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Head over heels

2012-03-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

NO TEXT

Color Photo: Scott Stewart, Sun-Times / Former Olympic gymnast Bart Conner helps John Randolph, 12, (left) and …

Let go, Leo!

2012-03-15T05:13:00.000-07:00

The Swi and Cancer are inMerairy making us a bit more ctionate and emotional. They aspect Saturn in Virgo, drawing attention to faults, details andproblems. You can balance affectionate gentleness with critical insight, but it may be a challenge!

ARIES (March 20 -April 19): Your home may not be as neat, as large, or as pretty as it could be, but it's home and that's what counts. Still, you could make it neater, and that will help pretty it up - and make more space!

TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Your attempts at wit, or at critical analysis , may be sharper than you intend. Focus on being kind, supportive and helpful. Your cleverness and insight will shine through. Talking …

Schumacher skids out in first day of motorcycle racing at superbike stop in Germany

2012-03-15T02:48:00.000-07:00

Michael Schumacher's first day of motorcycle racing ended when he skidded onto a gravel pit and failed to finish at the superbike German International Championship on Sunday.

The seven-time Formula One champion, who came 28th in the morning race, was still delighted.

"What incredible fun," Schumacher said. "A race like that is lot better than a test, and it was great to prove myself out there."

The 39-year-old Schumacher, who retired from Formula One in 2005, started in the last row and was 37th of 39 riders following electronic problems in Saturday's qualifying.

During Sunday's second race, Schumacher had passed …

U.S. athletes urged to keep it low-key at Olympics 'Play hard, lie low,' Americans told in time of terror fears

2012-03-15T00:24:00.000-07:00

Even before she arrives in Athens, Olympian Lauren McFall has madesome curious amendments to her to-do list. Don't speak too loudly,for one. Don't go out with large groups of friends, for another. And,despite all her patriotic tendencies, avoid wearing anything thatsays "USA."

The synchronized swimmer has already gotten a taste of what it islike to be so obviously American, so far from home. Like the timesomeone spray-painted epithets on the team's flag, or the time theywere booed.

By the opening ceremonies next Friday, each American athlete willprobably have heard the same thing in memos and seminars: Play hard,lie low.

It is, on one hand, a common-sense tip …

Howard Levy: more than blues around the world

2012-03-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

The music was American. The audience was Russian. But the language was interna-tional as Howard Levy displayed his virtuosity in a program of jazz before listeners who came from a country which had banned this form of music.

Levy, playing harmonica and piano in a concert of George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and Cole Porter, along with some of his own compositions, also discussed the music, explaining the roots of jazz and illustrating how jazz musicians approach the music.

"Improvisation is what jazz musicians do," he explained. "They like to take a piece and make it their own."

This was the music that the Communists considered "the penetration of a rotten ideology," Hill …

Jeter: No decision yet by Yankees on disabled list

2012-03-14T19:43:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (AP) — Derek Jeter will need at least a week to recover from his strained right calf, and the New York Yankees waited Tuesday to decide whether to put him on the disabled list and delay his pursuit of 3,000 hits.

A move could come before Tuesday night's game against Texas. The All-Star shortstop limped off the field Monday night with 2,994 hits.

"I'm still pleading my case," Jeter said.

The Yankees said they wanted to speak to a doctor and Jeter before determining if the team captain needs to go on the DL for the first time since 2003. An MRI exam revealed a Grade I sprain, the mildest kind.

"That's what we are really talking about, that it will take at …

Venezuela asks for details of charges in ETA case

2012-03-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

Venezuela has asked authorities in Spain to detail their accusations against an alleged ETA operative accused of helping the Basque separatist group arrange explosives training with Colombian rebels in Venezuela.

Venezuela asked Interpol in Madrid for details of the indictment naming Arturo Cubillas Fontan, who is among a group of ETA suspects wanted by Spanish authorities, Venezuelan Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said Thursday.

El Aissami expressed willingness to investigate but also skepticism about possible political motives behind the case. He echoed President Hugo Chavez in dismissing as "pure lies" the claims by a Spanish judge that …

Train crash caused by human error

2012-03-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

Human error apparently caused the collision of two Metra trainslast month just outside Union Station, an official of the commuterrail said Tuesday.

"It appears to be human" as opposed to mechanical or switchingproblems, Metra Deputy Executive Director Rick Tidwell said after aboard meeting.

He would not be more specific, noting that the investigation isn'tover and a "probable cause" has not been determined.

