Tomatoes May Help Fight Cancer

Go for red tomatoes. They may help save you from cancer.

The red pigment in tomatoes is lycopene, a strongantioxidant. New tests by British researchers find that lycopene isfour times stronger than other vegetable antioxidants at neutralizingthe cell-damaging, cancer-promoting effects of cigarette smoke.

In another recent study, investigators in Hawaii found thatlycopene actually destroyed cancer cells.

Luckily, you get lots of lycopene in fresh tomatoes and in allkinds of canned tomato products. Lycopene is not destroyed by heat.

Here, expressed in milligrams, are the amounts of lycopene invarious tomato products, according to a new analysis …

Syracuse puts Fine on leave after police inquiry

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Syracuse Chancellor Nancy Cantor vowed Friday that the school will not turn a blind eye to child molesting allegations against a longtime assistant basketball coach that resurfaced just two weeks after the Penn State scandal.

The school placed Fine on administrative leave Thursday night "in light of the new allegations" and an investigation by the Syracuse City Police.

ESPN said the accusations were made by two former ball boys.

Bobby Davis, now 39, told ESPN that Fine allegedly molested him beginning in 1984 and that the sexual contact continued until he was around 27. A ball boy for six years, Davis told ESPN the alleged abuse occurred at Fine's …

5 shot, 2 dead when gunman invades LA area home

Investigators say a gunman with an assault rifle and a can of gasoline stormed his ex-girlfriend's home and shot four people, killing two of them before a sheriff's deputy confronted and shot the attacker.

Los Angeles County Undersheriff Larry Waldie says a deputy heard automatic weapons fire around 4 a.m. Thursday, grabbed his AR-15 rifle and confronted the gunman …

Investing in landmarks: Brothers buy 2 more of city's older buildings

The Riggs Corp.s landmark buildings Year Building Yearbuilt name Address purchased Floors Square feet Pricepaid 1950 Woolworth 205 Capitol St. 1998 5 35,000 $650,000 1911 Union 723 Kanawha Blvd. 2000 13 58,000 $1.2million 1915 Security 100 Capitol St. 2001 11 70,000 $625,000 1940s Atlas 1031 Quarrier St. 2004 8 60,000 $1.7million 1919 Medical Arts 1027 Quarrier St. 2004 5 55,000 $675,000 TOTAL: 278,000 $4.85 million

KANAWHA City natives Martin and Thomas Riggs quietly haveassembled a real estate portfolio of downtown Charleston landmarks.

The Riggs Corp. owns the Union …

AXIS OF EVIL; Five new Republican senators hope to make your worst nightmares come true

When the new Senate storms Capitol Hill early next year, the narrow Republican majority of the past two years will disappear, to be replaced by a much wider Republican majority. Currently, the Senate comprises 51 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and an independent--Jim Jeffords, of Vermont, a former Republican who usually votes with the Democrats. Because of last week's election, the Senate will soon seat 55 Republicans, 44 Democrats, and Jeffords.

Who are these people? Unlike the House, where Republican members lead lives of near-anonymous fealty dictated by Speaker Dennis Hastert and majority leader Tom DeLay, senators matter as individuals--not as just a voting bloc. There are …

Robredo rules himself out of Davis Cup

Tommy Robredo has ruled himself out as a possible replacement for the injured Rafael Nadal in the Spanish team to play Argentina in the Davis Cup final.

Robredo said it would be "impossible to be available" to replace the top-ranked Nadal, who cannot play in the Nov. 21-23 final at Mar del Plata because of continuing trouble with knee tendinitis.

"It's been about 12 days now that I haven't done anything so it would be a surprise if they selected me, but I couldn't go," Robredo said. "Not because I wouldn't want to go, more because it would be crazy because I wouldn't bring anything to the team."

Nadal ruled himself …

Behold the Christ Child ; Your poems

A star that was so big and bright Appeared to all that gloriousnight And neath the brilliance of its light The child of God wasborn -- pure white. All around the heavens sang To hail the dawn ofGods own Lamb For on that hay all life did lay A shepherd to guideand show the way.

For here on lowly stable stall Lay the head that is creationscall For sin was …

Olmert, Abbas to Meth Next Week

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas next week and discuss security issues, the prime minister's office said Tuesday.

In the past two weeks, the militant group Hamas has launched more than 250 rockets, killing two Israeli …

Geithner: Bailout repayments will broaden program

The Obama administration will use bailout money repaid by large banks to provide additional capital infusions to smaller banks, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday.

Banks with less than $500 million in assets will have six months to apply for the funds, Geithner said in remarks to the annual meeting of the Independent Community Bankers of America. They also will be able to apply for larger amounts than banks were allowed to request during the current round of investments.

The administration first indicated that the repaid funds would be used for further injections earlier this month when regulators announced the results of the "stress …

Panel votes to eliminate Martwick post

SPRINGFIELD Cook County Supt. of Schools Richard Martwick, long atarget of reformers and taxpayers who say he abuses an unnecessaryoffice, would be out of work under a proposal that cleared a Housecommittee Wednesday.

The House Executive Committee, by a 10-5 vote, sent to the fullHouse a measure to eliminate Martwick's job when his term expires in1995.

Martwick has refused to resign or defend his job. The move tooust him picked up steam recently amid revelations that he failed toplace up to $1.3 billion in interest-bearing accounts, costingtaxpayers about $400,000.

The office itself also has been criticized for duplicating thework of local …

Father: Jordanian man in bomb plot was depressed

DALLAS (AP) — A 20-year-old Jordanian man caught in an FBI sting trying to blow up a Dallas skyscraper was depressed and slept by his mother's grave after her death from cancer four years ago, his father testified Monday during his son's sentencing hearing.

Hosam Smadi faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty in May to attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. Under a plea agreement, however, he will likely receive a 30-year sentence and face deportation.

The hearing was expected to continue Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn at the federal courthouse in Dallas, just blocks away from the 60-story office tower that prosecutors allege Smadi tried to …

Sister says Obama plot suspect is sorry

The family of one of two suspects accused of plotting to decapitate black people and assassinate Barack Obama said Tuesday the teen disliked blacks and considered himself part of a "master race," but they doubted the plot was serious.

Paul Schlesselman, 18, had dropped out of school and was looking for work, his family told The Associated Press at their rural Arkansas home Tuesday. They believed he was in Texas when the Secret Service arrived Friday to seize a computer hard drive and notebooks of drawings.

"He just believes that he's the master race," said his sister, Kayla Schlesselman, 16, adding that she would often …

Push is on to bike to work

The hardest thing about biking to work might be getting up the nerve to try it. It could be easier than you think.

"There's a level of discomfort in riding in traffic for some people," said Melody Geraci of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation. "It's just a matter of trying it once or twice and finding a level of confidence."

Sign-up begins today for the Bicycle Federation's "Commuter Challenge" for Bike to Work Week June 7-13. Businesses and organizations compete to see who can get the most workers on their bikes.

More than 200 organizations participated in the challenge last year -- a 58 percent increase from the year before, Geraci said. The Federation is hoping this year to persuade five City Council members to bike to work.

'Plan route well in advance'

Why bike to work? It's fun, good exercise and good for the environment, Geraci said. It also saves money -- "You don't have to spend money on a gym."

Geraci said the most common objections she hears from people about bike commuting is that they're afraid to ride in traffic. "What we say to them is plan your route well in advance," Geraci said. Bike riders should look for low-traffic streets and intersections with signals.

Another objection is what to wear. "More often than not you can bike in your work clothes," Geraci said. Work clothes can also be carried in messenger bags, or in a bike basket.

