Virginia Tech police are investigating a Youtube posting that threatens a mass shooting at the university, but believe there is no direct threat to the school.
Police informed students and faculty of the investigation in an e-mail late Wednesday night, saying that state police and the FBI are assisting. University spokesman Mark Owzcarski says authorities believe the threats may have originated in …
PARIS Leaders of the three warring parties in Bosnia signed apeace treaty today, formally ending Europe's worst conflict sinceWorld War II and opening the way for thousands of NATO troops to moveinto the former Yugoslavian republic.
But the ink on the treaty was barely dry when sporadic violenceflared again in Bosnia, with explosions in districts of Sarajevo,government troops firing on a French helicopter and Croat forcesclashing with pro-government Islamic fighters.
Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Croatian President FranjoTudjman and Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic signed the accord inParis as leaders from major powers, including President …
As of Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011, at least 4,485 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The figure includes nine military civilians killed in action.
At least 3,527 military personnel died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The AP count is one fewer than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Monday at 10 a.m. EST.
Since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, …
A man opened fire on his stepdaughter's family inside a California restaurant Saturday, killing her husband and 6-year-old son, critically wounding her and another child, and then fatally shooting himself, police said.
The 56-year-old man arrived at the Del Taco restaurant in San Bernardino on a bike at about 1 p.m., walked over to a table and fired several shots at his 29-year-old stepdaughter, her 33-year-old husband, and their sons, ages 5 and 6, San Bernardino police Lt. Jarrod Burguan said.
"There was a very brief exchange of words, then he opened fire on them at near point-blank …
PHILADELPHIA A trove of fossils recently discovered in Chinaoffer a snapshot of prehistoric life, including a chicken-likecreature with downy fluff and what might be the first egg ever foundinside a dinosaur.
Another specimen included the fossil jawbone of a mammal that adinosaur had just eaten.
"I think the potential of the field site is unbelievable,"paleontologist John H. Ostrom said last week. "Nowhere else in theworld are fossils from such a critical time so well-preserved."While many fossil sites only preserve the bones of ancientanimals, the fossil find last summer in northeastern China's Liaoningprovince preserved surface features such as claws, scales …
Why Barack Obama's book, published a decade ago but a best-seller only last fall, may be destined to become an American classic. By Mary Mitchell
Editors' Note: Barack Obama will take his U.S. Senate seat in the 109th Congress this month. Obama, 43, will be the only African American senator sitting in this 21st-century federal lawmaking body. Furthermore, he's only the fifth African American ever to serve as a U.S. senator.
Obama's memoir, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, was published in 1995. As a result of publicity in 1990 when he became the first African American to serve as president of the Harvard Law Review, he was asked to write a memoir by …
Hundreds of unionized workers rallied in Tokyo on Tuesday to protest massive job cuts, accusing the country's biggest companies of sacrificing jobs to protect profits.
The global financial crisis has forced some of Japan's corporate giants to take drastic measures including job cuts, suspending production, postponing projects and closing factories. Sony Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. are among the major employers to trim thousands of workers from their payrolls.
About 200 protesters waved banners and shouted slogans through loudspeakers outside the headquarters of the Nippon Keidanren _ Japan's largest business lobby group _ in Tokyo's main …
CARMARTHEN Town AFC has answered a cry for help from the newly-formed Wales Football-Tennis Association.
Town AFC club shop administrator Celia Kirkby explained: "Therequest for help arrived by email at Carmarthen Town's online shop."Futnet is played with a football over a tennis net by teams of oneto eight players.
"They are running a tournament for unemployed adults andunderprivileged youngsters …
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - The maverick founder of Commerce Bank NA, a New Jersey bank that has grown into a powerhouse on the East Coast, is retiring as the bank resolves a probe by federal banking regulators.
In a surprise announcement Friday, the company said Vernon W. Hill II had resigned from the bank and would retire from its holding company, Commerce Bancorp, on July 31.
Commerce also announced that it had entered into an agreement with the Comptroller of the Currency to stop doing business with companies owned by its executives and their relatives.
A person close to the situation said regulators had pressured the bank's board to seek Hill's resignation because …
Authorities said two men called 911 after they were robbed at gunpoint while trying to buy 20 pounds of marijuana. The Volusia County Sheriff's Office reported that the men went to a home Monday with $12,000 to buy the drugs. Two men at the home jumped them, took their money and drove off. A report said the victims jumped in their own vehicle to follow and one of them called 911 for help.
The other vehicle got away, but deputies …
Winfield F. Hentschel, 68, a Chicago native who was vicepresident and treasurer emeritus of the Purdue University ResearchFoundation, died Friday in Home Hospital, Lafayette, Ind.
Mr. Hentschel received emeritus status when he retired in Juneof 1989. He had served as vice president and treasurer since 1970.Incorporated in 1930, the foundation supports research and scholarlyactivities through real estate and other investments. It alsooperates as a nonprofit fund-raising enterprise.
He became treasurer in 1960. At that post, he was instrumentalin the development and subsequent growth at the Purdue Research Park,a school commercial venture in West Lafayette.
…
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine justice chief said Thursday she'll recommend criminal and administrative charges against about 10 officials, police officers and journalists over last month's killing of eight Hong Kong tourists in a botched hostage rescue that outraged China.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the identities of those to be charged, details on the charges and other information about the Aug. 23 standoff in which the hostage-taker, a fired policeman, also died, will be included in a report to be submitted to President Benigno Aquino III on Friday.
The Philippine authorities' bungled handling of the standoff, which was beamed for hours on live TV, …
Jenson Button won the Formula One season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, beating his teammate Rubens Barrichello and giving Brawn GP a 1-2 finish in its debut race.
Button led from start to finish, with the race finishing under safety car conditions following a late accident.
Barrichello recovered after being slow off the start, while Toyota's Jarno Trulli performed impressively after starting from pit lane, finishing third.
It was the first time since 1977 that a team had won its debut F1 race, and the third time that a team had finished first and second at its first attempt. Alfa Romeo did it in the first ever grand prix in Britain in 1950, and Mercedes did it at the French GP in 1954.
It was only the second GP win for Button, who is in his 10th year of F1.
The win capped a remarkable turnaround for the former Honda team which was at real risk of extinction in the offseason when the Japanese automaker pulled out of F1. Team principal Ross Brawn took over the team, which has benefitted greatly from 2009 development spending by its former owner last year.
"This is a fairytale ending for the first race," Button said. "Some people may say its a pity the race finished under the safety car but I don't care, I won the race and that's all I care about."
Further boosting Brawn GP spirits was the knowledge that the past three winners of the Australian GP went on to win the championship.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and BMW's Robert Kubica collided while running second and third with only four laps to go, ending their races and bringing out the safety car.
Reigning champion Lewis Hamilton was fourth for McLaren after starting 18th on the grid, finishing ahead of Toyota's Timo Glock, Renault's Fernando Alonso, Nico Rosberg of Williams and Red Bull's Sebastien Buemi, who got one point in his first grand prix.
For the second year running, Ferrari finished without a point in the season opener. Felipe Massa was running in third place before sustaining a steering failure on lap 45, three laps after Kimi Raikkonen spun out.
There was a crash at the first corner that ended the race for McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen, and forced BMW's Nick Heidfeld, Red Bull's Mark Webber and Force India's Adrian Sutil to immediately pit, effectively ending their chances.
