DNA testing has exonerated a man of a rape conviction that had kept him in an Illinois prison for more than 12 years.
The New York-based Innocence Project says Dean Cage is the 29th person in Illinois exonerated by post-conviction DNA evidence.
The 41-year-old man was …
Exelon raises earnings target
Exelon, the biggest U.S. utility owner by market value, raised its2004 earnings target and set a higher forecast range for next year oncost cutting and increased wholesale power prices. Per-share profitexcluding certain items will be $2.75 to $2.90 this year and $2.85 to$3.05 next year, the Chicago-based company, parent of CommonwealthEdison, said. The 2004 forecast is up from a July 28 estimate of$2.68 to $2.83.
Abbott loses to Hershey
Hershey Foods Corp., the No. 1 U.S. chocolate maker, said it willbegin sales of the SmartZone nutrition bars after Abbott Laboratorieslost a court ruling that would block sales while a trademark …
The issue of data access and freedom landed front and center during NACE in Orlando, Fla. Concern raised by users of estimating systems centered on the actions of two of the Big Three information providers who have indicated they may restrict the transfer of a shop's estimate data to 'approved' third party providers. Mitchell was the lone supporter of unfettered access and communication commendable position.
The prospect of access restrictions raised warning flags for many supporters of open,Web-based communication systems built upon standards developed by the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA).
In justifying their actions, ADP Claims Solutions …
Police said a thief used a Vaseline-like lubricant to swipe an expensive ring off an elderly woman's hand in broad daylight. Authorities said two men bumped 80-year-old Helen Artim's car, then asked her to open her trunk to check for damage.
Police said the suspect ran his hand over hers, covering it with "some type of lubricant," then …
Thousands of people living either side of the River Avon were leftconfused after vandals activated the Severnside emergency sirensystem.
The scheme was introduced five years ago as an early warning toresidents in the event of major incidents at the vast Avonmouthchemical plants.
The first sirens in the GBP214,000 scheme were installed atAvonmouth, Pilning, Royal Portbury, Portishead, Pilning and Aust.
It was the latest siren to link up to the network, near theLamplighters pub at Station Road, Shirehampton, that was activatedjust before 7pm on Monday.
Police were sent to the area to search for a gang of teenagersseen near the site just before. …
Stewart Cink says he's not worried about the Ryder Cup pointsrace. Maybe that's because he's in eighth place--if not a lock, atleast with some breathing room.
With the U.S. team to be determined after the PGA Championship,most of those on the bubble aren't hiding their feelings.
"It's hard not to think about it," Brad Faxon said after moving upto 12th last week with a tie for sixth in the International. "I don'tknow how anybody could be in eighth to 12th and not be thinking aboutwhere you stand on the Ryder Cup. Every round means so much."
Faxon knows as well as anyone. In the 1995 PGA at Riviera in LosAngeles, he shot a final-round 63 to grab the last spot on …
LINZ, Austria (AP) — Results Wednesday from the Generali Ladies, a $220,000 (€145,000) WTA Tour event on indoor hard-courts at TipsArena (seedings in parentheses):
| First Round |
|---|
Petra Kvitova (5), Czech Republic, def. Anastasia Rodionova, Australia, 6-2, 1-0, retired.
Ana Ivanovic (7), Serbia, def. Sorana Cirstea, …
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Third-seeded Tomas Berdych recovered from a slow start to beat Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 6-3 Monday in the first round of the Dubai Championships, and fifth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic was forced to retire with a leg injury against Ukrainian qualifier Sergei Bubka.
Berdych took advantage of Chardy's 40 unforced errors, recovering from a 2-1 deficit in the first set to take the next five games. In the second set, Berdych won six of the final seven games and 16 of the last 20 points.
"It was really solid," said Berdych, who has been recovering from the flu. "I was not really aiming for some special and extreme shots. Just try to be as consistent and patient …
WOICE of ACHEMA (World
Catalog of International Chemical Equipment)
- CD-ROM
- Pub K-22
- $325 for North American singleusers; $260 for a single-user update; $185 for a subscription (two year minimum) - Members outside North America must order directly from DECHEMA
- Available in May 1997
The first "worldwide multimedia catalog for equipment in chemical engineering, environmental protection, and biotechnology," WOICE puts together-on one CD-ROM-basic information on more than 3,500 companies from around the world, including a brief description, and keywords for database searches. Updated annually, the program also provides technical reports …
The shadow of the Sept. 11 terror attacks is eclipsing press freedom and other constitutional safeguards in the United States, Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley said.
"What has become clear in the aftermath of 9/11 is how much expediency trumps safeguards," Curley said Thursday during the annual dinner of the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation.
"Congress steps back from its constitutional role of executive oversight. Civilian oversight of the military wanes. A Justice Department interprets laws in ways that extend police powers. More drastically, prisons are established in places where government or military operatives …
All the wardens need do is walk along Union Street and they willcatch scores of people tossing away cigarette ends, dropping sweetwrappers or throwing fast food containers away.
It makes you wonder what their houses must be like if this is howpeople behave in public.
But at least the council has now pledged to get tough and startdishing out fines. Good on it.
And good on the Evening Express, too, for its Make Our CitySparkle campaign.
We do need reminding sometimes that it is up to all of us to …
For the uninitiated, Indie Writers' Deathmatch is our version of a literary contest. It's your garden variety short story contest, but we like to throw in some twists: the cattiness of online message boards; the puffed up pride of UFC combatants; and the vagaries of pseudo-democracy! Basically, Deathmatch is the Rie Flair of short story competitions.
Our fourth annual Deathmatch had the sort of twists you just don't get from other short story contests.
This year, not only did we receive the highest number of entries in Deathmatch history, but the greatest number of votes too, not to mention our biggest prize grab ever, including publication in this very issue, a bunch of …
LOS ANGELES - Heather Mills McCartney says rumors that she has a romantic relationship with her personal trainer are false, and that she'll never remarry after her four-year union with Paul McCartney fell apart.
Mills McCartney, 38, and ex-Beatle McCartney, 64, announced their separation in May and began divorce proceedings in July. They have a 3-year-old daughter, Beatrice.
