DARLINGTON, S.C. Dale Earnhardt held off Mark Martin to winSunday's TranSouth 500, his second straight Winston Cup stock carvictory.
Earnhardt, who has won twice, finished second, fifth and 10ththis season, outdueled Morgan Shepherd and then Martin late in therace to earn his 41st career victory and add to his season pointlead.
Geoff Bodine, who set a track record in winning the pole for the367-lap race on the egg-shaped 1.366-mile …
PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Zimbabwe coach Alan Butcher feels his batsmen are struggling in the World Cup because they have not competed at test level for a long time.
Zimbabwe has not played a test match since 2005 after its cricket board voluntarily suspended its test status due to political …
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff suspended his campaign for U.S. Senate on Wednesday, saying he needs to spend more time with a daughter who is experiencing severe mental health problems.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Shurtleff would drop out of the race altogether.
Campaign spokesman Jason Powers declined to comment, although a news conference was scheduled for later Wednesday.
Shurtleff is one of several Republicans challenging U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett for the GOP nomination this spring.
Shurtleff was considered Bennett's most serious challenger, although Bennett has maintained a sizable fundraising lead.
The most …
ARLINGTON, Texas Fastball, fastball, fastball.
"That's all I saw all night, but you can't look for just onepitch from that guy," Texas Rangers left fielder Rusty Greer said ofthe White Sox' hard-throwing Wilson Alvarez.Good vision. Alvarez threw a slider in the eighth inning with arunner on second base, and Greer hit it out for a 3-1 Texas victory.It was the eighth time Greer got a game-winning RBI in his finalat-bat since 1995. The loss dropped the Sox deeper into theCentral Division basement, 3 1/2 games behind surprising Milwaukee.Billy Ripken set up the decision with a double that appeared tohit the second wall in left field, but the umpires …
Former U.S. Ambassador Carol Moseley-Braun spoke at the Rev. Leon Finney's church Sunday in honor of Black History Month where she said America is in "grave" danger of isolating itself and stripping away the civil rights of its people.
The former U.S. senator spoke at the Christ Apostolic Church, 1445 E. 65th St. She has announced through her exploratory committee her decision to run for the presidency.
Moseley-Braun called to question Bush's rush to war. She said this war was different than Dessert Storm and warned that the U.S. is in grave danger right now, having become isolated.
She said the real threat to the United States involves violations of Americans' right …
Gay soccer players, police officers and bus drivers have joined masses of people waving rainbow flags as they march through Paris and protest anti-gay discrimination in schools.
The marchers were dancing along the parade route to a soundtrack of disco mixes, choral music and accordion tunes.
The annual event is one of Europe's biggest gay pride …
Loyola coach John Holecek got out of the hospital just in time towitness one of the Ramblers' wildest finishes as Loyola held off York30-29 on Saturday in Wilmette.
Holecek, who spent most of the game sitting in a chair atop thepress box because of viral meningitis, came down to the field towatch as Joe Suhey preserved the victory by running backward 42 yardsand taking a safety.
"We just didn't want to risk …
Robert Noyce's career at Fairchild Semiconductor sheds light on several developments that were central to the growth of Silicon Valley and the semiconductor industry: entrepreneurship, technical leadership, and the management of growth in a high-technology company. Noyce served as Fairchild Semiconductor's first head of R&D and as its general manager for the six years of the company's most dramatic growth. His technical orientation, personal interest in new technologies, and hands-off management style helped establish a culture at the firm that welcomed innovations in research, process technology, manufacturing, and marketing. As Fairchild Semiconductor grew into a multidivisional …
Retail visionary R.H. Macy was friends with legendary showman P.T. Barnum _ two rich guys hanging out in the 1860s.
Why is this important now? Because had Barnum not suggested to Macy that he put his prized collection of mechanical toys in the windows of his flagship store at Christmastime, we might not be enjoy the over-the-top holiday displays _ filled with dazzling high-tech elements unimaginable when wind-up toys drew crowd _ we do today.
The theme of this year's display at the Herald Square flagship _ which bills itself as the world's largest store and is celebrating its 150th anniversary _ is the making of Christmas magic. The six oversized windows …
WASHINGTON U.S. warplanes struck Libyan military and terroristtargets in two coastal cities last night in retaliation for aterrorist bombing in West Berlin and to warn Libya against carryingout further planned strikes against Americans.
The air raids, undertaken at 6 p.m. yesterday Chicago time (2a.m. today in Libya), were directed at what the White House called-"Libya's terrorist infrastructure . . . at the very heart of Libya'sability to conduct terrorism."
In a nationally televised announcement, President Reagan …
WASHINGTON - A B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear warheads and flown for more than three hours across several states last week, prompting an Air Force investigation and the firing of one commander, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.
Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called the mishandling of the weapons "deeply disturbing" and said the committee would press the military for details. Rep. Edward J. Markey, a senior member of the Homeland Security committee, said it was "absolutely inexcusable."
"Nothing like this has ever been reported before and we have been assured for decades that it was impossible," said Markey, D-Mass., …
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is too weak to take the necessary steps for peace with Syria, said Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal during a visit to Iran Saturday.
Mashaal's comments came during a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Manochehr Mottaki, in response to a question about Wednesday's announcement that Israel and Syria had restarted direct peace negotiations.
"There is great skepticism concerning the seriousness (of Israel) to return the Golan," he said, referring to strategic plateau captured by Israel in 1967. "It's maneuvering and playing with all the (negotiating) tracks _ it's a well known game and besides, …
In a city that has produced more than its share of high school basketball stars, Simeon sophomore guard Derrick Rose has already been called one of the best.
Sunday at the UIC Pavilion, Rose will be on display when his Wolverines take on Thornton in the Public League Shootout.
In other games at the Shootout, Rich Central will take on Julian, Proviso East tangles with Crane and Westinghouse tips off against Hales Franciscan. Action gets underway at 1 p.m.
The Public League Shootout is the brainchild of Public League basketball coordinator Cyrus McGinnis.
"I've always thought that bringing the top suburban teams and the top city teams in and letting them play would be a good idea," McGinnis said.
In addition to Rose, the Shootout will also feature other top local high school basketball stars such as Julian's Brandon Ewing, Thornwood's Brandon Merke, Hales' Nate Minnoy, Crane guard Sherron Collins and Westinghouse's DeAndre Thomas.
In his much-anticipated debut against Thornwood at the Curie Shootout last week, Rose led Simeon to a 53-49 victory over Thornwood by scoring 22 points, grabbing seven rebounds and coming up with five steals.
While many have developed a wait and see attitude towards Rose, there are those who feel he is already one of the best the Public League has produced.
"He's just outstanding," said Westinghouse head coach Quentin Dillard. "He's a very good team player and a winner."
The Westinghouse-Hales game will be a rematch of the consolation game of the recent Blue Cross/Blue Shield Tournament. Westinghouse won that game, but the Spartans are coming off a big win over Belleville-Althoff at the Marshall County Shootout on Saturday in Kentucky.
Article copyright REAL TIMES Inc.
