Boondocks at Phila. Front Page News

Boondocks at Phila. Front Page News

US sets medals record, Canada ties gold record

US sets medals record, Canada ties gold record

The United States' USA-1, with Steven Holcomb, front, Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler, and Curtis Tomasevicz, celebrate their gold medal finish during the men's four-man bobsled final competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- While the Vancouver Olympics aren't finished, the medal races are - and in spectacular fashion for North Americans.

The United States is guaranteed 37 medals and Canada will finish with at least 13 gold medals. Both are the best of these games and part of the greatest hauls ever at a Winter Olympics.

The Americans will leave with the most medals by any country at any Winter Games. They also will win the medal count for only the second time, the other being at Lake Placid in 1932.

Steven Holcomb and the "Night Train" delivered the 36th medal, and ninth gold, for the United States by winning the four-man bobsled event Saturday. The 37th will come from the men's hockey team. Whether it is gold or silver will be determined Sunday.

Canada invested $117 million and five years into an "Own the Podium" program that was supposed to win the medals race. At least it bought the top step.

The Canadians have matched the record of 13 golds set by the Soviets in 1976 and Norway in 2002. It's also the most gold Canada has won at any Olympics, winter or summer, and its the most for any Winter Olympics host country; both those marks had been 10.

And how's this for timing: Lucky No. 13 came in the nation's second-favorite sport, curling, with beloved skip Kevin Martin shoving aside the Norway guys wearing those tacky trousers. The record-setting 14th could come Sunday in the nation's far and away favorite sport, hockey, with Sidney Crosby and friends facing the Americans.

Canadians also will finish third on the overall medals list. They've claimed 26, counting the one in hockey. Germany is second with 29.

All told, it's a staggering list of achievements for the hosts and their nearest neighbor.

Bottom line: The rest of the world is probably glad the next two Winter Games will be held in other continents.

Among the other highlights Saturday:

-The U.S men's team pursuit squad in speedskating took silver, finishing just behind - guess who? - Canada.

-A few minutes later, Canada got another gold when Jasey-Jay Anderson won the men's parallel giant slalom.

-Norway's Marit Bjoergen was a photo finish from getting her fourth gold medal of these games. She wound up settling for silver and becoming the first person in Vancouver with five medals; nobody else even has four.

There are only two events on Sunday, the hockey game and a 50-kilometer men's cross-country race.

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BOBSLED

The Americans hadn't won gold in four-man bobsledding since 1948.

And they did it by knocking off a German crew led by Andre Lange, who had won all four Olympics races he's ever entered. His crew wound up with silver, one-hundredth of a second faster than the Canadians.

"No more 62 years," Holcomb said. "We'll start the clock over. Now it's going to be four years."

A slew of U.S. teammates rushed to Holcomb's sled to celebrate. Among the first to offer congratulations was Geoff Bodine, the 1986 Daytona 500 champion who was behind the group that paid for and built the team's sleds.

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SPEEDSKATING

Chad Hedrick and a pair of 19-year-old teammates couldn't keep up with the Canadians.

Hedrick took silver in the final race of his career. He goes out with five medals in five events, joining Eric Heiden as the only American men to win that many at the oval.

Germany repeated as the gold winners in women's team pursuit, edging Japan by two-hundredths of a second in the final after escaping the semifinals with Anni Friesinger-Postma's belly slide across the line to beat the Americans.

Poland claimed the bronze, overcoming the United States when Catherine Raney-Norman couldn't keep up with teammates Jennifer Rodriguez and Jilleanne Rookard. They crossed ahead of the Poles, but the time only counts when all three skaters finish.

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SLALOM

Bode Miller wasn't able to add anything beyond the gold, silver and bronze he'd already won. He bailed out just a few gates into the slalom, a casualty of "grabby" snow that bedeviled a slew of skiers.

Miller is one of only five men to get three Alpine medals at a games, a record performance for a U.S. skier. His five career Olympic medals are tied for second on the career list behind Norway's Kjetil Andre Aamodt, who has eight.

"I really couldn't be much happier," Miller said. "I came out, I was ready, I was prepared - that's all the stuff you can do."

Giuliano Razzoli won, giving Italy's first Alpine medal in the Winter Games in 16 years.

Ivica Kostelic of Croatia picked up his second silver in Vancouver, while Austria's usually powerful men's team finished an Olympic shutout.

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SNOWBOARDING

Anderson, a seven-time World Cup champion, carved through the rain-sluiced, fogged-in course to take down Austria's Benjamin Karl, the top-ranked rider in the world.

It was his first Olympic medal in four tries, adding it to his four world championship golds and a career that has done more than anyone's to spread the word of snowboarding across his wintry country.

Bronze medalist Mathieu Bozzetto of France called the conditions "ugly," and American Tyler Jewell said if this had been a World Cup event, "they probably would have canceled it."

American Chris Klug - who won bronze in 2002, 18 months after a lifesaving liver transplant - knocked off the top seed but later skidded out. He finished seventh, Jewell 13th.

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CURLING

Eight years ago in Salt Lake City, Martin's final stone went inch too far and the Canadians lost the gold medal to the Norwegians. This time, with a sellout crowd singing the national anthem, Martin's final stone didn't even matter.

Canada stormed through the tournament 11-0 to win gold for the second straight Olympics. (Martin, however, wasn't on the 2006 squad.)

Switzerland swept past Sweden for the men's bronze medal, getting two points on its final rock.

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MEN'S HOCKEY

Finland became the first to win three medals since the NHL let its players compete at the 1998 Winter Games with a 5-3 win over Slovakia. Finland is the only team to be a repeat medalist, following up the silver it won four years ago.

Goalie Miikka Kiprusoff was solid in the net with 19 saves, regaining his confidence just one day after he was pulled when the U.S. scored four goals on seven shots in just 10 minutes.

"We believed that we could come back, and it was a huge comeback," Teemu Selanne said. "After 23 years playing for the national team, after five Olympics, this is a dream come true."

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CROSS COUNTRY

Canada turned in its four cross-country skiers for the 50-kilometer mass start classic race on Sunday, and it doesn't include legally blind Brian McKeever, who was hoping to become the first competitor in both the Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

The 30-year-old McKeever - who started going blind in college because of a degenerative disease, but still has peripheral vision - said he understands the decision.

"Olympic dream over," he wrote on his Twitter account. "I don't think I've ever been so sad."

In the women's 30k classical race, Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk beat Bjoergen in a photo finish. Kowalczyk, the World Cup leader, now has a medal of each color.

American Kikkan Randall finished 24th.

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CHILEAN ATHLETES

Alpine skier Noelle Barahona of Chile is sticking around for the closing ceremony after learning her family was safe following the devastating earthquake in her country.

Barahone actually was planning on going home Saturday, but couldn't get a flight. The rest of the delegation still in Vancouver includes a team spokesman and a physical therapist; they both also heard that family and friends are OK.

Chile's two other Olympians already had left Vancouver, one to France and the other to Seattle.

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LONDON 2012

The head of the next Olympics - the 2012 Summer Games in London - hopes to match the full venues and lively crowds he's seen in Vancouver.

"Not since Sydney (in 2000) have I seen a city embrace the games the way they've been embraced here," Sebastian Coe said. "My gut instinct is that is what these games will be remembered for."

