iTunes' top 10 selling singles and albums of the week ending July 5, 2010:
Singles:
1. "California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg)," Katy Perry
2. "Love the Way You Lie," Eminem
3. "Dynamite," Taio Cruz
4. "Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore)," B.o.B.
5. "Billionaire (feat. Bruno Mars)," Travie McCoy
6. "Cooler Than Me," Mike Posner
7. "Ridin' Solo," Jason Derulo
8. "Not Afraid," Eminem
9. "OMG (feat. will.i.am)," Usher
10. "Find Your …
The Genius of Genesis: A Psychoanalyst and Rabbi Examines the First Book of the Bible Dennis G. Shulman. New York (NY): iUniverse Inc; 2003. 194 p. US$43.95.
Reviewer rating: Excellent
This scholarly and engaging book is written from a personal perspective. There are 21 pages of notes and 10 pages of references. Shulman's dual vocations of psychoanalyst and rabbi enable him to demonstrate parallels between, and convergences in, Genesis and the psychoanalytic canon. His book leads inexorably to the conclusion that much of what psychoanalysis has discovered in the last 100 years was, to some extent, anticipated by the author(s) of Genesis over 2 millennia ago. Shulman actually …
A brief look at Saturday's Premier League matches (home teams listed first):
Birmingham 1, Reading 1 (1-0)
Reading got just its second away point of the season after Stephen Hunt halted a run of six straight defeats outside of Madejski Stadium with a second-half penalty equalizer.
Mikael Forssell put Birmingham ahead in the seventh minute with a close-range finish after his initial shot had been blocked by defender Nicky Shorey.
Birmingham played its first home match under manager Alex McLeish and stayed in front until the 50th, when Hunt scored after he had been fouled by goalkeeper Maik Taylor following a weak back-pass from defender …
He means eventual starters, of course, guys who can become fixtures in the next three years. Adding four starters is a yearly, albeit lofty and elusive, goal for the Bears and most other NFL teams.
''Given where we're picking in the draft [29th], you can't . . . feel like you're going to hit a home run with a player or he's going to come in here and change the course of your football team,'' Angelo said. ''Although we do feel like we do every year: We want to come out of this with four …
A personal note: I first met Nader at a seminar in 1969 and I was motivated by his groundbreaking work to become one of the first full-time consumer reporters on an American newspaper, The Cleveland Plain Dealer (incidentally, our copy boy was Dennis Kucinich).
When I came to Washington I was a legislative assistant to Rep. Benjamin S. Rosenthal of New York, the House's leading consumer advocate during the 1970s. Our office worked …
NEW YORK - The Chicago White Sox and New York Mets filled up the All-Star rosters, earning six selections each when the teams were announced Sunday.
Often viewed as second-class citizens in their own cities, the World Series champion White Sox and NL East-leading Mets will be well represented on July 11 in Pittsburgh.
The Mets had four starters elected by fans, including third baseman David Wright and shortstop Jose Reyes - each 23 and chosen for the first time. They will be joined in the lineup by catcher Paul Lo Duca and outfielder Carlos Beltran. Starting pitchers Tom Glavine and Pedro Martinez also made it.
"It's going to feel like I'm playing with the New …
British energy company Centrica PLC said Thursday that net profit fell by 89 percent in the first half compared to a year earlier, when profit was boosted by a large one-time gain.
For the six months to June 30, Centrica reported a net profit of 202 million pounds ($332 million) compared to 1.8 billion pounds a year earlier.
Operating profit at the company, whose operations include British Gas, was down 5 …
April 25: Loyola University Chicago workshop on "MedicalMalpractice Issues" starts at 4 p.m. in Room 436, Damen Hall, 6525 N.Sheridan. Conducted by Dr. Leonard Arnold. Free; call (312)508-3636.
April 26: Cancer Wellness Center, "Prostate Cancer Screening &Diagnosis" at 7:30 p.m. at Francis Parker School, 2333 N. Clark. Dr.Thomas Bormes, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center. Call(708) 509-9595.
April 27: St. Therese Medical Center presents a professionalskills program, "Working With Adult Survivors of Child Abuse," from10 a.m. to noon at the center, 2615 Washington, Waukegan. Two CMEcredits for social workers. To register call (708) 244-5900.
…
BEIJING (AP) — A Tibetan nun calling for greater religious freedom died after setting herself on fire in western China, the latest in a series of self-immolations among the region's Buddhist clergy, an advocacy group said Tuesday.
In a separate incident, security forces shot two Tibetans during a protest outside a police station, London-based Free Tibet reported.
The two incidents could not immediately be independently confirmed Tuesday, although tensions have been high across the region since widespread anti-government protests in 2008. Communist government officials gave no comment when contacted.
Free Tibet said the nun, 20-year-old Tenzin Wangmo, died on the scene …
THE PROPOSAL: A ".xxx" Internet domain name for porn sites to voluntarily set up shop.
THE DECISION: None yet. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names …
DEAR ELLIE: I'm 20, in a four-year loving relationship with myboyfriend, who's also 20.
His love for the gym has grown exponentially, and he's nowconsidering competing in amateur bodybuilding competitions. He hasdecided to purchase steroids illegally from sources at the gym andover the Internet.
I'm scared and angry. I don't know what to do to make him stop.
CONCERNED
DEAR CONCERNED: Tell him he's risking his relationship with you,along with his health and legal status. Say you'll only consider hima "winner" if he competes without steroids, but he's a loser if heuses them because medical experts say anabolic steroids aredangerous for health, and …
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A pair of Emirati energy companies producing natural gas in Iraq's northern Kurdish region said Tuesday they expect to boost the output capacity there by 50 percent within two years.
In an update marking two years of production in the self-rule Kurdish region, Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum said they are currently able to pump 200 million cubic feet of gas per day. They expect that level to rise to 300 million cubic feet daily by 2012.
Existing production of between 160 million to 180 million cubic feet daily is used to power two regional electricity plants, in Irbil and Chemchemal, according to the firms.
They say they have invested …
Senators center Jason Spezza agreed to a $49 million, seven-year contract extension Friday that allowed Ottawa to lock up the final member of its potent first line.
The 24-year-old would have been a restricted free agent after this season but now will be with the team through 2014-15. He joins Daniel Alfredsson, who is signed through 2011-12, and Dany Heatley, who agreed to a $45-million, six-year extension through 2013-14 last month, as franchise cornerstones.
"Jason Spezza is a great example of what the future holds for the Ottawa Senators and our fans," owner Eugene Melnyk said in a statement. "Without question, Jason belongs here in Ottawa and he continues to be an integral part of our organization's long-term plans."
