POTOMAC, Maryland (AP) — Mark O'Meara knocked in a 4-foot par putt on the first playoff hole Sunday to defeat Michael Allen and win the Senior Players Championship, his first individual victory on the Champions Tour.
O'Meara had a three-shot advantage on the back nine at the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, but a bogey on No. 16 shrunk his lead, and Allen charged into contention with birdies on three of the …
Results Tuesday from the Kremlin Cup, a $2.085 million ATP and WTA Tour tournament on indoor hard courts at the Olympic Indoor stadium (seedings in parentheses):
Singles
Men
First Round
Wayne Odesnik, United States, def. Victor Hanescu (2), Romania, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
Mikhail Kukushkin, Russia, def. Fabio Fognini, Italy, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Sergiy Stakhovsky, Ukraine, def. Mikhail Biryukov, Russia, 6-0, 6-2.
Chrisrophe Rochus, Belgium, def. Marc Gicquel, France, 7-5, retired.
Janko Tipsarevic (6), Serbia, def. Daniel Koellerer, Austria, 6-4, 6-3.
…
Bad news. Not only do the Cubs have a long West Coast road tripcoming up, but they have to stop in San Francisco at the end.
The Giants have been baseball's biggest surprise so far thisseason. Their hot start has them in first place in the NationalLeague West. But manager Dusty Baker is not overly enthusiastic.
"I'm enjoying it," he said. "I like winning. I expect to win.Maybe I'm different, but I don't get as high after wins as I get lowafter losses. We haven't really had much time to think about itbecause we've been playing every day. It's too early to rest on ourlaurels.""It's early, man," outfielder Barry Bonds said. "We're playinggood right now. We've just …
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — About the last person anyone expected to see atop the leaderboard at the Senior PGA Championship was Japan's Kiyoshi Murota.
And that includes Murota.
The 55-year-old golf teacher and touring pro surprised even himself by shooting a 6-under 66 on Thursday to overshadow stars such as Mark O'Meara and Tom Watson and grab the first-round lead in the weather-plagued senior major.
Asked if he thought he came to the tournament thinking he might win it, Murota laughed and said through an interpreter, "Nothing. No chance."
So, think you can shoot another 66?
"No. No more," he said to laughter.
Murota had a one-shot lead over alternate …
New York City officials told Congress on Tuesday they are tightening requirements on tower construction cranes after a spate of recent accidents there, as well as others in Las Vegas and Miami.
Robert LiMandri, the city's acting Buildings Commissioner, testified before a House Education and Labor Committee hearing examining whether there are insufficient safeguards in place for cranes used at high-rise construction sites.
LiMandri says the city will impose tougher maintenance and inspection requirements at sites with tower cranes, including documenting a history of maintenance and major repairs to critical crane parts.
"I'm deeply …
A day after Tata Motors announced its takeover of British autoicons Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) from Ford Motor Company, itsManaging Director Ravi Kant was in Bangkok to launch operations inThailand. Much of the auto world and beyond may have been agog withexcitement, but for Kant, it was business as usual. Asked by themedia how he was planning to run the acquisition, he replied,without any fuss, that Tata Motors would leave the day-to-dayrunning of JLR to its existing management.That small sound byte,largely ignored by the mainstream Indian media, answered thequestion that had consumed analysts and editorial writers worldwidesince Ford chose Tata Motors as the preferred bidder …
Pakistan
Local polyester staple fiber producers raised their prices by almost 4.85% to Rs. 65/kg from Rs. 62 on June 1st, effective immediately. However within a week, the producers split on the fixing of prices as some producers withdrew their increase, while at least two producers lowered their prices further down.
ICI Pakistan and Dewan Salman Fibre did not agree to the upward revision. ICI has not increased its prices, and decided that any price changes should be solely based on its own internal evaluation of business conditions and import costs, and clarified that its selling prices continued to remain at Rs. 62.09, which has not changed since the last revision in …
Innsbruck, Austria, and Kuopio, Finland, are the finalists in the race to host the first Winter Youth Olympics in 2012.
The short list was announced Monday by the International Olympic Committee. The two other candidates _ Harbin, China, and Lillehammer, Norway _ failed to make the cut.
The decision was made by the IOC executive board based on reports prepared by an evaluation committee headed by Pernilla Wiberg, a former Olympic gold medal skier from Sweden.
Innsbruck, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976, shapes up as the favorite after receiving the best rating in the IOC report. The Austrian bid offers "minimal risk" …
BRISTOL & DISTRICT A dismal batting performance from a depletedHampset side saw their Globe Sports Bristol & District LeagueDivision 1 promotion charge fall drastically off the rails as OldDown completed a three-wicket win. Batting first, only three Hampsetbatsmen reached double figures. Jon Solly and James Wellsteadcontinued their prolific seasons, scoring 33 and 36 respectively,but the innings was held together by a well-constructed 49 fromScott Costello. A lack of support from the rest of the line-up meantthat when Costello was the last man out, the home side had limped toa paltry 167.
Hampset's second-half performance was much improved and sawseveral …
SAO PAULO, Brazil - One of the two reverse thrusters on an airliner carrying 186 people that crashed in a fireball was turned off when the plane landed, the jet's owner said, as officials tried to determine why it raced down a runway instead of slowing down.
However, the airline insisted late Thursday that the thruster, used by jets to slow down just after touching down, had been deactivated earlier in accordance with proper maintenance procedures.
Brazil's Globo TV reported earlier Thursday that an unidentified problem in the Airbus-320's right reverse thruster emerged four days before the crash and was under investigation by authorities.
TAM, the airline, did …
Sam Butera, a saxophonist who helped usher in lounge entertainment in Las Vegas and shared the stage with Louis Prima and Keely Smith, has died. He was 81.
Butera died Wednesday morning of pneumonia at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, his daughter Cheryl Butera said.
Butera played onstage more than 50 years, most famously as the sidekick of singer and trumpet player Prima and Prima's wife, singer Smith.
Butera joined Prima at a lounge gig at the Sahara hotel-casino in 1954, assembling a band called The Witnesses and moving to Las Vegas from his hometown New Orleans with his wife, Vera.
Cheryl Butera said her father and Prima were successful …
Stocks wavered in a tight range Friday as investors remained cautious about the strength of European banks following the results of regulatory reviews. Investors were also sorting through another batch of domestic earnings looking for clues about economic growth.
The mixed trading came as European regulators released results of so-called "stress tests" on banks, which are designed to predict whether banks could survive under tougher economic conditions.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 14 points, sticking to the tight range it has traded in throughout the day. While major indexes are not moving much after the results, the euro slipped modestly against the dollar. The euro fell to $1.2806 in afternoon trading.
Analysts say the criteria used for the tests is more important than the results themselves.
David Chalupnik, head of equities at First American Funds, said investors want to make sure the tests were rigorous enough to show which banks would struggle if economic conditions got worse.
Seven of the 91 banks tested across the continent failed the test. Still there were few details about the criteria used in the tests beyond the Committee of European Banking Supervisors saying the banks that failed the test would see capital levels fall below sufficient levels if the prices of government bonds they invested in fell sharply.
