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BISHOP' 4 OTHERS SEIZED BY LIBYANS

2012-03-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

Libyan Revolutionary Guards have seized a Roman Catholicbishop, a nun and three Franciscan friars, the Italian ForeignMinistry and church sources said yesterday.

The gunmen of Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy's militia burst intoa house in the port of Benghazi and arrested Monsignor GiovanniMartinelli and the others Thursday when the bishop was on a pastoralvisit to the city, the sources said.

The nun also is Italian. The Franciscans are a Pole, a Filipinoand a Maltese. It was not known why they were arrested, or whetherthe detentions were linked to Libyan preparations for a possible U.S.attack.

Martinelli, 43, is the apostolic vicar of Tripoli, the …

Text of Bush News Conference Thursday

2012-03-15T05:26:00.000-07:00

Text of President Bush's remarks on Thursday, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions.

BUSH: Good morning. Thank you.

Yesterday, America lost an extraordinary first lady and a fine Texan, Lady Bird Johnson. She brought grace to the White House and beauty to our country.

On behalf of the American people, Laura and I send our condolences to her daughters, Lynda and Luci, and we offer our prayers to the Johnson family.

Before I answer some of your questions, today I'd like to provide the American people with an update on the situation in Iraq.

Since America began military operations in Iraq, the conflict there has gone through four major phases.

…

UK court sentences serial rapist to life

2012-03-15T02:59:00.000-07:00

A British man who may be behind dozens of sex attacks has been jailed for life.

Kirk Reid, 44, must serve a minimum of 7 1/2 years for more than two dozen attacks on women. But London police are investigating whether he is responsible for a further 71 attacks.

Judge Shani Barnes on Thursday called the attacks "utterly terrifying and humiliating" for the …

British Toad Patrols Hustle To Rescue Mating Migrants

2012-03-15T00:36:00.000-07:00

CHARLTON KINGS, England When night descends in a spring mist,Sandra and Tony Jeans sense love and danger in the air. They marchwith buckets and flashlights to the busy A40 highway. Their mission:Rescue toads from the perils of desire.

Each spring, the Jeanses and hundreds of other volunteer toadpatrollers across Britain carry amorous toads that are in thebesotted throes of an annual mating migration across dangerous roads,so the toads are not flattened.

For growing numbers of British wildlife enthusiasts, this isserious and increasingly futile work.

"OK, it's not the prettiest of things, and it's always been castin the bad role in the fairy stories . . . …

Mets' LF Bay back in NY for tests on rib muscle

2012-03-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Mets left fielder Jason Bay had tests on his strained rib cage Wednesday in New York, and the team planned to wait until he returned to camp to decide whether he will start the season on the disabled list.

Bay felt discomfort on his left side Tuesday and was pulled from the lineup. He went to New York on Wednesday morning for tests and was scheduled to get back at night.

The Mets open the regular season on Friday night at Florida. The team told outfielder Lucas Duda he will make the 25-man roster if Bay needs to go on the disabled list.

Rosters must be set by 11 a.m. Thursday. If Bay goes on the DL, the move could be backdated so that he's …

Paul Tracy trying anything to find a ride in IRL

2012-03-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

Paul Tracy is doing anything he can to land a ride in the Indy Racing League.

He's calling other teams, shopping his services, even checking with the man who cost him an Indianapolis 500 win.

Tony George, the IRL founder and now owner of Vision Racing, said Tuesday that Tracy's business manager called Monday seeking help in finding Tracy a ride this season.

"I'd like to see Paul here at Indy," George said. "If it would be with Vision Racing, that would be great. If it's with another team, that would be great. It is kind of unfortunate, some would say a travesty that he's not here today."

The mere thought of pairing …

Pop goes modern art in Warhol print exhibit

2012-03-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

Images by the artist known as the the Prince of Pop are showcasedin "The Prints of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again)," a newexhibit at the Bachman Gallery at the Center for Visual andPerforming Arts in Munster.

"Through his work, Warhol mirrored back to us the banality andartificiality of pop culture, as well as our preoccupation withcelebrity and consumerism," said Ruth Crnkovich, director ofexhibitions for the Northern Indiana Arts Association.

Warhol (1928-1987) was most famous for his commercial screenprintsof movie stars, advertisements and comic characters. A 1964lithograph of actress Elizabeth Taylor is one of Warhol's earliestimages in the exhibit. The …

Harriet Tubman: The Life and the Life Stories/Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom

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

Beyond the "Mosses" Myths Two new biographies examine who Harriet Tubman really was Harriet Tubman: The Life and the Life Stories by Jean M. Humez University of Wisconsin Press November 2003 $45.00, ISBN 0-299-19120-6

Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton Little, Brown and Company, February 2004 $25.95, ISBN 0-316-14492-4

The "peculiar institution" of American slavery ended less than 150 years ago, endured for more than three centuries and claimed millions of black lives before it was finally abolished. Yet the war against slavery in the United States began long before 1865, and went way beyond public antislavery efforts. In fact, the earliest forms of …

Yankee mag photographer offers fall photo tips

2012-03-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Jeff Folger photographs fall foliage and provides commentary for Yankee magazine's http://www.yankeefoliage.com Web site, where readers from around the country ask questions about fall color and post stories about what they're seeing. Folger's pictures can be seen at http://www.vistaphotos.net. He offers these tips for amateur photographers trying to get good shots of autumn color in any region:

-Don't discount overcast …

Summer was made for song

2012-03-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

CBS dismissed the political conventions as infomercials. Instead,CBS News devoted more time to the CBS show, "Survivor," seen by 25million people a week but unseen by 250 million. To help my sonscatch up on the summer's news, I shall rewrite the musical "Grease."A side trip through Rydell High will help any Poca Dot.