GM Europe is negotiating with Spain, Britain and other European governments beyond Germany to get the euro3.3 billion($4.2 billion) they say they need to keep operating, General Motors officials said Tuesday at the Geneva Auto Show.
GM's German-based Adam Opel GmbH unit has been in talks with the German government for financial support, but the GM officials made clear that the company wants to merge its European operations into a single entity in order to take the cash infusion they need to keep going.
Among GM Europe's subsidiaries are Germany's Adam Opel GmbH, Britain's Vauxhall, and Sweden-based Saab, which has been placed in bankruptcy protection.
"We are talking to governments outside of Germany. Obviously it started in Germany. We have half of our employment in Germany, most engineering capacity is in Germany. We have approached other governments," GM Europe president Carl-Peter Forster told reporters on the sidelines of the annual motor show.
Forster said GM Europe has been in talks with Spanish authorities, who have committed to euro200 million in loan guarantees, and received "positive signals" from British officials. He said there were talks with other governments as well, but did not name them.
The German government has said it won't be rushed into a commitment, and has ask for further details.
General Motors chief operating officer Fritz Henderson said that part of the process to get its European operations back on its feet will be creating a European entity.
"An investment in Opel Germany doesn't make sense. We need to create a European entity ... It will take some plumbing work. It's not terribly difficult," Henderson said. "Our business needs to be looked at as a European business."
Forster said they need to achieve cuts of $1.2 billion (euro1 billion) as part of the plan it is presenting to governments. That could be most easily achieved by closing three factories, Forster said, noting that capacity utilization was running 30 percent below normal levels.
"It could be by far the best solution to just close plants. Our labor representatives have asked us to consider other measures," Forster said. They include voluntary resignations, salary cuts and work reductions.
"But make no illusions," Forster said. "It is not easy to get to $1.2 billion that we need to achieve. This is a lot of money we need to save to get our business viable."
Forster said GM Europe is convinced that with governments' help it can return to profitability by the end of 2011, assuming success of the new product line, which includes a range of models low on carbon emissions as well as the new Opel Ampera, an electric vehicle with an extended range from a gas powered engine.
But if the money is not forthcoming, GM Europe operations' risks failure in the second quarter, Henderson said.
"Use your imagination. We would become insolvent at that time. That's what would happen if we run out of cash," Henderson said.
That could cost 200,000 to 300,000 jobs between Opel workers and related suppliers and dealers, according to Forster.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Chad Ochocinco was the last Patriot to walk across the field and wade into the pack of reporters and photographers waiting near the sideline. He felt no need to rush the moment he'd longed for nearly his whole life.
This was his Super Bowl media day.
Ochocinco finally got to be on the receiving end of questions Tuesday at Lucas Oil Stadium for an annual event that he attended several times as a microphone-toting correspondent for his social media Ochocinco News Network.
Now, the microphones were aimed at him.
"Aw, man, I've dreamed of it," Ochocinco said, wearing his blue No. 85 jersey, blue Super Bowl cap and irrepressible smile. "I've been playing this game a long time — started out at 4 years old. And this is what you dream of, to come to this stage and enjoy it. So that's what I'm going to do."
And he's doing it the New England way.
Instead of driving the conversation by talking about himself, Ochocinco was along for the ride. He didn't seem to mind that he didn't get one of the 14 podiums set up on the field for coach Bill Belichick and players.
Instead, he stood at the 13-yard line between podiums reserved for tight end Aaron Hernandez and receiver Matthew Slater, his soft tone often drowned out by his teammates' speaker-amplified comments.
Didn't matter.
"This is my podium," Ochocinco said, referring to his small section of artificial turf encircled by reporters and photographers. "If I was up there, you couldn't get to me. You couldn't smell the cologne I have on now."
During the nearly hour-long session, Ochocinco provided hardly a whiff of his old look-at-me ways. After 10 years of commanding the spotlight and losing games in Cincinnati, the social media mogul had to pull off one of his most difficult changes.
Ochocinco had to use the words "I'' and "me" much more sparingly in order to co-exist with Belichick in New England. He had to learn, he says, throwing in an obscenity, to shut up.
There was no remorse in his tone on Tuesday. He knew when the Patriots traded for him that his self-promoting ways would have to end. If he lapsed back into look-at-me, he'd be looking at the end of his stay in New England.
So, he did away with his lists of cornerbacks who couldn't cover him, his touchdown skits and victory guarantees. Ochocinco, who legally changed his name from Johnson to get more attention, would have to drop the "diva" from his job description.
"I could have talked," he said, 'but then I'd be sitting at home today.
"I think I've had a great career in general. The year wasn't what I expected, what everyone else expected. But I did everything I was supposed to do — work, stay quiet. I don't know if being on this stage is a reward, but there's nothing else I can do. I'm part of a team and I've done everything asked of me."
Especially the "stay quiet" part, which went against his nature.
He repeatedly bumped egos in Cincinnati with coach Marvin Lewis, who referred to him once as "Ocho Psycho." Ochocinco miffed teammates with his attention-gathering antics — and his sloppy pass routes — and got under the skin of opponents by sending them Pepto-Bismol and other gifts. The league repeatedly fined him for his on-field celebrations and refusal to follow its uniform code.
He set Bengals receiving records, but made the playoffs only twice in 10 years and went 0-2. He tried to get out of town, but ownership made him stay. He started planning for his next career, getting involved in social media, including his OCNN venture.
During the NFL lockout last summer, he rode a 1,500-pound bull for 1.5 seconds, tried out for Kansas City's MLS team and took a 160 mph spin around the Atlanta Motor Speedway with Jeff Burton.
He felt revived when the Bengals traded him to the Patriots in July, but quickly realized his career was taking an abrupt turn. He became a small piece in a high-powered passing game, catching only 15 passes all season for 275 yards and one uncelebrated touchdown.
"I know the season hasn't gone the way he wanted to," said Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew, filling in for Ochocinco on his OCNN crew this week. "The way they do things up there, I think he's kind of understood that and gone along with it. I'm happy for the guy."
Ochocinco sounded upbeat about all of it. Asked if it was bittersweet for him to get to the title game as a reserve receiver without a podium, he smiled.
"It's not bittersweet," he said. "It's the Super Bowl."
HOUSTON (AP) — Authorities say a suspected drunken driver struck and killed a pedestrian on a Houston freeway, then drove several miles after the victim had crashed through the windshield and landed next to the passenger's seat.
A spokeswoman for the Harris County District Attorney's Office said 49-year-old James Onak faces a felony charge of failure to stop and render aid in a fatality and a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated. It wasn't immediately clear whether Onak had an attorney.
The name of the 32-year-old male victim was not immediately released.
Police say the victim's vehicle had broken down when he was hit early Tuesday and went through Onak's windshield. They said Onak drove about three miles before a deputy constable noticed damage to his vehicle and pulled him over.
Charles Q. Chandler IV, chairman, president and CEO of Wichita-based INTRUST Bank and INTRUST Financial Corp., has been named chairman of troubled Westar Energy Inc., Topeka. A director of Westar since January 2000, Chandler has served on the company's audit and finance committee, and has been chairman of a committee set up after it was revealed the company is the target of a grand jury investigation involving, among other things, use of corporate aircraft, according to The Kansas City Star.
As chairman of Westar, Chandler succeeds David Wittig, who resigned as chairman, president and CEO following his indictment for bank fraud.