Coe and about 50 staffers have been in Vancouver to see how things are being done.

Colleges enlist parents to curb problem drinking

Colleges enlist parents to curb problem drinking

In this photo made Monday, Feb. 22, 2010, Virginia Tech senior and resident advisor, David Dorsett, left, chats with fellow dorm resident and freshman Ross Cooper of Richmond, Va., at Lee Hall on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.

At Virginia Tech, where tailgating and raucous apartment complex parties are time-honored rituals, university officials are turning increasingly to Mom and Dad to curb problem underage drinking.

This semester, the school in Blacksburg, Va., began notifying parents when their under-21 students are found guilty of even minor alcohol violations such as getting caught with a beer in a dorm room.

Although it's common for colleges to alert parents of major alcohol offenses - or when a student faces suspension - Virginia Tech is part of a small but growing number sending letters home on minor ones.

The debate about how much to involve parents in such cases is a balancing act for colleges and universities. Officials want to hold young adults accountable as they venture out on their own, are well aware that drinking is part of the college experience, and also recognize potential allies in a generation of hands-on parents who can help when things go too far.

"I think it helps students open up to parents," said Steven Clarke, director of Virginia Tech's College Alcohol Abuse Prevention Center. "And parents can be helpful in setting boundaries students might need."

The beefed-up parental notification policy is part of a broader strategy that includes alcohol-education classes and a "party positive" program that encourages responsible drinking.

The student reaction to the policy change, not surprisingly, has been less than enthusiastic.

"If you have one beer in the dorm and you get caught, I don't feel like parents should be notified," said Erik Pryslak, a junior engineering major. "Now that we're all in college, we're all adults. It's kind of your responsibility to take care of yourself. If you want to make your parents aware you're about to be kicked out of school, then it's on you."

Studies show that students who say their parents would disapprove of them drinking are less likely to drink heavily once they get to college, said Toben Nelson, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health who has studied campus drinking.

At Virginia Tech, the school has operated on a "three strikes" system for years: Students get one strike for a minor alcohol violation and two for a major one - things like getting a DUI or vomiting all over a residence hall bathroom. Three strikes and a student is suspended for at least one semester.

After a spate of alcohol-related deaths on college campuses, Congress in the late 1990s changed student privacy laws to lower barriers to parental notification in cases involving students under 21.

Schools took a wide array of approaches in response. Virginia Tech started notifying parents of under-21 students after major alcohol offenses or when a student had accumulated two strikes with two minor ones.

But some parents complained that because they had not been notified of minor offenses, they were in the dark until a student was suddenly facing suspension, said Edward Spencer, Virginia Tech's vice president for student affairs. Hence the change this semester - a move Spencer says also reflects changing times.

Parents of Generation X students were often reluctant to get involved when the school invoked an emergency clause in privacy laws and alerted them of alcohol problems, he said.

"The response would be, 'You know, I'm leaving on a cruise. I'm going to a class reunion.'"

But today, parents of millennials tend to be tethered by cell phone to children who studies show often idolize their parents - so it makes sense to go a step further in parental involvement, he said.

"We'd like to strike a happy medium," Spencer said. "We're grateful for the positive involvement of parents. We find it difficult when their involvement is over-involvement."

Research has found more than 40 percent of college students reported at least one symptom of alcohol abuse or dependance. One recent study estimated that more than 500,000 full-time students at four-year colleges suffer injuries each year related to drinking, and about 1,700 die in such accidents.

"When it comes to safety, there really is a fine line," said Max DiSesa, a sophomore from Durham, N.H. "I completely understand Virginia Tech and they want to keep people safe. But I think this might be overall detrimental to the growth of students."

Some universities already have found success alerting parents earlier. The University at Albany, State University of New York has seen a decline in repeat offenders since it began notifying parents of under-21 students of minor alcohol violations four years ago, said Laurie Garafola, director of residential life.

"I don't send many second letters out to parents," she said.

At the University of North Carolina Wilmington, the philosophy is different. The school - which like many others stresses shared responsibility to parents and students during summer orientation - does not notify parents of minor offenses. Parents, however, are notified before any under-21 student is suspended.

"Part of students coming to college is to learn how to be a responsible adult - and hopefully learn from their mistakes," said Patricia Leonard, vice chancellor for student affairs.

Chile struck by one of strongest earthquakes ever

Chile struck by one of strongest earthquakes ever

Residents look at a collapsed building in Concepcion, Chile, Saturday Feb. 27, 2010 after an 8.8-magnitude struck central Chile. The epicenter was 70 miles (115 kilometers) from Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city.

TALCA, Chile (AP) -- One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded tore apart houses, bridges and highways in central Chile on Saturday and sent a tsunami racing halfway around the world. Chileans near the epicenter were tossed about as if shaken by a giant, and authorities said at least 214 people were dead.

The magnitude-8.8 quake was felt as far away as Sao Paulo in Brazil - 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) to the east. The full extent of damage remained unclear as dozens of aftershocks - one nearly as powerful as Haiti's devastating Jan. 12 earthquake - shuddered across the disaster-prone Andean nation.

President Michelle Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe" in central Chile but said the government had not asked for assistance from other countries. If it does, President Barack Obama said, the United States "will be there." Around the world, leaders echoed his sentiment.

In Chile, newly built apartment buildings slumped and fell. Flames devoured a prison. Millions of people fled into streets darkened by the failure of power lines. The collapse of bridges tossed and crushed cars and trucks, and complicated efforts to reach quake-damaged areas by road.

At least 214 people were killed and 15 were missing as of Sunday evening, Bachelet said in a national address on television. She said 1.5 million people had been affected, and officials in her administration said 500,000 homes were severely damaged.

In Talca, just 65 miles (105 kilometers) from the epicenter, people sleeping in bed suddenly felt like they were flying through major airplane turbulence as their belongings cascaded around them from the shuddering walls at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. EST, 0634 GMT).

A deafening roar rose from the convulsing earth as buildings groaned and clattered. The sound of screams was confused with the crash of plates and windows.

Then the earth stilled, silence returned and a smell of damp dust rose in the streets, where stunned survivors took refuge.

A journalist emerging into the darkened street scattered with downed power lines saw a man, some of his own bones apparently broken, weeping and caressing the hand of a woman who had died in the collapse of a cafe. Two other victims lay dead a few feet (meters) away.

Also near the epicenter was Concepcion, one of the country's largest cities, where a 15-story building collapsed, leaving a few floors intact.

"I was on the 8th floor and all of a sudden I was down here," said Fernando Abarzua, marveling that he escaped with no major injuries. He said a relative was still trapped in the rubble six hours after the quake, "but he keeps shouting, saying he's OK."

Chilean state television reported that 209 inmates escaped from prison in the city of Chillan, near the epicenter, after a fire broke out.

In the capital of Santiago, 200 miles (325 kilometers) to the northeast, the national Fine Arts Museum was badly damaged and an apartment building's two-story parking lot pancaked, smashing about 50 cars whose alarms rang incessantly.

A car dangled from a collapsed overpass while overturned vehicles lay scattered below. "I can now say in all surety that seat belts save lives in automobiles," said Cristian Alcaino, who survived the fall in his car.

