IT company backing baby unit appeal

A Bath IT company is the latest to join a scheme offering supportto an appeal for a new baby care unit.

IPL, in Grove Street, has been raising money to support theForever Friends Appeal Space to Grow campaign.

A team of runners took part in the Bath Half Marathon, andsponsor money went towards the appeal for a new neonatal intensivecare unit at the Royal United Hospital.

Chief operating officer John Davey said the firm was delighted tojoin the NICU Corporate Partnership scheme.

"I would like to thank the IPL team who took part in this year'sBath Half Marathon and our staff for their generosity in supportingthe runners". One in ten babies is born …

Chavez Leads Rally Against Bush Visit

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez launched another verbal assault on President Bush Friday as he led some 20,000 supporters in an anti-American rally, calling the U.S. leader a "political cadaver" and blasting his policies as "imperialist."

"Gringo go Home!" Chavez shouted to raucous applause in a crowded soccer stadium, speaking even as Bush was arriving in neighboring Uruguay as part of a Latin America tour.

Chavez said he didn't come to Buenos Aires to "sabotage" Bush's visit and called the timing a coincidence.

"The U.S. president today is a true political cadaver," Chavez said, alluding to Bush's waning years in office. "What the …

1 in 50 American children experiences homelessness

One of every 50 American children experiences homelessness, according to a new report that says most states have inadequate plans to address the worsening and often-overlooked problem.

The report, being released Tuesday by the National Center on Family Homelessness, analyzes data from 2005-2006. It estimates that 1.5 million children experienced homelessness at least once that year, and says the problem is surely worse now because of the foreclosures and job losses of the deepening recession.

"If we could freeze-frame it now, it would be bad enough," said Democratic Sen. Robert Casey, who wrote a foreward to the report. "By end of this year, it …

Brothers' Freedom Tour is rolling

There may be no limit to what two freedom-loving Americans withbicycles can do to advance the cause of liberty.

Michael and Brian O'Malley will settle for $250,000.

That's the amount the brothers from the Beverly neighborhood onthe South Side are hoping to raise for orphanages and children'shospitals in Eastern Europe.

The O'Malleys will embark in mid-May on the Celebrate FreedomTour, a 4,000-mile journey through six nations - East Germany,Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

They are seeking 10 major sponsors at $25,000 each and havereceived a commitment from the American Chapter of the InternationalRed Cross to distribute the …

The Bristol norms for age of acquisition, imageability, and familiarity

Ratings of age of acquisition (AoA), imageability, and familiarity were collected for 1,526 words. The methodology made use of a modular approach, in which the full sample of words was divided into five separate blocks. Within each block, each word was rated on each of the three variables by 20 participants (undergraduate students from the University of Bristol). Analyses comparing these ratings to existing norm databases demonstrated that this methodology resulted in high reliability (assessed by Cronbach's α) and validity. The ratings were also transformed to be compatible with the Gilhooly and Logie (1980) norms. This transformation resulted in a set of norms for 3,394 words, …

`Just my day,' says NY doctor who gets building violations after home burns down

An obstetrician saved his wife and six children from a fire that ravaged their home, delivered a baby while the house was still smoldering _ and then got cited with building violations.

Dr. Herman Weiss said Friday "was just my day."

The 37-year-old awoke around 3 a.m. to the screech of a smoke detector and the sight of flames inching up an outside wall of his Long Island home. He got his family to …

Recruiting, marketing success for Catholic school system

The Archdiocese of Chicago made it to the new school year without having to close any of its 255 schools.

That doesn't mean the Catholic school system has returned to the powerhouse it was 50 years ago, but the head of the parochial schools here says it appears that aggressive marketing and recruiting are starting to pay off.

"For a long time, Catholic schools didn't necessarily toot their own horn," said Sister Mary Paul McCaughey, schools superintendent for the archdiocese. The notion that Catholic parents would send their kids to Catholic schools "was just expected. There …

Olmert trial resumes

FORMER ISRAELI PM ACCUSED OF MISUSING FUNDS

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert returned to the Jerusalem District Court January 3 to face charges of misusing public funds.

Olmert was accused of being involved in a complicated scheme of double billing voluntary organizations as well as other public and state organizations, and utilizing the extra money to finance private trips for himself and his family.

The trial resumed after a six-week recess, …

Afghans demonstrate in support of Karzai's threat against Taliban safe havens in Pakistan

Hundreds of Afghans demonstrated in support of President Hamid Karzai's threat to send troops against Taliban militant leaders in Pakistan. Across the border, Pakistan summoned the Afghan ambassador and said it would "defend its territorial sovereignty."

Afghan tribesmen, elders and clerics gathered in at least four cities in eastern Afghanistan _ where Karzai's support is strongest _ with many saying they were ready to respond to their president's call and take up arms.

"We are ready to defend our homeland," said Malik Majid, an elder from Afghanistan's Urgan district in Paktika province, near the border. "We strongly condemn …

Is Q-101 selling itself or promoting a rival?

On the day that WKQX-FM (101.1) expanded its alternative rockplaylist and unveiled the new slogan "Now on Shuffle," EmmisCommunications delivered 300 pre-programmed iPods to the station'stop advertisers and media buyers.

Soon after that, billboards began appearing all over town with thestylized image of a huge iPod in the foreground, the skyline ofChicago in the background, the words "60 Gigs of Alternative -- Nowon Shuffle," and Q-101's logo in the lower right corner.

While Q-101 bosses believe the iPod analogy connects with theirtarget audience, others in the radio industry see it as misguided.

"Should a medium that's already universal be comparing …

DECLINING MOUNTAIN SNOWPACK IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICA*

The West's snow resources are already declining as the climate warms.

Mountain snowpack in western North America is a key component of the hydrologic cycle, storing water from the winter (when most precipitation falls) and releasing it in spring and early summer, when economic, environmental, and recreational demands for water throughout the West are frequently greatest. In most river basins of the West, especially in Washington, Oregon, and California, snow (rather than man-made reservoirs) is the largest component of water storage; hence, the West is (to varying degrees) vulnerable to climatic variations and changes that influence spring snowpack.

Winter and spring …

Garmin acquires Norwegian distributor

NEW YORK (AP) — Garmin Ltd. said Friday it acquired Belanor AS, which distributes Garmin's GPS systems and other products in Norway.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The …

CHARLES IN CHARGE CATCH THIS: QUIETLY CONFIDENT JOHNSON HAS INSTANT RESPECT OF NEW TEAMMATES

Being a new catcher on a first-place team sounds like acomplicated career move, but Charles Johnson kept his first day withthe White Sox simple.

When Bob Howry entered Tuesday night's game with the bases loadedin the eighth inning, Johnson trotted out to the mound for anorientation that went like this:

Johnson: "What do you got?"

Howry: "Fastball, slider, changeup."

Johnson: "One, three, wiggle?"

Howry nodded approval of those signals and the two were inbusiness.

"Hey, it's great," Howry said. "He's such a big guy, it's likeseeing a backstop back there. He puts that glove up, and you throwright at the middle of his body. It looks like nothing will get byhim."

