The World Health Organization is asking Pakistan to investigate a reported case of cholera in the northwest Swat Valley amid concern that an epidemic could break out in flood affected areas.
WHO says cholera, which can spread rapidly after floods and other disasters, is endemic in Pakistan and the case may be unrelated to any large-scale outbreak.
But …
International Absorbents Inc. recently announced that it had signed an agreement with Newstech Recycling of Coquitlam, British Columbia, to process 55,000 tons of waste fiber annually into animal bedding. International had been processing about a third of Newstech's sludge previously. It is expected that the capacity required for the additional sludge will be operational by this …
Results of weekend playoff matches in Australian soccer's A-League:
Major Semifinal
Central Coast 3, Newcastle 2, extra time
(Central Coast wins 5-4 on aggregate)
Minor Semifinal
Second Leg
Queensland 2, …
Allied Domecq chief executive Philip Bowman could benefit by up toGBP15 million in share options if the Bedminster Down drinks companyhe heads is taken over, it has emerged.
Pernod Ricard, working with Jim Beam owner Fortune Brands, is indiscussions to buy Allied, owner of brands including …
Irving Robbin, 68, a jeweler who was named Retailer of the Yearthis year by the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce, died Mondayin Hawaii.
Mr. Robbin, of Highland Park, was one of 15 jewelers nationwideto be honored for excellence by Rolex Watch Co. this year. He wasowner and president of Persin and Robbin Jewelers, 24 S. Dunton Ave.,which he operated for 30 years.
He was president of the National Ramah Commission, a Jewish campprogram, and president of its Wisconsin camp. He was a pastpresident of the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Robbin was school board chairman and trustee for NorthSuburban Beth-El Synagogue in Highland Park, founder …
OCALA, Fla. (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Monday asked that Wesley Snipes' bond be revoked if a judge refuses to grant the "Blade" actor a new trial on tax-related charges.
Snipes' defense attorney asked for the new trial during a two-hour hearing in federal court. Daniel Meachum argued that two jurors had sent him e-mails recently claiming three other jurors had determined Snipes' guilt before the 2008 trial began.
Snipes faces three years in prison for his conviction on three tax-related counts. He was acquitted of a handful of other counts.
Snipes, star of the 1992 film "White Men Can't Jump," has been free on bond while appealing the conviction. He didn't attend …
The Vatican announced a stunning decision Tuesday to make it easier for Anglicans to convert, reaching out to those who are disaffected by the election of women and gay bishops to join the Catholic Church's conservative ranks.
Pope Benedict XVI approved a new church provision that will allow Anglicans to join the Catholic Church while maintaining many of their distinctive spiritual and liturgical traditions, including having married priests.
Cardinal William Levada, the Vatican's chief doctrinal official, announced the new provision at a new conference.
In the past, such exemptions had only been granted in a few cases in certain countries. The new …
To the untrained eye, this might seem to be the thinnest ofarts, barely even a craft. Yet watching balloon entertainers' handspull, bend and knead latex tubes of pink, red and blue into bulbycritters does have a certain fascination - especially for the young.
And say what you will, balloons can teach life lessons. Apreschooler quickly learns about the fragility of existence …
SAN'A, Yemen (AP) — Only four years after he and a band of militants made a daring escape from a San'a prison, Qassim al-Raimi has become the dominant figure in al-Qaida's most active franchise — the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
The group's military commander, al-Raimi is thought to be the brains behind a series of attacks, including the foiled plot to mail bombs to the United States and multiple attacks against Yemen's U.S.-backed government. In writings and videos, he has vowed to topple the San'a regime and to strike America.
"His charisma and leadership skills have qualified him to be al-Qaida's military dynamo," said Nabil al-Bakeery, a Yemeni expert on …
Master Chief isn't lacking for friends.
More than 2.7 million people logged onto the video game "Halo: Reach," the upcoming prequel to the first-person shooter trilogy starring supersoldier Master Chief, developer Bungie Studios announced Monday.
Players collectively logged more than 16 million hours and more than 1.1 billion virtual kills during the 18-day public beta test of the game's multiplayer mode, Bungie said in a statement, adding the game will be launched worldwide on Sept. 14 _ except in Japan, where it will debut a day later.
"It's exceeded our expectations," said Bungie Studios community director Brian Jarrard. …
City man charged with assault, kidnapping
Police arrested a Charleston man wanted on charges of first-degree sexual assault and kidnapping.
Joseph Hambrick II, 22, of 812 Main St., is being held forallegedly beating his girlfriend, raping her with a variety ofobjects and holding her in a bedroom of their West Side apartmentearly Sunday.
Hambrick came to the Grant Street apartment he shared with agirlfriend and their children and began to beat her with his fists,according to a filed criminal complaint.
He held her against her will in a bedroom and sexually assaultedher with objects, according to the complaint. Police recoveredseveral of those objects …
NEW YORK (AP) — The estate of an Ecuadorean immigrant filed a $40 million civil rights lawsuit Monday that blames police inaction over prior violence for the man's stabbing death during a confrontation with a mob of teens who had made a sport of targeting Hispanics.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn against county and municipal governments and numerous officials who work for them.
