connection to the Nov. 21,1997, blaze in the home they shared. But the trio still facesseveral federal charges.
All three are accused of arson, conspiracy and several counts ofmail fraud for allegedly setting the early morning fire in an effortto cash in on insurance policies on the house and three of thechildren.
When the death penalty charge of arson causing death still stood,U.S. District Judge Irene Keeley had ruled that the Browns and Ablesshould be tried separately. In light of the reduced penalty thethree could possibly face, Keeley has decided that they can be triedtogether.
In her order, Keeley stated that since the cases will now besubstantially the same, both in prosecution and defense, it would bethe best for all involved to combine them.
Ricky Brown was tried last November by a jury in Charlestonfederal court on 15 counts, including arson causing death.
Jurors couldn't reach a verdict on eight of the charges,including the death penalty count. He was acquitted of seven othermail fraud charges.
Keeley declared a mistrial on the eight deadlocked counts andordered that they be retried at a later date.
The tentative schedule for the new combined trial will involvepretrial hearings in August with jury selection to begin Sept. 12.
All the portions of the trial will take place in Wheeling. Thetrial was moved from Clarksburg because of strong public sentimentagainst the defendants and the difficulty in finding an impartialjury.
Writer Chris Stirewalt can be reached at 348-4824 or by e-mail atcstire@dailymail.com.
"It's somewhat shocking to think of something like three chipmunks attaching themselves to an elephant and taking it down." -PETER FRANKS, a professor of biological oceanography in the Integrative Oceanography Division at Scripps, on the identification of tiny bacteria that could spell the end each year of harmful algal blooms, also known as "red tide." The single-celled swimming plankton that make up red tide are 25-30 times the size of the deadly nonswimming bacteria. Yet Franks and the coauthors of a recent study published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology identified the tiny bacteria clusters, which have been located in both polar and temperate oceans worldwide and are known as Roseobacter-Clade Affiliated ("RCA cluster") bacteria. These bacteria attach themselves a few at a time to the individual plankton, slowing their swimming speed, and eventually killing them. Although scientists' understanding of red tides is primitive-"We don't even know how they start," Franks says-the role of the RCA clusters as red tide killers could mitigate its harmful effects. (SOURCE: Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
Surprisingly strong earnings reports from Intel Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are sending stocks sharply higher.
The Dow Jones industrials were about 50 points away from the 10,000 mark in early trading Wednesday, a level not seen in a year. Major stock indexes all rose about 1 percent.
JPMorgan Chase, the first major bank to report third-quarter earnings, stoked the market's optimism as it handily beat Wall Street's expectations, reporting a profit of $3.59 billion for the July-September period. However the bank also said loan losses are still high and are likely to remain so for some time.
Intel also beat analysts' estimates, reporting a smaller-than-expected decline in profit and sales after the market closed Tuesday. The leading chip maker said it expects sales in the final period of the year to top analyst projections, raising hopes that the computer market was improving.
A smaller-than-expected decline in retail sales for September underpinned the market's early gains.
The Commerce Department said retail sales declined 1.5 percent last month as car sales tumbled following the end of the government's Cash for Clunkers program. While that was the largest monthly decline this year, it was not nearly as big as the 2.1 percent drop analysts had expected. Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.5 percent, better than the 0.2 percent increase analysts forecast.
The dollar slumped to a fresh 14-month low against other major currencies as investors' appetite for risk increased, sending gold to another record high of $1,072 an ounce. Oil prices rose above $75 a barrel for the first time in a year.
Treasury prices fell as investors abandoned safe-haven assets for stocks and commodities.
The Dow rose 83.43, or 0.9 percent, to 9,954.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 11.20, or 1.0 percent, to 1,084.39, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 20.75, or 1.0 percent, to 2,160.64.
About four stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 159.1 million shares, compared with 144.4 million at the same time on Tuesday.
The market's big gains followed modest losses on Tuesday, sparked by a disappointing decline in sales at Johnson & Johnson that fanned fears that consumers and businesses are still curbing their spending. Adding to the day's woes was a downbeat report from an influential banking analyst suggesting bank stocks are overvalued. The reports from Intel and JPMorgan eased some of those concerns.
JPMorgan shares soared $1.58, or 3.5 percent, to $47.24, its highest level in a year. Intel shares gained 53 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $21.02.
The ICE Futures U.S. dollar index, which tracks the dollar against other major currencies, fell 0.5 percent, after earlier hitting its lowest point since August 2008.