Although he stressed no disciplinary action has been taken againstanyone, he said the engineer of the SouthWest Service Line train thathad been departing Union Station on July 21 "is not operating trainsat this time." The engineer passed a drug and alcohol …

Idaho plane crash in Sawtooth forest kills 2

2012-03-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Officials in Idaho's Twin Falls County say both people on board an airplane that went down in the Sawtooth National Forest were killed.

The sheriff's office says search crew members discovered the bodies in the aircraft Wednesday afternoon. They were tentatively identified as 55-year-old Danny Joe Summers, of Sugar City, and 47-year-old Jodi Wyatt, of …

PSG facing testing challenges on and off the pitch

2012-03-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Paris Saint-Germain is approaching the new season with trepidation and excitement, hoping that new recruits such as Nene can help it challenge for the title and anxious to overcome the hooliganism and racism that have scarred the French club.

Last season ended in turmoil for PSG, with one fan dying after a fight outside Parc des Princes …

Doctor fulfills lifelong desires

2012-03-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

Dr. Courtney Hollowell has trained at the University of Chicago's famed Pritzker School of Medicine, and received job offers from some of the country's finest medical facilities, but the 39-year-old Stroger Hospital surgeon has dedicated himself to educating African American men on issues of health.

Growing up in Detroit, Hollowell always had a desire to contribute to the African American community, but as an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, he could not decide how best to do it. He studied English Literature, African American Studies and Pre-Law before finally making the decision to become a doctor. He got his medical degree from the University of Illinois, and …

Survey: Energy execs believe sustainability is critical, but companies not embracing concept

2012-03-14T05:41:00.000-07:00

Many energy executives say sustainability is critical to the success of their operations, but far fewer believe that their companies have embraced the concept, a new survey shows.

Sustainability is an evolving business ethic in which companies set and achieve objectives based on financial, environmental and social performance.

It is often linked with environmental issues but can include ethics, work force diversity and other nonfinancial measures.

More than two-thirds of 81 energy industry executives surveyed by KPMG LLP said they regarded sustainability as an important element of their businesses, but only about one-half said their organizations …

State set to invest in technology $50 mil. fund will back venture capital to launch tech firms

2012-03-14T03:11:00.000-07:00

After five years in incubation, the Illinois TechnologyDevelopment Fund, a $50 million taxpayer-funded boost aimed atlaunching tech companies and creating jobs in the state, finally waspushed out of the nest at a press event called by state TreasurerJudy Baar Topinka.

The Illinois Technology Development Fund "is open for business,"she said.

Topinka said the state faces "minimal risk" in investing otherwiseconservatively invested funds in venture funds with Illinois tieswhile enjoying "auxiliary benefits," including creation of companiesand jobs and retaining bright graduates.

"Nothing from nothing is nothing. Here we have something," saidthe treasurer.

Under state law, less than 1 percent of the state's $8 billioninvestment portfolio, which typically includes corporate paper,Treasury bills, economic development programs and certificates ofdeposit in banks, can be invested in the Technology Development Fund.No more than 10 percent of the money can be invested in an individualventure fund, which in turn will help finance start-up businesses,primarily in the tech sector.

The fund is expected to invest in four to five venture funds overthe next year and 15 to 20 over the next three years.

All proposed investments have to be approved by an externaladviser, Robert Morgan, director of private equity at Northern TrustGlobal Advisory Services, and a board that includes representativesfrom major Chicago area VC funds. Topinka said the state preventspotential conflicts of interest by prohibiting these VCs fromreceiving the investments.

Topinka believes the fund will help reverse the state's "braindrain" to Silicon Valley and the East Coast. She said Illinoisschools educate top talent, "yet when they graduate, there is notenough venture capital around" to keep them working in Illinois.

She said the new program will help Illinois become "the SiliconValley of the Midwest."

State Sen. Jeffrey M. Schoenberg, the Evanston Democrat whosponsored legislation creating the fund, said he hoped that theprogram would give Illinois biotechnology a boost, especiallycontroversial stem cell research.

Ed Condon, who is administering the fund and is former treasurerof Sears, Roebuck and Co., said the private equity funds in which thestate invests will be tracked closely to assure that they areinvesting in Illinois companies.

Steve Beitler, senior managing director of Chicago-based DunrathCapital and immediate past chairman of the Illinois Venture CapitalAssociation, said, "The state is making a wise investment bydiversifying its portfolio. Venture capital provides excellentreturns. There is a good chance here for the state to make some moneywhile developing the economy."

