Robby Gordon avoids NASCAR suspension 53 minutes ago

Robby Gordon avoids NASCAR suspension 53 minutes ago



CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Robby Gordon avoided a lengthy suspension Tuesday when NASCAR fined him $35,000 and placed him on probation through the end of the year for his misconduct during the Busch Series race in Montreal.

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The penalties came with the stipulation that Gordon will be suspended indefinitely if he disrupts another event this season or NASCAR deems his actions inappropriate.

Hours later, in a gesture he called a "peace offering," Gordon said he would field a car for Marcos Ambrose in this weekend's Nextel Cup event at Watkins Glen. Gordon wrecked Ambrose in the closing laps of Saturday's race to deny him his first NASCAR victory.

"It's unfortunate that Marcos got put in a position in Montreal where I was thinking, 'OK, if I'm not going to win, he's not going to win,'" Gordon said in a statement.

Gordon protested a NASCAR ruling during late in Saturday's race, when he was ordered to surrender his second-place position and move back to 13th. He refused and was immediately disqualified.

Gordon then spun Ambrose, who was leading, and NASCAR ruled it was intentional. Gordon was ordered off the track immediately. He refused, completed the final two laps of the event and celebrated as if he were the winner by doing burnouts and pumping his fists in the air.

The celebration, and his lack of contrition in a post-race meeting with NASCAR, got him suspended from Sunday's Nextel Cup event at Pocono Raceway. Although Gordon believed he would be cleared to race this weekend on the road course at Watkins Glen, NASCAR officials said they still were reviewing his status.

Gordon is a strong contender to win both the Busch and Cup events at Watkins Glen.

Ambrose, meanwhile, will get to make his Nextel Cup debut in a joint effort between Gordon and Wood Brothers/JTG Racing, his current team. They had hoped to put Ambrose in the Cup race this weekend, but announced Monday they wouldn't be able to pull it off.

"I think he's a talented race-car driver, and obviously he has the ability to compete at the highest level," Gordon said. "He showed that last weekend in the Busch race, and I felt that this opportunity would be a makeup.

"Unfortunately, we didn't get to finish the race the way either one of us wanted to finish it last weekend, and now we've got an opportunity to try to put on a good show again this weekend at Watkins Glen."

Ambrose, an Australian, was pleased with the turn of events.

"Well, they say that America is the land of opportunity, and I guess this is proof of that," he said. "A bit of old outback Australian culture involved playing a game of Australian football, having a fight and then heading to the pub together for a beer — I guess this is a bit like that."

Meanwhile, four other penalties also were issued Tuesday.

Charles "Cully" Barraclough, crew chief for Stephen Leicht, was fined $10,000, because divider pistons in both front shock absorbers were not installed to specifications. Car owner Robert Yates was docked 25 Busch Series points, as was Leicht.

Paul Wolfe, crew chief for Patrick Carpentier, was fined $5,000 because the front springs were not in compliance. Armando Fitz, owner of the car, lost 25 Busch Series points, as did Carpentier.

Chris Wright, crew chief for Bobby Hamilton Jr., was fined $2,000 for having unapproved jacking bolts. And Jeff Spraker, crew chief for Mike MacKenzie, was fined $2,000 for permitting a person without a proper NASCAR license into the car servicing area.

D'backs extend Byrnes for $30 million By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer

D'backs extend Byrnes for $30 million By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer
2 hours, 2 minutes ago



PHOENIX - The Arizona Diamondbacks and popular outfielder Eric Byrnes agreed Tuesday to a $30 million, three-year contract extension through 2010.

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The deal comes after talks broke down last month and it appeared Byrnes, who is having the best season of his career, would leave as a free agent.

Byrnes, the ever-hustling team leader, is batting .303 with 17 homers, 64 RBIs, 21 doubles and 28 steals. He is seventh in the NL in hits with 135 and fifth in the league in triples with seven on a young team that has a surprising lead in the NL West.

"I don't think we could have signed a better guy to represent this team and this organization than Eric Byrnes," manager Bob Melvin said. "First and foremost, what he does out on the field. He leaves it out there every inning of every game. With the group of young guys coming up, this is the perfect example to have for these guys to learn from."

Byrnes, who is making $4,575,000 this year, gets a $2 million signing bonus payable in two installments next year. He receives salaries of $6 million next season and $11 million each in 2009 and 2010.

The 31-year-old came to Arizona as a free agent in 2006 after what been a mostly unspectacular career that included stints with three teams in 2005 — Oakland, Colorado and Baltimore. He hit .267 with the Diamondbacks last year but had career highs in home runs (26), RBIs (79) and stolen bases (25).

"The past two years have been the most fun that I've ever had playing baseball," Byrnes said at a news conference announcing the signing.

He was a .261 career hitting going in to this season.

"I've always felt that all I needed was an opportunity," Byrnes said.

After the talks broke down, Byrnes said, he believed he would play out the season and become a free agent. That changed nine days earlier, when Diamondbacks chief executive officer Jeff Moorad called Byrnes into his office to offer a new proposal.

"I was shocked," Byrnes said.

General manager Josh Byrnes said the contract "demonstrably shows that we view him as a key, key part of this organization, a leader with this organization."

Byrnes said he is donating $250,000 to the Pat Tillman Foundation. He grew up in the same area as Tillman and organized "Team Tillman" among the Diamondbacks, a mechanism that donates money based on the players' performance.

With Byrnes remaining in left field, the days could be numbered for young Carlos Quentin in the Arizona organization. Rookies Chris Young and Justin Upton are in center and right field, respectively, and Quentin has struggled mightily this season.

Quentin, on the 15-day disabled list, is hitting .208 in 71 games with Arizona.

Byrnes has become a fan favorite because of his offbeat, outgoing California surfer personality and full-tilt play on the field, which results in a constantly dirty uniform and, when he takes of his cap, a disheveled mess of blond hair.

"He is a mite entertaining," Melvin said, "and I think that might go a long way in this day and age. He looks like he's having fun out there at all times, and you don't see that very often."

At the All-Star game in San Francisco, he and his bulldog were in a boat in McCovey Cove, and during the national telecast, he gave a play-by-play of his dog jumping into the water and swimming away. The animal had to be retrieved by a nearby boater.

He said he has two other bulldogs that won't go near the water.

Brady Quinn, Browns agree on 5-year deal By JOE MILICIA, Associated Press Writer

Brady Quinn, Browns agree on 5-year deal By JOE MILICIA, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 48 minutes ago



BEREA, Ohio - Quarterback Brady Quinn has agreed to a five-year contract with the Cleveland Browns, ending an 11-day holdout that essentially eliminated his chances to begin the season as the team's starter.

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Quinn was flying to the Browns' headquarters Tuesday to sign the deal, Browns general manager Phil Savage said. The contract's language was still being finalized.

The deal, worth $20.2 million, with $7.75 million guaranteed, could reach $30 million over five years with incentives.

The deal was first reported by Foxsports.com.

Quinn's absence has all but ensured he will not win the Browns' starting job, which has become a two-man contest between Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson.

"It's unfortunate that it took this long to get done," Savage said. "I feel like it's a deal that we potentially could have done at the start of camp."

Quinn, a four-year starter at Notre Dame, was projected as a top 10 pick in April's draft. When he slipped deeper into the first round, the Browns traded a 2008 first-round pick to Dallas and selected the Ohio native and childhood Browns fan at No. 22.

The major sticking points in negotiations between the Browns and agent Tom Condon were escalator clauses based on playing time for Quinn, who has been working out in Arizona.

Browns coach Romeo Crennel coldly referred to Quinn as "the quarterback" and not by name during the holdout.

Crennel continued to refer to him that way Tuesday.

"We're going to put him at the bottom of the chart and see where he is," Crennel said. "We'll let him compete, but I'm not putting him on the first team tomorrow."

The Browns have only two practices before their first preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday in Cleveland.

Condon proposed to allow Quinn to get a $5 million increase in the final two years of a potential five-year deal if he takes 55 percent of the snaps in any two of the first three years or 70 percent in any one of the first three. The Browns wanted to make the triggers tougher to reach.

Quinn was seeking $8 million in guaranteed money, roughly the same amount that the No. 20 pick, cornerback Aaron Ross, got from the New York Giants.

Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell (No. 1 overall) and New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis (No. 14) are the only first-round picks without contracts.

Attorneys rest in backup punter's trial By PAT GRAHAM, AP Sports Writer

Attorneys rest in backup punter's trial By PAT GRAHAM, AP Sports Writer
2 hours, 57 minutes ago



GREELEY, Colo. - The defense rested Tuesday after calling only three witnesses in the trial of a former Northern Colorado backup punter accused of trying to kill the starter.

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Mitch Cozad, who did not testify, is charged with attempted first-degree murder and second-degree assault in the attack on Rafael Mendoza last Sept. 11. Police and prosecutors have said it was a bid to get the starter's job.

The prosecution rested its case earlier Tuesday. Defense attorney Joseph Gavaldon asked the judge to dismiss the attempted murder charge, saying prosecutors did not prove their case. The judge refused.

Closing arguments were expected later Tuesday.

Mendoza was attacked outside his apartment in Evans, a small town adjacent to Greeley. He was left with a deep gash in his kicking leg but later returned to the team.

He testified he could not see who attacked him. Gavaldon has suggested it was another Northern Colorado student and not Cozad.

Prosecutors spent more than four days laying out their case against Cozad, calling police, a former girlfriend of Cozad's and Mendoza as witnesses.

Gavaldon took only a few hours, calling two character witnesses and a third who contradicted testimony of a prosecution witness.

Cozad's aunt, Sandee Kitchen, described Cozad as caring, gentle and helpful. "He's like a teddy bear. He's not aggressive," she said.

Randy Yaussi, director of the Outward Bound program at the University of Wyoming, said he has known Cozad for 3 1-2 years and described him as polite and caring.

"I have never, ever seen anything that would make me think he's aggressive," he said.