Oil prices jumped $1 to $75.15 93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices retreated slightly after touching a fresh record high.
Bond prices tumbled as stocks soared. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.40 percent from 3.35 percent late Tuesday.
In other earnings news, the drugmaker Abbott Laboratories beat Wall Street's profit expectations and raised its projections for the year above current estimates. Abbott shares rose 70 cents to $50.35.
Third-quarter earnings, and more specifically, the reports from major banks, are the market's key focus this week. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. will issue results on Thursday, followed by Bank of America Corp. on Friday.
Better-than-expected quarterly reports from banks have been the key driver of the market's seven-month-long rally, and financial stocks have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of that rally.
The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 58.6 percent since hitting a 12-year low in early March. The KBW Bank Index, which tracks 24 of the largest U.S. banks, has risen a massive 143.3 percent since then.
With bank stocks having run up so much over the past several months, investors are worried that current valuations may exceed companies' earnings potential. Investors want to see signs that loan losses are stabilizing and that banks have been able to build up solid core businesses.
Still, investors didn't seem fazed that JPMorgan, considered one of the strongest financial institutions throughout the financial crisis, doubled the amount of money it set aside during the quarter to cover failed home and credit card loans.
Instead they seemed to be encouraged by the fact that divisions like retail and investment banking at JPMorgan helped the bank earn a hefty profit.
"I think what JPMorgan has shown is that big banks still have earnings power," said Tyler Hall, an analyst at SNL Financial.
Analysts say companies' earnings reports, which will continue to pour in over the next few weeks, are the key to keeping the market's rally alive. If reports largely fall short of expectations, the stock market's advance could stall.
In other trading, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 6.25, or 1.0 percent, to 617.95.
Was that like a bad episode of "Cops" or what?
The only thing missing from that grainy, jiggly video of the HolySaturday seizure of Elian Gonzalez was the sound of "Bad Boys" on thesoundtrack as agents grabbed the boy and whisked him away in aminivan, while hysterical friends and family members screamed andcried and lunged for the kid.
Not that I'm joining the knee-jerk chorus of naive protesters whoare invoking the "jack-booted thugs" and "government stormtroopers"cliches while decrying the ham-handed tactics of Janet Reno and BillyClinton.
This wasn't Ruby Ridge. This wasn't Waco. This was a justifiable,well-executed tactical operation, carried out with efficiency byfederal agents.
Yeah, they came in with pepper gas and guns and riot gear,shouting threats and issuing commands. Guess what? That's how thesethings work. Intimidation is a key element in any such operation,whether we're talking about an INS raid or a bunch of cops burstinginto a suspect's house in Chicago.
You don't tiptoe in and shake hands and ask everyone if they're ina good mood. You take control. Don't forget, that kid was essentiallybeing held hostage by those glory-hound distant relatives. What werethe feds supposed to do, say, "Pretty please can we have the kid?"
In a rambling, wildly emotional press conference Sunday morning,Marisleysis Gonzalez warned, "This can happen to your kid, too."
God love her, but there's one problem with that statement. Elianisn't her child. He was not hers to keep.
That press conference also featured Buffalo Bob Smith of NewHampshire, who held up a pink Easter egg that Elian would never getto find, quoted Karen Carpenter and told us the boy now wouldn't getto celebrate Easter. Why, because his father was going to send him tohis room for running away?
Even though Elian is now where he should be, he continues to beexploited and commercialized. Hours after "The Taking Of Elian," asFox News titled it in its instant graphics, a seller on eBay wasoffering $3 buttons with the infamous photo of the armed agentconfronting Elian and his fisherman-rescuer.
"THE CLINTON-GORE LEGACY," reads the message above the picture.Below it: "Send a Message in November, Never Again!"
Other Elian-related items, available on the Internet or fromenterprising vendors in Florida:
Bumper stickers. Posters. Comic books. A coffee mug with a pictureof Fidel Castro and the sarcastic inscription, "World's GreatestDad!" T-shirts. Rubber stamps with Elian's photo. Gag license plates,with a cartoon Elian, um, squirting in Castro's face. An "ElianGonzalez Faberge Egg for Easter." Coffee mugs with the photo of thearmed agent and Elian and the caption, "CLINTON'S AMERICA!"
