Hugh Jackman knows how Madonna feels

Hollywood star Hugh Jackman has taken a swipe at Australia's strict laws on adopting children from overseas.

Jackman says he understood the problems Madonna faced in her failed attempt to adopt a second child from Malawi after he and his wife went through similar angst in Australia.

Jackman and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness had wanted to adopt a child from Africa or Asia but found Australia's laws on overseas adoptions made it impossible.

The couple ended up adopting Oscar, eight, and Ava, three, from the United States instead.

"The adoption laws in Australia are too restrictive," Jackman told The Sun newspaper in Britain on Thursday.

"Of course, checks need to be made. But they had a very negative approach.

"It was like they were trying to discourage you.

Advertisement

"There are 130 million orphans in the world - who is looking after them? If you are a citizen of the world, on some level they are all our responsibility.

"And if you have got parents who want to adopt and there are children who need a home, it seems like a no-brainer.

"There are not that many children in Australia who need adopting, so we looked internationally and that is what is difficult."

Jackman and Furness adopted their son and daughter after suffering several miscarriages.

He sympathised with Madonna's recent failed attempt to adopt a Malawian orphan girl, Mercy James, to add to her brood of Lourdes, 12, Rocco, eight, and three-year-old David Banda, who she adopted from Malawi three years ago.

"I challenge anyone who thinks you adopt a kid for a publicity stunt," Jackman says.

"Any parent knows that would have to be the most intensive publicity stunt in the world. I am sure she is coming from a good place."

Jackman says he and his wife had no plans to adopt more children.

"We think about another adoption," he says.

"Then every time we get on a plane with our two kids and are all crammed in together, we think maybe we will leave it at what we have.

"Our first child was not the easiest of babies, which is why we left it five years before the second. Our second was a dream baby." link....

Read More »»

Budget Passes but Critics Say the Deficit Is in the Details

WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval to its $3.5 trillion federal budget on Wednesday, opening the door to President Obama’s policy initiatives on health care, energy and education while sidestepping the difficult question of how to pay for them.

Enlarge This Image

Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Representative Steny H. Hoyer, the majority leader, said “This budget puts America back on the path to fiscal responsibility.”
Blog

The Caucus
The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion.
More Politics News
The spending plan, which did not receive a single Republican vote in the House or Senate, would result in substantial red ink over the next five years but foresees a $1.2 trillion deficit in 2010 being cut by more than half within five years.

Democratic backers of the budget called it an improvement over the economic approach followed by Republicans in recent years. They said it was more honest than previous budgets and would require Congress to pay for new spending or tax cuts.

“This budget puts America back on the path to fiscal responsibility,” Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader, said.

But Republicans heaped criticism on the fiscal outline, saying it hid the true extent of future deficits, created unfair legislative advantages for Democrats and expanded the size and reach of the federal government.

“I am really so concerned about where this takes our opportunities as a nation,” said Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, senior Republican on the Budget Committee, who said the budget would cause an “explosion of federal debt.”

The budget outcome reflected the deep ideological divide in Congress. The vote in the House was 233 to 193, with 17 Democrats joining 176 Republicans in opposition; the Senate result was 53 to 43, with 4 Democrats, including newly minted Democrat Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, joining 39 Republicans against the plan.

Despite the unanimous Republican opposition, the budget moved through Congress more easily than in past years and marked a victory for President Obama and Congressional Democrats. At the urging of the White House, the leadership raced the spending plan through on Wednesday.

“This vote on the economic blueprint is an exclamation point at the end of the 100 days,” said Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff.

But the budget leaves for the coming months the heavy work of fashioning details of the new policies that the Obama administration is pursuing. While clearing the way for overhauls in health care, energy and education, the budget requires that they not add to the deficit. The budget also does not spell out how to pay for the legislation.

It gives Democrats significant room for maneuvering as they move ahead with a health care plan, by providing procedural protection against a Senate filibuster for that legislation, which is still in the early stages of drafting, and allowing 11 years to pay for any health care initiative.

President Obama did not get all he wanted. Lawmakers in both parties dismissed a plan to raise $318 billion by limiting income tax deductions for wealthier taxpayers. The budget also does not extend a middle-class tax cut established by the president beyond 2010 unless Congress finds a way to pay for it.

The final document also shaves billions from other tax relief sought by the White House and reduces the administration’s overall spending request for 2010 by about $10 billion.

Congress has also been cool to the administration’s push to raise $600 billion over 10 years by auctioning off permits for the right to produce carbon emissions. And Congress did not provide $250 billion sought by the administration for more financial bailout programs if necessary.

The budget does grant three years of relief from the alternative minimum tax for middle-income taxpayers, who would be increasingly hit by the automatic tax. In recent years, Congress has been forced to spend time and effort coming up with an annual adjustment.

Democrats called the budget responsible and said that current economic conditions, and the need to recover from the policies of the Bush administration, were the main reasons for the deficits.

Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota, the Democrat who is chairman of the Budget Committee, said the Congressional plan would spend $555 billion less over five years than the administration’s initial proposal. He said domestic spending would increase an average of 2.9 percent a year over the five-year stretch.

“That is not a big-spending budget,” Mr. Conrad said. “That is a tough budget.”

He and other Democrats said the budget would reduce the deficit to less than 3 percent of the gross domestic product, a level deemed acceptable by some economists. But Republicans said the Democrats were severely underestimating future deficits because the budget failed to account for costs of a health care overhaul, popular tax breaks and other spending that would drive the deficit much higher.

“What we see before us is a budget resolution that is nothing short of the most audacious move to a big socialist government in Washington,” said Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader.

But Democrats said the budget reflected the themes that Mr. Obama campaigned on and the priorities of most Americans.

“This is a magnificent blueprint for the future,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. link...

Read More »»

Bangladesh consider lifting ban on ICL rebels

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh may lift their ban on Indian Cricket League (ICL) players after India offered a similar amnesty, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said.

Indian cricket authorities on Wednesday said players who joined the unauthorised league would be allowed to play domestic competition if they sever ties ith the rebel body by May 31.

"India took the decision in line with a directive from International Cricket Council (ICC) and we will also consider the same in our next board meeting on May 9," BCB vice-president Mahbubul Anam told a news conference.

"According to the ICC decision, which will be effective from June 1, the cricketers playing in any unapproved leagues will be ineligible to play international cricket, but they could return to the international level after scrapping their contract with that unapproved league."

The ICC earlier this month rejected an application from the ICL seeking approval for their Twenty20 competition.

Bangladesh suspended 14 cricketers for 10 years last October for joining the renegade league.

Anam said, however, that before being considered for the international side, a player would have to play domestic cricket for a one-year period, a condition India also put forward.

Habibul Bashar, who led Bangladeshi players in the ICL's Dhaka Warriors, said he will not make any comment until the BCB had made its decision.

"Let them decide first and only then I will think about my ICL contract," he told Reuters. "I can't say about other players because the ICL contracted us individually." link...

Read More »»

Manuel Almunia: Arsenal's Spanish 'keeper who would be England’s No 1

Under Fifa residency rules Almunia, who features below Iker Casillas and Liverpool’s Pepe Reina in the Spanish reckoning, will qualify for the England national team before the 2010 World Cup rolls round.
How does he qualify?
Almunia joined Arsenal as an unknown quantity from Celta Vigo in 2004, and under residency laws would soon be eligible to apply to become a naturalised British citizen. After living and working for five years in this country the process could be started with the official paperwork likely to be rubber stamped at the beginning of 2010.