There is skepticism about the results because few details are known about how they were performed.
"There's obviously a lot of smoke and mirrors in these types of tests," said Albert Meyer, portfolio manager of the Mirzam Capital Appreciation Fund. "They no doubt provide us with numbers that aren't too alarming, even if they are correct."
The tests could eventually remove some uncertainty about whether rising government debt in many European countries is hurting financial companies. The continent's debt problems have sent stocks falling worldwide since April amid concerns they could slow the global economic recovery.
Brian Peardon, a wealth adviser at Harrison Financial Group, said the true impact on the market won't come until next week because there is so much information to sort through.
"It will take the weekend to digest whether they're good or bad," Peardon said.
In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 14.15, or 0.1 percent, to 10,308.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.16, or 0.3 percent, to 1,090.51, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 11.78, or 0.5 percent, to 2,234.11.
Rising stocks narrowly outpaced those that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 480.2 million shares.
European markets had already closed by the time the test results were released, so investors there couldn't make moves following the announcement. German shares rose after a closely watched business climate index rose unexpectedly for the fifth straight month. Germany's DAX index rose 0.4 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 fell less than 0.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.2 percent.
In the U.S, earnings reports Friday were more mixed than on Thursday, when upbeat news on corporate results sent stocks sharply higher. That kept big moves in check throughout the day as well.
Verizon Communications Inc., Ford Motor Co., Microsoft Corp. and American Express Co. all reported earnings that topped forecasts. Their results also showed that businesses and consumers are increasing their spending as the economy recovers.
Verizon added more new wireless customers during the second quarter than its top rival, AT&T Inc. Ford's sales jumped 28 percent in first half of the year, nearly double the pace of the industry. And American Express said customers are spending close to pre-recession levels, a sign that shoppers are gaining confidence in their personal finances.
Among the disappointments, Amazon.com Inc. missed profit forecasts when it reported after the market closed Thursday. The online retailer's expenses jumped sharply, which concerned traders.
Energy services company Schlumberger Ltd. reported a big jump in profit, but its earnings appeared to be more affected than competitors like Halliburton Co. by the ban on deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
Verizon rose 84 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $27.84. Ford jumped 43 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $12.52. American Express rose 53 cents to $43.72, while Microsoft fell 57 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $25.27. Amazon dropped $6.08, or 5.1 percent, to $113.99. Schlumberger fell $2.88, or 4.7 percent, to $58.42.
Bond prices traded in a tight range. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.95 percent from 2.94 percent late Thursday.
TORONTO (AP) — With NHL training camps starting this weekend, the issue of concussions is front and center for a group of doctors, researchers and players who want to educate the public about the potential long-term effects of the brain injury.
A meeting being held Saturday at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital will also look at the situations under which concussions occur and how they can be prevented, with a focus on teaching young players about the dangers of head trauma and how to better protect themselves.
"There's still an attitude out there that brain injury is like a broken arm," said neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Cusimano, who helped organize the conference.
"We take our brains for granted, and we need to have people realize that you can't take your brain for granted."
Michael Hutchison, a postdoctoral fellow in injury prevention at St. Michael's, will present findings from a study of almost 200 concussions that occurred among NHL players from the start of the 2007 season to midseason 2010.
By analyzing video clips of incidents that led to those brain injuries, Hutchison found that most are caused by direct hits to the head involving actions by other players — predominantly head shots with a shoulder, elbow or gloves. About one in 10 were the result of fights.
The study also showed that forwards incurred more concussions than defensemen and goalies, likely because there are more of them on the ice and "because they have the puck more often," he said, noting that brain-rattling blows often occurred during breakaways or a rush to the net.
He found that concussion-causing checks taken by forwards could take place anywhere on the rink.
"They were not all violent activities at center ice. They occurred in many places around the ice — in the middle, along the boards."
Defensemen, however, were "more likely to get injured in the defensive zone, which would make logical sense because that's most often the point where they have the puck," he said.
The research also showed that more concussions were sustained in the first period than the other two periods, a finding that Hutchison said is contrary to other hockey-related injuries, which tend to occur the longer play goes on.
"Generally athletic injuries have been thought to be sustained later on in the game when people are tired and fatigued," he said. "And this was a situation where most of the concussions occurred in the first period."
Hutchison, who coaches minor hockey and is an assistant coach for the University of Toronto's varsity men's hockey team, also found there weren't a lot of penalties called on the NHL hits that caused concussions.
"So there weren't any repercussions on the ice at the time for actions resulting in concussions. So there was a possibility that if a rule were to be put in place, that behavior would likely go down."
Conference speaker Rob Zamuner, a player representative for the NHL Players' Association, said concussions in the sport have become a hot topic — and that's a good thing, resulting in rule changes by the league aimed at preventing the brain injury.
"It's a serious issue," said Zamuner, who suffered at least two concussions before retiring from the NHL in 2004-05.
The former forward with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins is also a member of the NHL-NHLPA concussion working group.
"I think the great thing about this is we're talking about it and we're having these discussions and we have to push forward to see how we can make the game better and safer for everybody involved."
HOUSTON
Gego
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
June 26-September 25
Curated by Mari Carmen Ram�rez
Complementing the MFAH's 2003 retrospective of Gego's work, this new, more focused show gathers roughly ninety drawings and prints. Included are the Venezuelan artist's idiosyncratic "drawings without paper," in which she dismisses medium specificity by exploring line in space, and her tejeduras, woven-paper works that render the planarity of the support a fallacy. Viewers may not get the full gist of Gego's critique of pictorial structure in a show that emphasizes the effects of light and space on paper, but if they look beyond the formal aspects of these works, they should be able to identify a solid distrust of perceptual certainties in her quest for the immaterial. Travels to the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, Feb.-May 2006; the Drawing Center, New York, Oct.-Dec. 2006. -M�nica Amor
David Dixon, founder of the vanquished USFL, is attempting toform a new spring football league comprised of "fan owned" franchisesin Chicago and seven other cities.
Dixon, a New Orleans businessman who headed a committee effortto acquire the Saints franchise and to build the Superdome, said hisproposed America's Football Teams, Inc. is "very close" to securing atelevision contract and to awarding franchises here and in New York,Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, Dallas and Tampa.
The teams would be formed with "founding owners" who wouldinvest $2 million each, Dixon said. Fans would be allowed to buy "stock" in the teams through their ticket purchases, he said.
Players in the AFT would play for a percentage of gross gatereceipts rather than fixed salaries and non-player costs would be paid from television revenues, hesaid.
Dixon, who no longer is affiliated with the USFL, has targetedMarch for the start of his proposed league's play.
"We have three separate groups (in Chicago) who are veryinterested," Dixon said while declining to identify them. "All threeare reasonably well known. They are business people but they havehad connections to sports in the past."
Dixon said he would be "making a decision in the next two tothree weeks" on a Chicago owner.
He said he will complete negotiations "in the next few days" ona television package involving a national cable outlet and somesyndication. "We didn't expect to get any of the three networks but I think we'll have network exposure in our second year," he said.