Some Internet pranksters have periodically put Elian himself onthe auction block: "Cuban boy for sale," stuff like that. But try tobid and you'll be told the auction is "invalid."
Too bad. I pictured Hugh Hefner making a $1 million bid andturning Elian into his own version of Mini-Me.
Or maybe Hillary Rodham Clinton could have made a claim for thepoor kid. Wasn't there some noise about her adopting a child a fewyears back? Accessorizing with an Elian might have been enough toswing New York in her direction.
As for the media, shame on us. We've started the 21st century byturning an admittedly compelling but relatively minor human interestdrama into a typically overblown spectacle. Conducting disturbinginterviews with the child, endlessly playing that disturbing "Papa"video, sending news choppers into the sky to hover above the scene,establishing a "Camp Elian" outside his temporary home, treatingSaturday's handover as if it were the most momentous development thisside of global nuclear war.
There was even a story about a New York Post reporter beingcharged with aggravated battery after allegedly stabbing a TVcameraman with a pen. Class!
We didn't just report on this story; we fueled its momentum withrocket jets of hype. According to the Center for Media and PublicAffairs, as of last week there had been more Elian stories on thenetwork newscasts (261) than there were about the deaths of PrincessDiana (200) and JFK Jr. (161), over similar chunks of time. With thisrecent drama Elian could even make a run at O.J. and Co., whowarranted 431 stories from the networks in the last six months of1994.
This saga will continue to spin and churn in the days and weeks tocome, but it boils down to this:
A mom died. Her son miraculously survived. His dad got him back.
End of story.
Richard Roeper (rroeper@suntimes.com) is the author of UrbanLegends: The Truth Behind All Those Deliciously Entertaining MythsThat Are Absolutely, Positively, 100% Not True!
MEXICO CITY -- Felipe Calderon was declared president-electTuesday after two months of uncertainty, but his ability to ruleeffectively remained in doubt with rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obradorvowing to lead a parallel leftist government from the streets.
The unanimous decision by the Federal Electoral Tribunal rejectedallegations of systematic fraud and awarded Calderon the presidencyby 233,831 votes out of 41.6 million cast in the July 2 elections --a margin of 0.56 percent. The ruling cannot be appealed.
Calderon now must win over millions of Mexicans angry thatPresident Vicente Fox, who is from Calderon's party, didn't make goodon promises of sweeping change -- and fend off thousands ofradicalized leftists who say they will stop at nothing to underminehis presidency.
Lopez Obrador, whose support is dwindling but becoming moreradical, has said he won't recognize the new government and vows toblock Calderon from taking power Dec. 1. Protesters outside thetribunal wept as the decision was announced and set off firecrackersthat shook the building.
"We aren't going to let him govern!" Thomas Jimenez, a 30-year-old law student, screamed as hundreds of protesters threw eggs andtrash at the courthouse.
The decision by the seven judges -- who have split their votes indisputes about other elections -- also found that Fox endangered theelection by making statements that favored Calderon, and thatbusiness leaders broke the law by paying for ads against LopezObrador, who promised to govern on behalf of the poor.
But the problems weren't serious enough to annul the results, theysaid. "There are no perfect elections," Judge Alfonsina Berta NavarroHidalgo said.
The court rejected most of Lopez Obrador's allegations, includinghis claim that an ad campaign comparing him to Venezuelan PresidentHugo Chavez unfairly swayed voters. The court also dismissed LopezObrador's claim of subliminal messages in television ads by pro-Calderon businesses.
The court's president, Leonel Castillo, called on Mexicans tounite and mend the deep divisions the election revealed.
"I hope we conclude this electoral process leaving confrontationbehind," he said.
A smiling Calderon emerged from party offices to wave atsupporters. He was scheduled to address the nation later Tuesday andmeet with Fox on Wednesday. today.
Calderon, a 44-year-old former energy secretary and careerpolitician, promised during the campaign to create jobs and keep theeconomy growing, and since the election he has adopted some of LopezObrador's ideas on how to help Mexico's poor majority.
Fox greeted the court's decision with a smile during an appearancein Cancun, then publicly congratulated Calderon and invited LopezObrador to begin talks aimed at "strengthening the nation and ourdemocracy."
Markets, which had expected Tuesday's ruling, were unchanged.World leaders, including Japan's prime minister and several CentralAmerican presidents, congratulated Calderon on his victory.
The White House, in a statement, congratulated the people ofMexico on the certification of a "free and fair electoral process."
