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Candidate: GOP in danger in Nevada Senate race

In an ominous warning for Republicans, a U.S. Senate candidate in Nevada said Thursday that the party's chances of ousting Majority Leader Harry Reid are slipping away and his leading GOP rivals would be unlikely to beat him in November.

"Republicans could very well snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the case of Harry Reid," said banker John Chachas, one of 12 candidates seeking the GOP nomination in the June 8 primary.

In an interview, Chachas said Reid is being underestimated and leading Republicans Sue Lowden, Sharron Angle and Danny Tarkanian each have "impediments" that give the senator an advantage, including questions about …

Hohensee may miss game

People who know Rush coach Mike Hohensee well probably worriedmore about the condition of the car that hit him in a grocery-storeparking lot Friday night than the condition of Hohensee.

"He's one tough guy," said former Bears coach Mike Ditka, a part-owner of the Arena Football League team. "They took him to [St.Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates] in a lot of pain, ran allthe tests, found no structural damage and released him [the samenight]."

Reached at his home Saturday, Hohensee said he's just thankful hewasn't injured seriously, though he was still in considerablediscomfort that required medication. He also wasn't sure if he willbe well enough to coach …

Hannes Reichelt fastest in Lauberhorn training run

WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Hannes Reichelt of Austria was fastest in a training run ahead of Saturday's World Cup downhill on the Lauberhorn course.

With Austria's men seeking a first speed-race win this season, Reichelt clocked 2 minutes, 37.46 seconds on Thursday down the longest track on tour.

Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway fought a heavy cold to be 0.16 seconds slower on the quirky, 4.4-kilometer (2.75-mile) course.

Switzerland's Carlo Janka, the 2010 Lauberhorn winner, trailed Reichelt by 0.31 in third.

"It's a little bit faster (than Wednesday) but not much," Janka said.

Warm sunshine once more softened and slowed the race surface. More sunshine is …

Speaking with Carl Newman

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS

Okkervil River

- 8 p.m. Sunday

- Riviera Theatre, 4746 N. Racine

- Tickets, $28.50

- (312) 559-1212

- - -

With touring winding down for the New Pornographers' latest effort, ''Challengers,'' principal member Carl Newman says he's already looking ahead.

''I think the next Pornographers record will be fairly rock,'' Newman says. ''I think with 'Challengers,' we moved as far in this [more reserved] direction as we can go, unless we turn into M. Ward or something. The songs I find myself writing these days are a little bit more rock, but that's as far as I can say.''

Newman, who says he hopes to have …

HE WHO LAUGHS, LASTS

SYNAGOGUE SEATING

Due to the importance of this matter, Chicagoland synagogues have requested that the following message be inserted in the Jewish Star well in advance of the holidays:

"Last year, many of you expressed concern over the seating arrangements in your synagogue.

"In order for the synagogue to place you in a seat that will best suit you, we ask you to complete the following questionnaire and return it to your synagogue office as soon as possible.

"Please put a tick against your choices."

1. I would prefer to sit in the:

_____ Talking section

_____ Non-talking section

2. If talking, which category do you prefer? (Indicate …

U.S. intel warns Al-Qaida has rebuilt

WASHINGTON - U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded al-Qaida has rebuilt its operating capability to a level not seen since just before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, The Associated Press has learned.

The conclusion suggests that the network that launched the most devastating terror attack on the United States has been able to regroup along the Afghan-Pakistani border despite nearly six years of bombings, war and other tactics aimed at crippling it.

Still, numerous government officials say they know of no specific, credible threat of a new attack on U.S. soil.

A counterterrorism official familiar with a five-page summary of the new government threat …

Report: 26 people dead in China from landslide

China's state television says 26 people have died in a landslide that buried an iron ore plant and several homes in a valley in southwestern China.

CCTV said Saturday that seven people have been rescued, three of which were seriously injured but in a stable condition in the hospital.

Fifty-two people are still …

After this era of ultra-shock, can things get any worse?

One afternoon in the late 1960s, Howard Felsher took a friend ofhis, a nun, to lunch.

They were walking through New York's Central Park on the way tothe restaurant when they came upon a photographer and a fashionmodel. The model stood in front of a picturesque fountain while thephotographer clicked away.

"She was gorgeous," Felsher recalls. "She was wearing what wassupposed to be a dress, but was actually just a skirt with two thinstraps coming up from it. The straps covered very, very little ofeach breast."

Felsher's friend saw this scene - the half-naked woman posingand smiling - and in an instant, she had a very violent reaction: Shevomited.

…

Australia routs France 59-16

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Australia routed France 59-16 in a rugby test at Stade de France on Saturday:

___

Australia 59 (Drew Mitchell 2, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Benn …

Vonn wins World Cup downhill in Austria

Lindsey Vonn won her third straight World Cup downhill on Friday and regained the lead in the overall standings from Maria Riesch of Germany.

The reigning World Cup downhill and overall champion raced down the Krummholz course in 1 minute, 38.84 seconds to beat Anja Paerson of Sweden by 0.35 seconds. Riesch finished third, 0.39 seconds behind the American star.

"I really attacked today," Vonn said. "It's a great feeling, everything is so smooth. I can't be more happy with my downhill season so far."

Vonn, who is skiing with a bruised left arm after a crash in Lienz, Austria, last month, hasn't lost in downhill since last February. …

School supplies becoming high-tech

Teens raised with technology are outfitting themselves with cellphones, pagers, laptops and hand-held computers, often persuadingparents to buy the gear for "safety reasons in an emergency."

One in five teens has a cell phone, one in four has a pager andmore than half have their own computers, according to TeenageResearch Unlimited's national survey of 2,019 teens last spring.

Beyond safety, teens use the gadgets to talk to their friends,write school papers and play computer games.

"It's definitely a status symbol to have a pager, and even more soto have a cell phone," said Sarah Griggs, 17, a senior at Lake ForestAcademy who has a cell phone and pages her …

Owens, Page lead Toledo past Cent. Michigan 42-31

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Wide receiver Eric Page caught two touchdown passes, threw a TD pass and returned two kickoffs for scores to lead Toledo to a 42-31 win over Central Michigan on Friday.

Quarterback Terrance Owens was 24 for 32 for a career-high 304 yards and three touchdowns and caught a 28-yard TD pass from Page.

The Rockets (8-4, 7-1 Mid-American Conference) snapped a five-game losing streak against the Chippewas (3-9, 2-6), the defending …

Building the church with newspaper

The fourth chapter of Exodus reports that an incredulous fugitive thought the voice from a flame-shooting bush was calling him to an assignment beyond his capacity. But, God's question, "What is that in your hand?" inspired Moses-and his spiritual descendants-to undertake audacious projects.

Add ingenuity to this kind of faith to believe that an emerging Mennonite church in Uruguay is building their church with newspaper, one coil at a time.

"We begin like this, under and over," Yanela Mart�nez says, crouching on the floor as she weaves long, thin rolls of newspaper into a basket.

Mart�nez, who also teaches crafts in a local school, has helped the congregation learn the skills of basket-making that have added much-needed income toward the church's building fund.

Mart�nez and her husband, Jos� Luis Gonz�les, opened their home in Playa Pascual for Christian fellowship about five years ago. This gathering quickly outgrew the confines of their livingroom and, with the help of other Uruguayan believers, the Jes�s es mi Rey (Jesus is my King) congregation purchased a property with a building that had a troubled history, including a suicide. Now that building overflows with worshippers and the young congregation has taken on the challenge of a $30,000 building program.

