An 87-year-old grandmother who was Tasered by police while hooked to an oxygen machine in her bed is suing her Oklahoma hometown.
Attorney Brian Dell said Tuesday that he filed the lawsuit June 21 on behalf of his client, Lona Varner. He did not specify the amount she's seeking from the city of El Reno but said it's at least $75,000.
Varner's grandson called 911 on Dec. 22 …
NEW ORLEANS - In the dark of dawn 65 miles south of this shatteredcity, several hundred people bowed their heads in silence, markingthe moment a year ago when the eye of Hurricane Katrina passedoverhead at 6:10 a.m.
The tiny town of Buras was swept into the Gulf of Mexico byKatrina, and hours later, New Orleans' crucial levees were breached,unleashing one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history,killing over 1,800 people, most in Louisiana.
One year later, the Gulf Coast commemorated the storm that broughtthe region to its breaking point.
"We're not well. We're not finished. But I will say this: We'vemade it. Let's move on. Let's move forward," Gulfport, …
A minor earthquake rattled India's capital early Monday, jolting people awake, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.
A statement by the Indian Meteorological Department, which monitors earthquakes, said the 4.3-magnitude quake was only felt in New Delhi and the surrounding areas. It struck about 4:43 a.m.
The department said thousands of people panicked and left their homes when the earthquake …
Turco and the Hawks have been speculated as a match. Turco, formerly of the Dallas Stars, would be an ideal short-term signing for the Hawks if they decide not to bring back Antti Niemi, who was awarded a $2.75 million salary by an …
EVAN ALMIGHTY
In one of the weirdest splnoffs of all time, TV news anchor and newly-elected congressman Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) is visited by God (Morgan Freeman) and asked to build an ark in preparation for a great flood. Baxter's character, also played by Carell, was Jim Carrey's nemesis in 2003's Bruce Almighty, in which Bruce (Carrey) thinks he can fix the world's problems better than God himself (Freeman), with moderately humorous results.
Films like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Evan Almighty are putting Steve Carell in clanger of becoming a comedic one-note. While his dramatic career is beginning to blossom (Little Miss Sunshine), his physical comedy and PG-rated …
VIENNA, Austria - Oil prices retreated Wednesday from record highs above $88 a barrel overnight amid expectations a fuel report due later in the day would show U.S. crude and gasoline stocks rose last week.
Still, prices remained supported by concerns a Turkish incursion into Iraq in search of Kurdish rebels could disrupt crude supplies.
Turkey's parliament is expected Wednesday to agree that the government can launch a cross-border attack into Iraq sometime over the next year. The government has said an offensive against the rebels in northern Iraq will not immediately follow the authorization.
An incursion would threaten the pipeline that runs from Kirkuk, in …
Two-lane roads lined with weeds and trees seem to stretch forever in Perry County, where thousands of residents are poor even by Alabama standards and they don't produce much for the outside world besides timber and catfish.
What Perry County has, though, is vacant land _ hundreds of square miles of it. And that provided more than enough space for a massive landfill that critics say has made the county a dumping ground for coal ash from the nation's largest public utility, the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Perry County will be the final resting place for millions of tons of dredged coal ash from an environmental disaster 300 miles away. The first freight trains loaded with the …
Almost everyone agrees that the days of hero worship in thiscountry are about over. I experienced this last year when,inadvertently, I found myself on La Salle Street as Vice PresidentDan Quayle emerged from City Hall and waved at the crowds. I waspuzzled at my own lack of excitement about having a glimpse of aperson who had reached the second highest office in the land.
How different it was in my childhood. I can still remember "TheBrown Bomber," a prizefighter from the Detroit ghetto who capturedthe imagination of nearly all Americans. But for blacks in the '30s,Joe Louis was far more than a prizefighter. He was a symbol of blackexcellence.
I have a vision of …
MADRID (AP) — Results from the ninth round of Spain's first-division football league (home teams listed first):
| Tuesday's Games |
|---|
Granada 0, Barcelona 1
Sevilla 2, Racing Santander 2
| Wednesday's Games |
|---|
Zaragoza vs. Valencia
Getafe vs. Osasuna
Rayo Vallecano vs. Malaga
Levante vs. Real Sociedad
Mallorca vs. Sporting Gijon
Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid
| Thursday's Games | …
|---|
Subway transportation officials say there has been a shooting outside the Pentagon station, near the entrance to the military facility.