Martin Noven, deputy chief of staff for law and policy in thetreasurer's office, said the state over the next three years willinvest $50 million in venture funds.

He said the state is aiming to send out the message toentrepreneurs, who might be considering leaving the area, that statefunding is available for them in Illinois.

fund managers

The $50 million taxpayer-financed Illinois Technology DevelopmentFund will be managed by Robert Morgan, director of private equity atNorthern Trust Global Advisory Services, and a board that includesrepresentatives from major Chicago area VC funds.

Ellen Carnahan, managing director, William Blair Capital Partners;Michelle Collins, managing director, Svobada, Collins LLC; KeithCrandell, managing director, ARCH Venture Partners; Aimee Daniels,senior vice president, LaSalle Bank; Robert Finkel, managing partner,Prism Capital Corp.; Wilbur Gantz, chairman and chief executive,Ovation Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Oliver Nicklin, president and chiefexecutive, First Analysis Corp.; Carl Thomas, managing partner, ThomaCressey Equity Partners.

Also, David Baker, vice president of external affairs, IllinoisInstitute of Technology; Indrani Mukharji, executive director oftechnology transfer, Northwestern University; Duane Stucky, vicepresident for financial and administrative affairs, Southern IllinoisUniversity; Robert Rosenberg, assistant vice president forpartnerships and technology, University of Chicago, and DavidChicoine, vice president for economic development and corporaterelations, University of Illinois at Chicago and at Urbana-Champaign.

Homeless numbers include more families

2012-03-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

The face of homelessness in the United States is changing to include more families and more people who live in the suburbs and rural communities.

The number of homeless has remained steady since 2007, but within the overall count are trends that can tell officials where federal resources would do the most good, the Housing and Urban Development Department says in its annual report to Congress being released Thursday.

About 1.6 million people used a homeless shelter or lived in transitional housing between Oct. 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2008 _ about the same as the year before. But within that group, the number of families grew 9 percent, from about 473,000 to 517,000.

Officials said they also saw more demand for transitional housing in the suburbs and in rural areas of the country. Residents of suburban and rural communities made up about a third of those in need of housing, up from about 24 percent the year before.

HUD also attempts to count the number of homeless at a single point in time. In January 2008, about 664,000 people were in homeless shelters or in the streets on a single night. That's a drop of about 7,500 from the year before, but officials point out that the count occurred just as the nation's economic woes were beginning and did not account for soaring unemployment and other economic problems that have kicked in during the subsequent months.

The time lag associated with the national survey has led HUD to try a scaled-down, regional approach in hopes of obtaining more timely information each quarter. The first installment of that effort will also be released Thursday as part of the congressional report. The report showed that the number of people entering homeless shelters in nine regions of the country grew from 60,371 in January to 61,280 in March. Four regions experienced an increase in shelter counts. Five saw a decrease.

Participants in the quarterly reporting include New York City and Washington, D.C., as well as smaller cities like Richmond, Va., and Shreveport, La., and more rural regions, such as 118 of Kentucky's 120 counties, excluding the state's two largest cities of Lexington and Louisville.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said the annual report to Congress sheds light on how today's housing crisis and job losses are playing out in shelters and the streets. With the quarterly reporting, "we will be able to better understand the impact of the current economic crisis on homelessness across the country," Donovan said.

The quarterly report includes anecdotal summaries. For example, the case manager at a Richmond shelter reported seeing a greater number of "individuals who have held professional, skilled-craft positions."

An official in Kentucky said, "One day last month, we had to turn away three families due to full capacity." Officials in Shreveport reported a decrease in demand that they attributed to hurricane victims gradually moving back to New Orleans.

___

On the Net:

Housing and Urban Development Department: http://www.hud.gov

Spacious look appeals to renters

2012-03-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

Space and the appearance of space are high on the list ofdemands of today's apartment renters.

The passion for open space must be satisfied by offering largerrooms and innovative designs, said Sharon Morse, vice president ofmarketing for Trammell Crow Co.

"Extensive use of windows is one technique we rely on to makeapartments appear larger" at Stewart's Glen apartments in westsuburban Willowbrook, Morse said. The complex featuresfloor-to-ceiling windows and large, open floor plans.

There are one-, two- and one-bedroom-plus-den floor plans withone or two baths. Rents are $590 to $850 per month. (Prices aresubject to change without notice.)

"We could build apartments as large as homes, but it would becost-prohibitive to the developer as well as the renter - and eventhe upscale renter is concerned with price," Morse explained.

