Grant Park chorus director dies at 51

Michael Cullen, director of the Grant Park Symphony Chorus sinceAugust, 1994, died Tuesday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He was51.

"He had had a liver transplant a few weeks ago," said PhilipHale, development coordinator for the Grant Park Music Festival. "Heseemed to be on the way to a successful recovery, so we were verytaken aback."

"He was a tremendous musician and a wonderful person, and hewill be greatly missed," said James W. Palermo, the festival'sartistic and general director.Mr. Cullen had been associated with the Grant Park chorus for 28years, as assistant conductor and accompanist. He became directorafter the June, 1994, death of Thomas Peck, …

AP-FBC--T25-Air Force-Oklahoma Stats, FBC

…2064 AP-FBC--T25-Air …

GOP lawmaker apologizes for apologizing to BP exec

Who's sorry now? Rep. Joe Barton, that's who.

The Texas Republican, the House's top recipient of oil industry campaign contributions since 1990, apologized Thursday for apologizing to the chief of the British company that befouled the Gulf of Mexico with a massive oil spill.

His double mea culpa plus a retraction, executed under pressure from fuming GOP leaders, succeeded in shifting attention from the tragedy, BP's many missteps and the stoic British oil chief at the witness table, to his own party's close connection to the oil industry.

Barton started the ruckus at midmorning when he took aim at the $20 billion relief fund for victims of the spill …

Mechanical Deformation of Spherical Viruses with Icosahedral Symmetry

ABSTRACT

Virus capsids and crystalline surfactant vesicles are two examples of self-assembled shells in the nano- to micrometer size range. Virus capsids are particularly interesting since they have to sustain large internal pressures while encapsulating and protecting the viral DNA. We therefore study the mechanical properties of crystalline shells of icosahedral symmetry on a substrate under a uniaxial applied force by computer simulations. We predict the elastic response for small deformations, and the buckling transitions at large deformations. Both are found to depend strongly on the number of elementary building blocks N (the capsomers in the case of viral shells), the …

Ashwagandha: An anti-cancer, anti-arthritis, anti-ulcer 'adaptogen'

Considered the oldest healing science in existence, in one scientific study after another, Ayurvedic herbal medicines are proving their tremendous value in protecting mankind from itself -- from the toxic industrialized environment and frenzied societies we have created and their effects, in turn, on us.

Yet there is hope. A great deal of it. Not only are some ecosystems being protected (and restored) and non-frantic lifestyles being adopted, but ancient wisdom from the dawn of civilization is also being applied to modern medicine, and with some astounding results.

What are adaptogens and why are they important? According to N. Singh, et al., in an article which appeared in …

Lebanon festive for now, but tough issues ahead

Businessman George Jabra isn't certain the stability Lebanon has enjoyed for more than half a year is going to last. Still, he took a chance and opened up a new restaurant on a Beirut hilltop, betting on the craze for fun sweeping Lebanese.

The Lebanese capital is hopping this holiday season. Planeloads of expatriate Lebanese coming home for Christmas and New Year's are greeted by crowds of relatives at the airport. Downtown Beirut is choked with traffic jams, and shops and boutiques are full of customers.

But the festive mood, only months after bloody street clashes threatened to throw the country into civil war, is tinged with concern for what lies …

A Wright challenge // Suburban bungalow gets face-lift by adding wider steps and low wall in front

The late architect Frank Lloyd Wright was one of theacknowledged masters of relating a house (no matter what size) to itssite. He developed a number of design devices to help integratestructure and environment: low-hipped roofs with broad overhangs;the repetition of bands of windows, and low walls extending beyondexterior building walls to form a strong base for the house. Thesewere all characteristic devices of the master's best work, beginningwith his Prairie houses at the turn of the century.

Wright's work sprang to mind during a discussion about a "dumpy"house in the suburbs. The challenge was to improve the entrance andfront elevation of the modest bungalow. It …

Law Said Necessary to Track Terrorists

WASHINGTON - Losing the country's ability to monitor Americans' conversations with people overseas would take away half of the tools the U.S. uses to fight terrorism, Director of National Intelligence J. Michael McConnell told senators Monday.

"If we lose FISA, we will lose, in my estimate, 50 percent of our ability to track, understand and know about these terrorists, what they're doing to train, what they're doing to recruit, and what they're doing to try to get into this country," McConnell said, referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

McConnell also credited the law …

Sources: US steps up aid to Somalia to foil rebels

The United States has decided to bolster efforts to support Somalia's embattled government, including a new plan to provide money for weapons and helping the military in neighboring Djibouti train Somali forces.

The decision comes in the wake of an administration review of U.S. policy toward Somalia which found an urgent need to supply the Somali government with ammunition and weapons as it struggles to confront increasingly powerful Islamic militants in the Horn of Africa.

Officials said the U.S. would not conduct the training and that the U.S. military would not be in Somalia. The U.S. would provide logistical support for the training, and provide arms to …

State Lawmakers Lay Golden Nest Eggs

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. Illinois lawmakers have one of the nation'splushest legislative retirement nests - providing in some cases up tofour times the benefits of other state employees.

In national surveys, Illinois lawmakers' benefits are in the topfive, while state employee benefits tied for last.

Twenty-year veteran lawmakers retiring with their base salary of$38,496 receive $2,726.80 a month. A 20-year state employee earningthe same retires with $1,145.26 a month. If the employee receives afederal pension, the state pension dwindles to $673.68 a month.

Illinois lawmakers say they …

Olympic gymnastics champion Ponor plans comeback

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Three-time Olympic gymnastics champion Catalina Ponor is planning a comeback ahead of the 2012 London Games.

The International Gymnastics Federation says it will clear the 23-year-old Romanian to compete from Oct. 1 after she completes the required six months availability for anti-doping tests.

One week later, the world championships are scheduled to …

Potential losses in the Madoff fraud case

…

Client Name Total

Fairfield Greenwich Group $7,500,000,000

Grupo Santander SA $3,200,000,000

HSBC Holdings PLC $1,000,000,000

Natixis $617,000,000

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC $612,000,000

BNP Paribas $480,000,000

BBVA $452,000,000

Man Group PLC $360,000,000

Reichmuth & Co $332,000,000

Nomura Holdings $304,000,000

GangaGen Gains Patent for Therapeutic Bacteriophages

GangaGen (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, www.gangagen.com), a firm developing bacteriophage technology for treating antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, has received a new US patent. It is for the invention of "Lysin-deficient bacteriophages having reduced immunogenicity," to be used to destroy pathenogenic bacteria. The patent is a major step in developing phages for use as systemic therapeutics in human and veterinary medicine.

Bacteriophages, or "phages" are naturally occurring agents that target and destroy bacteria selectively. Some believe they could possibly treat bacterial infections because they would not affect beneficial bacteria or tissue cells. They also have the capability of evolving as bacteria do, possibly avoiding bacterial resistance to antibiotics.

Finding & keeping teachers: teachers for Chicago; police officer reverses course on teaching

finding & keeping teachers: teachers for chicago; police officer reverses course on teaching

by Maureen Kelleher

Twenty years ago as a student at Lindblom High, Ladesta Skulark was chosen to counsel elementary school students. After her experience, she swore she would never be a teacher. "I was with them 23 hours a day," she recalls. "By the end, I was like: No, no, no--I don't ever want to do that."

Today, Skulark is cooking up chemistry labs at DuSable High after completing a master's degree in education under the Teachers for Chicago program.

Skulark enrolled in TFC in 1997, after 12 years with the Chicago Police Department and a year-long stint as a substitute in CPS elementary schools. She joined the police force with the idea of going into forensics, but ended up spending her career as a beat cop. In 1994, she finally went back to school to complete a bachelor's degree; she graduated the following year with a major in chemistry from Chicago State University.