"We congratulate Felipe Calderon on his victory and look forwardto working with him and his team," the statement said, adding thatthe United States expects its relationship with Mexico to continue tobe productive for both countries.
Tuesday's ruling came two months, three days, and tens ofthousands of pages of legal challenges after voters cast theirballots. In comparison, the U.S. presidential election of 2000remained in dispute for only 35 days.
The decision was unlikely to end the demonstrations that havecrippled Mexico City's center or to heal the nation's growingpolitical divide.
In the Zocalo plaza, thousands in a month-old protest campchanted: "If there is no solution, there will be revolution!"
"Taking up arms is the only way," said Angel Sinsun, 80. "They'llnever give us power with peaceful resistance or with negotiations."
Lopez Obrador has called on his followers to remain peaceful. Hismovement has become increasingly radicalized since the election, andpolls indicate he lost support after lawmakers from his party blockedFox's last state-of-the-nation address on Friday.
On Tuesday, the Convergencia party -- one of three that nominatedLopez Obrador for the presidency -- left the electoral alliance,saying "it is time to rethink strategies."
Lopez Obrador adviser Manuel Camacho told The Associated Pressthat the court's recommendation "does not take into account what isactually happening in the country."
"The court is going to be questioned seriously about itsdecision," he said, adding: "We have the responsibility to conductourselves peacefully."
No violence was reported, but police surrounded the headquartersof Calderon's National Action Party, where businesswoman SusannaRivera was among a few drivers honking in support of the conservativeformer energy secretary.
"It's marvelous. It's perfect," she said of the court's decision."We are happy because he is a decent, educated person." She saidLopez Obrador's supporters would never accept Calderon because "theyare a bunch of crazies."
Neither candidate attended the court session. Lopez Obrador atebreakfast with lawmakers, then went to his protest tent in the Zocaloplaza, where he has been sleeping for nearly two months.
Supporters greeted him with calls of "You are not alone!"
Contributing: Istra Pacheco, E. Eduardo Castillo, Mark Stevenson
Mexico court sides with CalderonMEXICO CITY -- Felipe Calderon was declared president-electTuesday after two months of uncertainty, but his ability to ruleeffectively remained in doubt with rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obradorvowing to lead a parallel leftist government from the streets.
The unanimous decision by the Federal Electoral Tribunal rejectedallegations of systematic fraud and awarded Calderon the presidencyby 233,831 votes out of 41.6 million cast in the July 2 elections --a margin of 0.56 percent. The ruling cannot be appealed.
Calderon now must win over millions of Mexicans angry thatPresident Vicente Fox, who is from Calderon's party, didn't make goodon promises of sweeping change -- and fend off thousands ofradicalized leftists who say they will stop at nothing to underminehis presidency.
Lopez Obrador, whose support is dwindling but becoming moreradical, has said he won't recognize the new government and vows toblock Calderon from taking power Dec. 1. Protesters outside thetribunal wept as the decision was announced and set off firecrackersthat shook the building.
"We aren't going to let him govern!" Thomas Jimenez, a 30-year-old law student, screamed as hundreds of protesters threw eggs andtrash at the courthouse.
The decision by the seven judges -- who have split their votes indisputes about other elections -- also found that Fox endangered theelection by making statements that favored Calderon, and thatbusiness leaders broke the law by paying for ads against LopezObrador, who promised to govern on behalf of the poor.
But the problems weren't serious enough to annul the results, theysaid. "There are no perfect elections," Judge Alfonsina Berta NavarroHidalgo said.
The court rejected most of Lopez Obrador's allegations, includinghis claim that an ad campaign comparing him to Venezuelan PresidentHugo Chavez unfairly swayed voters. The court also dismissed LopezObrador's claim of subliminal messages in television ads by pro-Calderon businesses.
The court's president, Leonel Castillo, called on Mexicans tounite and mend the deep divisions the election revealed.
"I hope we conclude this electoral process leaving confrontationbehind," he said.
A smiling Calderon emerged from party offices to wave atsupporters. He was scheduled to address the nation later Tuesday andmeet with Fox on Wednesday. today.
Calderon, a 44-year-old former energy secretary and careerpolitician, promised during the campaign to create jobs and keep theeconomy growing, and since the election he has adopted some of LopezObrador's ideas on how to help Mexico's poor majority.