Marcelo Lucero, a 37-year-old dry cleaning worker, was walking with a friend near the Patchogue Long Island Rail Road station around midnight in November 2008 when a group of seven teenagers confronted them. During the ensuing brawl, Lucero and his friend were peppered with …
EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (AP) — Rangers and PSV Eindhoven played out a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the Europa League's round of 16 on Thursday.
Goalkeeper Neil Alexander stopped Marcus Berg's 15th-minute strike after the Sweden forward was put through by compatriot Ola Toivonen.
Defender Marcelo headed Balszs Dzsudzsak's curling cross wide in the 70th, wasting his side's best chance.
El Hadji Diouf played alone up front for Rangers, which rarely threatened. Defender Kyle Bartley's blocked second-half header off Hadji Diouf's corner was Rangers' only real chance of the game.
Rangers welcomes PSV at Ibrox next Thursday.
Angelo Rivera, who won a second trial for a 1985 murder but againwas found guilty, received 80 years in prison Wednesday, 20 more thanhis original sentence.
Criminal Court Judge Thomas Durkin stressed that the increase"was not out of vindictiveness," but was imposed because prisonguards had found four homemade knives in Rivera's cell.
Rivera's attorney contended that prison officials already hadpenalized his client for the weapons, making the longer sentenceunfair.
Rivera, 27, was convicted in 1985 of murdering Zelia Simmons,58, who was beaten to death after drinking with Rivera and two othermen. He was found guilty again last month.
Simmons' body was found in a North Side alley, but a trail ofblood led to the apartment of Richard Norman in the 1400 block ofWest Fletcher, according to prosecutors Neal Goodfriend and AdrienneMebane.
Norman, who is serving a life sentence for the murder, confessedthat he alone killed Simmons, the prosecutors said.
Despite the confession, Rivera was charged after a third man,Jeffrey Meger, testified that he saw Rivera hit Simmons with ahammer.
In 1990, a federal appeals court overturned Rivera's convictionand ordered a new trial because Norman's confession had been excludedat Rivera's trial.
Oil prices hovered near $91 a barrel Tuesday as traders waited for signs on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again this week.
The Fed _ scheduled to open a meeting later Tuesday to plot its next move _ is widely expected to lower its key rate, now at 3.5 percent, by as much as one-half percentage point to 3 percent when policymakers wrap up the meeting on Wednesday.
Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 11 cents to $91.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.
In London, Brent crude rose 27 cents to $91.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Oil investors fear a U.S. recession would dampen crude demand, while stock investors fear a downturn there would hurt economies and companies dependent on exports to the world's largest economy.
"With little strong new fundamental news and lack of new disruptions, the correlation of (West Texas Intermediate crude oil) to equities remains exceptionally high," said analyst Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland. "As intraday volatility is increasing on equities ... Wall Street becomes an increasing sentiment driver for oil."
Stocks in Japan and Hong Kong surged Tuesday after Wall Street rallied overnight. The Dow Jones industrials rose 1.5 percent as investors took a dismal new home sales report as a further sign the Fed will lower interest rates this week.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei stock index climbed 3 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished up almost 1 percent.
At midday in Europe, the FTSE in London was 1.6 percent higher, Frankfurt's DAX gained 0.9 percent and the CAC-40 in Paris was up 1.8 percent.
The Nymex crude contract rose 28 cents overnight to settle at $90.99 a barrel after initially falling on concerns that the report on new home sales in the United States was indication of a severe economic slowdown.
President Bush, in his final State of the Union address Monday night, urged the nation to stay confident against the gnawing recession fears, and asked lawmakers to approve a $150 billion (101.7 billion euros) plan to stave off a recession through tax rebates.
"Our economy is undergoing a period of uncertainty," Bush said. "And at kitchen tables across our country there is concern about our economic future."
Sales of new homes in the U.S. plummeted a record 26.4 percent last year while the median price of a new home edged up just 0.2 percent, the worst showing since 1991, the Commerce Department said.
The news was seen increasing chances that the Fed will cut its key interest rate again this week after cutting it by 75 basis points a week ago.
Heating oil prices rose 0.45 cent to $2.5310 a gallon (3.8 liters) while gasoline prices gained 0.32 cent to $2.3285 a gallon.
Natural gas futures rose 2 cents to $8.115 per 1,000 cubic feet.
___
Associated Press writer Gillian Wong in Singapore contributed to this report.
It's been a much better year for the endangered whooping crane than biologists had hoped.
Last year a record 23 cranes died in their south Texas wintering grounds, and wildlife managers expected many to die again this season. Only one died this winter, but the cranes face many obstacles if they're to survive as a species.
Starting this month, they have a 2,500-mile migration back to Canada and food and water shortages could also take their toll.
There are about 400 wild whooping cranes left in the world. More than half are in the south Texas flock. Conservationists say those birds are the species' best chance for survival because the flock is self-sustaining.
LONDON (AP) — Man United's Alex Ferguson gets 5-match touchline ban over referee comment.
BILLINGS, Mont. - Wolves in parts of the Northern Rockies and theGreat Lakes region come off the endangered species list today,opening them to public hunts in some states for the first time indecades.
