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(11/01/07 1:06am)
CAMDEN, N.J. – A man pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to provide weapons to a group of men accused of plotting an attack on soldiers at Fort Dix.\nAgron Abdullahu, 25, faces up to five years in federal prison when he is sentenced Feb. 6.\nFederal prosecutors have portrayed the New Jersey resident as having the smallest role among the six men arrested in May in the case. The others are charged with conspiring to kill military personnel – a crime punishable by life in prison.\nAbdullahu, a former supermarket baker, admitted letting illegal immigrants use his legally owned Beret 9 mm pistol and a Yugoslav-made semiautomatic rifle. Abdullahu told a judge that he knew it was illegal for the others to possess weapons but did not know it was against the law for them to use guns at a firing range.\nThe alleged plot to kill U.S. troops was not mentioned during Wednesday’s hearing. His public defender, Richard Coughlin, said afterward that Abdullahu made no deal to cooperate with prosecutors against the other defendants.\nAbdullahu will not testify against them because he has no information about and was not involved in any terror plot, Coughlin said.\n“My client was essentially used by these other individuals,” Coughlin said. “It was never a ‘Fort Dix Six.’ It was a ‘Fort Dix Five’ plus one other person. That was my client.”\nFederal prosecutors declined to comment on Abdullahu’s plea Wednesday.\nAbdullahu was indicted on charges of providing weapons to illegal immigrants, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit that crime, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.\nAuthorities have said that while Abdullahu provided the weapons to the other men in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains during trips in January 2006 and February 2007, he resisted the idea of participating in an attack.\nAbdullahu, an ethnic Albanian born in the Serbian province of Kosovo, fled with his family and was granted asylum in the United States eight years ago. \nAuthorities said the men charged in the plot scouted out East Coast military installations to find one to attack but settled on Fort Dix largely because one of them knew his way around from delivering pizzas to the base for his father’s restaurant.\nThe installation, which is being used largely to train reservists bound for Iraq, was not attacked.
(10/29/07 1:53am)
U.S. forces will turn over security to Iraqi authorities in the southern Shiite province of Karbala on Monday, the American commander for the area said, despite fighting between rival militia factions that has killed dozens. Karbala will become only the eighth of Iraq’s 18 provinces to revert to Iraqi control, despite President Bush’s prediction in January that the Iraqi government would have responsibility for security in all of the provinces by November. But the target date has slipped repeatedly, highlighting the difficulties in developing Iraqi police forces and the slow pace of economic and political progress in areas still troubled by daily violence.
(10/29/07 1:52am)
WASHINGTON – Two-thirds of parents say their children will trick-or-treat this Halloween, but fewer minorities will let their kids go door to door, with some citing safety worries, a poll shows.\nThe survey found that 73 percent of whites versus 56 percent of minorities said their children will trick-or-treat on Wednesday.\nThat disparity in the survey is similar to the difference in how people view the safety of their neighborhoods, according to the poll by The Associated Press and Ipsos. Lower-income people and minorities are more likely to worry that it might not be safe to send their children out on Halloween night.\nThomas Link, 50, and his family are new to their trailer park in Palatka, Fla. He said he considers it unsafe because he does not know many neighbors, but had not decided whether to let his three young children trick-or-treat.\n“I’m very particular about who I let my kids deal with,” he said.\nOverall, 86 percent of those questioned in the survey said their neighborhoods are safe for trick-or-treating. Ninety-one percent of whites, compared with 75 percent of minorities, said they felt their kids would be secure when they went out seeking candy in their area.\nSimilarly, 93 percent of people earning $50,000 or more said their communities are safe for trick-or-treating, compared with 76 percent of those making less than $25,000.\nEven many people who view their neighborhoods as safe take precautions.\nKristi Nichols, 35, of Seaford, Del., who said she lives in the community where she grew up, accompanies her children on their Halloween rounds.\n“I’m a forensic nurse and I know what happens,” she said. “It’s very different from when I was little.”\nNearly two-thirds of the people in the survey said their households will distribute Halloween treats to children who come to call; the likeliest to pass out goodies include younger and higher-earning people.\nSeventy percent of people in the poll who consider themselves liberals and 67 percent of the moderates questioned said they would hand out treats, compared with 55 percent of conservatives.\nOf those adults whose children will not trick-or-treat this year, one-quarter cited safety worries and about one-half said they do not celebrate Halloween.\n“It’s demonic,” said Donna Stitt, 37, a nursing aide from Barto, Pa., with four young children. “People are celebrating the dead. I’m not into that.”\nLast October, a Gallup Poll found 11 percent said they do not celebrate Halloween for religious reasons.\nOn a night known for antics that sometimes go too far, 86 percent of the people in the AP survey said they had little or no concern that their property might be the target of Halloween vandalism or pranks. Women under age 45 were about twice as likely as men of that age to worry about it, with lower-income people, minorities and urban residents also among the most apprehensive.\nThe poll involved telephone interviews with 1,013 adults conducted from Oct. 16-18. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.\nAP Director of Surveys Trevor Tompson and AP News survey specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.
