Starting a compost facility

"We really just got going about 14 weeks ago," says Barry Chase, compost manager for White Mountain Composting and Recycling. Chase spent most of his first six weeks on the job preparing a composting pad with a rock and clay base and attending the state's compost operator certification course. He also graded the three acre site in the Capitan Mountains of south central New Mexico for proper drainage and vehicle access. "Initially I just set up three small piles to test different mixes," Chase says, "but now we have seven or eight active windrows, each about 35 yards long."

A contract brings in approximately 20,000 cy per year of stable bedding and manure from the Ruidoso Downs …

Asia-Pacific's 2008 economic prospects made uncertain by US subprime crisis, think tank says

The economic outlook for the Asia-Pacific region is the most uncertain it has been since the 1997-98 financial crisis because of a possible spillover from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, a regional think tank said Thursday.

But the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council predicted that the U.S. economy would not enter a recession and that the troubled American housing market will recover by the second-half of 2008.

An annual report by the Singapore-based PECC, which groups more than 20 economies stretching across the Pacific from Australia and China to Chile and Canada, was "cautiously optimistic" about the region's outlook, projecting economic …

Paige Wiser's TV highlights

"NCIS" (7 p.m., WBBM-Channel 2): Tonight's episode is a joint investigation with the yummy team of Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J. They may be starring in a spinoff come fall. One worry: How many opportunities will Cool J have to take off his shirt?

"American Idol" (7 p.m., WFLD-Channel 32): At blogs. suntimes.com/tv, the Sun-Times hosts a live chat during the show that often features actual Adam criticism.

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (9 p.m., …

Kevin McCarthy on Political Capital.

(This is not a legal transcript. Bloomberg LP cannot guarantee its accuracy.)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA) TALKS TO BLOOMBERG'S AL HUNT ON POLITICAL CAPITAL.

JUNE 24, 2011

SPEAKERS: AL HUNT, HOST, POLITICAL CAPITAL

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA)

HANS NICHOLS, BLOOMBERG NEWS

HEIDI PRZYBYLA, BLOOMBERG NEWS

GREG STOHR, BLOOMBERG NEWS

KATE O'BEIRNE, NATIONAL REVIEW

MARGARET CARLSON, BLOOMBERG NEWS

AL HUNT, HOST, POLITICAL CAPITAL: This week on Political Capital, budget talks breakdown in Washington. Is there any way out of this impasse? We'll ask our guest, Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the House …

Colombia Fighting Forces Civilians to Flee

BOGOTA, Colombia - Fighting between the army and leftist guerrillas in western Colombia has forced hundreds of civilians from their homes and trapped others in their villages, the United Nations said Tuesday.

In Narino province, near the southern border with Ecuador, more than 1,300 people have fled since fighting broke out last week between the army and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Latin America's oldest and best-equipped guerrilla force.

"With combat ongoing, thousands more people could be at risk of forced displacement in the next few days," the U.N. High Commission for Refugees said in a statement.

Most of the displaced are being …

Gul stuns Kiwis with first T20 5-wicket haul

Umar Gul became the first bowler to take five wickets in a Twenty20 international Saturday as Pakistan thrashed New Zealand by six wickets in the Twenty20 World Cup at The Oval.

New Zealand were scuttled for 99 as Gul produced a superb spell of fast bowling to take 5-6, while Abdul Razzaq vindicated the decision to recall him to the side in place of Sohail Tanveer by taking 2-17.

"It was a fantastic spell," Pakistan captain Younis Khan said of Gul's bowling. "If we can have a spell like that in every game we can beat every team in the world."

Gul managed to reverse swing the ball, confounding New Zealand's batsman.

…

Housewife, 37, Jailed In Abortion Shooting

WICHITA, Kan. A woman accused of shooting a doctor as he lefthis abortion clinic was arrested at an airport 160 miles away whenshe returned her rental car.

Rachelle Renae Shannon, 37, of Grants Pass, Ore., was jailed onsuspicion of attempted murder in the Thursday afternoon shooting ofDr. George Tiller, who wasn't seriously hurt. Anti-abortiondemonstrators focused on Tiller during the city's heated summer ofprotests in 1991.

It was the second shooting of a physician outside an abortionclinic this year; the first was fatal. And it came just days afteran Alabama priest stirred controversy by trying to run a newspaper adthat advocated killing abortion …

Couple attacked with arrows in Papua New Guinea

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A young couple who took a dip in a river in a remote part of Papua New Guinea are recovering from a harrowing attack by a tribesman, who shot the man with arrows twice before attempting to sexually assault the woman.

The couple have declined requests to speak to the media, but interviews by The Associated Press this week with the local doctor who first treated the pair, along with other accounts from Papua New Guinea, are shedding new light on the attack near Nomad in the isolated North Fly District.

According to Dr. Charlie Turharus, who treated the couple, the tribesman had been covertly tracking the pair for perhaps an hour or two before the …

Egypt to curtail NGOs' election activities

Thirty-six non-governmental organizations have condemned the Egyptian government plans to curtail their activities including monitoring election.

In a statement released Monday, the groups said a new bill to be introduced to the parliament in the coming will penalize any NGO or advocacy group working without a government permit.

…

WHO TO CALL

To report problem tires, call the U.S. Department ofTransportation's Auto Safety Hotline toll-free at (800) 424-9393, …

NFL labor deadline nears; union wins in court

WASHINGTON (AP) — With time running out on the NFL's labor contract, one team owner — the New York Giants' John Mara — joined mediated negotiations between the league and players Tuesday, and the union won a key court ruling about TV contract money.

The sides met for six hours Tuesday. NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith and his group left shortly before 8 p.m. — 52 hours before the current collective bargaining agreement expires.

Mara, the first owner to attend the federal mediation; Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay, chairman of the league's competition committee; and Washington Redskins general manager Bruce Allen were among those accompanying NFL …

Gasol leads Spain past Lithuania 84-70

Spain center Pau Gasol scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds Monday to lead the world champions over Lithuania 84-70 in the second round of the European basketball championship.

Trailing 24-15 at the start of the second quarter, Spain guard Rudy Fernandez hit a 3-pointer to spark a 25-3 run over the next 7 minutes that put Spain ahead 40-27.

The world champions continued to get out on the fast break, and led by as much as 24 in the fourth quarter before pulling most of their starters.

"We played with a very good rhythm today," Gasol said. "We raised our level of intensity and were able to run and play our …

Has Woosnam mastered `yips'?

AUGUSTA, Ga. Forget that the last player to win back-to-backMasters was Jack Nicklaus in 1965 and 1966. The defending championmerits at least some respect the next year, doesn't he?

No one is expecting much from Ian Woosnam when the 56th Mastersstarts tomorrow - not even Woosnam.

"I'm looking forward to defending," Woosnam said. "I don't feeltoo lucky, though, the way I've been playing the last two weeks. I'ma bit down."

Actually, more than a bit. He developed the dreaded "yips," theputting affliction that mysteriously keeps even the shortest puttsfrom dropping.

"It happens to everyone," Woosnam said. "It's happened to me,but before it always lasted about a month. This was longer."