"I haven't got a lover," Mills McCartney told "Extra" in an interview to be aired Monday and Tuesday. "At the moment, I'm focusing on my daughter."
Tabloid newspapers and celebrity-gossip Web sites have speculated that Mills McCartney had become romantic with trainer Ben Amigoni.
Mills McCartney says she has received much public support since the separation, with some people hugging her in the street. She said: "I didn't know that many people cared. You get to know who your friends are and I haven't lost any friends."
Mills McCartney didn't comment on her divorce. But she said public perceptions that she was a "gold digger" were misguided. She said 85 percent of her income went to her charity and that she fell in love for the right reason. "I fell in love unconditionally," she said.
Mills McCartney touted her vegan diet, which she said was behind her recent weight loss. When asked what projects she had been working on recently, she said: "What I've been developing is a vegan fast food chain and vegan food markets."
MIAMI - Actor-comedian Sinbad had the last laugh after his Wikipedia entry announced he was dead, the performer said Thursday. Rumors began circulating Saturday regarding the posting, said Sinbad, who first got a telephone call from his daughter. The gossip quieted, but a few days later the 50-year-old entertainer said the phone calls, text messages and e-mails started pouring in by the hundreds.
"Saturday I rose from the dead and then died again," the Los Angeles-based entertainer told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
The St. Petersburg-based company, which describes itself as "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit," leaves it to a vast user community to catch factual errors and other problems. Apparently, someone edited it to say Sinbad died of a heart attack. By the time the error was caught, e-mail links of the erroneous page had been forwarded to hundreds of people.
A note on Sinbad's Wikipedia page Thursday night said the site has been temporarily protected from editing to deal with vandalism.
Wikipedia was created in 2001 as a Web research tool. It has more than 1.6 million articles, contributed by members of the public.
A telephone call and an e-mail left for Wikipedia were not immediately returned Thursday night.
When asked if he was upset about the mix-up, Sinbad, whose real name is David Adkins, just laughed.
"It's gonna be more commonplace as the Internet opens up more and more. It's not that strange," the Los Angeles-based entertainer told the Associated Press in a phone interview.
Sinbad, who is currently on the road doing stand up, said he hasn't received an apology from the Internet site. He has appeared in the films, "Houseguest," and "Jingle All the Way."
To see him on the street, you might not guess that Brett Dennen is an acclaimed musician. He's a giant blue-eyed, ginger-haired guy in whose arms a standard guitar looks as small as an ukulele. He doesn't look like a rock star, and he doesn't really sound like one. A pleasant, albeit reedy tenor that slips from a whisper to a belted-out falsetto and crazy-legs moves on stage isn't typical rock-god material (or is it, Elvis Presley?).
But the 30-something Dennen, whose rockin' new album Loverboy (Dualtone Music Group) came out in April, has the qualities of a long and illustrious musical career: He knows his way around a guitar and he's an incredible storyteller who sings every note honestly. No matter whether he's promising "Sydney" he'll come running or explaining why there "Ain't No Reason" love won't come set him free, he's sincere and tells his tales as if they're closely guarded secrets ? ones he's sharing with a whole crowd of fans.
-Amy Atkins
With The Submarines. 8 p.m., $20-$45. Knitting Factory, 416 S. Ninth St., bo.knittingfactory.com.
Emotional testimony and rehashed complaints about police brutality and insensitivity filled Chicago City Council chambers for nearly four hours Tuesday, during a hearing of the police and fire committee on the subject of racial profiling.
Of the seven aldermen who attended Tuesday's City Council police and fire committee hearing on racial profiling, only three were Black, and one of those was the committee chair.
The African American community was not especially well-rep-resented either at the hearing which was convened by Alderman Isaac Carothers (29th).
Black Aldermen Emma Mitts (37th) and Carrie Austin (34th) were joined by Aldermen James Balcer (11th), Virginia Rugai (19th), Helen Shiller (46th) and Ariel Rebroyas (30th).
The committee listened to testimony from 21 city residents, all Black, as well as remarks from Chicago police superintendent Philip Cline.
Cline, accompanied by First Deputy Superintendent Dana Starks and other members of his command staff, said in prepared remarks that two events happened this summer to send the issue of racial profiling back into the news.
"In June, we released race data collected during traffic stops as part of the Illinois Traffic Stop Statistical Study," Cline said. "And last month, pastor and state Senator James Meeks filed a complaint with the Office of Professional Standards alleging that a sergeant mistreated him during a traffic stop."
Cline then made a power point presentation to show some of the training videos from around the country officers view in order to learn the best ways to deal with the public, and in ways that protect the safety of everyone involved in those vehicular stops.
He said the department received 421 officer complaints so far this year.
"They have been investigated and of that number, only six officers have been named in a second complaint," Cline said.
Then the testimony alleging physical and verbal police abuse began.
Marvin Robinson, a 13-year Cook County employee, told the committee he was with a group of friends at 79th Street and Langley Avenue on July 30 when police stopped them and arrested him for "wearing a T-shirt."
He is out on bond for trespassing charges and showed the Chicago Defender the offending shirt which read, "Fact: Whites get 1 year probation for 1 oz. of coke + Fact: Blacks get 6-30 years on ? oz. of coke."
The back side read, "Doesn't add up."
Clifton Marvel, a former investigator with the Cook County Sheriff's Department, fought back tears as he recounted how he was approached by police officers five years ago while he was in uniform and legally parked.
"No one explained why I was asked for my identification," he said.
Marvel's car was searched, his service weapon confiscated and the last thing he said he remembered about the incident was seeing "a white shirt (of a police supervisor) while I was choked unconscious."
He was fired from his job a month later and is still fighting charges of aggravated assault.
Rev. Albert Tyson III, pastor of St. Stephen's African Methodist Episcopal Church, and the only clergy member at the hearing, told the Defender he would like to see four things come out of the hearing.
"An independent citizen review board, a new standard of conduct for police officers, more promotions of African Americans," he said. "And zero tolerance for racial profiling."
State Senators Kwame Raoul (D-13th) and Kimberly Lightford (D-4th) also testified at the hearing.
Raoul talked about his personal experience when he was an assistant Cook County state's attorney and was stopped by police who believed he matched the description of a car thief.