One of the most isolated First Nations communities in British Columbia has taken an innovative approach to training its own forest workers. The Kwadacha Nation of Fort Ware, BC, and Macrolink Administration of Prince George, BC, are working together to bring a series of courses to this remote community.
Kwadacha is about 570 km north of Prince George, itself over 500 km north of Vancouver. Access has traditionally been by small plane, which entails a two-hour flight from Prince George at a cost of over $550 return. Or if one has the time and is up to the challenge, it's a 10 to 12 hour drive (depending on road and weather conditions), partly via a logging road.
Delivering training programs in the local community has long been a challenge. Shaun Kuzio is the director of forest operations for the Kwadacha Natural Resource Agency, a Kwadacha-owned company established to manage the natural resources of the Kwadacha traditional territory. The Kwadacha Nation wanted to administer training internally, he says, but didn't have the skills or training to develop courses themselves. "We wanted something the band could take ownership of," Kuzio explains.
That's when Kuzio sought out Macrolink Administration, a company that produces and markets course kits under the name of Capacity Trainer Resources. Their course kit list includes silviculture and forestry, safety and fire suppression, personal and professional development and business and management courses.
Training to Work
Macrolink's course kits are developed on the principle of training people for work. Each course kit comes fully equipped with a detailed facilitator manual, a reproducible participant workbook, reference material, and training aids. "We were very impressed with Macrolink's course content, completeness and overall quality," Kuzio says.
Kuzio is responsible for helping create, implement, and manage Kwadacha's Forest Development Plan. Their forest licence allows them to harvest 53 000 m[Symbol Not Transcribed] annually for 15 years and co-manage 147 000 m[Symbol Not Transcribed] with Abitibi-Consolidated of Mackenzie, BC.
Kuzio plans to begin harvesting in the 2002/2003-winter season with preliminary layout work and forest worker training courses beginning in spring.
The first stage of training, a seven-day introductory module taught by Kuzio, includes six courses: Personal Opportunities and Career Exploration; Safety in the Forestry Workplace; Forest Practices Code Awareness; Basic Forestry; Basic Forest Science; and Map and Compass Use.
Stage two, an eleven-day silviculture module, includes five courses: Advanced Forestry; Advanced Forest Science; Introduction to Silviculture Surveys; Silviculture Prescriptions; and Forest Health.
The final stage of training is a twelve-day operations module that encompasses the final five courses: Introduction to Road Layout and Design; Timber Cruiser Skills Training; Wildlife/Danger Tree Awareness; River and Stream Restoration; and Residue and Waste Introductory Course.
Initially, 16 band members signed up for training, with the list eventually narrowed down to six. "These individuals are not being paid to take the training - they are genuinely interested in taking the training so that they can get the jobs," Kuzio explains. "We will teach them basic skills so that they may be paired up with practicing professionals in the field."
As operations expand, more people in the community will be trained. Kwadacha is the first group to be offered the courses, but according to Kuzio, courses will eventually be offered in the other Kaska communities of Good Hope Lake and Lower Post. One of the benefits of Macrolink's courses is that they are highly portable. "We can pick up a course bin and be ready to offer training wherever we need," Kuzio says.
There are obvious economic benefits to training locally. In the past, training was offered that did not lead to employment and opportunities were lost. "I feel that the approach both Kwadacha and Macrolink have taken to getting silviculture and forestry training to this community is groundbreaking," Kuzio says. "There is tremendous interest in what is being done."
NEW YORK (AP) — ABC canceled two of its three long-running daily daytime TV dramas on Thursday, consigning "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" — and Susan Lucci, daytime's most famous actress — to television history.
The move leaves "General Hospital" as ABC's only daytime drama, one of only four that will remain on ABC, CBS and NBC's daytime schedule.
"Soap operas" -- so-called for the detergent makers that often sponsored them -- have slowly been fading as a TV force, with many of the women who made up the target audience now in the work force. In place of the two canceled dramas, ABC will air shows about food and lifestyle transformations.
Brian Frons, head of ABC's daytime department, went to the California set of "All My Children" to deliver the news on Thursday, where a video link was also set up to the New York set of "One Life to Live." He said the shows were doing well creatively, but falling ratings indicated they had a bleak future.
"If you have a show in severe decline, you're trying to catch a falling knife," Frons said.
Daytime dramas have suffered recently as cable networks like TLC, Bravo and Oxygen aggressively seek viewers in those morning and afternoon hours, he said. Soaps are popular with viewers from the post-World War II baby boom, but younger viewers are more interested in other programming, he said.
Both canceled shows were created by Agnes Nixon, one of daytime TV's most famous creative forces, and modeled after fictional Philadelphia-area towns. "One Life to Live" debuted on July 15, 1968, as a half-hour, expanding to an hour 10 years later. "All My Children" premiered on Jan. 5, 1970, expanding to an hour seven years later.
They were both known for incorporating social issues into their stories, with Lucci's character of Erica Kane the first regular TV character to undergo a legal abortion in 1973, said Carolyn Hinsey, author of "Afternoon Delight: Why Soaps Still Matter," due to be published next month.
Lucci became more famous for an offstage drama when she was nominated 18 years in a row for a Daytime Emmy Award as best actress without winning, until she finally took home a trophy in 1999.
"It's been a fantastic journey," Lucci said.
"One Life to Live" is the last soap opera produced in New York, once the thriving center of the industry. Two New York-based dramas on CBS, "Guiding Light" and "As the World Turns," went off the air within the past two years.
"All My Children" is averaging 2.5 million viewers a day, down 9 percent from the last TV season, and the median age of a typical viewer was nearly 57, the Nielsen Co. said. "One Life to Live" is at 2.6 million, its numbers off only slightly.
Hinsey said the schedule changes are risky for ABC stations.
"Why would you drive millions of other people away from your lineup?" she asked. "If you want to save money, cut your costs, cut your sets. You can't be so cavalier with your daytime eyeballs that you let two, three, four million people disappear."
Besides "General Hospital," ABC's decision will leave CBS' "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful" and NBC's "Days of Our Lives" as the only daytime dramas left on the air. Each appears to be in no imminent danger, Hinsey said.
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AP Television Writer Frazier Moore contributed to this report.
Eight years after bashing the Clinton administration for squandering U.S. resources on "nation building" around the world, Condoleezza Rice is singing a different tune.
Then, as the chief foreign policy adviser for Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush, Rice denounced the use of the U.S. government assets for the promotion of human rights and democracy abroad as naive and wasteful.
Now, after serving as President Bush's national security adviser and secretary of state, Rice says she's changed her mind in an article entitled "Rethinking the National Interest" for the upcoming issue of "Foreign Affairs," the venerable journal of the international relations elite.
In it, Rice says the events of the past eight years, notably the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, make nation building _ the concept she once maligned _ essential to U.S. policy.
"We recognize that democratic state building is now an urgent component of our national interest," Rice writes, acknowledging her conversion to the cause from the position she staked out in a "Foreign Affairs" essay titled "Promoting the National Interest" during the 2000 campaign.
"In these pages in 2000, I decried the role of the United States, in particular the U.S. military, in nation building," she writes. "In 2008, it is absolutely clear that we will be involved in nation building for years to come."