With the yips cured, Woosnam's frustrations hit a new low on thepractice range Monday when he repeatedly tried to hook the ball andwound up slicing instead. Phil Ritson, a teaching pro from Orlando,Fla., straightened him out - at least temporarily. Woosnam wasn'tsure the lesson took Tuesday.

"I'm a streak player," Woosnam said. "Always have been. WhenI'm on a streak, it just gushes. But it isn't gushing now. I'd sayI'm about 50 percent."

BECK BUBBLING: Highland Park resident Chip Beck, who won the PGATour's stop Sunday in New Orleans, is even more ebullient than usual.

"Man, ain't it great!" said Beck, who grew up in Georgia."This is the first time I've ever come in here with a win under mybelt. I feel fantastic."

Beck, who normally hits a fade - a left-to-right shot - hasdeveloped a draw - a right-to-left shot - that is deemed a must towin here.

"There's no question my mechanics are improving," Beck said."Last year at the Masters, I still couldn't draw the ball. I wastrying to, and it was killing me. I've rarely gone into a tournamentbeing able to draw it as well as I can now. That's exciting. I'mready to go."

KITE CONTROVERSY: The exclusion of Tom Kite from the Mastersinvitees - and Greg Norman's inclusion - isn't sitting well with theplayers.

Norman got in as a foreign player, even though he lives inFlorida. Kite was not invited after a subpar 1991. He is the PGATour's all-time leading money-winner, a participant in the last 15Masters and finished tied for second in 1983 and 1986.

"Greg is about as foreign as I am," Hale Irwin said. "All of uswho play regularly over here don't consider him a foreigner. I haveto believe Tom would qualify if Norman does."

"Tom deserves to be here," Peter Jacobson said. "His not beinghere hurts the Masters. It was an oversight."

Davis Love wouldn't discuss it.

"I'm a friend of Tom's, and everything I said would probablycome out sounding wrong," he said.

KID AT HEART: Usually, only the younger players stay in theCrow's Nest, a room on the Augusta National grounds. But MitchVoges, 42, is happy to be there this week.

He became the oldest U.S. Amateur champion in history last year,and the title qualified him for the Masters. His son Christian, 13,is his caddie and roommate.

"Some people say I'm crazy that I didn't get a club caddie,"Voges said. "But I'm not just thinking golf shots. This is, firstand foremost, a family outing. And when I'm walking the fairwayswith my son, it's wonderful."

Voges' goal is not to make the cut, as is the case with mostfirst-time Masters participants.

"Maybe I'm sentimental," he said. "But when I'm introduced onthe first tee as the national champion, I'll have tears in my eyes.So I want to get air in my lungs, wipe the tears from my eyes and hitthe ball solid off the first tee."

NOTES: The only changes in the course are on the back sidepar-3s. The front bunkers at Nos. 12 and 16 were raised six inches,and the 16th green was extended to allow for another pin placement. Charles Coody, the 1971 champion, withdrew with a nerve problem inhis right arm that developed when he was lifting some luggage. Thatreduced the field to 84 players, the smallest in eight years. The practice round Monday was delayed 30 minutes because of frostand Tuesday because of a morning thunderstorm.

Empty Nest

TOM VANDERBILT on Sarah Morris's Beijing

"WHAT INTERESTS ME ABOUT BEIJING is that it's not resolved in any way," says artist Sarah Morris, looking at a monitor in her studio, on which clips from her upcoming film, titled after the city, are playing. "Or, more precisely, that China is a paradoxical state. Is it hypercapitalist? Yes. Is the government a supreme authority? Yes. It's not yet certain what the country will become, and so today it is not even clear just what we are seeing when, for instance, we look at something like Rem Koolhaas's tower for China Central Television." Morris has executed cinematic portraits of urban landscapes in the past, skimming their architectures and cultural scenes - from the sidewalks and skyscrapers of Manhattan to the red carpets and surgical theaters of Los Angeles - to compose chains of discrete, nonlinear episodes, many of which suggest unprecedented access to the back corridors of overmediated events. Beijing features a similar approach, but only while imbuing images with a uniquely rich tension, whether Morris is framing the complex infrastructure of the Beijing Post Office, or a speech by Sino-icon Henry Kissinger during a forum called "What Makes a Champion?" (a talk she says bristled with startlingly reductive nationalist tropes), or a duck farm whose swarming avian numbers are suggestive of the mass forms that pervade the city, or, in an image that reveals instantly that Morris was filming during the summer of 2008, Michael Phelps in a warm-down pool. Most evocative in this regard, Morris notes, were the ubiquitous "countdown clocks," which seemed to provide the city with a narrative drive toward some grand, decisive moment. "There was a palpable anxiety," she says of Beijing during the Olympics - though the phrase is as apt for her own project - "a sense of making a form and yet not knowing what's going to go on within it."

Morris's film, then, is not exclusively about the Beijing Olympic Games. Indeed, as an indicator of the breadth of the artist's investigation, the walls of her studio are covered with sheets of paper, each one bearing the name of an individual or agency that helped open a channel to a different part of the metropolis. (Even the duck farm had significant restrictions, as Morris was required to wear special gear to avoid any risk of contaminating - or of being contaminated by - this food source.) Yet as Morris's working method dictates that she "let[s] events themselves, and the bureaucratic limits of those events, control [the process]," this particular time and place led her - as it did all of Beijing - to dwell on these Olympics, particularly as they represented the creation of a cultural identity. Curiously, her navigation of labyrinthine bureaucracies extended from the Chinese state to the equally formidable apparatuses of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, introducing unanticipated ambiguities as she obtained clearances to film in the (copyrighted) Herzog & de Meuron "Bird's Nest" and other buildings. "It's still debatable whose event it was," she says, "and who was its ultimate author."

The defining moment of the Games was, of course, furnished by the opening ceremonies, which, regardless of authorship, were directed by Zhang Yimou who appears in Morris's film, rather frantically orchestrating the event - as an epic tale of China. Historian Geremie Barm� has argued that the ceremonies, with their invocations of Confucian philosophy and classical Chinese arts things denounced for much of the past century in China - represented an attempt by the country's leaders "to present the world with a story of five thousand unbroken years of civilized harmony." In so doing, however, the spectacle fused the idea of people as pixels - a practice originating in the North Korean "mass games" - with actual pixels in the massive LCD display deployed on the stadium floor, creating, in effect, a new medium: a living, digitally augmented tableau vivant. (Still another layer of mediation was added in television broadcasts: When computer-generated fireworks exploded in a progression through the "Beijing" that viewers at home were seeing, NBC's Bob Costas rightly intoned that the city was operating "like cinema in real time.") For Morris, the ceremonies were "an adrenal event." Her film - not unlike the photographs of Edward Burtynsky that depict masses of colorfully clad Chinese factory work- ers diminishing to a distant vanishing point - conveys a sense both of beauty and unease in the spectacle. (And anyone viewing the ceremonies could observe that the similarities between, say, factory workers manning their workstations and the thousands of performers manning their drums are not strictly aesthetic. Zhang himself noted that his production could only have taken place in China, where the rigors of the performance would not conflict with any regulations pertaining to workers' rights.) As for Morris's experience in the "Bird's Nest," one might say that to film what seems a film itself - one complete with lip-synching and other special effects - invokes a dictum from Brecht: "Less than ever does a simple reproduction of reality express something about reality."