Spezza's contract is split between $33 million in salary and $16 million in signing bonuses paid out over the first five years of the deal. In total, Spezza will earn $8 million in each of the first five seasons of the agreement, $5 million in 2013-14 and $4 million in 2014-15.
His average annual salary of $7 million will count against the salary cap. Spezza is earning $5 million this season.
"This is a good situation for Jason," his agent, Rick Curran, said Friday. "This is where he wants to be and that's always the best deal for a player."
Spezza has a goal and 12 assists in 10 games this season, helping Ottawa to a 10-1-0 start. He sat out Thursday night's 6-4 win over the Atlanta Thrashers with a groin injury and is listed as day to day.
Formula One world governing body, the FIA, have granted McLaren'sdrivers amnesty should they supply information relevant to the spysaga.
The FIA last week launched an investigation into an allegationthat "one or more" of the team's drivers may have been in possessionof material relating to the case.
That led to FIA president Max Mosley writing a letter to allFormula One team principals - as well as Lewis Hamilton, FernandoAlonso and test driver Pedro de la Rosa - urging them to come forwardwith any details to substantiate the claim.
If the trio have since volunteered any information, the FIA haveconfirmed they will not be punished.
However, the FIA have threatened serious consequences - possiblythe withdrawal of their Super Licence that allows them to drive inFormula One - should it later be found they withheld information.
President Bush sought to assure Americans on Tuesday that the economy will eventually recover from the global financial crisis but he cautioned that it's going to take time and won't be easy. "Right now we're in tough, tough times. No question about it," he said.
"Have faith, this economy is going to recover over time," Bush said. "I wish I could snap my fingers and make what happened stop. But that's not the way it works."
With stock markets falling around the world and economic anxieties growing, Bush tried to address the fears of many Americans.
"The days are dim right now for a lot of folks, but I firmly believe tomorrow's going to be brighter," Bush said.
Bush acknowledged the steep drop in retirement funds and other savings.
"I think in the long run they're going to be fine," Bush said. "In the short term they're going to take a hit."
Bush spoke at an office supply company in the Washington suburb of Chantilly, Va., after talks earlier in the day with European leaders. Bush pressed allies to coordinate their efforts to ease the financial crisis spreading around the globe. The White House said Bush was open to the idea of a leaders' summit on the economic upheaval.
The president said the $700 billion rescue plan approved by Congress last week will free up credit lines for businesses and families but that it would not happen immediately. "Thawing the freeze in the financial system is not going to happen overnight," he said.
Bush predicted that taxpayers will eventually recoup most if not all of the $700 billion in the plan. He said there was a "good chance the taxpayers will get their money back."
Bush said that "it's not going to be easy" to fix the economic crisis But he pledged that "we're going to come through this."
"We have been through tough times before and we're going to come through this again," the president said. He said the heart of the problem is a credit crunch. Earlier, Bush talked with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi.
With unemployment rising and businesses unable to get credit, White House press secretary Dana Perino offered a gloomy forecast for the economy. "Obviously, this next quarter is probably not going to be a very good one," she said. She said Americans are feeling the impact. "They're probably not looking forward to next month's statement, when they get their retirement fund or their college fund bank statement," Perino said.
Perino said the administration was focusing on a meeting at the end of the week of finance ministers from the United States, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Japan, the so-called G-7. At the same time, she left the door open for Bush to attend an emergency leaders' meeting suggested by Sarkozy.
"The president obviously talked to President Sarkozy about his idea to have a meeting. The president's open to that," she said.
"But the immediate focus is on this weekend's meeting because we're still in a situation where we have an emergency where we need to act today and not worry too much about a meeting," Perino said. "We want to make sure that everyone's on the same page when they get there so that it can be an effective and efficient meeting."
She said the United States was satisfied with the level of cooperation now among European allies on the crisis.
"I think that he would say that it is sufficient and that they are talking and that they're communicating," Perino said. "It's critical that everybody gets on the same page."
"Not everybody has dotted all the i's and crossed the t's yet on their plans," she said. "I think that they're continuing to work on them. So we're satisfied with the level of effort and coordination, but I don't think anybody has an end result yet."
GENEVA (AP) — Alberto Contador's contaminated-beef defense will be tested again after cycling's governing body decided Thursday to appeal the Tour de France champion's doping acquittal.
The International Cycling Union said it will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge the Spanish cycling federation's decision not to ban Contador for his positive clenbuterol test.
UCI President Pat McQuaid said it had no choice but to appeal, to remove doubts about Spain's reasons for acquitting Contador.
"It was something I feel we had to do," McQuaid told The Associated Press at the track world championships in the Netherlands.
"The Spanish federation received a huge amount of pressure from outside, including from the prime minister and so forth. So it left a great deal of doubt in a lot of people's minds as to whether there was influence or not. They said there was no influence, but the perception was that there could have been. In order to clear up all of that it was important we give it to an independent ... board such as the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"We will accept whatever decision they make and I think from the credibility of the sport's point of view, for the fans of cycling, for the family of cycling and everybody it's important we get a result that everybody believes in."
Contador was acquitted after testing positive July 21, 2010, a rest day during last year's Tour de France. He blamed the finding on eating contaminated beef.
"I wish the situation was different, but I completely trust in my arguments and my lawyers," Contador said Thursday after keeping his lead in the weeklong Volta of Catalunya in Spain. "I found out about the appeal when I got to the finish line. The race has been like any other day."
"I am a person who believes that things happen because they are supposed to, and maybe we have to go to the CAS so that my innocence can be demonstrated even more clearly," he added. "They (the UCI) have had time to see all the documentation that has been presented. I am sure they have never, ever seen a dossier like the one we have given them."
The World Anti-Doping Agency has three more weeks to decide if it will join the appeal. UCI spokesman Enrico Carpani told The Associated Press that cycling officials had worked closely with WADA and "there is no reason to think they will not join us."
WADA regards clenbuterol, a banned anabolic agent that burns fat and builds muscle, as a zero-tolerance drug. However, its rules allow athletes to escape discipline if they prove "no fault or negligence" on their part.
If a CAS panel finds him guilty of doping, Contador faces a two-year ban and loss of his Tour victory.
Contador can continue racing until CAS rules. After Thursday's stage, Contador said he still plans to start the May 7-29 Giro d'Italia, which he won in 2008. The Volta, which Contador is riding for the first time, ends Sunday in Barcelona.
CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb said Thursday it would be difficult but "not impossible" to deliver a verdict before this year's Tour starts July 2. That would allow Contador a chance to defend his title if cleared.
"If all parties concerned would agree to an expedited procedure, the CAS could reasonably envisage to issue a final decision at the end of June," Reeb said in a statement to the AP, adding that WADA's entry in the case could extend the timetable.