Fox greeted the court's decision with a smile during an appearancein Cancun, then publicly congratulated Calderon and invited LopezObrador to begin talks aimed at "strengthening the nation and ourdemocracy."
Markets, which had expected Tuesday's ruling, were unchanged.World leaders, including Japan's prime minister and several CentralAmerican presidents, congratulated Calderon on his victory.
The White House, in a statement, congratulated the people ofMexico on the certification of a "free and fair electoral process."
"We congratulate Felipe Calderon on his victory and look forwardto working with him and his team," the statement said, adding thatthe United States expects its relationship with Mexico to continue tobe productive for both countries.
Tuesday's ruling came two months, three days, and tens ofthousands of pages of legal challenges after voters cast theirballots. In comparison, the U.S. presidential election of 2000remained in dispute for only 35 days.
The decision was unlikely to end the demonstrations that havecrippled Mexico City's center or to heal the nation's growingpolitical divide.
In the Zocalo plaza, thousands in a month-old protest campchanted: "If there is no solution, there will be revolution!"
"Taking up arms is the only way," said Angel Sinsun, 80. "They'llnever give us power with peaceful resistance or with negotiations."
Lopez Obrador has called on his followers to remain peaceful. Hismovement has become increasingly radicalized since the election, andpolls indicate he lost support after lawmakers from his party blockedFox's last state-of-the-nation address on Friday.
On Tuesday, the Convergencia party -- one of three that nominatedLopez Obrador for the presidency -- left the electoral alliance,saying "it is time to rethink strategies."
Lopez Obrador adviser Manuel Camacho told The Associated Pressthat the court's recommendation "does not take into account what isactually happening in the country."
"The court is going to be questioned seriously about itsdecision," he said, adding: "We have the responsibility to conductourselves peacefully."
No violence was reported, but police surrounded the headquartersof Calderon's National Action Party, where businesswoman SusannaRivera was among a few drivers honking in support of the conservativeformer energy secretary.
"It's marvelous. It's perfect," she said of the court's decision."We are happy because he is a decent, educated person." She saidLopez Obrador's supporters would never accept Calderon because "theyare a bunch of crazies."
Neither candidate attended the court session. Lopez Obrador atebreakfast with lawmakers, then went to his protest tent in the Zocaloplaza, where he has been sleeping for nearly two months.
Supporters greeted him with calls of "You are not alone!"
Contributing: Istra Pacheco, E. Eduardo Castillo, Mark Stevenson
Why is Mars two-faced? Scientists say fresh evidence supports the theory that a monster impact punched the red planet, leaving behind perhaps the largest gash on any heavenly body in the solar system.
Today, the Martian surface has a split personality. The southern hemisphere of Mars is pockmarked and filled with ancient rugged highlands. By contrast, the northern hemisphere is smoother and covered by low-lying plains.
Three papers in Thursday's journal Nature provide the most convincing evidence yet that an outside force was responsible.
According to the researchers, an asteroid or comet whacked a young Mars some 4 billion years ago, blasting away …
Heads likely to roll at under-performing high schools
The Chicago Board of Education decided last week on intervention in six high schools because of poor performance by their students.
"We found that re-engineering and reconstitution failed," board President Gery Chico said. "All the schools are on probation with less than 20 percent of their students reading at grade level."
The six schools are Bowen, Collins, South Shore, DuSable, Orr and Juarez high schools, where, CPS officials said, students are constantly falling behind.
In August, a management team of educational experts in curriculum, finance, technology and school administration will begin on-site …
TOBACCO INDUSTRY ALSO-RAN MOVES TO FIRE UP MARKETING: BROWN & WILLIAMSON REALLOCATES $350 MIL BUDGET
As restrictions on cigarette advertising close in, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. is lighting a fire under its marketing.
The country's No. 3 tobacco maker is ushering in sweeping changes in how it approaches marketing, from brand management to agency relationships to new-product development.
"The competitors we're up against -- Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Lorillard -- have more money and more infrastructure," said Robert Bexon, senior VP-marketing at the B.A.T Industries subsidiary, in a rare briefing. "We're in the ugly position of having to fight . . . with people like Philip Morris who have enough money to buy Spain."
At first glance, B&W's chances look bleak. Its entire cigarette …
Byline: LEIGH HORNBECK - Staff Writer
GALWAY - Saratoga Hospital has received a $500,000 gift annuity, its largest ever, from a man who rarely needed a doctor but who valued good health care.