The latest football league proposal comes on the heels of lastmonth's federal jury decision rejecting the USFL allegation that theNFL monopolized television football rights. The decision left theUSFL without the multi-million dollar judgment it needed to survive.
The USFL announced soon afterward it would not play its fallschedule this year and its owners subsequently released theirplayers.
Dixon insists his new proposal would not suffer the USFL's fate.
"If you really look carefully and intelligently at the USFL,you'll find in the first two seasons it averaged 26,000 attendance inthe face of a no blackout television agreement," Dixon said.
"You can't sell what you're willing to give away free. If theUSFL had a sensible blackout policy, I think it could have averaged40,000 those years.
"Also, it averaged a 6 rating on ABC-TV, and that's pretty good. It's a profitable level for the network and very acceptable foradvertisers. The USFL was really a success story. They justdidn't know how to handle it."
Dixon said he will not start the AFT unless he first secures atelevision contract, then will bring in owners "who want to build theleague slowly. And we want owners with a totally unselfish attitudetoward the public."
He said fan ownership would come about as tickets are purchased,with a portion of the ticket costs giving the buyer a kind of stockwarrant, or right to buy a share.
Dixon said he has a "multi-million dollar" advertising budget topromote the league, adding "when we're in the ring with the NFL, wewon't stand by and be punched. We'll punch back."
It is no wonder that people become disillusioned with politicsand politicians when they are presented with the latest piece offiction from the Liberal Democrats in the form of their annualreport.
In it, the Lib Dems claim to have championed the B&NES council'shome care service.
What a staggering assertion.
For the record, it was the leader of the Liberal Democrat Groupwho moved the original motion to privatise home care. My own effortsto get him to reconsider his decision failed. Why? Because not onemember of a watchdog panel responsible for overseeing decision-making supported me when we reviewed the proposal to privatisehomecare. The panel included three Liberal Democrats - two of whomneither bothered to attend the meeting nor find someone else toattend on their behalf.
As for the Liberal Democrat claim to have opposed unfair homecare charges, the truth is that they supported staggering increases,provided they were phased-in. They offered no support to Labourproposals to increase charges in line with inflation.
This is not the only example of Liberal Democrat story-telling. I recently picked up a piece of their literature in Keynsham inwhich they claim to have fought to save Queen's Road Post Office. In fact, they did nothing of the sort. It was Labour who organisedthe campaign and petition.
I have no problem with people taking credit where it is due, butto rewrite history in this way defies belief.
If we can't believe the contents of their publications, whyshould we believe anything the Liberal Democrats say?
CLLR ADRIAN INKER (Labour, Keynsham South) Holmoak Road Keynsham
TOKYO (AP) — Softbank Corp., the sole carrier of Apple's iPhone in Japan, said quarterly profit surged almost fivefold due to strong demand for smartphones.
Net profit totaled 94.79 billion yen ($1.2 billion) in the first quarter of the fiscal year through March 2012, the Tokyo-based company said. That compares to 19.44 billion yen during the same period last year.
Softbank's mobile business, which is Japan's No. 3 cell phone carrier, gained on rivals by adding a net 730,000 subscribers during the quarter. The company credits most of the rise to the popularity of the iPhone and Android handsets.
Sales rose 9 percent to 764.2 billion yen, and operating profit climbed 12 percent to 175.83 billion yen.
Softbank did not release financial forecasts for the full fiscal year.
While revenue and operating income are expected to climb, the company said it cannot yet estimate future earnings amid plans to further increase subscribers.
LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — An annual Christmas mystery is playing itself out again along a busy New Jersey highway.
A secret Santa is once again surreptitiously hanging ornaments from a large pine tree by the side of the Garden State Parkway in the dead of night.
A gold star was hanging from the boughs of the tree Tuesday morning.
It's the fourth year in a row that the ornaments have shown up on the same tree in the southbound lanes in a sparsely populated area of Little Egg Harbor Township.
No one has come forward and acknowledged decorating the tree. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which maintains the road, has said it isn't responsible.
The ornaments appear gradually, starting with one or two, and eventually growing to about a dozen by Christmas.
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's former top cop sentenced to 15 years in prison on corruption charges.
Sobering but true: The new, improved, shortened and moreunderstandable Form 1040 and Schedule A are rolling off the pressesby the millions, ready for their yearly Christmas flight to yourdoorstep.
Here's a sneak peek at what's under the wrappings for homeownerswho can't stand the suspense, not to mention the bills. The peek wasprovided to this reporter by friendly IRS elves.
The good news: The 1989 forms continue the trend toward clarityand simplicity inaugurated last year. The home-mortgage instructionssection for the 1040 package now take up less than a page - down froma record four pages in 1987 - and generally are written in plainEnglish.
The rules for 1989 treatment of mortgage interest on yourprimary and secondary homes, including "first and second mortgages,home-equity loans and refinanced mortgages" are as follows:
Rule No. 1: If your mortgage and-or line-of-credit equity loanswere taken out before Oct. 13, 1987, you can deduct all your mortgageinterest, no matter what the total amount. Whether the loans total$15,000 or $15 million, you're home free.
Rule No. 2: On mortgages you took out on your main residence after Oct. 13, 1987, to "buy, buildor improve your home," you can deduct all your interest as long asthe aggregate amount totaled $1 million or less throughout 1989. Theloan limit is $500,000 or less if you're married filing separately.
Rule No. 3: On mortgages that you took out after Oct. 13, 1987,that were used for purposes "other than to buy, build or improve"your homes, you can write off all your interest, "but only if thesemortgages totaled $100,000 or less ($50,000 or less if married filing separately) throughout 1989." Examples of such loans arehome-equity lines drawn to pay off credit-card bills, purchasing anauto or paying your kids' tuition charges.
Note in Rules 2 and 3 the reference to "throughout" 1989. Ifyou discover that you went beyond the dollar limits at some pointduring calendar 1989, IRS advises you to get hold of its revisedPublication 936 (Limits on Home Mortgage Interest Deductions).
Special rule on 1989 mortgage refinancings: The forthcominginstructions make note of a key limitation on interest deductions on home-mortgage financings thatmany property owners did not understand in 1988. The rule affectsall refinancings on home mortgages taken out before Oct. 13, 1987.
The rule works like this: If you refinanced during 1989 for anamount no larger than the balance on the existing mortgage, you cancontinue to deduct all the interest on it.
But if you "refinanced it for more than the balance of the oldmortgage, only the part of the new mortgage equal to the amount youowed on the old mortgage at the time you refinanced it" qualifies forfederal interest write-offs.
That refinancing limitation comes with an important asterisk,however. If you pull out "extra" money beyond your mortgage balanceas much as $100,000 of that extra can be deductible. It's simplytreated as the equivalent of a home-equity loan, carrying a $100,000ceiling as in Rule 3 above.
The instructions also describe how to handle deductions on"mixed-use mortgages" - an exotic-sounding but commonplace form offinancing you may have, but never would have guessed. Mixed-useloans are mortgages whose proceeds went for buying, building orrepairing your house as well as for "other" purposes, such asbusiness investments, education or travel.