Indeed, when it came to the Games themselves, Morris describes the over- whelming feeling as one of emptiness: "The real story is that there was no one there; it was an event for television." In this respect, it was comparable to the Academy Awards ceremony that was at the decentered heart of her Los Angeles, 2004 - only "times one hundred." But rather than deploy Hollywood's mecha- nisms of image construction to reify an entertainment industry or even celeb- rity culture itself, the Beijing Olympics put such devices in the service of nation-state building. The spectators were part of the medium itself: a medium whose message to the world was that this unprecedented mastery over technol- ogy and large-scale human movement - and even the weather - could only have been brought to you by a powerful state commanding a staggering amount of human and economic resources. (The politically fraught torch run and stri- dently suasive, stage-managed statecraft on display in Beijing recall the words of Frederick T. Birchall of the New York Times: "The foreign reaction was awaited here with a certain measure of trepidation. There is manifest anxiety for once to win foreign praise ___ They are back in the fold of nations who have 'arrived.' " His subject was the 1936 Berlin Games.) For all the pastness on dis- play, the future was the real subject, in the Games as in the city as a whole. "That level of optimism about the future is there; it was really clear," Morris says' . Whether or not you want to recognize that, or think that,s deluded it,s there it's palpa. ble - it's definitely in the film."

If the whole place was becoming cinema in real time - Morris says video screens were as pervasive a building material in Beijing as drywall, and indeed, the very lip of the stadium, the "membrane," was a screen, as if it were a hermetic seal on the structure's contents - this artist's film of the film is like some metaphoric pinhole photograph. Her images were gathered through the small, shifting apertures of security clearances. And like an athlete, she was working, as the sportscasters say, against the clock - in this case, against the omnipresent countdown clocks that were ticking toward the Olympics, and toward the zero hour of fixed meaning.

[Sidebar]

Rather than deploy Hollywood's mechanisms of image construction to reify an entertainment industry or even celebrity culture itself, the Beijing Olympics put such devices in the service of nation-state building.

[Author Affiliation]

TOM VANDERBILT IS A WRITER BASED IN NEW YORK.

McCaw to miss Samoa test

New Zealand captain Richie McCaw will miss Wednesday's one-off rugby test against Samoa because of a rib injury, team officials said Monday.

McCaw, who suffered the injury during the All Blacks' 19-0 Tri-Nations win over South Africa in Cape Town two weeks ago, has been replaced at flanker by Adam Thomson. No. 8 Rodney So'oialo will lead the New Zealand team in McCaw's absence.

Lock Brad Thorn and winger Sitiveni Sivivatu will also miss the match in New Plymouth because of injuries. Thorn has a hamstring strain and Sivivatu a twisted ankle.

Anthony Boric was named Monday to replace Thorn and Anthony Tuitavake will take Sivivatu's place on the left wing.

Wednesday's game is designed to give the All Blacks match play between the Cape Town test and the final and deciding Tri-Nations test against Australia at Brisbane on Sept. 13.

Lock Filipo Levi was named later Monday to lead an understrength Samoa team. Many of Samoa's leading players are unavailable because they are involved in European club competitions.

Levi is one of three Japan-based players in the Samoan forward pack. The majority of the team is Samoa-based, including the entire backline which is drawn from three clubs, Apia, Apia West and Tuamasaga.

___

Teams:

New Zealand: Mils Muliaina, Richard Kahui, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Anthony Tuitavake, Dan Carter, Jimmy Cowan, Rodney So'oialo (captain), Adam Thomson, Jerome Kaino, Ali Williams, Anthony Boric, Greg Somerville, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock. Reserves: Keven Mealamu, Neemia Tialata, Sione Lauaki, Piri Weepu, Stephen Donald, Isaia Toeava, Rudi Wulf.

Samoa: Alatasi Tupou, Reupena Levasa, Pale Toelupe, Jerry Meafou, Esera Lauina, Uale Mai, Notise Tauafao, George Stowers, Alafoti Faosiliva, Semo Sititi, Chad Slade, Filipo Levi (captain), Heroshi Tea, Loleni Tafunai, Simon Lemalu. Reserves: Lafoga Aoelua, Roysiu Tolufale, Maselino Paulino, Simaika Mikaele, Junior Poluleuligaga, Roger Warren, Romi Ropati.

Political ad in Colorado targets wrong Salazar

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — A political advertisement that takes aim at Colorado U.S. Rep. John Salazar is slightly off the mark: It names the wrong Salazar.

The radio ad mentions his younger brother, Ken Salazar, five times.

Ken Salazar is a former Colorado senator who is now the interior secretary. John Salazar represents the state's 3rd Congressional District and is being challenged by Republican state lawmaker Scott Tipton.

The ad is paid for by Americans United for Life, a Washington-based anti-abortion group, which tells The Daily Sentinel that a corrected ad will be aired.

The group criticizes Salazar for backing health care reform, which it says will undo a ban on taxpayer-funded abortions. President Barack Obama signed an executive order to affirm the ban.

___

Information from: The Daily Sentinel, http://www.gjsentinel.com

Turner calls Israeli President Shimon Peres a 'beacon of hope'

U.S. media mogul Ted Turner said Thursday that Nobel Prize winner and Israeli President Shimon Peres was a "beacon of hope" for Israel.

Turner and Nobel Prize winner and former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan accompanied a U.N. delegation to meet with Peres to discuss peacemaking efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.

"It's good to see you again and to see you as President of the country, which you so deserve," Turner said. "You've been a beacon of hope and ray of light through your whole career."

Before lunch at Peres' official Jerusalem residence, Annan briefly addressed reporters.

"We are here to listen, to learn and to see what is happening," Annan said.

Peres said the U.N. should help to reduce dependence on oil which he said "pollutes the earth and is the major financier of terror."

Begin with the basics

MANUFACTURING

Just-in-time, total quality management and other such tools do not necessarily create strong manufacturing systems.

Alot of people in the automotive industry seem to think that having the right "tools" is the key to a successful manufacturing system By tools I mean systems and programs that are aimed at improving quality, eliminating waste and reducing cost - all while helping produce an even better product.

Many of these tools have become common throughout the industry. Kaizen program, for example, are continuous improvement efforts that are driven by the ideas of the people who know the operation best - the people working on the plant floor.

Kanban systems are aimed at eliminating waste by having the right product in the right place at the right time. Total productive maintenance (TPM) programs drive increased equipment productivity. And value stream mapping which some call process flow mapping, is aimed at better understanding how all of the pieces of a manufacturing system fit together and knowing where bottlenecks occur so problems can be attacked at the most critical points.

Standardized work, continuous flow and quick changeover are other important tools that can help improve manufacturing And of late, many companies are introducing the Six Sigma philosophy which establishes process capability to reduce variation and improve quality.