Gonz�les and Mart�nez, who serve as pastors at Playa Pascual, also receive instruction from the Centro de Estudios de las Iglesias Menonitas de Uruguay (Uruguayan Study Center of the Mennonite Churches) that offers training courses for church leaders. So many of the Jes�s es mi Rey members have an ardent desire to deepen their biblical knowledge that the study centre has opened an extension program in Playa Pascual.

Jes�s es mi Rey is the first project of Campomisi�n, a ministry in which German- and Spanish-speaking Mennonites collaborate to reach those who don't know Jesus in southwestern Uruguay. Mennonite Church Canada Witness contributes to Campomisi�n and the Uruguayan Study Center of the Mennonite Churches.

The church has reached out to its neighbours in a variety of ways, especially those on the margins of society. In her school classes, Mart�nez teaches the Golden Rule along with art. She also offers two hours of crafts and other activities accompanied by Bible classes at the church on Fridays and Saturdays.

What seems to be key for the life of the congregation is its ministry of love and service to the community," says Tim Froese, executive director of International Ministry for MC Canada, after a visit to the congregation.

Translated, Playa Pascual means "Easter Beach." Ironically, this beach is often used for spiritist offerings and ceremonies-an influence of Umbanda spiritism that has come from Brazil.

"The [Jes�s es mi Rey] workers noted that spiritual warfare is also an issue they contend with in a very real way in witnessing to Christ in their community? says Froese. Still, the congregation attracts those who formerly participated in the occult.

Karen Schellenberg, pastor at Portage Mennonite Church in Portage la Prairie, Man., visited Jes�s es mi Rey as part of a trip to re-connect with Uruguayan pastor Beatrix Barrios, whom she hosted in Manitoba during IMPaCT 2006 (International Mennonite Pastors Coming Together).

Schellenberg was struck by the fact that the basket makers were selling their products by donation only. "With a $30,000 goal, I thought, 'Wow, this is going to take a lot of baskets," says Schellenberg, adding, "I wondered if our churches in North America could be as persistent and patient. We want big donations, and we want them fast. The basket-making project showed me persistence and patience. And complete trust in a God who is going to help to make their dream a reality."

[Author Affiliation]

BY LYNDA HOLLINGER-JANZEN

MC Canada

Playa Pascual, Uruguay

US, Iran meet directly at nuclear talks in Geneva

A senior U.S. official met Iran's top atomic negotiator for face-to-face talks on Thursday _ the first such encounter in years of big-power attempts to persuade Tehran to freeze a program that could create nuclear weapons.

While diplomats and officials disclosed no details of the meeting, they appeared to be concrete proof of President Barack Obama's commitment to engage Iran directly on nuclear and other issues _ a sharp break from previous policy under the Bush administration.

More broadly, the meeting suggested that Obama was putting his concept of U.S. foreign policy into action, with its emphasis on negotiating even with nations that are the most hostile to the United States.

The change in approach may go down well with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who on Wednesday made pointed comments about other nations needing to respect Iran's rights.

Iran-U.S. bilateral talks have been extremely rare since the two nations broke diplomatic relations nearly 30 years ago, following the Iran's Islamic revolution and the ensuing U.S. Embassy hostage crisis. U.S. and Iranian negotiators met in Baghdad two years ago to discuss Iraq. But those were three-way talks, hosted by Iraq.

"On the margins of the meeting, Undersecretary (William) Burns, who is heading our delegation, met with his Iranian counterpart," U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood told reporters Thursday. He did not elaborate.

Two Western diplomats separately told The Associated Press that Burns and top Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili discussed issues during a lunch break at Thursday's seven-nation talks in Geneva. The diplomats demanded anonymity for discussing the confidential information.

Though held at the same venue, the bilateral talks were formally outside of the main meeting in Geneva _ talks where the U.S. and five other world powers hope to persuade Iran to at least consider discussing its nuclear program, and in particular its refusal to freeze its uranium enrichment efforts.

The fact that the Geneva meeting is taking place at all offers some hope, reflecting both sides' desire to talk, despite a spike in tensions over last week's revelations by Iran that it had been secretly building a new uranium enrichment plant and recent tests of its long-range missiles.

While the West fears that Iran's nuclear program aims to make a bomb _ and that the country is developing missiles to carry nuclear warheads _ Iran insists the program is strictly for peaceful use and has refused to negotiate any limits on it.

Iran is bringing a broad range of geopolitical issues to the table, while the six powers _ the permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany _ are seeking to soften Iran's resistance to freezing its uranium enrichment program. The process can make both nuclear fuel and fissile warhead material.

Wood said the six would also raise concerns about Iran's recent revelation it is building a second enrichment plant, alongside one that is under supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency to make sure it makes only fuel and not weapons-grade uranium.

Iran says it has done nothing wrong, saying it reported the facility, near the Shiite holy city of Qom, voluntarily. But the West says Tehran came clean only because it feared that others would reveal the existence of the plant before it did.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei has publicly said Tehran was "on the wrong side of the law" because it should have revealed its plans as soon as the decision was made to build the plant.

"We would like Iran to basically tell us what it knows about previous nuclear activities and current ones, including information it has about the Qom facility, which we're very concerned about," Wood said.

Iran is under three sets of Security Council sanctions for refusing to freeze enrichment. Diplomats at U.N. headquarters in New York said there has been no discussion of a new sanctions resolution _ comments echoed Thursday in Moscow by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.

"I'm no fanatic about sanctions," Kouchner told Ekho Moskvy radio. He said sanctions can sometimes be useful and suggested they cannot be ruled out but added "in Geneva, we are not talking about sanctions."

Still, U.S. and other Western officials said the Americans, British and French are already exploring how to tighten existing sanctions against Iran and propose new ones, should the talks fail. Those deliberations, they say, include joint new U.S.-European sanctions in case Russia and China _ the other two permanent Security Council members _ again block U.N. sanctions.

Moscow and Beijing, which have economic and strategic ties with Iran, are skeptical of U.N. sanctions and agreed to the sanctions in place only after the West accepted milder penalties than it had originally sought.

While Russia has adopted tougher language since the U.S. administration canceled its missile shield plan for Eastern Europe earlier this month, Beijing continues to insist that persuasion _ not sanctions _ is the way to deal with Tehran.

Wood suggested that _ while Washington was focused on diplomacy for now _ "we're not going to do it forever," noting that the Americans continued to be engaged in a "two-track process" _ talks first and sanctions if negotiations failed.

American officials have held out the hope that Thursday's talks could result in a second meeting.

___

Associated Press writers Bradley S. Klapper, Scheherezade Faramarzi and Alexander G. Higgins in Geneva and Pam Hess in Washington contributed to this report.

Another HIPAA Deadline Looms

Just when you thought it was safe to put HIPAA aside, another deadline looms just around the comer.

The privacy rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) became effective for most health care providers, health care clearinghouses, and health plans on April 14, 2003. Now, three years later, those health plans that had to comply with the HIPAA privacy rule by April 14, 2003 will need to send a notice to its members by April 14, 2006 of the availability of its Notice of Privacy Practices.

Defining Privacy

The privacy rule protects health information from being disclosed without the individual's authorization in most instances. There are several exceptions. These exceptions include a disclosure that must be made by the health care provider or the health plan for 1) treatment (i.e. a doctor may disclose an individual's health information to another health care provider), 2) payment (i.e. a doctor may disclose health information to obtain payment from the health plan), or 3) health care operations (i.e. a health plan may disclose health information to its attorney when defending a claim for denial of coverage).

HIPAA allows disclosure of health information in other limited instances such as when: there is a threat to health or safety; the disclosure is needed to comply with legal duties; a government agency enforces state or federal regulations; the disclosure is needed during judicial and administrative proceedings, etc. These exceptions have additional safeguards that prevent unnecessary disclosures. Health care providers, health care clearinghouses, and health plans must provide a notice to the individual about how and when certain disclosures may occur. This notice is called the Notice of Privacy Practices.

