Phillies battle, but settle for split in Bronx

Phillies battle, but settle for split in Bronx

EW YORK -- Pedro Martinez looked up and pointed toward the sky as he left the mound in the seventh inning Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.

He stopped and smiled as he peered into the crowd from the top step of the Phillies' dugout.

Martinez took the loss in a 3-1 defeat to the Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series, which evened the best-of-seven series at 1, but he felt good about his effort in a city that loves him and hates him. He said he put everything into his pitching performance to give his team a shot to win. He left the field with no regrets.

"That's all I could do today," Martinez said. "I don't feel like I saved anything. I did everything I could to beat those guys."

But the Phillies and Yankees have shown the World Series is going to be a battle when play resumes Saturday night at 7:57 ET with Game 3 at Citizens Bank Park.

"It's two heavyweights going at it," Jimmy Rollins said.

The Phils left Yankee Stadium for a train trip to Philadelphia feeling good about their position. They beat Yankees ace CC Sabathia in Game 1, and although they could not handle right-hander A.J. Burnett in Game 2, they captured home-field advantage with the next three games at the Bank.

"You start a series on the road, and I think you did your job if you've created home-field advantage for yourself," Jayson Werth said. "Obviously, we would have liked to win tonight, but looking at this as a whole, we're going back to Philly tied."

The Phillies had an excellent opportunity to take a 2-0 lead in the series, but Burnett dominated. He allowed just four hits, one run and two walks and struck out nine in seven innings. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera also pitched two scoreless innings, although they managed two hits and a one walk against them, which they hope helps them in future encounters.

Martinez pitched with as much hype surrounding an individual's start in the World Series in recent memory.

Martinez had a long and storied history against the Yankees. Everybody expected the ballpark to be rocking with "Who's your daddy?" chants, except the fervor of Yankee postseason pasts was lacking. Asked if he thought this World Series felt more like a World Series than last year's against the Rays, Rollins said it will be once the series returns to Philadelphia.

"Our ballpark is so loud and rowdy," he said. "I was really expecting some of that here, but it was very tame and civilized, actually."

In New York?

"You only heard one big cheer and that was on home runs," Rollins said.

Yankees fans had little to cheer early Thursday. Burnett retired the first five batters he faced when Raul Ibanez hit a blooper that landed on the left-field foul line and bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double with two outs in the second. Matt Stairs, who served as Charlie Manuel's designated hitter, followed with a ground ball to the left of Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez got his glove on the ball, but it got past him and into left field as Ibanez scored easily.

It was Stairs' first single since June 28. He had hit .078 (4-for-51), including two at-bats in the postseason, with two doubles and two home runs since he had a pinch-hit single in the seventh inning against Toronto.

The Phillies had a 1-0 lead.

It lasted until the fourth, when Mark Teixeira hit a solo home run into the Yankees bullpen in right-center field to make it 1-1. Hideki Matsui then smacked a 74-mph curveball into the right-field stands for a solo home run in the sixth for a 2-1 New York lead.

It would be enough because Burnett had found his groove.

"I threw a lot of first-pitch strikes and that allowed me to open up and expand the zone after that," Burnett said.

Manuel sent Martinez to the mound to start the seventh inning after having thrown 99 pitches. Jerry Hairston Jr. hit a flare into right field for a leadoff single and Melky Cabrera followed with a bullet to right field to put runners on first and second with nobody out.

Manuel pulled Martinez, but Chan Ho Park allowed a singled to Jorge Posada to score an insurance run.

"He asked me how I felt [in the sixth inning]," Martinez said of pitching coach Rich Dubee. "I never felt as strong as I would like to because I've been under the weather the last two days. That's not an excuse, but I didn't feel quite as strong. I haven't been eating right. I had very little sleep. But I felt good enough to make pitches, and that's what I told him. They trusted that."

The run might have mattered had the Phillies touched Rivera for a run or two. Rollins worked a walk and Shane Victorino followed with a single with one out in the eighth to put the go-ahead run at the plate, but Chase Utley hit into a double play to end the inning.

"Utley was safe," Manuel said. "Go look. He was safe."

"I haven't seen the replay," Utley said. "I've been told the replay shows I was safe. I was running with my head down, so I don't know. I knew it was a close play."

If that call went against the Phillies, perhaps an inning-ending double play worked in their favor in the seventh. Ryan Howard caught a sinking line drive off Johnny Damon's bat with runners on first and second and one out. Howard threw wide to Rollins at second.

The replay showed the ball might have hit the ground before it hit Howard's glove. If that was the case the bases would have been loaded. But Howard's ball was ruled a catch and Jorge Posada was double up at second to end the inning.

Good pitching performances. Close plays. Big hits.

It has been the World Series everybody had expected so far.

And it could get even more interesting this weekend in Philadelphia. Game 3 is on Saturday on Halloween.

Rollins was asked what might be the scariest thing he sees Saturday. He laughed.

"I don't know," he said. "Maybe Ryan and Chase combine for four home runs or something."

Phila. Zoo Offers a Free Admission Day in Honor of Phillies

by KYW's Karin Phillips

The day after the Phillies win the 2009 World Series, admission to the Philadelphia Zoo will be free.

However, there is a slight catch: you don't have to pay any money, but you are being asked to donate an item for a future zoo animal shelter. Vic Dewan is president of the zoo:

For full story go to: http://www.kyw1060.com/

Rendell Pleads With Septa Workers: Don't Walk Out Now

by KYW's Mike Dunn

Governor Ed Rendell, ever the sports fan, is urging Septa workers not to walk off the job as threatened (see related story) in order to avoid giving Philadelphia a black eye during national coverage of the World Series.

Rendell (above) said on Friday that he has not intervened in the transit agency contract talks, nor has he been asked to. But he offered the union his two cents, urging them not to strike during the Phillies' World Series homestand that begins on Saturday.

For full story go to: http://www.kyw1060.com/

City of Philadelphia Declares Swine Flu Emergency

by KYW's John McDevitt

The City of Philadelphia has declared a public health emergency due to the H1N1 ("swine") flu, and is asking all but the sickest patients not to go to a hospital emergency room.

City officials call the emergency declaration "an administrative action," which they say will enable hospitals to meet the growing demand for services by utilizing alternative spaces and volunteers.

The declaration will also permit the transfer of patients between facilities and waive bed limits and length-of-stay requirements.

For full story go to:

http://www.kyw1060.com/

Springsteen, Wonder and others celebrate Rock Hall

Springsteen, Wonder and others celebrate Rock Hall

Bruce Springsteen, right, and John Fogerty perform at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert at Madison Square Garden,Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 in New York.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honors music's most treasured acts, but this time it was the hall's turn to be feted. Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder and more celebrated the hall's 25th birthday with a concert that included all-star collaborations, spellbinding guitars, plenty of high notes - and even tears.

Thursday's extravaganza at Madison Square Garden, the first of two concerts, ran more than five hours, and was a reunion of past inductees: Among the performers were Simon & Garfunkel (1990), Crosby, Stills and Nash (1997), Jeff Beck (2009), James Taylor (2000), Bonnie Raitt (2000) and Sting (with the Police, 2003).

"It's been incredible being in a room with musicians ... who put music in your head," Springsteen said during his rollicking set, which ran nearly two hours and featured the Boss collaborating with the Piano Man, singing Joel hits like "New York State of Mind" and "Only the Good Die Young."

The night's emotional highlight came courtesy of Wonder, who sang Michael Jackson's upbeat "The Way You Make Me Feel," in tribute to the fallen King of Pop. During one part in the chorus, Wonder stopped singing, bent his head and started to sob, but he quickly gathered his composure to finish the song, ending it joyously by leading the crowd with chants of "We Love Michael Jackson" and "Long Live Michael Jackson."

Soul crooner John Legend shared the stage with Wonder during the song. He said while backstage that Wonder's emotion for Jackson "is very heartfelt, and you can see it, you can feel it."

"I was just honored to be with him to celebrate Michael's legacy," Legend said.

It wasn't the night's only bittersweet moment. Earlier, during Paul Simon's performance, he performed the Beatles "Here Comes the Sun" for the late George Harrison, whom he called "a man who I truly loved and admired greatly."

