About 48 million viewers watched President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address on 11 networks, with Fox TV drawing the biggest share.
The Nielsen Co. said viewership for Wednesday's speech was 7 percent lower than for President George W. Bush's first such address in 2002 but 5 percent higher than for President Bill Clinton's inaugural State of the Union speech in 1994.
From 9-10 p.m. EST, more than 9.7 million people watched …
SACRAMENTO, Calif. Theodore Kaczynski plotted killings yearsbefore the first Unabomber attack and fantasized about victims"merely from my desire for revenge," federal prosecutors saidTuesday.
Kaczynski was driven not by his hatred of technology, as widelybelieved, but by his hatred of people, prosecutors said.
Kaczynski's court-appointed lawyers have described him asmentally ill.In a sentencing memorandum that quoted extensively fromKaczynski's writings, the government told U.S. District Judge GarlandBurrell Jr. that the former mathematics teacher was a mentally alert,brilliant, calculating killer who simply wanted to find victims.He was already writing about …
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rica on Monday asked the Organization of American States to call an urgent meeting to address an alleged incursion by Nicaraguan troops onto Costa Rican soil.
Security Minister Jose Tijerino said more police had been sent to the northeastern border with Nicaragua after authorities detected Nicaraguan troops on Calero, an island in the San Juan River claimed by Costa Rica.
"The police will be properly equipped ... but we will avoid, as much as we can, a confrontation that will only aggravate the situation," Tijerina said.
The border river has been a source of disputes between the Central American neighbors for nearly two centuries. Last …
Dozens of biologists and environmental activists rescued two freshwater dolphins Sunday among nine that have been trapped in a river by low water levels for more than a month.
The two dolphins were caught in nets and brought to shore. They were put in padded, water-filled aluminum containers and driven on all-terrain vehicles about two miles downstream, where they were put in a pen in deeper water.
"This first rescue operation succeeded in transferring two freshwater dolphins weighing between 30 and 40 kilos (66-88 pounds)," Rodrigo Quintana, an …
It's the summer of the sellout. We've all learned that there's notmuch a person won't do for money.
And I'm not just talking about the Who licensing theme music toNissan. Or Halle Berry taking her top off in "Swordfish" for areported $500,000. Or Carole King hawking denim in Gap ads. Or JamieLee Curtis putting her face on liquor billboards in Italy, despiteher history of substance abuse.
It's not just them. It's us, too. We're all trying to cash in,whether or not we have actual cachet. Early in the season, we readabout the New Jersey high school seniors who decided to fund theircollege tuition through corporate sponsorship.
Since then, a Web site has been …
NEW YORK - Wall Street was narrowly mixed Wednesday as investors tried to gauge Americans' buying power going into the holiday shopping season following a report showing a drop in consumer confidence.
The dip in the University of Michigan's survey of consumer sentiment, as well as a government report showing jobless claims rising, dampened some investor enthusiasm over declining oil prices and strong earnings from Dell Inc.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. government reported that crude and gasoline inventories rose, which sent energy prices falling. The question on investors' minds is whether lower fuel prices are enough to encourage consumer spending, which accounts for …
The heat is off Juergen Klinsmann for the time being _ the Bayern Munich coach can afford to field some rarely used players when his team takes a 5-0 lead into the Champions League second-leg match against Sporting Lisbon.
Although Klinsmann has been cautioning his players to take Tuesday's round-of-16 match at Allianz Arena seriously, it would be amazing if Bayern did not make the quarterfinals. No team has ever squandered such a lead in the Champions League.
"It looks on paper as if it were a formality, but it is not so, it's not a given," Klinsmann said. "We have to take it seriously and we can't afford to be careless."
The …
Red Seal Development Corp. is building Mallard Ridge Apartments,the first rental complex in far north suburban Lindenhurst.
The 204-unit complex is under construction east of Munn Road andnorth of Grand Avenue, on the west side of Lindenhurst, about 7 milesnorthwest of the Gurnee interchange on Interstate 94.
