Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak has been formally declared the president of the ruling United Malays National Organization party.
Najib contested the post unopposed, and his election during the party congress on Wednesday was a formality. He replaces Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
UMNO election chairman Samsudin Osman announced at the congress …
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. Gov. James R. Thompson's wife, Jayne, whountil recently was a fund-raiser for her husband's politicalcommittee, returned to practicing law Monday under a cooperativearrangement with a Chicago law firm.
"This arrangement will allow me the opportunity to return to mycareer while at the same time balancing the needs of my family," shesaid.
The governor announced July 13 that he will not seek …
Where have you gone, Tim Tebow, Cam Newton and Ryan Mallett?
The Southeastern Conference still has plenty of star power this season. But instead of quarterbacks generating the buzz, it's a collection of defensive standouts whose impact has already been felt across the country.
Names like Tyrann Mathieu, Courtney Upshaw and Melvin Ingram have already into the Heisman Trophy discussion over the past few weeks. They figure to have staying power, especially since No. 1 LSU with Mathieu and No. 2 Alabama behind Upshaw, Dont'a Hightower and a host of other talented players continue to march through the competition on their way to a widely anticipated Nov. 5 clash in …
China brushed aside international appeals Tuesday and executed a British man convicted of drug smuggling and whose relatives say was mentally unstable and unwittingly lured into the crime.
Britain's prime minister quickly criticized the execution _ China's first of a European citizen in nearly 60 years.
"I condemn the execution of Akmal Shaikh in the strongest terms, and am appalled and disappointed that our persistent requests for clemency have not been granted. I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken," Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
The press office of …
Playboy Enterprises lost $3.8 million in its fiscal year thatended June 30, but Christie Hefner, chairman and chief executiveofficer, said Monday the company is now positioned to be profitablein 1990.
"Without making a promise or a projection (of profit), I thinkyou could predict that," she said in her first Chicago pressconference since assuming Playboy's top corporate spots. Her father,Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, relinquished the titles last November.
She said one-time expenses, including Playboy's impending movefrom Michigan Avenue to 680 N. Lake Shore Drive, an expensivenew-data processing system, and management changes and severancecharges torpedoed the …
A $100,000 donation from HomeStar Bank, Manteno, Ill., is a boost to the $350,000 goal the foundation has set for its campaign. The bank has entered into a community partnership agreement with the Manteno Education Foundation and the Manteno school district. Money raised will go toward a number of improvements at the football field and the establishment of a marching band. …
| 02Phillies 8, Mets 6 |
| PHILA @ NEW YORK @ |
| ab r h bi @ab r h bi |
| Rollins ss 5 1 1 2 JReyes ss 4 1 0 0 |
| Utley 2b 5 0 0 0 EnChvz rf 4 1 3 0 |
| Burrell lf 4 1 2 0 DWrght 3b 5 1 2 1 |
| Brntlett 3b 0 0 0 0 Beltran cf 4 0 0 1 |
| Howard 1b 5 0 1 1 Dlgado 1b 5 1 1 2 |
| Werth rf 4 1 2 1 Easley 2b 2 0 0 0 |
DEAR ABBY: Please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe mycousin, "Lenore," is the most selfish person I know.
Lenore is getting married in an evening ceremony and has decidedto dis-invite our grandfather, Pop-Pop. Pop-Pop was so excited aboutattending, he bought a new suit and showed it off to everyone whovisited him.
Pop-Pop's health is failing and he goes to bed early - 8 p.m. Thewedding is at 6 p.m., and Lenore and her mother (my aunt) havedecided it would interrupt the "perfect wedding" if Pop-Pop were toleave early, so he has been told to stay home. This means Grandmomwill attend her first grandchild's wedding alone. Also, mygrandparents will have to pay for …
Open Solutions Inc. (OSI), Glastonbury, Conn., has added Judy Kallet and Andrew Bennett to its executive management team as chief technology officer and vice president of operations, respectively. In addition, OSI founder and Senior Vice President Cliff Waggoner will take on a new role as corporate technology architect.
As chief technology officer, Kallet will be responsible for managing all aspects of the company's product development resources, release management, quality assurance and interface departments. She has more than 30 years of senior …
| G FG FT PTS AVG |
| Wade, Mia. 19 191 142 540 28.4 |
| James, Clev. 18 171 133 494 27.4 |
| Bosh, Tor. 17 159 131 452 26.6 |
| Bryant, LAL 17 159 95 426 25.1 |
| Nowitzki, Dall. 18 159 112 451 25.1 |
| Harris, N.J. 14 104 129 347 24.8 |
| Granger, Ind. 17 144 80 415 24.4 |
| Carter, N.J. 17 142 81 396 23.3 |
| Johnson, … |
Glenbard West's Bridgett Bowman, who set two state records inthe girls' state swimming meet last season, has elected to pass upher senior year at the Glen Ellyn school to train at a club inSarasota, Fla.
"The big reason to be in Florida is that's where most of themajor meets are," said Jack Bowman, Bridgett's father. "We'll be inFlorida until August, 1988 (through the Olympic trials). But it maybe two years before we know if this is the right decision."
Bowman, who won five state …
WASHINGTON - Democrat John Edwards increased his cash on hand this quarter despite a drop in contributions for his presidential nomination campaign, according to financial reports he was to file Sunday.
In a preview of his filing, the Edwards campaign reported $12 million in the bank for the primary elections, an increase of more than $2 million over his cash on hand at the end of March.
Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina and 2004 vice presidential nominee, raised about $8.8 million for the primary from April through June; he also raised $250,000 for the general election, money he can't use unless he becomes the Democratic nominee. The campaign planned to …
Wall Street and Washington wrestled Friday with how to shore up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two troubled pillars of the U.S. economy whose failure would deal a devastating blow to the already crippled housing market.
As investors grew more convinced that only some type of government bailout could rescue the firms, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the focus was to support the pair "in their current form" without a takeover.
The government was considering giving Fannie and Freddie access to the Fed's emergency lending program as one option to prop up the firms, said Sen. Christopher Dodd, citing conversations with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Paulson.
A Fed spokeswoman said the central bank had not talked with Fannie and Freddie about the emergency lending program. The spokeswoman declined to discuss any other options being considered.
Both companies issued statements late Friday calling their financial positions solid. Freddie Mac said it did not see an immediate need to raise fresh money, and said other options included cutting its annual shareholder dividend, which costs $650 million a year.
Investors drove Fannie and Freddie shares to 17-year lows before the stocks recovered somewhat. The turmoil, combined with a new high for oil prices, helped send the Dow Jones industrials briefly below 11,000 for the first time in nearly two years. The Dow finished down about 1 percent at 11,100.54.
Fannie and Freddie were created by the government to provide more Americans the chance to own a home by adding to the available cash banks can loan customers. Shares of both companies are publicly owned.
Their importance to the housing market and overall economy is hard to overstate: Fannie and Freddie either hold or back $5.3 trillion of mortgage debt, or about half the outstanding mortgages in the United States.