"I was a little unsure of where I wanted to go with that," she says. So she took a year to work as a substitute in the schools her two sons attended, Wacker Elementary and Westcott Elementary. Her job performance won the attention of regular teachers, she says, who asked, "Are you going into teaching?"

"They let me know about TFC," says Skulark. Getting into the program was no picnic. Nearly 800 people applied in 1997-98; Skulark was one of 115 accepted.

Her transcript and essay passed muster; and she made it through a rigorous interview. Clearing those hurdles made her a finalist and gained her admission to a preparatory course called Urban Teacher. "We still had to take a class before they got to the final 100," she relates. "There were about 200, 250 of us who took the Urban Teacher common course."

In the end, acceptance is influenced by the needs of the schools that request TFC interns. "This year, we had a very small number of high school [requests]," says Pam Sanders, coordinator for TFC. "So this year, if you only wanted to teach high school, you had a hard time." Applicants must provide first and second preferences of grade level; sometimes they say "no" when offered their second choice.

The six-week Urban Teacher course, taught in 10 sections both day and night over the summer, is the only formal preparation TFC interns get before they're assigned their own classrooms of kids. It focuses on curriculum planning and methods of teaching, with a strong emphasis on cooperative learning. Every intern must develop a unit of instruction and spend one full day in a school. Other topics include discipline, how CPS works, parent and community involvement and handling stress.

`Tip of the iceberg'

Skulark hoots with laughter when a reporter asks whether the Urban Teacher course prepared her for her first year of teaching. "No!" she exclaims. When the gale of mirth subsides, she adds, "OK, I mean, not me personally. You have to look at the background that I come from. I could see it just touching the tip of the iceberg for people who haven't been exposed to inner-city children. It didn't help me because I was always around inner-city children."

Skulark says her substitute days were more helpful. "That was the rude awakening," she says. As for Urban Teacher, "I was like: None of this applies. It's not even like this," she says with another belly laugh. Summing up her first year of TFC, she says, "They put us in the fire, baptism by fire. They put us right in."

Skulark isn't the only intern who would have liked more experience before being thrown into a classroom. Last summer, TFC added an optional weeklong school internship to address the issue, and 42 interns observed and assisted summer school teachers. Pam Sanders notes, however, that some applicants can't afford to quit their day jobs early to spend that much time in a school.

With her science background, Skulark found herself in high demand when it came time to place interns. "Mr. Mingo went out and recruited me," she recalls. (Charles Mingo is the recently retired principal of DuSable.) "I was one of the first eight notified I had a placement."

Reliable source

DuSable has long relied on TFC to fill teacher vacancies. "There's like eight of us here." And once finished, they often stay. Science department chair Eugene Stampley was an early graduate of the program.

Asked how she survived her baptism by fire, Skulark points to peers and mentors. "I had a lot of outside help, a lot," she says. "What really helped me the most that first year was my classmates. The ones that all went to DuSable. We were all really close. We were like a warm family, welcoming."

She adds that interns encourage each other to bid for the same school. She and her first-year colleagues persuaded one of their number to join them at DuSable by saying, "Come be with us. You can wear blue jeans and sneakers and put your hair in a ponytail and just work."

Skulark says DuSable is among the most hospitable schools for TFC interns. Camaraderie and after-hours socializing are encouraged. "This is the best one as far as atmosphere, family atmosphere," she observes. "Other places, they will talk every now and then, but we get together every week after class."

"But now we're past that stage," she continues. "In our second year, people start to branch off."

In addition, Skulark developed new connections by supervising extracurricular activities. She coached softball her first year and girls' track her second.

One morning last February, physical education teacher Jerry White, who coaches boys' track, stops by her room three times to discuss coaching and kids and just to chat. Although Skulark's mentor teacher, Tom Seidis, is sidelined at home with an injury, she checks in at lunchtime with Stampley for a quick hello.

Sense of humor

Skulark's sense of humor carries her through many challenges of urban teaching. A few seconds after the first-period bell has rung, she stands in her empty classroom, arms flung wide, telling a reporter, "You see! The tardy bell has rung, and I have no students."

When the first two arrive one minute later, Skulark hands them today's "bell ringer," or opening activity, a worksheet on balancing equations. It keeps the class occupied while she checks in with recent absentees to arrange ways for them to catch up on missed assignments.

During today's lesson, students dissolve a sliver of magnesium ribbon in a weak solution of hydrochloric acid. Every student has a set of goggles, but there aren't enough gloves to go around.

Skulark alternates between warning the class of the dangers of playing with acid and persuading nervous students to handle the test tubes without gloves. "You don't need gloves if you pay attention," she reassures them. She issues instructions calmly and confidently: "If you spill your acid, do not panic. Just move away from it and call me."

While writing up his lab report, Quinton Covington takes time out to rate his teacher. "She teach us a lot of different stuff. We do like hands-on. We learn more when we're doing the work," he observes. "She likes to teach us. She push us to learn, too."

Revolving door

Cedric Ramsey's experience points to the effects of teacher shortages in science. "I had, I think, six different physics teachers last year." In chemistry this year, thanks to Teachers for Chicago, he will have only one. Of chemistry and Skulark, he says, "It's hard, but she help us. She teaches us. I learned more in here than I learned in physics last year."

Afterward, Skulark says the biggest problem she faces is "we don't have fire--the gas leaks." She tried ordering alcohol burners, "but it's not the same. It's really hard to do a chem lab without fire." She's in the process of inventorying all the chemicals in her supply closet. "These chemicals are older than me--and I'm 40," she quips.

Despite the challenges she faces, Skulark is impressed with her students' efforts. "I was really shocked how the ones who made mistakes went back and did it again without my telling them to," she observes. "They really wanted to make theirs work. They wanted their [results] to look like everyone else's."

Skulark acknowledges her police training comes in handy for classroom management. "The students wonder how I can control them so well," she notes. At first she didn't let them in on her previous career, but now she jokes about it with them. "They say to me, `Ms. Skulark, you look like the police,'" she says. "You make me police you all the time," she wisecracks in return.

Months later, Skulark takes a moment on a day off to reflect on her TFC experience. Most valuable for her was "probably the exposure to so many other educators and being able to adapt and be open, to share ideas and be able to change those ideas to fit your scenario."

She acknowledges that, like many teachers, she thought at first she knew best. "We're all teachers, right? We all want our idea to be the best one," she observes. But thanks to the exposure she's had to so many new ideas through TFC, she says, she's become more open to them.

She's also become more flexible in offering help to other teachers, saying, "Hey, use it if it can help you. This is what I can do with it, but change it to fit with your scenario."

Photo (Teachers for Chicago graduate Ladesta Skulark watches a chemical reaction with DuSable High students Sermaine Wilson and Jason Gray.)

Diesel with a little x-tra

You could hear many a jaw drop when Jaguar first announced that itwas to put a diesel car into production.

But the quality of the car has banished the fears of manytraditionalists.

Price: GBP19,995 on the road.

Federal prosecutors close doping investigation of 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal prosecutors close doping investigation of 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong

Pakistan Taliban say they carried out CIA attack

The Pakistani Taliban claimed Friday that they used a turncoat CIA operative to carry out a suicide bombing that killed seven American CIA employees in Afghanistan as revenge for a top militant leader's death in a U.S. missile strike.

The announcement was nearly impossible to verify independently because it involves covert operations in a dangerous region. It is highly unusual for the Pakistani Taliban to claim credit for an attack in Afghanistan, and the proclamation followed indications the Afghan Taliban may have been involved in the attack.

CIA spokesman George Little could not confirm the account.

"There is much about the attack that isn't yet known, but this much is clear: The CIA's resolve to pursue aggressive counterterrorism operations is greater than ever," he told The Associated Press.