"Until now, those who wanted to rent an apartment in Lindenhursthad to go to other nearby villages," said Red Seal president DavidHoffman.
The apartment complex is part of a 95-acre planned unitdevelopment that also will include 122 single-family homes, 140,000square feet of retail space and 36,000 square feet of office space.
"Because …
WASHINGTON - Republican leaders are willing to allow the first minimum wage increase in a decade but only if it's coupled with a cut in inheritance taxes on multimillion-dollar estates, lawmakers said Friday.
The House appeared headed for a session stretching past midnight and a close vote. But even if the plan passed the House, it seemed likely to die in the Senate, keeping the minimum wage frozen at $5.15 per hour as it has been for a decade.
Republicans saw this as their best chance to date of winning permanent cuts to the estate tax, which comes in response to a powerful lobbying campaign by farmers and small businessmen - and super-wealthy families such as the Walton …
More than 400,000 people have left their homes after an earthquake rocked southwestern China, killing one person and destroying thousands of houses, state media said Friday.
Thursday's magnitude-6.0 temblor, centered in Yunnan province's Yao'an county, also injured 325 others, 24 seriously, the Xinhua News Agency said.
Yunnan Television showed displaced residents sleeping outdoors in makeshift beds made up of brightly colored quilts. Others packed into emergency tents, bundles of provisions and clothing in tow. Often people leave even undamaged houses after earthquakes because they are afraid to sleep indoors while aftershocks continue to shake the area.
Piles of rubble …
"Unzipped" works (the film shared the Sundance Film Festival'saward for best documentary) exactly where style-inspired films like"Ready to Wear" bombed. The intimate look, directed by fashionshooter Douglas Keeve, shoves the viewer's face into Mizrahi'sarduous designing process for the fall '94 season. We see thelonely, gray moments …
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Obama: Israel should extend …
Motorists should pay less to fill their tanks now that repairs on a pipeline that delivers crude oil to Midwestern refineries are done.
Enbridge Energy Partners planned to reopen the line in the Chicago area and begin supplying crude to those refineries Friday. Analysts say that should send pump prices lower.
The national average for unleaded regular gasoline has risen about 5.5 cents in the past week to $2.740 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. That's about 19 cents more than a year ago.
Drivers in the Midwest, including Wisconsin and Indiana, joined those on the West Coast in paying the highest prices, from $2.863 a gallon to $3.517 a gallon. Chicago-area drivers paid an average of $3.057 a gallon Friday, compared with $2.882 a gallon a week ago.
The lowest gasoline prices were in Texas, parts of the South and Missouri.
Although gasoline and oil supplies remain plentiful nationwide, the closed Enbridge Energy Partners pipeline caused concerns about supply problems for the affected refineries, said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service.
Now that the leak is plugged, it is "calming" for the market, he said. Prices should begin to "drift down" in the Midwest, which will send the national average lower, Kloza added.
Benchmark crude oil fell slightly after a new report showed consumer sentiment moderated in September from the previous month. The University of Michigan/Reuters' preliminary reading of September consumer sentiment fell from August levels.
In addition, the Labor Department said consumer prices inched up 0.3 percent last month, excluding gasoline prices. The figure was essentially unchanged from July after three straight months of declines in prices.
August energy prices rose 2.3 percent following a 2.6 percent July increase. In the past two months, gasoline prices have been increasing and were up 3.9 percent in August, at the end of the heavy summer driving season.
Oil traders closely monitor U.S. economic growth and the equities markets to gauge consumer sentiment and potential shifts in demand.
Oil for October delivery fell $1.19 to $73.38 a barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading in October contracts, heating oil lost 2.12 cents at $2.0778 a gallon, gasoline dipped 1.44 cents to $1.9103 a gallon and natural gas fell 2.2 cents to $4.040 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude dropped $1.01 to $77.47 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
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Associated Press writers Pablo Gorondi and Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.
MACON, Ga. (AP) — Adam Sollazzo made a hooked bank shot with 3.7 seconds left to give East Tennessee State a 62-61 win over Mercer Monday night.