Rice says the military should not be given this duty alone and has proposed the creation of a civilian reserve corps to do most of it. She also insists that nation building cannot be done only after a state fails.
"We must help weak and poorly functioning states strengthen and reform themselves and thereby prevent their failure in the first place," she says.
Looking back on her time in two of Washington's most powerful jobs, Rice offers a broad defense of the Bush administration's foreign policy in the article, from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to negotiations with North Korea and dealing honestly with rising powers China and Russia despite their divergent interests and values.
The 2000 essay lambasted the Clinton administration for some of the same behavior: military interventions in Haiti, Kosovo and Somalia, talking to North Korea and coddling China and Russia.
"The president must remember that the military is a special instrument," she wrote then. "It is lethal, and it is meant to be. It is not a civilian police force. It is not a political referee. And it is most certainly not designed to build a civilian society."
"Using the American armed forces as the world's '911' will degrade capabilities, bog soldiers down in peacekeeping roles, and fuel concern among other great powers that the United States has decided to enforce notions of 'limited sovereignty' worldwide in the name of humanitarianism," she said.
Yet after 9/11, her experiences in the Bush administration, particularly in the war on terrorism and combatting the rise of militant Islam, have clearly altered her view.
In the 2000 essay, Rice mentioned al-Qaida not once, even though Osama bin Laden's network had blown up the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania two years earlier. In 2000, Rice used the word "Islam" just once, and it was in reference to Iran.
In the 2008 version, al-Qaida is mentioned at least five times and "Islam" or a variant, three times, twice within the phrase "violent Islamist extremism."
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On the Net:
Rice 2008 essay from Foreign Affairs:
Rice 2000 essay from Foreign Affairs:
PARIS - The CIA ran secret jails in Poland and Romania to interrogate key terror suspects, shackling and handcuffing inmates, keeping some naked for weeks and reducing contact with the outer world to masked and silent guards, a European investigator said Friday.
The CIA called the report "distorted," but stopped short of denying the existence of prisons in the two countries - the agency said it does not discuss the location of its overseas facilities. Poland and Romania also vehemently denied the allegations.
"High value detainees" like self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and suspected senior al-Qaida operative Abu Zubaydah were held in Poland, said the report, which cited CIA sources. It said lesser detainees, but still of "remarkable importance," were taken to Romania.
Top officials in both countries knew of the detention centers, said the report by Swiss Sen. Dick Marty, a former prosecutor asked by the Council of Europe, a human rights watchdog, to investigate CIA activities after media reports of secret prisons emerged in 2005.
Marty did not rule out the CIA having more such prisons in Europe, but told reporters he did not include that in his report because his sourcing was insufficient. He accused Germany and Italy of obstructing investigations into secret detentions.
The report said its conclusions about the clandestine prisons relied on "multiple sources which validate and corroborate one another." Marty said his team spoke with "over 30 one-time members of intelligence services in the United States and Europe" as well as former or current detainees and human rights activists.
While conceding at a news conference that sources for the report were limited, Marty said they were "well placed," including some who "were implicated."
The alleged prisons were at the center of a "spider's web" of purported human rights abuses that Marty outlined in his initial investigation a year ago. That report focused on flights to spirit detainees to CIA hideouts with landing points in at least 14 nations.
He said he saw his reports as a "dynamic of truth" and hoped they will stir debate over what he charges were blatant abuses of human rights.
Clandestine prisons and secret CIA flights involving European countries would breach the continent's human rights treaties, although the Council of Europe has no power to punish countries. The council, which is separate from the European Union, was set up four years after World War II to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe.
Officials at the EU have said previously that they trust the denials of Poland and Romania about hosting secret jails.
CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano did not address whether there were secret detention centers, but he disputed the report's characterization of the agency's activities.
"When you see words like apartheid and torture in the document, that tells you it's biased and distorted," he said. "The CIA's counterterror operations have been lawful, effective, closely reviewed and of benefit to many people - including Europeans - in disrupting plots and saving lives. Our counterterror partnerships in Europe are very strong."
Following a meeting with President Bush in Gdansk, Polish President Lech Kaczynski told reporters: "I know nothing about any CIA prisons in Poland." His predecessor, Aleksander Kwasniewski, who was president in 2001-05, said: "I deny it. I've said as much several times."
Former Romanian President Ion Iliescu, mentioned in a list of ranking officials who allegedly had knowledge of the prisons, dismissed Marty's report as "stupid."
The report, which did not give specific locations for the alleged jails, provided graphic descriptions of conditions.
It told of prisoners being kept naked for weeks, sometimes attached to a "shackling ring" in cells. Buckets served as toilets. Masked guards who never spoke were the only contact for those consigned to four-month isolation regimes.
Cells, sometimes equipped with video cameras, were cramped and kept extremely hot or cold, the report said. Prisoners had to listen to irritating noises, including "torture music," rock or rap as well as "distorted" verses of the Quran, it said.
Bush acknowledged the existence of a secret detention program last September, when he announced the CIA had moved Sheikh Mohammed and 13 other suspected terrorists to the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Marty's report said Poland and Romania hosted secret prisons under a special post-Sept. 11 CIA program to "kill, capture and detain" key terrorist suspects. It said the jails grew out of a secret pact within NATO shortly after the terror attacks on the U.S.
The pact "allowed the CIA to be able to move around Europe unobstructed, without undergoing any control and, especially, the NATO (security) protocol on secrecy was applied," Marty said.
In Italy, the first trial stemming from the CIA's detention program opened Friday without the presence of any of the 26 Americans charged with the 2003 kidnapping of a Muslim cleric suspected of terrorist ties. The trial has irritated U.S.-Italian relations and its opening coincided with Bush's arrival in Rome.
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Associated Press writers John Leicester and Jan Sliva contributed to this report.
GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations has toned down a report detailing hundreds of gruesome attacks against civilians in Congo over a 10-year period but left intact the suggestion that Rwanda's army may have committed genocide there in the 1990s.
Rwanda and its northern neighbor Uganda had protested a leaked draft of the report last month, threatening to pull their soldiers from U.N. peacekeeping missions unless changes were made to the published version.
The final report, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, shows that the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights rewrote sensitive sections of the 545-page document to couch them in less inflammatory language.
For instance, an earlier reference to "damning elements" that could be used by a court to conclude that genocide took place has been changed to "inculpatory elements."
Another section elaborates at length — compared with the earlier draft — on a number of "countervailing factors" that could be used to argue that such a crime didn't take place. A draft section that dismissed mitigating arguments was dropped entirely.
Despite the changes, Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said Thursday that the document was "flawed and dangerous from start to finish."
Mushikiwabo claimed the report had been manipulated by "organizations and individuals" seeking to rewrite Rwanda's history.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame, a U.S. ally, has long claimed the moral high ground for ending the 1994 genocide in his country, during which more than half a million people, mostly Tutsis but also some moderate Hutus, were killed. But the U.N. report casts doubt on Rwanda's claim that it was only pursuing those responsible for the Rwandan genocide when it sent troops across the border into eastern Congo in 1996.
