An Ohio man had to turn off his phone service because he shares the same name with the umpire who blew a call that cost a Detroit pitcher a perfect game.
The Toledo man says the harassing calls started not long after the bad call on Wednesday night and some were pretty vulgar.
Jim Joyce tells WTOL-TV the confusion came about because umpire Jim Joyce grew up in Toledo …
DAILY MAIL SPORTSWRITER
WINFIELD - Sissonville High's basketball team's offense resembledthe school's never-quite-developed anarchy club.
Meanwhile, Winfield relied on a simple, focused approach: Feed theball inside to its underclassmen.
In the sixth-ranked Generals' 77-60 win here Thursday, 6-foot-2freshman T.L. Asbury scored 17 points and cleaned up seven rebounds,and 6-4 junior Virgil Vanover added 12 points and six boards.
Between them, they made 12-of-13 shots. And when they tired ordrew fouls, 6-6 sophomore Joel Jones (four points) and 6-4 sophomoreJosh Sowards (seven points) picked up where they left off.
"We have a pretty big lineup," said …
A nighttime raid on a compound in eastern Afghanistan sparked a gunbattle that left three people dead, including two children, while six policemen were killed in clashes with the Taliban in the west, officials said Thursday.
The U.S. and Afghan troops raided the compound because they suspected it harbored militants belonging to a suicide bombing network, and they were fired upon as they approached late Wednesday in Bati Kot district in Nangarhar province, said Maj. Chris Belcher, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition.
After the clash, a militant and two children were found dead inside the compound, Belcher said. A woman and another child were wounded, he …
All these politicians who have been in office for years and practice the art of wheeling and dealing as a profession are now claiming ignorance about the governor's dealings. After all, the …
Welcome to another edition of In the Mix...your complete run-down of the who, what, when, where and why of our city's movers and shakers. Black History Month 2007 is in full swing with various celebrations of our rich heritage and history. As I continue my quest to bring you a few of our city's living Black legends, I think you will find this week's column to be something the entire family can enjoy. Stay warm and enjoy.
The legendary Merri Dee...
While attending the grand opening celebration for the brand new WVONAM/1690,1 had the pleasure of conducting an impromptu interview with Chicago's very own Merri Dee. She looks wonderfully ageless and was quick to tell me she feels …
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina - A 4-year-old boy who disappeared a week ago in northwest Bosnia may be alive and wandering the forest, police said Monday.
Ratko Makaric vanished July 16 from his village of Josipovici when his uncle left him alone for a moment to feed the cattle.
On Sunday, searchers found fresh tracks that match his shoes, and partially eaten fruit.
…
Concerns about bovine tuberculosis have led to the quarantine of 32 cattle herds with about 15,000 adult cattle in north-central Nebraska, officials said Thursday.
The bovine TB investigation has confirmed only two cases of the disease in one Rock County herd, but state Agriculture Director Greg Ibach said the other 31 herds have been quarantined because the animals may have had fence-line contact with the infected herd.
The 32 quarantined herds, which must all be tested for TB, are in Rock, Holt, Loup, Boyd and Brown counties. Ibach said other herds could be added to the quarantine if investigators learn they may have contacted the infected herd.
…
MORE WOMAN POWER: England now has another "member of theso-called weaker sex" in a top governmental role. That resulted …
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Mardy Fish and John Isner defeated Colombia's Robert Farah and Carlos Salamanca 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 to give the United States a 2-1 lead in their Davis Cup World Group playoff on Saturday.
In Sunday's reverse singles on the outdoor red clay court at the Santamaria bull ring in Bogota, Fish is slated to play first against Santiago Giraldo and Sam Querrey faces Alejandro Falla.
Fish could make a bit of history on Sunday. The last American to win three times in a tie was Pete Sampras in the 1995 final in Moscow.
Asked if he would be tired on Sunday, Fish replied: "Not at all. This is what we train for. That's why we got here early."
If Fish …
State lawmakers started poring over a sweeping renewable energy bill Wednesday, establishing battle lines as the measure inches toward a vote.
The bill creates new renewable fuel standards, lifts Wisconsin's ban on nuclear power plants and calls for new vehicle emission standards to match California's. Environmentalists have praised the package, saying it is a key step toward fighting global warming and it will create jobs.
But the state's business community is divided over the bill. Several large employers are on board, but the state's largest business group, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce has blasted it, saying it could cost billions of dollars and …
Secretary of State Jesse White gave two campaign contributors rareironclad leases last December, just two weeks after they bought theChicago buildings.
One of the buildings was bought from the brother of Cook CountyCommissioner Ted Lechowicz, a longtime White ally. The other buildingis now owned by a man who worked in White's office last year.
In an unusual arrangement, White agreed not to cancel either leasefor the first 4 1/2 years of the five-year deals. "It's somethingthat's pretty common on the leases we've inherited in this office,"White spokesman David Druker said.
Most state leases, however, have escape clauses so they can becanceled at any time. …
PEDRENA, Spain (AP) — Seve Ballesteros' funeral will be held Wednesday in his native Pedrena.
The 54-year-old golf great died early Saturday, more than two years after undergoing multiple surgeries to remove a brain tumor.
Ballesteros' brother Baldomero told reporters the funeral will be held at St. Peter's …
SAN DIEGO - Two Defense Department officers testified Wednesday that former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham made phone calls on behalf of a contractor now on trial on charges of bribing the lawmaker.
Brent Wilkes has pleaded not guilty to charges of buying Cunningham's help with cash payments and perks including meals out, shooting lessons, jetboats and weekend stays at the Four Seasons hotel in Las Vegas.
Testimony on the second full day of Wilkes' trial focused on the intricacies of the federal contracting process - so much so that U.S. District Judge Larry Burns at one point called lawyers aside and told them to spare jurors the details.
"I've already given you a note that one person was asleep" in the courtroom, the judge said while admonishing both sides.
Cunningham's calls came during what one witness characterized as a "food fight" between Wilkes and other defense contractors over a pot of money set aside by Congress for converting military records into digital formats.
"I'm talking about constituents all fighting over the same money that's been set aside as an earmark," said Gary Jones, a government technical consultant who oversaw the distribution of $45 million for the program at the Pentagon in the late 1990s.
Wilkes' company, which had lobbied Congress for the earmark, was not initially awarded funds. Jones said that changed after he and other top Pentagon brass received "constant and increasing" pressure from Cunningham.
He described a scene in which Wilkes arrived at Jones' office for a meeting, threw unpaid invoices across his desk and told Jones, "You don't know who you're dealing with." Jones said Wilkes told him he had a meeting with Cunningham later in the day.
Wilkes' attorney, Mark Geragos, said during his cross-examination that Wilkes was upset because he had not been paid for work he had done as a subcontractor on a project connected to the handover of the Panama Canal at the end of 1999. Geragos argued that it was within the rights of a congressman to make sure his interests - and those of his constituents - were protected from bureaucratic interference.
"That's the way our constitutional style of government works," Geragos said. "You can make your strong recommendations but at the end of the day, it's not up to you."
Earlier in the day, a contracting official told jurors that Cunningham called him three times about Wilkes' work for the government.
