Buick, Lexus tie in dependability study By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Auto Writer

Buick, Lexus tie in dependability study By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Auto Writer
51 minutes ago



DETROIT - Buick tied with Lexus as the highest-ranking brand in a closely watched study of vehicle dependability, marking the first time in 12 years that Lexus has shared the top award, J.D. Power and Associates said Thursday.

Cadillac, Mercury and Honda rounded out the top five brands in the annual survey, which measures problems experienced by the original owners of three-year-old vehicles. Both Buick and Lexus had 145 problems per 100 vehicles. The worst-performing brand, Land Rover, had 398 problems. The industry average was 216 problems, down from 227 problems in last year's survey.

"People don't have to necessarily spend premium money to get equal value," said Neal Oddes, director of product research and analysis for J.D. Power. "That's good news for people."

That's also good news for General Motors Corp. GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said the automaker is moving toward its goal of Buick becoming a direct competitor to Lexus, with the same level of quality and elegance — but selling for $10,000 to $15,000 less.

"Increasingly it's becoming evident that it's exactly coming out the way we planned," he said Thursday.

An official with Toyota Motor Corp., which owns Lexus, says the company is pleased that its Toyota, Lexus and Scion divisions took 10 of 19 segment awards and doesn't see a problem when other automakers improve.

"It's always good to see the industry ... as a whole perform better than prior years — that's a positive trend for consumers," Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager for the Toyota division, said Thursday.

"It continues to push the benchmarks even higher."

The 2007 survey is based on the responses of 53,000 owners of 2004 model year vehicles. The survey gives all problems equal weight.

Oddes said the most frequent problem cited is wind noise, followed by noisy brakes, seat belts that fail to retract, poor ride handling and uneven wear on tires. Oddes said complaints about seats and interiors rose slightly this time around, but in most categories, complaints were down.

In segment breakdowns, Lexus had five winners, including the midsize GS 300 and LS 430 sedan, while Toyota had four, including the Tundra and Tacoma pickups. The most-improved brand in the 2007 survey was Hummer, which improved its score to 242 problems per 100 vehicles from 307 last year. The most-improved vehicles were the Volvo XC90 and Audi A6, which both eliminated 104 problems, Oddes said.

The survey found that 65 percent of owners experienced one or more problems that required components to be replaced. Oddes said owners understand that some parts, such as brake pads, need to be replaced, but if they have to replace expensive items such as transmissions or if they have to replace smaller parts more often than they expect, they will keep their vehicle an average of one year less and will be less likely to consider that brand in the future.

Oddes said vehicles with strong dependability numbers can retain up to 15 percent more of their value over three years. That helps consumers selling used vehicles as well as automakers and dealers, which may be able to sell a dependable vehicle two or three times over its lifetime.

J.D. Power's results are watched closely by automakers and are often used in advertising. The firm also releases an initial quality study, which measures problems in the first 90 days of ownership, but the dependability results are important to automakers because the way owners feel about their vehicles after three years can have a big impact on their decision to buy another vehicle of that brand.

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On the Net:

J.D. Power, http://www.jdpower.com

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AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Traverse City and Associated Press Writer Jeff Karoub in Detroit contributed to this report.

Retailers report sluggish July sales By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer

Retailers report sluggish July sales By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer
54 minutes ago



NEW YORK - The sluggish sales that have dogged the nation's retailers this year are the result of two quite different sets of problems: Consumers are cautious — they're paying more for gasoline and watching their home values fall. And, the stores just don't seem to have the merchandise that people want to buy.

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As retailers reported generally disappointing July sales results Thursday, it was clear that the weakening housing market and more expensive gas had shoppers limiting their trips to the mall and, when they did go, buying tentatively, following a pattern that began back in February.

But analysts say stores can't blame all their problems on macro-economic conditions. Even teen retailers like Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. and Wet Seal Inc., which tend to be least vulnerable to the whims of the economy, had a bad month. That suggests to analysts that stores are not serving up the most exciting products.

"There is a big middle that is treading water, trying to figure out what their consumers are looking for," said Trish Walker, partner in the retail practice at the consulting firm Accenture.

John Morris, managing director of Wachovia Securities agreed, noting that consumers may not have an urge to go to the mall since "a lot of fall trends are extensions of what worked in the spring and summer." They include khaki shorts and baby doll tops in heavier fabrics.

Meanwhile, sales of electronics like flat-screen TVs haven't been suffering.

According to the International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS preliminary tally of 48 stores, July results were up 2.6 percent, compared to the 3.9 percent gain in the year-ago period. The tally is based on same-store sales or sales at stores opened at least year, which are considered a key barometer of a retailer's health.

The July results were in line with the modest 2.3 percent same-store sales pace so far this fiscal year, which started in February, but is well below the 3.9 percent average in the year-ago period.

Still, the picture this month was made more complicated because of some quirks in the retail calendar. Sales for the first week of August, a key back-to-school week, were reported in this year's July period, which helped boost July figures but should reduce business for August. And results were depressed by a shift in a tax free sales week to August in two critical states, Florida and Texas, which analysts say helped delay shopping.

Stores are also blaming another trend: A growing number of schools are starting classes later, delaying back-to-school purchasing. Teens usually wait to do some of their shopping until they see what their friends are wearing. Morris argued, however, that if there was a clear hot fashion trend, "teens wouldn't need to wait."

The weak sales reports do not bode well for retailers' second-quarter profits, which are scheduled to be announced starting next week. According to Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics LLC, a research company in Swampscott, Mass., second-quarter earnings growth should be up a modest 2.5 percent, reduced from 7.0 percent in early May amid increased discounting and sluggish sales. On Thursday, Talbots Inc. was among several stores that cut earnings forecasts.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also said its profit margins were being squeezed due to heavy discounting. The world's largest retailer posted a 1.9 percent same-store sales gain, beating the 1.5 percent estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. The discounter said it was encouraged by positive early signs in back-to-school categories, but acknowledged that apparel and home furnishings were again weak and are expected to remain so through the third quarter.

The company is expected to report its second-quarter earnings results on Tuesday.

Rival Target Corp.'s same-store sales rose 6.1 percent, above the 5.9 percent forecast.

Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a 7 percent increase in same-store sales, exceeding the 5.5 percent estimate, while J.C. Penney Co. posted a robust 10.8 percent gain in its department store business, above the 9.8 percent forecast.

Nordstrom Inc. reported that same-store sales rose 9.4 percent as the well-heeled customer continues to splurge. The results beat the 4.2 estimate.

Macy's Inc.'s 1.4 percent decline in same-store sales for the month was in line with the 1.5 percent analysts expected.

Gap Inc. fell short of expectations, posting a 7.0 percent decline in same-store sales. Analysts had forecast 4.9 percent drop.

Talbots only issued a second-quarter same-store sales report, which showed a 4.8 percent decline, prompting the retailer to say it will record a loss instead of a profit for the period. In a statement, Talbots said it believes "its customers have become increasingly more discriminating regarding their discretionary spending."

As for the teen sector, many store executives blamed the tax holiday shifts in Texas and Florida as a major negative factor. Still, Morris said that teen merchants' business in the Midwest and West Coast were also below expectations, weakness that he said stores couldn't explain.

Accenture's Walker reasoned that young consumers are spending more of their dollars on consumer electronics like iPods, fancy cellphones and laptop computers.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s same-store sales fell 4 percent, worse than the 0.7 percent expected. American Eagle Outfitters Inc. announced that same-store sales fell 6 percent; analysts expected a 2.9 percent increase.The company added that customers are responding well to the back-to-school collection.

Hot Topic had a 7.4 percent decline in same-store sales, worse than the 7.1 percent estimate.

Wet Seal suffered a 7.2 percent decline, worse than the 5.0 percent projection, while Pacific Sunwear had a 4.6 percent slide; analysts anticipated a 3.2 percent gain.

ECB moves to add liquidity to market By MATT MOORE, AP Business Writer

ECB moves to add liquidity to market By MATT MOORE, AP Business Writer
55 minutes ago



FRANKFURT, Germany - The European Central Bank loaned nearly 95 billion euros ($130.81 billion) in overnight funds to banks at a bargain rate of 4 percent on Thursday, putting more cash into a global financial system jolted by the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market.

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Analysts and economists were surprised by the move, with some seeing it as evidence that the problems in subprime lending are spilling into the general economy and others as a case of the European Central Bank stepping in where the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank has not.

"The ECB tender vs. Fed inaction reflects differences in U.S. and European approaches to managing economies," said Peter Morici, an economics professor at the University of Maryland.

The European Central Bank, which controls monetary policy for Germany, France and 11 other nations in the euro zone, said it allocated 94.8 billion euros in the one-day quick tender to ensure orderly market conditions. Forty-nine bidders took part in the tender.

The ECB action came after French bank BNP Paribas SA announced the suspension of three asset-backed securities funds, saying it could not value them accurately. That had sent stocks lower in Europe and the United States as investors looked for safer havens such as Treasurys.

In the United States, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York added $24 billion of temporary reserves to the banking system through two regular market operations, a spokesman said. The U.S. Treasury Department said it "continues to monitor markets and remains vigilant."

The most recent repurchase agreement was on Wednesday, the day after the Fed held its key interest rate steady at 5.25 percent, and had added $8.75 billion in temporary reserves.

"Today's events show that either the Fed committed a large policy error on Tuesday, or that both the Fed and the ECB are themselves more in the dark on the problems that lie underneath the surface than are investors in the financial markets," Tony Crescenzi of Miller Tabak said in a research note.

"While the Fed and the ECB may not have the providence to see all problems that exist, it should at the very least have a greater sense about conditions in the markets it controls — the money market and the credit markets more generally — and of conditions in the banking system."

The Fed met Tuesday to discuss monetary policy and announced after the meeting that inflation, not credit problems, remained its major concern.

The ECB's move shows their difference in approach, analysts said.

"Europeans are inherently more activist, but the ECB is taking a big risk. Efforts to prop up markets can fail and actually create a crisis in confidence," Morici said. "The tender offer may calm markets or it may aggravate them. It is a risky business."

