The spokesman for Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is dismissing Western criticism of the country's widely discredited elections.
George Charamba told reporters at the African Union summit in Egypt on Tuesday that the United States, Britain and other European countries can "go hang" because they have no basis to condemn Mugabe.
Mugabe is under intense international criticism for winning a …
HAWTHORNE: 3RD RACE TOP COUNTESS (PP 6) This filly comes off asolid effort and finds a good spot; top jock takes the mount and thedrop in class should do the trick; she has been running againsttougher company in Florida; Campbell rides for Berndt.
4TH RACE STOP A TRAIN (PP 2) This is a tough distance in which tobreak your maiden; this filly's pedigree says she can handle theadded ground; this is a daughter of Devil His Due and she will betighter after her last effort; Silva rides for Janks.
TAMPA BAY: 6TH RACE THE MAN (PP 4) This gray gelding has a lot offight in him and …
Coalition demands school funding parity
A coalition led by Chicago's Metropolitan Planning Council is demanding changes in school funding through a shift from reliance on property taxes to reliance on statewide taxes. "It would be important to low income people," to make the shift, said MPC Vice President John McCarron.
"The tax burden would be a progressive distribution if it were based on an income tax and sales tax and taxes other than the property tax," he said, adding that residential real estate taxes ultimately result in higher rents in addition to greater costs to homeowners.
The coalition's plan, MPC said, is to reduce the "unconscionable gap in resources …
President Barack Obama is telling the world's Muslims that his administration will be looking for a "new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect." And he's warning leaders around the globe who try to encourage conflict and "blame their society's ills on the West" that their people will judge them on what they build, not what they destroy.
In his inaugural …
Workers on the bottling line are fuming about being limited tofour breaks per 81/2-hour shift, only one of which can beunscheduled. Extra trips to the bathroom can result in reprimands.Workers with six violations can be fired.
The United Food and Commercial Workers local said some of the 100affected employees have urinated on themselves because they wereafraid to leave the line. Some wear protective undergarments andothers have feigned illnesses to go home and avoid gettingviolations, said Jo Anne Kelley, president of the union local.
"It's a shame when you feel you have the need to go to thebathroom, but you ask yourself, 'Do I soil myself or do I protect myjob?' " …
HUNTINGTON - Tre Whitted is coming of age.
That is an unusual description of an 18-year-old with only threeDivision I basketball games under his belt, but it applies to thisunusual true freshman.
Whitted proved that during Marshall's 89-76 loss to No. 9 Kentuckyon Monday in Cincinnati's US Bank Arena by impressively scoring 10points, including two 3-pointers, in the second half.
Imagine what that showing against a quality opponent in that venuehas to do for the precocious Whitted's maturation process.
"That's got to help him a bunch," said junior guard Ronnie Dawn."Being able to do that in the second half against Kentucky ... if hecan do that against …
Asante Samuel scored on an interception on Philadelphia's third offensive play and the unbeaten New England Patriots led the Philadelphia Eagles 14-7 after the first quarter Sunday night.
The Eagles, with A.J. Feeley filling in for injured quarterback Donovan McNabb, tied it on a 77-yard drive capped by Brian Westbrook's 1-yard touchdown run. The Patriots reclaimed the lead on their first possession on a 1-yard run by Heath Evans.
New England (10-0) was trying to move one game closer to the first unbeaten season since the Miami Dolphins had one in 1972. Philadelphia (5-5) won its previous two games and had a chance to be one of seven NFC teams with records of …
| c. 1600 | In Spain, a fondness for somber colors and restrained but opulent decoration reigns. Elsewhere in Europe these elements of Spanish design often meld with native traditions to produce imaginative, but sometimes distorted and bizarre regional variations. |
| 1603 | Elizabeth I of England dies. As part of the inventory taken of her goods, scores of opulent dresses are noted in her private collection, most of which come into the possession of her successor James I's wife, Anne of Denmark. |
| 1604 | A bill is introduced in the English Parliament that abolishes all sumptuary laws in the country. When James I tries repeatedly to proclaim sumptuary legislation himself, his measures are struck down by Parliament. |
| c. 1620 | The dominance of Spanish fashions begins to fade in court societies throughout Europe. |
| The popularity of ruffs, starched collars pleated into elaborate folds, wanes in Northern Europe. | |
| c. 1625 | Dutch fashions become popular in urban and court circles. The Dutch favor less restrictive styles that are more comfortable, as well as garments made of wool. Their clothes are often richly decorated with … |
By most economic indicators, 2007 was not as robust as the previous year or two for American businesses. There was evidence of the turbuience in the Business Journai's annuaJ ranMng of Centrai PennsyJvania's Top 100 privateiy heJd companies.
Some home buiiders and car deaJers struggJed. Trucking companies feit the pinch of high fuei prices.
But remarkably, many of the Top 100managed to do pretty weJJ. In fact, 69 companies saw their revenue go up from the previous year. A handful of construction companies-Richard D. Poole, Quandel Enterprises Inc. and Powell Steel Corp., to name three - had the largest percentage increases of all the firms on the list.
If anyone …
A 20-year-old with a weapons cache that included AK-47s was arrested in South Florida on federal charges of threatening to re-enact the Virginia Tech massacre, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Local authorities had arrested Calin Chi Wong at his home last week after finding 13 firearms and more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition, some that could pierce armor, and bullets that could take down aircraft or military machinery.
Wong bonded out on those charges but was arrested again Friday after the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated threats Wong made March 25 on the Internet chat site under the screen name …
We've heard about wedding dates for Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleckever since--well, since the couple now known as "Bennifer" hooked up,let alone got officially engaged. But now, a lot of sources seem tobe pointing to what could be T-H-E day.
J. Lo and Ben reportedly will tie the knot at a very glamorousbash quietly being planned for the Sept. 13-14 weekend. The happycouple would walk down the aisle on the romantic and breathtakinglybeautiful Hawaiian island of Kauai--a favorite of both theprospective bride and groom. In fact, several years ago, when I askedAffleck his favorite vacation spot on the globe he immediatelymentioned Kauai--citing it as being "so unspoiled, with …
MATTHEW HIGGS ON THROBBING GRISTLE
WHILE MANY LIVE RECORDINGS are accompanied by disclaimers-invariably apologias for the sound quality-few come with warnings as to their possible side effects. Throbbing Gristle's TG24, a limited-edition deluxe box set of twenty-four CDs of live Throbbing Gristle (TG) recordings made between 1976 and 1980, is prefaced with the following: "Industrial Records and Throbbing Gristle will not be held responsible in any way whatsoever for the results of any physical, mental or structural damage either inflicted or incurred by the owner of this collection or any third parties." A coda further suggests that the collection is not recommended for listeners …
DETROIT - Minnesota's Carlos Silva shut down Detroit over 7 2-3 innings in a 2-0 victory Monday night that put the Tigers on the brink of being eliminated from the playoff race.