Lightford said one of her young male relatives had been stopped by police in May, and was still awaiting a call back from OPS.
Pat Hill, head of the African American Police League, told the Defender the hearing was one of the least attended by the Black community she's seen.
"I think this is part because historically, there have never been any results produced, any recommendations, any results because the public sees this for what it is," said Hill. "It's a sham. It's just giving people something to do today."
She said the aldermen were "insulting the public by not being here. And I think every last one of them should be targeted."
But Carothers told the Defender while he had hoped for a greater response from the community, he will move forward in analyzing Tuesday's testimony and working with Cline, whom he believes is sincere in his effort to make officers accountable for their interactions with residents.
Article copyright REAL TIMES Inc.
Photograph (Clifton Marvel, Isaac Carothers)
The following recall has been announced:
_ Seattle's Favorite Gourmet Cookies & Dessert Co. is recalling orange cranberry and banana nut muffin tops because they contain undeclared milk, which could cause a severe or life-threatening reaction in people who have allergies to milk. No illnesses have been reported, according to the Tukwila, Wash., company. The orange cranberry and banana nut muffin tops were distributed nationwide to coffee shops, espresso stands and retail outlets. For more information, consumers can call 866-203-5588.
Millions of Americans gamble each year. Now the industry wants tounite them behind a single anthem: "Danke Schoen."
Entertainer Wayne Newton, known as Mr. Las Vegas and known for histrademark song, "Danke Schoen," is chairing the first nationwideeffort to promote gambling at the grass-roots level. The group,Americans for Casino Entertainment, hopes to harness the power ofgambling enthusiasts to counter vocal anti-gambling groups.
"Forty million people a year go to Atlantic City, 39 million go toLas Vegas and millions more go to casinos in Illinois, Iowa,Missouri" and other states, said Frank J. Fahrenkopf, president andCEO of the American Gambling Association, which is organizing thecitizens group. "If and when there's an unfair law, we want tomotivate them to be of assistance."
The group hopes to attract members through a new Web site,www.aceaction.com, and through letters to people on casino mailinglists.
Test mailings began going to thousands of potential members duringthe last three weeks, Fahrenkopf said. In one letter, the 58-year-old Newton writes "powerful forces are at work in Washington and instate capitals."
"A new coalition is forming-a coalition of politicians and vocalanti-gambling groups that want to take away your right to enjoycasino gaming. They want to tell you how to behave, how to live andwhat kinds of entertainment you may choose. It's wrong and it'shappening right now."
The first issue the group wants people to write Congress about isa proposed ban on college sports gambling in Las Vegas. The groupcontends the move only would create more illegal sports gamblingoperations. Eventually, Fahrenkopf hopes to use other entertainers tohelp recruit members.
Newton's involvement with the pro-casino group doesn't faze one ofthe nation's leading anti-gambling activists so far.
"If that's the best you can do, none of us are intimidated by it,"said the Rev. Tom Grey, a United Methodist minister from the Rockfordarea. "It's a move that shows me we are having an impact at thispoint."
Jordan says it has signed a $130 million agreement with a South Korean consortium to build the kingdom's first nuclear research reactor.
The consortium, led by state-run Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute and Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co., will build a 5-megawatt reactor, a radioactive isotope manufacturing facility and a nuclear training center.
The official Petra news agency said Tuesday the reactor will be fully commissioned within five years and a nuclear power plant will be built by 2017. Construction is to start later this year near the northern city of Irbid.
Resource-barren Jordan is developing a peaceful nuclear program with U.S. support. It says alternative energy sources are needed to generate electricity and desalinate water.
On Friday afternoon, neighborhood children frolicked on the new$70,000 playground at Haines School in New Lenox that was completedjust that day.
By that night, the playground was aflame, its largest piece ofequipment melted into an indistinguishable mess of color.
"This was not just a case of vandalism, this is a case of arson,"Haines Principal Jackie Miller said.
The playground replaced equipment that was the oldest in thedistrict, Miller said. Students at the first- through third-gradeschool were so excited about the new equipment, they ran a lemonadestand at the end of last school year to buy jump ropes, balls andgames.
"We were so excited to start the new year with a new playground,"Miller said. "It was something that the whole community was lookingforward to."
The largest piece of equipment -- which included ladders andslides -- was destroyed. Other equipment, such as swings and smallerslides, were far enough away from the fire that they aresalvageable, Miller said.
The fire started about 11 p.m. Friday, just hours after crewsfinished installing mulch and other finishing touches in time forthe first day of school today.
Miller said the fire department indicated to her that anaccelerant had been used.
Police Chief Dan Martin said that the cause of the fire is stillunder investigation but that it was "suspicious in nature." Martinsaid a neighbor indicated several youths were at the park earlier inthe night.
The playground took eight months to build. It's unknown how longit will take to replace the damaged equipment.
Teachers were working on an alternate plan for recess, Millersaid. "We've got a creative team, and we're going to figuresomething out," she said.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A legislative committee approved a measure Tuesday that would limit collective bargaining rights for 350,000 Ohio government workers.
The move is similar to actions taken by conservative Republican lawmakers in the nearby state of Wisconsin.
In Ohio, the Republican-controlled House Commerce and Labor Committee voted 9-6 along party lines to recommend the bill after making more than a dozen changes to the legislation that was approved by the Senate.
The committee's changes make the measure even tougher on unions, making it more difficult for them to collect certain fees. But the committee also removed jail time as a possible penalty for workers who participate in strikes and made clear that public safety workers could negotiate over equipment.
A vote on the bill in the Republican-controlled House could come Wednesday. The Senate then will have to agree to the House changes.
Similar limits to collective bargaining have cropped up in statehouses across the country, most notably in Wisconsin.
Sponsors claim that limiting state workers' collective bargaining rights will help them control state spending and reduce potential deficits.
Workers argue they are being unfairly stripped of union rights.
LOS ANGELES - Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza of Puerto Rico was chosen Miss Universe 2006 on Sunday.
ATHENS, Greece The U.S. women's relay team got it right, asusual. The men didn't, as usual.
After the men bungled a handoff in the first round of the400-meter relay at the World Championships and did not finish, thewomen blazed to an American and championship record victory in theirfinal Saturday.