The Buccaneers (7-7, 2-1 Atlantic Sun Conference) trailed 61-60 and Mercer had the ball with under 20 seconds left. ETSU's Lukas Poderis then drew a charge with 11.3 seconds to go. Sollazzo took the ball and drove the length of the court, going baseline for the winning shot.
Mercer had one last shot to revenge 2010's 72-66 loss to ETSU in the Atlantic Sun Championship on Langston Hall's half-court heave. The desperation shot bounced twice on the back of the rim and rolled off as the buzzer sounded.
Mike Smith scored 19 points, and Sollazzo finished with 15 for the Buccaneers. Smith, Isiah Brown and J.C. Ward all fouled out and weren't available in the final 2 1/2 minutes for ETSU.
Brian Mills led the Bears (3-10, 1-2) with 18 points.
Imprisoned former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky returned to a Moscow courtroom cage on Tuesday for a new trial on multibillion-dollar embezzlement and money-laundering charges that his lawyer called "crazy."
The politically charged trial will go a long way toward forging the image of Russia under President Dmitry Medvedev.
Once Russia's richest man, Khodorkovsky is past the midpoint of an eight-year sentence on fraud and tax evasion charges. The conviction was widely seen as part of a Kremlin campaign to punish him for challenging Medvedev's predecessor, Vladimir Putin, and to strengthen the state's grip on energy resources.
Yukos, the oil company Khodorkovsky built into Russia's biggest, was bankrupted by tax claims and auctioned off in pieces, with its most prized production assets going to state oil company Rosneft.
Now Khodorkovsky, 45, is charged with embezzling more than $25 billion worth of oil from Yukos production subsidiaries and laundering most of the proceeds. He and business partner Platon Lebedev face up to 22 more years in prison if convicted.
"They are crazy, illegal," Khodorkovsky's lead lawyer, Vadim Klyuvgant, said of the charges during a break in the trial at the cramped Khamovkniki district courthouse. "They have no basis."
Flanked by special police, Khodorkovsky flashed reporters a quick smile as he was led through a corridor toward the courtroom, where he and Lebedev watched proceedings from a glass-and-metal cage. Speaking to the court, Khodorkovsky accused the prosecution of obstructing justice and called for the trial to be stopped.
"Personally, I'm fed up with this," he said.
Khodorkovsky's supporters claim the second trial is just a new phase of a reprisal campaign driven by political calculations, commercial interests and personal motives. They say a new conviction and sentence would send a signal that nothing has changed despite Medvedev's words, while an acquittal would mark a break with the Putin era.
"Politically this is a very difficult case for the highest authorities here, especially Medvedev," said Yevgeny Kiselyov, a liberal political commentator. "If Khodorkovsky is sentenced to another prison term, politically that would be Medvedev's responsibility no matter what he says _ particularly in the eyes of the West."
Others say an acquittal is out of the question because it would cast a shadow over Putin, who maneuvered Medvedev into the presidency last year and as prime minister is widely seen as still calling the shots. Analysts also say that Russian leaders do not have to worry about a conviction frightening away foreign investors.
"I think that frankly the damage that they were going to do to the investment climate vis-a-vis Khodorkovsky has already been done," said Sam Greene, deputy director of the Carnegie Moscow Center. "I don't think that putting any more pressure on him or giving him another 50 years in Siberia, if that's what they decide to do, would have any effect."
"My gut feeling is that it's more of the same," he said of the new trial.
Others believe Khodorkovsky's fate will be determined by prevailing political winds and an under-the-carpet power struggle between Kremlin hard-liners and their more liberal opponents.
"The trial will be a test _ which group is more influential at the moment," Kiselyov said.
Khodorkovsky and his lawyers told the court Tuesday they wanted to call top officials, including Putin, to testify, but Judge Viktor Danilkin said the motion was premature.
