LONDON (AP) — Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand will not comment on allegations that England captain John Terry racially abused him until the Football Association completes its investigation into the case.
"I have very strong feelings on the matter," Ferdinand said Monday in a statement issued by QPR. "But in the interests of fairness and not wishing to prejudice what I am sure will be a very thorough enquiry by the FA, …
Ravshan Irmatov and Viktor Kassai will referee the World Cup semifinals, FIFA said on Monday.
Uzbekistan's Irmatov will take charge of the Netherlands-Uruguay match at Cape Town on Tuesday for his fifth match of the finals.
The 32-year-old Irmatov also refereed the Germany-Argentina quarterfinal on Saturday, and the opening match between South Africa and Mexico. He has yet to issue a red card or award a penalty in the tournament.
Kassai will officiate the Germany-Spain match at Durban on Wednesday for his fourth assignment.
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On Saturday night, the Chicago Urban League ushered in The Year of the Woman at their 45th Annual Golden Fellowship Dinner at the Hilton Chicago. The Chicago Urban League continued their four-decade legacy of bringing more than 1,700 of Chicago's business, civic, religious, political and educational leaders, philanthropic organizations and private citizens together for raising money at Saturday night's star-studded affair.
This year's gala organizers have set their goal of raising $1.2 million. The Year of the Woman gala was such a joyous and triumphant occasion for the League as they welcomed their new president & CEO, Cheryle Jackson. She is the first woman to lead the civic …
In biblical Bethlehem, Santa makes his rounds in cool shades.
The dark sunglasses are a Palestinian addition to Santa's traditional garb of red suit and black boots, meant to ensure that children in the tiny, tight-knit Christian community in Jesus' traditional birthplace don't recognize the man bringing them presents.
Each year, volunteer Santas fan out across Bethlehem and the nearby West Bank Christian communities of Beit Jalla and Beit Sahour to deliver presents to the homes of children in the community. And for a change after years of conflict, there is a spirit of optimism, with tourism boosted by Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking efforts.
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A look ahead to Monday's opening day of the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park:
WEATHER: Forecast is for mostly sunny skies and a high of 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), similar for Tuesday.
ATTENDANCE: organizers will be aiming to surpass last year's record total attendance of 605,735 for the championship, which broke the previous mark by more than 50,000.
Key men's matches: Andreas Seppi, Italy, vs. Roger Federer (2), Switzerland; Andrea Stoppini, Italy, vs. Novak Djokovic (3), Serbia; …
NEW YORK A fuming federal judge Tuesday declared Yonkers "thenational symbol of defiance to civil rights" and imposed potentiallybankrupting contempt fines because of the city's defiance of ahousing desegregation order.
U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand also suggested that New YorkGov. Mario M. Cuomo remove recalcitrant city council members. Hesaid "the straw that broke the camel's back" was their 4-3 voteMonday against the court-ordered plan to build 800 middle-incomehousing units in mostly white areas.
Sand fined Yonkers $100 for the first day of his contempt rulingwas in effect, Tuesday, and said the amount would double eachsucceeding day. If they stand, the …
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Militants holding an Israeli soldier demanded Saturday the release of 1,000 prisoners and a halt to Israel's Gaza offensive, complicating efforts to resolve a crisis before it boils over into major fighting.
The latest demand came after Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said that Israel's military action was aimed at toppling the Hamas-led government, but maintained he is working with mediators toward a resolution.
Israel, meanwhile, kept up the pressure Friday in Gaza, destroying the interior minister's office and targeting a car carrying militants in an airstrike. Israel also said it attacked a militant cell, killing a local Islamic Jihad …
Defender Leandro Desabato's header goal gave Argentine visitor Estudiantes a valuable 1-0 win against Defensor Sporting in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals on Thursday.
Desabato connected with a free kick from captain Juan Sebastian Veron in the 13th minute to favor Estudiantes for the semifinals ahead of the return leg in La Plata on June 18.
Both clubs played with 10 men from the 24th when Marcos Angeleri of Estudiantes and Jorge Curbelo of Defensor were sent off for kicking each other following a Defensor free kick.
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CINCINNATI (AP) — Adam Lind still has to be careful with his back. Nothing wrong with his swing.
Lind homered for the fourth straight game on Friday night, hitting a tiebreaking two-run shot in the seventh inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays held on for a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds that featured bothersome birds and a misplayed flyball.
Lind's homer off Mike Leake (6-3) marked the 11th time in Blue Jays history that a player homered in four straight. He's gone on a tear since missing nearly a month on the disabled list with a sore back, one that's still a little sore in the morning sometimes.
"When you have that kind of a swing and you're swinging at strikes, as …
A prominent Jewish leader criticized former President Jimmy Carter on Monday, blasting Carter for saying in a speech this month that the U.S. government has "yielded excessively" to Israel.
Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said that Carter's comments during a recent conference on U.S.-Arab relations suggest that he was not sincere in a 2009 apology to the Jewish community.
Carter said in a statement Monday that he has "never stigmatized" Israel during his presidency or after leaving the White House. He has long said bringing peace to the Middle East has been his top priority in the 30 years since his …
TRINIDAD, Bolivia - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visited flood-ravaged Bolivia on Saturday to show off the fact that his country has pledged 10 times more aid than the Bush administration. But local leaders gave him a cool reception, accusing him of meddling in Bolivian politics.
Bolivia was the latest stop on a Chavez tour intended to upstage President Bush's own trip through Latin America. While Bush visited Brazil on Friday, Chavez packed a soccer stadium in neighboring Argentina, telling a crowd of 20,000 leftist supporters that Bush's tour was a cynical attempt to divide the region.
Thousands of Bolivians, joined by Venezuelan aid workers, greeted Chavez at the airport in Trinidad, a city in Bolivia's eastern lowlands where a rainy season supercharged by El Nino has killed 51 people, driven thousands from their homes and triggered an outbreak of dengue fever.
Chavez, wearing an untucked red shirt in the blazing heat, kissed a Bolivian flag held by sailors in dress whites. He has pledged $15 million in aid for flood victims, including a squadron of helicopters to deliver food to remote villages, dwarfing the $1.5 million sent by the U.S.
"Those who want to go directly to hell, they can follow capitalism," Chavez told the crowd of some 2,000 Bolivian flood victims and Venezuelan and Cuban aid workers gathered on the steaming airport runway. "And those of us who want to build heaven here on Earth, we will follow socialism."
