Psychology

Mirren, Murphy Honored at SAG Awards

2012-03-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES - Helen Mirren won the Screen Actors Guild Award on Sunday for the title role in the TV miniseries "Elizabeth I," a possible warmup for her potential film award later in the evening as Elizabeth II in "The Queen."

Eddie Murphy was honored as outstanding male actor in a supporting role for "Dreamgirls."

"I'm so proud. I love this award more than any other award," said Mirren, who was chosen as best actress in a TV movie or miniseries. "I think especially being a Brit, American film acting has always inspired us and influenced us and pressed us, or me, anyway. I've always looked to American film actors to teach me how to do it, basically."

Her …

Ill. police: Pastor killed, others shot at church

2012-03-15T04:23:00.000-07:00

A gunman walked down the aisle of a church during a Sunday service and killed the pastor, then stabbed himself and two others as parishioners wrestled him to the ground, authorities said.

The man walked into the sprawling brick First Baptist Church in Maryville shortly after 8 a.m. and briefly spoke with Pastor Fred Winters before pulling out a .45-caliber handgun and shooting Winters once, said Illinois State Trooper Master Trooper Ralph Timmins.

The gun jammed before the man could fire again, Timmins said. The attacker then pulled out a knife and injured himself before churchgoers subdued him. Two parishioners involved in the struggle also suffered knife …

Kids grown, they want to save

2012-03-15T02:02:00.000-07:00

For the first time in 18 years, Tim and Eileen Burke will not bepaying tuition. With their children grown, they now want to focus onsaving for retirement with an eye toward some travel.

"We want to be able to pick up and go," Eileen, 50, said.

The Burkes both work, and despite putting three children throughcollege they've managed to pile up $50,000 worth of certificates ofdeposit, $25,000 in their IRAs and work-related profit sharing of$45,000. They also have a house on the Southwest Side that's fullypaid for and is worth about $110,000.

Not only have they paid off their mortgage, they've also managedto stay debt-free. They don't have car loans or …

AP NewsAlert

2012-03-14T23:39:00.000-07:00

TOKYO (AP) — Japan releases Chinese fishing boat …

Japan stocks edge lower, ending winning streak

2012-03-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

Tokyo stocks edged lower Friday after a four-day winning streak as investors sold recent gainers such as precision equipment and electronics makers.

The Nikkei fell 0.2 percent to 14,219.48, after rising more than 4 percent in the previous four sessions. The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues rose 0.2 percent to 1,395.87.

"Although investors are expected to chase the market higher in the near future," the market is still not on a firm upward trend, said Seiichiro Iwasawa, chief strategist at Nomura Securities. "It is not rising yet."

The Nikkei will likely ascend gradually, however, helped by a …

Fundraising festive fair to help pets

2012-03-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

A Pet rehoming charity in Aberdeen is holding a fundraisingfestive fair this weekend.

Dawgs will have a wide range of goods on sale at their Christmasevent in Airyhall Community Centre.

The charity, based on the city's …

Lean & Green Awards 2011: Wirebelt Company of America Manufacturing a Greener Future

2012-03-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

David Greer is as passionate about sustainability as he is about keeping manufacturing jobs in NH, and it's been a winning combination for the maker of wire mesh conveyor belts. Using large and small environmental measures including low-flow faucets, lights with motion sensors, extra wall insulation, high-efficiency HVAC units and a 100-kilowatt solar array on the roof - Wirebelt Company of America has saved more than $1.5 million and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by millions of pounds since focusing on green practices.

The first two-time Lean and Green Award winner, Wirebelt takes an approach to sustainability that is practical and holistic. "Conventional wisdom is that the …

Military: 43 killed in Sri Lanka clashes

2012-03-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

New fighting in northern Sri Lanka has killed 41 Tamil Tiger rebels and two soldiers, the military said Sunday.

Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said the fighting Saturday occurred along the Vavuniya, Mannar and Welioya fronts.

In the worst clashes, 20 rebels and a soldier were killed in Vavuniya, he said. Seven Tigers and a soldier were killed in Mannar and 14 rebels died in Welioya, Nanayakkara said.

About 260 guerrillas have been killed in the past nine days, according to the military. It claims to be steadily moving into rebel territory, capturing villages and small towns and causing heavy casualties among the insurgents.

…

Rating the Wine-Store Pairings

2012-03-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

We visited 12 wine stores (anonymously) and asked them to choose awine under $20 to pair with a savory, rustic dish called rigatonicountry style.

Here are our favorite pairings, from best to worst. All of thesewines are from Italy except the Petite Sirah, which is fromAustralia, and the Carmenere, which is from Chile.