I'll start with "Summer Nights."

"Summer schmoozing, had me a blast /Politicking happened so fast /Dubya Bush is one crazy man /Nominated by the Republica-ans.

"Tell me more, tell me more/ Can he beat up Al Gore?/ Answer me,answer me/ Why'd he pick Dick Cheney?"

The song, "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee," would be perfect for …

Review: 'Lost Planet: Extreme Condition'

2012-03-14T08:13:00.000-07:00

Simple controls and excellent graphics turn out to be a fun combination in "Lost Planet: Extreme Condition," a new T-rated, $59.99 video game for the Xbox 360 where deciding what to blow up first will be your only tough decision.

The action is brisk and constant in a science-fiction setting featuring human colonists trying to establish a presence on an unforgiving ice world. Things are going well until some locals on planet E.D.N. III - a swarm of hulking enemies that look like giant bugs - decide humans aren't welcome.

In typical fashion, the stubborn Homo sapiens aren't so willing to give up, especially once they discover that the killer critters - called Akrid - …

Wells Fargo slashes dividend, expects $5B savings

2012-03-14T05:52:00.000-07:00

Following the lead of other major banks, Wells Fargo & Co. said Friday it will slash its dividend by 85 percent in an effort to save $5 billion annually.

The San Francisco-based bank said it will cut its quarterly dividend to 5 cents from 34 cents. The next dividend is expected to be declared in April.

Wells Fargo is the latest of the money-center banks to succumb to the decision to lower its dividend to shore up capital as a buffer against future losses.

Last month, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its quarterly dividend to 5 cents from 38 cents. In January, Bank of America Corp. slashed its quarterly dividend to a penny from 32 cents. And …

Squirrel at cemetery wraps nest in US flags

2012-03-14T03:26:00.000-07:00

A patriotic squirrel?

A brazen squirrel has been grabbing small American flags placed in a Port Huron, Michigan, cemetery and carrying them up to its nest, which now looks as if it's bedecked in bunting.

Every Memorial Day, volunteers place the flags next to the graves of nearly 1,000 veterans buried at Mount Hope Cemetery about 55 miles northeast of Detroit. The flags were undisturbed during a Mass held Monday.

The Times Herald newspaper reports that workers at the cemetery on Tuesday noticed several flags had been torn off their wooden staffs, which were still in the ground.

The mystery was solved in front of superintendent Ron Ceglarek's eyes. He watched a squirrel detach a flag stapled to a staff and carry it up a tree to the nest.

Monthly interest

2012-03-14T00:33:00.000-07:00

Financial institutions are cropping up everywhere, but no one ever expected for the Longhorn Motel in Tyron, Neb., to become the town's new financial center. For some time, room one was the place to do business for this small ranching county of about 120 people and the first banking institution in more than 60 years. This room has become the home of the McPherson County Federal Credit Union. It will probably be the only credit union located in a motel room and the only one to use schoolchildren as part of its operation.

According to an article in Omaha's Evening World-Herald, it will be Tyron's fifth full-time business. It will give people another reason to stop in the town, but also will keep money in the county and provide local students with a valuable learning experience through the Nebraska's School at the Center program.

Chad Fisher and Jeremy Neal were high school students at the time and have since graduated. They were the planners of the credit union and are now among the 10 investors. McPherson County High School art students will provide promotional brochures and a logo through a school wide contest. Business students will handle mail solicitations and bookkeeping responsibilities.

For the time being, the credit union will be restricted to loans of less than $2,500 and no checking accounts.

Organizers of the institution say they are determined to convince area residents that the credit union is here to stay. Rectifying the "digital divide" is making news on the financial front. As Dart of this effort, FleetBoston Financial is preparing to give away 3,000 new computers with Internet access to low-to-moderate income families and small businesses, citing access and educational disparity as the major motivation.

FleetBoston Financial Foundation and the University of Massachusetts Poll conducted a survey in Boston, Harlem, Brooklyn, Newark, N.J., and Hartford, Conn.

The results indicated that fewer than half of the families surveyed in the Northeast with less than $40,000 of household income per year have computers in their homes and only about one-third have Internet access.

The report noted that among those who earn less than $40,000 a year and have less than high school education, 70% were without a computer, versus 40% for those with a college degree.

To be eligible, individuals and small businesses must have been Fleet customers for at least six months before applying and must not have a computer

The bank will also offer training and follow up with the recipients. With National Teach Children to Save Day on April 24, 2001, just around the corner, it's appropriate that a new software program, Kid Savers, has been developed by Integration Group Services, Inc., (TIGS) to help children make sense out of dollars and cents and encourage saving.

