Military exercises: 2012

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Day 2 of the World Series of Poker main event

DAY: 2 (Officially known as Day 1B).

BIG NEWS: The World Series of Poker no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event will likely last a few hours longer than previous years as players begin the tournament with more chips.

The chips were added to starting stacks to give players more time to size up the tables and maneuver during the tournament.

Players began this year with 30,000 in chips compared with 20,000 last year.

On Saturday, 873 players entered the main event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, bringing the total number of entries for the first two days to 1,989.

STUD OF THE DAY: Jeremiah Smith, who doubled his chip stack …

Both Sides Still Must Answer Key Questions

NEW YORK With nearly three months to go until New York's generalelection in November, there is time for the mayoral candidates to winsupport.

Republican Rudolph Giuliani is just beginning his televisionadvertising; David Dinkins has not yet started. Big-audiencetelevised debates won't be held until after the September primary.Dinkins still has opposition in that primary, but he is expected towin handily.

There are several critical questions to be answered in thecoming weeks. Both sides are putting heavy stock in carrying theLatino vote that represents perhaps 10 percent to 12 percent of thetotal. Ordinarily, this bloc is Democratic, but Giuliani is runningon …

Skatalites' drummer Knibb dies in Jamaica at 80

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Lloyd Knibb, an influential Jamaican drummer who played with The Skatalites and helped develop the ska beat, has died, his wife said Friday. He was 80.

Enid Knibb said her husband died from liver cancer late Thursday.

He had been receiving treatment in the U.S. but returned to Jamaica this week, she said.

Knibb's manager, Ken Stewart, wrote on Facebook on Wednesday that he was accompanying Knibb on the trip back to the Caribbean island.

"I can only hope we make it back so he can enjoy his family and friends and see his homeland one more time," he wrote.

Knibb was an original member of The Skatalites, a Jamaican ska and reggae band …

Arkansas tornadoes kill at least 1, injure 2 dozen

Several tornadoes that ripped through central Arkansas killed at least one person and injured two dozen others, destroying homes and leaving officials scrambling to clear debris even as they braced for more severe weather.

Damage assessments were under way in the community of Scotland as day broke in Van Buren County, about 75 miles north of Little Rock, where authorities said at least one person died in Friday night storms. A sheriff's department dispatcher said details were expected to be released later Saturday.

At least two dozen other people were hurt across Van Buren and several other counties, state Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Renee …

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Firms Battle Over Right To Sell Rabies Vaccine

WASHINGTON The rabies vaccine vital to thousands of Americansevery year is the object of a fierce battle between a pharmaceuticalgiant and a small Maryland company that contends a monopoly on thedrug could threaten lives.

"It's a very tangled web," said Dr. F. T. Satalowich of theNational Association of Public Health Veterinarians.

For years, the French company Pasteur Merieux was the onlysource of human rabies vaccine in this country. U.S. doctorscomplained that this situation more than tripled the drug's priceover the last six years from $30 to $100 a dose and sometimes causedshortages.

So when Merieux bought a company that was about to launch itsown …

Clear Channel Communications makes changes in general managers

Several years ago when Clear Channel Communications named Marv Dyson president & general manager of both WGCI-AM/FM and WVAZ-FM Radios, it was the first time that such a responsibility had been given to any African American and the news of that promotion spread throughout the United States.

Recently when officers of Clear Channel Communications decided to relieve Marv Dyson from the two positions as well as other general managers in other markets, the news spread so fast that within hours of announcing it, Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., who was in Atlanta, learned of the change of guards

According to several people associated with WGCI and WVAZ, the radio stations were …

Report: US drug sales growth heads toward new low

U.S. sales of pharmaceuticals will grow at the slowest rate on record this year, as the weakening economy compounds other factors hampering the industry, according to a report issued Wednesday.

The U.S. market for prescription drugs _ the largest in the world _ is predicted to grow an anemic 1 to 2 percent to between $287 billion and $297 billion in 2008, according to research firm IMS Health's annual forecast. That figure is down from the 2 to 3 percent rate the company predicted earlier this year.

Norwalk, Connecticut-based IMS has tracked prescription drug sales for 50 years.

Drug sales in the U.S. have steadily slowed in recent years as …

Leader hits Yes campaign trail

FIRST Minister Carwyn Jones hit the streets of Carmarthen topress the case for a Yes vote tomorrow.

Accompanied by Labour's Assembly candidate Christine Gwyther, heexplained to voters why he thinks the Assembly should be given fulllaw-making powers in its areas of responsibility.

"It's about getting …

Leahy Presses for White House Testimony

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said Sunday he intends to subpoena White House officials involved in ousting federal prosecutors and is dismissing anything short of their testimony in public.

The Bush White House was expected to announce early this week whether it will let political strategist Karl Rove, former White House counsel Harriet Miers and other officials testify or will seek to assert executive privilege in preventing their appearance.

The chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., last week delayed a vote on the subpoenas until Thursday as the president's counsel, Fred Fielding, sought to negotiate terms. But on Sunday, Leahy said he had not met …

Private inspections of food companies seen as weak

The mortgage meltdown exposed the weakness of self-regulation in financial markets. Now the salmonella outbreak is doing the same for the food industry.

A House subcommittee Thursday released new documents that showed how private inspectors contracted by Peanut Corp. of America failed to find long-standing sanitary problems at company facilities. Peanut Corp. is at the center of a nationwide outbreak that has sickened nearly 700 people and is blamed for at least nine deaths.

Lawmakers said the food industry's private inspection system failed to catch filthy conditions because the company itself hired the inspectors.

"There is an obvious and …

`Tomorrow' tunes in to radio soap operas

These films are now available on videocassette.

Tune in Tomorrow (1990; HBO; 90 minutes; closed captioned for thehearing-impaired; $92.99) This is a lighthearted, sometimes funnyfantasy about a writer of radio soap operas (Peter Falk) who stealsdetails and dialogue from those around him, and puts them right onthe air. This causes problems when his young sidekick (Keanu Reeves)falls in love with his aunt (Barbara Hershey). Elizabeth McGovernand Buck Henry turn up as characters in the soap opera Falk iswriting. Rated PG. (STAR) (STAR) 1/2 (Roger Ebert)

Marked for Death (1990; CBS/Fox; 93 minutes; closed captioned forthe hearing-impaired; $92.98) Steven Seagal can lay …

Commodities fall a second day on economic fears

NEW YORK (AP) — Commodities dropped across the board for a second consecutive day on deepening concerns about economic weakness in the United States and Europe.

Oil, gasoline, silver and palladium each fell more than 5 percent as Thursday's session came to a close. Even gold wasn't immune, dropping $7.30 to settle at $1,659 an ounce.

The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell 1,000 last week to 400,000. That's still higher than the 375,000 level economists say signals healthy job growth.

Manufacturing, which has been a key driver of U.S. growth since the recession ended in 2009, remains weak. Consumers are also cutting back …

Liverpool's Aurelio ruled out for up to a month

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool left back Fabio Aurelio has been ruled out for up to a month with a hamstring injury.

The Brazilian defender was hurt in the first half of Liverpool's 3-1 win over Manchester United in the Premier League.

Liverpool doctor Peter Brukner says "it's a partial tear" and expects Aurelio to be out of action for three to four weeks.

Brukner says "unfortunately his body lets him down. He always plays well when he's fit."

The Reds are already without another full back, Martin Kelly, who is out for a similar period with a hamstring problem.

When the Camera Lies

When the Camera Lies Only Skin Deep: Changing Visions of the American Self Edited by Coco Fusco and Brian Wallis Harry N. Abrams, December 2003 $40.00, ISBN 0-810-94635-1

Recent years have witnessed a growing awareness of the crucial role photography plays in shaping cultural definitions of race and gender. Deborah Willis and Carla Williams's groundbreaking study The Black Female Body: A Photographic History (Temple University Press, February 2002) treated the depiction of black women in 19th-century photography as a metaphor for European colonial expansion and the subjugation of the world' s darker-skinned peoples.

More recently, the traveling exhibition "White: Whiteness and Race in Contemporary Art" explored the artistic depiction of racial identities as "constructed, performed and malleable" definitions of the self and others. Several of the artists in that show, which included photographers Wendy Ewald, Nikki S. Lee and Cindy Sherman, exploited the conventions of photographic representation to point up the essentially arbitrary character of racial classifications.

Now, in Only Skin Deep: Changing Visions of the American Self, the exhibition catalogue for a show that opened in December at the International Center of Photography in New York and runs through February 29, editors Coco Fusco and Brian Wallis again raise the question of "how photographs make us see race."