She said most kitchens at the complex are partially opened tothe rest of the apartment.

All apartments in the second phase of the development feature acovered patio or balcony, continuous-cleaning oven, refrigerator withice maker, dishwasher, washer-dryer hookups, smoke detectors andmaster television antennas. A woodburning fireplace will beavailable in 44 percent of the apartments.

Stewart's Glen features an outdoor swimming pool and clubhousewith exercise equipment, sauna, whirlpool and tanning room. A secondclubhouse, tennis court, softball diamond, paracourse jogging pathand two lakes will be added next spring.

The complex is on Illinois 83 between 55th and 63rd streets inWillowbrook.

Bombs Kill 8 American Soldiers in Iraq

2012-03-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD - Roadside bombs killed eight American soldiers in separate attacks Sunday in Diyala province and Baghdad, and a car bomb claimed 30 more lives in a wholesale food market in a part of the Iraqi capital where sectarian tensions are on the rise.

In all, at least 95 Iraqis were killed or found dead nationwide Sunday, police reported. They included 12 policemen in Samarra, among them the city's police chief, who died when Sunni insurgents launched a suicide car bombing and other attacks on police headquarters.

The deadliest attack against U.S. forces occurred in Diyala, where six U.S. soldiers and a European journalist were killed when a massive bomb destroyed their vehicle, the U.S. military said. Two U.S. soldiers were wounded, the military said. The U.S. did not identify the journalist.

Two other American soldiers died Sunday in separate bombings in Baghdad.

The military Sunday also reported three other deaths - two Marines in a blast Saturday in Anbar province and a soldier who died Sunday in a non-combat incident in northern Iraq.

Those deaths raised to at least 3,373 the number of U.S. military members who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The market bombing occurred about noon in the Baiyaa district of western Baghdad, shattering vehicles, ripping roofs off nearby buildings and collapsing storefronts. Police said about 80 people were injured in addition to the 30 dead.

Following the horrific blast, blood pooled on the dirt streets. Hospital officials said two pickup trucks filled with body parts were brought to the morgue.

"I was waiting near a shop to lift some boxes, when I saw the owner of the shop collapse," said Sattar Hussein, 22, who works in the market. "I helped him inside the shop, but he was already dead. The next thing I felt was pain in my left shoulder and some people rushing me to the hospital."

Ali Hamid, 25, who owns a shop in the market, said he was selling soft drinks when the blast knocked him unconscious.

"The next thing I remember is some people putting me in a pickup with two dead bodies and rushing me to the hospital," he said. He called the attack "a terrorist act aimed at creating more sectarian tension and strife."

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which followed allegations by Sunni politicians that Shiite militias have resumed their campaign to expel Sunnis from Baiyaa.

Most of the shops in the market were believed owned by Shiites.

That raised speculation that the bombing was carried out by Sunni hard-liners in reprisal for the alleged expulsions, which were believed to have slowed across the capital since the start of the Baghdad security crackdown Feb. 14.

The attacks in Samarra, a Sunni city 60 miles north of Baghdad, began when a suicide car bomber struck the police headquarters. Following the blast, dozens of insurgents - some wearing masks and wielding video cameras - opened fire on the building and at least one police checkpoint, witnesses said.

U.S. paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire when they rushed to the scene, the U.S. military said. Two Americans were wounded and a vehicle was damaged.

The police chief, Col. Jalil Nahi Hassoun, and 11 other policemen were killed, officials said.

Samarra was the scene of the Feb. 22, 2006, bombing that destroyed a major Shiite shrine and triggered the wave of Sunni-Shiite reprisal attacks that has plunged this country into civil conflict. U.S. and Iraqi officials blame that bombing on al-Qaida, which has been active in the city for years.

As the violence raged, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, warned on "Fox News Sunday" that Republican support could waver if President Bush's Iraq war policy does not succeed by the fall.

"By the time we get to September or October, members are going to want to know how well this is working, and if it isn't, what's Plan B?" Boehner said.

But in Baghdad, an American general warned of more casualties to come as the U.S. steps up its campaign to restore stability to Baghdad and surrounding areas.

"In the next 90 days we're going to see increased American casualties because we're taking the fight to the enemy," Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of U.S. troops south of Baghdad, told reporters.

Lynch predicted that U.S. operations would produce a "decisive effect on enemy formations" by September, but the task of building stable Iraqi political institutions and security capabilities will take much longer.

However, Iraq's religiously and ethnically based political parties show little sign that they are narrowing their differences.