While most modern buildings survived, a bell tower collapsed on the Nuestra Senora de la Providencia church and several hospitals were evacuated due to damage.

Santiago's airport was closed, with smashed windows, partially collapsed ceilings and destroyed pedestrian walkways in the passenger terminals. The capital's subway was shut as well, and transportation was further limited because hundreds of buses were stuck behind a damaged bridge.

Chile's main seaport, in Valparaiso about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from Santiago, was ordered closed while damage was assessed. Two oil refineries shut down, and lines of cars snaked out of service stations across the country as nervous drivers rushed to fill up.

The state-run Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, halted work at two of its mines, although it said it expected them to resume operations quickly, the newspaper La Tercera reported.

President-elect Sebastian Pinera angrily reported seeing some looting while flying over damaged areas. He vowed "to fight with maximum energy looting attempts that I saw with my own eyes."

The jolt set off a tsunami that swamped San Juan Bautista village on Robinson Crusoe Island off Chile, killing at least five people and leaving 11 missing, said Guillermo de la Masa, head of the government emergency bureau for the Valparaiso region. He said the huge waves also damaged several government buildings on the island.

Pedro Forteza, a pilot who frequently flies to the island, said, "The village was destroyed by the waves, including the historic cemetery. I would say that 20 or 30 percent has disappeared."

On the mainland, several huge waves inundated part of the major port city of Talcahuano, near the hard-hit city of Concepcion. A large boat was swept more than a block inland. Pinera flew over the area and said an unspecified number of people had died in Talacahuano.

Waves also flooded hundreds of houses in the town of Vichato, in the BioBio region.

The surge of water raced across the Pacific, setting off alarm sirens in Hawaii, Polynesia and Tonga and prompting warnings across all 53 nations ringing the vast ocean.

Tsunami waves washed across Hawaii, where little damage was reported. The U.S. Navy moved a half-dozen vessels out of Pearl Harbor as a precaution, Navy spokesman Lt. Myers Vasquez said. Shore-side Hilo International Airport was closed. In California, officials said a 3-foot (1-meter) surge in Ventura Harbor pulled loose several navigational buoys.

About 13 million people live in the area where shaking was strong to severe, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. USGS geophysicist Robert Williams said the Chilean quake was hundreds of times more powerful than Haiti's magnitude-7 quake, though it was deeper and cost far fewer lives.

More than 50 aftershocks topped magnitude 5, including one of magnitude 6.9.

A tremor also hit northern Argentina, causing a wall to collapse in Salta, killing an 8-year-old boy and injuring two of his friends, police said. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-6.3 quake was unrelated to Chile's disaster.

The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile on May 22, 1960. The magnitude-9.5 quake killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless. It caused a tsunami that killed people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines and caused damage along the west coast of the United States.

Saturday's quake matched a 1906 temblor off the Ecuadorean coast as the seventh-strongest ever recorded in the world.

NY Gov. Paterson drops election bid under pressure

NY Gov. Paterson drops election bid under pressure

New York Governor David Paterson, accompanied by his wife Michelle, raises his hand to swear an oath during a news conference in New York, Friday, Feb. 26, 2010. Paterson abruptly dropped his election bid Friday under pressure from Democrats concerned about his faltering agenda and criticism of his handling of a domestic abuse case involving a trusted aide.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Less than a week after declaring he would seek a full four-year term, New York Gov. David Paterson abruptly dropped his election bid Friday under pressure from fellow Democrats concerned about his faltering agenda and his handling of a domestic abuse case involving a trusted aide.

Paterson cited a litany of distractions that prompted him to end his campaign, but said he had never abused his office.

"But I am being realistic about politics," he said. "It hasn't been the latest distraction. It's been an accumulation of obstacles that have obfuscated me from bringing my message to the public."

Paterson insisted that he would not resign and pledged to serve out his term "fighting for the state of New York."

Paterson became governor in 2008, when former Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in a prostitution scandal. But during his two-year tenure, he seemed to be overwhelmed by one crisis after another: a bungled appointment to an open U.S. Senate seat, a budget standoff with the state Legislature, and, just this week, a damaging New York Times report, which said the governor and a member of his security detail had contacted a woman pressing an abuse charge against a top Paterson aide.

On Friday, he said he would be vindicated by the criminal investigation he called for into his administration's handling of the matter.

Raising his right hand beside his wife, Michelle, he told a crowded press room: "I give you this personal oath. I have never abused my office. Not now, not ever. I believe that when the facts are reviewed, the truth will prevail."

Paterson had publicly prided himself on beating the odds, including overcoming blindness to rise through treacherous New York politics. When he formally announced his campaign just six days ago, he vowed "This governor is not going to quit." But his tenuous party support quickly evaporated.

"He started out as a nice guy with the best wishes from everyone, and it just went downhill," said Maurice Carroll of the Quinnipiac University poll. "As a personal story, it's too bad because everyone who ever knew David Paterson liked him."

Paterson has been weighed down by low approval numbers for months. His support within his own party was dwindling, and his campaign bank account paled in size to those of his rivals.

The city's leading tabloids called for his resignation in front-page editorials Friday.

"Time to go, Dave," the New York Post said in its headline. The New York Daily News said that Paterson had "demeaned his high office" and was not trustworthy.

Politicians from both parties praised the governor's decision, and most Democrats said he should not have to resign.

"I'm sure that he could have continued his campaign, but he did the right thing," said Jay Jacobs, the state Democratic party chairman. "We will not have a divisive primary at the top of the ticket."

Paterson's decision to abandon the race paved the way for state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to make an unimpeded run for the Democratic nomination.

Cuomo, son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo, has already built a campaign fund five times larger than Paterson and consistently outpolled Paterson among New York Democrats, who hold a 2-to-1 edge over Republicans statewide. But he has declined to say whether he will run for governor.

Cuomo released a statement Friday saying only that he was focusing on his job as attorney general and would announce his plans "at the appropriate time."

The only announced GOP candidate in the race, former congressman Rick Lazio, called Paterson's announcement "another sad chapter in New York state government. It's dysfunctional, it's broken and it doesn't work."

Paterson's problems intensified in recent weeks with a series of critical articles in the Times.

One report portrayed Paterson as distant and detached from the job, spending time hobnobbing with rich patrons instead of traveling the state seeking support for his agenda and his candidacy. In the article, current and former aides were critical of the governor for relying on a handful of loyalists instead of seasoned political pros.

At Friday's news conference, the governor repeatedly portrayed himself as a victim of a hostile press corps.

"I was very disturbed that for three weeks, unsubstantiated rumors ... lined the front pages of a lot of the newspapers and demanded a lot of coverage," he said. "It was impossible and very difficult for me to stop that."

Paterson started 2009 by bungling the appointment to fill the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton. Many Democrats, including the Kennedy family, were upset when he passed over Caroline Kennedy. Then one of Paterson's aides leaked unsubstantiated rumors about her.

The governor has also been engrossed in a budget battle with lawmakers over how to ease an $8.2 billion deficit. The Democrat-led Assembly and Senate have criticized Paterson for his proposed $1.1 billion in school cuts. The leadership can't even agree on how much money the state has.