One might quibble at first with the editors' assertion that "most people understand that race is a social construction and not a biological truth." In fact, "most people" still probably do not. That is because ideas about "racial" differences, however they are defined, have by now become so ingrained in the minds of Americans abetted by a long history of negative stereotypes and a constant barrage of mass media imagery. It almost requires a conscious effort of will to imagine that race isn't some sort of immutable biological destiny.

The editors acknowledge, however, that "race remains with us as a compelling myth," and that "it is part of our American heritage." The photographs of the exhibition and catalogue offer ample evidence that the national obsession with race, however illusory the concept may be, will remain with us for a long time to come.

In tracing the evolution of photographic representations of race, the catalogue notes photography's early alliance with the 19th-century pseudosciences of physiognomy and phrenology, which attempted to classify people on the basis of such external traits as facial features or skull shape, as well as with the more respectable but no less politically fraught disciplines of ethnography, criminology and abnormal psychology.

Because photographs were assumed to be "objective" records, photographic classifications of so-called "racial" differences and types played a critical role in all these fields as a way of providing "scientific" support for the ideology of white supremacy that justified European colonial conguest and America's enslavement of blacks and genocidal Indian wars.

Another thread running through the exhibition deals with the portrayal of race in popular culture. The editors argue that "photographs have been a primary means for conveying ideas about race since the invention of medium" so much so that the notion of American identity is almost impossible to imagine outside the context of racial privilege and status.

Only Skin Deep presents many famous images, from Dorothea Lange's iconic Depression-era tableau Migrant Mother to Gordon Parks's bitingly ironic American Gothic, a portrait of a downtrodden government charwoman with her mop and broom, to Charles Moore's harrowing shots of civil rights demonstrators in Birmingham, Alabama, being pummeled by water canons.

In addition, the book offers many works by contemporary artists-the list includes Fred Wilson, Gary Winogrand, Coreen Simpson and Carrie Mae Weems among others-who have employed the camera as a means to investigate the continuing legacy of America's tragic racial history. This is a thought-provoking and in some ways deeply disturbing exploration of photography's complicity in structuring how we view race and the consequences that stem from our persistent belief in an essentially fictive reality-a reality, moreover, from which it seems we can neither entirely escape nor ever truly transform.

[Author Affiliation]

-Reviewed by Glenn McNatt

Glenn McNatt has been the art critic for The Baltimore Sun since 1999. Before then, he was The Sun's arts columnist, and from 1985 to 1995 he served as an editorial writer and columnist. He's also reported for Time magazine.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Police: Drinking preceded Russian roulette death

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Authorities say a soldier told police a fellow soldier asked for a bullet to put in a gun's empty chamber before he fatally shot himself during a drunken game of Russian roulette.

Jacob Brouch is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his 26-year-old Army friend — Michael McCloskey — following the early Sunday shooting at Brouch's home in Eagle River, an Anchorage suburb.

Police say the men posed for Facebook photos with a revolver belonging to then 25-year-old Brouch, then were playing Russian roulette when McCloskey shot himself in his stomach.

McCloskey died soon after at an Anchorage hospital.

Brouch appeared in court Monday.

Ballesteros hoping for return to St. Andrews

Seve Ballesteros said he would like to play in the British Open at St. Andrews in 2010.

Spurred by images of longtime rival Tom Watson playing his way to the 54-hole lead at the British Open at Turnberry, Ballesteros added that he would relish playing the 18th hole at the same venue that saw him triumph over the 59-year-old American in the 1984 tournament.

Ballesteros, who underwent four operations on a malignant brain tumor late last year, said he would like to be able to play in next year's championship as a gesture of gratitude to his British fans who have supported him for three decades.

"I would love to play at St. Andrews next year for the British public, it's an objective I would like to turn into reality," Ballesteros told Spanish sports daily Marca in an interview published on Saturday.

The 53-year-old Ballesteros is a five-time major winner with three British Open titles. Watson has won eight major championships, including five British Opens.

Watson has a one-stroke lead heading to the final round. He is trying to become the oldest major champion.

"I wish him well," Watson said on Saturday. "I know he's gone through a really tough time with his operation."

During Friday's round, Watson asked his playing partner, Spaniard Sergio Garcia, about Ballesteros' condition.

"I said, 'Have you seen him?' He said, 'No, I haven't seen him personally, but I saw him on TV and he looked really well,'" Watson said. "Tell him hello from me, will you?"

Alonso marks Ferrari debut with Bahrain victory

Fernando Alonso won Sunday's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix to lead a Ferrari 1-2 on his debut for the Italian Formula One team.

The two-time world champion passed teammate Felipe Massa at the second corner before overtaking pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel on the 34th lap for a lead he would never relinquish in a race that signalled the start of the refueling ban era.

Lewis Hamilton took third place for McLaren.

After two frustrating years at Renault, Alonso pounded his chest after jumping on top of his car. It was Ferrari's best start to a season since 2004 _ when Michael Schumacher led a 1-2 start. Alonso joined Ferrari to replace Kimi Raikkonen, who also won on his Ferrari debut three years ago.

"A very special day for me, coming back to the top of the podium is always special, but also more special with Ferrari and the history of the team and the expectations," Alonso said. "There is no better way to start the relationship."

Vettel's car slowed after what his team initially thought was an exhaust issue, but later said was an engine problem. Not long after, he was passed by Massa, who claimed second on his return to racing after a life-threatening crash last July in Hungary.

"It's also the best start of my season. I rode through the race normal(ly), with very good pace. Thanks to God, I'm fine," Massa said.

Ferrari conceded last season early due to its worst run of results since 1993 to focus on 2010.

"After the very difficult decision we had to take last year this shows the decision was right," Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said. "The only way to react is to come back with results."

By contrast, it proved to be a frustrating day for Red Bull.

"We had control of the race today and things we were on top of the strategy. Everything was running smoothly," Vettel said. "We should have won today. It cost us a lot."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said the spark plug failure was "very annoying. We really had the race under control."

Nico Rosberg was more than 40 seconds behind Alonso in fifth place. Schumacher, his Mercedes teammate and a seven-time champion, came sixth in his first race in three years after starting from seventh.

"All in all, I have a very positive feeling," Schumacher said through a translator. "We came in roughly where we expected to come in."

Alonso and Ferrari confirmed their preseason expectations as title favorites after the two-time champion's 22nd career victory. It was Alonso's third win at the Middle East track but first since 2006 _ the year he won his last title.

"There is always pressure with every race, every test you go into," said Alonso, who earned 25 points for his victory under F1's new scoring system. "You live with stress on your shoulders."

Alonso worked his way up behind Vettel, who had won four of his six previous races from pole, to set up his pass at the final corner before the finish line straight.

"I was waiting for the time to attack Vettel _ maybe the last 10 laps _ but suddenly he had a car problem and we had a chance to overtake him earlier than we expected," Alonso said. "(It's) a fantastic sensation."

Massa pulled up to Vettel on the same stretch before going around last year's championship runner-up at the first corner, where Hamilton passed the German driver four laps later.

Massa had to lay up over the last 30 laps to save fuel and his tires, and Hamilton said he just ran out of laps as he pushed to catch the Brazilian.

"We had a good day. Our race pace was a lot stronger (than expected)," Hamilton said. "If I wasn't behind Nico for the first half of the race, I could have been closer to the front."

Schumacher's new team, Mercedes, showed it still has some work to do to provide him with a car worthy of an eighth title. Schumacher finished 3.9 seconds behind Rosberg.

Defending champion Jenson Button finished seventh for McLaren, while Mark Webber of Red Bull was eighth.

Tonio Liuzzi of Force India and Rubens Barrichello of Williams rounded out the top 10 to finish in the points following a change in the scoring system.

Ferrari changed both of its engines without penalty before the start as a precaution, but there was little caution from Alonso as the Spaniard held the inside position to pass Massa into second after a relatively clean start from the 22 cars on the grid.

Rosberg jumped in front of Hamilton with Schumacher behind him after getting ahead of Webber, whose engine spewed smoke to blind Renault's Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil of Force India. Those two spun out in the confusion to drop out of the top 10.

F1 organizers introduced the in-race refueling ban this season as a cost-cutting measure.

Schumacher believed the new regulations played a big part in his performance as several drivers said that a refueling ban had cut overtaking opportunities _ just the opposite of what F1's rulemakers had intended.