The suicide bomber struck the CIA's operation at Camp Chapman in eastern Khost province on Wednesday. The base was used to direct and coordinate CIA operations and intelligence gathering in Khost, a hotbed of insurgent activity because of its proximity to Pakistan's lawless tribal areas, former CIA officials said. Among the seven killed was the chief of the operation, they said.

Six other people were wounded in what was one of the worst attacks in CIA history.

Qari Hussain, a top militant commander with the Pakistani Taliban who is believed to be a suicide bombing mastermind, said militants had been searching for a way to damage the CIA's ability to launch missile strikes on the Pakistani side of the border.

Using remote-controlled aircraft, the U.S. has launched scores of such missile attacks in the tribal regions over the past year and a half, aiming for high-value al-Qaida and other militant targets.

The most successful strike, in August, killed former Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud at his father-in-law's home. The latest strike, on Friday, killed three suspected militants in a car.

The Washington Post reported Friday that the CIA base has been at the heart of overseeing this covert program. The newspaper cited two former intelligence officials who have visited Chapman as saying that U.S. personnel there are heavily involved in the selection of al-Qaida and Taliban targets for the drone aircraft strikes.

Hussain said a "CIA agent" contacted Pakistani Taliban commanders and said he'd been trained by the agency to take on militants but that he was willing to attack the U.S. intelligence operation on the militants' behalf. He did not specify the nationality of the "agent."

"Thank God that we then trained him and sent him to the Khost air base. The one who was their own man, he succeeded in getting his target," Hussain told an AP reporter who traveled to see him in South Waziristan on Friday. The region is where Pakistan's army is waging a military offensive aimed at dismantling the Pakistani Taliban.

Two former U.S. officials told the AP that the bomber had been invited onto the base and not searched. One official, a former senior intelligence employee, said the man was being courted as an informant and that it was the first time he had been brought inside the camp.

The Pakistani army's offensive in South Waziristan is believed to have forced many Pakistani Taliban leaders to go on the run to other parts of the tribal belt. The group's recent claims that it has sent most of its fighters to help its brethren in Afghanistan were met with skepticism by analysts who said it is trying to worsen the already tense relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan.

Ishtiaq Ahmad, a professor of international relations at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, said the Taliban's latest claim was likely untrue and just another attempt at driving a wedge between the allies because of the military campaign.

"Since the Pakistan army is succeeding, they are trying to complicate Pakistan-U.S. relations," he said. "It only reflects increasing depression."

After Wednesday's attack, Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said an Afghan National Army officer wearing a suicide vest had entered the base and blew himself up. There has been no independent confirmation of the bomber's identity. It was unclear if the Afghan Taliban statement was a claim of responsibility or simply an accounting of what the militants alleged happened.

The Pakistani Taliban and the Afghan Taliban are separate, though linked, insurgent movements. The Afghan Taliban are focused on ridding Afghanistan of Western troops and toppling the U.S.-backed government in Kabul, while the Pakistani Taliban are primarily determined to overthrow the U.S.-allied government in Islamabad.

Both militant movements are largely driven by Pashtuns, an ethnic group that straddles both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border and whose members easily slip back and forth between the countries.

In Washington, CIA director Leon Panetta said Thursday that the seven killed in the Khost attack "were far from home and close to the enemy, doing the hard work that must be done to protect our country from terrorism."

A U.S. intelligence official said the attack will be avenged through successful, aggressive counterterrorism operations, and said the climate at CIA's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, is "determined."

Monks Put Face on China's Tibet Problem

China's Tibet problem got a human face this week in images of crying, red-robed monks, giving international concern a new focal point just as Beijing gears up for the arrival of the Olympic torch.

The outburst by 30 monks at Lhasa's holiest shrine dealt a setback to the government's plans to use a three-day trip for foreign reporters to show that protests and deadly anti-Chinese rioting in the Tibetan capital two weeks ago had subsided.

"We are like prisoners here. There are soldiers all over the place," the monks shouted as officials tugged at the foreign reporters to leave the Jokhang Temple. The monks called for the return of the Dalai Lama from exile and an end to religious restrictions: "We want freedom."

With the Olympic torch coming to Beijing on Monday, the images of the monks in newspapers and on television the world over have further upset the communist government's plans to use the August games to showcase China as a confident, respected power.

"How many people watching these images in the West will buy China's story?" asked Steve Tsang, a China politics expert at Oxford University. "Instead, what you see are these heroic monks who are risking a lot for their cause. That's something your average Westerner is very sympathetic with."

The Jokhang monks are drawing critical attention to China just as the image of a lone man confronting a tank column came to embody world concerns over the crushing of the Tiananmen democracy movement in 1989.

U.S., British and other diplomats who flew into Lhasa on Friday for their own government-invited tour planned to ask their hosts about the monks. They continued their visit Saturday and planned to depart later in the dayu.

European Union foreign ministers gathering in Slovenia appealed to China to resolve the crisis peacefully.

President Bush and Australia's new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, said Friday they want Chinese leaders to meet with the Dalai Lama _ Tibet's exiled but still revered leader _ to defuse tensions.

"It is absolutely clear that there are human rights abuses in Tibet," Rudd told reporters after meeting with Bush in Washington.

Beijing does not have a public relations problem on Tibet with its own people. All media in China are state-controlled so most Chinese see the Tibet protests through reports that hew to the government line: lawless rioting aimed at Chinese and instigated by Dalai Lama supporters.

Chinese and foreigners living in China say Internet controls have ramped up, with Tibet reports on Google and Yahoo and other foreign news sites blocked and Tibet-related discussions on domestic chat sites censored.

The Olympics are overwhelmingly popular among Chinese. But the Lhasa protests, which spread to dozens of Tibetan communities across western China in one of the broadest challenges to Chinese rule in decades, have compounded Beijing's problems in rallying international public opinion ahead of the Olympics.

Already Beijing was struggling to counter foreign critics on human rights, media restrictions and China's relations with Sudan, where the Darfur region has been the site of a bloody conflict since 2003.

"They're not quite as skilled with the serve-and-volley as they could and should be. It's a skill they need to learn," said David Wolf, a business communications consultant in Beijing. "The question is: Are they going to learn quickly enough? It's crash course time."

Jitters over the situation in Lhasa were evident Friday _ the last day of the foreign reporters' visit _ and throughout the government tour.

Police closed lanes in the old Tibetan city leading to a mosque for Friday prayers, allowing only worshippers and residents in. The mosque and many Muslim-owned shops were targeted by rioters, apparently out of resentment for their prominence in business.

Officials took the reporters to interview injured soldiers and Chinese who were attacked or whose businesses were burned during the rioting. All of them had been screened and previously interviewed by state media. Reporters who attempted to report independently were followed.

At the same time, the fact that the trip happened at all was a sign that Beijing wants to appear responsive to international concerns.

Officials accompanying the reporters agreed to a request to interview Tibetans detained for rioting. They also tried to spin Thursday's Jokhang outburst, saying it signaled government tolerance.

"China is more open. You can see that in the Jokhang. The monks told you things that are not identical with the government," said Zhang Lizhong, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official posted to Lhasa to deal with visiting foreigners.

Yet the government also seemed intent on laying blame for the rioting on the Dalai Lama and his supporters without addressing grievances by Tibetans over the influx of Chinese migrants and, as with the Jokhang monks, religious restrictions.

"This incident started on March 10, and everyone knows March 10 is the day in 1959 that the Dalai Lama instigated a rebellion," Drubkang, a lama who heads Tibet's government-backed Buddhist Association, told reporters. "So this was premeditated."

It's a message that's a tough sell for Western publics that tend to see the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Dalai Lama as a spiritual figure of moral authority.

On Friday, the Dalai Lama reiterated that he supported Beijing's holding of the Olympics but decried state media's depiction of the protests, which has dwelled on violence against Chinese.