(10/11/07 4:00am)
or years, a new "NBA LIVE" meant nothing more than a roster update, a different soundtrack and a slight graphics overhaul. \nEA Sports didn't reinvent the wheel in "NBA LIVE 08," but it did re-invent just about everything else in its top-selling basketball game. Unlike last year's copy, "LIVE" has enough improvements and new features in this year's game to warrant attention. \nThe best addition is the refurbished ball-handling controls, which were in desperate need of a revamp. The "Quick-Strike Ball Handling" enables users to control a guard's dribbling completely and is much more realistic than previous versions. \n"LIVE" has something for the big men, too, with the incorporation of brand new low-post moves that don't handcuff you only to fadeaways and dunks anymore. You can be Shaquille O'Neal and shoot his patented baby-hook or you can execute a flawless Tim Duncan drop step at the ease of a few \nbutton manipulations. \nThe game has also significantly expanded its game modes. In addition to Dynasty Mode and the typical All-Star Weekend options, you can now compete in the FIBA World Championships or play Quick pick play, which is essentially a fantasy draft with only two teams for a single game. \nBut unlike a Ricky Williams drug test, there are more than just positives in "LIVE." Before playing a game, you most likely will have to endure a painfully long load screen, which EA Sports attempts to compensate for by putting in a new NBA trivia feature. It's like trying to make up for your friend's dead dog by giving them a Tamagotchi. \nLike the Indiana Pacers' last three seasons, the Dynasty Mode leaves something to be desired. You're constantly bombarded with unnecessary prompts, which you can luckily turn off, and the Off-Season Mode is boring compared to the similar features offered in "Madden NFL 08." \nThe artificial intelligence during game play can be as frustrating and uncreative as 50 Cent's last album. Even on the highest difficulty, "Superstar," the players' movements are boring and slow-paced, like the NBA's Eastern Conference. The only saving grace of the A.I. is its deadeye shooting and the occasional ridiculous dunks. \nDespite a couple of frustrating flaws, if you're a basketball fan, "LIVE" is still the best video game on \nthe market.
(09/18/07 3:59am)
Over the years, time management has been the most requested topic by readers. Friends and family have wanted to know how I manage to finish everything while leaving a lot of time for exercising, partying and traveling. More importantly, readers have wanted to know how they, too, can achieve this.\nWhile thinking about time management, I began to realize that the issue is not so simple. It seems as if people want to know how to do their tasks faster. Techniques in getting things done quicker are helpful and are outlined in David Allen’s “Getting Things Done.” However, they still do not address the key underlying issue. As actress Lily Tomlin said, “The problem with the rat race is that even if you win you are still a rat.”\nStephen R. Covey discusses this subject in his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” He notes that most people want to know how to stop doing harmful things like watching junk on TV, surfing online and playing video games. In other words, they want to get rid of some of the NOs in their lives. The answer, Covey suggests, is rather to get bigger YES’s in your life. Would you really watch “The Real World” if you had a hot date waiting for you on your bed? Chances are you wouldn’t be thinking about whether or not the episode will be good.\nTo people who are ambitious, the hot date on your bed represents the goals we strive for on a daily basis. It is important to understand that your ambitions can be similar or different from anyone else’s and can change daily. Oftentimes, my ambition is to make money, but sometimes it is to travel to a remote island. It is important to make the final decision yourself and not be manipulated by what others think you “should” want. Look within yourself to discover your true passion.\nWhen we have this ambition it becomes easier to manage our time. Still, it is easy to be carried away. The first thing to consider is managing your cues. As I learned through my textbook for the course Managing and Behavior in Organizations, managing your cues or environment is crucial. If you want something done, don’t do it in your house or a place where people will distract you. If I need to complete something very quickly, I will lock myself in a room in the library. This task takes a lot of discipline, but it works every time. \nFurthermore, here’s what to do if you really want to get things done: Block all the distracting Web sites on your computer. You will be surprised how many times you loop through distracting Web sites without consciously being aware of it. Do you rotate from e-mail to Facebook to ESPN every five minutes? Stop it. When you feel yourself doing this, write down a list of everything that you have to do. Put it on paper!\nThe most effective way to manage your time is by leveraging your resources. It would take me hundreds of hours a week to do everything that my company did if I didn’t have employees. The business school (and IU), ironically, doesn’t allow you to partake in the most important business and life practice of utilizing other people’s help. However, you should ask yourself whether you can leverage some of your out-of-school activities and hire or partner with other people. I recommend Timothy Ferris’s “The 4-Hour Work Week” on this subject.\nFinally, and most importantly, in order to become a happy, stress-free working machine you MUST exercise, sleep and eat right. One technique that I have changed is eating four to five meals a day. In the past, overeating at lunch caused my productivity to drop dramatically for three hours. By eating a big breakfast and small meals throughout the day, I have significantly improved my energy and productivity. I challenge you to eat half portions at lunch for seven straight days and see if it increases your energy. \nImproving time management is not an overnight activity but can be dramatically changed within a couple months. Pick one of the tips outlined above and start implementing it today.
(09/18/07 3:51am)
ATLANTA – The American Cancer Society this week will take its biggest step ever into the politics of health care reform, spending $15 million in advertising on behalf of Americans with too little health insurance or none at all.\nThe cancer society – the nation’s richest health charity, in both donations and volunteers – traditionally focuses its advertising on encouraging Americans to quit smoking or get a screening test.\nBut this year’s campaign will feature television commercials that portray the challenges of uninsured and underinsured cancer patients, accompanied by a call for people to do something about it.\nThe change comes after cancer society officials concluded that insurance-related problems have emerged as one of the one of the largest obstacles in their goal to cut cancer death rates by 50 percent and incidence rates by 25 percent from 1990 to 2015.\n“We’re not going to meet our goals if the health care system remains unfixed,” said John Seffrin, the cancer society’s chief executive.\nStarting Monday, three commercials on network and cable channels will run until Thanksgiving. Ads will be placed in magazines and on Web sites as well.\nThe cancer society is not endorsing any particular reform plan or candidate. Even so, it’s an unusually pointed campaign for the philanthropy, and for organizations like it.\nThe American Heart Association’s chief executive, M. Cass Wheeler, envied the group’s resources and applauded its new campaign.\n“Heart and stroke patients are going to benefit from the good this advertising campaign is going to do,” Wheeler said. His organization spends $10 million each year on advertising, and focuses it on exercise and other prevention measures for patients.\nDespite the fact that many cancer patients are 65 and older and are covered by the federal Medicare program, cancer society officials estimate that at least 55,000 of the 1.4 million people diagnosed with cancer each year have no health insurance.\nHundreds of thousands of others have coverage but end up financially distressed by uncovered bills, they say.\nLarge increases in insurance costs in this decade have caused employers and others to become more interested in systemwide reform, said Ken Thorpe, an Emory University health policy professor.\n“Many big businesses have come to the realization they can’t solve this problem on their own,” he said.\nAt the cancer society’s call center in Austin, Texas, a team of 14 operators have been assigned to take calls from people who are uninsured or underinsured. They form the core of a Health Insurance Assistance Service, which tries to connect people with coverage programs.\nIt was through the assistance service that the cancer society found the star of one of its new commercials – Raina Bass, 26, a legal assistant in central Missouri.\nShe survived ovarian cancer in her teens and became a wife and mother. But in 2005, she woke up with a swollen throat one summer morning that turned out to be thyroid cancer.\nBoth she and her husband had health insurance through their jobs, but it didn’t cover all her medical bills. Meanwhile, bill collection agencies were calling regularly.\n“I should be shouting and jumping that I beat cancer twice,” she said in an interview, but instead often found herself crying about debt and job constraints.\nBass was at a press conference Monday in Washington when the cancer society campaign was unveiled.\n“I am so glad I’ve been given the opportunity to finally speak out about this,” she said.