Another defense lawyer, Karinna Moskalenko, said both the judge and the prosecution were biased against the defense _ an echo of the assumption of guilt that permeated Soviet-era courts. "They cannot accept the defense side as equal _ as a concept," she said during a break.
Defense lawyers describe the new charges outlined in a roughly 4,000 page indictment as nonsense, saying they amount to an accusation that Khodorkovsky stole all the oil produced by Yukos from 1998 through 2003 _ the year he was arrested. He is due for release late in 2011, a few months before the next presidential election.
"Khodorkovsky is in essence being accused of stealing this oil from himself, because ... those companies from which he supposedly stole oil belonged to Yukos, and Yukos belonged to Khodorkovsky," Maxim Dbar, a spokesman for Khodorkovsky's legal team, said Monday.
Defense lawyers also argue that Khodorkovsky is being tried a second time for the same actions. They say the tax evasion charges in his initial trial were based on the same oil pricing and trade practices that the state is now using as the foundation for the embezzlement and money-laundering charges.
Moskalenko said the defense should have more opportunity to present their arguments during this new trial.
"The tone and the conduct of the trial is better than the previous one," she said, "but the result, as I see it, is the same."
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Associated Press writer Steve Gutterman in Moscow contributed to this report.
He's 68 years old and narrates his documentaries in an unmistakably raspy whisper, his heavy German accent adding an air of mystery to everything he's describing.
And yet Werner Herzog has such obvious enthusiasm for the discoveries he depicts in "Cave of Forgotten Dreams," it's as if you're listening to a giddy little kid who learned the coolest thing at school today and can't wait to tell you all about it.
That's just one of the many fascinating contradictions that mark the latest film from Herzog, who previously brought us tales of bears ("Grizzly Man") and penguins ("Encounters at the End of the World"). Here, he prowls around a French cave containing spectacular prehistoric artwork that was closed off to the outside world over 20,000 years ago because of a rock face collapse. Once scientists found the Chauvet Cave in 1994 and began investigating inside, they came across vivid and pristine images of horses, bears, rhinos and other creatures that they estimate are over 30,000 years old — almost twice as old as previous finds.
The drawings were so crisp and clean, the researchers doubted their authenticity at first. Now they're calling this one of the most important cultural finds ever — and not only did Herzog gain unprecedented access, he shot it all in 3-D.
Now, we're not always a fan of the technology around here, but not only is the 3-D NOT gimmicky, it actually enhances the viewing experience — makes these images seem more tactile and immediate. "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" immerses us in a space that's at once enormous and darkly cramped, full of shimmering crystal formations and scattered cave bear skulls.
The 3-D heightens not just the sense of texture but of movement; because the paintings were often rendered on curved surfaces, with overlapping animal legs to suggest galloping, the lighting and camerawork make them appear to be in motion — or as Herzog himself phrases it, it's "almost a form of proto cinema." It's awesome and it makes you feel incredibly small and insignificant by comparison, and yet Herzog also conveys a sense of humanity, which makes it impossible not to feel connected to these people from many thousands of years ago.
One great detail the scientists share: They could tell that the same man, who was about 6 feet tall, drew throughout the cave because he left his red hand print all over, which revealed the same crooked finger over and over again.
Herzog didn't have much time or space to capture all this, and he had to work with a stripped-down camera crew that was forced to remain on narrow, metal catwalks to ensure the sanctity of the cave. And yet the finished product, with its shadows and its string-heavy score, creates a feeling not just of wonder but also of danger and even a bit of fear.
"Cave of Forgotten Dreams" does grow a bit repetitive though, and probably could have been more effective if it had been a half-hour shorter. Once you've marveled at all the artwork and appreciated its significance, it's like: OK, we get it. But then, Herzog ends the film with still more weird and wondrous imagery — which, hopefully, will be the inspiration for his next documentary.
"Cave of Forgotten Dreams," an IFC Films release, is rated G. Running time: 90 minutes. Three stars out of four.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Umar Gul and Aizaz Cheema shared four wickets to leave Bangladesh on 114-5 at stumps in its second innings and still trailing Pakistan by 18 runs in the second test on day four Tuesday.