Be a 'bike buddy'

With gas costs up and more people concerned about climate change, this year the Bicycle Federation wants to make bike commuting a year-round campaign. Among the ideas the Federation is considering is "bike buddies" -- a peer-matching program that can provide mentors for people who want to bike to work but want some help.

To sign up a company or organization for the commuter challenge, go to www.biketraffic.org/commute.

Meanwhile -- readers who want to try the two-wheeled commute can check out the stories in this section from people who tried it, liked it and stuck with it through rain and snow.

Michael Burton, 43, bikes from Logan Square to Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. in West Town.

Every morning, Burton puts his 18-month-old son, Miguel Kilgore, into a bike trailer and takes him to day care. Then Burton rides to his job. In the afternoon, Burton's wife, Gin Kilgore, bikes from her job at Mitchell Elementary School in Ukrainian Village to pick up Miguel. They don't own a car, which helped them to save enough money to buy a three-flat.

"Some of our friends who own cars said, 'Once you have a kid, you can't do this,' " Burton said. But he sees owning a car as a bigger hassle than riding bikes.

"I think it's like any form of transportation," said Burton. "Once you figure it out, it's what you do."

Having the right equipment is important, Burton said. "Once you have a good commuting bike that has fenders and has a rack so you can haul a bag on it, you're all set."

Biking "makes me look at the city differently.

I see trees I never noticed before."

Betty Schlatter, 60, a nurse-midwife who bikes from Oak Park to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Lakeview and to clinics

Schlatter said she's "not the athletic type," but she started biking after she got tired of putting money into her van. She said more people would bike to work if they tried it once.

"It's fun," said Schlatter. "I think it's probably made me healthier."

Schlatter said she bikes in most types of weather, but she'll take public transit when it's below zero, too windy, or raining hard.

"I used to take the expressway to work and you don't see things," said Schlatter. Biking "makes me look at the city differently. I see trees I never noticed before."

"It's pretty much the only manner of exercise I've ever really stuck with."

Todd Underwood, 45, bikes from South Elgin to his job at the Pepper Group in Palatine

Underwood started biking to work regularly in 1992. He bikes one or two days a week, 22 miles each way.

"It's pretty much the only manner of exercise I've ever really stuck with," said Underwood, who also writes freelance articles about biking.

He says it's harder to convince people to bike in the suburbs, but he sees more people trying it. "Gas prices and the green movement are getting people into it," he said.

"Chicago is the perfect city for biking because it's flat and the streets are wide."

Greg Borzo, 54, bikes almost every day from North Park to the Field Museum, where he is a science writer.

Borzo came from a family with nine kids and no car, so he has always biked. He isn't afraid to "make a bit of a pest of myself" to get other people to try it.

"Chicago is the perfect city for biking because it's flat and the streets are wide and straight," Borzo said. "The culture is supportive of biking from the mayor on down."

Borzo said the main objection he hears from people is the weather. "That's because they don't try," Borzo said. "Once you get on a bike and start peddling, you warm up . . . . People are so fixated on being cold for a minute or two."

GETTING AROUND

Southbound CTA Red Line trains that normally operate through the subway between the Fullerton station and the Cermak-Chinatown station will be rerouted to L tracks from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., tonight through Thursday.

Rerouted southbound trains will stop at the following L stations: Sedgwick, Chicago/

Franklin, Merchandise Mart, Clark/Lake, State/Lake, Randolph/Wabash, Madison/

Wabash, Adams/Wabash and Roosevelt/

Wabash. The Mart station is available as an exit only via stairway from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

Bus Tracker Expands

CTA Bus Tracker is a pilot program that provides estimated arrival times and location information for buses to riders with access to a computer or a web-enabled wireless device. The program expands today to include the #35, 39, 43, 49, X49, 54B, 55A, 55N, 62, 62H, 63W, 94 and 165, in addition to the #20. See www.ctabustracker.com.

Photo: Brian Jackson Sun-Times / Michael Burton heads to day care with his 18-month-old son in tow. Then it's off to work. ; Photo: Betty Schlatter, 60, a nurse-midwife who bikes from Oak Park to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Lakeview and to clinics Photo: Todd Underwood, 45, bikes from South Elgin to his job at the Pepper Group in Palatine Photo: Greg Borzo, 54, bikes almost every day from North Park to the Field Museum, where he is a science writer. ;

McNown makes up in belief what he lacks in size, strength

When UCLA quarterback Cade NcNown sat down for his interview withthe Bears at the NFL scouting combine in February in Indianapolis, heput it simply.

"Take me at No. 7," McNown told team officials, "and you'llnever look back."

McNown was spotted in the hallway of the hotel offering similaradvice to other personnel directors, scouts and general managers."I told a lot of these teams I'm going to make the wrongs rightif they pass on me," McNown said with a smile. "But I'm justkidding."If drafting a quarterback was all about taking the biggest guywith the strongest arm, McNown wouldn't have a chance. He's a shadeunder 6-1 with a thick, 215-pound frame. He doesn't have a weak arm,but he doesn't have a rifle, either.What McNown has is everything else, including an arrogance oftenfound in the truly gifted."He's a great interview," Bears vice president of playerpersonnel Mark Hatley said. "When he walks out of there, you feellike, hell, he can take you where you need to go."He's one of those guys you follow through the door. Whateverhe wants you to do, you'll do it for him. He has something inside ofhim, the leadership and intangibles you're looking for."McNown was a four-year starter at UCLA, winning 20 straightgames in one stretch. He's a tough guy who ignores the pass rush anddelivers the ball. He's also a great scrambler.McNown's stock has risen steadily since the end of the season,and he's expected to be taken no lower than No. 15, where Tampa Baycoach Tony Dungy would love to grab him after seeing him up close fora week at the Senior Bowl. The Bears are unlikely to take McNownwith the No. 7 pick, but they have interest if they trade down.

Jesse, CBC salute music icon

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) called music icon Ray Charles, "the tallest tree in the field of music," and said he was "an inspiration to all Americans," respectively, as they recalled fond memories of Ray Charles, who passed away last Thursday after a lengthy battle with cancer.

"Visiting Ray Charles just a few days ago," said Rev. Jackson, "I witnessed his characteristic fortitude as he battled cancer. Ray never surrendered; he just slept and sang away, full of song and harmony backed by a full orchestra."

"The musical genius of Ray Charles in an inspiration to all Americans," said Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), who serves as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

"He was especially an inspiration to African-Americans. During the turbulent years of the 1950s and 1960s, the music of Ray Charles defied the racial and economic barriers that segregated Blacks from whites. His soulful voice touched the hearts and minds of people around the world and demonstrated what is possible when individuals are judged by their character and not their color," Cummings said.

"No tree stood taller, longer or covered as many species in the forest," Rev. Jackson added.

"His wingspan covered the most territory; spanning the full range of rhythm and blues, gospel, rock 'n' roll, jazz, classical, even country and western blended together in a unique and indistinguishable Ray Charles, kind of way.

"Ray Charles is indeed America's music laureate, a national treasure. He is America's most authentic musician-poet of our time. Ray was a consummate musician who saw the world through the lens of music. He is the soul of music, taking gospel and weaving it together with R -- a revolutionary blend -- with a singing style like a minister preaching in full music. Yes, Ray saw music through the whole door and not just through a key hole," Rev. Jackson continued.

"It is amazing and yet it is so fitting, that an African American man, born in the segregated South, blind by the age of seven and orphaned at fifteen, would become a hallmark of American popular culture," Cummings mused.

"The members of the Congressional Black Caucus salute Ray Charles, a phenomenal artist and an extraordinary American."

