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Color Photo: The sorry state of …

NEW REPORT ON RESTAURANT RECYCLING

A nationwide survey of 500 restaurant owners and operators by the National Restaurant Association during March and April found that two-thirds have recycling programs as part of their sustainability initiatives. According to the survey, 65 percent of restaurateurs have a recycling program in place, and 13 percent participate in composting programs. Nearly three out of four restaurant operators use products made from recycled materials; the most common of these items were bags, paper …

Singer Taylor Dayne pleads no contest to reckless driving in Beverly Hills

Pop singer Taylor Dayne has pleaded no contest to a reckless driving charge in connection with her March 6 arrest.

Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Richard Stone on Monday ordered the 46-year-old entertainer to serve two years probation and complete an anti-drunk driving program, district attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.

Dayne was not present in court and …

Explosive reaction to news rack movie ad

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- A newspaper promotion for Tom Cruise'scoming "Mission: Impossible III" got off to an explosive start when acounty arson squad blew up a news rack, thinking it contained a bomb.

The Los Angeles Times rack was fitted with a device designed toplay the "Mission: …

No College Bonds This Year // Political Fights Stall Investment Program

The popular tax-free Illinois College Bonds program will not beoffered this year because of political wrangling in the stateLegislature.

The $200 million bond issue was scheduled for October, but itremains in limbo because the state's overall bond funding bill wasstalled in the Legislature's spring session amid battles over prisonand mental health funding.

The earliest shot at renewing the funding will be Nov. 1, whenthe legislature reconvenes. It delays the next bond sale at leastuntil next spring.

College Bonds have been one of the state's most popularinvestment vehicles for working families since 1988. For an entryprice as low as $1,500, Illinois …

Cross in elderly LA woman's yard stirs controversy

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A nearly 25-foot cross in the front yard of an elderly woman's home is stirring controversy in a Los Angeles neighborhood.

Neighbors complain the cross is an eyesore that is attracting unwanted attention to their San Fernando Valley cul-de-sac and hurting their property values.

The cross has drops of blood-red paint in the area where Jesus' hands and feet would have been nailed. It also features a crown of thorns and a sign that says, "Jesus I trust in you."

"When you turn down our cul-de-sac, it looks like there is a church on our …

Maradona: He could play, but can he coach?

Doubts about Argentina will be stronger than ever at this year's World Cup, mainly because of Diego Maradona, the coach who has struggled in almost every match to get quality play from some of the best footballers in the world.

Most still wonder if Maradona can coach, and after taking over in November 2008, the evidence is that he can't.

But never underestimate the poor Buenos Aires street kid, originally known as "El Peluza" _ literally "lint" _ who eventually came to be known as "El Pibe de Oro" _ The Golden Boy. He's survived drug addiction, gone out with beautiful women, hosted a popular TV show and, in 1986, brought …

HOT PURSUIT LEILANI RIOS WOULD STILL RATHER RUN THAN STRIP. BUT SHE'D PREFER TO DO BOTH

The lights dim as the emcee announces, "Heeeeeeeere's Leilani!"

The spotlight shines on Leilani Rios, a 21-year-old kinesiologymajor at Cal State Fullerton, who glides across the stage wearing acut-to-there slit skirt, skintight T-shirt and white patent-leatherboots with 5-inch heels. The crowd at the packed Flamingo Theater inAnaheim stares as she swirls and gyrates to the pulsing beat.

"Take it off," someone yells.

And she does. Wrapping one leg around a pole, she swings her bodyout, yanking off the tee, then stands and shimmies out of the skirt.Dropping to her knees, she arches her back and touches her head tothe floor, thigh and stomach muscles rippling. …

Florida avoids Cinderella comparison with Butler

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Butler's Brad Stevens likes being the young coach from the small school whose second straight run deep into the NCAA tournament is capturing the imagination of the basketball-loving public.

More important to him, though, is how his players see it.

"The cool part is — our guys — it's not above their imagination," Stevens said of upsetting one higher seed after another. "It's just what they think that we have to do next."

After knocking off a pair of major conference powers in their last two tournament games — top-seeded Pittsburgh of the Big East and fourth-seeded Wisconsin of the Big Ten — Butler (26-9) will try to send home second-seed Florida (29-7) …

Bahrain opposition rally draws more than 10,000

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — More than 10,000 demonstrators joined Bahrain's first public rally in months Saturday as the leader of the Gulf nation's main Shiite political party urged backers to press ahead with peaceful protests for greater political rights after fierce crackdowns by security forces.

The event carried twin messages in a nation wracked by unrest since February when protesters took to the streets, inspired by successful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

The Sunni monarchy controlling Bahrain allowed the rally in a bid to ease tensions and open dialogue with Shiite-led groups. For opposition forces, the gathering was a chance to voice their demands and show resolve …

Now You're One of Us

Now You're One of Us by Asa Nonami. $16.95, 239 pgs, Vertical Inc., 1185 Avenue of the Americas, Floor 32, New York, NY 10036, vertical-inc.com

So, Noriko got married. It was sort-of an arranged marriage, but it worked out. The guy was really sweet and caring, and it didn't hurt that he came from a rich family. Noriko got to leave her little hick town and move to an opulent compound in Tokyo. Three generations of the Shito family all lived there together, and they were all just as sweet and caring as could be.

Then Noriko began to feel that something was terribly wrong.

This is …

Ex-NFL player admits fraud

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A former National Football League player and Mississippi businessman has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion charges, admitting he used investors' money for a planned resort area in China and to buy himself a luxury van, boat and other items.

Electronic court records show 48-year-old Jeffrey L. Walker pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Jackson. He remains free pending his …

Buying your next synthesizer

Keyboards

[Graph Not Transcribed]

In response to phone calls and e-mails I've had from other musicians in the community I've put together a short guide to help you when you buy your next synthesizer.