On Sunday, a top leader of the biggest Sunni bloc in parliament complained bitterly that Sunni Cabinet members are being given no real powers in the Shiite-dominated government.

Adnan al-Dulaimi also charged that the 11-week-old Baghdad security crackdown was victimizing Sunnis in the city.

"Our participation in this so-called national unity government is weak and marginalized and our ministers have no authority to serve Iraq or its people," al-Dulaimi told reporters.

He also complained that Shiite militias and death squads have resumed kidnapping and killing Sunnis.

"We wish the government every success with the security plan but not at the expense of the Sunnis," al-Dulaimi said. "We call on the government to strike with an iron fist the death squads, the militias and the military commanders who attack our Sunni areas under the cover of the security plan."

Last week, Iraq's Arab neighbors made clear during a regional conference in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheik that the Shiite-dominated government must reach out to the Sunnis if it expects substantial economic help to rebuild the country.

The chief spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the government was aware of renewed sectarian cleansing but blamed it on criminal gangs that want to "create the impression" of a city torn by religious strife.

"These are among the challenges the Iraqi government faces," the spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, told reporters.

U.S. officials have insisted that the security crackdown is not directed at any religious or ethnic group.

Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said U.S. and Iraqi forces raided the Shiite district of Sadr City early Sunday, uncovering a weapons cache, a torture room and killing at least eight militants.

"Intelligence reports indicate that the secret cell had ties to a kidnapping network that conducts attacks within Iraq as well as interactions with rogue elements throughout Iraq and into Iran," he said.

Tonga's Maka accused of exploiting illegal worker

2012-03-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

TOULOUSE, France (AP) — Tonga rugby player Finau Maka has appeared before a French court after being accused of employing an illegal worker in unacceptable conditions.

The immigrant, a 44-year-old Tunisian, said he was the former Toulouse player's "slave" during the four-year spell he worked at Makas's house in the outskirts of Toulouse from 2006-10.

A ruling is expected next month.

Moncef Derbali said he was employed by Maka to do renovation and maintenance work at Maka's house.

Derbali says he first lived in a guest room before moving into a small shed, and claims he only got paid about €400 over the four years.

He said he didn't quit because Maka threatened him to warn the police about his illegal status.

Maka denied any wrongdoing.

Official: Iraq to close prison rife with abuse

2012-03-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD (AP) — A spokesman says Iraq's Justice Ministry will shut down a Green Zone prison where human rights watchdogs believe inmates have been abused.

Justice spokesman Haidar al-Saadi said Monday that top Iraqi officials have been investigating prisoners' living conditions over the last month.

As a result, al-Saadi said the detention center known as "Camp Honor" in the Green Zone would be closed.

He said the center's prisoners would be distributed among other Iraqi prisons.

In a report last month, New York-based Human Rights Watch quoted prisoners at Camp Honor who described the use of torture during interrogations and described cells "so crowded that we had to take turns standing and lying down."

Tar Baby

2012-03-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

TarBaby

by Toni Morrison; read by Lynne Thigpen Recorded Books, LLC, $42.95

9 cassettes, 12 hours

Thigpen's well-known voice (Ella Farmer in The District TV series) will have your rapt attention as she narrates Toni Morrison's beautiful and powerful story. Thigpen's dramatic voice insinuates the subtle conflicts as Morrison's novel probes the relationships between blacks and whites, men and women, set on a Caribbean island. Tar Baby is magnificent novel, and a must listen for Morrison fans.

US man sentenced for threatening to kill president

2012-03-13T06:11:00.000-07:00

A man has pleaded guilty to calling emergency police dispatchers to say he was going to assassinate President Barack Obama.

The Rockingham County sheriff's office says Steve Lee Stone pleaded to charges Wednesday of communicating threats, resisting a public officer and misusing the dispatch system. He was sentenced to two 45-day jail terms, which were suspended, and 18 months probation.

Police say the 44-year-old man called a dispatcher twice from his trailer about five miles (eight kilometers) south of the Virginia border in late July and said he was going to assassinate the president. He did not identify himself.

Sheriff's deputies and a Secret Service agent investigated the caller's identity. Stone was interviewed by deputies at his trailer in Stoneville.

Deputies say Stone became combative during the interview and they were forced to use a stun gun and arrest him.

Liverpool faces Europa League elimination vs Lille

2012-03-13T02:32:00.000-07:00

Five-time European champion Liverpool is facing elimination from the Europa League unless it can overturn a 1-0 deficit against Lille at Anfield on Thursday.