Rev. Jackson said Ray Charles was in a class of his own. He reflected on how Charles, along with Quincy Jones, blazed new trails in music together. "In every facet of his life - from music to his unwavering support for social causes to his contributions to Morehouse University," Rev. Jackson said, "Ray moved in all circles seamlessly and selflessly. He is perhaps the most beloved musician in the whole world, for more than a half century, the frame of reference for excellence in music and culture," Rev. Jackson concluded.

Article copyright REAL TIMES Inc.

Photograph (Ray Charles)

Ahmadinejad: Next US leader should change policy

Iran's hard-line president says the next U.S. president _ regardless whether it's a Democrat or a Republican _ must change policies and focus more on America's domestic problems rather look for "intervention" abroad.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke in an interview with Japanese broadcaster NHK that was carried by the official IRNA news agency on Friday.

In the interview, the Iranian president says Tehran would welcome dialogue with the next U.S. administration _ provided current American policies change.

Ahmadinejad also said it "doesn't matter" whether Barack Obama or John McCain get elected. He added that the next U.S. president must curtail American intervention abroad and change policy toward Iran.

Mercosur Backs Venezuela for Council Seat

CORDOBA, Argentina - Major South American economic powers threw their support Friday behind anti-U.S. crusader Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in his fight against Washington for a U.N. Security Council seat.

Led by the two leading South American powers, Argentina and Brazil, and backed by Uruguay and Paraguay, the Mercosur bloc said at the close of a two-day summit that Venezuela would make an important contribution to the council.

Venezuela, inducted as a full member of Mercosur on Friday, "will promote respect for the rule of international law" and provide balance if it gains a seat, bloc countries said in a statement.

Venezuela has occupied a Security Council seat four times, but the U.S. government is lobbying hard to thwart Chavez's bid by supporting Guatemala's candidacy.

Critics have expressed reservations that Chavez, a harsh and frequent critic of U.S. policy, would disrupt the Security Council. Others have said the strong U.S. lobbying effort could backfire when the U.N. General Assembly votes in October.

Washington argues that its campaign is not anti-Venezuela but pro-Guatemala, which has never had a seat but is a leading contributor of troops to U.N. peacekeeping missions.

Ten of the council's 15 seats are filled by regional groups for two-year terms. The other five are occupied by its veto-wielding permanent members; Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

Normally, the Latin American group would fill the council seat with its own choice. But this year, because both Guatemala and Venezuela want the seat, the vote will be by secret ballot.

The U.N.'s 33-nation Latin American bloc already was expected to support Venezuela.

Mercosur is a customs union among Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela. Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru have associate member status.

Why economists see a stronger second half for 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — Farewell and good riddance to the first half of 2011 — six months that are ending as sour for the U.S. economy as they began.

Most analysts say economic growth will perk up in the second half of the year. The reason is that the main causes of the slowdown — high oil prices and manufacturing delays because of the disaster in Japan — have started to fade.

"Some of the headwinds that caused us to slow are turning into tail winds," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

For an economy barely inching ahead two years after the Great Recession ended, the first half of 2011 can't end soon enough. Severe storms and rising gasoline prices held growth in January, February and March to a glacial annual rate of 1.9 percent.

The current quarter isn't shaping up much better. The average growth forecast of 38 top economists surveyed by The Associated Press is 2.3 percent.

The economy has to grow 3 percent a year just to hold the unemployment rate steady and keep up with population growth. And it has to average about 5 percent growth for a year to lower the unemployment rate by a full percentage point. It is 9.1 percent today.

As welcome as the stronger growth envisioned in the second half is, the improvement should be modest. For the final six months of the year, the AP economists forecast a growth rate of 3.2 percent.

So far this year, high gas and food prices have discouraged people from spending much on other things — from furniture and appliances to dinners out and vacations. That spending fuels economic growth.

And some U.S. auto factories had to suspend or trim production after the March earthquake in Japan interrupted supplies of parts and electronics. American dealerships have had fewer cars to sell.

The latest dose of glum news: The government reported Monday that consumer spending was about the same in May as in April, the first time in a year that spending hasn't increased from the previous month.

The report confirmed the toll that high gas prices, Japan-related disruptions and high unemployment have taken on personal spending in the second quarter.

"Here's to a better third," says Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Relief is in sight, economists say. Oil prices have been falling since late May. The drop has lowered the price of regular unleaded gasoline by 23 cents in the past month, to a national average of $3.57 a gallon (3.8 liters), according to AAA.

The timing of the drop in gas prices is especially fortunate because they usually rise during summer driving season, says Robert DiClemente, chief U.S. economist at Citigroup.

And the kinks in the global manufacturing chain are starting to be smoothed out as the Japanese factories that make cars and electronics resume production.

Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, says auto sales should improve "quite substantially" later this year because the lost production from the earthquake is coming back faster than had been expected.

One sign of that rebound came when the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday that manufacturing in the Midwest rebounded in May after falling sharply in April.

And last week, the government said orders for machinery, computers, cars and other durable goods rose slightly in May after dropping in April. Economists attributed the turnaround, in part, to Japanese factories that started to rev up.

The U.S. economy is also expected to get a slight second-half boost from reconstruction in flood-ravaged sections of the South and Midwest. Construction workers will be employed rebuilding homes and businesses. People will replace destroyed cars and other possessions. Analysts predict the economic losses from the floods in the April-June quarter will be reversed in the July-September quarter.

The economists surveyed by AP predict unemployment will fall to 8.7 percent at year's end. It is not exactly the start of a boom: The economy is still carrying too much baggage from the financial crisis — damaged banks, depressed home prices, debt-burdened consumers — to achieve much liftoff.

Though some of the economy's weakness in the first half is temporary, "it is hard to see much on the horizon to cheer about," Swonk says.

____

AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger contributed to this report.

Musharraf eyes return to Pakistan politics

HONG KONG (AP) — Former Pakistan military ruler Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday he is gearing up for a return to politics and will launch a new party next month — two years after he stepped down as president after nationwide protests and left the country.

Speaking on the sidelines of an investor conference in Hong Kong, Musharraf expressed confidence he could regain popularity and would return to Pakistan for the next national elections, scheduled for 2013. He said he will announce the establishment of the All Pakistan Muslim League in London on Oct. 1 and outline his political platform.

Musharraf stepped down from office in August 2008 after months of protests and a heavy election defeat for his supporters. He now spends most of his time in Britain.

If he returns to Pakistan, he could face legal scrutiny over the bloodless coup in October 1999 that brought him to power and the subsequent nine years of military rule — particularly a state of emergency declared as protests against him mounted in late 2007.

"My going back is dependent certainly on an environment to be created in Pakistan," Musharraf said, but added, "I would say with certainty in the next elections, whenever the signs of the next elections come up, I will be there in Pakistan."

Despite serving as army chief and dominating his volatile country for years, it remains unclear if Musharraf, 67, would now wield much political clout.

While he retains links to the country's army elite, he lacks a solid political constituency. During his rule, he was widely perceived as subordinate to Washington for supporting its fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan, which could also hurt his standing among a largely anti-U.S. public.

Musharraf acknowledged he had lost popularity in Pakistan, especially after firing the chief justice — who has since been reinstated — and the subsequent state of emergency. But he said he was confident he can rebuild a support base rooted in Pakistan's youth and others disillusioned with politics. He noted that more than 75 percent of his 295,000 followers on Facebook are between the ages of 18 and 34.

"Therefore I know that it is the youth that is yearning for change. It's the youth that is demoralized today. And I know that they can be awakened and brought out to introduce a new political culture into Pakistan," he said.