(09/11/07 5:46am)
For a great number of fans and competitors, IU athletics are an escape from the strain of everyday life. \nA student screams at a television set with furious emotion and immediately forgets the research paper he has due the next morning. A professor takes a well-earned break to enjoy a game of tennis outside of the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation building. An alumna spends a weekend afternoon cruising the Internet to find the results of IU’s latest soccer match, Monday morning’s meeting not even a blip on her radar screen. A volleyball player hammers home a spike and barely worries about the week’s lectures.\nBut on Saturday morning, 2,000 participants in the second annual Circle of Life Mini Marathon confronted the stark realities of life, gathering at the philanthropic event intended to raise money for scholarships for cancer survivors.\nThe greatest value of the running of the race was not the actual competition – it was the money raised to benefit cancer survivors. \nBut an athletic competition is held in order to determine a winner, and while many runners no doubt showed up for that end, the act of running a charitable race takes much humility. \nAthletes, especially once they reach the collegiate level of organized play and are somewhat successful, receive a level of admiration from their peers and fans, and that admiration places them on a pedestal. This is not a criticism – hard work requires a just reward. However, at an event like Saturday’s mini marathon, athletes take a conscious step to understand how little wins and losses matter in life’s grande scheme, or in the face of great adversity – namely, the battle against a chronic disease.\nThe event was highlighted by the appearance of IU men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, with his team behind him, as he spoke and presented awards. The leader of the biggest athletic program at IU, Sampson’s presence served to further acknowledge the fact that athletic competition pales in comparison to much \nlarger issues.\nIt is easy to get caught up in the intensity of athletics and forget the obstacles of an outside world that presents much fiercer and more\ndifficult opponents. \nDecked out in crimson and cream and shouting in glee or anger removes us from that outside world. We metaphorically live and die with every shot, serve or pass. Saturday’s events reminded us that such a mentality is just that – a metaphor. Real life has harsher consequences than a tally in the loss column.\nThe benefits of the Circle of Life Mini Marathon will go toward a noble cause, one that every Hoosier will get behind. Thanks are in order for those who organized the event that reminds us of our place in the world, and of the real heroes who have won the most difficult battles. Saturday’s mini marathon took those who call themselves part of the Hoosier Nation and placed them in context of the more important \nhuman nation.
(09/11/07 5:45am)
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – The Buffalo Bills’ Kevin Everett sustained a “catastrophic” and life-threatening spinal-cord injury, and his chances of regaining a full range of body motion are very small, an orthopedic surgeon said Monday.\n“A best-case scenario is full recovery, but not likely,” Dr. Andrew Cappuccino said, one day after performing a four-hour operation on the player. “I believe there will be some permanent neurological paralysis. ... A full neurological recovery was bleak, dismal.”\nCappuccino noted the 25-year-old reserve tight end did have touch sensation throughout his body and also showed signs of movement. But he cautioned that Everett’s injury remained life-threatening, saying the player is still susceptible to blood clots, infection and \nbreathing failure.\nEverett is currently under forced sedation and breathing through a respirator as doctors wait for the swelling to lessen. Cappuccino said it will take up to three days to determine the severity of the injury and the recovery process.\nDuring the operation, Cappuccino repaired a break between the third and fourth vertebrae and also alleviated the pressure on the spinal cord. Doctors made a bone graft and inserted a plate and four screws.\nCappuccino said Everett was alert and is aware of the extent of his injuries.\n“I was honest with him, and he told me, ‘Do everything you can to help me,’” said Cappuccino, who works for the Bills as a consultant, specializing in spinal surgery.\nCappuccino received permission to operate from Everett’s mother, Patricia Dugas, who spoke by phone from her home in Houston.\nEverett was hurt in Buffalo’s season opener against Denver on Sunday when he ducked his head while driving in to tackle Broncos’ Domenik Hixon during the second half-opening kickoff. Everett dropped face first to the ground after his helmet hit Hixon high on the left shoulder and side of the helmet.\nReplays showed the player twitching for a few seconds as he attempted to get up before falling back to the ground. Everett’s eyes were open, but he showed no further signs of movement during the next 15 minutes as the team’s medical staff and emergency personnel placed him on a backboard and, with the player’s head and body immobilized, loaded him into an ambulance at the Broncos’ 30-yard line.\nBills team doctor John Marzo said Everett was alert from the time he was loaded onto the backboard and throughout the drive to the hospital.