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US secretary of state warns Zimbabwe president against declaring election victory

2012-03-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Zimbabwe's president on Thursday against declaring victory in what she said will be an illegitimate run-off election this week.

With the opposition boycotting Friday's vote due to ruling party violence and intimidation, Rice said no outcome would be acceptable and that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe must allow a legitimate government to take power.

"Clearly, no run-off election that doesn't have the participation of opposition ... can be considered legitimate, no outcome can be considered legitimate," she said in Kyoto, where she is attending a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Eight …

Man charged with threatening judges: Allegedly left several menacing voice messages

2012-03-15T03:20:00.000-07:00

A Chicago man has been charged with threatening two judges --including the presiding judge of Cook County Criminal Court -- afterthe man allegedly left them menacing voice messages.

Salvatore Affrunti, 45, left several voice mails for CriminalCourt Presiding Judge Paul Biebel and Judge Henry Simmons onWednesday after trying to enter Simmons' chambers, said prosecutorLorraine Scaduto. Affrunti, of the 3600 block of North Lake ShoreDrive, is on probation for eight separate offenses, includingintimidation of witnesses.

"This defendant has demonstrated by way of his past behavior andhis convictions his danger," Scaduto said Friday. Judge ColleenHyland set Affrunti's …

Logistics Data - The Secret Weapon in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT)

2012-03-15T00:56:00.000-07:00

Since America began its counterattack after the terrorist acts of Sept. 11, 2001, the Defense Logistics Informatio Service (DLIS) and the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) have worked even harder to meet the logistics needs of U.S. and Coalition Forces.

Both organizations have long strived to support their pieces of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) mission - to bring the right item, to the right place, at the right time - goals that any logistician can appreciate. With its role in the acquisition process, DLIS:

* Supports provisioning efforts and identifies the need for and validates available technical documentation for cataloging purposes.

* …

Slovenia opposes further Croatia-EU talks

2012-03-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

Slovenia says it will oppose further European Union membership negotiations with Croatia because of a border dispute, effectively impeding its neighbor from joining the EU.

The two countries have argued over the drawing of sea boundaries and ownership of four villages and a hill.

Croatia is due to start another round of EU accession talks on Friday, in time to complete them next year. It …

National League Standings

2012-03-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

…

All Times EDT
East Division
W L Pct GB
Philadelphia 26 20 .565 _
Atlanta 25 22 .532 1 1/2
New York 25 23 .521 2
Florida 24 24 .500 3
Washington 24 24 .500 3
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Cincinnati 28 20 .583 _

Al-Qaida in Iraq chief may be dead: Unconfirmed reports say al-Masri killed by Sunni tribesman

2012-03-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD - Iraqi officials have received reports that the leader ofal-Qaida in Iraq was killed by Sunni tribesmen, but the chiefgovernment spokesman said Tuesday the information has not beenconfirmed.

The statement by spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh followed a welter ofreports from other Iraqi officials that Abu Ayyub al-Masri had beenkilled.

Iraqi officials have released similar reports in the past, only toacknowledge later they were inaccurate.

U.S. officials said they could not confirm the reported death.

Al-Dabbagh told Al-Arabiya that word of al-Masri's purported deathwas based on "intelligence information," adding that "DNA testsshould be done and we have …

Grant KOs Botha in 12th round for WBF heavy title

2012-03-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — American Michael Grant stopped South Africa's Francois Botha in the 12th round of their heavyweight fight to claim the vacant WBF title Saturday night.

Grant dropped Botha with a right hand with 37 seconds left at Montecasino.

"I knew I had the strength to knock him out in the 12th round," Grant said.

The 43-year-old Botha dominated from the start, nearly finishing off …

Utah rocket contractor ATK lays off more workers

2012-03-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The company that makes rocket boosters for the soon-to-be-retired space shuttle said it laid off hundreds of employees Thursday because of uncertainty over the future of the U.S. space program.

ATK Aerospace Systems dismissed 414 engineers, factory workers and other employees at three northern Utah locations, company spokesman George Torres told The Associated Press.

Some of the layoffs are due to the phase-out of the space shuttle program, he said. ATK Aerospace, a division of Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems Inc., makes shuttle rocket boosters in Utah.