Giving Notice

The Notice of Privacy Practices is a list of how the health plan will use and protect the patient's health information. An individual has a right to adequate notice of the health plan's legal duties with respect to the individual's health information. The health plan must provide notification to the individual through the Notice of Privacy Practices.

A health plan is defined under HIPAA as an individual or a group plan that provides or pays the cost of medical care. Examples of health plans include employee benefit plans, health insurance companies, health maintenance organizations, nursing home insurance companies, Medicaid, Medicare, and state child health plans. Under HIPAA, these organizations had to send an initial Notice of Privacy Practices to their enrollees by April 14, 2003. Thereafter, the health plan must notify individuals at least every three years of the availability of the Notice of Privacy Practices and how to obtain it. If you are responsible for an entity that must comply with the privacy rule, now is a good time to re-examine the entity's Notice of Privacy Practices and make any revisions that might be needed. The following is a review of the requirements for the Notice of Privacy Practices.

The Notice of Privacy Practices must have a header that states "THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY." It also must contain a description and one example of the disclosure of health information for treatment, payment, and heath care operations and a description of other purposes that HIPAA permits the health plan to disclose health information without the individual's written authorization.

The Notice of Privacy Practices must contain a statement that other uses and disclosures will be made only with the individual's written authorization and that the individual may revoke such authorization to the extent that it has not been relied on.

Additionally, if the entity intends to use the individual's health information for appointment reminders, information about treatment alternatives, or other healthrelated benefits and services that may he of interest to the individual, raising funds, disclosure to the plan sponsor (i.e. employer), then the Notice of Privacy Practices must have individual statements that specifically explain that these disclosures may occur.

The Notice of Privacy Practices must also describe the individual's rights and how the individual may exercise these rights. In this respect, the notice must contain statements that the individual has a right to: 1) place restrictions on the disclosure of health information but that the health plan is not required to agree to a requested restriction; 2) receive confidential communications of health information; 3) inspect and copy his or her health information; 4) amend his or her health information; 5) receive an accounting of disclosures, and 6) request and receive a paper copy of the Notice of Privacy Practices.

Furthermore, the Notice of Privacy Practices must contain statements that the health plan is required by law to maintain the privacy of the individual's health information and provide notice to the individual of its legal duties and privacy practices. The document must also explain that the health plan is required to abide by the terms of its Notice of Privacy Practices currently in effect. The health plan must describe how it will provide a revised notice, if there is a change in the health plan's privacy practices. Also, if the health plan intends to apply a change to the health information that was created prior to a revised notice, the Notice of Privacy Practices must reserve the right to change the terms of its notice and to make the new notice provisions effective for all health information that it maintains.

Other mandatory statements include: the name or title and telephone number of a person or office to contact for further information or to file a complaint; how to file a complaint with the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and the date on which the notice becomes effective, which cannot be earlier than the date on which the notice is printed or published.

If the health plan, health care provider, or health clearinghouse makes a material change to either its uses or disclosures, the individual's rights, the health plan's legal duties, or other privacy practices, the Notice of Privacy Practices must promptly be revised to reflect the change.

A material change may not be put into practice before the effective date of the revised notice. If there is a material revision to the Notice of Privacy Practices, the entity must provide a revised Notice to individualswithin 60 days of the material revision.

Sticking to the Plan

A health plan must provide a Notice of Privacy Practice to each new enrollee. The health plan satisfies the notice requirement by providing the Notice to the named insured of a policy. If a health plan has more than one Notice of Privacy Practice, it must provide the Notice that is relevant to the individual or other person who requests the Notice.

A group health plan that provides health benefits only through an insurance contract with a health insurance issuer or HMO and receives or creates health information, summary health information, or information on whether the individual is participating in the group health plan, must maintain a Notice of Privacy Practice and provide the notice to the individual upon request. A group health plan that provides health benefits only through an insurance contract with a health insurance issuer or HMO and does not create or receive health information is not required to maintain or provide a Notice of Privacy Practice. Both of these types of group health plans are exempt from providing notice every three years.

It is prudent to review your Notice of Privacy Practices on a routine interval to be sure it accurately reflects your entity's information. The entity will need to revise its Notice of Privacy Practices if the entity moved to a different location, merged with another entity, changed ownership, changed privacy practices, designated a new contact person for HIPAA privacy issues or made other significant changes.

Minding Your Business

If your business is a health plan, you need to provide notice to enrollees by April 14, 2006 of the availability of your Notice of Privacy Practices. It is important to have a Notice of Privacy Practices that contains the correct information for the entity. The penalties for HIPAA violations can amount to thousands of dollars per incident.

Don't be caught off guard.

Asian stocks fall as signs of slump mount

Asian stock markets faltered Wednesday, with Hong Kong's benchmark down almost 2 percent, as evidence mounted that a worsening global economy has taken a toll on companies.

Japan's Nikkei stock average slid 146.11 points, or 1.7 percent, to 8,663.19 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 256.49, or 1.8 percent, to 13,784.41.

In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8 percent to end morning trading at 1,828.56, as growing skepticism over the likely effectiveness of the country's $586 billion stimulus plan clouded sentiment.

"The markets are more pessimistic today," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist at CFC Seymor in Hong Kong. "It is evident that recession is having a detrimental impact on demand, prices, sales and profits."

Investors found few reasons to buy after Wall Street pulled back as it became clear that slowing consumer demand was hitting a wide cross-section of companies.

Starbucks Corp. reported lower sales across the coffee chain, homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. posted a sharp drop in revenue and said it was to difficult to forecast next year's results. Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. announced production cuts due to lower prices.

Corporate Asia only added to the gloom as leading Japanese energy producer Inpex Holdings cut its forecasts amid slumping oil prices. There were also signs that Chinese shoppers were holding back after figures showed a softening in the country's retail sales in October compared with a year earlier.

In New York overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average shed 176.58, or 2 percent, to 8,693.96 after falling by more than 300. Tuesday's close was the Dow's lowest since its 5 1/2-year closing low on Oct. 27 of 8,175.77.

Broader stock indicators declined as well. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 20.26, or 2.2 percent, to 898.95, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 35.84, or 2.2 percent, to 1,580.90.

Oil prices were hovering near 20-month lows, with light, sweet crude for December delivery down 31 cents to $59.02 a barrel, after falling as low as $58.55, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore.

The contract overnight fell $3.08 to settle at $59.33, the lowest closing price since March 2007.

In currencies, the dollar strengthened to 97.7 yen from 97.16 and was trading at 1.2564 against the euro.

Incoming EU executives face week of hearings

The European Parliament began a week of hearings Monday, expected to grill 26 incoming EU executives on how they plan to steer the European Union in the next five years in such areas as the economy, trade, foreign policy, financial affairs and antitrust measures.

First up will be the 53-year-old Catherine Ashton, the incoming EU foreign affairs chief, a new powerful position created by a recently adopted reform treaty.

A British Laborite, Ashton was designated as foreign affairs chief by the EU leaders on Nov. 19, who also picked Belgian premier Herman Van Rompuy as the EU's first permanent president.

Van Rompuy took office Dec. 1. His appointment did not require a confirmation by the European Parliament.

Ashton, who was trade commissioner in the last EU executive, said during her first appearance before the assembly's foreign affairs panel on Dec. 2 that she will provide a steady but quiet hand at the helm promoting European policies around the world.

She was criticized for apparently having little foreign affairs experience and is barely know in Washington, Moscow or Beijing.

Ashton dismissed such criticism saying she believes in "quiet diplomacy."