The 1989 rules conclude with the traditional IRS holidayentreaty for taxpayer purity on the subject of mortgage "points." Inthe words of the Great Grinch at the Treasury, home-loan points(including loan-origination fees paid in 1989) generally are notdeductible. They must be written off pro-rata year-by-year over thecourse of the loan.
The Grinch's sole exception, in characteristic holiday spirit:"Points may be deducted (if paid in 1989) if the loan was used to buyor improve your main home, the loan was secured by that home, thepoints were paid with funds other than those obtained from thelender, it is customary to charge points in the area where the loanwas made and the points paid did not exceed the points usuallycharged in that area."
If you can pass that test before New Year's, you can write offall your 1989 points. Good luck.
The trust fund set up by Johns Manville Corp. to compensate peopleinjured by asbestos is facing a sharp rise in claims that threatensthe fund's solvency--a development that worries Chicago-based USGCorp. and other companies that also face huge asbestos costs.
The drain on the Manville Trust, which already has paid $2.7billion to injured asbestos workers, prompted U.S. District JudgeJack Weinstein and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton R. Lifland to convenea hearing last week to consider remedies.
Weinstein and Lifland had cited a continuing media campaignencouraging new claims, the fund's steep reduction in claim paymentsand a rise in bankruptcy filings by asbestos-related entities asdaunting issues confronting the trust.
That combination of events "suggests that there may be amisallocation of available funds, inequitably favoring those who areless needy over those with more pressing asbestos-related injuries,"the judges said in a notice about the hearing. When the trust beganmaking payments in the early 1990s, it covered 100 percent of theclaimants' medical bills. The payments declined to 10 percent in 1995and 5 percent this year.
"What happens in the Manville Trust, which has been a bellwetherin this field, will have impact throughout the nation," Weinsteinsaid.
Wallboard manufacturer USG Corp. and three of its operatingsubsidiaries, including U.S. Gypsum Co., filed for bankruptcyprotection in June because of asbestos litigation costs.
In a memo filed with the judges Nov. 7, U.S. Gypsum's attorneyurged the court to prioritize claims so "only sick plaintiffs receiveawards and that others be remitted to future remedies protected bythe trust's ability to pay in the event actual sickness occurs."
"The threat of future harm, not yet realized, is not enough,"wrote attorney John D. Aldock.
Similarly, several lawyers at the hearing argued that the trustmust tighten its criteria to screen claimants without cancer morerigorously. Others suggested that the trust should change the ratioof payments it makes to cancer and non-cancer patients to give moreweight to the most seriously ill.
"It's time for the trust to set the example and stop payingsignificant amounts of cash to people without any evidence ofsignificant impairment," said attorney Steven Kazan. "We need totighten the criteria."
Weinstein and Lifland made no rulings and were not asked to do so.Rather, they urged the lawyers and the trust to meet and report backin 30 days about whether they can resolve the problem.
David Austern, the general counsel for the trust, cited "a hugeincrease" in non-cancer claims, including for bilateral pleuraldisease and other lung disorders.
In 1999, the trust received 28,059 non-cancer claims. For thefirst 11 months of 2001 the total was 65,672, Austern told thejudges.
The Manville trust, one of four major asbestos trusts in thecountry, is facing mounting claims as eight major asbestos companieshave filed for bankruptcy protection in the past year.
They include Owens Corning, the largest U.S. insulation maker;Armstrong World Industries Inc., North America's largest vinyl-flooring maker; G-I Holdings Inc., owner of building materialscompany GAF Corp., and chemical maker W.R. Grace & Co.
Several attorneys said that the resolution of those bankruptcycases probably will affect the volume of medical claims to theManville trust.
The Manville trust, set up during the 1988 bankruptcyreorganization of building materials maker Johns Manville Corp., haspaid $2.7 billion on 437,781 claims, a number that could grow to 3.1million claims by 2049, trust officials project.
Despite lowering administrative costs to 4.1 percent of payouts,the trust will be pressed for cash over the next five decades,according to a Dec. 5 letter to the judges by trust chairman RobertA. Falise.
He cited court-sanctioned requirements that allow payments for anyof seven diseases if workers are exposed in any way to asbestos. Manysuccessful claimants, he said, had "no discernible asbestos-relatedphysical impairment whatsoever."
Many claimants have injuries that are imperceptible without theaid of X-ray or other imaging technology, Falise said. They are"marshaled in mass screenings that have as their primary purpose therounding up of claimants whose settlements will generate fees for thesponsors of the screenings," he said.
Bloomberg News, with Sandra Guy contributing
GORLEBEN, Germany (AP) — A shepherdess hoping to block the transport of nuclear waste to a storage site in northern Germany herded her flock of 500 sheep and some 60 goats Monday across a road leading to the site — just one of hundreds people hoping to stop the shipment from reaching its final destination Tuesday.
The shipment reached a railway depot in Dannenberg on Monday, where workers spent the day transferring containers of nuclear waste from the rails to trucks that are to carry it on the last leg of its journey to the site in Gorleben, 12 miles (20 kilometers) away. By nightfall, eight of 11 containers had been moved.
Greenpeace activists said they had succeeded in parking a semitrailer truck across the road just outside of the gates of the railway depot. Police said five activists had attached themselves to the truck in such a way as to prevent them from moving it without first detaching them.
An estimated 3,000 people had gathered at the road outside of the waste storage site in Gorleben and hundreds of others staged protests along the main road and two alternative routes leading to the site.
"I live from my sheep, it's my livelihood, and the storage site is threatening this," said the shepherdess, who gave her name only as Evelyn, because she did not want to be identified by authorities.She is one of hundreds of farmers in the region who fear their livelihoods could be threatened by the storage site at Gorleben.
After about an hour police cleared her flock, only to see the animals return further down the road.
Elsewhere along the route, protesters cut down trees and lined the road with stumps as part of an effort to promote renewable energy sources and show their anger at the German government decision to extend the life of the nation's nuclear power plants by several years.
"Our intention is the use of 100 percent renewable energies for this region, no nuclear waste," said Andreas von Bernstorff, an activist and forest owner, who organized the protest on his land.
Dozens of farmers lined the roads with tractors, ready to drive them onto the road to block the transport.
Activists say neither the waste containers nor the Gorleben site, a temporary storage facility, are safe.
| All Times Eastern |
| Major League Baseball Playoffs Championship Series |
| Philadelphia 3, L.A. Dodgers 2 F |
| National Football League |
| No games today. |
| National Basketball Association Preseason |
| New Jersey 100, Miami 96 F OT |
| Dallas 110, Chicago 102 F |
| Houston 85, San Antonio 78 F |
| Phoenix 96, Utah 89 F |
| L.A. Clippers 107, L.A. Lakers 80 F |
| National Hockey League |
| Toronto 3, Detroit 2 F |
| Boston 5, Colorado 4 F |
| San Jose 4, Anaheim 1 F |
| Vancouver 6, Calgary 0 F |
| Top 25 College Football |
| Wake Forest (21) 12, Clemson 7 F |
| WNBA Basketball Playoffs |
| No games today. |
| Major League Soccer |
| New York 1, Real Salt Lake 1 F |
An ex-aide to John Edwards who claimed he fathered a child born to the mistress of the two-time Democratic presidential candidate spent Wednesday in a federal courthouse, but declined to talk with a reporter about an investigation into his former boss.