General manager Ron Schueler acquired Johnson for his defense, hisconsistent bat and his leadership. The move has been heralded as oneof the best trades before Monday's non-waiver deadline.

While Johnson, 29, makes the transition from the struggling Baltimore Orioles (48-58) to the first-place White Sox (65-42) appearsmooth, he admits it will take at least two weeks to get acquaintedwith his new pitchers.

To expedite the process, Johnson disregarded the Texas heatTuesday and Wednesday and went into the bullpen before both gamesagainst the Rangers to warm up the starting pitchers-giving bullpencatcher Man Soo Lee a break.

Just business as usual for Johnson.

As his teammates crowded around the big-screen TV near his lockerWednesday to catch a glimpse of Brook Fordyce-the only major-leaguerthe Sox dealt for Johnson and Harold Baines-Johnson kept his back tothe screen.

He polished his shoes and never turned around to see his formerOrioles teammates.

This is nothing new for Johnson, playing for his fourth team injust more than two years.

"It's an adjustment because this team has jelled and has greatchemistry," Johnson said. "It's especially difficult when a catcheris involved because he affects all of the pitchers. But this is justpart of the business."

Johnson isn't a typical catcher. He is 6-2, 220 pounds. He hasfour Gold Gloves and a World Series ring, but next to Baines, mightbe the most unassuming player in the Sox' clubhouse.

"Usually catchers are the loudest ones," said first baseman PaulKonerko, who played with Johnson on the Dodgers in 1998. "He does agood job of keeping quiet, but also leading."

Manager Jerry Manuel knows all about Johnson's qualities. Manuelwas the bench coach for the Florida Marlins in 1997 when they won theWorld Series. Johnson was an All-Star catcher that season.

"You never knew Charles was around," Manuel said. "You probablycan't remember two words Charles said on the bench. He is not a rah-rah type of guy. Maybe that's what this team needs-to remain on aneven keel, but with intensity and focus."

Johnson learned his work ethic at an early age. His father,Charles Sr., was a pitcher at Florida A&M and coached him in highschool. Using the school's pitching machine, Charles Sr. wouldposition it 45 feet from the plate, set it on high speed and aim itlow.

Charles Jr. crouched behind home plate and learned to blockpitches in the dirt. That's also where he developed his footwork forthrowing out runners. His uncle Roy McGriff, a former catcher atSouthern University, taught him the finer points of the position.

Johnson's release after catching a pitch and throwing to secondbase has been timed at 1.7 seconds. The major-league average is 1.9to 2.0 seconds.

Catching is Johnson's passion.

It also gave him a passport to see the world.

In 1988, he won a gold medal as the catcher on the U.S. JuniorNational team at the World Junior Championships in Australia. Theteam played one series in Japan.

As a member of the U.S. National team, he played in Havana, Cuba,at the Pan American Games. And in 1992, he was the starting catcherfor Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

"That was a good experience, to be as young as I was and play allover," he said. "I got to play in a lot of different scenarios. Ithelped me understand different cities and different cultures."

It also helped him make the adjustment of being traded.

He has been a hot commodity because of his defense. At least fiveteams were talking trade with the Orioles before the Sox acquiredJohnson.

He enhanced his value with his offensive production this season.During the winter, Johnson had a batting cage installed in hisbackyard in Pembroke Pines, Fla. He even talked Orioles batting-practice pitcher Rudy Arias into stopping by four or five times aweek for one-hour sessions in the cage.

Johnson opened his stance and used other ideas suggested byOrioles hitting coach Terry Crowley.

Konerko has noticed a different hitter, one who has walked threetimes in eight plate appearances with the Sox.

"The thing he is doing now is he is hitting for average," Konerkosaid of Johnson, who is hitting .292 with 22 home runs and 56 RBI."He has learned to lay off a lot of pitches and wait for his pitch.So now he's a good hitter on top of everything else.

"He is one of the top 10 players in baseball, as far as offenseand defense-and we have him. He could hit a home run every night, butif he felt he didn't call a good game, then he's not happy. He takesa lot of pride in his defense."

That's why Johnson seems so focused now. He has been making therounds in the clubhouse, meeting with each pitcher and learning eachpitcher's tendencies from backup catcher Mark Johnson.

It's a process Charles Johnson has been through so many timesbefore.

"It's not that easy being traded to a different team and seeingdifferent pitchers," Charles Johnson said. "It's going to take awhile. Hopefully, we will continue to win. That is the key-continueto win while you learn."

UK doctors question treatment of terminally ill

A group of senior British doctors expressed concern Thursday about the treatment of the terminally ill, saying some people are dying prematurely because of guidelines for dealing with patients in their final hours.

In a letter to The Daily Telegraph newspaper, the six palliative care specialists criticized the "tick-box approach to the management of death" in guidelines used by hundreds of hospitals within Britain's universal health care system.

Britain's system has been at the center of debate at home and in the United States, where opponents of health care reform have used it to attack President Barack Obama's plan for national health insurance. U.S. conservatives have used the British system as a negative example, saying it provides rationed care and allows bureaucrats rather than doctors to make life-and-death decisions.

On Thursday, a leaked consultants' report recommended drastic cuts in the U.K.'s National Health Service to help cope with the ever-rising cost of supporting universal health care _ a development that opponents of the U.S. health care reforms are likely to welcome.

Most in Britain defend their NHS, but complaints about bureaucracy are common.

The guidelines for the terminally ill, which are not mandatory, were designed by a hospice in Liverpool and recommended as a model in 2004 by the body that sets national health care standards.

They lay out signs that a patient is close to death _ including loss of consciousness and difficulty swallowing _ and say that once an assessment has been made doctors may remove medication or intravenous drips that are no longer effective.

The letter-writers said the problem with the guidance was that "forecasting death is an inexact science" and that some patients might be denied food or fluids, or put under sedation with the result that signs of improvement might be missed.

"It is supposed to let people die with dignity, but it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy," said Dr. Peter Hargreaves, one of the signatories. "Patients who are allowed to become dehydrated and then become confused can be wrongly put on this pathway."

Marie Curie Cancer Care, the charity that drew up the guidelines, said the procedures had "improved the end of life experience for thousands of people" and claimed the doctors' letter would cause unnecessary fear.

Most Britons strongly support the NHS, which provides free medical care for all. But the service also receives frequent criticism from doctors, politicians and patients, and funding it is a constant challenge for governments.

A magazine reported Thursday that management consultants McKinsey & Co. had advised the health service to cut a tenth of its 1.5 million-strong work force over the next five years to make up a budget shortfall.

It also suggested the NHS sell off hospitals and cut back on some services.

The government said it had rejected the proposals, which were among many submitted by consulting firms after the government asked for suggestions on how to make up a 20 billion pound ($33 billion) shortfall expected by 2014.

"The government does not believe the right answer to improving the NHS now or in the future is to cut the NHS work force," Health Minister Mike O'Brien said.

Details of the study were published Thursday by the Health Service Journal.