Federal officials say the population of gray wolves in thoseareas has recovered and is large enough to survive on its own. Theanimals were listed as endangered in 1974, after they had been wipedout across the lower 48 states by hunting and government-sponsoredpoisoning.
"We've exceeded our recovery goals for nine consecutive years,and we fully expect those trends will continue," said Seth Willey,regional recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servicein Denver.
With the delisting, state wildlife agencies will have fullcontrol over the animals. States such as Idaho and Montana plan toresume hunting the animals this fall, but no hunting has beenproposed in the Great Lakes region.
Ranchers and livestock groups, particularly in the Rockies, havepushed to strip the endangered status in hopes that hunting willkeep the population in check.
About 300 wolves in Wyoming will remain on the list because theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rejected the state's plan for a"predator zone" where wolves could be shot on sight. Wyoming Gov.Dave Freudenthal and a coalition of livestock and hunting groupshave announced a lawsuit against the federal government over thedecision.
Freudenthal, a Democrat, claimed "political expediency" wasbehind the rejection of his state's wolf plan.
Wolves were taken off the endangered list in the Northern Rockies- including Wyoming - for about five months last year. Afterenvironmentalists sued, a federal judge in Montana restored theprotections and cited Wyoming's predator zone as a main reason. Inthe Great Lakes, the animal was off the list beginning in 2007 untila judge in Washington last September ordered them protected again.
Environmental and animal rights groups have also said theyplanned to sue over the delisting, claiming that there are still notenough wolves to guarantee their survival. The groups point toIdaho's plan to kill up to 100 wolves believed to have killed elk.
"We understand that hunting is part of wildlife policy in theWest," said Anne Carlson with the Western Wolf Coalition. "(But)wolves should be managed like native wildlife and not as pests to beexterminated."
The delisting review began under the administration of PresidentGeorge W. Bush and the proposal was upheld by President BarackObama's administration after an internal review. In a recent letterto several members of Congress, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar wrotethat he was "confident that science justifies the delisting of thegray wolf."
Willey said his agency projected there would be between 973 and1302 wolves in the Northern Rockies under state management, a numberwell above the 300 wolves set as the original benchmark for theanimal's recovery.
More than 1,300 wolves roam the mountains of Montana and Idahoand an estimated 4,000 live in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
A Gran has hit out after claiming she was cheated out of cash byan airline.
But after the Evening Express alerted flyglobespan, the firm agreed to refund all the cash.
Marion Johnston was one of thousands of passengers who lost out ona flight after the carrier axed services from Aberdeen.
The Danestone gran claimed the airline did not pay her back infull.
Marion bought flights for herself and her sister-in-law fromAlicante back to Aberdeen.
They were to fly on November 15 but last month the firm scrappedhundreds of winter flights leaving disappointed passengers.
Passengers were guaranteed their cash back in full. But Marion got pounds108.65 - pounds5.40 less than she paid.
Marion, 68, said: "They said they had paid me back in full.
"The company said it was the bank rates that had gone up. Theysaid they deal in euros and the exchange rate changed so that's whythere was a difference," she said.
"If everyone is missing pounds5, that's a lot of money."
A spokesman for flyglobespan said that the difference wasunusual and the bank's conversion rate charge was to blame.
But the firm was refunding the pounds5.40 as a goodwill gesture.
"Flyglobespan is not making any money from this," he stressed.
lkernan@ajl.co.uk
World stocks were mixed Wednesday as a higher opening on Wall Street helped Europe's markets recoup earlier losses as stronger technology shares offset some of the ongoing gloom about banks.
But even as President Barack Obama assumed power Tuesday vowing to "begin the work of remaking America," which includes a massive economic stimulus package, investor sentiment was fragile with fears that mounting bank losses could deepen the world economic downturn.
In Britain, where record losses at Royal Bank of Scotland have raised concerns of a nationalization of more banks, the benchmark FTSE 100 index closed down 31.52 points, or 0.8 percent at 4,059.88. Germany's DAX was up 21.30 points, or 0.5 percent, at 4,261.15, while France's CAC 40 dropped 19.71 points, or 0.7 percent to 2,905.57. All three indexes were at least 2 percent in the red in earlier trading following heavy losses on Wall Street in the previous day's session.
U.S. stocks recovered some of those losses Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average up 64.76 points, or 0.8 percent, at 8,013.85, in midday trading in New York, and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index 7.94 points, or 1.0 percent, higher at 813.16.
Technology stocks led Wednesday's rebound on Wall Street after IBM said late Tuesday that it expects to earn $9.20 per share this year _ 45 cents a share better than the average analyst estimate, according to Thomson Reuters. IBM also said its fourth-quarter profit jumped 12 percent, easily topping analysts' estimates.
Earnings reports will continue to be the market's focus Wednesday, and for the next few weeks. Apple Inc. is set to report its fiscal first-quarter results after the market closes.
With company and economic prospects seeming to darken by the day, hopes are fading the new U.S. administration can bring about a quick recovery in the world's largest economy with the reconstruction promised in Obama's inaugural speech.
"While it was a great day to hope, and fun to watch a part of history, investors are very much in tune to the reality that there is not a lot this new president can do to help Asia, or the world, let alone the United States, in the very near term," said Kirby Daley, senior strategist at Newedge Group in Hong Kong.