"Without them, our economy would collapse," Piper Jaffray analyst Robert P. Napoli said in a note to clients.
In the mortgage industry, the prospect of doing business without Fannie and Freddie is truly frightening.
"The cost of borrowing would go up dramatically," said Steve Habetz, president of Threshold Mortgage Co. in Westport, Connecticut. "We would be going back to dark ages where a homebuyer would be hoping that a local bank would (have enough resources) to make the loan that it will keep on its books."
Published reports suggested the government was considering taking over one or both of the companies and running them itself.
President George W. Bush met with senior economic advisers and said Paulson had assured him that he and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke "will be working this issue very hard."
Wall Street sent the companies' stocks lower nonetheless. Freddie Mac shares were down 25 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $7.75. Fannie Mae shares were down $2.95, or 22.4 percent, to 10.25.
"I think everybody's just holding their breath in expectation that something substantive from the government will happen today or over the weekend," said Karen Shaw Petrou, managing partner of consulting firm Federal Financial Analytics.
Analysts also suggested the problems had as much to do with market perceptions than any fundamental change in the two companies' finances. One report from Citigroup titled "Fear Begets Fear" called the sell-off "overdone."
The government has several options that stop short of a dramatic takeover. The Federal Reserve could provide emergency loans, or take on either company's mortgage-backed securities in an effort to reassure the market.
Under a government takeover, operations would continue at Fannie or Freddie, but shareholders would probably see their investments erased, and the companies' ability to support the mortgage market could be reduced.
"Typically when this happens the business is a shell of its former self," said Louisiana State University banking professor Joseph Mason. "Shareholders aren't going to like it, managers and directors aren't going to like it, but it's not about whether they like it."
The mortgage giants could face a replay of the near-collapse in March of investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. A crisis of market confidence can make it difficult to raise day-to-day operating cash through routine debt sales.
The chief regulator of Fannie and Freddie, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, said on Thursday that the two companies were "adequately capitalized."
Congress created Fannie, the Federal National Mortgage Association in 1938 and Freddie, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., in 1970. They were designed to buy mortgages and bundle them into securities for sale to investors worldwide, making home ownership affordable for more Americans.
Under a 1992 law, they have less strict standards than commercial banks for the financial cushions they must hold to protect against risk.
Paul Miller, an analyst with Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., said neither company is in as dire a financial position as Bear Stearns was in the spring _ making investors nervous no action will be taken over the weekend to shore them up.
He said Fannie and Freddie could soothe market fears by selling more shares of stock to investors and raising cash. "I hope that they raise capital and they raise a lot of it," he said.
Congress is moving closer to completing a housing rescue package that would create a new regulator for Fannie and Freddie and tighten controls over them. The bills would also permanently raise the limit on the loans they can buy.
___
Associated Press Writers Ernest Scheyder, Julie Hirschfeld Davis, J.W. Elphinstone and Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this report.
State media say the death toll in Sunday's landslides in northwestern China has risen to 1,117.
The state-run Xinhua News Agency cites local authorities. Wednesday's report says 627 people are still missing.
On Tuesday, the death toll was reported as 702, with more than 1,000 missing.
Entire communities in Gansu province's Zhouqu district were swallowed up when the debris-choked Bailong River jumped its banks Sunday.
Heavy rains were lashing the area Wednesday, and the hopes of finding more survivors were fading.
Operant devices have been used for many years in animal behavior research, yet such devices are generally highly specialized and quite expensive. Although commercial models are somewhat adaptable and resilient, they are also extremely expensive and are controlled by difficult to learn proprietary software. As an alternative to commercial devices, we have designed and produced a fully functional, programmable operant device, using a PICmicro microcontroller (Microchip Technology, Inc.). The electronic operant testing apparatus (ELOPTA) is designed to deliver food when a study animal, in this case a bird, successfully depresses the correct sequence of illuminated keys. The device logs each keypress and can detect and log whenever a test animal is positioned at the device. Data can be easily transferred to a computer and imported into any statistical analysis software. At about 3% the cost of a commercial device, ELOPTA will advance behavioral sciences, including behavioral ecology, animal learning and cognition, and ethology.
Operant procedures are a fruitful way to study behavior in animals. Researchers can measure factors that alter response rate, success rate, latency to respond, and so on, and devices can be used to mimic natural challenges that an animal might face. Our goal was to facilitate behavioral research by producing an inexpensive device that could control any of a flexible array of experiments and automatically and precisely record data.
Computer controlled operant devices have been in common use since the late 1960s (e.g., Moise & Jarrard, 1969). The configurations have varied considerably, each device matching the set of experiments for which it was developed, and have included mechanical (e.g., Logan & Logan, 1970) or electronic (e.g., Leber, 1978) means of reinforcement and recording of data. The vast majority of such devices have required a master computer to control them; only a few are designed to operate independently (e.g., Hoeksma et al., 2000; Pamment & Stephens, 1981; Redmond & Hegge, 1985).
Some specialty companies, such as Coulbourn Instruments (Allentown, PA), Med Associates (St. Albans, VT), and Cambridge University Technical Services Ltd., make modular systems for any number of purposes in animal research, from activity monitoring to physiology to behavior. While these commercial operant devices are capable of a wide array of tests, there are a number of issues that keep these devices rather uncommon in most research laboratories. First and foremost, these systems tend to be quite expensive. For example, a complete Habitest setup from Coulbourn Instruments, of similar capability to four of the devices described below, would cost at least US$20,000, and a similar Whisker (Cambridge University Technical Services) system would cost about US$10,000. In addition to a considerable financial investment, setting up such a system requires a significant investment of time. Programming a Habitest system is done entirely through proprietary software, which can run complex experiments but requires that the user learn an idiosyncratic software environment.
We wished to produce an operant device that is comparable to commercial systems but avoids these difficulties. Our requirements for the device were that it must (1) automatically control all procedures; (2) log data; (3) be easily reprogrammable (making it usable for multiple experiments); (4) be easy to use; (5) be portable, durable, and resistant to failure; and (6) fall within a reasonable price range.
OPERANT APPARATUS
We constructed an apparatus that features three illuminated keys, a perch, a reward delivery system, and a numeric display (Figure 1). The keys are made of translucent acrylic hinged with sheet aluminum (Figure 2). Pressure on the key depresses a tactile microswitch through a lever, and sensitivity of the switch can be calibrated by turning a screw on the back. The ability to calibrate switches allows the device to be configured for different species which might exert greater or lesser amounts of pressure on a key. Key pecks are debounced in software by a 1-msec delay in the interrupt function, which ensures that each peck is registered only once.
Affixed to each key is a foil lined plastic cone containing a bicolor (red/green) light-emitting diode (LED). The cone serves to reflect the light, such that the LED can illuminate the entire key. (Replacement flashlight reflectors would be equally effective, though more expensive.) We applied course grain sandpaper to the keys and to the LEDs themselves to increase the diffusion of the light.