Mushikiwabo said the $3 million report, which details more than 600 incidents between 1993 and 2003 in which tens of thousands of people — mostly women and children — were killed, ignored the historical situation and relied overly on questionable sources.
Ugandan officials also dismissed the report. A spokesman for Uganda's army, which was involved in several conflicts in the area of eastern Congo in the 1990s, on Thursday called the report "rubbish."
"We have not taken it kindly," said Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye. "They have not asked us about the allegations. They did not get our side of the story."
Ugandan Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa warned in a letter to the U.N. human rights office that the report undermined efforts made by countries in the region toward regional peace and security.
"Such sinister tactics undermine Uganda's resolve to continue contributing to, and participating in, various regional and international peacekeeping operations," he said.
If both countries make good on their threat to withdraw troops it could create a headache for the United Nations.
Rwanda, a small country in East Africa, contributes thousands of soldiers to U.N. peacekeeping operations in Chad, Haiti, Liberia and mainly Sudan. Larger Uganda is a significant contributor to the African-led force in Somalia.
A spokesman for the U.N. human rights office declined to comment ahead of the report's official release in Geneva on Friday.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay had delayed publication for several weeks to give affected governments time to publish their comments alongside the final version.
The report, which includes interviews with over 1,280 witnesses, concludes by suggesting ways in which Congo's government, together with the international community, could prosecute the perpetrators of crimes and assist survivors.
Amnesty International described the report as "a very thorough investigation" and called for pressure by donor countries to make Congo prosecute alleged perpetrators.
"What we want now is for action to be taken," said Veronique Aubert, deputy director of the group's Africa Program. "The cycle of violence in the region will only stop if those responsible for these horrific crimes are held to account."
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Associated Press reporters Godfrey Olukya in Kampala, Uganda, and Edmund Kagire in Kigali, Rwanda, contributed to this report.
Today is Tuesday, Nov 4, the 309th day of 2008. There are 57 days left in the year. This is Election Day.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Nov. 4, 1979, the Iran hostage crisis began as militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran, seizing its occupants. For some of the hostages, it was the start of 444 days of captivity.
On this date:
In 1884, Democrat Grover Cleveland was elected to his first term as president, defeating Republican James G. Blaine.
In 1922, the entrance to King Tutankhamen's tomb was discovered in Egypt.
In 1924, Nellie T. Ross of Wyoming was elected the nation's first female governor to serve out the remaining term of her late husband, William B. Ross.
In 1942, during World War II, Axis forces retreated from El Alamein in North Africa in a major victory for British forces commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president, defeating Democrat Adlai Stevenson.
In 1956, Soviet troops moved in to crush the Hungarian Revolution.
In 1980, Ronald Reagan won the White House as he defeated President Carter by a strong margin.
In 1988, in a ceremony at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, President Reagan signed a measure providing for U.S. participation in an anti-genocide treaty signed by President Truman in 1948.
In 1991, Ronald Reagan opened his presidential library in Simi Valley, Calif., with a dedication attended by President Bush and former Presidents Carter, Ford and Nixon _ the first-ever gathering of five past and present U.S. chief executives.
In 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli minutes after attending a festive peace rally.
Ten years ago: In the wake of disappointing election results in which House Republicans saw their majority trimmed, GOP lawmakers talked of quickly wrapping up impeachment proceedings against President Clinton and raised the prospect of challenges to Speaker Newt Gingrich or other party leaders.
Five years ago: Firefighters in San Diego County contained the biggest and deadliest of Southern California's wildfires. Following a conservative outcry over a made-for-TV movie about former President Ronald Reagan, CBS scrapped plans to televise "The Reagans," sending it off to the Showtime cable network instead.
One year ago: King Tutankhamen's face was unveiled for the first time to the public more than 3,000 years after the pharaoh was buried in his Egyptian tomb. Citigroup Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Prince, beset by the company's billions of dollars in losses from investing in bad debt, resigned. Paula Radcliffe outlasted Gete Wami to win her second New York City Marathon in 2:23:09. Martin Lel of Kenya won his second men's title, in 2:09:04.
Today's Birthdays: Former CBS news anchorman Walter Cronkite is 92. Actress Doris Roberts is 78. Actress Loretta Swit is 71. Rhythm-and-blues singer Harry Elston (Friends of Distinction) is 70. Blues singer Delbert McClinton is 68. First Lady Laura Bush is 62. Actress Markie Post is 58. Rock singer-musician Chris Difford (Squeeze) is 54. Country singer Kim Forester (The Forester Sisters) is 48. Actress-comedian Kathy Griffin is 48. Actor Ralph Macchio is 47. "Survivor" host Jeff Probst is 47. Actor Matthew McConaughey is 39. Rapper-producer Sean "Puffy" Combs is 39. Rhythm-and-blues singer Shawn Rivera (Az Yet) is 37. Actress Heather Tom is 33. Rhythm-and-blues/gospel singer George Huff is 28.
Thought for Today: "I know nothing grander, better exercise, better digestion, more positive proof of the past, the triumphant result of faith in human kind, than a well-contested American national election." _ Walt Whitman, American poet (1819-1892).
The national plant closing law has serious loopholes, the GeneralAccounting Office is expected to say in a report due out next month,several experts interviewed for the study said Tuesday.
In 1988, Congress enacted the law - officially entitled theWorker Adjustment Retraining Act. It was designed to provideemployees with a 60-day notice of plant closings so they could beginrearranging their lives.
The law, however, has failed to live up to expectations becauseof major loopholes, said Greg LeRoy, research director for theChicago-based Midwest Center for Labor Research.
They include: The mass layoff rule, which allows companies to terminate smallnumbers of workers over time without giving notice. The faltering business rule, which exempts businesses from giving aclosing notice, if they fail to secure new business or investment. The unforseen circumstances rule, which exempts firms from givingnotice if business conditions suddenly change.
"There is strong evidence that companies have deliberatelymanipulated . . . loopholes or simply ignored the noticerequirements, terminating loyal, longtime employees with no notice atall," said Julie Hurwitz, executive director of the Detroit-basedSugar Law Center, which is the litigation clearing house for theNational Lawyers Guild, a union of lawyers whose clients includedislocated workers, African-Americans and other non whites.
The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, interviewed severalorganizations concerned with plant closings for itsreport, said JimBenn, executive director of the Chicago-based Federation forIndustrial Retention & Renewal.
African American and African Men are not afraid of making a fashion statement, if the color and the fiber is of good quality, if it looks good on, wears well with a reasonable price tag and it coincides with our lifestyle, we'll take it.
It's always good to dress in layers when moving about during the holiday season. Leather jackets and car coats, relaxed suede trousers and knit mock neck sweaters are big this holiday season, two piece walking suits in earth tone colors are winners for the smart casual look. If the affair calls for a suit, you could never go wrong with a custom or off the rack black or pin stripe suit with a white or cream shirt and a beautiful jewel toned gold or bronze neck tie with all the trims.