Paul Behrens said his first conversation with the congressman came during a meeting with Wilkes in a smoke-filled suite at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, when Cunningham called on Wilkes' cell phone to speak with Behrens. Wilkes asked to meet because he was unhappy about a delay in payment for government work he was doing, Behrens said.
Wilkes, 53, is the first person to stand trial in the Cunningham case, the largest of several congressional corruption scandals to have emerged in recent years. He is charged with 14 counts of conspiracy, bribery, fraud and money laundering. If convicted, Wilkes could be sentenced up to 20 years in prison.
Cunningham, a San Diego Republican who was elected to eight terms, is serving more than eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2005 to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from Wilkes and others.
Prosecutors have not decided whether he'll be called as a witness, though Geragos said he'll call the lawmaker to the stand if the government does not.
The New York Police Department says a manhole explosion in New York City has killed one utility worker and injured another.
Consolidated Edison spokeswoman Elizabeth Clark says two workers were splicing cable when the explosion occurred in Brooklyn on Thursday afternoon. The man who died was 26. His 28-year-old co-worker was treated at a hospital and released.
Clark says a fire in the manhole has been extinguished.
Visitation will be today for Elmer C. Ferngren, 75, a retireddivision marshal of the Chicago Fire Dept.
Mr. Ferngren died Thursday at his home in South Holland.
Mr. Ferngren began his career as a fireman in 1944 and waspromoted to captain in 1954. He led Rescue Squad 5 for eight years,became chief of the 19th Battalion in 1962 and was named divisionmarshal in January, 1979.
He retired in August, 1979.
Mr. Ferngren was co-founder and past president of the ChicagoFire Officers Association and, at the time of his death, wastreasurer of the Swedish American Athletic Association.
Survivors include his wife, Suzanne; two sons Carl and William;two daughters Susan Feiler and Patricia Bottano, and a brother,Walter.
Visitation will be from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. today at Edgar FuneralHome, 10900 S. Cicero. Services will be 11 a.m. Monday at thefuneral home. Burial will be in Cedar Park Cemetery, 12540 S.Halsted.
ST. LOUIS -- Bruce Weber summed it up pretty well when he said,"If you're not happy with this, I feel sorry for you. Because lifeain't getting any better."
Still, it's reasonable to wonder how long it will be before lifeapproaches being this good again -- in terms of making a run at theFinal Four.
It's probably a ways off. But Illinois has a chance to continue tobe a contender in the Big Ten and take a shot at the Sweet 16 in theNCAA tournament before facing long odds.
Senior starters Luther Head and Roger Powell Jr. are gone. Barringa shocking development, junior star Deron Williams also is gone. Theonly question there is if he will be one of 16 lottery picks June 28or fall just outside that group.
All is not lost, though. It appears Dee Brown will be back, alongwith James Augustine, to anchor the 2005-06 Illini. Brown might haveplayed his way into the NBA by continuing to shoot the lights out inMarch the way he did in February. But that didn't happen, and heinsists he loves college so much that he's looking forward to anotherseason.
Brown and Augustine are good places to start -- especially in aBig Ten that's still not hitting on all cylinders. Kudos to MichiganState and Wisconsin for their fine NCAA tournament runs. But thereare still a pack of underachievers in the league who have as much, ifnot more, rebuilding to do than Illinois.
The Spartans and the Badgers also have some reloading to do. Andwhile there is reason for optimism at Indiana, Ohio State, Iowa,Minnesota and Michigan, they'll remain underachievers until they dosome achieving.
Meanwhile, athletic director Ron Guenther, who has one of the bestbargains in college sports in Weber, will meet with his coach of theyear this spring and reward him for a job well done. Weber currentlyis signed through 2009 at $550,000 a year.
It's difficult to say what Guenther, who likes to keep successfulcoaches locked up for five years, has in mind for Weber when theyhave their annual sitdown.
But here are some possible starting points: Bruce Pearl, regardedas Public Enemy No. 1 by many Illini fans, recently left Wisconsin-Milwaukee for a reported $800,000 a year at Tennessee. And Bill Selfwas making about $1 million when he left Illinois.
Weber, who genuinely loves what he does, is not about money. Buthe is in a high-risk, high-reward business that is, so a sizableraise seems likely.
Beyond Brown and Augustine, the most intriguing returnee is BrianRandle, a 6-7 sophomore who missed this season with a broken left(shooting) hand. Randle has a chance to be the first true smallforward Illinois has had in years. If Randle delivers on signs thathe'll be a good defender as well as a decent scorer, he'll provide alot of stability.
Warren Carter, a 6-9 sophomore who saw some crunch time, also is apromising returnee. If off-guard Rich McBride, who never seemedcomfortable coming off the bench, finds his shooting touch with moreminutes, that would be a welcome contribution.
Even though seniors Jack Ingram, who became the lone significantreserve, and Nick Smith, who never got beyond his defensiveliabilities, are gone, Illinois figures to have much better depthnext season. It's not hard to improve on what was basically a six-man rotation, and that will soften the blow of losing standouts suchas Williams, Head and Powell.
Calvin Brock, who redshirted as a freshman this season, willcompete for playing time in the backcourt. So will Chester Frazier, a6-2 point guard from Baltimore, and Jamar Smith, a 6-3 shooting guardfrom Peoria Richwoods.
Illinois' other freshman signee, Charles Jackson, a 6-7 powerforward from Georgia, and Marcus Arnold, a 6-8 power forward who satout this season after transferring in from Illinois State, both couldprovide some bulk inside.
If it's quality bulk, Weber will be on his way to fashioning thekind of teams his old boss, Gene Keady, liked: inside muscle andoutside speed. If it's not, Jackson, who was recruited by manyfootball powers as a tight end, would be a plum for Ron Zook.
In other words, the bottom line with recruiting is that Weberhasn't broken through yet. This Final Four appearance ought to help,but that remains to be seen.
It would be nice if Weber could land a blue-chipper such as JonScheyer, the Glenbrook North star who plays for his brother, DaveWeber. Duke seems to be the front-runner there, though.
At some point, Weber will need to start landing the kind ofrecruits who have enabled Illinois to go 141-33 (an .810 winningpercentage) the last five seasons, second only to Duke (150-27,.847).
And he's going to have to do it without American Expresscommercials.
But Weber will work hard at it. And he has a good track record fordeveloping un-hyped recruits.
Fullback Gavin Williams contributed 10 points as Samoa beat Tonga 20-15 in a Pacific Nations Cup rugby match at the Teufaiva Stadium on Saturday.
Williams landed two penalties and the conversions of Samoa's two tries as his team fought back from a 9-7 halftime deficit to post its first win in this season's six-nation tournament.
Winger David Lemi and loose forward Uale Mai scored tries for Samoa who had previously suffered losses to Fiji, the New Zealand Maori and Australia A. Tonga remained winless after four rounds with earlier losses to the New Zealand Maori, Australia A and Japan.
All of Tonga's points on Saturday came from penalties. Flyhalf Pierre Hola kicked three and winger Vungakoto Lilo two.
___
Scorers:
Samoa 20 (Uale Mai, David Lemi tries; Gavin Williams 2 conversions, 2 penalties), Tonga 15 (Pierre Hola 3 penalties; Vungakoto Lilo 2 penalties). HT, 7-9.