With his lawyer at his side, Andrew Young at about 8:30 a.m. walked into the building in Raleigh where a grand jury was meeting. The longtime Edwards loyalist simply smiled as he went by and declined to comment. He did not leave through a public entrance, and his attorney, David Geneson, did not return repeated calls from The Associated Press.
A few months before the crucial 2008 caucuses in Iowa, where Edwards placed second to eventual President Barack Obama, Young publicly declared that he was the father of Rielle Hunter's baby. Edwards has admitted to an affair with Hunter that he says ended in 2006. That year, Edwards' political action committee paid Hunter's video production firm $100,000 for work. Then the committee paid another $14,086 on April 1, 2007.
Edwards, a North Carolina senator from 1998 until his vice presidential bid in 2004, acknowledged in May that federal investigators are looking into how he used campaign funds. Grand jury proceedings are secret, and the U.S. attorney's office in Raleigh has declined to confirm or deny an investigation.
Young hasn't spoken publicly since saying he was the father in 2007 and has repeatedly ignored reporter requests for interviews.
John Murphy, a spokesman with St. Martin's Press, said Young signed a book deal with the publisher last week. He declined to discuss the details of the agreement or the book.
"We don't even have a writer yet. The book is way off in the future," Murphy said. "We've signed a very strict confidentiality (agreement)."
Edwards adamantly denied during his confessional interview with ABC News last summer that he had fathered Hunter's child, and he welcomed a paternity test. But his wife, Elizabeth, has said while promoting her book that she doesn't know if her husband is the father.
Young got his last campaign paycheck in the middle of November, a month before he and Hunter publicly declared through attorneys that he was the father. Fred Baron, who was Edwards' national finance chairman and a wealthy Dallas-based trial attorney, said last year he quietly sent money to Hunter and to Young's family to resettle in California.
Baron, who died following complications from cancer just a few months after Edwards acknowledged the affair, said he provided the money on his own, to "help two friends and former colleagues rebuild their lives when harassment by supermarket tabloids made it impossible for them to move forward on their own."
At the time of the April 2007 payment, the PAC only had $7,932 cash on hand, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission. What made the distribution possible was that on the same day, according to the records, Edwards' presidential campaign paid the PAC $14,034 for a "furniture purchase."
That money was one of just five contributions to the political action committee for the entire three months from April 1 to June 30, 2007. The other four were on June 30, the last day of the reporting period, including a $3,000 contribution from Baron's wife, Lisa.
LA BELLE VIE
Twenty years ago my husband and I vacationed in Europe. We spent two days sightseeing in Paris, and after a whirlwind tour of the Louvre Museum we sat at a sidewalk cafe and enjoyed a delicious dinner that was prepared with fresh, seasonal ingrethents. A recent meal at La Belle Vie in downtown Nampa reminded me of the simple Parisian meal we still remember two decades later.
It's no wonder. The restaurant's co-owners have both spent time in France. Chef Julie Free lived there for several years with her husband, and Chef Cathy O'Connell has traveled around the country. Both were influenced by what they tasted.
"We like to call it French-inspired rather than strictly French cooking," said O'Connell.
The menu of casual fare changes monthly, allowing the seasons to influence the dishes served. This month you'll find ripe peaches atop whole grain waffles ($8) on the brunch menu and sweet grapes complementing champagne vinaigrette in the "Ooh La La" salad ($4.50) at lunch and dinner. The chefs also grind fresh flour from whole grain wheat to create delectable mini challah braids that are served with whipped honey butter.
My husband and I were joined for dinner by our friends, a restaurateur and his wife, an executive, on a recent Friday evening. By meal's end we all wished we lived a little closer to downtown Nampa.
On the C'est La Vie appetizer plate ($14), the blossoms on four finger-length zucchini were stuffed with ch�vre and .the tiny squashes were cooked to crisp tenderness. The fruity bouquet of a 2008 pinot grigio from Zonin vineyard in Italy <$15/bottle) complemented the goat cheese's distinctive tang. The appetizer plate also included crostini with tapenade and tortellini with pesto.
Dinner entrees came with the choice of soup du jour or salad. The executive swooned over a piping hot bowl of creamy corn soup gently accented with spicy Hungarian pepper. The rest of us enjoyed salads that were lively with ripe ingrethents.
The New York steak ($24) topped with garlicky chimichurri sauce beckoned the men and the executive dined on the night's special, a flavorful double stack of rosemary pork tenderloin ($18). My tender halibut ($24), with a sweet, anise-infused melon tarragon relish, was flawless.
Dreamy cr�me br�l�e ($6) gnd a vanilla "ice cream cake" ($6) made with oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and Callebaut chocolate fudge sauce left us satisfied and thinking "la vie est belle," or, life is beautiful.
- Jennifer Hern�ndez is fond of fromage a la fleur.
Though downtown Nampa has come a long way in the last few years, nothing could've prepared me for La Belle Vie. The restaurant occupies a quaint bungalow on a side street near Flying M Coffeegarage. Pulling open the front door feels like walking into your good friend's housewarming party - it's warm and uncluttered; they've been expecting you. Though the spot bills itself as a French cafe, it doesn't wear the theme on its sleeve. You won't find wine bottles topped with dripping candlesticks or accordion music wafting through the air. La Belle Vie keeps it classy with heavy, dark wood tables and framed, patterned wallpaper. From my seat, I could see through the window in the kitchen door to a shelf stacked with teal, chocolate and moss green plates. It looked like a page torn straight from Martha Stewart Living. That deliberate minimalism, it turns out, is a palate cleanser for the culinary adventure ahead.
La Belle Vie's lunch, brunch and dinner menus change monthly, depending on what's local and seasonal. At the start of September, the dinner options were heavy on the summer squash, with bell peppers and ch�vre making a solid showing. Our appetizer, in fact, the chef's choice C'est La Vie sampler plate ($8), combined all three to great success. Fresh carrot, celery and red bell pepper crudites dunked in a house-made, creamy cucumber dill dip tempered the rich tang of goat cheese and mixed olive bruschett�. A bowl of lightly salted cayenne curry peanuts and raisins made way for the piece de resistance, two mini zucchini with still-attached, chevre-stuffed squash blossoms. Oh, sweet lord.
And it only got better from there. The soup of the day, a Southwestern corn chowder ($4.50 cup, $6 bowl), was at once delicate and hearty, with flecks of bell pepper and sweet corn swirled in a creamy broth so light and comforting it made me ache for my slippers. The ch�vre salad, too, was out of this world, with warm discs of pecan-crusted goat cheese hovering over bitter mixed greens and sweet dried cranberries. The salad, like everything we had tasted up to that point, was so thoughtfully seasoned and dressed it shrugged off the requisite shakes of salt and pepper.