"The state media's portrayal of the recent events in Tibet, using deceit and distorted images, could sow the seeds of racial tension with unpredictable long-term consequences. This is of grave concern to me," he said in a statement from his base in exile, Dharmsala, India.

To many, the monks' outburst reaffirms what Bush, Rudd and other Western leaders have said _ that China should open talks with the Dalai Lama to ease tensions in Tibet. It's a demand Chinese leaders have resisted so far.

"For people, in this case the monks, to disrupt a press conference, it's extremely bold and very unusual," said Rebecca MacKinnon, a journalism professor at Hong Kong University. "It shows how angry people are."

___

Associated Press reporter Tini Tran in Beijing contributed to this report.

Medvedev sworn in as Russia's president, appoints ex-President Putin as his premier

The most remarkable thing about the inauguration of President Dmitry Medvedev wasn't the booming cannons, the goose-stepping guards and the glittering czarist hall where Russia's elite gathered for the hushed ceremony.

What was most impressive, perhaps, was that Wednesday's swearing-in marked a rare constitutional transfer of power in a country where regime change has often resulted from illness, political unrest or violence.

Some credit the policies of former President Vladimir Putin _ who presided over the rollback of democratic rights, an expansion of state control of the media and a crackdown on independent civic groups during his eight years in office _ with Russia's stable political environment.

But Medvedev has promised that as president he will strengthen democracy, and he hinted at reducing conflicts with the West, raising the hopes of those who want Russia to shift course.

On Thursday, Putin is expected to become Medvedev's prime minister and, by most accounts, will rule Russia jointly with the new president. Both Medvedev and Putin have dismissed concerns that the two might clash.

However, Wednesday's ceremony in the glittering Andreyevsky Hall of the Kremlin Grand Palace, which overlooks the Moscow River, only emphasized the apparent contradictions between the new 42-year-old president and Putin, 55, his premier-in-waiting.

While Medvedev spoke of economic and democratic development after taking the oath of office, Putin said in his own brief remarks that the Russian people "have many times defended their own path and their sovereignty."

The language echoed Putin's past allegations that Western democracies are trying to impose their political system on Russia as part of a campaign of surrounding and weakening the country.

Under the Russian constitution, the presidency has sweeping powers. But the powers of the prime minister's office are elastic, and Putin appears poised to expand them. He also has assumed the chairmanship of the United Russia party, which dominates politics from the municipal level to the parliament.

The new premier is expected to have increased authority over governors and regional leaders. According to Russian press reports, Putin will have 11 deputies compared to the five who served his predecessor, Viktor Zubkov.

In addition, many analysts expect Medvedev to defer to Putin, his longtime mentor, on important decisions _ at least during Medvedev's first few months in office.

Putin has vowed to remain prime minister as long as he is needed. There is speculation he sees the job as a transitional post, with some expecting him to retire from politics but other predicting he will someday return to the presidency. Term limits required him to give up that post after two consecutive terms.

Several times, Putin loyalists pleaded with him to support a change in the constitution that would permit him to remain president. But he rejected those entreaties, saying he would respect the constitution he inherited.

"Eight years ago when I was sworn in as Russian president for the first time, I pledged to work openly and honestly, to loyally serve the people and the state," he said during the inauguration ceremony. "I did not break my pledge!"

Russia's major television networks broadcast live coverage of the transfer of power, which featured goose-stepping young guards resplendent in blue uniforms and high-peaked caps and a 30-gun salute by a battery near the high Kremlin walls.

Shortly after noon, Medvedev strode up a red carpet and took the oath of office. The brief statement included a pledge "to protect the rights and liberties of every citizen."

Later in a speech, Medvedev declared that "human rights and freedoms ... are deemed of the highest value for our society and they determine the meaning and content of all state activity."

The new president, who worked as Putin's assistant in St. Petersburg City Hall in the 1990s, inherits a robust economy that has experienced a decade of rapid growth thanks to high world prices for Russia's oil, natural gas and other commodities.

But he must also grapple with double-digit inflation, tight credit markets overseas and the possibility that the price of natural resources will not grow as fast as they did under Putin.

Medvedev promised in his speech to modernize industry and agriculture, encourage the development of new technologies and attract investment. He also pledged to keep Russia open to the rest of the world and to participate in "constructive and equal dialogue" with other nations.

Putin, 55, endorsed Medvedev as his successor in December, rallying the Kremlin and the United Russia party behind his candidate. Medvedev was elected March 2 with just over 70 percent of the votes.

Medvedev's victory was aided by Russia's major TV networks, which are all formally or informally controlled by the state and lavished coverage on Medvedev while paying little attention to his challengers.

Many voters said they were pressured by employers and government officials to support the Kremlin favorite, and there were allegations of ballot stuffing and other irregularities. The leader of the main European election monitoring mission said the vote was neither free nor fair.

Despite Medvedev's vows to protect democracy, anti-government demonstrations were prohibited, broken up or harassed by police both before and after his election. Police detained dozens of anti-Kremlin protesters Tuesday as they tried to stage a rally.

State-owned Channel One television provided elaborate coverage of Wednesday's event, broadcasting sweeping aerial shots of the Kremlin's crenelated walls, its cluster of gilded onion domes and the cloistered courtyards where ranks of blue-uniformed soldiers waited for the arrival of Medvedev.

Television viewers watched the progress of the black Mercedes Pullman limousine carrying Medvedev through the deserted streets of the city center _ evidence of the high level of security for the inauguration.

The president-elect was driven along the banks of the Moscow River, up into Red Square and through the Kremlin's Spassky Gate, with its famous clock tower facing St. Basil's Cathedral.

Later, the crowded Andreyevsky Hall, with its huge doors and intricate chandeliers, shimmered with gold leaf and bright television lights as Medvedev was sworn in.

City program helps fix problem of unwanted pets Every month, the agencies involved provide free spaying and neutering.

Too many times when government comes up with a way to combat aproblem, it's merely a bandage, not a real solution. That's why I'mpretty impressed with a program operating out of the city's AnimalCare and Control.

Unwanted pets have become a big issue for the city. Animal Careand Control handles 70,000 calls a year about problem animals on theloose, often the ones that end up injuring people. Then there's theproblem of the thousands of dogs and cats that the city has to put tosleep every year.

Neither situation is good, and no one knows that better than thepeople at Animal Care and Control. After all, they're the ones whosee it firsthand. And firsthand often isn't very pretty, according toMelanie Sobel, director of program services.

Often the animals her department brings in off the street are"abused, neglected strays," says Sobel. "They are often injuredanimals. We see animals in horrible, horrible circumstances.

"It's important to understand that not all of these animals areadoptable," she says, when citing the thousands that the city musteuthanize each year. Even if they were, too many people now want"designer" dogs, and only 12 percent to 14 percent come to animalshelters when they decide to get a pet, according to Sobel.

Cartoons often portray the animal control officers as the mean olddog catchers. But seeing these maimed creatures and putting down allthose animals can't be easy for them, either. "Overpopulation is atragedy," says Sobel. "We're sending animals to a premature death."

Which is one of the reasons this department and two of the largestanimal care agencies came up with their innovative program. Thecity's Animal Care and Control, along with the Anti-Cruelty Societyand the Animal Welfare League, created Chicago's Big Fix program.It's a multifaceted plan that goes to the heart of the problem,reducing the number of unwanted animals born in the city. Theirthinking was that fewer births would mean fewer street rescues andunwanted pets relinquished to shelters. Great idea!

Encouraging people to spay or neuter their pets isn't enough.After all, it can be a very expensive surgery. So the agencies knewthey had to make the price right. Every month, the agencies involvedprovide free spaying and neutering to residents in those ZIP codesthat have the largest stray animal populations. The ZIP codesinvolved are 606: 09, 10, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 32,33, 36, 37, 39, 43, 44, 47, 49, 51, 52 and 61.