The leading drivers didn't begin to pit until lap 16, while Vettel was the last to change to hard tires _ after 17 laps _ in the hot desert heat for a 3.5-second gap over Alonso. But the Ferrari improved on the hard tires to gain before jumping on the Red Bull exhaust problem.

Lotus was the only new team to classify as Heikki Kovalainen finished 15th and Jarno Trulli was awarded last place after retiring with three laps remaining. Virgin Racing and Hispania Racing both failed to classify.

Covert out, Hilgenberg in

There was mixed news about the Bears' hobbled offensive lineThursday as offensive tackle Jim Covert was declared out for Sunday'sgame and center Jay Hilgenberg was declared in.

Covert, who has a badly sprained ankle, did not practice andlikely will be placed on the inactive list. Covert tried to playMonday after missing a game, but reinjured himself.

Second-year man Paul Blair will start in his place.

Hilgenberg was considering season-ending shoulder surgery, butThursday said he will play through the pain after consulting withphysicians Michael Schafer and Frank Jobe. Both told Hilgenberg hisrotator cuff problem and the bone chips in his elbow would not bepermanently worsened by playing the rest of the season, he said.

"I was worried about lasting injuries," Hilgenberg said. "ButI'm not doing any lasting damage to it."

Hilgenberg said his thoughts of having immediate surgery weredue to frustration.

"I just had a bad attitude the last six weeks of the season," he said. "I really don't want to talk aboutit. I feel like I've been contributing and that's why I'm going tocontinue playing."

DITKA TALKS: Although Bear coach Mike Ditka is refusing to speakwith the Chicago media and turned down a network television requestThursday, he spoke with Seattle writers on a teleconference call.

Ditka is upset at the Chicago press for the way it handled hisgum-tossing incident and other stories.

He analyzed the 41-0 loss to the San Francisco 49ers for theSeattle press:

"When you lose like that, you start to question a lot of things. Nothing looks very good. Hopefully that won't create a hangoverfor our players. We've got a lot of pride and character, they'llbounce back."

Ditka said the Bears are eager to erase the memory of the SanFrancisco loss.

"The main idea the last two games is to improve going into theplayoffs with a little bit of momentum," he said. "Right now wedon't have very much, but it can come back in a hurry."

WHIPS AND CARROTS: Ditka admits to being in somewhat of aquandary when it comes to motivating defensive linemen William Perryand Richard Dent.

Ditka said Perry loses 2,000 pounds a week.

"It doesn't do much good to rant and rave about it," he said."It's too hard on me mentally and physically. I beat a dead horseto death before."

Ditka said Dent's play has been sporadic.

"We expect production," Ditka said. "We pay our players prettywell, not as well as Seattle pays some of it's players. I don'tknow if you can motivate a guy like that (Dent). The greatestmotivator is personal pride."

Official tells AP: FBI probing US webcam case

A law-enforcement official with knowledge of the case says the FBI has opened a criminal investigation into a Pennsylvania school district accused of activating webcams inside students' homes without their knowledge.

The official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, says the FBI will explore whether Lower Merion School District officials broke any federal wiretap or computer-intrusion laws.

Lower Merion officials say they remotely activated webcams 42 times to find missing student laptops in the past 14 months, but never did so to spy on students, as a recent lawsuit claims.

The Montgomery County district attorney also is gathering information to determine whether to open an investigation.

Real Madrid beats Numancia 4-3

Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrez scored the 5000th Spanish league goal in Real Madrid's history to help the defending champions beat Numancia 4-3 on Sunday for their first win of the season.

Gonzalo Higuain and Rafael van der Vaart also netted for Madrid, with the game at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium decided by Numancia left back Domingo Cisma's own-goal.

Juan Carlos Moreno scored twice and Jose Javier Barkero had Numancia's other goal as the promoted team came close to emulating its victory over FC Barcelona in its opening game.

Madrid has three points, three behind Espanyol, the only team to have made a perfect start to the season.

Espanyol won 1-0 at Recreativo Huelva after striker Luis Garcia scored in the 84th minute with an angled shot from just inside the area which culminated a sweeping, passing move.

In Sunday's late game, Almeria drew 2-2 with Valencia, leaving the two sides with four points, level with Sevilla, Getafe and Villarreal

Pablo Piatti gave Almeria a 20th-minute lead when he pounced after goalkeeper Renan Brito had spilled Julio Alvarez's shot.

Valencia leveled through Alexis Ruano in the 35th, only for Almeria striker Alvaro Negredo to score with a looping header five minutes later.

Spain striker David Villa fired the visitors' equalizer from Joaquin Sanchez's pass in the 69th.

The result marked a satisfactory return to Juegos Mediterraneos stadium for Valencia coach Unai Emery, who led Almeria to promotion two seasons ago and to eighth place last season.

Sunday's other results were: Villarreal 1, Deportivo La Coruna 0; Getafe 0, Real Betis 0; Malaga 0, Athletic Bilbao 0; and Mallorca 1, Osasuna 1.

Midfielder Moreno began the goal rush at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, when he ran in unmarked to send a downward header past goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the seventh minute.

Guti, captain for the day as Raul Gonzalez was left on the bench to save him for Wednesday's Champions League game with BATE Borisov, scored in the 19th with a sweeping shot which took a deflection off defender Boris Gonzalez.

Numancia, which fielded a full team of Spaniards, restored its lead in spectacular fashion three minutes later when Barquero fired a swerving long-range shot into the top corner.

Madrid leveled again in the 26th when Higuain took advantage of Van Nistelrooy's through pass to shoot home off the post.

Van der Vaart, making his league debut for Madrid following his offseason move from Hamburg, gave the home team the lead for the first time in the 34th with a powerful angled drive from just inside the area.

Cisma inadvertently headed Madrid's fourth goal six minutes later after Madrid defender Pepe had back-headed Guti's corner into his path.

Moreno reduced Madrid's two-goal cushion in the 57th with a fierce free kick that Casillas got a hand to but couldn't stop.

Numancia piled forward in the final stages, with Madrid surviving a series of close shaves to hang on to a hard-earned victory.

Villarreal warmed up for Wednesday's Champions League match at holder Manchester United with a narrow win over visiting Deportivo.

Midfielder Santi Cazorla, who helped Spain win the European Championship in June, scored in the 27th minute with a low drive from the edge of the area.

Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini gave former New York Red Bulls striker Jozy Altidore his Spanish league debut as a substitute at the start of the second half, and the United States international embarked on an impressive solo run in the 75th.

Eight minutes earlier, Villarreal's former France midfielder, Robert Pires, made his first appearance of the season as a substitute following his recovery from a left thigh strain.

Getafe was forced to field an on-loan goalkeeper from Valladolid, Jacobo Sanz, following injuries to Argentine international Roberto Abbondanzieri and Argentina's Olympic goalkeeper, Oscar Ustari.

After Jacobo had made several impressive saves, Getafe midfielder Juan Albin wasted an 82nd-minute penalty by shooting against the bar as the home team dropped its first points of the season.

In its first home match in the topflight since 2006, Malaga played out a scoreless draw with Bilbao to earn both teams their first point.

Mallorca striker Aritz Aduriz fired his team into a 16th-minute lead, only for Osasuna's Javier Portillo to equalize in the 85th, leaving both teams winless so far.

Mallorca defender Josemi Gonzalez was sent off for elbowing Portillo in the final stages.

On Saturday, FC Barcelona drew 1-1 with Racing Santander, Atletico Madrid lost 2-1 at Valladolid and Sevilla beat Sporting Gijon 4-3.

Keeping it cool at Obama's news conference

Barack Obama showed there's more than one way to play it cool.

With temperatures forecast for the mid-80s, the president's planned Rose Garden news conference Tuesday was quickly shifted indoors.

Reporters instead crowded into the White House briefing room for the hourlong news conference at midday.

Aides said the switch was designed to help reporters avoid the discomfort of several hours in the heat and sun.

One other beneficiary: the president who once famously declared, "I don't sweat."

Monday, March 12, 2012

Fighting for the money to go to college, Don't our Jasons: and our Jessicas deserve other options?

THERE is irony in the fact that the military experiences of JasonTharp and Jessica Lynch began for essentially the same reasons.

Patriotism - an elusive quality - aside, both joined the militaryto get ahead in this world.

Jessica, a native of Wirt County, joined the Army so she could getmoney to go to college and eventually become a schoolteacher. Jason,a Braxton County native, joined the Marines to get money to study artin college.

The West Virginia natives are like thousands of other young WestVirginians who saw military service as a way out of the poverty thatheld them down. Both had dreams of being winners instead of losers.