The mission of Kid Savers is to help children learn about money and the financial world in a fun and interactive way.

TIGS in Rochester, Mich., has established a Kid Savers Network of banks, credit unions, independent representatives and philanthropic organizations that will in turn offer Kid Savers to grade school students in their respective communities.

Kid Savers is a hands-on deposit program that is bundled with an interactive money game called, Money Town, from Simon & Schuster. Kid Savers also includes an integrated translator program that converts the program into Spanish, French, German and Italian.

Four Michigan cities, Wyoming, Grand Rapids, Royal Oak and Auburn Hills, were the first to implement Kid Savers.

The cost of the program is free to all schools. The sponsor incurs costs ranging from $199 per school to $499 per school based on school size. A financial institution can also implement Kid Savers using Kid Savers Zone, an all-in-one PC, soft-- ware and learning game that offers children the ability to enter their own deposits at the bank or credit union. To continue the tradition banks have of helping their communities, St. Johns Bank and Trust Co. in St. Louis was busy making the 2000 holiday season happier for families through adoption and profits from the sale of state quarters.

Employees at each of the seven branch locations of the bank participated in a giving program to bring cheer to four local families. Two of the families were adopted through Community Helping Ministry, a cooperative community-wide effort assisting low-income persons in need. Employees took up an internal collection, which resulted in a total of nearly $1,500. Gifts were purchased for each member of the four families and wrapped by the employees. Nineteen people benefited from the bank's generosity.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater St. Louis and Castlio Elementary School also received a special holiday gift from the sale of packaged state.

Profits from the sell provided winter coats to eight students at the school, as well as a check for $250 to assist with future family emergencies the students may face in the future. Big Brothers Big Sisters was presented a $500 check by the bank.

All St. Johns Bank locations will continue to sell the specially packaged state quarters for $3.50 each. Profits will continue to be donated to local charities.

December marches to dozens of new CDs

2012-03-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

Until 1998, December rarely saw any music releases. But sincethen, the month has quietly evolved. Now it's loaded with titles asbig as those in the other months in the crowded fourth quarter.

This December's lineup includes "Eminem Presents the Re-Up," GwenStefani's "The Sweet Escape," the Pussycat Dolls' "Live in London"DVD, the Black Eyed Peas' "Live From Sydney to Vegas" DVD, the"Dreamgirls" soundtrack, self-titled albums from Taylor Hicks andFantasia, Ghostface Killah's "More Fish," Snoop Dogg's "Tha BlueCarpet Treatment," Mary J. Blige's "Reflections -- The Journey," MosDef's "Tru3 Magic," Young Jeezy's "The Inspiration: Thug Motivation102," Nas' "Hip-Hop Is Dead" and Bow Wow's "The Price of Fame."

The month's releases are heavily slanted toward hip-hop, rap andR&B, but the titles coming out Dec. 26 are almost exclusively inthose genres. Those titles include N.W.A's "Greatest Hits," theDiplomats' "Dipset: More Than Music Vol. 2," "Death Row: 15 Years onDeath Row," Johnta Austin's "Ocean Drive" and Omarion's "21." Alsoout that day is a Matisyahu CD/DVD, a new Family Values tour CD/DVDand Switchfoot's "Oh! Gravity."

Until 1998, December generally was bare because store ownersdiscouraged new releases, theorizing that their employees are toobusy dealing with customers then. But "that changed once Island DefJam started to play the game of 'We want to be the No. 1 label atChristmas,' " said Newbury Comics buyer Carl Mello.

That year, Island Def Jam released albums from DMX, Redman and DJClue in December. Actually, two other rap releases arrived at thattime from Busta Rhymes and Mystikal. Because of Island Def Jam'soverwhelming presence that year and the fact that the label followedup in 1999 by announcing four releases for December (only two cameout), retailers back then started calling the month "Def JamDecember."

Since then it has blossomed into just another month on therelease schedule, at least for the majors. Retailers say thereleases drive traffic, and they particularly like the ones arrivingDec. 26, one of the year's best shopping days. "It makes sense tohave releases that day, particularly if you look at all the kidscoming into stores with gift certificates," said Super D's vicepresident of purchasing and marketing Thuy Ng.

In fact, "the gift-card business has grown substantially over thelast 10 years, so titles that come out on that day benefit" fromthat phenomenon, Trans World music divisional merchandise managerJerry Kamiler said.

Muchiri wins Chiba cross country race

2012-03-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

Kenya's Karoki Muchiri edged compatriot Julius Gitahi on Sunday to win the men's race at the Chiba international cross country meet.

Muchiri clocked a time of 34 minutes, 40 seconds in the 12-kilometer race to finish 35 seconds ahead of Gitahi. Japan's Makoto Fukui was third with a time of 35:19.

Japan's Yoko Shimizu won the women's 6-kilometer race with a time of 19:38, finishing one second ahead of compatriot Risa Takanaka. Harumi Hiroyama, also of Japan, was third with a time of 20:19.

Sunday's races were qualifiers for the World Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan on March 28.

A Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas // Heirloom Customs Weave A Tapestry of Delicacies

2012-03-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

The Moravian towns of Bethlehem, Nazareth and Lititz inPennsylvania are transformed each Christmas into virtual fairylandsof candlelight, star lanterns and evergreens. For the Moravians,Christmas is extremely elaborate, with highly ornamented pyramids offruit and evergreens and entire miniature villages of putz (carvedfigures) built under the Christmas tree or across one wall of themain room in the house.

Since the Pennsylvania Dutch consist of so many diversereligious groups, it's hard to generalize about the way Christmas iscelebrated. But, against this rich tapestry of Christmas feasting -from the Moravians, who prepare for it months in advance, to theAmish, who observe Christmas only as a religious holiday, withoutChristmas trees, gifts or even special holiday foods - there arecertain customs that characterize the Pennsylvania Dutch majority.

Foremost among these is the idea of erecting some type of treedecorated with foods and ornaments. This custom comes from the factthat Dec. 24 was observed as Adam and Eve Day, which focused on theTree of Life. Most European historians of Christmas recognize thiscustom as a Christian reshaping of pre-Christian midwinterobservances that brought greenery into the house.

The oldest forms of the Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas tree werenot actually trees but branches. The grischdaagszweeg or zuckerbaamwas usually a large branch of wild cherry brought into the house onSt. Barbara's Day (Dec. 4) so that it would bloom by Christmas. Itwas hung with cookies and candies, the main gifts children received.A variant of the grischdaagszweeg was the grischdaagsmoije, anevergreen bush, usually mountain laurel or juniper, set up on a tableor hung from the ceiling.

On Christmas Eve it was customary in some households to leaveempty plates on a table near the tree, one for each child in thefamily, to be filled with cookies and candies by the Grischtkindel(Christ Child) during the wee hours of darkness. Bad children wereleft switches.

Aside from the Grischtkindel, the other major gift bringer wasthe Belschnickel, the Pennsylvania Dutch counterpart to Santa Claus.An adult member of the family would don furs and a frightening mask,and on Christmas Eve, when all the children were assembled, thisfierce-looking creature would burst into the house ringing bells,snapping whips and tossing nuts and candy at the shrieking mob.

Being spooked by the Belschnickel is one of the great childhoodgames the Pennsylvania Dutch reminisce about most when the subject ofold Christmas customs comes up. The Belschnickel still appears nowand then, but has been replaced for the most part by the benign andportly Santa Claus.

An extension of the Belschnickel tradition was the custom ofbelschnickling, which took place on Second Christmas (Dec. 26), informer times a great market day throughout the Dutch Country. Thebelschnicklers were usually teenagers dressed in costumes who"mummed" from house to house amid the din of noisemakers, demandingrefreshments. Mifflinburg rose soup and nut sticks (niss-schtengle)(recipes follow) evolved almost exclusively as food forbelschnicklers.

Christmas Day itself was a time for unabashed celebrating, orschmausing, a time to relish the labors of weeks of preparation, beit butchering and sausage-making or the seemingly endless baking ofcookies and cakes.

The Society of Pennsylvania German Gastronomes issued a pamphletin 1928 on classic Pennsylvania Dutch feasting under the pen of BlandJohaneson. It extolled the kind of old-style schmausing for whichtowns like Womelsdorf had once been famous.

There was a time when schmaus was considered a vulgar way ofsaying "banquet" in Pennsylfaanisch, and only the word fescht woulddo. But today the very quaintness of schmaus with its rusticchow-down connotations evokes pleasant images of lusty feasting underbackyard grape arbors or, in cold and snowy weather, at a vast tablespread with culinary booty within full view of the Christmas tree.

St. Martin's Day (Nov. 11) initiated the unofficial start ofholiday feasting. Historically this was the day when rents werecollected from tenant farmers and others who had agreed to use one'sland for a fee.

For rich farmers with large incomes falling due, Mordidaag was aday for celebration, a time to feel generous, yet also a time tothink ahead toward Christmas and all the debts that demandedrepaying. The farmer who was both rich peasant and poor nobleman wasthe true Father Christmas, for it was in his best interest to keepthe festive traditions alive.

Here are some recipes to celebrate the holidays,PennsylvaniaDutch style.

Traditionally served to belschnicklers with rose soup, nut stickcookies first appeared in the Neuer Gemeinnutziger PennsylvanischerCalendar for 1909. In the Pfalz, as in Alsace, they are known asnuss-spritzen and are formed by forcing the dough through a pastrygun. This allows for some of the fanciful shapes our German brethrencreated for Christmas. The Pennsylvania Dutch, however, hand-rollthe dough into fat almond-shaped sticks; hence the term schtengle.

Popular in the Buffalo Valley area of Union County into theearly part of this century, old-fashioned Mifflinburg rose soup wasmade only at Christmas. It's served not as a starter course atdinner but as a refreshment for the belschnicklers who went fromhouse to house begging for treats.

Kids of all ages love edible creatures, and Wilbur Zimmerman ofcentral Pennsylvania is one of them. Christmas shortbread "mice"cookies, an heirloom recipe from his wife's family, was a favoriteamong Pennsylvania Dutch children a century ago. Fitted out withcurrant eyes and little paper ears and tails, the cookies resemble -well, what else - real mice. NUT STICKS (NISS-SCHTENGLE)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup superfine sugar

1 extra-large egg

3 1/4 cups (8 ounces) finely ground hazelnuts or hickory nuts

1/4 cup rose water (see note)

2 cups pastry flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

3 tablespoons rosehip jam

1/5 cup confectioners' sugar

Beat butter and superfine sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat egg until lemon colored; work into butter mixture. Fold innuts and rose water.