Crepe de Silk shirts are elegant when worn on the outside over a trouser or jeans with shoes or boots. A sports jacket, a trench or a three quarter length car coat will keep the chill off in between stops and if you're ready to spend Thanksgiving day with your business partners at lunch, your family for dinner and on to your friends late into the evening.
I'm Designer Duvall, from Chicago's Fashion Empire, bringing you the fashion forecast for the upcoming holiday celebrations. From lounge, smart casual, business or just over the top and just plain sharp. I'll give you the ins and outs of the local, national and international fashion industry right here.
We'll take you from the streets to the Apparel Center and Merchandise Mart and on to some of the nicest men's boutiques in the Chicago area. So pull up those trousers and straighten up those ties because brothers, we're stepping out this holiday season.
No one has ever openly called it like this before? So you can say that you read it here first. In all my travels, I can honestly testify that African American men, along side African men, are the most stylishly best-dressed men in the world.
We were born with style, class and charisma. We're very fashionable, exciting, sharp, suave, debonair, smooth, sophisticated, cultured, finished, refined, accomplished, buoyant, charming, appealing, distinctive, illustrious, awesome, striking, lofty, majestic, grand, impressive, noble, magnificent, honorable, dazzling, splendid, extraordinary, dignified, handsome, stirring and seductive.
Because there are no statistics available on the good of the black man, I guess this discription represents 99.9 percent of us. Somebody say Amen out there! Or just go right ahead and sing the entire Amen chorus because the proof is in living color.
Meeting your fiancee's family for the first time, invited to the in-laws for lunch or dinner, taking your favorite girl out on the town, preparing an intimate setting for two at home, doing the annual family thing or just hanging out with some very close, but yet special friends. Whatever you've got penciled in on you diary, we've got your holiday fashion wardrobe menu. Not only will we tell you what's hot but where to buy it.
For suits and Walkers: B Elegant - Beverly
Leather Jackets, Silk Shirts: Brock's - Beverly
Pinstipe suit & Trench Mario Uomo - West Loop
Sizes 2X & larger: Big Time - Evergreen Plaza
Shoes: Giorgio Brutini/Arrow Smith
Sportswear: Sport n' Goods - Beverly
So Brothers say it loud, we're fashionable and very proud.
Keeping the seconds picture perfect and the moments everlasting, hold that priceless pose until next week. Just having a ball....Duvall
Article copyright Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc.
BRUNSWICK HILLS, Ohio (AP) — A runaway dog found shot in the chest with an arrow is weak but recovering after being reunited with his owners in northeast Ohio.
The Akron Beacon Journal reports (http://bit.ly/uvNqWF ) that Hershey was discovered Sunday in Valley City, about 15 miles from the home he had left 17 days earlier.
The 15-year-old German shepherd-Labrador retriever mix had an arrow poking through both sides of his chest. The local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says the arrow was probably in place for at least two days.
The arrow was removed at a veterinary hospital in Akron. On Wednesday, the dog was home with Deanne Pennell and her family in Brunswick Hills.
Pennell says the person who injured the dog should be made to volunteer at the SPCA.
BATTING_CJones, Atlanta, .410; Berkman, Houston, .382; Furcal, Los Angeles, .366; Pujols, St. Louis, .351; Tejada, Houston, .340; Ludwick, St. Louis, .336; Atkins, Colorado, .332.
RUNS_Berkman, Houston, 50; Tejada, Houston, 39; McLouth, Pittsburgh, 38; Young, Arizona, 37; Weeks, Milwaukee, 37; Uggla, Florida, 36; HRamirez, Florida, 36; DLee, Chicago, 36; CJones, Atlanta, 36.
RBI_Berkman, Houston, 44; Braun, Milwaukee, 37; AdGonzalez, San Diego, 37; Nady, Pittsburgh, 37; McLouth, Pittsburgh, 36; DWright, New York, 35; Ludwick, St. Louis, 35; CaLee, Houston, 35; Tejada, Houston, 35.
HITS_CJones, Atlanta, 68; Berkman, Houston, 66; Tejada, Houston, 65; Atkins, Colorado, 63; CGuzman, Washington, 61; Pujols, St. Louis, 60; Utley, Philadelphia, 58; DLee, Chicago, 58.
DOUBLES_McCann, Atlanta, 18; Uggla, Florida, 17; Berkman, Houston, 16; Soto, Chicago, 15; McLouth, Pittsburgh, 15; JCastillo, San Francisco, 15; Utley, Philadelphia, 15; Glaus, St. Louis, 15; Tejada, Houston, 15.
TRIPLES_FLewis, San Francisco, 5; SDrew, Arizona, 5; JReyes, New York, 5; Velez, San Francisco, 4; CJackson, Arizona, 4; 6 are tied with 3.
HOME RUNS_Berkman, Houston, 16; Uggla, Florida, 14; Utley, Philadelphia, 14; Braun, Milwaukee, 13; McLouth, Pittsburgh, 12; Howard, Philadelphia, 12; AdGonzalez, San Diego, 12; Ludwick, St. Louis, 12; CJones, Atlanta, 12.
STOLEN BASES_Bourn, Houston, 20; Taveras, Colorado, 19; Pierre, Los Angeles, 18; JReyes, New York, 14; HRamirez, Florida, 13; KMatsui, Houston, 11; Kemp, Los Angeles, 9; Theriot, Chicago, 9; Berkman, Houston, 9.
PITCHING (6 Decisions)_Webb, Arizona, 9-1, .900, 2.69; Volquez, Cincinnati, 7-1, .875, 1.33; Lincecum, San Francisco, 6-1, .857, 2.17; Zambrano, Chicago, 6-1, .857, 2.45; Wellemeyer, St. Louis, 5-1, .833, 3.25; Sheets, Milwaukee, 5-1, .833, 2.92; Hendrickson, Florida, 6-2, .750, 3.72.
STRIKEOUTS_Lincecum, San Francisco, 69; Hamels, Philadelphia, 65; Volquez, Cincinnati, 62; Billingsley, Los Angeles, 60; Peavy, San Diego, 60; JSanchez, San Francisco, 57; JSantana, New York, 57.
SAVES_BWilson, San Francisco, 14; Valverde, Houston, 14; Lyon, Arizona, 12; Lidge, Philadelphia, 11; Isringhausen, St. Louis, 11; Capps, Pittsburgh, 10; Rauch, Washington, 10; Gagne, Milwaukee, 10; KWood, Chicago, 10.
Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, other newspapers and the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field, has hired financial advisers ahead of a possible filing for bankruptcy-court protection, according to reports.
The Chicago Tribune reported Sunday that its parent hired investment bank Lazard Ltd. and law firm Sidley Austin as it considers its financial options.
"It's an uncertain and difficult environment," Tribune Co. spokesman Gary Weitman said in a Chicago Tribune story published on the newspaper's Web site Sunday night. "We haven't made any decision. We're looking at all of our options."
Weitman did not immediately respond to requests from The Associated Press for comment. Lazard spokeswoman Judi Mackey said the firm declined to comment on the reports.
The Wall Street Journal, quoting people familiar with the matter, reported a bankruptcy filing could come as early as this week. It said Tribune Co.'s cash flow may not be enough to cover nearly $1 billion in interest payments that are due this year.