However, not everyone welcomed Chavez. Bolivia's cattle-ranching state of Beni is a stronghold of opposition to President Evo Morales, a Chavez ally who has pledged to redistribute large tracts of land to the poor. Local leaders see Chavez's generosity as political opportunism and resent his influence in Bolivia.
The Beni governor and the mayor of Trinidad have refused to receive Chavez, complaining that Venezuelan aid workers have ignored their authority.
"We are grateful for the assistance of the Venezuelan people, but we're bothered by the intervention of Chavez in Bolivia," Mayor Moises Shiriqui told The Associated Press. "He's coming here for a political campaign."
Still, Chavez and Morales could capitalize on public complaints that the governor's office has been slow to distribute foreign aid to the city of 90,000 residents, surrounded for a month by miles of black water.
One family living under a tarp - stamped with the logo of the U.S. Agency for International Development - said they had slept in the open for two weeks before marching on the governor's office to demand help.
"To go there every day, every day, makes you feel ashamed," said Santiago Jou. "And in the end, they don't even give you a soda."
Morales and Chavez were to give away shiny red tractors jointly made by Venezuela and Iran. Since Morales took office a year ago, Chavez has pledged more than $1 billion for Bolivian petroleum projects, community radio stations and a factory to make tea from coca leaves.
In contrast, the Bush administration's 2008 budget proposal slashes U.S. aid to Bolivia by more than 20 percent, from $125 million to $98 million, part of a deep aid cut targeting much of Latin America.
The U.S. has criticized Bolivia for failing to deal with increased coca production under Morales, though ties have recently improved with the two countries negotiating a trade deal.
The dueling tours continue Sunday, with Bush moving on from Uruguay to U.S.-friendly Colombia, while Chavez visits impoverished Haiti to discuss sending aid.
Bush's Latin America tour was met with protests in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Guatemala.
In Guatemala City, protesters burned American flags in front of the U.S. embassy on Saturday and held up posters of Bush bearing a Hitler-style mustache. In El Salvador about 100 protesters staged a small demonstration against the president's tour, though he was not scheduled to visit the Central American country.
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Associated Press writers Alvaro Zuazo in La Paz, Bolivia, and Shane Romig in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.
Name: Concordia Lutheran Church, Metropolitan Chicago Synod, ELCA.
Year built: The congregation was established Jan. 29, 1898. Thepresent church building was erected in 1912.
Neighborhood: 3855 N. Seeley Ave., North Center, Chicago.
Size and character of congregation: There are 262 baptizedmembers; average attendance is 65. The congregation has begun to growwith young new families moving into the community. The Sunday schooland confirmation programs have more than 30 children.
Spiritual leader: The Rev. Nicholas J. Zook, pastor since 1981.
Services: Sunday worship at 10 a.m.; Sunday school and classes at11 a.m.
Largest service and turnout: Easter, with around 150 people.
Wish list: To serve more families in need of child care, expandthe outreach ministry to teens and seniors, and to reach youngfamilies.
Most memorable event: Purchasing the vacant St. Veronica Schooland parish in January 2001 to expand the preschool and after-schoolprograms and starting a $9 million renovation to open a communitylearning center for children, teens, adults and seniors in Avondale,said Brenda Swartz, executive director of the nonprofit ConcordiaAvondale campus that is working on the project. This 28,000-square-foot community and learning center will open in the fall and willfeature 11 classrooms, a computer lab, fitness center, art room,recreation space, a cafe and two outdoor play lots. The center willalso offer accredited child care, preschool, after-school and summercamp programs.
Funniest/strangest moment during a service: When a fire alarm wentoff in the middle of the 100th anniversary service. It was a falsealarm, thankfully, Zook said.
Most popular after-service gathering spot: The church's FellowshipHall, where members gather for coffee and conversation.
Proudest moment: Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the churchin October 1998, with a reunion choir and remodeled sanctuary.
Highest-profile visitors: Nathan Soderblom, archbishop of Sweden,in 1923; Joseph Sittler, church theologian and professor at theUniversity of Chicago; Robert Jenson, church theologian and author;Aldermen Eugene Schulter (47th) and Dick Mell (33rd); U.S.Representatives Rahm Emanuel and Luis Gutierrez; state Sen. IrisMartinez, and state Representatives Richard Bradley and JohnFritchey.
Other offerings: A full-day preschool, after-school program,Sunday school for kids ages 2 to 13, confirmation classes for highschool students, youth group, choir, parish nurse ministry, parentclub ministry and adult education classes.
Disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy has exaggerated his cooperation in a gambling investigation in hopes of lessening his prison term and avoiding paying hefty restitution, prosecutors said in court papers filed Friday.
He also has minimized his own role in the scheme, according to the filing in federal court.
Prosecutors rebuffed defense arguments that Donaghy should get a break on his sentence for voluntarily coming forward and giving prosecutors information about alleged game-fixing and other misconduct by other referees and league officials.
In the court papers, prosecutors said that by the time Donaghy decided to cooperate last year, "the government had a clear understanding of the criminal conspiracy, and who was involved." Though he deserves credit for giving investigators information on his two co-defendants, his claims of other internal NBA corruption "did not lead to evidence of prosecutable federal offenses," the papers added.
Defense attorney John Lauro declined comment Friday.
The 41-year-old Donaghy pleaded guilty last year to felony charges of taking cash payoffs from gamblers in the 2006-07 season. He faces up to 33 months in prison at sentencing, set for July 14.
His attorney has argued that it's unfair that Donaghy's co-defendants, a professional gambler and a middleman who also pleaded guilty, are facing less time _ up to 16 months and up to 18 months, respectively. Their sentencing is scheduled for July 11.
But the government papers filed Friday argued the disparity makes sense because Donaghy was the plot's central figure.
"It was only Donaghy, by virtue of his position as an NBA referee, who had access to nonpublic and other inside information on which he based his gambling picks, and it was only Donaghy who had a duty to provide honest services to his employer, the NBA," prosecutors wrote. "Without Donaghy, the scheme simply could not have been carried out."
U.S. deaths in Iraq fell in October to their lowest monthly level of the war, matching the record low of 13 U.S. fatalities suffered in July. Iraqi deaths fell to their lowest monthly levels of the year.
Eight of the 13 Americans died in combat, most of them in northern Iraq where al-Qaida and other Sunni insurgent groups remain active. The U.S. suffered 25 deaths in September and 23 in August.