But the mood of the night was hardly somber. Instead, it was an endless jam session of rock gods playing some of the most cherished songs in pop music's catalog. Performers like Wonder and Springsteen didn't just use their sets to sing their own songs, but to give homage to their influences and celebrate the newer generation's music stars.

Simon brought out Dion and also Little Anthony and the Imperials, and Springsteen showcased inductee Sam Moore and John Fogerty, as well as veteran Darlene Love and guitarist Tom Morello, whom he called a "future member of the Hall of Fame."

Wonder performed hits he made famous, like "Living for the City" and "Superstitious," but also gave the spotlight to blues legend B.B. King, who performed "The Thrill Is Gone," while Smokey Robinson sang the Miracles classic "The Tracks of My Tears." Soul crooner Legend also performed, and Jeff Beck electrified Wonder's "Superstitious" with his guitar.

Raitt performed the songs "Love Has No Pride" and "Midnight Rider" with Crosby, Stills & Nash - she and Love were the only two female acts featured on the male-dominated bill.

The capacity crowd was on its feet most of the night, giving one of its biggest ovations at the sight of Art Garfunkel with Simon; the crowd sustained a roar after the two gave a poignant rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

But Springsteen was clearly the night's biggest draw, and even though he went on close to midnight, there weren't many empty seats as he went through a set that included songs like "Born to Run," the Clash's "London Calling," Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad." He used that song as a bellwether of today's troubled times: "High times on Wall Street and hard times on Main Street," Springsteen told the crowd.

The evening closed with Springsteen and his guest stars performing a spirited rendition of Jackie Wilson's "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" - ending on a musical high note.

Friday's concert promised to provide even more, with a lineup including U2, Aretha Franklin and Metallica.

Clinton faces Pakistani anger at Predator attacks

Clinton faces Pakistani anger at Predator attacks

In this image taken from Pakistan's Geo TV, shows visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, 2nd right, during an interview broadcast live in Islamabad, Pakistan on Friday, Oct. 30, 2009, with several prominent female TV anchors, before a predominantly female audience of several hundred . One member of the audience said the Predator attacks amount to "executions without trial" for those killed.

ISLAMABAD (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton came face-to-face Friday with Pakistanis' simmering anger over U.S. aerial drones firing missiles in their country. She drew back slightly from her blunt remarks suggesting Pakistani officials know where terrorists are hiding.

In a series of public appearances on the final day of a three-day visit, Clinton was pressed repeatedly by Pakistani civilians and journalists about the secret U.S. program that uses drones to launch missiles to kill terrorists.

But she refused to discuss the drone strikes along the porous border area with Afghanistan that have killed key terror leaders but also scores of civilians.

Clinton left for Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on Friday after a Pakistan tour that was rocked from the start by a devastating terrorist bombing in Peshawar that killed 105 people, many of them women and children. Her tour has proceeded tensely, revealing clear signs of strain between the two nations despite months of public insistence that they were on the same wavelength in the war on terror.

What is less apparent is what U.S. officials hope will come from Clinton's tough new comments about Pakistani officials' failure to eliminate al-Qaida as a threat within their borders.

Pakistan's military recently launched a major offensive in the South Waziristan border area to clear out insurgent hideouts. But two earlier army efforts made little progress there - leaving questions about the military's resolve to tackle al-Qaida head-on.

Clinton carefully scaled back her comments from a day earlier suggesting that some Pakistani officials knew where al-Qaida's upper echelon has been hiding and have done little to target them.

When the U.S. gathers evidence that al-Qaida fugitives are hiding in Pakistan, Clinton said Friday during a Pakistani media interview, "We feel like we have to go to the government of Pakistan and say, somewhere these people have to be hidden out."

"We don't know where, and I have no information that they know where, but this is a big government. You know, it's a government on many levels. Somebody, somewhere in Pakistan must know where these people are. And we'd like to know because we view them as really at the core of the terrorist threat that threatens Pakistan, threatens Afghanistan, threatens us, threatens people all over the world," Clinton said.

And during an interview Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Clinton demurred when asked if she thought Pakistan was harboring terrorists, saying: "I don't think they are. ... But I think it would be a missed opportunity and a lack of recognition of the full extent of the threat, if they did not realize that any safe haven anywhere for terrorists threatens them, threatens us, and has to be addressed."

A day earlier she was more explicit in her skepticism, telling a Pakistani journalist in Lahore: "I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to. Maybe that's the case. Maybe they're not gettable. I don't know."

A top Pakistan official insisted Friday his country is fighting back against militants and also urging the world to do more against the rise of terrorism.

"There was a time when the world was telling us to do more," Interior Minister Rehman Malik acknowledged, speaking Friday alongside Clinton at a police training center.

"We have decided to fight back," he said. Malik did not explicitly refer to Clinton's comments, but his words appeared intended to counter what she said.

Late Thursday, Pakistani army officers displayed two passports seized from a suspected terror hideout in South Waziristan and believed linked to terror operatives.

Asked repeatedly Friday about the U.S. use of drones, a subject which involves highly classified CIA operations and is rarely acknowledged in public by American officials, Clinton said only that "there is a war going on." She added that the Obama administration is committed to helping Pakistan defeat the insurgents.

Clinton said she could not comment on "any particular tactic or technology" used in the war against extremist groups in the area.

The use of the drone aircraft, armed with guided missiles, is credited by U.S. officials with eliminating a growing number of senior terrorist group leaders this year who had used the tribal lands of Pakistan as a haven beyond the reach of U.S. ground forces in Afghanistan.

During an interview with Clinton broadcast live in Pakistan with several prominent female TV anchors, before a predominantly female audience of several hundred, one member of the audience said the Predator attacks amount to "executions without trial" for those killed.

Another asked Clinton how she would define terrorism.

"Is it the killing of people in drone attacks?" she asked. That woman then asked if Clinton considers drone attacks and bombings like the one that killed more than 100 civilians in the city of Peshawar earlier this week to both be acts of terrorism.

"No, I do not," Clinton replied.

Another man told her bluntly: "Please forgive me, but I would like to say we've been fighting your war."

After arriving in Abu Dhabi, Clinton was expected to meet Saturday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Magic roll in debut with 120-106 win over 76ers

Magic roll in debut with 120-106 win over 76ers

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, center,
dunks in front of Philadelphia 76ers center
Marreese Speights, lower right, as Magic's
Brandon Bass (30) watches during the first
half of an NBA basketball game in Orlando, Fla.,
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Dwight Howard had 21 points and 15 rebounds, Vince Carter scored 15 points and the new-look Orlando Magic rolled to a 120-106 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams.

Ryan Anderson added 16 points, and Jason Williams had 15 points to highlight a deep Magic bench. Orlando went ahead by 23 points at the half, scored 100 through three quarters and showed no signs of a finals hangover after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers on the same floor in June.

Marreese Speights had 26 points, and Elton Brand added eight points in his first regular-season game since missing most of 2008-09 with a right shoulder injury for Philadelphia.

The Magic didn't spend much time embracing last season's success.

The Eastern Conference championship banner was already hanging from the rafters before the game. A video montage of their playoff run only lasted about three minutes, and coach Stan Van Gundy — in his usual play-the-game -already attitude — was stretched out in his chair on the bench during opening night introductions.

It didn't long take to open a big lead, either.

A perfect preseason behind them, the Magic showed signs that those exhibition wins weren't a fluke. They went down by five points early in the first quarter before showing why so many have them picked to again contend with Boston and Cleveland for a conference title.

Carter took a near halfcourt alley-oop pass from Matt Barnes and finished left-handed, his mother in the fourth row among the throngs in the arena brought to their feet in celebration for the hometown kid.

Carter, a Daytona Beach native who has made his home in Orlando for years before being traded in the offseason from New Jersey, followed that with a 3-pointer to highlight a furious Magic push that put them ahead by 23 points at the half.

Even with all the talent on display, Orlando was missing a key piece.

The Magic are without Rashard Lewis for the first 10 games after the All-Star forward was suspended by the league for testing positive for an elevated level of testosterone. Lewis posted a link on his Twitter page to a video of him exercising on a stationary bike at his home about two hours before tipoff.