Our entrees, dill butter salmon on basmati rice ($18) and herbed gnocchi ($14), both with summer veggies, were two of the lighter options on a list littered with steak and Cornish game hen. Though the salmon was a substitute entree for the halibut that evening, the execution was notably lacking. The white rice was an uninspired pairing with the salmon, and the thick slab of dill butter didn't do much to moisten the bone-dry, overcooked fish. Luckily the gnocchi - though not at all what I had pictured - was incredible. Made with the same light, eggy dough used for profiteroles (combined with savory spices and mustard) the gnocchi was unlike any of the glutinous Italian varieties I've tasted. Though it had the messy look of an egg scramble, it was nonetheless a delight washed down with a glass of the house red ($5 glass, $12 bottle).
Grinning as I cracked the delicate sugar layer on the cr�me br�l�e ($6), I sighed contentedly. Life, at that moment, was undeniably beautiful.
- Tara Morgan used to say gno to gnocchi, but gnot anymore.
LA BELLE VIE
220 14th Avenue South, Nampa, 208-466-0200
labellevienampa.com
Tue. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Wed. -Fri. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Closed Mon
Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager banned from the touchline earlier in the season for abusing a referee, has demanded players start respecting match officials.
Ferguson claims to have turned his United players into model professionals after an unsavory incident eight years ago.
But after seeing Chelsea's petulance and protests on Wednesday night, Ferguson said he is angered by hotheaded players haranguing referees.
During Wednesday's 4-4 draw at Tottenham, Chelsea defender Ashley Cole turned his back on Mike Riley while being booked for a reckless challenge and was assisted in his dissent by teammates John Terry and Frank Lampard, darting to challenge the referee.
"Respect the referee," Ferguson said Friday. "The haranguing of referees is ridiculous."
The Scottish disciplinarian insists United epitomizes gracious behavior on the pitch since an official was mobbed in 2000 by players infuriated by a penalty awarded against them.
"We had a pivotal moment some years ago when my players surrounded Andy D'Urso," Ferguson recalled on Friday. "I went off my head with them about that. I thought it was ridiculous and it never happened again.
"We tell them to shake the hand of the referee at the end of the game when it's finished. It's sometimes difficult but they have to do it."
Chelsea has been fined twice this season by the Football Association for failing to control its players on the pitch.
In December, Ferguson _ aggrieved at challenges on Patrice Evra _ was banned from the dugout for two matches and fined 5,000 pounds (US$10,100; euro7,000) for using abusive and/or insulting words toward referee Mark Clattenburg during a 1-0 defeat at Bolton.
In 2003, Ferguson was also banned for two games and fined 10,000 pounds after verbally attacking referee Jeff Winter.
GEORGETOWN, Del. (AP) — Ex-Delaware pediatrician guilty of sexually abusing patients, could face life in prison
CARSON, Calif. - The man everyone came to see was nowhere in sight. And don't expect to see much of David Beckham in action when the Los Angeles Galaxy play Chelsea in the superstar's first scheduled game with his new team.
Beckham got treatment on his injured left ankle behind closed doors Friday, while the rest of his teammates trained.
Beckham won't start Saturday night's exhibition, and whether he plays at all will be a last-minute decision, Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said.
"He desperately wants to play," Yallop said. "It won't be a big part in the game, we know that, because he hasn't trained for a number of weeks, but we're hoping he can get some time on the field."
So is ESPN, which has scheduled a veritable "Beckham Block" of programming Saturday night. It kicks off with "SportsCenter" at 9 p.m. EDT, followed by an hour-long special called "David Beckham: New Beginnings," a 30-minute pregame show and finally the match.
But Yallop cautioned that Beckham's health is the Galaxy's top priority, ahead of pleasing sponsors and broadcasters.
"What we won't do is put him in harm's way," the coach said. "If he's not ready to go, we cannot do that. I'm hoping that everything will be OK to at least get him on the field."
That could mean the 32-year-old midfielder plays just a few minutes in front of a sellout crowd of 27,000 and a live television audience.
"At the moment it doesn't look good that I'm going to play because the swelling is still there," Beckham said at Thursday night's MLS All-Star Game in Colorado. "I'm here for five years. I'm not just here for the game Saturday.
"It's great that Chelsea is here, but I think it's more important to me personally that my ankle is right, and I don't think it will be right for the game."
Yallop said Beckham is feeling "a lot better" than he did earlier in the week. The coach said the flight to Colorado didn't affect Beckham's ankle the way he feared it would.
"We're forever hopeful, obviously," Yallop said.
The Galaxy sorely need an on-field boost. They lost 3-0 to Mexican club team Tigres UANL on Tuesday as part of the opening doubleheader in the World Series of Football. Chelsea defeated the Suwon Bluewings 1-0 in the other game.
Saturday, the Tigres and Bluewings play in the first match, followed by Chelsea and the Galaxy. Chelsea captain John Terry has an injured toe, but will play.
"For the Galaxy, it will be a good experience," Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho said. "Normally they don't play against such good teams and such good players as Chelsea."
Mourinho said his team will go easy on Beckham if he gets in the game.
"Yeah, especially if at that moment we're in a comfortable situation," the coach said. "First, we want to win the game and play well. Second, we want to win the trophy. After that, we would like David Beckham to play, to play well, to play easy. We would like to help him on that front."
Mourinho joked, "If you can make a deal with him, we give him freedom to play, but he can't hurt us."
Beckham's absence from training denied about 70 American and British photographers and journalists their main target, so they pounced on Yallop and other Galaxy players.
Cobi Jones wasn't fazed by the chaos, having played in World Cups.
"My concern is for the younger players that really haven't experienced this kind of madness before, to see what it's going to be like for them," he said.
Midfielder Kyle Martino said the outside hype hasn't extended to the locker room, where Beckham has made a smooth transition.
"He's meshed with the team so well," Martino said. "He's been in on every conversation, he's outgoing, he's humble. To be the icon that he is and still be able to be the human being that he is, is something that everyone respects inside the locker room."
Defender Abel Xavier, who joined the Galaxy in May, played against Beckham in the English Premier League. He warned against expecting Beckham to single-handedly make soccer popular in America.
"We cannot put too much pressure on David Beckham because you know he's not a magic man. Football is a collective game," Xavier said. "All the players are important."
Try telling that to Raul Contreras, a 15-year-old soccer player from Compton who was bummed about Beckham's no-show.
"I hope he gets better because I really want to see him play against Chelsea," he said.
Beckham is set for a busy weekend.
He and wife Victoria will be the honored guests at a welcome bash hosted by Tom Cruise and Will Smith at the Museum of Contemporary Art's Geffen Contemporary in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday night.
Cruise is reportedly flying in from Germany, where he is shooting his newest film. Among those on the 600-person guest list are Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Jim Carrey and Steven Spielberg.
Not invited are the paparazzi that have been trailing the Beckhams and their three young sons since they arrived a week ago.
---
Associated Press Writer Raquel Maria Dillon and AP freelancer Joseph D'Hippolito contributed to this report.
Two security guards from Street who foiled a late-night raid havebeen praised by police officers for their quick thinking.
The two men - both Street residents - were first on the scene ataround 2.15 in the morning on December 2, when two men broke intothe Crispin Centre shopping precinct in the village through theroof.