After Bangladesh was reduced to 53-3 in its second innings, the hosts struggled until stumps to gather the total in 35 overs in response to Pakistan's first innings total of 470.
Gul (2-23) and Cheema (2-41) led the bowling attack while Abdur Rehman took one wicket.
Earlier, Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan took six wickets to restrict the visitors' first-innings lead to 132 runs.
Now that the highly anticipated results of the stress tests are finally out, what kind of service changes can you expect from your bank?
It might be alarming to hear your bank needs to raise billions of dollars in a short time. But you likely won't see any major changes in day-to-day services regardless of how your bank performed.
The stress tests on the nation's 19 largest banks were intended to gauge whether they could weather another major downturn. Ten of the banks, including Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co., were told they need to raise capital _ in most cases, billions of dollars. The others were declared stable.
That's not to say banks in the latter group will stop hiking credit card fees or lowering interest rates on deposit accounts _ trends that have been under way for several months now.
Still, the stress tests do have implications everyday customers should consider. Here are some questions you might have about how the stress tests might affect your banking experience.
Q: First off, is there any reason I should switch banks if mine was determined to need more capital?
A: The stress test results don't have any bearing on ordinary deposit accounts, which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. After the financial crisis accelerated last fall, the government raised the limit insured for individual depositors, from $100,000 to $250,000, through the end of this year.
One possibility to consider is that your bank could sell off one of its units. Even if that happened, the accounts with the unit would remain FDIC-insured _ any changes you'd see would boil down to customer service. Depending on the new owner, the only difference you notice might be the name on the door.
Q: What if I'm looking to open a savings account, CD or money market account? Will the best rates come from the healthier banks, or the less healthy ones?
A: In theory, a bank could raise cash by offering more competitive interest rates and attracting greater deposits. But the boost wouldn't be big or fast enough to meet the demands of the stress tests.
"That's a very slow process, and the stress test is more of an immediate need," said Brian Bethune, an economist with Global Insight.
Besides, the tests are expected to factor in how much banks could reasonably generate through operating earnings, Bethune said. So any capital requirements spelled out in the stress test results would be in addition to that.
One area where customers might get a break is with loans, Bethune said. The banks deemed healthy will likely be able to get lower interest rates on wholesale funding, which can be passed onto consumers in the form of lower mortgage and auto loan rates.
The benefit would be for the creditworthy, of course. Banks long ago clamped down on people with poor credit histories, meaning their chances of getting a loan won't improve anytime soon.
Q: Let's say the stress test determined my bank needs to raise a lot of capital. Should I brace myself for interest rate hikes on my credit card?
A: It's very possible you could see rates and fees go up, but that's nothing new these days.
Banks have been slashing credit limits and raising interest rates on credit cards for the past several months. This is part of the banks' ongoing struggle to reduce risk and raise revenue. Banks are also responding to new, unprecedented regulations in the credit card industry.
As such, you should already be keeping a sharp eye on your credit card statements.
Q: If I'm an investor, what will happen to my stock?
A: Banks might raise capital by converting private preferred stock to common stock. If you hold any common stock in the bank, this could dilute the value of your shares and dividends. If you're a holder of a preferred stock, which gives you greater rights to the company's assets, you shouldn't see any change.
It's not necessarily a great idea to invest in banks deemed stable, either. With all the leaks about the test results leading up to Thursday's official announcement, stock prices have largely adjusted for the results.
"At this point, the results are already priced in," Bethune said.
Q: So is there any impact at all on my accounts?
A: The idea behind the stress tests was to restore confidence in the nation's banking system, which regulators see as key to rehabilitating the economy.
In turn, consumers would see improved interest rates and credit availability. The question, of course, is how investors react to the stress test results and how the banking industry fares in coming months.
"The economy is not going to turn around until people have confidence in the system. That's the first domino to fall to getting economy to turn around," notes Mark Tedhundfeld, spokesman for the American Bankers Association.