McKinsey & Co. refused to comment.

___

Associated Press Writer Meera Selva contributed to this report.

U.S.: Test Points to N. Korea Nuke Blast

WASHINGTON - An air sampling taken after North Korea's claimed nuclear test detected radioactive debris consistent with an atomic explosion, Bush administration and congressional officials said Friday night. They said no final determination had been made about the nature of last weekend's mystery-shrouded blast.

One congressional official said that radioactive material was found in an air sample collected on Wednesday. It was one of several tests to determine the validity of North Korea's claim that it had set off a nuclear test.

"The betting is that this was an attempt at a nuclear test that failed," another official said. "We don't think they were trying to fake a nuclear test, but it may have been a nuclear fizzle." The officials who described the results spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.

The administration briefed key members of Congress about the preliminary test results. One official said the sample was collected above Qunggye, near the area of the claimed nuclear test.

T BIRD AND THE BREAKS, FEB. 12, REEF

If you want a feel for how the Reef is going to roll on Saturday, Feb. 12, check out the "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat" scene In Disney's Aristocats. A feline funk band stomps on a piano until it smashes through the floorboards of a seven-story building and cats spill out into the street playing broken instruments. That's the G-rated version of what to expect at a T Bird and the Breaks concert.

The 10-plece Austin, Texas, soul band brings enough ass-shaking funk to smash through the sturdiest floor. Spearheaded by Tim "T Bird" Crane, T Bird and the Breaks channel old school James Brown and Otis Redding, with finger-snapping female back up vocalists and a swinging brass section to boot.

On the songs "Esmerelda," Crane belts out lines like "Chunky funk comin' outta the trunk / gonna spread the news like stink from a skunk," with horns and high-pitched female harmonies swirling in the background. Talk about breaking it down.

- Tara Morgan

9:30 p.m., $5. The Reef, 105 S. Sixth St., 208-287-9200, reefboise.com.

Grim wait in Korea blast

((PHOTO CAPTION))

Vitry, Philippe de

Philippe de Vitry

1291–1361

Poet
Bishop
Royal advisor

The New Art.

Philippe de Vitry (1291–1361) was a poet and composer who taught at the University of Paris, held administrative positions at the French royal court as advisor to kings Charles IV, Philip VI, and John II, and in his later years was Bishop of Meaux. He was once credited with authorship of the treatise Ars Nova (New Art), which provided new techniques for writing sophisticated rhythms, paving the way for far more complex musical structures that were soon explored in all of the polyphonic forms, especially in motets. Although Philippe probably did not write the treatise, he was highly influential in the development and teaching of its techniques, and it is likely that he invented the isorhythmic motet and contributed to the dominance of the chanson forms in fourteenth-century French secular music. He was highly regarded as a composer, teacher, and poet during the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. Only a few of Philippe's compositions have survived, two of which are musical insertions in the poem Roman de Fauvel by Gervais de Bus and Chaillou de Pesstain.

sources

A. Colville, "Philippe de Vitry: Notes Biographiques," Histoire Littéraire de la France. Vol. 36 (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1925): 520–547.

Ernest H. Saunders, "Philippe de Vitry," in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol. 20. 2nd ed. Ed. Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London and Washington, D.C.: Macmillan, 1980): 22–28.

USDA reconsiders employee ouster over race remarks

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he will reconsider the department's decision to oust a black employee over racially tinged remarks after learning more about what she said.

Vilsack said in a statement early Wednesday morning that he will "conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts" about his decision to ask Shirley Sherrod to resign.

Sherrod, who was the Agriculture Department's director of rural development in Georgia, criticized the administration for pushing her to resign Monday after a blogger posted an edited video of her saying that she didn't give a white farmer as much help as she could have 24 years ago.

Sherrod says her remarks were part of a story about racial reconciliation, not racism.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Obama administration is standing by its quick decision to oust a black Agriculture Department employee over racially tinged remarks at an NAACP banquet in Georgia, despite evidence that her remarks were misconstrued and growing calls for USDA to reconsider.

Shirley Sherrod, who until Tuesday was the Agriculture Department's director of rural development in Georgia, says the administration caved to political pressure by pushing her to resign for saying that she didn't give a white farmer as much help as she could have 24 years ago when she worked for a nonprofit group.

Sherrod says her remarks, delivered in March at a local NAACP banquet in Georgia, were part of a story about racial reconciliation, not racism. The white farming family that was the subject of the story stood by Sherrod and said she should keep her job.

"We probably wouldn't have (our farm) today if it hadn't been for her leading us in the right direction," said Eloise Spooner, the wife of farmer Roger Spooner of Iron City, Ga. "I wish she could get her job back because she was good to us, I tell you."

The NAACP, which initially condemned Sherrod's remarks and supported Sherrod's ouster, joined the calls for her to keep her job. The civil rights group said it and millions of others were duped by the conservative website that posted partial video of her speech on Monday.

"We have come to the conclusion we were snookered ... into believing she had harmed white farmers because of racial bias," said the statement from NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous.

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said President Barack Obama was briefed on the matter after Sherrod's resignation and stands by the Agriculture Department's handling of it.

The website, biggovernment.com, gained fame last year after airing video of workers at the community group ACORN counseling actors posing as a prostitute and her boyfriend. It posted the Sherrod video as evidence that the NAACP, which recently passed a resolution condemning what it calls racist elements of the Tea Party, condones racism of its own.

Sherrod said she was on the road Monday when USDA deputy undersecretary Cheryl Cook called her and told her the White House wanted her to resign because her comments were generating a cable news controversy.

"They called me twice," she told The Associated Press in an interview. "The last time they asked me to pull over to the side of the road and submit my resignation on my Blackberry, and that's what I did."

Sherrod said administration officials weren't interested in hearing her explanation. "It hurts me that they didn't even try to attempt to see what is happening here, they didn't care," she said. "I'm not a racist ... Anyone who knows me knows that I'm for fairness."

The administration gave a different version of events.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack _ not the White House _ made the decision to ask Sherrod to resign, said USDA spokeswoman Chris Mather. She said Sherrod willingly resigned when asked.

In a statement, Vilsack said the controversy surrounding Sherrod's comments could, rightly or wrongly, cause people to question her decisions as a federal employee and lead to lingering doubts about civil rights at the agency, which has a troubled history of discrimination.

"There is zero tolerance for discrimination at USDA," Vilsack said. "We have a duty to ensure that when we provide services to the American people we do so in an equitable manner."

USDA is sensitive to the issue because the agency has for decades faced charges of discrimination against black farmers who said they could not get aid that routinely went to whites. The department agreed to a final $1.25 billion settlement earlier this year in a class-action suit that has been pending for more than a decade. The payout of that settlement is pending in Congress, and Vilsack has made fixing past wrongs over civil rights a top priority.

The current controversy began Monday when biggovernment.com posted a two-minute, 38-second video clip in which Sherrod describes the first time a white farmer came to her for help. It was 1986, and she worked for a nonprofit rural farm aid group. She said the farmer came in acting "superior" to her and that she debated how much help to give him.