But their lives took different paths. Jessica became a heroine ofsorts when she became one of the first prisoners of war to be freedin the Iraqi war. Her story went on to earn her public acclaim.

She wrote a book about her experience of being wounded andimprisoned by the enemy. She was the subject of a made-for-TV movieand she continues to make public appearances and receive acclaim.

Jason is dead, a victim of a series of nightmarish events duringhis training at Parris Island, S.C. In letters he wrote to hisparents, he said he wanted out, that the training was too much forhim. He reported that he was sick, coughing up blood, and feared hewould get pneumonia. He couldn't do the required number of sit-upsand pull-ups.

Six days after the last letter to his parents, Jason drownedduring water training. Prior to his death, a TV camera crew workingon an assignment at Parris Island taped a drill instructor hittingJason in the chest, apparently after Jason refused to get in thewater.

A senior drill instructor and five other Marine personnel havebeen suspended pending several investigations into Jason's death.

A scholarship fund established in Jason's name would provide moneyto needy students who want to attend college. It was reported thatJessica's publicist contacted the Braxton County Board of Educationto find out how to donate to the fund.

We may eventually learn the circumstances of Jason's death in apool at Parris Island. But there will still be unanswered questions.

Why did Jason choose the Marines, the branch with the most arduoustraining? Was he told how difficult it might be and what would beinvolved in the training?

Once there and once he decided he couldn't take the training, washis request to end the torture taken seriously? If so, did theMarines act quickly enough?

In the last letter to his parents, Jason said the money forcollege didn't matter any more. He wanted out.

"If you can get me out, I will be forever grateful," he said.

Whatever the outcome of the investigations, we know the outcome ofJason's experience. And frankly, it points out the desperation thatsome West Virginia youngsters feel and what they will do to breaktheir chains of poverty.

No matter what you think of Jason, the ultimate moral of this sadstory is clear. We need to offer West Virginia kids more alternativesthan they currently have.

In some cases, providing them choices could be lifesaving.

Writer Peyton can be reached at davepeyton@davepeyton.com.

Second-seeded Bammer upset by Rezai in Strasbourg

Aravane Rezai of France, ranked No. 95 in the world, has beaten second-seeded Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the second round of the Internationaux de Strasbourg clay-court tournament.

In other first-round action on Monday, third-seeded Peng Shuai of China beat Alexa Glatch of the United States 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 and fourth-seeded Gisela Dulko of Argentina beat Mara Santangelo of Italy 6-1, 7-6 (3).

In other matches, Kristina Barrois of Germany defeated Irena Pavlovic of France 6-3, 6-3 and Ayumi Morita of Japan beat Kinnie Laisne of France 6-1, 6-3.

US dollar down in Europe

The U.S. dollar was lower against other major currencies in European trading Friday morning. Gold rose.

The euro traded at $1.5486, up from $1.5461 late Thursday in New York.

Other dollar rates:

_104.63 Japanese yen, down from 105.26

_1.0476 Swiss francs, down from 1.0494

_1.0169 Canadian dollars, down from 1.0187

The British pound was quoted at $1.9870, up from $1.9737

Gold traded in London at $854.25 per troy ounce, up from $848.40 late Thursday.

In Zurich, gold traded at $853.45 bid per troy ounce, up from $849.75.

Silver opened in London at $16.16, down from $16.93.

Sanders, Okoye out in Texans-Colts game

Colts safety Bob Sanders, last season's NFL Defensive Player of the Year, was inactive for Sunday's game against Houston.

Sanders missed Wednesday's practice, taking a regular rest day, then participated in Thursday's workouts. But after hurting his knee, Sanders sat out again Friday. The Colts have neither disclosed which knee Sanders injured nor how extensive the injury may be.

Earlier this season, Sanders missed five games with knee and ankle injuries before returning for the Colts' last two games, victories over New England and Pittsburgh.

Houston listed three starters as inactive. Defensive tackle Amobi Okoye (high ankle sprain), linebacker Morlon Greenwood (leg) and quarterback Matt Schaub (left knee) were all out after being listed as doubtful this week.

Quarterback Sage Rosenfels replaced Schaub. Rosenfels committed three turnovers in the final five minutes of this season's first contest against Indianapolis, allowing the Colts to rally from a 17-point deficit for a 31-27 victory at Houston.

Out of Scope

Gulls Gone Wild

Miami Police are counting on what looks like a flying trash can to hover above downtown Miami and steamy South Beach to keep an eye on criminals, revelers and whatever else catches the robotic drone's roving eye.

Similar drones have been used in Iraq and Afghanistan for years. Miami's $250,000, 16-pound pilotless vehicle, built by Honeywell International, can fly at treetop level and hover to train its electro-optic or infrared sensors on the lawless and, undoubtedly, the underdressed.

Rather than being flown in from a central location, the drone would be carried in a backpack to the site of a disturbance and launched by an operator, according to police. The idea is to give police an extra set of eyes when fighting crime.

Up next: an overhead video compilation of spring breakers that's being pitched on late-night cable TV.

A Web of Deceit

One of the most frightening things trotted out last month at RSA- a show pretty much built on scaring you out of your wits- was research from Secureworks' Joe Stewart on the losing battle against spam and botnets. Stewart's team has identified 11 botnets with more than a million bots responsible for more than 100 billion spam messages a day.

The biggest offender is now the Ukraine-born Srizbi, which boasts 315,000 bots and cranks out some 60 billion junk e-mails every day. It dwarfs the infamous Storm, which has just 85 bots generating 3 billion spam messages daily.

The new kids on Stewart's list also seem to be getting more efficient. Ozdok, also known as the Mega-D botnet, has only 35,000 bots, but it manages an impressive 10 billion spams a day.

Always an encouraging guy, Stewart concludes, "Template-based spam botnets are here to stay. Not only that, based on what we've seen in the lab, we don't believe they've even achieved the level of efficiency of which they could be capable.

What we want to know is, Who is buying the junk advertised in spam? And how is spam still a profitable enterprise?

TECHNOSCOURGE

PR Clunkers

A Bad-Hair Decade

"Subject: our security's In jeopardy, baby- ooh ooh ooh."

(If you don't recall that 1983 song, "Jeopardy," listen here: http://www.apple.com/search/ipoditunes/?q=jeopardy.)

The trouble Is, I do remember the song. And the Greg Kihn Band. And everything else wrong with 1983. Did anyone read past the iTunes link to see what Secure Computing was selling in this RSA release?

BY THE NUMBERS

23% of ClOs report a decline in their IT budgets for 2008.

Source: Gartner global CIO survey

"If we are forced to take an offer directly to your shareholders, that action will have an undesirable impact on the value of your company [and] will be reflected in our proposal."

Microsoft CJiO Steve Ballmer in a letter to Yahoo board members that threatens to turn the acquisition attempt into a nasty battle.

Child support case setting precedent: High court rules parental overtime a factor in payment

HUNTINGTON - A recent state Supreme Court ruling involvingovertime earnings in a child support case has set a new precedentstatewide.

The state Supreme Court has upheld a Cabell Circuit Court rulingrequiring family lawmasters to consider overtime worked during thepast three years when modifying child support payments.

The ruling clarifies a state law that requires parents to includea portion of their overtime earnings if they have an establishedpattern of working extra hours.

However, state law did not specifically discuss how the patternshould be determined if the couple has been divorced for a number ofyears.

"This ruling will give a precedent for courts to follow across thestate," said Huntington attorney Mike Woelfel, who represented CathyKirwin in the child support dispute against her ex-husband, StephenKirwin.

The Supreme Court said in its ruling, "We believe that the policythe Legislature expressed in (state code) that children have a rightto share in their natural parent's level of living is limited to itsplain meaning."

The Kirwins divorced in June 1997, and the couple's three kidswent to live with Cathy Kirwin. Stephen Kirwin was ordered to paychild support.

Four years later, Stephen Kirwin petitioned to have his childsupport modified by a lawmaster because his oldest daughter was 18and his middle daughter lived with him.

During a hearing, the couple disagreed over how Stephen Kirwin'sovertime should be considered. Stephen Kirwin said the lawmastershould only consider his overtime before the divorce. Cathy Kirwinwanted the lawmaster to factor in the overtime her ex-husband workedbetween 1998 and 2001.

The lawmaster decided to consider Stephen Kirwin's pattern ofovertime before the divorce. Cathy Kirwin appealed that decision toJudge Dan O'Hanlon, who agreed with her.

Stephen Kirwin appealed O'Hanlon's ruling to the Supreme Court.The high court said the law clearly states that overtime compensationshould be based on overtime worked during the "previous 36 months."