In overnight trading, analysts said, the euro rates rose as high as 4.7 percent — a sign that wary banks were pulling back on lending in general.

Defaults on subprime loans, or those made to people with poor credit, have climbed sharply in the United States in recent months and have triggered concern about the impact on credit markets worldwide. But until the past few weeks, most of the banks and companies affected were in the U.S.

"There is definitely a liquidity crunch going on," said Andrew Wilkison of Interactive Brokers in Greenwich, Connecticut. "But where it is surfacing is unusual. I don't think many investors expected it to turn up from the corners of the Rhine to central Paris."

BNP Paribas said it was suspending three funds worth a total of 2 billion euros ($2.75 billion): Parvest Dynamic ABS, BNP Paribas ABS Euribor and BNP Paribas ABS Eonia.

"The complete evaporation of liquidity in certain market segments of the U.S. securitization market has made it impossible to value certain assets fairly regardless of their quality or credit rating," BNP Paribas said in a statement.

That likely forced the ECB to act, Wilkison said.

"That tender was massive," he said. "It was a third larger than the 9-11 cash offering — 69.3 billion euros ($95.14 billion) at the time. This is no small move."

BNP's announcement came on the heels of banks in Germany issuing similar concerns.

WestLB Mellon Asset Management, the asset management joint venture of German state bank WestLB AG and The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., suspended redemptions this week from its asset-backed securities ABS Fund, which is part of the West LB Mellon Compass Fund.

WestLB AG denied speculation that it is facing a fund liquidity problem.

Other companies, including Union Investment Asset Management, a German mutual fund manager, and Frankfurt Trust, a unit of BHF-Bank, have also halted redemptions.

"Securitized assets that have underpinnings in the U.S. subprime market may now be difficult to put a price tag on given market sentiment — as there is still lingering uncertainty whether the meltdown has greater knock-on effects down the line," said Cubillas Ding, a senior analyst at Celent.

BNP's announcement jarred stock markets already worried about problems among subprime borrowers. Bonds rose sharply as investors sought the relative safety of Treasurys.

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AP Economics Writer Jeannine Aversa in Washington and AP Business Writer Tim Paradis in New York contributed to this report.

Research reports good environmental news By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer

Research reports good environmental news By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
41 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - For a change, there's some good news from the world of the environment. Several rare and vulnerable birds are rebounding in Europe. Conservation efforts in Peru are reducing damage to the Amazon rain forest. And black-footed ferrets are making a comeback in Wyoming.

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The three positive trends are reported Thursday in a series of papers in the journal Science.

Researchers led by Paul F. Donald, of Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, report that European Union policies designed to protect vulnerable species and their habitat seem to be working.

In 15 European countries studied, there was a significant increase in population trends for protected birds between 1990 and 2000, compared to 1970-1990, the team found.

They said the protected birds also showed an increase compared to birds not on the list.

Species doing particularly well include the barnacle goose, white stork, spoonbill, little egret Slavonian grebe and white-tailed eagle.

On this side of the Atlantic Ocean, the once endangered black-footed ferret is repopulating its Wyoming homeland, according to researchers led by Martin B. Grenier of the University of Wyoming.

The last seven known ferrets of this type were removed from the wild in 1987 and placed in a captive breeding program. They have produced 4,800 juveniles, many of which were returned to the wild.

At first they continued to suffer losses and extinction seemed likely when they were down to five animals, but by 2003 the wild population had grown to 52 ferrets and researchers estimate the current wild total at more than 200.

And in South America, satellite monitoring indicates that the rate of deforestation is declining in the Peruvian rain forest.

Researchers led by Paulo J. Oliveira of the Carnegie Institution report that while deforestation is continuing, it is occurring mostly in designated logging areas and not in protected regions set aside by the government.

They concluded that the government's program intended to set aside land for indigenous people is also having an effect in protecting the forest.

The European bird research was supported by the European Bird Census Council and the European Union. The ferret study was funded by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Peruvian forest analysis was funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

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On the Net:

Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

Humans leave sooty footprint in Arctic By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer

Humans leave sooty footprint in Arctic By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
40 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Around the middle of the 19th century the Arctic took a sooty turn for the worse, according to researchers studying how humans have affected the climate.

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Soot can darken the snow, causing it to absorb sunlight, warm up and melt. That, in turn, can add to local climate warming by exposing darker ground which absorbs energy from the sun that the white snow would have reflected.

Ice cores from before about 1850 show most soot came from forest fires. But since then, black soot in the snow has increased several times over and most now comes from industrial activities, according to a paper in Thursday's online edition of the journal Science.

In a separate paper in that journal, a team of British researchers forecast that climate warming will slow for about a decade, then bound back to record-setting temperatures.

That group added new detail to improve the accuracy of complex computer models that calculate changes in weather and climate to come up with their new outlook.

The soot study was done by a team led by Joseph R. McConnell of the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada.

The researchers analyzed black carbon levels in ice from Greenland, covering the last 215 years.

They found that the older soot samples contained vanillic acid, an indicator of burning conifer trees.

In the more recent years the soot was seven times more common and contained a larger concentration of non-ocean sulfur, an indicator of industrial emissions.

Soot concentrations peaked in 1906-1910 and remained high for decades. Sulfur emissions declined following the Clean Air Act in 1970, they noted.

In the early 20th century the Arctic warmed more than anywhere else on Earth, Richard B. Alley of the California Institute of Technology observes in a commentary on the report, noting a "broad correspondence between the soot peak and the observed warming."

Doug M. Smith and colleagues at the British Meteorological Office produced the improved climate model.

They added the effects of natural climate changes, such as the El Nino phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, fluctuations in ocean circulation and anomalies in ocean heat content to their computer models. In general, climate models have focused on the impact of outside factors such as solar radiation, atmospheric aerosols and greenhouse gases.

The new outlook calls for a slowdown in warming for the next few years, but then an increase again.

They forecast that at least half of the years after 2009 will be warmer than 1998, the warmest year to date according to the Met Office. The U.S. National Climate Data Center ranked 2005 in a virtual tie with 1998.

The arctic soot research was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Desert Research Institute, Office of Naval Research and NASA. The climate forecasters were supported by the United Kingdom Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the U.K. Government Meteorological Research Programme.

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On the Net:

Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

Bricks for sale from `Sopranos' set 1 hour, 33 minutes ago

Bricks for sale from `Sopranos' set 1 hour, 33 minutes ago



KEARNY, N.J. - The meats and sandwiches are long gone, but fans of HBO's "Sopranos" can comfort themselves with some of the rocks that made up the facade of the fictional Satriale's Pork Store, one of Tony Soprano & Co.'s favorite hangouts.

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The owner of the building is selling the white stones online before the structure is demolished next month. A condominium complex named The Soprano will be built on the site.

Building owner Manny Costeira said the 2,000 bricks will sell for $25 to $50 apiece, and will include a serial number and certificate of authentication.

Costeira told The Jersey Journal of Jersey City the "silly idea" popped into his head. But he also said he's received a few angry e-mails from people asking why he's demolishing Tony's joint.

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On the Net:

http://www.porkstone.com.

Robin Roberts back Monday on `GMA' 2 hours, 24 minutes ago

Robin Roberts back Monday on `GMA' 2 hours, 24 minutes ago



NEW YORK - Robin Roberts is expected back on ABC News' "Good Morning America" on Monday, only 10 days after undergoing surgery for breast cancer.

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"She is still awaiting her test results, but is feeling great and looking forward to getting back to work," said Bridgette Maney, show spokeswoman, Thursday.

Roberts, 46, told viewers last week she had been diagnosed with breast cancer after finding a lump in a self-examination. She had surgery last Friday and has been resting at home since.

The former college basketball star is co-anchor of the morning show with Diane Sawyer.

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ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

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On the Net:

ABC:

http://abc.go.com/

Storm, well, storms to lead at PGA By EDDIE PELLS, AP National Writer

Storm, well, storms to lead at PGA By EDDIE PELLS, AP National Writer
4 minutes ago



TULSA, Okla. - England's Graeme Storm shot a five-under 65 Thursday to take a two-shot lead over John Daly and take the early clubhouse lead in the first round of the PGA Championship.

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For his part, Daly prepared for the PGA by pulling slot machine handles. He dealt with the oppressive heat by smoking cigarettes and loading up on caffeine. At one point, he was the clubhouse leader. Asked how he did it and he was honest: "I have no idea."

This was no heat-induced hallucination, golf fans. Daly shot a surprising 3-under 67 at steamy Southern Hills.

"I can't remember, to tell you the truth," he said when asked to recount his birdies in the 95-plus-degree heat. "I only had like three heat strokes out there."

One thing was certain: The solid play left him in contention without the benefit of practice. Instead, Daly spent the early part of the week at a nearby casino playing slots.

"Everybody's different," he explained of his less-is-more practice regimen. "I'm in better shape than Tiger."

Whatever.

But skipping practice has worked before for golf's favorite carnival act. In 1991, he took the sport by storm, winning the PGA at Crooked Stick after coming in as the ninth alternate and playing without benefit of a practice round.

"I talked to Vijay (Singh) at the British Open and he said he came in eight days early," Daly said. "I just can't do that. I get burned out. I like spending time with my kids and family, riding in a golf cart. That's how I get ready for a major."

Arron Oberholser, John Senden, Woody Austin and J.J. Henry were all three shots behind as temperatures climbed into the 100s for the afternoon.

Masters champion Zach Johnson started with a bogey, then hit his approach on No. 2 into the lake behind the green, en route to a double bogey and a 3-over par start.

Tiger Woods finished at 1-over 71 after an up-and-down day that included a chip-in to save par on No. 17, but a couple of undercooked approach shots that resulted in bogeys — the product of a swirling wind that kicked up during his second nine.

"I felt like I hit the ball better than my score indicates," Woods said. "Every time I missed, I missed ever so slightly in the wrong spot. That's how it goes."

On the other hand, it seemed like every decision Daly made turned out well.

He cranked a driver deep into the woods on No. 12 — probably an unwise club choice given how far he hits it — and seemed to be in big trouble. But after carefully measuring off his yardage, he hit a wedge that flew under one tree and over another and landed the ball 20 feet from the hole to save par.