Clayton Dockstader, known as Doc, lived the last 30 years of his life in a house with peeling paint on County Route 45.
A tall, thin man, he wore hand-me-down clothes and was best known around the small village of Galway for his long walks - with his hands always clasped behind his back. Most of his neighbors did not know how carefully he tended his investments.
Dockstader died in May at the age of 96.
On Tuesday, the executors of Dockstader's …
Byline: Bill Schackner Staff writer
In the final hour before Frank Sinatra's sold-out show, about 4,000 cars are expected to converge on downtown lots and garages near the Knickerbocker Arena.
For that reason, police and civic center management are urging arena-goers to arrive a bit early, or to at least consider choosing exits on Interstate 787 other than the Empire Plaza exit ramps that will likely carry the bulk of tonight's arena traffic. While they insist there is ample parking, organizers say stragglers are their biggest traffic worry as the Knickerbocker Arena debuts.
"If people are expecting to come downtown in the last half hour and park in …
2007
"I'M IN"
_Jan. 20: Hillary Rodham Clinton announces she's running for president from a perch on her living room couch. "Let the conversation begin," she tells voters in a videotaped message posted on her Web site. "I have a feeling it's going to be very interesting."
THE MONEY CHASE
_April 15: Turns out Clinton's not the only one with the dollars to make a race of it. She and Barack Obama release numbers showing they both raised about $26 million in the first three months of year. By year's end, Obama will surpass Clinton in the fundraising race, and both of them will have blown through $80 …
St. Ita's Grammar School, Class of 1963, April 22. Penny Stranc,(312) 348-1137.
Wendell Phillips High School, all classes, April 24. MildredBarrow, (312) 483-5874.
U S S Bellatrix (A K A-3), June 10. Gene Harris, (708)748-3405.
J. Sterling Morton High School, all classes, June 11. BarryResnick, (708) 656-2300.
Riverside-Brookfield High School, Class of 1969, June 11. CarolOcchipinti, (708) 773-8235.
Worth Junior High School, Class of 1974, June 17. DonnaWierschem-Danos, (708) 499-2868.
Alcott Elementary School, Class of 1984, June 18. Joel Rivera,(312) 342-4524.
Robert A. Black Magnet School, all classes, June 24-25. …
DERBY Jazz will be presenting a performance in the Darwin Suite in the Assembly Rooms on Friday, November 18.
Kit Downes has been a Derby Jazz regular since his student days.
Last year, he shot to fame when his 2010 album Golden was nominated for the Mercury Prize.
He is one of the most in-demand young pianists on …
Opera screening Puccini's classic "Il Trittico" will be presented as part of the La Scala Opera Series at GE Theatre at Proctors, 432 State St., Schenectady. The showings are scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. May 20. Tickets cost $20. Call 346-6204. Leaders honored Leadership achievements will be honored at the Outstanding Student and Educator …
Byline: SAMUEL ABT New York Times -
DUNKIRK, France -- David Millar's sister, Fran, had T-shirts made before the start of last year's Tour de France and gave them to a few family members. On the front, it asked, ``What time is it?'' and on the back, echoing a commercial for a beer with a slightly different spelling, it answered, ``Millar time.''
The T-shirt was right. At 23, Millar, a Briton, won the biggest race of his life, the prologue to the Tour de France. Millar edged Lance Armstrong of the United States by two seconds, donning the yellow jersey and wearing it for three days before a new leader took over.