Musharraf said he isn't aware of any pending legal actions in Pakistan against him stemming from his presidency but is prepared to face any that emerge.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the state of emergency was unconstitutional, but Pakistan's current prime minister has ruled out bringing treason charges against Musharraf unless Parliament passed a unanimous resolution requesting them.

"I'm prepared to face that for the sake of Pakistan. And I know since whatever I did has all the legal backing and legal cover, I'm very confident that nothing can happen legally against me," he said.

Musharraf said the current Pakistan government is struggling to cope with the recent flooding in the country because it lacks resources and international aid is still insufficient. He estimated that the scale of reconstruction will be larger than that required after the deadly earthquake in Kashmir in 2005.

He said he has already organized a telethon in London to raise funds for the victims and is planning another one in the U.S. on Larry King's CNN talk show. He said Henry Kissinger and Angelina Jolie have agreed to take part.

(null)

Global demand for more renewable sources of energy and more efficient products will drive future growth for the German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG, its CEO said Tuesday.

"Green is a major push," Peter Loescher told The Associated Press in an interview at his Munich office.

According to Siemens' own projections, governments of the world's 20 largest economies plan to spend about $430 billion (euro306 billion) in the next several years to improve infrastructure such as power grids and transportation networks to become more efficient and environmentally friendly.

"A big drive is to be a big green infrastructure and environmental company," Loescher said. "The infrastructure projects being announced by governments are exactly the direction the company is going."

For example, Loescher called the Obama administration's plans to build U.S. infrastructure "visionary," and also mentioned China's plans to expand its rail network and Germany's hopes to improve its electrical grid.

Loescher said the trend should increase revenue from the company's portfolio of environmental products from euro19 billion ($27 billion) at end of last fiscal year to euro25 billion in 2011. Siemens' fiscal year begins in October.

"By far, we have the biggest, broadest and deepest environmental portfolio in the world," he said.

Siemens competes in the renewable energy technology sector with projects including solar, biomass and wind power, which is the biggest contributor to Siemens' renewable energy revenues.

Last month, Siemens announced it would build a new production facility for wind turbines in Hutchinson, Kansas to meet new demand in North America, and the company recently received an order for 100 high-speed trains from China.

Loescher also hoped a new global environmental treaty to be discussed in Copenhagen in December would lead to another round of environmental innovation and spending by governments around the world.

He said the company expects to add jobs due to gains in the environmental area and that Siemens could see "acquisitions, partnerships and strategic alliances," in areas like in solar technologies, though he wasn't more specific.

Loescher said the company was spending euro1 billion on research and development in its environmental division, but declined to elaborate further.

"If the next big wave is solar, then we'd push it," Loescher said. "It depends on how it's being taken up by the marketplace."

He was quick to add that he doesn't expect other energy sources to exit the market anytime soon. Siemens, he said, would still remain a player in the nuclear, gas and coal sectors.

"What we're banking on is a broad energy mix, being a full-range energy products and solutions provider," he said.

Martin Prozesky, an analyst at Bernstein Research in London, says wind turbine manufacturers have seen a big gain in share prices lately thanks to rising oil prices.

The price of oil has risen and global crude demand will probably continue to grow as emerging markets' demand increases in future.

Wind turbine "orders in the first quarter were lower than in the fourth quarter 2008, but growth rates were generally higher as comparable year-on-year orders in the industry were stronger than in preceding two. Siemens performed best on strong offshore order bookings," Prozesky said, comparing Siemens with General Electric Co. and the Danish company, Vestas Wind Systems AS.

The Siemens chief said technological changes create new market opportunities.

"A few years ago, nobody talked about electrical cars. Now you can test drive one, and they will be commonplace in urban areas in approximately five to 10 years," Loescher said. "There will be future incremental growth opportunities like in the area for smart grids for Siemens as a result."

___

On the Net:

http://www.siemens.com

Daley: 'Diversify work job sites, or, I'll shut you down'

Daley: `Diversify work job sites, or, I'll shut you down'

Saying it's the right thing to do, Mayor Richard M. Daley issued a warning to all contractors doing business with the city that if they don't diversify their work sites, he'll shut them down.

During an editorial board meeting held at the Chicago Defender, Daley agreed with Black aldermen, some of whom have shut down work sites that are all white.

Referring to the aldermen and recently CTA officials who shut down a job site in Ald. Michael Chandler's (24th) Ward, Daley said their actions were "rightfully so....

"I don't want somebody coming in [working on these sites] from Oak Park or Elgin...." Rather, Daley said he wants workers from Chicago's communities.

And, if contractors don't diversify their job sites, he'll "close them down." He wants "people from the community. This is fair. That is something we have to demand more of...."

Daley recently attended the fourth Building New Partnerships (BNP) conference series for M/WBE.

"The explosive growth of the Internet has enabled many companies, large and small to use online technologies for research, marketing, sales, quality control, and as a method to evaluate services and products," said Daley.

"Companies today must embrace computer technology and be abreast of how this technology is changing the marketplace or face the consequences of not adapting, which could translate into lost customers and revenue."

Year-to-date, Daley said the city's M/WBE figures show there is a 41 percent increase in dollars that were awarded to minority and women owned businesses.

With his Chief Procurement Officer David Malone, Deputy Purchasing Officer Troy Ratliff, and Jay Nussbaum, senior vice president of Oracie by his side, Daley said: "As a city, we remain committed to not only achieving and `exceeding' goals of minority and women business participation, but providing information and resources to help these businesses grow."

Daley also appealed to congress to pass an economic stimulus package he says is needed to revive a limping economy after the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks which have resulted in massive layoffs in several industries especially the airlines and the hotels.

The mayor said mayors across the nation cannot fight this economy alone and that federal assistance is critical to the revival of negatively impacted budgets; yet, because of constant threats of terrorism, they have to beef up their security at taxpayers cost.

On CHA, Daley said he is satisfied that the transformation plan is on track but the federal government has to do more to fund anti-drug programs that are helping to turn lives around like the one in the 24th Ward.

Drugs, he said, "is a terrible plague." Daley issued a challenge to the federal government to do as they are doing in tracking down Osama bin Laden's infamous al Qaeda network funds for area druggies.

"Why can't the federal government follow the money trail. I can arrest every dope dealer you want, but, if they don't follow the money trail.... You have to follow the money."

Daley asked how can the feds chase down the al Qaeda's money and "they can't find a drug dealer who's making $60,000-a-week, drives the best of cars, best girl friend, jewelry, buys a home and has all of these things going. We Chicagoans can find them."

Daley said he's offered to give them a list of the culprits. "This is simple...net worth. How can a person say he doesn't work but does all these things...."

Article Copyright Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc.

Photo (Richard M. Daley)

Charles Taylor trial moves venue

The war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor has changed venue from the International Criminal Court.

Taylor is on trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone on charges of arming and supporting notoriously brutal rebels in Sierra Leone's 12-year civil war.

His trial is being held in The Hague because of fears it could spark fresh violence if staged in Sierra Leone. The Taylor trial has moved because the International Criminal Court is currently staging two trials in its two courtrooms.

It sat for the first time Monday in a newly built courtroom at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri but has yet to indict any suspects.

Court Hears Wal-Mart Retirement Case

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Wal-Mart lawyers argued before the Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday that the retailer should be allowed to break a multimillion-dollar retirement package with a former executive because he acknowledged defrauding the company. But a lawyer for former vice chairman Tom Coughlin said a lower court dismissal of Wal-Mart's claim should stand, as Coughlin didn't defraud the company while in negotiations for his retirement agreement. Lawyers in the case say the package is worth between $12 million and $15 million.

Coughlin attorney William W. Taylor III said in a perfect world, no company or person would have to sign contracts when "unaware" of potential liabilities.