Cozad's fiancee, Michelle Weydert, contradicted earlier testimony by Angela Vogel, a former girlfriend of Cozad's.

Vogel said Cozad came to her dorm room on Sept. 4 dressed in black and crying, anxious and frustrated.

"He told me he got to be a ninja that night," Vogel said. "'Oh my God, what I almost did tonight.' I thought he was suicidal."

Weydert testified Cozad was with her that night, was not dressed in black and made no ninja references.

Vogel testified Monday that she lied to police at Cozad's request, first saying Cozad was with her at the time Mendoza was stabbed.

She said she quickly regretted that lie and 15 minutes later told investigators Cozad had left for part of the evening and did not contact her again until shortly after 10 p.m.

Police said Mendoza was stabbed at about 9:30 p.m.

During cross-examination by Gavaldon, Vogel said she got scared when police accused her of being with Cozad on a crosstown trip to Mendoza's apartment the night of the stabbing.

Vogel also testified that Cozad once asked her what she thought would hurt most, "getting hit by a car, getting beat by a baseball bat or getting stabbed?"

Prosecutors showed a series of text messages they said Cozad sent Vogel, including, "We were not apart between 8 and 12."

In a Sept. 12 interview with police, Cozad said his text messages were meant to comfort Vogel, according to an audiotape of the session played in court.

"I was saying, 'It's OK. Just be strong,'" Cozad said on the tape.

Later in the interview, a detective accused Cozad of asking Vogel to lie and said, "You know what happened to Rafael."

Cozad's mother, Suzanne, who was present for the interview, interrupted and said, "At this point, I think we need an attorney."

"I'm done," Mitch Cozad said on the tape.

Visitation to Yellowstone up Tue Aug 7, 4:23 PM ET

Visitation to Yellowstone up Tue Aug 7, 4:23 PM ET



YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. - The number of visitors to Yellowstone National Park continues to climb.

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Nearly 1.8 million people visited the park from January through July this year, an increase of 9.8 percent over the roughly 1.6 million people who had visited from January through July last year.

Park officials say visits were up 9.4 percent for this July alone, compared to the same month last year. More than 808,000 people visited Yellowstone in July of this year, while more than 738,000 visitors came in July 2006.

The greatest increase in visitors was recorded at the park's East Entrance, where the number of visitors is up more than 31 percent compared to last year. Park officials say construction work no longer closes the East Entrance at night, which may have contributed to the increase.

Country music hall inductees announced By JOHN GEROME, Associated Press Writer

Country music hall inductees announced By JOHN GEROME, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 16 minutes ago



NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Vince Gill, Mel Tillis and Ralph Emery have been selected for induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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Their selection was announced Tuesday by Barbara Mandrell, Brenda Lee and Hall of Fame Director Kyle Young. They will be formally inducted in October.

Inductees are chosen by the Country Music Association's Hall of Fame Panel of Electors, a group of more than 300 voters appointed by the CMA board of directors.

Gill, whose hits include "When I Call Your Name" and "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away," said he was overwhelmed by the honor and feels blessed to be able to create and perform music for a living.

"Out of all the things you've ever done — it just matters, it matters so much," said the 50-year-old singer, who was accompanied by his wife, Amy Grant, whom he thanked for being a "beautiful friend."

"It's been an amazing journey since I learned to play `Wildwood Flower' on the guitar," he said.

Tillis, who turns 75 Wednesday, said he was working in his garden when he got the news.

"I dropped my eggplant," he joked, adding that the hardest thing for him — a self-professed "blabbermouth" — was keeping quiet until the announcement.

"I kept my word," said Tillis, who has stuttered since he was a child but not when he sings. Then he paused a moment and stuttered, "Well, I think I told my son. I'm not going to lie to you."

Tillis began his career as a songwriter, writing classics such as "Detroit City" and "Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town." His hits as a recording artist include "Good Woman Blues," "Coca Cola Cowboy" and "Southern Rain."

He became a member of the Grand Ole Opry this year.

Emery, 74, was selected in the nonperformer category. He was a disc jockey on WSM, which broadcasts the Grand Ole Opry. He also hosted TV programs including "Pop! Goes the Country" and "Nashville Now." His current show, "Ralph Emery Live," is on the cable network RFD-TV.

"I never thought I'd be in the Country Music Hall of Fame, at least not in my lifetime," he said.

___

On the Net:

Country Music Hall of Fame:

http://www.cmt.com/

Vince Gill:

http://www.vincegill.com/

Charlie Sheen says ex wants 3rd child Tue Aug 7, 4:27 PM ET

Charlie Sheen says ex wants 3rd child Tue Aug 7, 4:27 PM ET



NEW YORK - Charlie Sheen claims ex-wife Denise Richards wants him to father a third child.

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"There was a request for a donation," Sheen tells syndicated TV show "Entertainment Tonight" in an interview that was to air Tuesday night. "Without getting into it here ... there is a specific document relating to this that I am going to reserve for a court."

When asked if he would ever consider such a possibility, the 41-year-old actor says: "I would sooner, in exactly what I'm wearing, walk on the surface of the moon. Does that answer it?"

A spokeswoman for Richards, 36, wasn't immediately available for comment.

Sheen and Richards divorced last year. They have two daughters, 3-year-old Sam and 2-year-old Lola.

Sheen, who is nominated for an Emmy Award for his role in the CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men," is engaged to real estate investor Brooke Mueller, 29. His screen credits include "Platoon" and the "Hot Shots!" movies.

"The thing I'm most excited about is my recent engagement," he says. "She's just easy, and loving, and smart, and if everybody was just as happy to see me when I walk through a door as her, my life would be perfect."

The interview was posted on etonline.com.

___

CBS is a unit of CBS Corp.

___

On the Net:

"Entertainment Tonight":

http://www.etonline.com/

CBS:

http://www.cbs.com

Some children shut out from vaccines By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

Some children shut out from vaccines By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 9 minutes ago



CHICAGO - For children whose health insurance doesn't cover newly recommended shots, it's better to have no insurance at all, a new study suggests.

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Free vaccines are available to children who are uninsured or qualify for public insurance.

But many states can't afford to help children with inadequate private insurance that doesn't cover new, expensive shots and even some older shots, the study found. That puts more than a million children at risk, researchers said.

Illinois, for example, doesn't provide vaccines against chickenpox, pneumonia, hepatitis A, human papillomavirus and rotavirus to children with insufficient private insurance. Parents would have to pay $400 out of pocket for those vaccines.

"Health insurance plans are not necessarily keeping up with the new vaccines, posing significant ethical dilemmas to public health clinics," said the study's lead author Dr. Grace Lee of Harvard Medical School.

The study of the nation's patchwork system of paying for immunizations appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

Childhood shots have become a $1 billion-a-year endeavor for government since the discovery of polio vaccine 55 years ago. The per-child cost grew more than sevenfold from $155 in 1995 to $900 for boys and $1,200 for girls this year. Costs in the private sector are higher.

Lee and her colleagues surveyed states to find out which shots they provide and to whom. Program managers from 48 states responded. Lee wouldn't say which states participated because researchers promised anonymity.

Sixteen of the states require health insurers to cover all recommended vaccines.

About 55 million employees and their dependents get coverage through self-insured companies that are exempt from state mandates. Those people are the most likely to be underinsured for vaccines, said vaccine policy expert Dr. Matthew Davis of the University of Michigan.

According to the research, 17 states reported they were unable to give a vaccine for meningitis to children with inadequate private insurance, even if they were seen in public health clinics. And eight states don't give pneumococcal shots to underinsured infants and toddlers.

A handful of states don't provide shots for chickenpox and hepatitis A to the underinsured. Two states don't provide Tdap, the combined booster shot for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough) for 11- to 12-year-olds.

More than 1 million insured children are unable to get the meningococcal vaccine leaving them vulnerable to potentially deadly infection, the researchers estimated.

The survey did not ask about two vaccines recommended last year: an oral vaccine for infants against rotavirus, a common cause of childhood diarrhea and vomiting, and a vaccine for girls against human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer.

Workers covered by plans marketed by Aetna and other insurance companies generally are covered for childhood vaccines, although they may have to pay co-payments or satisfy deductibles, said Mohit Ghose, a spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans.

As costs rise, it may be necessary to decide at a national level which vaccines are most important, Davis said. He was not involved in the new study, but wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal.

Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention oppose prioritizing vaccines and instead favor better coverage by insurers and more government funding as a safety net, said CDC immunizations director Dr. Lance Rodewald.

AP: Seafood from China wasn't screened By JUSTIN PRITCHARD and ADAM GOLDMAN, Associated Press Writers

AP: Seafood from China wasn't screened By JUSTIN PRITCHARD and ADAM GOLDMAN, Associated Press Writers
Tue Aug 7, 4:33 PM ET



At least 1 million pounds of suspect Chinese seafood landed on American store shelves and dinner plates despite a Food and Drug Administration order that the shipments first be screened for banned drugs or chemicals, an Associated Press investigation found.

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The frozen shrimp, catfish and eel arrived at U.S. ports under an "import alert," which meant the FDA was supposed to hold every shipment until it had passed a laboratory test.

But that was not what happened, according to an AP check of shipments since last fall. One of every four shipments the AP reviewed got through without being stopped and tested. The seafood, valued at $2.5 million, was equal to the amount 66,000 Americans eat in a year.

FDA officials stuck the pond-raised seafood on their watch list because of worries it contained suspected carcinogens or antibiotics not approved for seafood.

No illnesses have been reported, but the episode raises serious questions about the FDA's ability to police the safety of America's food imports.

"The system is outdated and it doesn't work well. They pretend it does, but it doesn't," said Carl R. Nielsen, who oversaw import inspections at the agency until he left in 2005 to start a consulting firm. "You can't make the assumption that these would be isolated instances."