Related Articles
Almunia keeps the dream alive
Manchester United v Arsenal: Man marking
Wenger: United will regret missed chances
Man United 1 Arsenal 0
Paper View: Joy for O'Shea in win
Arsenal craving pedigree
Does he want to play for England?
Almunia has always insisted he would be willing to consider playing for England, were the option available, after being over looked back home in Spain, who have the world’s best goalkeeper in Casillas.
“People are asking this question now because I have been in England for five years and am able to apply for a passport,” Almunia said recently. “I am taking in the information, what I need to do for a passport. I think, for January next year, maybe I can have the permission. Maybe I will get a passport, then after, if I get the call-up (from England), I will think about this.”
Would Fabio Capello pick him?
Goalkeeping is a problematic area for Capello, who has selected David James to start every competitive match since he took charge of the national team, despite some reservations about the Portsmouth goalkeeper’s reliability. He rates both Ben Foster and Joe Hart but is also a stickler for only selecting players who are fit and playing regularly for their clubs – as both David Beckham and Michael Owen have discovered in the past.
So a player with extensive Champions League experience who is in the form of his life would undoubtedly tempt the Italian. If he is prepared to pick a 20-year-old Peterborough United goalkeeper, Joe Lewis, for a double header of friendlies against USA and Trinidad & Tobago, we can be pretty sure all options are on the table.
Is he better than what’s currently on offer?
James, who had been enjoying something of an Indian summer with Portsmouth, has not had as good a season this year as last and though he remains supremely fit his advancing years mean he won’t be around forever. Joe Hart’s development has been hampered by Manchester City signing Shay Given and Ben Foster is a Carling Cup specialist at Manchester United.
Robert Green is the only English goalkeeper with any chance of playing in Europe as first choice next season, with West Ham, but both Paul Robinson and Chris Kirkland’s stars have waned. Until Foster or Hart mature or Green builds on a solid couple of seasons at Upton Park, Almunia would be first choice on talent and experience.
What would the fans think?
The watershed moment of Sven Goran Eriksson being appointed England manager, the first foreigner to do so, was met initially with some opposition but after the failure of Steve McClaren, Fabio Capello was welcomed warmly – especially as he has got the team winning. But accepting players under a flag of convenience is still seen as the preserve of smaller nations and though it might improve the team it would be a blow to credibility.
Fans groups may see the move as another nail in English football’s coffin – but if the 2010 World Cup could be won, all would be forgiven.
Stranger things have (almost) happened
Back in 2004 as Eriksson picked through the ruins of the failed Euro 2004 campaign, he instructed David Davies to inquire about the possibility of four leading players switching their nationality to play for the England national team.
Davies wrote in his subsequent autobiography that “very serious consideration” was given to Eriksson’s idea, despite the obvious public outcry it would have provoked.
The four players in question were Carlo Cudicini – another goalkeeper, then of Chelsea – Louis Saha, Steed Malbranque and Edu.
Davies wrote: “’I like Carlo Cudicini’, Sven told me. However, our goalkeeping coach Ray Clemence was particularly concerned, insisting to Sven it would destroy our keepers. ‘Can you also find out about Malbranque, Edu and Saha?’ Sven asked me. I wasn’t sure what the public reaction would be to an Italian, a Brazilian and two Frenchmen coming into the squad but I did Sven’s bidding.
“However, all my discreet enquiries to clubs and agents led to nothing. Miraculously, the moment our interest became known Saha and Edu were called up by their own nations, making them ineligible.” link...

Read More »»

Karachi tense after fatal clashes

Paramilitary troops are out in force in the Pakistani city of Karachi, with tension high a day after ethnic clashes killed at least 24 people.
There have been a number of fresh incidents of violence reported, including shots fired at the funerals of some of the victims.
The clashes are said to be between Urdu-speakers and ethnic Pashtuns.
Separately, President Asif Ali Zardari called for national unity in tackling militants in the restive north-west.
Pakistani troops this week launched operations in the Lower Dir and Buner regions to remove Taleban militants who had spread there from their stronghold in Swat.
Obama's concern
In Karachi, a spokesman from the Pakistan Rangers paramilitary force told Reuters news agency: "We have heavy deployment of troops across the city, and they have been told to go to any extent to control the situation, including shoot at sight orders for miscreants."
See a map of the north-west region
Shots were fired by unidentified gunmen at funerals being held in North Karachi on Thursday and clashes were reported in at least two other areas of the city.
About 25 people have been arrested in connection with Wednesday's shootings.
There is reduced public transport and schools are closed.
Karachi has a history of ethnic violence.

The clashes were said to be between Urdu-speakers and ethnic Pashtuns
It is dominated by Urdu-speakers, but there is also a growing population of ethnic Pashtuns.
Officials said Wednesday's fighting was between members of the two groups, and started after an unidentified man opened fire, killing three members of the Urdu-speaking Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
Most of the dead in the violence were Pashtuns.
Police said that 16 cars, 20 shops and eight hotels were set on fire on Wednesday.
In the north-west, the military is continuing its operations in Buner, less than 100km (60 miles) from the capital, Islamabad.
On Wednesday it said it had taken control of the key town of Dagar.
The army said hundreds of Taleban fighters had spread to Buner after a peace deal.
The peace deal sets up Sharia law in parts of the region in return for an end to the Taleban insurgency.
However, the Taleban have not laid down their arms.
The army says fighting in Lower Dir has ended.
On Wednesday, Mr Zardari said Pakistan was facing a "critical hour" in tackling the militants.
"The time has come for the entire nation to give pause to their political differences and rise to the occasion and give full support to our security forces," a presidential statement said.
Also on Wednesday, US President Barack Obama again said he was "gravely concerned about the situation in Pakistan".
"I'm more concerned that the civilian government there right now is very fragile," he said.link...

Read More »»

Miliband in stand-up row with Sri Lanka defence minister over civilian deaths

Sri Lanka has published details of an apparently heated exchange between its Defence Secretary and David Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary, about the safety of civilians in the area held by the Tamil Tigers.

Mr Miliband and Bernard Kouchner, his French counterpart, were in Sri Lanka yesterday to urge the Government to call a ceasefire in the war against the Tamil rebels, to allow humanitarian access to tens of thousands of civilians on the front line.

They admitted last night that they had failed in their mission after meeting the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, and his Defence Secretary, who is also his brother and the man overseeing the drive to defeat the Tigers after 26 years of civil war.

Details of their conversation with Gotabaya Rajapaksa emerged this morning in a Sri Lankan newspaper and on the website of the Defence Ministry .

RELATED LINKS
West may hold up $1.9bn loan to Sri Lanka
Row after Sri Lanka bans Swedish minister
The report said that Mr Miliband interrupted the Defence Secretary as he was describing how the army had rescued 200,000 civilians from the tiny strip of northeastern coastline where it has pinned down the Tigers.

Mr Miliband said that Britain had credible information that civilians were being harmed in the army’s artillery raids on the area — now covering only 3.8sq miles — in which the United Nations estimates there are still 50,000 non-combatants.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Defence Secretary — who is also a US citizen — said that Britain should not be “duped” by a disinformation campaign masterminded by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), as the Tigers are officially known.

“Even BBC is dishing out LTTE propaganda material without verification,” he was quoted as telling Mr Miliband.

Mr Miliband responded that his claim was not based on BBC reports but on credible information from sources on the front line.

“Apparently annoyed, the Defence Secretary said anyone who knew the LTTE would not believe that any reliable information would emanate from that area under its jackboot,” the report said.

The Defence Secretary had added that it was up to the British delegation to decide whether it should believe what a terrorist group said or what a responsible officer of a legitimate government told them, according to the report. link...

Read More »»

World Flu Alert Goes Higher; Mexico Plans Shutdown

Mexico readied a "temporarily closed" sign — taking the drastic step of ordering a suspension of nonessential federal government and private business activity as it tried to squelch a swine flu epidemic. The World Health Organization ratcheted up an alert and warned that "all of humanity" is threatened.

The dire warning showed that world health officials are very worried about the potential for massive numbers of deaths worldwide from the mutated virus, even though the epidemic so far has claimed only a confirmed eight lives in Mexico and one in the United States. Roughly 170 deaths are suspected of having been caused by the virus in Mexico.

Switzerland on Thursday became the latest country to report a swine flu infection — a 19-year-old student who health officials said was mistakenly released from a hospital and then hastily readmitted. European Union health ministers planned emergency talks in Luxembourg to coordinate national efforts in preventing the spread of swine flu in Europe.

The Phase 5 alert, indicating a pandemic could be imminent as the virus spread further in Europe, prompted Mexico to announce the partial May 1-5 shutdown, Mexican Health Secretary Jose Cordova said late Wednesday.

In Washington, President Barack Obama promised "great vigilance" in confronting the outbreak which has sickened nearly 100 people in 11 states and forced schools to close. A Mexican toddler who visited Texas with his family died Monday night in Houston, becoming the first fatality in the U.S., and 39 Marines were confined to their base in California after one came down with the disease.


The virus, a mix of pig, bird and human genes to which people have limited natural immunity, has also spread to Canada, New Zealand, Britain, Germany, Spain, Israel and Austria.

"It really is all of humanity that is under threat during a pandemic," WHO Director General Margaret Chan said in Geneva. "We do not have all the answers right now, but we will get them."

In a televised address, Mexican President Felipe Calderon praised "the heroic work" of doctors and nurses and asked his countrymen to literally stay in their homes between May 1 and May 5, saying "there is no safer place to protect yourself against catching swine flu, than in your house." link...

Read More »»

Azerbaijan gunman kills 10 at college

At least 10 people were shot dead this morning and eight injured after a student went on the rampage at his campus in Baku, the capital of oil-rich Caspian state of Azerbaijan.

The student opened fire after a dispute with other members of his college faculty, the Russian news agency Interfax reported this morning. He then shot himself.

According to witnesses a quarrel erupted on the campus of the Azeri state oil academy in Baku. One student produced a pistol and started shooting at the others point-blank. He then ran into the academy building and continued to fire.

The news agency Interfax said that one of the victims was the mother of one of its correspondents in Azerbaijan. They identified her as Tamilla Azizova, 58, a faculty member at Azerbaijan's state oil academy.

Police this morning had sealed off the scene.

There were contradictory accounts over the death toll at the institute – with the ANS channel reporting that 15 bodies had been recovered.

Masul Gamidov, the chief doctor of Baku's emergency medicine service, said he did not know the number of victims. "Seven bodies and eight wounded people were taken away from the scene," he said.