"But that's not the real world and that's not what these parties wanted to do," Taylor said.

Coughlin worked for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for 28 years, a protege of company founder Sam Walton. Coughlin retired in January 2005.

By April 2005, Wal-Mart disclosed it was suspending Coughlin's benefits amid allegations that the former executive used Wal-Mart money and gift cards to pay for a slew of personal items, from hunting trips and hunting dog training to clothes, alcohol and parts and service for personal vehicles.

Coughlin pleaded guilty to fraud and tax charges in federal court and began serving a 26-month home detention in October.

Bentonville-based Wal-Mart filed a circuit court lawsuit to cut Coughlin's retirement benefits, but a judge dismissed the suit. Theodore Boutrous, a lawyer for Wal-Mart, told the state Supreme Court that Coughlin had a "duty of loyalty and candor" to the company to be honest as he sat down in retirement negotiations.

"He knew that if he told the truth, he wouldn't get a retirement package," Boutrous said. "If he told truth, he would be terminated. And so he lied."

Boutrous said concealment of theft should be enough to void Coughlin's retirement package.

The court is expected to issue a decision on Wal-Mart's appeal in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Coughlin faces another hearing April 12, when the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis will hear an appeal by federal prosecutors calling for a harsher sentence for his fraud and tax convictions.

NATO service member killed in Afghan fighting

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A coalition service member was killed in fighting in Afghanistan's turbulent south Sunday, while a political rival of President Hamid Karzai questioned his approach to pending talks with Taliban who might be having doubts about the insurgency.

The death is the sixth among foreign fighters in Afghanistan this month, five of them Americans. The nationality of the person killed was not released in accordance with standard NATO procedure.

The southern Afghan provinces of Helmand and Kandahar have seen some of the heaviest fighting between insurgents and coalition forces seeking to uproot the Taliban from their long-held strongholds.

A dozen Taliban, including a veteran commander known as Mullah Abdul Aziz, were killed in fighting with Afghan and coalition forces on Friday and Saturday in Helmand's Sangin district, according to provincial spokesman Daood Ahmadi.

In Uruzgan province just to the north, a Taliban explosives expert, Rahmidullah, was killed Saturday in Chora district when the roadside bomb he was planting exploded prematurely, according to Chora district chief Mohammad Daood Zaheer.

Coalition and Afghan forces also killed a number of insurgents during a raid on a network of compounds in the village of Murwat Kheyl in the southern province of Paktika, NATO said. Three insurgents were also detained and a weapons cache seized, including grenades, ammunition and materials for making roadside bombs, it said.

With the conflict entering its ninth year, Karzai is hoping talks with weary insurgents could help divide the Taliban between hardcore members unwilling to compromise and those who might consider abandoning the insurgency.

However, Abdullah Abdullah, who withdrew from last year's fraud-marred presidential election, complained that the process was opaque and the end goals unclear.

"It is being discussed behind the doors and the people of Afghanistan, they are not aware of what they are up against," Abdullah told reporters at a meeting in his Kabul home.

"While the majority, an absolute majority, of the people of Afghanistan would like to see a peaceful situation ... at the same time they want to know what will happen to them in terms of achieving this. What are the steps that will take us there?" he said.

Karzai said Saturday he would soon name the members of the High Peace Council, whose formation was approved in June at a national peace conference in Kabul. A statement released by his office said the move marks a "significant step toward peace talks."

The statement said members will include former Taliban, jihadi leaders, leading figures in Afghan society and women, but gave no other details. They will be prepared to negotiate with insurgents who renounce violence, honor the Afghan constitution, and sever ties with terrorist networks.

The Taliban have so far rejected peace talks while foreign troops remain in the country. Talks held in Kabul and the Maldives with an insurgent group led by ex-Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar produced no breakthrough.

Though some observers have expressed concern about cutting any sort of deal with insurgents, foreign governments working to stabilize the Afghan government and economy have welcomed the move, especially given U.S. plans to begin withdrawing some of its forces next July.

"We warmly welcome today's announcement," the British Foreign Office said of Karzai's move. "We will not bring about a more secure Afghanistan by military means alone ... we have always said that a political process is needed to bring the conflict in Afghanistan to an end."

Karzai's announcement was given added poignancy by comments from the outgoing deputy commander of NATO forces in the country that commanders promised too much when they predicted quick success taking the key Taliban-held town of Marjah last winter.

While British Lt. Gen. Nick Parker now sees signs of a turnaround in the turbulent area, he said the military will be more restrained in forecasting success in the future.

___

Associated Press writers Kimberly Dozier in Kabul and Mirwais Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.

How does your garden grow?

Outside the box

I'm looking down upon the family garden from our upstairs window and am reminded again of the gift my wife and I have to destroy plants.

Each spring we seek to revive something of our agrarian roots, only to have it become abundantly clear that the Lord saved himself much aggravation by directing us away from the soil-leaving only a 20'x50' plot of ground to our muddling hands. So the gift of those who can produce beautiful gardens always amazes me and my observation of those botanists teaches me something about the nature of getting the most out of nature-time and working with the Lord of heaven and earth.

This leads me to the enterprise of growing disciples. Why does it appear that our gatherings of disciples, known as the local church, all too often reflect my garden? Oh, we're producing a crop, but it seems to be far from the yield that Jesus promised.

Canadian communities are dotted with emptying church buildings; there are many who like spirituality these days, but few who enjoy discipleship. Mennonites have been in Canada since 1786 (that's 219 years) and yet Mennonite Church Canada has only 35,000 baptized disciples in 235 churches!

I say "only" because the send-off Jesus gave us was: "Go and make disciples of all nations." He also told us to open our eyes because the fields are ripe. So why is our harvest so paltry? My farmer friends would bemoan such a poor yield.

I am beginning to think the problem is akin to my gardening expertise-or lack thereof. Truth be told, Jen and I, though liking the idea of a garden, spend far too little time in it to realize its full potential. Can the same be said of our disciple-making efforts?

Disciples are made through time and working with the Lord in people's lives. They grow as they are watered by the Word of God, exhale the confession of sin, inhale God's truth, are encouraged in the Way even as they veer off course, and are guided in the growth of godly living that is the fruit of their abiding in Christ.

My growing (no pun intended) conviction is we are far too stuck on the notion of church as a performer of religious services or a building for social gatherings, and give far too little time in the garden of disciple-making. Disciple-making requires more than just shaking a hand on Sunday morning or having a name on a membership roll. And it is the mission of the body of Christ!

The challenge in our day is thus: It is time to make disciples, not build churches. It's time the garden starts producing again. It's time we get on our knees, work some dirt under our fingernails, and grow people up as disciples of Jesus, not even primarily as Mennonites.

We've been letting the garden go for too long and, frankly, it's looking a little pathetic. Our biblical understanding and worldview is shallow; our conversations reflect that shallowness. We are blind to the spiritual realities of our communities. Our radical discipleship is a pithy theological slogan of a glorified past. And our understanding of the church is consumeristic on the one extreme and socialistic on the other.

The garden is pretty weedy, but let's see what happens if we put some time and effort into it.

[Author Affiliation]

Phil Wagler, after having his dream of a professional hockey career ended by reality, has gone outside his box to serve Christ, now labouring as the leading servant (pastor) of Zurich Mennonite Church, Ont.

FIRST CHICAGO'S HISTORY

July 1, 1863: First National Bank opens for business on La SalleStreet. The Battle of Gettysburg begins the same day.

1871: The bank survives the Great Chicago Fire. Its buildingburns but its fireproof vault saves documents and cash.