For the third time in two months, residents in the Englewood community will wake up this morning having to face the reality that the life of one of its young, bright and promising girls has been cut short by gun violence.
A sunny and peaceful Wednesday morning was shattered shortly after 7 a.m. when police were called to the 5500 block of South Honore Street, where they discovered the body of Kierra Pope, who was accidentally shot in the face by her 1-2-year-old brother.
According to police, Pope's brother - whose name is being withheld by the Defender because he is a juvenile - got a hold of their father's 9mm semiautomatic handgun. As he played with the gun, it discharged, striking Pope in the right cheek.
Pope, a student at Charles R. Henderson School, 5650 S. Walcott Ave., was rushed to Comer Children's Hospital at the University of Chicago where she was pronounced dead at about 7:50 a.m., said hospital spokesman John Easton.
Later in the day, the children's father, Elijah Ammons, 31, was arrested and charged with one count of unlawful weapon possession.
"Right now we are ruling the shooting an accident," said Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond. "The 12-year-old brother was playing with a gun inside of the home. She was shot and police were called. The girl was found on the second floor in the hallway."
Ammons is scheduled to have a bond hearing at noon today, and he is scheduled to have a preliminary court hearing on May 10th, said Officer Amina Greet.
Five hours after the shooting, a makeshift memorial for Pope began to build as family members, friends and community activists trickled in and out of the two-flat brownstone house, bringing food and flowers. Family members, however, refused to talk to any media, who were camped out in front of the house. Many family members started entering and leaving the residence from the back.
Englewood activists Janice Pass, who works with Ceasefire, and Fred Hampton Jr., were among those paying their respects.
"This family here is like my family," Pass said. "The grandmother and I were raised together. I just got the call to come from out of town and come over...Here is another child we have lost to gun violence. I am just very devastated at this time."
Cortez McClung, 12, who attends Henderson - the school where Pope's brother also goes to - stared in a daze at the family's home.
"I knew her, yeah, I knew her," McClung said of Kierra Pope. "I knew her and her brother. I found out about it because I heard one of my friends say it. No one came up to the school and told us (anything)."
Hampton Jr. appeared more disgusted after McClung spoke. He pointed to a group of kids down the block playing a basketball game in the middle of the street, only moving to allow cars to pass by.
"The streets of Englewood is my office," Hampton Jr. said. "But just look at the vacant lots and lack of social services in our community. Vacant lots are our playgrounds."
John Paul Jones, chairman of the Greater Englewood Community and Family Task Force, said he's dismayed by the Chicago police's lack of effort of getting guns out of the community, despite the citywide gun collection program last Saturday.
"With them failing to give (10-year-old Siretha White's family) on 70th Place a citation, here we go again about the police not knowing how to deal with knowing how to deal with domestic violence cases in the city," Jones said. "Even though it was an accident, it was still domestic violence, and the city need to find a clever way for law enforcement to speak to these situations inside of the homes."
Jones also spoke on Chicago Public Schools needing to do a better job of counseling children when tragedies such as the Pope shooting occur.
"That's an ongoing crisis," Jones said. "CPS has a history of not having a very responsive crisis team. At one time they did, but now they haven't stepped it up in the way that they should.
"But shame on that family for not turning in that automatic weapon. I don't mean to be so hard on the family at this time of sorrow, but we hold that family more accountable for having that type of weapon inside of their home."
[Author Affiliation]
by Demetrius Patterson
Defender Staff Writer
WASHINGTON _ Buffeted by soaring fuel prices and tighter credit, American consumers increased their spending at the weakest pace in six months. In other signs of trouble, applications for unemployment benefits last week soared by the largest number since Hurricane Katrina.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that consumer spending edged up just 0.2 percent in December _ the year's peak shopping season. That was down sharply from a 1 percent gain in November. It was the weakest performance in this area since a similar 0.2 percent rise in June of last year.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported that the number of laid-off workers filing applications for unemployment benefits increased by 69,000 to 375,000 last week. That was the highest level for jobless claims since the week of Oct. 8, 2005, when the economy was dealing with the disruptions caused by Hurricane Katrina and other Gulf Coast hurricanes.
The increase in jobless claims was more than triple what economists had been expecting, although part of the increase was blamed on technical difficulties in adjusting the figures around the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Analysts said the greater concern was the slowdown in consumer spending, which they predicted would continue in the current quarter, the period many believe will be the maximum danger point for a recession.
The overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, slowed to an anemic growth rate of 0.6 percent in the final three months of 2007, half of what had been expected, and many analysts believe it could dip into negative territory in the current quarter. By one definition, a recession occurs when GDP is negative for two consecutive quarters.
David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's, said he was forecasting that GDP would decline at an annual rate of 1 percent in the current quarter, in large part because of the expected further slowing in consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of economic activity.
"Happy holidays is not a phrase that retailers are using to describe this year's shopping season," said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors.
Despite widespread discounting, retailers slogged through their weakest Christmas sales season in five years as consumer confidence was shaken by the deep slump in housing, a severe credit squeeze and last year's big increases in the cost of gasoline and other energy products.
On Wall Street, stocks ended a turbulent January with a huge advance on Thursday as investors grew more optimistic that the aggressive intrest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve will help rescue the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 207.53 points to close at 12,650.36. For the month, thd Dow lost 4.63 percent.
The unemployment rate rose significantly in December, jumping to 5 percent from 4.7 percent in November. That was the biggest one-month increase since the period immediately following the September 2001 terrorist attacks.
The January jobless number will be released Friday, with analysts expecting it will be unchanged at 5 percent as payroll growth continues to be sluggish with an expected increase of around 65,000 jobs.
The weakening jobs market is keeping labor cost pressures contained. The Labor Department's Employment Cost Index posted a 0.8 percent rise in the final three months of last year, a moderate increase that matched the rise in the July-September period.
The Fed on Wednesday cut a key interest rate by a half-point, the second large move in less than a week as the central bank signaled it was prepared to do whatever is needed to bolster the weakening economy.
President Bush and House leaders reached quick agreement on an economic stimulus plan last week. However, the package has slowed in the Senate where the Senate Finance Committee gave approval to an expanded effort on Wednesday despite warnings by the administration that this could risk delays in getting tax relief in the hands of families.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who is leading the administration's negotiations with Congress, told reporters Thursday that he was concerned that the extra Senate provisions would create "a real risk that the process will bog down and slow our efforts to get money into the economy."
The 0.2 percent rise in consumer spending looked even worse when price changes were removed. Inflation-adjusted spending did not increase at all last month, following a 0.4 percent rise in November and a 0.1 percent decline in October.
The government said personal incomes rose by 0.5 percent in December, the best showing since a similar increase in September.
An inflation gauge tied to spending that the Federal Reserve watches closely posted a 0.2 percent rise in December and left prices, excluding energy and food, up by 2.2 percent over the past 12 months, slightly higher than the 2 percent upper boundary of the Fed's comfort zone.
___
On the Net:
Federal Reserve: http://www.federalreserve.gov
Here's everything I know. You Broken Down Horseplayers shouldknow it, too: Now that Alysheba returned to form in winning the Iselin Handicap onSaturday at Monmouth Park and Cryptoclearance won the Hawthorne GoldCup, the $3 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs Nov. 5should be great. Bet Twice, Cutlass Reality, Ferdinand,Precisionist, Seeking the Gold, Waquoit, Gulch, Talinum and a fewothers are dreaming of that big race.