The most recent Times article, published Thursday, raised questions about how Paterson and state police officials responded to a domestic abuse complaint lodged against a trusted aide from Harlem named David Johnson. More than a decade ago, Paterson took Johnson on as an intern as part of his efforts to help young people ensnared in Harlem's crack epidemic.

In court, the woman had complained that the state police were pressuring her not to level criminal charges against Johnson, according to a transcript. The newspaper also said Paterson spoke with the woman personally, although the governor's office said it was the woman who placed the call.

Paterson suspended Johnson and called for Cuomo's office to investigate his administration's handling of the matter. But renewed calls for Paterson's exit were made hours after the story was published.

At the White House - which had called earlier for Paterson to drop out of the 2010 race - press secretary Robert Gibbs on Friday called the recent reports "disturbing" and said "it's safe to say" that they vindicate the administration's earlier position.

Paterson was the scion of a Harlem political power base that included his father, former state Secretary of State Basil Paterson; the late Percy Sutton, who was Manhattan borough president; Rep. Adam Clayton Powell; former Mayor David Dinkins; and embattled Rep. Charles Rangel.

But Paterson, an affable, slightly built politician, was never really seen as gubernatorial in the eyes of legislators, lobbyists or voters. He was Senate minority leader when he was picked by Spitzer to be his running mate. Until he recently insisted on more formality, his staff and even rank-and-file lawmakers referred to him as "David."

After rising to office, he confronted allegations of sexual affairs and drug use. He held an extraordinary news conference detailing past affairs he and his wife were involved in during an 18-month period when it appeared their marriage would end. He also recounted past drug use from his youth.

On Friday, he talked about what he hoped would be his legacy, citing his work to eradicate the Rockefeller drug laws, tighten spending, and raise the involvement of female- and minority-owned companies in state contracting.

"I hope that history will remember that I fought the good fight," he said, "that I did what was hard, and I put the people first."

Health care odds lonAP Photo House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washig, but Democrats push ahead

Health care odds long, but Democrats push ahead

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Feb. 26, 2010.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats pushed hard to revive President Barack Obama's stalled health care overhaul on Friday - and pointed to glimmers of hope - but the long odds facing them seemed little changed after Obama's extraordinary summit with both parties' leaders.

At the White House, press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama would unveil a "way forward" next week on legislation that has been his foremost domestic priority. Obama, who will first discuss the strategy with Democratic congressional leaders, said at Thursday's bipartisan marathon that he's open to several Republican ideas, including medical malpractice changes.

There were signs of intensified activity on Capitol Hill.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and top adviser David Axelrod discussed health care in an early evening meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. And a spokesman for Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said White House officials have asked the senator to submit details of suggestions he made at Thursday's meeting on rooting out fraud from the medical system.

In addition, a pair of retiring Democrats who opposed the legislation when the House approved it in November appeared willing to reconsider. And some supporters of a House provision strictly banning federal financing for abortion - a complicated sticking point - indicated an openness to different language.

The outcome could affect nearly all Americans, remaking the way they pay for health care, the kinds of care they're likely to receive and where they're likely to get it. Or there could be smaller changes - or none - outcomes the Democrats say will lead to crushing budget problems and tens of millions of people still being left out. Republicans see problems in the health care system, too, but recommend less-far-reaching prescriptions.

Despite the signs of movement, a day after television cameras brought the nation Obama's unusual daylong discussion with top Republicans and Democrats there were no clear indications of a major change in Congress. The equation remained the same: Democratic leaders, especially in the House, will have to scramble to find votes to pass any health legislation and they're almost certainly going to have to do it without Republican support.

And there are Democratic doubts, as well.

"People who voted 'yes' would love a second bite at the apple to vote 'no' this time, because they went home and got an unpleasant experience" because of their votes, said Rep. Jason Altmire, a moderate Democrat from Pennsylvania. "On the other hand," he added, "I don't know anybody who voted 'no' who regrets it."

Top Democrats spoke of plunging ahead anyway.

Pelosi said she saw "good prospects for passing" health legislation and contended Thursday's meeting showed a GOP content to accept the status quo of insurance companies bullying consumers.

That was echoed in the Senate by No. 2 Democratic leader Richard Durbin of Illinois, who said, "We are not going to wait."

The Democrats seem ready to use "reconciliation," a seldom-used procedure that could let them push legislation through the Senate with a simple majority. Until now, Republicans have used a filibuster to force Democrats to find 60 votes in the 100-member Senate - one more than they have.

Republicans say reconciliation should be used for budget changes, not a dramatic reshaping of national health care policy. With polls showing some voters consider the process unfair, some moderate Democrats have expressed a reluctance to support it. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., said Friday she will be a "definite no" if it is used.

But in an interview with The Associated Press, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said she was open to using the process "because the Republicans have just decided that they don't want to negotiate."

Spokesmen for the House and Senate Republican leaders said Friday their party does not plan a formal response to Obama, having made clear a belief that Democrats should scrap their bills.

Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said Obama would likely unveil his proposal on Wednesday. He suggested it would be updated with concepts that had been put forth by Republicans at the summit, and that details of Obama's announcement were not set yet.

Obama had said just Thursday that he wants to determine whether it is possible to work with Republicans on a serious effort to resolve a health care deal within a few weeks, a month or six weeks. What he meant there, one senior administration official said Friday, was a timeframe for final action, not a timeline for how long the president would wait before deciding how to proceed.

By revealing now that Obama would announce his way forward next week, Obama was not signaling a deadline to Republicans that they have until Wednesday to get on board, said the administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy. The official described it as more of a straightforward declaration that Obama plans to announce his next steps as a natural follow-up to the summit.

The primary problem for Democratic leaders is the House. That chamber approved its bill 220-215 in November. But one of those "yes" votes came from the only Republican who supported the bill, Rep. Joseph Cao of Louisiana, who now says he will oppose the bill. Three other "yes" votes came from Reps. John Murtha, D-Pa., who died this month, Robert Wexler, D-Fla., who has left the House, and Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, who retires this weekend to run for governor of his state.

In fact, Democrats following the legislation say House Democratic support for the legislation has sunk to 200 votes or less in recent weeks, following the stunning GOP victory in last month's special Massachusetts Senate election and the bill's modest showing in polls.

Providing the Democrats with some hope were indications that two retiring party members who voted against the legislation would consider switching. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., said he is now "totally undecided" and liked how Thursday's summit showed Obama had reached out to Republicans for support. And Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., said it was time to look at "everything fresh."

There were even signs of possible flexibility among Democratic foes of federally financed abortion, many of whom have threatened to oppose the health measure if House-approved restrictions are eased. Altmire did not rule out supporting slightly less strict Senate abortion curbs if they are part of an overall health measure he liked.

But abortion remained an unresolved issue, with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reiterating Friday that it was opposing the overall Senate bill on the grounds that it would open the door to some federal support for abortion.

And for every Democrat touting optimism about the overall bill, there was another expressing wariness about legislation that polls show gets mixed reviews from the public.

Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., said he chatted at the House gym Friday morning with fellow conservative Democrats and found that Obama's session had produced no new momentum.

"I don't think it made a nickel's worth of difference," he said, adding, "It's fair to say the trend is going against the bill."

