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World stocks mixed amid earnings woes; India soars

2012-03-15T07:20:00.000-07:00

World stock markets were mixed Monday as weak company earnings led investors to ratchet down hopes for a global recovery, but India's index vaulted 17 percent after election results paved the way for economic reforms.

In Asia, Tokyo shares were hardest hit after two of Japan's leading companies _ Panasonic and Mizuho Financial _ reported colossal losses for the last fiscal year. The strengthening yen hurt the country's major exporters. Oil firms, meanwhile, sank along with crude prices.

But India provided a bright spot, its shares surging in early trade as results of national elections boosted confidence about the government's stability and ability to enact …

Gorbachev, 9 republics join to fight Soviet crisis

2012-03-15T04:55:00.000-07:00

MOSCOW Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev shifted Wednesdaytoward compromise with the fractious Soviet republics and woncritical support from his rival, Russian Chairman Boris N. Yeltsin,for a broad declaration of joint action against the country'seconomic and social crisis.

Gorbachev then used this new pact to rebuff an angry challengefrom Communist Party hard-liners, blocking their moves in a CentralCommittee meeting to debate whether he should resign as the party'stop leader.

Gorbachev and leaders of nine of the 15 republics, includingYeltsin, published a joint statement in the Communist Party newspaperPravda declaring their intention to work together to …

Man exonerated in Giants fan beating speaks out

2012-03-15T02:34:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The man initially identified by police as the primary suspect in the beating of a San Francisco Giants fan at Dodger Stadium, then exonerated after two other men were arrested and charged, spoke out Friday.

"More than anything, I'm upset. Not for myself, but for the grief and embarrassment that my friends, family, and loved ones have been put through," Giovanni Ramirez, 31, said in a statement released by his attorney Jose Romero.

Ramirez has been in custody since being arrested on a parole violation in May and ordered to serve 10 months in prison. At the time, Police Chief Charlie Beck identified Ramirez as the primary suspect for the beating of Bryan Stow, …

Mexico's Televisa to buy 30 pct of Nextel Mexico

2012-03-15T00:10:00.000-07:00

Mexican media giant Televisa said Monday it has agreed to buy 30 percent of cell phone carrier Nextel de Mexico for $1.44 billion as part of its plan to offer "quadruple play" _ voice, video, Internet and wireless products.

The companies plan to bid together on wireless airwaves in a government auction planned for May, and the investment is subject to winning the auction and Nextel getting the spectrum to broaden its services.

"If the proposal we present in the auction is not successful, then we don't do the deal," Alfonso de Angoitia, Televisa's executive vice president, told reporters on a conference call.

Grupo Televisa …

How to answer the eternal query: Should I rent or buy?

2012-03-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

One of the most-pondered questions that consumers have whendeciding about their housing needs are about the financialimplications of renting vs. buying.

A common phrase often heard is: "Paying rent is like throwingmoney out of the window." This may not always be the case. Itreally depends on the consumer's short- and long-term housing needsand their current and perceived financial situation.

One of the best ways to evaluate the most appropriate approachis simply to list the expenses associated with both renting andowning.

If you have a relatively small amount of money available for adown payment, and are debating whether to buy a "starter home" orrent …

Bulletin: Deck lid not flush with left-hand quarter panel (install struts, replace right deck lid hinge)

2012-03-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE CONVERTIBLE & Z06

According to TSB #03-08-66-001, some customers may comment that the deck lid is not flush with the left-hand quarter panel when it is closed. The single strut used on the left-hand side of some 2003 models may cause the deck lid to not be flush with the quarter panel.

Correction:

* Open the deck lid and inspect the right< hinge for the ball stud …

Power-sharing talks resume in Zimbabwe

2012-03-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

Power-sharing talks resumed Thursday between President Robert Mugabe's government and the opposition, despite a report by state media that said a deal to resolve Zimbabwe's political crisis was unlikely this week.

The Herald's bleak assessment came despite public expressions of optimism by Mugabe and his main rival a day earlier. Mugabe said "hopefully a deal will be signed" Thursday, and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said there was "very little work left" to do.

The Herald, however, cited people it called insiders as saying that little progress was made during a round of talks mediated Wednesday by South African President Thabo …

H&m to open two Bath stores

2012-03-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

Swedish fashion retailer H&M will open the first of two newstores in Bath next week.

The firm, which has been trading around the world for more than60 years, has chosen the city as the location for its 147th store inthe UK.

The new store will open in Southgate Street on Thursday November20, around a year ahead of a much larger store planned for thepounds360 million SouthGate centre.

H&M bosses said the chain has been looking at developing apresence in Bath for 'a long time'.

The firm's UK and Ireland manager Magnus Olsson said: "This greatlocation will enable us to offer our customers an exciting andinviting shopping environment.

"Hot new trends …

The Baseline 500; It is not easy staying at the top of the Baseline 500.

2012-03-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

13 The Baseline 500

It is not easy staying at the top of the Baseline 500. Just ask the 159 companies that dropped off the 2004 ranking. Here are the 500 best

information managers, culled from a database of 2,324 publicly traded

companies with sales of $100 million or more.

45 Industry Leaders

Energy companies made the strongest showing, but food and beverage,

financial services and manufacturing also did well.

53 Leaders Ranked by Revenue

Does size matter? Not when it comes to Information Productivity,

which is the great equalizer among companies with sales between $10 million and $10 billion. This …

Retirement has mellowed me: Armstrong

2012-03-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

In the third incarnation of a career interrupted by cancer, then a 3-1/2 year retirement, Lance Armstrong says he is a milder, nicer guy.

Gone is Angry Lance, the hard-eyed, hard-bitten competitor who often argued with the media and fans and cut an image of remoteness and inaccessibility.

Throughout the Tour Down Under, his first competitive stage race since mid-2005, Armstrong has been what Aussies call "a good bloke," easily accessible to fans and even a friend to the media.

The seven-time Tour de France winner took on an endless round of public activities in his Australian visit, visiting cancer sufferers in Royal Adelaide Hospital, …

Divinely inspired cakes ease the holiday burden

2012-03-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

As limited as my Christmas shopping is, and despite all thedaily reminders - whether on radio or television or in the newspaper- the last few weeks before Christmas seem to dissolve faster thansnowflakes on a warm coat.

Because of this, I would like to share two recipes that can beprepared ahead and frozen. These recipes are from my collection, andI think each one is the best in its class: really special.