The prices listed are the prices we paid. Eight are red. The PinotGrigio, Gavi, Monferrato and Frascati are white.

VINEYARD/VINTAGE: Ca'Montini 'L'Aristocratico' Pinot Grigio(Trentino) 2004

PRICE: $16.99

PLACE PURCHASED: Mister Wright, Manhattan

TASTERS' COMMENTS: Best of tasting (tie). The bright acidity ofthe wine …

AUDITING the auditors

2012-03-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

A one-stop registration process for auditors is just the start, of what CPAB and PCAOB hope will become a more integrated operation

Gordon Thiessen and William McDonough go back a long way. As two former central bankers, one Canadian, the other American, they have spent endless hours together working on international banking issues and along the way have forged a friendship.

And that's a good thing as Thiessen and McDonough are facing one of their toughest challenges yet - setting up, running and working on coordinating both the registration and the auditing of auditors under the auspices of Canada's and the US's new public accountability boards.

"Gordon and I are old …

WORLD at 1600GMT

2012-03-14T07:15:00.000-07:00

NEW THIS DIGEST:

IRAQ-US. US responds to Iraq on draft security pact, tho details still secret.

PAKISTAN. Officials: Suicide bomber kills 11, wounds 45 anti-militant tribesmen in Pakistan.

VATICAN-PIUS XII. Vatican official slams criticism of wartime pope Pius XII.

US-TROPICAL WEATHER. Forecasters: Tropical Storm Paloma forms off Nicaragua, may become hurricane.

US-GAY MARRIAGE. California's gay couples disappointed by vote to ban their marriages.

SPAIN-CAR BOMBING. Spanish university: nearly 250 people treated after inhaling fumes from repairs at bomb site.

BRITAIN-TURKEY-ORPHANAGES. Britain's Sarah …

While wife's away, hubby plays, but now he wants to salvage the marriage

2012-03-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

DEAR ELLIE: Let me start by saying I love my wife more than lifeitself. But she's the all-American woman: independent and bossy. Shehad to go away for a year on official business to a foreign countrywhich is off-limits to tourists. We communicated only through e-mails, chat rooms and unclear phone calls, and we argued on all threeforms.

While this was going on, I met a woman from a third-world countryvia the Internet. We communicated frequently and this "computer love"soon resulted in a real-life meeting. She was the complete oppositeof my wife: dependent and docile, and she aims to please. I feltsomething in me that made me want to save her from this horriblecountry, …

How did this writer go so wrong?

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

Blue Light By Walter Mosley. Little, Brown. $24.Wait a minute! If a person is covered head to toe with seriouslyinfected burns, how can doctors put him in a straitjacket for weeksat a time and expect him to go on living? This is a question thatcomes up three pages from the end of this story, but by that time thereader is so tired of asking questions about internal consistencythat it's pointless. If Walter Mosley wants, for instance, acharacter named Juan Thrombone to haul huge prehistoric stone potsdown to a ghost town in the northern California woods, using teams ofsupernaturally tamed bears, when everyone could just as easily beusing ordinary pots and pans to cook in, why not? More to the point,who cares?

People who love Mosley are going to have their affections sorelystrained. Mosley, whose Easy Rawlins detective mystery series hasgained a large and respectful following, has decided to go into whathe must think of as science fiction. The book jacket here reportsominously that Blue Light is only "the prelude to a projectedtrilogy," so I guess that means we won't be seeing Easy for a while.It's a shame.