\n“It’s a tough situation to watch because he’s somebody’s son, brother and friend,” punter Brian Moorman said Monday. “It’s all you could think about during the game, after it happened, after the game and this morning. And we just want him to get better, we want him \nto heal.”\nQuarterback J.P. Losman said it was difficult to concentrate during practice.\n“It seems like every couple of seconds that go by it’s always popping into your head,” Losman said. “Going through a walk-through, we’re looking for him, wanting to hear his voice.”\nThe Bills have Tuesday off before returning to practice to prepare to play at Pittsburgh \non Sunday.\nCoach Dick Jauron said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called him Sunday evening, offering the league’s support.\n“We honor ourselves by our work, and we honor Kevin by moving forward and working while never forgetting Kevin and never getting him out of our thoughts and prayers,” Jauron said. “We’re going to wait and see what the outcome is here and we’re really hoping and praying for the best.”\nBuffalo’s 2005 third-round draft pick out of Miami, Everett missed his rookie season because of a knee injury. He spent most of last year playing special teams. He was hoping to make an impact as a receiver.\nHis injury recalled the one to Mike Utley, the former Detroit Lions guard who was paralyzed below the chest. He injured his neck in a collision during a 1991 game.\n“I’m sorry this young man got hurt,” Utley told the AP. “It wasn’t a cheap shot. It was a great form tackle and that’s it.”\nThe 41-year-old Utley now lives in Washington state and is promoting a bike tour aimed at raising money in an effort to cure paralysis.\n“These are big strong men competing at the highest level. You can do everything to prepare yourself – lift weights and all that,” Utley said. “But is it going to happen again? Yes.”\nEverett’s injury was not the only one sustained by the Bills.\nCornerback Jason Webster (broken forearm) and free safety Ko Simpson (broken ankle) had surgery, and Jauron said both could miss the rest of the season. Also, linebacker Coy Wire has a sprained knee and is out indefinitely.
(09/11/07 5:44am)
CHICAGO – The Cubs made the most of a brief stopover at Wrigley Field.\nAramis Ramirez homered twice and had four hits to help Ted Lilly earn his 15th victory, leading Chicago over the St. Louis Cardinals 12-3 \non Monday.\nIt was just the third win in eight games for Chicago, which fell out of first place Sunday for the first time since Aug. 16 and began the Monday one game behind Milwaukee in the \nNL Central.\n“I didn’t even think about it. Whether you’re in first, second or third, you got to win baseball games,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said before watching his team get 17 hits.\nSt. Louis, which started the day three back of the Brewers, lost its fourth straight and dropped to 69-72.\nBoth teams made a quick detour to play the makeup, caused by an Aug. 19 rainout.\nThe Cardinals came to Chicago from Arizona and didn’t land until around 11:30 p.m. Sunday. Next, the World Series champions have three games \nat Cincinnati.\nThe Cubs arrived home from Pittsburgh and head to the road for a critical swing that takes them to Houston for three games and St. Louis for four.\n“This little stretch here favors the Milwaukee situation because of the fact the two teams closest to them are playing each other,” Piniella said. “This week will tell a lot, starting today and ending Sunday. It will tell a whole lot about what is going to happen in this division and how close it will be.”\nLilly (15-7) matched his career high for victories, set last year with the Blue Jays. He allowed five hits, including homers to Jim Edmonds and So Taguchi, and struck out seven in seven innings.\nDerrek Lee and Ramirez homered in a five-run fourth and Ramirez added a second solo shot in a four-run eighth.\nJoel Pineiro (4-3) gave up two homers, three doubles and a single in a span of seven batters in the fourth. Lee led off with his 18th homer and, one out later, Ramirez followed with his 21st for a 3-1 lead.\nMark DeRosa singled and then Jacque Jones, Jason Kendall and Lilly all lined RBI doubles in succession to finish Pineiro, who had beaten the Cubs at Wrigley three weeks ago. Pineiro lasted 3 1-3 innings, his shortest outing in eight starts since the Cardinals acquired him July 31 from Boston, where he’d been a reliever.\nChicago loaded the bases in the fifth against Brian Falkenborg on a walk, double by Ramirez and hit batter, and Jones hit an RBI single to make it 7-1.\nOne pitch after Lilly knocked him down with a high-and-tight offering, Taguchi hit a two-run homer in the sixth. DeRosa had been drilled in the arm by Falkenborg the previous inning.\nKelvin Jimenez hit Kendall in the seventh, loading the bases, and Yadier Molina’s passed ball allowed Chicago’s eighth run \nto cross.\nCliff Floyd had a two-out RBI single in the first after a double by Lee. Edmonds’ 11th homer tied the game in the second.
(09/11/07 5:41am)
A model shows Sony Corp.’s new rolling egg-shaped digital music player swivels in Tokyo on Monday. The $354, 11 ounce Rolly, set to go on sale in Japan on Sept. 29, comes with stereo speakers, one gigabyte of internal flash memory and a battery good for about five hours of music. Overseas sales are still undecided. The smooth white gadget, small enough to sit on a palm, has sensors that recognize which way is up, allowing volume to be controlled by turning the player clockwise or counterclockwise, and tunes to be switched by pushing or pulling it on the floor.