Subway spokeswoman Cathy …
We need to remember Chicago police officer Eric Lee--but not justbecause he was killed in the line of duty. We need to remember thathe was killed during a routine encounter that many officers have on adaily, if not hourly basis. We need to remember Lee next week andnext month and next year when another officer, walking the knifeblade between life and death, makes a split-second …
BREST, France (AP) — Frenchman Thomas Coville has set off from the port of Brest in his bid to break the around-the-world solo sailing record.
On his Sodebo trimaran, Coville needs to beat countryman Francis Joyon's record, who three years …
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Four university professors from American institutions have won Sweden's 2012 Crafoord prizes in mathematics and astronomy.
Each category is worth 4 million kronor ($580,000).
Belgian Jean Bourgain, from Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, and Australian-American Terence Tao, from the University of California, share the mathematics prize for "exceptional problem-solving" and fundamental contributions to "several branches of mathematics."
American Andrea Ghez shared Thursday's astronomy prize with German Reinhard Genzel for finding "the most reliable evidence" yet that supermassive black holes exist. Both are University of California professors.
Genzel is also scientific director of Germany's Max-Planck-Institut for Extraterrestral Physics.
Super 14-winning rugby player Bees Roux has been involved in an incident that left a police officer dead, his Blue Bulls team said Friday.
Roux's lawyer told The Associated Press that the 28-year-old prop from South Africa is in custody.
The Blue Bulls said they had no more information about the events involving Roux, who also plays for the Bulls, winners of the 2010 Super 14 rugby competition.
"It has come to the Blue Bulls' attention that Bees Roux has allegedly been involved in an incident involving a metro policeman last night in Pretoria," the Blue Bulls said in a statement. "We do not have any factual information at this stage, but have been informed that the policeman passed away. We are not in a position to make any further comments in this regard."
Police spokesman Lt. Col. Eugene Opperman told the AP that police pulled over a vehicle in Pretoria early Friday morning.
"In the altercation that followed a policeman was severely beaten and has died," Opperman said.
Opperman said a male suspect has been arrested and will appear in court on Monday and will be charged with murder. Opperman would not give the suspect's name.
Lawyer Ernst Serfontein said Roux was in custody in Pretoria. Serfontein said he has yet to consult with Roux, and was seeking a bail hearing. He declined to give any more details.
"It obviously came as a huge shock to us. We are not allowed to talk about it because anything we say can affect the case," Blue Bulls spokesman Ian Schwartz said. "We need to leave it now to the lawyers and the police."
Roux was on the bench for the Bulls in their Super 14 final victory over the Stormers in May. He has also played for the Blue Bulls in this season's Currie Cup _ South Africa's domestic rugby competition _ and last appeared in a game against Griquas on Aug. 20.
He had not been included in the Blue Bulls team for Friday's Currie Cup game against the Pumas in the northern city of Nelspruit.
The party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is Pakistan's most popular, while groups aligned with its president lag far behind, according to a survey released ahead of next week's crucial elections.
The survey, conducted last month for the U.S.-based Terror Free Tomorrow organization and released over the weekend, is the first since Bhutto was killed in a bomb and gun attack in December.
The survey also found that sympathy for al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and the Taliban has dropped sharply among Pakistanis.
Pakistanis appear to be looking to moderate opposition groups to seek a way out of the mounting violence and political turmoil that have raised concerns about the nuclear-armed country's stability.
But the poll was a slap for President Pervez Musharraf, whose standing has plunged since he began reining in Pakistan's independent judiciary last March in order to ensure his own re-election _ 70 percent of those questioned wanted him to quit immediately.
Asked who they would vote for in Feb. 18 parliamentary elections, 36.7 percent opted for Bhutto's secular Pakistan People's Party.
The party of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, scored 25.3 percent, pushing the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League-Q into third place with just 12 percent.
The People's Party hopes to capitalize on a wave of sympathy and revulsion after she died in a suicide bomb and gun attack at an election rally on Dec. 27.
The combined support for the parties of Bhutto and Sharif was just 39 percent in a similar survey in August, Terror Free Tomorrow said. It provided no breakdown.
However, Pakistan's winner-takes-all electoral system and strong regional-based parties means that a broader-based party such as Bhutto's, whose votes are spread across the country, can struggle to translate their vote bank into power.
Terror Free Tomorrow, which is based in Washington, D.C., is a not-for-profit organization that says it seeks to reduce support for international terrorism. Its bipartisan advisory board includes Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.
It said the survey, based on interviews with 1,157 people across Pakistan from Jan. 19-29, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Tariq Azim, a leader of the PML-Q, rejected the findings and maintained that his group will win the most seats in the federal parliament.
"We believe in the real survey when the voters will deliver their verdict," said Azim, whose party has cast doubt on the accuracy of other recent polls suggesting the Musharraf camp is struggling.