Russian news agencies identified the gunman as a Georgian citizen, Mursal Gamidov. The shootings may have broken out following a row between a rival group of foreigners at the college and Azeri students, the agencies suggested.

The Azeri press agency this morning quoted a senior police officer as saying that the gunmen were "terrorists" who had been "neutralised". A student told the news agency Reuters he believed two gunmen were involved.

"As far as I know there were two terrorists. One of them committed suicide and the other was arrested," he told the agency. He said the shootings erupted at 9am just after classes began.

Azerbaijan is a mainly Muslim ex-Soviet state on the shores of the Caspian Sea, where it holds vast reserves of oil and gas. link...

Read More »»

Obama's grand economic ambitions

Tackling the economic crisis has been the centrepiece of President Obama's first 100 days in office.
It is not yet clear whether the $787bn (£502bn) stimulus package or the $1 trillion bank bailout plan will succeed in stemming the sharp fall in the US economy.
But it is already clear that President Obama has even bigger economic ambitions.
Unlike the Bush administration, he sees a central role for the government in transforming the US economy and ultimately rebuilding US power and prestige in the world.
He has already signalled that despite the current economic problems, he wants to reform the US healthcare system, improve access and standards in education, and introduce green technology.
'Unsustainable'
But all these measures could be expensive, and his biggest challenge is reconciling his bold ambitions with reducing the huge budget deficit, projected to reach $1.7tn this year, 12% of GDP.

US fiscal policy is on an unsustainable course
Douglas Elmendorf
Congressional Budget Office director

The yawning deficit (graphic)
The president has recognised the need to bring the budget back into balance in the long term, after the economy begins to revive, but he has been vague about the details of how to do so.
The federal budget will face additional pressures in the next decade as the baby boomer generation begins to retire, adding to social security and Medicare costs.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that by the end of the president's first term in office, the deficit will still be over $500bn.
"US fiscal policy is on an unsustainable course," says CBO director Douglas Elmendorf.
Already some fiscally conservative congressional Democrats, known as blue dogs, are expressing doubts that all of his spending plans are affordable. Together with the Republicans, they could have the power to block his plans.
The key battle is likely to be over healthcare reform, the most difficult economic and political challenge President Obama faces.
The rising cost of healthcare, which could reach $4tn within the next five years, or 20% of GDP, is threatening the government's budget balance and the competitiveness of US companies alike.
Half of total healthcare spending is by the federal government and the other half by companies who provide health insurance for their workers.
Health costs
Health costs are increasing at 5% a year above the rate of growth of the economy, a pace which is clearly unsustainable.

Nurses call for universal healthcare at a rally in Los Angeles
At the same time, President Obama is committed to bringing the 15% of the population which lacks any health insurance - around 45 million people - back into the system.
Earlier estimates suggested that his plan could cost up to $200bn per year, and the president has allocated a healthcare reserve fund in his budget proposals that will grow to $646bn.
Some of this is to be paid by eliminating tax breaks for higher-income earners that were introduced by the Bush administration.
But it is very likely that Americans will have to get used to a less generous healthcare system, with more controls over what doctors and hospitals can spend.
During the election, President Obama signalled that he would retain the basic structure of the US healthcare system, with employer-based insurance for those in work, but extend coverage by offering uninsured workers a version of the federal health plans offered to government employees.
However, the healthcare industry, a big and powerful lobby in Washington, is now organising against this part of the proposal, with the support of the Republicans.link...

Read More »»

PM 'losing authority' - Cameron

The government's Commons defeat over the Gurkhas shows Gordon Brown is "rapidly running out of political authority", David Cameron has said.
The Conservative leader said Mr Brown had "misjudged the public mood" over the restrictions imposed on which Gurkhas allowed to settle in the UK.
Labour lost a vote on the issue, the first major defeat under Gordon Brown, after 27 of its MPs rebelled.
Mr Cameron said the defeat capped a damaging few weeks for Mr Brown.
Lord Mandelson admitted it was "turning into a bit of a week" for Labour but denied the prime minister was losing his authority.
He said Mr Brown was right to be taking the initiative over issues such as reforms of MPs' expenses.
'Misjudging mood'
A sequence of events showed Mr Brown's authority was damaged, Mr Cameron said at his monthly news conference.
Last week's Budget showed the government was "running out of money" while the Damian McBride e-mail scandal indicated an administration "running out of moral authority", he said.

The prime minister misjudged the public mood and what was right
David Cameron
The government had also been forced into a number of policy U-turns over issues such as Titan prisons, he added.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats united to inflict a shock defeat on Labour over the Gurkhas as a large number of Labour MPs either voted against the government or abstained.
"The prime minister misjudged the public mood and what was right," Mr Cameron said of the vote.
He urged the government to accept Conservative proposals to reform immigration policy to allow all Gurkhas who served in the British army before 1997 to be able to come to the UK.
The Liberal Democrats have also calling for all Gurkhas to get equal right of residence.
In addition to the Gurkhas, Mr Cameron said there were other areas where the two main opposition parties could "co-operate" together, such as the environment and civil liberties.
However, he stressed there were still areas of "big disagreement" between the two parties - notably on Europe.
Economic challenge
On the economy, Mr Cameron said it would be the political party which best understood how to cope with the changed economic climate which would deserve to win the next election.
The Conservatives are reviewing all their public spending commitments, with Mr Cameron suggesting a "new era of thrift" in government is needed to restore public finances to health.
But he rejected suggestions that this would leave the Tories having to take "nasty" decisions on spending cuts and tax rises that would effectively derail other proposed reforms.
If people viewed the Conservatives as just "a bunch of accountants" the party would have failed, he said.
The Conservatives had to show their policies for reforming public services to give more power to people were consistent with ensuring the government lived within its means, describing this as an "exciting challenge".
link...

Read More »»

White Sox need just two hits for a win

CHICAGO -- Seattle starter Chris Jakubauskas pitched a two-hitter -- and lost. All the White Sox needed was a two-run double by Paul Konerko to beat the Mariners, 2-1, in Game 1 of a doubleheader Tuesday.



Chicago starter Bartolo Colon (2-1) allowed only an unearned run and four hits, pitching out of a jam in the seventh. Jakubauskas (1-3), who walked one and struck out four in eight innings for his first career complete game, retired the side in order every inning except the fourth.

With the White Sox batting in the bottom of the fourth, Jakubauskas walked Josh Fields. Carlos Quentin singled to center, moving Fields to second. Jermaine Dye flied out for the second out, bringing up Konerko, who hit a double to left that scored Fields and Quentin.

In the second game, Yuniesky Betancourt drove in five runs and Russell Branyan had a career-high five hits as the Mariners won, 9-1.

L.A. Angels 7, Baltimore 5: Howie Kendrick hit a two-run homer, and Kendry Morales hit two doubles and drove in two runs for the visiting Angels.

Philadelphia 7, Washington 1: Chase Utley homered twice and drove in three runs for the host Phillies, who won their fifth straight. Philadelphia ace Cole Hamels suffered a sprained ankle in the fifth inning trying to field a bunt.

Atlanta 2, St. Louis 1: Matt Diaz drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single off Kyle McClellan in the eighth inning for the host Braves.

Houston 8, Cincinnati 3: Wandy Rodriguez allowed one run in seven innings and ex-Tiger Pudge Rodriguez homered and doubled for the Astros, who have won their past 11 games in Cincinnati.

BALTIMORE: Third baseman Melvin Mora was activated from the 15-day disabled list.

CINCINNATI: Edwin Encarnacion has been placed on the 15-day disabled list after tests found that the third baseman has a chipped bone in his left wrist.

N.Y. Mets: Former Tiger Freddy Garcia has been released by the Mets following two bad starts for Triple-A Buffalo.

PHILADELPHIA: Brad Lidge has inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee that could keep the star closer off the mound for the next few days.

TEXAS: Josh Hamilton was out of the starting lineup for the third straight game and could be headed to the disabled list because of bruised ribs. link...