The Breeders' Classic figures to be one of the best of all time.Alysheba will be the favorite. How about Jose Santos getting bumped off Gulch in favor of AngelCordero in the Iselin, then getting 10 percent of $303,690 when herode Cryptoclearance to victory? Jockeys play musical saddles.Santos was bumped off Crypto after finishing third in the Preaknessin favor of Laffit Pincay for the Belmont. When Santos was back ingood graces, he bypassed Crypto. Impressive jockey Wesley Ward is on his way to Italy where he'llsign a contract to ride. John Galbreath, past president of Hialeah Park, former owner of thePittsburgh Pirates and owner of the Darby Dan Farm that housed manychampions, died July 20.
Galbreath's Roberto, a fine sire and winner of the 1972Epsom Derby in England in 1972, died Aug. 2. Graustark, a strongKentucky Derby threat until he cracked a bone at Keeneland in 1966,was humanely destroyed Aug. 21. Both were on the Darby Dan Farm inOhio.
Does bad luck come in threes? The BDH have a bit better chance at Toronto's Woodbine than inIllinois. At Woodbine, the take from win, place and show is 15.60percent (17 percent in Illinois); daily doubles and exactas are 22percent (20.5 in Illinois); and trifectas 24 percent (25 inIllinois). I can't wait to see horses run on the synthetic Equitrack atRemington Park in Oklahoma. Horsemen say thoroughbreds almost flyover it in workouts. I have a hunch racing will be very formfulbecause that strip doesn't change. There won't be such a bias asthere is at most tracks. Remington opens Thursday.
That type of track is used in England for training so horses canbe ready when the thoroughbred season opens. Heretofore, snow andice prevented training in the winter. Equitrack doesn't freeze. I can't help but express my feelings about Arlington Park'sintertrack betting at Ditka's. It has everything for a bettor withthe exception of a sure winner. They even have a no smoking areathat Lynne Durocher, in charge of public relations for Ditka's,pointed out for a BDH who thought he was overlooked.
Another BDH, who saw me taking notes, said: "Dave, you arewriting bad things about this place. Erase them all. This place iswonderful." Attendance at Arlington Saturday was 2,807. Chicagoan Joe Navigato, assistant to Hawthorne track president TomCarey, will be a steward at Balmoral's thoroughbred meeting openingOct. 9.
Navigato was a steward here not too many years ago. Don'tbelieve those crazy rumors that Balmoral will move its meeting toHawthorne. I'll miss the stories the late Art Rooney used to tell me atKentucky Derby time. Forty years ago Rooney bet with both hands. Hemade enough money to get a richer place in life. He owned and bredhorses. I never heard one person knock Rooney, a grand old man whopassed away last week. I'll never forget when I ran my horse Shaffie against thequarterhorse champion Stella Moore at Gulfstream Park 25 years ago.I had no chance. Stella Moore was a runt, but she could fly. TheTexas owner came into the paddock with a fistful of hundreds andasked, "Where's the guy who owns the other horse?"
"I'm the guy," I said.
"How much do you want to bet?" asked the Texan. I told him$10,000.
"OK, you're down."
"Who are you betting?" I asked.
"Stella Moore, of course," he answered.
"Heck, so am I," I told him.
Oh, did he get mad. Stella Moore beat Shaffie by six lengths.
Thaddeus Luis Rodriguez, 21, of East Chicago, who is being tried on rape and other charges, showed up at his jury trial Wednesday holding an ice pack on his nose.
Earlier, outside the courthouse, Rodriguez encountered co-defendant Hiram Joel Perez-Diaz, who pleaded guilty last week to a lesser crime and agreed to testify against Rodriguez. Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak said the confrontation involved Rodriguez calling Perez-Diaz names and telling him to change his testimony.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry's White House bid tarnished his image enough that he's about as popular in his solidly Republican home state as President Barack Obama, a poll published Thursday shows.
Perry's approval rating after his failed presidential bid has fallen to 40 percent, a 10-point drop from a year ago and slightly less than Obama's 43 percent statewide approval rating, according to the poll. More than half of the people who responded to a statewide survey don't want Perry, the longest-serving governor in Texas history, to run for another term in 2014.
Perry's campaign for president — during which he made a series of public gaffs and debate flubs that turned him into a national punch line — embarrassed some Texans. Forty-five percent of those polled said the campaign actually hurt the state's image.
"He should have never been in the race," said Traci Humphrey, a 33-year-old Republican from Dallas, who wasn't a poll respondent. "I think it made us look like idiots, how he conducted himself. His overall image is not good for Texas."
It wasn't long ago that Perry led even presidential public opinion polls. He became an almost overnight front-runner when he strode into the race for the GOP nomination in August.
But that was before a series of verbal mistakes that included forgetting the voting age; forgetting the name of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and then mixing up how many judges are on the court; or mistakenly saying U.S. ally Turkey was run by Islamic extremists.
Then there was his infamous "oops" debate moment, when Perry said that as president he'd eliminate three federal agencies but could remember only two of them.
"I think it's pretty clear that people even in Texas don't think that the presidential campaign went very well," said Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics project at the University of Texas. "There aren't a lot of people who are willing to say, 'Wow, he did us proud.'"
The poll was conducted Jan. 21-24 for The Dallas Morning News, the Austin American Statesman, the San Antonio Express-News, the Houston Chronicle and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. The random telephone survey of 806 Texans, including 669 registered voters, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Forty percent respondents said they disapprove of the job Perry is doing.
Though his approval rating may be on par with Obama's, Perry would still seem more likely to win voters in his very red native state. Henson pointed out that Perry has continued to win re-election even though his approval ratings often fluctuated between the mid to high 30s and low 40s.
He said that Perry was in the mid to high 30s in the second half of 2009 and early 2010, when he easily won the Republican gubernatorial nomination over U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and then cruised to re-election over Democrat Bill White.
Before the presidential campaign, Perry had never lost an election since 1984, when he won a Texas House seat as a Democrat. He switched parties and won his first statewide post as agricultural commissioner before being elected lieutenant governor, ascending to the governorship when George W. Bush left for the White House in December 2000 and winning election to three full, four-year terms.
Though the poll released Thursday found 53 percent of respondents don't want Perry to run for a fourth full term in two years, Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan said the governor doesn't let polling numbers dictate how he will govern.
Sullivan also said the governor hasn't ruled out running for president again in 2016, particularly if Obama wins a second term.
Asked if his poor presidential showing was embarrassing, Sullivan said, "the presidential campaign let even more Americans know about Texas' pro-job climate, great quality of life and culture of fiscal responsibility."
According to the poll, Perry's approval rating among Texas Republicans dipped from 73 percent to 60 percent, and among independents he fell from nearly half to 27 percent.
Erin Bonner, a soft-spoken Dallas businesswoman, said Perry "didn't come across well" during his presidential bid.
"I probably think of him as more redneck," Bonner said.
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Associated Press writer Linda Stewart Ball contributed to this report from Dallas.
TOKYO (AP) — About 200 protesters banged drums and waved "No Nike" signs while marching Sunday in downtown Tokyo to oppose plans for a Nike-sponsored skateboarding park where construction has displaced dozens of homeless squatters.
The faceoff between protesters on one side and the U.S. sneaker maker and the city on the other has underscored a relatively new debate in Japan about how to handle decisions on public space.