The opposition says the PML-Q's public optimism suggests authorities will rig the election in their favor to protect Musharraf from the threat of impeachment in the new parliament.
Sharif, who was ousted in Musharraf's 1999 coup, told a rally of 7,000 supporters near the eastern city of Lahore on Sunday that the election will sweep away the current regime.
"God willing, the rule of usurpers will come to an end," he said amid chants of "Go Musharraf go" and "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif."
About 2,000 supporters of a coalition of small anti-Musharraf parties that have announced a boycott of the upcoming election, rallied in Karachi, where speakers demanded the president step down.
"People should boycott the upcoming election. Such a meaningless election will bring no stability to the country," said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's largest Islamic group.
Rising violence has put a damper on campaigning ahead of the vote, especially in the northwest, where a suicide bomber on Saturday killed 27 people at an election rally.
The blast devastated a hall where about 200 people had gathered in the town of Charsadda, in the turbulent North West Frontier province bordering Afghanistan.
Hundreds of mourners wept Sunday as villagers buried victims of the attack on the rally, which was organized by the secular Awami National Party, which competes against Islamist parties for support among the ethnic Pashtun who dominate the region.
No group claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell on Islamic extremists.
The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, said after talks with Musharraf in Islamabad on Saturday that the recent increase in suicide attacks showed that "certainly the threat is going up."
The Taliban and al-Qaida "have found safe havens here and it's in those safe havens that we are now very focused," he said. "It's a very deadly, lethal enemy that will not cease and that is why we have to work it very hard together."
U.S. and Pakistani officials can take some encouragement from the findings of the opinion poll showing Pakistanis cooling toward al-Qaida and the Taliban.
The approval rating for bin Laden, who is believed to be hiding along the Pakistani-Afghan border, dropped to 24 percent, compared to 46 percent during a similar survey in August, it said.
Backing for al-Qaida fell to 18 percent from 33 percent, while support for the Taliban dropped by half to 19 percent from 38 percent.
___
Associated Press writers Asif Shahzad in Lahore, Riaz Khan in Peshawar and Sadaqat Jan in Islamabad contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's said on Thursday that there is a 50 percent chance it will downgrade the U.S. government's credit rating within three months because of the congressional impasse over approving an increase in the debt ceiling.
In a statement, the rating agency said it is placing the United States on a credit watch with at least a one-in-two likelihood that it will lower the country's debt rating within the next 90 days.
The S&P action marked the second credit warning in the past two days. On Wednesday, Moody's Investors Service said it is reviewing the government's triple-A bond rating because it believes the White House and Congress are running out of time to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit and avoid default.
S&P had issued a similar warning in April and since that time, the progress in political negotiations has "underperformed" the rating agency's expectations, S&P sovereign debt analyst Nikola Swann said in an interview.
"We thought the two sides would be closer together," Swann said.
He said the decision on Thursday was driven both by worries about the impasse over the debt ceiling and by fading prospects for a deal to cut the federal government's massive debt.
"If you're not going to get an agreement under these conditions, under what conditions are you going to get an agreement?" he said.
In a statement announcing the decision, S&P said that the downgrade warning "signals our view that, owing to the dynamics of the political debate on the debt ceiling, there is at least a one-in-two likelihood that we could lower the long-term rating on the U.S. within the next 90 days."
In response to the S&P announcement, Treasury Undersecretary Jeffrey Goldstein said, "Today's action by S&P restates what the Obama administration has said for some time: that Congress must act expeditiously to avoid defaulting on the country's obligations and to enact a credible deficit-reduction plan that commands bipartisan support."
Congressional and administration officials met for a fifth day Thursday in an effort to get an agreement ahead of the Aug. 2 date that the administration says is the deadline for raising the borrowing limit to avert a default.
Under a fallback plan that is being considered, President Barack Obama would receive enhanced authority to raise the debt ceiling at the same time procedures would be established that could lead to federal spending cuts.
___
AP Economics Writer Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this report.
On September 25, one day earlier than planned, NATO Secretary-General George Robertson announced that NATO had exceeded its objective of collecting 3,300 weapons from ethnic Albanian rebels in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Labeled "Operation Essential Harvest," the NATO mission began August 27 and officially ended September 26. NATO claims that during that period it collected 3,875 weapons, including 3,210 assault rifles and a total of four tanks and armored personnel carriers, as well as 397,625 mines, explosives, and ammunition from the rebels, who voluntarily handed over their weapons. The rebels and Macedonian troops had been battling each other since early this year.