If the system cannot stop known risks, Nielsen said, how can it protect against hidden dangers, such as the ingredients from China that made toothpaste potentially poisonous and killed dozens of pets earlier this year?

China is America's biggest foreign source of seafood, the 1.06 billion pounds it supplied in 2006 accounting for 16 percent of all seafood Americans buy.

President Bush has asked a Cabinet-level panel to recommend better imported food safety safeguards. Chinese officials have promised to inspect fish farms closely for the use of drugs and chemicals, even as they called the FDA's testing mandate illegal under world trade rules.

FDA officials acknowledged that some shipments slip through import alerts, but said overall they work.

"Any time you introduce a human element into something, I don't think you can necessarily guarantee 100 percent," said Michael Chappell, the official responsible for field inspections and labs.

Normally, the FDA inspects just 1 percent of the cargo it oversees. When goods land under an import alert, however, they are considered guilty until proven innocent: All shipments are supposed to be held until private tests that cost importers thousands of dollars show the seafood is clean. Sometimes, the FDA double-checks those tests in its own labs. Products can be detained for months, irking importers.

However, a shipment can escape inspection if, for example, a company uses a name or address not on an import alert, Chappell said. That appears to be what happened in one case AP found.

Also, FDA workers who must review hundreds of shipments that flash across a computer screen each day may miss some tagged for testing.

The agency has about 450 budgeted positions for screening approximately 20 million shipments annually of such things as fish, fruit and medical devices. At a congressional hearing last month, FDA employees doubted whether they have the resources to do the job.

Last summer, FDA labs began accumulating evidence that 15 percent of farm-raised shrimp, eel and catfish contained dangerous or unapproved substances. The agency started throwing individual companies on its watch list, and ultimately issued a sweeping mandate that all shrimp, eel and catfish raised on Chinese farms be stopped and tested.

Federal food safety officials said that while the seafood poses no immediate danger, long-term exposure could increase the risk of cancer or undermine the effectiveness of drugs used to fight outbreaks of disease.

The FDA did not tell shoppers to throw away what they had bought; agency officials said they simply had to get control over what China was sending.

Seafood that clears the ports enters a vast distribution system that includes restaurants, wholesalers and brand-name packagers.

The Chinese government and U.S. importers say the FDA overreacted. It would be impossible, importers say, for a person to eat enough seafood to be affected by the trace levels that FDA found of substances such as the antifungal chemical malachite green and the antibiotic Cipro.

The AP reviewed 4,300 manifests of seafood shipments from China compiled by Piers Reports, a company that tracks import-export data, and found 211 shipments that arrived under import alert since last fall.

FDA officials refused to identify exactly which shipments were tested, saying they were too busy to do so.

So the AP contacted importers directly, talking to 15 companies responsible for 112 of the 211 shipments. Eleven said their products were tested; four said the FDA did not bother to stop a total of 28 shipments weighing 1.1 million pounds. Virtually all the shipments entered through ports in the Southeast, including Tampa, Fla., Miami and Savannah, Ga.

The importer with the most cases was Florida-based Tampa Bay Fisheries.

Chief executive Robbie Paterson said 23 shipments of breaded or dusted frozen shrimp delivered between October and May were not inspected. In rare cases, the FDA removes from its watch list companies that have passed five straight tests. Paterson said he assumed that was why Tampa Bay's shipments went through.

Not so: Tampa Bay's shrimp supplier — the Fuqing City Dongyi Trading Co. — was on the watch list.

Three other companies said a total of five shipments of catfish, eel or shrimp were not stopped and tested.

Like many others in the importing business interviewed for this story, Paterson said he believed that import alerts were completely effective and that Chinese seafood poses no health risk.

FDA officials "are diligently doing the inspections as they see fit," Paterson said.

The expanded testing mandate has rattled China. U.S. importers said they are being told that the government is holding back shipments until tests show they will pass U.S. muster. The disruption has yet to result in any substantial price increases in the United States.

"I don't really know why they conducted the special test on our products," said a woman who identified herself as Miss Lin, a spokeswoman for Shantou Red Garden Foodstuff, which the FDA placed on its watch list in April after finding its dusted shrimp contained nitrofurans, an antibiotic that may cause cancer. "We've been exporting products to the U.S. for many years and we respect their standards and we meet their standards."

___

Associated Press Writer Christopher Bodeen in Shanghai, China, contributed to this report.

Court rules out terminally ill for tests By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer

Court rules out terminally ill for tests By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer
Tue Aug 7, 4:44 PM ET



WASHINGTON - Terminally ill patients do not have a constitutional right to be treated with experimental drugs, even if they likely will be dead before the medicine is approved, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.

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The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned last year's decision by a smaller panel of the same court, which held that terminally ill patients may not be denied access to potentially lifesaving drugs.

The full court disagreed, saying in an 8-2 ruling that it would not create a constitutional right for patients to assume "any level of risk" without regard to medical testing.

"Terminally ill patients desperately need curative treatments," Judge Thomas B. Griffith wrote for the majority. But "their deaths can certainly be hastened by the use of a potentially toxic drug with no proven therapeutic benefit."

Food and Drug Administration approval of drugs generally requires extensive testing that can involve years of trials and thousands of patients.

The Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs and the Washington Legal Foundation sued the FDA in 2003, seeking access for terminally ill patients to drugs that have undergone preliminary safety testing in as few as 20 people but have yet to be approved.

FDA spokeswoman Susan Cruzan said the agency was pleased with the decision, which she said considered the public's safety and the need for access to experimental drugs.

Abigail Alliance founder Frank Burroughs pledged an appeal to the Supreme Court. Burroughs' daughter, Abigail, was denied access to experimental cancer drugs and died in 2001. The drug she was seeking was approved years later.

"What the opinion by Judge Griffith is saying is, 'We don't want to risk one life or a few lives, even at the expense of the lives of hundreds or thousands of people,'" Burroughs said. "The logic of that escapes me."

In a sharply worded dissent, Judge Judith W. Rogers called the ruling "startling." She said courts have established the right "to marry, to fornicate, to have children, to control the education and upbringing of children, to perform varied sexual acts in private, and to control one's own body even if it results in one's own death or the death of a fetus."

"But the right to try to save one's life is left out in the cold despite its textual anchor in the right to life," Rogers wrote.

Rogers was joined by Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg. The case cut across party lines, with conservative and liberal judges taking both sides of the dispute.

The court noted that there are government programs that provide access to experimental drugs in certain situations. It said the matter is not closed and said Congress might be a better venue than the courts to address the issue.

Burroughs said he expects such legislation to be introduced this session. Both the Senate and House have considered such legislation but it languished in committee.

Hospitals are shutting down burn centers By BILL POOVEY, Associated Press Writer

Hospitals are shutting down burn centers By BILL POOVEY, Associated Press Writer
Tue Aug 7, 4:29 PM ET



U.S. hospitals are increasingly shutting down their burn centers in a trend experts say could leave the nation unable to handle widespread burn casualties from a fiery terrorist attack or other major disaster.

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Associated Press interviews and an examination of official figures found that the shrinking number of beds is a growing cause for concern in this post-Sept. 11 world.

Experts say burn centers are expensive to maintain and often lose money because they are staffed with highly specialized surgeons and nurses and stocked with sophisticated equipment designed to ease patients' excruciating pain, fend off deadly complications and promote healing.

The number of burn centers in the U.S. has dropped from 132 in 2004 to 127, and burn beds have fallen from 1,897 to 1,820, according to American Burn Association records compiled from voluntary reporting by hospitals.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services puts the number of burn beds even lower, at just 1,500. And most of those are already filled, with the number available on any given day variously estimated at just 300 to 500.

"If something happens and we need the beds for burn patients, it is going to be a real catastrophe," said Dr. Alan R. Dimick, past president of the American Burn Association and founder of the burn center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Some states — Mississippi, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and New Hampshire among them — have no burn centers at all. South Carolina has only a children's burn center, and there are just a few dedicated burn beds in Maine, Alaska and Hawaii.

"People ought to be pretty frightened by this," said Dr. Barbara Latenser, burn center director at the University of Iowa Hospitals. "Some people who live out West, they are 800 miles from a burn center."

Many hospitals contend their general trauma units can handle burn victims adequately. But many authorities say burn units are far superior because of the equipment and expertise they offer.

"You need a burn team to take care of folks, not just docs and nurses," Dimick said.

HHS oversees the Homeland Security Department's efforts to prepare the nation's medical system for a disaster. HHS preparedness spokesman Marc Wolfson acknowledged that a disaster such as nuclear blast in a large urban area could produce thousands of burn victims, and that there would not be enough burn facilities to treat everyone.

"The number of total beds available in hospitals, we don't have direct control over that," he said.

But he said he hopes some of the money the government has been dispensing to hospitals since 9-11 for disaster readiness goes toward preparing for a surge of burn victims, even if does not lead to an increase in burn beds.

Wolfson said that if burn beds are full, patients can be taken to trauma units. Also, he said some veterans hospitals have beds that could be used in a fiery catastrophe. And he said burn centers can be expanded in an emergency.

Some burn experts are not reassured.

Severely burned patients suffer extreme pain, their bodies lose the ability to regulate temperature and fluid levels, and they are highly vulnerable to infections because their skin has been stripped away.

Burn centers are staffed by medical professionals specially trained in treating people with severe burns.

They also have special features such as individually temperature-controlled rooms, mattresses with circulating air to support a burn victim, and beds that automatically turn immobile patients to prevent further skin damage.

In addition, there are warming devices for beds since burn patients get cold easily, and tubs in which patients can be immersed to clean their wounds and promote drainage.

Other burn center features include synthetic material that serves as a temporary skin substitute, and a device that uses ultrasound to determine the severity of burns without having to touch a seriously burned patient.

The exact number of burn beds in the U.S. is a matter of dispute, and may well be overstated, because hospitals do not always distinguish between specialized burn beds and beds that are used for various traumatic injuries, including burns.