The sharp drop in U.S. fatalities reflects the overall security improvements across the country following the Sunni revolt against al-Qaida and the rout suffered by Shiite extremists in fighting last spring in Basra and Baghdad.
But the decline also points to a shift in tactics by extremist groups, which U.S. commanders say are focusing their attacks on Iraqi soldiers and police that are doing much of the fighting.
Iraqi government figures showed at least 364 Iraqis were killed in October _ including police, soldiers, civilians and militants.
An Associated Press tally based on police and U.S. military reports showed the previous monthly low for the year was August's figure of 475.
The AP's count of Iraqi deaths for October was 444, about half the total for October a year ago. The difference in the two counts was because the AP tally included 83 bodies found in mass graves in October but not added to the government count.
Despite the sharp decline, the Iraqi death tolls _ though well below levels of 2006 and 2007 _ serve as a reminder that Iraq remains a dangerous, unstable country despite the security gains, which U.S. military commanders repeatedly warn are fragile and reversible.
U.S. commanders are also worried that security could worsen if the Iraqi parliament refuses to approve a new security agreement by the end of December, when the U.N. mandate under which the coalition operates in Iraq expires.
Without a new agreement or a new U.N. mandate, U.S. military operations would have to stop. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government is pressing for changes in the draft agreement before submitting to parliament.
Much of that concern focuses on Mosul, Iraq's third largest city about 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad. U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a new operation Oct. 15 to clear al-Qaida and other insurgent groups from the city.
Violence occurs almost daily in Mosul, although the U.S. military says attacks there are down by almost half since May.
Attacks and threats against Christians in Mosul prompted about 13,000 of them to flee the city in early October.
On Friday, a local official, Jawdat Ismaeel, said Christians are trickling back to the city after police and soldiers increased security patrols and checkpoints in Christian neighborhoods.
He said 35 Christian families, or about 210 people, have returned in the past week and the exodus from the city has largely stopped.
The Iraqi government has offered each Christian family that returns 1 million Iraqi dinars _ about $865 _ although officials say the response so far has been lukewarm.
Also Friday, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh announced that Iraq and Iran have agreed to exchange bodies of soldiers killed during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. He said the exchange _ 200 Iraqi bodies for 41 Iranian _ would take place Nov. 15 at a border post that he did not identify.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides were killed or went missing during the 1980-1988 war.
The International Committee of the Red Cross announced Oct. 16 that the two countries have agreed on how to gather and share information about the missing and hand over any remains uncovered.
The China National Textile Industry Council reported that the textile processing volume increased by 19.58% in 2004 from the previous year to 24 million tons. Sales also showed a sharp rise of 22.79% to 2,640 billion yuan.
The significant sales growth is because enterprises endeavored to raise their prices as high cotton prices and the sharp rise in petrochemical materials increased production costs. In addition, efforts were made to upgrade the value and quality of products. Nevertheless, the rise in unit price was still insufficient to entirely cover high material costs, and earnings worsened in real terms.
As for production by item, manmade fibers jumped 20.29% to 14.24 million tons. The increase in polyester filament was sharp, and was a factor causing oversupply sentiments in the international market. Spun yarn rose by 18.54% to 10.94 million tons. While the production share of polyester/cotton blended yarn increased in the first half due to high cotton prices, cotton yarn production grew in the second half as high cotton prices calmed down.
Woven fabric production grew by 18.0% to 4.17 million meters, and that of apparel by 21.0% to 4.18 million units. However, apparel suffered difficulties as intensifying competition in the retail market caused the sales unit price to fall.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans increased their borrowing in November by the largest amount in a decade.
They took out more loans to buy cars and plunked down their credit cards to purchase holiday gifts, a sign of their growing confidence in the economy.
The Federal Reserve says total consumer borrowing rose $20.4 billion in November, the largest increase since a $28 billion gain in November 2001.
A category that measures credit card debt rose by $5.6 billion, the most since March 2008.
Another category that tracks auto loans increased $14.8 billion. That was very close to a $14.1 billion jump in July, which was the biggest increase since February 2005.
The former Duke lacrosse coach who lost his job after a stripper claimed three players raped her at a party in 2006 sued the school and its top spokesman Wednesday, claiming slander and libel.
The case was later debunked, and the prosecutor who pursued the charges was disbarred last year.
Mike Pressler's lawsuit said Duke's senior vice president of public affairs and government relations, John Burness, made slanderous and defamatory comments about him to the media.
Pamela Bernard, Duke vice president and general counsel, said Wednesday that the lawsuit has no merit and "is yet another attempt to reopen a sealed matter."
Last week, attorneys for Pressler withdrew their request for a judge to rescind a settlement agreement between Pressler and Duke so they could pursue this lawsuit. At that time, lawyers representing Duke said they would fight the allegations.
They also argued that any case by Pressler against his former employer should go through arbitration first.
Pressler now coaches the men's lacrosse team at Bryant University in Rhode Island. He also has written a book about the lacrosse case.
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — State radio reports at least seven people have been killed in the wake of torrential rains in Algeria — including five people in a car carried away by a river that jumped its banks.
Downpours were reported across the north African country overnight Saturday to Sunday. Authorities closed some schools, houses were inundated and some roads were impassable.
An 83-year-old woman died after the balcony of her house collapsed in the Belcourt area of Algiers, the capital. A man in his 50s died in similar circumstances in Boumerdes 45 kilometers (30 miles) to the east.
The five car passengers died in Djelfa, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) south of Algiers.
At least 30 people died in Algeria in downpours in October 2008.
BEIJING (AP) — A state-owned Chinese chemical company is seeking Cabinet approval to make a competing bid to mining giant BHP's $38.5 billion offer for Canada's Potash but says such a deal might be too big and impractical, a business magazine reported.
Beijing has expressed unease that a BHP Billiton Ltd. takeover of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan might create a "potash monopoly" that would boost prices and hurt China, a major importer of the mineral used in fertilizer.
Sinochem Corp. submitted a report to the Cabinet on a possible Potash bid, seeking support such as low-interest loans, Caijing reported, citing unidentified sources. Sinochem owns Sinofert, China's biggest potash importer and fertilizer producer. Caijing said the Cabinet has not issued a decision and asked Sinochem for further analysis of its plans.
Caijing quoted a Sinochem vice president, Han Gensheng, as calling such a bid "too big and not worthwhile." The report was removed temporarily from Caijing's website Thursday and when it reappeared the portion citing Han was removed, though it still said Sinochem was proposing a bid. The website gave no explanation for the change and calls to Caijing's offices were not answered.