NATO military officers in charge of the mission told reporters September 26 that the weapons turned in were of good quality and implied that the sum collected would substantially diminish the rebel's military capabilities. The officers' remarks were presumably aimed at dismissing criticism by some Macedonians that the rebels turned in decrepit, outdated weapons and that the total collected represented only a small portion of rebel-owned arms.
In exchange for the rebels voluntarily giving up their weapons, the Macedonian parliament is soon expected to pass reforms granting greater rights to ethnic Albanians, although it has been dragging its feet. Visiting Macedonia September 25, Robertson noted that the political process is "still incomplete" and called upon the parliament to act, warning that, if it failed to do so, the country risked "the bleak prospect of descent into a civil war."
They knew Mrs. Celestine would wrap their packages superbly, the seams creased with military crispness.
They probably didn't know the quiet, self-effacing woman had perfected her precision in the Women's Army Corps, where she was a first sergeant — a notable achievement for an African-American woman during the years she served, from 1942-1946.
"She was a groundbreaker," said an official of the Arlington, Va.-based Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation.
In 1944, when major Chicago papers rarely reported on people of color, she drew a mention in a local story about "Women at War." She also won an Award of Honor for her military service from Mayor Edward J. Kelly.
She would become a master sergeant in the Army Reserves, and later a high-ranking employee of the U.S. Treasury.
Her power as both standard bearer and lure is apparent in a 1951 letter from the Chicago U.S. Army & U.S. Air Force recruiting station at 209 W. Jackson. In it, a military official urged her to become a recruiter, saying, "There is a great need for a colored gal in our office."
The letter assured her that various high-ranking military officers had not only been briefed about her, but were awaiting her answer. It ended with the capital-lettered appeal: "WE WANT YOU, LOLLY!" Ultimately, she did become a recruiter.
Even though she cut an impeccable appearance and had a diligent, disciplined work ethic, she was no martinet, said a friend, Cecilia Mowatt. When a co-worker fled an abusive husband in the middle of the night, it was Mrs. Celestine's home where she sought shelter — and it was given.
Mrs. Celestine, 92, who had survived colon, lung and throat cancer, died of pneumonia last month at the University of Chicago Hospitals.
Mrs. Celestine grew up LaVergne Grose on the South Side and attended Carter grade school at 57th and Michigan and Lucy Flower vocational high school at 3545 W. Fulton. At Flower she learned dressmaking. She could make everything from a coat to a suit, but once she retired from the federal government and landed a job at Neiman Marcus, her employee discount meant she usually enjoyed buying off the rack.
In 1942 she joined the WAC, becoming a platoon sergeant at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, and a supply sergeant and first sergeant at Camp Atterbury, Ind. She left the Army Reserves in 1951 with the rank of master sergeant.
Mrs. Celestine landed jobs at the City of Chicago, the U.S. Postal Service, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department. At the Treasury, she rose to the position of deputy director of the Chicago Disbursing Center, guiding employees through changes in computer systems before her retirement in 1975, Mowatt said.
When she started with the Treasury, "There were no African Americans above a Grade 5" federal rank, said her friend Warren Chapman, who also worked at the Treasury. "She moved up from a grade three all the way up to grade 14. She was the highest-ranking black in that division." Her department produced all the Social Security checks for the six states then in Region 5, he said.
She connected with the love of her life, Sydney Celestine, while playing tennis at Washington Park. Her future husband, who was from the West Indian island of Grenada, courted her with love poetry he wrote himself.
Later Sydney became involved in bowling, and they often went out playing with personalized bowling balls. He would later be inducted as a pioneer in the International Bowling Hall of Fame & Museum.
She watched bowling on TV her whole life. She also followed the tennis exploits of the Williams Sisters and golfer Tiger Woods.
Mrs. Celestine lived at 6700 S. Oglesby for more than 30 years in a gracious apartment decorated with Persian rugs. She was a good friend to many in her building. Though she only weighed about 115 pounds, she used to help lift up a neighbor who weighed a great deal more whenever the neighbor fell, Mowatt said.
Mrs. Celestine attended Congregational Church of Park Manor at 70th and King Drive.
Mrs. Celestine had a fondness for rings and earrings, rum cake and spaghetti, and trips now and then to area gambling boats.
A service is planned for 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Church of St. Paul & the Redeemer, 4945 S. Dorchester.
LaVergne Celestine, 92, died in March. She was a "groundbreaker" in military and civilian life.
WASHINGTON - Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton separately declared their support Tuesday for a March 31, 2008 cutoff in funds for the Iraq war, two Democratic presidential front-runners abruptly shifting positions on an issue at the heart of the 2008 race.