Philadelphia didn't show quite the same energy.

Having Brand back didn't help much, and although Louis Williams had 18 points, his reign as the full-time point guard was shaky. The Sixers were sloppy and resembled little of the team that took the Magic to six games in the first round of the playoffs last season.

The only real fight Philadelphia showed all night was when Speights went face-to-face with Howard after the big men got tangled up underneath the rim in the second quarter. Howard was called for a technical foul on the play.

The Sixers never got so close again.

Notes: Most of the Magic players said during the morning shootaround that they watched the Lakers' championship ring ceremony Tuesday night. Howard said it was difficult to observe but joked that "the rings are very pretty." Van Gundy said seeing Los Angeles get its rings brought back a lot of bad memories from the finals. "You sort of relive the whole thing," Van Gundy said. "Not pleasant." ... Tiger Woods, a central Florida resident, sat courtside but didn't return to his seat for the second half with the Magic leading big.

Lee, Utley, Phils top Yanks in World Series opener

Philadelphia Phillies' Cliff Lee(notes) pitches against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning in Game 1 of the Major League Baseball World Series Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009, in New York. The Phillies defeated the Yankees 6-1 to lead the series 1-0.

NEW YORK (AP)—The ho-hum catch that tickled his teammates, the behind-the-back snag that looked so easy.

Cliff Lee(notes) could have been clowning around with his kids. Hard to believe it was Game 1 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, of all places.

Lee outdueled CC Sabathia(notes), Chase Utley(notes) homered twice and the Philadelphia Phillies kept rolling through October, beating New York 6-1 on a misty Wednesday night in the opener.

“To be honest I really never have been nervous in the big leagues. This is what I wanted to do my whole life,” Lee said.

The defending champion Phillies shut down Alex Rodriguez(notes) & Co. in the first Series game at the new billion-dollar ballpark. Trying to become the first NL team to repeat since Cincinnati in 1975-76, the Phils’ 17-4 postseason run is the best in league history.

Big Red Machine, meet the New Red Machine.

“We have confidence. We know we have a good team,” Utley said.

Game 2 is Thursday night, with wily Pedro Martinez(notes) pitching for the Phillies against jumpy A.J. Burnett(notes).

Lee bamboozled the Yankees with a spiked curveball, deceptive changeup and his usual pinpoint fastball, pitching a six-hitter while striking out 10 without a walk. He became the first since Don Newcombe in 1949 to fan double digits with no walks in a Series game.

The lefty blanked the Yankees until a run scored on shortstop Jimmy Rollins’(notes) throwing error in the ninth inning. Lee improved to 3-0 with an 0.54 ERA this postseason.

He really seemed to enjoy himself, too.

“Game time is the time go out there and have fun and let your skills take over. It’s kind of weird. Boils down to confidence and trusting your teammates,” he said.

If Lee felt any anxiety in his Series debut, facing the team that led the majors in wins, homers and runs, it didn’t show. And if the Phillies were supposed to be intimidated by the pictures of Babe Ruth and all the Yankees greats on the giant videoboard, it didn’t happen.

Pitching in short sleeves on a blustery evening, Lee worked a wad of gum while he worked his spell over the Yanks.

Lee did a lot of the work himself. When Johnny Damon(notes) hit a little popup to the mound, Lee merely stuck out his glove hand to the side and caught the ball as if it were an apple falling from a tree.

“You know, it was pretty cool,” Lee said. “It was 15 feet in the air. Pretty simple catch. It came right to me.”

That play left the Phillies laughing. Later, he made a nifty, behind-the-back stop on Robinson Cano’s(notes) one-hopper. He threw the ball to first and shrugged. Easy.

That play stumped Ryan Howard(notes).

“I was like … wow. Am I missing something? It was so nonchalant, so casual,” the Phillies first baseman said.

Said Lee: “I try not to go over the edge and be cocky.”

Howard reprised his NL championship series MVP performance, doubling twice and driving in the final run. Barely looking like the 2-to-1 underdogs they are, the Phillies were in such control that many fans left before the final out.

Lee beat his good friend and former Cy Young teammate Carsten Charles Sabathia in the first game at this ballpark back in April, and got this chance after the Phillies traded four minor leaguers to Cleveland in July to get him.

Rodriguez went hitless and struck out three times in his Series debut.

“I did keep it simple today. He kept it even more simple,” Rodriguez said. “He threw the ball well. When a guy comes out like that, you tip your cap and move on. He made some pretty good pitches.”

Derek Jeter(notes) did the most damage against Lee, doubling and singling twice.

“He was great. He’s been pitching like that the whole year, the last two years, the postseason,” Jeter said. “I don’t think it’s much of a surprise.”

So Game 1 went to the Phils. But as Yankees manager Joe Girardi observed, “One thing, he can’t pitch every day.”

Playing in their 40th World Series, and first in six years, the Yankees went quickly. “As the game went on, it got quieter,” Utley said.

Utley’s solo home runs in the third and sixth innings gave Lee all the support he needed. Raul Ibanez(notes) hit a two-run single in the eighth and Shane Victorino(notes) added an RBI single in the ninth.

The Phillies’ may have been a bit overdue—in their only other October meeting, the Whiz Kids from Philadelphia got swept by the Yankees in the 1950 World Series and totaled just five runs.

Even though he’s an All-Star, Utley was an unlikely candidate to rock Sabathia, the MVP of the ALCS. Utley was 0 for 7 with five strikeouts against the big Yankees lefty going into the game.

Utley won a nine-pitch duel with Sabathia in the third, pulling a 95 mph fastball barely over the right-field wall. The shot was the first by a left-hander allowed by Sabathia at home this year.

Utley struck again in the sixth, sending another 95 mph heater deep into the right-center field bleachers.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel had little to do except watch from the top step of the dugout. Girardi was busier, bringing in five relievers after Sabathia left following the seventh inning with Phillies ahead 2-0.

First lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden were among the crowd of 50,207, as were a few specks of fans dressed in Phillies red. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner watched from an upstairs box—he has yet to see his team win in the palace he built.

After a rocky postseason, umpires faced just one tricky call and got it right. They huddled after Rollins trapped a popup and threw to first, and correctly ruled it a double play.

NOTES: Besides Lee and Newcombe, the only pitcher to strike out at least 10 without a walk was Deacon Phillippe in the first Series game in 1903, STATS said. … Utley set a postseason record by safely reaching in his 26th straight game, breaking a tie with Baltimore’s Boog Powell. “I didn’t know that happened,” he said. … Before Utley, the only other left-handed hitter to homer twice off a lefty pitcher in a Series game was Babe Ruth in 1928 off Bill Sherdel of the Cardinals. … The last six teams to win the Series opener won the title. … Rodriguez fanned three times in a game for the first time since July 30. The last pitcher to strike him out three times in a game was Cole Hamels(notes) of the Phillies on May 24. … The Yankees went 64-36 in Series games at their old park.

Nutter, Bloomberg Exchange Light-Hearted Trash-Talk

by KYW's Kim Glovas

Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter was to be in New York City on Thursday night for the second game of the World Series. Thursday morning on ABC's Good Morning America, Nutter and New York's mayor Michael Bloomberg talked about their friendly wager over the game.

The mayors are putting community service first in their bet, says NYC Mayor Bloomberg:

"The bet was whoever wins, gets the loser to come and wear the winner's shirt, and we're either going to paint a recreational center in Philadelphia -- which will probably never happen. Or much more likely, mayor Michael Nutter will come to New York and help us paint a public school."

For full story go to: http://www.kyw1060.com/

House Dems unveil health bill, cheered on by Obama

House Dems unveil health bill, cheered on by Obama

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., left, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., hold a gavel during a news conference about health care, Thursday, Oct. 29,2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Cheered by President Barack Obama, House Democrats rolled out landmark legislation Thursday to extend health care to tens of millions who lack coverage, impose sweeping new restrictions on the insurance industry and create a government-run option to compete with private insurers.

But even as party leaders pointed toward a vote next week, there were fresh questions that went to the heart of their ambitious drive to remake the nation's health care system.