Being in Europe's second-tier competition is unfamiliar territory for Liverpool, but it's suddenly become very important to Rafa Benitez's future at Liverpool.

The Europa League is the Spaniard's only chance of lifting a trophy at the end of a miserable season in which his team was eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage and is struggling to qualify for Europe's elite competition next season due to its poor Premier League form.

Confidence, though, has been lifted by Monday's 4-1 rout of bottom-place Portsmouth that moved Liverpool up to fifth.

"The three points were very important but now that passion and the way we played in defense and attack is the basis of how we have to play in the remaining games," Liverpool winger Ryan Babel said. "We had a point to prove in terms of getting a result. I don't think the performance at Lille was as bad as some people thought, but we definitely showed character against Portsmouth and hopefully we can now look forward."

Former European Cup winners Juventus and Hamburg are in stronger positions to reach the quarterfinals with both holding 3-1 advantages going away for their last-16 second leg matches.

But Juventus will be without goalkeepers Gianluigi Buffon and Alex Manninger for its trip to Premier League club Fulham, and third-choice Antonio Chimenti is set to start at Craven Cottage.

"It'll be very hard over there because it's a small ground," Juventus midfielder Hasan Salihamidzic said. "They play with a great tempo at home and we'll have to be very careful. But if we put them under pressure, the sort of pressure we did in the first leg, it will be really hard for them to play well."

Hamburg's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season look all but gone after they were beaten by Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. Reaching the Europa League final _ in its own stadium _ is now the target as the German club looks to protect its lead over Anderlecht.

"It's the only goal left for us this season," Hamburg striker Mladen Petric said.

Standard Liege also holds a 3-1 advantage over Panathinaikos thanks to its strong performance in Greece last week, but the remaining four fixtures are all level.

Wolfsburg plays Rubin Kazan having scored a crucial away goal in a 1-1 draw, while Marseille hosts Benfica and Werder Bremen entertains Valencia with the same advantage. Sporting's match with Atletico Madrid is level at 0-0.

Three frostings to suit any cake

2012-03-12T23:31:00.000-07:00

On the theory that a cake isn't complete without the frosting,I'm giving a variety of toppings to any cake. The recipes, allbeginning with a solid vegetable shortening - the original requestwas for Crisco frosting - come in chocolate, strawberry and vanillaversions. Choose the one that best suits your cake.

Thanks to all the readers who sent in their recipes.

There were several variations on a Crisco frosting requested byLaura Czajka. So, rather than limit readers to one, I'm printingseveral. MOCHA FROSTING

1/2 cup Crisco 1 pound confectioners' sugar 3 to 5 tablespoons cold prepared coffee 2 squares (2 ounces)unsweetened chocolate

Cream shortening in mixing bowl of electric mixer. Graduallyadd confectioners' sugar. Thin to spreading consistency with coldcoffee. Then add melted, cooled chocolate. Beat until light andfluffy. Makes enough frosting for 1 layer cake. Makes 3 cups.

ADELAIDE CLARK WHITE FLUFFY FROSTING

1/2 cup butter or margarine 1/2 cup Crisco 1 cup granulated sugar 3 tablespoons flour

2/3 cup milk at room temperature 2 teaspoonsvanilla extract Pinch of salt

Beat, beat, beat butter, shortening and sugar together untilfluffy. Add flour, one tablespoon at a time. Beat, beat, beat.Gradually add milk. If milk is too cold, it will solidify theshortening; if it is too warm, it will melt shortening. Beat, beat,beat. Add vanilla and salt. It should be the consistency of whippedcream. Makes about 2 1/2 cups. JANEMARIE ANTONCZYK STRAWBERRY ICING

4 tablespoons Crisco 3/4 cup fresh crushedstrawberries 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon lemonjuice

4 to 5 cups confectioners' sugar

Cream together shortening, strawberries, salt and lemon juice.Mixture wil look curdled. Add sugar, a little at a time, untilfluffy. Makes about 3 1/2 cups. N. N.

Here is the recipe for Robin Leach's really rich and expensivechicken. RICH AND EXPENSIVE CHICKEN

3 pound whole chicken, cut up 1 large onion, sliced 1 to 1 1/2 cups Champagne (the more expensive the Champagne, thebetter the taste of the finished dish) Herbs and spices(basil, black pepper, oregano or your favorites)Worcestershire sauce Butter 1 (16-ounce) can LeSueur baby early peas, drained 1 (16-ounce) can Le Sueur babycarrots, drained 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup 1 pound small red potatoes, peeled

Wash and dry chicken. Place onion slices in small roastingpan. Pour in a dribble of Champagne, then place chicken on top.Heavily scatter spices and Worcestershire on chicken, topping it offwith slices of butter, which should stick the spices to the chicken.Pour in another dribble of Champagne. Place peas on top.