The twin announcements came on the eve of a largely symbolic Senate vote on legislation to cut off funds for the war, and as a third presidential contender, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said in a campaign commercial it was unfortunate that his White House rivals "will not join me" in supporting the measure.
In a written statement issued in early afternoon, Obama said that after 1,518 days, "the Iraq war rages on, with no sign of a resolution."
The Illinois senator said he would vote for a cutoff in war funding as well as a second bill setting standards for the Iraqi government "not because I believe either is the best answer, but because I want to send a strong statement to the Iraqi government, the president and my Republican colleagues that it's long past time to change course."
A few hours later, a spokesman for Clinton said she, too, would support the measure.
Clinton will cast her votes "to send the president a clear message that it is time to change course, redeploy our troops out of Iraq, and end this war as soon as possible," said Philippe Reines, a spokesman in her Senate office.
The flurry of activity served as prelude to a schedule vote Wednesday on legislation by Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., to require President Bush to begin the "safe, phased withdrawal of U.S. forces" within 120 days.
After March 31, 2008, all funds would be cut off for the deployment of troops in Iraq, with three exceptions: "targeted operations" against al-Qaida and other terrorists; security of U.S. facilities and personnel; training and equipping of Iraqi security forces.
Both Democratic presidential front-runners had previously declined to support proposals ordering the withdrawal of U.S. troops on a mandatory timeline. Clinton, in particular, has spoken out repeatedly against the idea, and drew boos from an audience in June 2006 after criticizing President Bush, then adding, "Nor do I think it is smart strategy to set a date certain. I do not agree that that is in the best interest of our troops or our country."
Nearly a year ago, both she and Obama opposed legislation in the Senate that would have required the withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by July 1, 2007.
Feingold has conceded his measure stands virtually no chance of prevailing, and it will come to the floor under a procedure that requires 60 votes to advance.
The proposal is one of several expected to come to a vote on Wednesday, as Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada struggles toward a goal of sending legislation to the White House by the end of next week to continue U.S. military operations through Sept. 30.
The House last week passed legislation funding the war on two separate 60-day installments, and the Senate must take the next step of passing its own measure.
But given the political forces at work, that legislation will be a placeholder, its only purpose to trigger three-way negotiations involving the House, Senate and Bush administration on a final compromise.
As a result, officials said during the day that Reid and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell had discussed jointly advancing a bill so barebones that it did little more than express support for the troops already deployed to the war zone.
In contrast to the complex Senate maneuvering, the competition among the Democratic presidential contenders was simplicity itself - all rivals vying for support among anti-war activists, yet mindful of the need to remain consistent and project the strength that voters seek in a commander in chief.
Fostering a Community of Transatlantic Leaders
The Robert Bosch Stiftung and CDS International, Inc. invite U.S. professionals to apply for the 2011-2012 Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program. Twenty Fellows will complete a nine-month program consisting of two high-level work phases in major German institutions and three Europe-wide seminars. Bosch Fellows meet with key decision makers in the public and private sectors, and deepen their understanding of issues facing Germany, the EU, and the transatlantic relationship today.
German language skills are not required at the time of application. Intensive language training is provided as needed in the U.S. and Germany prior to the program year. Fellows receive a generous compensation package including a monthly stipend, health insurance, and all program-related travel expenses. Candidates must be U.S. citizens between the ages of 23 and 34 with professional experience in one of the following fields: Business Administration, Economics, Law, Political Science, Public Policy, or Journalism/Mass Communications.
Applications must be received no later than October 15, 2010 for the program year beginning in September 2011.
Program information and the online application can be found on the CDS website: www.cdsintl.org/bosch
For more information, please contact:
The Robert Bosch Foundation
Fellowship Program
CDS International, Ine
440 Park Avenue South, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212)497-3518
Fax: (212) 497-3586
Email: bosch@cdsintl.org
An appeals court says there will be no new trial for a former Washington judge who tried to sue his dry cleaners for $54 million over a lost pair of pants.
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals rejected the request Thursday from Roy L. Pearson to overturn a 2007 ruling that denied him damages. Pearson had argued that Custom Cleaners failed to live up to its promise of "Satisfaction Guaranteed."
Three appellate judges agreed Pearson failed to show the store's advertising amounted to fraud and said his argument defied logic.
Pearson still can ask the entire nine-judge appellate court to review the case or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Pearson did not immediately respond to an e-mail or telephone message seeking comment.