Under a 10-year deal signed August 2009, Nike Inc. is planning to build a skateboarding facility sporting its "swoosh" logo in a grassy area and is paying 17 million yen ($200,000) a year for "naming rights." The park, now called Miyashita Park, will continue to be owned and operated by the city government, but will be renamed Miyashita NIKE Park, serving as an ad for the world's biggest athletic shoe and clothing company.
Officials accompanied by police tore out the squatters' tents from the park Friday and threw out their belongings. More than 30 homeless people were forced to vacate the area, according to Yasumasa Hioki, director of public works in Shibuya district, an area filled with fancy boutiques and young shoppers.
"This is just an excuse to get rid of the homeless," said protest organizer Seiji Uematsu, adding residents and visitors should decide how to use the park.
The group of protesters, some wearing colorful costumes, marched through the streets and in front of a Tokyo Nike store shouting, "Don't take away our space for self-expression."
"We simply want to bring sports closer to people with this project," Nike spokeswoman Yoko Mizukami said. "We are hopeful for a positive outcome, but all we can do is wait."
Those who oppose the plan, the Coalition to Protect Miyashita Park From Becoming Nike Park, say the favorite spot for rallies and demonstrations is becoming commercialized.
Construction was supposed to have started in April, but has been repeatedly delayed because of protests. The park was sealed off two weeks ago, and security guards stand at the gates.
"Ideally, public space serves as a laboratory of democracy and civility," said Christian Dimmer, who specializes in urban planning as a researcher at the University of Tokyo. "The future of a collective resource like public space should be broadly discussed by all members of a society, and not in shady backroom dealings."
Ida Raming knows many view her efforts as tilting at windmills.But the German theologian, whose clandestine and unrecognizedordination to the Roman Catholic priesthood last summer led theVatican to excommunicate her, said Monday she believes her church oneday will allow women priests.
"The full acknowledgement of women in this church is our aim,"Raming said, sipping a latte at a coffeehouse across from Chicago'sHoly Name Cathedral. "It is our church."
Raming, 70, on a five-week speaking tour of the United States, isto preside at a Eucharistic liturgy tonight in the Chapel of TheUnknown at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, a UnitedMethodist graduate school in Evanston.
Last June, Raming, five other women from Austria and Germany andAmerican Dagmar Braun Celeste secretly went through an ordinationrite on a boat on the Danube between Germany and Austria.
One of the two men presiding, former Roman Catholic Bishop RomuloAntonio Braschi, had been excommunicated by the Vatican in 1998 forattempts to ordain women. The other, Rafael Regelsberger of Austria,was ordained a bishop by Braschi and not recognized as one by theVatican, which rejected the seven women's ordination claim.
After asking the seven women to repent and disavow their claim--they refused--the church excluded them last August, saying therenegade ordination ceremony violated "the fundamental structure ofthe Church as it was wanted by its founder." Church teaching holdsthat, because Jesus chose men as apostles, only males can serve aspriests.
"We broke a law," Raming said. "This is true. But the law is a lawwhich has no right to exist. It has to be overcome . . . and, ifchurch officials do not take actions to do so, then we have to doit."
For 41 years, Raming, who holds a doctorate in theology and wroteher doctoral dissertation about women in the priesthood, has arguedthat church doctrine limiting the priesthood to men is wrong. Canonlaw 1024, which governs priestly ordinations, says, "Only a baptizedman validly receives sacred ordinations." Raming argues that violatesa biblical concept about the equality of all people before God.
The movement to ordain women Catholic priests has been aroundsince the early 1960s, though it appears to remain a minority view.
Still, Raming is hopeful. She points out that the Episcopal churchdidn't have women priests until the so-called "Philadelphia Eleven,"a group of women, was "irregularly" ordained in 1974. That churchlifted its ban on women priests two years later, and, in 1992, itsparent, the Church of England, also began regularly ordaining women.
Residents of Cheddar may have noticed signs to Jacobs Meadow,directing them to the new development on Hellier's Lane.
The site being built at Hellier's Lane will be given the roadname Hythe Wood, a name chosen by the Cheddar Parish Council. JacobsMeadow is a marketing name that has been brought in by First StepHomes.
Denise Cataldo, sales manager for First Step Homes, said: "JacobsMeadow is purely a marketing name for the 21 units we are buildingin order to differentiate our homes from the other units that arebeing marketed by the Guinness Trust.
"Once the development has been sold, then all our marketing signswill come down and the name Jacobs Meadow will no longer be in use."
However, one practical joker decided to give one of the signs amakeover. They removed the Jacobs Meadow name plate before replacingit with the word "Hell".
Since this incident, several of the signs have been removed,something that was not agreed with First Step Homes.
Denise Cataldo said: "We have informed the AA that these signshave been removed without authorisation or consent from eitherthemselves or First Step Homes, therefore as we have entered into acontract for these signs to be displayed we have instructed the AAto reinstate these as soon as possible."
A spokesman for Somerset County Council said: "We, as highwayauthority, may approve various signs on the highway subject tocertain conditions. Temporary signs to housing developments areapproved, primarily to direct construction traffic and are notpermitted for advertising purposes.
"Approval for some signs at the Jacobs Meadow development wasapproved in February this year, on a six-month basis which will nowbe running out. As the construction for this site is substantiallycomplete, approval will not be given for the signs to remain.
"We have always had a good relationship with the AA whomanufactured these signs, but recently we were made aware that somesigns were not erected in accordance with our usual conditions.
"Signs which were overhanging the carriageway, too low forpedestrian headroom, sited on give-way signs poles, which is notpermitted, were removed for safety reasons."
Hythe Wood was the name for the area listed on the 1837 churchtithe map, adding a historic legitimacy to the name. The TitheCommutation Act of 1836 amended a year later established a processby which tithes could be converted to money payments in an era whenchurch parishes still collected taxes. This required the drawing ofan accurate map showing all the land in the parish.
The word hythe derives from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning haven orlanding place, linking the low lying area of Hythe Wood to a timewhen the levels were flooded during the Middle Ages.
St. Joseph School in Mechanicsburg generates about $75,000 a year about 20 percent of its general budget - through student fund raisers. About $15,000 of that comes from the school's annual Wolfgang Candy Co. Inc. catalog sale.
"We like to try to keep tuition as affordable as humanly possible. To do that, we really depend on fund raisers," said Dolores Kauffman, St. Joseph's director of development. She noted the school's dependence on fund raising has increased with the rising costs of teachers' salaries and benefits.
Other schools follow St. Joseph's blueprint. Student fund raisers - in which children typically are asked to sell items such as candy or candles from a catalog - commonly pay for items no longer covered by school budgets. Those can include everything from computers to field trips to music programs.
Representatives of two local companies said that while more schools are turning to fund raisers, fewer parents and children are participating.
Mike Schmid, a managing partner with Wolfgang, has noticed a decline in sales in recent years. More schools have a problem filling their parent volunteer positions, and fewer students are willing to sell, he said.
"The (Parent Teacher Organizations) have to beg and plead to get help," Schmid said. "And the children are so busy. Every organization Johnny is in has a fund raiser. Mom and Dad are tired of it. They only have so much time and money."
A few years ago, up to 40 percent of the students in any given school could be counted on to sell a significant amount of items for a fund raiser. As students' lives have become busier, Schmid estimated that number has dropped to about 25 percent.