Congressional budget experts predicted the controversial government insurance option would probably cost consumers somewhat more than private coverage. At the same time, rank-and-file conservative Democrats sought additional information about the bill's overall impact on federal health care spending.

There was no official estimate on the total cost of the legislation, which ran to 1,990 pages. The Congressional Budget Office said the cost of additional coverage alone was slightly more $1 trillion over a decade. But that omitted other items, including billions for disease prevention programs.

Yet another $230 billion or more in higher fees for doctors treating Medicare patients, included in an earlier version of the bill, was stripped out and will be voted on separately.

The measure "covers 96 percent of all Americans, and it puts affordable coverage in reach for millions of uninsured and underinsured families, lowering health care costs for all of us," boasted Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at a ceremony attended by dozens of Democratic lawmakers. She spoke on the steps of the Capitol, not far from where Obama issued his inaugural summons for Congress to act more than nine months ago.

Pelosi said the legislation would reduce federal deficits over the next decade by $104 billion, and congressional budget experts said it would probably reduce them even further over the following ten years

While saying they expected a vote next week, Democratic leaders were careful not to claim they had yet rounded up enough votes to pass the legislation. Still, the day's events capped months of struggle and marked a major advance in their drive - and Obama's - to accomplish an overhaul of the health care system that has eluded presidents for a half-century.

Across the Capitol, the Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to begin debate within two weeks on a bill crafted by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. It, too, envisions a government-run insurance option, although states could opt out, unlike in the bill the House will vote on. That portion of the Senate version appears likely to be weakened even further, as moderates press for a standby system that would not go into effect until it was clear individual states were experiencing a lack of competition among private companies.

Obama called the House legislation "another critical milestone in the effort to reform our health care system."

Republican reaction was as swift as it was negative. "It will raise the cost of Americans' health insurance premiums; it will kill jobs with tax hikes and new mandates, and it will cut seniors' Medicare benefits," said the party's leader in the House, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio. He carried a copy of the 1,990-page measure into a news conference to underscore his claim it represented a government takeover of the health care system.

Republicans have already signaled their determination to make the health care debate a key issue in next year's congressional elections, when all 435 House seats will be on the ballot.

But their ability to block passage in the current House is nonexistent as long as Pelosi and her leadership can forge a consensus among the Democratic rank and file. The party holds 256 seats in the House, where 218 makes a majority.

Broad in scope, the House Democrats' bill attempts to build on the current system of employer-provided health care. It would require big companies to cover their employees and include federal subsidies to help small companies provide insurance for theirs, as well. Most individuals would be required to carry insurance, and much of the money in the legislation is dedicated to subsidies for those at lower incomes to help them afford coverage.

For those at even lower incomes, the bill provides for an expansion of Medicaid, the state-federal health program for the poor. Adults up to 150 percent of poverty - individuals making up to $16,245 and a family of four up to $33,075 - would be covered, a provision estimated to add 15 million to Medicaid.

One of the bill's major features is a new national insurance market, in which private companies could sell policies that meet federally mandated benefit levels, the government would offer competing coverage and consumers could shop for the policy that best met their needs.

In a bow to moderates, Democrats decided doctors, hospitals and other providers would be allowed to negotiate rates with the Department of Health and Human Services for services provided in the government insurance option.

Liberals had favored a system in which fees would be dictated by the government, an approach that would have been less costly than what was settled on, and also would have moved closer to a purely government-run health care system than some Democrats favor.

The Congressional Budget Office said the result would be fees comparable to those doctors receive from private insurers. But for consumers, government-backed plans "would typically have premiums that are somewhat higher than the average premiums for private plans" sold in competition. As a result, it said enrollment would be only about 6 million.

Conservative Democrats known as Blue Dogs reacted to the overall CBO analysis by asking whether the bill would reduce the long-term rate of growth in federal spending. They noted the agency had said last summer that an earlier version would fail to do so, and they said they wanted updated answers "in order to make an informed decision."

Thursday's bill includes an array of new restrictions on the private insurance industry, in addition to forcing insurers to compete with the federal government for business.

Firms would be banned from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions and limited in their ability to charge higher premiums on the basis of age.

They would be required to spend 85 percent of their income from premiums on coverage, effectively limiting their ability to advertise or pay bonuses. Additionally, the industry would be stripped of immunity from antitrust regulations covering price fixing, bid rigging and market allocation. And in a late addition to the bill, 30-year-old restrictions on the Federal Trade Commission's ability to look into the insurance industry would be erased.

In response, the industry's top lobbyist, Karen Ignagni, issued a statement containing a somewhat milder version of criticism than recently unleashed against the Senate's version of the legislation. "We are concerned" the House bill will violate assurances that individuals would be able to keep their insurance if they like it, she said. She said it would be responsible for "increasing health care costs for families and employers across the country and significantly disrupting the quality coverage on which millions of Americans rely today."

Ignagni added that the presence of a government-run insurance plan "would bankrupt hospitals, dismantle employer coverage, exacerbate cost-shifting from Medicare and Medicaid and ultimately increase the federal deficit."

While Democrats touted new benefits for seniors, the bill relies on more than $400 billion in cuts from projected Medicare spending over the next decade. Much of the money would come from the part of the program in which private companies offer coverage to seniors.

The bill's other major new source of revenue is from a proposed income tax surcharge of 5.4 percent on wealthy earners, individuals making at least $500,000 a year and couples $1 million or more.

The legislation includes other taxes, such as a 2.5 percent excise tax on the makers of medical devices, expected to raise $20 billion over a decade.

Eagles continue to monitor Westbrook for concussion symptoms

Eagles continue to monitor Westbrook for concussion symptoms

The Eagles' Brian Westbrook, center, is led off the field after suffering a concussion in the first quarter of Monday night's game against the Redskins. PHILADELPHIA — As commissioner Roger Goodell testified Wednesday before Congress about NFL head injuries, the Philadelphia Eagles were dealing with the case in point concussion suffered this week by running back Brian Westbrook. Westbrook was knocked unconscious during Monday night's game against the Washington Redskins when struck in the back of the helmet by the knee of a tackler. His status for Sunday's game against the New York Giants is uncertain. "When Brian Westbrook is ready to play again, we'll have him out there. Until then, we're going to be very cautious with him like we are every one of our guys that has a concussion," Eagles head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder said. CONGRESS INVOLVED: Reps grill Roger Goodell on NFL head injuries Said coach Andy Reid: "I know Brian is going to want to play. But unless Brian's tests come back to where they're in a position where he can play, then he won't do that." Westbrook, who had a headache Wednesday, is being partially evaluated with a brain function test known as ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing). Since 2007, all NFL players have been required to take baseline tests of brain function, administered during preseason and offseason and used to help measure recovery from a concussion. The computerized system uses a series of memory and recognition tests. A player might be shown words in succession on a screen. Then he is tested on how many he can recall. Scores after a concussion are compared to the baseline score. "He was tested yesterday, and he'll be tested again today," said Burkholder, one of two athletic trainers who serve on the NFL's concussion committee. "… Right now, we're in that period, which is normal, for him to have a headache, and his scores aren't quite high enough yet. They will come back." When the headache eases and the ImPACT scores are normal, there will be other evaluations. "The next step is you take him through an exercise program. You get his heart rate up. Does that make his symptoms worse?" Burkholder said. "If it doesn't make his symptoms worse, then you go to the next step, which is to start to do some football-type drills where you get balance and footwork and change of direction. If that goes well then you return him to practice, and then if that goes well you return him to a game." Burkholder estimated Westbrook was knocked out less than a minute. As he was lying on the field, he was attended by Burkholder and other members of the Eagles staff. Westbrook's brother, cornerback Byron Westbrook of the Redskins, stood over him. "Immediately, once he woke up on the field, he knew everything. He knew where he was. He knew his brother was in front of him. He knew coach Reid was behind me," Burkholder said. Burkholder said that under NFL guidelines in place since 2007, a player who loses consciousness cannot return to play in that game. "As soon as we got up to walk, I said, 'Hey, listen now, I'm not going to you play tonight because you lost consciousness,' and he said, 'I totally understand,' " Burkholder said. Burkholder said Westbrook could not recall the play on which he was hit. "He has a very short interval between breaking the huddle and the play that he doesn't remember. That's called retro-grade amnesia. It's not a big indicator for us when we look at recovery," Burkholder said. "… The amnesia that we worry about is that he can't remember things that happened after he got hit. He has none of that. He remembers waking up. He actually remembers that he was dreaming." Burkholder said Westbrook will we watched over the coming days for other symptoms, such as whether he becomes irritable or depressed. For now, the key step is to get past the headache. "The only symptom he has right now really is the headache, and that's enough for me," Burkholder said. "It doesn't matter if he has seven symptoms or one symptom, I'm not going to let him progress to the next level until he gets rid of the headache."