At the summit, Obama said he was open to several Republican ideas - including medical malpractice changes to address the issue of defensive medicine. He is also open to other ideas, such as programs that encourage hospitals and doctors to promptly admit mistakes, offer financial restitution and fix problems to prevent more patients from being harmed.

The legislation would curb insurance industry practices like denying coverage to people who are already sick, extend coverage to about 30 million uninsured people,and help many low-income people pay for it, financed by Medicare cuts and new taxes on higher earning Americans and health providers.

At least for now, Democrats envision prevailing by getting the House to pass a Senate health bill, and also sending Obama a separate measure making changes in the Senate package. The alterations include deleting a politically toxic provision that would have Washington finance expanded Medicaid coverage in Nebraska, easing a new tax on high-priced insurance policies and making federal subsidies for poorer people more generous.

AP source: Ethics panel finds Rangel broke rules

AP source: Ethics panel finds Rangel broke rules

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2009 file photo, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Associated Press has learned that the House ethics committee has concluded that Rangel knowingly accepted Caribbean trips in violation of House rules that forbid hidden financing by corporations.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. Charles Rangel, the most powerful tax-writing lawmaker in Congress and a 34-year veteran of Capitol Hill, knowingly accepted Caribbean trips from a corporation in violation of House rules, the House Ethics Committee ruled Thursday, The Associated Press has learned.

At least four other members of the Congressional Black Caucus who were also on the 2007 and 2008 trips were exonerated by the panel, according to a congressional source familiar with the findings.

The finding is certain to jeopardize Rangel's chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee. The tax-writing committee will take a lead as Congress determines the fate of former President George W. Bush's expiring tax cuts.

Rengel's ethics troubles also present an election-year dilemma for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who led a Democratic takeover of the House in 2006 on a campaign promise to end a "culture of corruption" in the GOP-led Congress.

The 79-year-old Rengel, D-N.Y., has been in the House 30 years. It was unclear whether the findings would affect whether he seeks re-election.

The committee found that the financing of the Caribbean trips was improper for all the lawmakers involved but that only Rangel was aware that a corporation that routinely lobbied Congress picked up the tab, said the congressional official who was not authorized to speak on the record.

The committee decided against issuing formal charges against Rangel that could lead to punishment such as a censure.

The ethics committee will issue its findings in a report scheduled to be made public Friday.

Additional ethics investigations of Rangel's finances and fundraising are still under way, but they are not connected to the ruling on the Caribbean travel.

Rangel had no immediate comment.

Phila. Officer Wounded in Confrontation Released from Hospital

by KYW's Al Novack

A Philadelphia police officer has been released from Temple University Hospital following an altercation that left him with several knife wounds.

Officer Leon Campbell, 33, was cut Tuesday afternoon by a woman who lunged at him with a knife in North Philadelphia during a domestic dispute call.

Officials say another officer used a Taser weapon on the woman but it was ineffective. Then, Officer Campbell's partner fired his gun, wounding the woman when she lunged at him with a knife.

For full story go to:

http://www.kyw1060.com/

S. Phila. Man Charged with Setting Phila. Int'l Records Fire

by KYW's John McDevitt

A South Philadelphia man has been charged with arson, burglary and related offenses for the Sunday morning fire at a famous center city record company.

Police say 27-year-old Chris Cimini was accompanied by his lawyer Wednesday when he turned himself in.

Police captain John Gallagher says Cimini was drunk and not aware of his surroundings when he broke into Philadelphia International Records and allegedly set fire to some t-shirts and cds inside a 3rd floor closet.

"We do not believe it was accidental even though we are describing the situation that he did not intend to be there."

For full story go to:

http://www.kyw1060.com/

Philadelphia Public and Archdiocesan Schools Closed Thursday

Philadelphia Public and Archdiocesan Schools Closed Thursday

KYW Newsradio Team Coverage

Snowfall in the Philadelphia area was expected to begin some time overnight Wedneday with an accumulation of 6-12 inches in the city and north, and lesser amounts to the south. Wind gusts were expected to exceed 55 mph on Thursday night and Friday.

Whale kills trainer as horrified spectators watch

Whale kills trainer as horrified spectators watch

In this photo taken on Dec. 30, 2005, Dawn Brancheau, a whale trainer at SeaWorld Adventure Park, poses while performing. Brancheau was killed in an accident with a killer whale at the SeaWorld Shamu Stadium Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 24, 2010.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A SeaWorld killer whale snatched a trainer from a poolside platform Wednesday in its jaws and thrashed the woman around underwater, killing her in front of a horrified audience. It marked the third time the animal had been involved in a human death.

Distraught audience members were hustled out of the stadium immediately, and the park was closed.

Trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, was one of the park's most experienced. Her sister said Brancheau wouldn't want anything done to the whale that killed her because she loved the animals like children.

Brancheau was rubbing Tilikum after a noontime show when the 12,000-pound whale grabbed her and pulled her in, said Chuck Tompkins, head of animal training at all SeaWorld parks. It was not clear if she drowned or died from the thrashing.

Because of his size and the previous deaths, trainers were not supposed to get into the water with Tilikum, and only about a dozen of the park's 29 trainers worked with him. Brancheau had more experience with the 30-year-old whale than most.

"We recognized he was different," Tompkins said. He said no decision has been made yet about what will happen to Tilikum, such as transfering him to another facility.

A retired couple from Michigan told The Associated Press that they were among some stragglers in the audience who had stayed to watch the animals and trainers.

Eldon Skaggs, 72, said Brancheau's interaction with the whale appeared leisurely and informal at first. But then the whale "pulled her under and started swimming around with her," he said.

Skaggs said an alarm sounded and staff rushed the audience out of the stadium as workers scrambled around with nets.

Skaggs said he heard that during an earlier show the whale was not responding to directions. Others who attended the earlier show said the whale was behaving like an ornery child.

The couple left and didn't find out until later that the trainer had died.

"We were just a little bit stunned," said Skaggs' wife, Sue Nichols, 67.

Another audience member, Victoria Biniak, told WKMG-TV the whale "took off really fast in the tank, and then he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing around, and one of her shoes flew off."

Two other witnesses told the Orlando Sentinel that the whale grabbed the woman by the upper arm and tossed her around in its mouth while swimming rapidly around the tank. Brazilian tourist Joao Lucio DeCosta Sobrinho and his girlfriend were at an underwater viewing area when they suddenly saw a whale with a person in its mouth.

The couple said they watched the whale show at the park two days earlier and came back to take pictures. But on Wednesday the whales appeared agitated.

"It was terrible. It's very difficult to see the image," Sobrinho said.

A SeaWorld spokesman said Tilikum was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 after the woman lost her balance and fell in the pool at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia.

Steve Huxter, who was head of Sealand's animal care and training department then, said Wednesday he's surprised it happened again. He says Tilikum was a well-behaved, balanced animal.

Tilikum was also involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by SeaWorld security was found draped over him. The man either jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water and died of hypothermia, though he was also bruised and scratched by Tilikum.

Later Wednesday, SeaWorld in San Diego also suspended its killer whale show. It was not clear if the killer whale show has been suspended at SeaWorld's San Antonio location, which is closed until the weekend.