On the short par-4 17th, he took out driver, then exchanged it for a safer 2-iron to make par. On 18, he inexplicably hit driver and got lucky when the ball landed on a small slice of fairway that bisects a bunker and a stream. He made par there, too.

Obviously, Daly will never apologize for hitting driver.

"If I'm going to make a big score, I'd rather make a big score being aggressive than being conservative," he said.

He said he ironed out his driver problems during a practice round at the casino's golf course. And he credited his good score to improved putting that resulted from a novel approach.

Novel for him, at least.

"I walked behind the hole to read some putts, which I never do," Daly said. "I bent down to look at some putts, which is not something I've done. I stood over some putts longer than I normally do — for six or seven seconds instead of three or four or five."

Growing up in Arkansas, he got used to beating the heat.

"You just light up a cigarette, drink some caffeine and it actually works," he said. "I'm used to it. It bothers me, but I'm used to it — let's put it that way."

He left the course Thursday guaranteed a longer stay atop the leaderboard than the last time he led a major — just three weeks ago when he pitched in on the 11th hole at the British Open to briefly take the lead in the first round at Carnoustie.

He followed by dropping eight shots over the next seven holes en route to missing the cut.

"It was very disappointing, but it wasn't from bad golf shots," Daly said. "That's what I'm finally realizing."

Daly's personal life has been almost as big a train wreck as his golf game of late. Last year, he wrote a book divulging he's lost between $50 million and $60 million by gambling over the last 12 years. More recently, he made a splash when he showed up to the tournament in Memphis, Tenn., with scratch marks across his face, the result of what said was an attack by his wife, Sherrie, with a steak knife.

He has withdrawn from four tournaments this year, missed the cut in eight more and seen his world ranking slide to No. 423.

Nobody figured he'd be much of a factor in this tournament — at least not in the conventional sense.

"The caddies were laying odds as to who would fall first, me or my caddie," Daly said, "but we made it all 18 holes."

NFL improves instant replay capabilities By RACHEL COHEN, AP Sports Writer

NFL improves instant replay capabilities By RACHEL COHEN, AP Sports Writer
1 hour, 9 minutes ago



NEW YORK - All the fans who ever grumbled that they could do a better job than NFL referees — well, maybe they were right. Or at least some of them had better equipment with which to make instant replay decisions. So the league this season is switching to high definition technology for its officials to use to review plays on the field.

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"As more people were getting high definition TV at home, they actually had a better view than the referee charged with making the decision," said Dean Blandino, the NFL's director of instant replay. "That could've bit us in the rear if we continued that."

HD systems have been installed in all but three stadiums and will be in use during the preseason. The three exceptions are due to the New York teams, Dallas and Indianapolis awaiting the opening of new facilities, which will have HD capabilities. For now, their current stadiums have HD hardware but not the signal, which means the image quality is better than before but not as good as in other cities — or in fans' homes.

This is the first time the NFL has upgraded its technology since reinstating instant replay in 1999.

"The biggest concern we've heard from referees is about the quality of the picture they were viewing," Blandino said.

That shouldn't be a problem anymore. The HD images are five times sharper than the previous standard definition system, according to Harris Corporation, which supplies the NFL's replay equipment.

Even without the clearer picture, referees would have an easier time seeing the video with the new monitors. The screens are bigger — 26 inches compared with 20 — and officials no longer have to view them from a set distance. Instead, they can stand closer or farther away if they choose.

But the greatest impact will come from the crisper images. The difference between standard and high definition is particularly stark for slow motion replays and freeze frames, said Rich Zabel, a vice president at Harris.

Not only will the HD systems allow refs to make better calls, Blandino said, but they'll have another effect fans can appreciate: quicker decisions.

About half of the situations that have been reviewed since 1999 involved whether a potential catch was complete or incomplete, Blandino said. He believes the new HD replays will help officials greatly with that type of call.

"What used to be, 'Is this foot in or out of bounds?'" Zabel said, "is now that you can see the blades of grass between the foot and the sideline."

Quinn has first practice - indoors By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer

Quinn has first practice - indoors By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer
1 hour, 13 minutes ago



BEREA, Ohio - Thunder boomed and lightning danced above Browns headquarters Thursday afternoon. Moments later, Brady Quinn's first practice was moved out of sight from Cleveland fans eager to see him.

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In two days, Quinn has gone from holdout to rained out. The waiting goes on.

Heavy rains and a forecast for more wet weather forced the team to use its indoor facility on Thursday, further delaying Quinn's initial public workout since he signed a five-year, $20.2 million contract and reported to training camp.

Quinn missed 11 days and 16 practices before finalizing his deal, which could pay him $30 million if he reaches playing incentives. Quinn's first official day of practice was Wednesday, but that was closed to fans and media.

Shortly after the Browns shifted Thursday's two-hour session inside, Cook family members from Lima, Ohio, were turned back at the back-lot gates and slowly trudged back to their car dripping with disappointment.

"I was hoping to see Brady," said 11-year-old Andrew Cook, carrying an orange helmet and wearing a white No. 10 Quinn jersey under his see-through poncho.

He wasn't alone. Dozens of Browns fans tiptoed through puddles up and down Beech Street behind the club's suburban facility. Stormy weather caused the Browns to move three practices inside in the past five days.

With the team off Friday, Cleveland fans who are hoping Quinn can return the Browns to glory won't get to see the former Notre Dame quarterback until Saturday's exhibition opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Quinn isn't expected to get much playing time and will likely take only a few snaps in the fourth quarter.

Quinn was expected to compete with Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson for Cleveland's starting job, but his holdout all but guaranteed he will begin the season as the Browns' No. 2 or No. 3 QB.

Currently, he's fourth on the depth chart behind Frye, Anderson and Ken Dorsey.

During his holdout, the Browns installed several phases of their new offense, so Quinn has a lot of catching up to.

On Wednesday, Quinn said he hoped Browns fans would forgive his tardiness. However, it may take a few of them a little while to get over his absence while agent Tom Condon did business with the Browns.

"I was a little upset with his agent trying to figure out what level of millionaire he (Quinn) wants to be," said Bob Cook, who brought Andrew, his wife, Lesley and daughter, Hailey, to camp. "I think Brady was getting frustrated, too. It hurt him. He had a chance to start. I don't think he's going to start now."

Bonds' gear en route to Hall of Fame By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press Writer

Bonds' gear en route to Hall of Fame By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press Writer
15 minutes ago



ALBANY, N.Y. - Barry Bonds' batting helmets, hand marked with #755 and #756 on the bills, arrived in New York on Thursday en route to Cooperstown.

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The helmet Bonds wore when he hit the home run that tied Hank Aaron's 33-year-old record and the one he was wearing Tuesday when he broke the mark were briefly displayed at Albany's airport on the way to the Hall of Fame. Fresh off a flight from San Francisco, Hall vice president Jeff Idelson pulled the helmets out of a wrinkled shopping bag to show reporters and a few travelers who poked their heads through the scrum of news photographers.

"It's history," said Bobbi Marchetti, a Lake George, N.Y., resident who was picking up her son from the flight.

Also displayed were plate umpire John Hirschbeck's ball-strike clicker, the score sheet used by San Francisco broadcaster Duane Kuiper, a ball signed by the umpiring crew and tickets from both games.

The items will go on display Friday in Cooperstown.

Idelson said Bonds has been gracious about donating memorabilia and expects more of his game-used items to make it to the Hall of Fame.

"He's promised that he'll send his uniform, probably when his career ends," Idelson said, adding that Aaron waited until retirement to donate the uniform he wore for home run No. 715.

In the interim, Idelson expects to receive lineup cards plus a base or home plate from the two games.

Already on their way to Cooperstown are a game-used baseball signed by the Giants' starting lineup and manager Bruce Bochy, and another signed by the Washington Nationals' starters and manager Manny Acta.

It's not clear if the Hall will land the home run balls, which were snagged by fans in the stands. Idelson has talked to the 33-year-old plumber from La Jolla, Calif., who has No. 755, but has not been able to reach the 21-year-old college student from Queens who has the record-breaking ball.

Hall of Fame officials have said they expect an increase in attendance because of new items from Bonds. It's not clear if the artifacts from the polarizing slugger will be viewed with the same reverence as items from Aaron and Babe Ruth.

Marchetti and her son Mike, a San Francisco resident and Giants fan, both said it was exciting to see the helmets. But they stopped short of saying they were fans of Bonds.

"I hope he hasn't misused his talent," Bobbi Marchetti said, "because he has plenty of it."

Unknown to be cast as Notorious B.I.G. By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer

Unknown to be cast as Notorious B.I.G. By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer
1 hour, 23 minutes ago



NEW YORK - The role of Notorious B.I.G. for an upcoming biopic on the rapper will be filled through an open casting call, the film's producers told The Associated Press on Thursday.

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"Notorious," which has been in the works for nearly seven years, will seek its star by auditioning actors and non-actors alike who resemble the rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace. Anyone can submit audition videos beginning 3 a.m. EDT Sunday to http://www.foxsearchlight.com/notorious or http://www.biggiecasting.com.

An official announcement of the online casting call will be made Friday by Fox Searchlight Pictures, which in 2005 secured the rights to a film about the slain rapper. Wallace's mother, Voletta Wallace, and his two former managers, Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts, are producing the movie.

"As it relates to the individual Christopher Wallace — his looks, his stature, what he represented, the swagger, the sensibility of the man — all those elements are very difficult to find, no matter where you go," Barrow said Thursday. "In the typical Hollywood world, no one came to mind outside of Forest Whitaker who could capture that essence genuinely."

Barrow said the film's producers never approached Whitaker because — though he would have been ideal — at 46-years-old Whitaker is more than twice the age Wallace will be for much of the film. Wallace was gunned down at the age of 24 on March 9, 1997, after a music-industry party in Los Angeles.

"We thought it would be best to open it up to the world and ... give somebody the opportunity to step into his shoes and fulfill their own American dream," said Barrow.

In a statement released to the AP, Voletta Wallace described the qualities the producers are seeking.