I must begin with the bad news that it's going to take you weeks, not hours, to get up and running. Yes it is amazing technology and yes it claims to make you a star overnight. But if you've bought that new synthesizer on the belief that you'll be making music with an instant orchestra within a few hours, then sit down and have a good cry now. As wonderful as this technology is, there are very few brochures or salespeople that have the guts to tell you that it's going to take some time to get it right!

Think about how many years it takes to master an acoustic instrument. A synthesizer studio is a group of instruments, each one with a whole new set of freedoms and restrictions. The freedom is that any instrument is capable of hundreds of unique and exciting sounds. The restriction is that the technical and sonic structure of each synthesizer has nothing in common with another one. You'll have to learn each synthesizer in your studio, one at a time before you can take it into battle on your next project. If this were a live player that you'd never heard of, would you trust him or her with a solo at your next recording date without even an audition? Same thing.

And yes you should read the manual, no matter how badly it's written. It's your only clue to what the manufacturers were thinking when they built the thing. When you open the box, take the manual out first and read through it somewhere else, ideally over a weekend. Then when you come back, you'll have a peripheral idea of its workings as well as a general idea of where to find something in the manual.

In getting to know your new instrument you have to start with its existing sounds. A major fallacy is the instrument's display that tells you what sound you are playing. Unlike looking at a real player who holds an oboe in his hands, the synth patch display that says "oboe" is no guarantee that you're going to hear a convincing simulation. Synth technology is a combination of waveforms or digital data programmed by technicians and while some are amazing, some are downright awful. One might dial up "English horn" or even "bagpipe" and come up with an oboe sound that actually sounds more convincing.

So, ignore the display and use your ear. Go through your new synthesizer patch by patch and make note of the sounds that truly inspire you. Play with each sound for a long time (have your MIDI sequencer running to capture that musical idea too) and try the sound in different registers and different dynamics. Also decide where it would be placed in an ensemble situation. Is it a distant sound, akin to muted strings? Or a small but pointed solo sound that would perform the same function of a flute double for violins? Any ensemble skills you have, whether orchestrating or playing in a band are valuable here. Thinking in terms of layers now will help you blend these instruments later.

Now rename your sound. Give it a practical name that relates to its timbre, eg. "metallic piano" or "breathy flute". Patch names like "DemonGod" or "Angela's Pad" serve no useful purpose and you should rename these patches to something more useful. If your synthesizer has ROM presets only (non-re-writable memory) then you won't be able to rewrite the patches. In this case use a notepad or a database to log your favourite sounds and their memory location.

This auditioning exercise is crucial because it allows you to get to know the personality of the instrument, and help you instinctively write for it. This also allows you to give the instrument your own unique trademark since you've chosen the sounds that appeal to you. Just as in acoustic writing, it's not the sound, but how you blend that sound with others, that will make or break a good arrangement. In time you'll start editing patch parameters and actually change and create new sounds.

After the above exercise you can then consider taking your new synth into battle with the rest of your toys and tricks on your next gig. Don't do it before. How many times have we had a friend call us over to "check this out", only to be greeted with malfunctions and "that's funny, it never did that before... Oh I know... nope that's not it... just give me a minute..."

Time is precious. Use it and your new gear well.

Vegas cops nab 94 kgs of meth, arrest immigrants

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Eight illegal immigrants from Mexico were arrested on drug trafficking charges after federal and Las Vegas law enforcement officials seized 212 pounds (96 kilograms) of drugs worth an estimated street value of $5.7 million in the largest methamphetamine bust in Nevada history, authorities announced Thursday.

Police also seized $280,000 in cash, six guns and nine vehicles used for drug trafficking after searching nine residential properties in Las Vegas and Henderson on Tuesday.

Law enforcement officials heralded the record bust as a significant blow to Las Vegas' illegal underground that would be felt by every player, including drug bosses, small-time dealers and users hoping to score on the street. The raid yielded four pounds (1.8 kilograms) of heroin and 208 pounds (94 kilograms) of methamphetamine in varying stages of processing, from its liquid form to the crystal-like pieces sold on the street in small quantities for consumption.

"There will be a noticeable difference in the amount of drugs on our streets," said Las Vegas police spokesman Jacinto Rivera. In the previous record bust, Las Vegas officials seized 70 pounds (31 kilograms) of methamphetamine, he said.

In all, nine men and women were arrested in this week's raid, including Mexican nationals Jorge Loza, 26; Armando Lara, 37; Sergio Vieyra-Medrano, 37; Moreliano Zaragoza-Ramos, 26; Felix Roman, 27; Salvador Garibo, 27; Cecilia Salgado, 55; and Alejandro Gomez, 31. Mayra Torres, 28, of California was also arrested.

Law enforcement officials said at a press conference Thursday morning that officers had arrested 11 people, but late Thursday Rivera said officers would arrest the two others tied to the operation soon. The men and women all face drug trafficking charges. Torres was released after posting an unknown bail amount and most of the others were due in Las Vegas court Friday morning, Rivera said.

It's unclear how long the illegal immigrants have been in the United States or how they entered the country. Police said the operation was run by Zaragoza-Ramos, who goes by the name Oscar Cavadas.

"Cavadas has been identified as a high level drug trafficker who distributes pound quantities of methamphetamine throughout the Las Vegas valley," an arrest report states. "Detectives know that Cavadas maintains houses which he stores methamphetamine and utilizes runners to facilitate his narcotics trafficking."

Detectives watched Zaragoza-Ramos deliver a 5-pound (2.2-kilogram) bag of methamphetamine to a Las Vegas customer on June 6. They later learned Zaragoza-Ramos was scheduled to receive a massive shipment of the drug on Tuesday from Torres, who drove in from California.

Police observed Torres leave Zaragoza-Ramos' home Tuesday night. Police soon stopped her and found $270,000 in her car, the money she collected for delivering the shipment, according to an arrest report. In Zaragoza-Ramos' home, police found 40 pounds (18 kilograms) of methamphetamine in a master bedroom converted into a makeshift drug lab.

The investigation began in January and police officials said they are still trying to determine whether Zaragoza-Ramos has ties to Mexico's brutal drug cartels. The drugs were manufactured in Mexico and smuggled across the border into the United States.