"I was struggling with the fact that so many black people had lost their farmland, and here I was faced with helping a white person save their land," Sherrod said.

Initially, she said, "I didn't give him the full force of what I could do" and only gave him enough help to keep his case progressing. Eventually, she said, his situation "opened my eyes" that whites were struggling just like blacks, and helping farmers wasn't so much about race but was "about the poor versus those who have."

Sherrod said Tuesday the incomplete video appears to intentionally twist her message. She says she became close friends with the farmer and helped him for two years.

In the full 43-minute video of her speech released by the NAACP Tuesday evening, Sherrod tells the story of her father's death in 1965, saying he was killed by white men who were never charged. She says she made a commitment to stay in the South the night of her father's death, despite the dreams she had always had of leaving her rural town.

"When I made that commitment I was making that commitment to black people and to black people only," she said. "But you know God will show you things and he'll put things in your path so that you realize that the struggle is really about poor people."

Sherrod said in the speech that working with Spooner, who she does not name, changed her entire outlook.

"She's always been nice and polite and considerate. She was just a good person," Eloise Spooner said. "She did everything she could trying to help."

U. of C. policy is sound

Keep it up guys, it's apparently your goal to write a negative front page story on the Obama campaign every day from now until November ["U. of C. shunning poor patients?" Aug. 23]. As a health care professional since 1973, what the U. of C. Hospital is doing with this program makes perfectly good sense from several standpoints. Many of these patients who come to the hospital ER aren't really emergency and clog up the ER and delay the treatment of people with true emergencies.

They also can be seen and treated more quickly and far more cost effectively in ambulatory settings, such as where these patients are being directed to -- or in less busy ERs. Treating them at a place such as the U. of C. is particularly inefficient because university-affiliated tertiary care centers like them have far higher amounts of institutional overhead built in to their charges for all of their care, including ER visits.

Ralph "Cash" Beardsley, Darien

Woman's fake bomb threat grounds Chinese plane

BEIJING (AP) — A fake bomb threat allegedly made by a disgruntled woman trying to worry her husband forced a Chinese airliner to make an emergency landing in the country's west, an airport official said Friday.

The China United Airlines flight, which took off from Beijing and was headed to the far western city of Urumqi, was forced to land Thursday at Jiayuguan Airport in Gansu province where police detained the 27-year-old passenger, said Peng Xiaodong, spokesman for the Gansu Airport Group which oversees the airport.

Peng said the woman had been having trouble with her husband and "wanted to make him worry," though her husband was not on board the plane.

Peng said no explosive devices or other suspicious material were found on the plane and it resumed to its destination late Thursday, he said. An investigation was under way, he said.

The state-run China News Service reported that the woman was surnamed Wang.

Such incidents have been rare in recent years following an increase in security.

In 2008, a woman allegedly attempted to set a plane on fire during a flight from Urumqi, the capital of the restive Xinjiang region. Ethnic riots there two years ago killed at least 197 people.

Lung Volume Reduction Surgery

LUNG VOLUME REDUCTION SURGERY. Edited by Michael Argenziano and Mark E. Ginsburg. 288 pp. Illust. Humana Press Inc., Towota, NJ. 2001. US$145. ISBN 0-89603-848-3

Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) is a palliative operation for patients with end-stage emphysema, who have dyspnea and exercise limitation interfering with quality of life and activities of daily living. Gastrapping areas of emphysematous lung are resected, with the aim of improving pulmonary function. Although the goal is palliative, the severity of the patients' underlying emphysema makes LVRS a high-risk procedure. Major questions remain to be answered about this operation, including which patients benefit from (and which are harmed by) LVRS, how to select them, how long symptomatic improvement lasts and whether survival is improved.

Lung Volume Reduction Surgery is a comprehensive textbook that addresses many of the issues surrounding the surgical care of patients with advanced emphysema. The editors are surgeons with the ColumbiaPresbyterian Medical Center, and many of the authors are investigators in the National Emphysema Treatment (NET) Trial, the major American multicentre randomized controlled study. This book summarizes the experience with LVRS to date in a succinct, understandable manner. The intended readers are the surgeons, respirologists, anesthesiologists, nurses and physiotherapists who make up an LVRS team.

The book is divided into 2 parts. The initial section describes pathophysiology, medical management and rehabilitation of patients with severe emphysema. The second section describes the trans-sternal and thoracoscopic surgical approaches, anesthesia management and nursing concerns. The emphasis throughout is on the practical approach to patient assessment, optimization, and selection for surgery, intraoperative management and postoperative care. There is a well-presented series of flow charts and tables outlining the approach to patient selection in the NET Trial, and the operative diagrams clearly show how the procedure is performed. Many of the chapters in the second part take the form of case series, describing the ColumbiaPresbyterian Medical Center experience. The final chapter details the resuits of LVRS compared to the lung transplantation and describes potential indications for LVRS within a lung transplant program.

Lung Volume Reduction Surgery includes a synopsis on the many case series and the few randomized trials of LVRS. Aside from the NET Trial, there is no mention of other ongoing randomized trials, such as the Canadian Lung Volume Reduction Study. There is only passing mention of the controversy between proponents of randomized LVRS trials to prove the procedure's efficacy and the modem developers of the operation, who believe that LVRS is based on proven concepts and requires only further refinement and experience.

This book shows how experts conduct all aspects of patient care in this developing operation. It deserves the attention of any surgical team that performs this procedure or has an interest in developing an LVRS program.

[Author Affiliation]

Lawrence Tan, MD, CM Assistant Professor and Program Director Section of Thoracic Surgery Health Sciences Centre University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Man

Stock futures up slightly ahead of Bernanke speech

Wall Street headed for a narrowly mixed opening Tuesday as investors awaited a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the U.S. economy.

Bernanke's speech out of Barcelona, Spain, is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Eastern time. After the Fed indicated last month that it intends to keep interest rates on hold amid uncertain outlooks for the economy and inflation, investors are trying to determine if the central bank sees weak growth or surging commodities prices emerging as the greater threat.

Oil prices remain stubbornly near record highs, keeping investors jittery about rising costs for consumers, whose spending accounts for more than two-thirds of economic growth.

Meanwhile, worries about the financial sector have been swelling up again. A day after Standard & Poor's downgraded financial services companies and Wachovia Corp. and Washington Mutual Inc. shook up their top management, The Wall Street Journal reported that Lehman Brothers might need to raise some $4 billion in capital to right itself after taking substantial debt write-downs for its fiscal second quarter, which ended last week.

Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 12, or 0.10 percent, to 12,494, while Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 0.60, or 0.04 percent, to 1,386.00. Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 2.25, or 0.11 percent, to 2,013.50.

The stock market tumbled Monday due to worries about financial services companies and tepid economic data.

In corporate news, Toll Brothers Inc. reported that write-downs of land joint ventures led the luxury homebuilder to a quarterly loss of $93.7 million. The results were better than Wall Street expected, however.