"Often, when doing things out of the limelight, you get the best results," she said.

Parliament officials said Ashton will be questioned on areas such as the Middle East, China and the EU's difficult relationship with Russia.

The EU leaders chose Ashton to mollify British Prime Minister Gordon Brown after he failed to convince his EU colleagues to name Tony Blair, the former British premier, as the EU president.

The 27-member European Commission runs the EU's day to day affairs. The new executive will serve for five years and focus on economic growth, boosting the EU's borderless internal market and step up the EU's clout on the world stage to a level commensurate with its economic heft.

Also appearing for his confirmation hearing Monday will be Olli Rehn of Finland who was in charge of EU enlargement affairs in the outgoing executive and is slated to take on monetary affairs in the next one.

THE PICKS

BRIAN HANLEY: Some people think Duke is mentally and physicallytired as the Blue Devils attempt to defend their title tonight. Butaccording to Bobby Hurley, Duke has a positive mental attitude. "Wehave yet to play a great game in this tournament," Hurley said. "Andtonight is the last chance we get to do that." They will: DUKE67-63.

TERRY BOERS: Besides no team since UCLA in '73 winningback-to-back titles, no team since North Carolina in '82 has startedthe season No. 1 and finished with a national championship. It won'thappen. There's no logical reason to think that a bunch of freshmenwill beat a veteran, battle-tested team as good as Duke, but . . .make it MICHIGAN 67-63.

JAY MARIOTTI: To the Fab Frosh, it's a title game. To theDookies, who have a legacy to uphold, it's the challenge of theircareers. Mike Krzyzewski and Christian Laettner don't losechallenges. Duke will deliver its first sound performance of thetournament and make history. DUKE 89-80.

Surprise: W. Chicago opens 5-0

About the only thing most people know about West Chicago is thatit's west of Chicago.

The Wildcats haven't made an impact in high school basketball,even in the western suburbs. Two years ago, they were 6-19. Theyhaven't won a regional championship since 1960. That's ninepresidents ago.

So with only one starter returning from last season's 14-12team, first-year coach Dan McCarthy shouldn't have been surprisedthat his team was picked to finish last in the DuPage ValleyConference this season.Already it appears there has been a misjudgment - if not ofWest Chicago's talent, than of McCarthy's ability to make thingshappen. West Chicago is 5-0, including a victory Friday night on theroad against perennial conference contender Naperville North.McCarthy has done it not with an infusion of talent, but adistinctive style of man-to-man pressure defense, relentlessintensity and an 11-player substitution pattern "very similar to whatPhil Jackson does with the Bulls," McCarthy said. "We just rotatefresh bodies. In all our games, we've worn our opponents down."Naperville North, 102-38 over the past five years, knows all toowell."They came out in the first quarter with the same kind ofdefensive frenzy you see teams playing in the fourth quarter - andthey kept it up," Naperville North coach Mark Lindo said. "They cameout with an aggressive, nothing-to-lose attitude, and to theircredit, they sustained it the whole game."West Chicago is paced by 6-6 senior Eric Daniel, a three-yearstarter who scored 25 points against Naperville North. He averages14 points a game."I said it before they beat us and he threw 25 at us, and I'llsay it again - he's a very underrated player," Lindo said. "He's a6-6 kid who jumps well and scores outside of 15 feet, and he's adominant rebounder."Daniel is the only Wildcat scoring in double figures. ButMcCarthy isn't lacking for contributors: 5-10 Jeff Weber, 6-2 JeremyGleason, 6-foot Jeff Murphy and 6-3 Tim Fraser complete theall-senior lineup. Juniors Jon Hall and Jim Callahan (who scored 11points, including a back-breaking three-pointer, against NapervilleNorth) have been impact players off the bench.McCarthy, 44, came to West Chicago from Ottawa Marquette, whichwent 25-3 last year. But even he doesn't know if the Wildcats arefor real."It's hard to say right now," he said. "But when we go on theroad and beat the team that's picked to win the conference, that saysa lot about the kids. We're just happy to be 5-0. If we can keepsneaking up on people, that's great."There's always that fear we could come down to earth becausewe're not blessed with (superior) basketball players, just 15 kidswho are working extremely hard."That work ethic has led to our record this year."

(null)

Barclays PLC has pulled out of talks to buy parts of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., according to a person at the British bank with knowledge of the negotiations. The move complicates efforts to find a buyer for Lehman and save it from collapse.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing company policy, said the decsion was "very unlikely" to change.

The person said that while Lehman was attractive, the investment bank did not meet what he described as Barclay's stringent requirements. Barclays is Britain's third-largest bank.

U.S. government officials and top Wall Street bankers are trying to sell Lehman and avert a collapse that could severely disrupt global markets.

Microchips for AIDS patients in eastern Indonesia

Lawmakers in Indonesia's remote province of Papua have thrown their support behind a controversial bill requiring some HIV/AIDS patients to be implanted with microchips _ part of extreme efforts to monitor the disease.

Health workers and rights activists sharply criticized the plan Monday.

But legislator John Manangsang said by implanting small computer chips beneath the skin of "sexually aggressive" patients, authorities would be in a better position to identify, track and ultimately punish those who deliberately infect others with up to six months in jail or a $5,000 fine.

The technical and practical details still need to be hammered out, but the proposed legislation has received full backing from the provincial parliament and, if it gets a majority vote as expected, will be enacted next month, he and others said.

Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country and has one of Asia's fastest growing HIV rates, with up to 290,000 infections out of 235 million people, fueled mainly by intravenous drug users and prostitution.

But Papua, the country's easternmost and poorest province with a population of about 2 million, has been hardest hit. Its case rate of almost 61 per 100,000 is 15 times the national average, according to internationally funded research, which blames lack of knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases.

"The health situation is extraordinary, so we have to take extraordinary action," said another lawmaker, Weynand Watari, who envisions radio frequency identification tags like those used to track everything from cattle to luggage.

A committee would be created to decide who should be fitted with chips and to monitor patients' behavior, but it remains unclear who would be on it and how they would carry out their work, lawmakers said Monday.

Since the plan was initially proposed, the government has narrowed its scope, saying the chips would only be implanted in those who are "sexually aggressive," but it has not said how it would determine who fits that group. It also was not clear how many people it might include.

Nancy Fee, the UNAIDS country coordinator, said the global body was not aware of any laws or initiatives elsewhere involving HIV/AIDS patients and microchips.

Though she has yet to see a copy of the bill, she said she had "grave concerns" about the effect it would have on human rights and public health.

"No one should be subject to unlawful or unnecessary interference of privacy," Fee said, adding that while other countries have been known to be oppressive in trying to tackle AIDS, such policies don't work.

They make people afraid and push the problem further underground, she said.

Local health workers and AIDS activists called the plan "abhorrent."

"People with AIDS aren't animals; we have to respect their rights," said Tahi Ganyang Butarbutar, a prominent Papuan activist.

He said the best way to tackle the epidemic was through increased spending on sexual education and condom use.

____

Associated Press Writer Irwan Firdaus contributed to this report.

Judge Says Fairplay Must Amend Lawsuit

Reality TV figure Jonny Fairplay will have to provide a court with more details about his tooth-busting dust-up with Danny Bonaduce before his lawsuit against producers of an awards show can go forward. "I think more facts should be set forth," Superior Court Judge Michael C. Solner ruled Tuesday.

Solner gave Fairplay, whose real name is Jon Dalton, 20 days to amend his complaint to explain why the producers of Fox Reality Channel's "Really Awards" were negligent and involved in the alleged battery.

The lawsuit stems from an October 2007 altercation in which Fairplay, a competitor on "Survivor: Pearl Islands," jumped into Bonaduce's arms on stage during the awards show to give him a hug.