"The space shuttle program is adding only one more mission, and we've already produced the …

Chilling out with computer games

2012-03-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

DUBLIN-Gary McDarby is an Irish electrical engineer admittedly besotted by science, but also keenly interested in helping children in need. A decade ago he was working as a volunteer, dealing with youngsters who had been forced to become child soldiers in Liberia. One 10-year-old lad, who had taken part in a firing squad that killed a woman, was so traumatized by nightmares that he couldn't sleep. McDarby, desperate to help the child, gave him a Walkman loaded with a tape of the serene Celtic chanteuse, Enya. It did the trick, quieting the boy and helping to ease him into sleep. After that incident, McDarby concluded that "smart technologies" that taught people how to calm down could one …

White House cautions against effort in Congress to restrict US aid to Iraq

2012-03-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

White House officials this week privately cautioned lawmakers not to go too far in restricting U.S. aid to Iraq, warning that doing so might only prolong the war, now in its sixth year.

The Bush administration did not slam the door on proposals in Congress that would insist Iraq do more to pay for its rebuilding efforts. In the meantime, independent investigators conclude in a report that substantial U.S. support continues despite Baghdad's anticipated $70 billion windfall in oil revenues.

The soaring cost of fuel prices and duration of the war have spurred the latest effort in Congress to get the Iraqis to pay more toward rebuilding efforts. Democrats and …

'Raymond' star: Garrett will return to show

2012-03-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES--"Everybody Loves Raymond" star Ray Romano saidholdout co-star Brad Garrett will likely return to the CBS sitcom.

Work on the new season began this week without Garrett, who'sasking for a bigger paycheck. He was written out of the firstepisode.

Asked by "Entertainment Tonight" whether Garrett's absence ishaving an impact, Romano said: "No. I mean, they were just in themiddle of negotiation and we had a show that …

Google Reaches Deal in Belgian Dispute

2012-03-14T03:51:00.000-07:00

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Google Inc. said Tuesday it has struck a content-sharing deal with two organizations to partly settle a dispute in Belgium over news articles available through the Internet search engine.

But Google still faces a bid by Belgian newspapers - spearheaded by copyright protection society Copiepresse - to get the company to pull the news content unless it paid the newspapers or received their permission. A judge for the Brussels-based Court of First Instance said she would deliver her verdict in early January.

France-based multimedia authors' rights group SCAM and Sofam, which represents Belgian photographers and visual artists, withdrew their support for Copiepresse's case before the Belgian judge heard arguments from both sides last week.

Google spokeswoman Jessica Powell said the company was "pleased to see they would not pursue litigation," but insisted the deal was not new and was part of an ongoing dialogue with publishers and authors' rights groups.

"We won't go into the details," she said, refusing to say when the agreement was signed and what exactly it covered apart from allowing the search engine "extensive use of content" and "innovative new ways beyond what copyright allows without the permission of authors."

In September, the Belgian court ruled against Google after it failed to appear at an earlier hearing. That judgment forced the Mountain View, Calif., company to remove newspaper content from its news index, threatening daily fines of $1.3 million until it complied. The court later agreed to give Google another hearing to put its side.

Google's lawyers insist the company had not broken copyright law by showing headlines, a few lines of text and a link to the original story.

But Copiepresse, a copyright protection group representing the country's French-language editors, argued that Google hurt the rights of authors because it effectively gave away for free older articles that they sell on a subscription basis.

Most Belgian newspapers offer fresh articles to readers for free but charge for access to their archives of stories.

This was not the first time Google's automatically generated news aggregation pages have irked content providers. The French news agency AFP is suing Google for at least $17.5 million in federal court in Washington, D.C., arguing that the Google service essentially replicates for free what AFP subscribers pay for.

Separately, Google has agreed to pay The Associated Press for stories and photographs. Neither Google nor New York-based AP have disclosed financial terms or other details.

U.S. Raids in Iraq Target Shiite Cells

2012-03-14T00:58:00.000-07:00

BAGHDAD - U.S. and Iraqi troops raided Baghdad's Sadr City slum on Sunday, targeting Shiite insurgent cells there for a second day, while British forces in the south killed three Shiite militants in overnight fighting, officials said.

Muqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric who emerged from months in hiding last week, met Sunday in Najaf with leaders of his movement to discuss Iraq's security and political situation, said Salah al-Obeidi, a senior aide to al-Sadr.

"The occupation forces bear responsibility for the suffering the country is facing and there is no solution but the withdrawal of the forces," said al-Obeidi, echoing demands al-Sadr made in the sermon he delivered after reappearing Friday.

Al-Sadr's Shiite Mahdi Army militia has repeatedly battled with U.S. and British troops in the streets of Sadr City and Basra, where British troops killed one of the cleric's commanders in a gunfight Friday.