The angel-feather cheesecake recipe that follows uses more sourcream in proportion to cream cheese than most recipes. The firsttime I made it, it seemed so loose when done I was certain it was aflop. But follow the baking time exactly. Once you refrigerate …

Google to Buy Nielsen Data for TV Ads

2012-03-14T05:27:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO - Determined to sell more television ads, Internet search leader Google Inc. is sharpening its focus on the medium with demographic data from the influential Nielsen Co.

Under an agreement to be announced Wednesday, Google will pay Nielsen an undisclosed amount to obtain detailed information about the kinds of people who watch specific TV shows.

The breakdown, drawn from Nielsen's rating service, typically provides viewers' ages, gender, marital status and other personal data that help advertisers choose the audience most likely to be interested in their product or service.

New York-based Nielsen has been selling demographic data to television …

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY SPRING FOOTBALL: ; Football, not law, in coachs blood; WVU's Roberts has earned his degree from Harvard Law School

2012-03-14T02:53:00.000-07:00

MORGANTOWN - Even when WVU's wide receivers and special teamscoach Daron Roberts had a master's degree and was working to finishcoursework at Harvard Law School, he would look past a career incorporate law and lock his gaze on a retirement plan.

"I was going to coach football at Mount Pleasant High School,"said Roberts, the latest and final addition to West Virginiafootball's coaching staff.

Roberts played his prep football in that small town in northeastTexas that doesn't sell alcohol, but did have the state's first Wal-Mart. The dream was in his head and it would take a step forwardfrom the recesses of his mind every time he returned from Harvard tovisit his parents.

The flight from Boston would take him only to Dallas, and he hadto drive another two hours home.

Every time, though, he'd stop along the way and visit his olddefensive coordinator. And every time they'd watch the tapes fromwhen Roberts rolled with the Tigers.

"Eventually I told myself, 'You're going to your defensivecoordinator's house before you go home to see your mom and dad,'" hesaid. "And I love my mom and dad."

He loved football, too. He thought he left it behind when he wentto Texas for his undergraduate degree and then to Harvard, but itwouldn't leave him.

"I never lost sight of the fact that the best four years of mylife were spent playing high school football," he said.

In the summer of 2006, just before he began his third and finalyear of law school, a friend suggested they drive to Columbia, S.C.,for South Carolina's football camp.

"It changed my life," he said.

Roberts went to camps at LSU and then Boston College later thatsummer. He was hooked.

A year later, he had his law degree and was preparing to take thebar exam in Texas, but veered sharply off course and went to theKansas City Chiefs training camp.

Two years later, he was an assistant coach with the DetroitLions.

Now, he's a FBS program's assistant making $200,000 annually tocoach WVU wide receivers and punt and kickoff return teams.

"Had my buddy not called me to work that camp in South Carolina,I might be working at a firm in New York," Roberts said. "I'mfortunate enough he did call me and that I had a couple sick days Icould use at my law firm so we could drive to Columbia. Thatexperience set me on this path."

* n n

THAT EXPERIENCE was rooted in a little bit of fraud. Thosecollege camps he worked are somewhat exclusive. They take coachesfrom all sorts of colleges and high schools, but they don'tgenerally take aides to senators and former presidential candidatesor assistants to lieutenant governors who have no coachingexperience.

In fact, the registration forms anyone can find online attempt todesignate who's who. Roberts found a way around that.

"I listed the school I went to in Texas. What I didn't say wasthe school I coached," he said. "It said 'Name' and 'Affiliation.' Ikind of interpreted that loosely. I'm a Mount Pleasant alumnus.Maybe they assumed I coached there."

The secret would get out after a while and it was there whereRoberts was first projected to be a little bit crazy.

"I'd get in and I wouldn't say anything," Roberts said. "I'd justwork for three or four days. The guys would say after you're sittingaround and talking a little bit, 'You're in law school? What? Mostpeople are trying to get out of camps and you're trying to sneakin?'

"But working those three camps reaffirmed for me that this iswhat I should be doing."

* n n

HIS PLAN to abandon a formidable education to pursue a fantasywas not uniformly popular. Roberts told people he was stepping awayfrom law and all the accomplishments and connections he'd secured inmergers and acquisitions to enter the entirely unknown world of theNFL as an unpaid volunteer.

Some reactions were predictable.

"I got a lot of insanity e-mails," he said. "My grandmother sentme one."

He also had a lot of support through it all. Roberts was aresponsible and surely sane person. Those around him knew he'dthought about his decision and was serious about making it work.More people talked him into it than tried to talk him out of it.

His parents offered this advice: "The best time to go broke iswhen you have no money."

His law school dean ruled in his favor: "It's just like going toHarvard. If you have an opportunity to be in the NFL, you have tojump on it. Legal issues are not going anywhere. People are stillgoing to have problems. You can always practice. You won't alwayshave a shot to go to the NFL."

The greatest assist came before all of that. Roberts was in asports law class in his second year of law school. In 2005 he wantedto write a paper on the relationship between legal training andcoaching. His professor happened to be "infatuated" with then-TexasTech Coach Mike Leach, who has a law degree from Pepperdine.

He also happened to be one of the few big-time coaches who neverplayed college football.

The professor granted Roberts a one-month sabbatical and it wasthere where Roberts first met WVU's offensive coordinator DanaHolgorsen, who reached out and brought Roberts to campus last week.

"He and I stayed in contact when I got into coaching," Robertssaid. "I saw him at the national championship game and congratulatedhim on the opportunity to come here. He said he'd keep me in mindwhen there was an opening."

Roberts spent the first part of his coaching career working withspecial teams and the Mountaineers were in need of not just areceivers coach when Lonnie Galloway left for Wake Forest lastmonth, but someone to coach the punt and kickoff return teams afterDave McMichael was not retained by Holgorsen.

"Let's be brutally honest," WVU Coach Bill Stewart said. "I'venot been pleased with the punt and kickoff return teams."

Stewart also said Roberts can be a "tremendous asset" recruitingVirginia and Washington D.C., areas Galloway and former assistantChris Beatty worked. The Mountaineers have landed a number ofplayers from there in recent years, but only a few have stuck aroundlong enough to help.

All that is fine with Roberts.

"You've got to remember, I was going to Detroit on the heels of a0-16 season," he said. "I knew I couldn't wear my gear outside. Wegot to 2-14 and then 6-10, but I know where to hide."