Corporate news was mixed Wednesday, with technology shares offsetting steep declines in bank stocks.
Sweden's LM Ericsson posted a 31 percent drop in fourth quarter profits and announced 5,000 job cuts, but shares rose because the performance was better than market forecasts.
Among banks, Britain's Barclays PLC was down a massive 11 percent on fears it may have to be bailed out by the British government and, like Royal Bank of Scotland, become partly nationalized.
In Germany, the lender Hypo Real Estate said it would request an extra euro12 billion in loan guarantees from the state to survive the credit crunch. Better news came in France, where Societe General said it would make a euro2 billion profit in 2008 despite the rocky year.
In Britain, official data showed unemployment reached a near 10-year high of 6.1 percent, while the Bank of England governor sounded a gloomy note in a speech late Tuesday, suggesting interest rate cuts may not be enough to help the economy. In fact, the government has this week cleared the central bank to buy assets as a policy tool in its latest bailout of the banking sector.
Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 2 percent at 7,901.64, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 2.9 percent to 12,578.58.
Benchmarks in South Korea and India retreated about 2 percent or more, Singapore's index was down 1.6 percent and Australia's stock measure lost 1 percent. Shanghai's main stock gauge was off around 0.5 percent, while Taiwan's stock measure inched modestly higher.
Joseph Yam, head of Hong Kong's de facto central bank, warned of a second round in the financial crisis.
"The effect of this round will be even more widespread and have a huge impact on the world's financial markets," said Yam, who leads the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. "We have a difficult year ahead."
Oil prices rose slightly, with light, sweet crude for March delivery up 71 cents to $41.55 in European trade.
The pound was near 7 1/2 year lows against the dollar at 1.3754. The dollar traded higher against the yen, at 87.94 yen compared with 89.87 yen late Tuesday. The euro was steady at $1.2892.
______
AP Business writers Carlo Piovano in London and Jeremiah Marquez contributed to this report.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona forward Lionel Messi returned to training Monday and should be ready to play in the first leg of the Spanish Supercup against Real Madrid on Sunday.
Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano and Chile forward Alexis Sanchez — Barcelona's only offseason signing — also took part in their first training session of the preseason.
The three South American internationals had extended vacations after playing in the Copa America in July. Barcelona said that right back Dani Alves is still in Brazil.
The second leg of the Spanish Supercup will be played at the Camp Nou on Aug. 17. Barcelona begins its campaign for a fourth straight Spanish league title at Malaga four days later.
But as the Cubs left Cincinnati with another loss in the teams' final meeting -- the Cubs' 12th loss in 16 games against the Reds -- there were Baker and his Reds, five games ahead of the second-place St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central with five weeks to go. And the Reds have a young enough, talented enough team to inspire thoughts of staying in the vicinity for a few years.
''Dusty's a good manager,'' said Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez, denying that any of the success in Cincinnati surprises him. ''His last year here in Chicago, he just didn't have the good players. We were kind of like this year, a lot of young guys. And you can't win like that.
That team in 2006 lost 96 games. This Cubs team is on pace to lose 94, even after its best road trip of the season (4-2).
''Dusty's a winner wherever he goes,'' Ramirez said. ''He went to the World Series in San Francisco [2002], he went to a playoff here [2003], and I think he's going to the playoffs this year with Cincinnati. And they don't have that good a ballclub. They got a decent ballclub, but he's getting the most from everybody.''
FUKE FACTOR
Nobody was more surprised to see Kosuke Fukudome's name in Sunday's lineup than Fukudome, who started against a left-handed pitcher for the first time this season.
''I ran out of right-handers,'' interim manager Mike Quade said, smiling, after explaining his all-right approach against rookie lefty Travis Wood, who has been dominant against lefty hitters this season.
Actually, Quade had one alternative: putting Jeff Baker in the outfield instead of at second base and having rookie Darwin Barney play second.
But Quade said the hot-hitting Fukudome earned the start -- and then Fukudome delivered. He lined out and got an intentional walk against Wood and later hit a tying two-run homer against lefty Arthur Rhodes in the eighth, his career-high 12th homer and second in as many days.
''I do feel good,'' said Fukudome, who has raised his average 25 points to .274 just this month, during which he's hitting .364 with four homers and 12 RBI.
OTHER FUKE FACTOR
On the other hand, Fukudome was charged with a key throwing error in the Reds' decisive, two-run eighth, when Ramirez failed to get in front of the throw and prevent it from caroming into the dugout.
''I did the best I can on the throw,'' Fukudome said. ''It may be my mistake, but if I'm afraid of throwing to third, there's nothing I could do [to make the play].''
Color Photo: Andy Lyons, Getty Images / Kosuke Fukudome is congratulated after hitting a homer Sunday against left-hander Arthur Rhodes.
LONDON, ON-The Organic Trade Association (OTA) says that meat, milk, and other products produced from cloned animals will not be sold in the United States. The decision has been hailed by Pure Fun Confections, the leading brand of premium, certified organic, kosher and vegan candy. It's a fair trade company that manufactures candy with no tapioca, no GM or cloned modification, free of pesticides, preservatives, refined sugar, and artificial colours and flavours.