"We saw what happened to the men and we didn't want that tohappen to us," said Marion Jones, the women's 100-meter champion, whoran the second relay leg and became the first double gold medalist ofthe championships."We wanted the victory for the USA - not just for the women, butfor the men," Gail Devers, the women's anchor, said after theAmericans raced home in 41.47 seconds, the second-fastest ever.Earlier, the men botched a baton pass for the second consecutivechampionships. The foulup came on the first handoff, between BrianLewis and Tim Montgomery.Although the two have worked together on handoffs many timeswhile training at Norfolk State, they failed when it counted."It was a simple misunderstanding of when to call for thestick," said Lewis, who was told about 90 minutes before the racethat he would be competing in his first major championship. "We madea mistake. I can't explain it."Neither could U.S. men's coach Dean Hayes."I couldn't tell if he (Montgomery) left too early," he said.Flubbing relays in big meets is becoming commonplace forAmerican teams in recent years.They were disqualified in the first round of the 1988 OlympicGames and they failed to finish their first-round heat in the 1995World Championships.Last year at the Atlanta Games, the Americans failed to win forthe first time, other than by disqualification, finishing second tothe Canadians. Their Olympic DQ came in the 1960 Rome Games.The women had no such mishaps. Chryste Gaines, Jones, IngerMiller and Devers had clean handoffs in winning by about nine metersand just missing the world record of 41.37 seconds set by the Germannational team in 1985.The U.S. women also have won the last four Olympic golds.The inexperienced Lewis was replacing Jon Drummond, tired afterhaving run the 200 final Friday night. The women kept their lineupthe same throughout the semifinals and final.The failure to finish denied the U.S. team an opportunity togain revenge against Canada. Earlier in the day, Maurice Greene, whowas to run anchor, and Drummond boasted that the Americans would beatthe Canadians and break the world record.The Canadians advanced to today's final, but did not distinguishthemselves, finishing second in their opening-round heat and secondin their semifinal. Nigeria recorded the fastest time of the tworounds, 37.94, an African record.The Americans used a makeshift team in the semifinals of the1,600-meter relay - and got away with it. A foursome of JeromeYoung, Antonio Pettigrew, Chris Jones and 110-meter hurdles championAllen Johnson produced the fastest time, 2 minutes, 59.78 seconds.In other finals, all involving women, Cuba's Ana Quirot sweptpast Mozambique's Maria Mutola with 50 meters left and won her secondstraight 800 title in 1:57.14.Lyudmila Galkina of Russia won the long jump with aworld-leading leap of 23 feet, 1 3/4 inches.Romania's Gabriela Szabo made a big move with 200 metersremaining and won the 5,000 in 14:57.69, as Fernanda Ribeiro ofPortugal, the Olympic champion and defending world titlist, finishedthird.Norway's Trine Hattestad, the 1993 javelin winner, regained hertitle, throwing 225-8.And Japan's Hiromi Suzuki won the women's marathon in 2:29:48 insweltering conditions.British sprinter Linford Christie, 37, announced his retirement.
edited by E. Lynn Harris and Marita Golden
Harlem Moon, December 2002
$17.95, ISBN 0-767-91041-9
GUMBO: An Anthology of African American Writing's all-star roster boasts more names than your little black book and rivals the Yellow Pages in heft. Aptly titled, this savory word stew is a slow-cooked, jam-packed literary jambalaya. And while a few writers contribute nutrient-poor ingredients that lack essential spice and flavor, their watery prose is offset by writers who don't skimp on the andouille, shrimp, cayenne, okra, onion, and roux that are the signature staples of a good pot of gumbo.
An excellent choice for those who want to catch up on the contemporary boom in black literature and popular fiction, GUMBO is like a Reader's Digest of black writing from the last ten or so years. In the event your library card was remanded or your local bookstore still subscribes to that wayward idea that "black people don't read or write rule of thumb," here are chapters and passages excerpted from books you always intended to get to but never did, like Walter Mosley's RL's Dream, Shay Youngblood's Black Girl in Paris, Steven Barnes' Lion's Blood, What You Owe Me by Bebe Moore Campbell and Slapboxing With Jesus by Victor D. Lavelle. Even more exciting, however, are the series of yet-to-be published works by the writers whose work you constantly crave like Danzy Senna, Edwidge Danticat and GUMBO's editors E. Lynn Harris and Marita Golden. Add to the mix the work of new-to-the-table writers and the recipe is complete.
With its avant-garde cover design and extremely dense pages, toting around GUMBO will amaze anyone you care to make an impression on. It's true. Smart is sexy.
Touted as a literary rent party, monies earned from GUMBO will benefit the Hurston/Wright Foundation, which sponsors writing classes and various grants and awards for black writers. It is the only foundation of it's kind and it may well be an antidote for all that god-awful writing that somehow manages to make it to press year after year.
Ultimately, the reader is indebted to Harris and Golden. After all, these two thoughtful souls saw fit to bless us with the means to a warm and full belly. And while not every bite will make your taste buds yearn for more, the best thing about GUMBO is that there is always more than enough to go around and you will never ever walk away hungry.
Photograph (Cover of book 'GUMBO')
He was in Bloomington receiving an award for being one of 26 athletes named to the IHSA all-state academic team. He is the first male athlete in Prospect history to win the prestigious award, while classmate Marietta Smith became the first girl to do so.
''That was a great award,'' Ziegenfuss said. ''A lot of people get great academic awards or great athletic awards. It's kind of cool for me because it combines both. You have to be really well-rounded, so I think that was most significant to me.''
Ziegenfuss' high school experience has been significant. In addition to carrying a 5.0 GPA (out of 5.0) and singing and dancing for the show choir, he was an all-conference defensive back for the football team, starting guard on the basketball team and -- his coaches say -- the best hurdler in school history.
After qualifying for state in the 110 and 300 hurdles as a junior, Ziegenfuss began the spring with high expectations. Despite limited chances to run -- he missed the indoor season because of basketball -- he has impressed.
The 14.5 that Ziegenfuss clocked in the prelims of the 110 hurdles at Friday night's Prospect Invite was a personal best and came just before thunderstorms postponed the finish of the meet until today.