* n n

ROBERTS EARNED his law degree in June 2007 then paid for andregistered to take the Texas bar at the end of the following month.He also sent letters to every NFL head coach and defensivecoordinator and the upper echelon of Division I schools to ask foran opportunity.

Only the Chiefs replied with an invitation to come to theirtraining camp. It happened to overlap with the bar. Rather than showup late for camps, he passed on the bar, though he was granted anindefinite waiver to take the exam whenever he wanted.

He still hasn't.

"My mom is a little upset about this," he said.

The Chiefs were impressed and had him stay on as a volunteerassistant. A year later, he was the defensive quality controlassistant.

In 2009, he moved along to the Detroit Lions with defensivecoordinator Gunther Cunningham as the assistant in the secondary.

He even showed his grandma a picture of him on the sideline hardat work during a game.

"She swore I was Photoshopped into it," he said.

It was a rapid ascent, but it was not so simple.

"You have to humble yourself," Roberts said. "Coaches feel verygood about their knowledge base and when someone comes in who hasn'tcoached, man. I got absolutely beaten down by some guys."

Those same guys built him up, whether they realized it or not.

Roberts can teach receivers. He can craft schemes for return men.Eventually he'll recruit players to campus. The greatest value,though, is in how a 32-year-old who never abandoned his plan relatesto teenagers and young adults.

"Kids - and it doesn't matter where you are - have problems,"Holgorsen said. "They deal with things every day, from an academicstandpoint to temptations around town to time management to gettingworn out in the weight room to getting yelled at out on the practicefield.

"There are a lot of issues and having a guy like that who hasaccomplished what he accomplished and done things on his own can bea good sounding board for the guys."

* n n

THE DREAM is to be a major college head coach, but Roberts staysup on the law and relevant issues "just in case I ever do practice,which I don't see happening."

Roberts set up an email account years back and asked his friendsfrom Harvard to send him articles he needed to read.

"I check that e-mail once a year just to read through thearticles," he said. "It's quite amazing."

The same might be said of Roberts' story. In addition to all ofthe above, he also founded the "4th and 1 Football Camp," a freecamp for kids in Mount Pleasant, Texas, and East Lansing, Mich.,that blends football instruction with test preparation and lifeskills.

NCAA rules prevent Roberts from having an affiliation with thecamp as long as he works on a college staff, but the camp willcontinue without him.

He remains philanthropic in other areas and said he's mentoring alaw student on the side, which makes sense considering all Robertshas been through and the decisions he faced along the way.

There's a question behind all of this, though, that needs to beasked: Would Roberts advise someone to do what he did?

If the circumstances are right, Roberts said he would.

"For me, it was easy," he said. "I had an old, beat-up Tahoe andI wasn't married at the time and I didn't have any kids at the time.I could pick up and go."

Roberts has been married for a year now. He and his wife, Hilary,are raising their 7-month-old son, Dylan. Hilary is house hunting inMorgantown. She's supposed to involve her husband when she'snarrowed the choices to two or three.

Life is simpler these days.

"If someone is married and trying to do this, he'd have to have asupportive wife because you can be working for free," he said.

"I've known some guys who have worked for five or six yearsbefore their first break came. If they're passionate enough aboutit, I'd say do it because if it works out, it's worth it."

MATTHEW SUNDAY/FOR THE DAILY MAIL West Virginia University widereceivers and special teams coach Daron Roberts was an assistantcoach with the Detroit Lions.

Contact sportswriter Mike Casazza at mikec@dailymail.com or 304-319-1142.

Open letter to the Canadian Medical Association from UK doctors

2012-03-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

Dr. Ruth Collins-Nakai, MD

President, Canadian Medical Association

Dear Dr. Collins-Nakai and colleagues: Those in favour of privatisation often point to Britain as an example of how the private sector can "save" public health care. We are writing, as British doctors, to share what we have learned first-hand about the dangers of private sector involvement in health care, in the hopes that our colleagues in Canada can learn from our country's mistakes and reject private care and other market-style policies.

The British National Health Service (NHS), one of the earliest and most-studied publicly-funded health systems in the world, has been under increasing threat from privatisation for some time. Similar but more recent systems in other countries are now being subjected to the same pressures to privatise.

The NHS has suffered from decades of underfunding relative to other developed countries. As a result, despite its inherent efficiency (before the imposition of marketbased policies, administrative costs were less than 6%), critics were able to point to long waiting lists and ageing hospitals.

To its credit, the current government has finally recognised the underlying problem and announced that spending will rise annually until it reaches the European average by 2008. Indeed, the annual health budget is already double that of 1997. So far, so good. But, although there have been some improvements, mainly in elective surgery, doctors and the public are puzzled that, despite the extra funding, there are still shortages in other parts of the service, with hospitals having to close beds and whole units to avoid financial deficit.

The answer to this puzzle is that much of the additional money is being diverted from its proper purpose - i.e., providing front-line care-by the government's other policies. Presented to the public as "modernisation," these include payment by results, Private Finance Initiatives (PFI), competing providers, and the "patient choice" agenda.

Firstly, the money is going into private profit. Short-term improvements in easily counted and politically important areas like waiting lists are being achieved by expensive deals with the private sector. These include not only using spare capacity in existing private facilities, but now the establishment of "independent sector treatment centres" (ISTCs), often owned and staffed by foreign commercial concerns.

These ISTCs are offered long-term contracts with guaranteed income - at costs up to 40% higher than the NHS. They "cherry-pick" the simple cases and have little responsibility for complications or follow-up. Their clinical governance arrangements are currently unclear, and there are already concerns about the quality of care in ISTCs.

The removal of much elective surgery from the NHS is putting training in some specialties at risk. Because fewer of the low-risk cases are being seen in NHS hospitals, young surgeons are no longer getting the training they need. In addition, the concentration on short-term episodic care is diverting attention and funds from the majority of patients, whose needs are for longer-term management of chronic disease or disability.

The concept was initially "sold" as a short-term measure to tackle the backlog until the NHS was able to take on all its commitments, but it is now clear that the government intends the growing private sector to remain and compete with the publicly-provided NHS, frequently on an unfair basis. The resulting "contestability" is seen by the government as producing a "creative discomfort" which will improve the service. There is no evidence to support this assumption. There is, however, mounting evidence of the problems it is causing. Yet the government has said that it is quite prepared to see units and even entire hospitals close under the new competitive regime.