Coming Sunday - a special that promises to be most upsetting."Greatest Sports Upsets," a one-hour show hosted by Tim McCarver at8:30 p.m. on HBO, will focus on 11 such contests.
Featured upsets include the 1960 Olympic team that captured thefirst U.S. hockey gold medal; Villanova's win over Georgetown in the1985 NCAA basketball championship; Cassius Clay's victory over SonnyListon, and the Boston Braves' triumph in the 1914 World Series.
BASEBALL: Chuck Swirsky's Cubs pre-game show on WGN (720-AM)this season will include late scores along with up-to-the-minutesports news. Swirsky wants the show to be "more like a baseballmagazine instead of just the usual player interviews and BS." LouBoudreau, Jim Frey and DeWayne Staats all will be involved. Tim Weigel and Mike Adamle will preview the Sox and Cubs tomorrow(Ch. 7, 6 p.m.) from their spring bases. Brent Musburger and Johnny Bench will team up on "Baseball Game ofthe Week," which returns to WBBM radio (780-AM) each Saturdayafternoon beginning April 11 with the Blue Jays-Red Sox game fromFenway Park. Mel Allen will host `Baseball 1987: A Look Ahead" tomorrow (Ch. 5,noon). Ryne Sandberg, Jim Rice, Wade Boggs, Eddie Murray and Gary Carterwill be among participants in an all-star softball game tomorrow (Ch.5, 1 p.m.). Dick Stockton will preview the '87 season tomorrow on CBS' "SportsSaturday" (Ch. 2, 3 p.m.).
TENNIS: Semifinals and finals of the Volvo Tennis/Chicagotournament at the UIC Pavilion can be seen on WMAQ (Ch. 5) tomorrowat 2 p.m. and Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
GOLF: Top LPGA players will compete in the Nabisco-Dinah ShoreOpen for the $500,000 purse that includes a record $80,000 top prize.ESPN will carry the second round today at 2 p.m.; NBC (Ch. 5) willtelevise the third and final rounds tomorrow (3:30 p.m.) and Sunday(3 p.m.).
BOXING: ABC's "Wide World of Sports" will feature the finals ofthe U.S. Amateur Championships tomorrow (Ch. 7, 3:30 p.m.). Donald Curry will square off against Carlos Santos in a 12-roundbout for the USBA junior middleweight championship (tomorrow, Ch. 2,3 p.m.). Monday's Marvin Hagler-Sugar Ray Leonard fight will be previewedtomorrow (Ch. 2, 3:30 p.m.) and Sunday (ESPN, 9:30 p.m.).
HORSE RACING: ABC's "Wide World of Sports" will broadcast theFlorida Derby and Santa Anita Derby (tomorrow, Ch. 7, 3 p.m.).
WASHINGTON - Democratic control of Congress, public dislike for the Iraq war and the departure of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld could open the door for a policy shift in the conflict, but early maneuvering for the 2008 presidential election could slam the door shut.
What happens will depend largely on how the White House, leaders of both parties and the candidates to replace President Bush in two years interpret the results of this week's voting and seek political footing for the 2008 race, analysts said.
Although both parties want to salvage political and military success in Iraq for its own sake, the war's prominence as a political issue complicates bipartisan cooperation.
That may be especially true for Democrats if they conclude that anything shy of a demand for fast withdrawal of U.S. troops looks wishy-washy, or that the modest course changes possible by cooperating with Republicans would be jumping onto a sinking ship.
Cooperation is possible if both parties see it in their interest to lower the political temperature on Iraq, making it less of a rallying cry for the next campaign, said James Carafano, senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. He argued that both parties and the country would benefit.
"There is a remarkable opportunity to change the politics, for Democrats and the president to take the Iraq issue off the table as an issue to play political pingpong with," said Carafano, who studies politics and military issues.
More than half of voters said they disapproved of the war in Iraq, wanted troops to start coming home and didn't think the war has improved security in the United States, according to exit polls conducted Tuesday for The Associated Press and the television networks. Those most unhappy with the war helped put Democrats in control of Congress.
Democrats say the first step to repairing the situation in Iraq is putting substantial pressure on its government to take more responsibility. The best way to do this, they say, is by pulling out some troops right away to signal the U.S. commitment is finite.
Democrats also have called on Bush to convene an international conference on Iraq and say the military mission should begin to switch from a leading role to a supportive one.
Other proposals the administration may be asked to consider include a regional dialogue with U.S. adversaries Iran and Syria, or remaking the Iraq political federation into three largely autonomous sectarian states.
Major changes such as a wholesale withdrawal of troops are unlikely in the near term.