Sift pastry flour, cinnamon and allspice together twice, thenadd to butter mixture. Stir to form a soft dough. Cover andrefrigerate for 5 hours.

Form dough into fat almond-shaped sticks 2 inches long. Arrangeon greased baking sheets.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven until golden brown on thebottom, about 15 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.

While cookies are cooling, in a small bowl combine rosehip jamwith confectioners' sugar. Pack mixture into an icing decorator witha small tip. Make a zigzag of icing down the center of each cookie.

Makes 4 to 5 dozen cookies.

Note: Rose water is sold in Middle Eastern and Indian grocerystores and in some specialty food stores. MIFFLINBURG ROSE SOUP (MIFFLINBARRIER ROSESUPP)

4 large red potatoes (2 pounds), peeled and cut into chunks

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped onions

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1 cup whole milk

1 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon rose water (see note)

Unsprayed red or pink rose petals

Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to aboil over high heat. Reduce heat, cover and cook until soft. Drainand set aside.

Meanwhile, place carrots and onions in a separate saucepan with2 cups of water. Cook, covered, until soft.

Place cooked potatoes, carrots, onions and cooking liquid in afood processor along with butter, sugar, sea salt and milk. Processuntil pureed. Add cream and pulse 2 or 3 times.

Pour soup into a clean saucepan and warm it over low heat. Whenhot but not boiling, add rose water.

Serve immediately in cups garnished with minced rose petals.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Note: Rose water is sold in Middle Eastern and Indian grocerystores and some specialty food stores. "MICE" COOKIES (MEISLI)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus some for sprinkling oncookies

1 tablespoon rose water or rum (see note)

1 cup finely ground hickory nuts or hazelnuts (see note)

2 cups flour

Currants

Construction paper

Beat butter and confectioners' sugar. Stir in rose water, thennuts. Gradually beat in flour until dough is stiff, then mix doughwith fingers and knead until smooth.

Break off pieces of dough and mold them into 2-inch mouse"bodies." (Remember, mice are thicker at back than at the head.)Pinch face a bit to make a long nose. Place on greased bakingsheets.

Bake in a preheated 325-degree oven until light brown on thebottom, 20 to 24 minutes.

Roll hot cookies in a generous amount of confectioners' sugar.Set on wire racks to cool.

To make cookies look more realistic, press bits of currants intothe faces to make eyes, and cut out paper ears and tails. Cut pointson bases of ears and tails so they will stick into baked dough.

Store in airtight containers.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Note: Rose water is sold in Middle Eastern and Indian grocerystores and at some specialty food stores.

The nuts, regardless of type, must be ground to an even, fluffy,sawdust consistency. The texture and weight are crucial. This iseasy to accomplish with a Swedish nut mill (mandelkvarn) or a coffeegrinder, but not with a food processor. Food processors will onlyreduce nuts to a fine, gritty consistency before turning them intopaste.

NFL stresses illegal hit penalties in new video

2012-03-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL delivered its message about heavier punishment for illegal hits, including suspensions, directly to the 32 teams Thursday with a video spelling out what to avoid.

The video includes three tackles from last Sunday that led to huge fines, and warns players that even first-time offenders will immediately be subject to suspensions for delivering such flagrant hits to the head and neck area of defenseless players.

"Illegal hits to the head of an opponent will not be tolerated," NFL executive vice president of football operations Ray Anderson says in the video. "A player is accountable for what he hits. Illegal techniques must be removed from our game.

"We all accept that football is a physical and tough game, but players must play under control. If a player launching into an opponent misses his aiming point, he will nevertheless be responsible for what he hits."

In the video, Anderson calls Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather's helmet hit on Ravens tight end Todd Heap "inexcusable." Meriweather was fined $50,000 for the hit in which he launched himself headfirst into Heap's helmet.

Also on the video is James Harrison's hit on Browns receiver Mohamed Massaguoi that brought the Steelers linebacker a $75,000 fine, and the collision between Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson and Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson that gave both players concussions. Robinson was fined $50,000 for that tackle.

Anderson says of Robinson's hit, in which the cornerback launched himself toward Jackson but did not make contact with his helmet: "It's bang-bang but still illegal. The receiver is defenseless and in the act of attempting to catch a pass."

"These hits can have severe consequences for the player delivering the hit as well as for the player taking the blow," adds Anderson, a member of the NFL's competition committee. "Using the head, forearm or shoulder to deliver the initial hit against a defenseless player will draw significant discipline."

Players had seen the 4-minute video by midafternoon Wednesday and had mixed reactions to it.

"We talked about it today," Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. "We watched the video that the league sent. There was a lot of comments and observations from the defensive guys, and the offensive guys were mostly quiet. That's just how it is.

"It's a tricky thing. From my perspective, I'm trying to protect the guys that I'm throwing the ball to. I'm trying to put them in a situation where they're not going to get hit like that, but that's about it for me."