Bonaduce, 48, responded by tossing Fairplay over his shoulders. Fairplay landed face first, losing one tooth, breaking another and loosening two more.

Fairplay, 34, sued Bonaduce, Fox Reality Channel and the show producers for battery, negligence and emotional distress. He claims the producers encouraged Bonaduce to go on stage uninvited, did not provide security and failed to provide prompt medical care afterward.

Vicki Greco, a lawyer for Fox and the producers Natural 9 Entertainment, said Bonaduce's actions were unplanned and the companies were not responsible for the incident.

Fairplay's lawyer, Daniel C. Lapidus, claimed Bonaduce told the producers "what he wanted to do and they told him to do it."

Bonaduce, a child actor on "The Partridge Family," starred in the 2005 reality show "Breaking Bonaduce."

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 12.

'Pumpgirl' a powerful emotional journey

THEATER REVIEW

'Pumpgirl'

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

- Through May 24

- A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells

- Tickets, $20-$25

- (312) 943-8722

'Pumpgirl," a fierce, pain-laced, emotionally violent play by Irish writer Abbie Spallen, debuted three years ago at Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre, and within a very brief time, history seems to have caught up with this intimate drama in the most unexpected ways.

Spallen's aim was to capture the sad, depressed, hopeless lives of those working-class "stragglers" who seemed to be left behind when both the Irish Republic and a newly peaceful Northern Ireland experienced a huge economic boom and became dubbed the Celtic Tigers. But in the last year or so, both tiger factions have quite quickly and painfully been declawed. The influx of "offshore" jobs that fueled much of the growth suddenly turned into a rapid exodus (with multinationals fleeing to lower-cost countries in Eastern Europe and leaving whole cities undone), and the once ballooning real estate market predictably went bust.

So now, the sense of failure and despair that once was the hard lot of a pervasive but dwindling underclass has become the raw fate of many who thought they were home free. This, of course, is a situation with universal echoes these days, and that makes the searing Midwest premiere of "Pumpgirl" at A Red Orchid Theatre seem oddly prescient.

Spallen's play, keenly cast and directed by Karen Kessler, takes the form of a series of tightly interwoven monologues. Its three characters are onstage together and are psychically conscious of one another on a profound level. But only gradually does the perfect storm that undoes their intersecting lives become fully visible.

The pumpgirl of the play's title (played by newcomer Grace Rex, a slight, pale actress of compelling intensity) is a lonely, sensitive girl who works at a gas station on a bleak road outside town. In her grease-stained jumpsuit, she's the butt of many jokes by the men who drop by. But there's something about Hammy (Larry Grimm, expert in his delineation of a man who has never fully shaken adolescence) that entices her. Never mind that he is the married father of two kids. She sees him as a champion stock car racer, not as the loser he truly is. And though she knows all about his situation, she has sex with him in the back seat of her car, and clearly fantasizes that she's his girl.

Hammy's wife, Sinead (Kirsten Fitzgerald, a remarkable actress who embraces this character with uncanny completeness), is not so deluded. She knows his habits and continues to tolerate his presence only because there seems to be no other option. Yet in a fateful, perfectly limned moment of desperation, she also succumbs to the crude sexual enticements of a rat. And the consequences are dreadful.

The downward spirals of these three people, and their very different but terrible fates, is exquisitely unspooled by the actors (who also admirably sustain their heavy Irish accents, thanks to coaching by Anita Deely). And Spallen's clear-eyed vision of her characters' lives -- their language, their hidden poetry, their hunger for something more, and their mix of devouring self-knowledge and a tragic compulsion to self-destruct -- is enough to rattle any soul.

Photo: The lives of Sinead (Kirsten Fitzgerald, from left), Hammy (Larry Grimm) and Pumpgirl (Grace Rex) cross paths with dire consequences in "Pumpgirl" at A Red Orchid Theatre. ;

Sporty Contour's Sensible and Affordable

Ford's affordable Contour V-6 is a working-class car that acts like aEuropean sports sedan.

That's because the solidly built Contour - derived from Ford'ssuccessful European Mondeo model - is a "driver's car." Such an autoresponds so well to commands that it's entertaining to drive, whichis a big plus.

The generally quiet Contour's quick, precise steering has justthe right amount of power assist, and the suspension providesexcellent handling and a composed ride. The brakes haul the car downwith polished assurance.

But not all is perfect. The slick, front-wheel-drive Contour,which fits in the "large-compact" family sedan category, has beencriticized for its lack of back-seat space.

It's true that the Contour's cockpit feels somewhat narrow andlacks the rear-seat room of, say, the rival Chrysler Cirrus. But itcomfortably seats four 6-footers if the driver is willing to move hisseat up a little. The dashboard is generally well-designed, and thefront seats offer excellent support.

The Contour's trunk is roomy, but is handicapped by a rathersmall opening and old-style hinge arms that can damage cargo ifyou're not careful when closing the trunk lid. Another drawback isthe painfully slow-acting European-style twist knobs that adjust theangle of the front seatbacks.

Making up a lot for the Contour's faults is its sophisticated170-horsepower, twin camshaft V-6, although my first experience withthe engine last December was nearly disastrous; it began making anunholy racket during a brief test drive. Ford yanked the V-6 andwhisked it to its headquarters for analysis, but never kept itspromise to tell me why the engine sounded as if it was about toexplode.

During a recent test of a Contour V-6, the smooth, 2.5-liter,24-valve engine ran great, although the car's crisp-shifting, $815four-speed automatic transmission sapped power and made the 0-60m.p.h. time (9.1 seconds) just average and 65-75 m.p.h. passing on highways decent - but hardly noteworthy.

Don't want the automatic? Then you get the Contour's standardfive-speed manual transmission, which has a rubbery, imprecise shiftlinkage I wouldn't want to live with. Anyway, this is a family carbest suited to an automatic.

The V-6 is standard in the top-line SE model, but costs $1,080extra for the base GL model and $1,045 for the mid-line LX model,which I recently drove. The SE is a hot-rod Contour, with suchthings as a rear spoiler, perfor mance tires and a sport suspension, which some will find to be toofirm.

A pretty good 2-liter, overhead-camshaft, 125-horsepowerfour-cylinder is standard in the base and LX Contours. It offersdecent performance with the manual, but only marginal accelerationwith the automatic - especially when the car is loaded or driven inhilly areas.

However, if economy is important to you, the four-cylinderprovides an EPA-estimated 24 m.p.g. in the city and 35 on highwayswith the manual and 24 and 32 with the automatic. Figures with theV-6 are 21 and 29 with the manual and 22 and 30 with the automatic.

Both the V-6 and four-cylinder are European-style motors thatwork best at high revolutions per minute and don't make the Contourfast off the line.

The GL has a $13,310 base price, and is fairly well-equipped,with dual air bags, AM; FM radio, power steering, reclining frontbucket seats, console and dual remote outside mirrors. The $13,995LX adds stuff such as a console with armrest and cupholders, heatedpower mirrors, split-folding rear seat to enlarge the cargo area,tachometer and cassette player.

The $15,695 SE provides the above-mentioned items, as well as arear spoiler, four-wheel disc brakes, alloy wheels andleather-wrapped steering wheel.

Key options for all models are $780 air conditioning, $565anti-lock brakes and an $800 traction-control system that enhancesroad grip and includes anti-lock brakes.

While practical, the Contour V-6 is a good choice for familydrivers who need a sedan but would rather be behind the wheel of asports car.