Woelfel said he was pleased the court even considered the appeal.

Denver Water approves rate increases for 2010

Denver's Board of Water Commissioners has approved rate increases that will raise the typical Denver residential customer's water bill by about $40 per year.

The new rates will take effect Feb. 3.

Typical suburban customers of Denver Water would see an increase of about $51 per year.

The rate hikes will help fund a $1.3 billion 10-year plan for infrastructure upgrades and expansion to make sure the utility can meet future demand.

In the next decade, Denver Water plans to expand its recycled water system, enlarge one of its reservoirs, finish developing gravel pits that store reusable water, and explore ways to work with other water providers to bring more supplies to its system.

Denver Water serves about 1.3 million people.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Some question why Johnson not named to post: ; Goodwin says she was not consulted about the decision

DAILY MAIL CAPITOL REPORTER

Several people familiar with the Governor's Workforce InvestmentOffice say they're disappointed Gov. Bob Wise chose a longtimefriend of administration officials to lead the office rather than aformer delegate.

It initially appeared Trent Redman would leave the office andformer Delegate Arley Johnson would be the director. But thatchanged over the course of a weekend about a month ago.

The Senate Finance Committee is holding up a $10 million spendingbill because members are worried not only that the executive orderto reorganize the agency might violate the federal WorkforceInvestment Act of 1998 but also because of complaints that Redmanhas replaced 12 experienced employees with contract and temporaryworkers. Chairman Oshel Craigo, D-Putnam, and other senators wantanswers about what's going on at the agency.

People who worked in the office said Redman, with tears in hiseyes, announced to a small group of middle-level managers one Fridaythat he would be leaving the agency.

But the following Monday, the governor's office made a publicannouncement that Redman would lead Workforce Investment and Johnsonwould become the governor's community development liaison officerwith a $5,000 raise in his $60,000 salary.

Several people inside and outside of Workforce Investment sayEducation and the Arts Secretary Kay Goodwin used her influence toget Wise to choose Redman over Johnson.

"That surprises me," Goodwin said. "I really was not consultedabout that - not that I should have been. It's not my area."

Goodwin said that, at the time the decision was made, she was inBaltimore, where her husband, U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin,was having surgery. But she was pleased with Wise's choice, becauseRedman has been a family friend since he attended West VirginiaUniversity with her son, Booth.

Wise's press secretary, Amy Shuler Goodwin, who is Booth's wife,said the governor's office would not discuss personnel issues, butshe did say that Wise believes both Johnson and Redman are "veryqualified." Redman has also declined in writing to discuss personnelissues.

Johnson said his new job is a "fine position" and he's enjoyingworking with about 60 organizations around the state to make surethey're in compliance with federal statutes before auditors come in.

"I was moved and given a $5,000 raise, so I could complain, butwhy complain?" Johnson said.

Until the reorganization of the agency, Redman, an attorney andformer Cabell County magistrate, had been the administrative chiefof the office while Johnson, who had been hired earlier, was head ofthe state Workforce Investment Board. Many people wanted to changethe arrangement.

"There was a lot of confusion about who was actually in charge,"Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley, said.

Unger, who has been a leader in the Senate on work forcedevelopment issues, said it's not for him to say which person Wiseshould have picked, but he thinks the complaints of the 12 relocatedemployees should be investigated.

"My main focus on all these employees' issues is primarilycentered around not so much the personality conflicts but primarilythat many of them have suggested things within the system that needto be corrected that would meet our requirements for the federalact," Unger said.

"I have been given an indication by some people at the federallevel that the U.S. Department of Labor may be becoming impatientwith the state of West Virginia in hoping we can do the kinds ofreforms that are necessary to put us in compliance," Unger said. Ifthe state fails to comply with the federal law, it could be finedmillions of dollars, he said.

Like the Goodwins, Unger has known Redman for many years, becausethey attended WVU at the same time.

"I think Trent may have taken on a challenge, and he didn'trealize the magnitude of that challenge and the players that areinvolved in it and the complexity of the issue at hand," he said."Personally, I very much like Trent Redman."

Johnson has a similar appraisal of Redman and the position he'sin.

"I think he's a fine person," he said. "I think maybe he has tolearn a few things."

Writer Jim Wallace can be reached at 348-4819 or by e-mail atjimw@dailymail.com.

Floating toys aiding scientists

I was pleased to learn that the little frog had finally madelandfall after almost 15 years at sea, even if the critter might havegone off course a bit during its epic journey.

The Times of London reported recently that the green plastic frog,a member of a legendary fleet of bath toys washed overboard in thePacific Ocean and hunted by scientists ever since, was spotted on theshore of a Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides.

It's the first confirmed case of one of the toys having reachedEurope, culminating a 10,000-mile trip that is helping scientistschart the movements of tides and currents across the globe.

You might recall reading about this little band of tub toys, whichI wrote about a few years ago after being informed by one of theoceanographers who was tracking its movement that we in Maine shouldkeep our eyes out for the little guys.

"They could be anywhere along the coast of Maine," said JamesIngraham, who works with the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration's National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle. "Ifanyone finds one, we'd love to hear about it. We need the reports."

The saga of the world's most sought-after tub toys began in 1992,when a violent storm tossed 20 containers of the smiley-faced plasticanimals off the back of a cargo ship, halfway between Seattle andChina. The nearly 29,000 toys, which include yellow ducks, greenfrogs, blue turtles and red beavers, then set sail on a fantasticvoyage that has taken them all the way from the Pacific Ocean to theAtlantic, by way of the Arctic Ocean.

Ingraham explained to me at the time that he and fellow NOAAoceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer had spent more than 20 years trackingassorted flotsam as a way of charting the movements of ocean surfacecurrents worldwide.

They hoped their studies of these "oceanographic blind spots"could help scientists to better predict severe weather such ashurricanes, floods and droughts, as well as provide valuable data tocommercial fishermen about the migratory patterns of fish stocks.

Their Ocean Surface Current Simulator was originally developed in1991, in fact, to track the path of some 30,000 pairs of Nikesneakers that had fallen from a ship in the mid-Pacific Ocean. Theoceanographers, who clearly know how to inject whimsy into theirwork, are also monitoring the global drift of 34,000 hockey glovesand millions of floating Legos.

Whenever one of the tub toys is found, the men plug the findinginto the simulator program to map where the fleet has been and todetermine where it might be heading.

Their simulator worked well enough to predict the arrival ofrubber duckies on the Alaska coast not long after they went into thedrink. The computer model also was able to forecast duck landings onthe shores of Washington state, and the toys also have washed up inHawaii and the Queen Charlotte Islands off Canada.

A man once claimed to have found an intrepid little frog in theHebrides Islands, off Scotland, but didn't keep it because he didn'tknow it was one of the famous tub-toy fleet.

The same thing happened in Kennebunkport a few years back, when awoman who had read about the unique oceanographic project reportedhaving found a duck that matched the description of those in themenagerie.

She was even able to confirm that the toy she discovered on thebeach was embossed with the manufacturer's name, First Years Inc.,which promises a $100 savings bond to anyone who recovers one of thelittle worldly wanderers.

Unfortunately for the Maine woman, however, she didn't keep herduck either and wasn't able to cash in.

So if you happen to be strolling a Maine beach this summer,remember that there are a couple of West Coast oceanographers whowould very much like you to stay alert for washed-up bath toys. Thereare still thousands of them out there on the high seas, after all,and one of them might just be bobbing its way to a section of thecoastline near you.

As a delighted Ebbesmeyer remarked to the Times of London afterthe latest frog find, "Who would have thought it: Bath-time crittershave given us a new science."

Floating toys aiding scientists

I was pleased to learn that the little frog had finally madelandfall after almost 15 years at sea, even if the critter might havegone off course a bit during its epic journey.

It's the first confirmed case of one of the toys having reachedEurope, culminating a 10,000-mile trip that is helping scientistschart the movements of tides and currents across the globe.

Whenever one of the tub toys is found, the men plug the findinginto the simulator program to map where the fleet has been and todetermine where it might be heading.

A man once claimed to have found an intrepid little frog in theHebrides Islands, off Scotland, but didn't keep it because he didn'tknow it was one of the famous tub-toy fleet.

Unfortunately for the Maine woman, however, she didn't keep herduck either and wasn't able to cash in.

As a delighted Ebbesmeyer remarked to the Times of London afterthe latest frog find, "Who would have thought it: Bath-time crittershave given us a new science."