Tribune was taken private last December in an $8.2 billion buyout led by real estate mogul Sam Zell.
Last month, Tribune said its debt load increased to $11.8 billion at the end of the third quarter, up from $9.4 billion a year ago. It posted a loss of $121.6 million for the third quarter as newspaper advertising revenue dwindled.
The company had originally expected its newspaper and broadcast revenue to cover interest and principal on its debt. But plummeting advertising revenue at most Tribune newspapers this year has forced Tribune to cut costs, including staff, and to sell assets to raise money.
The company has a Monday deadline on $70 million of unsecured debt it took on before the Zell deal, the Chicago Tribune reported. It can either draw on existing credit to pay the debt or negotiate new terms with its creditors, the newspaper reported.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded Tribune's debt further into junk territory last month, saying the credit crunch could delay the sale of assets _ and limit the amount that the company could get for them _ including the Cubs, Wrigley Field and its 25 percent interest in Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
Chicago Cubs chairman Crane Kennedy said Friday that the Cubs are going over bids for the team and he expects the baseball franchise to be sold by spring training.
Athletes from 10 European countries will take part in an allergy study at the Beijing Olympics.
The study is likely to involve hundreds of athletes and was announced Tuesday _ on World Asthma Day _ by the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network, an EU-funded research network.
"The pan-European study will allow scientists to specify the prevalence of asthma, exercise induced asthma and other allergic diseases among European athletes qualified for the Beijing Olympics," a statement from the Brussels-based group said.
Participating countries are Britain, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
British asthma expert Peter Burney said the study would look at the effects of peak exertion as well as the polluted atmosphere in the Chinese capital.
"What we hope to do is follow the athletes with a questionnaire _ before they go and a little bit afterward _ and ... look at the relationship between activity at the Olympics and previous health and the outcome," Burney told The Associated Press.
Asthma rates are higher among athletes than in the general population.
"If you exert yourself a lot, you're more susceptible to the environment at that time because you're breathing in a lot more air," Burney said. "It does seem to be high in athletes, particularly in distance athletes and in endurance sports.
Burney, who is involved in the British part of the study, said details of methods that will be used remain to be worked out.
He said he did not believe pollution in Beijing would cause athletes serious problems.
"I don't think that will happen. I think they'll be well looked after," he said.
The study is being coordinated in Norway by professor Kai-Hakon Carlsen from the Voksentoppen Children's Asthma and Allergy Center in Oslo.
Britain's opposition leader purged a lawmaker from the Conservative Party's ranks Thursday for claiming a floating "duck island" in his garden pond as a parliamentary expense _ the latest casualty in the scandal over the misuse of public funds.
Opposition leader David Cameron demanded the retirement of Peter Viggers after Britain's Daily Telegraph reported he had charged taxpayers for a floating oasis protecting his ducks from urban foxes. The item was among gardening expense claims exceeding 30,000 pounds ($46,000) _ enough to buy a home in Viggers' Gosport district southwest of London.
The Telegraph also detailed the expenses of Ruth Kelly, a former member of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Cabinet. The ex-transportation secretary charged thousands of pounds (dollars) for flood damage to her house despite having an insurance policy, the newspaper said.
Public anger over such disclosures has put pressure on Britain's leaders to call early elections _ a scary prospect for tainted lawmakers. It is not just the extravagance but the details that are dragging politicians down, said Julia Clark, the head of political research for the polling firm Ipsos MORI.
"People assume politicians are corrupt and naughty, but a lot of this stuff is illegal and immoral," Clark said. "When you hear about ducks and the moats and the chandeliers and the KitKat bars, it makes it more real."
Britain's ruling Labour Party, far behind in recent polls, has the least enthusiasm for an election. With the economy in crisis and Brown's popularity ratings waning, the prime minister has little reason call an election before next year, when he must do so under law.
Also, the Labour Party is deeply in debt, and the scandal has threatened its ability to replenish its coffers. Some of the party's most generous donors have been quoted by the Observer newspaper as saying they would withdraw their lavish support, worth millions of pounds (dollars), to protest lawmakers' claims for items like patio heaters and bathroom plugs.
"If this happened in business or any other walk of life it would lead to prosecution," Moni Varma, a wealthy rice importer, was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
June elections for the European Parliament will offer the first snapshot of the damage. The far-right British National Party and the United Kingdom Independence Party, which advocates withdrawal from the European Union, stand to capitalize on voter discontent.
Those parties could do especially well in European parliamentary races, because votes are allocated on the basis of proportional representation. That means a vote for a fringe party would not be wasted, even if that party is weak in a particular district _ an appealing idea to voters interested in snubbing one of the major parties to protest the abuses.
Meanwhile, the major parties are rushing to show the public they've learned their lesson. The Conservatives, the largest opposition Party, has launched an internal investigation into all 150 of its legislators. Brown has said that any Labour lawmakers found guilty of misconduct will be dumped from the party's slate.
So far, the most prominent casualty has been House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin, who resigned under pressure from lawmakers who blamed their predicament on his lack of will to reform the institution.
Interim rules were put in place to quash the abuses, including a halt to reimbursements for mortgage interest that no longer existed. Brown has called for outside regulators to administer the new system, in what would be an end to centuries of parliamentary sovereignty over its own affairs.
Other radical steps are also being considered, such as replacing Britain's present electoral system, which favors the two major parties, with one that apportions seats in the House of Commons based on each party's share of the national vote.
Bill Jones, a professor of politics at Liverpool Hope University, described the times as "a moment of choice and possibility" for British politics.
"We don't know where it's going to end," he said.
Today is Tuesday, November 11, the 316th day of 2008. There are 50 days left in the year.
Highlights in history on this date:
1500 - France's King Louis XII and Ferdinand of Aragon secretly sign the Treaty of Granada for conquest and partition of Naples.
1528 - Margaret Hunt tells the Bishop of London the secrets of her "sorcery" _ how she combines natural herbs and prayer to heal the sick. She is not prosecuted.
1606 - Peace treaty is signed at Zeitva-Torok between Turks and Austrians.
1620 - Forty-one Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchor in Massachusetts and sign a compact calling for a "body politick."
1673 - Poland's King John Sobieski defeats Turks at Korzim, Poland.
1778 - British forces take St. Lucia, West Indies, from French.
1831 - Former slave Nat Turner, who led a violent insurrection, is executed in Jerusalem, Virginia.
1836 - Chile declares war on Peru-Bolivia Federation.
1895 - British Bechuanaland is annexed to Cape Colony.
1918 - World War I ends with Germany and the Allies signing an armistice in a railroad car at Compiegne, France.
1921 - U.S. President Warren Harding dedicates the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
1938 - Kate Smith first sings Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" on U.S. network radio.
1942 - Tearing up the Franco-German armistice which established the occupied zone in 1940, Hitler orders German troops into Unoccupied France on the 25th anniversary of the World War I Armistice.
1951 - Juan Peron is elected for his second of three presidential terms in Argentina.
1964 - Food shortages in India provoke riots.