The change might reflect government efforts to keep a low profile while Beijing looks for ways to thwart BHP's proposed acquisition.
A Sinochem spokesman declined to comment.
Potash rejected BHP's initial bid last month as too low and says it has talked with other parties in what is likely to be a lengthy process.
Canadian officials are wary of a possible Chinese takeover of Potash. Saskatchewan's resources minister said last week a state-owned Chinese buyer would want to overproduce and drive down prices, which would hurt the province financially.
There has been almost no mention in China's state-controlled business press of a possible Chinese bid for Potash, possibly reflecting orders to editors to avoid drawing attention to the topic.
In the government's first public comment on the BHP bid, a Commerce Ministry spokesman said Wednesday that Beijing "will be paying close attention to this deal" and sees potash as a "critical factor" in agriculture.
China regularly clashes with potash producers over prices. Contract talks with Canadian suppliers broke down this year after Beijing demanded a much lower price than they would accept.
BHP is hoping to profit from what it expects will be rising fertilizer demand in China and India — the main markets for potash, along with the United States and Brazil.
A BHP takeover of Potash would be likely to face an anti-monopoly review by China because Potash owns a 22 percent stake in Sinofert.
`Have you ever seen one shoe in the middle of a road? Well,I've seen a lot of them. They're so desolate and lonely looking, Isometimes wonder how they got there."
So begins Matt Modica's discourse on "The Lonely Shoes," one ofthe winners of a national writing contest for elementary schoolchildren.
In his short piece, the budding Lake Villa writer speculatesabout where the shoes come from. Perhaps a kangaroo lost oneescaping from the zoo, thinks Modica. Or maybe "the colonel" lost ashoe chasing a chicken to use as the basis of his special recipe, orCinderella shed one her prince didn't find. "Or perhaps, it couldhave just been a lonely boy who ran away, with a shoe that was solonely it ran away."
The 11-year-old Modica, from the far northern suburbs, is one of13 Chicago area schoolchildren honored in this year's Young WritersContest. The national competition seeks to promote the proper andcreative use of language through writing.
The area winners will make up a hefty contingent of the 105children whose poems, essays and short stories were chosen from among5,000 entries from across the country. They will be published in ananthology called Rainbow Collection: Stories and Poetry by YoungPeople ($6, Young Writers Contest Foundation), to be published thisMay, with funding from Ronald McDonald Children's Charities.
Musical Notes
Musical notes are acrobats.
They work with things like sharps and flats.
They jump and shake. They whisper and shout.
Musical notes run all about.
They rest on lines and hang in spaces
The people who play them are finger aces.
Notes are great. There's no denial.
See those instruments boogie with style.
Joel Carrera
Eleven of the winners are from Chicago public schools:
Isabelle Becerril, 13, and Carrera, 12, both of HawthorneScholastic Academy; Linda Daitsman, 9, Sayre Language Academy;Dennis Diamantopoulos, 13, Dewitt Clinton School; Wendy Farfan, 13,Ninos Heros School.
Also, Jane Kulbida, 13, and Carrie Simon, 8, both of John KinzieSchool; Francoise McGinnis, 13, La Salle Language Academy;Jacqueline Ravnic, 8, Mark Sheridan Academy; Alfredo Rivas, 7,Schubert School; Ieachea Troupe, 9, Randolph School.
Two winners were suburban students - Modica, from theIntermediate School, Lake Villa, and Stephanie Foerster, 13,Barrington Middle School. Jenna Wright, 10, of Riverview School inDownstate East Peoria, also won.
A Sheriff
A sheriff wears a badge of gold
And travels streets new and old.
She catches outlaws on the street
And protects you from evil that you meet.
She rarely rides a horse these days
But travels in more modern ways.
She drives a new Oldsmobile
And locks up people who try to steal.
Jacqueline Ravnic
The local youngsters' success in the three-year-old nationalcontest indicates that a renewed emphasis on writing in Chicago areaschools may be paying off. Many - but not all - are in programs forgifted students.
Some of the teachers who submitted the winning entries saidthat recently they have been stressing both the fundamentals ofwriting and the satisfactions of the creative process.
"Writing is a hot topic right now," said Monica Sullivan, areading resources teacher at Hawthorne Academy on the North Side."People in education are talking about it, and we put a lot ofemphasis on it in this school. In class, we do a lot ofbrainstorming, talking about it. What makes something sound good?What really hangs together? After all, these kids will need to knowhow to write for the rest of their lives."
"There is a definite upswing in the last several years, with themovement back to the basics, to the process of writing," said DarleneWebb, English department coordinator and Stephanie Foerster's teacherat the Barrington Middle School. "Not only are we doing a lot ofwriting, but we're starting to see better work now than ever before.
"So the basics are paying off."
from "Spring Lake"
I looked out over the water. The ripples in the water ran awayfrom our canoe, slowing down to small swells. My gaze drifted to thefar banks on my right. The thick forest could be seen just past theweeping willows. The sad trees let their branches slide along thewater.
Stephanie Foerster
"If you can't communicate your ideas, it's not too important tohave them," said Betsy Foxwell, Dennis Diamantopoulos's teacher atClinton School. "I try to encourage my students to get out of theirown teenage world, to see how they fit into the spectrum of man onEarth, those who came before them, those who will come after them.My whole purpose is to teach them to think, and then to communicatewhat they think."
Diamantopoulos said Foxwell encourages the class to write.
"I guess poetry is one of the best things I do, but I never won acontest before," he said. "When I wrote the poem I knew there wassomething special about it, but I didn't know it would win. I wassurprised."
The typical process teachers reported was working with studentson ideas for the contest entries first, fleshing them out and thengoing back and using some of the grammatical and spelling errors inthe rough drafts to refresh students' memories on the correct formsthey had learned.
By the time the entries were submitted, most errors had beeneliminated by this process. However, teachers had to sign a formcertifying that, as far as they knew, the pieces were students'original work.
A Poem About Me
Always has a messy room
Loves my mom
Feels swimming is good
Reads a book when I should be sleeping
Eighth is my next birthday
Dark eyes and hair
Once in awhile wants a dog
Alfredo Rivas
Carrie Simon, who wrote a story called "Bill the Buffalo and HisLong Day," said she likes to read, all kinds of books, and to write."I write my ideas down at school and then I write them at home," shesaid.