Officers from Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Boulder City joined officials from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Nevada Highway Patrol in the raid. No law enforcement officials were injured during the searches. Law enforcement officials said they could not reveal what event prompted the investigation because the case remains open.

"You are finding more and more that these drug trafficking organizations are pushing inland," said Paul Rozario, an assistant special agent for the DEA.

If they are ultimately found guilty, the illegal immigrants likely will serve their time in the United States before they are deported, Rivera said.

The seized vehicles had been modified to include several secret compartments to store the drugs. Law enforcement officials said they had not linked the seized guns to any reported violent crimes.

Methamphetamine is the most popular street drug after marijuana, Rozario said. It can be taken orally, snorted, smoked and injected.

"Meth is a huge problem here, as it is across the country," Rozario said.

Gold down

Gold for current delivery closed at $900.10 per troy ounce Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from $909.00 late Friday.

HSBC Bank USA gave a late quote of $896.00 an ounce, down from $910.25 Friday.

Police detain 500 Pakistani activists under emergency powers; vote could be delayed

Police and soldiers emboldened by emergency powers swept up hundreds of activists and opposition members, dragged away protesters shouting "Shame on you!" and turned government buildings into barbed-wire compounds.

Gen. Pervez Musharraf's government said Sunday that parliamentary elections could be delayed up to a year under an emergency he declared in efforts to stamp out a growing Islamic militant threat _ linking two of the greatest concerns of Pakistan's biggest international donors: the United States and Britain.

Alarmed about the unfolding crisis, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington was reviewing its aid to Pakistan, which has received about US$11 billion from the U.S. since it became a close ally in fighting terrorism in 2001. Britain also said it was examining its assistance.

"Some of the aid that goes to Pakistan is directly related to the counterterrorism mission," Rice told reporters traveling with her. "We just have to review the situation."

But Rice said she did not expect the U.S. "to ignore or set aside our concerns about terrorism."

Scores of paramilitary troops blocked access to the Supreme Court and parliament. Baton-wielding police broke up a demonstration by 40 people at the Marriott Hotel.

"Shame on you! Go Musharraf go!" the protesters shouted as officers forced some of them to the ground. Eight were taken away in a van.

Others were apathetic. Standing at on a dusty street corner in Islamabad, Togul Khan, 38, said he didn't care about the emergency declaration.

"For us, life stays the same, even when politicians throw Pakistan into the sky, spin it around and watch as it crashes back down to earth," the day laborer said.

In an address to the nation late Saturday, Musharraf said the growth of a militant Islamic movement and a court system that hindered his powers forced him to declare a state of emergency, despite the urging of Western allies against authoritarian measures.

Less than 24 hours later, militants in the Afghan border freed 211 captured Pakistani soldiers in exchange for the army's decision to free 28 insurgents, including some allegedly connected to suicide attacks, officials said.

Though they gave no explanation for the decision, it appeared to fly in the face of Musharraf's claims that emergency rule was needed to make sure terrorists stay off the streets.

Critics say Musharraf, a 1999 coup leader who had promised to give up his army post and become a civilian president this year, imposed emergency rule in a last-ditch attempt to cling to power. The Supreme Court, which had emerged as the main check on his power, had been expected to rule soon on the validity of his recent presidential election victory.

Musharraf replaced the chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. Hearings on the election scheduled for next week were postponed indefinitely

His leadership also had been threatened by the reemergence of political rival and former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto.

Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum denied claims by Bhutto and others that Musharraf had imposed martial law _ direct rule by the army. He noted the prime minister was still in place.

Parliamentary elections had been scheduled for January, but Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the polls could be delayed up to a year and that emergency measures would be in place as long as necessary.

Television news networks other than state-controlled Pakistan TV remained off the air.

Aziz said up to 500 people were detained nationwide in 24 hours.

Among them were Javed Hashmi, the acting president of the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; cricket star-turned politician, Imran Khan; Asma Jehangir, chairman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; and Hamid Gul, former chief of the main intelligence agency and a critic of Musharraf.

Around 200 police with assault rifles and sticks stormed the rights commission's office in the eastern city of Lahore, arresting about 50 members, commission official Mehbood Ahmed Khan said.

"They dragged us out, including the women," he said from the police station.

Bhutto, who narrowly escaped assassination in an Oct. 18 suicide bombing that killed 145 others and was widely blamed on Muslim insurgents, scoffed at claims that Musharraf imposed the emergency measures to fight militants.

She said many people believe the emergency was aimed at "stopping a court verdict that was coming against him," she told the weekend edition of ABC News' "Good Morning America."

Musharraf issued two ordinances toughening media laws, including prison terms of up to three years for TV operators who "ridicule" the president, armed forces, and other powerful state bodies.

___

Associated Press writers Khalid Tanveer in Multan; Zarar Khan, Sadaqat Jan, Munir Ahmad and Alisa Tang in Islamabad; and Ashraf Khan in Karachi contributed to this report.

Poem by Ted Hughes details Sylvia Plath's suicide

LONDON (AP) — A previously unseen poem by Ted Hughes that details the painful moments surrounding the suicide of his wife Sylvia Plath is being published by The New Statesman on Thursday, the magazine said.

Hughes, an English poet laureate, and Plath, his American wife, are considered among the 20th century's greatest poets. Their doomed marriage inspired some of their best work and has been the focus of endless fascination.

The poem, called "Last Letter," chronicles the three days leading up to Plath's death in her London home on February 11, 1963, beginning: "What happened that night? Your final night."

Its discovery has already created a minor sensation in Britain. The country's Channel 4 News broadcast excerpts of the work Wednesday evening, read in a dry, quivering voice by actor Jonathan Pryce.

In the poem's last stanzas, Hughes describes the cold winter's morning when he found out what had happened.

"I lit my fire. I had got out my papers. And I'd started to write when the telephone jerked awake, in a jabbering alarm, remembering everything.

"It recovered in my hand, and a voice like a selected weapon or a measured injection coolly delivered its four words deep into my ear.