Floating toys aiding scientists

I was pleased to learn that the little frog had finally madelandfall after almost 15 years at sea, even if the critter might havegone off course a bit during its epic journey.

It's the first confirmed case of one of the toys having reachedEurope, culminating a 10,000-mile trip that is helping scientistschart the movements of tides and currents across the globe.

Whenever one of the tub toys is found, the men plug the findinginto the simulator program to map where the fleet has been and todetermine where it might be heading.

A man once claimed to have found an intrepid little frog in theHebrides Islands, off Scotland, but didn't keep it because he didn'tknow it was one of the famous tub-toy fleet.

Unfortunately for the Maine woman, however, she didn't keep herduck either and wasn't able to cash in.

As a delighted Ebbesmeyer remarked to the Times of London afterthe latest frog find, "Who would have thought it: Bath-time crittershave given us a new science."

Floating toys aiding scientists

I was pleased to learn that the little frog had finally madelandfall after almost 15 years at sea, even if the critter might havegone off course a bit during its epic journey.

It's the first confirmed case of one of the toys having reachedEurope, culminating a 10,000-mile trip that is helping scientistschart the movements of tides and currents across the globe.

"They could be anywhere along the coast of Maine," said JamesIngraham, who works with the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration's National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle. "Ifanyone finds one, we'd love to hear about it. We need the reports."

Whenever one of the tub toys is found, the men plug the findinginto the simulator program to map where the fleet has been and todetermine where it might be heading.

A man once claimed to have found an intrepid little frog in theHebrides Islands, off Scotland, but didn't keep it because he didn'tknow it was one of the famous tub-toy fleet.

Unfortunately for the Maine woman, however, she didn't keep herduck either and wasn't able to cash in.

As a delighted Ebbesmeyer remarked to the Times of London afterthe latest frog find, "Who would have thought it: Bath-time crittershave given us a new science."

Padres 4, Royals 1

Kansas City			San Diego
ab r h bi		ab r h bi
MeCarr cf	5 1 1 0		Denorfi rf-lf	4 1 1 0
Getz 2b	4 0 1 0		Maybin cf	4 0 1 0
Hosmer 1b	4 0 1 1		Headly 3b	4 0 0 0
AGordn lf	4 0 2 0		Ludwck lf	3 1 1 1
Francr rf	4 0 0 0		Spence p	0 0 0 0
Mostks 3b	3 0 1 0		Qualls p	0 0 0 0
B.Pena c	4 0 1 0		H.Bell p	0 0 0 0
AEscor ss	3 0 1 0		Rizzo 1b	4 1 1 2
Chen p	1 0 0 0		OHudsn 2b	4 0 1 1
Butler ph	1 0 0 0		AlGnzlz ss	4 0 2 0
LColmn p	0 0 0 0		RJhnsn c	3 0 1 0
Maier ph	1 0 0 0		Stauffr p	3 1 0 0
		Venale rf	0 0 0 0
Totals	34 1 8 1		Totals	33 4 8 4

Kansas City	001	000	000—1
San Diego	004	000	00x—4

E_Moustakas (2). LOB_Kansas City 9, San Diego 6. 2B_Me.Cabrera (18), A.Gordon (24), Ludwick (13). SB_Maybin (11), Rizzo (1), Alb.Gonzalez (1). S_Chen.

Kansas City
	IP	H	R ER BB SO
Chen L,4-2	6	8	4	0	1	6
L.Coleman	2	0	0	0	0	4
San Diego
Stauffer W,4-5	7	4	1	1	2	6
Spence H,1	2-3	2	0	0	0	0
Qualls H,4	1-3	0	0	0	0	1
H.Bell S,23-24	1	2	0	0	0	0

WP_Chen.

Umpires_Home, Mike Muchlinski; First, Dale Scott; Second, CB Bucknor; Third, Jerry Meals.

T_2:29. A_24,461 (42,691).

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

UEFA. European Championship Qualifying * group A Azerbaijan1Austria4 Nadyrov 74... [Derived headline]

UEFA. European Championship Qualifying

* group A

Azerbaijan1Austria4

Nadyrov 74 Ivanschitz 34

Janko 52, 62

Junuzovic 90

sent off Yunisoglu 27Att 5000

Belgium4Kazakhstan1

Simons 40pen, Hazard 43Nurdauletov 86penKompany 49, Ogunjimi84sent off Kurgulin 59

Att 28,000

Turkey1Germany3

Balta 79Gomez 35, Muller 66

Att 51,000Schweinsteiger 86pen

TUESDAY Germany v Belgium (6pm), Kazakhstan v Austria (5pm),Turkey v Azerbaijan (6pm)

* group B

Andorra0Republic of Ireland2

Att 500Doyle 7, McGeady 20

Andorra J A Gomez, Bernaus, Gutierrez (Lorenzo 78),

E Garcia, Lima (Sonejee 80), C Martinez, Pujol (S Gomez 59),Ayala, Vieira, Silva, Moreno. Subs: P Meca, Sanchez, M Garcia, PeppeBooked C Martinez, Ayala

Republic of Ireland Given, St Ledger, O'Shea, O'Dea, Ward,McGeady, Whelan (Fahey 65), Andrews, Duff (Hunt 75), Doyle (Long71), Keane. Subs: Forde, Kelly, Cox, Lawrence Booked Ward

Referee L Kovarik (Cze)

Armenia4FYR Macedonia1

Pizzelli 28, Mkhitaryan 34Sikov 86Ghazaryan 69sent offSumulikoski 53

Sarkisov 90Att 14,500

Slovakia0Russia1

Dzagoev 71

Att 10,087

TUESDAY (6.45) FYR Macedonia v Slovakia, Republic of Ireland vArmenia, Russia v Andorra

* group C

Northern Ireland1Estonia2

Davis 22Vassiljev 77pen, 84

Att 12,768

Northern Ireland Camp, Hodson, Cathcart, McAuley, Baird, McCourt,Clingan (Evans 32), Davis, McCann (Healy 83), Brunt, Lafferty(Feeney 69). Subs: Taylor, McGivern, McGinn, Little Booked Lafferty,Camp, Cathcart, McAuley

Estonia Pareiko, Piiroja, Klavan, Jaager, Stepanov, Kruglov,Dmitrijev, Puri (Purje 57), Vunk, Kink (Vassiljev 65),

Ahjupera (Zenjov 46). Subs: Londak, Reintam, Saag, Teniste BookedZenjov

Referee M Grafe (Ger)

Serbia1Italy1

Ivanovic 26Marchisio 1

Att 30,000

TUESDAY (7.45) Italy v Northern Ireland (Stadio Adriatico),Slovenia v Serbia

* group D

Bosnia-Herzegovina5Luxembourg0

Dzeko 12

Misimovic 15, 22

Pjanic 36

Medunjanin 51Att 10,000

France3Albania0

Malouda 11

Remy 38

Reveillere 67Att 67,000

Romania2Belarus2

Mutu 19, 51penKornilenko 45

Att 29,486Dragun 84

TUESDAY (8pm) Albania v Romania, France v Bosnia-Herzegovina

* group E

Finland1Sweden2

Toivio 73Larsson 8, Olsson 52

Att 23,257

Netherlands1Moldova0

Huntelaar 40Att 45,000

TUESDAY (7pm) Hungary v Finland, Moldova v San Marino, Sweden vNetherlands

* group F

Greece2Croatia0

Samaras 71

Gekas 79Att 30,000

Latvia2Malta0

Visnakovs 33, Rudnevs 83Att 4500

TUESDAY (6pm) Croatia v Latvia, Georgia v Greece, Malta v Israel

* group G

Montenegro2England2

Zverotic 45Young 11

Delibasic 90+1Bent 31

Att 12,000

Montenegro M Bozovic, V Bozovic (Delibasic 79), Savic, Djudovic,Zverotic, Beciraj (Damjanovic 64), Pekovic,

Vukcevic, Kascelan (Jovanovic 46), Jovetic, Vucinic.