Read More »»

Joe Talamo, 19, is young but has wisdom before Kentucky Derby

LOUISVILLE - Joe Talamo has been to the Kentucky Derby once before, but as a fan, not as a jockey.
On Saturday, the 19-year-old from New Orleans will climb aboard favorite I Want Revenge in an attempt to become one of the youngest jockeys to ever win America's most famous race.
"I'm so excited," said Talamo, who started riding in 2006 at Louisiana Downs. He's been going to the track since he was 7, with his father Joseph Jr., who worked as an assistant trainer.
"I've only been riding for 2-1/2 years," Talamo said. "It's amazing that it's happening so fast, but I'm enjoying every minute of it."
And rightfully so after I Want Revenge won his last two races in spectacular fashion - the Gotham Stakes by 8-1/2 lengths and the Wood Memorial by a length and a half after overcoming major trouble at the start and the finish.
"He's a tremendous animal just to be on top of him," Talamo said of his Derby mount. "It's really just an unbelievable feeling."
Talamo was aboard I Want Revenge for his final workout Tuesday, and the two zipped four furlongs in :47.20, the fastest of 49 works at the distance.
"I'm pretty confident, especially after today," the rider said. "He worked pretty much on his own. He just galloped around there."
Alonzo (Lonnie) Clayton and James (Soup) Perkins are the two youngest jockeys to win the Derby. Each was 15 when they captured the Roses, Clayton in 1892 with Azra and Perkins in 1895 with Halma. In the modern era, Steve Cauthen was 18 aboard Affirmed (1978), and Ronnie Franklin was 19 on Spectacular Bid (1979). Talamo has been compared to the the latter two.
"They're legends in the sport of horse racing without a doubt," he said of Cauthen and Franklin. "It's quite an honor just to hear my name be said in the same sentence as the two."
The winners were the only Derby mounts for both Cauthen and Franklin.
"I have all the confidence in the world in Joe," said David Lanzman, who owns I Want Revenge along with IEAH Stables, Charles Winner and Puglisi Racing. "If he were a 19-year-old tennis player you'd be calling him old. I'm losing nothing with Joe. I'm gaining stuff with Joe. Joe's a smart kid that learns every day and wants to learn. He realizes how fortunate he is to be in this position and I'm happy to have him as part of the team."
Trainer Jeff Mullins was initially fooled by the young jockey.
"I knew he was a good rider, but to tell you the truth, I didn't realize he was that young," Mullins said. "I thought he was 20-something years old. To show that kind of confidence and patience, it's pretty strong for a guy that age."
Mullins was referring to Talamo's ride in the Wood Memorial when I Want Revenge broke last before rallying through traffic to prevail.
"The bottom line is that he is a good young rider," Cauthen said. "I think he's the kind of guy that is in a situation similar to mine. He has confidence in himself and has got the confidence of people he is riding for. You got to go out there and do what you can do. Try to keep it simple and enjoy the situation and do what you know best - ride the horse the way it needs to be ridden."
If he wins, Talamo will donate $25,000 of his purse to the Children's Hospital in New Orleans. link...

Read More »»

Sex' star having surrogate twins

Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker and her actor husband Matthew Broderick are expecting twin daughters through a surrogate.
The couple, who already have a son aged six, are "overjoyed", said a statement from their publicists.
The babies are due to arrive "later this summer", while no further details of the surrogate mother or her pregnancy have been revealed.
Parker, 44, and 47-year-old Broderick have been married for almost 12 years.
The pair are "happily anticipating the birth of their twin daughters later this summer with the generous help of a surrogate," said the statement.
Parker is best known as Carrie Bradshaw, the chief character in the long-running TV comedy drama and its big screen spin-off, which was released last year.
A sequel to the movie is expected to come out in May 2010, according to makers Warner Bros, and will reunite its four main female actresses.
The first film made $415m (£281m) at the box office around the world.
Broderick's main credits are the Broadway and film productions of The Producers, and the comic movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. link...

Read More »»

BofA's Lewis may be voted out of chairman role: report

Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis may be forced to give up his role as chairman but is set to win re-election to the bank's board by a wide margin, the Wall Street Journal said.

Citing people familiar with the preliminary results of shareholder votes ahead of the bank's annual meeting on Wednesday, the newspaper said a proposal that would force Lewis to give up his seat as chairman was too close to call.

The paper said that as of Tuesday, with about 75 percent of shares outstanding counted, slightly more than 50 percent favored splitting the chairman and CEO positions.

"We expect he will be CEO, a director and we hope chairman," BofA spokesman Robert Stickler told the paper adding that the bank would respect the shareholders' decision.

Separately, the Journal said BofA may have to raise billions of dollars of fresh capital after preliminary results of a stress test from U.S. regulators.

Pension funds and other investors controlling more than 172 million shares of BofA, or 2.6 percent of the total, have said they intend to vote for a boardroom shake-up, the paper said, citing its own tally.

A BofA spokesman did not immediately return a Reuters email seeking comment. link..

Read More »»

Sun fails to shine for Sun Microsystems

Sun Microsystems reported its revenues dropped by 20 percent in its third quarter, and made a net loss of $201 million on revenues of $3.27 billion.
That compares unfavourably to the same period last year, when Sun turned in a net loss of $34 million on revenues of $3.27 billion.
Financial gentlemen believe that concerns about the future of Sun Microsystems may have caused corporations to stop buying kit. Last week Oracle said it would buy the firm for $7.4 billion, following earlier attempts by IBM to snap up the struggling firm.
But it's more likely that Sun Microsystem, like many another technology corporation, is suffering from the Credit Crunch Blues. Purse strings everywhere are tied in a tricky knot with corporations counting their pennies until things become a little clearer worldwide.
What's particularly worrying for Sun is that it's high end systems which use SPARC RISC chips fell by almost a third during the firm's third quarter.

While Sun also sells systems based on X86 architecture, sales of these sort of systems also fell by a fifth. But that's in line with statements made by AMD's CEO Dirk Meyer, who said in a financial conference call recently that few corporations and large organisations are prepared to spend on server systems right now. link...

Read More »»

America's Most Polluted Cities

This time of year, many Americans are concerned with sunburns. In some areas, they should pay more attention to smog.

The reason? Though it's often invisible, air pollution is a threat to 186 million Americans, according to a new report released by the American Lung Association.

Article Controls

EMAIL
PRINT
REPRINT
NEWSLETTER
COMMENTS
SHARE
YAHOO! BUZZ
The annual report--State of the Air 2009--found that six in 10 Americans live in counties where ozone or particle pollution has reached dangerous levels. Both types of pollution can be deadly and have been linked to worsening respiratory conditions like asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, and there is evidence that particle pollution increases risk of heart attacks and strokes.

In Depth: Worst Cities For Short-Term Particle Pollution

In Depth: Worst Cities For Year-Round Particle Pollution

In Depth: Worst Cities For Ozone Pollution

In compiling this list, the American Lung Association ranked U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs)--geographic entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics--using the highest weighted average for any county within that MSA. Grading was based on the Environmental Protection Agency's determination of violations of the national ambient air quality standard.

Though overall air pollution is down compared to previous years, the problem is still widespread. Visalia and Fresno, two mid-size towns in central California ranked high for short-term and year-round particle pollution. Birmingham, Ala., and Cincinnati were listed in the top 10 of metro areas with unhealthy levels of year-round particle pollution. In the Southwest, the Houston, Dallas and Phoenix metro areas had high ozone levels. link...

Read More »»

CHOP, Penn research points to genetic link in autism

By analyzing DNA from more than 2,000 autistic children, researchers have uncovered the best evidence yet for genetic links to the disorder - all tied to the way brain cells form and dissolve connections.
The research effort, led by Hakon Hakonarson at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, used much larger samples than had been analyzed before to identify genetic differences between autistic subjects and controls.

The CHOP group collaborated with Penn, UCLA, and other institutions, announcing their findings in two papers in today's issue of the journal Nature.

One paper revealed the first common genetic variation found to occur more often among autistic people. The other paper announced 13 rarer genetic mistakes that are strongly associated with autism.

Both papers back the consensus that there is no single autism gene, but perhaps 100 ways to develop the disorder.

"These papers point to some really surprising things," said Jonathan Pevsner, head of bioinformatics at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, who was not involved in the study. "This is high-quality work."

Autism affects about one in 150 people, and is characterized by restricted interests, limited social interaction, and sometimes learning difficulties and repetitive behaviors.

For years, scientists have been seeking mutations and common genetic variations associated with autism to understand the root of this baffling condition. But none of the previous genetics studies packed the statistical power of this latest work, Pevsner said.

Some of that power came from techniques pioneered at CHOP's Center for Applied Genomics - a research group established in 2006 with the goal of gathering DNA from thousands of children and sifting it for clues to diabetes, asthma, autism, and other conditions.

Last year, the project started to yield results with the first known gene tied to the childhood cancer neuroblastoma.

Hakonarson, who directs the center, said the autism findings relied on DNA samples from 2,600 autism patients, 2,000 of their family members, and 7,000 healthy controls. With genome scanning technology, the researchers sought variations that were overrepresented in the autism group.

Humans carry a genetic code that is three billion characters long, written in the four chemical building blocks of DNA - adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine, abbreviated as A, T, C, and G.

Scientists have known for years that this code differed between people at several hundred thousand points, referred to as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). At such sites, one person may have a C, another a T, for example.

The more prominent autism paper released today described the results of scanning 550,000 known SNPs. That revealed just one stretch of DNA, on chromosome 5, where people with autism were more likely to have one of several SNPs.

It took a huge study to bring this out because these autism-related spellings also show up in half the general population. They are somewhat more frequent in autistic children - occurring in about 65 percent of cases.

Researchers call this a risk factor - one that increases the odds of being autistic by just a small amount. The SNPs may not be causing the added risk, Hakonarson said, but pointing to a nearby gene that is.

The telltale SNPs were found between two genes called cadherins, which are critical in the development of synapses - the links between nerve cells.

The cadherins work primarily in the frontal parts of the brain, said neuroscientist Joseph Buxbaum, a collaborator on the paper who directs the Seaver Autism Research Center of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "That's where we learn and do our thinking," he said.