Prospect coach Mike Kamedula thinks Ziegenfuss can win a medal in at least one hurdles race. Ziegenfuss, who has his eye on Mike O'Brien's school record of 37.6 in the 300 hurdles, is just enjoying what's left of his athletic career. He will attend Illinois or Penn State but does not plan to run in college.
''Right now I'm definitely savoring the last couple weeks I have left because I know it's going to go by really fast,'' said Ziegenfuss, who also competes in the triple jump, high jump and 1,600 relay.a
Color Photo: Stacia Timonere, for the Sun-Times / York's Anthony Whyte (right) beats Niles North's Karl Williams in a 200 prelim at the Prospect invite, which was suspended until today by bad weather. ;
The dollar plunged to a three-year low against the yen Monday in Asia on concerns about the state of the U.S. economy.
The dollar traded at 103.18 yen at midafternoon, down from 103.96 yen late Friday in New York. It fell earlier in the day to 102.92 yen, its lowest point since Jan. 28, 2005, when the greenback stood at 102.37 yen.
The euro, meanwhile, rose to US$1.5215 from US$1.5194.
The dollar began its descent last week after U.S. economic indicators, such as consumer sentiment data, were weaker than expected.
"The bottom line is that players think the U.S. economy may be entering, or already has entered, a recession," said Jun Kato, a senior dealer at Shinkin Central Bank.
Kato said even if the U.S. Federal Reserve cuts its rates further, that wouldn't help the U.S. economy and unit recover much.
"Long-term interest rates are still at high levels, meaning banks are reluctant to lend," he said. "If people can't borrow the money they need, the U.S. economy won't be able to pick up in the near term."
Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga told reporters that exchange rates are "moving on various economic indicators," adding that he didn't feel it was "appropriate" for him to comment on rate moves.
The yen's strength, which hurts Japan's exporters by making their products more expensive abroad, has also helped push Japanese stocks lower. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 4.5 percent Monday.
The dollar was mostly higher against other Asian currencies. It rose 0.37 percent against the Philippine peso to 40.525 and gained 0.82 percent against the South Korean won to 946.6. The U.S. unit also rose 0.30 percent against the Taiwan dollar to 31.009.
According to engine development company, Scuderi Group, its Air-Hybrid diesel could be the world's most efficient internal combustion engine. The company also believes that diesel vehicles could become cheaper by 50 per cent.
"The Scuderi engine reduces the cost of diesel systems by eliminating or reducing turbo charging, injectors and exhaust treatment," says Sal Scuderi, Scuderi Group president. By adding a small air storage tank with simple controls, the Scuderi engine recaptures energy normally lost during braking. To accomplish this with electric hybrids is expensive and complex, he says.
The Scuderi engine also recaptures energy from the exhaust, making it possible to utilize a Scuderi Air-Hybrid design in stationary applications such as electric generators. The first diesel and gasoline prototypes are expected to be completed by late 2007.
The Scuderi engine was developed by Carmelo Scuderi, who started working on split-cycle technology, resulting in a design that could make efficient and environmentally-friendly engines. Before dying, he patented the basic concept for his engine. Six of his children are marketing the technology. Today, the Scuderi Group has over $15 million worth of funding, patents for the Scuderi designs in 45 countries and endorsement from automotive experts.
The Scuderi Split-Cycle Engine changes the heart of the conventional engine by dividing the four strokes of the Otto cycle over a paired combination of one compression cylinder and one power cylinder. Gas is compressed in the compression cylinder and transferred to the power cylinder through a gas passage which includes a set of uniquely timed valves that maintain a precharged pressure through all four strokes of the cycle. Shortly after the piston in the power cylinder reaches its top dead center position, the gas is transferred to the power cylinder and fired to produce the power stroke.
The engine is expected to improve fuel efficiency by almost one third, emit 80% less toxic emissions, enhance the performance of hybrid engines, and provide more power than a conventional engine - without compromising size or performance. It is easy to manufacture as it utilizes the same components found in today's engines.
Automotive Industries spoke to Scuderi Group president, Sal Scuderi.
Al: What is the OEMs' reaction to the technology?
Scuderi: The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. Once engineers started seeing how we were able to overcome some of the obstacles that have plagued split cycle engines for decades, the phone has not stopped ringing. As of now (December 2006), we have not signed on a licensee. We are in discussion with most major auto, bus and truck makers in the U.S., Europe and Asia and recently completed a tour to the major auto manufacturers in India.
Al: Why is the technology so important today?
Scuderi: Gas prices are leveling but won't get lower. Many OEMs want to find a system to comply with the upcoming emission standards and make their vehicles less costly. Traditional car makers need to respond to consumer demand for more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles. Our engine is the most near-term answer to these challenges.
Al: Will emerging markets take to the air-hybrid engine technology quicker than mature markets?
Scuderi: Car, truck and bus makers in India have been very motivated to incorporate our engine into their products. The mature markets are right behind them.
Al: Will the Scuderi engine be ready for demonstration by end-2007 as expected?
Scuderi: Yes.
[Sidebar]
"The Scuderi engine can recapture energy normally lost during the braking of a vehicle"
Sal Scuderi, president of the Scuderi Group
A federal grand jury has issued subpoenas to a Republican campaign committee and companies in Nevada in a probe of Sen. John Ensign, who has been under scrutiny for his efforts to find lobbying work for the husband of his former mistress.
One subpoena went to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which was formerly chaired by Ensign, a Nevada Republican, committee spokesman Brian Walsh said Thursday.
Sean Cairncross, general counsel for the group that is the campaign committee for Republican Senate candidates, said the committee has responded appropriately to questions concerning matters related to the time frame of the 2008 election campaign.
On Thursday, a Las Vegas television station reported that grand jury subpoenas in the Ensign probe went to six Las Vegas businesses that it did not name.
According to one subpoena obtained by KLAS-TV, a recipient was ordered to produce documents relating to, among others, Ensign; political consultant Michael Slanker, the former political director at the National Republican Senatorial Committee; and Slanker's wife, Lindsey, the committee's former finance director. They worked at the committee when Ensign ran it.