"Fund-raising sales are declining, but I think that's indicative of the fund-raising market in general," he said.
About 65 percent of Wolfgang's business comes from the school fundraising catalogs, and it remains a major portion of the company's focus. Schmid declined to state the privately held company's sales figures.
In the past 18 months, Wolfgang started to diversify its business by moving its products into supermarkets and pushing for more contracts with major candy companies. The North York company was founded in 1921 and manufactures 120 products, such as boxed chocolates and peanut butter marshmallow treats.
Bill Sheehan, owner of Quality Wholesale Fundraising, KidSmart Holiday Shoppes and the Party Outlet, also has noticed a decline in fund-raising participation, especially among parents. The 5 percent decrease he has seen in student sales has not drastically affected his bottom line.
"Student sales are lower but not alarmingly lower," Sheehan said. He attributed the decrease to a national downward trend in volunteerism. "It's so easy to say, 'I'm too busy."'
Sheehan, who reported $3.2 million in sales in 2004, already has diversified his companies. About half of his revenue comes from his KidSmart Holiday Shoppes, which sell knickknacks - ranging from 25 cents to $8 for children to purchase as gifts before the winter holidays. About 600 schools in 44 states purchase items from KidSmart.
Quality Wholesale Fundraising, offers several catalogs to schools in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. Sheehan's Party Outlet store, which he operates in the front of his Civil War-era warehouse, is a small part of his business.
"I didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket. Then, if something happened to the school fund-raising industry, I'd be in trouble," Sheehan said.
Both Sheehan and Schmid said more schools are turning to fund raising to generate revenue.
According to a survey by the Association of Fund-Raising Distributors & Suppliers, product fundraising programs raise nearly $2 billion each year for schools, school groups and other nonprofits. Schools and school groups account for 88 percent of that $2 billion.
Students at Harrisburg Academy recently raised enough money for a night of snow tubing and to place several heart defibrillators throughout the building.
The Wormleysburg-based academy's Parent Association earns between $6,000 and $9,000 each fall when students sell items from the Sally Foster catalog, which features chocolate, gifts and wrapping paper.
This year, Bethel Christian Academy in South Middleton Township raised about $12,000 in an annual fund raiser using Sheehan's catalogs. That was enough for 1,000 new library books and some shelves and cafeteria tables.
One of the keys to school fund raising is convincing the parent volunteers that they will make the money they need for whatever school project they have.
"PTO Mom is the gatekeeper to our customer base," Schmid said. "She is the one who decides if we're going to serve the clients in her area.
One of the challenges is that schools' parent teacher organizations have new leaders each year, and companies like Wolfgang and Quality Wholesale have to reestablish relationships with the new members again and again.
Sheehan also believes customer satisfaction is the key to his repeat business.
"You can't give schools a canned presentation. Every PTA has a different personality, and you have to figure out what their needs are and how you're going to help them meet those needs," Sheehan said.
Becky Hammon, who lost her first two games playing for Russia in the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament, scored six points in a 79-52 victory over Mali in the fifth-place contest Tuesday.
Leading by nine at the half, Russia put the game away in the third quarter outscoring Mali 26-10. Tatiana Shchegoleva scored seven of Russia's first 12 points in the period, and Hammon scored the last six, giving Russia a 61-36 lead. Mali would get no closer than 19 points.
Shchegoleva and Ilona Korstin each scored 12 to lead Russia while Nagnouma Coulibaly had nine to top Mali.
Next up for Hammon and her Russian teammates is a rematch with Latvia in the team's Olympic opener Saturday. Latvia beat Russia in the opening game of the Diamond Ball tournament 75-69.
In its first trip to the Olympics, Mali will play New Zealand in its first game. In each of its three Diamond Ball games, Mali played well for stretches. It played host China tough for a half and gave Australia a competitive first quarter.
''The NFL and its teams are committed to creating a safe, comfortable and enjoyable experience for all fans, both in the stadium and in the parking lot. ... When attending a game, you are required to refrain from the following behaviors:
- ''Behavior that is unruly, disruptive or illegal in nature.
- ''Intoxication or other signs of alcohol impairment that result in irresponsible behavior.
- ''Foul or abusive language or obscene gestures.
- ''Interference with the progress of the game, including throwing objects onto the field.
- ''Failing to follow instructions of stadium personnel.
- ''Verbal or physical harassment of opposing team fans.''
And just so you understand the league is serious, the code of conduct provides: ''Stadium staff will promptly intervene to support an environment where event patrons, their guests and other fans can enjoy the event free from the above behavior. Event patrons and guests who violate these provisions will be subject to ejection without refund and loss of ticket privileges for future games.''
The code of conduct, then, basically amounts to a public-service announcement with penalties attached: Please drink responsibly -- or else. Was it really necessary for the league to codify this message?
What about beer partnership?
''The in-stadium experience is critically important to the NFL, our clubs and our fans, and it will be a major focus this season,'' Goodell said in a statement. ''We are committed to improve the fan experience in every way we can -- from the time fans arrive in the parking lot to when they depart the stadium. We want everyone to be able to come to our stadiums and enjoy the entire day.''
You might call Goodell hypocritical as you watch a Bears game from the ''Miller Lite Party Deck'' at Soldier Field. You might question his sincerity as you watch the umpteenth commercial for Coors, the NFL's official beer sponsor, during a game. You might argue that if Goodell really was concerned about fan behavior, he simply would ban alcohol sales during games and dissolve the NFL's beer partnership while he was at it.
But why bother? You know the commissioner's concern runs only so deep. It's likely that his prime motivation is to protect the NFL from legal liability. He knows that in the event someone is hurt in a drunken brawl, by a flying object or in a postgame traffic accident, the NFL's alcohol policy will come under even more scrutiny than it has already.
Goodell's edict prompted teams across the league to issue new rules for this season. The Bears, for instance, cracked down on tailgating and are encouraging fans to call security when they witness behavior that violates the code of conduct. I have a hunch this might be a really busy season for the Soldier Field security crew. (I hope booing doesn't count as foul or abusive language.)
As long as there's beer for sale, there always will be some misbehaving fans. But the code of conduct? It's overkill. Most fans don't throw bottles onto the field. Most fans don't get into brawls during games. Most fans don't drive home drunk. Most fans behave themselves. The code of conduct comes across as arrogant and insulting. A league that has no problem charging fans outrageous prices for tickets, merchandise, the NFL package and everything else imaginable now is telling them how they must act? Goodell simply could have advised teams to enforce their existing rules by policing the stands better.
We should turn the tables
Imagine if NFL fans followed Goodell's lead and issued the NFL a code of conduct.
''The NFL code of conduct is designed to set clear expectations and encourage the league to consider its fans' feelings. We are committed to experiencing an enjoyable NFL season. In order for us to do so, the league is required to refrain from the following:
- ''Making us pay top dollar for tickets to meaningless exhibition games.
- ''Employing players who have demonstrated irresponsible, disruptive or illegal behavior.
- ''Bombarding us with beer ads at stadiums and on TV, then admonishing us for drinking it.
- ''Interfering with our tailgating fun.
- ''Treating us as though we don't matter.
- ''Oh, yeah, and allowing the Bears to begin yet another season without a legitimate, proven quarterback or No. 1 wide receiver.
''And just so you understand that we're serious, please be advised that violations of the code of conduct will result in our refusing to purchase tickets for future games or watch future games on TV.''
I wonder how that would go over with the league.