IRVING, Texas While Sports Illustrated writer Peter King predictsJay Novacek might not play all season, don't be surprised if thefive-time Pro Bowl tight end attempts to play in the season openerSept. 2 in Chicago.
"He doesn't like to miss (games). The only way he's going tomiss is if he's really hurting," tight end coach Robert Ford said."I like his chances. I might be (crazy), but I know he's verycompetitive. I know he's shooting for the first game."
Coach Barry Switzer is less optimistic: "(Trainer) Jim Maurersaid there's a possibility Novacek might try to do some conditioningnext week. . . . He has pain when he continually runs right now, orhe'd be out there."
Novacek ran for 20 minutes on the treadmill earlier this week.Regardless of when Novacek returns, the Cowboys will be forced tolimit his playing time.
"We'll try to get 10 to 20 plays out of him every game. Thatevery game could be the eighth game, the 10th game or it could be thefirst game. We just don't know," Ford said.
"We'd love to have the man on the field because his presencecauses problems for a defense. But we're also aware when you have anagging back, he can't do some of the things he's done."
Backup Eric Bjornson, whom Ford calls "baby Novacek," has beenhampered by a hamstring injury.
"His progress from his injury has come along well. We're hopingto get some practice time out of him next week," Ford said.
"It's safe to say he should play some in Chicago."
Why presidential success leads to failure
The most common cause of lethality in American politics is success, not failure. Our presidents, governors and mayors-and sometimes our state legislators-are elected to solve certain problems. They usually do. And, afterward, they are dismissed because the problem they specialize in is solved and the remaining issues concern topics at which they are not usually very skilled.
If terrorism were a key concern today, as it was in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, President George W. Bush would have high approval ratings and Rudy Giuliani would be a cinch to win the election. But because of his very success, Bush's approval ratings are in the basement and Giuliani is nine points behind Sen. Hillary Clinton in the most recent matchup polling.
The history of the American presidency is replete with examples of chief executives who were elected to solve a problem, did so, and were defeated over issues with which nobody would have chosen them to deal when they were selected to be president.
Consider the record:
* Lyndon Johnson was elected to complete the work of civil rights and to reduce poverty. He did. But then he fell over the Vietnam War. Nobody would have chosen Johnson as America's expert in dealing with communists in Asia.
* Jimmy Carter was elected to restore integrity in American politics. Without question, he did. But he was defeated because he was weak in the face of the Iran hostage crisis. Being tough was scarcely his specialty.
* We made George H. W. Bush president to wind down the Cold War and, by the end of his term, it was history. But he lost his re-election bid over the economy, never his strong suit.
In George W. Bush's case, he was elected to cut taxes and men re-elected to tame terrorism. Now his party faces defeat over issues such as healdi care, the economy, the trade deficit and, of course, Iraq. But had he been less than totally successful in stymieing new terrorist attacks within the continental United States, we might well value him and his party more.
Historically, it makes sense. We solve the problems on which our democracy focuses, choosing our presidents-for the most part, wisely-to deal with our needs each year and in each cycle in our history.
A big part of the oscillation relates to the historical affinity of each party with each issue. For reasons that go back decades, Democrats are perceived as better able to deal with issues like health care, Social security, Medicare, the elderly, the environment, education and, in most circumstances, the economy. On the other hand, Republicans have a built-in advantage in coping with crime, defense and national security issues, terrorism and taxes. It is always possible for a party to convert an issue to its favor, but it is highly difficult.
After years of effort, Bill Clinton's focus on gun control and extra police brought him even with the Republicans on the crime issue. George W. Bush had to devote his entire 2000 convention and much of his campaign to education to bring Republicans even with Democrats on the issue. In both cases, as soon as the president stopped focusing on the issue, it reverted to its normal partisan skew.
Because each issue is so indelibly identified with one party or the other, as our national focus turns from problems that have been solved (typically those addressed by the incumbent administration) to those which remain unsolved (typically those that are the usual focus of the opposition) the political cycle swings with it.
It is not really a pendulum but rather an upward spiral. Some would call it a screw.
[Sidebar]
Had Bush been less than totally successful in stymieing new terrorist attacks ...we might well value him and his party more.
[Author Affiliation]
Dick Morris is an author and political commentator. To get his columns for free by e-mail several times each week, sign up at DickMorris.com.
Chinese state news agency says that German tourist has been rescued after being buried for 114 hours in earthquake rubble.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the tourist was saved in Wenchuan, the epicenter of Monday's massive earthquake.
The government has said it expects the eventual death to surpass 50,000.
China says it expects new attacks by separatists seeking independence for the traditionally Turkic Muslim region of Xinjiang after deadly ethnic violence there last year.
Despite massive pressure from security forces, separatists will continue to refine their methods and seek opportunities, the region's governor, Nur Bekri, told reporters Sunday.
"They will not easily accept failure. They will step up their separate attempts and change their ways and means to make new trouble for us," Bekri said.
Speaking at a rare news conference on the sidelines of the national legislative session in Beijing, Bekri repeated China's claims that deadly July riots in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, were orchestrated by overseas activists for the rights of Uighurs, historically Xinjiang's majority ethnic group, many of whom resent heavy-handed Chinese rule.
China has provided little direct evidence to back up the accusation, and those activists have denied involvement in the violence, saying they believe in a peaceful struggle for greater Uighur rights.
Nearly 200 people were killed and 1,600 wounded in the riots, according to the government, in the worst ethnic unrest in China in decades.
Bekri said 198 people have been tried in 97 separate cases related to the rioting, and the final figure would likely be higher. Several dozen death sentences have been handed down in those cases but Bekri did not say how many people have been executed.
Chinese authorities cut Internet, international calls and text messaging services in Xinjiang, saying they were used to stir up and coordinate protests. Bekri said access has been restored to 31 approved Web sites, but offered no indication of when restrictions would be lifted.
Uighur activists say the Urumqi riots, which were followed by retaliatory attacks by members of China's majority Han ethnic group, were the result of decades of pent up frustration with Chinese rule.
Many Uighurs say Han migrants have flooded into the region and receive most of the benefits of government programs and Xinjiang's mineral wealth. The government also enforces strict controls over Uighur culture and religion, and high-ranking Communist Party officials who wield real political power in Xinjiang are mainly Han.
"Nur Bekri and the Xinjiang delegation have no real authority and don't represent Uighurs," said Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress.
"Uighurs want self-determination, but you can tell from the delegation's words that they're not really interested in discussing the real issues," Raxit said.
Some Uighurs opposed to Chinese rule have waged a low-intensity campaign of bombings and assassinations against Chinese officials. The latest wave of attacks came in 2008 to coincide with the Beijing Olympics, targeting government offices and military police, and authorities claim to have foiled an alleged attempt to blow up a Beijing-bound plane with liquid explosives.
The Urumqi violence came more than a year after ethnic riots spread through Tibet's capital, Lhasa, and Tibetan inhabited regions of western China _ underscoring what many called the inadequacies of China's policies toward ethnic minorities.
Speaking at a separate news conference just before Bekri's, Tibet's China-appointed governor Padma Choling renewed verbal attacks on Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing accused of inspiring the uprising.