Participants must be the pet's legal owner. Only dogs and cats areaccepted, and there's a limit of one pet per owner. The animals mustbe between 8 weeks and 10 years of age. (To register for the freeservice, call 312-742-3499.)

The agencies involved knew that while the free surgery would beimportant, they couldn't stop there. So they began an educationprogram to explain what responsible pet care is, according to Sobel.Fliers are being handed out at schools. Community policing workersand volunteers have been placing orange hangers on doors that explainwhat the pet laws are.

They've also been giving presentations in the targeted areas,addressing responsibility and humane treatment of animals. Throughthese presentations and the distributed information, they also wantto dispel the myths surrounding spaying or neutering.

There are people who see neutering their male animals as cruel,according to Sobel, who says it's quite the opposite.

"An animal that is spayed or neutered is less likely to want toroam, less likely to be aggressive," she says.

As mentioned, the education program also deals with the humanetreatment of animals. The agencies see a lot of dogs being bred forstreet fighting, and they want people to know that it isn't "cool"for the animals, it's cruel.

The city has done its part to help pet owners. Now it's up to themto be responsible to do the right thing.

'Stubborn' Staley returns without contract extension

PHILADELPHIA--Running back Duce Staley returned Sunday to thePhiladelphia Eagles, choosing to end his 26-day holdout without thecontract extension he was seeking.

"I'm not afraid to say that I was stubborn," Staley said on hisfirst day of practice. "It's behind us. It's over. It's squashed.It's time to move on and bring something new to the city--hopefully,that's a ring--and stay positive."

Staley, who is in the final year of a contract that will pay him$2.2 million this season, held out in an effort to pressure theEagles to give him an extension. But the Eagles have two youngrunning backs in Correll Buckhalter and Brian Westbrook and made itobvious they weren't prepared to make a long-term commitment toStaley.

Staley and his agent, Derrick Harrison, met with coach Andy Reidat least twice last week and again when Staley arrived Saturday inPhiladelphia.

"It started with communication," Staley said. "I had a chance tosit down and talk, and he let me know where I stood and where Istand. That's all I ever wanted. I want to be here, there's no doubtabout it. I'm looking forward to getting an opportunity to get acontract extension."

Neither Staley nor Reid revealed what was discussed during theirmeetings.

"We feel good going forward, both sides," Reid said. "It'simportant Duce has the time to get himself back into football shape.We're going to ease him into playing shape, and good things willhappen."

Staley had 1,029 yards rushing and 541 yards receiving and scoredeight touchdowns last season. He stayed away from the Eagles'voluntary minicamp in June along with cornerback Bobby Taylor, whoalso is seeking a contract extension. Taylor, however, reported totraining camp on time.

"I think guys have respect for each player's individualcircumstances," Taylor said. "I'm happy he's here now. Hopefully, hecan get all the questions answered and move on and play football."

While Staley held out, the Eagles gave receiver Todd Pinkston asix-year extension.

Earlier this month, Staley released a statement criticizing Eaglesmanagement for not "seriously" discussing his future with the team.

"I really wanted to come back in and get back with my teammates,"Staley said after practicing with the second-team offense. "I reallywanted to come back and be with the fans and let them know I stillwant to play. I still want to be here."

AP

Ecclestone worried Renault may pull out of F1

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone is worried that Renault may pull out of the sport following allegations that the team ordered a crash to help secure victory for Fernando Alonso.

F1's governing body is investigating "alleged incidents" believed to be a crash by Nelson Piquet Jr. that allowed teammate Alonso to take advantage of an early pit stop and win last year's Singapore Grand Prix.

Ecclestone said that Renault team principal Flavio Briatore told him he knows nothing about any conspiracy to affect the course of the race

Piquet Jr. crashed on the 13th lap and Alonso's gamble to run a short 12-lap strategy before pitting paid off as the Spanish driver went on to score an unlikely victory.

"This is not the sort of thing we need at the moment," Ecclestone said in an interview published Tuesday by The Times of London. "Them leaving the sport is a danger, obviously. I mean, I hope that it isn't like that, but it's the sort of thing that might happen.

"All I know is that Flavio is insisting that he knows nothing about it. I think the FIA are looking into everything."

Renault's departure would be a blow to a sport that already lost Honda after last year's championship and is set to lose BMW at the end of this season.

Ecclestone said the cheating allegation can only be proved by technical evidence backing it up.

"If it's just young Piquet saying this because he wants to say it, that's one thing," Ecclestone said. "If, on the other hand, there's some reality to it, then it's all different. It will be difficult to prove.

"If there is something on the radio that said, 'Er, Nelson, you'd better crash now,' then what the hell can they do?"

Piquet Jr. was fired by Renault last month after a season and a half, and the Brazilian driver complained about unequal treatment by Briatore compared to his two-time world champion teammate.

Ecclestone suggested that Piquet Jr.'s F1 career could be over.

"You can safely say that he's sort of in trouble now," Ecclestone said. "You'd have to wonder what next, wouldn't you?"

1 Killed in Palestinian Shootout in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian gunmen from Hamas and Fatah exchanged fire in the Gaza Strip early Sunday, killing a local militia leader and wounding seven people in the most serious flareup of violence since a power-sharing deal between the political rivals last month.

Both sides blamed each other for starting the battle in the northern town of Beit Hanoun.

Hamas said a truckload of Fatah gunmen opened fire on the militant group's forces near the town's sports club, killing a Hamas field commander, Mohammed Kafarneh. Fatah said the shooting began when Hamas attacked a compound of the security forces with rocket-propelled grenades. Later, Hamas and Fatah gunmen also exchanged fire for a few minutes in Gaza City.

In another incident, two Gaza fishermen were wounded when an Israeli navy vessel fired on their boat near the Gaza-Egypt border, Palestinian security officials said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Sunday's death was only the second since last month's Saudi Arbaia-backed Hamas-Fatah cease-fire which cleared the way for talks on setting up a Hamas-Fatah coalition government.

The violence followed an incident in the West Bank on Saturday in which gunmen fired on the car of Prisoners Affairs Minister Wasfi Kabaha of Hamas, security officials said. Nobody was injured in the attack, which Hamas blamed on Palestinian security officials with ties to Fatah. Security officials said they did not know who was responsible.

The Palestinian unity government was intended to halt months of fighting in which more than 130 people were killed. But tensions have remained high since the accord was announced weeks ago.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah hopes the coalition government, to be formed within two weeks, will also help end an international boycott of the year-old Hamas government and lead to a resumption of peace talks with Israel.

The international community has said it would withhold judgment until it sees the new government's political program. However, the coalition, in deference to Hamas, is unlikely to agree to the world's conditions for acceptance, including recognition of Israel.

With the Hamas-Fatah coalition not yet established, little progress was expected at a meeting Sunday between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said Israel will not consider a resumption of peace talks unless it wins recognition from a new Palestinian government, and unless Palestinian militants halt rocket fire from Gaza.

"We are not at a phase where we're actually talking about substance," Eisin said. "We're at a point in which we're trying to build confidence between the sides."

The Palestinians want to resume talks on a final peace deal which broke down more than six years ago. However, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said progress toward that goal is unlikely at the moment. "These are difficult times between us and I don't want to raise expectations," Erekat said.

Abbas will ask Olmert to halt Israeli military operations in the West Bank, as part of an effort to broaden an informal cease-fire, in place in Gaza since November, Erekat said. Olmert and Abbas will also discuss Egyptian attempts to win the release of an Israeli soldier kidnapped in Gaza in June, Erekat said.