The defending American League champions are one loss, or a New York Yankees' win, from officially being relegated to watching this postseason. The Tigers have lost five of their last seven games to speed up the seemingly inevitable conclusion to their season.
New York leads Detroit in the AL wild-card race by 5 1/2 games.
Nick Punto's RBI single in the second inning and Jason Kubel's run-scoring single in the ninth was all the offense for Minnesota, which has won five of seven to increase its chances of finishing with a winning record for the seventh straight year. The Twins (77-79) had lost seven in a row against the Tigers.
Detroit used its best lineup, but couldn't score against Silva (13-14), who gave up six hits without a walk and struck out one.
Glen Perkins got the final out of the eighth, with the potential tying run at second. Joe Nathan allowed two runners on in the ninth but got Ivan Rodriguez on a groundout for his 35th save in 39 chances.
Nate Robertson (8-13) took the loss despite giving up only one run and three hits over seven innings.
Robertson struck out six and walked four, and one of those led to trouble.
Michael Cuddyer walked to lead off the second. Third baseman Brandon Inge then bobbled Matt LeCroy's grounder, and had to settle for a throw to first instead of a possible double play.
Punto's two-out single to left brought home Cuddyer.
Kubel's two-out single off Fernando Rodney in the ninth drove in pinch-runner Jason Tyner and made it 2-0.
The Tigers had two on and no outs in the sixth, but Silva got out of the jam with a double play - despite the Tigers executing a hit and run - and a pop up.
Sean Casey hit a one-out single off Silva in the eighth, and pinch-runner Cameron Maybin stole second. Inge lined out and pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn grounded out.
Notes:@ Minnesota DH/OF Rondell White, who went 1-for-4, said there is a "99-percent chance" he will retire after this season because of injuries. ... Detroit RHP Jeremy Bonderman (elbow) did not respond well enough to a bullpen session Saturday to get one last start this season. ... LeCroy caught for the first time since May 25, 2006, when he was benched in the middle of an inning by Washington manager Frank Robinson after Houston stole seven bases against him. ... Minnesota LF Lew Ford (hand) was scratched from the lineup.
JERUSALEM--A Holocaust survivor's granddaughter, wounded and withan IV drip in her arm, insisted today on being carried to herfamily's funeral.
Ten-year-old Leah Schijveschuurder lost five family members in thePalestinian suicide bombing the day before, which killed 15 people inJerusalem and provoked a fierce Israeli response.
Surrounded by friends and relations, Leah wept as she looked downon the five bodies lying on stretchers under black sheets.
"To my sorrow, we were punished by Heaven," Leah said in afarewell letter to her parents. "I loved you dearly. I deeply regretthe times when I talked back and was disrespectful."
Lying side by side in the cemetery were the bodies of her father,Mordechai, 44, his wife, Tzirli, 41, sister Raya, 14, brother AvrahamYitzhak, 3, and sister Hemda, 2.
Leah and her 8-year-old sister, Haya, were severely injured.
Three older boys--Ben-Zion, 21, Meir, 20, and Shmuel, 16, had notjoined the family at the restaurant that took the force of the blast.
Standing next to the bodies and sobbing, one of the surviving sonssaid of his youngest sister: "You never even learned to talkproperly. You never learned to live properly."
The Schijveschuurder family are Holocaust survivors. Mordechai'ssister, Elisheva Schijveschuurder, said: "Leah's grandmother was inthree Nazi camps in the war and now this has happened to her family.This is what Hitler did before. Now it's Arafat."
At least two other foreign nationals were killed in the attack.One, an American, was buried today. Judith Greenbaum, 31, of Passaic,New Jersey, was several months pregnant with her first child. She wascompleting her master's in Jewish studies in Jerusalem.
In a rare move, Dan Kurtzer, the new American ambassador toIsrael, attended the funeral.
In response, Israeli police took over the Palestinians' politicalheadquarters in disputed east Jerusalem early today, and warplanesflattened a West Bank security post, in retaliation for the suicidebombing in a Jerusalem pizzeria.
The raid on the Orient House, the PLO headquarters in the city,was Israel's most direct challenge yet to Palestinian claims to eastJerusalem as a future capital.
Jerusalem's future was the most contentious issue in peace talksthat collapsed earlier this year.
Israel said the takeover of the Orient House and nine PalestinianAuthority offices in Abu Dis, a Palestinian neighborhood abutting thecity, was a message to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat that he wouldnot make political gains through violence.
Thursday's suicide bombing was claimed by the Islamic militantgroup Hamas, one of Arafat's political rivals, but Israel held Arafatindirectly responsible, saying he has done nothing to prevent attackson Israelis.
Ron Gant hit his 25th homer and drove in three runs Friday nightto lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 8-3 victory over visiting Houston,making them undefeated in eight games against the Astros this season.
The Reds lead the NL Central by eight games over second-placeHouston. Cincinnati has won just five of its last 11 games, but theAstros have won only three of 11.
David Wells (2-1) pitched six innings for his second win sincebeing acquired from Detroit on July 31. He gave up seven hits,walked two and struck out four.
Gant's homer keyed a three-run fifth. Jerome Walton drew aleadoff walk and Gant homered one out later for a 4-1 lead. BenitoSantiago later singled and scored from first on Bret Boone's double.
Mets 3, Dodgers 2: Brett Butler, three hours after being tradedfrom the Mets to Los Angeles, tied it with a two-run triple in theseventh before host New York won in the ninth on pinch-hitter BillSpiers' suicide squeeze.
Butler, who left the Dodgers as a free agent after last season,was sent back to Los Angeles for two minor-leaguers.
Phillies 16, Giants 8: Barry Bonds and Robby Thompson eachhomered twice for San Francisco, but host Philadelphia still routedthe Giants in a game featuring a Veterans Stadium-record nine homeruns.
Pirates sweep Marlins: Nelson Liriano hit the first grand slam ofhis career, highlighting a six-run eighth inning that finished offPittsburgh's 13-7 win over visiting Florida in the first game of adoubleheader. The Pirates won the nightcap 7-6 in 13 innings.