Staples Inc. raised its hostile bid for Dutch office supplies distributor Corporate Express NV to $2.6 billion. Last month, after two offers from Staples, Corporate Express struck a surprise deal to buy a French competitor, Lyreco SAS, to create an international competitor to Staples.

And later Tuesday, major automakers are scheduled to release their monthly sales figures.

Government bonds rose. The 10-year Treasury note's yield, which moves opposite its price, was at 3.95 percent, down from 3.97 percent late Monday.

The dollar traded lower against most other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Light, sweet crude fell 3 cents to $127.73 a barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 1.60 percent. In midday trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.22 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.27 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.29 percent.

___

On the Net:

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

GOP fireworks on Ollie

Sen. Warren B. Rudman, Republican vice chairman of the SenateSelect Iran-contra Committee, has fired off a scathing private letterto Republican National Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf attacking afund-raising letter extolling Lt. Col. Oliver L. North.

Seeking to take advantage of Olliemania, Mr. Fahrenkopf on July21 sent out a mailing saying that "through six days of gruelinginterrogations by some of Washington's most self-serving liberalpoliticians and lawyers," Col. North "brilliantly argued for thecause of freedom in our hemisphere." Sen. Rudman has been underconservative attack back home in New Hampshire for his prosecutorialzeal against Col. North.

Sen. Rudman wrote Mr. Fahrenkopf that Col. North "lied" and"deceived" the president and Congress. "These are not actions thatare representative of the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan,"Sen. Rudman's Aug. 3 letter concluded. "I deeply regret the messagethat your letter carried." ANOTHER HILL LEAK

Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger and Adm. William J.Crowe, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, were furious when House ArmedServices Committee Chairman Les Aspin revealed that Saudi Arabia wassecretly flying a new AWACS orbit with its U.S.-made radar planes atthe mouth of the Persian Gulf.

The implacably secretive Saudis agreed to fly the new pattern toreveal ship and air activities dangerous to the United States aroundthe Strait of Hormuz. But the United States in turn agreed not totell the world, specifically keeping Iran in the dark.

But Rep. Aspin, informed in a closed-door session by Mr.Weinberger and Adm. Crowe, did not keep quiet about it. HighPentagon officials say privately that some members of Congress arestaying away from secret Pentagon briefings when Rep. Aspin ispresent for fear they will be blamed for leaks that are his. VERITY SURPRISE CHOICE

The unexpected choice of industrialist C. William Verity to besecretary of commerce was so closely held by President Reagan and hiswife Nancy that even Robert Tuttle, the administration's personnelchief, was astounded and, say some officials, upset.

Mr. Verity's name did not appear on the formal list ofcandidates routinely put out by Mr. Tuttle when a major vacancyoccurs. One official said Mr. Verity's name first was broached tothe president by Michael K. Deaver, now awaiting trial for perjury.They knew each other when Mr. Deaver was White House deputy chief ofstaff and Mr. Verity was Armco steel's chief executive officer. PERKLESS CARLUCCI

Although national security adviser Frank C. Carlucci explainsquietly that perks are not important to him, his displacement bydeputy White House chief of staff Kenneth M. Duberstein for a scarceseat on President Reagan's helicopter has raised eyebrows.

On a recent trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Mr. Carlucci took acar while Mr. Duberstein and chief of staff Howard H. Baker Jr. rodewith Mr. Reagan in Marine One. Never mind, Mr. Carlucci told afriend, I'm no perk jerk and would just as soon go by car. Butlesser NSC officials did not like the apparent downgrading of theirchief. DOLE VS. KEMP

The old feud between Sen. Robert J. Dole and Rep. Jack Kempflared up Thursday in Chicago when the senator rejected a joint pressconference by the Republican presidential rivals suggested by his owntop Illinois supporter.

Sen. Dole's Illinois chairman, House Republican Leader Lee A.Daniels, proposed that since they were both addressing a state partyfund-raiser they also hold a joint press conference. The Dolecampaign declined on grounds the senator was arriving in Chicago toolate, but a spokesman added the idea was "silly" in any event. Sen.Dole then scheduled his own press conference 15 minutes later.

Appearing solo, Rep. Kemp took the opportunity to tee off onSen. Dole for supporting an oil import tax. That ended a long publictruce between the two as they struggled to catch up withfront-running Vice President George Bush.

Evans & Novak are nationally syndicated columnists of theChicago Sun-Times.

River Plate defeats Racing 2-0

Matias Abelairas and Diego Buonanotte scored first-half goals Thursday as River Plate defeated Racing Club 2-0 in Argentina's Apertura tournament.

Chacarita and Velez played to a scoreless draw, Arsenal defeated Atletico Tucuman 2-0 and Rosario Central overwhelmed Estudiantes 3-0 in other matches Thursday.

The title will be decided on Sunday, when Banfield is hoping to claim it first title in the club's 113 years with a victory at Boca Juniors.

Banfield leads with 41 points, two ahead of Newell's Old Boys. A draw against Boca would be enough as long as Newell's does not win by three goals or more.

Sports history

April 3

* 1962 - Jockey Eddie Arcaro retires at 46 with 4,779 victories,including two Triple Crowns he captured with Whirlaway and Citation.

* 1988 - Louisiana Tech wins the NCAA women's basketballchampionship with a 56-54 come-from-behind victory over Auburn.* 1988 - Amy Alcott shoots a 1-under-par 71 to win the Dinah Shoreby two shots over Colleen Walker.1989 - Michigan beats Seton Hall 80-79 in overtime to win the NCAAchampionship. Rumeal Robinson hits two free throws with threeseconds left for the Wolverines.1993 - For the first time in its 157-year history, the GrandNational steeplechase is declared void because of a false start.Esha Ness crosses the line first, but most of the jockeys areunawarea false start is called and the majority of the 39-horse fieldcontinue the 4 1/2-mile race around the Aintree course even thoughnine stay behind at the start line.1993 - Jim Montgomery's three goals in the third period lead Maineto a 5-4 comeback win over Lake Superior State for the NCAA hockeytitle.1994 - Charlotte Smith's 3-pointer at the buzzer gives NorthCarolina a 60-59 victory over Louisiana Tech in the NCAA women'sbasketball championship game.1994 - The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 inmajor league baseball's first Sunday night opener, sending baseballinto a new era with three divisions and a new playoff format.1995 - UCLA wins its first national basketball championship in 20years and record 11th NCAA title, keeping Arkansas from repeatingwith an 89-78 victory.

Chinese drywall maker, others to fix 300 homes

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Chinese drywall manufacturer facing thousands of homeowners' court claims and several other companies have agreed to pay to repair 300 homes in four states in a pilot program, an attorney involved in the deal said Wednesday.

Homeowners in Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi whose homes had drywall manufactured by Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. will be eligible to participate in the program and get their homes fixed, said Richard Duplantier Jr., an attorney for a Louisiana-based drywall supplier.

Duplantier said his client, Interior Exterior Building Supply, and several other homebuilders and insurance companies will help pay for the repairs.

"We want our customers and the homeowners who bought the drywall to get some relief," he said.

Knauf will play a role in picking which homes will be fixed, according to Duplantier.