Wolfson said one recent report to the federal government showed that only 520 beds were actually available for use. Dr. William B. Hughes, director of the Temple University Hospital Burn Center in Philadelphia, said that more commonly, only about 300 beds are available at any one time.

Hughes said the United States had easily more than 3,000 dedicated burn beds in the early 1970s. But there has been a steady decline since then.

"We keep hearing we are ready for a terrorist attack," said Dr. Jeffrey Guy, director of the 29-bed Vanderbilt University Burn Center in Nashville. But even now, "our space is full almost all the time."

Guy said it is not uncommon for regional burn centers to be full and for patients to be transported long distances. "There are days we are taking burn calls for Chicago," he said.

Burn center directors say more beds are likely to disappear. Most burn centers are losing money because Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements have not kept up with the cost of providing care, experts say. Private insurers often follow Medicare's lead.

Since it costs about $10,000 a day to treat a patient with severe burns, and such patients typically require 50 days of intensive care, a single uninsured patient can wreck the finances of a small burn program.

Some burn centers around the country have lost a lot of money treating uninsured adults and children who were severely burned in explosions of clandestine methamphetamine labs.

"Burn units are money-losers," Hughes said.

Some health industry officials say that it is unreasonable to expect the nation's hospitals to be prepared for a worst-case burn scenario at all times.

"You don't want to have so much capacity you lose your shirt on it," said Jim Bentley, the American Hospital Association's senior vice president for strategic policy planning.

Dr. David Mozingo, director of the Shands Burn Center at the University of Florida in Gainesville, said state officials there have, in fact, begun committing some terrorism and disaster-preparedness money to burn care.

"They have been buying equipment and training. A lot of supplies and equipment have been distributed that are burn-care specific," he said.

Some burn-care experts warn that in an all-out disaster, health professionals would have to conduct a pitiless form of triage and decide which patients get sent to burn centers and which ones do not.

"The person on scene is going to look at people who have the best chance of surviving," Iowa's Latenser said. "We will not have the resources."

Burn care professionals "spend a lot of time talking about, `How do we get the government to listen to this?'" Latenser said. "You can't have the disasters and then say, `Oh golly, we should have had the centers.'"

___

On the Net:

Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/disasters

Vanderbilt Burn Center: http://www.vuburncenter.com

University of Iowa Burn Center: http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/burntreatmentcenter

Cisco 4Q profit jumps 25 percent By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer

Cisco 4Q profit jumps 25 percent By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer
58 minutes ago



SAN FRANCISCO - Cisco Systems Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 25 percent as the network equipment maker continued to see strong sales of the routers and switches that direct traffic over the Internet and other technologies tied to a boom in multimedia online content. Shares jumped more than 5 percent on a boosted financial forecast.

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Net income for the period ended July 28 was $1.93 billion, or 31 cents per share, compared with $1.54 billion, or 25 cents per share, during the same quarter a year ago.

Excluding one-time charges, Cisco earned 36 cents per share, a penny above the estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Revenue for the period was $9.43 billion, an 18 percent increase from the $7.98 billion in sales Cisco rung up last year. The revenue also beat Wall Street's estimate, which was for $9.29 billion in sales.

On a conference call with analysts, Cisco Chief Executive John Chambers said the company is boosting its revenue forecast to 13 percent to 16 percent for 2008. For the current quarter, the company expects revenue of $9.45 billion to $9.55 billion, above the average analyst's estimate of $9.39 billion.

Chambers also announced that Chief Financial Officer Dennis Powell will retire at the end of the second quarter of the current fiscal year. His replacement will be Frank Calderoni, currently a Cisco senior vice president.

San Jose-based Cisco is profiting from widespread network upgrades as Internet service providers and other companies boost capacity to handle increasingly bandwidth-heavy downloads, particularly video.

However, some analysts have expressed concerns about whether Cisco can keep up its rapid growth. Investors have been particularly worried in the past couple of quarters about a slowdown in one of Cisco's key businesses — orders from U.S. businesses — whose growth plunged to mid-single digit rates. That segment rebounded in the fourth quarter, growing about 12 percent over last year.

Cisco is also growing by moving beyond its roots as purely a networking gear maker. During the fourth quarter, the company completed its $3.2 billion acquisition of online meeting company WebEx Communications, and the $830 million takeover of IronPort Systems Inc., a maker of anti-spam and antivirus security products.

Shares of San Jose-based Cisco were up $1.56, or more than 5 percent, to $31.25. Before the earnings were released, Cisco's stock price closed up 19 cents at $29.69.

Judge rules against Qualcomm By ELLIOT SPAGAT, AP Business Writer

Judge rules against Qualcomm By ELLIOT SPAGAT, AP Business Writer
1 hour, 4 minutes ago



SAN DIEGO - A federal judge has found that Qualcomm Inc. waived its rights to enforce two patents on compressing video signals because it deliberately concealed them from an industry standard-setting group.

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The company's behavior suggests "extremely foul play" and exposes "a carefully orchestrated plan and the deadly determination of Qualcomm to achieve its goal of holding hostage the entire industry" that would use the H.264 video compression standard, wrote U.S. District Judge Rudi Brewster.

The ruling, dated Monday, came in one of several patent disputes between chipmakers Qualcomm and Broadcom Corp.

Qualcomm initiated the case, suing Broadcom in October 2005 on claims that its rival violated patents on technology that is used to compress video signals in DVD players, digital televisions and music players. Qualcomm lost at trial.

The judge said Qualcomm worked actively on the Joint Video Team standards-setting body as early as January 2002, undermining the company's claims that it did not participate until after the panel released the H.264 standard in May 2003. By concealing its patents, Qualcomm deprived other companies of a chance to reduce or avoid their dependence on them.

Brewster also said Qualcomm failed to share more than 200,000 pages of "highly relevant" documents with Broadcom until after the San Diego jury trial ended in January and Qualcomm engaged in "constant stonewalling, concealment and repeated misrepresentations" as the two sides prepared for trial. He ordered Qualcomm to pay Broadcom's attorney fees.

Qualcomm on Tuesday reiterated its apology for failing to share documents and for "the inaccurate testimony" of some of its witnesses. It denied violating rules of the standards-setting panel and said it would appeal the decision.

David Rosmann, Broadcom's vice president for intellectual property litigation, said the 54-page ruling is only one illustration of Qualcomm's misconduct.

"The court's findings indicate that this is one of the most serious and egregious cases of standards abuse and litigation misconduct that our industry has ever witnessed," he said. "While we are gratified with the court's ruling, we are also disappointed that Qualcomm chose to stoop to such tactics."

Qualcomm, based in San Diego, is the world's second-largest chip supplier for mobile phones after Texas Instruments Inc. but earns much of its money from licensing fees on its patented technology. Broadcom, based in Irvine, is a newcomer to the cell phone business but has scored several legal victories against Qualcomm this year.

On Monday, the Bush administration upheld an import ban on cell phones that contain Qualcomm chips, further clouding the introduction of new handsets from several carriers and manufacturers.

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab declined to overrule the U.S. International Trade Commission's June order, which came in another patent dispute between the two companies. The commission found that Qualcomm infringed on a patent that protected Broadcom's technology to conserve battery power.

Qualcomm shares fell $1.28, or 3.1 percent, to $40.50 Tuesday. Broadcom's shares fell 68 cents, or 2 percent, to $32.76.

Apple debuts new iMac computers By MAY WONG, AP Technology Writer

Apple debuts new iMac computers By MAY WONG, AP Technology Writer
1 hour, 9 minutes ago



CUPERTINO, Calif. - Apple Inc. updated its iMac computers Tuesday with a slimmer design, faster chips and glossy screens, hoping to further propel sales that already outpace the rest of the PC industry.

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The all-in-one desktop computers now have aluminum casings, replacing the white plastic facade that has defined the computer lineup for years. The new iMacs will come in only 20-inch and 24-inch versions.

With starting prices at $1,199 and $1,799, respectively, the computers are also $200 to $300 cheaper than their predecessors.

Analysts have been anticipating an iMac revamp for some time from the trendsetting company. Apple last introduced a new iMac in September 2006 when it debuted the large 24-inch model.

The success of the iPod, Apple's retail stores and the company's switch to Intel-based computer chips have all helped boost the Macintosh maker's computer sales and profits to record levels. In recent quarters, Apple's sales have been growing three times faster than the rest of the PC industry.

"The iMac has been very successful for us and we want to make it even better," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in announcing the new products.

In the company's fiscal third quarter that ended in June, Apple shipped a record 1.76 million Macs, up 33 percent from the year-ago period, accounting for $2.5 billion, or more than 60 percent of the quarter's revenues.

More than a million of those Mac units were laptops — which also represents the fastest-growing segment across the PC industry — but most of the remainder were iMac sales, Apple officials said.

"Notebooks are where there's growth, but I think desktops still have a long life ahead," said Phil Schiller, Apple's executive vice president of worldwide marketing.

Though Apple will no longer offer its older 17-inch iMac model to the general retail market, Apple's chief operating officer, Tim Cook, said the company will continue to sell the computer to educational institutions "for a little while longer."

Apple also upgraded its so-called iLife suite of applications, with a host of new features for its photo management and video creation programs. It also updated its iWork productivity software to include a new spreadsheet program called Numbers — filling a void and perhaps providing some of its customers one less reason to have to buy from rival Microsoft Corp.

Many Mac users often buy Microsoft's Office for Mac software to be able to use Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet program, said Michael Gartenberg, a JupiterResearch analyst.

"They've raised the bar again in terms of functionality," Gartenberg said of Apple.

Shares of Apple fell 22 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $135.03. In extended trading, shares gained 69 cents.

Study: More time spent with paid media By SETH SUTEL, AP Business Writer

Study: More time spent with paid media By SETH SUTEL, AP Business Writer
6 minutes ago



NEW YORK - A study finds that U.S. consumers are increasingly shifting their attention away from traditional, advertising-supported media in favor of entertainment such as the Internet, video games and cable TV, which consumers pay for.