Sunday's meeting is the second between Olmert and Abbas in a month. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hosted the previous talks on Feb. 19 and is expected back in the region later this month, Israel Army Radio said.

5 pct of GM stock set aside for employees in IPO

DETROIT (AP) — Five percent of General Motors' common shares are being set aside for employees and dealers to buy in the company's initial stock sale.

GM disclosed the amount Thursday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. GM says it asked investment bankers running the initial public offering to reserve the shares for U.S. and Canadian employees, retirees and dealers.

The initial sale of GM's stock is expected to take place in November. A date and price at which shares will be sold have not been set officially. GM Chairman Ed Whitacre thinks GM's stock will be priced at between $20 and $25 a share.

Employees and dealers have until Oct. 22 to sign up to buy the shares at the IPO's initial price. They must invest at least $1,000.

Olympic bid supporters to launch pro-games drive

MUNICH (AP) — Supporters of Munich's campaign for the 2018 Winter Olympics plan a petition drive to counter the opponents trying to force a referendum against the bid.

Munich Mayor Christian Ude said Tuesday that Olympic supporters have to fight back against the attempts of opponents trying to keep the bid in limbo until the International Olympic Committee picks the host in July.

"We have to do something and react," Ude said. "The other side just wants to have a Damocles sword hanging over the bid and we want to do something against it."

Munich is competing against bids from Pyeongchang, South Korea, and Annecy, France.

Opponents of the bid in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which would host the Alpine skiing events in 2018, are pushing for a referendum against the Olympics. Such a move would produce a lengthy court battle that would likely still be going on when the IOC votes July 6 in Durban, South Africa.

Anti-Olympic activists say the games are too big for the area around Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which staged the 1936 Winter Olympics. They also cite ecological concerns.

In addition, a group of farmers in Garmisch-Partenkirchen has refused to cede land needed for some Olympic venues, including the finish area of the downhill race.

The group's lawyer has again denied suggestions from bid committee officials that a deal was close.

A group of about 40 anti-Olympic activists held up signs against the games Tuesday evening at the central Marienplatz square.

Ude displayed a large wooden mallet he traditionally uses to tap the first keg at the annual Oktoberfest beer bash, as he presented Olympic plans Tuesday to the IOC evaluation commission.

The IOC panel is on a five-day visit to inspect the Olympic facilities. The group will also meet with anti-Olympic activists.

"Munich is a world-class city with a 'laptops and lederhosen' personality," Ude told the commission.

The Bavarian capital is bidding to become the first city to stage both summer and winter games. Ude said many of the 1972 Olympic facilities would be used again in 2018 if Munich won the bid. Munich would be the center for ice sports.

"Our plans would ensure the expansion and modernization of the Olympic Park and another 40 years of sustainable use. This would deliver an unprecedented 80 years of sustainable Olympic legacy," Ude said.

Thomas Bach, president of the German Olympic Sports Union (DOSB) and a vice president of the IOC, promised that Germany would open its training facilities to athletes from all over the world, in both winter and summer sports.

"Sharing our resources and strengthening the Olympic movement is a 30-year tradition for Germany," said Back, who was the president of two earlier IOC evaluation commissions himself.

"In Germany, we have a rich culture of winter sports and one of the world's most passionate audiences. We can provide an unparalleled platform for reinvigorating the winter sports movement worldwide and inspiring a new generation of young athletes," Bach said.

Katarina Witt, the president of the bid committee, stressed the "festival of friendship" theme of the games and said Munich 2018 "will leave everyone with lifelong Olympic memories."

The former Olympic figure skating champion said "passionate sports audiences create an atmosphere that makes competing in Germany an unforgettable experience for every athlete."

THE ANTIDOTE

RHYTHM AND BLUES

As I absently stare at my personalized Google homepage, trying to decide how best to waste my time here at work, I notice that my embedded biorhythm Google gadget says that my physical and intellectual cycles are on downswings and my emotional biorhythm is near its peak. Ignoring the fact that I actually got it together to e-mail this question, could that be why I 'm so lethargic today?

-Anthony L, West Boise

I doubt it. Your depression is more likely due to Google buying up your company and replacing you with a three-line algorithm. Next, I expect that you and the other staff members will be promptly digitized and stored in your own Gmail accounts. Buck up, though. Your family should still be able to download you for the holidays-assuming you aren't corrupted. Farfetched? Maybe, but it nonetheless remains a much more probable scenario than the idea your biorhythm is causing your sluggishness.

Those fun little biorhythm charts are based on a theory that some take quite seriously. Adherents say that our behavior, attitudes and aptitudes are directly affected by cyclic biological rhythms. Beginning at the moment of birth and continuing until our death, three main cycles are allegedly in motion: a 23-day physical (strength, endurance), 28-day emotional (mood, creativity) and a 33-day intellectual rhythm (memory, reasoning). Whether a particular cycle is rising, falling or crossing a baseline supposedly determines your capacity in that category, and knowing the relative positions is said to provide guidance for your daily challenges.

Proposed in the late 1890s by German physician Wilhelm Reiss, the original philosophy included only the 23- and 28-day cycles, which he considered the male and female rhythms respectively. The latter, coinciding with menstruation, he misogynistically labeled the "emotional" cycle. Some 20 years later, an Austrian teacher added the 33-day intellectual cycle based on, apparently, nothing more than the variations in quality of his students' work. With even less rigor, if that's possible, newer cycles like intuition and spirituality have now been added. Seriously, if that's all it takes, I propose a 30-day financial cycle, as I've noticed my bank account going negative every month. Like clockwork.

Fleiss was an ear, nose and throat specialist, but had a strong interest in human psychology and behavior. Another of his ideas was that there is a specific spot, on a bone inside your sinuses, which can profoundly stimulate the genitals. In treating at least one case of premenstrual syndrome, he actually surgically removed this bone, resulting in severe disfigurement of his patient (who likely never again mentioned her PMS to a doctor). Strangely enough, and for quite some time, Reiss was among the closest confidants of psychiatrist Sigmund Freud. There is evidence that part of Reiss' biorhythm theory-that all people are affected by both male and female cycles-had a significant and lasting influence on Freud's ideas on bisexuality. At some point (I'm guessing during the erotic sinus period), Freud broke off contact with Reiss and destroyed all correspondence he had received from him. But, as luck would have it, Freud's own letters to Reiss were saved and ultimately published.

Despite the fact that some biological rhythms are real (such as circadian rhythms of sleep/wakefulness and animal hibernation/estivation), the biorhythm hypothesis fails nearly every scientific test-especially my logic smell-test. For example, why would these cycles begin exactly at the moment of birth? Why not at conception? How can it be explained that biorhythms remain unerringly constant-never slowing or acceleratingdespite illness, geographic heritage or simple variation among individuals? Lest you think that I'm merely on an emotional swing, there's a comprehensive review article in a 1998 issue of Psychological Reports that evaluated 134 biorhythm studies, concluding that the theory is neither valid nor supported.

Truthfully, there's little harm to be found in monitoring these prophecies, even if you plan your life around them. Sure, there are those who base relationships on rhythmic compatibility, but even they can find enough contradictory opinions to allow a date with almost anyone. They just choose between the ideas that "partners who cycle together travel life's roads as one" and "partners out of sync are always there to support one another."

My only advice is to avoid placing too much faith in the predictions. Passing the bar exam simply because you're at an intellectual peak is about as likely as-you should forgive the crude Dr. Reiss reference-picking your nose and expecting an orgasm. Regardless, don't worry about your new Google bosses noticing your biorhythm habit; they obviously believe in providence and serendipity themselves. How else can you explain the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button still on their search engine after all these years?

[Author Affiliation]

BY DR. ED RABIN

[Author Affiliation]

Dr. Ed Rabin is a chiropractor practicing at Life Chiropractic Center in Boise. Send nasal fetish videos and health-related questions to theantidote@edrabin.com (on the Web at www.edrabin.com).