After two days of pitched fighting with the Shiite militants, the British carried out an arrest raid early Sunday. During the raid, their forces were attacked with roadside bombs, rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire, the British said. The troops returned fire, killing three of their attackers and arresting four militants. No British forces were injured.

Meanwhile, in Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, 70 police officers resigned Sunday morning and handed over their weapons. They cited their fears of being targeted by Mahdi Army militants, police said.

In Sadr City, U.S. and Iraqi forces carried out several raids targeting insurgent cells, arresting one suspect believed to be involved in smuggling Iran high-powered, armor piercing bombs from Iran that have been used against U.S. armored vehicles, the U.S. military said. The cell has also sent Iraqi militants to Iran for training, the military said.

During another raid in Sadr City, troops shot an approaching vehicle that ignored their signals to stop, the military said. No one was injured in the shooting, but the vehicle was set ablaze, the military said.

AP Television News footage showed several cars burned and destroyed in the street, including a van that was scorched black, had its windows knocked out and its upholstery incinerated. The footage also showed a house that appeared to have been ransacked.

On Monday, Iranian and U.S. diplomats were scheduled to hold rare talks in Baghdad over how to end the violence in Iraq. U.S. officials accuse Shiite-ruled Iran of training, financing and arming militants here, in a bid to fan sectarian tensions. Iran denies that and blames the presence of U.S. forces here for the violence.

On Sunday, gunmen in two cars threw concussion grenades at a popular market in northern Baghdad and then opened fire at shoppers, killing one person and injuring eight others, police said. Later, the same gunmen ambushed a minibus, killing the driver, stealing the vehicle and abducting six passengers, police said.

In other violence, gunmen shot up the car of Lt. Col. Hiyis al-Jubouri, a police commander in the northern Salahuddin province, killing him and another police officer, police said.

Gunmen also attacked a group of farmers in the al-Nahrawan district, 10 miles east of Baghdad, killing two and injuring nine, police said.

The U.S. military also reported late Saturday the deaths of eight U.S. troops, bringing the number of soldiers killed so far this month to at least 100 and putting May on pace to become the deadliest month for U.S. troops here in more than 2 1/2 years.

Harvey mayor cruises, Lynwood board tossed; After sex tape, school leaders ousted

2012-03-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

Scandals were at the heart of two south suburban races, but theyplayed out in different ways Tuesday night.

In Harvey, Mayor Eric Kellogg was cruising to re-election despitea city deficit of nearly $5 million and allegations of cronyism andcorruption.

In Lynwood -- where a graphic video of the school principalhaving sex with a married teacher was made public last week -- allthree school board members lost their bids for re-election.

Harvey

Kellogg received 43.45 percent of the vote with more than 80percent of precincts reporting, despite a near-daily drumbeat ofalleged police corruption, questionable city jobs and contractshanded to family members and friends.

One of the most damning allegations against Kellogg is that heordered a former Harvey police detective to return a gun being heldas evidence to the stepfather of the suspect. Kellogg is a longtimefriend of the stepfather.

Kellogg dismissed the charges Tuesday night: "I thank the greatcitizens of Harvey who were intelligent enough to look past theinaccurate news stories that assassinated my character."

Kellogg's closest challenger, Brenda L. Thompson, netted morethan 22 percent of the vote. "It means Harvey is going to lose,"Thompson said of Kellogg's re-election to a second term. "We'regoing to see the same old thing. It'll be a sad day for Harvey."

LYNWOOD

After last week's revelation of an embarrassing sex tapeinvolving Sandridge School Principal Leroy Coleman and two femalestaff members, District 172 school board members were ousted infavor of four newcomers. Businesswoman Doranita Malcom-Tyler, whoran with the three incumbents, also lost.

Malcom-Tyler said it was "obvious" the tape was released toderail the elections.

Coleman and the two staffers, who have since resigned, areAfrican-American, as are Malcom-Tyler and the incumbents. None ofthe newly elected board members is African-American. "It did seemlike it was us against them," Malcom-Tyler said, alluding to whatshe says are racial overtones surrounding the sex tape andelections.

Newly elected board member Kevin Pisano, 34, denied that raceplayed a part and dismissed speculation that the sex tape alteredthe outcome of the election. "They [the community] asked me to run,and they voted for me," said the father of four, who garnered themost votes -- 15.06 percent -- from the tiny district's fiveprecincts. "The community has been upset with the previous boardmembers for some time. The voters voiced their opinion."