The federal government's Section 8 program is "dying a slow death" for lack of funding, thanks to the Bush administration, warned Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-7th) Thursday. The total HUD budget is $37 billion of which $18.4 billion is for the Section 8 program. He juxtaposed this to the Defense Department budget for 2004 which is $369 billion excluding funds for Iraq or Afghanistan.
The administration refused to include that in their budget, charged Davis. In April, Congress approved $62.8 billion extra for Iraq and said they would ask for more. Operations in Iraq are costing $3.9 billion a month and in Afghanistan, it's costing $950 million a month, according to Ira Cohen, a spokesperson for Davis.
The military construction budget is not included in these figures.
And, last year, the defense budget was about $385 billion. Davis is outraged that the administration's budget priorities excluded additional funds for affordable housing for the poor.
He told the Chicago Defender the government refused to put any new monies into the existing Section 8 program. "The big hit that's being taken is in the HOPE IV|the transformation money targeted for troubled housing| because the president wanted to wipe the program out" charged Davis.
"We only put $50 million in this program when it once had an allocation of $600 million...." He said these funds are needed to complete CHA's and other public housing's transformation plan.
But, by the Republicans refusing to increase HUD funds and the separate Section 8 program, Davis said the government is "dashing all of those hopes" residents and housing officials had of completing that dream.
"Those goals have not only been put on hold, but they are being put in jeopardy," Davis said, explaining that the housing funding reduction will be devastating. "The effect is that 85,000 could ultimately lose their Section 8 allocation," warned Davis. "I don't know anybody whose rent didn't go up or who doesn't have to pay taxes. The net result of the housing funding reduction is that we're going to lose Section 8.
"Section 8 is dying a slow death" for lack of funding, Davis said. "If you keep taking away water from the desert, eventually you'll have a drought.... The HOPE IV program |which is needed to revitalize severely distressed public housing| has been reduced by 90 percent....
After heated debate from Democrats including Davis, $150 million was added to the Republican version of the Section 8 program.
Cohen, said that after much heated debate by the Democrats, the Republicans included an additional $150 million for the Section 8 program that would be enough to create 23,000 new vouchers while there are "millions of people on the waiting list."
The House originally moved to approve $583 million less than what was needed just to keep the vouchers currently in use, he said.
In 2001 the number of vouchers increased by 79,000, and in 2002, it increased by 18,000, and 2003, it increased by zero. "The Section 8 program is dying...." Cohen told the Chicago Defender.
Davis added: "These are lean, mean tough times, and people need to make the most use of every dollar that they get."
When asked what can be done about the cut in funding, Davis said he's having a "State of the District" townhall meeting 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15th and 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16th, at the Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Jackson Blvd.
"We have a whole year" to fight back, Davis said. In the interim, "we can change presidents, change the make-up of the legislature. There are no easy things, but, the president is losing popularity. His approval rating is going down the more people think the truth got missed somehow in the decision to invade Iraq.
"All of these things are helping to pull down the president's job rating, which means we can be looking at a new president. Carol Moseley-Braun wouldn't have allowed that to happen...," said Davis. "If you had the money, you can do both
If you give tax breaks to the rich where one person can save $12 million a year in taxes, you won't have any money for the Hope program. You can't get blood out of a turnip."
Article copyright Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc.
Photograph (Danny K. Davis)
An Aberdeen band's new drummer is a big hit - at just 15-years-old.
Torry Academy pupil Ruairidih Walker has been recruited by EroticFire where the other members are almost twice his age.
Ruairidih of Boyd Orr Place, Kincorth, joined 30-year-old singerKevin Coutts, 27-year-old guitarist and songwriter James Durno andMark Gray, a 24-year-old bass player.
The Aberdeen-based band's first gig at the Tunnels, CarnegiesBrae filled the dance floor.
Mark said: "Our expectations were probably a lot higher thanaverage.
"We weren't just looking for a standard drummer. We wantedsomeone amazing. "
They will perform at the Tunnels again on Friday evening.