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As a result, the boom in online advertising is expected to continue, with all Internet advertising spending — including ads on Web sites of traditional media outlets — overtaking print newspaper advertising in 2010 as the largest advertising category, according to a report released Tuesday by Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a media investment firm.

From 2001 to 2006, the average amount of time spent by the typical consumer on paid media has jumped 19.8 percent. Over the same period, overall time spent with traditional or ad-supported media — such as broadcast television, radio and newspapers — declined 6.3 percent, the study found.

The study expects total Internet advertising to grow an average of 21 percent through 2011, including online-only outlets such as Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. as well as digital revenues from traditional media outlets such as newspaper publishers and TV broadcasters.

In 2010, that would put overall online ad spending at $54 billion, overtaking print-only newspaper advertising as the largest advertising category, which is expected to stand at $51.5 billion that year.

At the same time, the study also predicted rapid growth in the amount of digital advertising that newspapers would take in, jumping from $3.2 billion last year to $7.7 billion in 2010.

As of 2006, ad-supported media still had a 53.8 percent share of the total amount of time people spent with media, versus 46.2 percent on for-pay media, which include the Internet, cable and satellite TV, movies seen in theaters, books and recorded music.

At the same time, the study found that the total amount of time spent on all types of media actually declined slightly last year for the first time since 1997, dipping 0.5 percent to an annual total of 3,530 hours.

Leo Kivijarv, vice president of research at PQ Media, a media research consulting firm that worked on the report, said the slight decline came after several years of growth amid rapid adoption of new kinds of hardware and services such as high-speed Internet connections, satellite TV and digital video recorders.

With many of those services now already purchased by those who want them, Kivijarv said that time spent with media had reached a saturation point.

Also, researchers found that users generally spent less time with online media than they did with traditional media such as newspapers. Since people are online more often, that's resulted in an overall decline in total time spent consuming all media.

NBC eyes 3,600 hours of Olympic coverage 2 hours, 22 minutes ago

NBC eyes 3,600 hours of Olympic coverage 2 hours, 22 minutes ago



BEIJING - NBC will broadcast more than 3,600 hours of coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics on multiple television networks and the Internet.

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The bulk of that will come online, the first time live streaming broadband video of the Olympics will be available in the U.S., NBC Universal Sports & Olympics chairman Dick Ebersol said Tuesday.

The 3,600 hours of coverage are more than the combined total of every previous Summer Games televised in the U.S.

NBC's prime-time coverage will feature swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball shown live despite the 12-hour time difference between the United States' Eastern time zone and Beijing.

Olympic coverage also will air on USA, MSNBC, CNBC and Telemundo. About 2,200 hours of live streaming broadband video will be available on NBCOlympics.com.

NBC broadcast 1,210 hours of coverage from Athens in 2004.

The Beijing Games take place Aug. 8-24, 2008

40 percent of shuttles launch on time By SETH BORENSTEIN and MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writers

40 percent of shuttles launch on time By SETH BORENSTEIN and MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writers
2 hours, 20 minutes ago



CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Next time you grumble about your late airline flight, consider the space shuttle: It launches on time 40 percent of the time.

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Not so great when stacked against the airline industry, which had a 73 percent on-time arrival record for the first six months of this year.

But let's be fair. The shuttle is the world's most complicated aeronautical machine, so 40 percent may not be so bad.

The latest delayed shuttle flight is this week's mission. Endeavour, originally set for a Tuesday launch, is now scheduled to lift off on Wednesday.

A database analysis by The Associated Press showed that 47 of the 118 previous space shuttle missions have taken off on their originally scheduled day. Technical glitches account for more than half the delays. (Endeavour was held back because of a leaky valve in the crew cabin.)

Bad weather at Kennedy Space Center is to blame for about a third.

"To me as a statistician, a 40 percent success rate for the space shuttle sounds pretty good," said Michael Orkin, author of "What are the Odds? Chance in Everyday Life." He is also business, math and sciences dean at Laney College in Oakland, Calif.

NASA launch director Michael Leinbach said that since the 2003 Columbia accident that killed seven astronauts, "we have more rules to pay attention to."

Since NASA's post-Columbia return to flight in 2005, NASA has had 10 launch delays and only five liftoffs, a 33 percent success rate. In its most successful years, 1997 and 1998, NASA launched 13 times with only three delays, an 81 percent on-time rate.

The good news for NASA is that over time, technical delays are becoming far less frequent as engineers better understand the complicated vehicle, said Paul Fischbeck of Carnegie Mellon University. The engineering professor analyzed the database of delays.

From 1981-85, 73 percent of all delays were technical glitches, but that was down to just 38 percent from 2000-06, he found.

The bad news: Weather delays are soaring. The reason is probably because the shuttle's only mission these days is to go to the international space station. Because of the orbital mechanics required to hook up with the orbiting outpost, that means NASA has only five minutes at set times of day to launch.

In years past, delays have been caused by five hurricanes, a tropical storm, woodpeckers that hammered away at the fuel tank, and two hailstorms. Strangely, there have been more weather delays in winter than during summer storm season. Launches in December and January had weather delays two-thirds of the time, compared to 40 percent of the time from June through September.

And there have been a multitude of technical problems, from main engine difficulties to fueling troubles to wiring kinks.

"If you look at all of the things that have to work in order to launch, including the weather ... you would conclude it's crazy to even try," former astronaut Steve Hawley said recently.

Hawley should know. His five flights experienced 13 delays.

And despite logic, NASA's luck with second, third and fourth tries isn't much better. Fischbeck found second tries only succeed about half the time.

"A lot of it is just random," said Fischbeck, who has consulted for NASA.

More than a quarter of shuttle delays have occurred within the three-day launch countdown period, often with astronauts strapped into their shuttle seats. But some hint a postponement isn't all that bad.

"Those last couple of months are very, very intensive, very busy," said Dominic Gorie, a veteran of three flights. "So when you get a launch delay in the last week, the crew really gets an opportunity to relax."

Endeavour's commander, Scott Kelly, says astronauts take it in stride. "You can't get frustrated over something you have no control over."

In 2010, the space shuttles will be retired. One of NASA's priorities for its new Orion spaceship, which is being built for moon flights, is to make its launches more timely. NASA exploration chief Scott Horowitz says the design of the new ship may improve its on-time rate to almost 100 percent.

___

On the Net:

NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov

Gore: Polluters manipulate climate info By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer

Gore: Polluters manipulate climate info By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 24 minutes ago



SINGAPORE - Research aimed at disputing the scientific consensus on global warming is part of a huge public misinformation campaign funded by some of the world's largest carbon polluters, former Vice President Al Gore said Tuesday.

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"There has been an organized campaign, financed to the tune of about $10 million a year from some of the largest carbon polluters, to create the impression that there is disagreement in the scientific community," Gore said at a forum in Singapore. "In actuality, there is very little disagreement."

Gore likened the campaign to the millions of dollars spent by U.S. tobacco companies years ago on creating the appearance of scientific debate on smoking's harmful effects.

"This is one of the strongest of scientific consensus views in the history of science," Gore said. "We live in a world where what used to be called propaganda now has a major role to play in shaping public opinion."

After the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, made up of the world's top climate scientists, released a report in February that warned that the cause of global warming is "very likely" man-made, "the deniers offered a bounty of $10,000 for each article disputing the consensus that people could crank out and get published somewhere," Gore said.

"They're trying to manipulate opinion and they are taking us for fools," he said.

He said Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, is one of the major fuel companies involved in trying to mislead the public about global warming.

"Some of the tobacco companies spent millions of dollars to create the appearance that there was disagreement on the science. And some of the large coal and utility companies and the largest oil company, ExxonMobil, have been involved in doing that exact same thing for the last several years," Gore said.

ExxonMobil said the allegation was "completely false."

"The recycling of this type of discredited conspiracy theory diverts attention from the real challenge at hand: how to provide the energy needed to improve global living standards while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions," company spokesman Gantt Walton said.

Last year, British and American science advocacy groups accused ExxonMobil of funding groups that undermine the scientific consensus on climate change. The company said the scientists' reports were just attempts to smear ExxonMobil's name and confuse the debate.

Walton said the company's financial support does not mean control over any group's views, and that ExxonMobil believes that the risk that greenhouse gas emissions is contributing to climate change warrants taking action to limit them.

Gore said that with growing awareness of climate change, the world will see an acceleration in efforts to fight the problem, and urged businesses to recognize that reducing carbon emissions is in their long-term interest.

But while Washington should lead by example, he said developing nations also have to play a part.

"Countries like China, just to give an example, which will next year be the largest emitter in the world, can't be excluded just because it's technically a developing country," Gore said. "When you look at the absolute amount of CO2 each year and going forward, China will soon surpass the U.S."

Gore said that as the Asian giant's economy expands, China faces an increased risk from climate change and must leapfrog old, polluting technologies while maintaining growth.

The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency said in June that China overtook the United States in carbon dioxide emissions by about 7.5 percent in 2006. China was 2 percent below the U.S. in greenhouse gas emissions in 2005, the agency said.

Former Brocade CEO convicted of fraud By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer

Former Brocade CEO convicted of fraud By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer
51 minutes ago



SAN FRANCISCO - Former Brocade Communications Systems Inc. Chief Executive Gregory Reyes was convicted Tuesday of defrauding investors in the first stock options backdating case to go to trial.

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The guilty verdict on all counts is an important validation of the Justice Department's options backdating probe, which has so far led to criminal charges against at least 10 executives. Reyes' case was seen as an important test of whether a jury considers it a crime deserving of jail time.

Reyes wiped his forehead with a handkerchief and glared at the jury as the verdict was announced. His wife, Penny, sobbed. They embraced afterward and left the federal courthouse in San Francisco without commenting.

Reyes' lawyer said he plans to appeal.