Jeff King had three hits, including an RBI single in the sevenththat put Pittsburgh ahead for good. The Pirates put it away in theeighth with their biggest inning of the season, helped by two errors.
Kevin Young scored in the 13th on Al Martin's single to win thesecond game.
Expos 7, Padres 3: Sean Berry, Mike Lansing and David Segui eachdrove in two runs for host Montreal.
Cardinals 4, Braves 3: Tom Henke became the seventh pitcher toreach 300 career saves, surviving a rally by visiting Atlanta in theninth inning.
DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland has picked Keith Earls to face France at outside center in the only change to its starting lineup for Saturday's Six Nations match in Paris.
Earls had originally been selected to deputize for injured captain Brian O'Driscoll in last week's opening defeat against Wales but pulled out of the match because his newborn child was ill.
Earls replaces Fergus McFadden, who drops to the reserves. David Kearney makes way for McFadden on the replacements' bench.
ABSTRACT During inflammation, neutrophil capture by vascular endothelial cells is dependent on L-selectin and (32-integrin adhesion receptors. One of us (S.LS.) previously demonstrated that homotypic neutrophil aggregation is analogous to this process in that it is also mediated by these receptors, thus providing a model for studying the dynamics of neutrophil adhesion. In the present work, we set out to confirm the hypothesis that cell-cell adhesion via selectins serves to increase the lifetimes of neutrophil doublets formed through shear-induced two-body collisions. In turn, this would facilitate the engagement of more stable /32-integrin bonds and thus increase the two-body collision efficiency (fraction of collisions resulting in the formation of nonseparating doublets). To this end, suspensions of unstimulated neutrophils were subjected to a uniform shear field in a transparent counter-rotating cone and plate rheoscope, and the formation of doublets and growth of aggregates recorded using high-speed videomicroscopy. The dependence of neutrophil doublet lifetime and two-body collision-capture efficiency on shear rate, G, from 14 to 220 s-1 was investigated. Bond formation during a two-body collision was indicated by doublets rotating well past the orientation predicted for break-up of doublets of inert spheres. A striking dependence of doublet lifetime on shear rate was observed. At low shear (G = 14 s-1), no collision capture occurred, and doublet lifetimes were no different from those of neutrophils pretreated with a blocking antibody to L-selectin, or in Ca++-depleted EDTA buffers. At G - 66 s-1, doublet lifetimes increased, with increasing G reaching values twice those for the L-selectin-blocked controls. This correlated with capture efficiencies in excess of 20%, and, at G - 110 s-1, led to the rapid formation of large aggregates, and this in the absence of exogenous chemotactic stimuli. Moreover, the aggregates almost completely broke up when the shear rate was reduced below 66 s-1. Partial inhibition of aggregate formation was achieved by blocking 32-integrin receptors with antibody. By direct observation of the shear-induced interactions between neutrophils, these data reveal that steady application of a threshold level of shear rate is sufficient to support homotypic neutrophil aggregation.
[Reference]
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[Author Affiliation]
Harry L. Goldsmith,* T. Alexander Quinn,* Gillian Drury,* Constantina Spanos,* Fiona A. McIntosh,* and Scott I. Simont
*McGill University Medical Clinic, Montreal General Hospital Research Institute, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1A4, Canada, and tDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, California 95616-5294 USA
[Author Affiliation]
Received for publication 5 April 2001 and in final form 21 June 2001. Address reprint requests to Harry L. Goldsmith, University Medical Clinic, Montreal General Hospital, 1650 Cedar Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1A4, Canada. Tel.: 514-937-6011 x2920; Fax: 514-937-6961; E-mail: harry.goldsmith@mcgill.ca.
ANNA CHAPMAN
Chapman, 28, is the daughter of a Russian diplomat. Photos of the redhead that showcased her social life and travels were splashed all over the tabloids, and she was branded a femme fatale.
Her attorney, Robert Baum, said she had visited the U.S. on and off since 2005 before settling in the U.S. Previously, she had lived for seven years in the United Kingdom after marrying an Englishman. Chapman is her married name; she's now divorced. Her maiden name is Kushchenko.
Prosecutors say Chapman used a specially configured laptop computer to transmit messages to another computer of an unnamed Russian official.
She was arrested at a New York Police Department precinct after turning in a fake passport an undercover FBI agent had given to her. She pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign country.
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TRACEY LEE ANN FOLEY
Foley, 47, lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is married to Donald Howard Heathfield. The couple has two sons, Tim Foley, 20, a student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and Alex Foley, 16, a student at the International School of Boston.
Foley was a real estate agent who showed houses in the Boston area. She worked on a contract basis for the real estate brokerage Redfin.
She pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign country. Her real name is Elena Vavilova.
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DONALD HOWARD HEATHFIELD
Heathfield, 49, lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is married to Tracey Lee Ann Foley. He graduated from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government with a master's in public administration in 2000.
Heathfield worked as a sales consultant at Global Partners Inc., a Cambridge-based international management consulting firm. He also had his own consulting company, Future Map Strategic Advisory Services LLC. Prosecutors said Heathfield met in 2004 with an employee of the U.S. government to discuss nuclear weapons research. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign country. His real name is Andrey Bezrukov.
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JUAN LAZARO
Lazaro, 66, told people for decades that he was born in Uruguay and was a Peruvian citizen, but he is actually Russian and his real name is Mikhail Vasenkov. He studied at the New School for Social Research, now called The New School, a university in Manhattan. He taught a class on Latin American and Caribbean politics at Baruch College, also in Manhattan, for a short time in 2008.
An agent for Russia for years, Lazaro brought his wife, Vicky Pelaez, into the conspiracy by having her pass letters to the Russian intelligence service on his behalf. The couple's home in Yonkers, New York, was also paid for by Russian intelligence. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign country.
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CHRISTOPHER METSOS
Metsos is the suspected paymaster for the U.S. spy ring. He was arrested June 29 in Cyprus on an Interpol warrant as he tried to board a flight for Budapest, Hungary. Released on $33,000 bail a day later, he promptly disappeared and is now a fugitive. Canadian authorities said he was traveling as a 54-year-old tourist on a Canadian passport that stole the identity of a boy who died at age 5. He has been charged with conspiring to act as a foreign agent and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Authorities have not released any other identity for him.
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PATRICIA MILLS
Mills, 36, is the assumed name for Natalia Pereverzeva, living in the United States with Mikhail Kutsik, who used the name Michael Zottoli. Like Kutsik, she held a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Washington, obtained in 2006.