"Your wife is dead."

Plath was little-known before her death but gained a cult following through the novel "The Bell Jar," whose descriptions of a suicidal young woman foreshadowed her own death at age 30.

Her suicide haunted Hughes for the rest of his life and it was only when he published his "Birthday Letters," shortly before his own death in 1999, that he addressed the circumstances of the pair's troubled but passionate relationship and the aftermath of her death.

Still, none of the poems treated the suicide directly, and Melvyn Bragg, the New Statesman's guest editor, told the BBC that the new poem should be seen as the collection's missing keystone.

Britain's current poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, agreed, adding that the work "was almost unbearable to read."

"It feels a bit like looking into the sun as it's dying," she told Channel 4. "There is a kind of deafening agony, blinding agony to this new poem. It seems to touch a deeper, darker place than any poem he's ever written."

British media reported that the poem was found with the help of Hughes' third wife Carol in the archives of the British Library.

___

Online:

Channel 4's broadcast of the poem: http://www.channel4.com/news/newly-discovered-ted-hughes-poem

Free party celebration for the royal wedding ; In brief [Edition 2]

THE LAVERS: Villagers in the Lavers will be celebrating Williamand Kate tying the knot with a bring-and-share party at MagdalenLaver village hall, in Tilegate Road, on April 30 from 3pm until6pm.

There will be games and prizes for the best dressed.

For free tickets call 01277 890241.

Bengals' Henry suspended indefinitely by NFL

Former Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL.

The Bengals released Henry on April 3 after he was arrested for the fifth time. Henry is scheduled for trial June 24 in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court on charges of assault and criminal damaging. A man accused Henry of punching him in the face and breaking his car window with a beer bottle.

Henry had received permission from the judge to try out with other NFL teams, but the suspension puts an end to that.

If Henry is acquitted, the suspension could be lifted, Henry's agent Marvin Frazier said. If Henry is convicted, he faces at least a one-season suspension under the league's conduct policy. Henry was suspended for the first eight games last season for violating the policy, his second suspension from the league during his three-year career.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed the indefinite suspension Friday.

Henry has been arrested five times since the Bengals made him a third-round draft pick out of West Virginia in 2005. His misconduct was one of the factors that prompted Goodell to tighten the league's policies last year and strengthen its punishment for players who get in trouble with the law.

Henry is the second former Bengal player trying to get back into the NFL with another team following a series of suspensions. Linebacker Odell Thurman, a second-round pick in 2005, was suspended earlier this month for the 2008 season after violating the league's substance abuse policy again.

Thurman sat out the last two seasons after skipping a drug test and getting arrested for drunken driving. He was reinstated by the league in April, but the Bengals released him last month after he skipped a series of voluntary workouts. Then, he was suspended again by the league.

War Price on U.S. Lives Equal to 9/11

WASHINGTON - Now the death toll is 9/11 times two. U.S. military deaths from Iraq and Afghanistan now match those of the most devastating terrorist attack in America's history, the trigger for what came next. Add casualties from chasing terrorists elsewhere in the world, and the total has passed the Sept. 11 figure.

The latest milestone for a country at war comes without commemoration. It also may well come without the precision of knowing who is the 2,973rd man or woman of arms to die in conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, or just when it happens. The terrorist attacks killed 2,973 victims in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Not for the first time, war that was started to answer death has resulted in at least as much death for the country that was first attacked, quite apart from the higher numbers of enemy and civilians killed.

Historians note that this grim accounting is not how the success or failure of warfare is measured, and that the reasons for conflict are broader than what served as the spark.

The body count from World War II was far higher for Allied troops than for the crushed Axis. Americans lost more men in each of a succession of Pacific battles than the 2,390 people who died at Pearl Harbor in the attack that made the U.S. declare war on Japan. The U.S. lost 405,399 in the theaters of World War II.

Despite a death toll that pales next to that of the great wars, one casualty milestone after another has been observed and reflected upon this time, especially in Iraq.

There was the benchmark of seeing more U.S. troops die in the occupation than in the swift and successful invasion. And the benchmarks of 1,000 dead, 2,000, 2,500.

Now this.

"There's never a good war but if the war's going well and the overall mission remains powerful, these numbers are not what people are focusing on," said Julian Zelizer, a political historian at Boston University. "If this becomes the subject, then something's gone wrong."

Beyond the tribulations of the moment and the now-rampant doubts about the justification and course of the Iraq war, Zelizer said Americans have lost firsthand knowledge of the costs of war that existed keenly up to the 1960s, when people remembered two world wars and Korea, and faced Vietnam.

"A kind of numbness comes from that," he said. "We're not that country anymore - more bothered, more nervous. This isn't a country that's used to ground wars anymore."

Almost 10 times more Americans have died in Iraq than in Afghanistan, where U.S. casualties have been remarkably light by any historical standard, although climbing in recent months in the face of a resurgent Taliban.

As of Friday, the U.S. death toll stood at 2,693 in the Iraq war and 278 in and around Afghanistan, for a total of 2,971, two short of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Pentagon reports 56 military deaths and one civilian Defense Department death in other parts of the world from Operation Enduring Freedom, the anti-terrorism war distinct from Iraq.

Altogether, 3,028 have died abroad since Sept. 11, 2001.

The civilian toll in Iraq hit record highs in the summer, with 6,599 violent deaths reported in July and August alone, the United Nations said this week.

The latest U.S. deaths identified by the armed forces:

-Army 2nd Lt. Emily J.T. Perez, 23, Fort Washington, Md., who died Sept. 12 in Kifl, Iraq, from an explosive device detonated near her vehicle. A former high school sprinter who sang in her West Point gospel choir, she was assigned to the 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

-Marine Sgt. Christopher M. Zimmerman, 28, Stephenville, Texas, killed Wednesday in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

A new study on the war dead and where they come from suggests that the notion of "rich man's war, poor man's fight" has become a little truer over time.

Among the Americans killed in the Iraq war, 34 percent have come from communities reporting the lowest levels of family income. Half come from middle income communities and only 17 percent from the highest income level.