"There will only be one Christopher Wallace, but I'm happy that his legacy will open a door for another to walk through," said Wallace. "I don't want you to just imitate him. I want to see his swagger, his style, his energy and smile come through."

Fox Searchlight on Thursday also told the AP that George Tillman will direct. The filmmaker's previous credits include "Men of Honor" (2000) and "Soul Food" (1997).

Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day," "Shooter") was two years ago reported to be close to agreeing to direct. In an interview earlier this year with the AP, Fuqua said he was apprehensive about the degree of control the producers had in developing the script.

"They're in the record business, they're not in the film business," Fuqua said then.

Barrow said he remains friends with Fuqua and that timing was the only issue.

The script was written by Cheo Hodari Coker and Reggie Rock Bythewood. Coker, a hip-hop journalist, wrote the biography "Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G."

The film intends to focus on the Wallace not seen in his public life, zeroing in on "the humanity within Christopher himself," said Barrow. He added that no real-life character in Wallace's world will play himself, given the passage of time.

The producers hope to begin production this fall.

FDA: Heartburn drugs seem OK for heart 1 minute ago

FDA: Heartburn drugs seem OK for heart 1 minute ago



WASHINGTON - The popular heartburn drugs Prilosec and Nexium don't appear to spur heart problems, say preliminary U.S. and Canadian probes announced Thursday.

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The Food and Drug Administration and its Canadian counterpart began reviewing the drugs, used by tens of millions of people, back in May, when manufacturer AstraZeneca provided them an early analysis of two small studies that suggested the possibility of a risk.

Those studies compared treating the chronic heartburn known as gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, with either of the two drugs or with surgery, and tracked patients for five to 14 years. The company's initial analysis counted more patients treated with drugs who had had heart attacks, heart failure or heart-related sudden death.

The FDA followed up on those studies, and found that they seemed skewed: Patients who underwent surgery were younger and healthier than those treated by drugs, suggesting the heart link was a coincidence.

While the studies' designs make safety assessments difficult, many of the participants who developed heart problems had risk factors before starting the drugs, Health Canada said Thursday.

The FDA then looked at 14 additional studies of the drugs, and found no evidence of heart risks. In fact, in a few studies where patients received either medication or a dummy pill, those who took the heartburn drugs actually had a lower incidence of heart problems.

The FDA plans to complete its probe within three months, but issued a public notice Thursday that it "does not believe that health care providers or patients should change either their prescribing practices or their use of these products at this time."

Health Canada reached the same initial conclusion. It also urged doctors and patients to make no changes until its own probe is finished by year's end, noting that untreated GERD can lead to serious complications.

The drugs are among a family of acid-reducers known as proton pump inhibitors. FDA's Dr. Paul Seligman said Thursday that while the agency's focus is on Nexium and Prilosec, it is "interested in the data from all similar products" as it looks for all available evidence to settle the heart question.

Nexium is the world's No. 2 selling drug, with 2006 sales of $6.7 billion, according to health care research firm IMS Health.

AT&T errs in edit of anti-Bush lyrics By MICHELLE ROBERTS, Associated Press Writer

AT&T errs in edit of anti-Bush lyrics By MICHELLE ROBERTS, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 9 minutes ago



SAN ANTONIO - Lyrics performed by Pearl Jam criticizing President Bush should not have been censored from a webcast by AT&T Inc., a company spokesman acknowledged Thursday.

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AT&T, through its Blue Room entertainment site, offered a webcast of the band's headlining performance Sunday at Lollapalooza in Chicago. The event was shown with a brief delay so the company could bleep out excessive profanity or nudity.

But monitors hired by AT&T through a vendor went further and cut two lines from a song to the tune of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall." One was "George Bush, leave this world alone" the second time it was sung, and the other was "George Bush find yourself another home," according to the band's Web site.

AT&T spokesman Michael Coe said that the silencing was a mistake and that the company was working with the vendor that produces the webcasts to avoid future misunderstandings. He said AT&T was working to secure the rights to post the entire song — part of a sing-along with the audience — on the Blue Room site.

Blue Room offers live concerts, sports interviews, video game advice and other entertainment content that requires a high-speed Internet connection. Although viewing the content is free, San Antonio-based AT&T uses the site as a way to promote its DSL broadband services.

Besides Pearl Jam's show, AT&T showed 21 other performances ranging from Pete Yorn to G. Love and Special Sauce during the three-day Lollapalooza music festival. Coe said no other complaints have been made about censoring.

Pearl Jam said in a posting on its Web site that in the future, it would work harder to ensure live broadcasts or webcasts are "free from arbitrary edits."

"If a company that is controlling a webcast is cutting out bits of our performance — not based on laws, but on their own preferences and interpretations — fans have little choice but to watch the censored version," they said.

The alternative rock band and Internet advocates were also using the incident to try to draw attention to the prospects of Internet service providers like AT&T deciding to give preferential treatment to content they favor or have deals with, leaving the rest on slower-moving Internet bandwidths.

Jenny Toomey, executive director of the Future of Music Coalition, said that although net neutrality wasn't being violated in this case, it still raises questions about whether AT&T and other service providers can be trusted not to hurt artists.

Internet speeds that depend only on the size of files, not the kind of content that's in them, is a democratizing force, she said.

"We've got to protect that, and artists get that," Toomey said.

AT&T and other providers would like the ability to charge more for transmitting certain kinds of data, like live video, faster or more reliably than other data but have insisted such premium services would help, not hurt, consumers.

Coe said, regardless, the issue of net neutrality is entirely separate from the mistake during the Pearl Jam show.

"This was our own Web site," he noted.

Parking-lot fender bender for Britney 20 minutes ago

Parking-lot fender bender for Britney 20 minutes ago



LOS ANGELES - Oops, she dinged it again. Paparazzi took pictures and videos of a puppy-toting Britney Spears steering her car into another one as she tried to turn into a spot in a Studio City parking lot. Then assessing the damage to her own car only. Then heading off to shop.

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But the tale of the tape made it clear to the owner of the parked car just who it was who scraped up her silver Mercedes-Benz.

Kim Robard-Rifkin, 59, told the entertainment Web site CelebTV.com on Wednesday that nobody from Spears' camp had contacted her about the damaged car.

"It's sad because I was really hoping she'd step up and be a mensch, be a human being," Robard-Rifkin said. "It was simply like my car didn't matter to her, my inconvenience didn't matter to her."

A video on CelebTV.com, taken Monday, shows the 25-year-old pop star (with a puppy on her lap) attempting to park her black convertible and hitting the adjacent car.

Robard-Rifkin, a registered nurse, said she was "sort of amused and sort of shocked" when she learned it was Spears who hit her car, and figured she would hear from the embattled entertainer.

"There were obviously a lot of paparazzi there and what kind of person wouldn't realize that this (would) be on TV and she had to be responsible and contact me," she said.

"I'm not asking for money. I'm not asking for a new car. ... I simply want my car fixed, the same as I would fix somebody's car if I had done that."

Robard-Rifkin filed a police report on Thursday.

An e-mail to Spears spokeswoman at Jive Records was not immediately returned.

Spears' divorce from Kevin Federline became official on July 30. Since February, Spears and Federline, 29, have shared joint custody of their sons, 22-month-old Sean Preston and 10-month-old Jayden James. When the divorce was finalized, a child custody hearing was scheduled for Aug. 14.

___

On the Net:

http://www.celebtv.com

AIG reassures investors about subprime By LAUREN VILLAGRAN, AP Business Writer

AIG reassures investors about subprime By LAUREN VILLAGRAN, AP Business Writer
47 minutes ago



NEW YORK - American International Group on Thursday told investors the housing market would have to spiral to Depression-era levels before the insurer would be harmed by its exposure to the residential mortgage market.

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The world's largest insurer has exposure to subprime loans — those made to people with tainted credit — as a lender, investor in mortgage-backed securities and supplier of mortgage insurance. But AIG characterized its exposure as minimal and said it would take declines of 30 percent to 40 percent in home values to dent the market for mortgages with stronger ratings, where most of its holdings lie.

AIG said delinquencies on first-lien mortgages were on the rise at its mortgage insurance group. But the company also reassured investors that it has ample cash and "doesn't need to liquidate any of its investment securities in a chaotic market."

Cliff Gallant, equity analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc., estimates that of AIG's $1.034 trillion in assets at June 30, it has some $3 billion to $5 billion that could go bad in subprime defaults — a thin slice of the overall pool.

It amounts to about $1 per share in exposure, "a reasonable worst-case scenario," he said.

Analysts, on average, expect AIG to earn $6.53 per share this year.

As conditions in the credit market have tightened, investors have been sensitive to any sign of a ripple effect, in which the fallout from defaults on subprime loans would spread to other parts of the lending market. Any news of subprime mortgage or credit problems has sent stock prices reeling; on Thursday, the Dow Jones industrials were down by triple digits on concerns about liquidity in the credit markets.

"We believe that it would take declines in housing values to reach Depression proportions — along with default frequencies never experienced — before our AAA and AA investments would be impaired," said Chief Risk Officer Bob Lewis, in a conference call with analysts on Thursday. "AAA"- and "AA"-rated investments are considered to be those of highest credit quality.

Home prices would have to slide by more than a third, and defaults among borrowers with strong credit would have to balloon above 45 percent, to begin to affect the AAA and AA bundles of securities, the company said.

As an investor, AIG has about $94.6 billion in residential mortgage market holdings, equal to about 11 percent of its total invested assets. Of that, the company has $28.7 billion, or 30 percent, in subprime residential mortgage-backed securities.

AIG has said repeatedly that it is "very comfortable with the size and quality of its investment portfolios."

AIG's American General Finance, which originates mortgages, has about $6 billion of its $19.2 billion real estate portfolio invested in the subprime space.

United Guaranty, AIG's mortgage insurance arm, said first-lien mortgage delinquencies had risen to 3.98 percent in June from 3.71 percent in May.

President and Chief Executive Martin Sullivan told investors that the company remains "well-positioned, even in the event of further deterioration in this market."

AIG shares fell about 3 percent Thursday amid the broader downturn in the market.