The perch is set in the center of the device. Behind the device, the end of the perch is affixed to another microswitch, which is held in the "on" position by small durable nylon bands. When sufficient weight (calibrated with a screw to be a little less than the typical weight of a target species) is applied to the perch, the switch is released, and this can be detected by a microcontroller. Due to the way this mechanism functions, an additional 30-msec delay is included in the interrupt function to debounce the signal when the perch switch changes state. For animals other than birds, this perch could quite simply be replaced by a more appropriate means of detecting the animals presence, such as a flat platform for rats or mice.
Rewards are delivered on a 17-cm diameter acrylic wheel, which contains 24 reward wells at regular intervals. The reward delivery area allows access to one well at a time. The wheel is mounted on a 48-step stepper motor (PF35T, Nippon Pulse). Sending the proper signals through the stepper motor driver (described below) causes the wheel to rotate exactly 15� (two steps), bringing a new reward into position. Above the reward area is an ultrabright (5,000 mcd) white LED to indicate that a reward is available. Although simpler methods of reward delivery exist, such as pellet dispensers or timed seed trays, this method allows the presentation of a reward suitable for insectivorous or frugivorous animals.
The front of the device also features a two-digit, sevensegment display, recessed such that it is not visible to an animal on the perch but is visible to an observer looking straight at the device. When the device is initially turned on, the user selects the values of various experimental parameters (such as date and time, subject number, retention interval, etc.), using this display to indicate the current values. The left, right, and center keys will decrease, increase, or accept the displayed value, respectively. During experiments, the display shows trial number. This display could be made visible to a camera, allowing one to synchronize the automatically logged data with video recordings.
Circuitry
Each apparatus contains a single custom built circuit board (8.0 � 9.2 cm), featuring a PIC16F877A microcontroller from Microchip Technology, Inc. (Figure 3). The 8-bit microcontroller has five I/O ports with up to 33 usable channels, 8 KB of program memory, three built-in timers, and support for writing to serial EEPROMs or to a serial port. In the ELOPTA, the crystal oscillator operates at 20 MHz (the fastest speed supported by the controller; while the processor can run at frequencies as low as 4 MHz, higher speeds produce greater accuracy in time measurements). The actual layout of the board will depend on the needs of the user. Our design was created using Proteus PCB Design (Grassington, North Yorkshire, England), and we can make available the CADCAM files or discuss other options for reproducing our PCB layout on request.
The circuit board contains a 5-V voltage regulator (LM7805, Fairchild Semiconductor), a socket for a single serial EEPROM for storing data (24LC256 or 24LC512, Microchip Technology, Inc), a MAX231 serial controller (Maxim) for serial communication with a personal computer (though this can easily be replaced by a UART-USB bridge chip such as one of Silicon Laboratories' CP210x series for USB communication), a complete stepper motor driver, and arrays for connecting the seven segment displays, the four microswitches, the reward LED, and the three bicolor LEDs. The circuit can be powered either by connecting a battery pack of four AA batteries or through a DC power supply.
To program the microcontroller, the circuit is connected to the in-circuit debugger and programmer, ICD 2 (Microchip Technology, Inc.) via a five-pin connector. The ICD 2 itself costs US$ 159.99 and is compatible with a wide array of microcontrollers produced by Microchip, including more advanced processors. The ICD 2 connects to a PC via a USB cable and interfaces with Microchips free integrated development environment for Microsoft Windows, called MPLAB IDE. The IDE supports programming in assembly language and can be fully integrated with compilers for other languages (such as the freeware C compiler, PIC-C Lite, produced by Hi-Tech Software). Programming a microcontroller thus involves writing a program using the IDE, compiling the program, connecting the microcontroller to the PC via the ICD 2, and allowing the ICD 2 to upload the program onto the microcontroller. The ICD 2 can also be used as a debugger to help isolate programming errors and to single step through the program.
Program
Although many programs could operate on this device, we designed several specific-purpose programs, such that the device could begin with a naive subject and train it through a series of successive approximations to full operation of a discrimination or delayed match-to-sample task. These programs are specific to our testing paradigms, but each program differs only in the logic which determines which keys will be lit, the delays involved, and the responses that will result in a reward. These contingencies are accomplished by a series of simple if/then type statements (e.g., if the subject is on the perch, light the center key; if the subject has pecked the key that matches the sample, deliver a reward; etc.). Figure 4 is a simplified flowchart of our main testing program.
The remainder of each program consists of the core components, a set of functions that allow the program to operate the hardware and perform common functions in the software. These include functions for reading and writing to an EEPROM, communicating with the PC through a serial port, stepping the motor, keeping track of the time, and detecting keypecks. These components could be used in any experiment Even if the code we have written is too specific to our experiment to be used unmodified, these programs can be easily adjusted to other paradigms with only a basic knowledge of C. Upon request, we will gladly distribute full copies of our source code.
Within our program, the controller increments a time counter every 10 msec. Whenever any key is pushed, whenever the perch switch changes state, and at the start and finish of every trial, the program generates a compressed data point indicating the trial number (8 bits), the category of data (2 bits), the type within a category (3 bits), and the current time (3 bytes, number of elapsed 10-msec intervals) since experiment start. These are transferred to the serial EEPROM at the end of each trial; writing takes about 10 msec, during which time interrupts are disabled. On the EEPROM, trial number, category, and type are stored as separate bytes, and time is stored in three separate bytes, so each data point uses 6 bytes of EEPROM storage. EEPROM memory is nonvolatile, so these data remain in storage until the chips are electronically erased by a special function in the reading program.
The reading program performs a sequential read on the EEPROM, outputting all data recorded on an EEPROM in ASCII format to the serial port Each data point is read as a number representing the trial number, a category/type code, and three decimal numbers (between 0 and 255) representing the time, all separated by commas. A serial port monitoring program, such as HyperTerminal (included in all Windows operating systems) is required to upload data to the PC. HyperTerminal will output a text file, which can be imported into Microsoft Excel as a comma delimited list
The data files produced by the reader program first report the date, subject ID, and light sequence of a session, then list all data points recorded during a session, starting with a summary data point indicating the total number of trials and the total time elapsed. We have developed a Microsoft Excel worksheet which translates this into a legible format for analyses, provides basic summary information (i.e., number of successes and errors, number of left and right keypecks, etc.), and produces a summary graph of the data (see Figure 5). Table 1 shows the beginning of a sample data file and the first two trials, as read from the EEPROM and translated by Microsoft Excel.
DISCUSSION
The total cost of producing four of these devices, including the price of the ICD 2, was approximately US$300, about 3% of the cost of a commercial device. Like the commercial devices, PIC microcontrollers are highly flexible, useful for any number of different experiments. With the programs we have written, one could run many types of operant experiments with little or no modification of the code. If adjustment is required for a particular experiment a basic knowledge of C will be sufficient to modify the ELOPTA source code or to write a new program. As everything in the device except the motor itself is solid state, the ELOPTA is highly resistant to failure.