"Today, we are disappointed. Tomorrow, we will continue the fight," attorney Richard Marmaro said in a statement. "Greg Reyes is innocent and we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated. At all times, he acted in the best interests of the employees and shareholders of Brocade."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Crudo declined to comment, as did members of the jury.

After denying a long-pending defense motion to have the case dismissed for lack of evidence, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer scheduled Reyes' sentencing for Nov. 21. He could face a decade or more in prison.

The trial lasted six weeks and went to the jury on July 30.

Some observers wondered whether the government's case would be harmed by the firing of Kevin Ryan — the Northern California U.S. attorney who brought the charges against Reyes and was investigating backdating allegations against other technology companies and executives. Ryan was fired as part of the Bush administration's purge of eight U.S. attorneys.

Instead, Reyes' conviction could embolden prosecutors. The federal government has reportedly been considering criminal charges against former executives at Apple Inc., KLA-Tencor Corp. and Broadcom Corp., companies that have all acknowledged stock options shenanigans.

Backdating refers to the practice of selecting favorable dates in the past when the company's stock price was low, and retroactively pegging options grants or contracts to buy shares to those dates. The goal is to boost the recipient's potential windfall, and it's only illegal if it's not properly disclosed and accounted for.

Reyes was charged with 10 felony counts of securities fraud.

Prosecutors accused Reyes and former vice president of human resources Stephanie Jensen of doctoring company records and lying to investors and auditors about the company's options practices to falsely boost Brocade's profit.

Jensen is being tried separately; no trial date has been set for her case.

The government said the two illegally concealed that Brocade was awarding "in the money" grants — options that already had value when they were given, thus requiring the company to incur compensation expenses.

By keeping the charges off the company's financial records, prosecutors argued, the executives misled investors about the true profitability of San Jose-based Brocade, which makes switches and software used to connect corporate servers and data storage systems.

Reyes' defense team countered that he didn't understand the accounting implications of his actions and relied on Brocade's financial department to properly record the expense.

Some defense witnesses also testified that options-related expenses weren't even relevant in calculating Brocade's core profitability and measuring the success of its operations.

Prosecutors countered that the government doesn't have to prove that Reyes knew which securities laws he was breaking, just that he knew what he was doing was wrong.

Crudo said Reyes knew Brocade's financial reports and board meeting records were incorrect but signed them anyway, and also lied to auditors about the company's options practices.

In May, Brocade and Mercury Interactive LLC, now owned by Hewlett-Packard Co., became the first two companies to pay fines to settle allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission of civil fraud accompanying backdating. Brocade agreed to pay $7 million and Mercury agreed to pay $28 million.

Reyes and Jensen were also initially charged last summer with two felony counts each of mail fraud, but those charges were later dropped.

Stocks dive, then soar on Fed decision By JOE BEL BRUNO, AP Business Writer

Stocks dive, then soar on Fed decision By JOE BEL BRUNO, AP Business Writer
59 minutes ago



NEW YORK - Wall Street overcame disappointment in the Federal Reserve's failure to move toward an easing of interest rates Tuesday, and stocks made a late-day surge as the decision was seen as a sign the economy wasn't threatened by turmoil in the credit markets.

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Investors were at first deeply disappointed that policymakers, who kept benchmark rates on hold at 5.25 percent, did not provide any hints about a possible cut. But, after digesting the policy statement, they quickly gained solace the economy is likely to withstand troubles in the mortgage industry. The Dow Jones industrials rose into positive territory from a 121 point deficit right after the decision was announced.

The Fed's Open Market Committee's economic assessment said the central bank's predominant concern "remains the risk that inflation will fail to moderate as expected." Wall Street was relieved the Fed didn't consider of bigger concern recent anxiety about how tightening credit standards will affect the economy, which has caused stocks to wobble in the past two weeks.

The statement — while noting credit problems, continuing weakness in the housing market and the market's turbulence — stood fast by the Fed's inflation policy. It gave little new insight into which way policymakers were leaning about a possible interest rate cut, however.

"I think what the Fed is trying to tell us is the economy is still in reasonably good shape, they're still concerned about inflation and they welcome the repricing of risk as long as it does not result in the markets seizing up from a liquidly standpoint," said Robert Auwaerter, head of fixed income portfolio management at Vanguard Group.

The Dow gained 35.52, or 0.26 percent, to 13,504.30. The blue chip index had risen as much as 102 points after the decision; it is the first time since July 30 that it hasn't closed with a triple-digit gain or loss.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.04, or 0.62 percent, to 1,476.71, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 14.27, or 0.56 percent, to 2,561.60. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 7.22, or 0.94 percent, to 773.61.

In recent weeks, the major stock market indexes have traded erratically, with the Dow routinely showing triple-digit swings. The frenetic trading follows the stock market's high seen July 19, when the Dow closed above 14,000 for the first time and the S&P 500 index also saw a record finish.

Treasury bonds fell as investors moved back into stocks, with the yield on the 10-year note climbing to 4.77 percent from late Monday's 4.74 percent. Investors had been moving into safer investments, like Treasuries, to avoid volatility in major market indexes.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude oil for September delivery rose 36 cents to settle at $72.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. A week ago, crude closed at a record $78.21 a barrel.

Wall Street also was pleased by a Labor Department report that indicated productivity of U.S. workers increased last quarter as the economy rebounded, and labor costs began to retreat. Productivity more than doubled from the first quarter.

Labor costs rose during the period at a 2.1 percent pace, and surpassed Wall Street projections. It was the second-straight quarter in which wage pressures have cooled, which could help assuage some of the Fed's concerns about inflation.

But, for the moment, it appears policymakers remain on track in their thinking about the economy. The Fed expects moderate economic growth even though credit conditions have tightened for some customers and business.

Analysts believe there wasn't too much new in this statement compared to comments issued after their previous meeting — and that in itself might have led to the market's volatility. Some investors were looking for a stronger statement about credit markets, where others might have been listening for indications of a rate cut or signs inflation is waning.

"Nobody was surprised, at the Fed's language. There wasn't any positive or really negative news," said Brett Hammond, chief investment strategist for TIAA-CREF. "Beyond seeing a concern about inflation, now they've acknowledged the credit crunch and volatile markets — it has stuck in people's minds that they are pointing these things out."

In corporate news, Marsh & McLennan Cos. fell $1.54, or 5.6 percent, to $26.11. The largest U.S. insurance brokerage turned in a 3 percent increase in its second-quarter profits amid growth in its risk and insurance business and consulting operations. The company also approved a $1.5 billion share-repurchase plan.

Duke Energy Corp. rose 96 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $18.86. It reported second-quarter profit fell $1.27 percent after it spun off its natural gas business at the beginning of the year.

Tyco International Ltd. shed 56 cents to $47.44 after it fell to a fiscal third-quarter loss due to hefty charges primarily related to a legal settlement. Adjusted results managed to top Wall Street's expectations, however.

Advancing issues outpaced decliners 3-to-2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 4.71 billion shares, down from a very heavy 5.09 billion Monday.

Overseas, European markets rose higher following Monday's U.S. advance. London's FTSE 100 closed up 1.93 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.93 percent, while France's CAC-40 rose 1.58 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average closed up 0.04 percent.

___

On the Net:

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

Fed leaves key interest rate unchanged By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer

Fed leaves key interest rate unchanged By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer
56 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Wall Street turbulence, Main Street credit problems and a nationwide housing slump pose increasing risks to the economy, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday, even as it left interest rates unchanged.

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Although Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his central bank colleagues acknowledged challenges that have intensified since their last meeting in late June, they nonetheless expressed hope that the economy will safely make its way.

The policymakers also clung to their belief that the biggest potential danger to the economy is that inflation won't recede as they anticipate.

Against these economic crosscurrents, the Fed left an important interest rate at 5.25 percent on Tuesday. In turn, commercial banks' prime interest rate for certain credit cards, home equity lines of credit and other loans — would stay at 8.25 percent.

The central bank's key rate hasn't budged for more than a year. Before that, the Fed had raised rates for two years to fend off inflation.

On Wall Street, investors overcame their initial disappointment and bid stocks higher. The Dow Jones industrials gained 35.52 points to close at 13,504.30.

The Fed policymakers didn't signal that a rate cut — as an insurance policy against undue economic weakness — would be imminent. Analysts believe the Fed probably will leave rates alone at its next meeting on Sept. 18. But economists and investors think the odds are growing that the Fed might lower rates by the end of this year, if the economy shows signs of faltering and if inflation isn't worrisome.

"Financial markets have been volatile in recent weeks, credit conditions have become tighter for some households and businesses and the housing correction is ongoing," the Fed said. "Downside risks to growth have increased somewhat," it added.

Even so, policymakers stuck to a forecast that the economy is likely to expand at a moderate pace in coming quarters. They also said they expected "solid growth in employment and incomes" — vital ingredients to the country's economic health.

The Fed was faced with a delicate dance, analysts said. To maintain credibility, it needed to acknowledge recent market gyrations, fears about a worsening housing slump and worries about a spreading and painful credit crunch. At the same time, it needed to send a comforting message but not be viewed as overly optimistic or pessimistic.

"They acknowledged and rightly so, the elephant in the room — problems in the credit market. But they didn't feed it any peanuts by cutting rates," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. "But the statement gives the Fed a little more flexibility — a crack in the door — for them to cut rates later on" if the economy loses traction, he said.

The meltdown in the housing and mortgage markets has caused home foreclosures to climb to record highs and has forced some lenders out of business. Fears that credit problems will infect the broader financial system and the economy have fed market turbulence over the past few weeks.

The free flow of credit is important to the smooth functioning of the national economy. Increasingly restrictive lending conditions can put a damper on peoples' ability to buy big-ticket items such as homes, cars and appliances. And it can crimp businesses' capital investment and hiring. That reduced appetite by businesses and consumers would slow overall economic activity.

"People on Wall Street have been undergoing tidal waves. The Fed could hardly ignore that ... but I don't think the Fed's view of the economy has changed materially," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services. "The Fed statement seemed designed to reassure and to calm," he added.