We believe that you have already experienced PFI (known in Canada as P3s or public-private partnerships) for hospital construction. This is another example of governments choosing quick, politically useful results without concern for the long-term consequences. Inevitably, PFI hospitals are more expensive, as borrowing is at a higher rate and there has to be profit for the shareholders. As a result, our first hospitals were too small. Now, although PFI hospitals must be at least as large as those they replace, many defects are appearing and the repayments-the first charge on the hospital's budget-are causing financial problems. It is difficult to find anyone in the UK now prepared to support PFI except those in government and those set to profit from it.

Secondly, both financial resources and staff time are being wasted on the bureaucracy inherent in trying to run a competitive market system. The Conservative government introduced "competition" in the early 1990s, and as a result administrative costs doubled. The key feature was the splitting of the service into "purchasers" and "providers." While in opposition, the Labour Party opposed the market and PFI, but, after gaining power in 1997, they retained both PFI and the artificial separation in which one part of the service (the "purchaser") has to buy services from the other (the "provider") which markets and sells them. This purchaser/ provider split is the absolutely crucial factor. Without it, a market cannot operate, but with it, the service is wide open to privatisation, as we are now seeing.

The hospital service, split into separate semi-independent "Trusts" with boards of directors under the Conservatives, is now to be even more autonomous, as "Foundation Trusts" enter the market with power to borrow money and sell assets. To repay money borrowed, they will need to attract patients from outside their normal area. As all hospitals are scheduled to become Foundations within the next few years, there will be a very unstable competitive situation, with the government accepting that some hospitals may be forced to close. Foundation Trusts will no longer be responsible to Parliament, but to an independent regulator-interestingly, exactly the system which governs our now-privatised railways, telephone, gas, electricity, and water industries.

"Payment by results" means that every item of treatment will be marketed, sold, and billed for. The public sector will find it hard to compete with the private sector on this basis as the latter does not have to provide expensive emergency and intensive care. The private sector is also not responsible for teaching and training, the costs of which have not been factored into the tariffs.

The government rhetoric is that we must have a diversity of providers, which it justifies as promoting "choice." But the public has demonstrated that its first priority is a good local hospital, without the need to "shop around." It is the system of local hospitals that is now in jeopardy.

This is indeed privatisation-in fact if not yet in name-although some have suggested that "commercialisation" is a better description, as even those parts which remain in the public sector are being forced to act like commercial enterprises. These reforms are driven by ideology and there is as yet no evidence that a competitive market improves outcomes in health care.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Fisher

President, NHS Consultants' Association

Jacky Davis

Consultant Radiologist NHSCA Executive Committee

[Sidebar]

"We are writing, as British doctors, to share what we have learned about the dangers of private sector involvement in health care, in the hopes that our colleagues in Canada can learn from our country's mistakes and reject private care and other market-style policies."

[Author Affiliation]

Peter Fisher

President, NHS Consultants' Association

Jacky Davis

Consultant Radiologist NHSCA Executive Committee

China considering live broadcast of first spacewalk by Chinese astronaut

2012-03-13T21:10:00.000-07:00

China's space program is considering a live broadcast of the first spacewalk by a Chinese astronaut, reflecting growing confidence in the program's capabilities, state media reported Friday.

The first spacewalk is scheduled to take place after the Beijing Summer Olympics in August during the country's third manned mission.

Yuan Jie, president of Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, was quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency as saying a live broadcast was being considered but no decision had been made.

"The Shenzhou 7 spacecraft is capable of live broadcasting the walk, but it has not been decided if the spacewalk will be broadcast in a live or recorded version," Xinhua quoted Yuan as saying.

China's space program is the focus of immense national pride, and officials have announced ever more ambitious plans to explore the moon and build a space station since the program first put a man into orbit in 2003.

China sent an unmanned space ship to orbit the moon last year, the first step in a three-stage lunar exploration project. A manned lunar voyage is planned for sometime after 2017.

While live images of previous missions have been beamed to schools and viewers across China, broadcasts are usually pre-taped to guard against mishaps.

Palmyra EMS merges with Hershey Med Center

2012-03-13T18:19:00.000-07:00

Faced with increasing liability insurance costs and a managed care-inspired push for greater operating efficiencies, the Palmyra-based Citizen's Fire Company has announced plans to merge its Palmyra EMS Division with the ambulance service operated by Penn State's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Andrew Tom, EMS manager for Palmyra, said the move will have no effect on the area covered by the two, now-united ambulance companies. University Hospitals EMS, the medical center's ambulance agency, has agreed to honor all of Palmyra's outstanding memberships and maintain advanced and basic life-support services in Palmyra Borough, North Londonderry, South Londonderry and East Hanover townships.

What the change will mean, Tom said, is that the Citizens Fire Company will be able to get out of a business that increasingly is requiring economies of scale to make it profitable.

"It's become a very growing business, the ambulance service," Tom said. "It's become basically more than a lot of volunteer companies can handle."

Statewide, Pennsylvania EMS officials say, an increasing number of ambulance companies have decided to leave a business that in recent years has required more capital outlays for new equipment and more administrative time to navigate the billing procedures for Medicare and private insurance companies.

"You're seeing it happen quite often," Tom said. "With managed care the way it's going, you're starting to see a lot of hospitals join up. A lot of ambulance companies are linking up as well. It's just more cost effective."

In October, St. Joseph and Community hospitals in Lancaster began operating their four ALS ambulances -- the most advanced, emergency-response vehicles -- under one jointly owned, independent corporation. Officials at the time said the move would increase efficiency and lower operational costs by spreading equipment and personnel expenses over a larger volume of calls.

Representatives of Hershey Medical Center and The Good Samaritan Hospital have also announced plans to form a joint regional EMS program.

Greg Swope, manger of pre-hospital services for the medical center, could not be reached for comment.

The Palmyra EMS Division currently has a staff of 30 paid crew members, Tom said. All of those people have been asked to re-apply for their jobs. Final staffing decisions will be made by officials at the Medical Center.

"Our people seem very excited about it," Tom said. "Certainly in the ambulance business, the opportunity to be associated with a hospital (seems to be a good thing)."

Nadal reaches 7th straight Monte Carlo final

2012-03-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

MONACO (AP) — Six-time defending champion Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in a thrilling match to reach the Monte Carlo Masters final on Saturday.