Photo: Richard A. Chapman Sun-Times / Does this qualify as ''behavior that is unruly, disruptive or illegal in nature''? ;
WE all know the story of Little Red Riding Hood. But what aboutLittle Green Riding Hood? It's the name of a fun play based on theclassic fairytale that has taught more than 18,000 school childrenin Essex how to use less water.
The production is put on by Essex & Suffolk Water, in partnershipwith production company Fame Factory Spotlight and tells the storyof Little Green Riding Hood, who runs around after the villainous MrWolf as he constantly leaves taps on and wastes water.
Rainbow At the end of the play, the children write down one waythat they save water and they stick it onto a giant rainbow, whileall of their bad habits get washed away.
"The children love the play and it's presented in a fun,educational way that really sinks in with kids," said SarahPinkerton from Essex & Suffolk Water, which is sponsoring theCommunity category at the Essex Business Excellence Awards 2011.
As well as school projects, staff at the water company spent morethan 1,600 hours doing voluntary work last year, which means thefirm is well placed to decide who gets the Community prize in ourawards this year.
Sarah, who is one of the judges, said they were "delighted" to besponsoring this important category again.
"We are really looking forward to seeing the variety of thingsthat are happening to support the local community and we are hopingthat this year we will see even more examples of the different waysbusinesses can put something back into the community," she said.
"Any organisation that does something special to help the localcommunity should enter as winning, or being shortlisted, for thisaward is fantastic recognition of your hard work."
Efficiency The Little Green Riding Hood play is all part of Essex& Suffolk Water's Bad Habits Cost The Earth campaign which iseducating people of all ages about water efficiency.
It aims to get every single household across the two countiessaving at least one litre of water per day.
As part of this campaign, Essex & Suffolk Water is giving awayfree water-saving kits, worth Pounds 20, which include a showeraerator, shower timer, save-a-flush and tap inserts. The kits willsave up to 95 litres of water per day and reduce utility bills by upto Pounds 60 per year.
To request a pack log onto www.eswater.co.uk/usingwaterwisely.aspx or call 0845 604 8071.
President Bush demonstrated his support for embattled HouseSpeaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) on Thursday, joining him at a GOPfundraiser where he praised Hastert as selfless and an effectiveleader.
Bush, making his first appearance with Hastert since conservativeactivists called for the speaker's resignation because of hisfailure to stem the congressional page scandal, made it clear thathe hopes Hastert continues as House leader.
"I am proud to be standing with the current speaker of the Housewho is going to be the future speaker of the House," Bush said.
The president offered his personal endorsement of Hastert at areception that raised about $1.1 million for Republican Housecandidates Peter Roskam and David McSweeney at a downtown Chicagohotel. Hastert introduced Bush at the event, and the two stood side by side until Bush began his remarks.
Hastert came under fire from conservatives after Rep. Mark Foley(R-Fla.) stepped down over sexually explicit electronic messages hesent to teenage boys who had served as congressional pages.Hastert's critics say he should have intervened sooner to addressthe inappropriate behavior, which some in Congress said has beenknown in some circles for years. Hastert, however, insists he didnot learn about it until two weeks ago when Foley resigned.
The scandal has broken at a particularly inopportune time forRepublicans, who are struggling to retain control of Congress in theface of growing public discontent with the Iraq war and economicanxieties that persist despite a surging stock market and gasolineprices that have fallen in recent weeks after sharp increases.
Since Foley resigned, Bush has gradually ramped up his publicshows of support for Hastert. "This country is better off with DennyHastert as the speaker, and it will be better off when he is thespeaker" in the next Congress, Bush said.
Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) mocked the president's appearancewith Hastert in a fundraising e-mail to supporters, calling it "ameeting of the no accountability caucus of the Republican Party."
Earlier in the day, Bush spoke at a conference on renewableenergy in St. Louis, where he touted his administration's efforts toease the nation's dependence on foreign oil by promoting anddeveloping alternative fuels such as ethanol, hydrogen, solar andwind power.
A woman in the crowd stood up during Bush's remarks and chanted,"Out of Iraq now." Bush ignored her and continued his speech, andthe event staff swiftly removed the heckler.
While the president was well received by the audience at the St.Louis Convention Center, some environmental advocates accuse him ofnot doing enough to promote renewable energy sources while turninghis back on conservation tools within his reach, including requiringmore stringent fuel-economy standards.
"The president's budget falls well short of his rhetoric when itcomes to supporting the development of biofuels," said JimPresswood, a federal energy advocate for the Natural ResourcesDefense Council. "After a year of volatile and record-high gasprice, surely we can do more to break our oil addiction."
President Praises Hastert at GOP Fundraiser in ChicagoPresident Bush demonstrated his support for embattled HouseSpeaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) on Thursday, joining him at a GOPfundraiser where he praised Hastert as selfless and an effectiveleader.
Bush, making his first appearance with Hastert since conservativeactivists called for the speaker's resignation because of hisfailure to stem the congressional page scandal, made it clear thathe hopes Hastert continues as House leader.
"I am proud to be standing with the current speaker of the Housewho is going to be the future speaker of the House," Bush said.
The president offered his personal endorsement of Hastert at areception that raised about $1.1 million for Republican Housecandidates Peter Roskam and David McSweeney at a downtown Chicagohotel. Hastert introduced Bush at the event, and the two stood side by side until Bush began his remarks.
Hastert came under fire from conservatives after Rep. Mark Foley(R-Fla.) stepped down over sexually explicit electronic messages hesent to teenage boys who had served as congressional pages.Hastert's critics say he should have intervened sooner to addressthe inappropriate behavior, which some in Congress said has beenknown in some circles for years. Hastert, however, insists he didnot learn about it until two weeks ago when Foley resigned.
The scandal has broken at a particularly inopportune time forRepublicans, who are struggling to retain control of Congress in theface of growing public discontent with the Iraq war and economicanxieties that persist despite a surging stock market and gasolineprices that have fallen in recent weeks after sharp increases.
Since Foley resigned, Bush has gradually ramped up his publicshows of support for Hastert. "This country is better off with DennyHastert as the speaker, and it will be better off when he is thespeaker" in the next Congress, Bush said.
Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) mocked the president's appearancewith Hastert in a fundraising e-mail to supporters, calling it "ameeting of the no accountability caucus of the Republican Party."
Earlier in the day, Bush spoke at a conference on renewableenergy in St. Louis, where he touted his administration's efforts toease the nation's dependence on foreign oil by promoting anddeveloping alternative fuels such as ethanol, hydrogen, solar andwind power.
A woman in the crowd stood up during Bush's remarks and chanted,"Out of Iraq now." Bush ignored her and continued his speech, andthe event staff swiftly removed the heckler.
While the president was well received by the audience at the St.Louis Convention Center, some environmental advocates accuse him ofnot doing enough to promote renewable energy sources while turninghis back on conservation tools within his reach, including requiringmore stringent fuel-economy standards.
"The president's budget falls well short of his rhetoric when itcomes to supporting the development of biofuels," said JimPresswood, a federal energy advocate for the Natural ResourcesDefense Council. "After a year of volatile and record-high gasprice, surely we can do more to break our oil addiction."
Former Sen. John Edwards, in his first public speech since dropping his White House bid two months ago, praised Democratic rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama on Saturday, but declined to endorse either candidate.