A major advantage that the ELOPTA has over commercial systems is its portability. The commercial devices require a computer to control them at all times. While this allows data to be collected and viewed in real time, it also ties operant stations to a fixed location. The ELOPTA is compact and portable and can be powered by a small battery pack. All programmed contingencies and the resulting data are stored on the device itself, so the device is quite capable of operating independently. Thus, ELOPTAs are ideal for field work, where having a computer, even a laptop, would be inappropriate or inadvisable. Most of the components draw very little power, so the device can operate for extended periods. ELOPTAs are not individually expensive, so it would be conceivable to produce many of the devices to be placed in many locations in a field site.
The current ELOPTA design does not make full use of all of the PIC16F877A's available features. A number of the available I/O channels were not needed for the authors' current research, but this flexibility might allow some enhancements. For example, rather than using bicolor LEDs for the peck keys, one could use some of the currently available tricolor (red/green/blue) LEDs. These LEDs can generate a considerably larger number of colors by providing varying levels of current to each of the three light-emitting units. Thus, using a number of the PIC's digital outputs and an array of resistors, one could generate many more possible colors, increasing the difficulty or complexity of the task. Other possible enhancements might involve replacing the numerical display with a liquid crystal display, adding small speakers to be used as audio outputs to accompany or replace the visual outputs, or replacing the perch microswitch with an analog tension switch to measure a subject's weight while it is on the perch.
With the same basic design, a number of applications are possible for this device. The authors designed this device as a means to measure cognitive failure in birds. We intend to test birds in a delayed match-to-sample paradigm under a number of different conditions to determine how factors such as subjects' motivation or environment might affect their success rates. However, one could envision any number of other uses for a reprogrammable, low-cost operant controller. With minor modification of the code or circuitry, the ELOPTA can be used for studies of decision making, learning (social or nonsocial), discrimination, mate choice or other preferences, etc. Countless other applications may be possible using portions of this design in custom devices.
In conclusion, the ELOPTA is a novel operant device that can be used for any number of behavioral experiments, at a small fraction of the price of commercially available devices. The controller automatically presents stimuli and rewards to animals, recording data as it does so. It is easily reprogrammable, easy to use, portable, durable, and resistant to failure.
[Reference]
REFERENCES
HOEKSMA, J. B., SEP, S. M., VESTER, F. C, GROOT, P. F. C, SUMONS, R., & DE VRIES, J. (2000). The electronic mood device: Design, construction, and application. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 32, 322-326.
LEBER, W. (1978). A microprocessor control and recording system for instrumental behavior research. Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation, 10, 557-562.
LOGAN, F. A., & LOGAN, F. A., HI (1970). A simple, all-mechanical operant apparatus. Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation, 2, 24.
MOISE, S. L., Jr., & JARRARD, L. E. (1969). A computer-controlled system for training and testing primates. Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation, 1, 234-236.
PAMMENT, P. R., & STEPHENS, J. B. (1981). A multichannel, multiobserver portable event recorder. Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation, 13, 732-734.
REDMOND, D. P., & HEGGE, F. W. (1985). Observations on the design and specification of a wrist-worn human activity monitoring system. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 17, 659-669.
(Manuscript received April 3, 2006; revision accepted for publication September 8, 2006.)
[Author Affiliation]
ADAM M. HOFFMAN
Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana
JIANJIAN SONG
Rose Hulman Institute ofTechnology, Terre Haute, Indiana
AND
ELAINA M. TUTTLE
Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana
[Author Affiliation]
A. M. Hoffman, hoffman@mamaJndstate.edu
[Author Affiliation]
AUTHOR NOTE
This project was funded in part by the School of Graduate Studies and supported by the Department of Life Sciences at Indiana State University. The authors acknowledge M. Gauss, G. Burgess, G. Bakken, and C. Amlaner, whose material and logistical support made this project possible. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to A. M. Hoffman, Department of Life Sciences, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809 (e-mail: hofiman@mama.indstate.edu).
CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (AP) — A landslide triggered by days of incessant rain killed at least eight people in a southeastern Bangladesh city on Friday, a fire official said.
A big chunk of earth from a hill buried the victims' thatched huts as they slept in Chittagong city's Tigerpass area, fire official Farid Ahmed said. A concrete wall constructed to prevent landslides collapsed, he said.
Ahmed said rescuers recovered eight bodies and two survivors from the rubble and were searching for others believed to be trapped.
According to residents, at least 15 people lived in the huts, he said.
He said many other families are living in the area despite warnings from local authorities.
The residents of the area mainly work as day laborers or housemaids.
Manjurul Alam, mayor of Chittagong city, visited the area and ordered the immediate evacuation of the remaining residents to avoid further casualties.
Chittagong is 135 miles (225 kilometers) southeast of the capital, Dhaka.
Landslides are common in Bangladesh during the monsoon season. Last year, more than 60 people died in rain-triggered landslides in the region.
Festivalgoers can enjoy three stages of entertainment, includingBetty, the high octane trio whose second release, "Limboland," hasearned the band rave reviews. One magazine calls Betty "the world'sforemost, all-girl, biracial, rock 'n' roll group of our time."Betty will perform Saturday on the LesBiGay Radio stage at 8:30 p.m.Greazy Meal, featuring former members of the artist formerly known asPrince's New Power Generation, will perform at the Northern CommunityBank Stage at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Other concert highlights include Valerie James, Big Guitars fromMemphis, Kid Million, Wright Walleys and many more. Also, comedianSteve Moore, a stand-up comic with HIV whose recent HBO debut specialearned him rave reviews and national acclaim, will perform."Northalsted Market Days has grown incredibly in the lastdecade," event organizer Hank Zemola said. "Northalsted Market Daysnot only attracts Chicagoans, but people from all over the country."A $2 donation is suggested for admission. The festival ishosted by Northalsted Area Merchants Association, and proceedsbenefit various charities to fight crime, homelessness and HIV/AIDS.Hours for Saturday and Sunday are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For a schedule,call (773) 868-3010.Here are some of the other fairs and festivals in the Chicagoarea:CITYThe Ginza Holiday, a Japanese cultural festival, comes to historicOld Town today through Sunday at 435 W. Menomonee. Highlighted willbe the treasured master craftsmen (Waza) from Tokyo, demonstratingtheir 300-year-old Edo craft techniques and skills. Other highlightsinclude exhibits, demonstrations such as brush painting, calligraphy,flower arranging, classical and folk dances, martial arts, food andmore. A benefit donation of $3.50 for adults and $3 for seniorcitizens is suggested; children under 12 will be admitted free whenaccompanied by an adult. Hours are 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday; 11:30a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; and 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Call (312)943-7801.The second annual Korean Street Festival will be held Saturday atthe 3200-3400 blocks of Bryn Mawr Avenue. Come and savor the Koreanspecialties, as well as live music. Special performances areplanned, including Korean folk and music dances, Tae Kwon Dodemonstrations, a traditional Korean marriage ceremony, traditionalcostume shows, fan dances and calligraphy deomonstrations. Therealso will be arts, crafts, games and story telling for children.Admission is free. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (773) 583-1700.The Super Summer Car Show will take place Sunday at the 4700 blockof N. Lincoln Ave., near Lawrence and Western. Cars of the '50s and'60s, wild street machines, custom cars, low riders, wild streetrods, hot rods, custom trucks, antiques, classic cars and more willbe showcased. Live musical entertainment will be heard at theGiddings Plaza, featuring the Joe Charles Band. An outdoor summerconcert kicks off at Giddings Plaza on Monday. The concert willfeature a 34-piece brass band from Kirchheim, Germany. The freeevents are co-sponsored by The Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce,47th Ward Alderman Gene Schulter and the City of Chicago Departmentof Planning and Development. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday;Concert begins at 7 p.m. Monday. Call (773) 728-3890.The India Independence Parade will march at noon Saturday beginningat Warren Park, Western and Devon. The march will travel west onDevon to Washtenaw, where a ceremony will be held. From there, itwill proceed south to California Avenue. Call Moin Moon Khan at(312) 603-7762 or (773) 763-9050.Come see some of your favorite local television personalities, pluslearn about physical fitness and good health as the NBC 5 Health,Fitness and Fun Fair kicks off today through Sunday at Navy Pier.This free expo will feature hospitals, fitness centers, health foodinformation and health screenings. Hours are 4 to 7 p.m. Friday and9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The fair will be held inFestival Hall B, 600 E. Grand Ave. Call (312) 836-5510.The Chicago Park District is hosting its series of free weekendMini-Festivals at parks throughout the city. Some of the eventsinclude children's activities, entertainment, exhibits from localcultural institutions and games. Here are this weekend's highlights:Saturday: Franklin Park, 4320 W. 15th, 1 to 5 p.m., (312)747-7676; Gill Park, 833 W. Sheridan, noon-4 p.m., (312) 742-7802;Rosenblum Park, 7547 S. Euclid, 1 to 5 p.m., (312) 747-6649. Sunday:Chase Park, 4701 N. Ashland, 1 to 5 p.m., (312) 742-7518; CarverPark, 939 E. 132nd, noon-4 p.m., (312) 747-6047.SUBURBSAfrofest '97 will be held Saturday at Foss Park Lakefront, SheridanRoad and Foss Park Ave., North Chicago. Featuring arts, crafts,food, games and children, youth and main stages. Admission is free.Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Call (847) 263-2558.Relive the colorful years of the Renaissance, as the North ShoreMadrigal singers perform at the North Shore Retirement Hotel'sRenaissance Faire on Wednesday at 1611 Chicago Ave. in Evanston.Admission is Free. Call (847) 864-6400.Oak Park's Southtown Summer Fun Fest will take place Saturday alongOak Park Avenue between Van Buren Street and Lexington Street. Thisone-day outdoor festival will showcase two stages of entertainment,arts, crafts, local merchants' wares, food and fun. Fest lovers canjam to the sounds of eight bands playing live music throughout theday. Children can meet cartoon characters and have their facespainted by festival clowns. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call (708)386-0072.Send information on your festival 10 days in advance toFestivals, WeekendPlus, 401 N. Wabash, Chicago 60611.
Jackie the wily pooch is one New Yorker who just couldn't wait until opening day to see the Mets' new stadium. The stray dog was spotted sniffing around Citi Field for several days before animal control officers were sent Wednesday to rescue her. She led them on a run through the stadium, which is still under construction.
New York City Animal Care and Control spokesman Mike Pastore said, "She was around home plate, ran up the first base line and ducked into the stands."
Rescuers nicknamed the 40-pound shepherd mix Jackie. Pastore said she was jumpy and shaking when they caught her, but was able to pet her once she calmed down.
Jackie was taken to the agency's Manhattan shelter. She could be adopted as early as Saturday.
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Information from: Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com
Islamophobia has increased dramatically in the Netherlands following recent terrorist attacks in Europe, a human rights watchdog warned Tuesday, with Muslims the subject of stereotyping, stigmatization and frequent racist violence.
In a harshly worded report, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance said even Dutch politicians have resorted to making derogatory remarks about Muslims in recent years, and that racist discourse has remained "as a rule" unchallenged by mainstream political parties.
The report comes as the Netherlands is embroiled in a debate on what some Dutch politicians call an "Islamization" of the country, which has traditionally welcomed immigrants but put little pressure on them to embrace Western values.
Some in the Netherlands say the country's multiculturalism and tolerance have provided a breeding ground for Islamic radicalism. Fears of such radicalism crystallized after the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh for his movie "Submission," a fictional study of abused Muslim women with scenes of near-naked women with Quranic texts engraved on their flesh.
Right-wing Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders has generated widespread concern with plans to make an anti-Quran film portraying the religion as fascist and prone to inciting violence against women and homosexuals.
The report said that, in the Netherlands, "Islam has been repeatedly presented as a 'subculture' and Muslims have been presented as the carriers of backward values, generally incompatible with democracy and the values of Western societies."
It said Muslims also have been disproportionally targeted by state security policies, and that sweeping associations between Muslims and terrorism made in virtually all types of Dutch media _ newspapers, radio and television _ have aggravated Islamophobic views, which are increasingly becoming part of mainstream thinking.
"In the period after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and especially in the months following the murder of Theo Van Gogh, the Netherlands has witnessed a sharp rise in racist violence and other racist crimes, essentially targeted at its Muslim population," the report said.
The Dutch government said in response that anti-Islam sentiment in the Netherlands was part of a global shift in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.
"Following the attacks in New York, Madrid and London, the tone of the global debate, in politics, the media and society as a whole, has become more bitter and more intense," the government said in a statement.
The government also said the report was wrong in saying that mainstream parties rarely take a stand against Wilders.
"In actual fact, these viewpoints are strongly, and repeatedly, condemned by the majority of other political parties and by members of the government," the statement said.
The Netherlands is home to approximately 1 million Muslims, around 6 percent of the country's 16 million population. Most are of Moroccan and Turkish origin.
The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, an independent monitoring body, assesses racially motivated violence, intolerance and xenophobia in 47 European countries. The commission is based in Strasbourg, France.
Along with concerns about Islamophobia, the commission's report on the Netherlands said anti-Semitic insults and Holocaust denial are growing more widespread.
"As an illustration, the word 'Jew' is reported to be increasingly used as an insult and different aspects of the Holocaust are reportedly questioned in everyday situations, such as in schools," the commission said.
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Associated Press Writer Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Oklahoma State finished its first ever 11-win season with a 36-10 victory over Arizona in college football's Alamo Bowl on Wednesday.
Justin Blackmon caught two touchdown passes, showboating into the end zone to cap a 71-yard strike. The Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top receiver set a collegiate record with his 12th straight game with at least 100 yards receiving and a touchdown. The sophomore caught nine passes for 117 yards in perhaps his last college game.
Quarterback Brandon Weeden was 25 of 41 for 240 yards for Oklahoma State . It was the final game plan for Cowboys offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, who is leaving to become the coach-in-waiting at West Virginia.
Oklahoma State, which led the nation in total offense, never trailed and scored at least 33 points for the 11th time this season.