The top-ranked Spaniard was made to work for nearly three hours by Murray for his 36th straight win at the clay-court tournament, dropping a set at the tournament for the first time since the 2009 final against Novak Djokovic.

"It is a fantastic victory for me against a very difficult opponent," Nadal said. "(To) start the clay court season being in the final is very good for me."

He will play David Ferrer, who is looking for his third title this year, in an all-Spanish final. Nadal thinks he will have to improve on his performance against Murray.

"I think I played too short for a lot of moments," Nadal said. "I think I had few more mistakes than usual."

Ferrer is unbeaten on clay so far this season, winning a title at Acapulco, Mexico, and he also beat Nadal in the Australian Open quarterfinals. Nadal leads 11-4 overall but has lost once to Ferrer on clay, although that was in 2004.

"He had a fantastic start to the season. He hasn't lose yet on clay this year," Nadal said. "He's very dangerous, it's going to be a very difficult match."

Nadal was full of praise for Murray, tipping him to keep improving on clay in the leadup to the French Open, where Murray has never been past the quarterfinals.

"He has unbelievable potential. He's very good on all the surfaces," Nadal said. "There's no reason why he cannot play very well on clay because his serve is good, his movements are very good, and his shots are with topspin."

Murray, who is 4-10 against Nadal, thinks he has some way to go before he can beat Nadal on his favorite surface.

"I want to try to play better than that," Murray said. "I'll need to, if I want to beat him, because he's going to improve the next few weeks, for sure, the more he plays on clay."

The third-seeded Murray took a medical timeout at 3-0 down in the third set and had his right elbow massaged.

The start of the match was delayed for 30 minutes while Murray had a cortisone injection into his elbow and wondered whether he would play.

"I had a cortisone injection, local anesthetic in my elbow before the match," Murray said. "I was really like uptight about it. I'd never had one before, didn't know what the feeling was going to be like. The doctor said that would probably be what would be suggested even if I didn't play the match, that they would suggest a cortisone injection, like an anti-inflammatory."

He said he'll have an exam on Sunday, but believed it shouldn't keep him off the tour.

Nadal looked to be coasting to another straight-sets win at 4-1 up but Murray rallied superbly, edging the five-time French Open champion 9-7 in winners in the first set, and 13-3 in a second set of outstanding quality.

"He's the best player in the world and there's a reason for that," Murray said. "It's good to be close, but I think I could have done better."

Nadal lost his serve six times in the match, and particularly struggled when Murray stepped inside to hit angled winners.

"I was being patient. I was playing a ball with good height," Murray said. "When he left it a bit short, I was sort of stepping in."

With his surge, however, the pain came back at 2-0 down in the third. He argued unsuccessfully with the umpire for a medical timeout, and by the time the trainer could see him, he was down 3-0.

Earlier, fourth-seeded Ferrer beat seventh-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-3, 6-2 to reach his second Masters final, having lost his first in Rome to Nadal last year.

"I'm full of confidence. I feel good physically, and also with my tennis," Ferrer said. "I hope I'll keep going."

Mauresmo eliminated on the clay of Roland Garros at French Open

2012-03-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

The courts at the French Open have always had a certain something that just makes it too tough for Amelie Mauresmo to succeed.

"Clay," the two-time Grand Slam champion said wryly. "That's the first thing."

Mauresmo, seeded 22nd at Roland Garros, bowed out in the second round Thursday with a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Carla Suarez Navarro.

The former No. 1 missed both the Italian and German Opens with a rib injury and then struggled to get through the first round in three sets. In the second round, she had little left to give against her 132nd-ranked opponent.

"I've not had enough time to develop what I wanted to implement, and there's nothing more I can add," Mauresmo said. "It's a bit difficult for me to analyze all this. And all I can say is that I feel sorry about the way I played, especially from a tactical standpoint."

On Friday, top-seeded Maria Sharapova was scheduled to complete her match against Bethanie Mattek of the United States. Second-seeded Ana Ivanovic, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and No. 5 Serena Williams were also to play on Day 6.

On the men's side, three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal was scheduled to play for the fourth straight day. No. 3 Novak Djokovic was also to play in the third round against Wayne Odesnik of the United States.

Suarez, a 19-year-old Spaniard who is making her Grand Slam debut, kept Mauresmo moving around center court with long rallies.

"I knew more or less that's what type of game she would produce," Mauresmo said. "But I should have done what I managed to do for a couple of games in the second set: hit the ball earlier and play passing shots even if, in that case, my percentage would have been slightly worse.

"This was my tactic before I got on the court, and I did not go by this plan enough."

Mauresmo won the Australian Open in 2006 and followed that with a Wimbledon title a few months later. But she has struggled at the French Open, where her best results are a pair of quarterfinal appearances in 2003 and '04.

Still, the 28-year-old Frenchwoman is still looking forward to another shot at the title at the All England Club.

"I hope ... my tennis will be better, and I hope that from a physical standpoint I'll be OK," Mauresmo said.

Roger Federer and Nadal advanced to the third round despite first-set scares.

The two highest-seeded men at the French Open responded to the challenge by reeling off game after game to move into the third round.

Although Federer wasn't broken, he lost the first set in a tiebreaker before beating Albert Montanes of Spain 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-0, 6-4. Nadal faced a close call in the first set, but the three-time defending champion still beat Nicolas Devilder of France 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 to improve to 23-0 at Roland Garros.

"It was tough going down a set, but reaction was good and bounced back strong," Federer said. "Played really well after that."

Seventh-seeded James Blake lost to 19-year-old Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, and sixth-seeded David Nalbandian was upset by Jeremy Chardy of France 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.

In a pair of routs, No. 5 David Ferrer beat Fabrice Sabtoro of France 6-0, 6-1, 6-0, and No. 16 Victoria Azarenka defeated Sorana-Mihaela Cirstea 6-0, 6-0.

Venus Williams and Jankovic reached the third round, one easing through her match and the other playing through pain.

The eighth-seeded Williams used a six-game run to beat 241st-ranked qualifier Selima Sfar of Tunisia 6-2, 6-4. Jankovic, seeded third and a semifinalist at Roland Garros last year, was bothered by a right arm injury but defeated Marina Erakovic of New Zealand 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Japan braces for gridlock after ruling party loss

2012-03-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

Japan's ruling party faced the prospect of political gridlock Monday after an election setback that could undermine its attempts to reduce a ballooning budget deficit and revive growth in the world's second-largest economy.