Denver cornerback Champ Bailey wasn't particularly impressed by the video.

"It's nothing that we didn't know," he said. "I think it was good for some people who hadn't been in the league for a while to see that and to kind of refresh your memory for the older guys."

Other illegal tackles shown in the video include Carolina safety Sherrod Martin's hit on Giants tight end Kevin Boss in the season opener that gave Boss a concussion; and Kansas City rookie safety Kendrick Lewis' shot on Cleveland tight end Evan Moore in Week 2 that gave Moore a concussion.

The video also shows several hits that are legal and display what Anderson calls "tough, clean football."

Ravens star linebacker Ray Lewis is shown using his shoulder to deliver a chest hit in what Anderson terms "a great player making a great play. No launching, no head or neck impact, proper technique that minimizes the risk to the opponent. This is what we are asking."

The crackdown, and subsequent possible suspensions, begins with this weekend's games because the league wanted to give players fair warning. The video delivers that warning explicitly.

"Gentlemen, you must know that player safety is our highest priority," Anderson says. "We have said publicly and we repeat to all of you we will not apologize for or be defensive about aggressive enforcement to protect players from illegal and potentially life-altering blows to the head and neck.

"So please, know the rules and play by the rules. You are on notice and we will appreciate your compliance."

___

AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton in Denver and Sports Writer Tim Booth in Seattle contributed to this story.

___

Online: http://apne.ws/aLYTFk

Officials: Bomb explosion kills 10 outside army base in Pakistan's volatile northwest

2012-03-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

A suicide bomber attacked a busy market just outside an army base in Pakistan's militancy-plagued northwest Sunday, killing at least 10 people _ including four soldiers _ and wounding 18, officials said.

The attack in North West Frontier Province was the deadliest in more than two months in Pakistan. It came amid ongoing efforts by the new government to reach peace deals with militants and on the heels of a suspected U.S. missile strike that left several dead in a nearby tribal area.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility.

The attacker detonated his explosives between a bakery and the gate of the Punjab Regimental Center in the town of Mardan.

Shaukat Khan, a senior police officer, said 10 people were killed and 18 injured. Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the army's top spokesman, said four of the dead were soldiers guarding the gate of the base, which appeared to have been the target.

Abbas said the bomber blew himself up when he was stopped by one of the soldiers. He said that the bakery is also run by the regimental center and that the commercial area is routinely guard by army soldiers.

Mussarat Khan, a witness at Mardan hospital, said at least 12 people were taken there. Security forces cordoned off the blast site and were collecting evidence, Abbas said.

Pakistan's northwest is considered a haven for militants with links to the Taliban and al-Qaida, many of whom are determined to drive U.S. forces out of neighboring Afghanistan.

The new government, in power some seven weeks, has sought peace deals with some militant groups, a step away from the more forceful tactics of President Pervez Musharraf, a longtime ally of the United States in the war on terrorism.

One of the militants' demands has been the withdrawal of the army from parts of the northwest, where tens of thousands of troops have been deployed to fight extremists.

Attacks had subsided overall since the new government came to power, though they had not entirely disappeared. Just last month, a car bomb near a police station in Mardan killed three people, including a policeman.

The latest attack appears to be the worst in the country since a pair of suicide bombings in mid-March killed 27 people in Lahore, a normally peaceful city in Pakistan's east.

Wajid Ali Khan, a government official in the North West Frontier Province, condemned the attack, calling it "cowardly."

"We are engaged in efforts for peace and stability in this province, and this seemed to be an act to sabotage our efforts," Khan said. "We will keep on going in our peace efforts; we will continue our talks."

Spokesmen for Taliban militants in Pakistan could not immediately be reached for comment.

Just days ago, an apparent U.S. missile strike on a suspected militant hide-out in Pakistan's Bajur region left about a dozen people dead and drew sharp protests from some Pakistani officials and political parties.

Militants vowed to take revenge on America for the attack _ but also said they would continue to support the peace talks.

___

Associated Press Writer Zarar Khan contributed to this report.

Gates hopes to expand US-Russian cooperation

2012-03-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Robert Gates has arrived in Russia for what is expected to be his final visit as U.S. Defense Secretary, and he's hoping to ease Moscow's worries over a missile defense shield in Europe and expand a military relationship that has grown dramatically since his Cold War days at the helm of the CIA.

Gates, who is expected to retire this summer, says Russian cooperation in the Afghanistan war and its support of U.N. Security Council resolutions against North Korea and Iran underscore cooperation that has dramatically evolved in recent years. Russia also abstained in the recent United Nations vote for military intervention in Libya, effectively allowing the allied assault to go forward.

The Pentagon chief will meet with Russian leaders and speak to a class of Naval Academy junior officers.

Small church supports immigrants to Germany

2012-03-13T02:46:00.000-07:00

Winnipeg, Man.

Leading the little church at Niedergoersdorf-Flugplatz in Germany has brought James and Henriette Schellenberg both challenges and rewards. The Schellenbergs are members of Douglas Mennonite Church in Winnipeg.