Carrera's teacher, Monica Sullivan, "thought up the idea ofwriting poems," and then taught the class how to do it, he reported.When he grows up, Carrera would like to be either an author or ascientist. "I don't like math," he said.
Ieachea Troupe's essay has to do with "how the Indians helped thepilgrims plant stuff" and culminates with the first Thanksgiving.
Writing isn't always so easy for Troupe, especially plottingher stories, she said: "It's difficult to tell about how they didit."
Technical considerations aside, the kids just like to expressthemselves.
Or, as Francoise McGinnis put it in her poem, "The LivingPicture":
To create -
A God-given right.
To express
An inner bright light.
A line or two,
Just like so -
An artist's way to let himself go.
Purples and oranges, a brilliant blue,
Beauty in ugliness -
A fresh point of view.
WVU * Friday: WBB vs. Providence (Big East Tournament), 8 p.m. *Saturday: MBB vs. Louisville, 9 p.m.
Marshall * Today: WBB Conference USA Tournament * Friday: WBBConference USA Tournament * Saturday: MBB at Ala-Birmingham, 3 p.m.* Saturday: WBB Conference USA Tournament * Sunday: WBB ConferenceUSA Tournament
Key: MBB=mens basketball WBB=womens basketball Charleston *Today: WBB vs. Pitt Johnstown, 3 p.m., WVC Tournament at CharlestonCivic Center W.Va. State * Today: MBB vs. Wheeling Jesuit, 6:30p.m., WVC Tournament at Charleston Civic Center
WVU Tech * Friday: MBB vs. Pikeville (Mid-South Tournament), 8p.m. * Friday: WBB vs. Lindsey Wilson (Mid-South Tournament), 1 p.m.
Game time corrected for WVU-Kentucky baseball
The West Virginia University baseball team will face theUniversity of Kentucky at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24 at AppalachianPower Park in the inaugural Mountaineer Power Classic.
The game time was originally announced as 7:05 p.m. For tickets,call the Power front office at 304-344-2287.
JERUSALEM - Israel agreed Sunday to release desperately needed funds to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a day before the moderate leader planned to meet the heads of Egypt, Israel and Jordan in a summit meant to bolster him in his struggle with Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sought to play down expectations for the meeting in Egypt with Abbas, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Jordan's King Abdullah II. An Olmert aide said it was premature to begin talks on a final Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, despite urging from Fatah and other Arab countries to take immediate advantage of the Hamas militants' expulsion from the coalition government.
"We have an interest in having this meeting, but I don't want anyone to think we're on the brink of a dramatic breakthrough," Olmert told his Cabinet, according to a meeting participant.
Deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, speaking in Gaza, called hopes for the summit "illusions" and a "mirage." He said, "the Americans won't give anything. Israel won't give us anything. Our land, our nation will not come back to us except with steadfastness and resistance," a code word for attacks against Israel.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, said that one of its aircraft had targeted a car carrying an Islamic Jihad rocket squad on its way to an attack in Gaza City in the first such attack since Hamas overran the Gaza Strip this month.
One person was killed and two wounded, hospital officials said.
Islamic Jihad said the vehicle was carrying its members on a "holy mission," code for an attack on Israel. Hamas TV footage showed the burned car, which contained at least one rocket.
In one of a range of measures it is weighing to support Abbas, Israeli Cabinet members agreed in principle to start giving him $550 million in frozen Palestinian tax money. Israel has withheld the funds - mostly customs duties that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians - since January 2006, when Hamas swept Palestinian parliamentary elections. Israel considers Hamas a terrorist group.
The freeze left previous Palestinian governments unable to pay full salaries to government employees, who support one-third of the Palestinian people. Olmert told his Cabinet that the unlocking of the tax revenues was meant to support the new Palestinian government. Abbas expelled Hamas from the government after the group took Gaza.
Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, said that details of the money's release would be discussed at Monday's summit and then again by the Israeli government.
A Cabinet meeting participant said the money would not begin flowing until Abbas' new government formally accepts international calls to renounce violence and recognize Israel. He said the step is expected to be a formality.
The official, who could not be identified under Israeli civil service rules, said the money would be released gradually to ensure it doesn't reach Hamas.
Participants in the Cabinet meeting said the proposal passed by an overwhelming majority: Only two hard-line ministers voted against it.
Israel said it withheld the money to prevent Hamas from using it to finance terror attacks.
In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called on Abbas' new prime minister, Salam Fayyad, to spend the money on Palestinians in Gaza as well as the West Bank. "This is the money of the Palestinian people and everyone has the right to this money," he said.
Olmert also met with top security officials Sunday to discuss removing some of the hundreds of roadblocks Israel has erected in the West Bank. Israel says the travel restrictions are necessary security measures. Palestinians say they are excessive and crushing their economy.
Although no decisions were made, Olmert told his Cabinet that removing the roadblocks would be a necessary risk.
"We are strong enough to take calculated risks," he was quoted as saying.
In return, Israel will demand in Egypt that Abbas confront militants - something he had been reluctant to do before Hamas' Gaza victory.
"We shall present there our expectations from the opposite side, our demands on the issues of security and the war against terror, but definitely also our readiness to cooperate with the new government," Olmert said in televised comments before the Cabinet meeting.
Hamas rout of Abbas' Fatah movement from Gaza left the Palestinians with two governments - Abbas' new Cabinet in the West Bank, and the Hamas rulers in Gaza. Israel and moderate Arab leaders have joined together in support of Abbas, who favors peace with Israel, while trying to isolate Hamas, a radical group pledged to Israel's destruction.
Olmert aide David Baker said it was premature to begin talks on a final peace deal.
Israel is prepared to discuss "a political horizon," he said. "These talks do not include final status issues, but rather how the prime minister and the president of the Palestinian Authority would envision a future Palestinian state."
Since losing control of Gaza, Abbas has acted with uncharacteristic determination: In addition to expelling Hamas from the coalition government, he has set up an emergency Cabinet, and embarked on a widening crackdown on the Islamic group that has included arrests of hundreds of gunmen in the West Bank and a plan to dry up its funding.
The Hamas takeover of Gaza has complicated the cases of an Israeli soldier and a British reporter being held captive by militants.
Early Monday, a new video was posted on a Web site used by militants that showed kidnapped journalist Alan Johnston wearing an apparent explosives belt of the type suicide bombers use and warning it will be detonated if an attempt is made to free him by force.