Neighbors describe the two as a smiling, attractive couple raising a young son and toddler in an Arlington, Virgina, high-rise apartment.
They moved to northern Virginia last year from Seattle. Prosecutors have said they are making arrangements to send the children home to Russia. She pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign country.
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RICHARD MURPHY
Murphy, with his wife, Cynthia, are the parents of two daughters, Kate, 11, and Lisa, 9. The family, who lived in a suburban neighborhood in Montclair, New Jersey, had been in the U.S. since the 1990s.
Neighbors say Richard, 43, mostly stayed home with the children, caring for them and the home, while his wife worked a well-paying job in New York City. Born Vladimir Guryev, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign country.
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CYNTHIA MURPHY
Married to Richard Murphy, the couple lived in a suburban neighborhood in Montclair with their daughters, Kate, 11, and Lisa, 9. The family had been in the U.S. since the 1990s.
Concealing her true name _ Lydia Guryev _ the 39-year-old worked for Morea Financial Services, a lower Manhattan-based accounting firm that offered tax advice, earning $135,000 a year, and had recently earned her MBA.
Prosecutors said one of her assignments had been to network with Columbia University students.
She pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign country.
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VICKY PELAEZ
Married to Juan Lazaro, Pelaez, 55, was born in Peru. She worked in New York City as a columnist for one of the United States' best-known Spanish-language newspapers, El Diario La Prensa. She had come to the U.S. after being briefly kidnapped by a leftist guerrilla group in Peru in 1984.
Pelaez lived under her real name and was an American citizen, but now plans to return to Peru after a brief stay in Russia, according to her attorney.
The couple have a teen son, Juan Lazaro Jr., a gifted pianist. Pelaez also has a 38-year-old son from a previous marriage.
She pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign country. Pelaez is her real name.
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MIKHAIL SEMENKO
Semenko of Arlington, Virginia, worked at the Travel All Russia travel agency in Arlington leading up to his arrest. Semenko attended Amur State University on Russia's border with China, where he was enrolled in a Chinese studies program. It was there he met Slava Shirokov, owner of the travel agency that eventually employed Semenko. After arriving in the U.S., he received a graduate degree from Seton Hall University in New Jersey. Shirokov said Semenko liked to attend functions at the Russian embassy and talked about landing a job in international relations. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign country. Semenko is his real name.
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MICHAEL ZOTTOLI
Zottoli, 41, is the assumed name for Mikhail Kutsik, who was living as part of a married couple with Natalia Pereverzeva, purporting to be Patricia Mills. In Seattle, he worked at Premier Global Services, Inc., a telecommunications firm, from 2007 to 2009. Zottoli earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Washington in 2006. He and Mills moved to northern Virginia last year. After his arrest, he and his purported wife admitted that Zottoli and Mills were assumed names and provided their real names, which had not been known at the time of their arrest. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign country. The couple have two young children.
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Associated Press writers Matthew Barakat in Alexandria, Virginia, Deepti Hajela in New York, Denise Lavoie in Boston and Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, New Jersey, contributed to this report.
Democrats plan to say the tea party and Republicans are working from the same playbook and neither should be rewarded during November's midterm elections.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine is planning Wednesday to link Republicans with the tea party activists. DNC sources say the party's strategy is to paint the election as between Democrats and a joint GOP-tea party plan for the country. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the official launch.
Democrats plan to cite tea party activists' statements and GOP support, labeling it as a "Republican-Tea Party Contract With America." That is a play on the 1994 GOP Contract With America that helped Republicans win control of the House.
Police arrested a Nitro man accused of beating his wife at theirapartment after she told him she was leaving him.
Nitro Patrolman D.K. Richardson responded to the Main Avenueapartment Wednesday after a concerned neighbor called for help,according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Magistrate Court.
When Richardson arrived at the complex, a man on the second floorof the apartment building was waving and gesturing to an apartmenton the first floor from which the officer could hear a man and womanscreaming at each other, police say.
The patrolman had approached the apartment's open front door andstarted to identify himself when a woman ran out.
She was crying, and blood from a cut on her nose was running downher face, the complaint stated.
The officer also noticed the hair on the back of her head was wetwith blood.
The woman, identified as Cindy Meadows, told police that herhusband of a year and a half, 25-year-old Ryan Scott Meadows, hadbeat her up and was still in the apartment.
Richardson found Ryan Meadows in the living room of the apartmentand asked him what happened. Meadows told the patrolman he and hiswife were arguing because she had returned from a week away and toldhim she was going to leave him, the complaint stated.
The husband told police the argument lasted about an hour and ahalf.
The woman told police that he became angry and then grabbed herand threw her around, police say. She also said he held her down andboth struck and kicked her several times, the complaint stated.
She said she managed to get away and ran outside, but he was ableto catch up to her and drag her back to the apartment, the reportstated.
A man in the upstairs apartment said the couple's argument awokehim, so he called police.
The man told police when he looked out his window he could seethe husband throwing the wife around, according to the report.
The man told the investigators he heard the man tell his wife hewas going to get her for leaving him, the complaint stated.
The officer noted blood on the back of the husband's hand butfound no injury on his body, according to the report.
Ryan Meadows was arrested and charged with domestic battery.
Contact writer Ashley B. Craig at ashley.craig@dailymail.com or304-348-4850.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Long nights of backroom wrangling and alast-minute tangle produced a deal Saturday that opens a small doorto international talks about what comes "beyond Kyoto" as the worldgrapples with the threat of global warming.
U.S. envoys to a U.N. conference, allied with some developingcountries, including oil producers, blocked any more ambitious effortto cap fossil-fuel emissions after reductions mandated by the KyotoProtocol, the climate pact rejected by President Bush, expire in2012.
Saturday's agreement was not a "foothold," said negotiator MichaelZammit Cutajar, a Maltese diplomat. "It's a finger-hold, like hangingon by your nails."
What the annual climate conference approved was a "seminar" nextMay, as proposed by the European Union, but where governments canonly informally raise issues, including next steps on control ofcarbon dioxide and other emissions blamed for warming.
The United States avoided any commitment to negotiate mandatoryreductions in emissions, the idea Bush rejected in 2001 when herenounced Kyoto. Bush said Kyoto would harm the U.S. economy andcomplained that China, India and other poor but industrializingnations were exempt from the 1997 pact's short-term goals.
If the Europeans or others at next year's seminar launchdiscussions about a future treaty framework, U.S. diplomats willlikely ignore them. "We think it's premature," the U.S. delegationhead, Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky, said last week.