On Wednesday, after the market close, AIG reported a 34 percent jump in second-quarter profit on growth in its general and life insurance businesses. Its mortgage guaranty unit posted an operating loss, but the business accounts for a relatively small part of the company's overall earnings.

Lab linked to foot-and-mouth outbreak By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer

Lab linked to foot-and-mouth outbreak By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer
26 minutes ago



LONDON - Foot-and-mouth disease is so highly contagious — and such a threat to farm economies — that the United States won't allow researchers to work with the virus on the mainland. But in Britain, a lab making foot-and-mouth vaccines was located near herds of cattle and may have been the cause of a new outbreak.

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Foot-and-mouth disease does not typically infect humans, but its appearance among farm animals can have a swift and far-reaching economic impact — several countries, including the United States, have banned imports of British livestock, and Britain has suspended exports of livestock, meat and milk products and destroyed more than 100 cows since the outbreak was discovered last week.

Britain's health and safety agency says there was a "strong probability" the outbreak originated at the Pirbright laboratory southwest of London and was spread by human movement. The laboratory houses both a government Institute for Animal Health research center and vaccine-maker Merial Animal Health.

Lab accidents have resulted in human cases of everything from meningitis to Ebola, but are rare and most are self-contained. Still, diseases that can kill humans have made it out of labs.

"With the amount of virus there is in laboratories around the world, I'm surprised that this kind of thing doesn't happen more often," said Dr. Juan Lubroth, head of infectious diseases at the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Foot-and-mouth disease is the most contagious disease among mammals. In the United States, which has been free of the disease since 1929, it is illegal for anyone to possess the virus outside of a single research laboratory on Plum Island, New York. Germany employs the same policy. Some experts think that by restricting the virus' use to an island, even in the event of an outbreak, it would be self-contained.

But others say that isn't necessary. In Canada, Switzerland, Spain, South Africa, Botswana, China and Egypt, the virus is regularly handled in laboratories on the mainland without major problems.

"With today's technology, you can do very safe work without having to be on an island," Lubroth said.

Dr. Andrea Morgan, associate deputy administrator in the veterinary services department at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, agreed. "Regardless of whether the virus is on an island or on the mainland, it all comes down to respecting the proper biosecurity measures," Morgan said.

According to a 2002 government review, parts of the research center suspected in the British outbreak were deemed to be "shabby," though no biosecurity concerns were raised. The National Farmers' Union has for years expressed concern that the center was vulnerable to a lab accident. Plans are in place to rebuild it by 2011, at a cost of $245 million.

The drug company being investigated in the foot-and-mouth outbreak insisted there had been no violation of its biosecurity procedures.

"To date, we have not been able to establish any evidence that the virus may have been transported out of our center by humans," said Merial Animal Health, the British arm of U.S.-French Merial Ltd.

Experts believe a laboratory connection is likely.

"It seems a little bit too coincidental that the strain of the foot-and-mouth virus causing the outbreak was the same one being used in a laboratory five miles away," said Dr. Freda Scott-Park, former president of the British Veterinary Association.

"This would not be the first time that we've had an event linked to a virus escaping from a lab," said Dr. Bernard Vallat, director-general of the World Organization for Animal Health. He noted that Britain's rapid response should ensure the outbreak is properly contained.

Though agencies like the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health make recommendations for handling dangerous viruses and bacteria, they are just that: recommendations. Countries are free to either respect or ignore them.

The World Organization for Animal Health says foot-and-mouth warrants the highest containment level possible. Among its recommendations are that sewage be treated to ensure infectious material is destroyed and that staff shower and change clothes before leaving the lab. Experts also recommend that labs working with the virus be isolated from animals that could be infected.

Concerns about biosafety were triggered after three laboratory-related outbreaks of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Singapore, Taiwan and China in 2003 and 2004. In Singapore and Taiwan, lab workers inadvertently infected themselves. That was also the case in China, where the infection spread from two lab workers to seven family members and contacts outside the lab.

In 2005, scientists worldwide scrambled to avert a possible global flu outbreak by destroying samples of the 1957 flu pandemic virus that were accidentally sent to 5,000 labs in 18 countries.

Though WHO says many laboratory practices have improved since the SARS accidents, much remains to be done.

"We can try to mitigate the risk, but zero risk is probably one of things we can never achieve," said Dr. Nicoletta Previsani, project leader of WHO's global biosafety and biosecurity program.

"It's like when you work in your own kitchen preparing dinner," Previsani said. "You do your best, but sometimes you still cut yourself with a knife."

AT&T errs in edit of anti-Bush lyrics By MICHELLE ROBERTS, Associated Press Writer

AT&T errs in edit of anti-Bush lyrics By MICHELLE ROBERTS, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 27 minutes ago



SAN ANTONIO - Lyrics performed by Pearl Jam criticizing President Bush should not have been censored from a webcast by AT&T Inc., a company spokesman acknowledged Thursday.

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AT&T, through its Blue Room entertainment site, offered a webcast of the band's headlining performance Sunday at Lollapalooza in Chicago. The event was shown with a brief delay so the company could bleep out excessive profanity or nudity.

But monitors hired by AT&T through a vendor went further and cut two lines from a song to the tune of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall." One was "George Bush, leave this world alone" the second time it was sung, and the other was "George Bush find yourself another home," according to the band's Web site.

AT&T spokesman Michael Coe said that the silencing was a mistake and that the company was working with the vendor that produces the webcasts to avoid future misunderstandings. He said AT&T was working to secure the rights to post the entire song — part of a sing-along with the audience — on the Blue Room site.

Blue Room offers live concerts, sports interviews, video game advice and other entertainment content that requires a high-speed Internet connection. Although viewing the content is free, San Antonio-based AT&T uses the site as a way to promote its DSL broadband services.

Besides Pearl Jam's show, AT&T showed 21 other performances ranging from Pete Yorn to G. Love and Special Sauce during the three-day Lollapalooza music festival. Coe said no other complaints have been made about censoring.

Pearl Jam said in a posting on its Web site that in the future, it would work harder to ensure live broadcasts or webcasts are "free from arbitrary edits."

"If a company that is controlling a webcast is cutting out bits of our performance — not based on laws, but on their own preferences and interpretations — fans have little choice but to watch the censored version," they said.

The alternative rock band and Internet advocates were also using the incident to try to draw attention to the prospects of Internet service providers like AT&T deciding to give preferential treatment to content they favor or have deals with, leaving the rest on slower-moving Internet bandwidths.

Jenny Toomey, executive director of the Future of Music Coalition, said that although net neutrality wasn't being violated in this case, it still raises questions about whether AT&T and other service providers can be trusted not to hurt artists.

Internet speeds that depend only on the size of files, not the kind of content that's in them, is a democratizing force, she said.

"We've got to protect that, and artists get that," Toomey said.

AT&T and other providers would like the ability to charge more for transmitting certain kinds of data, like live video, faster or more reliably than other data but have insisted such premium services would help, not hurt, consumers.

Coe said, regardless, the issue of net neutrality is entirely separate from the mistake during the Pearl Jam show.

"This was our own Web site," he noted.

___

On the Net:

Edited Webcast as posted on YouTube by the Future of Music Coalition:

http://tinyurl.com/37wst3

AT&T Blue Room: http://attblueroom.com

Pearl Jam: http://pearljam.com

Teacher-astronaut helps inspect shuttle By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer

Teacher-astronaut helps inspect shuttle By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer
24 minutes ago



CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Schoolteacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan tended to the space shuttle on her first full day in space Thursday, helping to operate a 100-foot robot arm and extension boom as the crew inspected Endeavour for launch damage.

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Working from Endeavour's cockpit, Morgan and crewmate Tracy Caldwell slowly swept the laser and camera-tipped boom just above the shuttle's nose cap. Engineers on the ground scrutinized the images, looking for any cracks or holes that might have occurred during liftoff from flying fuel-tank foam insulation or other debris.

Then Morgan was joined by Rick Mastracchio for a similar inspection of Endeavour's left wing. The right wing was checked earlier in the day.

The meticulous survey has been standard procedure ever since a gashed wing led to Columbia's catastrophic re-entry in 2003. The 50-foot boom, attached to the shuttle's 50-foot robot arm, was created expressly for the job.

NASA said at least four or five pieces of debris broke off Endeavour's external fuel tank shortly after liftoff Wednesday, but it was too late in the launch to pose any threat. One of the pieces appeared to originate from around one of struts that attaches the shuttle to its external fuel tank, an area that was redesigned after the Columbia disaster.

With every circling of Earth, Endeavour sailed ever closer to a Friday afternoon linkup with the international space station. The shuttle was in fine shape, except for a problem with one of the five on-board oxygen tanks that feed the ship's fuel cells.

Endeavour's seven astronauts had their sleep interrupted early Thursday when an alarm went off, alerting them to the tank trouble. They later managed to work around the problem by manually turning the tank's heaters on and off to control pressure. Mission Control described the failed pressure-control sensor as an inconvenience.

NASA hopes to keep Endeavour in orbit for a full two weeks. The shuttle is equipped with a new system for drawing power from the space station. If it works, mission managers plan to extend the flight from 11 days to 14 days.

Morgan, 55, a former elementary schoolteacher from Idaho, was Christa McAuliffe's backup for the inaugural teacher-in-space flight aboard Challenger in 1986. McAuliffe never made it to space; she was killed along with her six crewmates just over a minute after liftoff.

NASA invited Morgan into the astronaut corps in 1998. She was supposed to fly aboard Columbia at the end of 2003, but found herself waiting again after her ship was destroyed and the remaining fleet was grounded.

Now, finally in orbit, Morgan plans to answer questions next week from schoolchildren in at least one state — Idaho — and is flying 10 million basil seeds for eventual distribution to students and teachers.

___

On the Net:

NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov

Calif. farm town is nation's smoggiest By SUDHIN THANAWALA, Associated Press Writer

Calif. farm town is nation's smoggiest By SUDHIN THANAWALA, Associated Press Writer
19 minutes ago



ARVIN, Calif. - Lying in a rich agricultural region dotted with vineyards and orange groves, this central California community seems an unlikely place for a dubious distinction: the most polluted air in America.