It's not that Mosley should limit himself to the detectivegenre. Indeed, he's already written literary fiction and done wellwith it. But Blue Light is terribly disappointing. In fact, it'sderivative, solemn and frightfully dull, a mishmash of old"Highlander" episodes (does anyone still watch that long-runningsyndicated television series?) that leaves you shaking your head.Can this even be the same man whose prose used to be as easy-seemingas his detective's name?The time is the '60s, the place Berkeley and most of northernCalifornia. A shower of shining blue lights comes zooming in from anunknown location in the universe, and wherever they land theytransform their unwitting targets into themselves, only more so. Forexample, an intelligent young woman named Nesta becomes theRepository of All Intelligence. A sexy young woman named Claudiabecomes the Goddess of All Sex, and the scenes that follow from that(with barely clad semi-comatose love slaves standing at the ready toslake Claudia's unslakable desires) are pretty dopey andembarrassing.We must not forget the feckless hippie con man standing aroundin a park who gets hit by the blue light and turns into the prophetOrde. His insights turn into generic, acid perceptions of the '60s(except that Ralph Waldo Emerson had already covered much of the samematerial in his 19th century essay about the Oversoul, and Miguel deUnamuno has also gone on at some length about sentient trees in TheTragic Sense of Life).So it isn't exactly new knowledge that Orde is challenging: Thewhole planet is alive, animals have brains and souls, and trees aresinging to us all the time, except that generally speaking we're toodead and spiritually unconscious to pick up the message. (In aparticularly unsolicitous phrase, Mosley's narrator refers to giantsequoias that have been hit by blue light as "bellowing trees," sothat even the forest here manages to be loud and irritating.)If anything hit by the light becomes like itself only more so,it follows that there's going to be a spirit out there inhabiting abody that just happens to be dying when the blue light comes and thatspirit turns out to be Gray Man, the fiendish embodiment of death.And just as in "Highlander," when these People of Increased Capacitymeet each other, good comes up against evil one more time and thesepeople must do their dead-level best to whack each other.Naturally, Gray Man does very well in these encounters allthrough the book, because it is pretty hard to kill death, especiallyif you use only guns and sticks and axes and headlocks. Death isalready dead, and obviously these weapons aren't going to faze him.You'd think that might occur to some of these People of IncreasedCapacity, but they're too busy staging sex orgies and drinking eachother's blood in Part 2, and by Part 3 they're all out in the woodsmaking clothes out of mashed-up pine needles and hauling stone potsaround.Those who get hit straight on by the light are called "Blues";those who have been only indirectly affected are referred to asHalf-Lights, and this story is told by a Half-Light, a man of mixedblood called Chance, who, since this is more of an allegory thanscience fiction, is soon referred to as Last Chance - just as abeautiful young girl is called Julia at first, then Alacrity, thenFirst-Light.Even in his earlier life, Chance has been conflicted because ofhis black father, who deserted the family, and his white mother, whomhe can't seem to care about. He's been severely tempted by the ideaof suicide, and for the first half of the book is at least as closeto death as he is to life. (Surely it's important in this narrativethat death is referred to as Gray Man when he could have been calledanything else, anything but what results when you combine the colorsblack and white.)There are many other characters, named Preeta and Allitar andTrini and Winch. They all thrash around affected in one way oranother by the blue light. It's never made clear if the bears havebeen hit by that light, but a flock of California monarch butterflieshas been zapped, and they flap through the landscape sporting 2-footwingspans. By the end, Gray Man comes prowling around, and the Bluesall engage in a last, awkwardly described fight where they doeverything but hit him with their pocketbooks. Do you really thinkthat's going to faze Gray Man?Remember all the wit, humor and irony, the effortlesscharacterization and plot and prose style that characterized the EasyRawlins stories? You won't find any of that here in "Blue Light."It's understandable that Mosley might not want to end up as theAfrican American Sue Grafton, enslaved by a fictional detective -however amiable - trapped in a genre that he may have outgrown. Butwhen I think of that "projected trilogy," my heart sinks. He's waytoo good a writer to do that to himself, or us.

Test May Help Curb Suicide

2012-03-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK Family doctors could detect potential suicides amongtheir patients with a simple four-question test, researchers saidTuesday.

The test asks about common signs of depression such as feelingsof guilt and hopelessness, depressed mood and sleep disturbance, thereport from Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore said.

"Some investigators have found that people who attempt tocommit suicide frequently consult their physicians before theirattempt or death," the report said. "In a majority of cases, thepatient's risk of suicidal behavior is not recognized." In theabsence of the questionnaire, surveys showed that family doctorsidentified and treated only about 25 percent of patients that came tothem with mental disorders.

Other screening tests have been devised to help diagnose mentalillness, but this is the first for use by family doctors, said Dr.Robert L. Spitzer, a psychiatrist at Columbia University in New Yorkand one of the test's developers.

Widespread adoption of the questionnaire could reduce thesuffering, disability and health care costs associated with mentalillness, Spitzer said.

"If general medical providers are to play an important role insuicide prevention, a strategy to efficiently identify high riskindividuals is needed," the report added.

The findings were based on a study of more than 6,000 peoplewho reported visiting a doctor for general medical care in the sixmonths before they were questioned.

There are about 30,000 suicides in the United States each year.

The report was published in this week's Journal of the AmericanMedical Association and released at a briefing held by theassociation in New York.

In a second study made public at the briefing, a researcher atBrown University said depression is a "major unnecessary publichealth problem" in the United States because of a "very wide gapbetween the effective available treatment . . . and the treatmentactually received."

Martin Killer said most victims in the United States are eithernot treated or receive only partial treatment, often because thestigma of mental illness forces many people to try to hide thedisease from family and colleagues.