Choosing to pursue the sport's biggest name has been difficult for the UCI, Carpani said Thursday at the track world championships in the Netherlands.
"Every case for us is painful ... because we would like to have a sport without doping cases," Carpani said, adding that the UCI wanted to prove it would do all it could to get "the best decision" in the case. "We want it for us, for Contador and for the whole sport of cycling."
The UCI announced last September that Contador was suspended after minute traces of clenbuterol were found in his system, and asked the Spanish federation to investigate. The Spanish body's disciplinary committee originally proposed a one-year ban in January. Contador's legal team then offered new evidence and he was cleared to race three weeks later.
"Now we are the judged, not the judges, along with Contador," Spanish Cycling Federation spokesman Luis Roman told the AP.
The federation later said it will defend the disciplinary panel's verdict, "taking each and every necessary action to maintain the innocence of the athlete."
Days before the decision to clear Contador, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero had said "there's no legal reason to justify sanctioning Contador."
Jaime Lissavetzky, Spain's sports minister, said Thursday he hoped the Swiss-based court will act quickly to end "a situation that does not benefit anyone."
Contador resumed his career with new team Saxo Bank-Sungard and has since completed two races. He was fourth in the Tour of Algarve in Portugal and won the Vuelta of Murcia in Spain.
Team owner Bjarne Riis was standing by his star rider.
"Alberto Contador was acquitted in the first place and therefore is innocent of any deliberate wrongdoing until a ruling says something else," said Riis, the 1996 Tour winner who later admitted doping during his career. "As long as this is a case of accidental intake of a forbidden substance, we will continue to support Alberto Contador."
Contador is one of only five cyclists to win the three Grand Tours — the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Spanish Vuelta. He also won the Tour in 2007 and 2009, and was prevented from defending his first title in 2008 because his Astana team was banned for doping offenses at the previous year's race.
Only one cyclist has lost a Tour title for doping. Floyd Landis of the United States was stripped of his 2006 victory for testing positive for testosterone.
___
Associated Press writers Mike Corder in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, and Joe Wilson in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this report.
Bradley, Will (originally, Schwichtenberg, Wilbur), jazz trombonist, leader; b. Newton, N.J., July 12, 1912; d. Flemington, N.J., July 15, 1989. Raised in Washington, N.J., he played in the local high school band. He moved to N.Y. in 1928 and did local gigs before joining Milt Shaw's Detroiters; he then worked with Red Nichols and later joined the CBS studio staff (1931–34). He was with Ray Noble (1935–36), then returned to studio work, until forming his own band (July 1939); he changed his name because Wilbur Schwichtenberg wouldn't fit on a marquee. This band, which was co–led with Ray McKinley, remained together until June 1942. It was a white jazz–orientated dance band whose big hit "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" fueled the boogie–woogie fad. (Nicolas Slonimsky used the name of this piece to illustrate the American meaning of the word "bar" to a sceptical British musicologist.) "Celery Stalks at Midnight" was one of the 78s smashed by juvenile delinquents in the 1955 movie Blackboard Jungle. Through the 1950s, Bradley worked regularly in N.Y. studios, occasionally organizing his own bands for specific engagements. He did a brief spell of touring with the Sauter–Finegan Band (1953). In later years, he composed several extended classical works. His son, Will Bradley Jr. (b. N.Y., Feb. 15, 1938), was a jazz drummer who played from about 1954 on with Woody Herman (recording in 1956), Tony Scott, J. R. Monterose, George Wallington, and Tony Fruscella.
Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar (1940); Dixieland Jazz All–Time Greats (1953); Boogie Woogie (1955); Big Band Boogie (1959); Celery Stalks at Midnight (1985).—
—John Chilton, Who's Who of Jazz/Music Master Jazz and Blues Catalogue
Usually home buyers take out fully amortized mortgages whenfinancing their home purchases. A fully amortized loan is paid offin periodic payments of principal and interest over the loan term,often 30 years. A balloon payment mortgage is one that has a finalpayment that is significantly larger than the other periodic(monthly) payments. In some cases, the balloon payment is asubstantial amount of money.
Owner-carry-back loans often have balloon payments. Theyfrequently are interest-only loans. This means that during the timethe buyers are paying on the loan, none of the principal (the amountborrowed) is paid back. So, if the seller carries a $50,000 mortgagefor you with interest-only payments, you'll owe the seller the entire$50,000 that you borrowed when the loan comes due.
There are a couple of popular institutional loan products thathave balloon payments. One is the 30-year loan that's due in 5 or 7years. The interest rate on this mortgage product is usually a bitlower than you'll find on conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgagesthat are due in 30 years. The monthly payments on the short-termmortgages are amortized on a 30-year basis. But, at the end of the 5or 7 years, a large balloon payment is due.For example, on a mortgage with a 7.5 percent interest rate,approximately 92 percent of the original mortgage amount is due after7 years. Let's say you borrowed $200,000 at a 7.5 percent. At theend of seven years, if you haven't already sold the property orrefinanced, you'll owe the lender approximately $184,000.First-time tip: Make sure if you do take a mortgage that has aballoon payment that the due date doesn't come too quickly. If youcan't repay the balance when it's due, you could lose the property ina lender foreclosure.Some "30-due-in-7" loans have a conversion option. Ifexercised, the lender extends the mortgage for another 23 years at anew interest rate. The new interest rate is determined according toa conversion formula that varies from lender to lender.Another popular mortgage these days is a second mortgage for anamount equal to 10 percent of the purchase price. Let's say you'rebuying a home and need a loan for 90 percent of the purchase price.Ninety percent loans often require the borrower to pay mortgageinsurance to protect the lender in case the buyer defaults. If,instead of getting a 90 percent mortgage, you get an 80 percent firstmortgage and a 10 percent second mortgage, the first lender oftenwon't require the buyer to pay for the insurance.Most conventional second mortgage lenders offer loans that aredue in 15 years. Since the monthly payments on a fully amortized15-year mortgage are higher than most buyers can afford, these loansoften have monthly payments that are amortized over a 30-year basis.This lowers the monthly payment amount, which makes it easierfor buyers to qualify for the financing. But, at the end of 15years, if you were to keep the loan that long, a balloon paymentequal to approximately 75 percent of the initial loan amount would bedue on a mortgage with a 7.5 percent interest rate.The closing: If you're planning to pay a balloon payment byrefinancing, don't wait until the last minute. Interest ratesfluctuate, and future rates can't be predicted with certainty.Real estate broker Dian Hymer writes from Oakland, Calif. She isthe author of Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer's Guide,(Chronicle Books).