After Arizona couldn't convert a fourth down at the Cowboys' 29-yard line on its opening possession, Weeden found Blackmon practically uncovered down the sideline. So open was Blackmon that he pulled up before reaching the end zone and trotted parallel along the goal line before finally making the touchdown official.
Arizona ended the year with five straight losses. Nick Foles completed 32 of 50 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown, but threw three interceptions, including one returned by Markelle Martin for a 62-yard score.
| Military Bowl |
|---|
| Maryland 51, East Carolina 20 |
In Washington, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen is heading into unemployment as a winner, with a victory over East Carolina in the Military Bowl.
Already the Atlantic Coast Conference coach of the year, and the engineer of the second-biggest regular season turnaround in the country, Friedgen ended his 10-year run at Maryland with a romp.
The Terrapins forced four turnovers, Da'Rel Scott ran for 200 yards and D.J. Adams had four short touchdown runs.
New Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson announced last week that Friedgen was being fired, effective after the bowl game, with the school buying out the final year of the 63-year-old coach's contract for $2 million.
Friedgen's last act was the second-biggest margin of victory in Maryland bowl history as well as the most points the school has scored in a bowl. Friedgen went 5-2 in bowl games at the school.
Scott had second-half touchdown runs of 61 and 91 yards on back-to-back Terrapins offensive plays and posted the school's first 200-yard rushing game since 2003.
East Carolina quarterback Dominique Davis completed 35 of 57 passes for 268 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
| Texas Bowl |
|---|
| Illinois 38, Baylor 14 |
In Houston, Mikel Leshoure ran for 184 yards and three touchdowns as Illinois earned its first bowl victory since 1999, beating Baylor in the Texas Bowl.
The Illini spoiled the Bears' first bowl appearance in 16 seasons. Both teams finished at 7-6.
Leshoure had a 5-yard TD run in the second quarter, a 13-yard score in the third quarter and another 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth period. The performance gave him the school single-season rushing record with 1,697 yards.
The Illini built a 24-0 lead and Leshoure's last touchdown put the game out of reach.
Baylor's Robert Griffin III threw for 306 yards and a touchdown, but his two fumbles in the first half put the Bears behind.
Unidos, s�, unidos todos en un ideal com�n que nos engrandece ante los ojos de la opini�n mundial. Los cubanos no podemos seguir dando el espect�culo triste de la incompatibilidad imperante en casi todos los sectores en el destierro aptos quiz�s para la reconstrucci�n de la patria cuando llegue el momento de la liberaci�n de la tierra que nos vio nacer o que vio nacer a nuestros antecesores. La patria necesitar� de la cooperaci�n y del trabajo de todos los que de una manera o de otra, con una idea y con otra queremos que florezca, aunque sea lentamente, la bienandanza, la raz�n y la libertad sobre nuestro suelo martirizado durante mas de medio siglo.
Se cumple un a�o m�s de la instauraci�n de aquella Rep�blica libre, independiente y soberana. La fecha del 20 de Mayo ten�a -antes de 1959- que expresar por fuerza el jubilo de los cubanos todos por el triunfo definitivo de la Patria, y ese limpio contento por el nacimiento de la nacionalidad ten�a que llevar aparejadas la admiraci�n y la pleites�a hacia aquellos hombres generosos que regalaron incontables hero�smos, sacrificios y penalidades para legarnos la Rep�lica, perdida a�os despu�s por la vileza de Fidel Castro y sus seguidores.
20 de Mayo, d�a de j�bilo y de recuerdo reverente y emocionado para todos los cubanos. Pero d�a tambi�n de meditaci�n obligada sobre lo que nos toca a todos tambi�n realizar para llevar hoy por los mejores caminos la nueva liberaci�n de esta Patria que naci� en 1902.
En esta fecha creemos que el mejor homenaje de nuestros corazones a la naci�n es, precisamente, esa meditaci�n formal y trascendente sobre nuestras obligaciones por hacer todo lo posible para lograr la nueva independencia. Todo buen cubano, dolido hoy al no ver flotar sobre nuestros cielos la bandera de la estrella solitaria con orgullo y dignidad, debe redoblar su prop�sito de servir a la causa de la liberaci�n, poniendo a la patria como suprema meta de las acciones cotidianas. Sobre el amor propio desmedido, sobre el af�n de renombre y de poder, sobre partidismos y bander�as, est� nuestra naci�n, esa naci�n de la que todos somos hijos y deudores: la naci�n que nos quiere hermanados y no divididos, unidos y no enfrentados.
Si de la conmemoraci�n de este a�o sacamos redoblado este convencimiento habremos celebrado de la mejor manera la fecha gloriosa. Y estaremos a pesar de los sufrimientos y de los contratiempos, en la l�nea de honor y de servicio que nos se�alaron con sus heroicas acciones, aquellos hombres extraordinarios que nos legaron la Patria independiente.
De uno de esos hombres, el general Emilio N��ez, podemos decir con m�xima admiraci�n que fue el incesante gestador de las expediciones mambisas que dieron �mpetu a la guerra emancipadora. Luchador incansable, primero en la contienda de los diez a�os y luego en la del 95, dio a Cuba con generosidad desmedida su esfuerzo, su entusiasmo y su tes�n, hasta verla convertida en naci�n soberana.
Que su recuerdo, pues, nos ayude tambi�n a renovar los votos c�vicos y genuinamente patri�ticos por trabajar incansablemente en pro de la salvaci�n de la Patria hundida cada d�a m�s y m�s en la ignominia, en el terror y en el hambre producidos por el comunismo opresor.
Scores of parents were today getting the chance to air theirviews on a massive educational shake-up.
The official consultation on a number of closure-threatenedschools across Aberdeen was due to start today.
The city council plans to shut and merge a number of schoolswithin two years.
Statutory consultation papers on the possible closing of the citycentre's Causewayend and Torry's Victoria Road primaries were due tobe available from today.
Briefings on these and the possible closure of Hilton Nursery and merger of Northfield's Byron Park Nursery and Infant School withWesterton Primary School will be held at schools over the comingweeks.
Following the statutory 28-day consultation period the officers'recommendations will then go to the education committee on April 29and full council the day after for a decision.
Meanwhile, furious parents of children at Victoria Road Schoolwere due to stage a protest outside Torry Academy today.
The demonstration was expected to take place when MSP MaureenWatt, minister for schools and skills, pictured, was due to visit.
A public meeting was also planned at Stoneywood School tonightbetween Stoneywood Parent Council and John Tomlinson, corporatedirector for neighbourhood services (North Area).
Councillors Mark Macdonald, Barney Crockett and George Penny andBrian Adam MSP were due to attend.
But some parents at Byron Park Infant school and Nursery - which teaches pupils until they leave primary three - and WestertonPrimary School were not as concerned as those at other schools.
Teresa Walker's four-year-old daughter, Rebecca, is a nurserypupil at Byron Park, and her seven-year-old, Amee, goes toWesterton Primary.
The 36-year-old accommodation officer said: "Maybe it is a goodidea - both schools are in the same area.