"Which homes are part of the program is kind of an evolving process," he said.

Thousands have sued over damage from Chinese drywall installed in homes that has caused problems ranging from a foul odor to corrosion of pipes and wiring.

Attorneys were expected to announce the deal Thursday on the steps of the federal courthouse in New Orleans, where a judge is presiding over thousands of Chinese drywall claims.

Kerry Miller, a lawyer who represents Knauf, didn't immediately return a call and e-mail seeking comment.

The pilot program could pave the way for a larger settlement of more than 3,000 claims against Knauf.

U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon, who is presiding over the consolidated claims, already has ruled in favor of plaintiffs and ordered extensive remediation in Chinese-drywall tainted homes.

In April, Fallon awarded more than $164,000 to a Louisiana family whose home was ruined by drywall made by Knauf Plasterboard and said the home needed to be gutted. Knauf argued that the family's home could be repaired for less than $59,000.

Earlier that month, he awarded $2.6 million to seven Virginia families whose homes had been ruined by drywall made by another Chinese manufacturer.

So far, Fallon's rulings only have covered property damage and haven't considered possible health problems. The first cases with medical claims won't be considered by the court until late 2010 or early 2011.

Thousands of homeowners, mostly in Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, have reported problems with the Chinese-made drywall, which was imported in large quantities during the housing boom and after a string of Gulf Coast hurricanes.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says homes tainted by Chinese drywall should be gutted and that electrical wiring, outlets, circuit breakers, fire alarm systems, carbon monoxide alarms, fire sprinklers, gas pipes and drywall need to be removed.

The drywall has been linked to corrosion of wiring, air conditioning units, computers, doorknobs and jewelry, along with possible health effects. Preliminary studies have found a possible link between throat, nose and lung irritation and high levels of hydrogen sulfide gas emitted from the wallboard, coupled with formaldehyde, which is commonly found in new houses, the commission said.

Many homeowners can't wait for help to get Chinese drywall out of their homes, but even with the pending announcement their future remains unclear.

"I would love to have some type of normalcy in my life five years after Katrina," said Thomas Stone, the fire chief in St. Bernard Parish, a suburb outside New Orleans hit hard by both Katrina and Chinese drywall. He sued after learning that his home was tainted by Chinese drywall.

The problem for Stone, and possibly thousands of others like him, is tracking down which company made the drywall in his home. He said it was apparently not made by Knauf.

He blamed corrosion for causing a laptop computer and washing machine to malfunction in the past 18 months.

___

Associated Press writer Cain Burdeau in New Orleans contributed to this report.

SYRIAN NATIONAL PLEADS GUILTY TO IMPORTING AND SELLING CONTRABAND CIGARETTES IN RHODE ISLAND

PROVIDENCE, R.

I., Feb. 9 -- The U.

S. Department of Justice's U.

S. Attorney's office for District of Rhode Island issued the following press release:

Mohamad Mohamad, 35, of Cambridge, Mass., a Syrian national, admitted in federal court in Providence, R.

I., today to importing and selling millions of contraband cigarettes. The cigarettes lacked required Rhode Island tax stamps. It is estimated that the contraband cigarettes deprived Rhode Island of an estimated $506,000 in cigarette tax revenue.

Mohamad and three others were arrested in November 2011 as the result of a joint federal-state investigation in five states into the importation and sale of hundreds of thousands of packages of contraband cigarettes into Rhode Island.

Mohamad's guilty plea was announced by Peter F. Neronha, U.

S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island; Colonel Steven G. O'Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New England; and Guy N. Thomas, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Boston Field Office.

According to information and documents presented to the court, Mohamad traveled regularly to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia to purchase large quantities of cigarettes from retailers and wholesalers for resale to convenience stores and independent salespersons in Rhode Island. None of the packages of cigarettes resold by Mohamad contained Rhode Island tax stamps. Mohamad is not licensed to sell cigarettes in Rhode Island.

Appearing before Chief U.

S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi, Mohamad pled guilty to one count of knowingly, transporting, receiving, possessing, selling, and distributing in excess of 10,000 contraband cigarettes. Mohamad faces a sentence of up to 5 years in federal prison; a fine up of to $250,000; and up to 1 year of supervised release upon completion of imprisonment when he is sentenced by on April 27, 2012.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.

S. Attorneys William J. Ferland and Sandra R. Hebert. The remaining defendants in this matter are awaiting trial in Rhode Island state court.

HSI, ATF and Rhode Island State Police High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) agents were assisted in the investigation by various federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia; and by the Internal Revenue Service, Warwick Police, Massachusetts State Police and Cambridge, Mass., Police.

The R.

I. State Police HIDTA is a federally funded task force comprised of members of law enforcement from the R.

I. State Police, ATF, DEA, HSI, R.

I. National Guard, and the Johnston, Pawtucket, Providence, and Smithfield Police Departments. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

SYRIAN NATIONAL PLEADS GUILTY TO IMPORTING AND SELLING CONTRABAND CIGARETTES IN RHODE ISLAND

PROVIDENCE, R.

I., Feb. 9 -- The U.

S. Department of Justice's U.

S. Attorney's office for District of Rhode Island issued the following press release:

Mohamad Mohamad, 35, of Cambridge, Mass., a Syrian national, admitted in federal court in Providence, R.

I., today to importing and selling millions of contraband cigarettes. The cigarettes lacked required Rhode Island tax stamps. It is estimated that the contraband cigarettes deprived Rhode Island of an estimated $506,000 in cigarette tax revenue.

Mohamad and three others were arrested in November 2011 as the result of a joint federal-state investigation in five states into the importation and sale of hundreds of thousands of packages of contraband cigarettes into Rhode Island.

Mohamad's guilty plea was announced by Peter F. Neronha, U.

S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island; Colonel Steven G. O'Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New England; and Guy N. Thomas, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Boston Field Office.

According to information and documents presented to the court, Mohamad traveled regularly to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia to purchase large quantities of cigarettes from retailers and wholesalers for resale to convenience stores and independent salespersons in Rhode Island. None of the packages of cigarettes resold by Mohamad contained Rhode Island tax stamps. Mohamad is not licensed to sell cigarettes in Rhode Island.

Appearing before Chief U.

S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi, Mohamad pled guilty to one count of knowingly, transporting, receiving, possessing, selling, and distributing in excess of 10,000 contraband cigarettes. Mohamad faces a sentence of up to 5 years in federal prison; a fine up of to $250,000; and up to 1 year of supervised release upon completion of imprisonment when he is sentenced by on April 27, 2012.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.

S. Attorneys William J. Ferland and Sandra R. Hebert. The remaining defendants in this matter are awaiting trial in Rhode Island state court.

HSI, ATF and Rhode Island State Police High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) agents were assisted in the investigation by various federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia; and by the Internal Revenue Service, Warwick Police, Massachusetts State Police and Cambridge, Mass., Police.

The R.