Five minutes with Bernd Habersack, ZF CEO

Bernd Habersack is more bullish than most supplier chiefs these days. That's because ZF Group North America has been on a roll. The German driveline and chassis systems giant (2001 sales worldwide: $7.6 billion) has seen 30-percent annual growth in this market Its also on track to launch its continuously-variable transmission (CVT) joint venture with Ford Motor Co. in Batavia, Ohio, in 2003. Initial volume will be 350,000 units, ramping up to 1 million annually.

Habersack is president of ZF's North American Operations. He's also CEO of the company's Chassis Technology Division and head of Lemforder AG's (the chassis systems group) management board. He recently spoke with Editor Lindsay Brooke in Dearborn, Mich. (For a complete transcript of the interview, go to www ai-online.com).

Q: What's your business outlook for 2002?

A: There might be some problems. But we still expect to be in double-digit growth figures through 2005. Our forecast for North American light vehicle production is 15.2 million units. We see a bigger decrease in sales in the beginning of the year and a recovery in the second half of 2002.

Q: ZFs new 6-speed automatic, launched in the 2002 BMW 7-Series, seems like a natural for American light trucks and SUVs.

A: There is a lot of interest in it from the OEMs. It's smaller, lighter and the same price as our 5-speed automatics.

Q: Limited torque capacity continues to be a CVT issue for automakers.

A: Not just with the Mr, but with normal step-type automatics, too. In Europe it's absolutely terrible the torque capacity we're having to offer them - 550 to 590 pounds-feet for passenger cars! VW's 10-cylinder diesel requires a transmission capable of handling 590 pounds-feet

Q: The belt is the limitation?

A: Yes. We're starting to work with LUK's chain system, as used on Audi's new CVT, which it produces in house.

Q: Will CVTs eventually offer lower cost production than conventional automatics?

A: That's a good question, but we cannot answer it today. We will need volume to bring costs down. Currently our CVT is on roughly the same cost level as a regular automatic. But because its aimed at mid-range (B/C class and some D class) cars, which are more cost sensitive, we have to bring costs down further.

Q: What's driving your chassis-systems business?

A: Modules, including independent reardrive axles for both cars and trucks.

Q: What's ZFs supply-tier strategy for modules?

A: We want to be very flexible. We want to be No. 1 as a Tier 1, 2 or 3 with our corner modules or components.

Mormons see mainstream acceptance ahead for church

Mormons and white evangelicals share an intense commitment to family life, prayer, the Bible and conservative politics, including support for the Republican Party and smaller government, according to a new study released Thursday. But the two groups strongly hold divergent religious beliefs, and half of Mormons surveyed felt hostility from evangelical Christians.

The survey of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was published by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Mormon, fights to keep his Republican front-runner status. The campaign moves next to the Jan. 21 primary in South Carolina, where evangelical voters are key.

Conservative Christians, including Protestants and Roman Catholics, generally do not consider Mormons to be Christian, but it is unclear what role those objections will play in South Carolina vote and beyond. Surveys have found that Republicans with the strongest objections to Mormonism also are among the fiercest opponents to President Barack Obama, and would back a Mormon in the general election.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who is Mormon, also is seeking the Republican nomination.

In the Pew poll released Thursday, nearly half of Mormons said church members face significant discrimination in the United States and nearly two-thirds said other Americans do not consider the religion part of the mainstream. LDS church leaders have long complained that critics take obscure or outdated Mormon teachings and describe them as core doctrine. The church cast aside the teaching of polygamy in 1890, and in 1978, abolished the barrier that kept those of African descent from full participation in the church. In the latest Pew survey, only 2 percent of Mormons said polygamy is morally acceptable.

Despite the prejudice Mormons feel, a majority expressed optimism about their future. More than 60 percent believe Americans are moving toward acceptance of Mormonism and more than half believe the country is ready to accept a Latter-day Saint as president. An overwhelming majority of Mormon voters hold favorable views of Romney, the poll found.

In the 2012 race, Romney has not directly addressed theological differences between his faith and historic Christianity, as he did in his first bid for the nomination, with a 2007 faith-and-values speech in Texas, Instead, his campaign has been emphasizing values that Mormons and conservative Christians share.

About 77 percent of Mormons in the survey identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, and most hold much stronger conservative views than the general public. Three-quarters support a smaller government that provides fewer services. The same percentage say having an abortion is morally wrong. Two-thirds believe homosexuality should be discouraged.

Rank-and-file Mormons reflect the strong emphasis throughout the LDS church on family. Asked their life priorities, a large majority of respondents listed being a good parent and having a successful marriage. Latter-day Saints also have a high level of religious observance that surpasses even the most devout American Christians. Three-quarters of Mormons said they attended religious services weekly or more, compared to 64 percent of white evangelicals and 42 percent of white Catholics. Two-thirds of Mormons say they pray several times a day, compared to half of evangelicals and about one-third of Catholics.

Since 1994, a group of evangelical and Mormon scholars who have been meeting to discuss theology, focusing on their shared beliefs. All but 2 percent of Mormons in the Pew survey said they believe that Jesus was resurrected. Nearly all believe the Bible is the word of God and describe themselves Christian or "Christ-centered."

However, Mormons just as strongly hold beliefs that traditional Christians consider heretical. All but 6 percent of Mormons believe that God the Father and Jesus Christ are separate, physical beings, a rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity, in which God, the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit coexist and share one substance.

Joseph Smith became Mormonism's founding prophet after he said he experienced visions during the late 1820s. He said he was told not to join any church because they all held wrong beliefs. An angel, he said, then directed him to gold plates that had been buried in the ground in upstate New York, which Smith then translated as the Book of Mormon. Nearly all Mormons in the survey said they believe the Book of Mormon was written by ancient prophets and that the president of the LDS church is a prophet of God.

The Pew Forum estimates that Mormons comprise less than 2 percent of the U.S. population, are overwhelming white and in the West. Nearly six in 10 Mormons said that most or all of their close friends are also Mormon. The LDS church has been running a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign featuring the personal stories of Mormons hoping to educate the public.

The poll of 1,019 Mormons was conducted Oct. 25 through Nov. 16 of last year and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

____

Online:

Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life: http://www.pewforum.org/

____

Rachel Zoll is on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rzollAP

Rogge says global crisis won't hurt Olympic cities

The global financial crisis should not hurt preparations for upcoming Olympic Games, IOC president Jacques Rogge said Tuesday.

"No one has certainties today, but I am not pessimistic for the Olympic Games," Rogge told reporters in Geneva.

Funding for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, is secure while authorities in London, site of the 2012 Summer Games, have assured the International Olympic Committee they can overcome the worldwide credit crunch.

"There is no issue there," Rogge said of Vancouver, which had a budget for building venues set last year at US$577 million (euro400 million)

"The (London) Olympic construction authority is looking for more funding but the latest report we had is that they would manage in finding the proper funding."

The Olympic Development Authority in London said last week it still expected to find private financing for construction work, although on tougher terms.

London may need to call on reserves from the British government's contingency fund of 968 million pounds (US$1.9 billion; euro1.2 billion) to help pay for the athletes' village and a new broadcast and press center.

The ODA had hoped to raise $900 million from the private sector for the $2 billion Olympic Village, which has been scaled back to 3,300 apartments for 17,000 athletes and coaches.

Rogge said the money needed to create city infrastructure for the Olympics _ including building airports and roads _ should be seen as an investment, not an expense.

"These are investments for 40, 50, 60 years to come," Rogge said. "This leaves a big legacy to the city.

"The authorities (in London) will build an Olympic village. It is going to recoup itself because it is going to be sold after the games to private citizens and customers, as we have seen in Beijing."

Rogge rejected the suggestion that the Olympics have grown too big and become an extravagance for host and bidding cities.