AP
Legislation aimed at raising wages
In the last year, state representatives Jarrett Barrios and Marie St. Fleur have walked picket lines at human service agencies and rallied on behalf of health care providers and social workers.
Last week, the representatives took the battle to the State House, testifying in a hearing on a series of bills aimed at increasing the wages of some of the state's lowest-paid workers.
"When people decide to work in human services, they should not be forced to take a vow of poverty," St. Fleur said, speaking before the Joint Committee on Commerce and Labor.
St. Fleur testified on behalf of House bill 2469, which would "provide a slight salary increase that would put workers above the poverty level," she said.
"They're nurses aids, health care workers. They do the jobs nobody else wants to do. I think it's time we value that work the same as we value the work of teachers or firefighters.
"It's time we take a bold step and pay them a semblance of what they're worth."
The legislation would raise the minimum wages paid to workers contracted by the state's Department of Human Services -- including child care workers, and people who work with the elderly and mentally ill.
"What [the legislation] basically does is restore all those cost of living increases that people didn't get in the last 11 years," said Barrios, the lead sponsor of the bill.
The new wage would be set at $11 an hour.
"It's not a lot," he said, "but it's the least we can do to ensure that we provide quality service."
Testifying at the hearing were state lawmakers, union activists and worker advocates pushing for passage of several bills aimed at increasing wages for low income workers.
Drawing widespread support was Senate Bill 1812, An Act Maintaining the Value of the Minimum Wage, sponsored by Senate President Thomas Birmingham, which would automatically raise the wage level in accordance with changes to the Consumer Price Index.
"We index our salaries (to the CPI)," noted Lynn state Rep. Thomas McGee. "I see no reason why the hardest working people should not have a wage that can help support their families."
Also testifying on behalf of an increased minimum wage were two low-wage workers from Worcester, who spoke through an interpreter provided by Neighbor to Neighbor, a Worcester-based community organizing group.
Factory worker Felicita Rivera, a widow who works in a plastics factory, started her job 13 years ago earning $4.75 an hour. Now, she earns just $6.75 an hour.
"My children ask me for new shoes and new clothes," she testified. I can't support them."
Nelida Cotto, who works at a laundromat and supports three children on $7.30 an hour, says she has lobbied unsuccessfully for cost of living increases.
"Each time I ask for an increase in pay, I only receive an increase in work," she said.
State Rep. Byron Rushing's House Bill 2119 would establish a committee to investigate the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization on state laws.
The intervention of laws enacted by NAFTA and the WTO became a hot issue for Massachusetts after a law Rushing filed barring the state from investing in businesses that trade with Burma was successfully challenged in court by the North American Free Trade Council.
"Massachusetts and other states have found themselves subject to challenges to laws on their books," Rushing said. "We have no defense because of international law."
Photo (Jarrett Barrios)
B. in Red Deer, Alta. Ed. at Univ. of Calgary (B.A. - Economics and Political Science). Political Career: First elected to the Alta. Leg. g.e. 1993. Re-elected g.e. 1997 and 2001. Leg. Sec. to the Premier, resp. for Economic Development. Min. without Portfolio (Economic Development and Tourism), Dec. 21, 1994 to Jun. 1, 1995. Min. of Economic Development and Tourism, Jun. 1, 1995 to Jun. 1996. Appt'd: Min. of Labour and Min. resp. for Labour Relations Bd., Workers' Comp. Bd., Professions and Occupations, and Occupational Health and Safety, Jun. 1996; reappt'd Mar. 26, 1997 and Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy added Mar. 26, 1997; Min. of Gaming, May 25, 1999 and Min. of Energy, Mar. 15, 2001. Private Career: Former owner of a number of companies in the energy and retail sectors. Rec'd: TUXIS Doug Beechey Award and Univ. of Calgary Venture Development Janet Koper Award. Party: P.C. Address: Leg. Office: 404 Legislature Bldg., Edmonton, Alta., T5K 2B6, (780)427-3740 Fax: (780)422-0195 Riding Office: 205, 2004 - 14 St. N.W., Calgary, Alta., T2M 3N3, (403)216-5436, Fax: (403)216-5438; Email: calgary.varsity@assembly.ab.ca.
SMITH, HON. MURRAY D., B.A. (CalgaryVarsity) Ministre de l'�nergie. N� � Red Deer, Alta. Fit ses �tudes � l'Univ. de Calgary (B.A. - sciences politiques et �conomie politique). Carri�re politique: �lu pour la premi�re fois � la l�gis. de l'Alta. �.g. 1993. R��lu �.g. 1997 et 2001. Sec. l�gis. au Premier ministre, resp. du D�veloppement �conomique. Min. sans portefeuille (D�veloppement �conomique et Tourisme) du 21 d�c. 1994 au 1er juin 1995. Min. du d�veloppement �conomique et du Tourisme du 1er juin 1995 � juin 1996. Nomm�: min. du Travail et min. resp. du Conseil des Relations du travail, Commission des accidents du travail, des Professions et des m�tiers, de la Sant� et la s�curit� au travail en juin 1996; renomm� le 26 mars 1997 et la Libert� d'information et la Protection de la vie priv�e en mars 1997; min. des Jeux de chance le 25 mai 1999 et min. de l'�nergie le 15 mars 2001. Carri�re priv�e: Ancien propri�taire d'un nombre d'entreprises d'�nergie et de d�tail. Re�u: Prix Doug Beechey de TUXIS et Prix Janet Koper de d�veloppement � risques de l'Univ. de Calgary. Parti pol.: P.C. Adresse: Bureau L�g.: 404 �difice de la L�gislature, Edmonton, Alta., T5K 2B6, (780)427-3740, Fax: (780)422-0195 Bureau Circonscription: 205, 2004 - 14e rue Nord-Ouest, Calgary, Alta., T2M 3N3, (403)216-5436, Fax: (403)216-5438; Courriel : calgary.varsity@assembly.ab.ca.
SEOUL South Korea's rival opposition leaders have agreed toshare power, including equal stakes in a future Cabinet, no matterwhich of them becomes their party's presidential candidate this fall,Kim Dae Jung and Kim Young Sam said in separate interviews over thelast two days.
The competition of the two Kims, a subject of major importancein Korea's drive toward direct presidential elections, was describedby both contenders as under control after a series of meetings overthe last six weeks.
Both candidates said their agreement to share ministerial postsbetween their separate factions dates back to last December, wellbefore the tumultuous events of June ended in government acceptanceof their demand for direct elections.