It was mostly about the bricks, village officials said Tuesday inexplaining why they fined an architect and developer a whopping$188,223 over the condo they're building in downtown Oak Park.
Architect John Schiess and developer Alex Troyanofsky pulled adouble switch in using a type of brick that doesn't "fit . . . in tothe neighborhood," village planner Craig Failor said.
"Modular brick is used historically in the area, while they used alarger, utility brick," he said. "It just gives it a different look."
The architect-developer team got approval from the plan commissionand village board to use the modular style -- 2OE inches high and 8inches long -- for their six-story Opera Club building going up atSouth Boulevard and Marion Street in the west suburb.
At the building permit stage, the team changed to Norman brick,which Failor said is 2OE by 12 inches. And when the bricks appearedon one facade of the building, they were utility bricks -- 4 inchesby 12 inches.
'WANTED TO SEND A MESSAGE'
Schiess countered that he considers the bricks to be "4-inchNorman bricks." He said he told the building department about bothchanges. "Next time, we'll [also] inform the planning department andthe plan commission," he said. "And we'll get it in writing what thedepartments approve."
How does he feel about forking over $188,223? "The size of thefine is the size of the fine," said Schiess. "The village certainlywanted to send a message."
At 75oe feet, the Opera Club also is 5oe feet taller than agreedto.
"But the height came in toward the end" of village boarddiscussions at a meeting last week, Failor said. The board wasalready calculating the fine, which was based on a dozen changes,including the brick switch, "before they knew height was [an] issue."
Schiess said he discovered the building had to be higher -- morespace was needed between floors -- after the plan commission approvalbut before the building department was notified and issued thenecessary permit.
gwisby@suntimes.com
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — TiVo Inc. reported a quarterly profit on Tuesday after booking proceeds from the settlement of a digital video recorder patent lawsuit with Dish Network Corp. and set-top box supplier EchoStar Corp.
For the quarter that ended April 30, TiVo — which sells set-top boxes that record, pause, rewind and fast-forward live TV and licenses its technology to cable companies for their own set-top boxes — earned $139 million, or $1.04 per share. That compared with a loss of $14.2 million, or 13 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.
The Alviso-based company's profit stemmed from $175.7 million in litigation proceeds it received from Dish and EchoStar, which said in early May that they would pay TiVo $500 million to settle a patent the patent suit, making it one of the largest-ever patent settlements. TiVo originally filed against Dish in 2004. Dish spun off EchoStar in 2008. Both Dish and EchoStar are controlled by Charles Ergen, the chairman and CEO of Dish.
Sales of TiVo-branded DVRs have plummeted as cable and satellite companies have added DVR functions to their set-top boxes. Some companies, such as DirecTV Group Inc., made deals with TiVo. Others, such as Dish, had held out.
The proceeds are part of the $300 million TiVo has received so far from Dish and EchoStar. The remaining $200 million will be distributed in six annual installments between 2012 and 2017. Dish and EchoStar get licenses to use the DVR technology. In return, EchoStar is granting TiVo a license to use some of its patents.
In an interview, TiVo CEO Tom Rogers called the settlement a "great resolution."
"We've removed the question mark of whether there's value to our intellectual property," Rogers said.
He said TiVo, which still has several ongoing patent lawsuits with companies including Microsoft Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc., is determining what to do with the settlement proceeds, including a possible share buyback.
But while TiVo's bottom line benefited from the suit settlement, its revenue dropped nearly 26 percent to $45.8 million. That missed forecasts of analysts polled by FactSet, who were looking for $48.1 million in revenue.
Revenue fell across TiVo's segments, with the company's largest revenue source, service revenues, falling 8 percent to $33.3 million. The steepest decline came from hardware revenues, which fell 62 percent to $6.9 million.
TiVo's legacy business of selling set-top boxes has been declining, and the company is focusing more on licensing its software to cable companies.
TiVo shares fell a penny to $9.40 in extended trading. The stock finished regular trading up 5 cents at $9.41.
NEW YORK When Phil Jackson eventually leaves the Bulls, it'sthought he will walk away from basketball, at least for a while, andseek a new trail to travel.
First up may well be the road to the White House and helpingfriend and former New York Knicks teammate Bill Bradley get there inthe next presidential campaign. Of course, no one has bothered toask Bradley, who remains shrewdly coy about his own future plans - tosay nothing about Jackson's.
"Phil is a great friend, and I don't really deal withhypotheticals," said Bradley, the former U.S. senator from New Jerseywho has yet to declare his own presidential aspirations. "He's beenvery active in my past campaigns. He has campaigned for me, and he'scome to events, things like that."And Bradley does envision a day when Jackson could leavebasketball behind."He will probably stay in the game as long as he is challengedby it and as long as he feels that his own abilities and artistry andexperience are being utilized at the highest level," Bradley said,recalling an epiphany he had one day while serving on a senatecommittee in which he rarely had the votes to carry the day but hadbecome quite adept at the maneuvering necessary to achieve his goals."I thought, `You know, I really know how to do this job,' and atthe same time I felt comfort with my own knowledge and ability andprofessional expertise, I felt uncomfortable. I have a hunch, neverhaving really talked to Phil about this, this is not dissimilar towhat he will feel when he eventually decides to leave (basketball).When he feels too comfortable doing what he's doing, then he'll feeluncomfortable and he'll want to leave."THE OUTLINE: "It does not surprise me at all that he's a greatcoach," Bradley said of Jackson, "because as a player (a) he had afierce determination to win, (b) he was not interested in personalglory, (c) he knew his strengths and weaknesses and always played tohis strengths, (d) he was analytical and was always thinking aboutthe game and what the team does and (e) even then, he demonstratedthe ability to listen to people and tune in to their individuality."MAJORITY WHIP: In Jackson, Bradley sees the qualities of a goodpolitical leader."He has a fierce desire to be the best, and he has a commitmentto his family and to a way of relating to people as individual humanbeings," Bradley said. "His life is centered on those three things."He gives each individual a tailored kind of respect andacknowledgment. There are a lot of coaches who try to make everybodythe same. He recognizes everybody's individuality and then figuresout a way to reach that person and how to get them to do what hewants the group to do."GOOD THING HE'S NOT BITTER: Lance Johnson, the former White Soxoutfielder dealt by the New York Mets to the Cubs last week, thinksthe Mets severely underestimated his role as a mentor to their youngplayers in sending him back to Chicago and out of the pennant chase."I don't have to worry about it, but (the Mets) made a mistake,"Johnson told the Daily News in New York. "I helped keep everythingtogether, just like (with the White Sox). I was the glue.Management just didn't realize it."I want to be where I'm wanted. I don't want to be where I'mnot wanted. . . . I came in with class. I left with class. Youjust go away and let people live with their mistakes."REALLY? THEY WANT TO WIN? Not everyone has a thing against theMets. Reliever Turk Wendell, who was part of the deal that sentJohnson away, liked Chicago and the Cubs, but he's telling New Yorkwriters he's glad to be with the Mets."It was like, `Welcome to the big leagues,' " said Wendell, whohadn't allowed a run or even a hit in his first four innings andthree appearances with New York. "I could see it right away; theseguys want to win, and they really have a good attitude aboutcompeting."AND THERE ARE LOT OF DUDS IN THE CLUBHOUSE: Wendell said thefirst pleasant surprise came when he found his Mets locker stuffedwith T-shirts, warmups and other goodies. "In Chicago," he told theNew York Post, "it was a matter of getting one pair of pants and oneT-shirt."THE LAST WORD: Did Bradley have any funny stories about Jacksonas a player? "None that I'd repeat," he said.