According to a profile of Brancheau in the Sentinel in 2006, she was one of SeaWorld Orlando's leading trainers. It was a trip to SeaWorld at age 9 that made her want to follow that career path. Dawn was the youngest of six children who grew up near Cedar Lake, Ind.

"I remember walking down the aisle (of Shamu Stadium) and telling my mom, 'This is what I want to do,'" she said in the article.

Brancheau worked her way into a leadership role at Shamu Stadium during her career with SeaWorld, starting at the Sea Lion & Otter Stadium before spending 10 years working with killer whales, the newspaper said.

She also addressed the dangers of the job.

"You can't put yourself in the water unless you trust them and they trust you," Brancheau said.

Brancheau's older sister, Diane Gross, said the trainer "would not want anything done to that whale."

The trainer was married and didn't have children.

"She loved the whales like her children, she loved all of them," said Gross, of Schererville, Ind. "They all had personalities, good days and bad days."

Gross said the family viewed her sister's death as an unfortunate accident, adding: "It just hasn't sunk in yet."

Steve McCulloch, founder and program manager at the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program at Harbor Branch/Florida Atlantic University, said the whale may have been playing, but it is too early to tell.

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions," he said. "These are very large powerful marine mammals. They exhibit this type of behavior in the wild.

Tompkins, the SeaWorld head trainer, said of the whale: "We have no idea what was going through his head."

Mike Wald, a spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration office in Atlanta, said his agency had dispatched an investigator from Tampa.

Wednesday's death was not the first attack on whale trainers at SeaWorld parks.

In November 2006, a trainer was bitten and held underwater several times by a killer whale during a show at SeaWorld's San Diego park.

The trainer, Kenneth Peters, escaped with a broken foot. The 17-foot orca that attacked him was the dominant female of SeaWorld San Diego's seven killer whales. She had attacked Peters two other times, in 1993 and 1999.

In 2004, another whale at the company's San Antonio park tried to hit one of the trainers and attempted to bite him. He also escaped.

Wednesday's attack was the second time in two months that an orca trainer was killed at a marine park. On Dec. 24, 29-year-old Alexis Martinez Hernandez fell from a whale and crushed his ribcage at Loro Parque on the Spanish island of Tenerife. Park officials said the whale, a 14-year-old named Keto, made an unusual move as the two practiced a trick in which the whale lifts the trainer and leaps into the air.

Fla. woman sues 50 Cent in NYC over her sex video

NEW YORK – A Florida woman has sued rapper 50 Cent in New York City, claiming he unlawfully distributed her homemade sex video over the Internet after editing himself into it as a wig-wearing narrator.

Lastonia Leviston filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in Manhattan claiming unauthorized use of her name or image and emotional distress caused by the public release of a video she made with a lover in 2008.

The lawsuit claims 50 Cent posted the video on his Web site last year after blurring out the lover's face. It also claims the rapper appears in the video wearing a wig and robe and can be heard narrating throughout.

The rapper's real name is Curtis Jackson. His lawyer hasn't responded to a phone message seeking comment.

Local Elementary Kids Take Part in Annual Science Fair

Local Elementary Kids Take Part in Annual Science Fair



The Academy of Natural Sciences is hosting the annual George Washington Carver Science Fair, which is featuring more than 225 elementary school entries.

It's one of the largest fairs of its kind, promoting scientific inquiry and discovery through experiments that the students research and conduct themselves. Eleven-year-old Akosua Adubofour (center in photo) is a fifth grader at the John McCloskey School in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia. She tested how long strawberries would last outside the refrigerator:

"I left it out for seven days. Eventually, they grew mold and mold hair and everything."Jacara - her 10-year-old classmate (far left in photo) - found out whether cheap or expensive nail polish was better:

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

Philadelphia Eagles Release Running Back Brian Westbrook

Philadelphia Eagles Release Running Back Brian Westbrook

Philadelphia Eagles have released running back Brian Westbrook.

The team made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon through its web site.

A web-streamed press conference by the team was scheduled for 4:00pm but Andy Reid (right) began speaking at 3:15pm. Said the team's head coach:"Anytime you have to release a player like Brian Westbrook, that's not an easy thing to do -- neither for us nor for Brian." Reid says Westbrook handled the news well:

"I had an opportunity to talk to Brian this morning about the situation and inform him that we were going to go in a different direction, and Brian was tremendous with it -- very professional with it.And Reid added that Westbrook is one of the all-time great Eagles:

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

Dems, GOP: Summit will not break logjam on health

Dems, GOP: Summit will not break logjam on health


FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2010, file photo President Barack Obama
speaks in the White House press briefing room in Washington.
Obama has summoned both Democrats and Republicans to a
White House summit to be cast live on C-SPAN and perhaps
cable Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010, gambling that he can save his
embattled health care overhaul by the power of persuasion.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Here's one point on which Democrats and Republicans agree on health care: President Barack Obama's much-touted televised summit has virtually no chance of breaking the political logjam. That means Democrats will be forced to find a way to pass an overhaul on their own or face a huge political defeat.

Lawmakers from both parties suggested the Obama-hosted meeting Thursday will amount to little more than political theater. No cracks appeared in the GOP's overwhelming opposition to Democrats' efforts. And both parties saw the president's revised, far-reaching proposal, released Monday, as a call for Democrats to try to pass the legislation on their own under Senate rules that would bar Republican delaying tactics.

"We're happy to be there, but I'm not quite sure what the purpose is," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday of the daylong summit. "It seems to me the president's already made up his mind."

Underscoring his points, McConnell invited some of Obama's sharpest critics, including the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, to join him. None of the GOP moderates who have raised the prospect of bipartisanship on health care, such as New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg or Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, were included.

Democrats were equally dismissive of GOP demands that they start from scratch.

"This idea that we have to start with a blank sheet of paper is ridiculous," said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.

That's not to say Thursday's six-hour meeting will play no role in the long-running health care debate. As president, Obama is likely to dominate, but Republicans hope to use the session to criticize the Democratic plan's scope and cost, and to highlight their more modest alternatives.

Democrats are almost certain to portray the GOP alternatives as flimsy and unworkable. They hope the session will embolden rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers who face re-election this fall amid worries that public opposition to a full-scale overhaul of health care could doom them. \

Failing to pass a bill would be even worse, party leaders say.

Barring an unlikely bipartisan breakthrough, all but a handful of Democrats' votes will be needed to pass the legislation under Senate budget reconciliation rules, which would disallow GOP filibusters. Democrats control 59 of the Senate's 100 seats. But they lost their ability to overcome Republican-led filibusters when GOP Sen. Scott Brown won a seat in Massachusetts last month.

The reconciliation strategy would require House Democrats to swallow several objections and approve a bill the Senate passed in December. Then Senate Democrats, under budget reconciliation rules, would have to make several changes demanded by the House and White House.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, a self-described "independent Democrat" from Connecticut, emerged from a Democratic strategy session Tuesday and said the health care legislation's prognosis is "unclear but clearly heading toward reconciliation."

McConnell said the Obama administration appears determined "to try to jam it through under a seldom-used process," or budget reconciliation.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said reconciliation rules have been used 21 times since 1981, usually by Republicans.

"They should stop crying about reconciliation," Reid told reporters at the Capitol. "It's done almost every Congress, and they're the ones that used it more than anyone else."