Seoul newspapers and political observers give the oppositionReunification Democratic Party a serious chance of winning such adirect election, which would be the first popular balloting forpresident since Kim Dae Jung narrowly lost in 1971.
But Kim Dae Jung, in an interview Tuesday, said there arereports that some military leaders, and perhaps President Chun DooHwan, are not reconciled to the drive toward direct elections, whichChun steadfastly opposed before conceding to opposition pressure June29.
"The one thing that is unclear is Chun's attitude," he said. "Weare watching his attitude with concern."
A senior aide to Chun said in a separate interview Wednesdaythat the president supports the June 29 reforms announced by Roh TaeWoo, presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Justice Party.But the aide acknowledged there had been "no prior discussion" aboutthe measures between Chun and Roh, who is one of the president'sclosest associates.
The aide said Roh believed "there were some elements in theruling party and government" that opposed his two most controversialproposals, direct election of the president and restoration ofpolitical rights to Kim Dae Jung after years of imprisonment andhouse arrest.
The aide seemed to signal a campaign that will include someharsh charges against the opposition.
He manages other people's fun
It's a long way from the Canadian Prairie to the Golden State, but that's where the winds have taken Lawrence P. Howorth. Born and raised on a farm near Whitewood, Saskatchewan, Howorth is today chief operating and financial officer of Event411.com, based in Marina del Rey, California.
The company's web site (www.event411.com) offers a unique service that allows organizations and individuals to plan and manage events anything from a birthday party to a multinational's AGM. Visitors to Event411.com can create free personalized web pages with tools such as an RSVP manager, gift registry and digital photo album. Organizations can license the company's planning tools to help them manage their delegate lists, track spending, communicate with guests, etc.
Becoming an Internet pioneer was a logical step for the 49-year-old CA. While the start of Howorth's career was conventional enough (he did stints at the Royal Bank and Peat Marwick in Saskatoon), things took a turn in 1979 when he joined oil and mining giant Smith International in Edmonton. Howorth began to look beyond audit and tax to operations and management. "I was managing the Canadian operations and got very interested in that side of life."
In 1983, Howorth headed to Newport Beach, CA, where he was involved in Smith's activities in some 28 countries. Four years later he moved to Learning Tree International, a high-tech training firm, and eventually headed its Asian operations. "I've always had a bent for the international it comes from growing up in Saskatchewan," he quips.
By the early 1990s, Howorth was interested in how the Internet could be used as a marketing and communications tool, and in 1995 he cofounded Softbank Interactive Marketing, the company that sold the first $16 million of advertising space on Yahoo!, the popular web search engine.
Bringing his Net savvy and direct-marketing skills, Howorth joined Event411.com in 1998; it had just launched Wedding411.com and Barmitzvah411.com, and he knew they were just the start. "I came on to build a company around the technology," he says. The result is a major site that's looking to grab a piece of the lucrative events industry.
Howorth says the company takes up so much of his time that he's not planning many personal events, apart from occasionally strapping on the in-line skates for a little Long Beach-style recreation. But one activity that, for Howorth, combines business with pleasure is public speaking, and he has delivered several keynote speeches on e-commerce. "Put me in front of a crowd and I'll talk for hours about the Internet," he says. Given Howorth's track record, chances are that his audiences don't mind a bit.
Dan Bortolotti
Meretricious marital matters
"Harvey," 80, and "Ethel", 76, clients of Kathy Black, a tax specialist at our firm, had been living together for 10 years. In 1993, when marital status changed to include common-law relationships, they were advised to report as married. Ethel asked to speak to Kathy privately; she wanted a definition of common-law. Kathy explained it was a 12-month cohabitation in a conjugal relationship. Ethel asked for a definition of conjugal, so Kathy looked one up: "There must be something more than mere meretricious intercourse. Kathy tried to be discreet, but Ethel kept getting more specific. Finally, she looked at Kathy and said, "Oh no, dear, I'm just his housekeeper." She left and Harvey came in. Kathy explained that Ethel did not see them as having a conjugal relationship, that she was his housekeeper. He smiled, winked and replied, "Whatever, dear." From Doug Holmes, CA, Alliston, Ont.
Walgreen Co. is one of the first retailers to use wireless "smart"chips to track in-store displays to determine whether the promotionsentice shoppers to buy merchandise.
"Today, there's no other way to track this information, other thansending a human being into Walgreen's 5,200 stores," said DonWhetstone, director of merchandise planning and research for theDeerfield-based drugstore giant.
The smart chips, called radio frequency identification, or RFIDtags, are embedded into the displays during manufacturing. The chips'signals are read by small receivers placed in store ceilings.
A hub network "polls" the receivers a few times each day. The hubasks the readers a series of questions: Are the displays set up inthe store? If so, where? What time was a display put up or takendown? Have the displays been moved since the last poll?
The company that supplies the tracking system, Deerfield-basedGoliath Solutions, receives the data and analyzes it along with otherdata it gets from Walgreens, such as sales at each store and thesales results from each item associated with each display in eachstore.
Walgreen executives access the analysis through a secure Web site.Nearly 300 Walgreens stores have the technology, and the entireWalgreens chain is scheduled to get it next year.
Whetstone watches the results to detect a spike in sales. That canbe a tipoff that a display is set up at just the right point in astore to catch a shopper's eye.
"I can give insight to stores that haven't yet put up thedisplays, and they can use the information to add incremental profitto the bottom line," Whetstone said.
The return on investment is already positive for the RFID system,which Goliath started installing three years ago.
"It's the only use of RFID I've seen that has a quick return oninvestment for manufacturers as well as for us," Whetstone said.
The manufacturers are the consumer-product companies that aredesigning the displays and placing their merchandise inside them.Fifteen vendors that represent major drug-store products, includingcosmetics, candy and over-the-counter drugs, are putting the tags ontheir displays. Neither Walgreen Co. nor its suppliers put RFID tagsinside the merchandise on Walgreens store shelves.
So far, 1,000 displays have been tracked, said Bob Michelson, CEOof Goliath Solutions.
Goliath Solutions has 36 full-time employees and 18 part-time, butit's still what Michelson calls an "early stage" company.
The RFID tracking has unveiled a few surprises. Last year's fluseason showed that shoppers would buy cold and cough drops at thefront of the store as an "impulse" buy, without first seeking themout.
"Normally, you'd think of a flu remedy as a 'planned' purchase,"Michelson said.
The insight led Walgreen executives to e-mail store managers toput the display at the front of the store rather than near the cough-and-cold aisle.