Car bomb in crowded Pakistan market kills 100

Car bomb in crowded Pakistan market kills 100

A man is seen at the spot of an explosion in Peshawar, Pakistan on Wednesday Oct. 28, 2009. A car bomb has torn through a market place in northwestern Pakistan, hours after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in the country.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) -- Suspected militants exploded a car bomb in a market crowded with women and children Wednesday, killing 100 people and turning shops selling wedding dresses, toys and jewelry into a mass of burning debris and bodies.

The attack in the northwestern city of Peshawar was Pakistan's deadliest since 2007 and came as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the country to offer support for its fight against a strengthening al-Qaida and Taliban-led insurgency based along the Afghan border.

Clinton was three hours' drive away in the capital meeting Pakistani government leaders when the bomb went off in Peshawar. Her trip was not announced in advance in Pakistan for security reasons.

The bomb was directed squarely at civilians, unlike many previous blasts that have targeted security forces or government or Western interests. While no one claimed responsibility, the bomb appeared aimed at undercutting public and political support for an ongoing army offensive against militants close to the frontier and showing that the government was unable to keep its people safe.

The shaky, U.S.-backed government said the bombing - the latest in a series this month - had strengthened its resolve to press ahead with the assault in the South Waziristan border region, a militant stronghold and a global training and operations hub for al-Qaida.

At least 60 of the dead were women and children. Most security analysts said the attack could backfire on the insurgents and lead more people to inform on them.

"He who kills a Muslim has no place but hell," said Mumtaz Ali, a wounded 19-year-old who was studying in a Muslim school attached to a mosque that was damaged in the attack. "We are taught the way of the prophet. We are not taught to kill innocent people."

The U.S. believes fighting the insurgents on the frontier is vital to defeating extremism in Pakistan as well as in Afghanistan, where Taliban militants with links to those in Pakistan are waging an ever more violent campaign against American and NATO troops.

Underlining the threat in both nations, Taliban militants in suicide vests stormed a guest house used by U.N. staff in the heart of the Afghan capital on Wednesday, killing 11 people - six of them U.N. staff, including one American.

The bombing just before 1:15 p.m. destroyed much of the Mina Bazaar in Peshawar's old town, a warren of narrow alleys clogged with stalls, shops and food sellers. The district drew mostly poor female shoppers and their children in this conservative city.

Fire swept through the area after the blast, sending a cloud of gray smoke into the air.

The wounded sat amid burning debris and parts of bodies. Men tried to pull survivors from beneath wreckage. One carried away a baby with a bloody face and a group of men rescued a young boy covered in dust, but others found only bodies of the dead.

"My son died here," one man cried.

A two-story building collapsed as firefighters doused it with water, causing more panic. Several hours later, people were still searching the debris for loved ones.

"There was a deafening sound, and I was like a blind man for a few minutes," said Mohammad Usman, who was wounded in the shoulder. "I heard women and children crying and started to help others. There was the smell of human flesh in the air."

Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister of North West Frontier Province, said 100 people had died and more than 200 were wounded.

Clinton was a few hours into her first visit to Pakistan as secretary of state when the bomb exploded.

"I want you to know this fight is not Pakistan's alone," she said at a news conference that many Pakistani TV stations broadcast alongside images of burning buildings and wounded victims. "These extremists are committed to destroying what is dear to us as much as they are committed to destroying that which is dear to you and to all people. So this is our struggle as well."

Standing beside her, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the attack would not break the government's will.

"The resolve and determination will not be shaken," Qureshi said. "People are carrying out such heinous crimes. They want to shake our resolve. I want to address them: We will not buckle. We will fight you."

Clinton's three-day visit is designed to get maximum public exposure to improve America's image in a country where many people dislike and distrust the United States. She plans to meet with students, business leaders and opposition figures, as well as government and military leaders.

"It is fair to say there have been a lot of misconceptions about what the United States intends for our relationship with Pakistan," Clinton told reporters flying with her. "It is unfortunate there are those who question our motives. I want to clear the air."

Peshawar, the economic hub of the northwest and the seat of the provincial government, has long been a favorite target of militants who control large parts of nearby tribal regions near the Afghan border.

Extremism has flourished there since it was used as a staging ground in the 1980s for U.S.-funded fighters preparing to battle the Soviet-installed regime in Afghanistan.

The attack brought the death toll from militant bombings or commando-style raids to more than 300 in October alone.

Three blasts have taken place in Peshawar, including another attack in a nearby market that killed 50. The Taliban have claimed the attacks on government, army or Western targets in calls to media organizations, but not ones killing civilians.

It was the deadliest bombing in Pakistan since a suicide bomber hit the homecoming festivities for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in the southern city of Karachi in October 2007, killing around 150 people. Bhutto was later killed slain in a separate attack.

Hussain blamed the militants based in South Waziristan for Wednesday's attack.

"We are hitting them at their center of terrorism, and they are hitting back targeting Peshawar," he said. "This is a tough time for us. We are picking up the bodies of our women and children, but we will follow these terrorists and eliminate them."

House Dems reach deal on key health care elements

House Dems reach deal on key health care elements

Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., holds a copy of the House health care bill as he talks about health care, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009,during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Democrats reached agreement Wednesday on key elements of a health care bill that would vastly alter America's medical landscape, requiring virtually universal sign-ups and establishing a new government-run insurance option for millions.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi planned a formal announcement Thursday morning in front of the Capitol. Lawmakers said the legislation could be up for a vote on the House floor next week.

The rollout will cap months of arduous negotiations to bridge differences between liberal and moderate Democrats and blend health care overhaul bills passed by three separate committees over the summer. The developments in the House came as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., tried to round up support among moderate Democrats for his bill, which includes a modified government insurance option that states could opt out of.

Reid met Wednesday with Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln, who faces a potentially tough re-election next year.

The final product in the House, reflecting many of President Barack Obama's priorities, includes new requirements for employers to offer insurance to their workers or face penalties, fines on Americans who don't purchase coverage and subsidies to help lower-income people do so. Insurance companies would face new prohibitions against charging much more to older people or denying coverage to people with health conditions.

Pelosi has also said the bill would strip the health insurance industry of a long-standing exemption from antitrust laws covering market allocation, price fixing and bid rigging.

The price tag, topping $1 trillion over 10 years, would be paid for by taxing high-income people and cutting some $500 billion in payments to Medicare providers. The legislation would extend health coverage to around 95 percent of Americans.

Republicans criticized the bill even before it was unveiled.

"Americans' health care is too important to risk on one gigantic bill that was negotiated behind closed doors," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich. "The Medicare cuts will hurt seniors, the tax increases will kill jobs and the government takeover of health care will increase premium costs."

One change expected to be revealed Thursday is that some of the provisions of the bill, which were set to take effect mostly in 2013, have been moved up so Americans would see the benefits of the legislation more quickly, according to Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami.

"I'm pretty confident that we've got the right pieces in place," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, one of the three panels involved in writing the bill. "We can quibble over parts of it, but the fact is when you're taking a 60-year-old system that grew up in a rather haphazard fashion and you're trying to bring some coherence to it, these are sort of the things you have to do at the beginning of that process."

Plenty of work remains to be done before a bill could land on Obama's desk - and there's still no guarantee that Congress can complete the legislation before year's end, as the president wants. If Obama does sign a health overhaul bill, he will have bucked decades of failed attempts by past administrations, most recently by former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

House leaders hope to finish the bill before Veteran's Day, Nov. 11. The Senate is aiming to start debate sometime in the next several weeks.