That's a change from World War II, when all income groups were represented about equally. In Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, the poor have made up a progressively larger share of casualties, by this analysis.

Eye-for-an-eye vengeance was not the sole motivator for what happened after the 2001 attacks any more than Pearl Harbor alone was responsible for all that followed. But Pearl Harbor caught the U.S. in the middle of mobilization, debate, rising tensions with looming enemies and a European war already in progress. Historians doubt anyone paid much attention to sad milestones once America threw itself into the fight.

In contrast, the United States had no imminent war intentions against anyone on Sept. 10, 2001. One bloody day later, it did.

Coach Ricardo Gomes leaves hospital after stroke

SAO PAULO (AP) — Former Brazil defender Ricardo Gomes has been released from the hospital three weeks after sustaining a stroke during a Brazilian league match.

Doctors say the 46-year-old Gomes will continue physiotherapy treatment at home and could fully recover to coach Vasco da Gama again in the future.

Gomes collapsed in the second half of Vasco's match against rival Flamengo in the Brazilian league on Aug. 28. He was rushed to the hospital and had to undergo emergency surgery that same day.

Gomes, who had already sustained a minor stroke after a match last year, previously coached Sao Paulo and French clubs Paris Saint-Germain and AC Monaco.

He played for the Brazilian national team in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Zimbabwe police release 4 independent journalists

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Four newly released Zimbabwean journalists say police arrested them for asking about a police officer fired for political reasons.

Independent reporter Pindayi Dube spoke Saturday after the four were released north of the city of Bulawayo after their Friday arrest. He says they were arrested for trying to witness a policeman being evicted from a police camp for listening to music on his mobile phone that allegedly "incited" police recruits to join Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party.

Rights groups say police have launched a clampdown against independent journalists and politicians opposed to longtime ruler President Robert Mugabe since he called for elections this year to end the nation's troubled coalition.

Biden suggests non-European can be NATO chief

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday the next NATO secretary-general doesn't necessarily have to be a European.

Biden said it was no longer "a matter of policy (that) any member nation should be ruled out" for the 26-nation alliance's top position. Since NATO's creation in 1949 it has always gone to a European while NATO's military command is headed by a U.S. general.

His comments suggested that a bid by Canada's Defense Minister Peter Mackay stood a chance.

Canada has around 2,500 combat forces stationed in Afghanistan's volatile southern region.

Denmark's Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has been viewed as the front-runner for the job. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski wants to become the first time an official from the ex-Soviet bloc would receive the post.

The vice president added that Washington had not yet made a decision on a candidate but said a successor to current NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer would be picked at a NATO's leaders summit in April.

De Hoop Scheffer's term ends at the end of July.

The NATO secretary-general chairs the alliance's ministerial meetings and summits and oversees the day-to-day running of the alliance.

The main task is to forge consensus on key security challenges of the alliance, which have become larger than during the Cold War, so that the member nations can take unanimous decisions.

NATO has recently taken on military operations far beyond Europe's borders, most notably in Afghanistan.

De Hoop Scheffer took office in 2004. There is no written limit on the term of secretary general but in recent years NATO nations have informally agreed that the post should be limited to five years to avoid a repeat of the 13-year term of Joseph Luns of the Netherlands.

NATO decisions must be through consensus of all members. U.S. opinion is unofficially heavily weighted by tradition _ given its military muscle.

Northwest Exits Bankruptcy Protection

MINNEAPOLIS - Northwest Airlines departed bankruptcy protection on Thursday, capping a 20-month reorganization aimed at making the nation's fifth-largest carrier competitive for years to come.

Northwest shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning, with CEO Doug Steenland and other employees ringing the opening bell, marking the end of a wave of airline bankruptcies that began after the Sept. 11 attacks. The shares traded at $25.25 after being offered to unsecured creditors at $27.

Northwest has slashed debt by $4.2 billion, cut $400 million a year in the cost of its fleet, and trimmed unprofitable routes. It also cut $1.4 billion a year in labor costs.

The result is a slightly smaller, more efficient airline with some of the lowest costs among the major carriers.

"Today is a landmark day in the 81-year history of Northwest Airlines," Steenland said in a prepared statement. "We have successfully repositioned the company as a stronger, globally focused airline with a great route network, a revitalized fleet, a competitive cost structure and a recapitalized balance sheet."

"We believe that we have a viable business plan that will continue to deliver profits in the future," he said.

Northwest, which has had the oldest fleet of U.S. airlines, will be upgrading it over the next two years. It will be the first North American airline to take Boeing's new 787 "Dreamliner."

It also plans to add 72 regional jets which include a first-class section, adding the number of first-class seats Northwest offers. The new 76-seat jets will fill an empty spot in Northwest's fleet between its smaller regional jets and its old DC-9s, which generally have around 100 seats. The new jets will make it possible to fly routes that weren't busy enough for its larger planes, Northwest said.

Like the rest of the airline industry, Northwest has been on a roller coaster the past decade.

On Sept. 10, 2001, the airline industry was coming off the 1990s economic boom, as business travel rose and fuel prices stayed low. U.S. airlines raked in around $5 billion a year in profits from 1997 through 1999 and almost $2.5 billion in 2000, according to government statistics compiled by the Air Transport Association.

But Sept. 11, the slowing economy, and the run-up to the Iraq war hurt business travel, and rising fuel prices hurt airline profitability.

Northwest was also hurt by the SARS scare in Asia, where it and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines are the two largest U.S. carriers. Eagan-based Northwest and Delta Air Lines Inc. both filed for bankruptcy protection on Sept. 14, 2005, putting four of the nation's seven largest carriers into Chapter 11.

At the end of 2005, Northwest's costs were higher than every other airline except U.S. Airways Group Inc., according to government figures. By the end of 2006, when most of the airline restructuring was finished, Northwest's costs were lower than those at U.S. Airways, Delta, and Continental Airlines Inc., though still higher than costs at AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and arch-competitor United.