On inflation, the Fed policymakers again noted some improvements. But they indicated they would need to see a steady string of better readings before they would downgrade their inflation risk.

Gasoline prices receded in early August but remain past $3 a gallon in some cities.

Meanwhile, core inflation — excluding food and energy prices — closely watched by the Fed has moderated. These prices rose 1.9 percent over the 12 months ending in June, down from a 2 percent annual gain for May.

A government report Tuesday showed that productivity got a lot stronger in the second quarter, helping to restrain the growth of employers' labor costs. Analysts, however, believe the improvements on both fronts might be short lived.

After nearly stalling in the first quarter of this year, economic growth rebounded in the April-to-June period at a solid 3.4 percent pace. That bounceback came despite a drag on economic activity from the sour housing market and a much smaller appetite by consumers to spend. Growth through the rest of the year is expected to be slower.

Given that, the nation's unemployment rate — at 4.6 percent in July — is expected to climb close to 5 percent by year's end, analysts say.

___

On the Net:

Federal Reserve: http://www.federalreserve.gov/

Worker productivity rebounds in spring By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

Worker productivity rebounds in spring By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
13 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - The productivity of American workers rebounded in the spring while wage pressures eased, favorable economic developments that analysts worried might prove only temporary.

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The Labor Department reported Tuesday that worker efficiency rose at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in the April-June quarter, more than double the 0.7 percent pace of the first three months of the year.

Meanwhile, unit labor costs rose at a 2.1 percent rate, marking the second consecutive quarter that wage pressures have eased. While higher wages are good for workers, if wages rise too quickly they can spur unwanted inflation.

Fed policymakers, as expected, kept a key interest rate unchanged at their meeting on Tuesday but they did signal concerns about the recent market volatility, saying that "downside risks to growth have increased somewhat."

Wall Street experienced another wild day with the Dow Jones industrial average down 90 points immediately after the Fed's mid-afternoon announcement but then rallying to end the day up 35.52 points at 13,504.30.

The second quarter improvements in productivity and wage pressures were not viewed as large enough to convince the central bank that inflation has been contained. Analysts noted that for the 12 months ending in June, unit labor costs are up by 4.5 percent, the highest year-over-year increase in nearly seven years.

Sal Guatieri, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said the continued wage pressures would discourage the Fed from cutting interest rates unless the turmoil in credit markets gets significantly worse. The Fed closely monitors productivity and labor costs for signals of underlying inflation pressures.

Productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, is the key ingredient for rising living standards. As long as productivity is rising at a solid rate, the increased output allows businesses to pay their workers more without having to boost the cost of their products, which increases inflation.

The 1.8 percent rise in productivity in the second quarter was slightly below the 2 percent advance that had been expected.

The productivity increase reflected the fact that overall economic output, as measured by the gross domestic product, jumped sharply in the spring to an annual rate of 3.4 percent, the fastest pace in more than a year and up sharply from an anemic 0.6 percent growth rate in the first three months of the year.

Economists believe that the continued slump in housing and the spillover problems in credit markets will depress growth for several more months. They are forecasting that overall economic growth will slow to around 2.5 percent in the second half of this year and unemployment will edge up. The jobless rate rose in July to 4.6 percent.

After slowing sharply for two decades, productivity began to rebound in the mid-1990s, thanks to increased business investments in labor-enhancing equipment such as computers.

But productivity has been slowing in recent years, leaving economists to wonder if it is just a normal occurrence as part of the business cycle or a sign that the productivity boom of the late 1990s and early part of this decade is beginning to fade.

Revised data released Tuesday showed that the slowdown in productivity growth was even more pronounced than previously believed. The government said that productivity rose by just 1 percent last year, down from a previous estimate of 1.6 percent. For 2005, the increase was 1.9 percent after a 2.7 percent rise in 2004. Previously, 2005 had been put at 2.1 percent and 2004 at 2.9 percent.

The government revised its estimates of overall economic growth for the past three years, saying GDP growth over the past three years has averaged 3.2 percent, down by 0.3 percentage point from the previous estimates.

Democrats debate infrastructure needs By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Labor Writer

Democrats debate infrastructure needs By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Labor Writer
4 minutes ago



CHICAGO - Democratic presidential candidates said Tuesday the nation should invest more money in infrastructure and less in the Iraq war, citing the Minneapolis bridge collapse as a symptom of neglect.

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The candidates cast the matter as one of creating jobs as they addressed thousands of labor union activists, a constituency that could prove pivotal in deciding which contender emerges as the party's nominee.

The 90-minute debate, held outdoors at Soldier Field, was sponsored by the AFL-CIO.

"Putting our country back to work begins by cutting the funding for the war in Iraq," said Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd. He said $1 billion in domestic infrastructure spending would create 40,000 jobs.

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said, "We have to make investments in infrastructure," adding that it would create jobs and improve security at ports, tunnels and other potential terrorist targets.

Several of the candidates said their hearts and prayers were with the six trapped coal miners in Utah.

Both Clinton, who grew up in the Chicago suburbs, and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama alluded to the debate locale — Soldier Field where the Bears play football. Clinton said her father, a lifelong Bears fan, would marvel at the idea of one of his children standing on the 10-yard line.

Obama defended his support for the renovation of Soldier Field and the use of money that could have been spent on infrastructure. "It put a whole bunch of Illinois folks to work," Obama said of the stadium project.

Seven of the eight contenders shared a covered stage at Soldier Field in 90-degree heat. Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, who did not complete the required AFL-CIO questionnaire, did not plan to attend.

By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer

By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 4 minutes ago



DERRY, N.H. - Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday called for penalties against mortgage brokers who engage in predatory lending and a $1 billion federal fund to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

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The New York senator has been critical of subprime mortgages, loans given to people with blemished credit histories or low incomes. Weak home prices and rising interest rates have made it increasingly difficult for borrowers to keep up with their payments; delinquencies and foreclosures are rising sharply.

"Today we have a clear choice: We can look at the statistics, wring our hands and continue to do nothing, or we can do what America has done in times of difficulty, acknowledge we have a real challenge and confront it head-on with real solutions," Clinton said. "I think we need to act now with smart, practical solutions to strengthen our housing and mortgage markets."

The New York senator's proposal includes a $1 billion federal fund to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, an end to prepayment penalties and more affordable housing options.

The nation's 10th largest mortgage lender, American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., filed for bankruptcy protection a day earlier. Two other mortgage lenders said they are not accepting new applications. Falling home prices and a spike in payment defaults have scared investors away from investments backed by home loans.

"It's a combination now, of economic conditions that are not working for the majority of Americans, and unsavory practices that are undermining the dream of home ownership," Clinton said.

When Congress returns from its summer recess, Clinton said she will introduce legislation targeting "fly-by-night mortgage lenders" who make "really seductive offers."

If President Bush and his Republican allies fail to act, Clinton promised she would as president.

"They believe in letting everyone fend for him or herself. They believe in what the president calls an ownership society, which is really you're on-your-own. It's the yo-yo economy; some go up and some go down and the strings are pulled by other people," Clinton said, repeating a familiar theme from her campaign speech. "I don't think that's how America works best."

Clinton also proposed banning contracts that trap borrowers in "unworkable" mortgage scenarios in which nothing is budgeted for taxes and insurance.

Last year, 1.3 million homes were foreclosed. This year, there have been more than 900,000 foreclosure filings. In New Hampshire, there were 150 foreclosure filings last year; so far this year, 1,400.

In March, Clinton called on a crackdown on predatory lending practices in the subprime market. On Tuesday, she said those loans were only the start.

"I think the subprime market, that was like the canary in the mine. It was telling us loudly and clearly, there are problems here," she said.

Rival John Edwards also has proposed cracking down on predatory lenders in a market he compared in June to "the wild West."

Richardson offers health care plan By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press Writer

Richardson offers health care plan By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 53 minutes ago



DES MOINES, Iowa - Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson on Tuesday called for universal health care, offering a plan that would expand preventive coverage to help offset a package costing more than $100 billion.

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The New Mexico governor said he could provide coverage to the 45 million uninsured without raising taxes. Instead, Richardson said preventive care would save the nation billions of dollars and additional money could be diverted from spending on the Iraq war.

"Universal health care is not only a moral imperative, it is also an economic imperative," said Richardson.

Building on the existing health care system, Richardson's plan would lower the age at which Medicare provides coverage to 55, expand health services for the low income and give tax breaks to businesses and individuals who pay for their health coverage.

"My plan does not build a new bureaucracy. The last thing we need between patients and doctors is another sticky web of red tape," Richardson said in a written statement. He planned to unveil the plan at a campaign event in Iowa.

Richardson estimated that his health care plan would cost between $104 billion to $110 billion a year.

Features of Richardson's health care plan include:

• Lowering the eligibility age for Medicare, which provides health coverage for the elderly, to 55. He would also expand government health programs for the poor and for children. Young people could stay on their parent's insurance plan until they turn 25, under his proposal.

• Giving veterans a card allowing them to get health benefits at the facility of their choice.

• Requiring that insurance companies not deny coverage due to pre-existing conditions, and mandating that they spend at least 85 percent of their premiums on health services.

• Increasing the use of technology to increase the efficiency of the health care system.

• Enacting new incentives for preventative health care programs.

• Allowing government health programs to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to get the best price on prescription drugs. His plan also would expand the use of generic drugs.

• Approving new tax breaks for individuals and businesses that pay for their own coverage.

Richardson's plan comes after some of his leading Democratic rivals have already detailed their proposals to provide universal coverage.

John Edwards would require all Americans to have health care coverage and all employers to provide it. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama does not have the individual mandate, but like Edwards, he would help those who can't afford health coverage pay for it. Both Edwards and Obama said they would largely pay for their plans by ending President Bush's tax cuts on the wealthy.