"The Dalai's lies to the world and media have adversely affected Tibet's development," he said.
The governor also sought to deflect criticism over government restrictions on Tibetan Buddhism, saying a boy who disappeared after being named the religion's second-highest figure by the Dalai Lama is living with his family somewhere in Tibet.
"As far as I know, his family and he are now living a very good life in Tibet," Padma Choling said, referring to the boy, Gendun Choekyi Nyima. "He and his family are reluctant to be disturbed, they want to live an ordinary life."
Gendun Choekyi Nyima, 20, was named the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama in 1995 by the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's highest figure.
Chinese officials selected another boy, Gyaltsen Norbu, as the Panchen, but he is not generally recognized as such by many Tibetans.
China's decision to overrule the Dalai Lama was seen as a move to diminish his influence over Tibetans and strengthen central government control over the deeply religious region that it says has been a part of China for centuries.
Communist troops occupied Tibet in 1950 and the Dalai Lama fled into exile nine years later amid a popular uprising against Chinese rule.
One apartment is occupied by Dixon Steele, an alcoholic screenwriter who has some success but is now in the midst of a long, dry spell. Across from him is Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame), a would-be actress and a smart cookie. Steele is a bitter, angry man. Drinking at noon in his usual hangout, he succeeds in insulting his agent, punching a man who is cruel to an aging has-been actor and then getting in a fistfight with the son of a studio chief.
This concise opening scene, set in a bar inspired by Bogart's own hangout, Romanoff's, establishes Dixon Steele's character and summarizes some of the things we sense about Bogart, that enigmatic man. They both drink too much. They're both idealists who sympathize with underdogs. They both have a temper. Steele has, and Bogart was always able to evoke self-pity; remember his Dobbs in "Treasure of the Sierra Madre." Bogart was at his best in conflicted roles, at his weakest in straightforward macho parts. Steele's qualities make him an ideal partner for Laurel Gray, who has been around, knows the ropes and is more likely to fall for a wounded pigeon than a regular guy.
"In a Lonely Place" has been described by the critic Kim Morgan as "one of the most heartbreaking love stories ever committed to film," and love is indeed what it's really about. It has the look, feel and trappings of a film noir, and a murder takes place in it, but it is really about the dark places in a man's soul and a woman who thinks she can heal them.
As carefully constructed by Bogart, who produced it, and directed by Nicholas Ray, from a great noir novel by Dorothy Hughes, it's at pains to make its man and women adults who know their way around. Neither is a victim, except of their own natures: Dixon Steele a drinker with rotten self-esteem, Laurel Gray a woman who should know better than to invest in him.
In the film, Steele is given the job of adapting a trashy best-seller. He needs the work, but he can't even bear to read the novel. A friendly hat-check girl named Mildred (Martha Stewart) tells him she loved it, and he hires her to come home with him and tell him the story. On their way through his courtyard, they pass Laurel Gray, and Gloria Grahame is perfect in how she conveys to him that she notices him. The storytelling session drags on, Mildred becomes a bore, and Steele sends her away. The next morning she's found murdered. Steele, seen to leave the bar with her and with a long rap sheet involving assaults and fights, is the logical suspect.
Did anyone see Mildred leave his apartment? Yes, as it turns out, Laurel says she did, and provides an alibi when she's brought to the police station. Something happens between Laurel and Dixon in the captain's office that is unmistakable -- and later that day they act upon it, no small talk, hungry with passion and hope.
Laurel gets Dixon off the sauce. He starts writing again. They're helplessly in love, a little giddy with happiness. But the possibility lingers that he did murder the girl, and that Laurel testified for him out of instinct more than certain knowledge. An idyllic interlude on the beach suddenly turns ugly and leads to worse. We, and Laurel, are presented with the possibility that her life is in danger, especially if he drinks again. Ambiguity about the true Dixon Steele provides the soul of the film. The fact that they truly love each other its poignancy.
This is a crisp black-and-white film with an almost ruthless efficiency of style. It taps into the psyches of the three principals: Bogart, who bought the story to produce with his company; Nicholas Ray, a lean iconoclast of films about wounded men (James Dean in "Rebel Without Cause"), and the legendary Gloria Grahame (1923-1981), whose life story inspired Peter Turner's extraordinary book Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool. Turner was the last of her many loves. She was married to Nicholas Ray but that ended during the making of this film, when Ray found her in bed with his 13-year-old son by an earlier marriage. (She and the boy, Tony, were married from 1960 to 1974.)
Life on the set was obviously fraught with emotional hazards. Ray had modeled the movie's apartment complex on an apartment he once occupied at Villa Primavera in West Hollywood. When he moved out on Grahame, I learn from critic J. Hoberman, Ray actually moved onto the set and started sleeping there. The relationship between Dixon and Laurel mirrored aspects of Bogart's own with the younger, strong-willed, nurturing Lauren Bacall. Yet perhaps they all sensed that they were doing the best work of their careers -- a film could be based on those three people and that experience.
"In a Lonely Place" is a superb example of the mature Hollywood studio system at the top of its form. Photographed with masterful economy by Burnett Guffey ("Knock on Any Door," "Bonnie and Clyde"), it understands space and uses the apartments across the courtyard to visualize the emotional relationship between Dixon and Laurel. Visible to each other, dependent on each other, they never officially move in together but remain enclosed, and no matter what they say, apart. Notice the way Guffey focuses light on Bogart's eyes during a frightening speech when he imagines how Mildred was murdered.
"You know, Miss Gray," he says, "you're one up on me. You can see into my apartment but I can't see into yours."
"I promise you, I won't take advantage of it."
"I would, if it were the other way around."
Bogart is so good at playing vulnerable men. It's strange he has an enduring image as a tough guy. It would be more accurate to say he was tempered by experience. A decade before this film, in "Casablanca," he was already the man drinking alone late at night, afraid of hearing an old song.
About Grahame's characters there was often a doomed quality. She and Lee Marvin had an iconic scene in "The Big Heat" (1953) when he threw a pot of boiling coffee in her face. In "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946), she plays the grown-up Violet, who in the nightmare sequence, becomes a prostitute. She won an Oscar for "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952), playing an actress who hates the producer who betrayed her. And she gained the unfortunate nickname "the can't say no girl" after performing that song in "Oklahoma!" (1955).
If there is one key element of film noir, it is the flawed hero. That, usually joined with a distinctive visual style and tone, defines the genre. The hero is sympathetic but weak, often haunted by mistakes in the past or fatally tempted by greed or lust. He is likely to discover himself capable of evil he had never dreamed of, and is consumed by guilt and fear.
Bogart embodies this noir quality flawlessly in "In a Lonely Place." He plays a good man with a hot temper who can fly into a rage when he drinks. This gives Dixon a Jekyll and Hyde quality that Laurel awakens to, leading to later scenes of terror. The monster inhabiting him is an acting-out of self-loathing, which infects his success and dooms his happiness. He foresees his fate when he quotes to her a line just written in his new screenplay: "I was born when you kissed me. I died when you left me. I lived a few weeks while you loved me."