Cloning is incompatible with the U.S. Organic Foods Production Act and is prohibited under National Organic Program regulations.
"The OTA only supports the use of traditional processes for breeding and raising animals in the organic system," said Caren Wilcox, OTA's executive director.
-www.purefun.ca
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Authorities in Montenegro on Sunday arrested a former Serbian police general wanted for murder and persecution of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, a spokesman for the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal announced.
Vlastimir Djordjevic, Serbia's assistant interior minister and chief of the Public Security Department from 1997 to 2001 and a close aide of former Serb President Slobodan Milosevic, was arrested by Montenegro police and was to be transferred to the Hague-based court, said tribunal spokesman Anton Nikiforov.
It was the second arrest in just over two weeks of a fugitive from the Balkan wars of the 1990s, leaving only four men on the run including former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his wartime military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic.
The arrest June 1 of Zdravko Tolimir prompted the European Union to resume pre-membership talks with Serbia that had been suspended last year over what the EU called Belgrade's lack of cooperation in hunting down war crimes suspects.
Djordjevic's arrest "was carried out in cooperation between the office of the prosecutor, Montenegrin authorities and Serbia and it is a sign of the good cooperation we established on a regional level," said Nikiforov. "We want to praise Montenegrin police and Serb authorities for another successful operation."
Montenegrin police did not immediately confirm the arrest, which was believed to have taken place in the Adriatic Sea resort town of Budva.
The U.N. war crimes prosecutor for the former Yugoslavia, Carla Del Ponte, had recently claimed Djordjevic was hiding in Russia.
Serb authorities have been reluctant to pursue war crimes suspects for over a decade. But under intense international pressure they have helped persuade many fugitives to surrender, and more than two dozen suspects have given themselves up in recent years. The court has indicted 161 people since it was created in 1993.
Djordjevic is accused together with six other high-ranking Serb officials of planning and instigating crimes in Kosovo in the first half of 1999 including the forced deportation of 800,000 Kosovars, and the killings of hundreds of ethnic Albanians who had "no active part in hostilities," according to his indictment.
The other six suspects are already on trial at the tribunal, facing possible life sentences if convicted. Also on trial is former Kosovo prime minister and rebel leader Ramush Haradinaj, accused of crimes against Serbs in the province.
Prosecutors say that Serb authorities unleashed a terror campaign aimed at driving ethnic Albanians out of Kosovo to ensure continued Belgrade control of the province.
"This purpose was to be achieved by criminal means consisting of a widespread or systematic campaign of terror and violence that included deportations, murders, forcible transfers and persecutions directed at the Kosovo Albanian population," according to court papers.
The campaign was finally halted by NATO airstrikes. Since then, the province of 2 million people, of whom 90 percent are ethnic Albanians, has been run by the U.N. and patrolled by NATO troops.
U.N. special envoy Martti Ahtisaari has recommended independence for Kosovo under international supervision but the Security Council has yet to vote on the proposal.
The United States and European Union back Kosovo's bid for independence.
But this it vehemently opposed by Serbia which is backed by Russia. Moscow contends independence would set a dangerous precedent for the world's other breakaway regions.
---
Associated Press writer Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this report.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A self-help author convicted of negligent homicide expressed extreme remorse for the deaths of three people following an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony he led and vowed never to conduct another one, a probation officer wrote in a presentence report obtained by The Associated Press.
James Arthur Ray said he's hopeful a Yavapai County judge sentences him to probation, while prosecutors say he deserves the maximum nine-year sentence for senselessly robbing three families of their loved ones.
A jury convicted Ray on three counts of negligent homicide in late June, and he's set to be sentenced Oct. 6 — two days short of the second anniversary of the ceremony that was meant to be the highlight of his weeklong "Spiritual Warrior" retreat near Sedona.
Ray told the probation officer that he was responsible for the sweat lodge but that he is not a threat to society. He said he wanted to apologize to the victims' families but he hasn't been allowed to contact them, nor did he think it was appropriate to do so at an earlier time.
"This is horribly tragic," he said in the report, which hasn't been released publicly. "I have been holding these events for years. I warn people in advance. I could never have imagined that this type of thing would happen."
Prosecutors and the victims' families have said Ray ignored signs that people were in distress, starting about halfway through the two-hour ceremony in a makeshift tent heated with hot stones. When it ended, two participants were dead and a third died more than a week later. Eighteen others were hospitalized, yet others emerged with no major problems.
The families of Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y.; James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee; and Liz Neuman, 48, of Prior Lake, Minn., said neither Ray nor his staff contacted them about the deaths. Neuman's family said they scoured the Internet for information when they heard something went wrong, eventually giving a physical description of Neuman to a Flagstaff hospital, where she was listed as a Jane Doe.
"He abandoned his followers when they needed him the most," said Neuman's son, Bryan. "He has shown absolutely no remorse, no compassion and no humanity. I didn't know monsters like Mr. Ray even really existed until after this tragedy."
In letters that prosecutors want considered at sentencing, friends and family of the victims described Ray as a sociopath who blatantly disregarded repeated concerns. Brown's brother said he cannot move past the images of his sister gasping for breath and, like others, struggles to explain the deaths to his small children.