(09/11/07 5:40am)
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Apple Inc. sold its millionth iPhone over the weekend, days after it slashed the price by a third to spur sales.\nThe milestone was reached weeks earlier than expected and sent shares of Apple up $4.94, or 3.8 percent, to $136.71. The stock regained some of the ground it lost after the price cut spooked investors as a sign of weak demand and slimmer margins.\nIt took just 74 days for the combination cell phone-iPod to hit the 1 million mark, which Apple had said it would achieve by the end of September. By comparison, it took two years for the company to sell 1 million iPods, Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted in a statement.\nLast week, Apple knocked $200 off the price of the 8-gigabyte iPhone, bringing its price to $399, and discontinued the 4-gigabyte version. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment on whether the price cut helped spur sales.\nThe price cut may have helped a bit, but Apple clearly was on track already to exceed its own expectations, analysts say.\n“I’d argue that sales have been fairly strong, and this alleviates concerns that sales were weak,” said Shaw Wu, analyst at American Technology Research.\nThe swift price cut, not surprising in the cell phone industry but rare behavior for Apple, angered hundreds of early buyers who bought the touch-screen gadget for top dollar. In response to all the negative reaction, Jobs issued an apology the next day and offered customers $100 credits.\nApple had said it was lowering the iPhone price to attract more customers, in time for the holiday season.\nThe move, which many analysts had predicted, but not quite so quickly, adds pressure to Apple’s rivals, but it also was possibly part of a broader strategy for its entire product lineup.\nOn the same day Apple slashed the iPhone price to $399, it unveiled a new iPod, also for $399. The iPod Touch is basically the same as the iPhone but without the cell phone capability.\nApple cut the price of the hybrid iPod-cell phone to prevent an onslaught of consumers from abandoning it in favor of the Touch, Tim Bajarin, analyst with Creative Strategies, speculated. “They solved the cannibalization problem with this,” he said.
(09/11/07 5:39am)
CHICAGO – It’s been a year since Marshall Field’s vanished to make way for Macy’s. To mark the occasion, dozens of protesters gathered outside Macy’s huge State Street store, suggesting shoppers boycott the retailer and demanding a return of the Field’s imprint.\nChants of “Field’s is Chicago, Boycott Macy’s!” were heard and signs reading “Macy’s Go Home!” fluttered in the air. Protesters wore the green that distinguished Marshall Field’s shopping bags, and a handful of women decked out in colorful 1890s-style dresses and hats marched around the square-block store, drawing honks from passing cars.\nThe store is one of about 400 properties nationwide converted last year to the Macy’s nameplate by Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores Inc., which acquired them when it bought May Department Stores Co. in 2005. The move gave Federated more than 800 Macy’s stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. Federated then changed its name to Macy’s Inc.\nBut in Chicago, Macy’s has to overcome loyalty to Field’s that stretches back generations.\n“The point is to protest a brutal and stupid takeover of a crowned jewel of Chicago. They’ve turned it into a Wal-Mart,” said Tom O’Brien, a 51-year-old writer.\nO’Brien said Sunday’s protest of the Macy’s takeover was his third.\n“(Macy’s) sales are down, their stock prices are down,” he said. “People aren’t giving up on this.”\nMarch organizer Jim McKay, a 44-year-old adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said the goal is to bring Marshall Field’s back someday. It’s ambitious, he said, but attainable.\n“Macy’s is a run of the mill, template, ubiquitous kind of store. It’s not the same quality as Marshall Field’s,” McKay said between shouts into a megaphone.\nThe building that once housed Field’s was designated a national landmark in 1978. Macy’s occupies eight of its 12 floors.\n“The vast majority of our customers have told us they want to know more about Macy’s, and how we’re striving to provide outstanding service, offer well-known, high-quality merchandise and preserve the local traditions,” Macy’s spokeswoman Jennifer McNamara said in a statement.\nAmanda Burton, 26, dodged the protesters as she left the store. She hadn’t bought anything but said she often does, adding she was perplexed by the protesters.\n“Usually when people are protesting something, it’s because there’s some injustice being done, and I don’t see that happening, so it seems kind of frivolous,” Burton said.\nProtesters said recent financial bad news from Macy’s is a sign of success. Macy’s said its second-quarter earnings fell 77 percent as it continues to be hurt by costs from its takeover of May along with lower sales.\nMacy’s projected last month that third-quarter earnings, excluding merger costs, will now be 5 to 10 cents per share, with earnings for the full year, without the merger costs, of $2.15 to $2.30 per share. Analysts projected 19 cents a share for the third quarter and $2.37 per share for the year.
(09/11/07 5:26am)
WASHINGTON – Next month, General Mills Inc. and Kellogg Co. will begin emblazoning their breakfast cereals with symbols that summarize complex nutritional information, part of the growing use of logos to steer harried grocery shoppers toward healthier choices.\nThe proliferation of such symbols is a worldwide phenomenon, with government regulators in Britain, Sweden and elsewhere establishing logo systems that concisely indicate how nutritious food products are. In the United States, however, corporations have been left to devise their own schemes. That’s led to a patchwork of systems that some fear further confuses consumers already unsure about how to eat wisely.\nOn Monday, the Food and Drug Administration took a first step toward clearing matters up, inviting food companies, trade groups, watchdog organizations, medical experts and its overseas counterparts to share how front-label symbols, like the “traffic light” system used in Britain, can improve public health.\nThe FDA stressed the meeting was a preliminary step as it considers whether to establish a national symbol system. Any action is likely years away, and, even then, any system is likely to be voluntary.\nAbsent federal action, food manufacturers and retailers have taken matters into their own hands. PepsiCo Inc. uses the “Smart Spot” symbol on Diet Pepsi, Baked Lay’s chips and other products. And in Britain, the government has persuaded some food companies to use a ranking system with green, yellow and red lights to characterize whether a food is low, medium or high in fat, salt and sugar.\n“A whole range of consumers like it and can use it. And the important thing is that we know that it is actually changing what is happening in the marketplace,” said Claire Boville, of Britain’s Food Standards Agency, citing increased sales of foods flagged with the green and yellow symbols. \nTesco PLC, Britain’s largest grocery chain, uses a slightly different symbol system that lists percentages of guideline daily amounts for various nutrients. It too has had an effect, as consumers sent sales of products like Choco Snaps and prawn mayonnaise sandwiches plummeting in favor of more healthful options, the company’s Breda Mitchell told the FDA.\nThe General Mills and Kellogg’s versions will be similar, highlighting fat, sugar, salt and other nutrient levels, as well what percentage each contributes to what consumers typically require, officials said.\nNational Dairy Council nutrition expert Ann Marie Krautheim said setting up a consistent system would be helpful, if grounded in science and tested with consumers to ensure it worked. Shoppers spend as little as two seconds evaluating food labels, research shows.\nKrautheim said her Council’s own research showed taste still trumped all for consumers when choosing what to eat, with convenience, cost and nutrition all vying for second place.\n“The ultimate goal, of course, is that the overall dietary pattern that consumers select is a healthful dietary pattern,” said Barbara Schneeman, director of the FDA’s nutrition office.\nBut the corporate symbols now in use don’t necessarily flag what’s bad for you, or even what’s good.\n“This does not say ‘healthy.’ It says ‘better for you,’” said Richard Black, Kraft Food Inc.’s vice president of global nutrition, of the “Sensible Solutions” logo used on more than 500 of the company’s products.\nThe FDA already allows food companies to use “fat-free” and other claims on labels. Those claims are voluntary, but are subject to FDA regulation. Likewise, the Grocery Manufacturers Association and food companies want the use of symbols to remain voluntary.