But it's unclear whether the House or Senate can muster the votes required by the strategy. As many as 10 Democrats who backed the House version in November - when it passed 220 to 215 - have said they may abandon the revised legislation because it contains somewhat more permissive language on access to abortion in government-sanctioned insurance exchanges.

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., sponsor of stricter limits on federal funds for abortion in the House bill, raised concerns about the Obama plan without issuing an ultimatum.

"While the president has laid out a health care proposal that brings us closer to resolving our differences, there is still work to be done before Congress can pass comprehensive health care reform," Stupak said in a statement.

At the same time, Obama's allies hope to woo some of the 39 House Democrats who voted against the bill in November because the revised plan contains no public insurance option to compete with private companies.

Many House Democrats attended a closed meeting Tuesday at which pollster Celinda Lake said many elderly Americans fear the Obama plans could harm Medicare.

The White House said three dozen lawmakers, plus several administration officials, will sit at a hollow square table with name placards on Thursday. Leaders of both parties will speak. Obama will lead discussions on controlling health care costs and expanding coverage. Vice President Joe Biden will head a discussion on deficit reduction. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will lead talks on insurance reform.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited four colleagues Tuesday, in addition to previously announced committee chairmen, to attend: Reps. Rob Andrews of New Jersey, Xavier Becerra of California, Jim Cooper of Tennesse and Louise Slaughter of New York.

McConnell tapped GOP senators McCain, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, John Barrasso of Wyoming and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, in addition to key committee leaders.
For Obama, the toughest chore will come in the following days and weeks. He will have to persuade wavering Democratic lawmakers if the health care package is to become law, several members of Congress said Tuesday.

"The president has to get involved big time," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md. Especially for House Democrats, she said, "it's a heavy lift."

Van Stone -Courtfighter Review At Phila. Daily News Mon, Feb. 22, 2010 As Forwarded By J. Walker sullivancoach@yahoo.com

Van Stone -Courtfighter Review At Phila. Daily News Mon. Feb. 22, 2010 As Forwarded By J. Walker sullivancoach@yahoo.com


Courtfighter Comics Series

Zenescope does horror best

By JEROME MAIDAPhiladelphia Daily News
For the Daily News

Despite a stated mission to emphasize science-fiction releases in 2010, it is clear the strength of Fort Washington-based Zenescope's line lies in its horror titles.

This is not a knock on its sci-fi offerings, which have been quite entertaining; it is simply Comics Guy recognizing that they arguably do dark, moody horror comics better than anyone else in the industry.

The latest piece of evidence that adds credence to that theory is its new horror offering, "The Waking," in which writer Raven Gregory packs a plethora of plot threads and compelling characters into the series' initial issue.

Turns out there are four detectives investigating two seemingly random murders. The case of Jeff Daniels, a medical professor murdered in his home, is being investigated by Detective Laurence Williams and Detective Keith O'Brien; the case of a hit-and-run killing of an alcoholic named Frank Belliterger is being handled by Officer Vanessa Pelagreno and a male officer who is never named and serves as the book's narrator.

While Gregory has O'Brien come across as what would happen if Cartman from "South Park" grew up, lost weight and was headlining a reboot of "Lethal Weapon," Williams is portrayed as a cross between Sherlock Holmes and the officers from "Law and Order: Criminal Intent."

Indeed, despite the murder appearing incredibly unusual and freakish, Williams quickly begins putting the pieces together. As we soon learn, it seems like he always can find answers to crimes, no matter how mystifying. And it is a pleasure to watch him work.

One thing O'Brien's portrayal does is prevent "The Waking" from devolving into yet another gritty, overly serious and moody crime book.

The dilemma the narrator blathers on about to Pelagreno serves the same purpose. Though Pelagreno is sexy, smart and confident, there is no possibility of Benson-Stabler-style romantic tension. The narrator is married and his problem is that his wife, Betty, is a nymphomaniac.

As O'Brien remarks, "He's the only guy I know who would see that as a bad thing." Naturally, this being a Zenescope book, once readers see Betty, they will likely think the same thing.

Such scenes tend to lighten the darker mood of the book, in which a moral character has her belief in concepts like good and evil, right and wrong and justice severely questioned by what she sees and experiences.

In issue No. 1, we are also introduced to Jonathan Raine, a man with a dark secret that will have many readers feverishly wondering what - or who - his secret involves.

It takes until the end of the first issue for readers to realize that not only do the murders appear to be connected but that both victims may actually be returning to avenge their deaths. The mystery behind these "wakings" and the hunt by the police and freshly undead victims to discover who's responsible for the killings promise to dominate the rest of this gripping, intense and innovative horror series.

"The Waking" is one comic that will have you on the edge of your seat from the time you open it to the time you are finished. It's that good.

Van Stone - courtfighter?For the past 16 years, local activist Van Stone (born Samuel Van Stone Downing) has dabbled in the world of comics plus has had stints at a few newspapers and a short-lived magazine.

His latest creation, "Courtfighter," is based on an actual nonprofit group, launched last Christmas, that advocates for people's rights' being protected while in the court system. Information on Van Stone's "Courtfighter" can be found online at courtfighter.com.

"It has a visual spirit and a lot of action that reflects my feelings for new guidelines in local courts," Stone says.

The comics series and art appears on the blog myrikalisfire. blogspot.com in installments in a weekly or biweekly blog.

Stone's goal is to collect the online material into a book once he has sufficient material.

E-mail comicsguy@phillynews.com

Atlanta Daily World > Viewpoints

Atlanta Daily World > Viewpoints

Baltimore Mayor Calls For End To Parking Space-Savers

BALTIMORE,MD -- Baltimore's mayor said it's time to bring in the lawn chairs, bar stools and other furniture that have been laying claim to shoveled-out parking spaces.

It's a practice that's frowned upon but standard across the city during big snows.

"We have to put a chair out -- a cone out. I've seen some barstools out this time around -- pretty much anything that can mark a spot is fair game in my neighborhood," said resident Christine Brown."We had a guy put a pretty friendly note on someone's car saying, you know, if you're going to take the spot, at least help dig out the rest of the street with everybody else," said city dweller Terry Stahl Jr.Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake at first said traffic officials would look the other way at the traditional but illegal practice as the city dug out from two massive snowstorms, but a spokesman for the mayor said Thursday that the time has come to pull the chairs off the street.

"We're working hard to make sure we're continuing to clean the streets, but we need neighbors to work with us, as well." - Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

"My hope is that people will use common sense and courtesy -- particularly that we're trying to get back to normal. We're working hard to make sure we're continuing to clean the streets, but we need neighbors to work with us, as well," Rawlings-Blake said.With more snow removal to do, moving the markers will help, the mayor said. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told The Baltimore Sun that officers have been asked to use common sense when dealing with parking issues because many streets are still blocked by snow.Violators could get a $140 ticket and two points on their license, but unless there's trouble, such as an altercation, city police said they won't be spending their days trying to make lives worse.