A judge on Tuesday opened the possibility that the five men charged with plotting an attack on the Army's Fort Dix could be freed on bail as they await trial.
The men had previously been denied bail, but their lawyers say the situation has changed because the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia is not giving the suspects adequate access to recordings they need to review in preparation for trial.
In legal papers filed over the past week, the men asked to be moved from the Special Housing Unit, where they've been held since their arrests in May.
The men have complained that they were not being given enough time to review audio and video recordings that the government may use as evidence against them.
U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler on Tuesday scheduled a Dec. 20 hearing where lawyers can make their case for bail. He said he could also consider an arrangement in which the men could be taken to their lawyers' offices during the day to review material in the case.
One lawyer said in court that his client had not been allowed to go to the conference room to review the recordings at all since Oct. 31; another said his client had made 20 requests since then, but had been allowed to review the recordings only once.
Just Monday, lawyers for the men said that some of them were allowed to share cells so they could discuss their cases.
Kugler said he would consider bail, but he was not sympathetic to the men's complaints about life behind bars.
"There are over 1,200 inmates there," he said. "Your clients don't have their own personal corrections officers" to answer all their needs.
The men _ brothers Dritan, Shain and Eljvir Duka; Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer; and Serdar Tatar _ have complained about food at the facility and treatment by guards, among other issues.
The five, all foreign-born and in their 20s, were charged in May with planning a raid on Fort Dix. They face life in prison if convicted of conspiring to murder military personnel. A sixth man pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to provide weapons to the group. No attack was ever staged on the base, which is being used largely to train reservists bound for Iraq.
Government lawyers said Tuesday that they plan to add some weapons charges against some of the men.
A trial has been scheduled for March 24.
Tickets for the 2011 Rugby World Cup will go on sale for the first time on April 27, 500 days before the opening match, organizers said Tuesday.
Ticket sales will take place in three phases, with about 750,000 tickets to pool matches being made available to applicants in the first phase.
The initial phase will allow fans to apply for tickets in "venue packs", which include tickets for all matches at a chosen venue, or "team packs," which include tickets to matches played by a specified team.
Fans who apply for tickets in the first phase will have the option of also buying tickets to quarterfinal matches in Wellington or Christchurch or tickets to the third-fourth playoff. Applications for those close May 21.
"This is the day that answers the question that New Zealanders have been asking since we won the rights to host Rugby World Cup 2011 back in 2005 ... how do I get a ticket?" Rugby New Zealand 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden said. "This is the day that fans from London to Pretoria, from Moscow to Buenos Aires, from right around the world, can look forward to turning their Rugby World Cup dreams into fantastic memories."
The second phase of sales, likely to take place in August or September, will make individual tickets available to all matches apart from the semifinals and final.
The third phase will involve a ballot for semifinals and final tickets. Applicants from the first two phases will receive one entry into the ballots for each ticket applied for in earlier phases. Any remaining tickets will go on general sale in 2011.
"This is an important milestone for Rugby World Cup 2011," International Rugby Board chairman Bernard Lapasset said. "The global rugby family has been eagerly looking forward to this day."
Snedden said planning for the 2011 Cup, the first to be held in New Zealand since the inaugural tournament in 1987, was well on track.
"Nearly five years after New Zealand won the right to host RWC 2011, the stage is set for a wonderful tournament," he said. "Our planning is well advanced; stadia across the country are being readied, Eden Park's redevelopment is on track and on budget and Stadium Christchurch is complete."
Snedden said significant transport improvements were being made in key cities such as Auckland.
"We are in great shape to put on a tournament that New Zealand will be proud of," he said.
The first matches of the 2011 Cup will be played on Sept. 9 and the final will be played at Auckland's Eden Park on Oct. 23.
Doug Friedline
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Doug Friedline, who managed pro wrestler Jesse Ventura's long-shot but winning campaign for governor of Minnesota, was found dead in his apartment Friday. He was 49.
Friedline, who had run this year's Florida gubernatorial campaign for Reform Party candidate Max Linn, was found dead Friday at an apartment in Treasure Island, Fla., said Linn campaign spokeswoman Liz McCallum. She said he had serious heart problems and had complained of faintness for several days.
McCallum said Friedline knew his candidates stood little chance of winning and called him a champion for the underdog. Linn finished with about 2 percent of the vote.
Ventura's 1998 campaign directed by Friedline won a surprise victory over established candidates - Republican St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman, now a U.S. senator, and Democrat Hubert "Skip" Humphrey III, son of the former vice president.
The campaign played up Ventura's gruff persona with ads that showed the sometimes flamboyant wrestler - he donned a feather boa at his inaugural and sang a duet with rocker Warren Zevon - as an outsider. One showed a Ventura action figure fighting off "Evil Special Interest Man."
Friedline, a Minnesota native, went on to manage campaigns for other long-shot candidates, including independent gubernatorial candidate Bill Schluter in New Jersey in 2001.
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Buddy Kerr
NEW YORK (AP) - Buddy Kerr, an All-Star shortstop who in the 1940s played 68 consecutive games without an error, died Tuesday, the New York Mets said. He was 84.
Kerr died Tuesday after a short illness at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital, according to his former team. Kerr worked for the Mets from 1975-1996 as a special assignment scout.
Kerr played from 1943-51 for the New York Giants and Boston Braves and hit .249 in 1,067 major league games. He represented the Giants on the All-Star team in 1948. His errorless streak came over the 1946-47 seasons and was a record at the time.
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George A. Naifeh
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - George A. Naifeh, an Oklahoma native who served as a U.S. diplomat in the Foreign Service and founded the American-Arab Affairs Council, died Thursday, according to family members. He was 82.