The next step will be the ability to order new displays to beshipped to more stores when the RFID system reports a big spike insales of a specific product.
"We're building the capability to do that," Michelson said.
David Pinto, editor of Chain Drug Review magazine, said Walgreen'suse of RFID inside displays is "hugely innovative" because it'simportant that the retailer figure out which of its many displaysactually work.
e-mail: sguy@suntimes.com
A U.S. woman accused of killing her husband during a hunting trip in eastern Canada has been denied bail.
Mary Beth Harshbarger shot and killed Mark Harshbarger while the two were hunting in central Newfoundland in 2006. She told police she mistook her husband for a bear and shot him accidentally.
Judge Timothy Chalker handed down his decision Friday in a Grand Falls-Windsor provincial courtroom following a two-day bail hearing.
Harshbarger surrendered to Canadian authorities after a lengthy court battle against extradition.
She is scheduled to appear in court next Thursday to enter a plea.
Iraqi soldiers stand behind suspected insurgents who were detained in an early morning raid, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006, in Baqouba, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq. The Desert Lion Brigade of the Iraqi Army raided multiple houses Tuesday morning arresting 23 suspected insurgents, commander of the Brigade, Col. Saman Talabani said. (AP Photo/Mohammed Adnan)
Shiite leaders have begun talks with Sunni and Kurdish politicians on a national unity government, proposing four candidates to be the country's next prime minister, a Shiite official said Wednesday.
The talks come amid a spate of sectarian violence that threatens to disrupt the forming of the new government.
A prominent Sunni Arab cleric, Karim Jassim Mohammed, 39, was shot dead Wednesday by police at a checkpoint heading into the northern city of Samarra, said police Capt. Laith Mohammed. A policeman was also gunned down in Baghdad's Sadr City, police said.
An Iraqi television journalist, Mahmoud Zaal, was killed Tuesday while filming intense fighting between U.S. forces and insurgents in the volatile western city of Ramadi, said Thaer Ahmed, deputy director of the Baghdad television station where Zaal worked. The circumstances surrounding his death were not immediately clear.
No details were immediately available from the U.S. military.
The United Iraqi Alliance, the main Shiite bloc in the parliament, started the talks on the new government Tuesday with the Iraqi Accordance Front, a group of prominent Sunni Arab parties, said Shiite lawmaker Baha al-Aaraji.
The alliance suggested four nominees to be the next prime minister in the government to be announced at the end of the negotiations, which could take weeks, said al-Aaraji, a supporter of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and a member of a seven-man committee forming Shiite political policy.
The four include the current premier, Ibrahim al-Jaafari; Adil Abdul-Mahdi of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq; nuclear physicist Hussein al-Shahrastani; and Nadim al-Jabiri of the Fadhila party, a religious group whose spiritual leader is al-Sadr's late father, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr.
Ali al-Adeeb, a senior official from al-Jaafari's Dawa Party, warned against choosing a prime minister who will not listen to the views of other government members.
"We don't want a prime ministerial candidate who decides policies on his own but rather sticks to the alliance's declared policies," said al-Adeeb.
Shiite leaders said the talks with Sunnis have not yet delved into key Sunni concerns, such as provisions in the new constitution to transform Iraq into a federal state and ban key Baathists from government jobs.
Iraq's most powerful Shiite politician, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, has said the Shiites would oppose major concessions on some key Sunni demands.
But Abbas al-Bayati, a Shiite Turkoman member of the Shiite alliance, said his bloc would listen to the Sunni concerns. "We suspect there are demands behind all the criticism," al-Bayati said.
The government negotiations follow heightened tensions in northern Baghdad, particularly the mainly Sunni Arab neighborhood of Toubji, where dozens of armed men dressed in Interior Ministry police uniforms killed three Sunni males and abducted more than 20 on Monday.
Sunni religious and political leaders have blamed Shiite-backed security services for the incident, demanding government action and urging Sunnis to defend themselves against future attacks.
There was no word, meanwhile, on the fate of two male German engineers kidnapped Tuesday near Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, by gunmen wearing military uniforms.
The fate of American journalist Jill Carroll, who was kidnapped Jan. 7 in Baghdad, also remains unknown. Carroll's kidnappers have demanded U.S. forces release all Iraqi women in their custody or they will kill the 28-year-old American. Iraq's Justice Ministry, which coordinates with the Americans on releases, said six of the nine women in detention would be freed this week, possibly Thursday.
The U.S. military said the cases of several female Iraqi detainees had been reviewed, adding that a batch of Iraqis in military custody will soon be freed, according to Lt. Col. Guy Rudisill, spokesman for American detainee operations.
Iraqi soldiers stand behind suspected insurgents who were detained in an early morning raid, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006, in Baqouba, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq. The Desert Lion Brigade of the Iraqi Army raided multiple houses Tuesday morning arresting 23 suspected insurgents, commander of the Brigade, Col. Saman Talabani said. (AP Photo/Mohammed Adnan)
Shiite leaders have begun talks with Sunni and Kurdish politicians on a national unity government, proposing four candidates to be the country's next prime minister, a Shiite official said Wednesday.
The talks come amid a spate of sectarian violence that threatens to disrupt the forming of the new government.
A prominent Sunni Arab cleric, Karim Jassim Mohammed, 39, was shot dead Wednesday by police at a checkpoint heading into the northern city of Samarra, said police Capt. Laith Mohammed. A policeman was also gunned down in Baghdad's Sadr City, police said.
An Iraqi television journalist, Mahmoud Zaal, was killed Tuesday while filming intense fighting between U.S. forces and insurgents in the volatile western city of Ramadi, said Thaer Ahmed, deputy director of the Baghdad television station where Zaal worked. The circumstances surrounding his death were not immediately clear.
No details were immediately available from the U.S. military.
The United Iraqi Alliance, the main Shiite bloc in the parliament, started the talks on the new government Tuesday with the Iraqi Accordance Front, a group of prominent Sunni Arab parties, said Shiite lawmaker Baha al-Aaraji.
The alliance suggested four nominees to be the next prime minister in the government to be announced at the end of the negotiations, which could take weeks, said al-Aaraji, a supporter of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and a member of a seven-man committee forming Shiite political policy.
The four include the current premier, Ibrahim al-Jaafari; Adil Abdul-Mahdi of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq; nuclear physicist Hussein al-Shahrastani; and Nadim al-Jabiri of the Fadhila party, a religious group whose spiritual leader is al-Sadr's late father, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr.