On his Web site, Slanker says his tenure at the committee included oversight and design of the political, communications and research departments. He oversaw and worked day-to-day with more than 20 targeted Senate campaigns.
The subpoena covers the period starting Jan. 1, 2008, and directs the recipient to testify March 31 in Washington, D.C., and to turn over documents. The station posted one subpoena on its Web site with the recipient's identity blacked out.
Ensign's affair and the legal problems it has engendered have derailed talk that he might make a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 and forced him to resign his position as chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee.
Asked about the subpoenas, Ensign spokeswoman Rebecca Fisher said, "Sen. Ensign is confident he has complied with all ethics rules and laws and will cooperate with any official inquiries."
The FBI and Senate Ethics Committee are investigating whether Ensign tried to limit political damage from an affair he had with the wife of one of his Senate aides by conspiring to help the aide find a new job as a lobbyist, which might have violated restrictions on lobbying by former congressional staff.
Federal criminal law prohibits congressional aides from lobbying their ex-bosses or office colleagues for one year after departing their Hill jobs.
Ensign acknowledged the relationship with Cynthia Hampton last June. Ensign helped her husband, Doug Hampton, gain employment with a lobbying firm, and Ensign's parents provided the Hamptons with a payment of $96,000 that they described as a gift.
The affair ended in 2008; Ensign is married.
In Las Vegas, executives of three companies told The Associated Press they had received subpoenas regarding Ensign in recent weeks from a federal grand jury, the Senate Ethics Committee or both.
GOP strategist and longtime Las Vegas businessman Sig Rogich said he provided material both to federal prosecutors and the Senate Ethics Committee about meeting with Hampton after getting a call from Ensign asking him to do so. Rogich said he did not give Hampton a job. Other Las Vegas firms that received subpoenas included The Selling Source LLC and eCommLink.
eCommLink, like a number of other Nevada companies, "has received subpoenas regarding the federal investigation of Sen. John Ensign," the firm's chief executive, Ennio Ponzetto, said in a statement.
Glenn McKay, president of The Selling Source LLC, told the AP a subpoena sought records and e-mails about a meeting regarding a campaign contribution between Ensign and Selling Source founder Derek LaFavor. The meeting took place in February or March of 2008, McKay said, adding that no contribution was given and that Hampton's name did not come up.
Hampton told The New York Times last year that, in coordination with the senator and his staff, he played a significant role in pushing the Washington agendas of NV Energy, the largest power company in Nevada, and Allegiant Air, a Las Vegas-based discount airline. On Thursday, Allegiant Air declined to comment. In a statement, NV Energy said that "as we have said all along, we will cooperate with any federal review."
The subpoena posted on the TV station's Web site also seeks documents relating to former Ensign chief of staff John Lopez and the Hamptons.
The subpoena also seeks records regarding November Inc., a political consulting firm belonging to Michael Slanker.
John Lopez, Ensign's former chief of staff, told The New York Times last year that when he raised concerns about contacts between Hampton and the senator's office, he was designated as an intermediary to ensure those contacts complied with the law.
Lopez acknowledged that Hampton tried to lobby him, but he said that was Hampton's problem. Robert Kelner, Lopez's attorney, declined to comment Thursday about whether Lopez has received a subpoena in the case.
Michael Slanker and officials at November Inc. did not respond Thursday to messages seeking comment. Daniel Albregts, a Las Vegas lawyer representing the Hamptons, declined to comment.
___
Ritter reported from Las Vegas. Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Liz Sidoti in Washington contributed to this report.
Iraqi Army soldiers detain a group of Iraqi men after a raid on a village near Basra, Iraq Sunday, March 27, 2005. Ten suspected insurgents were detained. Insurgents also hit a Basra police patrol with a roadside bomb Sunday, injuring one nearby civilian, said Lieu. Colonel Karim Ali Al-Zaydi. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)
Insurgents gunned down a neighborhood police chief and set off a suicide bomb near a patrol guarding a holy shrine, part of a series of attacks Monday targeting Iraqi security forces that left at least eight people dead, including four police officers.
Gunmen opened fire on a car carrying police Col. Abdul Karim Fahad Abbass as he headed to work in the sprawling southeastern Doura quarter, killing the neighborhood station chief and his driver, Capt. Falah al-Muhimadawi said.
Across the Tigris River that bisects Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol in the Hay Al-Amil area, killing one policeman and wounding five others, Capt. Thalib Thamir said.
In Musayyib, 40 miles south of Baghdad, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up, targeting a police patrol that was protecting a holy shrine. Two policemen and three civilians were killed, police and hospital officials said. At least five others were injured.
Insurgents appear to be focusing attacks on Iraqi security forces, who are slowly taking over the fight against Iraq's insurgency in an effort that U.S. officials hope will pave the way for an eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Iraq was also working to build a new government, with the National Assembly preparing to hold its second session Tuesday to choose a parliament speaker and two deputies. It was unclear if lawmakers would name the country's new president, expected to be Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani. The president will be responsible for nominating a prime minister, likely Ibrahim al-Jaafari from the Shiite-led United Iraqi Alliance.
As negotiators haggled over Cabinet posts, debate raged over religion's place in Iraq's much-anticipated new government.
Supporters of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi criticized the involvement of the religious authority in politics, while Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, the Alliance's leader, defended the role of the clergy.
"As long as we're alive and as long as Iraq and the believers are there, we will continue to work according to the directions and the advice of the religious authority," al-Hakim told the U.S.-funded Alhurra TV station, according to a transcript provided by his office.
"The religious authority does not want to intervene in the details. It just gives direction when it thinks it will be beneficial."
Secular-minded politicians have expressed concern about the influence of religion in the National Assembly.
In a letter to the alliance, politicians who ran under an Allawi coalition warned that allowing religion to play a greater role in Iraq's government could "lead to instability in the relations between political forces in the Iraqi arena."
Shiite leaders repeatedly have denied they are seeking an Islamic state like that of neighboring Iran, saying they plan to include Kurdish and Sunni Arabs in the government.
The top U.N. envoy in Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, said Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani told him during a meeting Sunday in Najaf that the Shiite spiritual leader did not intend to involve himself in any political process, except for expressing his opinion during crises. The Alliance came together under al-Sistani's guidance.