Bills passed by the House and Senate would have to be merged before a final product could be sent to Obama, and there are a number of differences between the two chambers that would have to be reconciled. Among them are the different approaches to the public plan. The House does not include the opt-out provision for states, and it has more stringent requirements for employers. The Senate would use a tax on high-value insurance plans to pay for the bill, an approach that the House version doesn't have.

In the end, Pelosi, D-Calif., and other House leaders were unable to round up the necessary votes for their preferred version of the government insurance plan - one that would base payment rates to providers on rates paid by Medicare. Instead, the Health and Human Services secretary would negotiate rates with providers, the approach preferred by moderates and the one that will be featured in the Senate's version.

That marked a defeat for liberal lawmakers, who argued for months that a public insurance plan tied to Medicare would save more money for the government, and offer cheaper rates to consumers. Moderates feared that doctors, hospitals and other providers, particularly those in rural states, would be hurt, and in the end they looked poised to prevail, despite constituting a distinct minority in the 256-member House Democratic caucus.

Some liberals were prepared to accept the negotiated rate structure. Others were still withholding support, even while pointing to Reid's inclusion of a government insurance plan in the Senate bill as a victory in itself.

"We were laughed at in August. Who would have thought that the Senate bill would have a public option?" said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Woolsey was noncommittal about whether progressives would accept the negotiated rates. "This is not walkaway time and it is not acceptance time," Woolsey said.

Members of the progressive caucus, along with lawmakers from the black and Hispanic caucuses, were scheduled to meet with Obama at the White House on Thursday, she said.

The legislation would set up a new purchasing exchange where small businesses and individuals without affordable health care options could shop for and compare insurance plans. The new public plan would be one offered in the exchange, and it would be optional; an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office of early versions of the bill said that the public plan would be expected to cover 9 million to 10 million people by 2019.

The House plan also envisions a significant expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for low income people.

Democratic leaders still faced disputes over prohibiting taxpayer money for abortions and health care for illegal immigrants, issues they hoped to resolve after the bill's unveiling.

The Front Page News Welcomes Jerome Maida, aka "Comics Guy" by Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com (610) 931-8810

The Front Page News Welcomes Jerome Maida, aka "Comics Guy" by Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com (610) 931-8810



Above: Spider Man by Marvel. Jerome Maida has
a weekly comic book column that focus exclusively
on comics and sci-fi. Maida has a weekly column in
the Philadelphia Daily News' YO! section. He has a
column in the Phila. Front Page News, online,
www.frontpagenews.us also as a FPN Columnist. And
Jerome Maida is a FPN Managing Editor.

The Front Page News would like to welcome Jerome Maida to it's staff.

Jerome graduated from King's College in Wilkes-Barre in 1992 with a degree in Mass Communications and concentration in Journalism.

"My grades were good, but the intangibles I got from attending King's were invaluable", says Jerome. "They really prepare you for the outside world."

Upon graduation, Jerome immediately immediately found steady freelance work with "The Times Leader" in Wilkes-Barre. In a sign of things to come, his first professional story was about the 30th Anniversary of Spider-Man.

The next few years, he also freelanced for other small publications in the Scranton area, including "The Champion" sports paper (where he eventually became Managing Editor before that publication folded); "The Susquehanna Independent" and "The Wayne Independent".

Jerome cites his flexibility as the key to his finding freelance work for a variety of publications on a regular basis.

"I just have an interest in and am able to write about a variety of subjects", he says. "A lot of writers only want to write about sports or only want to write about entertainment and feature stories or only want to do politics and hard news. By being able to write about many different kinds of subjects, I have made life easier for the editors I have worked with.

Maida moved to Philadelphia in 1997 and soon translated his versatility (and love of the comic book genre) into a successful freelance stint at the "Philadelphia Daily News" starting in 2000.

"I have loved comic books since I was a kid and with movies like 'X-Men' and 'Spider-Man' being so successful, it was a subject they wanted to cover in depth that not many writers knew a lot about", says Jerome. "So that quickly became my niche. I was soon officially known as the Comics Guy."

His comics writing was so well received that in 2006 he was given his only weekly comic book column that would focus exclusively on comics and sci-fi. Jerome's column continues to the present day and is published every Monday in the Philadelphia Daily News' YO! section.

Jerome's expertise in comics has also gotten him published in the "Philadephie Tribune"; "The Morning Call" in Allentown, PA; "Electric City" in Scranton, PA; "Diamond City" in Wilkes-Barre, PA; and "The Villager" in Moscow, PA.

Jerome cites interviews with Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Nana Visitor, Stan Lee and Joss Whedon as some of his biggest thrills.

"When some of these stars, who you know have been interviewed scores of times, tell you that they enjoyed an interview with you because they were asked original questions, that's a great feeling", says Jerome.

Student Latonya Turpin Help With New Recovery Meetings; Native Americans by Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com (610) 931-8810

Student Latonya Turpin Help With New Recovery Meetings; Native Americans
by Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com (610) 931-8810


Latonya Turpin, RN Youth Student training to become
a trained health professional specializing in addiction
whether it be outpatient counseling or an inpatient alcohol
and drug rehab and recovery meetings.

Latonya Turpin has stepped up to be the star young person to assist Fostergrandparent Project Stakeholders such as grandparents, surrogate grandparents, the youth, user groups, the development team to talk about what is Percocet addiction. Turpin, a nineteen year-old who is studying to be a RN in health care is getting praise and thanks because she has volunteered to get involved in a group that supports the drug intervention that any sister or brother may receive from the fostergrandparent project stakeholders. Turpin, a resident of West Philly, says that the recovery group with fostergrandparents works. “I’m a living testimonial to that.”

Latonya has learned that addictive drugs such as Percocet activate the brain’s reward systems. The promise of reward is very intense, causing the individual to crave the drug and to focus his or her activities around taking the drug. The ability of addictive drugs to strongly activate brain reward mechanisms and their ability to chemically alter the normal functioning of these systems can produce an addiction. The future RN has been passing along this education to people who meet for recovery meetings. “Drugs also reduce a person’s level of consciousness, harming the ability to think or be fully aware of present surroundings,” she says. Percocet is a narcotic and Acetaminophen, better known as Tylenol, combination. The youngster works closely with James Sullivan, a group leader.

Sullivan is a well known recovery group representative who has prepared Turpin to share the free lesson as to how addiction is a major risk with prolonged use (over 2-3 weeks) of narcotics. Sullivan has most recently invited anyone who has a understanding of attending recovery meetings to begin participating with him each Wednesday afternoons at 2pm at the University Square Samuel Oshiver Hall located at 3901 Market Street. In the meetings understanding that even moderate doses of some narcotics can result in a fatal overdose is discussed. When increasing doses of narcotics, the person may first feel restless and nauseous and then progress to loss of consciousness and abnormal breathing. Other risks include withdrawal symptoms that may last for months.

Since about one out of every four teens and seniors looking for something to do this year will be wrongfully influenced participation in recovery meetings at the University Square will insure a successful project for youth and surrogate grandparents who want to be a part of doing something good. Sullivan feels that talking is not enough in recovery.
Sullivan wants to invite neighborhood schools and businesses to support the meetings at Samuel Oshiver Hall by planning with him and Turpin positive things to do like line dancing, drumming, country style breakfast and lunchin, and ceremonies.

Turpin has shown that anyone who wants to support can be a person of at least age 13 and up who likes to manage the organizational activity to allocate resources (people, money, services) and set priorities for their own organizations in support of a real change.
Individuals looking to participate in their indoor activities for appropriate meeting space to carry out their private function may call Turpin at 267-804-3880 or Sullivan at 215-416-0862. Class News: In case you weren’t aware of this next month is Native American Month. October is going out with a bang about pumpkin a set-up for local education about a class of Native Americans called Black Indians.

In 1849, Talented Black Indian(s) on the Eastern Coast -the Chippewa Indians in New York, the Delaware Valley area Indians-called Lenni Lenape, and others here in Philadelphia, PA, Chester, PA, and in the New Jersey as well as Wilmington Delaware were well established communities in rural and urban cities.