Country Club Hills

Country Club Hills Mayor Dwight Welch weathered shiftingdemographics and allegations of racism to decisively win a sixthterm. Welch garnered just under 70 percent of the vote with allprecincts reporting. His closest challenger, 4th Ward Ald. StevenBurris, netted 26.3 percent. Parks Commissioner Michael Holmes got4.01 percent.

"They're getting schooled by the master tonight," Welch said fromhis victory party.

Country Club Hills was a racially mixed community when Welch, whois white, took office in 1987, but African Americans now constitutemore than 80 percent of the population. Burris and Holmes, who areAfrican-American, campaigned on this shift.

bgoldberger@suntimes.com

rhussain@suntimes.com

Camden brings back some police, firefighters

2012-03-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Two months after deep layoffs decimated the ranks of Camden's police and fire departments in a city that ranks as one of the nation's poorest and most crime-ridden, the departments are getting a boost amid worsening crime.

Camden Mayor Dana Redd announced Thursday that she has struck a deal with Gov. Chris Christie that will provide $2.5 million in state funding to rehire 50 police officers and 15 firefighters on April 1.

The size of both public safety departments will still be way down compared to before the January layoffs when 167 police officers and 68 firefighters were told their jobs were being cut. That represented nearly half the police force and about one-third of the fire department.

The $2.5 million to rehire officers is coming in the form of a rent payment from the South Jersey Port Corp., a quasi-state agency that runs two terminals in the city. Redd said it's enough to keep the rehired workers on force through June 30.

She said she expects to have a city budget that takes effect July 1 that will keep them around.

The mayor said the long-term solution, though, might come as part of a consolidated regional police force. Christie and state Sen. President Stephen Sweeney are scheduled to meet with Camden County officials next week to discuss that idea.

"It's time for all of us to assert leadership and work together on a new approach to combine and maximize public safety resources, eliminate redundancies and inefficiencies, and provide a long-term solution to create a new and strong public safety network," Christie said in a statement.

In addition to the hires announced Thursday, previously announced federal grants worth a total of about $9 million could soon be used to rehire about 15 more firefighters and additional police officers.

Even with a fully staffed police force, the city regularly ranked as among the most dangerous places in the country, according to CQ Press's annual analysis of FBI crime data.

When layoffs came, Police Chief Scott Thomson shifted detectives and supervisors to patrols hoping to have just as many officers on the street.

The changes meant that more investigations would be handed off to the county prosecutor's office, which is also bracing for deep layoffs that could take effect on April 1, and that the department would not send officers to minor car accidents or lesser crimes, like some thefts.

But it appears the changed tactics haven't done much to control crime. The county prosecutor's office says that in the first two months of the year, homicides were down. But there were nearly twice as many shootings and nearly four times as many aggravated assaults with a firearm.

Redd said the idea of bring back more officers was in the works before crime spiked, and that the additional crime was not a factor in bringing officers back.

Thomson said the rehired police will be on force around April 1 and will be put on patrols of hotspots, residential areas and business districts.

U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews, a Democrat who represents Camden and its suburbs, said following rehires, there will be 20 percent more officers on the street than there were before the layoffs.

"To the criminals, who may have thought it was open season in the city of Camden, don't be mistaken. We're out there, we're on the ground and we're coming for you," Redd said in a news conference at the city's police headquarters.

The city's financial woes are deep.

It has hardly any commercial tax base. Most major enterprises there, like the port, a Rutgers University campus and a minor-league ballpark, make payments in lieu of taxes less than a full tax bill would be.

On top of that, tax revenue has been down in the sluggish economy — and the state has cut aid to the city.

In the fiscal 2010, for instance, which ended nearly nine months ago, the South Jersey Port Corp., was to make an $8 million payment to the city. It never did. But in December, it said it would pay the city half of what it had promised for the previous year.

There's no promise that the city will see more payments from the agency beyond the additional $2.5 million that Christie agreed to pay.

The revenue problems meant cuts outside of public safety. For six months last year, civilian city government employees were told to work only four days a week — and were paid for only four days. Still, about 100 of them were laid off in January as well.

Laid off public safety workers weren't exactly rejoicing about Thursday's announcement.

Robert Scott, a firefighter for five years before he was laid off, called it "a crock of crap." He pointed to a half-dozen murders and about as many homes leveled by fires since January.

"How many more lives will it take to bring everybody back?" he asked.

Grr! Those idiotic other drivers make my blood boil

2012-03-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was making my 150-mile drive north from New YorkCity when a nut in an old red Camaro came careening through thetraffic behind me. He must have been doing 90 m.p.h.