In the video, a jittery Johnston asks Hamas and the British government "not to resort to the tactics of force in an effort to end this." A logo and other features credited the video to the Army of Islam, a shadowy group that claims to have snatched the British Broadcasting Corp. correspondent from a Gaza street on March 12.
On Sunday, hundreds gathered outside Israel's parliament to mark the one-year anniversary of soldier Gilad Shalit's capture. Noam Shalit, the soldier's father, criticized the government for failing to win his son's release.
The U.S. dollar was higher against most other major currencies in European trading Friday. Gold also rose.
The euro traded at US$1.4001, down from US$1.4022 late Thursday in New York.
Other dollar rates:
_95.92 Japanese yen, up from 95.84
_1.0857 Swiss francs, up from 1.0827
_1.1603 Canadian dollars, down from 1.1614
The British pound was quoted at US$1.6341, down from $1.6415.
Gold traded in London at US$932.50 per troy ounce, up from US$929.50 late Thursday.
MANILA, Philippines - About 20 Filipino seamen kidnapped by pirates in Somalia in March have been released and are on their way home, officials said Monday.
The men were freed Saturday, and it was not clear whether any ransom has been paid, said Roy Cimatu, the government's special envoy to the Middle East.
The men were seized after their oil tanker, the United Arab Emirates-registered MT LIN1, offloaded its cargo at a southern Somali port on March 29, the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department said.
Cimatu said the owners of the ship, who were not identified, negotiated for the release of the men. No other details were provided.
Piracy in Somalia rose sharply last year, with the number of reported incidents at 35, compared with two in 2004, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The bandits target both passenger and cargo vessels for ransom or loot.
TOKYO (AP) — Local media reported Saturday that the Japan Sumo Association will cancel a tournament in March due to a match-fixing scandal.
Quoting unnamed sources, Kyodo News agency reported that the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament from March 13-27 is set to be called off at a meeting Sunday. An association official declined to confirm the report.
The Yomiuri daily also said the tournament will be canceled, which would be the first time that has happened since Ryogoku Kokugikan, Japan's main sumo venue, was renovated in 1946 because of damage from World War II.
The scandal is the latest blow for sumo, which is reeling from a string of embarrassing incidents, including illegal gambling and drug use among wrestlers.
Sumo traces its origins to religious purification rites. Most Japanese see sumo wrestlers as the keepers of a prized tradition, and expect them to observe a high standard of public behavior and wear their hair in topknots like the samurai of old.
The association said last week police had found text messages on confiscated mobile phones that implicate as many as 13 wrestlers in schemes to fix matches. On Thursday, two wrestlers and a coach admitted fixing bouts.
Last year, several wrestlers were arrested for betting illegally on baseball games, allegedly with gangsters as go-betweens. That scandal followed allegations in 2009 of widespread marijuana use among the ranks that led to the expulsion of three Russian fighters.
Rumors of ties between sumo wrestlers and the underworld have been rife, and the baseball gambling scandal deeply hurt sumo's image.
Unsubstantiated allegations of gangster involvement in bout-fixing have plagued the sport for decades, but have never been proved. There were no immediate reports of gangsters mentioned in the latest scandal.
A 16-year-old California girl who was feared lost at sea while sailing solo around the world has been found alive and well, adrift in the southern Indian Ocean with rescue boats headed toward her, officials said.
After a tense 20 hours of silence, a Qantas Airbus A330 search plane made contact with Abby Sunderland late Thursday in the south Indian Ocean where her boat was knocked down repeatedly by huge waves and she lost satellite phone contact.
Qantas Airline spokesman Tom Woodward said the teenager was spotted half way between Australia and Africa and the plane crew spoke with her by radio.
"Abby's in an okay condition; the yacht's damaged but its seaworthy," Woodward told The Associated Press. "She's aware that there are other boats on the way to her location."
Sunderland told searchers she was doing fine with a space heater and at least two weeks worth of food, family spokesman William Bennett said.
Support team member Jeff Casher said the boat had gotten knocked on its side several times and the mast had broken.
The French regional administration on the island of Reunion also confirmed contact, which occurred Friday in that region of the Indian Ocean, and said it had sent three boats in her direction, the first expected to reach her on Saturday.
The communication with Sunderland was the first since satellite phone communications were lost and her emergency beacons began signaling early Thursday.
She had made several broken calls to her family in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and reported her yacht was being tossed by 30-foot (9-meter) waves.
The 11 observers aboard the plane, which left the western Australian city of Perth early Friday, spoke with her by close-range VHF marine radio, western Australia state police spokesman Senior Sgt. Graham Clifford said, adding that the crew couldn't drop her anything.
He said the jet faced a 4,700-mile (7,600-kilometer) round trip from Perth to Sunderland's boat, which is near the limit of its range.
Abby's family and support team had expressed confidence that she was alive because the beacons were deliberately turned on rather than set off automatically.
"She's got all the skills she needs to take care of what she has to take care of, she has all the equipment as well," said brother Zac, himself a veteran of a solo sail around the world at age 17.
But renowned Australian round-the-world sailor Ian Kiernan said Abby should not have been in the southern Indian Ocean during the current southern hemisphere winter.
"Abby would be going through a very difficult time with mountainous seas and essentially hurricane-force winds," Kiernan told Sky News television.
Conditions can quickly become perilous for any sailor exposed to the elements in that part of the world.
Her brother said Abby was prepared and mentally tough. "I really wish I could see her and hope she gets through this one," he told reporters outside the family home.
Abby last communicated with her family at 4 a.m. local time (7 a.m. EDT, 1100 GMT) Thursday and reported 30-foot (9-meter) swells but was not in distress, Pinkston said.
Casher said Abby had to make repeated calls with her satellite phone because of sketchy connections. He said she had been in rough weather and had a problem with her engine, which she eventually managed to start. The team then asked her to check other things on the boat.
"She hung up to go check some things and she never did call back," he said.
An hour later the family was notified that her emergency beacons had been activated, and there was no further communication.
A lifelong sailor whose father is a shipwright and has a yacht management company, Abby set sail from Los Angeles County's Marina del Rey in her 40-foot (12-meter) boat, Wild Eyes, on Jan. 23 in an attempt to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone without stopping. Her brother briefly held the record in 2009.
Abby soon ran into equipment problems and had to stop for repairs. She gave up the goal of setting the record in April, but continued on. On May 15, Australian 16-year-old Jessica Watson claimed the record after completing a 23,000-mile (37,000-kilometer) circumnavigation in 210 days. Jessica and her family sent a private message of hope to Abby's family, spokesman Andrew Fraser said.