Half of the 242 seats in the upper house of parliament were up for grabs Sunday. The ruling Democratic Party of Japan won only 44 seats _ far below its stated goal of 54 _ while opposition parties made major gains.

That leaves the Democrats and their tiny coalition partner with 110 seats, well below their majority of 122 before the vote. The conservative Liberal Democratic Party won 51 seats, bringing its total to 84.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan's party will retain power, because it still controls the more powerful lower house. But the results are a dramatic contrast to the Democrats' landslide victory just a year ago, when they seized control of parliament and ended the rival Liberal Democrats nearly unbroken 55-year rule.

Losing the majority in the upper house will make it more difficult for the Democrats to move ahead on their agenda, which includes cutting wasteful spending, making government more open and creating a solid social security system for a rapidly aging and shrinking population.

The Democrats did not appear to be reaching out to other parties to join their coalition. Kan said early Monday that his party might seek the cooperation of others on a policy-by-policy basis.

He later rejected calls from the Liberal Democrats to dissolve the lower house and call an election, according to the Kyodo News agency.

In office just a month, Kan has warned that Japan's finances could face a Greece-like meltdown if it doesn't cut back on soaring debt _ twice the country's GDP _ and suggested raising the sales tax as a solution.

But voters, already suffering from the economic downturn, rejected that idea.

"The sudden announcement increased voter distrust toward Kan. No one is sure what he is going to come out with, and the feeling is that he may suddenly renege on past promises," said Koichi Nakano, a political science professor at Sophia University in Tokyo.

Kan acknowledged defeat early Monday morning, saying he failed to fully explain his proposal to raise the sales tax from 5 percent to as much as 10 percent in coming years.

While many voters say a tax hike may be inevitable, they want a more detailed discussion first.

"If we look at the deficit, it's reasonable to raise taxes to 10 percent, because we really have to revitalize the economy," said Sadako Fukano, 71, a housewife in Tokyo. "However, the prime minister's explanation as to where he's going to spend the tax money wasn't enough."

While Japan's public debt is serious, analysts say any comparison to Greece is an exaggeration, because most government bonds are held by domestic investors, who are unlikely to dump them.

Sunday's results also underlined deep public disappointment over how the Democrats had reneged on their campaign promises. Chief among them was former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's failure to move a U.S. Marine base off the island of Okinawa, which along with a funding scandal chased him from office last month.

Kan, a former finance minister with roots in grass-roots activism, enjoyed support ratings of more than 60 percent when he took office in early June.

But that plunged after he proposed the tax hike. As the elections neared, Kan backtracked and promised there would be no tax increase until after the next lower house election, which must be held within three years.

The swing in public opinion has emboldened the opposition and raises the specter of gridlock on key legislation such as the budget. Smaller parties quickly distanced themselves from the ruling Democrats on Monday.

"Even if there was an offer to form a coalition, we wouldn't do so," said lawmaker Yoshimi Watanabe, who heads the new Your Party, which won 10 seats.

Japan is deeply invested in worldwide markets, and slow growth here can have a significant impact on the global economy. Kan said his experience as finance minister made him keenly aware of the need to keep Japan's economic engine running and not seek short-term fixes.

But now, Kan may struggle to achieve his policy goals.

"Because of political compromises ... 'bold' measures of either fiscal restoration or fiscal stimulus are unlikely to be taken, and the government measures are likely to be neutral or small for the economy," Takuji Aida, an economist with UBS in Tokyo said in a note to clients.

Kan said he planned to keep his job and does not plan a major shake-up of the Cabinet, though he must defend his post in party polls in September. He vowed to press on with economic reforms even if they are not easy to stomach.

"I sincerely and humbly accept this result," he said. "I will continue to push for responsible government."

___

Associated Press Writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this story.

Army: Rocket fired from Gaza crashes into school

2012-03-13T05:41:00.000-07:00

Israel's military said a rocket fired from Gaza crashed into a school in the southern Israeli coastal town of Ashkelon on Saturday.

An army spokesman, who spoke anonymously according to military regulations, said the school was closed, averting injuries. Another rocket fired on Saturday morning crashed into an open field close to Ashkelon, 10 miles from Gaza.

There were no claims of responsibility by Palestinians.

The rocket fire highlighted the fragility of a truce between Israel and Gaza's rulers militant group Hamas. The truce, separately called by Israel and Hamas, ended a punishing three-week military assault in the coastal territory last month.

The army says Palestinian militants have launched over a hundred rockets at Israel since then. Israel has since fired powerful missiles at smuggling tunnels that crisscross Gaza's border with Egypt.

International and regional diplomats are currently involved in efforts to try cement the truce and help rebuild Gaza.

On Saturday, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

The meeting came after he toured the Gaza Strip on Friday _ the highest ranking European official to visit the territory since it was overrun by Hamas in June 2007. Solana did not meet with Gaza's militant Hamas rulers, boycotted internationally as a terror group.

On Monday, international donors will meet in Egypt for a conference on Gaza's reconstruction. The Palestinians are seeking $2.8 billion dollars.

U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is expected to attend the conference and to meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

But Diplomatic efforts are complicated by a host of obstacles.

Donors will not pay money to Gaza's Hamas rulers to rebuild homes and infrastructure smashed in Israel's assault of the territory. But the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority has no presence in Gaza since Hamas seized power there in 2007.

"The mechanism used to deploy (donor) money will be to send it to the Palestinian Authority," Solana said on Saturday.

Egypt is overseeing reconciliation talks that would allow Palestinian Authority officials to return to Gaza. But previous reconciliation talks have failed.

Egyptian diplomats are also mediating talks between Israel and Hamas officials over the fate of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit.

Israel says it wont open its border crossings with Gaza to normal trade until Hamas releases Schalit, seized in June 2006. That means even if donors wire over rebuilding funds, Palestinians wont be able to purchase cement or steel.

Meanwhile, Israel is edging toward a narrow government of right-wing hawks and religious parties after Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu failed to persuade his moderate rival, Tzipi Livni on Friday to join him in a wide coalition.

Livni refuses to sign up unless Netanyahu openly endorses the vision of dividing the land into separate Jewish and Palestinian states.

Without Livni, Netanyahu may be headed for tense relations with the new U.S. administration, which has signaled interest in trying to push forward Mideast peace efforts.