The youngest of six children, Naifeh was born Aug. 19, 1924, to Shahada and Saida Naifeh, who immigrated to Kiefer, near Tulsa, from Jordan and Lebanon.
He joined the Army Air Forces and served as a staff sergeant during World War II, earning the Purple Heart, Oak Leaf cluster, Air Medal and four battle stars.
After the war, Naifeh earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Oklahoma and then attended Johns Hopkins University, where he studied the Middle East.
Naifeh's 30-year career in the Foreign Service took him to Iran, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Jordan, where he befriended state leaders and tried to help Arabs understand Americans by showing films, opening libraries with books about the United States, lecturing and speaking to the media.
He served in Nigeria during its civil war and helped free political prisoner and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka from prison.
After retirement, Naifeh founded the American-Arab Affairs Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating Americans about the Arab world. He was president and chairman of the organization from 1981 to 1990.
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Jack Williamson
PORTALES, N.M. (AP) - Jack Williamson, a science fiction author who wrote dozens of novels and short stories in a career that spanned eight decades, died Friday. He was 98.
Williamson died at his home in Portales, according to his niece, Betty Williamson, and officials at Eastern New Mexico University, where he taught.
Williamson published steadily since writing his first story, "The Metal Man," in 1928 at the age of 20. His last book, "The Stonehenge Gate," was published recently.
He was already a well-known author when he returned to ENMU, his alma mater, and joined the faculty in 1960. He had received Hugo and Nebula awards as well as lifetime achievement honors from the World Fantasy Convention and the Horror Writers of America.
He was named a grand master of science fiction in the mid-1970s by the Science Fiction Writers of America and his second-to-last novel, "Terraforming Earth," was singled out for awards in 2002.
According to his publisher, Williamson was the first to write about genetic engineering and antimatter.
His works includes "The Humanoids" series and the novels "With Folded Hands" and "The Legion of Time."
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NTELOS Holdings Corp. said Tuesday it plans to cut an unspecified number of jobs, resulting in charges of about $1.5 million in 2009.
The wireless phone service provider, based in Waynesboro, Va., said it expects to make the cuts by offering early retirement incentives, eliminating certain vacant and budgeted positions, and laying off some workers.
NTELOS said the jobs are expected to be primarily support positions, with minimal impact on jobs that deal with customers.
The work force reduction will result in cash severance, non-cash pension and other post-retirement curtailment and settlement charges of about $1.5 million in 2009. They will lead to savings and future expense reductions of about $4 million in 2010, the company said.
"We regret the impact this will have on our employees," James S. Quarforth, the company's CEO, said in a statement. "Economic conditions over the past year have impacted our wireless business and as the wireless industry matures, it is proper for us to proactively take these measures to support continued growth."
A spokesman for the company did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Shares of NTELOS rose 5 cents to $15.05 in morning trading.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — Catriona Matthew shot her second straight 4-under 68 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead after the third round of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
Matthew, the 42-year-old Scot who won the 2009 Women's British Open for the last of her three LPGA Tour titles, had an 11-under 205 total at Guadalajara Country Club.
"I think I'm putting the ball better this year, being more consistent," Matthew said. "I haven't made the mistakes that I have made in the last couple of years. More bad shots the last years. This year in general I've been more consistent and pitching the ball better, so makes it easier when you're on the fairway.
She played the first 52 holes without a bogey before dropping a stroke on No. 17.
"I've hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens and it makes it quite easy," Matthew said. "I haven't missed a lot of greens, and don't have the pressure to get up and down then, so hopefully I can keep it up for another day."
Norway's Suzann Pettersen (71) was second, and defending champion I.K. Kim (70) was another stroke back along with Anna Nordqvist (73).
"I'm delighted to be in the lead," Matthew said. "I would rather be three shots in the lead rather than three behind. I.K., Suzann and Anna all back there, all capable of coming up from behind, so I'm going to have to go out there tomorrow and shoot something in the 60s, I think."
Last year, Kim closed with a 64 to beat Pettersen by three strokes.
"Is this a course where you can shoot a low round and come from behind, I.K.?" Pettersen joked with Kim, who also was in the interview room. "Yeah, it is. It is. I witnessed it last year so, no, I mean, obviously if you get going, try to take advantage of so many par 5s. There are tough holes coming up, and with the greens firm, you never know what it's going to be, but you have to put a good number together tomorrow."
Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, tied for the lead after the first two rounds in the 36-player event, was 5 under after a 75. The 51-year-old Inkster is trying to become the oldest winner in LPGA Tour history.
Michelle Wie, the 2009 winner, was tied for 12th at 1 under after a 71.
Top-ranked Yani Tseng was 26th at 3 over after a 74.
Tseng is coming off victories in the LPGA Tour's Taiwan Championship and Ladies European Tour's Suzhou Taihu Ladies in China. The Taiwanese star has seven LPGA Tour wins this season, including major victories in the LPGA Championship and Women's British Open, and four other worldwide wins. She tied for 18th in 2008 in the inaugural event in Guadalajara, tied for eighth in 2009 and was 27th last year.
The tee on the par-5 18th hole were moved up 40 yards Saturday, cutting the hole from 521 yards to 481.
"I think it's good they moved it up," Pettersen said. "I don't think you've seen a lot of birdies there today. I don't think you've seen a lot of eagles, so I don't think it really makes an overall difference on how the hole is played, but it gives us a chance. Even if you hit a great drive you had to hit a perfect shot to get it on, and the bunkers on the left are more in play. So it's nice to have a finishing hole where good shots can make a difference."
Under a golden sun, Paolo Bettini capped a perfect day for cycling by outracing, outwitting and, finally, outsprinting everyone to win the world road race title.
If ever there was a glorious highlight to a season, that was it.
As the Italian crossed the line, though, there was little joy because he had been involved in a doping scandal. He took out an imaginary gun and fired it.
"If anyone felt it was directed at them, they may have reason to think so," Bettini said.
He might as well have been shooting for all of cycling, because if people thought the sport could not sink lower than 2006, they had not heard about 2007.
At the end of yet another year clouded by doping, Bettini showcased the sport at its best: a veteran, never caught using performance-enhancing drugs, who used every ounce of emotion and power to win a second straight world title.
In a sport where trust is now threadbare, fans want to continue to believe in people like the Olympic champion, and because of him, there is hope for a better time.
Some big sponsors bolted in 2007, most notably the sponsors of Jan Ullrich's former team, T-Mobile, and Lance Armstrong's former team, Discovery Channel. Others keep longing for that bright future, like Rabobank.
The Dutch bank was swept from high to low in one afternoon when Michael Rasmussen first seemingly clinched the Tour de France title only to be kicked out by his team for lying about his whereabouts to allegedly avoid drug tests.