(09/11/07 5:25am)
INDIANAPOLIS – A surge in testing children for lead poisoning prompted by toy recalls likely will have the unintended but greater benefit of revealing lead paint in homes and other household sources, Indiana’s health commissioner said Monday.\nRecalls of toys by Mattel and other distributors has prompted thousands of Indiana parents to test their children for lead poisoning, Dr. Judy Monroe said. Blood tests have turned up unsafe levels of lead in 2 percent to 4 percent of the roughly 1,600 children tested in the state’s most populous county, Marion.\nWhile investigators still are determining the sources of the lead poisoning, most likely it will be paint chips and dust from the interior of homes and other household sources, but not toys, Monroe said.\n“Our No. 1 problem with lead is still old houses, and Indiana has a lot of old houses,” Monroe said in an interview with The Associated Press after testimony she was prepared to give a legislative study commission was postponed Monday.\nLead poisoning can cause damage to the kidneys, nervous system and brain and, in young children, behavior and learning problems. Lead poisoning often goes undetected because its initial symptoms, including abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, irritability and sleeplessness, are similar to common ailments.\n“I think this has raised some really good awareness around the problem,” Monroe said. “Lead poisoning is the No. 1 environmental hazard for children under age 7.”\nThe lead poisoning tests have been prompted by a series of recalls by Mattel and other companies and distributors after they discovered some toys made in China had paint that contained lead.\nThe recalls and publicity about them prompted Monroe’s Indiana State Department of Health to urge local health departments to make lead poisoning tests more available. A testing van in Marion County checked some 500 people at one toy store and 180 people at another location. Hamilton County reported tests by appointment are scheduled through Nov. 21. Montgomery County tested 134 kids in three hours one day, compared with 221 the entire previous year.\nThe recent spike in testing for lead exposure is most pronounced in rural counties, where testing until now has lagged behind urban counties but where the presence of older homes may create a significant threat, said Dave McCormick, director of the Indiana Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at the health department.\nOf all the homes in Indiana, more than 2 million, or 71 percent of the total, were built before 1978, when the federal government outlawed lead-based paint for residential use. Nearly a quarter of Indiana’s homes were built before 1950.\nAlso, it’s much easier for lead to enter the body through paint chips or dust than by chewing on a toy with lead-based paint, McCormick said.\n“The primary purveyor of lead poisoning in children is going to be a house with ... lead-based paint. It’s not going to be a toy,” McCormick said.\nThe surge in testing is likely to continue. Mattel is the world’s largest toy maker, and smaller companies now also are feeling pressure to recall toys that might be contaminated with lead in paint, McCormick said.\n“We keep hearing there’s more to come,” McCormick said.
(09/11/07 5:10am)
BAGHDAD – Nine American soldiers died in Iraq on Monday – all but one killed in vehicle accidents in and around Baghdad, the military said.\nThe deadliest of the vehicle accidents, in western Baghdad, killed seven Multi-National Division–Baghdad soldiers and wounded 11, and left two detainees dead and a third injured. The cause of the accident was under investigation, the military said.\nIn a separate accident, east of Baghdad, an American soldier was killed and two injured when their vehicle flipped and caught fire. A ninth soldier died of injuries sustained Sunday while on patrol in the Kirkuk area of northern Iraq.\nIraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told parliament Monday that Iraqi forces are not ready to defend the country without U.S. help, despite what he termed “major improvements,” in security in Baghdad since the American troop buildup began this year.