Now, as the 189 riders in the 88th Tour …
BEST BUYS PCs [pc world TEST CENTRE] $1500-$3000 FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS 1 Pacstar X-AM2Duo AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600 Dual Core AM2 Price: $1999 Socket CPU; NVIDIA nForce 430 Phone: (02) 9868 6963 chipset; GeForce 7950GT (512MB) URL: www.pacstar.com.au graphics card; 1GB Corsair 6671 DDR2 Warranty: 2 years, return- RAM; 2 x 36GB Western Digital to-base, parts and labour (10,000rpm) SATA hard drives (RAID-0 Full review see Cover DVD array); LG DVD rewriter; 3.5in [pc world BEST BUYS] floppy drive; media card reader; Realtek HD audio; 19in ChiMei widescreen LCD; 500watt PSU; 4 x 5.25in drive bays; 5 x 3.5in internal drive bays; Windows XP Home 2 Dell Dimension 9200 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz E6700 CPU Price: $2527 (64-bit), 1GB DDR2 667MHz RAM, Phone: 1800 812 393 GeForce 79000S graphics card, BTX URL: www.dell.com.au motherboard and case, 5000B Warranty: 1 year, next (7200rpm) hard drive, DVD burner business day, on-site optical drive, 13-in-1 media card with DellConnect reader, Dell TV-tuner card, Full review see Cover DVD integrated Sound Blaster Audigy 7.1 HD audio software, 19in LCD with attachable sound bar speaker, keyboard and mouse, 2 x 5.25in drive bays, 2 x 3.5in internal drive bays 3 Altech GameForce X2 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ CPU; AM2 CPU Price: $1999 …
N.Y. Rangers 4, Washington 3
Saturday, April 18
N.Y. Rangers 1, Washington 0
Monday, April 20
Washington 4, N.Y. Rangers 0
Wednesday, April 22
N.Y. Rangers 2, Washington 1
Friday, April 24
Washington 4, N.Y. Rangers 0
Sunday, April 26
Washington 5, N.Y. Rangers 3
Tuesday, April 28
Washington 2, N.Y. Rangers 1, Washington wins series 4-3
___
New Jersey vs. Carolina
Wednesday, April 15
New Jersey 4, Carolina 1
Friday, April 17
Carolina 2, New Jersey 1, OT
Sunday, April 19
…
AWWRIGHT, THEN?
These productions from the UK range from droll to sobering. So if you're feeling a bit cheesed off with barmy yank flicks, have a seat on the settee and catch one of these on the gogglebox.
WITHNAIL AND I
Two London flatmates stumble through life in 1969 in a perpetual state of intense, lunacy inducing intoxication. They attribute their near insanity to the deplorable apartment in which they reside and elect to escape to the countryside. They commandeer Withnail's lecherous gay uncle's cabin for a relaxing getaway. Their misadventures only intensify as the two friends try to sustain themselves away from the city - when the uncle makes a surprise …
ABC was the top network in total viewers for the 12th straight week and captured its fourth-straight weekly crown among adults 18-49 for the week ended March 19. ABC averaged 13.9 million viewers and a 5.2 rating/14 share in adults 18-49 for the week, according to Nielsen Media Research.
ABC also had the top five network programs of the week, including three doses of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? In total viewers, ABC outpaced both NBC and CBS, which tied with an average of 11.1 million …
Advisory committee considering change to one seat for networks and one for affiliate groups; will vote in January
Station group owners have taken their first official step toward reducing network influence on the National Association of Broadcasters TV board.
The NAB Executive Committee voted on Aug. 4 to create an advisory committee with directions to reduce the number of designated seats on the NAB TV board. Now, 12 of the 24 board seats are appointed. Four of those designated seats belong to networks.
"The networks' four seats are held by full-time Washington people who are lawyers and lobbyists," says Phil Jones, NAB board chairman and president of …
ALBANY Francis C. Quinn, 86, of Golder Street died Sunday at home.
Mr. Quinn was born in Watertown, Jefferson County. He graduated from Watertown High School in 1929 and attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy. He lived in Delmar for 11 years before he moved to Albany.
Mr. Quinn was a licensed professional engineer and began his 42 years of state service at the Department of Public Works in Buffalo in 1930. In 1932, he transferred to the Department of Public Works Bridge Office in Albany. He joined the state Thruway Authority as an assistant civil engineer in 1954. Mr. Quinn was appointed head of the Authority's Bureau of Construction and …
Officials in Virginia say the snow storm socking the U.S. East Coast has caused several hundred motorists to become stranded in the western part of the state.
Virginia Department of Emergency Management spokesman Bob Spieldenner said Saturday that local and state officials, as well as the National Guard, have helped get about 100 stranded motorists to shelters in two counties. About a foot (30 …
As the Labor Day holiday weekend approaches, U.S. gasolinesupplies are shrinking and refineries are reporting snags, aharbinger of higher prices at a time when fuel costs are alreadyclimbing in parts of the country. However, the price spike may beblunted after the Environmental Protection Agency temporarily relaxedstandards on the gasoline produced and sold by Citgo Petroleum Corp.in the Midwest in an attempt to alleviate a recent price spike in theregion. The American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday thatU.S. gasoline supplies shrank by 6.7 million barrels in the past weekto 196.2 million barrels, or 3 million barrels below year ago levels.Analysts said the shortfall …