Today, many residents whose grandparents were born and raised in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware can trace their ancestry back to famous Black Indian Nations. They were writers and shared Native American language. They used that language to proudly remind them where they came from. If you are related to these defenders of safety and a green environment you can teach your family about how you were against slavery and that it was your ancestors who fought for freedom long before the abolitionist and before the Civil War here in the large city of Philadelphia.

Construction Set to Begin on a Brand-New West Philly High

by KYW's Lynne Adkins

Officials held a ceremonial groundbreaking on Tuesday morning for the new West Philadelphia High School, at 49th and Chestnut Streets.

Construction on the three-story building begins next month, with doors opening in the fall of 2011. It will replace the existing West Philly High, which opened in 1912.

Principal Saliyah Cruz says the new building will give the students the upgraded facilities they deserve:

"State-of-the-art science labs, which is something my students do not have in the main building. We have an arts program that doesn't have the facilities that it needs. There'll be a theatre for the arts program (and) a fully equipped film studio for the film program."

For full story go to: http://www.kyw1060.com/

Quilt at Constitution Center Honors Heroes of Recent Wars

by KYW's Karin Phillips

A new exhibit has opened at the National Constitution Center that honors in a unique way soliders who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The 82 heroes that are depicted on the "Lost Heroes" quilt in the lobby of the Constitution Center are shown as young kids, either dressed in fatigues or in some kind of uniform while they were children.

Julie Feingold is the creator of the quilt:

"I felt that if I depicted them as children that it would be more impactful for the viewer. And also, seeing them as children you realize that they were somebody's son or somebody's daughter."

Robert Dembowski of Ivyland, Pa. (right) wanted to be in the military since he was a boy, according to his mother, Fran:

For full story go to: http://www.kyw1060.com/

Septa Transit Strike Could Come This Weekend

by KYW's Steve Tawa

While negotiators for Septa and its Transport Workers Union continued to hold contract talks, the union was preparing to distribute strike signs on Tuesday evening, in advance of a potential walkout at the end of the week.

The union contends it's just a coincidence that a strike could come this weekend, when the World Series comes to Philadelphia.

TWU local 234 set up last weekend's strike authorization vote a couple weeks before it was known that the Phillies had advanced in the postseason. And its last walkout, in 2005, began on the same date: October 31st. That strike lasted a week.

For full story go to:

http://www.kyw1060.com/

A-Rod and Howard add luster to starry World Series

A-Rod and Howard add luster to starry World Series

New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez answers a question before a practice session for the Major League Baseball World Series Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009, in New York. The Yankees play the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2007.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Ryan Howard thought about the World Series and his eyes widened.

"Between Yankee Stadium and Philly, it's going to be, I would have to say, probably one of the rowdiest World Series - just between the fans," he said.

Sure will be if Howard and Alex Rodriguez start teeing off in their high-profile slugger showdown.

For the first time in 20 years, the World Series will feature a pair of former major league home run champions when it opens, weather permitting, on Wednesday night.

No player in the major leagues has been scrutinized more than A-Rod, a postseason star following a scandalous spring training that include a steroid admission and hip surgery.

And Howard has carried the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies every bit as much as Rodriguez has propelled the Yankees to their first Series appearance since 2003 - and the first of his career.

"Ryan, along with his power, he's also become a great hitter," Rodriguez said Tuesday. "And that's bad news for the National League and bad news for us."

The 34-year-old Rodriguez already has succeeded Reggie Jackson as the favorite Yankees target of wannabe amateur psychologists, who try to analyze past playoff flops and his relationships with Madonna last year and Kate Hudson this season. Now he wants to follow Mr. October as a champion.

A three-time AL MVP, he entered the first round against Minnesota hitting .136 (8 for 59) in the postseason dating to 2004 and was hitless in 18 consecutive playoff at-bats with runners in scoring position.

What a change.

He led the Yankees with a .438 average, five homers and 12 RBIs in the victories over the Twins and Los Angeles Angels, hitting tying home runs in the seventh, ninth and 11th innings.

"I think everyone is looking for a profound answer, and I don't have one," he said, sitting behind a table in Yankee Stadium's Great Hall as baseball adopted an NFL-style approach to Series publicity for the first time.

"I think at the end of the day, I'm content. I'm happy, both on and off the field," Rodriguez said. "I think I've cut out a lot of the fat, or unnecessary distractions."

The 29-year-old Howard also needed a winding, if less notorious, path to postseason success. He had only one RBI in reach of his first two playoff series while hitting .217 (5 for 23), then batted .300 with two RBIs against the Los Angeles Dodgers in last year's NL championship series. He then hit three homers and drove in six runs in leading the Phillies over the Tampa Bay Rays for Philadelphia's second-ever title.

And this year, he's batted .355 with 14 RBIs in the playoffs against the Rockies and Dodgers.

"I think that our approaches this postseason, as opposed to be previous postseasons, are a lot better," Howard said. "I think both of us are a lot more patient, both of us are a lot more relaxed, it looks like. You know, I'm going out there just having fun. It looks like that's what he's doing, as well."

Both teams worked out Tuesday in the mist of $1.5 billion new Yankee Stadium, where two freshly painted logos were in foul territory in honor of the ballpark's first World Series. Still standing across the street, covered in black mesh as if a ghost, is its 86-year-old predecessor, awaiting demolition after hosting a record 100 Series games.

CC Sabathia, 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA in his first postseason with the Yankees, starts for New York against former Cleveland teammate Cliff Lee, 2-0 with an 0.74 ERA for the Phillies. It's a rematch of the April 16 ballpark opener, won by the Indians 10-2.

This will be only the second Series with two former season home runs leaders since 1975's faceoff between Cincinnati's Johnny Bench and Boston's Carl Yastrzemski, according to STATS LLC. The other was in 1989's Earthquake Series, when Oakland's Bash Brothers of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire swept San Francisco and Kevin Mitchell.

Rodriguez had a remarkable season, especially after missing the first month following March 9 surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right hip. He homered on his first and last swings of the regular season, reaching 30 homers and 100 RBIs for the 12th consecutive year by hitting a three-run homer and a grand slam in a single inning at Tampa Bay.

He said two close friends - he didn't identify them - took him to breakfast at spring training after he admitted using steroids from 2001-3, and they told him he had to change. He called it "tough love."

Since then, he's eliminated many of the advisers and outside experts who made him more of a business than a ballplayer. He said he also stopped obsessing on putting up big statistics and beating himself up when he didn't. His only goal was the Yankees' 27th title, their first since 2000.

"For me it was obvious in spring training I hit rock bottom," he said. "You can only hit your head against the wall so many times, you know, before you figure out there's another way to get to the other side of the wall."

Rodriguez said sitting at the table reminded him of his spring training news conference, when he took heart that his teammates and Yankees staff sat near him "when a lot of people were running the other way."

Howard has managed to maintain himself as a player throughout, not a commodity. He's paid attention to Rodriguez - for the baseball, not the business.

"I've watched A-Rod and just tried to study guys like A-Rod, study like Manny, Albert," he said, a reference to Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols. "You don't want to be known as just a slugger. You want to be known as a good hitter or a great hitter."

And this Series features two of them.

`Michael Jackson's This Is It' to open worldwide

`Michael Jackson's This Is It' to open worldwide

In this film publicity image released by Sony Pictures, the movie poster for Michael Jackson's "This is It," film, is shown.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson fans around the world readied for the singer's last bow Tuesday in a film that captures rehearsals for his aborted concert stand last summer.

From early evening in Los Angeles to late night in New York City, from the pre-dawn hours in Europe to business hours in Asia and elsewhere, "Michael Jackson: This Is It" arrives simultaneously in the biggest cinematic blowout ever for a music film.

Opening in 99 countries Tuesday and Wednesday, the film expands to 110 territories by this weekend, with distributor Sony putting 15,000 prints of "This Is It" into circulation.

The simultaneous showings around the globe will be anchored by a star-studded premiere at the Nokia Theatre, a concert venue across the street from Staples Center, where many of Jackson's rehearsals - and his high-profile public memorial - were held.