"How does a father answer this? How does a father not answer this," said Shore's friend, Matt Collins. "James Ray has compromised so many people through his negligence. Perhaps my family has no place when compared to his (Shore's) children and widow. But if my hurt is any indication ... well then their pain is of a degree I cannot even begin to imagine."
Brown's close friend, Deborah Goldstein, pleaded with Judge Warren Darrow to remove Ray "from his path of destruction.
"A lenient sentence for Ray is merely a demerit, and I fear it will allow him to quickly re-establish his trajectory, putting more lives in harm's way, and motivating countless other charlatans waiting in the wings to mislead — or even worse — push the limits of their potential disciples," she said.
Along with the maximum prison sentence, prosecutors also want Darrow to order Ray to pay $67,000 in restitution to the victims' families and almost the same amount to reimburse the state for witness travel costs, fees and expenses.
Ray's attorneys have submitted more than 135 letters to Darrow, some of which were written before Ray's conviction, touting the benefits they've seen in their own lives as a result of Ray's teachings. The 53-year-old saw his personal and professional life shatter following the ceremony, his supporters said, and he deserves a chance to rebuild.
Ray said that he won't hold another sweat lodge ceremony or any other potentially dangerous activity, but he should be held responsible for his actions, the probation officer wrote.
The defense is set to call up to 19 people to testify in support of Ray at a hearing next week that was rescheduled after one of his attorneys suffered a heart condition last weekend. Prosecutors can then offer rebuttal testimony.
If sentenced to probation, Ray has asked that he be allowed to carry it out in California where he and his parents live. His risk of reoffending was listed as medium to low in the presentence report.
"Incarceration is useful when the person is dangerous to others, but James is the opposite," said Jim Cathcart, of Newbury Park, Calif., who has known Ray for nearly 20 years. "He is a force for good. His decisions in this situation were a grave error, not an accurate reflection of his character. Please don't put him into 'the system' and darken his soul."
John Watkin said he has seen Ray agonize over the deaths and struggle to understand the cause — never once complaining about what was lost in his own life.
"This is a good, decent, caring man who somehow found himself inside a nightmare with no way out," he said. "I know that James will attempt to find whatever lessons can be learned from all this and will apply them to himself before he begins to think about what his future may bring. And I know that he will never spend a day without thinking of those three people who died."
Ivo Karlovic of Croatia withdrew from the Olympics because of a stomach illness Saturday, less than two weeks after his upset of top-ranked Roger Federer at the Cincinnati Masters.
Fellow Croatian Ivan Ljubicic also pulled out of singles due to back trouble. He still plans to play doubles in the tournament, which begins Sunday.
Karlovic, seeded 14th, was replaced in the draw by Yu Xinyuan of China. Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic becomes the No. 17 seed and takes Karlovic's place in the draw.
Yu will face Berdych in the first round.
Ljubicic was replaced by Devin Mullings of the Bahamas.
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain replaced Lindsay Davenport of the United States, who withdrew from singles Friday because of a lingering knee injury.
President Barack Obama begins a packed day in Ghana with a morning meeting in Accra with Ghanaian President John Atta Mills.
It's Obama's first visit as president to sub-Saharan Africa.
After the bilateral meeting and breakfast, Obama will join first lady Michelle Obama at an event focusing on maternal health.
The president will then address Ghana's Parliament.
After that, the first family heads out of the capital for a tour of the Cape Coast Castle before returning for a departure ceremony and a flight back to Washington.
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Investigators in western India looking into a deadly hepatitis outbreak traced to infected syringes have uncovered a huge operation to illegally recycle hundreds of tons of used medical equipment, officials said Wednesday.
Gujarat state authorities launched the probe two weeks ago after an outbreak of hepatitis B that has killed 56 people and sickened more than 100. The source has been traced primarily to infected syringes, health officials said.
Officials who raided dispensaries, private hospitals and laboratories in the Modasa district _ the center of the outbreak _ found a flourishing black market in reused medical equipment.
In the last few …
SEATTLE - Dell Inc. has agreed to work with Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. under an alliance the rival software makers formed last year to make it easier for the Windows operating system and the increasingly popular Linux system to work together, the companies said Sunday.
Under the partnership announced in November, Microsoft said it would offer corporate customers a chance to license its Windows operating system as part of a package that includes maintenance and support for Novell's Suse Linux platform.
On Sunday, Microsoft and Novell said Dell has agreed to buy Suse Linux Enterprise Server certificates from Microsoft and that the computer maker will set up a services …
European dot-coms are booming. But trying to make a pound, mark or franc selling office supplies to them is a daunting task. Europe's exorbitant commercial rents and labor costs, coupled with its famously fragmented marketplace, make profiting by selling staplers, thumbtacks and Krazy Glue nearly impossible. A group of Americans, however, are trying to do just that -- on the Internet.
London-based Euroffice Ltd., which launched in November to sell office supplies to small U.K. businesses over the Web, plans a major expansion. Over the next several months, it expects to begin operations in Germany and France. It will also begin offering services such as insurance and …
Zapiro's cartoon on Wednesday proved conclusively who the power is behind the throne in South Africa - none other than Zapiro himself!