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Hemmed in by mountains, Arvin is the final destination for pollutants from cities as far away as San Francisco Bay, and its wheezing residents are paying the price. Many of them complain that the air smells toxic.

"It's common for people here to say, 'I'm going to the beach so I can breathe,'" said Raji Brar, a councilwoman and member of the board that oversees the San Joaquin Valley's Air Pollution Control District.

Arvin has none of the smoke-belching factories or congested freeways of cities such as Los Angeles. In fact, it produces little pollution. But the pollutants that blow in from elsewhere get trapped by the mountains, causing airborne particles to coat homes and streets and blot out views of the nearby Tehachapi range on hot summer days.

Doctors and public officials say asthma and other respiratory problems are common among the 15,000 residents who live 20 miles southeast of Bakersfield. People complain of watery eyes, dry throats and inexplicable coughs, particularly in the summer, when temperatures can climb over 100 degrees and stay there for days.

Arvin's level of ozone, the primary component in smog, exceeded the amount considered acceptable by the EPA on an average of 73 days per year between 2004 and 2006. Second on the EPA's list was the Southern California town of Crestline, at 65 days. The San Francisco Bay Area averaged just four days over the same period.

"Sometimes you go outside and can hardly breathe," said Irma Garza, 48, who has lived here most of her life. "The worst part is in the summertime you can't send your kids outside to play."

Ground-level ozone is created when car exhaust and other noxious fumes are cooked by heat and sunlight. It can trigger asthma attacks, aggravate chronic lung diseases like emphysema and bronchitis and may even reduce the immune system's ability to fight respiratory infections, according to AIRNow.gov, a Web site developed by several agencies, including the EPA, that monitors ozone levels around the country.

A 2002 study in the British medical journal The Lancet found children who breathe polluted air are more likely to develop asthma, although that conclusion has been challenged by other researchers.

Specific asthma data for Arvin is not available, but surrounding Kern County has a childhood asthma rate that far exceeds state and nation averages, with 17.5 percent of children under the age of 18 suffering from the condition. The state average is 14.8 percent, the national average 12.2 percent, according to the California Department of Health Services.

Dr. Ronnie Pasiliao, who works at Arvin's community health center, said asthma and allergies are the primary conditions he treats.

Despite the health complaints, the valley's air-quality board voted in April to extend by 11 years the region's deadline to meet federal ozone standards, saying cleaning up the air by the previous target date of 2012 was not possible. Brar, the city council member, voted against that decision.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger criticized the move when the California Air Resources Board voted in June to approve the local board's extension. A few days later, he fired the board's chairman.

The EPA is now considering the extension.

Brar and other local officials say Arvin has been neglected by smog regulators because its residents are mostly poor, Hispanic farmworkers.

Seyed Sadredin, executive director of the valley air district, denied that and said he is trying to improve the board's efforts in the town.

"Everything we've done here is for Arvin," he said. "But unfortunately, Arvin will see progress later than any other area because that's where pollution flushes out of the valley."

In the meantime, residents make small adjustments to reduce their exposure to the dirty air.

Garza's son wears a mask when mowing the lawn. Mario Moreno, 19, who works at a local pizzeria, tries to stay indoors on hot days. He remembers feeling dazed and short of breath when outside for too long in the "nasty, muggy air."

Air conditioning is a luxury many residents cannot afford, said Amalia Leal, a family advocate with the local school district. Without the skills or resources to relocate, many families are trapped in Arvin.

But her advice to parents with chronically asthmatic children is simple.

"Move," she said. "If you love your child, move."

Ana Maria Corona is doing just that. After living in Arvin for four years and being hospitalized seven times for her asthma, she and her husband are looking for a new home in Arizona.

"It's not easy for us to leave this place," she said. "But what is my future here? What is the future of my children?"

Dow sinks 387 on renewed credit concerns By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer

Dow sinks 387 on renewed credit concerns By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer
9 minutes ago



NEW YORK - Wall Street's deepening fears about a spreading credit crunch sent stocks plunging again Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrials extending their series of triple-digit swings and falling more than 380 points. The catalyst for the market's latest skid: a French bank's announcement that it was freezing three funds that invested in U.S. subprime mortgages.

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The announcement by BNP Paribas raised the specter of a widening impact of U.S. credit market problems. The idea that anyone — institutions, investors, companies, individuals — can't get money when they need it unnerved a stock market that has suffered through weeks of volatility triggered by concerns about tight credit and bad subprime mortgages.

A move by the European Central Bank to provide more cash to money markets intensified Wall Street's angst. Although the bank's loan of more than $130 billion in overnight funds to banks at a low rate of 4 percent was intended to calm investors, Wall Street saw it as confirmation of the credit markets' problems. It was the ECB's biggest injection ever.

The Federal Reserve added a larger-than-normal $24 billion in temporary reserves to the U.S. banking system.

The concerns that arose in Europe and spilled onto Wall Street underscored the potential worldwide ramifications of an implosion of some subprime loans and perhaps also weakened arguments that strength in the global economy could help keep profit growth going in the U.S. among large companies that do business overseas.

The ECB's injection of money into the system is an unprecedented move, said Joseph V. Battipaglia, chief investment officer at Ryan Beck & Co., adding that it shows that problems in subprime lending are, in fact, spreading into the general economy.

"This is a mini-panic," he said. "All the things that had been denied up until this point are unraveling. On top of this, retail sales were mediocre, which shows that indeed, the housing collapse is affecting the consumer."

Retailers released July sales figures Thursday that were overall disappointing.

The Fed didn't soften its stance on inflation after leaving short-term interest rates unchanged Tuesday. However, the renewed credit market concerns spurred bond traders who bet on its next move to predict that the Fed will cut rates at its meeting next month. Before Thursday, traders had bet on a 1 in 4 chance of such a cut.

The Dow fell 387.18, or 2.83 percent, to 13,270.68.

Thursday's pullback continued an erratic pattern of triple-digit moves in the Dow since the index closed at a record 14,001.41 on July 19. Eleven of the 15 ensuing sessions have ended in a triple-digit gain or loss. Gains have been evaporating at the first mention of trouble in housing, subprime lending or the credit markets.

With Thursday's decline, the Dow is about 730 points, or 5.2 percent, below its record close. Some experts have been calling for a textbook correction — a pullback of at least 10 percent. At its lowest close since the market's high, Friday's finish of 13,181.91, the Dow was 5.85 percent below the record.

Bonds rose sharply Thursday as investors again sought the relative safety of Treasurys, pushing down the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.79 percent from 4.89 percent late Wednesday.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 44.40, or 2.96 percent, to 1,453.09.

Before Thursday, the S&P had its best three-day winning streak in nearly five years. But the latest pullback was the biggest point drop and percentage loss for both the Dow and the S&P since a market decline on Feb. 27., that owed in part to concerns about subprime loans.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 56.49, or 2.16 percent, to 2,556.49. On Wednesday, it posted its biggest point gain in more than year. And while Thursday's loss was sharp, last Friday's was more severe.

Despite Thursday's slide, the major market indexes are still up for the week, given that stocks rose sharply the first three sessions of the week.

The pullback came after a BNP Paribas unit said it was suspending three funds together worth about $3.79 billion and wouldn't make investor redemptions until it could determine net asset values.

The funds invest in part in subprime mortgages through a process known as securitization. Investment banks bundle together mortgages — including those from subprime borrowers — and sell them off to investors such as hedge funds, mutual funds and other institutional investors. Buyers of such securities are seeking the steady flow of income from homeowners making their mortgage payments.

"It just kind of brought the fear back," said Douglas Peta, market strategist at J.& W. Seligman in New York.

"In the last couple of days I think people maybe thought that an all-clear had been sounded," he said referring to some of the subprime loan concerns.

"This just highlights that there is not going to be an immediate resolution," he said of the companies that are trying to determine their exposure to bad subprime loans.

Shares of financial companies, which investors have fled recently amid lending concerns, took another beating Thursday. Citigroup Inc. fell 5 percent, as did fellow Dow component JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In another sign of credit market trouble, Home Depot Inc. warned that the sale of its wholesale business might bring in less than expected. The world's largest home improvement retailer, which also cut how much it intends to pay to repurchase stock, said volatility in the stock, debt and housing markets has led to the possible repricing. Home Depot fell $2.01, or 5.3 percent, to $35.79, and was the worst performer of the 30 Dow components.

But American International Group Inc., one of the world's largest insurers, on Thursday reassured investors that it remains comfortable with its exposure to the subprime lending market as an investor, lender and mortgage insurer. AIG, which reported a 34 percent jump in second-quarter profit late Wednesday, said it has enough cash and liquidity and "does not need to liquidate any investment securities in a chaotic market."

AIG fell $2.18, or 3.3 percent, to $64.30, however.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell. Light, sweet crude fell 56 cents to $71.59 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 4 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to a heavy 5.76 billion shares compared with 5.3 billion shares traded Wednesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 10.79, or 1.36 percent, to 784.87.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's volatility index, often called the "fear index," rose Thursday to its highest level since April 2003.

European stocks plunged. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 1.92 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 2.00 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 2.17 percent after being down more than 3 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.83 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.43 percent.

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On the Net:

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

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

Analysis: Rivals target Romney By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer

Analysis: Rivals target Romney By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer
34 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Rivals have hit Mitt Romney on everything from his abortion-rights reversal to equivocations on gays and guns, and he's still standing — and standing tall. At least for now.

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In the long-run, months of GOP competitors chipping away at his conservative credentials could undermine his effort to be seen as the most conservative and most electable Republican.

"Mitt Romney is telling Iowans that he is firmly pro-life. Nothing could be further from the truth," an automated phone call by Sam Brownback's campaign tells Iowans. "Stand up for life and say 'no' to Romney." The Kansas senator has stepped up his criticism of Romney, seeking an edge leading up to a Saturday test vote in Iowa.

Romney insists: "I am pro-life."

Brownback, and to some degree other Republicans, are going after Romney because the former Massachusetts governor leads in early primary state polling, including the leadoff Iowa caucuses, and most GOP candidates are fighting for the support of the same voters — conservatives who make up a significant part of the electorate.

"They're picking on the front-runner," said David Winston, a Republican pollster.