"The people actually managed to get access into the card shop,and the cafe," said Sergeant Mark Edgington from the police.
Security guards were made aware of the situation and NevilleChant and Andrew Turnbull-Kirk both arrived at the shopping centre and spotted the men as they tried to leave the area.
"They detained both men - …
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A defense lawyer says a 29-year-old man accused of making bids he couldn't pay at a federal oil and gas drilling lease auction had no advance plan to disrupt the 2008 event.
Defense attorney Ron Yengich told a federal jury Wednesday in Salt Lake City that Tim DeChristopher never intended to harm anyone, including the federal Bureau of Land Management.
DeChristopher is due to …
FDA has begun to issue warning letters and 483s for failure to comply with 21 CFR Part 11. FDA's "Compliance Policy Guide" gives this example of a regulatory citation for a violation of the device quality system regulations: "Failure to establish and maintain procedures to control all documents that are required by 21 CFR 820.40, and failure to use authority checks to ensure that only authorized individuals can use the system and alter records, as required by 21 CFR 11.10(g). For example, engineering drawings for manufacturing equipment and devices are stored in AutoCAD form on a desktop computer. The storage device was not protected from unauthorized access and modification of the drawings."
BioPharm's home on the Worldwide Web (www.pharmaportal.com) enables you to search the text of FDA warning letters online. Studying recent warning letters related to Part 11 will help you determine what inspectors will be looking for. The following samples illustrate the variety of responses FDA might make to Part 11 violations.
11 August 2000 (www.fda.gov/foil warning letters/m4105n.pdf). ". . . deficient controls in the laboratory electronic record keeping system, which is used for maintaining chromatographs and audit trails.... Please outline your firm's global corrective action plan, including timeframes for correction, to address this Part 11 issue."
12 November 1999 (www.fda.gov/foi/ warning_letters/m3190n.pdf). ". . . no documentation covering Excel application software, or any procedures instituted covering the protection of electronic records or an established back-up system."
21 July 1999 (www.fda.gov/foi/warning_ letters/m2819n.pdf). ". . . failed to properly maintain electronic files containing data secured in the course of tests from 20 HPLCS and 3 GLCS.... No investigation was conducted. . . to determine the cause of missing data and no corrective measures were implemented to prevent the recurrence of this event."
2 March 2000 (www.fda.gov/foi/warning_ letters/m3450n.pdf). ". . . lack of a secure system to prevent unauthorized entry in restricted data systems. Data edit authentication rights were available to all unauthorized users not only the system administrator. The microbiology department's original reports on sterility test failures of Penicillin G Potassium for Injection, lots 9804024 and 9811016 due to environmental mold, which were sent via electronic mail to the Quality Assurance management differed significantly from the versions included in the Quality Assurance management's official reports. The network module design limitations, which can only support up to four chromatographic data acquisition systems, had up to five chromatographic systems connected. ... No validation showing this configuration to be acceptable."
2 August 2000 (www.fda.gov/foi/warning_ letters/ m2811n.pdf). "Our inspection disclosed numerous and significant deviations from Part 11." Note in the following examples quoted that the investigator attempts to explain the importance of each item.
* "The system does not generate an audit trail, and there is no way to determine if values have been changed on batch production records. This is important because an audit trail can be the only evidence that an electronic record has been altered. We note, for instance, that your system only records the last value entered by an operator and that values, such as Oxygen potency levels that my have been entered earlier and that may indicate potentially serious quality problems, are not recorded. The system prompts an operator when equipment detects that an Oxygen potency value is non-conforming, and permits the operator to record a value that is within specification, but does not record the original out of specification value.
* "No written procedures that would hold individuals accountable for actions taken under their electronic signatures. It is vital that employees accord their electronic signatures the same legal weight and solemnity as their traditional handwritten signatures. Absent such written and unambiguous policies, employees may be more apt to make mistakes, under the erroneous assumption that they will be held to a lower level of accountability than they might otherwise expect when they execute traditional handwritten signatures.
* "No documentation or testing of the system's ability to discern invalid or altered records. This is significant because electronic records by their nature may be easily altered in a manner that is difficult or impossible to detect. If an employee were to alter an electronic batch record in an unauthorized manner, your system would not be able to detect such change.
* "No documentation to show if the system has the ability to generate accurate and complete copies of records in electronic form; copies of electronic records cannot be generated at these sites. It is vital for FDA to be able to audit electronic production records by, among other things, reviewing electronic copies of your electronic records. It is therefore a serious matter that your system cannot generate such on-site electronic copies.
*"No safeguards to prevent unauthorized use of electronic signatures that are based on identification codes/passwords when an employee who has logged onto a terminal leaves the terminal without logging off. This is serious because another employee or individual could impersonate the individual who has already been logged on, and thereby easily falsify an electronic record. The resulting batch production record, for instance, would not be an accurate and reliable indication of the lot's history. Moreover, in such an environment it would be fairly easy for the genuine logged on employee to disavow a signature as false, and thereby seek to avoid responsibility for actions under his/her signature (on the basis that it is fairly easy for someone else to apply his/her electronic signature.) .... The untrustworthy nature of the electronic production records would make it difficult to reliably reconstruct the full history of a lot's production in the event problems had to be investigated and solved.... We note that your electronic record keeping system is centralized and that all your facilities use the same procedures. This leads us to conclude that these deficiencies maybe replicated throughout your organization."
Abstract
Aims: To describe and measure differences between ethnic groups on standard measures of mental health outcome.
Methods: Clinical staff in eight New Zealand Health Districts collected consumer outcomes data at the start, end and review of episodes of care. Consumers were allocated to one of three ethnicity groupings - Maori, Pacific Island and "All Other.
Results: There were large differences between the three ethnicity groupings on the measures. Maori and Pacific Island consumers appeared to demonstrate more psychotic phenomena and overall worse scores, and the All Other group, more depression. Changes in scores between start and end of episodes of care were …
Now we will turn to the results for the quarter. The third quarter was definitely a turnaround for h-s access growth. AT&T, Verizon and Qwest all showed very good growth with their AAA offerings. In fact it was the best quarter for all of them this year.
The following chart shows how the major telcos …
Byline: ANNE D'INNOCENZIO Associated Press
NEW YORK - Barbie was no match for Darth Vader during the second quarter.
Mattel Inc., the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, reported a loss Monday due to a large tax expense related to the repatriation of foreign profits. But the force was clearly with rival Hasbro Inc., who reported that its profit soared 56 percent, helped by a strong performance from "Star Wars" products.
Excluding the tax charge, Mattel's results still missed analysts' projections as the world's largest toy maker continues to struggle with weak sales of Barbie. But results from Hasbro, the No. 2 toy maker, beat Wall Street …
Byline: Rick Kranz
Mercedes-Benz proudly calls the 2007 GL a full-sized SUV.
"We are aiming at the mainstream full-sized SUV buyers, those people who still relate to full-sized SUVs, still need full-sized SUVs and still desire full-sized SUVs,'' says Ron Mueller, manager of sport utility and touring, for Mercedes-Benz USA LLC.
The top priority for these buyers is owning a big SUV that seats seven and can haul a big trailer.