Evidence of these tools and others is in place at virtually every automotive facility throughout the world. Most OEMs have invested a great deal of time and money to implement many such systems and programs in the hopes they will improve their manufacturing operations.

Yet in my worldwide travels, I also have seen very mixed results from their implementation. Why?. Because at too many operations I see companies that are trying to plant the seeds of lean manti without first tilling the soil. Many programs are put in place, but there is no foundation of a broad, overall manufactuing structure in place to support successful implementation.

At some companies, these tools are implemented separately from plant to plant and operation to operation These disjointed efforts limit the effectiveness of these tools. From TPM to error-proofing, these tools can be very successful in improving manufacturing operations - but only as part of a cohesive production system.

There are two key components that must be in place long before any of these tools can be effectively implemented.

First, all manufacturing organizations must have a well-structured organization with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. And an important part of the organization's role is to develop a clear, well-thought-out policy deployment process that essentially sets the targets in areas such as quality, cost safety delivery and productivity.

Second, all of these goals must be understood by everyone in the organization - from workers on the plant floor to managers at company headquarters. And even more than understanding, workers must embrace these goals and be commit ted to improving their manufacturing operation.

Without such a foundation, these tools are destined to become just another "flavor of the month," and are doomed for failure.

A well-stred organization with clearly defined roles and responsibilities and a committed workforce are the foundations of a strong manufacturing system With such a structure in place, organizations have the capability to move forward in solving problems and improving And these comp nies can pick and choose in "pulling" the necessary tools and training that can best help them achieve their targets and improve their measures, instead of gushing" them on workers and into areas where they may not be necessary or effective.

Just-in-time, total quality management and other such tools do not necessarily create strong manufacturing systems But they can help a good manufacturer with an accepting culture and philosophy - and an effective manufacturing system - become even better.

[Author Affiliation]

RON HARBOUR is president of Harbour and Associates, manufacturing consultants in Troy, Mich www.harbourinc.com

Skoda Auto reports 15 pct increase in 2011 sales

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech carmaker Skoda Auto AS, a part of German manufacturer Volkswagen AG, says its unit sales rose by 15 percent in 2011 to reach a record high.

Skoda Auto said in a statement on Thursday it sold 875,000 cars last year, compared with 762,600 in 2010, the previous record high. The company expected further growth in the years to come.

Financial results were not given.

Skoda Auto made the announcement during the New Delhi AUTO EXPO 2012 in India, where its sales rose by 50 percent in 2011.

The company said it expects its annual global sales to reach at least 1.5 million units by 2018.

Marshall holds off Old Dominion

Tirrell Baines scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help Marshall hold off Old Dominion in a 68-64 victory on Saturday.

The Thundering Herd (2-3), who never trailed in the second half, broke a 45-45 tie with 11:55 left in the game on a layup by Tyler Wilkerson. Marshall took its largest lead of the half at 63-58 on Markel Humphrey's 3-pointer with 2:52 remaining.

Darius James, who finished with 11 points, made a jumper to pull the Monarchs (1-3) within two points with 26 seconds left. The Thundering Herd went up 66-62 with 13 seconds remaining on two free throws by Shaquille Johnson, who finished with 10 points.

Old Dominion's Gerald Lee answered eight-seconds later with a layup. But Baines followed with two free throws to seal the victory for Marshall.

Ben Finney led Old Dominion with 16 points, while Lee had 10.

Bologna players questioned over handicapped permit

BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — Several Bologna football players are appearing in court to answer questions over alleged misuse of handicapped parking permits.

The Italian news agency ANSA reports that captain Marco Di Vaio, goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano and midfielder Gaby Mudingayi were each questioned in the case Wednesday.

Mudingayi explained that the parking permits were provided by a disabled woman, Marilena Molinari, who helps the club's players with various off-the-pitch services, and that he often took Molinari around in the city to complete errands.

Investigators are now trying to determine if the players also took advantage of the permits without Molinari in their cars.

Cop Charged in Off-Duty Slaying of Homeless Man

An off-duty Chicago police officer has been charged withmurdering a homeless man who had allegedly insulted the officer'sgirlfriend after the couple left a River North tavern.

Gregory Becker, 34, who is free on $150,000 bond, fled in hiscar without notifying police or calling 911, prosecutors said.

The officer, who was assigned to the Monroe District, allegedlyshot Joseph Gould, 36, in the head at point-blank range early Sundayat Franklin and Huron.

Becker was arrested several hours later after police traced alicense plate number that witnesses provided, prosecutors said.

A police spokesman said Becker, an officer since 1992, had beenrelieved of his duties, pending reassignment and possible suspension.

The shooting occurred about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, shortly afterBecker and the woman left America's Bar, 219 W. Erie, prosecutorssaid.

Gould, who lived at a homeless shelter, frequented the trendyNear North Side area and washed car windows to earn money.

With wash bucket in hand, Gould allegedly approached the woman,who told authorities he made remarks that "upset" her as she walked afew steps ahead of Becker. Becker exchanged words with Gould, thewoman told authorities.

When Becker began walking toward his car, Gould followed him andharassed him, the woman told authorities. Becker then opened his cartrunk and retrieved a 9-mm. handgun, the woman said.

Prosecutors said the woman claimed she saw the two men strugglefor the weapon but had turned her back when the fatal shot rang out.

The woman also claimed she saw Gould holding his stomach as hefell to the ground. But other witnesses told police Gould washolding his bucket when he fell, prosecutors said.

The medical examiner said Gould died from a gunshot wound to thehead.

Becker, whose bond was set Monday night, is scheduled to appearin Violence Court for a preliminary hearing Aug. 21.

Creative changes

MCCANN-ERICKSON Bristol's creative director David Woolway anddeputy creative director Dave Brown have left the company, sparkinga change in the set up of the creative team.

Jon Jefferies, managing director and chief executive said: "Ratherthan having one team straddling advertising and direct marketing,we've now got creative group heads responsible for each discipline."Meanwhile McCann's talking rabbit campaign for HSA has produced asubstantial upturn in business, the likes of which, a spokesman said,the company had not seen for many years.

IBM raises guidance, beats Street estimates

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — IBM Corp. raised its income guidance for the year on Monday as earnings in the latest quarter increased 8 percent because of growth in all three of its major product categories.

The results show the strength of the 100-year-old company's efforts to link its mainframes and other computing hardware with its newer businesses, software and services. Those two categories bring in the bulk of IBM's income.

Signings of new contracts for services increased — a welcome sign for Wall Street after a decline last quarter.

But the company faces questions about whether its profit increases are sustainable. Some analysts worry about increased competition, specifically in outsourcing, the biggest part of IBM's services business.

Investors gave the numbers a tepid endorsement. The stock rose 2 percent.

Net income was $3.66 billion, or $3 per share, in the second quarter compared with $3.39 billion, or $2.61 per share, a year ago. Excluding items, IBM earned $3.09 per share, ahead of the $3.02 per share analysts expected.

Revenue increased 12 percent to $26.7 billion, ahead of the $25.4 billion analyst estimate.