In contrast, Rudy Giuliani, who leads in national polls, is largely ignored as he trails Romney and others in early state surveys.

Nevertheless, Romney — seeking to curry favor with conservatives on an explosive issue — implied on Wednesday in Bettendorf, Iowa, that Giuliani supported illegal immigration when he was mayor of New York, a charge Giuliani aides reject.

Said Romney: "He instructed city workers not to provide information to the federal government that would allow them to enforce the law. New York City was the poster child for sanctuary cities in the country."

Romney's opponents are creating two narratives about him — "one, that he's not conservative enough, and, two, that he's a faker" — and those characterizations are certain to be used against him in the heat of the nomination fight, said Martin Kaplan, a scholar of politics at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication.

"I don't think that we've seen anything yet compared to the onslaught that he'll face leading into those early primaries," Kaplan said.

To a substantial degree, Romney himself has created opportunities for his opponents to assail him. He ran as a moderate in liberal Massachusetts during a failed 1994 Senate bid and a triumphant 2002 gubernatorial run. Now, he's moved to the right as he seeks the support of conservatives.

While nationally Romney has steadily lagged other top candidates, his opponents' negative critiques haven't blunted his rise in Iowa and New Hampshire.

So far, Romney has managed to inoculate himself from the hits by tightly controlling his campaign message. He's been the only Republican on the air in those states for months, having run millions of dollars of television ads promoting his right-leaning positions on family values, tax cuts and immigration.

But others are sure to go on the air in those states eventually, likely questioning Romney's reversal on abortion and his equivocations on other issues to argue that he can't be trusted to uphold conservative values.

"The flip-flopping attack is the one where he is most vulnerable. The danger comes when he stays the front-runner in Iowa and New Hampshire and his opponents start advertising about this. Then he's got a problem," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, an expert on political discourse at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. However, she said Romney could withstand such an onslaught with a strong rebuttal and a healthy bank account.

Winston argued: "There's a clear choice in front of people in terms of how they view this. Either they believe he was sincere in how he changed his position or he was insincere, and I don't think any amount of statements from other candidates that he was insincere will change people's minds because of the obvious political motivation behind those assertions."

John McCain initially proved to be Romney's main aggressor. The Arizona senator's campaign spent months arguing that Romney changed positions on just about every issue. Those attacks have largely subsided as McCain's campaign has faltered.

Others have filled the vacuum.

Brownback, an underdog who has pinned his hopes on Iowa, has been the most ferocious. In single digits in polls, the Kansas senator is trying to gain ground by arguing that Romney is a conservative waffler. He's zeroed in on Romney's previous support for abortion rights in hopes of locking up the large number of anti-abortion voters in Iowa.

Aside from the automated phone call, his aides have sent Iowans and others e-mails and news releases questioning Romney's positions. This week, Brownback himself repeatedly suggested that his rival was not sincere in pledging to protect the sanctity of life. "This is the key moral issue of our day and we don't need people equivocating on it or rediscovering things," Brownback says in a two-minute Web video.

Another Republican who trails in polls, Mike Huckabee, also has drawn distinctions with Romney, albeit more subtly. In a clear jab at Romney, the former Arkansas governor routinely says: "I didn't become pro-life because of politics, I got into politics because I'm pro-life."

Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado has been more blunt. In a recent e-mail to backers, he references Romney's opposition to the comprehensive immigration reform bill Congress has debated, saying: "I welcome converts — not someone driven by political expediency!"

___

EDITOR'S NOTE: Liz Sidoti covers presidential politics for The Associated Press.

Giuliani talks about ground zero risks By DAN SEWELL, Associated Press Writer

Giuliani talks about ground zero risks By DAN SEWELL, Associated Press Writer
10 minutes ago



CINCINNATI - Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said Thursday he had exposed himself to the same health risks as workers at ground zero after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and spent as much time at the site as those involved in the recovery.

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The former New York mayor has faced criticism from relatives of some of the firefighters killed at the World Trade Center, who have contended that Giuliani was woefully unprepared for 9/11.

Last month, the parents and siblings of some of the 343 firefighters killed in the terrorist attacks released a video with the International Association of Fire Fighters, which opposes Giuliani's candidacy.

Campaigning in Ohio, Giuliani defended his work, including raising funds.

"This is not a mayor or a governor or a president who's sitting in an ivory tower," he said. "I was at ground zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers. ... I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I'm one of them."

Battalion Chief John McDonnell, head of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association in New York, said: "I have a real problem with that statement. I think he's really grasping and trying to justify his previous attempts to portray himself as the hero of 9/11."

Michael Palladino, head of the Detectives Endowment Association, the union of NYPD detectives, said the mayor's record can't compare to those who spent 12 months sifting through toxic debris for evidence and human remains.

"As a result of their hard work, many are sick and injured. The mayor, although he did a fine job with 9/11, I don't think he rises to the level of being an equal with those men and women who were involved in the rescue, recovery and cleanup," Palladino said.

Giuliani spoke to reporters at a Los Angeles Dodgers-Cincinnati Reds game, where the former New York mayor watched a little baseball between fundraising appearances.

"I have a chance of winning Ohio, I have a chance of winning New York, I have a chance of winning California," said Giuliani, who also mentioned New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan and Minnesota as states he could win. "We've got to put these states in play."

Ohio doesn't hold its primary until March 4, but the state traditionally is a critical swing state in the general election.

Giuliani said he thinks the war on terror, more than his differences with many Republicans on abortion rights, is a key issue for him.

"I believe the most important issue is being on offense against Islamic terrorism," he said. "I think there's no candidate in the race who has as much experience with that as I do."

He also said he's a fiscal conservative in contrast to Democratic front-runners who want to raise taxes and have (filmmaker) "Michael Moore-style socialized medicine."

Giuliani planned to be part of an evening "Freedom Concert" led by conservative radio talk host Sean Hannity at the Kings Island amusement park. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, considered a potential GOP presidential candidate, was also part of the bill.

The concert headliners were performers Montgomery Gentry, LeAnn Rimes and Lee Greenwood. Proceeds were to support scholarships for the children of slain and disabled U.S. military personnel.

___

Associated Press Writer Devlin Barrett in Washington contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

Giuliani campaign: http://www.joinrudy2008.com

Freedom concert information: http://freedomalliance.org/fa/

South Carolina pushes up GOP primary By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer

South Carolina pushes up GOP primary By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer
3 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - South Carolina Republicans pushed up their 2008 presidential primary to Jan. 19, an earlier-than-planned date that provokes a dramatic shift in the nominating calendar and could mean the first votes are cast in December 2007.

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New Hampshire is sure to follow suit to protect its first-in-the-nation primary status, and Iowa, home to the leadoff caucuses, left little doubt it would do whatever necessary to ensure it kicks off the nominating process as it has for three decades.

"Iowa will go first, that is the bottom line," Gov. Chet Culver, a Democrat, said Thursday in a statement, vowing to do "everything in my power."

South Carolina's move — and the expected aftershocks in Iowa, New Hampshire and other early voting states — is the latest chapter in the extraordinary movement in the presidential primary calendar for Republicans and Democrats as states such as California and New York jockey for more power in choosing the party nominees.

The ever-changing contest schedule — and the earlier start to the balloting — has created an enormous level of discomfort for national parties trying to impose discipline on the states as well as presidential campaigns trying to figure out strategies when voting could begin in just four months.

"Not only is this unprecedented, what's also unprecedented is the number of journalists who could spend Thanksgiving in Iowa and Christmas in New Hampshire," said Ken Mehlman, a former Republican National Committee chairman and President Bush's 2004 campaign manager.

As a deterrence, both national party committees insist they will penalize states that schedule nominating contests before Feb. 5 by withholding half of their delegates to the conventions next summer.

But that threat has largely been ignored. States assume that, as in past elections, whoever the party nominates will take over the national committees before the conventions and won't enforce the penalty.

Florida recently flouted the warnings and moved its primary for Republicans and Democrats to Jan. 29. That prompted the South Carolina GOP, which has fiercely protected its first-in-the-South primary tradition, to maneuver for a date earlier than its originally scheduled Feb. 2. The South Carolina Democratic Party said it would stick with Jan. 29, consistent with Democratic National Committee rules.

On Thursday, Katon Dawson, the state's GOP chairman, announced in Concord, N.H., that South Carolina Republicans would vote Jan. 19. He stood alongside New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, whom Dawson called an ally in protecting the traditional early role of both states — and the retail politicking — in the presidential nominating process.

"This date will help solidify a combined 83-year history of being first in the nation and first in the South," Dawson said. "In our two states, picking presidents is about so much more than 30-second ads and clever soundbites."

Given South Carolina's change, New Hampshire will be forced by state law to move its primary to at least Jan. 12. Should that occur, Iowa then would have to, according to its law, shift its leadoff caucuses, perhaps to as early as mid-December. Those states traditionally have held their Democratic and Republican contests on the same day.

During an interview with The Associated Press, Gardner, who holds the power to set New Hampshire's date, said he has no plans to do so anytime soon.

"I just don't know," he said. "One thing at a time. This is one more piece of the puzzle."

In Iowa, GOP Chairman Ray Hoffmann said: "There's nothing I can do or even think about until I know what New Hampshire is going to do. As far as I'm concerned we are going to be No. 1 in the nation. As far as a date, I don't know yet."

As of Tuesday, Iowa was slated to hold its contest Jan. 14. The DNC wants New Hampshire to go on Jan. 22, but Gardner has not indicated he would cooperate.

Nevada's GOP and Democratic caucuses are scheduled for Jan. 19. Both parties said they had no plans to change the date. "We'll wait and see how the dominos fall," Nevada GOP executive director Zachary Moyle said, leaving the door open a bit.

The leading presidential campaigns watched the South Carolina-triggered scenario unfold with muted interest. All have been anticipating such a move for months and have drawn up strategies based on the assumption of an earlier start to the balloting, including the possibility of December voting.

"What all the campaigns are struggling with, grappling with, is how do you build a campaign with this accelerated schedule?" said Steve Duprey, a former New Hampshire GOP chairman who now is a top adviser to Sen. John McCain. "The challenge for all campaigns is how to set the pace of the campaign, particularly with your paid media so you have the impact."