The other paper described a search for whole genes or even groups of genes that were duplicated or missing more often in the autistic children. Geneticists were surprised to discover in 2004 that a few of these larger genetic glitches happen in all people. Most such missing or copied genes don't seem to do much harm.

A few, however, were associated with autism in previous studies. Hakonarson and his collaborators began by examining those, including six genes that appeared to be duplicated more often in autistic people and four that were deleted more often.

With many more subjects and controls, the new study could only confirm four of the 10 previous findings. The rest, the team found, cropped up very rarely in either group and were not appreciably more concentrated among the autistic.

The researchers also identified nine new places where stretches of DNA were either deleted or duplicated more often in the autistic subjects. None of these are likely to cause autism alone. Most were passed down from a parent, who would presumably not be autistic.

Kennedy-Krieger's Pevsner said he thought someone should study the parents with these genetic mistakes to see if they had any unusual or autistic-type traits.

All the duplicated or deleted genes were involved in brain function. Some were involved in creating new connections between neurons. The rest coded for a class of proteins called ubiquitin, associated with metabolizing waste.

"That was really fascinating," said Mount Sinai's Buxbaum. "We used to think of that as the Dumpster of the cell."

But it turns out to be a very dynamic disposal system, he said. "If you want to re-craft connections between one nerve cell and another, you have to chew up something and bring in something new," he said.

Hakonarson said the findings back the long-standing suspicion that autism is caused by different combinations of genetic factors, some common and some rare. He hopes that uncovering the biological roots of autism will help dispel fears that it's triggered by childhood vaccines.

Buxbaum said he's now optimistic that scientists will gradually learn to distinguish different causes - perhaps with genetic tests - and find individualized treatments.

Already doctors can identify about 1 percent to 2 percent of autistic children as having a distinct chromosome abnormality called fragile X syndrome, for which therapies are now in the testing stage. A few other rare genetic diseases make up smaller fractions of the total.

Eventually, "we can apply personalized medicine to treat each of the different causes," he said. "With time we'll get them all." link...

Read More »»

Mexican Officials Hope Early Swine Flu Case Can Yield Clues

Mexico – Edgar Hernandez is a playful five-year-old with spiky black hair and a Cheshire cat grin. He also happens to be the earliest known victim – so far – of the swine flu that is spreading across Mexico, the U.S., and beyond.

Edgar's mysterious case is at the center of a search in Mexico to find out how the epidemic, which has now spread to seven countries, began.

View Full Image

Getty Images
Edgar Hernandez at his home in La Gloria village, Veracruz state, Mexico.
Edgar, like many residents of la Gloria, got sick in late March or early April, running a high fever and complaining of a headache and pains, according to his mother Maria del Carmen Hernandez. But after a quick visit to the doctor and some pain pills, he recovered.

During the town's flu outbreak, health officials tested residents and concluded they had ordinary influenza. Some of those samples were saved and sent to Mexico City. Once the outbreak of swine flu was confirmed in other parts of the country, Mexico sent the samples from La Gloria to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for further testing. The samples came back negative, except for the one that belonged to Edgar.

Now, Edgar is an active boy with a round face who likes practical jokes. When a group of reporters gathered around his small house in this village on Tuesday, he coughed and grabbed his throat, looking up to see the reaction. Asked how he was feeling, he said: "Bad, very bad"-- prompting his mother to chide him: "Edgar, stop it."

Late Tuesday, the Mexican government said there are 159 suspected swine flu deaths in the country. Seven of the deaths are confirmed to be a result of the virus. Officials have confirmed 26 cases of the virus among some 2,498 people treated with severe pneumonia since outbreak began.

Swine Flu: Complete Coverage

View Map

Live Updates: Tracking news of the outbreak | Monday's tracker
WHO's updates | CDC's updates
Discuss

Vote: How worried are you about a flu pandemic? Join the discussion.
More

Video: Swine Flu Spreads as Mexico Deaths Mount
Photos | Video | Q&A: A Flu Primer
Swine Flu: Complete Coverage
Timeline

View Interactive

Mexican officials hope Edgar's case can help piece together the epidemic's early days. But so far, his case is raising more questions. While other villagers also got bad colds at roughly the same time as Edgar, he appears to be the only one in the area who contracted the deadly swine flu. Adding to the mystery, no one else in the family got swine flu, though Edgar sleeps in the same bed with his three-year-old baby brother and his parents.

"We just don't know how he got sick. Maybe it was a genetic accident of some kind," said Orlando Oscanga, a doctor who works for the state government and oversees public health issues in the municipality where Edgar lives.

Some residents of La Gloria blame the epidemic on a nearby pig farm. Granjas Carroll, among the country's biggest pig producers, is a joint venture between Mexican firm Agroindustrias Unidas de Mexico SA and the Virginia-based Smithfield Foods Inc.

Since mid-March, La Gloria residents have complained that pig waste was tainting their water and giving them respiratory problems. They said that more than half the town's 3,000 residents had the flu due to the farm. In early April, they held a protest, holding signs decrying the pig farm.

Smithfield's president and chief operating officer, C. Larry Pope, said in an interview that the company routinely tests its swine herds for any instances of various bacteria and disease, including influenza. So far, Mr. Pope said, "this variant has never presented itself in any of our herds" in any country where the company is present, including Mexico. He said that "we know of no pigs that are sick, no people on those farms that are sick and no people in our plants" who are sick.

Mr. Pope said the current influenza strain that is spreading between humans has no connection to hogs. "This is not a swine issue," he said. "This is a human-to-human issue." Mexican officials are testing the hogs.

Smithfield has been expanding its production into foreign markets for the past decade in an attempt to take advantage of rising meat consumption abroad. The company entered Mexico in 1999 and has two hog farms here, including the one near La Gloria. The company sends most of its hogs to processing plants in the Mexico City area, not owned by Smithfield, which produce meat for consumption mainly in Mexico.

Smithfield's entrance into new markets has often sparked consternation by local health and environmental activists, partly because of its size and partly out of concern that Smithfield might introduce farming practices that could be detrimental to the local environment. For example, the practice of disposing hog waste in large lagoons, which is common practice among larger hog operations, has been linked to water pollution and is coming under increasing pressure in the U.S. and abroad.

A nearby lagoon filled with pig waste is the focus of complaints from residents of La Gloria, who say the stench is overwhelming at times. Edgar's mother says the pig farm also creates a problem of flies, and wants authorities to do something about it.

Smithfield executives say the company has a longstanding dispute with some members of the La Gloria community regarding the sites of its hog farms. A few years ago the company first approached the community with the idea of building a facility closer to the city of La Gloria. Immediately there was a public backlash and some community members protested, blocked roads and even hijacked a company truck with an employee inside, says Victor Ochoa, director of Granjas Carroll. Smithfield put the plant further away in an attempt to alleviate some concerns. Still, some community members have become more "aggressive" against Smithfield, breaking into the facilities to take photographs, among other things, Mr. Ochoa said.

For now, Edgar is enjoying his newfound fame, and La Gloria is hoping that some good will come from the attention. The state governor visited Edgar on Monday and brought him a soccer ball and jersey. On Tuesday, the governor's office donated a new ambulance to the town, which is also slated to get a new health clinic. link....

Read More »»

HK shares rise after two-day drop but turnover slows

Turnover stays low amid swine flu caution

* Li & Fung soars on strong outlook

* Airlines, shippers partially recover from 2-day sell-off (Updates to midday)

By Parvathy Ullatil

HONG KONG, April 29 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares rebounded from their two-day sell-off on Wednesday, rising 1.8 percent by midday, but turnover on the exchange slowed as worries about a potential widespread swine flu outbreak kept investors at bay.

Turnover dropped to HK$25.8 billion ($3.3 billion) from HK$30.7 billion by midday Tuesday.

"The sentiment is not that of panic but that of caution. There is no indication on how bad the situation may get, so investors are guarded about taking new positions," said Alex Wong, director with Ample Finance Group.

More countries have reported cases of the flu and others such as Australia and South Korea are testing for the virus. The World Health Organisation raised its alert level to a step closer to declaring the first flu pandemic in 40 years.

"Though Hong Kong has the SARS experience behind it, there are fears that this swine flu may be different and could potentially do more damage" he said. link...

Read More »»

Three in Fort Dix Five terrorist plot sentenced to life

Three of the five men convicted of plotting a terrorist attack on Fort Dix were sentenced to life in prison yesterday, and two of them were given an additional 30 years for gun charges.
All three of the Duka brothers - Dritan, Eljvir and Shain - vociferously proclaimed their innocence before their sentences were announced.

At the end of his statement, Eljvir Duka, 25, turned toward his large family, seated in the gallery, and urged them to "be patient, don't worry."

"Being in prison and knowing you're innocent is a great feeling in the sight of God," he said. "The government knows what they did."

District Court Judge Robert B. Kugler noted that the defendants showed no remorse for their actions, and said "a harsh, punitive sentence is necessary."