"People are always speaking about small games, without financial means and without TV rights and so on," he said. "We had games like that and they are absolutely hypocritical."

Rogge said the old Olympic ethos of amateurism meant only rich countries could afford to compete.

"If we generate a lot of money because of the TV rights and the presence of 30,000 media people it is just because with this money we can invest in developing countries."

Rogge said the IOC invests US$3 billion (euro2.1 billion) in each four-year Olympic cycle, helping to build facilities and train athletes and coaches in developing countries.

"This is only because there is this media success of the games," Rogge said. "To reduce the games we would have to reduce the media and this is something we do not want to do because the media bring the money."

Utah Sen. Hatch Wins Re-Election

Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch won re-election in Utah on Tuesday.

Sandlots produce legends // Stories abound of Chamberlain, Russell, Rivers

Sites and sounds, sandlot-style . . .

Some 50-plus years ago, Sweetwater Clifton grew up four blocksfrom the Carter G. Woodson court, 48th and Michigan, a popular andsafe summer hangout for decades. In the 1930s, blacks weren'tpermitted to play with whites, so they hung out at Carter, which hada dirt and grass floor and no nets. It was, however, one of the fewplaces with two rims. Then Agis Bray became the first black to playon an all-white semipro team, and playgrounds became integrated inthe 1950s.

In the 1960s, the South Side playground at 71st and (now) KingDrive was the site of some of the country's best games. Stars cameout: Bulls. Cazzie Russell. Sometimes legends from other citiessuch as Wilt Chamberlain, who was said to have had a West Sidegirlfriend, Oscar Robertson and Connie Hawkins.

Marillac House and Gladstone were West Side hot spots for years.Marillac has had a sloped court and bent rims, but it also has hadIsiah Thomas, Mark Aguirre and a Playground Who's Who at its summertournament. The court, which unlike others had lights, was enclosedby an 18-foot fence and a ring of spectators. "Guys would sit arounddrinking wine and betting on games," says John "Buck" Paul, a formerhigh school and summer-league coach.

In the 1970s, indoor summer leagues were hot two nights a weekat the M.L. King Boys' Club and the Old Town Boys' Club, West Sidegyms frequented by local pros. Spectators packed in, and othersstood on shoulders outside to watch.

Summer stories abound. One night in 1973 at Old Town, aplayground legend tried to pull a gun on the Bulls' Bob Love after anargument. "The guy went to the locker room to get a gun," Paul says."I approached him about the situation, and I ejected him from theleague."

In 1980 at the LaGrange Youth Center outdoor tournament, GlennRivers, then a high school senior, scored 44 points. But he didn'tlead his team. Ricky Wilson, who many thought had more talent thanRivers, had 66.

Rivers is now an NBA veteran. Wilson made the grade on theplaygrounds but, like many others, not thereafter.

Energy companies tap the tides

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - In the quest for oil-free power, a handful ofsmall companies are staking claims on the boundless energy of therising and ebbing sea.

The technology that would draw energy from ocean tides to keeplight bulbs and laptops aglow is largely untested, but several newlyminted companies are reserving tracts of water from Alaska's CookInlet to Manhattan's East River in the belief that such sites couldbecome profitable sources of electricity.

The trickle of interest began two years ago, said Celeste Miller,spokeswoman for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The agencyissues permits that give companies exclusive rights to study thetidal sites. Permit holders usually have first dibs on developmentlicenses.

Tidal power proponents liken the technology to little windturbines on steroids, turning like windmills in the current. Water'sgreater density means fewer and smaller turbines are needed toproduce the same amount of electricity as wind turbines.

After more than two decades of experimenting, the technology hasadvanced enough to make business sense, said Carolyn Elefant, co-founder of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, a marine energylobbying group formed in May 2005.

In the last four years, the federal commission has approved nearlya dozen permits to study tidal sites. Applications for about 40others, all filed in 2006, are under review. No one has applied for adevelopment license, Miller said.

The site that is furthest along in testing lies in New York's EastRiver, between the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens, where VerdantPower plans to install two underwater turbines this month as part ofa small pilot project.

Power from the turbines will be routed to a supermarket andparking garage on nearby Roos-evelt Island.

Verdant co-founder and President Trey Taylor said the 6-year-oldcompany will spend 18 months studying the effects on fish beforeputting in another four turbines.

The project will cost more than $10 million, including $2 millionon fish monitoring equipment, Taylor said.

"It's important to spend this much initially," Taylor said. "It'slike our flight at Kitty Hawk. It puts us on a path tocommercialization and we think eventually costs will fall reallyfast."

If all goes well, New York-based Verdant could have up to 300turbines in the river by 2008, Taylor said. The turbines wouldproduce as much as 10 megawatts of power, or enough electricity for8,000 homes, he said.

With 12,380 miles of coastline, the U.S. may seem like a wide-open frontier for the fledgling industry, but experts believe only afew will prove profitable. The ideal sites are close to a power gridand have large amounts of fast-moving water with enough room to buildon the sea floor while staying clear of boat traffic.

The industry is coalescing over worries about dependence onforeign oil, volatile oil prices and global warming. Many states havepassed laws requiring a certain percentage of energy from renewablesources, and tidal entrepreneurs believe they will be looking todiversify beyond wind and solar power.

Elefant said the industry is still trying to figure out how muchenergy it will be able to supply from tides, as well as waves.

"While ocean energy may not power everything in the U.S., it willbe functioning in tandem with other renewable resources andsupplement other sea-based technologies," said Elefant, a lawyer inWashington, D.C. "The most important thing is for the nation toinvest in a diverse energy supply."

Energy companies tap the tides

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - In the quest for oil-free power, a handful ofsmall companies are staking claims on the boundless energy of therising and ebbing sea.

The technology that would draw energy from ocean tides to keeplight bulbs and laptops aglow is largely untested, but several newlyminted companies are reserving tracts of water from Alaska's CookInlet to Manhattan's East River in the belief that such sites couldbecome profitable sources of electricity.

The trickle of interest began two years ago, said Celeste Miller,spokeswoman for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The agencyissues permits that give companies exclusive rights to study thetidal sites. Permit holders usually have first dibs on developmentlicenses.

Tidal power proponents liken the technology to little windturbines on steroids, turning like windmills in the current. Water'sgreater density means fewer and smaller turbines are needed toproduce the same amount of electricity as wind turbines.

After more than two decades of experimenting, the technology hasadvanced enough to make business sense, said Carolyn Elefant, co-founder of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, a marine energylobbying group formed in May 2005.

In the last four years, the federal commission has approved nearlya dozen permits to study tidal sites. Applications for about 40others, all filed in 2006, are under review. No one has applied for adevelopment license, Miller said.

The site that is furthest along in testing lies in New York's EastRiver, between the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens, where VerdantPower plans to install two underwater turbines this month as part ofa small pilot project.

Power from the turbines will be routed to a supermarket andparking garage on nearby Roos-evelt Island.

Verdant co-founder and President Trey Taylor said the 6-year-oldcompany will spend 18 months studying the effects on fish beforeputting in another four turbines.

The project will cost more than $10 million, including $2 millionon fish monitoring equipment, Taylor said.

"It's important to spend this much initially," Taylor said. "It'slike our flight at Kitty Hawk. It puts us on a path tocommercialization and we think eventually costs will fall reallyfast."

If all goes well, New York-based Verdant could have up to 300turbines in the river by 2008, Taylor said. The turbines wouldproduce as much as 10 megawatts of power, or enough electricity for8,000 homes, he said.

With 12,380 miles of coastline, the U.S. may seem like a wide-open frontier for the fledgling industry, but experts believe only afew will prove profitable. The ideal sites are close to a power gridand have large amounts of fast-moving water with enough room to buildon the sea floor while staying clear of boat traffic.