Edwards said his plan would cost $90 billion to $120 billion annually. The Obama campaign estimated the senator's plan would cost between $50 billion and $65 billion a year.

Hillary Rodham Clinton also has said she will have a universal health care plan, but has yet to explain how it would work.

Giuliani keeps combative style in check By LIBBY QUAID, Associated Press Writer

Giuliani keeps combative style in check By LIBBY QUAID, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 4 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - As mayor, Rudy Giuliani imposed civility on New York, not on himself.

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"Get off the phone, you crazy nut," Giuliani barked at a caller on his weekly radio show.

"Take some Valium," he retorted to another.

Created by Giuliani after he took office in 1994, the program aired live on WABC every Friday morning from 11-11:45 a.m. and attracted callers seeking advice or complaining about problems from potholes and parking meters to food stamps and finding jobs.

The Brooklyn-born Giuliani clearly relished the opportunity to spar, sometimes chuckling as he questioned the sanity or intelligence of a critic.

"There's something deranged about you," he told a ferret lover, in one particularly memorable exchange. "The excessive concern that you have for ferrets is something you should examine with a therapist. Not with me."

Giuliani seems to be showing a gentler side as a presidential candidate. So far, he has held his temper in check at the mostly scripted events that typify the campaign.

Not that he has changed his ways. A combative personality is firmly rooted in the 64-year-old Giuliani, said Stanley Renshon, a political scientist and psychoanalyst at City University of New York.

"Once the campaign really starts to pick up, the number of questions, hostile comments and commentaries will pick up fairly dramatically," he said. "And that will be the test, as to whether he's really been able to put a clamp on his tendency to go right back at you in a jugular way."

Giuliani showed a flash of this tendency last week, when a reporter in Connecticut asked about criticism of Giuliani's wife in Vanity Fair magazine. Giuliani said families get "castigated and attacked" in presidential campaigns, then chided the questioner.

"And usually, most reporters don't even ask about it. They actually have more dignity than to even ask about it," he said.

President George W. Bush has a similar habit of rebutting criticism by attacking the critic, said Renshon, the author of books on the personalities of Bush and President Clinton. Over time, he said, Bush has managed to restrain that tendency.

Giuliani's advisers insist he isn't any different today.

"There is no organized effort to tone him down. Rudy is Rudy; what you see is what you get," said Tony Carbonetti, a longtime Giuliani adviser.

"He loves the give and take. He had fun with it. He had people call in with legitimate issues, and he had people call in with not-so-legitimate issues. You try to help the ones you think need help, and you kind of laugh off the ones you think don't need help."

When Giuliani bawled out a listener, it was generally someone who had an agenda and a history of run-ins with the mayor or his staff, Carbonetti said.

Giuliani was often unrestrained during his eight years as mayor, especially on his weekly radio show, which drew about 75,000 listeners. He did a monthly show on CBS Radio as well.

Among the exchanges on the weekly show:

_Giuliani reproached the mother of a robbery suspect shot dead by police detectives: "Maybe you should ask yourself some questions about the way he was brought up and the things that happened to him. Trying to displace the responsibility for the criminal acts of your son onto these police officers is really unfair."

_Responding to a caller upset that Giuliani yanked funding for a controversial art exhibit, he said: "Anthony, you are so filled with anger and hatred at me. Take some Valium, Anthony! Anthony, calm down, baby! Take it easy!"

_He unleashed a tirade at an advocate for ferrets' rights, saying, "There is something really, really very sad about you. You need help. You need somebody to help you. I know you feel insulted by that, but I'm being honest with you. This excessive concern with little weasels is a sickness."

_When a caller upset about being cut off from food stamps and Medicaid called Giuliani a bad mayor and a criminal, Giuliani said: "There's something that's really wrong with you. ... We'll send you psychiatric help, because you seriously need it." It turned out the caller, John Hynes, had Parkinson's disease.

These exchanges, among his most harsh, occurred after Giuliani came under fire for the police shooting of an unarmed West African immigrant, Amadou Diallo, in February 1999. Giuliani's approval ratings tumbled 20 percent, from 60 percent in November 1998 to 40 percent in April 1999.

Even then, there was more to Giuliani's radio show than diatribes. He dispensed advice about dealing with everything from city bureaucracy to barking dogs.

And he recommended that people try using his own in-your-face tactics.

"I would just walk up to them and say, 'You're a real slob, and you're disrespectful for the rights of other people. Clean up after your dog, dammit,'" he told one caller. "I don't recommend this in all situations. You may walk up to the wrong person, and who knows, you might get a punch in the nose or something like that. But if you feel capable of doing that, this is really something that people have to learn in society."

Giuliani pushed hard to make New York more civil, targeting reckless drivers and cyclists, jaywalkers, litterbugs, hot dog vendors and a host of others. At one point, he distributed wallet cards reminding police officers to say "hello" and "thank you" and use "sir" and "ma'am."

Giuliani has said he doesn't care to analyze his own temperament, arguing that he should be judged on his performance as mayor.

Many analysts maintain that the temperament of a candidate does matter.

"If people begin to doubt their stability under pressure, that could be very damaging," said Duke University political scientist David Rohde.

Giuliani has honed an image of a tough, decisive leader who guided a city devastated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In an Associated Press-Ipsos poll in June, half of the Republicans supporting Giuliani mentioned his leadership qualities, including his ability to handle crises.

Temper can also be a good thing, Renshon said, noting the persuasive skills of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

"If people are aware you're a tough cookie and not a shrinking violet, they're going to be fairly careful in their dealings with you," Renshon said. "If you go right back at them, then people will think carefully about whether they want to cross you. That's a potential plus."

Candidates seek opposite gender's votes By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer

Candidates seek opposite gender's votes By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 35 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Women are flocking to Hillary Rodham Clinton's Democratic presidential candidacy and men are doing the same for Republican Fred Thompson. Yet for all that support, both candidates are showing early vulnerabilities wooing voters of the opposite sex.

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Thompson, the former Tennessee senator and tough-guy actor on television's "Law and Order," gets 68 percent of his support from males as he edges toward a run for the GOP presidential nomination, far more than other hopefuls, according to recent Associated Press-Ipsos polling. While he and front-runner Rudy Giuliani each draw nearly a quarter of the Republican male vote, he significantly trails his chief rivals among women.

"He seems to be closer to the conservative that I am," said Richard Bussa, 60, a Thompson supporter and retired newspaper writer from Minford, Ohio. "Playing on the police shows he's on, he does present a hard-nosed, law-and-order-type guy."

On the Democratic side, Clinton is showing a mirror-image weakness, though one less stark than Thompson's.

The New York senator and former first lady gets 63 percent of her support from women and has more than twice the female backing of her nearest rival, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in AP-Ipsos surveys. She has only a slender lead among men, who are splitting their allegiances about evenly among her, Obama and former Vice President Al Gore, who has not said he will run.

"She's competent, she's tough," said Diana Roberts, 54, a teacher from Edison, N.J. "And I think it's time" for a woman to be president.

These patterns make Clinton and Thompson formidable forces within their parties. A slight majority of GOP voters are men, who tend to be more conservative than women, while just over half of Democratic voters are female, according to figures from recent national elections.

Analysts caution that women tend to choose their candidates later than men, and that many people aren't closely following the campaigns yet. Even so, Thompson and Clinton would each want to attract more voters of the opposite sex should they lead their parties in the 2008 general elections.

"She can certainly win the nomination based on her support with women," said Democratic pollster Geoff Garin, who is not affiliated with any presidential candidate. "But at the end of the day for the general election, she needs to make sure she can get her fair share of votes among swing men as well."

Combining data from AP-Ipsos polls from June and July, Clinton — who leads nationally overall — had the support of 41 percent of women. That compared to 19 percent for Obama, 14 percent for Gore and 10 percent for John Edwards. Clinton is strong with women of all ages, married and single.

At the same time, Clinton had the backing of 26 percent of men — slightly more than Obama's 23 percent and Gore's 22 percent, while Edwards had 13 percent. Clinton did worst with men who are younger or political independents — the same groups where Obama did best.

Richard Totten, 30, a teacher from Ruther Glen, Va., said he supports Obama because "he's not your typical politician" and worries that Clinton might recycle policies from her husband Bill's presidency.

"I wouldn't vote for a woman just because she's a woman, but I wouldn't be opposed to a woman either," Totten said.

Ann Lewis, senior adviser to Clinton, said Clinton's leadership ability and the family issues like health care she emphasizes would eventually win over more males.

"I think we have room to grow among men," said Lewis.

Thompson's support from 24 percent of men was virtually tied with Giuliani's 22 percent, and better than the 18 percent who favor Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Thompson draws most of his strength from men over age 45 and married men — who tend to be more conservative than their younger and single counterparts.

Giuliani, the former New York mayor, leads easily among GOP women, winning 26 percent compared to 16 percent for McCain and 12 percent for both Thompson and Mitt Romney. Giuliani, more moderate than Thompson on abortion and other social issues, gets 54 percent of his support from women.

"To say he has a problem with women misses the point," John McLaughlin, Thompson's pollster, said of the candidate. "Thompson has surged and he's in first place among men now and he's not even in the race. The women voters, they'll be there."

Typifying Thompson's situation is Carolyn Baughn, 70, a retired legal secretary from Jackson, Miss., who says she has seen his television show.

"I haven't seen him make any real political statements, or have to make any decisions that would pertain to the people of the United States, and I think that means a lot," said Baughn, a Giuliani supporter.

Also supporting Giuliani is Cheryl Simonich, 50, a training coordinator in West Jordan, Utah, who liked his calm during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. She expressed surprise he was doing well among women.

"He's no George Clooney, you know," she said, referring to the handsome actor.

The AP-Ipsos poll taken July 9 to 11 involved telephone interviews with 1,004 adults and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

For the combined June and July polls, the margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for Republicans and plus or minus 3 percentage points for Democrats.

___

AP Manager of News Surveys Trevor Tompson and AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.