(04/26/07 4:00am)
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Republican John McCain officially entered the 2008 presidential race Wednesday, stressing his experience honed in war and Washington as he sought to revive his struggling campaign.\n“We face formidable challenges, but I’m not afraid of them. I’m prepared for them,” said the four-term Arizona senator, ex-Navy pilot and former Vietnam captive.\nIn a speech in the first-in-the-nation primary state, McCain stressed the wisdom he’s acquired over time rather than the decades themselves as he sought to make the case that he’s the most qualified to succeed President Bush amid challenges at home and abroad.\n“I’m not the youngest candidate. But I am the most experienced,” said the 70-year-old who could be the oldest first-term president, drawing cheers. “I know how to fight and how to make peace. I know who I am and what I want to do.”\nThe announcement, seven years after he lost the GOP nomination to George W. Bush, was no surprise; McCain’s intentions have long been clear as he has spent months campaigning in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and elsewhere.\nStill, the event – and a planned four-day romp through early primary states and his Arizona home – gives McCain an opportunity to restart his campaign after a troubling four-month period. He went from presumed front-runner for the GOP nomination at year’s end to trailing former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in national polls and ex-Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts in money raised.\nAt the same time, McCain became perhaps forever linked to the Iraq war when he assumed the role of top pitchman for Bush’s troop increase. The decline in his popularity has mirrored the waning public support for the four-year-old conflict.\nWith little choice, McCain recently embraced the war with vigor and staked his candidacy to its outcome.\n“I’m not running for president to be somebody, but to do something; to do the hard but necessary things not the easy and needless things,” he said. “I’m not running to leave our biggest problems to an unluckier generation of leaders, but to fix them now, and fix them well.”\nHe acknowledged mistakes in Iraq, argued that the country was unprepared when it went to war and vowed never to repeat the errors.\nIn an unnamed criticism of both the Bush administration and GOP rival Rudy Giuliani, McCain said the nation “won’t accept that firemen and policemen are unable to communicate with each other in an emergency because they don’t have the same radio frequency,” a problem that led to scores of dead after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.\n“They won’t accept government’s failure to deliver bottled water to dehydrated babies or rescue the infirm from a hospital with no electricity,” he said, a reference to the failings during Hurricane Katrina.\nTo launch his second White House bid with fanfare, McCain returned to the state of his surprising 18-percentage-point upset over Bush in the 2000 primary. Back then, the senator was a plucky upstart seeking to knock off the Texas governor backed by the GOP establishment. After trouncing Bush in New Hampshire, McCain lost to him in South Carolina in a bitter race and the senator’s campaign never recovered.\nNow, as McCain seeks to succeed where he once failed, he is courting the very Republican core he once spurned at nearly every turn, and hopes he can convince the GOP’s skeptical conservative base that he’s the most qualified to lead the country.\n“I know how the military works, what it can do, what it can do better, and what it should not do. I know how Congress works, and how to make it work for the country and not just the re-election of its members,” said McCain, who spent nearly two dozen years in the military – almost six of them as a prisoner in Vietnam – and two dozen more on Capitol Hill.\nIn contrast to his “Happy Warrior” persona, McCain was somber, and at times intense, as he sought to portray himself as the strong and serious leader that the nation needs in a critical time. He was casually dressed in a dark blue sweater.\nMcCain selected Prescott Park for his speech, with the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard across the Piscataqua River in Maine – and the word Navy on a watertower – serving as a backdrop and a reminder of his military past. On a cloudy, breezy day, supporters gathered as a band played some warm-up tunes.\nHe offered a litany of the nation’s woes – from the dire financial outlook of Social Security and Medicare to U.S. dependence on foreign oil to substandard health care for veterans – and a repeated vow.\n“That’s not good enough for America. And when I’m president, it won’t be good enough for me.”\nFacing “a global struggle with violent extremists,” McCain said the United States must: “rethink and rebuild” the structure and mission of military intelligence sectors and law enforcement agencies; improve U.S. alliances and strengthen diplomacy with other nations; “marshal all elements of American power;” and “preserve our moral credibility, and remember that our security and the global progress of our ideals are inextricably linked.”\nA well-known deficit hawk, McCain also reiterated familiar themes in calling for curtailing wasteful spending and ending the U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources.\nSuggesting the country’s interests would come before his own political aspirations, McCain belittled “half measures and small-minded politics” as inadequate and promised to work with anyone who was sincere about solving the country’s problems.\n“When a compromise consistent with our principles is within reach, I expect us to seize it,” McCain added, a subtle suggestion that he would not be the same type of leader as Bush, who critics argue shows a stubborn refusal to bend.\nHe announced his bid the same day the Supreme Court heard arguments in Washington on the landmark campaign finance law that bears McCain’s name and that of a Democrat – Sen. Russell Feingold of Wisconsin. Conservative groups claim the law violates their free-speech rights but McCain and the Federal Election Commission dispute that assertion.\nUnwilling to let McCain grab all the spotlight, rival Romney lambasted the campaign finance reform law.\nThe McCain-Feingold law is the product of “Washington’s back-scratching political class,” and will restrict the political speech of special interest groups, Romney said, repeating previous criticism. “We step into dangerous territory when politicians start eviscerating our fundamental freedoms in the name of amorphous principles, like campaign finance reform.”
(04/26/07 4:00am)
Mexico City lawmakers voted to legalize abortion during the first three months of pregnancy, a landmark decision likely to heighten church-state tensions in the Roman Catholic nation and lead to a bitter court battle. The bill, approved 46-19, with one abstention, will take effect with the expected signing by the city’s leftist mayor. The new law will require city hospitals to provide the procedure in the first trimester and opens the way for private abortion clinics. Girls under 18 would have to get their parents’ consent.