As he came nearer, I pulled closer to the truck in front of me,thinking it would keep the Camaro from cutting in. It didn't and thedriver made a dangerous move as he veered into the narrow gap betweenme and the truck, forcing me to hit my brakes. He immediately cut tothe inside of the truck, passed it and flew on.

I was still simmering mad four miles down the road when I sawthe flashing red lights of a cop car pulled over to the side of theroad. He'd caught the smart alec in the red Camaro! I wasdelighted.

There was time enough for me to slow down and room enough for meto pull up next to the police car where the officer was sitting,writing a ticket. I rolled down my window and, as the surprisedofficer looked up, I yelled, "I hope he loses his license!"

I pulled back on the highway and drove off, hoping I never meetthe driver of the red Camaro in a dark alley.

There has been a recent rash of shootings on California highwaysand several times a year you read the story of an argument betweendrivers in a minor accident that leads to a fight or a shooting.

If you're a driver, you can understand how it happens. My angryreaction to the driver of the Camaro was a symptom of the samedisease that leads to shootings. In the course of any trip you take,long or short, some other driver does something you think is wrong.If you're an aggressive driver, you're angry. Go get 'em, cowboy!You have this weapon in your hands, your car, and your tendency is touse it. "I'll go get him and cut him off at the next light . . . givehim a taste of his own medicine."

Some plug along slowly but surely. Nothing bothers them.They're not competitive. They don't anger easily.

These safe and sane drivers are, unfortunately, oftenresponsible for the accidents other drivers have and they are notalways good at handling their cars. The slow, cautious driverarouses unreasonable resentment from me when I'm behind the wheel.The nut in the red Camaro knows more about how to handle his car thanthe very slow driver does.

There are a handful of driving maneuvers that bring out theworst in me. Traveling at five or 10 miles an hour above the legalspeed limit, which is average in America, I keep a respectfuldistance from the car or truck ahead of me. I hate it when anothercar passes me on the right or left and pulls into that space, forcingme back.

When someone who has just passed me slows down at anintersection and waits until he has started to make a turn beforeputting on his turn signal, I lay on my horn in protest. By the timehe starts turning, he no longer has to put on his flasher to let meknow about it. He's too late.

"You dumb SOB," I mutter under my breath. I'm not a nice personin a car.

The best truck drivers are better than the average passenger cardriver, but there are some terrible ones. Some enjoy coming up amere eight or 10 feet from your rear bumper. If you hit the brake,you're going to have a truck in the back seat. Truck drivers do thisto let you know you're in their way and that they own the road.

The next new gadget they might consider building into our carsis a hypnotic windshield wiper that talks: DONT FIGHT. DONT FIGHT.DONT FIGHT.

Andy Rooney is a regular on CBS-TV's "60 Minutes." His column issyndicated by Tribune Media Services.

Mattias Norstrom's rare goal lifts Stars over Sharks 4-2 in rough regular-season finale

2012-03-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

Dallas Stars defenseman Mattias Norstrom doesn't mind rough-and-tumble games, especially when he scores the winning goal.

Norstrom's rare goal put his team ahead for good late in the second period as Dallas rallied to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Sunday in a physical NHL regular-season finale that included 160 penalty minutes, 95 for the Sharks.

The game meant nothing to either team in terms of the final standings, but a physical tone was set early with a series of fights that contributed to a playoff feel.

"Once in a while a game like that is fun," Norstrom said. "We showed we're professionals and have personal pride. We weren't going to take it easy on them and they did the same. We both showed up to battle."

Dallas erased a 2-0 deficit on goals by Antti Miettinen, Stu Barnes and Norstrom in the final 10 minutes of the second period.

With the game tied at 2 and the Stars with an extra attacker on a delayed Sharks penalty, Norstrom fired Toby Petersen's cross-ice pass into an open net with 13 seconds remaining in the second period for Norstrom's second goal of the season and 18th in 14 seasons.

"It was a great pass by Toby to set me up," the Swede said. "We didn't have a lot going for us early, but coming back from two goals down, it's great to have that character in our team."

Beckett Pitches Another Postseason Gem

2012-03-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

BOSTON - Josh Beckett is Mr. Zero when October rolls around.

The MVP of the 2003 World Series pitched his second consecutive postseason shutout and, backed by a home run from David Ortiz, led the Boston Red Sox over the Los Angeles Angels 4-0 Wednesday night in their AL playoff opener.

Beckett retired 19 consecutive batters after a leadoff single, allowed just four hits and ran his postseason scoreless streak to 18 innings. The last time he pitched on such a stage, he blanked the New York Yankees to clinch the '03 Series for Florida.