Abby left Cape Town, South Africa, on May 21 and on Monday reached the halfway point of her voyage.
On Wednesday, she wrote in her log that it had been a rough few days with huge seas that had her boat "rolling around like crazy."
Information on her website said that as of June 8 she had completed a 2,100-mile (3,400-kilometer) leg from South Africa to north of the Kerguelen Islands, taking a route to avoid an ice hazard area. Ahead of her lay more than 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers) of ocean on a 10- to 16-day leg to a point south of Cape Leeuwin on the southwest tip of Australia.
___
Associated Press writers Jacob Adelman and Nardine Saad and photographer Mark Terrill in Thousand Oaks, California, and Alicia Chang, Christina Hoag, Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, Denise Petski and Sue Manning in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
___
Online:
Tomorrow's Bears-Bills game is meaningful to the player whomight have the highest total income of any quarterback in the league.
Although Jim McMahon virtually is assured of being the starterfor the Bears' Sept. 7 opener against Cleveland if he is healthy,tomorrow should provide McMahon's first extended playing time in agame since the Super Bowl.
"The problem is I haven't had the starting quarterback on thefield," coach Mike Ditka said.
McMahon played less than a quarter in the Bears' pre-seasonopener against Dallas in London. He was rested against Pittsburghand a hip flexor pull prevented him from playing against Indianapolisand St. Louis.
…
CAIRO (AP) — It's a problem nearly every woman in the Egyptian capital has experienced — leering, whistles, groping or other sexual harassment on Cairo's thoroughfares and backalleys. Soon they'll be able to instantly speak out on the Internet when it happens.
A planned website, Harrasmap, will allow women to quickly report instances of harassment via text message or Twitter, to be loaded onto a digital map of Cairo to show hotspots and areas that might be dangerous for women to walk alone. The data will be shared with activists, media, and police.
"The whole idea is to have user-generated information," said Engy Ghozlan, one of the volunteer activists organizing the program, …
Bowls
South Grafton
Bowling Club
RESULTS: Championships - Singles: R Cornell 32 def S Finnerty 21.
Fours P Linacre B Stevens B Ashbrooke T Scott 21 def S Bridle LBond D Andrews K Jones 16. B Buckley 33 def P Chevalley 10.
J Buckley 31 def B Kenny 29.Friday Mixed: G Williams 18 def SWeber 17. J Kowal 26 def T Webber 11. L Nixon 26 def L Andrew 18. BKowal 21 def C Roger 19. Resting Touchers - M Williams 1.50/3.15. MMulligan 2.20. P Allison 3.45. S Ford 2.10.
Wednesday - Mens - B Kowal 26 def J Raven 18, R Want 18 def LFlaherty 17, G Williams 21 def L Andrew 20, D Barker 21 def L Bond16, B Kenny 29 def S Weber, N Harrison 28 def K …
Bowls South Grafton Bowling Club RESULTS: Championships - Singles: R... [Derived headline]Bowls
South Grafton
Bowling Club
RESULTS: Championships - Singles: R Cornell 32 def S Finnerty 21.
Fours P Linacre B Stevens B Ashbrooke T Scott 21 def S Bridle LBond D Andrews K Jones 16. B Buckley 33 def P Chevalley 10.
J Buckley 31 def B Kenny 29.Friday Mixed: G Williams 18 def SWeber 17. J Kowal 26 def T Webber 11. L Nixon 26 def L Andrew 18. BKowal 21 def C Roger 19. Resting Touchers - M Williams 1.50/3.15. MMulligan 2.20. P Allison 3.45. S Ford 2.10.
Wednesday - Mens - B Kowal 26 def J Raven 18, R Want 18 def LFlaherty 17, G Williams 21 def L Andrew 20, D Barker 21 def L Bond16, B Kenny 29 def S Weber, N Harrison 28 def K …
Bowls South Grafton Bowling Club RESULTS: Championships - Singles: R... [Derived headline]Bowls
South Grafton
Bowling Club
RESULTS: Championships - Singles: R Cornell 32 def S Finnerty 21.
Fours P Linacre B Stevens B Ashbrooke T Scott 21 def S Bridle LBond D Andrews K Jones 16. B Buckley 33 def P Chevalley 10.
J Buckley 31 def B Kenny 29.Friday Mixed: G Williams 18 def SWeber 17. J Kowal 26 def T Webber 11. L Nixon 26 def L Andrew 18. BKowal 21 def C Roger 19. Resting Touchers - M Williams 1.50/3.15. MMulligan 2.20. P Allison 3.45. S Ford 2.10.
Wednesday - Mens - B Kowal 26 def J Raven 18, R Want 18 def LFlaherty 17, G Williams 21 def L Andrew 20, D Barker 21 def L Bond16, B Kenny 29 def S Weber, N Harrison 28 def K …
BRUSSELS-- A small Norwegian software company says with a level playing field it can take on mighty Microsoft Corp. in a new battle of the browsers because it has a better product, picking up where the now-defunct Netscape left off in the 1990s.
Opera, which like Microsoft and Firefox manufactures Web browsers, says the humble browser has become increasingly more important to consumers as the years have passed.
"These days people spend more time in front of their Web browser then they do in front of their television set," said Jon von Tetzchner, chief executive of Opera Software of Norway.
The company that controls Web browsers could potentially change the …
* SandenVendo America has been assigned a patent developed by eight co-inventors for "calibration systems for machines." The co-inventors are Daniel S Carter, Fresno, Calif., Christopher R. Craven, Fresno, …
Byline: HOWARD WITT Chicago Tribune
AUSTIN, Texas - The symptoms sound like something straight out of a horror movie: crawling and biting sensations all over the skin, dementia and insomnia, painful sores that never heal and, most terrifying of all, mysterious tangled fibers pushing out through the open wounds.
Thousands of victims concentrated in Texas, California and Florida claim to be afflicted by the debilitating malady, for which there is no known cause and no certain cure. One young Austin man apparently committed suicide when the agony grew too acute, while many others, spurned by disbelieving doctors, are suffering in silence.
But whether …
BYLINE: STAFF WRITER and SAPA
NINE people believed to be striking workers are to appear in court today for allegedly storming and torching three Shoprite Checkers stores at the weekend.
Police said that on Saturday about 10am, a group of between 60 and 70 striking workers went into the Goodwood store armed with axes, knives and pangas.