Bush's reversal of fortune this week means he can entertain ideas from his own generals and advisers that would have looked like an admission of failure before the voting, conservative and liberal analysts said.
The changed political circumstances also mean Bush can look statesmanlike by adopting recommendations from Democrats or from an independent bipartisan panel headed by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, whose report is due soon.
Democrats who take control of Congress in January say they will try using their clout to force a change in Iraq policy and demand that Bush start bringing troops home.
Though Democrats are divided over exactly what to propose, they say their effort will send a loud political signal to disgruntled U.S. voters, and to Iraqis to assume more responsibility.
Rumsfeld's departure could offer a path to compromise and an opportunity for the White House to pivot from some of his hardline positions.
Bush chose a far less divisive figure, former CIA director Robert Gates, to succeed Rumsfeld. Bush came close to conceding that Rumsfeld was the roadblock to new policy that his critics claimed.
"Secretary Rumsfeld and I agreed that sometimes it's necessary to have a fresh perspective," Bush said in the surprise announcement Wednesday.
"I think history has shown that switching one person can make a difference," said Lawrence J. Korb, assistant defense secretary under President Reagan and now senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress.
Korb pointed to the Vietnam War, when Clark Clifford took over for hawkish Defense Secretary Robert McNamara.
"Within a month President Johnson had basically offered to begin negotiating with the North Vietnamese," Korb said.
Gates has served on the Iraq study commission led by Baker and former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton of Indiana, signaling that the group could offer the White House a palatable way to shift gears.
"I think there is a real possibility for a bipartisan approach to our foreign policy," said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., expected to lead the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"The Baker-Hamilton commission obviously would be one of the most likely places to build that consensus and give the administration the necessary ... political room to be able to make a radical change. At least I hope that's what will happen," Biden said.
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Associated Press writers Will Lester, Anne Plummer Flaherty and Pauline Jelinek contributed to this report.
FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Mindy McCready was sentenced Friday to a year in jail on a 2004 drug charge after she violated her probation in Florida. The 31-year-old country singer has been in jail since July when she was returned to Nashville after being accused of scratching her mother in a scuffle and resisting sheriff's deputies in her hometown of Fort Myers.
McCready received a suspended three-year sentence in 2004 for fraudulently obtaining prescription painkillers. She was resentenced Friday because of the probation violation.
The singer sobbed as she asked for leniency from Circuit Judge Jeff Bivins.
"Your honor, I can honestly tell you this: This has been the longest two months of my life ... not being able to hold my son ... has been excruciatingly painful."
"I could only say I'm sorry," she said. "Please give me a chance to make things as right as they can possibly be."
Bivins sentenced her to a year in the county jail with credit for 75 days of time served. After her release she will face another two years of probation.
Deputy District Attorney General Derek Smith said McCready violated probation by being charged in a new offense, not reporting those charges immediately to her probation officer and by the nature of the new assault charges.
McCready had a hit in 1996 with "Guys Do It All the Time."
She has struggled with legal and personal problems that included a beating by her then-boyfriend and suicide attempts. She gave birth to her son in 2006.
Still pending is a charge of violating her probation for driving on a suspended license in 2005. She pleaded guilty to the driving charge, but her attorney has since sought to withdraw the plea, citing new evidence.
A new government report shows one in three teenage girls have rolled up their sleeves for a relatively new vaccine against cervical cancer, but vaccination rates vary dramatically between states.
The highest rates were in Rhode Island and New Hampshire, where more than half of girls ages 13 through 17 got at least one dose of three-shot vaccination. The lowest rates were in Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina.
The federal report is the first to give state-by-state rates for the Gardasil vaccine that targets the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus. The report was released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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On the Net:
CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr
A Millfield teacher and hockey coach has come out ofinternational retirement to play at the EuroHockey Indoor Nations Championships later this month.
Denise Marston-Smith, a PE teacher at Millfield PreparatorySchool, has been called up to the England squad for the competition,having previously played internationally with Great Britain at theSydney Olympics in 2000.
Marston-Smith originally retired from the international scene in2004 but was persuaded to go back on her decision after being askedto join the national indoor squad for three matches in Polandrecently.
She captained her country in two of the games and has now beenselected for the final 12-strong squad heading to Denmark for theEuropean competition, which starts on January 20.
"I accepted the invite as it was, and still is, a pleasure torepresent my country in a sport I have always been passionateabout," said Marston-Smith.
She previously represented England at under-16, 18 and 21 agegroups and underwent teacher training at Crispin School and bothpreparatory and senior Millfield schools.
She joined the prep school teaching staff shortly after herinternational retirement and currently balances her teachingcommitments with playing for Premier League side Olton & WestWarwickshire.