Also in my Great Movies collection: "Rebel Without a Cause," "Casablanca," "Treasure of the Sierra Madre," "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Big Heat."
Photo: Gloria Grahame and Humphrey Bogart find themselves in a poignant yet complicated love affair in the 1950 film "In a Lonely Place." ; Photo: The eyes say so much, which is why cinematographer Burnett Guffey focused on them during a frightening speech Bogart gave in the film. ;
early Thursday, bringing heavy rains and maximum sustained winds of up to 80 mph as it made its way to Louisiana, the National Weather Service said.
The Category 1 storm made landfall about five miles east of High Island, near Sea Rim State Park, where wind gusts measured 62 mph, meteorologist Jim Sweeney said. The storm was expected to start weakening as it continued inland.
"It's a very compact storm," Sweeney said. The strongest winds are very close to the center of circulation. The hurricane force winds only go about 15 miles."
A hurricane warning was issued from east of High Island to Cameron, La. A tropical storm warning was in effect from east of Cameron to Intracoastal City, La. The storm was initially expected to strike as a tropical storm until it energized into a Category 1 hurricane after midnight.
At 5 a.m. EDT, the center of Humberto was about 60 miles northeast of Galveston and about 25 miles northeast of High Island Texas. It was moving toward the north-northeast near 8 mph.
The storm's rain bands were spreading over the coast and between 5 and 10 inches of rain were expected, with some spots possibly getting as much as 15 inches. But authorities said evacuations were not necessary.
The area expected to be hit the hardest is in the far southeast corner of Texas from Galveston Island eastward. It includes the Beaumont and Port Arthur areas.
Texas has had one of the wettest summers on record, with Houston soaked under the most rain it's had in a summer since 1942. With the ground already saturated, flooding was likely.
Gov. Rick Perry activated 50 military vehicles with 200 soldiers, plus a half-dozen helicopters and two swift-water rescue teams. Other crews from the U.S. Coast Guard were on standby.
"Some areas of our state remain saturated by summer floods, and many communities in this storm's projected path are at high risk of dangerous flash flooding," Perry said.
In Louisiana, Gov. Kathleen Blanco declared a state of emergency. Calcasieu and Vermilion parishes had shelters on standby. Vermilion also was making sandbags and sand available, said Mark Smith, a spokesman for the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
The warning area included Louisiana's Cameron Parish, which was devastated by Hurricane Rita in September 2005. More than 500 federally issued travel trailers and mobile homes remain there.
Last month, at least six deaths were blamed on Tropical Storm Erin, which dropped nearly a foot of rain in parts of San Antonio, Houston and the Texas Hill Country.
In 2001, slow-moving Tropical Storm Allison soaked Houston, dumping about 20 inches of rain in eight hours. About two dozen people died, sections of the city were paralyzed and damage was estimated at roughly $5 billion.
"Parts of East Texas could be hit pretty hard," Houston Mayor Bill White said, noting that the east turn of the storm could reduce possible damage to Houston. "But you can't tell. Remember Allison. It just sat there instead of moving."
Humberto's arrival comes just days after Galveston last Saturday marked the 107th anniversary of the great 1900 storm where more than 6,000 people were killed in what remains the nation's deadliest natural disaster.
Humberto is the eighth named storm this year and formed from a depression that developed Wednesday morning. It became a Category One hurricane when winds reached above 74 mph.
Another tropical depression also formed Wednesday far in the open Atlantic, about 930 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. It had maximum sustained winds near 35 mph and was moving west-northwest at about 16 mph.
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Associated Press writer Becky Bohrer in New Orleans contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
WASHINGTON - A defiant President Bush warned Democrats Tuesday to accept his offer to have top aides speak about the firings of federal prosecutors only privately and not under oath, or risk a constitutional showdown from which he would not back down.
Democrats' response was swift and firm: They said they would start authorizing subpoenas as soon as Wednesday for the White House aides.
"Testimony should be on the record and under oath. That's the formula for true accountability," said Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Bush, in a late-afternoon statement at the White House, said he would fight any subpoena effort in court.
"We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants," he said. "It will be regrettable if they choose to head down the partisan road of issuing subpoenas and demanding show trials when I have agreed to make key White House officials and documents available."
He added that federal prosecutors work for him and it is natural to consider replacing them. While saying he disapproved of how the decisions were explained to Congress, he insisted "there is no indication that anybody did anything improper."
Bush gave his embattled attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, a boost during an early morning call and ended the day with a public statement repeating it. "He's got support with me," Bush said.
The Senate, meanwhile, voted to strip Gonzales of his authority to fill U.S. attorney vacancies without Senate confirmation. Democrats contend the Justice Department and White House purged eight federal prosecutors, some of whom were leading political corruption investigations, after a change in the Patriot Act gave Gonzales the new authority.
Several Democrats, including presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barrack Obama, Joe Biden and John Edwards, have called for Gonzales' ouster or resignation. So have a handful of Republican lawmakers.
"What happened in this case sends a signal really through intimidation by purge: 'Don't quarrel with us any longer,'" said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a former U.S. attorney who spent much of Monday evening paging through 3,000 documents released by the Justice Department.
Bush said his White House counsel, Fred Fielding, told lawmakers they could interview presidential counselor Karl Rove, former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and their deputies - but only on the president's terms: in private, "without the need for an oath" and without a transcript.
The president cast the offer as virtually unprecedented and a reasonable way for Congress to get all the information it needs about the matter.
"If the Democrats truly do want to move forward and find the right information, they ought to accept what I proposed," Bush said. "If scoring political points is the desire, then the rejection of this reasonable proposal will really be evident for the American people to see."
The House Judiciary Committee was expected to authorize subpoenas for Rove, Miers and their deputies on Wednesday; the Senate Judiciary Committee was to follow suit a day later.
Bush said he worried that allowing testimony under oath would set a precedent on the separation of powers that would harm the presidency as an institution.
"My choice is to make sure that I safeguard the ability for presidents to get good decisions," he said. "If the staff of a president operated in constant fear of being hauled before various committees to discuss internal deliberations, the president would not receive candid advice and the American people would be ill-served."
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is leading the Senate probe into the firings, spoke dismissively of the deal offered by the White House:
"It's sort of giving us the opportunity to talk to them, but not giving us the opportunity to get to the bottom of what really happened here."
Even without oaths, Bush aides would be legally required to tell the truth to Congress. But without a transcript of their comments, "it would be almost meaningless to say that they would be under some kind of legal sanction," Schumer complained.
Fielding's meeting on Capitol Hill came a few hours after Bush spoke with Gonzales in an early morning phone call - their first conversation since the president had acknowledged mistakes by his longtime friend and lawmakers of both parties had called for Gonzales' ouster.
The White House offered to arrange interviews with Rove, Miers, deputy White House counsel William Kelley and J. Scott Jennings, a deputy to White House political director Sara Taylor, who works for Rove.
"Such interviews would be private and conducted without the need for an oath, transcript, subsequent testimony or the subsequent issuance of subpoenas," Fielding said in a letter to the chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary committees and their ranking Republicans.
He said documents released by the Justice Department "do not reflect that any U.S. attorney was replaced to interfere with a pending or future criminal investigation or for any other improper reason."