"It is hard to say if it will work or not - the little onesstarting in primary one might not feel as comfortable at the biggerschool.
"But they can see each other from the playground as it is."
Further talks will follow on closing Kittybrewster and Stoneywoodprimaries as well as merging of Donbank and St Machar primaries,Bucksburn and Newhills and Middleton Park and Glashieburn schools.
ktaylor@ajl.co.uk
Dear Carolyn:
My boyfriend has a female friend who makes suggestive and flirtycomments that I find wholly inappropriate.
He agrees with me and says it makes him uncomfortable and thatit's unfair to me, but he hasn't said anything to her to stop it.
I don't want to be the type of girlfriend to suggest he cut offall contact with her, and, frankly, I like her in spite of thesecomments.
What can I say to her that doesn't sound too snarky but gets themessage across that I wish she'd back off a bit?
Washington
You're upset enough to confront the woman, your boyfriend agreesit's disrespectful to you, and yet he says nothing to stop it? Andyou give him a pass? Even though his remaining inert makes him partof the problem?
If you're letting me choose whom to get more worked up about, I'lltake the boyfriend. He owes you more than she does.
That said, my choice of remedies either way is: nothing. Nothingfrom the boyfriend, nothing from you.
Your relationship is apparently happy, solid, and unthreatened byoutside assault, since you don't suggest anything but.
So put the flirt in the proper perspective and ignore her, exceptwhen egregiousness demands that you put her - good-naturedly - in herplace: "Should I be getting you guys a room?"
Hi Carolyn:
What is the etiquette on returning jewelry to boyfriends? He gaveme a pretty garnet ring for Christmas - the only big thing that wason my list (I figured if anyone bought it for me, it would've been myfamily).
We had been together about six months at the time. It's a nicering, but I'm sure it didn't cost more than what I gave him. Anyway,he keeps saying that if we were to break up, he would want me to givethe ring back.
I will if he wants, but is it the same rule with all boyfriends?I'm 21 and he's 25, if it matters. I've had a couple of boyfriends,but I'm his first girlfriend.
Connecticut
Not that you could tell. None of the other details you provide,though, has any effect on my answer. Expected or un-, expensive or in-, old love or new, 25 or 55, Christmas or Columbus Day - a gift is agift is a gift.
Ring: yours. Abysmal manners: his.
There are exceptions. Engagement rings, for example, you return ifyou break the engagement. If the garnet were a family heirloom, Icould also see giving it back.
What I can't see, in any case, is asking for it back, much less inadvance, much much less more than once. Yow. As problems go, his poormanners are trivial compared with his raging dumpophobia.
Please air this by explaining, yes, you might break up with himsomeday (perhaps soon). Yes, he might be the one to dump you. Yes,most relationships end. And humans are mortal, too - but does thatmean he is going through life as firmly and consciously braced forhis inevitable demise as he is for this somewhat-less-inevitablebreakup-to-be?
Suggest he try deep breaths, and taking life as it comes. Andtaking the ring back now, much as you love it, since it's causing himso much distress.
E-mail "Tell Me About It": tellme@washpost.com; fax: (202) 334-5669; or write: "Tell Me About It," c/o The Washington Post, StylePlus, 1150 15th St., NW, Washington, DC 20071. Chat online withCarolyn each Friday at noon at www.washingtonpost.com.
BELL, Calif. (AP) — Leaders of this scandal-ridden city's police union, frustrated by what they see as a lack of urgency to investigate corruption in their own department, are calling for the suspension of a high-ranking police official and an investigation of their ousted former police chief.
Kurt Owens, vice president of the Bell Police Officers Association, said Thursday that he and other veteran officers knew for years of abusive towing practices that targeted Hispanic drivers and had heard allegations of police involvement in voter fraud. He said he and others complained to their superiors and to outside investigators, but saw little done to stop it.
"I've been to the FBI and the DA's office on issues like this and others that came up three or four years ago," Owens, a 23-year veteran of the department, told The Associated Press after a news conference outside the city's small police headquarters. "We were told, 'We think this is an interdepartment feud,' and, 'Bring us more evidence.'"
Since the Los Angeles Times reported in July that Bell's former city manager, police chief, and four of its five City Council members were among officials paid huge salaries to run the working-class city, several agencies have confirmed they are investigating.
Eight current and former officials of Bell, including the mayor, vice mayor and former city manager, were charged in September with misappropriating $5.5 million in public funds from the city, where one in six people live in poverty.
Prosecutors say former City Manager Robert Rizzo illegally created contracts that paid him about $1.5 million when perks like vacation, insurance and other benefits were added to his $787,637 salary. Four part-time city council members received salaries of nearly $100,000 a year.
Rizzo, former Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia and former Police Chief Randy Adams were forced to resign after the salary scandal broke. Adams was paid $457,000 a year to run a department of about 30 sworn officers. Spaccia was paid $376,288 a year.
Spaccia is one of the eight people facing criminal charges, but Adams is not. All have denied wrongdoing.
Prosecutors have also confirmed they are looking into allegations that city and police officials carried absentee ballots to residents' homes and told them whom to vote for.
The state Department of Corporations also has opened an investigation into the city's handling of bond issues over the last decade, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. The agency issued the city a subpoena on Monday, asking for documents pertaining to its bond sales, agency spokesman Mark Leyes told the Times.
The latest probe comes two weeks after the Securities and Exchange Commission announced it was looking into allegations that bond money was misused by Rizzo and others.
The Justice Department also is investigating claims Bell police profiled young Hispanic men in the largely Latino city as they trolled for drivers in a revenue-raising scheme that would result in cars being towed and impounded.
Meanwhile, state Attorney General Jerry Brown is suing current and former officials, including Adams, in an effort to recover the money he says they wrongly took.
Some people in Bell have speculated that Adams wasn't named in the criminal complaint because of his law-enforcement ties to District Attorney Steve Cooley.
Cooley, who has acknowledged knowing Adams professionally, has denied that. The district attorney, who is running for attorney general in next week's election, told reporters in September he would prosecute his own mother if he thought she had committed a crime.
Meanwhile, prosecutors say they are continuing to investigate. Dave Demerjian, who heads the public integrity division of the district attorney's office, said such probes can take months or years because of the tedious task of collecting documents and interviewing people. He said prosecutors began investigating Bell months before the salary scandal broke.
At Thursday's news conference, Owens and Officer Gilbert Jara, the Bell police union's president, demanded the suspension and investigation of Lt. Ty Henshaw, and the investigation of Adams. They also requested an update from city officials on Adams' status with the department, saying he has not removed his personal belongings from the station and they can find no record that he turned in his badge and gun.
They provided copies of an e-mail they said came from Rizzo, directing the city's head of administrative services to retroactively increase Henshaw's salary to $10,000 a month, boost it to $10,500 the following month and fully fund his pension.
"Ty has been the only one in the PD who has fully worked with us and I completely trust," Rizzo wrote.