I. State Police HIDTA is a federally funded task force comprised of members of law enforcement from the R.

I. State Police, ATF, DEA, HSI, R.

I. National Guard, and the Johnston, Pawtucket, Providence, and Smithfield Police Departments. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

Plushenko indicates he'll continue to compete

The figure skating world might not have seen the last of Evgeni Plushenko, who won his second Olympic silver medal Thursday and then indicated his career is not over.

"I knew I would accept any outcome," the Russian said through a translator after finishing second to American Evan Lysacek at the Vancouver Games. "After this defeat, I'm not going to put my hands down and stop."

The Russian was a silver medalist in 2002. He returned from a three-year retirement trying to become the first man to win consecutive figure skating gold medals since Dick Button in 1952. But he struggled on several jump landings and spins, and it cost him the …

CDO Dealers Stricter on Mark-to-Market.(collateralized debt obligation)(Brief Article)

Investors in the collateralized debt obligation (CDO) market are complaining that dealers are marking-to-market CDOs at unprecedentedly wide levels on sale versus purchase prices.

While this is nothing new - it has been going on for several years now, and is always more pronounced in the fourth quarter - sources say the Street has become even more stringent in terms of financial reporting in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, and this is coming to play on the marks, or bids, made on clients' portfolios.

Dealers have been marking confirmed triple-A arbitrage cash CDOs, issued by upper-tier collateral managers and sold in the low 40s, at about 60 basis points over Libor. This 18 to 20 basis point gap between a purchase level and a sale could result in …

Side by side, at home or away; Tightknit Academy of the Holy Names squad to cheer at Florida game.(Capital Region)

Byline: JIMMY VIELKIND - Staff Writer

ALBANY - They practice together for hours every week. They take classes together. And they help each other with their problems.

And over Christmas break, the 17 members of the varsity cheerleading squad at the Academy of the Holy Names were traveling together to Orlando, Fla., to be part of the pregame show at the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day.

"It'll be like my homecoming," said Kaitlyn Deaton, a 17-year-old senior from Albany who was born in Florida. The co-captain was thrilled when she found out that the ninth-ranked University of Florida Gators, led by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, will play her …

SOURCE OF CRYPTIC REFERENCE TO FILMMAKER KUBRICK A MYSTERY `2001' STREET MARKERS MYSTIFY.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: ROB HIAASEN Baltimore Sun

BALTIMORE Do the words, ``Toynbee Ideas in Kubrick's 2001 Resurrect Dead on Planet Jupiter'' mean anything to you?

The cryptic words are on at least seven street markers on streets in downtown Baltimore. These aren't manhole covers or spray-painted graffiti; these are shoe-box-sized markers with black engraved letters. They're permanent.

No one knows how or when the street markers got there or exactly what the words mean. Their existence stumped folks at the Maryland Institute of Art, the Baltimore Film Forum and the city's Public Works department. Even Baltimore filmmaker John Waters has never heard of these markers.

Hundreds of people and cars pass over them every day. To see the markers, you'd have to look closely at the …

ATP-Movistar Open

Results Tuesday from the Movistar Open, a $496,750 ATP Tour event on outdoor clay at Centro de Tenis Las Salinas (seedings in parentheses):

Singles

First Round

Maximo Gonzalez, Argentina, def. Boris Pashanski, Serbia, 6-3, 6-2.

Brian Dabul, Argentina, def. Diego Junqueira, Argentina, 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-1.

Pablo Cuevas, Uruguay, def. Nicolas Lapentti, Ecuador, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

Sebastian Decoud, Argentina, def. Fabio Fognini, Italy, 6-3, 7-5.

Thomaz Bellucci, Brazil, def. Juan Pablo Brzezicki, Argentina, 6-2, 6-3.

Agustin Calleri (7), Argentina, def. Nicolas Massu, Chile, 7-6 (4), 6-1.

…

Florida State, Virginia Tech get best deals in ACC scheduling

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Florida State and Atlantic Coast Conferencenewcomer Virginia Tech seemed to get the best deals in the next twofootball schedules. The Seminoles and Hokies both drew games againstMiami in the 2004 and 2005 seasons, but were spared a head-to-headmatchup. Four other schools will play all three of the conferencespowerhouses in each of the next two seasons. The additions of Miamiand Virginia Tech will give the ACC three of the top programs in thenation. Miami is No. 2 in The Associated Press poll, Virginia Tech isNo. 4 and ACC member Florida State is fifth. The schedule, approvedin meetings that included athletic directors, senior womensadministrators and …

Breaking the code.

Online resources help find building codes

On the surface, building codes don't seem terribly complex: three model codes -- soon to be replaced by a single, national code-- broken out by region. Sounds simple in theory, until you want the specific requirements for a real project in a real location.

In truth, the model codes are, at best, a starting point. States, counties and cities often add amendments that adjust code requirements to meet local conditions. Some cities, such as Chicago and New York, ignore the model codes and produce codes that are uniquely their own.

And even after you determine written code requirements for a jurisdiction, everything is still open to the interpretation of perhaps more than a dozen local authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs). A building official in one city may interpret the same text in a completely different manner from his or her counterpart in an adjacent city. …

ARS thinks bigger is better, buys EZ; $655 million buy gives it 98 stations in 20 markets. (American Radio Systems Corp. acquisition of EZ Communications Inc.)

$655 million buy gives it 98 stations in 20 markets

American Radio Systems Corp.'s $655 million purchase of EZ Communications Inc. is more about appearance than strategy, brokers say.

ARS is getting bigger to become more attractive to potential investors, suggests Brian Cobb of Media Venture Partners: "They want to get big. That's the number-one thing."

"It's obvious that their plan is to make the company large," says Gary Stevens of Gary Stevens & Co. "They're trying to build a company of significant size, and this kind of thing excites investors."

And, subject to FCC approval, the plan is working. With EZ Communications' 23 stations, ARS grows to 98 stations in 20 markets and …

MAN BUYS ISLAND RETREAT IN HUDSON NEAR STILLWATER.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: LEIGH HORNBECK Staff writer

George Story is ready to do a little island hopping.

Story, 52, whose family owns General Timber Co. of Fort Edward, is buying Green Island, a 26-acre, wooded spot on the Hudson River. Story also owns Thompson Island 20 miles upstream.

``I've got a habit of buying islands I guess,'' Story said. He also lived on Griffin Island, but sold it in 1988.

Story has a building permit application pending before the town of Stillwater to build a log cabin.

Story bought the property from Fred and Pat Donovan of Schaghticoke, the owners of Donovan's Tree Service. He said the sale would be complete by the end …

BANKING GIANTS' WEDDING WON'T BRING BLISS TO CITY, WORKERS.(Business)

Byline: Sarah Bartlett New York Times

The merger of Chemical Bank with Manufacturers Hanover may make a lot of banking sense, because the two weak banks, by combining, have a chance to emerge as a stronger, more vibrant lending institution.

But for New York City and other communities, this merger and the larger consolidation in the banking industry will bring a lot of pain as the institutions slim down while trying to determine the number of branches and employees that will make them more profitable and bring them into the new banking era.