"I have a very high opinion of both of them," Edwards said at the Young Democrats of North Carolina convention. "We would be blessed as a nation to have either one of them as president."
Both Obama and Clinton have repeatedly lobbied Edwards for his endorsement, flying into Chapel Hill to meet with him privately and touting his accomplishments on the campaign trail. Before leaving the race, Edwards won a promise from both Clinton and Obama to make ending poverty central to their ongoing presidential campaigns.
On Saturday, Edwards pointed out the historical nature of both of their campaigns and said both were better suited in carrying forward his campaign platform than Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain.
"We are blessed, first, to have an extraordinarily talented African American who could be the next president of the United States," Edwards said. "There's no way to contest the fact that he's inspired this country."
"And Senator Clinton, who has served America for so long and so well, and has shown so much strength and leadership, has really forged an extraordinarily historic campaign as a woman for the nomination and for the presidency."
Pressed by reporters to detail any endorsement plans, Edwards declined to even say if he would endorse a candidate before North Carolina's May 6 primary.
"When I have something to say, I'll let you know," he said.
Though the Young Democrats convention focused primarily on state races, both Obama and Clinton sent surrogates to represent them. Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker gave a speech on behalf of the Illinois senator while Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, was scheduled to make an appearance later Saturday.
SAN FRANCISCO - Track coach Trevor Graham, who helped launch a three-year federal probe of steroid use by elite athletes, is expected to be charged here as soon as Thursday with obstructing the investigation, two people with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because the charges had not been made public, the Justice Department officials said Graham would be charged with making false statements to authorities investigating steroid use in sports.
Graham operates Raleigh-based Sprint Capitol USA, a team of about 10 athletes that includes 100-meter co-world record holder Justin Gatlin, who tested positive for testosterone and other steroids in April.
He also coached sprinter Marion Jones, who won five medals at the 2000 Sydney Games with him, and her former boyfriend Tim Montgomery, who was suspended from competition for two years, although he never tested positive for a banned substance.
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Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington contributed to this report.
BALCO Grand Jury Turns Sights on GrahamSAN FRANCISCO - Track coach Trevor Graham, who helped launch a three-year federal probe of steroid use by elite athletes, is expected to be charged here as soon as Thursday with obstructing the investigation, two people with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because the charges had not been made public, the Justice Department officials said Graham would be charged with making false statements to authorities investigating steroid use in sports.
Graham operates Raleigh-based Sprint Capitol USA, a team of about 10 athletes that includes 100-meter co-world record holder Justin Gatlin, who tested positive for testosterone and other steroids in April.
He also coached sprinter Marion Jones, who won five medals at the 2000 Sydney Games with him, and her former boyfriend Tim Montgomery, who was suspended from competition for two years, although he never tested positive for a banned substance.
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Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington contributed to this report.
Asian markets plunged Thursday after Wall Street's retreat from its biggest rally in five years, with investors worried by the sliding dollar and ongoing troubles in the U.S. economy. European shares also opened lower.
The dollar's drop to a 12-year low against the yen hammered stocks of Japanese exporters such as Toyota and Sony. The Nikkei 225 index tumbled 3.3 percent to 12,433.4, its lowest in 2 1/2 years.
In late Tokyo trading, the dollar fell below 100 yen for the first time since 1995, sinking as low as 99.75 yen.
Asian markets, which had rallied Wednesday on news of the U.S. Federal Reserve's $200 billion relief plan for tight credit markets, resumed their slide amid pessimism that the move will prevent a U.S. recession.
"This is just an extremely nervous market given the uncertainties overhanging the outlook for the world," said David Cohen, a regional economist with Action Economics in Singapore. "The clouds are the combination of the oil prices, the nervousness about the U.S. slipping into recession and dragging down the global economy and ... the turmoil in the credit markets that doesn't want to go away."
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 4.8 percent to 22,301.6. Benchmark indices fell more than 2 percent in Australia, China, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan, while markets in India and Indonesia lost more than 4 percent.
As markets opened in Europe on Thursday, the FTSE 100 dropped 1.9 percent in London, and France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX both fell more than 2 percent.
Traders were disheartened by an overnight drop on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.4 percent Wednesday after surging 3.55 percent Tuesday.
U.S. stock index futures were down, suggesting the market would open lower Thursday. Dow futures were down 164 points, or 1.4 percent, to 11,959, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures were down 19.8 points, or 1.5 percent, to 1,289.6.
While many investors regard the Fed's plan to lend Treasuries in exchange for debt tied to mortgages as a positive step, they are hesitant to pour more money into stocks without signs the U.S. economy is reviving.
"People are still very unsure whether or not it will work. One day they rally on it, the next day they're wary whether it will do the trick," said Cohen.
In Tokyo, traders were alarmed by the yen's recent surge against the dollar, which erodes overseas earnings at the country's key exporters. Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. fell 3 percent and 4.2 percent respectively. Sony Corp. shares sank 4 percent.
Japanese financial shares were also hit hard, with Mizuho Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group each dropping 6.8 percent, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group skidding 7.3 percent.
Meanwhile, commodity-related stocks rose, sidestepping the overall market decline as crude futures traded near the overnight record high. Inpex Holdings rose 5.1 percent and Showa Shell added 3.2 percent.
In South Korea, steelmaker Posco plunged 6.2 percent, shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 4.9 percent and Samsung Electronics _ the country's largest corporation _ fell 1.8 percent.
In Hong Kong, China Merchants Holdings plummeted 10.9 percent and Sino Land fell 10 percent. New World Development dropped 8.2 percent and China Resources fell 9.3 percent.
Besides worries about continuing fallout from the global credit crisis, investors are worried about increasing inflation pressures from the record high oil prices. They are concerned those pricing pressures could limit the U.S. Fed's ability to reduce interest rates further and boost lending efforts to spur the economy.
Oil futures hit a trading record above $110 a barrel overnight and were at $109.80 late afternoon in Singapore.
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AP Business Writer Kelly Olsen in Seoul contributed to this report.
The billboards loom into view, like huge and gaudy salesmen whostand by the side of the road and shout, "Yo, there! Hey! Wanna buya car? How about cigarettes? Beer?"
They are exceptionally wide, like the actor John Candy. And alittle overbearing, like Candy. But friendly, too, like Candy.
They line expressways and major highways throughout the Chicagoarea, especially along Interstate 294 near Northlake and Bensenville.They are beginning to sprout also in the yellow farmfields on theoutskirts of town.
Billboards serve a purpose. They tell people stuff, like whatto buy, where to buy it and how to get there. They can be divertingand amusing. But lots of …
A complaint has been lodged with the mayor of London, Ontario, regarding pornographic material being available in the London Public Library system. Similar materials have been found in the Toronto Public Library system, as well as slanderous material about the Catholic Church.
Canada Family Action, a Canadian pro-family organization, has launched a nationwide campaign to …
Byline: MICHAEL L. NARDACCI Albany
Imagine this statement being made before the United States entry in World War II: ``Even though Adolf Hitler has done vile acts, even against his own people, the United States has no ethical leg to stand on with its new policy of `pre-emptive defense.' ''
Substitute the name Saddam Hussein for Hitler and the arrogant mindlessness of Brian O'Shaughnessy's Sept. 7 letter becomes obvious.
While there is undoubtedly a part of the anti-war movement that is sincere in its beliefs, there is an unsettling percentage that is well aware of the brutality of the Hussein regime but wants no part of helping to end it.
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