1930s: While thousands of U.S. banks close their doors duringthe Great Depression, First National remains open, still payinginterest on its customers' accounts.1938: Assets hit $1 billion.1944: Assets hit $2 billion.1959: The first international office opens in London.1969: First Chicago created as the bank's parent. Sixty-storyLoop headquarters completed, sparking a downtown building boom.1970s: At close of the decade, assets top $28 billion.1980: Chairman Robert Abboud ousted after executive squabbles.Barry F. Sullivan named chairman.1982: Buys Bankers Trust credit-card business.1984: Purchases American National Bank and Trust Co.1987: Buys Beneficial National Bank, making it one of thelargest issuers of bank credit cards.1991: Sullivan resigns.1992: Richard L. Thomas takes over as chairman. The bank nowhas more than 100 locations.1994: Acquires Lake Shore Bancorp.May, 1995: Takes heat after announcing plan to charge somecustomers fees for using tellers instead of bank machines.July, 1995: Merges with NBD Bancorp Inc. of Detroit in a dealworth about $5.3 billion.October, 1996: Realigns top management team, naming a new headof its Chicago retail banking operation and expanding its push intoannuities and insurance.November, 1996: Forms an alliance with Britain's StandardChartered PLC to give customers access to banking services in Asiaand the Pacific.January, 1997: Announces joint venture with Robert W. Baird &Co. to offer corporate financial services.July, 1997: Announces a joint venture with Hartford FinancialServices Group Inc. to provide home and auto insurance.December, 1997: Cuts full-service branches by 20 percent;doubles its ATMs to 740.February, 1998: Combines its stock-transfer business with BostonEquiServe, a venture owned by BankBoston Corp., State Street Corp.and DST Systems, creating the largest shareholder services firm inthe United States.Monday: Merges with Banc One in a $30 billion deal.

New concessions from Israel, Palestinians intended to improve negotiating climate

Israel pledged to remove some West Bank roadblocks as a start to "concrete steps" in an agreement with the Palestinians that is aimed at paving the way for a final peace deal this year.

Under the plan that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Sunday, Israel will remove about 50 roadblocks and upgrade checkpoints to speed up the movement of Palestinians through the West Bank.

The Israelis also will give Palestinians more security responsibility in the town of Jenin with an eye toward looking at "other areas in turn." They also pledged to increase the number of travel and work permits for Palestinians and to support economic projects in Palestinian towns.

In return, the Palestinians promised to improve policing of Jenin "to provide law and order, and work to prevent terror," according to a State Department statement.

Rice, visiting the region for the second time this month in hopes of energize faltering talks, said the moves "constitute a very good start to improving" a Palestinian economy crippled by the Israeli restrictions.

Later Sunday in the Jordanian capital, Rice heard a warning from King Abdullah II that failure to achieve peace progress "would threaten the region's future, and in turn deepen the sense of despair and widen the circle of violence." He spoke of the importance of "intensifying American efforts" and said Palestinians "must also be able to experience an improvement in their economic conditions."

In Jerusalem, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad consented to what the U.S. termed "concrete steps" at a joint meeting with Rice. They agreed "on points of special, immediate emphasis and work," the statement said.

"We've been told that this is going to start and, hopefully even be completed in a relatively short period of time," Rice told reporters. "I am expecting it to happen very, very soon."

"We will be monitoring and verifying," she added.

The agreement includes:

_removing 50 travel barriers in and around Jenin, Tulkarem, Qalqiliya and Ramallah; they are major Palestinian towns in the northern and central West Bank.

_dismantling of one permanent roadblock.

_deploying 700 Jordanian-trained Palestinian police in Jenin and allowing them to take delivery of armored vehicles. Jenin is known as a stronghold of Palestinian militants and has been a frequent site of clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen.

_raising the number of Palestinian businessmen allowed into Israel to 1,500 from 1,000.

_increasing the number of work permits for Palestinian laborers by 5,000 from its current number of 18,500.

_building new housing for Palestinians in 25 villages.

_connecting Palestinian villages to the Israeli power grid.

_Israeli support for large-scale economic development programs and encouragement of foreign investment.

Neither Barak nor Fayyad commented on the developments when they appeared at a brief photo opportunity with Rice after their meeting.

One Palestinian official said he welcomed any improvement, but that Israel's moves were "too little, too late."

"We want Israel to move quickly in removing these obstacles that make no sense and make the lives of the Palestinians difficult," said Samir Abdullah, the Palestinian planning minister.

Israel maintains hundreds of checkpoints, roadblocks and other travel restrictions in the West Bank, and says they are needed to stop suicide bombers. The Palestinians say the restrictions are excessive and have stifled their economy. They have made removal of the checkpoints a priority as the two sides, with U.S. backing, try to negotiate a peace agreement by year's end.

Rice had said she was looking for "meaningful" steps to put in place the stalled U.S.-supported plan that envisions the creation of an independent Palestinian state through concessions on both sides.

"There has not been enough momentum," she said. "This is a start in terms of delivering on some of those obligations."

Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, restarted peace talks at a U.S.-hosted summit last November, after seven years of fighting.

Despite the pledge to reach a final deal by year's end, negotiators have made no visible progress, and Olmert has warned that Israel cannot carry out any agreement as long as the Hamas militant group controls the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, which is committed to Israel's destruction and opposes the peace talks, seized control of Gaza from Abbas' forces last June. The Palestinians hope to establish an independent state that includes the West Bank and Gaza, which lie on opposite sides of Israel.

In Amman, Jordan, Rice held separate sessions later Sunday with Abbas and the king. A statement by the royal palace said Abdullah pointed to Israel's "continued policy of unilateralism, particularly its practices in Jerusalem and settlement expansion, as real impediments to international and regional efforts to achieve peace."

The U.S.-backed peace blueprint calls on Israel to halt all settlement activity in the West Bank. As for a deal on Jerusalem, the Israeli government has emphasized its claim to the city by announcing plans to build hundreds of new homes in east Jerusalem neighborhoods built after 1967.

On Monday, Rice planned a three-way meeting with the Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, who is leading the Israeli negotiating team, and the Palestinian's chief negotiator Ahmed Qureia. Rice later will head back to Amman for further talks with Abbas.

___

Associated Press writer Jamal Halaby in Amman contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

State Department statement: http://tinyurl.com/yp432s

From sludge management to biosolids recycling

Guided by the Northwest Biosolids Management Association, a once-scorned material has become an integral part of agricultural and silvicultural systems.

CURRENTLY, over 90 percent of the biosolids in Washington State and Oregon are recycled. Recent legislation enacted in the state recognizes biosolids as a valuable commodity, and Washington is seeking delegation of authority to administer the EPA's 40 CFR Part 503 rule. The Northwest Biosolids Management Association (NBMA), through its commitment to providing member organizations with technically sound information about biosolids recycling, is helping to facilitate this major paradigm shift.

Formed in 1987 by 14 …

Colombian university president missing in US

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Searchers using tracking dogs, boats and a helicopter scoured the wetlands of a nature preserve in the state of Louisiana for a third day Monday in search of a university leader from Colombia who failed to return from a weekend bird-watching and photography jaunt in the swampy preserve teeming with alligators, venomous snakes and other wildlife.

Francisco Piedrahita, head of Universidad Icesi of Cali, Colombia, disappeared Saturday afternoon after being dropped off by a taxi driver near some 6 miles (10 kilometers) of nature trails at the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Reserve near New Orleans. An avid birdwatcher, the 65-year-old university chief was …

AutomotiveNews.com.

Parts pricing, automaker-supplier relationships and corporate accounting will be discussed this week at the annual Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Mich.