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Associated Press writer Jennifer Loven contributed to this report.
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Atlantis and its seven astronauts returned to Earth safely Friday, ending a two-week mission to deliver an addition to the international space station and bring a crew member home from the outpost.
Atlantis crossed the Pacific and glided to a stop at 12:49 p.m. on a runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California. NASA managers had hoped to land the shuttle in Florida, but bad weather forced them to abandon that plan.
"Welcome back," Mission Control told Atlantis. "Congratulations on a great mission." Controllers praised the crew for providing a "stepping stone to the rest of NASA's exploration plan."
Atlantis' return from NASA's first manned flight of the year was marked by its trademark twin sonic booms that were heard from San Diego to Los Angeles. After deploying its parachute, the shuttle came to rest on the concrete runway under mostly sunny skies.
Astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams returned to Earth on Atlantis after spending more than six months at the space station. She set an endurance record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 195 days. During her stay, she also set the record for most time spacewalking by a woman.
She told reporters two days before landing that she looked forward to a slice of pizza and walking on the beach with her husband and dog, Gorby. But she was going to miss the space station.
"When you've been somewhere for six months, it becomes your home and it's hard to leave," Williams said.
Returning with Williams were Atlantis commander Rick Sturckow, pilot Lee Archambault and mission specialists Patrick Forrester, James Reilly, Steven Swanson and Danny Olivas.
Atlantis delivered a 35,000-pound addition to the space station and Clay Anderson, who replaced Williams as the U.S. representative at the station. He will live with cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov for the next four months.
The last time a shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base was in 2005, the first flight after the Columbia disaster in 2003. Atlantis' landing was the 51st time a shuttle has touched down in the Mojave Desert.
While at the space station, the astronauts installed a new truss segment, unfurled a new pair of power-generating solar arrays and activated a rotating joint that allows the new solar arrays to track the sun.
The shuttle originally had been scheduled to launch in mid-March, but a hail storm a few weeks beforehand forced NASA to scrub that date. The shuttle was moved back to its hangar so that technicians could make repairs to thousands of dings on its external fuel tank.
Atlantis lifted off on June 8. NASA hopes to have three more launches this year.
Two days were added to the 11-day mission so that Olivas could staple up a thermal blanket that had peeled back during launch. An extra spacewalk - the fourth of the mission - was added to get the task done.
The mission was extended to 14 days after weather prevented Atlantis from landing on Thursday.
Computers that control orientation and oxygen production on the Russian side of the space station crashed while Atlantis was at the outpost, forcing NASA officials to talk publicly about the remote possibility that the station would have to be abandoned because of the problem. Engineers in Houston and Moscow worked around the clock to come up with a fix.
Atlantis' thrusters helped maintain the station's orientation until the computers resumed operating last weekend. Some lights, computers and cameras were turned off Atlantis to extend the power supply in case an extra day was needed at the station to give engineers on the ground more time to figure out what went wrong.
The station's computers were restored when Yurchikhin and Kotov used a cable to bypass a circuit board. The shuttle wasn't cleared to undock from the station until the computers had passed a test to control thrusters on the station's Russian side.
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Associated Press writers Mike Schneider in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and Juan Lozano in Houston contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
Space shuttle: http://www.nasa.gov/mission-pages/shuttle/main/index.html
The U.N. Children's Fund says the number of children who die before the age of five has declined by 27 percent over the last two decades.
UNICEF spokeswoman Miranda Eeles says increased breast feeding, Vitamin A supplements, measles vaccines, mosquito nets against malaria and HIV/AIDS prevention have been mainly responsible for the progress.
She told reporters on Friday that about 9.2 million children under five died last year around the world. But improvements have been made in all regions including sub-Saharan Africa, where most of the fatalities occur.
Save the Children UK says the new figures are good news. Chief Executive Jasmine Whitbread warns however that high food prices and climate change could reverse the gains.
Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's largest brokerage, said Monday it has reached a deal to buy the Asian operations of bankrupt U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. The deal includes Lehman's businesses in Japan and Australia.
Nomura called the deal "a once in a generation opportunity" for the Japanese brokerage house. The deal would include Lehman's 3,000 employees in Asia, including the U.S. investment bank's biggest regional offices in Japan and Hong Kong.
"It will significantly extend our reach in Asia. We see immediate strategic benefits, delivering the scale and scope to realize our vision to be a world-class investment bank," Kenichi Watanabe, Nomura's president and chief executive, said in a statement.
"This deal is validation for our strategy," he said.
The deal was valued at around $225 million, one person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press earlier, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. Nomura did not give the value of the acquisition in the statement and said the deal would not include any trading assets or liabilities.
Jesse Bhattal, CEO of Lehman Brothers Asia, also welcomed the deal in the statement, saying it was "truly a remarkable opportunity" for both financial giants.
Nomura also was close to clinching a deal for Lehman's Europe businesses, another person familiar with the matter said earlier.
But Nomura's statement made no mention of Lehman's European operations.
Officials from Nomura could not be reached for comment.
Billions of dollars in losses from mortgage-linked debt forced Lehman, once the No. 4 investment bank in the U.S., to file the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history a week ago.
The move came after British bank Barclays PLC declined to buy the Wall Street firm in its entirety. Barclays has since purchased Lehman units that employ about 9,000 employees in the U.S.
That deal was said to be worth $1.75 billion earlier in the week but the value was in flux after lawyers announced changes to the terms on Friday. It may now be worth closer to $1.35 billion, which includes the $960 million price tag on Lehman's Midtown Manhattan office tower.
NEW YORK - Buzz cuts have been a perfect tonic for the Mets. David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Damion Easley homered, helping New York to a 5-4 victory over Milwaukee on Friday night that gave the Mets three straight wins since a shaving spree in San Francisco left nearly all of them with close-cropped hair.
They returned home to signs of "Play Bald!" on the videoboards inside and outside the ballpark.
"We didn't get any prettier, but we're playing pretty good baseball since this happened," Wright said. "Hopefully the streak continues."
New York (22-12) stopped a six-game winning streak for Milwaukee, the hottest team in the major leagues. Jorge Sosa (2-0) won his second straight start since coming back from the minors and beat Jeff Suppan (5-3), who pitched at Shea Stadium for the first time since helping the St. Louis Cardinals win Game 7 of last year's NL championship series.
The Mets took a 4-0 lead in the fourth and won for the seventh time in nine games, defeating a club that came to town with a big league-best 24-10 record and 10 wins in 11 games.
"If I'm around the house and they're on TV, I'll definitely stop and watch them," Wright said. "They play with energy. They remind us a lot of ourselves. They go out there. They have fun. They smile. They laugh. They have a good time."
Geoff Jenkins, Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy homered for the Brewers, whose seven-game lead in the NL Central is the franchise's largest since divisional play began in 1969. Coming off a 9-1 homestand, Milwaukee began a stretch in which it plays 13 of 16 on the road.
Sosa, starting while Orlando Hernandez is sidelined by a shoulder injury, allowed two runs - on homers by Jenkins and Fielder - and four hits in 6 2-3 innings. He said he regained confidence in his slider at Triple-A.
"He kept us off balance, mixed it up," Jenkins said.