Subs: Blazic, Batak, Djalovic, Cetkovic Booked Jovanovic,Jovetic, Vucinic, Delibasic

England Hart, Jones, Terry, Cahill, Cole, Walcott (Welbeck 76),Barry, Parker, Young (Downing 60), Bent (Lampard 64), Rooney. Subs:Carson, Jagielka, Baines, Zamora Sent off Rooney (73)

Referee W Stark (Ger)

Wales2Switzerland0

Ramsey 60pen

Bale 72Att 12,317

Wales Hennessey, Gunter, Blake, A Williams, Taylor, Bale,

Crofts (Vaughan 81), Ramsey, Allen, Bellamy, Morison (Church 81).Subs: Myhill, Matthews, Nyatanga, Edwards, Robson-Kanu Booked Blake

Switzerland Benaglio, Lichtsteiner, Von Bergen, Klose, Ziegler,Frei (Emeghara 70), Inler, Shaqiri (Rodriguez 62), Xhaka (Mehmedi80), Behrami, Derdiyok. Subs: Wolfli, Degen, Fernandes Sent offZiegler (55) Booked Von Bergen, Klose

Referee B Kuipers (Ned)

TUESDAY Bulgaria v Wales (7.05), Switzerland v Montenegro (7.15)

* group H

Cyprus1Denmark4

Avraam 45Jacobsen 7

Rommedahl 11, 22

Att 1800Krohn-Dehli 20

Portugal5Iceland3

Nani 13, 21Jonasson 48, 68

Postiga 45Sigurdsson 90pen

Moutinho 81

Eliseu 87Att 35,715

TUESDAY (7.15) Denmark v Portugal, Norway v Cyprus

* group I

Czech Republic0Spain2

Mata 6

Att 19,000Alonso 23

Czech Republic Cech, Gebre Selassie, Kadlec, Hubnik, Sivok,Pudil, Rosicky, Hubschman, Kolar (Vacek 77), Jiracek, Baros (Pekhart62). Subs: Drobny ,Rajnoch, Petrzela, Pospech, Lafata Sent offHubschman (70)

Spain Casillas, Sergio Ramos (Puyol 46), Albiol, Pique, Arbeloa,Xavi, Busquets, Alonso (Javi Martinez 71), Silva, Torres (Villa 61),Mata. Subs: Reina, Llorente, Santi Cazorla, Thiago

Referee P Tagliavento (Ita)

TODAY Liechtenstein v Scotland (6.30)

TUESDAY (7.45) Lithuania v Czech Republic, Spain v Scotland

FIFA. World Cup

* concacaf. south american zone. Qualifying tournament

Uruguay4Bolivia2

Suarez 4, Cardozo 18

Lugano 26, 72Martins 88pen

Cavani 35

TODAY Argentina v Chile (0.10), Peru v Paraguay (2.15)

TUESDAY Bolivia v Colombia (9pm), Chile v Peru (11.45)

WEDNESDAY Paraguay v Uruguay (0.45), Venezuela v Argentina (1.50)

* FRIENDLIES

Australia5Malaysia0

Wilkshire 3

Kennedy 33, 45

Brosque 39, 69

Indonesia0Saudi Arabia0

Japan1Vietnam0

South Korea2Poland2

Park Chu-young 66, 76R Lewandowski 29

Blasczykowski 83

Ukraine3Bulgaria0

Selin 7, Shevchenko 38

Yarmolenko 82

TONIGHT Costa Rica v Brazil, USA v Honduras (11pm)

TUESDAY Estonia v Ukraine (6pm), Ghana v Nigeria (Vicarage RoadStadium, 8pm), Honduras v Jamaica, Poland v Belarus (7.15)

WEDNESDAY Mexico v Brazil (2.30), USA v Ecuador (midnight)

UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Qualifying

* group 1

Cyprus1Belarus3

Mytidis Christofides 26og

Patotski 42

Khlebosolov 88

MONDAY San Marino v Germany (7.15)

TUESDAY Belarus v Greece (5pm), Bosnia-Herzegovina v Cyprus (4pm)

* group 2

Malta2Ukraine2

Vella 11Bezus 10, 13

Muscat 90

MONDAY Finland v Sweden (5pm)

TUESDAY Malta v Lithuania (2pm)

* group 3

TUESDAY Wales v Czech Republic (Racecourse Ground, 7.15)

* group 4

Denmark4Faroe Islands0

Falk 15, Albaek 17

Helenius 60, Larsen 69

FYR Macedonia1Serbia1

Hasani 89penMarkovic 73

TUESDAY Serbia v Denmark (2pm)

* group 5

Georgia0Switzerland1

Affolter 56

MONDAY Estonia v Croatia (2pm)

* group 6

Moldova0Russia6

Kokorin 20, 28, 79

Sosnin 33

Shatov 56, 88

sent off Leu 68sent off Logashov 68

TUESDAY Poland v Albania (2.30), Russia v Portugal (at RepublicanSpartak Stadium) (4pm)

* group 7

TUESDAY Italy v Turkey (4pm), Liechtenstein v Republic of Ireland(Sportpark Eschen, 6pm)

* group 8

MONDAY Azerbaijan v Belgium (2pm), Norway v England (6pm)

* group 9

France2Kazakhstan0

Guilavogui 26, 55

TUESDAY Latvia v Slovakia (1pm), Romania v France (5pm)

* group 10

MONDAY Scotland v Austria (St Mirren Park, 7.30)

TUESDAY Bulgaria v Luxembourg (5pm)

UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Qualifying

* Group 2

TODAY Bosnia-Herzegovina v Republic of Ireland, Russiav Bulgaria

TUESDAY Bulgaria v Bosnia-Herzegovina, Republic of Ireland vRussia

* Group 3

TODAY Italy v Sweden, Romania v Azerbaijan

* Group 7

TODAY Belarus v Northern Ireland, Montenegro v Germany

TUESDAY Germany v Belarus, Northern Ireland v Montenegro

* Group 12

Austria0Albania0

Malta0Denmark4

MONDAY Albania v Malta, Denmark v Austria

* Under-19 Friendlies

France2Ukraine1

Portugal0England1

CAF. africa cup of nations, Qualifying

* Group A

TODAY (4pm) Cape Verde Islands v Zimbabwe, Liberia v Mali

* Group b

TODAY (3pm) Ethiopia v Madagascar, Nigeria v Guinea

* Group c

TODAY Mozambique v Comoros (2pm), Zambia v Libya (4pm)

* Group d

TOMORROW (8.30) Algeria v Central Africa, Morocco v Tanzania

* Group e

DR Congo2Cameroon3

TOMORROW Mauritius v Senegal 2pm)

* Group f

TODAY Gambia v Burkina Faso (5.30)

* Group g

TODAY (4pm) Egypt v Niger, South Africa v Sierra Leone

* Group h

TOMORROW (3pm) Benin v Rwanda, Ivory Coast v Burundi

* Group i

TODAY (2pm) Sudan v Ghana, Swaziland v Congo

* Group j

TODAY (3pm) Guinea Bissau v Angola, Uganda v Kenya

* Group k

TODAY (4pm) Chad v Malawi, Tunisa v Togo

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? group winners and two best runners-up(excluding Group F) qualify for finals, along with top two teamsfrom Group K.

UEFA. European Championship Qualifying * group A Azerbaijan1Austria4 Nadyrov 74... [Derived headline]

UEFA. European Championship Qualifying

* group A

Azerbaijan1Austria4

Nadyrov 74 Ivanschitz 34

Janko 52, 62

Junuzovic 90

sent off Yunisoglu 27Att 5000

Belgium4Kazakhstan1

Simons 40pen, Hazard 43Nurdauletov 86penKompany 49, Ogunjimi84sent off Kurgulin 59

Att 28,000

Turkey1Germany3

Balta 79Gomez 35, Muller 66

Att 51,000Schweinsteiger 86pen

TUESDAY Germany v Belgium (6pm), Kazakhstan v Austria (5pm),Turkey v Azerbaijan (6pm)

* group B

Andorra0Republic of Ireland2

Att 500Doyle 7, McGeady 20

Andorra J A Gomez, Bernaus, Gutierrez (Lorenzo 78),

E Garcia, Lima (Sonejee 80), C Martinez, Pujol (S Gomez 59),Ayala, Vieira, Silva, Moreno. Subs: P Meca, Sanchez, M Garcia, PeppeBooked C Martinez, Ayala

Republic of Ireland Given, St Ledger, O'Shea, O'Dea, Ward,McGeady, Whelan (Fahey 65), Andrews, Duff (Hunt 75), Doyle (Long71), Keane. Subs: Forde, Kelly, Cox, Lawrence Booked Ward

Referee L Kovarik (Cze)

Armenia4FYR Macedonia1

Pizzelli 28, Mkhitaryan 34Sikov 86Ghazaryan 69sent offSumulikoski 53

Sarkisov 90Att 14,500

Slovakia0Russia1

Dzagoev 71

Att 10,087

TUESDAY (6.45) FYR Macedonia v Slovakia, Republic of Ireland vArmenia, Russia v Andorra