New contract signings in services increased 16 percent over last year to $14.3 billion. They had declined 14 percent in the first quarter, raising fears about the robustness of IBM's pipeline of new deals.

IBM has stopped including this figure in its earnings releases; it can now only be found deep in the charts accompanying the results. Instead, IBM insists that its backlog of services deals that are already in the pipeline is a better predictor of future revenue. The backlog is now $144 billion, $15 billion higher than last year.

Guidance for 2011 calls for at least $13.25 per share, excluding items, up from the previous estimate of $13.15 per share.

But the company's history makes it subject to high expectations. IBM, which is based in Armonk, N.Y., has not only consistently raised its guidance, but it has also taken the rare step of setting a specific long-term profit goal — $20 per share in operating earnings by 2015. So investors now expect steady guidance increases.

Brian Marshall, an analyst with Gleacher & Co., said he was disappointed with the latest numbers. IBM's income should have been higher considering that revenue was more than $1 billion higher than estimates, he said.

"They are spending faster than I thought — that is my main concern," Marshall said, adding that IBM's ability to hit its long-term profit target is "not a slam dunk in my view."

IBM's stock rose $4.07, or 2.3 percent, to $179.35 in extended trading after the release of results Monday. In the regular session earlier, the stock fell 26 cents to $175.28. The stock is up more than 40 percent since September, indicating investors' overall belief about IBM's profit predictions.

Cleveland Orchestra will tour Austria, Switzerland, Italy

The Cleveland Orchestra's summer tour of Europe will include festivals in Austria and Switzerland and first-time appearances in Milan and Turin, Italy.

The tour includes 13 performances from August 17 through September 3. It will take the orchestra to festivals in Salzburg, Austria, and Lucerne, Switzerland.

It will also include an August 16 symposium in Salzburg on music and the brain co-sponsored by the Cleveland Clinic research hospital.

The orchestra, under the direction of Franz Welser-Moest, announced the tour schedule Tuesday.

___

On the Net:

http://www.clevelandorchestra.com

(This version CORRECTS spelling to `Welser-Moest' from `Welser-Most' in final graf. )

Syria tightens Hama siege, Italy pulls ambassador

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian troops tightened their siege on the city of Hama Tuesday, sending residents fleeing for their lives and drawing a fresh wave of international condemnation against a regime defying the growing calls to end its crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with U.S.-based Syrian democracy activists as the Obama administration weighed new sanctions on Syria. Congressional calls also mounted for action against President Bashar Assad's regime, as the death toll from two days of military assaults on civilians Sunday and Monday neared 100.

Italy recalled its ambassador to Syria "in the face of the horrible repression against the civil population" by the government, which launched a new push against protesters as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began Monday. It was the first European Union country to pull its ambassador, and the measure came a day after the EU tightened sanctions on Syria.

The mounting international outcry has had no apparent effect so far in Syria, an autocratic country that relies on Iran as a main ally in the region.

The top U.S. military officer said Washington wants to pressure the Syrian regime. But he added there was no immediate prospect of a Libya-style military intervention.

"There's no indication whatsoever that the Americans, that we would get involved directly with respect to this," Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said Tuesday.

The British Foreign Office said it shares Italy's "strong concerns about the situation in Syria" but is not recalling its ambassador.

"In the absence of an end to the senseless violence and a genuine process of political reform, we will continue to pursue further EU sanctions," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement. Without change "President Assad and those around him will find themselves isolated internationally and discredited within Syria."

At U.N. headquarters in New York, the Security Council met behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss a revised European-drafted resolution backed by the U.S. that has been languishing since late May that would condemn Syria's attacks against civilians.

Russia softened its stance, indicating it would not oppose such a resolution. Last month, Russia and China had threatened to veto such a resolution, effectively blocking it.

But Sergei Vershinin, chief of the Foreign Ministry's Middle East and North Africa Department, told Russian news agencies Tuesday that such a resolution should not impose sanctions because that would only escalate the conflict.

Still there was no sign the Syrian regime was willing to back down.

There has been an intensified campaign since Sunday, apparently aimed at preventing protests from swelling during Ramadan, when Muslims throng mosques for special nightly prayers after breaking their daily, dawn-to-dusk fast. The gatherings could turn into large protests.

As expected, protests erupted Monday evening across the country, with hundreds turning out in cities including Homs, Latakia, the Damascus suburbs and the eastern city of Deir el-Zour.

There were scattered protests in Hama, but heavy shelling kept most people inside. Hama has been the target of the recent operation because it has emerged as an opposition stronghold.

The city has a history of defiance to the Assad family 40-year dynasty in Syria. In 1982, Assad's father, Hafez Assad, ordered the military to quell a rebellion by Syrian members of the conservative Muslim Brotherhood movement. The city was sealed off and bombs dropped from above smashed swaths of the city and killed between 10,000 and 25,000 people, rights groups say.

Hama-based activist Omar Hamawi told The Associated Press that troops advanced about 700 yards (meters) from the western entrance of the city overnight, taking up positions near homes and buildings in an area known as Kazo Square. He said the force consisted of eight tanks and several armored personnel carriers.

Hamawi, who spoke to the AP by telephone, said troops were also reinforced on the eastern side of the city around the Hama Central Prison, an overcrowded jail.

He said residents there saw smoke billowing from the prison overnight and heard sporadic gunfire from inside, leading some to believe the inmates were rioting. He added that it was impossible to know what was exactly going on in the prison or whether there were casualties inside the tightly controlled facility.

The activist also said that parts of Hama were hit Tuesday morning with heavy machine gun fire after sporadic shelling overnight. He said a shell hit a compound known as the Palace of Justice in the city center, causing a huge fire that burned much of the building, which is home to several courts.

In the city of Homs, amateur video showed thousands joining in a funeral procession Tuesday for two men who died in clashes with army forces a day earlier. The bodies, shrouded in white sheets and covered with flowers, were carried overhead in wooden caskets as the crowd clapped and chanted "There is no God but God." Gunshots were fired in the air and a man sang songs lauding the dead men as martyrs on a loudspeaker as the crowd chanted "God is Great."

Activists said around 24 people were killed Monday and 74 on Sunday, most of them in Hama. There were minor discrepancies in Monday's death tolls, ranging from 19 to 25. The differences could not immediately be reconciled.

About 1,700 civilians have been killed since the largely peaceful protests against Assad's regime began, according to tallies by activists.

The regime disputes the toll and blames a foreign conspiracy for the unrest, saying gangs and religious extremists — not true reform-seekers — are behind it. State-run TV aired video footage Tuesday purportedly filmed in Hama showing men carrying rifles in the streets of the city — an attempt to bolster their claims that thugs are driving the violence.

Syria has banned independent media coverage and has prevented most foreign journalists from entering the country, making it difficult to verify events on the ground.

___

AP writer Rebecca Santana in Baghdad contributed to this report.

____

Bassem Mroue can be reached http://twitter.com/bmroue

MAYOR BRADLEY'S APPEAL

Here is the text of a televised address that Mayor Tom Bradleydelivered Friday night to Los Angeles residents:

"Good evening. The jury in the Rodney King civil rights trialhas asked to return to the courthouse (Saturday morning). No oneknows exactly what will happen tomorrow.

