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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.