She said: "This is possible due to the financial support from theclub, who also allow me to travel to training every other week dueto the distance and the nature of my job.
"I have also received great support from the PE and gamesdepartment, especially when I am playing Premier National League ona Saturday."
Marston-Smith has also enjoyed success as coach of Millfieldpreparatory's girls' hockey first team, who have qualified for theEnglish Hockey Association nationals five years out of the six underher leadership, making the top four on every occasion.
Meanwhile, former Millfield student Richard Mantell has beenselected for the senior squad that will compete at the men'sversion of the competition.
Baltonsborough's Mantell is named in the 12-man squad for thethree-day competition which starts in Leipzig tomorrow, althoughthere is no place for his younger brother Simon.
The squad contains nine of the players who helped England winpromotion to the elite Championships from Europe's second tier twoyears ago after topping the standings in Poznan.
Mantell is also one of seven named players who competed in lastyear's FIH Indoor World Cup where England finished sixth havingqualified for the tournament for the first time.
England face the Netherlands (1pm) and the Czech Republic(5.30pm) tomorrow, then Russia (10.20am) on Saturday. The semi-finals take place later on Saturday, with the final andclassification matches on Sunday.
A top Iraqi security official predicted Friday that insurgent groups will attempt more attacks similar to those that killed at least 66 people this week after U.S. combat soldiers leave Baghdad and other cities by the end of next month.
Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani also said in an interview with The Associated Press that some bombings this year were apparently carried out by terror cells that include foreign fighters from North Africa.
U.S. combat forces are due out of Baghdad, Mosul and other cities by June 30 under a U.S.-Iraqi agreement, handing over security responsibility to Iraqi soldiers and police.
But a spate of attacks since April has raised concern whether Iraqi forces are capable of safeguarding the security improvements achieved over the last two years.
"I think that there are terrorist groups that will try to carry out some terrorist and criminal activities in the coming period during and after the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the cities," al-Bolani said.
"This is expected, but there are precautionary measures and plans to foil these terrorist activities," said al-Bolani, whose ministry includes Iraqi paramilitary police.
But public unease has been rising following the spate of attacks, including Thursday's blasts in Baghdad and Kirkuk that killed 22 Iraqis and three American soldiers. Another 41 people died the day before in a car bombing in a Shiite neighborhood of northwest Baghdad.
Most of the bombings since April were against Shiite targets, suggesting they were aimed at rekindling Sunni-Shiite fighting that plunged the country to the brink of all-out civil war before the U.S. troop surge of 2007.
Nevertheless, al-Bolani said the U.S. pullout would not be postponed. Ahead of the deadline, U.S. troops are packing their gear, with some units expected to move to bases outside of the capital by the end of this month.
"Despite the existing security challenges and threats, I think that our security forces should be given the confidence and the chance to prove their capability," al-Bolani said.
Al-Bolani said he believed Iraqi forces were ready for the challenge but acknowledged that "the real test for our security forces" will come after June pullout.
As the deadline approaches, al-Bolani, whose ministry controls most of the Iraqi security forces in Baghdad, said authorities were trying to identify and round up underground cells operated by al-Qaida and other groups.
He said Iraqi authorities had already arrested an undisclosed number of insurgent cells operating in Baghdad, including Tunisians and Moroccans "and other nationalities that have entered Iraq in order to carry out terrorist attacks."
He gave no figures and did not say when the foreigners had been apprehended.
Last Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said in Washington that foreign fighters were still coming into Iraq across the Syrian border. He also said U.S. troops were still finding Iranian-made weapons in Iraq.
Iran and Syria both deny links to Iraqi extremists.
Al-Bolani did not repeat the U.S. allegations against Iran and Syria but said neighboring countries should understand that a united, stable Iraq was in their interests and "a threat to no one."
Iraqi officials have blamed recent attacks on al-Qaida in Iraq, a Sunni extremist organization, as well as remnants of Saddam Hussein's banned, Sunni-dominated Baath party.
Officials alleged the two organizations are working together coordinate attacks, despite deep philosophic differences between them.
Al-Bolani said there was evidence that "some armed wings and cells" linked to the Baath party were actively plotting against the government "but under different names."
"Security in Iraq cannot be achieved by military solutions," he said. "Overcoming security problems in Iraq must take into consideration economic, social and political issues."
U.S. officials have long maintained that lasting stability in Iraq can be assured only through power-sharing agreements among the rival Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
WASHINGTON (AP) — US factories made more cars, electronics and equipment in October; overall output rose sharply