"I don't impose these sentences lightly. I see the family members . . . I see the heartache," he said. "But I have to balance that against what they did. . . . I'm convinced of their guilt."

In December, a jury convicted the Duka brothers and two other defendants, Mohamad Shnewer and Serdar Tatar, of conspiracy to kill U.S. soldiers. The jurors acquitted the men of attempted murder.

Shnewer and Tatar are scheduled to be sentenced today. They also face possible life terms.

All five are Muslims born overseas, but raised primarily in Cherry Hill. The case had been one of the country's most noted instances of what authorities have termed homegrown terrorism.

Prosecutors called the arrests a success of the FBI's tactic of discovering plots in their earliest stages and disrupting them before they could come to fruition.

They said the men, inspired largely by watching violent jihadist videos downloaded from the Internet, had planned to use a pizza delivery pass to get on the Army base and open fire on soldiers.

All five were arrested in May 2007, on the day when Dritan and Shain Duka attempted to buy machine guns from a government informant. Dritan, 30, and Shain Duka, 28, were given an additional 30 years in prison for a gun charge related to that attempted purchase.

The case was built largely on the work of two informants who infiltrated the group and recorded hundreds of hours of conversations.

The defense argued that the informants entrapped the men in a phony conspiracy, goading them into making inflammatory statements about the government and pushing them to make half-hearted plans for an attack they never intended to carry out.

The Duka brothers all cited examples from their recorded conversations that they said proved their innocence. Dritan Duke spoke in a rapid-fire cadence for nearly 30 minutes, while reading off a pile of yellow legal pad sheets.

"This case was nothing more than a conspiracy that was formed against us by the government," he said.

None of the defendants took the stand at trial.

In emotional statements yesterday, Duka family members also pleaded the innocence of the three brothers, saying the case was full of innuendo, not hard evidence.

"Prove it. What are intentions?" said their father, Ferik Duka. "Because if they are terrorists, I swear to God I will say it now, they are not my sons."

Dritan Duka's 11-year-old daughter, Lejla, the oldest of his five children, also spoke, saying that she would dedicate herself to becoming a lawyer and helping the oppressed. link...

Read More »»

'Wolverine': Hugh Jackman on First Big Movie of Summer '09

Imagine you're in Hugh Jackman's bedroom at four in the morning. The alarm clock shrieks. He stumbles out of bed and heads for the kitchen to wolf down a plate of egg whites and dry toast. Yesterday at this hour, he ate a chicken. This is not a case of the midnight munchies. And the actor's call time on the set of X-Men Origins: Wolverine isn't for hours. But in order to turn his biceps into bowling balls and the rest of him solid as granite, Jackman has spent months following a hardcore bulk-building regimen requiring him to refuel every three hours. No exceptions. ''I wanted to look like [Robert] De Niro did when he took off his shirt in Cape Fear and everyone went, 'Whoa.' You realized the guy was a freak,'' recalls Jackman, 40, who kept to a joyless diet of bland, low-fat food and a workout routine that had him pumping iron every day until he dropped off from exhaustion. ''There were moments when I would wake up completely sore and say to my wife, 'I have a feeling this is like childbirth.'''

One thing's for certain, nobody can accuse Jackman of sleepwalking through the role of Wolverine. And when Jackman shows up 15 minutes early for a breakfast interview near his home in New York City, it is clear that he's still willing to embrace, enthusiastically, experiences most stars suffer through begrudgingly. He's got plenty of incentive, considering it's his first shot at producing a major summer tentpole, a film that centers on a character that made him a star and is still the only way he's proved himself as a box office draw for U.S. audiences. Although his debut as Oscar host in February helped boost ratings by 13 percent over last year's telecast, nobody rushed out to see him in 2008's romantic epic Australia, or in 2007's quickly canceled CBS musical series Viva Laughlin. Jackman knows the pressure's on to maintain his young male fan base (as People's reigning Sexiest Man Alive, he's got women of all ages sewn up) and help make Wolverine a franchise-spawning hit.

The movie, a spin-off of the three-picture X-Men series, plucks the alpha-male mutant out of the X-Men ensemble for a full-on origin story, tracing how temperamental supersoldier Logan (Jackman) is recruited into a secret government program by Colonel Stryker (Danny Huston) and receives the injection of adamantium that turns him into a cutlery-clawed killing machine. Constantly at war with his own animal nature, Wolverine faces off against his anarchic half brother, Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), and a rogues gallery of other mutants. ''Wolverine's fun and cool,'' says Jackman, ''but I wouldn't be down for my fourth time doing it if there wasn't something more interesting to it than just slicing and dicing and smoking a cigar and saying a few cool lines.'' link...

Read More »»

Dodgers edge past wild Giants

SAN FRANCISCO -- Ninth-inning extra-base hits by Manny Ramirez, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp lifted the Dodgers to a 5-3 win over the Giants on Tuesday night.

Ramirez led off the inning with his third double of the night, took third on Bob Howry's wild pitch and scored on Ethier's one-out double to center. Kemp followed with a triple to the deepest part of AT&T Park in right-center to score Ethier.

Jonathan Broxton, who suffered his first blown save in relief of Chad Billingsley in the eighth inning, got the win with Will Ohman earning his first save as a Dodger and third of his career. Billingsley pitched 7 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts for the no-decision.

Until the winning rally, the offenses consisted mostly of mistakes. Two of the Dodgers' three runs were unearned and the third scored on a bases-loaded walk to James Loney for a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning. The Giants scored on a Rafael Furcal error, an infield single and an eighth-inning bases-loaded walk to Rich Aurilia by Broxton.

Having given away runs Monday night, the Dodgers defense tightened up to take one away in the first inning Tuesday night. After Randy Winn walked, Bengie Molina lined a double to center. Center fielder Kemp took the rebound off the fence, quickly whirled to cutoff man Furcal, who threw a long strike to catcher Russell Martin for the tag on Winn.

Then it was the Giants defense giving away a run as left fielder Fred Lewis dropped Ethier's fly ball for a two-base error. Ethier tagged to third on Kemp's flyout and was singled home by Loney. link...

Read More »»

Just Like Old Times For Celtics' Pierce

BOSTON -- Injured forward Kevin Garnett was on the bench in street clothes. Ray Allen was nearby in warm-ups and done for the night with six fouls. The Big Three was down to just the one Boston has been accustomed to seeing over the past 11 seasons.

Playoff schedule
WEST FIRST ROUND
Los Angeles 4, Utah 1
Lakers win series, 4-1.
Denver 3, New Orleans 1
Game 5: Wed., 10:30 ET, at DEN

Dallas 4, San Antonio 1
Dallas wins series, 4-1.

Houston 3, Portland 2
Game 6: Thu., 9:30 ET, at HOU

EAST FIRST ROUND
Boston 3, Chicago 2
Game 6: Thu., 7 ET, at CHI

Cleveland 4, Detroit 0
Cavaliers win series, 4-0.

Atlanta 2, Miami 2
Game 5: Wed., 8 ET, at ATL

Orlando 3, Philadelphia 2
Game 6: Thu., 7:30 ET, at PHI

• Full playoff schedule

And just like Paul Pierce has done so many times for the Boston Celtics, he came through with a scoring barrage when the C's needed it most during a crucial 106-104 victory over the Bulls in Game 5 of this wild best-of-7, first-round series. The 2008 NBA Finals MVP scored 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to spark the Celtics and has now put his team in position to knock off the pesky seventh-seeded Bulls with a win in Game 6 on Thursday.

"It was phenomenal. Sweet spot. In-between game," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said about Pierce's performance.

"Obviously, Paul, the shots he made down the stretch were huge. He got to his spots."

Until he got cooking, Pierce had been stymied by the Bulls for most of the series. With Luol Deng out with an injury, John Salmons had smothered the Celtics star while the Bulls' big men had closed down Pierce's driving lanes. Salmons had been able to contest Pierce's shots, most memorably when snuffed Pierce's potential game-tying jumper in the second overtime of Game 4.

Pierce had entered Game 5 averaging a team-best 23.5 points in the series, but he had made only 43 percent of his shots from the field and attempted only 20 free throws while turning the ball over 15 times. Only an early scoring outburst in Game 3 had been vintage Pierce.

The Bulls continued to keep Pierce in check through the first three quarters of Game 5, as he had just 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting, including 1-of-5 from 3-point range, no attempted free throws and a turnover, with Boston down 70-66. From there, the Bulls quickly took an 11-point lead as Pierce remained quiet.

"They had guys clogging up the lane a lot," Pierce said. "They have guys reaching. Maybe I can do a better job of trying to get to the line, get my rhythm going and maybe that can get me going. But maybe better late than never."

With Garnett sidelined, Pierce has had the challenge of making up for KG's offensive production. That was compounded in Game 5 when Allen surprisingly fouled out with 5:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.

It was a familiar spot for Pierce. Before this version of Boston's Big Three came into existence in the summer of 2007, Pierce took the big shots -- in fact, as many shots as he wanted. With Garnett and Allen out, Pierce had to revert to his old shoot-first approach just to give the champs hope of getting out of the first round.