"In the meantime, we should ignore all rumors and speculation.They only serve to heighten anxiety. Let's all take a deep breath.Let's all keep cool.

"We may all have our own idea of how this trial should turn out.But whatever the outcome, it is now time for Los Angeles, as a city,as a people, to look beyond this trial. We must turn our attentionaway from courtrooms and toward our children, toward our neighborsand toward the challenges we face.

"We must devote every ounce of our being to bridging ourdifferences, creating jobs and seeking fairness and equality. Inthis hour, and over the next days, I know in my heart that theoverwhelming majority of our residents will accept whatever happenswith calmness and reason regardless of their personal feelings. Tothem I say, keep the peace, because without it there can be nojustice. To them I pledge I will do everything in my power tomaintain public order to spare this city the agony we went throughlast year.

"To those who may be itching for an excuse to harm ourneighbors, I have this warning: You will not get away with it, sodon't even try.

"Finally, I want to appeal to the innate goodness of all of ourpeople in all of our neighborhoods, from Chatsworth to Watts, fromBoyle Heights to Pacific Palisades, to sustain one another in onecommon resolve to keep our city whole. Thank you, and good night."

Ex-Taliban Lawmaker Enters Hostage Talks

KABUL, Afghanistan - Two lawmakers - one of them a former Taliban member - and several influential elders have joined negotiations with the hardline militia to step up pressure for the release of 22 South Korean hostages, an official said Saturday.

A South Korean presidential envoy, Baek Jong-chun, was scheduled to hold talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday, an official from the South Korean Embassy in Kabul said. She spoke on condition of anonymity because of embassy policy.

The Taliban has demanded the release of insurgent prisoners in exchange for the South Koreans, who were captured on July 19. One of the original 23 captives was shot to death on …

Magnolia, Rain or Shine dispute early solo lead.(Sports)

RAIN OR Shine and Magnolia Dairy Ice Cream dispute the solo lead today as the league titans clash in the featured match of a triple bill in the 2006 PBL Heroes Cup at the JCSGO gym in Cubao.

The Elasto Painters and Wizards collide at 4 p.m. with both teams hoping to sustain the momentum they gained following their impressive wins in the opening day last Saturday at the La Salle Greenhills gym.

Drawing big games from Jojo Tangkay and Ronjay Enrile, Rain or Shine scored an 81-75 come-from-behind victory over Toyota Otis, while Magnolia turned to Kim Valenzuela, Arwind Santos, and Kelly Williams to turn back Granny Goose Tortillos, 79-70

Also gunning for win No. 2 is Hapee-Philippine Christian University which battles MontaA[+ or -]a Pawnshop at 6 p.m. The Teeth Masters celebrated their comeback after a year of absence with a 65-54 drubbing of Far Eastern Insurance last Thursday.

Clashing in the curtainraiser at 2 p.m. are Toyota Otis and Tortillos with the Snackmasters determined to give coach Jun Tan a grand farewell. Tan, who guided the team to a respectable third place last conference, has stepped down from his post to concentrate on their family business in Cebu.

Veteran mentor Joe Lipa has been tapped to replace Tan whose cool demeanor earned him raves and admirations from his players, several team owners and league officials.

After steering Tortillos to a fourth place finish in their maiden campaign last year, Tan was passionately courted by a team in the pro league to become one of its assistant coaches but he politely declined the offer.

Fast and furious action is expected to mark the Magnolia-Rain or Shine tussle as both teams boast of several players who can excite the crowd with their wondrous moves from the shaded lane and torrid shooting from beyond the arc.

Magnolia, Rain or Shine dispute early solo lead.(Sports)

RAIN OR Shine and Magnolia Dairy Ice Cream dispute the solo lead today as the league titans clash in the featured match of a triple bill in the 2006 PBL Heroes Cup at the JCSGO gym in Cubao.

The Elasto Painters and Wizards collide at 4 p.m. with both teams hoping to sustain the momentum they gained following their impressive wins in the opening day last Saturday at the La Salle Greenhills gym.

Drawing big games from Jojo Tangkay and Ronjay Enrile, Rain or Shine scored an 81-75 come-from-behind victory over Toyota Otis, while Magnolia turned to Kim Valenzuela, Arwind Santos, and Kelly Williams to turn back Granny Goose Tortillos, 79-70

Also gunning for win No. 2 is Hapee-Philippine Christian University which battles MontaA[+ or -]a Pawnshop at 6 p.m. The Teeth Masters celebrated their comeback after a year of absence with a 65-54 drubbing of Far Eastern Insurance last Thursday.

Clashing in the curtainraiser at 2 p.m. are Toyota Otis and Tortillos with the Snackmasters determined to give coach Jun Tan a grand farewell. Tan, who guided the team to a respectable third place last conference, has stepped down from his post to concentrate on their family business in Cebu.

Veteran mentor Joe Lipa has been tapped to replace Tan whose cool demeanor earned him raves and admirations from his players, several team owners and league officials.

After steering Tortillos to a fourth place finish in their maiden campaign last year, Tan was passionately courted by a team in the pro league to become one of its assistant coaches but he politely declined the offer.

Fast and furious action is expected to mark the Magnolia-Rain or Shine tussle as both teams boast of several players who can excite the crowd with their wondrous moves from the shaded lane and torrid shooting from beyond the arc.

Magnolia, Rain or Shine dispute early solo lead.(Sports)

RAIN OR Shine and Magnolia Dairy Ice Cream dispute the solo lead today as the league titans clash in the featured match of a triple bill in the 2006 PBL Heroes Cup at the JCSGO gym in Cubao.

The Elasto Painters and Wizards collide at 4 p.m. with both teams hoping to sustain the momentum they gained following their impressive wins in the opening day last Saturday at the La Salle Greenhills gym.

Drawing big games from Jojo Tangkay and Ronjay Enrile, Rain or Shine scored an 81-75 come-from-behind victory over Toyota Otis, while Magnolia turned to Kim Valenzuela, Arwind Santos, and Kelly Williams to turn back Granny Goose Tortillos, 79-70

Also gunning for win No. 2 is Hapee-Philippine Christian University which battles MontaA[+ or -]a Pawnshop at 6 p.m. The Teeth Masters celebrated their comeback after a year of absence with a 65-54 drubbing of Far Eastern Insurance last Thursday.

Clashing in the curtainraiser at 2 p.m. are Toyota Otis and Tortillos with the Snackmasters determined to give coach Jun Tan a grand farewell. Tan, who guided the team to a respectable third place last conference, has stepped down from his post to concentrate on their family business in Cebu.

Veteran mentor Joe Lipa has been tapped to replace Tan whose cool demeanor earned him raves and admirations from his players, several team owners and league officials.

After steering Tortillos to a fourth place finish in their maiden campaign last year, Tan was passionately courted by a team in the pro league to become one of its assistant coaches but he politely declined the offer.

Fast and furious action is expected to mark the Magnolia-Rain or Shine tussle as both teams boast of several players who can excite the crowd with their wondrous moves from the shaded lane and torrid shooting from beyond the arc.