Fifteen months into a two-year assignment, the Mennonite Church Canada Witness workers tend a small congregation of Aussiedler (immigrants of German background from the former Soviet Union). The church is located on a former Soviet military airbase (Flugplatz) near the village of Niedergoersdorf. The church meets in a former Soviet officers' club.

The Schellenbergs dream of the congregation becoming independent and producing its own leadership. Most immigrants arrive with little or no Bible knowledge but find a welcoming, if all-too-often temporary, home in the congregation. One old man, having come to faith late in life, laments "the time he has wasted" and is now rushing to memorize scripture and the Lord's Prayer before his eyesight fails.

Treated as outsiders by Russians and Germans alike, the Aussiedler "don't have a strong sense of belonging," said James. "We can proclaim to them that God loves you and God cares about you and we care about you."

[Graph Not Transcribed]

However, the economically depressed community, located 70 kilometres south of Berlin, offers new immigrants slim prospects. Most church members move further west as soon as they can, but many miss the tight community of the Flugplatz.

"If they can find a job or put down any kind of roots in those first few years, many are happy to stay," said James.

There are stories of hope. One couple, Igor and Irina, have become very active in the church, have found jobs and are renovating a home they've bought. Irina is trained as a geologist but works as a teacher's aide. Igor creates art with a chainsaw, working on children's playgrounds, among other things.

The provincial and municipal governments, with which the church cooperates in social services, say the community would be in bad shape without the church. This work is also supported by Mennonite Central Committee, local Lutheran parishes, and German and Dutch Mennonite churches. The Berlin Mennonite Church is particularly active and has absorbed a significant number of Aussiedler in the past five years.

One supporting congregation, at Wolfsburg, was started by the Conference of Mennonites in Canada 25 years ago and is now fully independent.--MC Canada release

Meningitis risk higher in dorms Study: College freshmen more likely to get disease

2012-03-12T23:46:00.000-07:00

College freshmen who live in dorms are 3.6 times more likely thanother students to get life-threatening bacterial meningitis, a studyhas found.

Each year, between 100 and 125 college students get meningococcaldisease, which typically causes meningitis or blood poisoning.Between 5 and 15 students die from the disease, which also can causepermanent brain damage, hearing loss and kidney failure, and lead tolimb amputation.

The study found that undergraduates as a whole were less likely toget meningococcal disease than nonstudents. But the risk is higheramong freshmen in dorms probably because they live in close quarters,the study found. Meningococcal bacteria spread through the air and bydirect contact, such as kissing or drinking from the same glass.

The study is published in today's Journal of the American MedicalAssociation. It was conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Controland Prevention and American College Health Association.

Widespread use of a meningococcal vaccine could "substantiallydecrease" students' risk of contracting the disease, researcherswrote.

However, the vaccine is expensive--about $75 per dose--and manydoctors' offices do not stock it. Moreover, the vaccine lasts onlythree to five years and does not protect against all strains of thebacteria. The study found the vaccine could have prevented up to 68percent of the 79 cases examined.

Because meningococcal disease is so rare, immunization is not cost-effective to society as a whole, according to recommendations lastyear by the federal government's Advisory Committee on ImmunizationPractices. Vaccinating all freshmen who live in dorms would prevent15 to 30 cases and 1 to 3 deaths each year, at a cost of up to $1.8million per case prevented and $20 million per life saved, thecommittee said. The committee instead recommended that freshmen andtheir parents simply be told about the disease and the benefits ofvaccination.

Authors of the new study said a dollars-and-cents equation "doesnot take into consideration disruption of campus life, public anxietyand private tragedy resulting from a case."

An outbreak can create a campuswide panic, said Dr. DavidLawrance, director of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaignstudent health clinic. "It's a nightmare," Lawrance said. "Everyoneis scared to death."

During the 1991-92 school year, there were seven cases and threedeaths at the U. of I. Although the university offers the vaccine forno charge, fewer than 25 percent of freshmen get the shot. "Like alot of things having to do with mortality, [meningitis] is not on an18-year-old's mind," Lawrance said.

Finding new approaches for management of biosolids

2012-03-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

The Northwest Biosolids Management Association has prepared an excellent agenda for its September 9-11, 2001 Conference on "Biosolids - The Next Generation." In searching for solutions, conference organizers asked themselves: "What if we designed biosolids products that would excite not only our present customers but those reluctant potential customers? What would those biosolids be like?"

Specific topics include: Use of Class A Biosolids in Urban Environments; Holistic Farm Management at Natural Selection Farms; Advanced Digestion Technologies for Class A Biosolids; Getting the Public's Ear on Biosolids; Sources of Diozins and Furans at Wastewater Treatment plants; Use of Biosolids Compost in Watershed Restoration Projects; Optimizing Application Rates; and Biosolids Compost for Bedding Plants. For registration details, contact Washington State University Conferences & Programs at (509) 335-3530. E-mail: wsuconf@wsu.edu.

Vegetarian cooking: Jamaican rice and peas

2012-03-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

Every Jamaican household, rich or poor, serves rice and red peas, the nutritionally complete one-pot meal. It's the backbone of the island's cuisine, food writer Lucinda Scala Quinn says. She also points out that "red peas are what folks outside Jamaica know as kidney beans."