"They want to have large toys such as a 30-foot boat or a three-horse trailer,'' said Mueller, who was interviewed at a Mercedes event here in California's Napa Valley.
The result is Mercedes' Cadillac Escalade fighter. The seven-passenger 2007 GL is a V-8-powered SUV with a 7,500-pound towing capacity, capability that neither the Mercedes M-class mid-sized SUV nor the recently introduced R-class crossover can match.
The basics: The GL is …
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State trustees will …
The Millfield Holiday Courses welcome children to come togetherfor an exciting mix of fun, laughter and new experiences.
With a dedicated team of staff working to ensure that the coursesare organised to the highest possible standard, parents can restassured that their children will be well cared for and will enjoythe time of their lives in the energetic atmosphere of Millfield.
There are a variety of courses on offer at Millfield this summer,which are available for children aged three to 16 years. Millfieldoffer a number of sports courses from football to badminton, cricketto tennis and new for 2011, the Millfield Rugby Course. The courseis run by former …
(ADPnews) - Nov 30, 2010 - Indonesia's PEFINDO reiterated Danareksa Melati Premium Dollar's idAAAf credit quality rating reflecting the high portion of Indonesian government instruments in the portfolio of the fixed income mutual fund.
Indonesia's PT Danareksa Investment Management is the manager of the fund.
The rating is based on the fund's portfolio as of October 29, 2010, the agency said.
In PEFINDO's view, the underlying assets …
AMERICAN LEAGUE
CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Cleveland vs. Boston
(Red Sox lead series 1-0)
Friday: Boston, 10-3
Saturday: at Boston, 8:21
Monday: at Cleveland, 7:10
Tuesday: at Cleveland, 8:21
Thursday: at Cleveland, 8:21
Oct. 20: at Boston, TBD
Oct. 21: at Boston, TBD NATIONAL LEAGUE
CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Colorado vs. Arizona
…
Byline: EUN LEE KOH The Boston Globe
WASHINGTON -- The V-chip is here.
In the past three weeks, televisions equipped with the device have started appearing on store shelves. But some consumer groups and parents foresee problems with the device that is being touted as a tool for filtering unwanted programming from children's television viewing.
The V-chip will be in at least half of all new television sets 13 inches or larger on the market by Thursday, as required by the 1996 telecommunications act. By January, the device will be a regular feature.
At least 25 million new television sets are expected to be sold within the next 18 months, according to Representative Edward J. Markey, the Malden Democrat who drafted the law.
``Within a few months, tens of thousands of V-chip TVs will be in homes all across America. Within a year, …
NEW YORK--Eleven product lines made by nine companies other than Revlon Inc. will carry the cosmetics and fragrance maker's trademark, thanks to multiple agreements reached by its newly formed licensing division. Under the pacts, the Revlon name will be seen on items ranging from sunglasses to hair accessories and hair dryers.
According to Revlon Inc. president and chief executive officer of Jerry Levin, the company's licensing arm has been highly successful at attracting a variety of high-caliber firms since it was formed last year.
"Our licensees recognize that such broad distribution retailers as drug stores and other mass marketers are looking for products with …
Real Madrid's Argentine players welcomed new national coach Diego Maradona, although his first trip abroad on official team business was already causing a stir among them.
Maradona arrived in the Spanish capital on Wednesday to assess the European-based players he hopes will help the country qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
However, while full of praise for Maradona's hiring, Argentina defender Gabriel Heinze revealed that his decision to strip Inter Milan's Javier Zanetti of the captain's armband was being questioned.
"Here there is a captain who is called Zanetti and you have to respect that," Heinze said. "We still don't know if …
LAS VEGAS - Mike Hohensee waited a long time for the ultimate success in his profession - an Arena Football League championship.
Once he accomplished the feat, he said it felt the way he thought it would.
"It feels great. And these are the type of men I thought I would be surrounded by. And that's what makes it special," the Chicago Rush coach said Sunday after his team completed an unlikely run to the championship by beating the Orlando Predators 69-61 in the 20th ArenaBowl.
"It means somebody believed in me and gave me a chance," Hohensee said. "I've got a saying on my weight room wall in ink: 'Being the best still means something.' That's how we lived our lives …
CAPITALISM TAKES a set of social relations for granted. Today we see a capitalist class that is global and highly centralized. We respond by pointing to other kinds of social relations (feminist, cooperative, decolonizing) and by connecting ways of resistance. We learn that redistributional struggles are also studies in contradiction.
The female body is not property. We assert this by not fashioning ourselves after an image that oppresses us. We assert this by forming relationships that are non-monogamous. We assert this by confronting intimate partner violence. We assert this by having children when and where we want to, or not at all.
My body is fragile. It has been damaged by exploitation, inquisition, and incursion.
Performance art has never taken the body for granted. It has sliced it and scraped it, exhausted it, kept it still for hours on end, torn out its hair and exposed it, but it has never shied away from questioning the place of bodies in oppression, resistance, and everyday life.
We circulate reproductive knowledge.
More than anyone, contemporary dancers have taught me how to unlearn the effects of capitalist work regimes on my body in inclusive, non-judgmental spaces.
Picking crab apples from a back-lane tree. Bread, a …
A reader writes to ask: I am interested in whether the hot dog place is still open on lower Albany Street. They had the BEST hot dog sauce in the world. Also, is their recipe available?
The place she's thinking of surely is Newest Lunch, 715 Albany St., …
Byline: AZRA HAQQIE - Staff Writer
ALBANY - Several churches with large immigrant memberships will celebrate Christmas with services in two languages.
The Emmaus Methodist Church on Morris Street, where worship has been conducted in both English and Urdu throughout the year since the 1960s, also mixes music of two cultures.
"Singing of psalms is a gift of the Pakistani culture," said the Rev. Denise Stringer. About 30 people sing in the Urdu choir, keeping rhythm with drums and percussion hand instruments.
Compared to recent years, not as many of the new members are immigrants, said Stringer, but "Urdu is the language of their heart. The …
With the economy in free fall, President-elect Barack Obama is stepping up efforts to let Americans know what he has planned to stabilize the nation's financial system and calm the markets.
He announced a plan this weekend to save or create 2.5 million jobs by January 2011 and his transition team confirmed he will announce the leaders of his economic team Monday, naming Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary and Lawrence Summers to direct the National Economic Council.
The word Friday that Geithner was the likely choice to head treasury sent the stock market soaring almost 500 points.
So much bad news is dragging …
Dominique Wilkins scored 50 points and Randy Wittman acareer-high 35 as the Atlanta Hawks pulled away in the final quarterand downed the Detroit Pistons 137-125 yesterday for a 2-0 lead inthe bestof-five first-round playoff series.
Wilkins' 50 points tied the club's single-game playoff recordset in 1958 by Bob Pettit, when the franchise was in St. Louis.
Wilkins, who won the league scoring title, had 41 points afterthree quarters and became only the 15th player to score 50 or more inplayoff competition. His total was 11 points less than ElginBaylor's all-time playoff mark of 61, set in 1962.
The Pistons had one stretch in the third and fourth …