1965 - Ian Smith declares Rhodesian independence, and Britain says the regime is illegal. The African country is now known as Zimbabwe.
1971 - China's chief delegates to the United Nations arrive in New York City amid tight security arrangements; U.S. Senate ratifies treaty to return island of Okinawa to Japan.
1972 - United States turns over its big base at Long Binh to South Vietnamese, symbolizing end of direct U.S. participation in Vietnam War.
1973 - Egypt and Israel sign cease-fire agreement sponsored by United States and begin discussions to carry out the pact.
1975 - Australian Governor General Sir John Kerr dismisses Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and dissolves Parliament _ the first time in 200 years the British crown exercises its right to remove an elected PM.
1987 - Boris Yeltsin, who criticized what he called the slow pace of Soviet reform, is removed as Moscow Communist Party chief.
1990 - China tells Saddam Hussein it will not veto a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing military action to force Iraq out of Kuwait.
1991 - Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir vows not to give up occupied territories.
1992 - The Church of England votes to ordain women as priests.
1993 - At least 15 people are killed and 47 injured after 52 vehicles including six big-rig trucks are involved in a blazing pileup on a highway in western France.
1994 - A 72-page manuscript of Leonardo da Vinci's scientific diagrams and notes is sold at an auction in New York for a record $30.8 million.
1995 - An avalanche buries a Japanese trekking group in the Mount Everest region in Nepal, killing 26.
1996 - Guatemalan President Alvaro Arzu announces a peace agreement with the guerrilla movement, ending 36 years of fighting.
1997 - An 8-year-old boy is killed when Israeli troops fire at Palestinians throwing stones to protest the opening of Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem.
1998 - U.N. personnel leave Baghdad, Iraq, and U.S. President Bill Clinton orders more warplanes and ships to the Persian Gulf after Iraq refuses to allow weapons inspections to continue.
2000 - A cable car being pulled through an Austrian mountainside to a glacier resort catches on fire, killing 155 skiers and snowboarders.
2001 - Thirty-one members of the banned Iran Freedom Movement are tried on charges of plotting to overthrow the government.
2002 - Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates pledges $100 million to fight AIDS in India.
2003 - At least six people are killed and 60 injured when police fire rubber bullets at rock-throwing protesters during a general strike that paralyzed the Dominican Republic. The demonstrators were protesting rolling blackouts and the rising costs of gas and food.
2004 - Palestinians at home and abroad weep in an eruption of grief at the death of Yasser Arafat, the man they consider the father of their nation, and quickly elevate his No. 2 in the Palestine Liberation Organization as their top leader.
2005 - Top diplomats from Russia and the United States express hope that a deal could be reached with Iran over the nuclear program that the West fears could help Tehran develop atomic weapons, but the status of a possible compromise remains unclear.
2006 - Unidentified gunmen attack U.N. peacekeepers near a restive slum in Haiti's capital, killing two Jordanian members of the force.
2007 - The largest Protestant paramilitary group in Northern Ireland, the outlawed Ulster Defense Association, renounces violence, officially ending the decades of terror it inflicted on the province's Catholic minority.
Today's Birthdays:
Louis Antoine Bougainville, French navigator (1729-1811); Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian writer (1821-1881); Kurt Vonnegut Jr., U.S. writer (1922-2007); Daniel Ortega, former President of Nicaragua (1945--); Demi Moore, U.S. actress (1962--); Leonardo DiCaprio, U.S. actor (1974--); Calista Flockhart, U.S. actress (1964--).
Thought For Today:
Private opinion creates public opinion. ... That is why private opinion, and private behavior, and private conversation are so terrifyingly important _ Jan Struther (nee Joyce Anstruther), English poet (1901-53).
Carman, Man.
It's not so much the recognition that satisfies George Klassen as knowing that tens of thousands of Asian farmers are benefiting from his invention.
In 1979, Klassen, a member of Carman Mennonite Church, invented the rower pump while serving with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Bangladesh.
In June, he and his wife, Sheri, were invited to Ottawa to attend the opening of the Innovation Canada Gallery in the National Museum of Science and Technology where his rower pump is featured along with other Canadian inventions.
Until the 1980s, farmers in Bangladesh were largely dependent on the No. 6 cast iron hand pump to irrigate their crops during …
Former Marseille manager Eric Gerets will be the new coach of Morocco's national team, the country's football federation said on Monday.
Gerets, who will replace Hassan Moumen, will take up the post as soon as the Belgian's commitments with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal come to an end _ in November at the latest.
His assistant will be Dominique Cuperly, who had the same job during Gerets' spell in charge at Marseille from 2007-09. Cuperly will initially take charge of the Morocco squad, pending the 56-year-old Gerets' arrival from Saudi Arabia, the federation said in statement.
…
SYDNEY, Australia -- Biota Holdings Ltd., which is still feeling the effects of the poor sales performance of its anti-flu drug, has announced a management revamp as part of a strategic review of the company.
The changes are mostly internal and involve more emphasis on business development, but also include the retirement of Chief Executive Hugh Niall, who has run the Melbourne-based company for six years. Niall, 64, will step down next year and does not plan to move on into any full-time position.
Niall told BioWorld International that his retirement was not related to the management review. "I have been running the company for six years and it's probably about time …
TODAY
MEETINGS
Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, Women's Business Council, Wolfert's Roost Country Club, 120 Van Rensselaer Blvd., Albany When: 7:30 a.m. Cost: $6 Contact: 237-1353 Notes: Marcia J. White, president and executive director of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, presents the program "Inspiring Organizational Change."
WEDNESDAY
MEETINGS
Albany Metro chapter, BNI, Daughters of Sarah Nursing Home, 182 Washington Ave. Ext., Albany When: 7 a.m. Cost: Free Contact: 456-7831 Notes: Deb Darby from Shaklee …
Byline: MICHAEL MCKEON Staff writer
ALBANY Albany County's sales tax revenues increased by about 8 percent in 1994 thanks to a strong Christmas season and healthy sales among car and truck dealers, County Comptroller Ed Stack said Monday.
Stack said the county collected $91.8 million in sales tax revenue last year, $6.8 million more than in 1993 and $5.4 million more than the county had budgeted for the year.
The final 1994 take was just $200,000 short of what former county Budget Director Philip Mahar had predicted for the year when former County Executive Michael Hoblock released his 1995 budget in October.
The 1995 budget calls for a 5 …
A former U.S. Army soldier accused of raping an Iraqi girl and killing her and her family was upset after losing multiple friends in combat but didn't appear to struggle more than anyone else in the unit, one of his commanding officers said.
Steven Dale Green, 23, of Midland, Texas, faces more than a dozen charges, including sexual assault and four counts of murder, stemming from the March 2006 attack in Iraq's so-called "Triangle of Death." He has pleaded not guilty to killing the 14-year-old girl, her mother, father and 6-year-old sister.
Colonel Todd Ebel told jurors on the first day of the trial Monday that he spoke with Green in December 2005 …
The trucking industry is a vital component of Central Pennsylvania's economy. It's also a big reason why the midstate has some of the unhealthiest air in the U.S.