Owens said Henshaw was known in the department as the enforcer of edicts from Adams and Rizzo, including one that patrol officers aggressively have cars towed. He said Henshaw once called four relatively new officers aside, telling them that if each patrol officer didn't account for at least three cars a day, the four would be laid off for lack of revenue.
Neither Henshaw nor interim City Manager Pedro Carrillo immediately responded to messages for comment left at the Police Department and City Hall.
Afghanistan on Monday recognized Kosovo's independence, a top government official said.
"We support the determination of the people and recognize Kosovo's independence," said Sultan Ahmad Baheen, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership announced on Sunday its independence from Serbia. On Monday, Kosovo's leaders sent letters to 192 countries seeking formal recognition of independence.
Afghanistan, where Islam is the official state religion, appeared to be the first country to formally recognize Kosovo _ a predominantly Muslim former Yugoslav province run by the United Nations since the end of the war with Serbia in 1999.
There are hundreds of infill housing sites in the city andsuburbs. Here is a sampling of some in established communities: CHICAGO Jefferson Court, 4848 N. Central. Norwood Builders. Condominiums,$134,900 to $149,900. (312) 777-9771. Eastwood Plaza, 6050 N. Eastwood. Pontarelli Builders.Condominiums, $119,000 to $176,900. (708) 698-4200. Homes on Bell, 1329 S. Bell. Paramount Homes. Single-family,$150,000 to $225,000. 312-528-9077. Federal Square, Federal and 14th streets. Thrush Development. Townhouses, $130,000 to $198,000. (312) 987-4600. ARLINGTON HEIGHTS Lost Creek. Town & Country Homes. Town houses, $146,900 to$158,900. (708) 952-8337. Lake Arlington Towne. Kimball Hill. Condominiums, $132,900 to$156,900. 708-392-2424. DEERFIELD Fountain of Deerfield. Flodstrom Construction. Town houses,$296,000 to $356,000. (708) 940-7180. DES PLAINES Kylemore Greens. Kennedy Group. Single-family, $256,900 to$323,800. (708) 297-6688. DOWNERS GROVE Chasewood. Burnside Construction Co. Town houses, $134,900 to$148,900. (708) 515-9999. GLENVIEW Amber Woods. Norwood Builders. Town houses, from $239,900. (708)296-4950. Glenlake Estates. Glenlake Venture. Single-family, $392,900 to$468,900; town houses, $272,900 to $329,900. (708) 729-2800. Princeton Club. Lexington Homes. Condominiums, $196,000 to$2,315,000. (708) 291-0590. HIGHLAND PARK Hybernia. Red Seal. Single-family, $615,000 to $1.3 million.708-831-1270. LOMBARD Columbine Glen. J. P. O'Connor & Co. Town houses, $157,00 to$182,000. (708) 916-1400. Abbey Woods. Terrestris Development Co. Town houses, $180,000 to$220,000. (708) 495-5551. MORTON GROVE Morton House. Degen & Rosato Construction and Callero & CatinoRealtors. Condominiums, $164,900 to $185,400. (708) 967-6800. Tuscany Place. Dan Pontarelli and Beaulieu Builders. Condominiums,$130,000s to $150,000s. (312) 237-5120. NORRIDGE Cascades of Norridge. Pontarelli Builders. Condominiums, $99,900to $160,900. (708) 698-4200. NORTHBROOK Avanti Ridge. Brandess Home Builders. Single-family, $459,900 to$599,000. (708) 564-9080. Whisper Woods. Northern Illinois Construction. Customsingle-family, from $700,000. (708) 272-8600. SCHAUMBURG Meribel. Town & Country Homes. Town houses, $107,900 to $121,900.(708) 372-9042. Towne Place West. Lexington Homes. Condominiums, $129,000 to$144,000. (708) 843-8163.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Criminal charges filed over 2010 coal mine explosion in New Zealand that killed 29 miners.
Veteran Larry Whigham was the starting free safety in practiceWednesday morning.
The Bears benched rookie Bobby Gray for the start of Friday's gameagainst the Jacksonville Jaguars (7 p.m., Ch. 2, 780-AM) to get MikeGreen the time he needs at strong safety before the season begins.With Mike Brown out for the exhibition season with a broken finger onhis right hand, Green has been playing free while Gray has beenimpressive at strong.
Now Green will play the position he is slated for Sept. 8 againstthe Minnesota Vikings, and Whigham will get some more exposure.Surely, Whigham must be the biggest free safety in the league.
Two-hundred and 13 pounds this morning," he said. Everybody thinksI'm so damn big, but I think I just look bigger than I really am."
He certainly hits big. Whigham made a name for himself at thestart of training camp last summer when he laid out receiver D'WayneBates in Platteville, Wis. His second Pro Bowl season was marked withnumerous special-teams highlights. His hit on Friday in St. Louisknocked the helmet clear off Rams running back Lamar Gordon.
Don't look for Whigham to be getting any larger. His club-mandated weight is 215.
The fine is $969 per pound, per day," Whigham said. You makemoney, you don't want to give your employer back his money. Hell no.Then you're damn near working for free out here."
Whigham did not believe any of his teammates tipped the scales tooheavy during the weekly weigh-in.
If they're over, they're pretty dumb fellows," he said.
ON ONE: Rookie guard Terrence Metcalf could have taken the easyout--blaming the crowd noise in the Edward Jones Dome led for histhree false starts on Friday. But Metcalf didn't take that crutch. Hesaid his problems were a mixture of nerves and learning the differentcadences used by backup quarterbacks Chris Chandler and Henry Burris.He was flagged twice with Chandler in and once with Burris.
Offensive coordinator John Shoop can often take an in-your-faceapproach, and Metcalf believes that is what he needed.
He lets you know what you've done wrong," Metcalf said. It doesn'tmatter who it is, he gets on everybody. That's the best thing abouthim. It's not [that] he talks to the rookies one way. He talks toeveryone that way and lets everyone know how he feels.
There's nothing harsh about it. If he came at me soft, I'd go outthere and make the same mistake. What result would he get? I'm goingto go out there and make sure I don't make that same mistake so itwon't be me he is talking to."
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: The Bears depart for Decatur early thisafternoon and hope their second adventure there and in Champaign isless criticized, or at least a little smoother. Many players, unawareof the distance between the hotel in Decatur and Memorial Stadium,fumed at the game-day commute. Jauron said no changes in procedureare planned, not even for the hourlong bus ride. The team plans toarrive at the stadium two hours before kickoff.
I think we'll be better," Jauron said. I think the trip will befaster just because we're all better at it and we know exactly whatwe need to get done."
CONGESTION SUGGESTION: Police and team officials noted heavytraffic backups in and around the University Avenue exit fromInterstate 57 before and after the exhibition opener Aug. 10. Thereare two suggested alternates for drivers from Chicago going toFriday's game. The first is exiting on Interstate 74 (north ofUniversity) east and exiting at Lincoln and taking it south toMemorial Stadium. Drivers also can pass University and exitMonticello Road heading east. Turn left (north) on Route 45 andproceed to stadium parking.