Survivors Said Unlikely in Cameroon Crash

2012-03-13T20:31:00.000-07:00

MBANGA-PONGO, Cameroon - Aviation officials said Monday that a plane carrying 114 people nose-dived into a thick mangrove forest over the weekend, disintegrating on impact and making it unlikely any passengers survived.

Villagers wielding machetes and chain saws cleared the way Monday for searchers setting out into a central African swamp where the Kenya Airways jetliner crashed Saturday.

"The plane fell head first. Its nose was buried in the mangrove swamp. It's very unlikely that there are any survivors, but until we have completely surveyed the area, we are not going to announce that," said Thomas Sobakam, chief of meteorology for the Douala airport.

He said the search continued, however. Two other aviation officials in Cameroon, who spoke on condition of anonymity because an official determination had not yet been made, also said it was unlikely anyone survived.

The plane had taken off from Douala, Cameroon's commercial capital, and its wreckage was found just 12 miles from the town's outskirts. The cause of the crash remained unclear.

Among the passengers was Nairobi-based Associated Press correspondent Anthony Mitchell, who had been on assignment in the region.

While the site where the plane went down was not remote, it was in a dense and hard-to-access mangrove forest. The road in was dirt track, its ruts filled with water Monday after heavy overnight rains. The last stretch to the site could accommodate only foot traffic - a large Douala airport truck had become mired in the mud overnight. Searchers emerged Monday covered in mud, carrying shoes they had taken off to wade into the swamp.

Chandra Levy slaying suspect due in DC court

2012-03-13T17:38:00.000-07:00

A man charged in the killing of federal intern Chandra Levy is scheduled to appear in court.

Twenty-eight-year-old Ingmar Guandique (gwan-DEE'-kay) has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other counts in Levy's death. She disappeared in 2001 and her remains were found a year later in Washington's Rock Creek Park.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Gerald I. Fisher is expected to consider several motions during a Friday morning hearing.

Guandique's attorneys have requested to change the venue, claiming extensive media coverage will make it difficult for him to get a fair trial in Washington.

Defense attorneys have said there's no scientific evidence linking Guandique to Levy's death.

Iraq criticized after disbanding Olympic committee

2012-03-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

The Iraqi government ordered the disbanding of the country's national Olympic committee because of questions over its legitimacy, drawing a harsh rebuke Wednesday from the international umbrella organization.

The Cabinet made the decision during a session Tuesday, saying it would form a temporary committee until a new one can be elected. It said it took the step because the 11-member national committee "is considered without complete legitimacy because its quorum is not complete."

Iraq Olympic Committee chairman Ahmed al-Hijiya and about 30 other sports officials were kidnapped in Baghdad in 2006. While some were released, al-Hijiya and three other committee members have not been heard of since. Two other members subsequently resigned.

There have long been tensions between the government and Iraq's sports federations. Under Olympic rules, the federations are supposed to be independent.

Haider Ali Lazim, a member of the national committee, rejected the order, accusing the government of interfering in its work and warning that "invisible hands want to destroy Iraqi sports."

He said he and colleagues had contacted the International Olympic Committee and said the order could bring sanctions that would prevent Iraq from taking part in the Beijing Olympics in August.

In Lausanne, Switzerland, IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau called the Cabinet order "serious interference from the Iraqi government." She said the IOC has asked the Iraqi minister of youth and sports to "to respect the autonomy of the NOC and to re-establish its legitimate office bearers."

The issue will be discussed by the IOC Executive Board in June, she said.

The Cabinet said the temporary committee, made up of lawmakers and experts, will be in place until elections for a new one are held in three months.

Student hits out at SNP

2012-03-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

An Aberdeen student leader has criticised the SNP's u-turn onits pledge to scrap student debt.

Ten student association leaders from across the country voicedtheir disappointment today at the announcement on debt in lastweek's budget.

Finance secretary John Swinney, pictured, revealed that theSNP's proposal to scrap student debt would be shelved owing tofunding constraints.

Angela Fraser, president of Aberdeen University StudentsAssociation, was among those to hit out in a document released byScottish Labour.

The plan was in the SNP manifesto before the May election.

Owls down to third-team QB

2012-03-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

Bobby Wallace's only option has become the option.

Still looking for his first win as Temple University's headfootball coach, Wallace, his team full of inexperience, knows theoption offense he installed this season could be his only hopeSaturday when the Owls (0-5, 0-1 in Big East) host No. 16 WestVirginia University (3-1, 0-0).