Astana will stay, too, despite the expulsion of Alexandre Vinokourov from the Tour when he tested positive for a banned blood transfusion.
"I am telling you straight out. It is not five to midnight, it is five past," exasperated Rabobank sponsor Piet Van Schijndel said. "We just cannot continue like this."
It was another year when the memories of riders scaling pristine peaks of the Tour or clattering over the muddy cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix were blocked out by views of anti-doping stations near the finish line and the hushed corridors of courts.
Hushed, though, was not the appropriate description for the Floyd Landis doping hearing in May, which highlighted the unsavory year.
Nine days of testimony to determine whether the American should be suspended and stripped of the 2006 Tour title dug deep into the underbelly of cycling. But never so deep than when Landis' manager threatened to reveal that three-time Tour champion Greg LeMond was sexually abused as a child if he testified against his client. LeMond then sent out the news himself and testified.
In the end, Landis lost his expensive and explosive case when an arbitration panel decided the 2006 Tour de France champion used synthetic testosterone to fuel his spectacular comeback victory. But like so many doping cases, this one refuses to go away. Landis' appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport is likely to be heard in Lausanne, Switzerland, early next year.
One year late, Oscar Pereiro was named the champion. But Landis was far from the only cyclist linked to doping in 2007.
In June, 2006 Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso received a maximum two-year doping ban after acknowledging involvement in the Spanish blood-doping probe, known as Operation Puerto.
The Puerto scandal, too, rife with loose ends and mystery, is bound to linger into 2008.
Alberto Contador, however, capped a storybook comeback from a brain aneurism three years earlier to win the sport's biggest prize _ 23 seconds ahead of Cadel Evans for the second-narrowest margin in the Tour de France's 104-year history.
"I am marked for life by my brain operation and it allows me to savor this moment," Contador said.
How he got to the winner's stand, though, was a different story.
First, Rasmussen was kicked off his team while wearing the yellow jersey with just a few days to go. A few days earlier, Vinokourov also had to go. To the uninitiated it seemed the young Spaniard had won by default.
Contador also came under the doping glare since he missed last year's Tour when his former team was disqualified because he and four other riders were implicated in Operation Puerto. He said his name turned up by mistake.
Doping was also lurking at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
"Every big event becomes a time bomb," Bettini said before the race.
As a gesture, the International Cycling Union wanted every rider to sign an anti-doping pledge, but Bettini refused for personal reasons. The host city got wind of it and sued to keep him out of the race. It needed a court decision to get the defending champion to the starting line.
At the same time, Giro d'Italia champion Danilo Di Luca withdrew from the championships after the Italian Olympic Committee recommended he be banned for doping. That week, the UCI lost a court case and was forced to let Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde race even though it is convinced he is linked to Operation Puerto.
"I thought that after Landis, Operation Puerto, it could not get worse," UCI president Pat McQuaid said. "In effect, it has got worse."
There's good news for your wallet.
Food price inflation is slowing a bit, though the popular Atkinsdiet has pushed beef and veal prices higher. Clothing prices continueto fall, and home furnishings are declining at their fastest pace infive years, thanks to loads of sales, according to a study releasedWednesday by Ernst & Young.
The Ernst & Young report, the third price study it's done sincelast September, looks at three categories from the government's muchbroader Consumer Price Index reports to see how inflation, or thelack of it, affects Americans' day-to-day purchases.
"Consumers can expect to spend less on apparel and housefurnishings," said Jay McIntosh, …
The Dutch government has set the date for elections for June 9, nearly one year ahead of schedule, after the center-right government collapsed in a dispute over its engagement in Afghanistan.
A government statement issued Tuesday says Queen Beatrix, the ceremonial head of state, accepted the resignation of 12 Cabinet officers from the left-leaning Labor Party who quit the coalition Saturday when it refused a NATO request to keep Dutch troops in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan.
It says Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende will remain in office until the elections but is empowered to deal only with issues that cannot be delayed.
The Dutch are withdrawing from Afghanistan this year as NATO steps up its campaign against the Taliban.
Dampened by rain, slowed by mud and trailing late in the fourth quarter, Daryll Clark was determined to get Penn State some points.
The No. 11 Nittany Lions and their star quarterback emerged from the muck for a thrilling 19-17 win over No. 13 LSU at the Capital One Bowl.
The late-game drive led by Clark helped set up Collin Wagner's 21-yard field goal with 57 seconds left, and Penn State staved off a last-ditch effort by the Tigers to preserve the victory.
"No matter what .. whatever it takes, we have to keep these chains rolling," the senior said in recounting a talk with the offense before the drive. "All we need is a couple points."
Penn State coach Joe Paterno got his record 24th bowl win and handed Les Miles his first loss in five bowls as LSU coach. It was just the second game ever between two popular college football programs.
But the drama extended well beyond the high-profile coaches.
A driving rainstorm turned the field into a mosh pit in some places. LSU rallied from a 13-point deficit late in the second half to take a 17-16 lead on Stevan Ridley's 1-yard touchdown run with 12:49 left.
And LSU had one final chance after Wagner's game-winner. The junior kicker said it was the first time he had ever hit four field goals in a game.
The Tigers got to midfield but right guard Lyle Hitt was whistled for a disputed personal foul penalty that pushed them back to their own 40. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson hit Rueben Randle for a 25-yard gain on the game's last play to the Penn State 35 but Randle fumbled as time expired.
LSU was still fuming after the game.
"So the opportunity to go down there and have a chance at a field goal late in the game certainly would have been what we planned," Miles said. "It didn't work out that way."
This game will be remembered as much for the messy beginning as the dramatic finish.
Bad footing and dropped passes were normal in the first half, and Clark fumbled the snap exchange twice _ though both were recovered by Penn State.
Nevertheless, Clark had a good time in the mud.
"It was a lot of fun," he said. "We couldn't use that as an excuse, because they had to play on it, too."
The Tigers weren't as happy afterward.
"That was by far the worst field conditions I've ever seen in my life. For them to say this is the best bowl outside the BCS, I would expect to play on the best field outside the BCS," said LSU receiver Brandon LaFell.
Clark, nagged by questions of whether he can win a big game, ended his college career on a high note. Similarly, critics noted Penn State hadn't beaten a ranked team all season despite its gaudy record.
JoePa has something to smile about in wrapping up his 44th season on the sideline.
"That thing about not beating a ranked team, I mean, between you and me, that's a lot of hooey (sic), OK, to be honest with you," Paterno said at a post-game news conference. "I think you guys have to write about something, so you pick out something."