One advantage Northwest will have is that its new labor contracts lock workers into lower pay rates and more company-friendly work rules through the end of 2011, longer than any of its U.S. competitors.

Flight attendants, for instance, now see their pay top out at about $35,400 a year, down from $44,190 before Northwest filed for bankruptcy protection, according to the union.

---

Joshua Freed can be reached at jfreed(at)ap.org

12 pct. are behind on mortgage or in foreclosure

A record 12 percent of homeowners with a mortgage are behind on their payments or in foreclosure as the housing crisis spreads to borrowers with good credit. And the wave of foreclosures isn't expected to crest until the end of next year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday.

The foreclosure rate on prime fixed-rate loans doubled in the last year, and now represents the largest share of new foreclosures. Nearly 6 percent of fixed-rate mortgages to borrowers with good credit were in the foreclosure process.

At the same time, almost half of all adjustable-rate loans made to borrowers with shaky credit were past due or in foreclosure.

The worst of the trouble continues to be centered in California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida, which accounted for 46 percent of new foreclosures in the country. There were no signs of improvement.

The pain, however, is spreading throughout the country as job losses take their toll. The number of newly laid off people requesting jobless benefits fell last week, the government said Thursday, but the number of people receiving unemployment benefits was the highest on record. These borrowers are harder for lenders to help with loan modifications.

President Barack Obama's recent loan modification and refinancing plan might stem some foreclosures, but not enough to significantly alter the crisis.

"It may be too much to say that numbers will fall because of the plan. It's more correct to say that the numbers won't be as high," said Jay Brinkmann, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Sim leads Australian PGA after first round

Michael Sim's 7-under-par 65 Thursday and a one-stroke lead at the Australian PGA rates as one of the year's highlights for the young Australian golfer.

Not that there's been a lot of competition in that department.

Sim was pretty much on top of the world just over a year ago, having won a Nationwide event, finishing in the top 25 on that tour and qualifying for the main PGA Tour in 2007.

Any plans the 23-year-old Scottish-born Sim had about packing his bags for the United States ended shortly before last November's Australian Open.

A scan there revealed that an uncomfortable feeling he had in his back while hitting an extra-strong drive _ "I tried to carry this water at about 270 (yards)" _ during a tournament in Wichita a few months earlier was actually a stress fracture in his spine.

He made it over the water that day, but he knew something was seriously wrong. There were days he could hardly walk, and in the Nationwide's Tour Championship, he hit a number of drives that measured less than 150 yards.

With the diagnosis in, he was told by doctors to have a complete rest from the rigors of practicing and playing _ four months without picking up a club at his home in Melbourne.

"It was difficult ... I was watching good friends of mine (from the Nationwide Tour) playing on TV, and I'm just sitting there on the couch doing my rehab," Sim said Thursday. "I felt like I was a little bit behind the eight-ball. All the rookies had sort of like a 3- or 4-month head start."

He didn't begin his 2007 season until April, playing 17 tournaments overall and not doing too badly, earning just under US$400,000 (euro274,000).

Sim has a PGA Tour medical extension for next year, which gives him five tournaments to earn US$385,000. The Australian must match the money earned this year by Mathias Gronberg, who took home $785,000 and was 125th on the money list, the last position allowing a player to keep his card for 2008.

"When my time comes up, I've got to play well," Sim says.

Based on his performance Thursday, he should be optimistic about the daunting prospect of earning an average of US$77,000 in each of those five 2008 tournaments.

Teeing off in the first group off the first tee at 6:15 a.m. Thursday, Sim went out in 4-under 32 after making birdies on three of the last four holes and a 15-foot putt for par on nine.

"It was a terrific round," said Sim, whose missed the cut in 2005 when he last played the Hyatt Regency resort course.

American big-hitter J.B. Holmes and Australians Craig Parry, Richard Green and Peter Lonard shot 66s and are tied for second, a stroke behind.

Adam Scott and David Smail opened with 67s, South African Rory Sabbatini was in a large group at 68, and defending champion Nick O'Hern shot 70.

Most of the leading players _ Lonard and Sabbatini were the exceptions _ had morning starts, when light cloud cover and a lack of wind led to perfect scoring conditions.

Holmes was married last week. His wife, Sara, followed him around the course Thursday. The American only pulled out his driver three times, including on the par-5 15th, which he eagled.

"A cut driver down the bottom of the hill, 8-iron to about 15 feet, and ran it right over the edge for eagle," Holmes said.

Another American, Ryan Moore, was in contention before taking a 9 on the par-five 12th, going from 5 under on the day to 1 under.

Moore's tee shot went into heavy rough, forcing him to take a penalty stroke for an unplayable lie. But he hacked out twice more from the same area, missed the green with his sixth shot and two-putted for a quadruple bogey.

Stephen shows skills for medal

A Street trainee has scooped a top award at the national final ofthe UK's biggest construction skills competition.

Stephen Marks, who works at Millfield School in the village, wonthe bronze medal in the Painting and Decorating category inSkillBuild last week.

As one of the four finalists to share third place in thecompetition, Stephen was also presented with a Crown TradeApprentice Decorator of the Year 2010 medal by Liz Hickson,marketing director at Crown Paints, and will receive a cheque forPounds 250.

Mr Marks said: "It feels fantastic to have won a medal at the UKfinal of SkillBuild and to be named as one of the best constructiontrainees in the country.

"The competition at this level is fierce, so to come out on topand demonstrate the expert skill and experience I have attained isamazing.

"Winning a competition like SkillBuild really helps to boost yourconfidence and I know I've made all of those who supported me,including my employer, very proud. Hopefully it will be the firststep to a promising career in the industry."

Sang Nam Lee

SEOUL

Sang Nam Lee

PKM TRINITY GALLERY

When Roy Lichtenstein appeared on the scene in 1961, he was importing signs from an entirely different level of culture into the artistic arena; the culture was pulp comics, the signs benday dots and CMYK colors. What he did was to take a found image and, streamlining the visual information, transfer it onto white canvas. Sang Nam Lee's approach is similar. He takes digitized graphic images from the computer screen and manually copies them onto canvas panels. Looking at Lee's newest works, one imagines what Leo Castelli must have seen in Lichtenstein's first Mickey Mouse-familiar icons with clearly delineated outlines and popular …

China volcano may have caused mass extinction

A mass extinction some 260 million years ago may have been caused by volcanic eruptions in what is now China, new research suggests.