"The option offense has given them some problems," Wallace saidMonday on the Big East's weekly teleconference. "We have to look atthat as something to hang our hat on. We've run well againsteveryone but Maryland and we had four starters out then."But typical of the Gestapo-like cruelity that seems to swirlaround woebegone programs, Temple could be without the person whoruns the offense the best when the league rivals meet at noon inVeterans Stadium.Sophomore Kevin Harvey reinjured a shoulder Saturday when Templesquandered a 21-7 lead and lost 45-38 to visiting I-AA foe William &Mary. He and another backup are hurt. Saturday, redshirt freshmanGreg Muckleton finished and threw for two touchdowns."I really don't know (the quarterbacks') status at this time otherthan they're questionable," Wallace said.The Owls are running for 226 yards a game, second-best in theleague behind Boston College (230). And Navy ran for 332 yardsSaturday against WVU.But Temple, starting three true freshmen on defense, is permitting396 yards per game. Teams have completed 68 percent of their throwsagainst the Owls, who have yet to grab an interception. Somewhere inMorgantown, usually placid quarterback Marc Bulger must be smiling."Our pass defense is very weak right now," said Wallace, whocoached the previous 10 seasons at Division II power North Alabama."(William & Mary quarterback Mike Cook) pretty well picked us apart.It's a predicament we're working hard on."Cook threw for 244 yards and four touchdowns against Temple."Obviously, we're stepping up to a level of team we haven't seenyet," Wallace said. "You have to stop (WVU tailback Amos Zereoue),or at least slow him down. But as soon as you do "Return to Bulger smile.A defeat would clinch the Owls' eighth consecutive losing season.Other Big East notes:- Boston College (3-1, 2-0): Coach Tom O'Brien has a theory aboutwhy Virginia Tech, the Eagles' foe Thursday in a key league game,blocks so many kicks (65 in 130 games under Coach Frank Beamer)."Coach Beamer coaches these kids, so there probably is extraincentive for them," said O'Brien, used to the Hokies from his daysas a Virginia assistant. "This is probably the fastest Virginia Techteam I've ever seen."- Miami (3-1, 1-1): Coach Butch Davis does not expect aduplication of the lack of competitiveness in the Hurricanes' 47-0fall at Florida State last season."A year ago, we were a totally unprepared football team," he said."There was very little to be taken from that football game."- Pittsburgh (2-2, 0-1): There is a new threat in town for CoachWalt Harris' Panthers. Junior-college transfer Latef Grim is theleague's leading receiver with 26 catches for 489 yards and seventouchdowns."He's taking the plays (injured) Terry Murphy would normally betaking," Harris said. "I hope some day we can have both on the fieldfor us."- Rutgers (2-3, 0-3): Coach Terry Shea's team is last in the BigEast in scoring defense (37.0), rush defense (260.0) and totaldefense (447.6). Part of the problem, though, is the erraticoffense."I need to see more touchdowns," he said. "We need to score forsomething our defense can rally around."- Syracuse (2-2, 1-0): Coach Paul Pasqualoni's team fell from No.11 to 24 in the polls after last week's 38-17 loss at North CarolinaState."We feel we're a better team than we showed. We can't allow itto be that disappointing. We have to act like men and move forward,"he said.- Virginia Tech (4-0, 2-0): Coach Frank Beamer's team, because ofinjury, will start its third quarterback of 1998. Senior Nick Sorensen, who moved from quarterback to free safety in the spring, is backand will start against BC. Original starter Al Clark is stillhampered by several injuries."Al's work has been limited," Beamer said. "I like having thingssettled. I don't like question marks. Al should be available toplay."- WVU: Coach Don Nehlen's erratic defense has had one star thisseason, junior linebacker Barrett Green."I don't like to brag, but I knew he'd be a great linebacker,"Nehlen said. "It shows how stupid I was to play him at strong safety(in 1997). That's how dumb I am."- This week's schedule: Virginia Tech at BC, 8 p.m. Thursday(ESPN); WVU at Temple, noon Saturday (Big East regional; WCHS andWOAY here); Pittsburgh at North Carolina (1-3), 1:30 p.m. Saturday;Florida State (3-1) at Miami, 3:30 p.m. Saturday (CBS); Cincinnati(0-5) at Syracuse, 5:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2).- Players of the week: Offense - Miami wideout Santana Moss (sixcatches, 146 yards, three touchdowns vs. Rutgers); Defense - WVU'sGreen (19 tackles, 15 solo vs. Navy); Special teams - WVU's JayTaylor (six PATs, one field goal, 50-yard punt vs. Navy).Writer Mike Cherry can be reached at 348-5170.

Senate OKs bill to police tobacco

2012-03-13T04:46:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - The Senate took a step toward giving the governmentsome controls over the tobacco industry, bolstering the chances thata long-sought goal of anti-smoking advocates will finally berealized.

The 84-11 Senate vote on Tuesday to consider the bill came amonth after the House overwhelmingly passed a similar measure givingthe Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate cigarettesand other tobacco products.