Clark finished 18-of-35 for 216 yards and 37-yard touchdown pass to Derek Moye in the first quarter. Clark also nearly came close to throwing a couple interceptions Friday _ if LSU had held on to wet balls.
The Nittany Lions emerged at halftime with a 13-3 lead, but LSU gained traction after rain subsided in the second half.
LaFell's 24-yard touchdown pass from Jefferson with 13 seconds left in the third quarter drew the Tigers within 16-10 to awaken the slumbering LSU crowd.
Jefferson was 13-of-24 for 202 yards with the TD and one interception, while LaFell finished with five catches for 87 yards.
Penn State stalled on its next drive, and Trindon Holliday _ the reigning NCAA 100-meter dash champion _ returned a punt 37 yards to the LSU 49 to help set up Ridley's TD run.
The teams exchanged stalled drives before Penn State took over for its game-winning drive with 6:54 left. Clark hit a Graham Zug one third-and-4 from the LSU 42 for a key conversion to keep the chains moving.
The field took another pounding after poor conditions hampered the Champs Sports Bowl earlier in the week on the same turf. Eight state high school championship games were also played at the stadium in recent weeks.
The grounds crew worked frantically all week in an attempt to get the field in shape for Friday's game.
Rain started falling about a couple hours before game time, and the field took a pounding during pregame warmups. Routines by the marching bands didn't help either.
"When you would try to make a play, you'd be slipping and stumbling all over the place," said Penn State tailback Evan Royster. "I didn't think the field was going to have puddles like that on it."
Conditions were so bad for both offenses early on that the teams combined for 15 punts _ shattering the bowl record of 10 set Miami, Ohio and Florida in 1973.
The new Endeavour shuttle stamp for Express Mail was launchedFriday carrying hefty payload of a $10.75 price tag.
The stamp was patterned after a NASA photograph of the Endeavourlift-off on June 21, 1993.
The flight was a shot toward further commercialization of space,laying the groundwork for marketing room on board the ship to privatecompanies for research.
Tests on the ship included drug manufacture, plant growth, cellsplitting, soldering and high-temperature metallurgy.
The flight also rendezvoused with the European Space Agency'sEuropean Carrier satellite, which was plucked from orbit with theshuttle's robot arm, stored in the cargo bay and …
Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) announced the launch of Trimble[R] VRS Now™ Ag service for farmers in nine U.S. states--Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi and Nebraska. Additionally, European growers can receive correction services in Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Czech Republic and Estonia. As with corrections supplied by conventional Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) radio towers, Trimble VRS™ network corrections provide sub-inch repeatable Global Positioning System (GPS) accuracy for precision farming operations such as tillage, planting, spraying and field preparation.
The Trimble VRS solution uses proprietary software to …
Byline: KARL VICK Washington Post
ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Turkish police said Friday that they have arrested a man who described himself as a connection between al-Qaida and a terrorist cell that carried out four truck bombings last month in Istanbul.
The man, a Turk identified as Adnan Ersoz, was arrested Monday after he returned to Turkey from an unidentified country, anti-terrorism police in Istanbul said in a statement.
Ersoz told interrogators ``that a structure was formed in Turkey in connection with an international terrorist organization,'' according to the statement. ``He was abroad to provide the connection between that structure and the …
Future political operatives in university-level political management programs learn the business and theory of politics from faculty with both academic and campaign back-grounds.
At George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM), students hear primarily from political consultants and other political professionals who teach the business of elections. Christopher Arterton, the dean of GSPM, estimates that about 80 percent of instructors are political practitioners, who give students practical skill sets they need in a political career.
Arterton was a pollster for Newsweek and a political science professor at Yale University prior to GSPM.
Joseph Mercurio, a Democratic general consultant …
SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Carl Crawford had his first two hits in a Boston uniform and a Red Sox split-squad and the Baltimore Orioles played 10 innings Saturday before calling it a tie, 4-4.
Crawford, hitless in his first nine at-bats, signed a 7-year, $142 million contract with the Red Sox this winter. He had singles in the first and fifth innings and left the game after walking in …
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Realizing that the consumption of snack foods is often habitual rather than the result of hunger, an Icelandic product designer developed a whimsical alternative called Slim Chips. The experimental line of snacks is made from …
May 22--SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The Saratoga Springs Lions Club Foundation is hosting the annual duathlon on Sunday on the Skidmore College campus.
Participants alone or in teams of two or three will tackle a 5-kilometer run, followed by a 20-mile bike ride, ending with another 5K run. Changes this year include a new timing system, featuring split timing, instant results and disposable timing chips.
On the day of the race, entry fees are $60, $90 and $120. The first 300 entrants will receive T-shirts. Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers in each age category and results will be computerized. Proceeds will further the foundation's work in sight and …
Byline: STUART M. BUTLER
Here is the bad news: Medicare will go broke in 2001. Here is worse news: Keeping the program afloat four more years, until 2005, will cost the average household $14,000 in taxes.
These disturbing facts come to us courtesy of the Medicare Board of Trustees, the bipartisan group of experts (including three Clinton administration cabinet secretaries) that keeps tabs on the health-care program for America's 37 million senior citizens.
According to the trustees, the most acute crisis facing Medicare is the looming bankruptcy of the hospital insurance trust fund, known as Part A. To ensure that Part A can continue paying seniors' hospital bills until 2005, the trustees …
Larry King will continue his CNN gab-fest through 2009 under an extended contract worth $7 million per year, representatives from the network confirmed last week.
King, who marks his 20th year with CNN June 1, posts the network's highest ratings with his nightly talk show, Larry King Live, which airs from 9 to 10 p.m. ET.
In March, …
Against a background of taunts, memories of past failure and a shock defeat in its last match, Germany captain Michael Ballack said it was character rather than ability that earned his team an unconvincing 1-0 win over Austria and a place in the quarterfinals of the European Championship.
After a scrappy and tense first half in which Austria troubled its underperforming opponent, Ballack smashed in a 25-meter (yard) free kick to give Germany a narrow victory Monday over its smaller neighbor and ensure there was no repeat of what is known as "The Miracle of Cordoba."
A draw with Poland four days ago meant that a win over the pre-tournament favorite …
GRAND FORKS, N.D. There wasn't much dry land left in the citytoday for the few people who still were trying to get out to higherground as the Red River neared its record flood crest.
"There aren't any streets that you can get out of town (on)anymore without driving through water," Elwood Omdahl said as he leftGrand Forks this morning.
Frigid, sewage-fouled water from the bloated river covered 75percent of the 10 1/2-square-mile city today, and 90 percent of the50,000 inhabitants had fled, said Fire Department spokesman JerryVein.President Clinton planned to visit the flooded city on Tuesday,the White House said today.In the middle of the flood, a weekend fire …