(04/26/07 4:00am)
CAIRO, Egypt – A top Taliban commander said al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was behind the February attack outside the U.S. military base in Bagram, Afghanistan, during the visit there by Vice President Dick Cheney, according to an interview aired Wednesday on Al-Jazeera.\nBin Laden planned and supervised the attack that killed 23 people outside the big U.S. base at Bagram during Cheney’s visit, said Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban’s main military commander in southern Afghanistan who has had close associations with al-Qaida.\n“You may remember the martyr operation inside the Bagram base, which targeted a senior U.S. official. ... That operation was the result of his wise planning. He (bin Laden) planned that operation and guided us through it. The operation was a success,” Dadullah told Al-Jazeera.\nHe did not say how he knew that bin Laden planned the attack, and it was not immediately clear when the interview took place.\nDadullah also insisted that bin Laden was alive and well, according to the interview.\n“Thank God he is alive. We get updated information about him. Thank God he planned operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan,” Dadullah told Al-Jazeera in excerpts that were translated into Arabic.\nThe bombing killed about 20 Afghan civilians, a U.S. soldier, a U.S. contractor and a South Korean soldier outside Bagram while Cheney was meeting with officials inside the base, an attack the Taliban claimed was aimed at Cheney but which officials said posed no real threat to the vice president.\nThe attacker never tried to penetrate even the first of several U.S.-manned security checkpoints at Bagram, instead detonating himself among a group of Afghan workers outside the base.\nThe bearded Dadullah, wearing a black turban and a gray traditional Afghani robe, was interviewed by Al-Jazeera’s correspondent in Afghanistan. In the interview, the Taliban commander was seen sitting on the ground in the middle of a field with some trees.\nIn the video, a man covering his head and face with a white scarf and wearing an ammunition belt can be seen in the background.\nParts of the interview were broadcast on Al-Jazeera’s English and Arabic satellite TV channels and were posted the stations’ Web sites.\nAl-Jazeera, which is based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, said it planned to show the entire interview later Wednesday. The station declined to provide any more details about the interview.
(04/25/07 4:00am)
BAGHDAD – An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility Tuesday for double suicide truck bombings that killed nine U.S. paratroopers in the worst attack on American ground forces in Iraq in more than a year, saying it sent “two knights” for the attack.\nThe Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group of Sunni militants that includes al-Qaida in Iraq, said it was behind Monday’s double attack on a U.S. patrol base in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad – an area that has seen violence spike since American troops surged into the capital to halt violence there.\n“The first knight exploded his truck on them and he was followed by his brother in the second truck, exploding it on what remains from the soldiers inside the headquarters,” said the statement, posted on a militant Web site.\nThe victims were all members of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, said a spokesman for the Fort Bragg, N.C.-based unit. It was the highest number of casualties for the division since the war began, Maj. Tom Earnhardt said.\n“We are recovering, supporting the families during this time of loss, praying for them and continuing our mission,” said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, the U.S. military spokesman in northern Iraq. “The enemy brings nothing to benefit the people – nothing.”\nIn its Web posting Tuesday, the Islamic State of Iraq, an insurgent umbrella group that includes al-Qaida, put the number of Americans killed at 30.\n“Almighty God has guided the soldiers of the Islamic State of Iraq to new methods of explosions,” it said without elaborating. The message appeared on a Web site that frequently airs communications from militants, but its authenticity could not be independently confirmed.\nAccording to a senior Pentagon official, Monday’s attack involved suicide bombers in two large dump trucks. One of the trucks got very close to the Sadah patrol base building, and the other one was further away, the official said, adding that at least some of the casualties may have been caused by the collapse of two walls.\nThe official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not yet been released, also said that 15 of the 20 troops who were injured have returned to duty.\nIt was single deadliest attack on ground forces since Dec. 1, 2005, when a roadside bomb killed 10 Marines and wounded 11 on a foot patrol near Fallujah . Twelve soldiers died when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Diyala on Jan. 20. The military said it might have been shot down but the investigation is still ongoing.\nThe use of a suicide bomber in a direct assault against U.S. forces was unusual. Militants, seeking to avoid American firepower, have mostly used hit-and-run ambushes, roadside bombs or mortars on U.S. troops.\nOn Feb. 19, insurgents struck a U.S. combat post in Tarmiyah, about 30 miles north of Baghdad, killing two soldiers and wounding 17 in what the military called a “coordinated attack.” It began with a suicide car bombing followed by gunfire on soldiers pinned down in a former Iraqi police station where fuel storage tanks were set ablaze by the blast.\nAmerican troops are facing increasing danger as they step up their presence in outposts and police stations in Baghdad and areas surrounding the city, as part of the security crackdown to which U.S. President George W. Bush has committed an extra 30,000 troops.\nSunni militants are believed to have withdrawn to surrounding areas such as Diyala where they have safe haven. The U.S. command also deployed an extra 700 soldiers to the province last month.\nIn telephone interviews, residents of the Ameen area south of Baqouba on Tuesday described what they believed was the same attack that killed the nine soldiers.\nThe residents, spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for their safety, said gunmen first fired on American snipers at a U.S. base housed in an old Iraqi primary school, then a suicide car bomb rammed a checkpoint at the school’s entrance, breaking through blast walls and other fortifications. The first explosion left a path for a second suicide vehicle, a truck, to approach the building, the witnesses said.\nSeveral American soldiers were caught beneath the building as it collapsed in the explosion, the residents said.\nAnother U.S. soldier was also killed Monday in a roadside bombing in Diyala, the military said – bringing the daily American death toll to 10. A British soldier was also shot to death while on patrol in the southern city of Basra, officials said.\nThe deaths raised to 85 the number of U.S. service members who died have in Iraq in April, making it the deadliest month for American troops since December, when 112 died.\nPolice in the same province as the attack on the U.S. base said gunmen disguised as Iraqi soldiers killed six Iraqis and burned five homes Tuesday in an unrelated attack. South of the capital, a family of seven was shot to death in their beds at dawn by masked gunmen, neighbors and police said.\n–Associated Press Writer Lolita Baldor contributed to this report from Washington.
(04/25/07 4:00am)
A mineral recently discovered in Serbia has the same composition as kryptonite – the fictional substance that robs Superman of his powers – the British Museum said Tuesday. While the material is not a perfect match, its chemical breakdown is strikingly similar.\nA drill core of the unusual mineral was unearthed in Serbia by the mining group Rio Tinto PLC, which turned it over to mineral expert Chris Stanley at the Natural History Museum for analysis. The material is white, powdery and not radioactive – unlike the glowing green crystals usually depicted in the Superman comics. It will be formally named Jadarite when it is described in the European Journal of Mineralogy later this year.