Sixty votes were needed to advance the legislation, and thesuccess in reaching that threshold increases the likelihood that theSenate will move to a final vote by the end of the week. If theHouse concurs with the Senate measure, it would go to PresidentBarack Obama, who is ready to sign it into law.

The Senate vote came on a day when Obama was set to meet SenateDemocratic leaders on courses they may take to bring down therunaway costs of health care.

Supporters of the FDA legislation, such as the American HeartAssociation and the American Lung Association, say controls overtobacco products would be a good place to start: they say tobaccouse kills more than 400,000 Americans every year, resulting in $96billion in health care costs.

Under the measure, the FDA could restrict tobacco marketing,specifically to young people; order changes to the ingredients intobacco products; and require more prominent health warnings. Itwould ban remaining tobacco-brand sponsorships of sports andentertainment events and restrict vending machines to adult-onlyfacilities. It would bar the use of "reduced harm" descriptions suchas "light," "mild" or "low."

It would impose a fee on cigarette manufacturers to pay for FDAregulation.

The FDA would not have the authority to ban cigarettes and othertobacco products.

Anti-smoking lawmakers have been trying for years to give the FDAregulatory powers, only to be blocked by tobacco-state colleagues,opposition from the tobacco industry and, during the administrationof President George W. Bush, veto threats.

The need for congressional action became more pressing after a 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court in 2000 rejecting FDA's claim that ithad authority to regulate tobacco products under current law.

"It is now essential for Congress to act," Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said soon after that decision. "We cannot in good conscienceallow the federal agency most responsible for protecting the publichealth to remain powerless to deal with the enormous risks oftobacco." Kennedy is the chief sponsor of the Senate bill.

Marlboro maker Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest tobaccocompany, voiced support for the House-passed bill, saying itendorsed "tough but reasonable federal regulation."

But Philip Morris' main rivals have argued that the legislation,with its new restrictions on marketing and advertising, wouldessentially lock in Philip Morris' share of the market.

Opponents from tobacco-growing states have expressed concernsabout job losses in their states and contended that the FDA has apoor track record in guaranteeing food safety and shouldn't be givenresponsibility to oversee tobacco products. Among the amendmentsthat could be offered in the Senate are proposals to instead assigntobacco regulation to the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention.

Nazi war criminal returns in Italy to serve life sentence

2012-03-13T01:32:00.000-07:00

Extradited from Canada, an 83-year-old former SS prison guard who witnesses said laughed when he tortured inmates in an Italian detention camp was imprisoned Saturday near Naples to start serving a life sentence for war crimes.

Michael Seifert used a cane and leaned on the arm of a policeman as he walked with shuffling steps upon arrival early Saturday at Rome's Ciampino airport. He was whisked away to Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison.

A military tribunal in Verona had put the Ukrainian-born Seifert on trial in absentia and convicted him in 2000 of nine counts of murder committed while he was an SS guard at a prison transit camp in Bolzano, in the Alpine area of South Tyrol.

He has acknowledged being a guard at the SS-run camp but denies being involved in atrocities. Seifert, who has lived in Canada since 1951, had unsuccessfully fought efforts by the Canadian government to strip him of his citizenship based on allegations that he hid his past when he entered the country.

"Justice has been done," said Marisa Scala, who was a key witness at trial of Seifert, whose notoriety for cruelty earned him the nickname "Beast of Bolzano."

Prosecutor Bartolomeo Costantini said a medical exam will help determine if the elderly Seifert is well enough to serve out his sentence in a prison cell.

"His legs were a little wobbly after he got off the flight," likely due to the stress and the long journey, Costantini said by telephone. Seifert has a pacemaker but otherwise is apparently healthy, he said. If doctors deem it necessary, Seifert could be incarcerated in a hospital ward in the prison, or put under house arrest.

Italy rarely keeps very elderly inmates in prison, and Italian state TV reported that supporters were already trying to find someone willing to host him in their home.

Scala, who was held for two months in the Bolzano camp, told Italian state radio that her memories were still strong of the convicted criminal: "chubby, with ruddy cheeks," and known as "Misha," the Ukrainian diminutive of his first name.

"I saw him kill a young man of 18 who was in the cell across from me," Scala recalled. "I saw Misha begin to torture this poor young man, sticking his fingers in his eyes. They tortured him for three nights."

"The third night, I heard (the inmate) gasping, calling out, 'Mama! Enough! I'm dying.' And the next morning they took his body away," Scala said.

Seifert "was always laughing. When they did those things they laughed," Scala said.