The so-called Guadalupian Mass Extinction, devastating marine life around the world, was preceded by massive eruptions in the Emeishan geological province of Southwest China, researchers led by Paul Wignall of Britain's University of Leeds report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

Because the eruptions occurred in a shallow sea the researchers were able to study both the volcanic rock and the overlying layer of sedimentary rock …

Pakistan Court Reinstates Top Judge

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The Supreme Court on Friday reinstated Pakistan's top judge, ruling that his suspension by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf was illegal and dealing a major blow to the authority of the staunch U.S. ally.

The judges also quashed a case of alleged misconduct by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry that Musharraf had referred to a separate judicial panel.

The ruling is probably the biggest challenge to Musharraf's dominance since he seized power in a coup in 1999. It could further complicate his bid to win a new five-year presidential term this fall.

Presiding Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday said Musharraf's order suspending Chaudhry was …

HBO CREATES MAX PAK, A STARZ!-LIKE SERVICE.(Brief Article)

Home Box Office is launching the HBO/Max Pak, an alt-digital multiplex package with 15 channels of HBO and Cinemax. Launching May 17, it will include four new Cinemax channels--WMax, @Max, OuterMax and 5StarMax--in addition to Cinemax's existing four and HBO's seven--HBO, HBO Plus, HBO Signature, HBO …

Tillamook's GM announces retirement plans.(Member News)

The general manager of Tillamook PUD, Patrick Ashby, has announced his plans to retire in April 2008.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Ashby began his career with Tillamook PUD in March 1982 as a software programmer, moved through several other positions at the utility, and eventually became the general manager in 1996.

Throughout his tenure at Tillamook PUD, Ashby has been …

GROUPS OFFER PARENTS DRUG, ALCOHOL PREVENTION.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: CHRIS STURGIS - Staff writer

Organizations in Schenectady County are sponsoring a nationally known program for parents concerned about youngsters' substance abuse.

The Niskayuna Community Action Program, the Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority and the Schenectady County Council on Alcoholism are the major forces bringing the PRIDE Parent to Parent program to Schenectady County.

Margaret Brennan, chairwoman of NCAP's substance abuse committee, said she wanted to sponsor a preventive program because she has seen the damage that drugs and drinking can do.

Brennan works for the Council on Alcoholism of Schenectady County and …

Phils, Rays suspended in 6th inning tied at 2

At the end of a strange and wet night that left the World Series in limbo, Scott Kazmir bumped into Cole Hamels in a corridor outside the Phillies clubhouse.

Kazmir gave the Philadelphia ace a playful nudge, and the starting pitchers from Game 5 walked together out of Citizens Bank Park.

No telling when we'll see them _ or any baseball _ again. Rain, rain made it all go away Monday night.

The Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays were suspended in the sixth inning with the score 2-all because of a steady downpour that turned the field into a quagmire.

"I can't tell you tonight when we'll resume," commissioner Bud Selig said. "We'll …

`Stones'

Bailiwick Repertory

Through May 14

At the Bailiwick Arts Center, 1229 W. Belmont

Tickets, $22-$25. (773) 883-1090

Recommended

Musical-theater collaborators Julie Shannon and John Reeger have agift for condensing mammoth events into intimate stories aboutordinary people. In "Stones," now receiving its local premiere atBailiwick Repertory, they use the Chicago race riots of 1919 as abackdrop for the turmoil faced by an African-American family in theBronzeville neighborhood.

Like their "Christmas Schooner," which has become a Bailiwickholiday musical tradition, Shannon and Reeger's "Stones" examines thefortitude of individuals who persevere …

Using strategic planning to set priorities.(time management)

With precious little time and few resources, many association executives confess they feel pressured to produce - to be doing something that can be easily measured and appreciated. Not surprisingly, management activities consume most of their days - bills get paid, workshop speakers are engaged, and Web page information is updated.

At the same time, today's leaders need time to just think - about the rapidly changing environment, emerging trends, and the strategies required to successfully navigate it all.

Given this reality, one of the most important things an executive can do is to develop an organizational culture that values strategic thinking and fosters …

Red faces as 'old boys' do the business.

NCEL Premier Division

Buxton 1 Sheffield 5

The New Year didn't get off to the most auspicious start for managerless Bucks against local rivals Sheffield at the Silverlands on Bank Holiday Monday.

Not only did they lose heavily by 5-1, but to rub salt into their wounds most of the damage was inflicted by former Buxton players.

Selection problems both in defence and up front inevitably weighed heavily against Buxton but despite these they did for a great deal of the game prove more than a match for their fourth placed opponents.

The fixture, which drew a high attendance of 403 - featured several former Buxton players in the Sheffield …

COMPAQ MERGER TOO CLOSE TO CALL.(BUSINESS)

Byline: BRIAN BERGSTEIN Associated Press

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Hewlett-Packard chairwoman and chief executive Carly Fiorina quickly claimed victory Tuesday in her company's bitter proxy battle to buy Compaq Computer Corp., saying a preliminary estimate of shareholder votes shows enough support to approve the merger.

``It appears that our shareholders made a choice today, not only to embrace change but to lead it,'' Fiorina said after the two-hour meeting. ``We think we have a slim but sufficient margin, and we think it's important to let people know that.''

Fiorina spoke at the conclusion of a meeting of more than 1,000 Hewlett-Packard Co. …

WITNESS LINKS SUSPECT TO SLAYING OF BLACK YOUTH.(Local)

Byline: Associated Press

A jailed robber and drug user who has testified in other highly publicized crimes told jurors Thursday that the alleged gunman in the Bensonhurst racial attack confessed to slaying a black teenager.