Add your choice of herbs and spices and pour in another dribbleof Champagne. Place carrots on top.

Again, add your choice of herbs and spices. Place 3 pats ofbutter at even distance over carrots and add a double dribble ofChampagne.

Smooth the undiluted mushroom soup as a paste over all of this.Sink peeled potatoes into the mushroom-soup covered vegetables.Leave potatoes exposed.

Pour in enough Champagne so liquid is level with coveredvegetables. Cover dish and bake in preheated 425-degree oven for 11/4 hours. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes to brownexposed half of potatoes. Makes 4 servings.

SANDY OLAH

I would like a recipe for pizza puffs, like those sold in thehot dog/fast food places. My family really loves them.

YVETTE ESQUIVEL

Does anyone have a recipe for poppyseed bread?

MRS. PADALINO

I've been looking for a very moist poppyseed cake. I've triedmany recipes, but none has come close to the one I'm looking for.MRS. S. URBANIAK

I would like a recipe for a dressing made with bacon to go on aspinach salad. A. Z.

I would like a recipe for a creamy maple fudge and for thebanana bread served at the Clark Street Cafe. J. A.

Send recipes and requests to Swap Shop, Chicago Sun-TimesFood Department, 401 N. Wabash, Chicago 60611. Sorry, no requestswill be answered personally.

No shortage of sympathy from teammates for Rodman

2012-03-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

While Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen have taken abusinesslike stance on the two-game suspension the Bulls gave DennisRodman for his obscene television performance, other teammates havetaken a more compassionate stance.

Rodman was angry when ejected from Sunday's game in Torontoafter getting a technical foul for waving off a foul called againsthim. Referee Bill Spooner said Rodman made an obscene gesture toreferee Mike Mathis. Replays showed no such thing.

"I thought it was a terrible call by the official," said Bullsguard Steve Kerr, the team's union representative. "He didn'tdeserve a technical foul. I don't know what he saw. But I waswatching the whole play and I never saw any finger pop up. I justsaw him wave at him. He didn't deserve a technical."As for his postgame comments, I didn't see anything thatwarranted a ($104,878) fine," Kerr said. "Reggie Miller (blasted)the officials and (NBA operations chief) Rod Thorn about three weeksago and got fined $10,000. Now, Dennis' was obviously laced with afew more expletives, and he probably deserved a fine. But a two-gamesuspension? Naw."Kerr referred the matter to the players union, which has voicedsupport for Rodman and offered legal counsel if he wants to challengethe fine."I think it was too severe," center Bill Wennington said. "Ithink a two-day suspension is a lot and that Dennis is being punishedrather harshly. Dennis was just being Dennis. He's said stuff likethat before. It just wasn't captured on videotape that way. So Idon't put all the blame on Dennis because he's done it before andnothing was done to him. But I don't know what's going on in thefront office.""I think the punishment was too much, but I don't think myopinion carries much weight," center Robert Parish said. "It'sunfortunate anything he does now is blown out of proportion. Idefinitely don't think his behavior up in Toronto warranted thatstiff a penalty."I heard two different stories about what happened. I heardthat the referee said he gave an obscene gesture, but I didn't seeit. And I've heard Dennis say that he did no such thing."Jordan and Pippen have been concerned about Rodman's decreasein desire and production, and they chose not to say where they standon the suspension."I really don't have an opinion," Jordan said. "If you want meto be GM, then pay me to be the GM. You pay me to play basketballand I'll . . . lace up my shoes and play the game of basketball.That's why I don't want to be GM.""I really don't want to comment on Dennis' punishment because Ifeel the main thing is for us to come together as a team and goforward from here," Pippen said. "I don't want to come betweenDennis and management. I will say that we need Dennis out here onthe basketball court. He is a great part of our team and he workshard. He realizes that he did something wrong and he's beingpunished."Do the Bulls expect Rodman to come back as a better team player?"We really are going to give him the benefit of the doubt,"Jordan said. "He's had a tough time trying to find motivation andchallenges at this particular time, which probably led to hisoutburst. We gave him that inch. Now, it's a matter of pulling thatinch back into focus a little bit."The team penalized him. Is it too harsh or too easy? I don'tknow. I think that's something (that has to be) determined. But weas a team - the other 11 players - are still here. We're going outevery day, sweating and getting ourselves motivated and playing thegame of basketball."When he comes back, he can be a part of it or the organizationand Phil (coach Jackson) will have to make different adjustments.But it isn't up to us to worry about Dennis. We have to go out andplay the game of basketball like we know how to play."