In separate statements, aides to Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and McCain suggested they wouldn't let the evolving calendar ruffle them.

Matt Rhoades, a Romney spokesman, said: "We can't control the primary calendar but respect the process and intend to continue to run our current campaign strategy."

Exposing rifts in the GOP about the calendar, party leaders elsewhere took issue with South Carolina's move.

"So, while we enter the holiday season, we're going to have all these politicians all over the airwaves? I don't think that's going to be very acceptable to the American people, and I would caution all these states to rethink what they're doing," said Bob Bennett, the GOP chairman in Ohio, which holds its primary March 4. "This is silly."

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Associated Press Writers Mike Glover in Des Moines, Iowa, Philip Elliott in Concord, N.H., and Kathleen Hennessey in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

Clinton discussed use of nukes last year By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer

Clinton discussed use of nukes last year By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer
5 minutes ago



NEW YORK - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, who chastised rival Barack Obama for ruling out the use of nuclear weapons in the war on terror, did just that when asked about Iran a year ago.

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"I would certainly take nuclear weapons off the table," she said in April 2006.

Her views expressed while she was gearing up for a presidential run stand in conflict with her comments this month regarding Obama, who faced heavy criticism from leaders of both parties, including Clinton, after saying it would be "a profound mistake" to deploy nuclear weapons in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"There's been no discussion of nuclear weapons. That's not on the table," he said.

Clinton, who has tried to cast her rival as too inexperienced for the job of commander in chief, said of Obama's stance on Pakistan: "I don't believe that any president should make any blanket statements with respect to the use or non-use of nuclear weapons."

But that's exactly what she did in an interview with Bloomberg Television in April 2006. The New York senator, a member of the Armed Services committee, was asked about reports that the Bush administration was considering military intervention — possibly even a nuclear strike — to prevent Iran from escalating its nuclear program.

"I have said publicly no option should be off the table, but I would certainly take nuclear weapons off the table," Clinton said. "This administration has been very willing to talk about using nuclear weapons in a way we haven't seen since the dawn of a nuclear age. I think that's a terrible mistake."

Clinton's views on the potential use of nuclear weapons appear to have changed since then.

Her campaign spokesman, Phil Singer, said the circumstances for her remarks last year were different than the situation Obama faced.

"She was asked to respond to specific reports that the Bush-Cheney administration was actively considering nuclear strikes on Iran even as it refused to engage diplomatically," he said. "She wasn't talking about a broad hypothetical nor was she speaking as a presidential candidate. Given the saber-rattling that was coming from the Bush White House at the time, it was totally appropriate and necessary to respond to that report and call it the wrong policy."

But another Democratic contender, Chris Dodd, issued a statement Thursday saying he was disappointed to learn of Clinton's "unwise" statements.

"If nothing else, these kinds of careless statements expose the difference in the candidates' depth of experience and understanding when it comes to the complex world of foreign policy and military affairs," said the Connecticut senator.

Polls show Dodd, a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, trailing both Clinton and Obama.

Ill. monster truck accident injures 9 3 minutes ago

Ill. monster truck accident injures 9 3 minutes ago



DEKALB, Ill. - A monster truck performing stunts in front of an auto parts store plowed into a crowd of spectators Thursday, injuring at least nine people, officials said.

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Two people, including a mother and one child, were in serious condition at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, said DeKalb Fire Chief Lanny Russell.

The rest were in fair condition, said Sharon Emanuelson, a spokeswoman for Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb. Another person refused medical treatment, Russell said.

As part of the demonstration in a monster truck tour sponsored by Napa Auto Parts, the truck drove over and crushed four cars.

"After its third or fourth attempt of rolling over the cars, and getting back down to the street, it appeared to have lost control and at that point careened off to the left into part of the crowd that was watching the event," said City Manager Mark Biernacki.

After plowing through the crowd, the truck went through a fence and stopped on railroad tracks, Biernacki said.

Witness Patrick Sheridan, 16, said Napa staff members had asked observers to stand back from the road after the truck's first few passes.

"I watched the guy go over two or three times getting some air and one time he went up and he came really close to hitting people," Sheridan said, adding that the truck appeared to come within just three feet of bystanders.

The final pass "was like a full-out jump because he, like, floored it and it just went up and landed on the back tires and kept going," Sheridan said.

"It sounded like he couldn't get the gas off and like it kept going and going and going," he said.

The truck driver did not appear to be injured, Biernacki said.

"There was just this sound of steel crunching," DeKalb resident James Vesely told The Daily Chronicle of DeKalb. "I ran over to see if it hit anybody's car, and I saw a woman and a little girl around 3 years old lying on the ground with dirt on them."

Jerry Nix, a spokesman for Napa's parent company, Genuine Parts Co., said he could not comment. The telephone at the auto parts store near the accident site was busy. DeKalb police would not immediately comment.

The manager of a bicycle shop on the block where the accident happened said he didn't see the incident but saw the truck performing stunts beforehand, and estimated at least 100 people were watching.

"It looked very precarious," said Tobie DePauw, manager of North Central Cyclery.

Utah miners would face darkness By PAULINE ARRILLAGA, AP National Writer

Utah miners would face darkness By PAULINE ARRILLAGA, AP National Writer
1 hour, 25 minutes ago



HUNTINGTON, Utah - If the six trapped miners are alive, they may be sitting in inky darkness, their headlamps having burned out. Wearing thin work clothes in the 58-degree cold, they could be chilled to the bone if water is seeping into their chamber 150 stories below ground. How much air they might have is anyone's guess.

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On Thursday, more than three days after the thunderous cave-in, a drilling rig on the mountain above the Crandall Canyon mine closed in on the men, trying to bore a hole a mere 2 1/2 inches wide to bring them air and lower a two-way communications device and a tiny camera to check for signs of life.

"We may get no noise," cautioned Bob Murray, part-owner of the mine. "They may be dead."

The drilling rig was erected 1,869 feet above the presumed location of the men and had drilled down 1,530 feet by late morning. It was expected to punch through late in the afternoon, Murray said.

But he warned that things could go wrong, including equipment breakdowns and the possibility the drill was off target. "We may not come out in the mine where we want to be. We may come out in a solid pillar and have to start all over again," Murray said.

Rescuers used a second drill to bore a second hole nearly 9 inches wide, but they had reached only 355 feet as of midday. The bigger hole could be used to lower more sophisticated cameras and provisions into the ground.

Simultaneously, rescuers struggled to clear rubble from a horizontal tunnel in an attempt to actually reach the miners and bring them out. But progress was slow at about 300 feet a day, and officials said it could take a week or more to break through to the miners.

The miners were working in an area with an 8-foot ceiling, and the corridors in the mine are typically about 14 feet wide, officials said.

"I'm sure their lights have died by now. I'm sure it's pitch black," said miner Robby Robertson, 27, of Orangeville, Utah, who worked in the mine several years ago. "Imagine the darkest place you've ever been."

Murray, however, said that if the miners survived the cave-in itself, they would probably be spending most of the time in the dark to conserve their headlamp batteries, which are generally good for about 12 hours each.

"As soon as they realized they were trapped, it is very likely they went down to one light and very likely they went into total darkness a lot of the time and only used that light for the purpose of getting to the materials they need to ensure their survival," Murray said. "It wouldn't be bright. It would be like a very, very, large flashlight."

Their other materials typically include a half-gallon of water each in coolers, he said.

Whether air is flowing into the chamber where they were working or is running out is not known. But officials had some reason for optimism, because there was no fire or explosion to consume oxygen or poison the air.

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said each miner also should have had at least two emergency air packs, each of which supplies about an hour's worth of oxygen. But whether the air packs were within reach is not known.

Mine operators are also required to keep enough rations for 96 hours, so the Utah miners might have tried to retrieve those, if they were present.

Miners usually wear jeans, sometimes with coveralls on top, and often carry a light denim jacket, Murray said. The steady 58-degree temperature — which can be comfortable when you're working, less so when you're not — would not be a problem as long as the men were not wet, the mining veteran said.

He said the area where the miners are believed to be is thought to be "reasonably dry" with possibly some water seepage that they could drink.

Another threat is naturally occurring methane, which is highly explosive. When rocks and coal shift, methane seeps out even faster.

Robertson, the former Crandall miner, said he usually wears thermal underwear, a long-sleeve shirt and overalls, with rubber boots that come up to the knees. "It's kind of chilly" deep in the mines, he said.

Robertson said the men would be helping each other, the older ones being strong for the younger ones.

"If these people are still alive, I'm sure they're all sitting together. I'm sure they're all just trying to comfort each other. I'm sure they know people are trying to get to them," he said. "You're closer to the crew you're on than your own family."

"You try to stick together with one another, which is what we did," said Dennis Hall, one of nine men who survived 77 hours trapped in Pennsylvania's flooded Quecreek Mine in 2002. "We talked to one another and prayed to God a lot."

Trapped miners also typically write letters to their loved ones and put the notes in their lunch pails.

"You feel helpless because you're depending on someone else to get you out of the situation," Hall, 53, of Johnstown, Pa., said Thursday. "When your back's up against the wall and you've used all your efforts to get out, it's a hell of a feeling. And the waiting and wondering is really bad."

Based on his own experience of once being trapped in a mine, Murray said the trapped miners would be confident.

"It's not bad, because they know people are coming after them. If they had enough air they're not worried. We'll get to them before they die. But you've got to understand they may be dead already," he said.

When he was trapped, he said, time went by fast. But, he added, "I could hear them coming after me."

The families of the six miners were praying for their survival, one relative said.

"There are all types of conditions that could be in there for these folks ... some little cavity, some little corner," said Arch Allred, cousin of miner Kerry Allred.

Murray said that keeping the rescuers safe as they tried to work their way toward the trapped miners was paramount.

"Some of these men are willing to take chances to get their brothers out," Murray said. "We can't allow that."

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Associated Press writers Jennifer Dobner, Garance Burke and Brock Vergakis in Utah and Vicki Smith in Morgantown, W.Va., contributed to this report.