Edwards beats Keselowski in wild finish

Carl Edwards meant no harm to Brad Keselowski. He just wanted to take the checkered flag that he deserved.

Edwards prevailed in a wild final lap, nudging Keselowski out of control on the final straightaway to take the Nationwide Dodge Dealers 250 on Saturday night.

"The deal is he'll eventually learn he can't run into my car over and over and put me in bad situations," Edwards said. "In every situation, there's an aggressor and there's someone who reacts.

"I was not the aggressor in this situation."

Keselowski was on the inside and had appeared to take the lead before Edwards' car drifted into him. Keselowski spun into the wall and was struck head-on by another car as he slid back to toward the infield.

Edwards said Keselowski wouldn't have been in position to win if he hadn't bumped Edwards earlier on the final lap.

"The way it went, he bumped me and he finished wherever he finished and I still won the race," Edwards said. "That's the only way I could see the race turning out fair."

Keselowski finally rolled across the line in 14th. He wasn't hurt, just peeved.

"I'm sure he'll say how sorry he is, or how cool he thinks he is or how great of a guy he is in his own mind," said Keselowski, the Nationwide points leader. "But that's not reality."

Edwards, of Columbia, Mo., won for the third time at Gateway International Raceway, which he considers his home track. Reed Sorenson was second and 19-year-old pole-sitter Trevor Bayne third.

Sorenson said he was just trying to avoid the mess.

"I couldn't hardly see what happened," Sorenson said. "The 60 (Edwards) obviously got into the right rear of the 22 (Keselowski). I just hoped I would beat the 60 to the line."

Keselowski was runner-up in the Camping World 200 truck race earlier Saturday, and led much of the Nationwide series event. He said the contact in turn 1 on the final lap was incidental.

"I was rubbing on him a little bit," Keselowski said. "I figured out a way to beat him. He wasn't happy with me, so he wrecked me. Wrecking down the straightaway is never cool whether he's at 200 mph or 120."

Naomi Campbell Sued Again by Ex-Employee

NEW YORK - Naomi Campbell, who has been accused of hitting several of her employees, was sued Tuesday by a former maid who says the British catwalker viciously assaulted her while calling her a dumb Romanian.

Gaby Gibson filed the lawsuit on the eve of Campbell's scheduled Manhattan Criminal Court appearance on charges of hitting another employee. Gibson's court papers say Campbell, far from being a supermodel, is a "violent super-bigot."

Campbell, 35, "subjected Gibson to repeated discriminatory assaults based on her national origin" by saying, "You are not in the Third World any more, stupid," and "Romanians are not usually as dumb as you," Gibson's court papers say.

The lawsuit says other remarks Campbell made to Gibson, who speaks with a foreign accent, included, "When will you learn English?" and "Are all the women in Romania as pathetic as you?"

Gibson, who worked for Campbell from November 2005 through January 2006, says the model hit her on Jan. 17, called her names and threatened to have her arrested for theft after being unable to find a pair of jeans.

"As Gibson was bent over searching the closet for the Stella McCartney jeans, Campbell either kicked or punched the back of Gibson's head during the assault while yelling discriminatory comments at Gibson," the court papers say.

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, was Gibson's second against Campbell. In June, Gibson accused Campbell of employment discrimination, civil assault and civil battery.

Gibson's lawyer, Lambros Y. Lambrou, said the second lawsuit was needed to add other defendants and allegations. The new defendants include four companies owned by Campbell and her former publicist, Amanda Silverman.

Silverman "knowingly and intentionally disseminated false and defamatory statements against Gibson worldwide" and hurt her reputation, court papers say.

Lambrou also said Campbell has not taken her anger issues seriously. He said she has been seen wearing a T-shirt that says "NAOMI HIT ME" on the front and "I LOVE IT" on the back - this, as criminal assault charges are pending against her.

Campbell's lawyer, David Breitbart, said Gibson's first lawsuit was automatically dismissed because Lambrou failed to file papers within the legal time limit.

He denied Gibson's claims and said he would reply at the proper time in appropriate fashion. He also said he believed Campbell's employees were obliged by contract to take complaints against the model to arbitration and keep their interactions confidential.

Silverman, the publicist, said she had no comment on the lawsuit.

Campbell's Wednesday court date on an assault charge stems from a similar incident: She was unable to find a pair of jeans and blamed the maid.

In that incident, Campbell was accused of hitting Ana Scolavino in the back of the head with a cell phone in the model's Manhattan apartment after saying she stole the missing jeans.

Scolavino was treated for a head injury after the incident.

Breitbart has said he was considering a plea offer from the Manhattan district attorney's office in that case. He would not say what the offer was.

Campbell, who is from London, faces up to seven years in prison and deportation if convicted after a trial on that charge.

Naomi Campbell Sued Again by Ex-Employee

NEW YORK - Naomi Campbell, who has been accused of hitting several of her employees, was sued Tuesday by a former maid who says the British catwalker viciously assaulted her while calling her a dumb Romanian.

Gaby Gibson filed the lawsuit on the eve of Campbell's scheduled Manhattan Criminal Court appearance on charges of hitting another employee. Gibson's court papers say Campbell, far from being a supermodel, is a "violent super-bigot."

Campbell, 35, "subjected Gibson to repeated discriminatory assaults based on her national origin" by saying, "You are not in the Third World any more, stupid," and "Romanians are not usually as dumb as you," Gibson's court papers say.

The lawsuit says other remarks Campbell made to Gibson, who speaks with a foreign accent, included, "When will you learn English?" and "Are all the women in Romania as pathetic as you?"

Gibson, who worked for Campbell from November 2005 through January 2006, says the model hit her on Jan. 17, called her names and threatened to have her arrested for theft after being unable to find a pair of jeans.

"As Gibson was bent over searching the closet for the Stella McCartney jeans, Campbell either kicked or punched the back of Gibson's head during the assault while yelling discriminatory comments at Gibson," the court papers say.

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, was Gibson's second against Campbell. In June, Gibson accused Campbell of employment discrimination, civil assault and civil battery.

Gibson's lawyer, Lambros Y. Lambrou, said the second lawsuit was needed to add other defendants and allegations. The new defendants include four companies owned by Campbell and her former publicist, Amanda Silverman.

Silverman "knowingly and intentionally disseminated false and defamatory statements against Gibson worldwide" and hurt her reputation, court papers say.

Lambrou also said Campbell has not taken her anger issues seriously. He said she has been seen wearing a T-shirt that says "NAOMI HIT ME" on the front and "I LOVE IT" on the back - this, as criminal assault charges are pending against her.

Campbell's lawyer, David Breitbart, said Gibson's first lawsuit was automatically dismissed because Lambrou failed to file papers within the legal time limit.

He denied Gibson's claims and said he would reply at the proper time in appropriate fashion. He also said he believed Campbell's employees were obliged by contract to take complaints against the model to arbitration and keep their interactions confidential.

Silverman, the publicist, said she had no comment on the lawsuit.

Campbell's Wednesday court date on an assault charge stems from a similar incident: She was unable to find a pair of jeans and blamed the maid.

In that incident, Campbell was accused of hitting Ana Scolavino in the back of the head with a cell phone in the model's Manhattan apartment after saying she stole the missing jeans.

Scolavino was treated for a head injury after the incident.

Breitbart has said he was considering a plea offer from the Manhattan district attorney's office in that case. He would not say what the offer was.

Campbell, who is from London, faces up to seven years in prison and deportation if convicted after a trial on that charge.

Naomi Campbell Sued Again by Ex-Employee

NEW YORK - Naomi Campbell, who has been accused of hitting several of her employees, was sued Tuesday by a former maid who says the British catwalker viciously assaulted her while calling her a dumb Romanian.