Romanian leader: Obama asked for justice reforms

2012-03-13T02:14:00.000-07:00

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's president says U.S. President Barack Obama advised him to reform his country's troubled justice system.

President Traian Basescu spoke Wednesday after returning home from a visit to the United States that sparked much buzz among Romanians.

Basescu says that he asked Obama what Romania could do for the U.S. during a 30-minute meeting Tuesday in Washington.

He says that Obama responded: "Make sure the law is applied, make sure that justice functions. That is the greatest thing you could do."

Romanian courts are slow and dogged by allegations of corruption and political interference. The European Union has called on Romania to institute reforms.

Spicy Melon Salad with Peanuts and Mint

2012-03-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)

1 large fresh red Thai chile, with seeds, finely minced, or to taste

1/4 cup fish sauce

1 tablespoon sugar, plus more if needed

2 small ripe melons

10 fresh mint leaves, torn into thin strips

3 tablespoons chopped salted roasted peanuts

In medium bowl, combine lime juice, chile, fish sauce and sugar with 2 tablespoons water. Stir to dissolve sugar. Cut each melon in half and remove seeds. Using a melon baller, scoop out flesh to make about 4 cups melon balls total. Add melon balls to dressing and toss. Let marinate in refrigerator for at least 45 minutes and up to several hours.

To serve, toss with mint, divide among bowls and sprinkle with peanuts.

From Cooking in the Moment (Clarkson Potter, $35) by Andrea Reusing

Nutrition facts per serving: 113 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 19 g carbohydrates, 15 g sugars, 4 g protein, 1,425 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

FROM COOKINGIN THE MOMENT

Early adapter

2012-03-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

EVELAND BROTHERS BODY SHOP

Kansas shop stays ahead of the curve with niche market, technological adaptations

Bill Eveland never set out to be a pioneer, but that's exactly what he has been tor most of his three-decade-plus career in the automotive industry. From delving into the foreign car niche with his fledgling repair business to taking the leap with new technology as his business grew, Eveland has always had his eye on the next big thing. His ability to combine foresight with a little good fortune has resulted in a successful shop that has become a kind of model for the collision repair business.

After spending eight years as a teacher at a vocational tech school in the 1970s, Bill Eveland was ready to get back into the shop setting. In 1978, along with his brother Mark, he opened Eveland Brothers Body Shop Inc., in Shawnee Mission, Kan., just outside of Kansas City. During the first few years, the Evelands Found themselves focusing more and more on repairing imports. "Once we mastered the domestic cars, and the simple stuff, we began to take on projects, which I would do in my spare time," Eveland recalls. "And then in summers I'd do some restoration and particularly import stuff. Import cars weren't popular then. Most shops didn't like to work on them."

Focusing first on old Jaguars and other British automobiles, Eveland Brothers slowly added makes like Mercedes, BMW and Porsche to its roster-expanding its import customer base. "We moved in that direction because there was a need or a niche there that wasn't being taken care of by the average body shop," Eveland adds.

It was a small, 4,500-sq.-ft. operation with room for the brothers and a detailer. Together, they did all the body work and paint work, wrote estimates and cleaned up the cars. "It was a typical small business-a pretty good learning curve for us obviously," Eveland says. Eventually they took over the other half of their building, increasing the shop's size to 9,000 sq. ft., but a poor layout was hindering the shop.

In 1981 they relocated to an efficiently designed 8,000-sq.-ft. shop, which solved the problem for a while, but they outgrew that within five years. For the third location, Eveland knew he had to do his homework so that the shop would be able to grow with the business for a number of years. So he traveled around the country checking out other shops, comparing those that had built on additions with newly built shops. "It seemed like the add-ons, the retrofits, always had some problems," Eveland concluded.

While the economy stagnated in the late '80s, Eveland held off on breaking ground and instead kept refining his plans. Finally, in 1989, he secured the land that would become the third Eveland Brothers Body Shop. They broke ground in 1991. The waiting game proved helpful in allowing them to focus on optimal design and efficiency." I tell you, it pays off"," Eveland says. "Now there's a lot of help available-consulting groups and such-but at the time there wasn't. At the time you had to figure it out for yourself."

Part of what Eveland figured out was that environmental regulations on the horizon would transform the collision repair business, and he wanted to get there first-with a cutting-edge, environmentally sound building-before the regulators. "We looked at what was going on in California for environment stuff," he says. "We designed the building to meet and exceed those requirements at the time."

He imported efficient downdraft spray booths from Holland, installed a spill curb with holding tanks for hazardous waste and built special traps for waste waster from the car wash. A state-of-the-art exhaust system in the floor captures toxic exhaust fumes. These were "things nobody in our part of the country had at the time," Eveland says, "but we knew it was on the government's slate of things to do."

Another thing he discovered on his research-gathering trips around the country was the need for more space in the paint department. Most shops operated paint shops half the size of the body shop, which often led to bottlenecking. Eveland built his paint shop the same size as his body shop.

The shop remains incredibly efficient, Eveland says, but it's finally reached its highest capacity. In order to bring in more vehicles, he'd need to add a second shift, which would be difficult considering the lack of trained technicians in the area.

"It's interesting what you uncover if you spend time on your research. The more planning yon do, the fewer mistakes you make," Eveland says. "That's why this facility has served us so long and hasn't become obsolete even after so long. We tried to look forward and see what was going to be happening downstream five to 10 years."

Over the years Eveland Brothers has looked at happenings in Europe for emerging technologies that would help refine and enhance the repair process in the business. Today Eveland has already dedicated a few stalls to aluminum repair, becoming a Jaguar- and Mercedes-certified repair facility in the process. Still, Eveland didn't set out to be an early adopter. He says there was no grand plan for the shop, just a natural process of evolution. Eveland's talent was just knowing how to adapt his business to keep up with the industry's changing landscape.

ASSOCIATION ACTIVITY

Original SCRS team celebrates 25th anniversary

The founding members of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) met in Atlanta in April 2007 to celebrate the group's anniversary with a 25-year reunion. One of the original members attending was Bill Eveland of Eveland Brothers Body Shop.

The meeting provided an opportunity to memorialize the group's history. "Dan Risley, now the executive director, called me and some of the old guys to say, 'Get some stuff down on paper for me,'" Eveland says.

So the group SCRS was founded in Blue Springs, Mo., in 1983, by a small group of local body shop owners and collision repair professionals who met to share ideas about the state of the industry. "It was kind of a 'what if meeting," Eveland recalls. "Everybody put up a little money and said. 'Let's go for it.'" They got a name and a corporate charter, and the rest is history.