* group C

Northern Ireland1Estonia2

Davis 22Vassiljev 77pen, 84

Att 12,768

Estonia Pareiko, Piiroja, Klavan, Jaager, Stepanov, Kruglov,Dmitrijev, Puri (Purje 57), Vunk, Kink (Vassiljev 65),

Ahjupera (Zenjov 46). Subs: Londak, Reintam, Saag, Teniste BookedZenjov

Referee M Grafe (Ger)

Serbia1Italy1

Ivanovic 26Marchisio 1

Att 30,000

TUESDAY (7.45) Italy v Northern Ireland (Stadio Adriatico),Slovenia v Serbia

* group D

Bosnia-Herzegovina5Luxembourg0

Dzeko 12

Misimovic 15, 22

Pjanic 36

Medunjanin 51Att 10,000

France3Albania0

Malouda 11

Remy 38

Reveillere 67Att 67,000

Romania2Belarus2

Mutu 19, 51penKornilenko 45

Att 29,486Dragun 84

TUESDAY (8pm) Albania v Romania, France v Bosnia-Herzegovina

* group E

Finland1Sweden2

Toivio 73Larsson 8, Olsson 52

Att 23,257

Netherlands1Moldova0

Huntelaar 40Att 45,000

TUESDAY (7pm) Hungary v Finland, Moldova v San Marino, Sweden vNetherlands

* group F

Greece2Croatia0

Samaras 71

Gekas 79Att 30,000

Latvia2Malta0

Visnakovs 33, Rudnevs 83Att 4500

TUESDAY (6pm) Croatia v Latvia, Georgia v Greece, Malta v Israel

* group G

Montenegro2England2

Zverotic 45Young 11

Delibasic 90+1Bent 31

Att 12,000

Montenegro M Bozovic, V Bozovic (Delibasic 79), Savic, Djudovic,Zverotic, Beciraj (Damjanovic 64), Pekovic,

Vukcevic, Kascelan (Jovanovic 46), Jovetic, Vucinic.

Subs: Blazic, Batak, Djalovic, Cetkovic Booked Jovanovic,Jovetic, Vucinic, Delibasic

England Hart, Jones, Terry, Cahill, Cole, Walcott (Welbeck 76),Barry, Parker, Young (Downing 60), Bent (Lampard 64), Rooney. Subs:Carson, Jagielka, Baines, Zamora Sent off Rooney (73)

Referee W Stark (Ger)

Wales2Switzerland0

Ramsey 60pen

Bale 72Att 12,317

Wales Hennessey, Gunter, Blake, A Williams, Taylor, Bale,

Crofts (Vaughan 81), Ramsey, Allen, Bellamy, Morison (Church 81).Subs: Myhill, Matthews, Nyatanga, Edwards, Robson-Kanu Booked Blake

Referee B Kuipers (Ned)

TUESDAY Bulgaria v Wales (7.05), Switzerland v Montenegro (7.15)

* group H

Cyprus1Denmark4

Avraam 45Jacobsen 7

Rommedahl 11, 22

Att 1800Krohn-Dehli 20

Portugal5Iceland3

Nani 13, 21Jonasson 48, 68

Postiga 45Sigurdsson 90pen

Moutinho 81

Eliseu 87Att 35,715

TUESDAY (7.15) Denmark v Portugal, Norway v Cyprus

* group I

Czech Republic0Spain2

Mata 6

Att 19,000Alonso 23

Spain Casillas, Sergio Ramos (Puyol 46), Albiol, Pique, Arbeloa,Xavi, Busquets, Alonso (Javi Martinez 71), Silva, Torres (Villa 61),Mata. Subs: Reina, Llorente, Santi Cazorla, Thiago

Referee P Tagliavento (Ita)

TODAY Liechtenstein v Scotland (6.30)

TUESDAY (7.45) Lithuania v Czech Republic, Spain v Scotland

FIFA. World Cup

* concacaf. south american zone. Qualifying tournament

Uruguay4Bolivia2

Suarez 4, Cardozo 18

Lugano 26, 72Martins 88pen

Cavani 35

TODAY Argentina v Chile (0.10), Peru v Paraguay (2.15)

TUESDAY Bolivia v Colombia (9pm), Chile v Peru (11.45)

WEDNESDAY Paraguay v Uruguay (0.45), Venezuela v Argentina (1.50)

* FRIENDLIES

Australia5Malaysia0

Wilkshire 3

Kennedy 33, 45

Brosque 39, 69

Indonesia0Saudi Arabia0

Japan1Vietnam0

South Korea2Poland2

Park Chu-young 66, 76R Lewandowski 29

Blasczykowski 83

Ukraine3Bulgaria0

Selin 7, Shevchenko 38

Yarmolenko 82

TONIGHT Costa Rica v Brazil, USA v Honduras (11pm)

TUESDAY Estonia v Ukraine (6pm), Ghana v Nigeria (Vicarage RoadStadium, 8pm), Honduras v Jamaica, Poland v Belarus (7.15)

WEDNESDAY Mexico v Brazil (2.30), USA v Ecuador (midnight)

UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Qualifying

* group 1

Cyprus1Belarus3

Mytidis Christofides 26og

Patotski 42

Khlebosolov 88

MONDAY San Marino v Germany (7.15)

TUESDAY Belarus v Greece (5pm), Bosnia-Herzegovina v Cyprus (4pm)

* group 2

Malta2Ukraine2

Vella 11Bezus 10, 13

Muscat 90

MONDAY Finland v Sweden (5pm)

TUESDAY Malta v Lithuania (2pm)

* group 3

TUESDAY Wales v Czech Republic (Racecourse Ground, 7.15)

* group 4

Denmark4Faroe Islands0

Falk 15, Albaek 17

Helenius 60, Larsen 69

FYR Macedonia1Serbia1

Hasani 89penMarkovic 73

TUESDAY Serbia v Denmark (2pm)

* group 5

Georgia0Switzerland1

Affolter 56

MONDAY Estonia v Croatia (2pm)

* group 6

Moldova0Russia6

Kokorin 20, 28, 79

Sosnin 33

Shatov 56, 88

sent off Leu 68sent off Logashov 68

TUESDAY Poland v Albania (2.30), Russia v Portugal (at RepublicanSpartak Stadium) (4pm)

* group 7

TUESDAY Italy v Turkey (4pm), Liechtenstein v Republic of Ireland(Sportpark Eschen, 6pm)

* group 8

MONDAY Azerbaijan v Belgium (2pm), Norway v England (6pm)

* group 9

France2Kazakhstan0

Guilavogui 26, 55

TUESDAY Latvia v Slovakia (1pm), Romania v France (5pm)

* group 10

MONDAY Scotland v Austria (St Mirren Park, 7.30)

TUESDAY Bulgaria v Luxembourg (5pm)

UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Qualifying

* Group 2

TODAY Bosnia-Herzegovina v Republic of Ireland, Russiav Bulgaria

TUESDAY Bulgaria v Bosnia-Herzegovina, Republic of Ireland vRussia

* Group 3

TODAY Italy v Sweden, Romania v Azerbaijan

* Group 7

TODAY Belarus v Northern Ireland, Montenegro v Germany

TUESDAY Germany v Belarus, Northern Ireland v Montenegro

* Group 12

Austria0Albania0

Malta0Denmark4

MONDAY Albania v Malta, Denmark v Austria

* Under-19 Friendlies

France2Ukraine1

Portugal0England1

CAF. africa cup of nations, Qualifying

* Group A

TODAY (4pm) Cape Verde Islands v Zimbabwe, Liberia v Mali

* Group b

TODAY (3pm) Ethiopia v Madagascar, Nigeria v Guinea

* Group c

TODAY Mozambique v Comoros (2pm), Zambia v Libya (4pm)

* Group d

TOMORROW (8.30) Algeria v Central Africa, Morocco v Tanzania

* Group e

DR Congo2Cameroon3

TOMORROW Mauritius v Senegal 2pm)

* Group f

TODAY Gambia v Burkina Faso (5.30)

* Group g

TODAY (4pm) Egypt v Niger, South Africa v Sierra Leone

* Group h

TOMORROW (3pm) Benin v Rwanda, Ivory Coast v Burundi

* Group i

TODAY (2pm) Sudan v Ghana, Swaziland v Congo

* Group j

TODAY (3pm) Guinea Bissau v Angola, Uganda v Kenya

* Group k

TODAY (4pm) Chad v Malawi, Tunisa v Togo

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? group winners and two best runners-up(excluding Group F) qualify for finals, along with top two teamsfrom Group K.