Suppan frustrated the Mets last October, when he allowed one run and five hits in 15 innings, earning MVP honors for St. Louis in its seven-game victory over New York. And he entered having won his five previous starts.
He didn't allow any hits in the first three innings, then gave up six in the fourth - the first six-hit inning off Suppan since Aug. 23, 2002, for Kansas City at Minnesota, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Suppan started six of his first eight batters in the inning with balls. He didn't give up a hit in any of his other five innings.
"Some pitches were up in the zone and in the middle of the plate," he said. "In that fourth inning, I wasn't able to locate the way I wanted."
Wright led off the fourth with a home run into the left-field bleachers, Carlos Beltran beat out an infield single to first and Delgado homered to left - he's homered in two straight games after hitting one in New York's first 32.
"For the last week or so I've been feeling better at the plate," Delgado said. "Every time I'm able stay back and drive the ball to the opposite field, it's a good sign."
Moises Alou doubled off the center-field wall and scored on Paul Lo Duca's one-out single. Suppan escaped further trouble when he retired Jose Reyes on an inning-ending flyout with runners on second and third.
Jenkins golfed a home run in the fifth inning and Fielder connected on a high pitch in the sixth for his 11th homer, making it 4-2.
Easley homered in the seventh on the second pitch from Carlos Villanueva. Aaron Heilman then allowed Rickie Weeks to reach on a leadoff single off his glove in the eighth before Hardy's homer. Billy Wagner finished with a perfect ninth for his ninth save in nine chances.
Mets manager Willie Randolph, asked whether the haircuts had anything to do with the wins, answered sarcastically.
"Is that what it is? Wow, we should do that more often, I guess," he said. "I'll just set up a barber's chair in the clubhouse so we can keep that going. Whatever it takes."
Notes:@ Reyes, one of the few Mets not to get a trim, said he might on Saturday. He went 0-for-3, ending his hitting streak at 14 games. ... Milwaukee's Craig Counsell singled in the fifth to stop an 0-for-13 slide. ... Brewers closer Francisco Cordero turned 32. He had pitched in Milwaukee's previous six games but did not get in Friday night. ... Lo Duca has thrown out the last four runners attempting to steal on him. ... Mets reliever Pedro Feliciano struck out pinch-hitter Corey Hart with two on to end the seventh, extending his career-best scoreless streak to 15 2-3 innings.
Marty Riessen had heard the rumors, but they never prepared himfor the truth.
Late Wednesday afternoon, when Riessen turned on the televisionand saw tennis legend Arthur Ashe, the truth was as tough to handleas his friend's overhead smash.
"I'm not HIV positive," Ashe told reporters. "I have AIDS."
Riessen, a former tennis great, then listened to his friendexplain how he tested positive for the human immuno-deficiency virus3 1/2 years ago. He watched his friend break down in the middle ofthe televised press conference.
Then Riessen turned off the television.
"You just feel empty," said Riessen, a Hinsdale native nowliving in Santa Barbara, Calif. "It's just a sad, sad thing. Itkind of confirmed the rumors of years ago, but he looks fine to me.Hopefully that won't change."
Riessen, who teamed with Ashe to win the 1971 French Opendoubles title, not only felt bad that his friend acquired the deadlydisease, but that he had to tell the world about it as well.
Ashe, 48, said he was "100 percent sure" he had contracted theAIDS virus from a blood transfusion, probably after his second heartoperation - a double bypass in 1983.
"The sad thing is he's had health problems for so long, and nowto have this on top of everything," Riessen said. "And the real sadthing is that he was forced to announce it. Now it's going tochange his life.
"Like Arthur said, he's not really involved with the public andhe's not responsible to any stockholders. He wanted to keep itprivate, and I think it's too bad he was forced to come out with theannouncement."
Ashe is the first black man to win a Grand Slam title. He madehistory in 1968 when he won the U.S. Open as an amateur. He won theAustralian Open in 1970, then stunned Jimmy Connors for the Wimbledontitle in 1975.
Ashe became the first black man to represent the U.S. in theDavis Cup, became captain of the team, then helped get South Africabanned from the competition because of the nation's apartheidpolicies.
He was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1968 and 1975.
"He is such a great role model and he has done so much withyoung black players," said Jay Kramer, nationally renowned tenniscoach at Hinsdale Central. "Like Michael Jordan, he gives peoplehope that they can reach the pinnacle. He's done so much fortennis."
Like Magic Johnson, who told the nation he had contracted theAIDS virus at a November press conference, Ashe's announcement cameas a shock and a surprise to friends, fans and contemporaries.
"Arthur is one of the great human beings to ever play the gameof tennis," former pro Chris Evert said. "It just seems so unfair.I've known Arthur for 20 years and he's always been a gentleman and agreat ambassador for tennis. I'm praying for him."
Billie Jean King, who knew Ashe had the AIDS virus two yearsago, "cried a lot" following the press conference. President Bushcalled Ashe and asked if there was anything he could do.
Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, who has known Ashe for over 30years, said the news "hits home very, very hard."
Wilder remembered chasing Ashe off a tennis court a long timeago so he and a friend could play.
"The racket was almost as tall as he was," Wilder said. "Wetold him to get out of the way and literally ran him off the court sowe could stumble around and be nothing. He went on to be championof the world."
According to Riessen, that's what he'll always be.
"He's a wonderful person and I'm sure he'll handle thissituation well," Riessen said. "I think he's a terrific role model,no matter what."
Contributing: Associated Press.
WASHINGTON--The United States will not allow an Iran-stylereligious government to take hold in Iraq, Defense Secretary DonaldRumsfeld said Thursday, adding that Syria and others in the regionwill not be permitted to influence Iraq's future.
"If you're suggesting, how would we feel about an Iranian-typegovernment with a few clerics running everything in the country, theanswer is: That isn't going to happen," he said in an interview.
Shiites in Iraq are the majority Islamic sect, and they disagreeon whether to embrace a secular government or an Iran-styletheocracy. Some U.S. officials worry that the Islamic government inIran, which is predominantly Shiite, may seek to …
Captain Shakib-al-Hasan reached 5-70 as Bangladesh closed in on its first overseas series win after West Indies was bowled out for 209 on a rain-hit fourth day of the second test.
Bangladesh, set a victory target of 215, safely negotiated six overs before lunch as they reached 17-0.
Tamim Iqbal was unbeaten on 12 while his opening partner Imrul Kayes was 4 not out.
Bangladesh is seeking a series sweep following its victory in the opening test in St. Vincent a week ago.
Persistent morning rain delayed the start of day four by more than two hours, but Bangladesh struck early once play resumed.
David Bernard Jr., who was 61 not out overnight, launched a six over straight long off but added just eight runs. The elegant right-hander was neatly stumped by wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim as he missed an on-drive at a big turner from Enamul. The Jamaican hit six fours and two sixes in his topscore of 69 off 76 balls.
Tailender Tino Best also lofted a six but fell two balls later as he gloved a paddle sweep at Shakib, who collected his fifth five-wicket haul in his 14th test.
Kemar Roach finished on one not out.
Enamul claimed 3-48 to support his skipper.
The West Indies surprisingly opted not to use Roach with the new ball despite the lithe fast bowler collecting 6-48 in the first innings.