Gaby Gibson filed the lawsuit on the eve of Campbell's scheduled Manhattan Criminal Court appearance on charges of hitting another employee. Gibson's court papers say Campbell, far from being a supermodel, is a "violent super-bigot."

Campbell, 35, "subjected Gibson to repeated discriminatory assaults based on her national origin" by saying, "You are not in the Third World any more, stupid," and "Romanians are not usually as dumb as you," Gibson's court papers say.

The lawsuit says other remarks Campbell made to Gibson, who speaks with a foreign accent, included, "When will you learn English?" and "Are all the women in Romania as pathetic as you?"

Gibson, who worked for Campbell from November 2005 through January 2006, says the model hit her on Jan. 17, called her names and threatened to have her arrested for theft after being unable to find a pair of jeans.

"As Gibson was bent over searching the closet for the Stella McCartney jeans, Campbell either kicked or punched the back of Gibson's head during the assault while yelling discriminatory comments at Gibson," the court papers say.

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, was Gibson's second against Campbell. In June, Gibson accused Campbell of employment discrimination, civil assault and civil battery.

Gibson's lawyer, Lambros Y. Lambrou, said the second lawsuit was needed to add other defendants and allegations. The new defendants include four companies owned by Campbell and her former publicist, Amanda Silverman.

Silverman "knowingly and intentionally disseminated false and defamatory statements against Gibson worldwide" and hurt her reputation, court papers say.

Lambrou also said Campbell has not taken her anger issues seriously. He said she has been seen wearing a T-shirt that says "NAOMI HIT ME" on the front and "I LOVE IT" on the back - this, as criminal assault charges are pending against her.

Campbell's lawyer, David Breitbart, said Gibson's first lawsuit was automatically dismissed because Lambrou failed to file papers within the legal time limit.

He denied Gibson's claims and said he would reply at the proper time in appropriate fashion. He also said he believed Campbell's employees were obliged by contract to take complaints against the model to arbitration and keep their interactions confidential.

Silverman, the publicist, said she had no comment on the lawsuit.

Campbell's Wednesday court date on an assault charge stems from a similar incident: She was unable to find a pair of jeans and blamed the maid.

In that incident, Campbell was accused of hitting Ana Scolavino in the back of the head with a cell phone in the model's Manhattan apartment after saying she stole the missing jeans.

Scolavino was treated for a head injury after the incident.

Breitbart has said he was considering a plea offer from the Manhattan district attorney's office in that case. He would not say what the offer was.

Campbell, who is from London, faces up to seven years in prison and deportation if convicted after a trial on that charge.

Chess King to stress young men's casuals. (men's clothing)

CHESS KING TO STRESS YOUNG MEN'S CASUALS RYE, N.Y. -- Melville Corp.'s Chess King division is being redirected to concentrate on young men's casual apparel.

Michael Friedheim, executive vice-president of Melville Corp., emphasized the new direction of Chess King at the corporation's annual meeting at its headquarters here. At the 30-minute, rapid-fire meeting, Friedheim said: "We're going to offer fewer styles and more depth to the styles (at Chess King) and there will be an intensification of our core items." The remerchandised division will continue to offer a mix of both private-label and branded merchandise, with "no percentage gains" in either area, Friedheim said.

The Chess King stores are also being redesigned, he added with the Willowbrook Mall store in Wayne, N.J., serving as the prototype. He declined to elaborate.

Stanley Goldstein, chairman, president and chief operating officer of the corporation, attributed Melville's slight drop in net earnings for the year, off 3.2 percent, to a difficult year for the economy, with consumer confidence dropping and energy prices on the rise.

He kidded that the company's "new building syndrome" was able to blame.

"We moved into our new headquarters one year ago today and our colleagues joked that we were doomed for a least one bad year," Goldstein said." If we had a waterfall in our lobby, we'd be doomed for two (bad years)."

The year was difficult for Melville's other apparel divisions: Marshalls, an off-price retailer, and Wilsons, a leather goods retailer.

"There was a modest same-store increase at Marshalls," Friedheim said, "due to promotional sales, but the recession affected our business, as 25 percent of our business is done in the Northeast," one of the hardest-hit areas.

There is also remodeling program at Marshalls, aimed at improving systems and getting merchandise to the consumer in a more timely manner. The company will continue to focus, Friedheim said, on women's sportswear, dresses and gifts and housewares.

Melville is also searching for a chairman and CEO for Marshalls, Friedheim said, to replace Frank Arnone, who resigned from this position April 12. Friedheim will be acting chairman of Marshalls until the position is filled.

At Wilsons, Friedheim said, "Leather sales go in cycles and it is not at the high end . . . There is no newness." He added that the recession hurt sales, as did the warm weather in November and December.

Chess King to stress young men's casuals. (men's clothing)

CHESS KING TO STRESS YOUNG MEN'S CASUALS RYE, N.Y. -- Melville Corp.'s Chess King division is being redirected to concentrate on young men's casual apparel.

Michael Friedheim, executive vice-president of Melville Corp., emphasized the new direction of Chess King at the corporation's annual meeting at its headquarters here. At the 30-minute, rapid-fire meeting, Friedheim said: "We're going to offer fewer styles and more depth to the styles (at Chess King) and there will be an intensification of our core items." The remerchandised division will continue to offer a mix of both private-label and branded merchandise, with "no percentage gains" in either area, Friedheim said.

The Chess King stores are also being redesigned, he added with the Willowbrook Mall store in Wayne, N.J., serving as the prototype. He declined to elaborate.

Stanley Goldstein, chairman, president and chief operating officer of the corporation, attributed Melville's slight drop in net earnings for the year, off 3.2 percent, to a difficult year for the economy, with consumer confidence dropping and energy prices on the rise.

He kidded that the company's "new building syndrome" was able to blame.

"We moved into our new headquarters one year ago today and our colleagues joked that we were doomed for a least one bad year," Goldstein said." If we had a waterfall in our lobby, we'd be doomed for two (bad years)."

The year was difficult for Melville's other apparel divisions: Marshalls, an off-price retailer, and Wilsons, a leather goods retailer.

"There was a modest same-store increase at Marshalls," Friedheim said, "due to promotional sales, but the recession affected our business, as 25 percent of our business is done in the Northeast," one of the hardest-hit areas.

There is also remodeling program at Marshalls, aimed at improving systems and getting merchandise to the consumer in a more timely manner. The company will continue to focus, Friedheim said, on women's sportswear, dresses and gifts and housewares.

Melville is also searching for a chairman and CEO for Marshalls, Friedheim said, to replace Frank Arnone, who resigned from this position April 12. Friedheim will be acting chairman of Marshalls until the position is filled.

At Wilsons, Friedheim said, "Leather sales go in cycles and it is not at the high end . . . There is no newness." He added that the recession hurt sales, as did the warm weather in November and December.

672 REX TouchBar. (The Guide).

The 672 REX TouchBar is a non-latching exit bar that releases electromagnetic locks and/or signals access control and alarm systems for request to exit. Exit bar is designed for easy installation, smooth …

BRIEFS.

Electronic payments processor ePayments Corp. has launched a division to serve the medical and legal professions. ...The Elite Shares Club, which provides access to luxury real estate and other amenities, announced Thursday that it is offering its members a Visa prepaid debit card issued by Bank of America Corp.. ...Precidia Technologies Inc., …

20 DISCIPLINED IN HAZING INCIDENT.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: Associated Press

CORTLAND A hazing incident that sent two students to the hospital with kidney damage has resulted in disciplinary action against 20 State University College at Cortland students.

College President James M. Clark has decided to uphold the penalties recommended by a campus judicial review board, college spokesman Norbert Haley said Wednesday.

Nine of the students received suspensions.

The Greek Standards …

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