The 32-year-old witness, Charles Brown, said that less than a day after he was put in protective custody with Joseph Fama, the 19-year-old accused killer told him about the killing.

"I shot him, I shot him," Brown quoted Fama as saying. "I can't bring the guy back."

According to Brown, the confession took place in a cell at the Brooklyn House of Detention at about 1:30 p.m. March 23.

Fama allegedly told Brown - …

Backroom health care deals fuel voter anger

Special legislative favors, especially one designed to secure a Nebraska senator's vote for the embattled health care package, ignited so much public outrage that President Barack Obama is calling them a mistake and House leaders say the bill can't be resurrected unless such sweetheart deals are scrapped.

Obama says Americans were understandably upset by the backroom dealmaking that he called ugly. In a cruel twist, the reaction helped elect a Republican senator in Massachusetts last week, putting the health legislation in peril.

Some Senate Democrats urged party leaders to put health care on a back burner. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 …

Senators Vow to Revive Immigration Bill

WASHINGTON - Senate leaders vowed Thursday night to revive stalled immigration legislation as soon as next week, capping a furious rescue attempt led by President Bush.

The decision, announced by Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and his Republican counterpart, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, envisions a final vote on the controversial bill before lawmakers begin their Fourth of July vacation.

The legislation has generated intense controversy, particularly for provisions envisioning eventual citizenship for many of the estimated 12 million immigrants now in the country unlawfully. The bill also calls for greater border security and a crackdown on the hiring of …

A Proclamation Honoring the Victims of the Incidents on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, By the President of the USA.

As a mark of respect for those killed by the heinous acts of violence perpetrated by faceless cowards upon the people and the freedom of the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and …

Owning land can uplift the poor and clear the many ghettos.(News)

Before the flames of the last two weeks, there was an urgent need to resolve the land question. That has now become an acute national priority. An intervention is needed which will enable the poor and unemployed to acquire wealth by land ownership.

A good question, therefore, is how can a pauper become a millionaire? This is what will intrigue South Africa's poor and influence who they vote for next year. Up until now the main economic focus has been on how to grow the economy so that more people can get jobs. This is risky and impersonal; people see it as uncertain and object to having to wait for the "market" to improve so that they can be gainfully employed. …

CHINESE MAN SENTENCED IN IMMIGRATION SCHEME.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: -- Associated Press

BUFFALO -- A Chinese man will serve 1 years in federal prison for bribing immigration officials in a scheme to illegally bring as many as 1,000 of his countrymen into the United States.

Hua Chu Wu also was fined $2,000 Tuesday by U.S. District Judge John T. Elfvin and ordered to forfeit $23,400 he paid in bribes to an undercover …

Froch, Abraham to fight in Monaco

Former super middleweight champion Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham will fight on neutral ground in Monaco in the third stage of the World Boxing Classic, as both try to secure a spot in the tournament semifinals.

The fight will take place on Oct. 2 at the Chapiteau de l'Espace Fontvieille in the principality on the Mediterranean Sea. Froch had wanted the fight in his native England, Abraham wanted it in Germany, and tournament backer Showtime discussed staging the fight in Montreal.

"The intensity of the selection process for this venue speaks to the enormity of the moment," Showtime vice president Ken Hershman said in a statement. "All the …

Nicholas Di Genova

Nicholas Di Genova

FREDERICKS & FREISER

Art built around the repetitive accumulation of objects and images has been around for long enough that it could constitute an extensive collection of its own. From China's 2,200-year-old Terracotta Army to Antony Gormley's Field, 1991; from Andy Warhol's early-1960s soup cans and Coke bottles to Allan McCollum's "Shapes Project," 20052006, countless artists have exploited the power of sheer number for visual impact and associative effect. And though this compulsive racking and stacking has perhaps most often been linked to Minimalism and its direct descendants - think, to take one iconic example, of Walter De Maria's Broken …

Police detonate bomb, find cache in Kirkuk.

KIRKUK / Aswat al-Iraq: Policemen found on Monday an explosive charge and ammunitions cache which belongs to the former Iraqi army in two separate areas in southern Kirkuk, a source from the joint coordination center said.

"A police patrol found on Monday (May 17) an explosive charge in Mafraq Doumiz region behind al-Sulaimaniya restaurant in southern Kirkuk," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

"The …

GADGETS DESTROY FREE TIME.(MAIN)

Byline: ELLEN GOODMAN

BOSTON -- What got me were the sheep. The newspaper ad featured a shepherd and his flock on some remote moor. And the caption asked: ``Wish you had more free time?''

Well, yeah. Summertime and the livin' ain't easy. Free time is the subject of more fantasies than frozen yogurt. But these sheep weren't posing for a rural getaway or a pastoral retreat. They were modeling for wireless phone service.

I usually glaze over ads. This one caught my eye because it was wrought by AT&T, the same folks who conned an entire country into believing we could ``reach out and touch someone'' with nothing more tactile than a voice. In the …

Energy prices slide as employment numbers dip

Energy prices fell for a second consecutive day Friday as the U.S. reported a sharp plunge in jobs.

Crude and gasoline price have risen sharply for more than a week with economic data suggesting that manufacturing activity has accelerated across the globe.

Yet if the job picture remains gloomy, it is unlikely that higher energy prices can be sustained.

Benchmark crude fell 42 cents to $82.24 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after closing down 52 cents on Thursday.

U.S. companies shed 85,000 jobs last month, more than expected, and the numbers would have been worse if more people had been looking for work. Many have left …

Report Summarizes Food Science Study Findings from French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA).

"Fat loss during cooking of duck 'foie gras' is the main quality issue for both processors and consumers. Despite the efforts of the processing industry to control fat loss, the variability of fatty liver cooking yield remains high and uncontrolled," scientists in St. Genes Champanelle, France report.

"To better understand the biological basis of this phenomenon, a proteomic study was conducted. To analyze the protein fraction soluble at low ionic strength (US), we used bidimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry for the identification of spots of interest. To analyze the protein fraction not soluble at low ionic strength (NS), we used the shotgun strategy. The …