The previous pitcher with consecutive postseason shutouts was current teammate Curt Schilling, who accomplished the feat with the Phillies in 1993 and Arizona in 2001. Christy Mathewson is the only pitcher with four postseason shutouts; Beckett tied Whitey Ford and Mordecai Brown with three.

"I was ahead of a lot of guys," Beckett said. "They've got a lot of guys, those guys that foul a lot of pitches off and I just didn't want to get wrapped up in trying to strike a lot of guys out, because those are the at-bats that end up killing your pitch count and you're out after 5 1-3 because you've got 120 pitches."

Ortiz, who eliminated the Angels with a 10th-inning, series-ending homer in the first round of the 2004 playoffs, homered off John Lackey. Kevin Youkilis set the tone with a homer in the first inning against the Angels ace.

The victory was Boston's seventh straight in the postseason over the California-Anaheim-Los Angeles Angels, having come back from a 3-1 deficit to win in the 1986 AL playoffs and then sweeping them in the 2004 best-of-five first round.

The only 20-game winner in the majors this year, Beckett struck out eight and walked none. He has three shutouts in six postseason starts and two in 166 regular-season starts.

"That guy was very impressive. He's been like that all year," Ortiz said.

Beckett is 3-2 with a 1.74 ERA in the postseason. He became the first Boston pitcher to toss a postseason shutout since Luis Tiant beat Cincinnati 6-0 with a five-hitter in the opener of the 1975 World Series.

"He's hard on himself and he feels like he should be perfect out there," Youkilis said about Beckett. "I think that's one of the things that helps him."

Lackey allowed four runs, nine hits and two walks, striking out four in six innings.

Game 2 will be Friday, with rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka facing the Angels' Kelvim Escobar.

The Red Sox sell out every night these days, and their fans tend to treat every game like the postseason - even, if the Yankees are involved, during spring training. So the ballpark didn't seem any different, except for the red, white and blue bunting hanging from the upper deck and the temporary photographers' boxes in front of the first row.

That, and the fact that Beckett was on top of his game.

Just like last time.

In his first postseason appearance since coming back on three days' rest to shut out the Yankees, Beckett gave up a leadoff single to Chone Figgins and then retired the next 19 batters. The 6-foot-5 right-hander allowed a single to Vladimir Guerrero with one out in the seventh and the crowd applauded politely, as if a no-hitter had been broken up.

"He was throwing the ball better than he has at any point in the season. He was in control of himself," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.

Howie Kendrick singled in the seventh and Guerrero had another hit with two outs in the ninth. But Beckett got Garret Anderson to fly out to center field, and the Red Sox were celebrating another playoff victory over the Angels.

Lackey had some October success of his own, winning Game 7 of the '02 Series to clinch the title for the Angels. But this right-handed Texan also had a more ominous history to live down: He is 1-7 against the Red Sox and 1-5 at Fenway Park, and on Wednesday his struggles continued.

Youkilis, who was 0-for-2 as a backup during Boston's '04 World Series run, hit Lackey's sixth pitch over the Green Monster in left-center to make it 1-0. In the third inning, Youkilis doubled, and Ortiz followed with a line drive down the right-field line and into the stands for a 3-0 lead.

"This is his time of year, too," Youkilis said. "When David's confidence is high, this team succeeds."

It was the ninth career postseason homer for Ortiz, tying Jason Varitek for the franchise record. Lackey walked Manny Ramirez and put him on second with a wild pitch before Mike Lowell's single put the Red Sox up 4-0.

Notes:@ Angels shortstop Orlando Cabrera played on Boston's 2004 World Series team. ... Ramirez has hit safely in 20 of his last 21 postseason games. ... The scoreboard showed a video of baseball highlights from the year, and the clip of Barry Bonds hitting his record 756th homer was booed. ... Boston led the AL with 13 shutouts in the regular season. ... L.A. is 0-4 in Game 1 of a division series. ... Since winning their 2005 AL championship series opener against the Chicago White Sox, the Angels have lost five straight postseason games, totaling just eight runs and 24 hits.

Rubislaw clash will be crucial

2012-03-13T06:59:00.000-07:00

There's everything to play for at Rubislaw on Saturday whenGrammar play hosts to Kincorth in the Stewart Milne Group U-15League.

These are the only two sides who have a realistic chance ofcatching the present leaders Hazlehead and a defeat for either wouldalmost certainly put them out of the title race.