At his trial, witnesses testified that Seifert starved a 15-year-old prisoner to death and tortured a woman before killing her and her daughter.

In 1944 and 1945, the Bolzano camp served as a transit point for Jews, Italian resistance fighters, Italians drafted for factory work and German army deserters who were being shipped north.

Last month, Seifert lost a bid to have the Supreme Court of Canada consider his appeal seeking to stop his extradition to Italy.

Sarah Palin speaks at rural Calif. university

2012-03-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin has criticized California Attorney General Jerry Brown over his investigation into her speaking visit to a California university.

The 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate spoke at a fundraising dinner at California State University, Stanislaus Friday night.

Her speech has generated intense intrigue and scrutiny since the nonprofit foundation holding the event first announced her visit in March.

Brown, who is running for governor, launched an investigation into the finances of the university's foundation arm amid allegations that the nonprofit violated public disclosure laws.

In her speech Friday, Palin singled out Brown for taking on the issue, rhetorically asking if California didn't have tougher problems for him to tackle.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

TURLOCK, Calif. (AP) _ Sarah Palin breezed into a gala dinner at a cash-strapped California university Friday, poised to speak before hundreds of well-heeled donors as a throng of students protested her appearance nearby.

The former Alaska governor's headline speech at the 50th anniversary celebration at California State University, Stanislaus has generated intense intrigue and scrutiny since her visit was first announced and set off a pitched legal feud.

In preparation for her arrival, workers transformed the rural, public school's humble cafeteria into a glitzy Gala Hall, draped with crimson tablecloths and surrounded by chain-link fences. Officials still refuse to divulge the terms of her contract, her speaking fee, or any additional details about the 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate's trip to California.

News of Palin's requirements only came to light after students fished several pages of the contract from a trash bin, which prompted California Attorney General Jerry Brown to launch an investigation into the finances of the university's foundation arm and allegations that the nonprofit violated public disclosure laws.

"We cannot believe the stuff that has gone on with our campus over Sarah Palin's visit," said Alicia Lewis, 26, who was one of the students who retrieved piles of paperwork, including pieces of the contract document, from a trash container in April. "And now they're fencing the campus off? It's outrageous."

University spokeswoman Eve Hightower said the extensive fencing and extra security were standard procedure for large campus events, and said the university had remained open to students going to class.

Friday's sold-out dinner will bring in more than $200,000, making the gala the most successful fundraiser in the university's history, said university foundation board president Matt Swanson.

"We're not here to make a political statement, we're here to make money," said Swanson. "This event has surpassed all of our expectations."

Most of the money raised comes from new donors, Hightower said. The funds will help pay for a variety of pressing campus needs, which the foundation will determine after consulting with university officials, she said.

By Friday afternoon, the dining hall had been festooned with orchids and tulips, and two large white pillars decorated with golden branches stood sentry. Cooks were preparing a five-course meal featuring lobster napoleon, scallops, and grilled Angus beer tenderloin with red wine sauce, accompanied by a wine selection from local Central Valley vintner E. & J. Gallo Winery.

About 100 protesters stood outside the cafeteria on the campus' leafy grounds raising up a Sarah Palin-shaped pinata and signs lettered "Spill, Baby, Spill" and "Open The Books," and chanting about school budget cuts.

The rural university, like dozens of other public colleges, has had to cut some classes and cancel several scholarships as a result of California's ongoing financial woes.

"The campus is spending thousands and thousands of dollars to hire a divisive political figure to come here. There's something wrong with that, when they've turned away people for scholarships," said Josh Esteves, a protest organizer with Valley Progressives, a local left-leaning political group.

A group of about 30 Palin supporters from local tea party chapters also came to campus Friday afternoon, waving large American flags and carrying placards that read "Support Free Speech."

Palin and her daughter Willow arrived at the school by 7 p.m. and were quickly seated. The former governor reportedly had her hair done in a Modesto salon Friday afternoon and had checked into a local hotel.

Palin has endorsed former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive Carly Fiorina in her bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, but a Fiorina spokeswoman said Palin would not be making any stops on behalf of the campaign.

Gold prices rise as Fed keeps interest rates low

2012-03-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

Gold prices are climbing after the Federal Reserve said it will keep interest rates near zero until 2014 at the earliest to help jump-start economic growth.

Gold rose 2.1 percent to finish Tuesday at $1,700.10 an ounce. It's the first time the settlement price has topped $1,700 an ounce since early December. Investors tend to buy gold when they're worried about a weak dollar causing inflation.

The Fed says the economy is growing moderately but there has been slowing in global growth. Its decision to keep interest rates low will make loans more affordable for businesses and consumers in hopes that they will spend more to aid the economic recovery.