In the near term, however, the Chemical merger with Manufacturers Hanover means the loss to New York City of as many as 5,900 jobs, fewer tax dollars paid to a revenue-starved city and 70 branches and …

Grand Prix of Long Beach Results

Results Sundat at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, an Indy Lights race at the Streets of Long Beach circuit with a lap length of 1.968 miles (start position in parentheses):

Start position in parentheses

1. (1) James Hinchcliffe, 45 laps.

2. (3) Charlie Kimball, 45.

3. (2) J.K. Vernay, 45.

4. (4) Sebastian Saavedra, 45.

5. (5) Martin Plowman, 45.

6. (7) Tonis Kasemets, 45.

7. (6) Philip Major, 45.

8. (12) Pippa Mann, 45.

9. (17) Niall Quinn, 45.

10. (16) Carmen Jorda, 45.

11. (13) Joel Miller, 45.

12. (14) James Winslow, 43, contact.

…

Bush Appeals for Unity in Terror War

WASHINGTON - Five years after the worst terror attack in U.S. history, President Bush said Monday night the war against terrorism is "the calling of our generation" and urged Americans to put aside differences and fight to victory.

"America did not ask for this war, and every American wishes it were over," Bush said. "The war is not over - and it will not be over until either we or the extremists emerge victorious."

Bush, in a prime time address from the Oval Office, staunchly defended the war in Iraq even though he …

VE South, L.C. adds Orlando branch. (News Update).

VE SOUTH, L.C. HAS opened a new branch office in Orlando, Fla. to cover central and north Florida …

ACTION PLAN TO CUT DOWN ON POLLUTION LEVELS.

(MONDAY JULY 3) VALE residents are being asked to comment on new proposals drawn up by AVDC and Buckinghamshire County Council that set out on-going and future measures to improve the air quality in the Tring Road area of Aylesbury.

Recent studies by AVDC on air quality revealed a traffic hot spot along a section of the A41 Tring Road and as a result an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) was formally declared.

Levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the air around this traffic hot-spot were found to be potentially exceeding government pollution guidelines. The pollution is mainly caused by traffic emissions.

…

ECONOMIC INDICATORS INDEX DIPS 2 MONTHS IN ROW.(BUSINESS)

Byline: SALLY JACOBSEN Associated Press

NEW YORK -- A key gauge of future economic activity slipped in June for the second straight month in another sign the economy is no longer sizzling hot. And the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 300 points Tuesday in its third-biggest point drop ever, extending a 2-week slide that has shaken confidence in the stock market's ability to keep rising.

The Conference Board reported Tuesday that the lengthy General Motors strikes dragged down its Index of Leading Economic Indicators, but said it was too early to warn of a recession in the months ahead.

``It doesn't mean bad times for the U.S. economy, but we've …

Sodexho Health Care Services' Western Region. (On The Move).(Brief Article)

Calvin Johnson has been named vice president of Sodexho Health Care Services' Western Region. He is responsible for $600 million in annual volume across 16 states, with more than 6,000 …

Aplazan el Juicio a los dos Acusados por el Atentado al Avion de Pan Am

Aplazan el Juicio a los dos Acusados por el Atentado al Avion de Pan Am

Un juez escoces dictamino que los dos libios sospechosos de haber destruido con una bomba de tiempo un avion de la aerolinea Pan Am deben ser procesados por conspiracion, aunque postergo el juicio para el 3 de mayo.

El juez Ranald Sutherland rechazo una mocion de la defensa los cargos de "conspiracion [ara asesinar" debieran ser desestimados, porque el atentado del 21 de diciembre de 1988, en que el avion estallo en pleno vuelo sobre el poblado escoces de Lockerbie, pereciendo 270 personas, no habia sido planeado en suelo escoces.

Luego Sutherland dictamino que el juicio, que ya habia sido …

PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV EXTENDS NATIONAL DAY GREETINGS TO CHINESE COUNTERPART.

Baku, September 30 (AzerTAc) -- President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev sent a message of congratulation to President of China Hu Jintao on his country`s National Day establishment of the People`s Republic of China. In the letter, the Head of State praised the fact that relationship between Azerbaijan and China is expanding -- The President …

CAPITAL REGION ALMANAC.(CAPITAL REGION)

This almanac of community news provides coverage of local governments, local courts and police calls from selected communities in our region. Government listings focus on communities in Albany County, and police calls are taken from the actual police blotters from larger communities throughout the area. This feature usually appears on this page Mondays through Saturdays. P B Tuesday, July 3 1:40 a.m. ARREST. A man, 21, of Moyston Street, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a narcotic drug with intent to sell. Officer: Jeffrey Curtis.

2:20 a.m. ARREST. A man, 29, of Eagle Street, was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation. Officer: William Marhafer.

8:36 a.m. HARASSMENT. A man, 35, of Ninth Avenue, was charged. Officer: Patrick Horan.

8:43 a.m. ASSAULT. A woman, 32, of Lorraine Avenue, was charged. Officer: John Fraser.

4:13 p.m. PETIT LARCENY. A man, 39, of Amsterdam, was charged. Officer: John Lewis.

4:35 p.m. ARREST. A woman, 30, of Crane Street, was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation. Officer: John Digesualdo.

Wednesday, July 4 1:25 a.m. ASSAULT. A …

Turkey seeks to condemn Israel in security summit

A summit for a 20-member security group for the Asian region kicked off Monday in Istanbul with Turkey seeking to condemn Israel for a raid that killed nine Turks on a pro-Palestinian aid flotilla that had attempted to break the blockade on Gaza.

Turkey, the most important ally of Israel in the Muslim world, said it would reduce military and trade ties with Israel and shelved discussions of energy projects, including natural gas and fresh water shipments. It also threatened to break ties unless Israel apologizes for the raid last week.

Nine heads of states, including leaders of Iran and Syria, and Russia's prime minister are scheduled to attend the two-day …

Buying on a Budget; For mid-range marketers without the clout of a GM or P&G, opportunities come via tight targeting and willingness to strike in a hurry.

Contestants aren't the only ones who can hit the jackpot on ABC's hit "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

By holding back about 20% of its $15 million to $17 million media budget for opportunistic TV buys, contact lens marketer 1-800-Contacts was able to slip one of its 15-second spots onto the show in June on a night that fortuitously featured a million-dollar winner.

Luck, in the form of a last-minute opening on the schedule, was the only way 1-800-Contacts was going to get national network time on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." But the opportunistic buy shows that the upfront is not the final answer for small-budget advertisers.

The buy added shine to 1-800-Contacts' cable, network and syndication TV plan, 80% of which was bought during the upfront. Empower MediaMarketing, Cincinnati, handles the media. Creative is handled in-house.

With overall TV ad rates up 30% to 40% the last three years, TV has gotten pricy even for heavyweights such as Procter & Gamble Co., says Erwin Ephron, president of Ephron Papazian Ephron, New York. But advertisers in the $10 million to $30 million range have been burned even worse by the hot market.

Still, media planners, buyers and their clients see plenty of opportunity for brands with …