In an admirable display of unity and community awareness, 15 Cumberland County firms have signed a resolution to reduce idling time by truckers. Keen Transport Inc. is the leader of the initiative. It consulted with the Clean Air Board of Central Pennsylvania in the spring. Shortly after that meeting the company set an example by banning idling on its Middlesex Township premises (see "Driving force," page 1).
This aggressive self-policing is a bold, smart move by Keen and its industry fellows for several …
WASHINGTON - Ford Motor Co. CEO Jac Nasser faces a potentially hostile environment this week when he goes to Capitol Hill. Victims of tire failures have been invited to participate in congressional hearings about possibly defective Firestone tires on Ford light trucks, a congressional staffer confirmed. After first saying he was too busy overseeing tire replacements, Nasser did an about-face late last week and said he will appear before lawmakers when the hearings begin at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6. The sessions will be conducted jointly by two subcommittees of the House Commerce Committee. They are the subcommittees on consumer protection and on investigations and oversight. …
I'm not a collector, but I do treasure my ticket stub from a 1966 Beatles concert. Unlike me, an estimated 37 million Americans are collecting everything from vintage baseball cards to Lladro figurines. However, many don't make the connection to insure their collections. Our cover story, "Collecting Premiums" on page 32, examines how personal lines agents can boost their business by asking clients if they have collections, and informing them about available coverage.
Hagerty Insurance, the collector car and boat writer, is now writing insurance for automobile collectibles. Automobilia insurance covers auto-related items such as neon signs, vintage gas pumps and even …
Byline: HELEN THOMAS
President Bush is so right. Saddam Hussein is a bad man, a tyrant. With a wink from us, he went to war with Iran in 1980 and invaded Kuwait in 1990. He has defied the United Nations. And he has been ruthless toward the Iraqi people.
Bush made those points in the State of the Union address, but he still didn't explain why the United States should attack Iraq.
I could name a host of national leaders in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe who also are bad men. But Bush isn't hell-bent on deposing them. The fact is, the President blew it Tuesday night. With the world watching, he passed up a chance to make a …
Mary Jo Buttafuoco will make a rare request when Amy Fisher is sentenced today for shooting her in the head, her husband's attorney said Monday.
"This is the first time she has an opportunity to pay back Amy Fisher for what she did to her - and some say payback's a real bummer," said Marvin Kornberg, attorney for Joseph Buttafuoco.
Kornberg refused to reveal what Mary Jo Buttafuoco would say at the sentencing, but said the five-minute, carefully prepared statement would contain a request never before made by a victim in open court.
The sentencing in Nassau County Court will be first face-to-face meeting of the defendant and the victim since the May …
| All Times Eastern |
|---|
| Interleague |
| Chicago White Sox 10, Chicago Cubs 5 F |
| N.Y. Yankees 4, Houston 3 F |
| N.Y. Mets 5, Baltimore 1 F |
| Detroit 6, Pittsburgh 2 F |
| Cleveland 7, Washington 2 F |
| Florida 14, Tampa Bay 9 F |
| Kansas … |
A Food and Drug Administration official says the agency is looking into a produce contamination case linked to a shuttered Texas processing plant and may decide to expand a recall.
Don Kraemer of the FDA's Office of Food Safety said Thursday that a decision on whether to expand the recall would be made once the agency learns more.
Texas health officials shut down the …
BASF's Micro Flo (Memphis) pesticide business has agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle EPA civil charges that Micro Flo falsified pesticide ingredient import documentation. The complaint involves multiple shipments of active ingredients, which BASF's paperwork claimed had come from …
WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama introduced Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate at a huge and boisterous rally in Springfield, Ill., on Saturday, revealing a choice that strengthens the Democratic ticket's credentials on foreign policy and provides Obama a hard-fighting partner as he heads into the fight with Sen. John McCain.
In Biden, Obama selected a six-term senator best known for his expertise on foreign affairs - Biden spent last weekend in Georgia as that nation engaged in a tense confrontation with Russia - but also his skills at political combat. Obama passed over other candidates who might have brought him a state or reinforced the message of change that has been central to his candidacy. At the rally outside the Old State Capitol where Obama announced his candidacy for the White House 20 months ago, Obama offered a passionate and politically instructive introduction of Biden: the portrait of a running mate who filled in what many Democrats have described as the political shortcomings of Obama.
Obama told the story of Biden's life. Son of a working-class Catholic family from Scranton, Pa., Biden, 65, was elected to the Senate in 1972 at 29. But tragedy struck …
STEPHENTOWN -- The Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department will hold a weekend of activities to celebrate its 60th year of community service this weekend.
On Saturday, the department will host the annual water polo event at 7 p.m. at the fire hall on Grange Road. The parade steps off on Sunday at 11 a.m. at the intersections of Route 22 and 43. Its theme is ``60 Years in the Making.''
Following the parade is the muster competition which begins at 1 p.m., also at the fire hall.
Food and beverages will be available both days. Program seeks volunteers
TROY -- Families in Crisis, Unity House's domestic violence program, is seeking enthusiastic, …
the ideal hotel contract: YOURS
If you plan meetings, you've probably had some unwelcome surprises in hotel contracts. Additional charges for electricity used, finding your members got no better than the "rack" rate during conference weekend, and extra costs for quick-turnaround requests are just a few of the unexpected expenses I've encountered.
As the chief staff officer and convention manager of two small associations in Denver, I used to keep a mental list of my groups' special needs and of the things I'd been burned on over the years of putting on meetings. But in time it became more and more difficult to remember everything each time I negotiated meeting space. When the list grew too long, I knew it was time to bite the bullet and write my own contract.
The first time details go awry with a hotel contract you can call it a learning experience, but just when you begin to relax, ban, you get hit with the very same thing a second time. That's when it becomes a planning peeve.
Hotel people must think we're crazy when we come in with our lists of planning peeves. I got so bad for a time that I insisted on tape-recording everything said during a walk-through. I know it was weird, but I did it because a sales manager once promised me simple arrangements that, when I got on-site, weren't made. In that particular hotel, the sales department carried no weight at all with the banquet captain, the golf club manager, and some others who had worked there for years. My carefully planned details went for naught and I became paranoid: thus the tape recorder.
Wishful thinking
Meeting planners can list dozens of things that have happened that they want to avoid for all time. That list gets longer each year, and during hotel negotiations it results in a lot of double-checking to make sure the planner's idiosyncrasies and planning peeves are addressed.
On top of that, we all accumulate a wish list. This is a list of things that may or may not be offered by a particular hotel; nonetheless, we always want them.
Examples are the following: * "We wish all hotels would let us use their plants on our speakers' platform." * "We wish more bellhops would be working when our people arrive." * "We wish our directors could check into their sleeping rooms before noon."
For meeting planners signing hotel contracts, this means many details to be checked, loopholes to be closed, and a fair amount of verbal negotiation pertaining to the wish list when space is booked. Add up the number of meetings an association books over the years and you can see how time-consuming these negotiations are.
You are your own best
negotiator
Your time as a planner will be better spent if you take a few hours to draw up your own hotel contract instead of relying on wish lists. The …