Within hours of the cartoon's publication, the Deputy Minister of Health, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, was fired.
Now that we know what motivates President Thabo Mbeki, can we look forward to similar directives from Zapiro? It's not that simple, of course.
One must allow for …
The Capital District likes to use its more than two dozen industrial development agencies. A lot.
For example, in 1989 IDAs issued more bonds than any region in the state - 10 bonds worth $105.4 million - more than a quarter of the statewide total. That's roughly $2.1 million in state sales tax avoided and $1.58 million that didn't make it to revenue-starved counties.
But tracking just how the area rates annually against other regions in the state is, again, a problem.
For the first time since the first IDAs were created two decades ago, activity reports were required to be filed last year by all 135 agencies for analysis by the state Economic …
Jorge De La Rosa threw six solid innings, Chris Iannetta and Clint Barmes homered and the Colorado Rockies hurt the Arizona Diamondbacks' hopes for the NL West title with a 3-2 win Friday night.
The loss ended the Diamondbacks' four-game win streak and put a dent in their chances of catching the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. Arizona came into Friday 3 1/2 games behind the Dodgers with 10 games to go. The Dodgers hosted the San Francisco Giants later on Friday night.
Three weeks ago the Diamondbacks had a 4 1/2-game lead in the division, but lost 11 of 14 before sweeping the Giants at home earlier this week. Arizona had held at least a share of the NL …
A 20-year-old lawsuit pitting Commonwealth Edison against WillCounty and a coalition of school districts over millions of dollarsin property taxes ended with an Illinois appeals court ruling forComEd.
The dispute hinged on whether the utility's generating plantsshould be classified as personal property or real estate. Theutility said its power plant equipment is personal property and itsvalue should be excluded from real estate assessments.
"They were trying to say that a $2 billion reactor core atBraidwood encased in 300 tons of immovable concrete is personalproperty," said Phil Mock, an assistant Will County state's attorney.
A taxing authority had …
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - General Motors will use a flood of 1998 models priced to sell in an effort to win back market share.
The automaker expects to build another 300,000 1998-model cars and trucks before the transition to 1999 models is complete.
GM hopes to regain sales momentum by mid-September, Ron Zarrella, vice president and group executive of North American vehicle sales, service and marketing, said last week at the University of Michigan Management Briefing Seminars here.
"Once you lose momentum, it is very tough to get it back again," he said. "We lost some customers permanently."
Although GM is trying to replenish its supply of vehicles, GM …
Planning inspector John Gray has visited the site of a proposed [pounds sterling]350 million winter sports complex as part of a public inquiry.
During a tour of the former Blue Circle cement works in Great Blakenham - the site of the planned SnOasis development - a weather balloon was flown to show the height of the planned 100m ski slope.
Protesters say the complex will ruin Suffolk's skyline and have compared the ski slope, intended to be the centrepiece of the site, to an 'enormous exhaust pipe'.
On Tuesday, Mr Gray was escorted around the 350-acre site and shown the quarry where the slope would be built.
If approved, the development …
Byline: TIM WILKIN Staff writer
COLONIE -- These are the moments baseball players -- from little league to the majors -- dream about. Two outs. Ninth inning. Tying run on base. And you are coming to bat.
That's what Jon Hambleton, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound rookie first baseman for the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs, faced as he strode to the home plate late Sunday afternoon at Heritage Park. He had his chance to be a hero.
The chance was taken away quick enough and the Dogs dropped a 3-1 Northern League game to the Adirondack Lumberjacks.
Hambleton, who hit 13 home runs for the University of Maine last year, was thinking long ball.
``Oh …
Byline: Tim O'Brien Staff writer
Lawrence Cross seemed to be one of the luckier victims of a Rensselaer County embezzler. He had kept his receipts, proved that he had paid his $262 bill and that his debt was repaid. But now he has discovered that his credit rating still suffers.
Cross had made payments on a court-ordered judgment from December 1987 to March 1988. Although Cross had submitted his final check more than two years ago, his payments were among those stolen by Eugene Cirillo, a former bookkeeper in the sheriff's department.
Cirillo pleaded guilty May 31 to four counts of mail fraud and one of embezzlement. He is to be sentenced Aug. 22 in …
The German football federation on Tuesday suspended an assistant referee during an investigation into whether he may have participated in match-fixing.
Cetin Sevinc is being investigated by Bochum for possible game manipulations, according to the federation.
"We were informed of the charges against Cetin Sevinc and all of the relevant information from the Bochum prosecutor's office has been made available to us," Rainer Koch, the DFB vice president in charge of referees, said in a statement. "Of course, Mr. Sevinc is innocent until proven guilty, but until the investigation is completed, we won't be using him for both his personal protection …
WASHINGTON - The government is preparing to punish some subprime mortgage lenders under investigation for discriminatory practices, the Bush administration's housing secretary said Wednesday.
The Housing and Urban Development Department also has suggested that the largest mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, consider giving strapped homeowners more time to make their payments, Alphonso Jackson said at a House hearing.
There has been an alarming spike in foreclosures, especially among homeowners who took out subprime loans. These are higher-priced loans people with tarnished credit or low incomes who are considered riskier.