Quinn includes the recipe in her new cookbook, Lucinda's Authentic Jamaican (Wiley, 2006, $17.95), a warm, appetizing, recipe-packed survey of the island's cooking traditions.

Quinn, who spends a lot of time in Jamaica, is head of the food department of Martha Stewart Living and other magazines, and is the host of related TV food shows. The book's introduction is an affectionate taste-tour of the island, followed by about 50 recipes. Color photos of locations and food set the scene.

The rice and peas dish is a Sunday lunch staple, along with fried plantains - "yet for my money it's a perfect choice all by itself for any meal any day," Quinn says. "The basic recipe has many variations according to personal tradition." Her preference is not to add hot pepper, she says, keeping it as a sweet, smooth complement to more robustly spiced dishes.

Jamaican Rice and Peas

Makes 6 servings.

1/2 pound dried red peas (kidney beans) or small red beans (1 cup)

6 to 8 cups coconut milk

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 whole scallions, crushed

2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice

2 teaspoons salt

Wash the beans thoroughly and place them in a medium-size saucepan with the coconut milk, black pepper, scallions and thyme. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 to 2 hours, or until the beans are almost tender (adding water as needed to keep the beans covered). Remove the thyme (if using whole sprigs) and scallions. Add the rice and salt. If necessary, add more water so that the liquid is 1 inch above the rice. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff it with a fork. The grains of rice should easily separate and not be mushy.

PLUS SPORTS

2012-03-12T13:24:00.000-07:00

SCHOTT AT PARADE: Marge Schott was given an enthusiastic greetingtoday by Cincinnati Reds fans at the traditional Opening Day parade.The Reds' owner, suspended by baseball's hierarchy for making racialslurs, didn't plan to participate in the parade. But she showed upbeforehand to pet the Budweiser Clydesdale horses, who pulled acarriage. As she posed with the horses, fans huddled around her.Some called out, "It's good to see you, Marge" and "We love you,Marge" - a sentiment echoed on some of the 150 parade floats.Others thrust baseball caps, schedules, newspapers and scraps ofpaper at her, which she signed with her name and that of SchottzieII, her St. Bernard. Adriane Redmond of Cincinnati asked Schott tosign her diary. Redmond said she didn't approve of Schott's use ofslurs but forgave her. "Everyone can have their downfall. Thatdoesn't mean we can't support them," said Redmond, who is black. MICHIGAN POLICE READY: About 150 police officers in riot gear wereto begin lining South University Avenue at halftime of tonight'sMichigan-North Carolina NCAA basketball title game to safeguardagainst violence. Sgt. Pam Wyess said the same plan was usedSaturday night when 12,000 fans jammed the streets to celebrateMichigan's semifinal victory over Kentucky. "If they want to stayand celebrate, we don't have a problem with that," Wyess. "It's onlyif things get violent do we plan to move in." The state police andthe Washtenaw County sheriff's department were expected to assist.Police broke up the crowd around 12:15 a.m. Sunday after severalhundred fans became increasingly rowdy, some of them breakingwindows. Police expected smaller numbers tonight. But Wyess saidthat based on past experience, fans tend to be more intense after achampionship game. Last April, police used tear gas and horses tobreak up the crowd after Michigan lost to Duke in the final game. SEAHAWKS' FOUNDER DIES: Elmer J. Nordstrom, who was instrumental inthe early years of both the Nordstrom department store chain and theSeattle Seahawks, has died. He was 88. Nordstrom died Sunday ofcomplications from pneumonia after being admitted to Swedish Hospitalin Seattle on Friday, Nordstrom spokeswoman Kellie Tormey said.Nordstrom was majority ownership representative for the Seahawks from1976 to 1982, the first six years of the franchise's existence. He'ssurvived by his wife, two sons, James and John; seven grandchildrenand three great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be heldWednesday at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Seattle. DREXLER HURT AGAIN: Clyde Drexler will miss several games afterstraining a hamstring tendon Saturday night in the Portland TrailBlazers' loss to the Washington Bullets. The guard strained thesame hamstring that forced him to miss 13 games last month, but theinjury is to a different portion of the tendon, Dr. Robert Cook saidSunday. He said the new problem was not a reinjury of the firsthamstring strain and there's a good possibility it might not be asserious. However, Drexler will more than likely miss all four gamesthis week, beginning tomorrow against Utah. "This is far beyondwhat's normal," Drexler said. "It's tough, it's frustrating, butwhat can you do? What can you do?" NHL HONORS MOOG: Andy Moog, who had a shutout and posted agoals-against average of 1.00 in helping the Boston Bruins to threevictories last week, was named the NHL's player of the week onMonday. Moog stopped 19 shots in a 3-1 win over Hartford on March30, then stopped 22 shots as Boston beat Buffalo 3-2 on Saturday.The next day, he registered his 17th career shutout, stopping 31shots as the Bruins defeated the Sabres 3-0. PELE PRAISES U.S: Former soccer star Pele praised the U.S.organization of the 1994 World Cup and said he expects a greatsuccess. "It's a perfect organization. All the stadiums are alreadyprepared one year prior to the finals," Pele said Sunday. "I'mcertain that the 1994 World Cup will enjoy a great success."