In other trading, oil, gasoline, natural gas and grains are higher. Soybeans and heating oil are lower.

Wary Investors Cost Dow 61

2012-03-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK Wall Street stocks lost ground last week as investorsstayed out of the market and left prices at the mercy of professionaltraders.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 61.60 points, or 1.8percent, for the week to close at 3,332.18, surrendering more thanhalf of the 108-point gain it racked up the week before.

Uncertainty provided the dominant theme in trading, accordingto analysts who said big cash-rich institutions spent much of theweek on the sidelines waiting for July employment figures.

Blue chips also took new jabs from the corporate world, losingmore than 50 points from Tuesday to Thursday as bad news saddled Dowcomponents IBM Corp. and General Motors Corp. with big losses.

Even when the employment data proved slightly better thanexpected, with a 198,000 job gain in non-farm payrolls, manyinvestors still left the market to computerized trading programs andthe fortunes of the bond market.

But even some analysts pessimistic about the economic andcorporate earnings picture believe the market will rise as biginvestors look for new places to put their capital.

Institutions such as pension funds and insurance companies aresitting on a growing pile of cash and could decide whether to buystocks or bonds after this week's $36 billion sale of Treasurysecurities.

Analysts believe strong interest in the Treasury sale thatbegins tomorrow will boost stocks by providing an endorsement forinvesting in securities as a whole.

Among other market indicators, the Standard & Poor's 500composite index fell 5.33 points to 418.88. The Nasdaq index fell7.09 points to 573.74 and the American Stock Exchange gained 1.28 to390.13.

Celebrities slammed for attending Chechen concert

2012-03-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

MOSCOW (AP) — An international human rights watchdog lambasted an Oscar-winning actress and other Western celebrities on Wednesday for attending a concert held on the birthday of Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader, who has been accused of grave rights abuses and spending taxpayers' money on his eccentric hobbies.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said that American actress Hilary Swank, Belgian actor Jean Claude Van Damme and British violinist Vanessa Mae attended the concert in the Chechen capital, Grozny. The Oct. 5 show was held at a police-cordoned stage on Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's 35th birthday.

Human Rights Watch urged the artists to "avoid legitimizing people like" Kadyrov, who has been accused by rights groups of having orchestrated abductions, extrajudicial killings and the enforcement of sharia law in Chechnya, a Russian republic.

"Ramzan Kadyrov is linked to a grim record of abuse," the group's Europe and Central Asia director Huge Williamson said in a statement. "When stars get paid to turn up to party with (Kadyrov), it trivializes the suffering of countless victims of human rights abuses.

The artists' representatives were not immediately available for comment.

Kadyrov is a former separatist rebel who has boasted of killing his first Russian soldier at age 15. He changed sides before the second Chechen war started in 1999.

Respected human rights groups have documented disappearances, house torchings and extra-judicial killings, and say they have evidence of Kadyrov's direct participation in torturing crime suspects. A string of Kadyrov's critics and political rivals have also been brutally murdered in recent years in Russia, Austria and Dubai.

Kadyrov has consistently denied involvement in any of the killings, saying the accusations are fabricated to blacken his name.

Dozens of Russian politicians, film and sports stars also attended the concert and praised Kadyrov from a stage arranged between a gigantic mosque and a newly built business center.

During the birthday show, Swank said that she has been taken by the Chechen government's "passion to make peace and to make something beautiful."

"I hope to have a film premiere here," the two-time Oscar winner clad in a streaming evening dress said in remarks televised on Chechen state television. "Happy birthday, Mr. President."

Swank appeared to be one of the few women to wear no headscarf.

Kadyrov has imposed an Islamic dress code on women, and his feared security forces have used paintball guns, threats and insults against those refusing to obey. He also publicly approved honor killings of women by their relatives.

Action star Van Damme said he "spoke from his heart," but mispronounced Kadyrov's name and called Chechnya a "nation."

The audience gave Kadyrov a standing ovation when the bullnecked and burly man performed a traditional Chechen dance during a song that praised his rule and called Chechnya "the center of the universe."

The show was the latest in a series of expensive and extravagant events sponsored by Kadyrov's government amid dire poverty and unemployment in Chechnya.

He has spent millions of dollars to acquire well-bred horses that have competed in some of the world's richest races and to renovate a soccer stadium in Grozny. Famous soccer players have been hired for the club Kadyrov heads.

Under Kadyrov's leadership and backed by huge tranches of money from the federal budget, Chechnya has become relatively quiet. Grozny, left mostly in ruins by two wars, has risen from the rubble, and the insurgent violence that once gripped Chechnya has largely migrated to neighboring republics of the volatile Caucasus region.