"They damaged the doors to the store, papers were set alight and an undisclosed amount of money was taken from the cash registers," said police spokes-woman Bernadine Steyn.
The suspects, six men and one woman, aged between 25 and 40, were arrested and are to appear in the Goodwood Magistrate's Court for …
DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland Green Party withdraws from …
You are reading the words of one of the world's foremostauthorities on banquet food.
I have had chicken fried, baked, broiled, sauteed, steamed,roasted, fricasseed and blackened. I have had it stuffed withdressing, cheese, buttered herbs, chestnuts, and asphyxiated in itsown gravy over rice, pastry cups, biscuits and pasta. It has beenbasted in butter, salsa, kumquats, lemon and pineapple. It has wornthe costumes of a Brazilian samba, Hawaiian luau, Mexican fiesta, NewOrleans Mardi Gras and the French leader Napoleon.
I am lucky to be alive.
In the middle of one of my lectures once, the burglar alarm wentoff and I hoisted my plate in surrender and said, …
(ADPnews) - Feb 25, 2011 - Moody's said it rated at final Baa3 a total of USD 1.25 billion (EUR 909m) of loan participation notes (LPNs) issued by Novatek Finance Ltd for the purpose of bankrolling credits to Russian natural gas producer OAO Novatek (MCX:NOTK).
The debt is comprised of USD 600 million LPNs due 2016 and USD 650 million LPNs maturing in 2021.
The final rating mirrors the provisional one the agency had assigned to the securities. The definitive terms of the transaction are in line with the draft papers Moody's had …
U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran (R) may finally be ready to move up. Moran, a six-term congressman, told close supporters that he's thinking of a run for governor or Senate in 2010, according to the Wichita Eagle. He considered challenging Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) in 2006 …
Byline: KARINA SCHWACH Scotia
I'm an exchange student from Germany. I'm visiting the Scotia-Glenville High School for the whole school year. Since I have been here I have had many different experiences and I've learned a lot.
I like it here very much, but I'm disappointed in the lack of importance on education, particularly in the area of foreign languages, especially in the school systems.
I have talked to numerous teachers and students concerning this lack of knowledge and all of them share my opinions.
In most European countries, foreign languages are requirements. In …
There's a lot to be said for having the right tool in a tight spot. The manufacturer of these 960 locknut pliers, for example, says that they are designed for quick and easy adjustment of electrical nuts in tight or wire-constricted boxes. …
Sheffield United striker Jordan Robertson has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving after a highway crash left a man dead.
The 20-year-old Robertson _ on loan in the League Championship at Southampton _ was released on bail after being held following the Dec. 25 crash in Leicestershire, central …
The Four Pillars of Success
Knowledge management (KM) has a "shape shifter" history within the life sciences industry. KM responsibility has passed from department-level information technology (IT) sponsors to CIOs to enterprise-level eBusiness strategists. KM has transitioned from its initial focus on document management and technical issues to its current manifestation as a corporate initiative encompassing cultural retention and the protection of intellectual capital. These varying KM definitions, swings in KM adoption rates, and indefinite project timelines can cause the failure of KM initiatives. Other factors contributing to this KM graveyard syndrome include poor vision, …
STONE CROFT is an attractive village home situated in a much sought-after location.
STONE CROFT is an attractive village home situated in a much sought-after location.
Offering well-presented accommodation, including an entrance hall with a staircase rising and turning to the first floor, the property is in the village of Croughton.
It also features a cloakroom, including a low level WC and wash hand basin with cupboard below, and a triple-aspect sitting room with a stone fireplace and wooden mantle.
There is a separate dining room with double-glazed sliding patio doors opening onto the rear garden.
The kitchen has a range of base and …
CAMDEN, N.J. - Surgery on Gov. Jon S. Corzine's injured leg was successful Saturday, while state police said the driver blamed for the wreck that critically injured the governor had been found but would not be charged.
Corzine's recovery was progressing better than doctors expected, said Dr. Steven Ross, head of trauma at Cooper University Hospital. Doctors cleaned a 6-inch wound during surgery on his left thigh.
Corzine was hurt Thursday when the SUV he was riding in was …
Byline: Peter Wehrwein Staff writer
Expressing frustration at the delays and broken deadlines, the administrative law judge presiding over the Inter- Power hearings ruled Thursday that the company's application will depend on air pollution calculations done several months ago rather than more recent revisions.
Judge Janet Hand Deixler's ruling was in response to petitions from opponents to the proposed 210- megawatt plant in Halfmoon, which would sell electricity to Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. and steam to General Electric Co.'s silicones plant in Waterford.
The opponents, "intervenors" in the case, had complained to Deixler that the company's …
Andrew Driver headed the winner as Hearts came from behind to beat Aberdeen 2-1 on Saturday to move up to third place in the Scottish Premier League.
After Darren Mackie had given visiting Aberdeen a 20th minute lead at Tynecastle, Christian Nade equalized in the final minute of the first half and Driver headed home a cross by David Obua in the 66th.
The victory enabled Hearts to jump into third place behind Celtic and Rangers and two points ahead of Dundee United which was held 1-1 at home …
Iron-pumping Chicago, the oldtime Mr. America of Urban Biceps,is hurdling into the 1990s as a surprise city of global culture. Andnot just physical culture, although it has plenty of that.
If London and New York are four-star capitals of the fine andpopular arts, Chicago appears to be fast approaching a robust threestars, over all.
That is the finding of a broad state-of-the-arts surveyconducted by the Chicago Sun-Times.
For the first time, the city broke through in the 1980s as aleading marketplace of painting and sculpture and an acclaimed centerof fresh theater and noted actors and directors. It also emergedmore strongly than ever as a major city of …
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Henri Rousseau (French; 1844-1910). Carnival Evening, 1886. Oil …
TROY Ozzy Osbourne is back.
A few years ago, the founder of Black Sabbath was ready to retire. No More Tours was the name of his last trek, which included a stop at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs.
But retirement didn't suit him. Now the grand old man of heavy metal is on the …
The European Union said Monday it is studying further measures to help poor countries deal with rising food prices as the bloc's agriculture ministers debated increasing cereal production.
EU spokesman John Clancy told reporters that the European Commission already set aside euro160 million (US$253 million) in aid last month to boost food supplies and stocks in the world's poorest countries.
He said the EU executive office was "examining the current situation" after fresh appeals were made by World Bank chief Robert Zoellick. He urged top donors to provide urgent aid to prevent a full-scale food crisis in the developing world.
Zoellick …