"There were a lot of people who were willing to help and share, which made it possible for us to make better decisions," adds Eveland, who served as national chairman in 1995 and 1996.

SNAPSHOP

SHOP HAME: Eveland Brothers Body Shop Inc.

LOCATION: Shawnee Mission, Kan.

YEARS IN BUSINESS: 28

NUMBER OF SHOPS: 1

SHOP SIZE: 32,000 sq.ft.

NUMBER OF BAYS: 50

EMPLOYEES: 34

VOLUME: 200 cars per month

AVERAGE REPAIR COST: $2,600

ANNUAL GROSS SALES: $5 million to $6 million

[Author Affiliation]

BY HEJDI MOORE, Contributing Editor

[Author Affiliation]

HEIDI MOORE is a Chicago-based writer and children's book author who was special sections editor of a daily newspaper. In her shop profile this month she tells us about Eveland Brothers Body Shop in Shawnee Mission, Kansas.

Sizing up the winners, losers in swap frenzy

2012-03-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK - A look at how teams fared in baseball's trading spree:

Winners

Yankees: GM Brian Cashman got most of his shopping done early,and has gotten immediate dividends. David Justice (.369, 6 HRs, 19RBI since the deal) has lengthened the lineup and taken pressure offthe struggling Tino Martinez; Denny Neagle (2-0, 2.25 ERA) hassolidified the rotation; Jose Vizcaino has provided insurance forthe defensively challenged Chuck Knoblauch; and all Glenallen Hilldid was homer in his first at-bat and hit a game-winning grand slamFriday. Atlanta: GM John Schuerholz filled two major holes: gettingAndy Ashby to shore up the rotation and B.J. Surhoff to take theplace of struggling Reggie Sanders in left field. It's no wonderthat the Braves are in the playoffs every year.

Arizona: Got the best pitcher available - Curt Schilling - toprovide an intimidating 1-2 punch in the rotation with Randy Johnsonwithout giving up much from the Major League roster.

White Sox: Best team in AL made one of the best moves of thetrading season, upgrading catcher's spot with Charles Johnson andadding Harold Baines. Johnson should help young pitching staff andbe a huge improvement with the bat over Brook Fordyce-Mark Johnsonplatoon.

Mets: Snubbed by Barry Larkin and turned down by Philadelphia forSchilling, GM Steve Phillips settled for SS Mike Bordick, OF BubbaTrammell and RHP Rick White without giving up any of the team's mostcoveted prospects.

Oakland: Missed out on a blockbuster deal for John Wetteland andDavid Segui. Jim Mecir isn't as big a name as Wetteland, but he hasbeen one of baseball's best setup men the past three seasons (14-5with a 3.03 ERA since 1998). He will take some strain off Jeff Tamand help bridge the gap between starters and All-Star closer JasonIsringhausen.

Treading water

Cleveland: One of the busiest teams the past month, GM John Hartessentially exchanged David Justice, Richie Sexson, Enrique Wilsonand Alex Ramirez for Bob Wickman, David Segui, Wil Cordero, SteveWoodard and Jason Bere. Could be some short-term benefit -especially with Wickman - but if Cleveland doesn't make theplayoffs, Hart could have regrets if Sexson develops into anotherSean Casey, Brian Giles or Jeromy Burnitz. Also, not unloading MannyRamirez could be a risk if he bolts for free agency after theseason.

Baltimore: Completely overhauled its roster, shipping out MikeBordick, B.J. Surhoff, Charles Johnson, Harold Baines, Will Clarkand Mike Timlin in an effort to get younger and faster. Whether itworks, remains to be seen.

Seattle: Wanted Juan Gonzalez. Settled for Al Martin.

Los Angeles: The Dodgers wanted little to do with Ismael Valdesin the offseason, yet now they hope he can provide a pennant-runboost. Tom Goodwin was hitting only .208 away from Coors Field.

San Francisco: Giants only got reliever Doug Henry, but stillhave a team able to contend with Arizona in NL West.

Cubs: Andy MacPhail hasn't been shy since taking over as GM,making four trades this month. None have been blockbusters and onceagain it's "Wait till next year" for Cubbies fans.

Losers

St. Louis: Jason Christiansen and Mike Timlin help the bullpen,but Cardinals could have used Schilling. Acquisition of Will Clarkcould signal that Mark McGwire won't be back soon.

Cincinnati: At the time, the Neagle trade looked like a winnerfor the Reds. Drew Henson, Jackson Melian and Ed Yarnall were a lotto get for a potential free agent. But the Reds have gone from eightgames back at the time of the trade to four at the deadline andcould use Neagle now.

Philadelphia: Kent Bottenfield would be a good third starter toslot in behind Schilling and Andy Ashby. But the Phillies tradedtheir top two starters before getting Bottenfield from Anaheim. LHPBruce Chen was a nice pickup for Ashby, but the four-player packageGM Ed Wade took from Arizona for Schilling was not as good as St.Louis' offer of RHP Matt Morris and OF J.D. Drew.

Toronto: Added Esteban Loaiza, Steve Trachsel and Mark Guthrie tothe third-worst pitching staff in the AL. But the Yankees did moreand the Blue Jays were four games out of first place and fifth inthe wild-card race at the deadline.

Boston: Rolando Arrojo is a valuable addition to the pitchingstaff, but Mike Lansing wasn't enough to bolster an offense that was11th in the league in runs. Might still be able to add Rico Brognain a waiver deal.

Anaheim: Getting Ron Gant for Bottenfield was fine. Getting Gantand Adam Kennedy for Jim Edmonds wasn't.

50 Cent passes court-ordered drug test and will be allowed to take son on vacation

2012-03-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

Rapper 50 Cent is free to take a vacation with his son after passing a court-ordered drug test.

The 33-year-old entertainer was in a Long Island courtroom Thursday to ask a judge for permission to take 11-year-old Marquise on a trip next month.

A drug test was ordered, and it came back clean.

Marquise lives with his mother, Shaniqua Tompkins. She is 50 Cent's ex-girlfriend and blames 50 Cent for a fire that destroyed the mansion on Long Island, near New York City, where she and the boy were living. He has denied the accusation.

Six people, including Tompkins and Marquise, were treated for smoke inhalation after the May blaze.