Instead, Best and Bernard shared the first six overs without success.
Tamim crunched one pulled four as he and Imrul comfortably saw Bangladesh to the break.
President Barack Obama warned Thursday that if Congress doesn't deliver health care legislation by the end of the year, the opportunity will be lost, a plea to political supporters to pressure lawmakers to act. "If we don't get it done this year, we're not going to get it done," Obama told supporters by phone as he flew home on Air Force One from a West Coast fundraising trip.
Obama's political organization, Organizing for America, invited campaign volunteers to a midday conference call to describe a nationwide June 6 kickoff for its health care campaign. The president's message to his re-election campaign-in-waiting was simple: If volunteers don't pressure lawmakers to support the White House's goal on health care, Washington would drag its feet and nothing would change.
"The election in November _ that did not bring about change, it just gave us an opportunity for change," Obama said. "So now, we are really going to have to remobilize, we have all had a chance to catch our breath after election and we have gotten a lot of things done during our first four months.
"But health care, that's a big push."
The presidential plea came as lawmakers prepare for an aggressive schedule of work aimed at producing comprehensive health care overhaul bills in the House and Senate by August.
Committee hearings _ and soon thereafter votes _ will start next week, as soon as lawmakers return to Washington from a weeklong recess. Many members of Congress spent the break holding town hall meetings and other forums with their constituents about health care, even as opponents and supporters of Obama's plans ramped up television and radio ads for and against.
"I think the status quo is unacceptable and that we've got to get it done this year," Obama repeated, ginning up his supporters for a door-to-door and phone-to-phone canvass similar to his presidential campaign.
Obama's top aides, including former campaign manager David Plouffe, told the supporters they have a challenge ahead of them.
"If the country stands with the president and if the country is demanding health care reform then we'll get it done; Washington will not have any option but to follow us," Plouffe said on the call, which was not announced on the White House's official schedule.
The president's conversation with his supporters was part pep talk and part a nod to political reality. Obama is looking to use his network of supporters to deliver a campaign promise, and if he seeks a second term in 2012 _ an almost certainty _ he hopes to keep many of those volunteers engaged in person and online.
"This is our big chance to prove that the movement that you started during the campaign isn't over, we're just getting started," Obama said.
The president said the costs of the nation's $2.5 trillion health care system are crushing families and businesses and pose the largest threat to the economy.
The White House is leaving it to lawmakers to work out the details of a health care plan, but Obama has said it should ensure choice and lower costs, while extending coverage to the 50 million Americans now uninsured. The cost of accomplishing that has been estimated around $1.5 trillion, and figuring out how to pay is emerging as a major challenge for Congress and the White House.
The Republican National Committee said Obama's approach was not the right path, arguing that Democrats are pushing for a government-run health care system that will take away individual choice.
EDGARTOWN, Mass. President Clinton began his vacation hereSaturday - bruised from the battle over the crime bill and bracingfor a fight on health care.
While the president played, he could be heard on radio stationsacross the country taking a bow for the crime bill passed last weekby Congress. In remarks taped before he left Washington, Clintonsaid the hard-fought victory showed "we can break the stranglehold ofpolitics as usual."
"The special interests lost. The public interest won," he said.
Clinton said the crime bill's success proves that there's hopefor health care reform, although House and Senate leaders haveabandoned hope for sweeping changes …
The late composer Morton Gould was known for a cheerful demeanor, and he's probably still smiling with gratitude at the dedication the Albany Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Alan Miller have shown to his music. The orchestra recently released its third all-Gould disc on Albany Records. Recorded with vibrant clarity during ASO seasons dating back to 2005, it's a typically lively collection of compositions from Gould's heyday of the 1930s and '40s.
A chorus line of vaudeville dancers comes to mind during the opening American Symphonette No. 2 (1938). The ASO's brass is as smart and punchy as a Broadway pit band, while the light percussion is given a nice …
Byline: LYDIA POLGREEN Staff writer
In his annual State of the City address in January, Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings said increasing the homeownership rate in Albany is one of his top priorities for the coming year and announced several new programs to lure buyers to the city.
It won't be easy.
With a school system that has a less-than-stellar reputation and an aging stock of largely two- and three-family homes, getting buyers interested in a piece of the rock in the state's capital city can be a tough sell.
``For whatever reason, right now central cities are not the most popular places to buy a home,'' said James Ader, executive vice president of the Greater Capital Association of Realtors, an Albany-based …
How many times have you called a customer service number and were promptly encouraged to visit the company's Web site for faster service? It has become an increasingly common occurrence and appears to be an axiom of modern life, in which technology is designed to replace human contact and cut costs. While some companies are turning to technology for this sort of customer service, some customers actually prefer to self-serve or bypass human contact to get instant access to information.
As a result, people increasingly are turning to the Internet as a starting point to seek information and communicate. Oddly enough, this can be especially true in the behavioral health field, where getting information online or communicating …
The Southeastern Conference might be too good for its own good. With five teams still in the thick of the national-title chase, a so-called "game of the season" comes around nearly every week. This week it's No. 9 LSU at No. 5 Florida and No. 13 Tennessee facing No. 10 Georgia. In the SEC West, No. 2 Auburn will play Arkansas for first place.
But as the SEC eats its own, can a team survive to play for the national championship?
The surest way to play for the title is to go undefeated. But Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville warns would-be champs even that's no guarantee - his Tigers went 13-0 in 2004 and were left out of the championship game.
The SEC, which always …
SAN ANTONIO -- Dark sedans did not follow their every move, andConnecticut's coaches and players never awoke to find strange peoplegoing through their garbage.
But being branded the No. 1 team in the nation before even asingle game has been played does mean that you will be watched withthe closeness of a stockbroker studying his next big buy.
And when you are the biggest blue chip in the portfolio, well,just watch out.
"At times, you have to just not pay attention to [the attention]because it can be overwhelming," said star center Emeka Okafor, whohas had his bad back so scrutinized by fans and media this season, itwould make an HMO accountant blush. "Then you …
Henry Sperle is to retire as executive board member at Borealis at the end of May. Sperle played a leading role in the …
Steven Sturgeon, global marketing director for William Grant & Sons, owner of whisky brand Glenfiddich, explains why communities are vital for modern marques
It seems that everyone is talking about YouTube or MySpace at the moment. But for many brands, the most important thing to take from these two online services is that they are communities where people can interact with each other. As consumers become more detached from traditional ways of life, they are looking to find communities in other places.
The whisky market is often thought of as being about 'status'. Many whisky brands, such as Chivas Regal and Johnnie Walker, market themselves as a lifestyle choice. It's a very …
Byline: TRACEY TULLY Staff writer
Candidates for statewide office auditioned Saturday before the Independence Party with an eye on winning a nomination from the emerging third party.
A dozen political hopefuls, including Democratic front-runners for governor, attorney general and the U.S. Senate, addressed party faithful in a political version of show-and-tell.
No votes were taken and no decisions were made. Party leaders said the meeting at the Steuben Club was instead designed to measure candidates against a two-pronged yardstick:
Which candidates best match the philosophy of the party, which formed in 1994 and has 107,000 enrolled …