Magnolia, Rain or Shine dispute early solo lead.(Sports)

RAIN OR Shine and Magnolia Dairy Ice Cream dispute the solo lead today as the league titans clash in the featured match of a triple bill in the 2006 PBL Heroes Cup at the JCSGO gym in Cubao.

The Elasto Painters and Wizards collide at 4 p.m. with both teams hoping to sustain the momentum they gained following their impressive wins in the opening day last Saturday at the La Salle Greenhills gym.

Drawing big games from Jojo Tangkay and Ronjay Enrile, Rain or Shine scored an 81-75 come-from-behind victory over Toyota Otis, while Magnolia turned to Kim Valenzuela, Arwind Santos, and Kelly Williams to turn back Granny Goose Tortillos, 79-70

Also gunning for win No. 2 is Hapee-Philippine Christian University which battles MontaA[+ or -]a Pawnshop at 6 p.m. The Teeth Masters celebrated their comeback after a year of absence with a 65-54 drubbing of Far Eastern Insurance last Thursday.

Clashing in the curtainraiser at 2 p.m. are Toyota Otis and Tortillos with the Snackmasters determined to give coach Jun Tan a grand farewell. Tan, who guided the team to a respectable third place last conference, has stepped down from his post to concentrate on their family business in Cebu.

Veteran mentor Joe Lipa has been tapped to replace Tan whose cool demeanor earned him raves and admirations from his players, several team owners and league officials.

After steering Tortillos to a fourth place finish in their maiden campaign last year, Tan was passionately courted by a team in the pro league to become one of its assistant coaches but he politely declined the offer.

Fast and furious action is expected to mark the Magnolia-Rain or Shine tussle as both teams boast of several players who can excite the crowd with their wondrous moves from the shaded lane and torrid shooting from beyond the arc.

Abgenix Inc. , Chugai Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. align in antibody therapies.(Brief Article)

Abgenix Inc. entered a multiyear collaboration with Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to develop fully human monoclonal antibody therapies, while Tokyo based Chugai separately gained rights to develop products based on patents belonging to Abgenix. Specific financial terms of the development agreement were not disclosed, but Fremont, Calif.-based …

Bands of brothers; This is the week when groups can say it's all relative.(Preview)

Byline: GREG HAYMES

It's the Battle of the Brothers tonight on the Capital Region concert scene!

In this corner, weighing in with a massive discography that stretches back to their 1971 eponymous album debut, the Doobie Brothers chug into the Saratoga Performing Arts Center at 7 tonight. The band has been in the recording studio recently, working with such producers as Ted Templeman and Bob Rock, but don't expect to hear much new stuff tonight. And don't expect to see Michael McDonald, either. But with founding guitarist-vocalists Pat Simmons and Tom Johnston leading the charge, you can bet that you'll hear plenty of early Doobies hits such as "Listen to the Music," "Long Train Runnin' " and "China Grove."

The number of actual …

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IS A SIMPLE GIFT BY BILL MCKIBBEN.(MAIN)

JOHNSBURG -- I know what I'll be doing on Christmas Eve. My wife, my 4-year-old daughter, my dad, my brother and I will snowshoe out into the woods in late afternoon, ready to choose a hemlock or a balsam fir and saw it down -- I've had my eye on three or four likely candidates all year.

We'll bring it home, shake off the snow, decorate it and then head for church, where the Sunday school class I help teach will gamely perform this year's pageant. (Last year, along with the usual shepherds and wise people, it featured a lost star talking on a cell phone.) And then it's home to hang stockings, stoke the fire and off to bed. As traditional as it gets, except that there's no sprawling pile of presents under the tree.

Several years ago, a few of us in the …

Top Irish bank agrees to cut CEO's pay to 500k

Ireland's debt-saddled top bank, Allied Irish Banks PLC, bowed Wednesday to public pressure and pruned the salary of its new chief executive to a government-ordered ceiling of ⁈0 ($748,000).

Prime Minister Brian Cowen announced the bank's move while answering lawmakers' angry questions in parliament. He said any new executives at Irish banks benefiting from government insurance and billions in state aid must observe the salary cap.

Allied Irish's board had sought to breach the government-ordered salary cap, stoking public fury over bankers' lavish salaries amid an unprecedented taxpayer-funded bank bailout.

In a statement, Allied Irish …

MIDDLE-CLASSNESS AND WHITENESS IN PARENTS' RESPONSES TO MULTICULTURALISM: A STUDY OF ONE SCHOOL

Since its founding in 1941 until the 1980s, "Pinecrest" School was dominated by children from "Baywoods," an economically privileged and largely Jewish neighbourhood. In the late 1980s, the population of the school changed to include children of immigrants in an adjacent neighbourhood, "Kerrydale." Seeking to protect their children's cultural capital and class advantages, the Baywoods parents' response involved the construction of fundamental difference and concerns about effects on school quality. The responses were interrupted by dilemma and ambivalence. They are read through the intersections of middle-class formation and whiteness in terms of three dimensions: practice, relationality, …

In Brief: SEC Issues 'Investor Alert' About Analysts.(Brief Article)

The Securities and Exchange Commission warned investors Thursday against making decisions based solely on analyst recommendations.

In an "investor alert," the SEC outlined the potential for conflicts of interests among analysts who work for firms that underwrite or own securities they cover. As a result, the agency said, investors should consult multiple and independent sources of information, including a company's own financial filings.

"I am hopeful the industry will eliminate the conflicts of interest that threaten the fairness and objectivity of analyst recommendations. Our first priority, however, is making sure individual investors are aware of the …

AROUND TECH VALLEY.(Business)

DONATIONS

Empire BlueCross awarded a $30,000 grant to Senior Services of Albany's Meals on Wheels Programs. The local Meals on Wheels delivers more than 1,000 meals every day to disabled and homebound elderly and in 2008 delivered more than 308,000 meals.

GRAB BAG

Scott Schulz, a certified equity professional with Valuation Resource Group in East Greenbush, received a Volunteer Excellence Award from the Certified Equity Professional Institute. This award honors a volunteers' service and efforts over the past year.

ON THE BOARD

Laurene Curtin of Niskayuna, sales manager at the Niskayuna office of Veronica W. Lynch Inc., is …

Severe winter storms claim 10; From Texas to Indiana, U.S. midsection is virtually shut down by winter's fury.(Main)

Byline: CHERIE HENDERSON Associated Press

Storms across the nation's midsection delivered freezing cold and as much as 10 inches of snow by Thursday, bedeviling drivers on slippery roads and closing schools from Texas to Indiana.

At least 10 people were killed in road wrecks in Kansas, Missouri and Kentucky over two days. In Texas, a mother and son died in a fire sparked by an improperly installed wood-burning stove.

In Chicago, a Southwest Airlines jet trying to land in heavy snow Thursday evening slid off a runway at Midway International Airport, crashed through a fence and skidded into a busy street. There were no reports of injuries on the …

MORE FAMILIES WITH KIDS LIVE ON THE STREET.(MAIN)

Byline: Associated Press

Families with children now account for about 43 percent of the homeless, up from about 33 percent in previous years, the U.S. Conference of Mayors said Tuesday in a survey that challenges some of the stereotypes of urban poverty.