Longtime Jackson collaborator Kenny Ortega, who directed and produced "This Is It," is expected to attend, as are members of Jackson's band and the executors of his will. Entertainers including Snoop Dogg, Smokey Robinson and Zac Efron are also on the 5,500-member guest list.

Fans are likely to swarm the area, too: Many waited in line for days to buy tickets for advance screenings of "This Is It" at the new Regal Cinemas on site, which will show the film to sold-out audiences for its grand opening Tuesday on all 14 of its screens.

"For that to be our first movie ... the energy and excitement in the auditorium tonight is going to be phenomenal," said Russ Nunley, spokesman for Regal Entertainment Group.

The film, culled from more than 100 hours of rehearsal footage, shows an enthusiastic King of Pop meticulously crafting his moves and performing some of his most beloved hits. No critics have seen it, but Sony - which paid $60 million for the film rights - showed a 12-minute clip to entertainment journalists last week.

Some of Jackson's family members and friends have seen "This Is It" in its entirety. Elizabeth Taylor, a longtime friend of the pop star, posted her thoughts Monday on Twitter.

"It is the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen," she wrote on the micro-blogging site. "It cements forever Michael's genius in every aspect of creativity."

The 77-year-old actress added that she "wept from pure joy at his God-given gift" and urged her fans to see the film "again and again."

The film has potential all-ages appeal, with the Motion Picture Association of America giving it a family-friendly PG rating for "some suggestive choreography and scary images."

Clocking in at one hour, 51 minutes, "This Is It" plays in a limited run of just over two weeks, lending it some of the exclusivity that had been intended for the concerts Jackson had planned in London.

"We think the 16 days is right. It's sort of a special event that you want to frame in a special way," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony.

Jackson died June 25 at age 50. The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled the death a homicide, caused primarily by the powerful anesthetic propofol and another sedative. Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, has not been charged with a crime but is the focus of the police investigation.

Jackson's 50 comeback concerts at London's O2 arena were to have begun in July.

AP IMPACT: Troops already outnumber Taliban 12-1

AP IMPACT: Troops already outnumber Taliban 12-1

FILE - In this file photo taken Monday, Oct.19, 2009, Taliban militants stand beside burnt trucks, background left, on main Ghazni- Kandahar highway in Ghazni, west of Kabul. As debate intensifies about whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, NATO and U.S. estimates of Taliban strength suggest the insurgents already are outnumbered by up to 15 to one. The estimates of 20,000 to 25,000 guerrillas _ against an allied force of nearly 300,000 _ raise the question of how new troops would tilt the balance when the current U.S.-led mission has not succeeded.

BRUSSELS (AP) -- There are already more than 100,000 international troops in Afghanistan working with 200,000 Afghan security forces and police. It adds up to a 12-1 numerical advantage over Taliban rebels, but it hasn't led to anything close to victory.

Now, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan is asking for tens of thousands more troops to stem the escalating insurgency, raising the question of how many more troops it would take to succeed.

The commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, says the extra forces are needed to implement a new strategy that focuses on protecting civilians and depriving the militants of popular support in a country where tribal militias may be Taliban today and farmers tomorrow.

The White House said Tuesday that President Barack Obama has nearly finished gathering information and advice on how to proceed in Afghanistan, where bombings killed eight more American troops. With October now the deadliest month for U.S. forces in the war, many experts question the need for more troops.

"The U.S. and its allies already have ample numbers and firepower to annihilate the Taliban, if only the Taliban would cooperate by standing still and allowing us to bomb them to smithereens," said Andrew Bacevich, a professor of international relations and history at Boston University, and one-time platoon leader in Vietnam.

"But the insurgents are conducting the war in ways that do not play to (allied) strengths."

The Taliban rebels are estimated to number no more than 25,000. Ljubomir Stojadinovic, a military analyst and guerrilla warfare expert from Serbia, said that although McChrystal's reinforcements would lift the ratio to 20-1 or more, they would prove counterproductive.

"It's impossible to regain the initiative by introducing more foreign forces, which will only breed more resentment and more recruits for the enemy," he said. "The Soviets tried the exact same thing in Afghanistan in the 1980s with disastrous results."

McChrystal's defenders say the U.S. has learned from Soviets' mistakes. At his instruction, NATO troops are increasingly abandoning heavy-handed tactics.

"In the end this (conflict) cannot be solved by military means alone, and in that sense a precise figure of Taliban fighters is not the point," said NATO spokesman James Appathurai.

The U.S. says it's already adjusting its strategy to shift the focus from hunting down and killing Taliban fighters to protecting civilians - in some cases allowing insurgent units to remain untouched if they are not deemed an imminent threat.

McChrystal has also insisted that ground commanders use airpower only as a last resort and when they are absolutely sure civilians are not at risk. As a career Special Forces officer, McChrystal is likely to use small maneuverable units rather than large, heavily armed formations.

Also, experts say guerrilla numbers are not the most important factor in a counterinsurgency campaign. Instead, the number of U.S. troops depends on more complex calculations, including the size and location of the population, and the extent of the training effort for the Afghan security forces.

Appathurai said the goals of the Afghanistan strategy are key to determining how many forces are required. The goal is to have enough troops in populated areas to protect the citizenry and to provide the forces needed to train the Afghans.

In addition, while there may be as many as 25,000 Taliban, it is not a monolithic group like an army, with a clear chain of command that has to be confronted soldier for soldier. Instead, it is a scattered and diverse mix of insurgents, some more ideologically motivated than others.

There are currently about 104,000 international troops in Afghanistan, including about 68,000 Americans. Afghan security forces consist of 94,000 troops supported by a similar number of police, bringing the total Allied force to close to 300,000 members.

The 12-1 ratio may be misleading because two-thirds of the Allied force is made up of Afghans, who lack the training and experience. The Taliban usually fight in small, cohesive units made up of friends and fellow clansmen. A more meaningful ratio, then, might be 4-1 or 5-1.

Historically in guerrilla wars, security forces have usually had at least a 3-1 advantage.

At the height of the U.S. ground involvement in South Vietnam in 1968, the 1.2 million American troops and their allies outnumbered the Communist guerrillas by about 4-1. French forces in the 1945-54 Indochina war numbered about 400,000 men, only a slight numerical advantage against the rebels.

In a more recent campaign, Russia's Chechen war in 1999-2000, Russian troops held a 4-1 advantage over the insurgents.

Publicly, NATO and U.S. officials have been tightlipped about Taliban strength, arguing the guerrillas, split into a number of semiautonomous factions, regularly slip in and out of Afghanistan from Pakistan - making numbers a matter of guesswork.

But several officers at NATO headquarters in Brussels say the alliance does have reasonably accurate estimates of the number of enemy combatants its troops are facing in Afghanistan.

"The internal figure used for planning purposes is 20,000 fighters, with several more thousand auxiliaries - mainly members of tribal militias, clans, and semi-criminal gangs," said a senior officer based at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He asked not to be identified under standing regulations.

Another senior official - a representative of a non-NATO nation based at alliance headquarters - gave a similar number.

This official added that enemy numbers varied widely over time, depending on the season and other factors. "When the poppy is good, they stay home. When the poppy is bad, they take up guns," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Recent U.S. government estimates have also put the number of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan at about 25,000.

Sometimes remaining small gives guerrillas certain advantages. British forces in Northern Ireland found it relatively easy to monitor and penetrate the Irish Republican Army when its ranks were swollen in the 1970s, but had a tougher time once the IRA slashed staff and regrouped into secretive four-person units.

Some analysts suggest that a NATO force much larger than the one under consideration would be needed to subdue the Taliban.

"The ratio of friendly to enemy forces would be a crucial aspect only if you could actually get at the enemy. But with an enemy that doesn't wear uniforms and hides among the population, that's very hard to do," said retired Army Col. Peter Mansoor, who helped oversee the "surge" of U.S. forces into Iraq in 2007-2008.

"The crucial aspect in this case is the ratio of security force to population - this is much more relevant," he said. "This would require one security person to every 50 people. In a country of about 32 million, this means about 600,000 security personnel would be needed to clamp it down."

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