The industry is coalescing over worries about dependence onforeign oil, volatile oil prices and global warming. Many states havepassed laws requiring a certain percentage of energy from renewablesources, and tidal entrepreneurs believe they will be looking todiversify beyond wind and solar power.

Elefant said the industry is still trying to figure out how muchenergy it will be able to supply from tides, as well as waves.

"While ocean energy may not power everything in the U.S., it willbe functioning in tandem with other renewable resources andsupplement other sea-based technologies," said Elefant, a lawyer inWashington, D.C. "The most important thing is for the nation toinvest in a diverse energy supply."

Sen. Ensign's admission blurs conservative image

For much of his public career, Sen. John Ensign has appeared a model of the religious right. By this week, he had become just another politician diminished by scandal. Rattled, humbled and alone at the podium, Ensign acknowledged to reporters an extramarital affair, the sort of moral failing he's criticized in the past.

The Nevada Republican once called on President Bill Clinton to resign, declaring "the truth must come out." In October 2007, he was sharply critical of former Sen. Larry Craig, of Idaho, calling the Republican's arrest in an airport bathroom sex sting "embarrassing for the Senate."

His own admission Tuesday came at a time when the two-term Nevada Republican was building his national profile and assuming leadership in his party. He had recently traveled to Iowa, fueling speculation about his White House ambitions.

The senator has said the Republican Party was in need of new leadership. He hoped to be among the fresh faces, and he built his resume by serving as the GOP's top Senate candidate recruiter in 2008 and as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee in the Senate, the fourth-ranking leadership post. On Wednesday, he resigned from the position on the policy committee.

For Nevadans, he was known as a polished pro-business Republican and well-spoken ally of the state's religious conservatives. He was a member of Promise Keepers, a men's Christian group that espoused devotion to family and marriage.

As such, he talked openly about his biological father's failing, calling himself the child of a deadbeat dad who never "told me once he loved me." At a "Fatherhood Summit" in Reno in 2004, Ensign _ himself a father of three _ said fathers have been the biggest letdown in society.

Ensign was adopted at age 15 by his mother's second husband, a Las Vegas casino mogul. He went on to veterinary school, ran an animal clinic and worked the family business as a casino executive before entering politics.

Ensign's political life was entwined with his religious beliefs. Once in Washington, he lived for a time with other Christian lawmakers who organized prayer breakfasts and Bible study. When in Las Vegas, he continued to attend an Evangelical church in Las Vegas with his wife, Darlene, who did not move to Washington with him.

Ensign has opposed abortion and gay marriage and backed school vouchers.

"He's been a very reliable ally and outspoken on marriage issues, on life issues," said Richard Ziser, a leading religious conservative in the state. "His religious beliefs were a very high identifier with conservatives."

As a candidate for Senate in 1998, Ensign was critical of Clinton's handling of his admission of infidelity. Clinton blamed "other people for his problems, and that's when he lost me."

"He did lie to the American people. But he never looked at us and said he was sorry," Ensign said.

On Tuesday, the senator apologized for his affair.

Many Christian conservatives will see Ensign's public admission as brave and necessary, Ziser said.

"Some will be more forgiving than others, of course," he said. "But I think his apology will be viewed as sincere. There is nothing wrong with holding yourself to high standard, even if you fail."

Political science professor Fred Lokken said he believes the timing of the infidelity revelations won't necessarily hobble Ensign's ambitions.

It could be a tremendous bombshell _ just as similar revelations damaged the career of former president candidate John Edwards, he said.

But Nevada has a long history of forgiving the personal troubles of its politicians, he said. Just two years ago, U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons was elected governor while he was under investigation for assaulting a cocktail waitress. Charges were never filed in the case.

"I really do think that Nevada has a different standard for its politicians than the rest of the country," said Lokken, of Truckee-Meadows Community College.

Court grants Redmond O'Neal rehab chance

The son of Ryan O'Neal and Farrah Fawcett is getting a chance at a clean slate.

Redmond O'Neal was admitted into a drug court program on Thursday that could remove him from probation and wipe his record clear of previous drug convictions if he succeeds.

The 24-year-old will join an intense rehabilitation program that will include frequent drug tests and court appearances.

If he relapses or otherwise flunks the program, O'Neal faces several years in prison for a pair of drug convictions.

O'Neal became eligible for the drug court after he failed to pass a less stringent court-supervised rehab program.

O'Neal was stoic as Assistant District Attorney Anthony Estradas laid out the rules of the program, including that he would have to have his own job. The payoff, Estradas told O'Neal, would be a drug-free life and possibly a better relationship with his family.

"Jail will no longer be in your future," Estradas told O'Neal, who was wearing a brown jail jumpsuit.

He has been in custody since April 5, when deputies say they found him with heroin in a parking lot at Los Angeles area jail. He has pleaded not guilty to charges filed in that case.

O'Neal expressed regret recently, telling a judge his recent arrest was keeping him from being with his ailing mother. Fawcett is suffering from anal cancer that has spread to her liver and has suffered complications from an unrelated procedure performed in Germany.

Ex-Campaign Manager Helps Rodham's Foe

MIAMI Ellis Rubin, fired May 1 as campaign manager for Senatecandidate Hugh Rodham, is striking back with a vengeance.

Ellis Rubin has helped Michael Copperthite, Rodham's opponent inthe Sept. 8 Florida Democratic primary, file a Federal ElectionsCommission complaint accusing Rodham of benefitting from a $27,000poll by President Clinton's personal pollster, and failing to report$17,000 from a campaign contributor.

Rodham, 44, a former public defender who is the brother of firstlady Hillary Rodham Clinton, denied the complaint: "There's no reasonfor us to worry. . . . Every contribution was recorded and dulyreported." Crowds Jam Cemetery To Mourn …

Research from M.A. Valantin and co-researchers yields new findings on HIV/AIDS.

According to a study from Paris, France, "To assess the impact of switching to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate + emtricitabine on lipid parameters. HIV-infected patients with plasma viral load < 400 copies/mL, fasted triglycerides from 2.3 to 11.4 mmol/L and/or fasted low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol > 4.1 mmol/L were randomized to switch the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) backbone to fixed-dose combination tenofovir disoproxil fumarate + emtricitabine or to maintain the baseline antiretroviral regimen (the control group)."

"The study has been registered with ClinicalTrials.gov under the identifier NCT00323492. Ninety-one patients were included …

PARASITIC DISEASE TIED TO TRANSPLANTS.(MAIN)

Byline: Associated Press

ATLANTA -- Three transplant patients contracted a dangerous parasitic disease from their new organs in the first such documented cases in the United States, the government said Thursday. Two of the three women died.

A second study also released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention turned up 26 bacterial infections traced to tissue grafts that had come from cadavers in the United States.

In the report involving the parasitic disease, all of the organs came from the cadaver of a Central American immigrant who was apparently infected with T. cruzi. The parasite causes Chagas disease, which can cause heart …

Making a difference.(Private/Corporate)

A numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body; confusion; trouble speaking or understanding; trouble seeing in one or both eyes; trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; and severe headache with no known cause: These are the symptoms of a stroke. According to the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, approximately 600,000 people will suffer suddenly from these symptoms.

Since 1915, the American Heart Association has had a mission to reduce disability and death from cardiovascular diseases and stroke. The American Heart Association is divided into the National Center, headquartered in Dallas, and 12 affiliate offices that cover the United States and Puerto Rico.

This life-saving mission guides everything the non-profit association does. The Texas Gulf Coast Regional Chapter of the American Heart Association, located in Houston, desired a facility that would embrace the mission of its …