Fortunately for the Celtics, Pierce hadn't been discouraged by his shooting struggles.

"I missed a couple wide open 3s that I had, missed a couple lay-ups," Pierce said. "I never got down over the shots I missed because I thought a lot of them were good shots.

"I just knew before long they would fall. I thought when Ray fouled out it was time for me to really step up."

Pierce's lay-up with 1:13 remaining in the fourth quarter tied the game at 91. Then with the Bulls ahead 93-91, he nailed a clutch 15-foot jumper to the tie the game again and send it to overtime.

He stayed hot in overtime as consecutive step-back, midrange jumpers over Salmons pushed Boston ahead 104-101. And with Game 5 tied in the final seconds of OT, the Celtics' captain added another big shot to his résumé, nailing a 19-foot pull-up J with 3.4 seconds left to give the Celtics the lead for good.

"I just thought I didn't over-penetrate tonight." Pierce said. "I took my time. I got some space off the dribble. I got into my sweet spot and got the shot."

After the game, Salmons sounded like a lot of other players who have tried to stifle Pierce's midrange prowess.

"I was just trying to keep him in front of me and contest the jump shot," Salmons said. "That's what I've been trying to do the whole series. Be even with him. Try to stay in front of him.

"He hit some shots. He hit three contested shots."

This is the first playoff series in NBA history to have three games to go to overtime, and it appears destined to be the most memorable first-round series ever. It's had almost too many story lines to mention, starting with the saga of Garnett's injury and the emergence of two great young point guards in Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose, and along the way we've had incredible shot-making by Allen and Chicago's Ben Gordon, among others.

On Tuesday, Pierce ensured on Tuesday that he will be remembered, too, with what might be two more exciting chapters still to come. link...

Read More »»

GLOBAL MARKETS: European Stocks Seen Just Up, Eyes On Banks

LONDON (Dow Jones)--European stocks are expected to open modestly higher, supported by an almost flat close on Wall Street, even though traders remain cautious ahead of details of the capital requirements of the U.S. banks and the impact on the global economy should further injections be required.

"Financial stocks are going to remain squarely in focus after yesterday's reports of more capital being required at Citigroup and Bank of America," said Matt Buckland, a trader at CMC Markets. "The outlook for the sector as a whole remains far from encouraging."

Nonetheless, he ...
link...

Read More »»

UPDATE: SAP 1Q Earnings Miss Mkt Views, Confirms '09 Outlook

FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--German business software company SAP AG (SAP) Wednesday reported first-quarter sales and earnings that fell short of analysts' forecasts due to restructuring charges and challenging economic conditions, but it confirmed its outlook for 2009.

"While visibility for software revenues remains limited, we continue to take the necessary steps to protect our margin in this tough operating environment," SAP Co-Chief Executive Leo Apotheker said in a statement.

SAP's earnings were hit by EUR160 million in restructuring charges ...

Read More »»

Voting Rights Act still has work to do for states

Today the U.S. Supreme Court will consider a case challenging the constitutional authority of Congress to reauthorize Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Three years ago, the Senate and House of Representatives overwhelmingly reauthorized expiring provisions of this critical civil rights law. The challenge brought today before the nation’s highest court threatens to undermine one of the nation’s premier laws protecting the right to vote.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 resulted from the historic struggle for civil rights, which reached a crucial turning point in Selma, Ala., in 1965, when John Lewis and his fellow civil rights marchers were brutally attacked by state troopers. The stark images of that “Bloody Sunday” jolted citizens nationwide and spurred Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act to ensure equal access to our democracy, regardless of race.

In contrast to the resistant, bitter politics that followed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, an historic bipartisan event on the steps of the U.S. Capitol launched Congress’s 2006 work to reauthorize sections of the law.

The legislation introduced then cited specific findings highlighting the need to reauthorize the act, including that “discrimination in voting continue(s) to exist.” Those findings concluded that without reauthorization, “racial and language minority citizens will be deprived” of their right to vote, undermining 40 years of progress. Following a unanimous Senate vote, and a near unanimous House vote, the reauthorization act became law.

The 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution grant Congress the authority to remedy discrimination, and Congress is at the height of its prerogatives when enacting laws that address racial discrimination in connection with voting. These amendments have not changed, nor has the authority of Congress to enforce them.

At issue in the case now before the Supreme Court —- Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder —- is Section 5 of the act, which provides a remedy for unconstitutional discrimination in voting by requiring certain jurisdictions with a history of discrimination to “pre-clear” all voting changes with either the Justice Department or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

In 2006, after 19 hearings and in thousands of pages of testimony and documents, the Senate Judiciary Committee that I now chair found evidence in three critical areas:

> Even with Section 5 in place, covered jurisdictions continue to engage in discriminatory, often subtle, tactics, that play on racially polarized voting to deny the effectiveness of the votes cast by members of a particular race.

> Section 5 provides an effective deterrent against bad practices in covered jurisdictions.

> And Section 5 plays a vital role in preserving the gains minority voters have achieved.

Before the Voting Rights Act, minorities of all races faced major barriers to democratic participation through poll taxes, exclusionary primaries, intimidation by voting officials, language barriers, systematic vote dilution and other tactics.

Section 5 combats the practice of covered jurisdictions shifting from one invalidated discriminatory voting tactic to another.

Not until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were people of all races in many parts of our country able to effectively exercise the rights granted 95 years earlier by the 15th Amendment.

Despite the gains we have made in building a more inclusive democracy, the work of the Voting Rights Act is not yet complete.

The act has been a source of protection for the voting rights of those long discriminated against and a deterrent against new discriminatory efforts.

The Voting Rights Act transformed America by ushering in an era of greater inclusion. Now, some suggest that Section 5 should be a victim of its success.

In my view, abandoning a successful deterrent just because it works defies logic and common sense. When Congress finds an effective and constitutional way to prevent violations of the law, the courts must uphold it.

In fact, since 1966, whenever the Supreme Court has reviewed or even cited to the Voting Rights Act, it has affirmed the act as a valid exercise of congressional authority.

Almost three years ago Congress voted nearly unanimously to extend the vital remedies of Section 5. I am confident that when the Justices review the substantial record compiled by Congress, they will support the clear success of this vital civil rights legislation. link..

Read More »»

Sebelius is thrust into swine flu crisis

Within hours after winning Senate confirmation as Health and Human Services secretary, the former Kansas governor gets to work leading the response to the global health emergency.
Associated Press
April 29, 2009

Washington -- Kathleen Sebelius won Senate confirmation Tuesday as the nation's Health and Human Services secretary, thrusting the former Kansas governor into the middle of the public health emergency involving swine flu.

The 65-31 vote came after Democrats urged quick action so that Sebelius could get to work leading the federal response to the flu outbreak.

"We find ourselves in the midst of a global crisis," Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) said. "What we've been missing in all of this is the head of the Health and Human Services Department."

Sixty votes in the 100-seat Senate were necessary to avert a filibuster. Some Republicans had objected to Sebelius' stance on abortion -- she supports a woman's right to choose -- and her initial underreporting of campaign contributions from a doctor who performs late-term abortions.

Immediately after the vote, Sebelius, 60, resigned as governor in Kansas and headed to Washington. She drove directly from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to the White House, where she took the oath of office.

"We wanted to swear her in right away because we've got a significant public health challenge that requires her immediate attention," President Obama said, standing with his newest Cabinet secretary.

Sebelius received a briefing from Obama's Homeland Security advisor, John Brennan, and other officials dealing with the first domestic test of the administration, which turns 100 days old today. link...

Read More »»

Swine flu cases mount

The number of suspected and confirmed swine flu cases continue to rise around worldwide.


Quarantine officers monitor arrivals with a thermographic device at Bangkok's main international airport.
more photos »

By early Wednesday, the swine flu outbreak in Mexico was suspected in 159 deaths and more than 2,500 illnesses, the country's health minister said.

So far, the World Health Organization says at least 105 cases have been confirmed worldwide: 64 in the United States; 26 in Mexico (including seven deaths); six in Canada; three in New Zealand; two each in Spain, the United Kingdom and Israel.

The WHO list does not include 11 additional cases reported by New Zealand health officials or one confirmed by Costa Rica's health ministry.

In the United States, California, Indiana, New York and Texas also were reporting additional cases not confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

These are the outbreaks -- confirmed and suspected -- so far:

AUSTRALIA

Cases: None confirmed, but 91 cases were being investigated Wednesday morning, the country's health department said.

CANADA

Cases: Six mild cases

Measures: Issued a travel health notice, saying its public health agency was "tracking clusters of severe respiratory illness with deaths in Mexico." Tell us what you think about the swine flu outbreak

CHINA

Cases: None

Measures: Banned pork imports from Mexico, and from California, Kansas and Texas in the United States.

COSTA RICA

Cases: One. A 21-year-old woman who returned from Mexico on Saturday tested positive, the Costa Rican health ministry said. The case is not included in the WHO list. The CDC lab in Atlanta, Georgia, will perform additional tests.