The visitors will start favourites to grab the spoils but with somuch at stake they won't be taking anything for granted.

After last week's postponement Cults and Kincorth make anotherattempt to play their U-14 League match at Cults. A win for Kincorthwould leapfrog them above Northfield into the top spot withOldmachar still on their tails.

Neither Mintlaw nor Cults have started well in Division 2 of theCNR International League but a win for either when they meet atMintlaw t could kick-start their campaign.

Torry on the other hand won their first league game of the seasonin the same division just before the Christmas break and will beconfident that they can oust their visitors from Banff from theScottish Plate competition when they come face to face at Tullos.

The draw for the U-15 Scottish Cup has been made and Aberdeenwill be at home to their Lanarkshire counterparts in the quarter-finals at a date still to be finalized.

The winners will travel to either Fife or East & Midlothian inthe semi-final.

Team representatives are reminded that local cup semi-finalsshould now take priority over league matches and ought to be playedat the earliest possible opportunity.

Secondary fixtures

SATURDAY

U-15 STEWART MILNE GROUP LEAGUE

Grammar v Kincorth, at Rubislaw - S Donald

U-14 STEWART MILNE GROUP LEAGUE

Cults v Kincorth, at Cults - A Cunningham

Grammar v St Machar, at Rubislaw - E Norrie

U-13 SCOTTISH PLATE

Torry v Banff, at Tullos - J Treasurer (9.45am)

U-13 CNR INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

Mintlaw v Cults, at Mintlaw

Kick-offs 9.30am unless stated

Appeal for charity walk

2012-03-13T03:13:00.000-07:00

Camerton: The National Osteoporosis Society is looking forpeople to join its Big Bone Walk in Westonbirt on Saturday, May 9.

The Big Bone Walks, now in their fourth year, not only raisevital funds for the Camerton-based charity but also provide a greatway for participants to improve their bone health. The 2009 BigBone Walks have even attracted the interest of Double Olympic goldmedal winner Dame Kelly Holmes, who has pledged her support for thewalks.

Dame Kelly said: "Walking, like running, is a great way to keepyour bones strong and healthy and your body fit, and it's somethingthat everyone can do together. Join us and let's start walkingtowards better bones for everyone."

To find out more visit www.nos.org.uk/bigbonewalk, emailbigbonewalk@nos.org.uk, or telephone 01761 473103.

Pupils making the step up

2012-03-13T00:12:00.000-07:00

FOLLOWING the Big School supplement in last week's Journal, hereis Reian Jenkins of Capel Cynon, who was unfortunately not included.He is the last pupil from the school to go up into another school,Ysgol Dyffryn Teifi, as Capel Cynon has now closed. The remainingpupils will start the new term at the primary school in Tregaron.

There is also a picture of the pupils from Myrddin Primary Schoolin Carmarthen, whose picture was incorrectly captioned.

2 accused of grim, real-life 'Weekend at Bernie's'

2012-03-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

DENVER (AP) — Two men are accused of engaging in a disturbing re-enactment of the movie "Weekend at Bernie's" after authorities say they drove around town with a dead friend in the car, running up a bar tab on his account and eventually using his ATM card to withdraw $400 at a strip club.

Robert Young, 43, and Mark Rubinson, 25, have been charged with abusing a corpse, identity theft and criminal impersonation.

It's unclear how Jeffrey Jarrett, 43, died, but the men are not charged in his death. The coroner said toxicology tests were pending. Young and Rubinson are free on bond but couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

In the 1989 Hollywood comedy, two ne'er-do-wells find their boss dead at his ritzy beachfront home and escort his body around town, attempting to save the weekend of luxury they had planned.

In Denver last month, according to a police affidavit that gives an account of a story first reported by the Denver Post (http://bit.ly/nEgeF4), Young arrived at Jarrett's home and found him unresponsive.

But rather than call the authorities, police say, Young went to find Rubinson.

The duo returned to Jarrett's home and put his lifeless body into Rubinson's SUV and headed to a nightspot where they spent more than an hour drinking — leaving Jarrett's body in the vehicle, according to police documents. Police say the two men used Jarrett's card to pay for the drinks on Aug. 27, noting "they did not have Jarrett's consent."

Rubinson and Young then drove to another restaurant to hang out, Jarrett's body slumped in the back along for the ride, police say.

They then returned to Jarrett's home, carried him in and put him in bed, according to court papers.

From there, police say, Rubinson and Young went to get gas and made a stop at a burrito joint, again using Jarrett's card. The two men then went to a strip club, where authorities say they used Jarrett's card to take out $400 from an ATM.