Militants from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror network al-Qaida in Iraq posted a video on the Internet showing the purported execution of a man identifying himself as Interior Ministry official Col. Ryadh Gatie Olyway.
The video showed the man displaying his identification card and saying he was a liaison officer with American forces. Olyway said he provided the U.S. military with the names "of officers of the former Iraqi army, who are Sunnis, and their addresses."
At the end of the video, Olyway was blindfolded and appeared to be shot once in the head. The authenticity of the video could not be verified.
Iraqi Army soldiers detain a group of Iraqi men after a raid on a village near Basra, Iraq Sunday, March 27, 2005. Ten suspected insurgents were detained. Insurgents also hit a Basra police patrol with a roadside bomb Sunday, injuring one nearby civilian, said Lieu. Colonel Karim Ali Al-Zaydi. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)
Insurgents gunned down a neighborhood police chief and set off a suicide bomb near a patrol guarding a holy shrine, part of a series of attacks Monday targeting Iraqi security forces that left at least eight people dead, including four police officers.
Gunmen opened fire on a car carrying police Col. Abdul Karim Fahad Abbass as he headed to work in the sprawling southeastern Doura quarter, killing the neighborhood station chief and his driver, Capt. Falah al-Muhimadawi said.
Across the Tigris River that bisects Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol in the Hay Al-Amil area, killing one policeman and wounding five others, Capt. Thalib Thamir said.
In Musayyib, 40 miles south of Baghdad, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up, targeting a police patrol that was protecting a holy shrine. Two policemen and three civilians were killed, police and hospital officials said. At least five others were injured.
Insurgents appear to be focusing attacks on Iraqi security forces, who are slowly taking over the fight against Iraq's insurgency in an effort that U.S. officials hope will pave the way for an eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Iraq was also working to build a new government, with the National Assembly preparing to hold its second session Tuesday to choose a parliament speaker and two deputies. It was unclear if lawmakers would name the country's new president, expected to be Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani. The president will be responsible for nominating a prime minister, likely Ibrahim al-Jaafari from the Shiite-led United Iraqi Alliance.
As negotiators haggled over Cabinet posts, debate raged over religion's place in Iraq's much-anticipated new government.
Supporters of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi criticized the involvement of the religious authority in politics, while Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, the Alliance's leader, defended the role of the clergy.
"As long as we're alive and as long as Iraq and the believers are there, we will continue to work according to the directions and the advice of the religious authority," al-Hakim told the U.S.-funded Alhurra TV station, according to a transcript provided by his office.
"The religious authority does not want to intervene in the details. It just gives direction when it thinks it will be beneficial."
Secular-minded politicians have expressed concern about the influence of religion in the National Assembly.
In a letter to the alliance, politicians who ran under an Allawi coalition warned that allowing religion to play a greater role in Iraq's government could "lead to instability in the relations between political forces in the Iraqi arena."
Shiite leaders repeatedly have denied they are seeking an Islamic state like that of neighboring Iran, saying they plan to include Kurdish and Sunni Arabs in the government.
The top U.N. envoy in Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, said Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani told him during a meeting Sunday in Najaf that the Shiite spiritual leader did not intend to involve himself in any political process, except for expressing his opinion during crises. The Alliance came together under al-Sistani's guidance.
Militants from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror network al-Qaida in Iraq posted a video on the Internet showing the purported execution of a man identifying himself as Interior Ministry official Col. Ryadh Gatie Olyway.
The video showed the man displaying his identification card and saying he was a liaison officer with American forces. Olyway said he provided the U.S. military with the names "of officers of the former Iraqi army, who are Sunnis, and their addresses."
At the end of the video, Olyway was blindfolded and appeared to be shot once in the head. The authenticity of the video could not be verified.
Byline: Donna Harris
Chrysler Financial said it has adequate funds to continue as an independent finance company writing standard retail auto loans.
The company is not pursuing a multibillion dollar funding arrangement that was up for annual renewal in August. Last year, Chrysler Financial obtained $24 billion from investors through this credit source.
Analysts have speculated Chrysler Financial would gradually wind down in the wake of the Chrysler LLC bankruptcy. Under the government-brokered restructuring plan, GMAC Financial Services became the primary lender for the new Chrysler and its surviving dealer network.
Now that Chrysler emerged from …
Byline: D'VERA COHN Washington Post
WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration will act today to make it more likely that a sample survey of U.S. households will be used to revise the census count and include millions more people, mainly minorities, despite bitter Republican opposition.
The administration will state that it intends to give the Census Bureau alone, not higher-ranking political appointees, the power to decide whether numbers derived from the survey are more accurate than those from the door-to-door head count. The Census Bureau already has endorsed sampling, and …
Byline: Gail Kachadourian
Sales of Class 8 trucks fell for the sixth straight month in October.
October sales were down 6.2 percent, compared with the year-ago month.
International posted the largest percentage decline, down 27 percent to 2,288 units. Mack had the second- largest percentage decline, down 20.1 percent to 1,621 units. Mack Trucks Inc. is part of the Volvo Group, of Gothenburg, Sweden.
…
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Kidnappers released about 70 people snatched in a mass abduction by suspected Shiite militiamen who answer to a key backer of the prime minister - a sign the militants went too far and Iraq's leader may be yielding to intense U.S. pressure to crack down on sectarian violence.
But Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki clearly has more work to do. Iraqi police, hospital and morgue officials reported 105 new violent deaths Wednesday; 54 of the victims were tortured and shot, their bodies dumped in Baghdad.
The quick release of many of the captives - less than 24 hours after the abductions - was surprising in a country where hundreds of Iraqis have been kidnapped, …
At 71, Pritikin calls himself "one of those crazy Chicago characters." He knows a thing or two about how our city of neighborhoods has changed over the years.
Here are a few things he's learned:
- When we were kids, the worst we would do to each other if we got in a fight -- and that didn't happen too often -- was to have a roll of nickels in your hand when you punched someone. No one got stabbed or hit with a baseball bat or certainly not shot. I don't really understand how kids at such young ages get killed these days. I …
According to recent research published in the Soil Science Society of America Journal, "Particle size distribution (PSD) is a fundamental soil physical property. The conventional approaches for representing PSD use empirical models with two to four parameters."