Automotive News will distribute four daily papers at the event, Tuesday, Aug. 6, through …

'Slight' to SA as UN discusses Zimbabwe.(News)

BYLINE: Joe Lauria

and Peter Fabricius

PRETORIA: A government official here has questioned Britain's motives in twice putting Zimbabwe on the agenda of the UN Security Council while South Africa occupies the chair.

George Nene, deputy director-general for multilateral affairs in the Department of Foreign Affairs, appeared to suggest yesterday that Britain was trying to embarrass South Africa because of its controversial policy of quiet diplomacy and its insistence that the situation in Zimbabwe was not a serious enough issue to warrant the UN Security Council's attention.

The Security Council was last night discussing the crisis in Zimbabwe …

SPAC EXPANDS SPECIAL EVENTS LIST.(LIFE & LEISURE)

Byline: GREG HAYMES Staff writer

SPAC is back.

The Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Tuesday announced the second round of special event concerts for its 1995 summer season, an eclectic roster with performances by pop songstress Carly Simon, dance legend Mikhail Baryshnikov, radio raconteur Garrison Keillor and hard-rock heroes Bon Jovi.

Other shows announced include the double-bill of guitar greats Carlos Santana and Jeff Beck, Motown diva Diana Ross, the return of the H.O.R.D.E. Festival, the annual benefit concert by the Boys Choir of Harlem, rockers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, folk singer Judy Collins and a triple-threat country …

Congress advances $106 billion war-funding bill

Congress is on its way to giving President Barack Obama what could be its final emergency war-spending bill, an annual budgetary sleight-of-hand that since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has cost the nation nearly $1 trillion.

The Senate is to move to the $106 billion measure Wednesday, a day after the House narrowly passed the bill over the objections of nearly all Republicans and several dozen anti-war Democrats.

The bill provides about $80 billion to maintain defense and intelligence activities in Iraq and Afghanistan through the rest of this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. It includes some $10 billion in economic and security aid for those …

THE BUSH WHO CRIED WOLF

The tragic tale of a truth-teller-come-lately

NEW YORK-George W. Bush claims that Iran has been shipping weapons, including bombs used against U.S. military convoys, to Shiite militias in Iraq. I believe him. Iranian leaders would be idiots to sit out a war whose outcome will affect them for decades to come.

Bush denies that he's about to go to war against Iran. Again, I believe him. After all, we don't have enough money or troops to invade, much less occupy, a nation three times bigger than Iraq.

Apparently I'm the only person in America who thinks Bush can tell the truth-er, a truth. Or two.

Granted, the Administration's "j'accuse!" press conferences were …

Florida Board of Regents Selects Orlando for New FAMU Law School Site.(Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University)(Brief Article)

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.

The Florida Board of Regents selected Orlando as the site for Florida A&M University's new College of Law last month, endorsing the recommendation of FAMU president, Dr. Frederick S. Humphries, and chancellor, Dr. Adam Herbert, to locate the college there.

"I believe that no other institution in this state can do a better job of increasing the number of qualified African American lawyers than FAMU," Humphries says. "Our intent is not to compete with other law schools statewide, but to carry out the college's mission."

According to Louis Murray, associate vice president for administrative and fiscal affairs and chairman of the FAMU …

Tying it all together: teens learn the correlation between outer and inner greatness.(EVERYDAY HERO)(Alex O. Ellis)

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"GROWING UP. I ASSUMED EVERYONE CAME FROM THE same environment where your father teaches you how to shave, shine your shoes, and tie a tie," says Alex O. Ellis, a custom clothier. "But as I met other people, I saw that everyone doesn't come from that same experience, so there needs to be intervention."

Determined to help fill that void, Ellis established Tied to Greatness (www.tiedtogreatness.org), a national self-image improvement program based in New Jersey that brings at-risk, inner-city high-school males together with professional men from the community to help the teens realize the importance of their image and encourage them to …

LOVE TAUGHT THESE 'POUND DOGS' NEW TRICKS.(Saratoga Co. Fair)

Byline: Crisse Lincoln Special Advertising Features Writer

Entertainment veteran Paul Hoskinson of Seville, Ohio, has been delighting both children and adults with his "Animals of Distinction" show for more than 20 years. This year, the four-legged repertoire will be appearing in the Saratoga County Fair's Coca-Cola Family Center everyday at 1, 4 and 7 p.m.

Oddly enough, Hoskinson chose his "special performers" not from pricey kennels but from local animal shelters. Many of his previously "death-row inmates" had nothing to look forward to but ... the end.

Suddenly, Hoskinson came along to give these castaways a second chance at life, good food ... …

Oil rises to $76 amid optimism on global economy

Oil prices rose to near $76 a barrel Friday in Asia, following stock markets higher as confidence rose the global economic recovery remains intact.

Benchmark crude for August delivery was up 47 cents to $75.91 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.37 to settle at $75.44 on Thursday.

Signs the global economic recovery remains on track eased fears of a new recession and helped boost investor confidence.

The Labor Department said Thursday that initial jobless claims fell last week to the lowest level since early May, and the International Monetary Fund raised its 2010 world …

AP-FBC--T25-Nevada-Oregon Stats, FBC

*2064 …

Q & A.

Several questions were posed to Acterna executives regarding workforce management and the company's TechSync initiative. Here are some of their answers:

Q: What drove Acterna to start its TechSync initiative?

A: We recognized that managers and technicians in the field were looking for better methods to use their time, be more productive and just be better at what they do. TechSync was a direct result of those responses.

Q: How did you decide on the combination of the DSAM 2500, FDM-100 and 1AS software as the basis for TechSync?

A: They naturally work well together. The DSAM is the handheld hardware piece with extensive functions, and the …

New hormones study findings have been reported by scientists at National Institutes of Health.

According to recent research from the United States, "We previously created a knock-in mutant mouse harboring a dominantly negative mutant thyroid hormone receptor beta (TR beta(PV/PV) mouse) that spontaneously develops a follicular thyroid carcinoma similar to human thyroid cancer. We found that beta-catenin, which plays a critical role in oncogenesis, was highly elevated in thyroid tumors of TR beta(PV/PV) mice."

"We sought to understand the molecular basis underlying aberrant accumulation of beta-catenin by mutations of TR beta in vivo. Cell-based studies showed that thyroid hormone (T3) induced the degradation of beta-catenin in cells expressing TR beta via …

`BESIEGED' A RETURN TO THE OLD WAYS.(LIFE & LEISURE)

Byline: ANN HORNADAY The Baltimore Sun

``Besieged,'' a contemporary romantic drama by Bernardo Bertolucci, is full of such forward-thinking flourishes as a peripatetic, hand-held camera, lots of quick, back-and-forth edits and a setting that captures Rome somewhere between its romantic history and its multi-cultural future. But for director Bernardo Bertolucci, his new film was a return of sorts.

``It was like shooting a movie at the beginning, at the origin of cinema,'' Bertolucci said in a recent telephone conversation from his home in Rome. The director was recovering from recent back surgery to repair a herniated disc. ``After `Stealing Beauty,' `Little …

Two for the show: Daniel B. Schneider on the Museum of Modern Art's new curators.(News)(Column)

IN MID-SEPTEMBER, six months after appointing John Elderfield chief curator of painting and sculpture [see Artforum, May 2003], the Museum of Modern Art coolly named two new curators, Ann Temkin and Joachim Pissarro, to his department. The hires, which follow a number of significant curatorial departures, come at a pivotal moment in the museum's seventy-four-year history, Temkin and Pissarro, who assume their posts this fall, will work alongside fellow curator Anne Umland, Elderfield, and other department heads to reinstall MOMA'S collection in its vast new midtown quarters, scheduled to open late next year. The reinstallation is widely seen as an opportunity to recast the museum's familiar exegesis of the grand modernist narrative for a more restive, contemporary audience.