INDIA

Cases: None Watch how public health officials grade phases of pandemic alerts »

Measures: Indian health officials advised citizens to postpone their non-essential travel to the swine flu-hit regions.

Public Health Emergency
According to the World Health Organization, a public health emergency is an occurence or imminent threat of illness or health conditions caused by bioterrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or highly fatal infectious agents or toxins that pose serious risk to a significant number of people.

At a White House news conference Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the emergency declaration is standard procedure -- citing that one was declared for the inauguration and for recent flooding.
Stepped up surveillance at ports and airports.

States asked to review their preparedness.

INDONESIA

Cases: None

Measures: Increased surveillance; testing the temperatures of travelers flying into the country.

ISRAEL

Cases: Two. Both men recently returned from Mexico.

The 5-year-old niece of one of the men was suspected of having the flu and was undergoing hospital treatment.

Measures: The Health Ministry has not issued special instructions to the public, nor adopted measures for monitoring those returning from Mexico.

The country is calling the outbreak "Mexico flu" so that citizens do not have to pronounce the name of an animal considered impure in Judaism and Islam. Watch efforts in Mexico to prevent spread of the virus »

JAPAN

Cases: None

Measures: The foreign ministry suspended visa waivers for visitors from Mexico.

Airport officials are checking passengers before they disembark.

KENYA

Cases: None

Measures: Screening passengers from Europe and the Americas at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

Government encourages Kenyans to defer traveling to Mexico.

Kenya set up 26 screening centers to test people for avian flu following that outbreak a few years ago, and will also use the centers for swine flu testing.

MEXICO

Cases: 159 deaths and more than 2,500 infections are thought to have been caused by swine flu, said Jose Angel Cordova, Mexico's health secretary.

Only 26 cases -- 19 infections and seven deaths -- have been confirmed by laboratory tests in Mexico and reported to the World Health Organization. iReport.com: Do you think we should be worried about swine flu?

Measures: Mexico City has closed its schools and universities until further notice. It has also ordered restaurants only to serve takeaway meals, so customers do not congregate. In addition, bars, clubs, movie theaters, pool halls, gyms, sport centers and convention halls have been told to close until May 5.

Troops passed out 4 million filter masks in the city of 20 million residents.

Officials are considering shutting down the bus and subway systems.

Citizens are asked to avoid large crowds, refrain from kissing, and stay at least six feet from one another.

The World Bank is offering $205 million to deal with the outbreak.

NEW ZEALAND

Cases: 14. All inflected were part of a study group from Auckland's Rangitoto College who returned to New Zealand from Mexico over the weekend.

Three people tested positive for the swine flu virus, and those cases were confirmed by the WHO.

Because the rest of the group exhibited similar symptoms, and all of them returned positive result for Influenza A -- the general category of strains that includes the H1N1 swine flu -- the health ministry said it was assuming that everyone who traveled with the Rangitoto College group has swine flu.

Measures: New Zealanders who traveled to Mexico or North America in the past two weeks are asked to get in touch with health officials if they have flu-like symptoms.

RUSSIA

Cases: None

Measures: Banned all meat imports from Mexico and the southern United States.

Announced it will screen incoming passengers from those two countries by taking their temperatures.

Don't Miss
World battles swine flu as death toll rises
Watch videos on swine flu outbreak
Mexico City falls quiet, even for Mass
CDC: Swine flu viruses in U.S., Mexico match
Set up a government commission to plan response, and advised citizens against traveling to Mexico.

SOUTH KOREA

Cases: A 51-year-old woman, who recently returned from Mexico, tested positive for type-A influenza. Tests are being conducted to see whether the influenza is of the swine flu strain. The woman has been quarantined.

Measures: Suspended pork imports from Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Stepped up inspections of passengers returning from affected areas.

Took steps to double its stockpile of Tamiflu anti-viral medicine -- enough to treat about 5 million people, or 10 percent of the country's population.

SPAIN

Cases: Two cases confirmed and 32 others suspected -- all of whom had recently traveled to Mexico, according to the health ministry. None is in serious condition.

Measures: The government is trying to reach passengers who were on flights with people suspected or confirmed with the flu.

THAILAND

Cases: None.

Measures: Airport officials are keeping a closer eye on passengers arriving from Mexico.

The health ministry is calling the virus "the flu that has caused an outbreak in Mexico," so that the public does not confuse "swine flu" with "bird flu." The ministry also said it did not want to hurt the pork industry.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Cases: None

Measures: The ministry of health issued a circular, asking doctors to be prepared to deal with any potential swine flu cases.

UNITED KINGDOM

Cases: Two confirmed, in Scotland. The patients are recovering.

Measures: The Foreign Office advised against all but essential travel to Mexico.

UNITED STATES

Cases: 64 confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC has confirmed 10 cases in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas, one in Ohio and 45 in New York. Health officials in California, Indiana and New York reported other cases that the CDC had not yet added to its list late Tuesday.

Measures: The government declared a public health emergency to free up federal, state and local agencies and their resources, should the need arise.

The government urged travelers to avoid non-essential travel to Mexico.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency authorization for the use of two of the most common anti-viral drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza. The authorization allows the distribution of the drugs by a broader range of health care workers and loosens age limits for their use.

VENEZUELA


Cases: None.

Measures: Security stepped up at airports and borders. link...

Read More »»

Obama Orders Review of $329,000 Air Force Flight Over New York

President Barack Obama ordered a review of the decision giving the go-ahead to a $329,000 publicity-photo shoot over New York City with one of the planes that serves as Air Force One.

Obama “was furious” when he learned about the April 27 flight and the tumult it caused when the VC-25, a military version of Boeing Co.’s 747, and two F-16 fighter jets flew low over New York Harbor, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

The president directed Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina to find out “how the decision was made to conduct the flight” and “why the decision was made,” Gibbs said yesterday.

Obama gave a short answer to reporters who asked him about the incident as he arrived for an event in Washington yesterday. “It was a mistake,” he said at FBI headquarters. “It will not happen again.”

The aircraft rattled windows in New York’s financial district and prompted some office workers to flee buildings in fear it was a repeat of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The incident continued to reverberate in New York and Washington yesterday with two senators demanding an accounting of how the flight was approved and procedures aimed at avoiding a repeat.

“The supposed mission represents a fundamentally unsound exercise in military judgment and may have constituted an inappropriate use of Department of Defense resources,” Senator John McCain of Arizona wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Seeking Answers

McCain, the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, asked Gates to provide a description of the mission, who ultimately approved it and how much it cost. While McCain gave the Pentagon until May 4 to provide answers, the Air Force released the numbers last night.

The estimated cost for all three aircraft was $328,835, Air Force spokeswoman Vicki Stein said in an e-mailed response to inquiries.

That includes $300,658 for the VC-25, which flew a three- hour mission, and about $28,178 for the F-16 jets, which flew 1.8 hours each, Stein said.

The total includes fuel used in flight, fuel needed to power ground equipment that helped prepare the aircraft, and ground maintenance, Stein said. The flights were a training mission and “the hours would have been flown regardless,” she said.

Picture Mission

Gibbs said the flyover was “two training missions that became, in the end, a picture mission” and only Air Force personnel were aboard. Obama and his senior staff weren’t informed about it in advance, he said.

Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York said in a statement that he asked Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, whose department oversee the Federal Aviation Administration, to create an “ironclad procedure” to tell the public about such flights at least 48 hours in advance.

“Somewhere along the line, someone at the FAA should have had the foresight to realize that New Yorkers would see this stunt and think back to 9-11,” Schumer said.

McCain, who ran against Obama in the 2008 presidential election, also said that the disruption and panic caused by the flight should have been foreseeable. He wrote that the apology and acceptance of responsibility from Louis Caldera, director of the White House Military Office, “rings hollow.”

Responsibility

Obama yesterday ignored questions from reporters about whether Caldera should keep his job.

Caldera took responsibility for authorizing a flight for the specially equipped 747 aircraft in a statement issued late April 27.

He apologized for “any distress” it caused. While federal officials “took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it’s clear that the mission created confusion and disruption,” he said.

Caldera, 53, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a lawyer, was secretary of the Army during the Clinton administration and previously was a state legislator in California.

Gibbs said the White House review of the incident probably wouldn’t take more than a couple of weeks. “And the president will look at that review and take any appropriate steps after that,” Gibbs said.

Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said the incident wasn’t likely to spark congressional action.

‘Communications Mistake’

“Obviously we’re caught in a communications mistake,” Levin told reporters in Washington. “I can’t believe they’re not going to correct it on their own without a hearing.”

Paul Browne, deputy New York City police commissioner, said April 27 that the department was told by the FAA not to inform the public about what it thought would be a higher flyover by the aircraft.

The planes flew past the Statue of Liberty and the financial district near the World Trade Center site that was hit in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The aircraft were on a “photo mission,” Jim Peters, an FAA spokesman, said.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he was “furious” when he learned about the flight. The planes flew as low as 1,000 feet (305 meters), he said at a City Hall news conference.

The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP. link...

Read More »»