Ali al-Adeeb, a senior official from al-Jaafari's Dawa Party, warned against choosing a prime minister who will not listen to the views of other government members.
"We don't want a prime ministerial candidate who decides policies on his own but rather sticks to the alliance's declared policies," said al-Adeeb.
Shiite leaders said the talks with Sunnis have not yet delved into key Sunni concerns, such as provisions in the new constitution to transform Iraq into a federal state and ban key Baathists from government jobs.
Iraq's most powerful Shiite politician, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, has said the Shiites would oppose major concessions on some key Sunni demands.
But Abbas al-Bayati, a Shiite Turkoman member of the Shiite alliance, said his bloc would listen to the Sunni concerns. "We suspect there are demands behind all the criticism," al-Bayati said.
The government negotiations follow heightened tensions in northern Baghdad, particularly the mainly Sunni Arab neighborhood of Toubji, where dozens of armed men dressed in Interior Ministry police uniforms killed three Sunni males and abducted more than 20 on Monday.
Sunni religious and political leaders have blamed Shiite-backed security services for the incident, demanding government action and urging Sunnis to defend themselves against future attacks.
There was no word, meanwhile, on the fate of two male German engineers kidnapped Tuesday near Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, by gunmen wearing military uniforms.
The fate of American journalist Jill Carroll, who was kidnapped Jan. 7 in Baghdad, also remains unknown. Carroll's kidnappers have demanded U.S. forces release all Iraqi women in their custody or they will kill the 28-year-old American. Iraq's Justice Ministry, which coordinates with the Americans on releases, said six of the nine women in detention would be freed this week, possibly Thursday.
The U.S. military said the cases of several female Iraqi detainees had been reviewed, adding that a batch of Iraqis in military custody will soon be freed, according to Lt. Col. Guy Rudisill, spokesman for American detainee operations.
Author Ayn Rand always loved New York. But it was her family inChicago who "literally saved her life," says Rand's biographer,Barbara Branden, in town to promote The Passion of Ayn Rand.
"If they had not written to her, she would not have gotten outof Russia in 1926," says Branden, who hunted down Rand's real name -Alice Rosenbaum - after the author's death.
Branden began her research here by trying to call everyone inthe Chicago phonebook named Portnoy, the name of some of Rand'srelations.
…
4U2U Brands, Richmond, Va., maker of Fruit 66, has named Brian Kleinsmith and Paul Moffet as its two new sales vice …
Byline: LINDA TRISCHITTA Staff writer
Ballston Spa A village resident who is often the sole constituent and gadfly at trustee meetings was informed last week that he would not be reappointed to the Ballston Spa Historic District Commission.
Kim Cooke served 16 years with the commission since its founding, most recently as chairman, and also owns Spa Window and Remodeling on Milton Avenue. Paul Brown, an attorney with a private practice who is also Milton town attorney and chairman of the Milton GOP, was appointed to the commission by village Mayor John P. Romano.
``It's just shabby treatment,'' said Cooke about a letter dated April 4 from Romano …
Antonini to Be CEO At USAA Federal
Jack M. Antonini will become president and chief executive of USAA Federal Savings Bank, San Antonio, on Sept. 1, replacing Charles E. Bishop, who has held the office since July 1988.
Mr. …
WASHINGTON - President Bush has chosen a 25-year intelligence veteran, retired Vice Adm. Mike McConnell, to be the country's second national intelligence director as he reshapes national security strategy with two years left in his presidency.
The current director, career diplomat John Negroponte, will move into the long-vacant job as top deputy to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The nominations were expected to be announced Friday by Bush, said a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision was not yet public.
The moves come as the White House considers a new direction in Iraq, where a quick invasion has devolved …
Several members of the 13-member evaluation commission, including the head of the delegation, Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco -- arrived at O'Hare Airport by late morning, welcomed by a group of city ambassadors, including Mayor Daley.
But by 5 p.m., after the rest of the evaluation team arrived, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich had been indicted on corruption charges in a downtown federal courthouse.
As caravans of black Chevy Suburbans ferried the 13-member evaluation team to …
BYLINE: Grant Winter
JOHANNESBURG: Charl Schwartzel arrives at Pearl Valley today knowing that victory in this week's South African Open will make 2009 his best year yet in professional golf.
It seems as if the sweet-swinging professional has been around for many years, but the truth is that he is only 25. It's just that he's packed plenty of success into his career since joining the paid ranks as an 18-year-old in 2002.
Three European Tour victories have fallen into his lap, and he has topped the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit three times in his relatively brief spell as a pro - in 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07.
And he has a fighting chance …
Byline: Joe Mahoney Staff writer
A 44-year-old electronics expert with ties to at least two youth groups is facing felony charges of sexually abusing a teenage boy over the last two years and investigators are trying to determine whether he has molested other youths, authorities said Wednesday.
The suspect, James R. Lewis, of 2080 Central Ave., was arrested at his home late Tuesday on two counts of second-degree sodomy and one count each of third-degree sodomy, third-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.
Lewis, a digital circuits specialist for the General Electric Research and Development Center in Niskayuna, made national news …
Byline: PAUL M. BARRETT Wall Street Journal
William Duker seemed to have it all.
His New York City law practice made him a millionaire by age 40. Known early in his career for staying at modest motels and wearing the same drab tie for days running, the dockworker's son more recently bought a luxurious vacation home in Miami and kept a yacht in Newport, R.I.
Then, last month, the 43-year-old Duker, whose hometown is Albany and who maintains a home at 6 Marion Ave. in Albany, pleaded guilty to falsely inflating legal bills to the federal government.
The plea to four felony counts caused gloating in some legal circles because Duker had fancied himself a critic of law-firm fraud. In fact, he committed his own deceit while preparing a government case several years ago that accused a prominent New York law firm of malpractice in representing a failed savings-and-loan association.
People who know Duker say he certainly didn't need the extra $1.4 million his small firm, which maintains an office in Albany but which primarily operated in New York City, illegally gained from 1990 to 1993. At the time, the firm was part of a well-compensated team hired by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to seek damages from junk-bond king Michael Milken and his investment bank, Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc.
From 1990 through 1996, Duker personally took home between $1 million and $5 million a year, court documents state.
But he wasn't satisfied. Duker was frustrated that, as he saw it, his scrappy 25-lawyer firm was doing the same quality work as the team leader, the august New York law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, while being paid much less, according to some people who know him. He also felt that some of his subordinates were being excessively cautious in billing for their time, says his criminal-defense …