Curatorial miracles will no doubt be expected of the new appointees, who will share in what amounts to the complete …

MAYBE NONE; Is having a child--even one--environmentally destructive?

What if everyone lived like Americans?

It would take 5.3 Earths to support humanity.

Only one other country, the United Arab Emirates, exceeds the average American?s consumption of the Earth?s resources.

Sometime in the mid 1980s humanity passed the threshold where demand exceeded biocapacity of the Earth. ..TX.-To find out how much demand on the Earth would be if everybody lived your individual lifestyle visit http://ecofoot.org. You may be surprised to find out you are livin? large. Based upon the ecological footprint (how much land, water and resources it requires for an individual, country or humanity to consume available resources and for the Earth to absorb the …

Aspen Insurance Holdings LTD.(Property/Casualty)

ASPEN INSURANCE HOLDINGS LTD. has named MARIO P. VITALE president of Aspen Insurance Holdings' U.S. operations.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Vitale, who has 34 years' experience in the insurance sector, …

CRB Media to sell two Cape Cod radio stations.

Byline: Christie Smythe

Jan. 13--More than a year after the radio stations first went on the market, Cape Cod's WFCC-FM "Classical 107.5" and classic rock station WKPE-FM "104.7 The Rocket" are finally being sold.

The owner, Waltham-based CRB Media, formerly Charles River Broadcasting Co., is selling the stations to Hyannis-based Sandab Communications II, the companies announced yesterday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The sale is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission.

Sandab currently owns adult contemporary station WQRC-FM 99.9 and soft adult contemporary station WOCN-FM "Ocean 104." The company also owns …

Thick and thin.(painters and curators discuss the state of painting in the last two decades)(Critical Essay)

As the 1970s gave way to the '80s, the slogan "return to painting" was as often heard in the discussion around contemporary art as the counter-mantra, the "death of painting." In the last issue of Artforum, a group comprising mostly critics and art historians opened our two-part examination of painting in the '80s and beyond with a look back at the death-of-painting debate that raged at the beginning of the decade. For this month's pendant discussion introduced by ROBERT STORR, we assembled a second panel, largely made up of painters and curators--and asked them to tell us where painting has taken us in the last two decades, and to limn the multifarious pressures and impulses that motivate the practice today.

We do not want for paintings. There are plenty out there to choose from and argue over. Nor do we want for first-rate painters. There are enough to make us wonder why the words "painting is dead" fall so easily from the lips of those who more or less openly acknowledge the importance of--or secretly harbor a liking for--artists as different as Robert Ryman and Gerhard Richter, Leon Golub and Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin and Alex Katz, Philip Pearlstein and Vija Celmins, Lucian Freud and Jasper Johns. And that is only to name a few of the still active-- and still debated--members of the generation that got started between the early 1950s and early 1960s. Add ten years and the list encompasses an even larger cohort that remains hard at work. Twenty years ago, of course, obituaries were regularly being written for the medium by neo-avant-garde theorists, some of whom are now furiously backpedaling with the hope that no one will recall how their "historically mandated" predictions failed to come true.

Still, beating the reaper is not the same thing as feeling on top of the world. For all its signs of life--good, "bad," and banal--painting is hardly the king of the hill it was for most of the twentieth century. Nor is it ever likely to be so again, though competitive "new" forms of artmaking aren't quite so sure of their hegemonic claims as they were ten, twenty, or thirty years ago, before they began to feel the drag of their own accumulating histories.

In fact, painting is in a muddle. Even as art schools field fresh contenders, galleries restock, and collectors make room on walls still crowded with large-format photographs, text panels, and screens of various kinds, painters struggle to map the incompletely redrawn and highly congested territory they currently occupy. The words haven't come easy. No handy monikers dominate conversation as "neoexpressionism" and "neo-geo" once did. ("Post-recent art" is still my favorite coinage of the label-fatigued last decade of the last century.) And compared with their counterparts in the Conceptual, installational, and technological scenes, painters seem to lack a "discourse," which--though it may reflect a certain realistic gun-shyness on the part of artists who too vividly remember the preposterous claims of restoration painting in the '80s, and the dogmas of criticism-driven painting in the '60s--puts their discipline at a disadvantage in the "marketplace of ideas." (And the constituent elements of that last term s hould be read with all their built-in discomfort, especially by those who think they're in a quadrangle when they're in Times Square.)

Except in monographic articles that lead outward from their immediate subject, critics on the whole haven't fared much better in characterizing what's going on. When the task has been assumed by curators, the results have hardly dissipated the confusion. Starting in 1999 with "Examining Pictures" at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London, and "Trouble Spot Painting" at the NICC and MUKHA in Antwerp, followed by "Painting at the Edge of the World" at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (2001), "Cher Peintre" at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (2002), and "Painting on the Move" at the Kunstmuseum, Kunsthalle, and Museum fur Gegenwartskunst in Basel (2002), a number of exhibitions have attempted to straighten things up; but in various degrees they turned out to be lively exercises in showing how big and oddly configured the house of painting was, rather than putting that house in order. For the present, that often seems the best anyone can hope for. But as the following dialogue, convened as a pendant to la st month's roundtable addressing the "death of painting" debate in the '80s, suggests, there is plenty to do just keeping track of the twists and turns of all the strands of painting emanating from the pluralist post-'80s era.

From within painting's chambered quarters one can hear rumblings and murmurings down the hall; voices over the transom; arguments on the fire escapes; sighs and groans behind the walls--and sometimes the noises of pleasure. We can also assume that the silence that otherwise prevails--and the quiet that interrupts the contributions of some of the participants to this online symposium--is the sound of painters in the studio going about their generally solitary business. This roundtable may be less like an electronic panel discussion and closer to eavesdropping on a series of private exchanges in a once grand but still livable hotel. Listen in.

--ROBERT STORR

TIM GRIFFIN: It might seem strange to ask a group made up mostly of painters to consider the idea of "the death of painting," which posited a historical position on the medium, but now also has a history behind it. The compelling related question would pertain to the way in which painting moved beyond or outside of this particular issue. Has there been a shadow or ghost of it in practices? Or did it in fact never really register among the painters you found most interesting? What were some of your initial thoughts when you came across the idea, in general and in terms of your own work? What do you find the most productive modes to bypass or enfold the issue?

JONATHAN LASKER: My earliest encounters with the critique of painting occurred at CalArts in the mid-'70s. The students were primarily poststudio artists, and the dominant faculty members were Conceptual artists like John Baldessari, Douglas Huebler, Michael Asher. It was a very antagonistic environment, but it was a very good place to begin to rationalize why I was painting. For me, the issue was whether one could still make a new painting. The artists to beat were the Minimalist painters, who, as far as I was concerned, had completed Ad Reinhardt's project of attempting to make the last possible painting through reductive means. The challenge as I saw it: How do you bring back metaphor and the constituent elements of picture-making into the practice of painting?

LISA YUSKAVAGE: Fortunately, the education that I got in the '80s was with formalists of various stripes: Stephen Greene, Margo Margolis, William Bailey, Andrew Forge, Jake Berthot, and Mel Bochner. None of them ever brought up the death of anything. By the time I encountered the "death of painting," I was already a formed artist living in New York.

CARROLL DUNHAM: Douglas Crimp's ideas on the death of painting helped clarify the discussion of some very interesting work made in the early '80s, but none of it was painting. Looking back, I think his hypothesis about painting seems much less necessary to understanding …