"We developed an alternative way to predict PSD that differs from conventional approaches by using the gray model GM(1,1), which does not depend on the model shape as empirical approaches do. The performance of GM(1,1) was compared with Skaggs model by using four statistical criteria. From nine textures of soil samples in our study, the results reveal that the GM(1,1) is superior for making PSD predictions. The results …
Credit card company critics urged the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs to limit the rates and fees that credit card companies can impose on consumers, saying the industry's tactics contribute to many Americans' debt. The comments were made during the first consumer-oriented hearings of the new Congress, as the committee looks to find ways to tighten rules related to the credit card industry's billing, marketing and disclosure practices. Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) has long sought to clamp down on the industry. In 2005, Dodd sponsored a proposal that would have outlawed universal default, the practice of raising interest rates on a credit …
Byline: Associated Press
ALBANY -- New Yorkers don't think much of the idea of Gov. George Pataki or New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani running for president in 2000, a statewide independent poll reported Tuesday.
In fact, fewer than one in seven New Yorkers think Pataki should run for president, even though 28 percent think he will.
The poll of 706 likely voters, conducted Nov. 23-25 by Zogby International for the New York Post and Fox television, shows about 15 percent of respondents think …
Mar. 26--COLONIE, N.Y. -- PLUG POWER READY TO CONTINUE: Plug Power Inc. will continue its joint development of the Home Energy Station with Honda R&D Americas Inc., a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co. Ltd.
The work will focus on developing a next-generation prototype of the fuel-cell system, which can provide power and heat to a building while also producing hydrogen fuel for a fuel-cell-driven car, the Latham-based company said Thursday.
But Plug's partner, which will fund the project, doesn't want to reveal any details, citing competition. A prototype of the station was demonstrated in the fall.
"The trial that we did last year is pretty impressive," …
China is launching a nationwide crackdown on sexually suggestive video and audio products, in the latest effort by government censors to curb content considered to be in bad taste.
During the three-month campaign, audio and video producers should stop making "vulgar" products and recall those that are already on the market, China's General Administration of Press and Publication said.
"Some of the video and audio products are coarsely made, containing materials of bad taste," the regulator said in a notice on its Web site.
The questionable material includes suggestive language and partially nude images used to promote sales, …
Don't tell Chuck Fiser about Butler's water problems.
Fiser almost saw a four-stroke lead washed away Thursday on thefinal hole of the 57th annual Illinois Amateur Championship at PineMeadow.
Fiser, 22, of Cordova, withstood the near catastrophe to capturea one-stroke victory over 20-year-old Rob Sullivan of Palatine.
Sailing along with a two-under par round (five under for the72-hole tournament), Fiser sunk his third shot into the water hazardguarding the green at 18, a par-4.
Instead of fishing the embedded ball out of the edge of thepond, Fiser recast his shot over the water, took the penalty and twoputts for a triple bogey and the …
CENTURION: The Dolphins yesterday produced the shock of the season by sending the star-studded Titans crashing out of the MTN40 series in the second semi-final at SuperSport Park.
Chasing � runs for victory, the Titans, who had finished the league stage at the top of the table, all of 20 points clear of the Dolphins, were restricted to 236/9.
The visitors' total was set up by …
Byline: TED ANTHONY Associated Press
There's an election in this country on Tuesday, and in a land where the race for the highest office is the biggest saga of all, an array of oddities -- bits of jetsam that wash up on the banks of the American electoral river -- are, as usual, providing useful distraction.
Bubba the Love Sponge, the nasty-boy Florida deejay -- a guy who specialized in radio shows that included on-air sex talk by George Jetson and Scooby-Doo -- is running for sheriff in Pinellas County, a retirement haven.
His Republican opponent, Chief Deputy Jim Coats, says, ``I don't think he's sheriff material.''
In Indiana, it's now …
Viewers may be able to have unprecedented control over what comes into their homes through television sets even if the networks don't adopt a ratings system, according to Yellowstone Environmental Science of Bozeman, Mont. The company says it's working on a computer that would make use of pattern-recognition technology developed for the military. The computer would recognize …
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Al Ittihad eliminated Al Hilal 3-1 in an all-Saudi Arabia clash and progressed to the Asian Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Al Ittihad dominated the clash between the pair of two-time Asian champions, earning a measure of revenge for losing out to its Jeddah rival for the Saudi league title.
Portuguese midfielder Nuno Assis opened the scoring in the 15th minute when he …
The high-profile hiring of Tyrone Willingham as the head football coach at Notre Dame University earlier this year ended an extensive -- and controversial -- search at the prestigious institution. Although the hiring of an African American by the nation's most storied football program was significant, the total number of Black coaches in NCAA Division I-A actually decreased this past winter. In spring 2002, only 4 of 115 of head coaching positions are occupied by African Americans.
Since the conclusion of the 2000 season, there have been 34 headcoaching vacancies. Only two African Americans have been hired: Dr. O. Fitzgerald Hill at San Jose State University in 2000 …
Byline: AMY BIANCOLLI - Houston Chronicle
A gambler walks into a pawn shop, hawking a camera. The proprietress, a tough dame with long gray hair, offers $150. He wants $300. Nope, she says, $150. She already has four cameras exactly like it in the display case.
Ah, says the gambler. But this fourth camera comes in the original box. He then launches into some gorgeous flimflam on the camera, the box and the adjusted value of the items in the case, charming the pawnbroker into an extra 50 bucks - "for the entertainment," she says, the glint in her eye reflecting ours. But it fades.
The buzz and wit of the opening scene of "Lucky You" fades, too, …
More consumers are using electronic disbursement services through the telephone and Internet to make last minute payments on credit cards, mortgages and other bills, according to a survey completed in April.
The fees attached to such expedited payments are an increasing source of revenue for servicers, and one day they could be securitized, said market sources. In April, San Carlos, Calif.-based Crone Consulting and Javelin Strategy & Research, Pleasanton, Calif., surveyed 2,038 people about how they prefer to pay their various bills, including utility, cell phone, Internet service and other monthly bills. The companies conducted the survey on behalf of of San …