NY election mix-up: 'Osama' on the ballot

2012-03-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

Who is running for president? In an upstate New York county, hundreds of voters have been sent absentee ballots in which they could vote for "Barack Osama."

The absentee ballots sent to voters in Rensselaer County identified the two presidential candidates as "Barack Osama" and "John McCain." In the United States, the best-known individual named Osama is Osama bin Laden, leader of the al Qaida terrorist group behind the 2001 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City.

The typographical terror error was first reported by the Times Union of Albany.

The elections office faxed a statement in which the two commissioners, Democrat Edward McDonough and Republican Larry Bugbee, said they regret the error but never acknowledge what the error was.

"It's human error, it's very unfortunate, it's an embarrassment to our office, obviously," McDonough said in a later phone interview. "We wish we could turn back the clock, but we can't."

When they discovered the mistake, officials shredded the remaining "Osama" ballots and mailed correct versions to the roughly 300 people who had already received them. McDonough said the "Osama" mistake was made in only one of the 13 ballot versions mailed throughout the county, located east of the state capital of Albany.

Voters who received both versions will be allowed to send in either one and have it counted, McDonough said.

Obama spokesman Blake Zeff said the campaign is "glad officials are working to correct this error and we assume it won't happen again."

AP Writer Devlin Barrett in Washington contributed to this report.

Militants kill 6 Pakistani security forces

2012-03-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

Militant attacks killed six Pakistani security forces Monday, officials said, a day after the Taliban chief warned of terrorist strikes across the country if the army did not stop a major offensive against insurgents along the Afghan border.

The army moved into South Waziristan tribal region nine days ago vowing to crush the Pakistani Taliban, a militant network it says is behind 80 percent of the suicide bombings in Pakistan. Washington backs the operation because militants in the northwest region are believed to shelter al-Qaida leaders and attack Western troops in Afghanistan.

Heavily armed militants assaulted security officials in Toraware village overnight, killing two and wounding four in a three-hour shootout in the area some 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of South Waziristan, police officer Mir Chaman Khan said. Some 10 militants were believed to have been killed.

In Bajur, a tribal region further north, Taliban fighters attacked a checkpoint at Matthak village, killing four security officials. Seven militants died in the clash, said Syed Ghulam Rasool, a local government official. The militants also attacked security check posts at Khar, the main town in Bajur, and Siddiqabad, an adjoining village, wounding at least three security personnel.

Militant attacks in Pakistan have surged this month, killing more than 200 people, as the Taliban have tried to avert the army offensive in South Waziristan. The military announced Saturday its first major achievement in the offensive _ the capture of Kotkai, Mehsud's hometown. The army said the town had hosted a training camp for suicide bombers.

Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud remained defiant Sunday. He said in a telephone call to an Associated Press reporter the militants had not suffered "any significant losses" in Waziristan. Mehsud, speaking from an undisclosed location, threatened to turn Pakistan into "another Afghanistan or Iraq" unless the assault stopped.

The army says troops have captured two key fronts between Kotkai and the key militant base of Sararogha. An army statement said troops secured at least one other important front and fought 16 hours to capture a significant mountaintop.

The militants have fled Kotkai and are sporadically attacking troops with rockets from high ground, the military said.

Independent verification of such reports is nearly impossible because the military has blocked access to South Waziristan. The tribal regions as a whole are difficult to access and largely off-limits to foreign journalists.

The army has deployed some 30,000 troops to South Waziristan to take on an estimated 12,000 militants, including up to 1,500 foreign fighters, among them Uzbeks and Arabs. The U.N. says some 155,000 civilians have fled.

In other violence Sunday, a minister for education was assassinated by gunmen in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, police official Shahid Nizam said. A nationalist group, the Baluchistan United Liberation Front, claimed responsibility in calls to local media outlets.

The region has been the scene of a low-level insurgency for years to press demands for a greater share of oil and gas revenue in the province.

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Mahsud reported from Dera Ismail Khan. Associated Press writers Ashraf Khan in Islamabad, Habib Khan in Khar and Hussain Afzal in Parachinar contributed to this report.