"We're doing everything in …
Kosovo: How Myths and Truths Started a War, by Julie A. Mertus. Berkeley, California, University of California Press, 1999. xxii, 378 pp. $55.00 U. S. (cloth), $19.95 (paper) U. S.
For most of the public in the United States, Kosovo burst onto the scene in 1999, when the U.S. military became engaged in an air campaign under the auspices of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). By that date, Julie Mertus had already been delving deeply into the dynamics of conflict in Kosovo between Serbs and ethnic Albanians. Her book, Kosovo: How Myths and Truths Started a War, is a thought-provoking but necessarily limited effort to understand the origin and direction of this long-standing and brutal conflict.
Quoting Tzvetan Todorov on the need to examine "more or less truths" in order to appreciate the complex social and psychological processes by which popular beliefs were formed and …
Byline: Associated Press
AVONDALE, Ariz. - A year ago, Jeff Gordon crossed Phoenix International Raceway off the ever-dwindling list of tracks where the four-time champion has yet to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
His win in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 was also significant because it was his 76th, matching the career mark of the late Dale Earnhardt.
On Friday, Gordon qualified 11th for Saturday night's race on the mile Phoenix oval.
Now, the only current Cup tracks where Gordon hasn't won are Homestead and Texas.
Gordon is trying to bounce back from a terrible race last week on that bugaboo Texas track, where he crashed and finished …
Byline: JAMES DENN Business writer ALBANY -- Realtors are trying new ways to lure people into buying houses as they face the prospect of further dips in prices and weaker than expected sales. -
In addition to marketing houses over the Internet, a sales step that began in earnest last year, a new sales technique has been introduced to get buyers to take a look at houses for sale.
Prudential Blake Atlantic Realtors of Albany has begun a marketing technique used in other parts of the country called ``value range marketing.'' Rather than listing a house at a single price, Prudential lays out a price range. Instead of asking $110,000, for example, the seller indicates a willingness to listen to offers between $88,000 and $110,000.
Setting a so-called value range gets more people to look at the property, said Prudential Blake co-owner Jeffrey Christiana. More lookers means more offers, he says.
Once a …
Shares of Denny's Corp. soared Wednesday after the struggling restaurant chain said it was replacing CEO Nelson Marchioli with board Chairwoman Debra Smithart-Oglesby on an interim basis and looking for a permanent replacement.
THE SPARK: Tuesday evening's announcement came less than a month after the end of bitter proxy fight with investors that had pushed to oust Marchioli, Smithart-Oglesby and former Chairman Robert Marks from the company's board.
THE BIG PICTURE: For weeks the Spartanburg, S.C. company and investors sparred over the company's management and direction. An investor group calling itself the Committee to Enhance Denny's tried to replace the …
You can take the city out of the boy after all. We could use a few more converts like Al Falewitch, who now logs just over the Canadian border in UP michigan.
Al Falewitch was a city boy born in Chicago. He didn't grow up in the business, and nevet touched a chainsaw until he was 19 yeats old. Yet at 40 he is a successful logger in Marquette, just over the Ontario border in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (UP), subcontracting for J.M. Longyear LLC.
After a two-year program studying heavy equipment, maintenance and business, he started out 19 years ago working by himself with a chainsaw and pole skidder. Eventually, he hired help, but employee problems and workers' comp issues …
(ADPnews) - Mar 23, 2010 - Fitch upheld on Monday Brazil's Banco Votorantim's (BV) long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings (IDRs) of BBB- with a "stable" outlook.
The agency also affirmed at F3 the lender's short-term foreign and local currency IDRs, its individual rating of C/D, the support rating of 2, the national long-term rating of AA+(bra) with a "stable" outlook and the short-term national rating of F1+(bra).
At the same time, Fitch confirmed the AA+(bra) national long-term rating of BV Leasing Arrendamento Mercantil's (BV Leasing) issuances.
The bank's IDRs and national ratings are underpinned by the support from Banco …
CAPTION(S):
CHRIS PIZELLO/ASSOCIATED PRESS DIRECTORS GEORGE LUCAS and Steven Spielberg, from left in photo above, …
A German court has upheld the conviction of three Iraqis who were sentenced last year for plotting in 2004 to kill Ayad Allawi, then Iraq's prime minister.
The Federal Court of Justice said Monday it rejected the men's appeals in a Sept. 22 ruling.
They had been convicted by the Stuttgart state court in July 2008 of attempted participation in murder and membership in the terror organization Ansar al-Islam, which is linked to al-Qaida.
Judges said they had planned to attack Allawi at a 2004 business forum in Berlin. A few weeks …
"Ethnopharmacological relevance: Sophora alopecuroides L (the clinical usefulness of compound Kudouzi injection) has been used mainly for the treatment of fever, inflammation, edema and pain. Sophocarpine, a tetracyclic quinolizidine alkaloid, is one of the most abundant active ingredients in Sophora alopecuroides L Sophocarpine injection (called the Kangke injection) has been demonstrated to have significant antivirus effects against coxsackievirus B3 and therapeutic effects for viral myocarditis in clinical," scientists in Shandong, People's Republic of China report (see also Ischemia).
"Aim of the study: The present study was to evaluate the protective effect of …