"When you talk about homelessness, people seem to think about the man that's sleeping on the park bench or the lady walking down the street with bags," said St. Louis Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr., co-chairman of the group's Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness.

"But it's families, it's women and children that are gradually beginning to feel these problems."

The 1993 study also found that …

Last of Arizona immigration protesters on trial

PHOENIX (AP) — The president of a national religious organization and five others went on trial Friday in Phoenix a year after they were arrested while protesting Arizona's tough immigration law and a crackdown on illegal immigrants.

The Rev. Peter Morales, president of the Boston-based Unitarian Universalist Association, is charged with a misdemeanor count of failure to obey an order. Morales lives in Arvada, Colo. and Salem, Mass., and was elected as the first Latino president of the association in 2009.

Also on trial in the same courtroom is Salvador Reza, the leader of an immigrant-rights group based in Phoenix and a longtime opponent of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio …

Prison escapee caught after knocking on wrong door

SEATTLE (AP) — An escaped convict was caught following a day on the loose after he knocked on a cabin door — only to find out the man renting the lodge was an off-duty guard at the prison he just fled.

Authorities said 39-year-old James Edward Russell took off from the Washington state penitentiary Tuesday morning. Early the next day, Russell — still …

Beckett's suspension cut one game

Boston Red Sox right-hander Josh Beckett's suspension was reduced from six games to five Sunday, allowing him to take his next turn in the rotation.

Beckett threw a pitch near the head of the Los Angeles Angels' Bobby Abreu on April 12, leading to both dugouts and bullpens emptying. Major League Baseball suspended him Tuesday, and he appealed the ruling.

With the Red Sox off Thursday, the new penalty allows Beckett to switch spots with left-hander Jon Lester. Lester will start the opener of a three-game series Friday against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park, and Beckett will pitch Saturday.

''We didn't actually have a hearing because everybody has to answer to …

Chrysler to dealers: Sales bank is back.(NEWS)

Byline: Bradford Wernle

Chrysler LLC co-President Jim Press delivered the news Friday, Dec. 12, in a nationally telecast pep talk to dealers: The sales bank is back at least until the end of the month.

In a conference call Friday, Press told dealers that "your district managers will be calling you to try to sell one of the 12,000 units of unassigned inventory. The news emerged during a call that was intended to boost dealers' spirits as Chrysler seeks a $7 billion government loan it needs to survive into next year.

For many Chrysler dealers, "sales bank is a hated term. They remember the dog days of 2006 when Chrysler failed to recognize slowing …

ART ON THE HUDSON PHOTOS, CITIES AND FISHING IN COLUMBIA COUNTY GALLERIES.(ARTS)

Byline: WILLIAM JAEGER Special to the Times Union

Gift buying and giving infects everything this time of year, even art galleries and art reviewers. Suddenly, all the attractive artworks in the two private galleries I visited, and even many at a more alternative space, looked suspiciously like presents waiting to be wrapped.

The art was more accessible, conventional and attractive. Gallery hopping became a bizarrely blithe affair.

The pretty (if lightweight) photographs and altered photographs by Sarah Sterling at the Davis & Hall Gallery in Hudson openly toy with cliches, but don't quite succumb to them. A series of spent flowers -- tulips, mainly -- are photographed in warm colors, the backgrounds painted over in soft …

Membership has its rewards.(CIC Bulletin ICC)(Brief Article)

Time's up! The "Renew your CIC membership! Contest" results are in.

The fourth annual contest held in partnership with Meloche Monnex, offered a new Palm Tungsten T2 handheld, valued at $500 as the grand prize and a one-year free CIC membership as the second, valued at $135.

Winning ballots for the renewal contest were drawn at The Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) National Office on January 30, 2004.

Grand prizewinner Reihaneh …

Immigration Outcome Too Close to Call

WASHINGTON - Senators pushing a new immigration policy appealed Sunday to wavering supporters ahead of renewed debate on securing the borders and dealing with 12 million undocumented immigrants.

A fragile compromise was pulled from the Senate in early June, then resurrected after bipartisan negotiations with the White House. The bill awaits a crucial test vote this week. With several senators distancing themselves from the proposal, the outcome was too close to call.

"We'll see if between the two parties we have 60 votes" needed to keep the bill moving toward a final vote, said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

The measure would tighten borders, require workplace …

HM King Hamad receives letter from Qatari Amir.

Manama, Oct. 18 (BNA)--His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa received a letter today from Qatari Amir Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, including an invitation to the Connect Arab States Summit which will be hosted by Doha next year.

It was handed over by Qatari Ambassador to Bahrain Shaikh Abdullah bin Thamer Al Thani during a meeting with HM King Hamad at Safriya Palace today.The Qatari ambassador conveyed to HM the King the greetings of the Qatari Amir and his best …

EUROPE, IRAN NEAR DEAL ON NUCLEAR ARMS.(MAIN)

Byline: DAFNA LINZER Washington Post

NEW YORK -- A European deal to freeze Iran's nuclear program, provide the Islamic Republic with lucrative trade incentives and keep it out of the U.N. Security Council, could be signed by midweek if two critical issues can be quickly resolved, U.S., European and Iranian officials said in interviews Sunday.

Iran is still refusing to accept a full suspension on all its nuclear-related work and wants a commitment from France, Britain and Germany that a second stage of negotiations will be wrapped up within six months. The European trio wants the later negotiations to be open-ended and expects Iran to maintain a total …

Nematode anticoagulant protein targets blood coagulation factor.

2003 NOV 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recombinant nematode anticoagulant protein c2 targets blood coagulation factor VIIa/tissue factor.

According to a study from Canada, "Originally isolated from a hematophagous hookworm, recombinant nematode anticoagulant protein c2 (rNAPc2) is an 85-amino acid protein with potent anticoagulant properties. Unlike conventional anticoagulants that attenuate blood coagulation via inhibition of thrombin or activated factor X (FXa) at the downstream portion of the cascade, rNAPc2 is a potent inhibitor of the activated factor VII/tissue factor complex (FVIIa/TF), the key physiological initiator of blood coagulation."

"Its …

All's well that ends Wellington

Photo: Brian Jackson, Sun-Times / CTA President Richard Rodriguez rides a Brown …

PATTISON RELEASES PLAN FOR REFORMS TO CLOSE BUDGET GAP IN TROY.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: TIM O'BRIEN Staff writer -

TROY Mark Pattison, the Democratic mayoral candidate, announced his plan for restoring Troy's fiscal integrity that calls for cutting supervisors in the Police and Fire departments, turning firefighters into code inspectors and charging for trash pickup based on volume.

Pattison issued his ``Framework for Our Future'' on Tuesday. The proposals do not come with dollar figures attached or say how Pattison would close what he calls a projected $5 million gap in Troy's budget.

Kathleen Jimino, Pattison's Republican opponent, said she could not respond to the 18-page announcement.

``I probably would want …