As the men left the Shotgun Willie's strip club parking lot, one told the valet and a police officer standing nearby that "they were driving around with a dead guy and they didn't know what to do with it and they were just going to go home really fast," general manager Matthew Dunafon said.

Police went to Jarrett's home and found the body.

Police say Young told them Jarrett was obviously dead while they were at the first stop of the night.

The Denver District Attorney's Office said Young posted a $2,500 bond and is scheduled to appear in Denver County Court for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 27.

Rubinson posted a $3,500 bond and is scheduled to appear in Denver County Court on Oct. 4.

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AP Radio Reporter Jackie Quinn contributed to this report.

Fire guts kitchen of top Spanish restaurant

2012-03-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

Fire has gutted the kitchen of one of Spain's top restaurants, its chef and owner said Monday.

Andoni Luis Aduriz told journalists the blaze overnight Sunday quickly destroyed the entire cooking area of the two-Michelin-star Mugaritz restaurant, south of Renteria in the Basque region near the French border.

The Basque regional Interior Ministry says the fire may have been triggered by an electrical short-circuit, and no one was hurt.

"Over the years we had collected lots of material to end up with a very well-equipped kitchen and it's all down the tubes. In three hours, we've lost everything," said Aduriz.

Aduriz is acknowledged as a rising star in avant-garde Spanish gastronomy in the style of Ferran Adria, known for descontructing food and putting it back together in surprising ways.

The 39-year-old has worked with top Spanish chefs, including Juan Maria Arzak and Martin Berasategui.

The respected San Pellegrino "World's 50 best restaurants" list rated Mugaritz as fourth behind Adria's restaurant El Bulli, Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck in Britain, and chef Rene Redzepi's Noma in Denmark.

15 German officers injured by explosive device

2012-03-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

German police say 15 officers were injured by an explosive device as protests against the government's planned budget cuts turned violent.

Police in Berlin on Sunday said that some 450 militant leftists joined a protest march of several thousand people on Saturday and attacked police by throwing stones and bottles. At one point, an explosive device was hurled toward police.

Thirteen officers were slightly injured by splinters from the device, but two officers were severely wounded and remain hospitalized. Prosecutors opened an investigation for manslaughter.

Police did not provide more details on the explosive device.

Konrad Freiberg, the chief of Germany's main police union, said in a statement: "That was attempted murder."

Trust is praised by staff

2012-03-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

United Bristol Healthcare Trust is one of only 10 pilot NHS sitesin the UK and the first trust in the South West to achieve the top"practice plus" level of Improving Working Lives accreditation.

Improving Working Lives is a national NHS initiative to improvethe working lives of its staff.

The practice plus award was given to United Bristol HealthcareTrust (UBHT) by an independent national panel of assessors, wholooked at the range and effectiveness of the people managementpractices which are in place to support staff.

More than 1,000 members of staff were involved in the completeassessment. The external validation team met more than 100 people,all of whom were randomly selected, using in-depth interviews andfocus groups.

The team visited all the city centre hospitals run by UBHT, bothduring the day and at night.

The trust was particularly commended for its good practice inflexible working, training and development, communication and staffinvolvement, recruitment processes and the strength of its team-based working.

The assessors were impressed by the open and transparent culturefound across the organisation and by the commitment at all levels tovalue and perpetuate this culture.

They found that staff feel, almost unanimously, that they arevalued and respected by the organisation as a whole.

There was also a strong feeling of loyalty by the majority ofstaff, and most workers were optimistic about the trust's future.

A range of initiatives were commended, such as efforts to improvesecurity, which have resulted in a drop in crime and an enhancedsense of safety among staff.

The recruitment of a childcare co-ordinator has been stronglywelcomed.

Many members of staff say that the option to plan working hoursmakes a huge difference to their quality of life and the trust wascommended for its genuine commitment to training and developingstaff.

The trust was awarded the initial IWL practice standard in 2002.

Since then, the assessors say that the trust has made significantimprovements in flexible ways of working, recruitment, breadth oftraining and staff communications.

The award follows last month's positive feedback from staff in thefirst national NHS staff survey, where the trust achieved some of thehighest marks in the country.

Anne Coutts, director of human resources said: "I am absolutelydelighted UBHT has been awarded IWL practice plus accreditation. Thisis a testament to the efforts of all clinical and non-clinical staffto make the trust a really good place to work, as well as one whichprovides excellent quality patient care.

"We want to support our staff by improving their working lives inevery way possible."