Verdict: 2 Dubose Brothers Also Guilty-Older Brother Convicted Thursday Of 1st-Degree Murder In 8-Year-Old's Death

Terrell and Tajuan Dubose were found guilty of first-degree murder.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Less than 24 hours after Rasheem Dubose was found guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of 8-year-old Dreshawna Davis, his two younger brothers also learned they were guilty of murder.Late Friday morning, Judge Page Haddock opened verdicts against Tajuan and Terrell Dubose he ordered sealed more than three weeks earlier when the first trial of Rasheem Dubose ended in a mistrial.The three brothers were accused of firing 29 shots into the home of Dreshawna's grandmother in July 2006 in an act of retaliation, targeting Dreshawna's uncle, who had robbed and humiliated one of the brothers earlier that day.

Dreshawna Davis Dreshawna was an honor roll student about to begin the fourth grade at Lola Culver Elementary School. She was killed two weeks before she would have turned 9 years old.

While prosecutors maintained that the Dubose brothers fired into the house trying to kill Dreshawna's uncle, Willie Davis Jr., defense attorneys said others also had motive to kill, including a cousin.In addition to murder, the separate juries also found the three guilty of firing into an occupied dwelling.The state has said they intend to seek the death penalty against each of them, but immediately after the verdict was read, court remained in session to discuss motions, including one by Tajaun Dubose's attorney asking that he not face the death penalty because he fired the fewest shots. That motion was denied.Attorneys for both Terrell and Tajuan Dubose asked for separate sentencing hearings, but that request was also denied.

Rasheem Dubose showed little emotion when the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder.

State Attorney Angela Corey's office told Channel 4's Vickie Pierre that no plea agreements were considered in this case because they death penalty should be an option for the punishment of the Dubose brothers.That's a decision supported by Dreshawna's paternal grandmother, Carlas Washington."I feel they should have the death penalty because they took my grandbaby, so they need to go, too," Washington said.A sentencing hearing for Terrell and Tajuan Dubose is scheduled for March 2. A hearing for Rasheem Dubose is scheduled for March 9.Shalindell Wilson, the Duboses' mother, said the trial should not have been held in Duval County."It was not a fair trial from the beginning," Wilson said. "I mean, these people is from Jacksonville. They from Jacksonville, and they should've had moved this thing somewhere else where nobody else don't know."

Art Exhibit on Rape Opens on Univ. of Penn Campus

by KYW's Lynne Adkins

An art exhibit on rape opens on Penn's campus on Thursday.

It's called "This is not an Invitation to Rape Me" and it features photos, music, videos and paintings exploring the female body, relationships, fashion and perceptions on rape and who is to blame.

Penn professor Dr. Susan Sorenson is director of the Ortner Center on Family Violence:

For full story go to:

http://www.kyw1060.com/

Man angry at IRS crashes plane into building

Man angry at IRS crashes plane into building

Vehicle traffic is shown on U.S. Highway 183 as a damaged building is shown at rear, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010, in Austin, Texas. Authorities said that Joseph Stack flew his small plane into the building that housed several employees of the IRS.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- A software engineer furious with the Internal Revenue Service launched a suicide attack on the agency Thursday by crashing his small plane into an office building containing nearly 200 IRS employees, setting off a raging fire that sent workers running for their lives.

Emergency crews recovered two bodies from the wreckage. The pilot was presumed dead and one worker in the building had been missing. Austin Fire Department Battalion Chief Palmer Buck declined to discuss the identities of those found, but said Thursday night that authorities had "accounted for everybody."

The FBI tentatively identified the pilot as A. Joseph Stack III, 53. Law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still going on, said that before taking off, Stack apparently set fire to his house and posted a long anti-government screed on the Web. It was dated Thursday and signed "Joe Stack (1956-2010)."

In it, the author cited run-ins he had with the IRS and ranted about the tax agency, government bailouts and corporate America's "thugs and plunderers."

"I have had all I can stand," he wrote, adding: "I choose not to keep looking over my shoulder at `big brother' while he strips my carcass."

The pilot took off in a four-seat, single engineer Piper PA-28 from an airport in Georgetown, about 30 miles from Austin, without filing a flight plan. He flew low over the Austin skyline before plowing into the side of the hulking, seven-story, black-glass building just before 10 a.m. with a thunderous explosion that instantly stirred memories of Sept. 11.

Flames shot from the building, windows exploded, a huge pillar of black smoke rose over the city, and terrified workers rushed to get out.

The Pentagon scrambled two F-16 fighter jets from Houston to patrol the skies over the burning building before it became clear that it was the act of a lone pilot, and President Barack Obama was briefed.

"It felt like a bomb blew off," said Peggy Walker, an IRS revenue officer who was sitting at her desk. "The ceiling caved in and windows blew in. We got up and ran."

At least 13 people were injured, with two reported in critical condition. About 190 IRS employees work in the building.

Gerry Cullen was eating breakfast at a restaurant across the street when the plane struck the building and "vanished in a fireball."

Matt Farney, who was in the parking lot of a nearby Home Depot, said he saw a low-flying plane near some apartments just before it crashed. "I figured he was going to buzz the apartments or he was showing off," Farney said. "It was insane. It didn't look like he was out of control or anything."

Sitting at her desk in another building a half-mile from the crash, Michelle Santibanez felt the vibrations and ran to the windows, where she and her co-workers witnessed a scene that reminded them of 9/11.

"It was the same kind of scenario, with window panels falling out and desks falling out and paperwork flying," said Santibanez, an accountant.

The building, in a heavily congested section of Austin, was still smoldering six hours later, with the worst of the damage on the second and third floors.

The entire outside of the second floor was gone on the side of the building where the plane hit. Support beams were bent inward. Venetian blinds dangled from blown-out windows, and large sections of the exterior were blackened with soot. It was not immediately clear if any tax records were destroyed.

Andrew Jacobson, an IRS revenue officer who was on the second floor when the plane hit with a "big whoomp" and then a second explosion, said about six people couldn't use the stairwell because of smoke and debris. He found a metal bar to break a window so the group could crawl out onto a concrete ledge, where they were rescued by firefighters. His bloody hands were bandaged.

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said "heroic actions" by federal employees may explain why the death toll was so low.

The FBI was investigating. The National Transportation Safety Board sent an investigator as well.

Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican from Austin on the Homeland Security Committee, said the panel will take up the issue of how to better protect buildings from attacks with planes.

In the long, rambling, self-described "rant" that Stack apparently posted on the Internet, he began: "If you're reading this, you're no doubt asking yourself, `Why did this have to happen?'"

He recounted his financial reverses, his difficulty finding work in Austin, and at least two clashes with the IRS, one of them after he filed no return because, he said, he had no income, the other after he failed to report his wife Sheryl's income.

He railed against politicians, the Catholic Church, the "unthinkable atrocities" committed by big business, and the government bailouts that followed. He said he slowly came to the conclusion that "violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer."

"I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well," he wrote.

According to California state records, Stack had a troubled business history, twice starting software companies in California that ultimately were suspended by the state's tax board, one in 2000, the other in 2004. Also, his first wife filed for bankruptcy in 1999, listing a debt to the IRS of nearly $126,000.

The blaze at Stack's home, a red-brick house on a tree-lined street in a middle-class neighborhood six miles from the crash site, caved in the roof and blew out the windows.

Elbert Hutchins, who lives one house away, said the house caught fire about 9:15 a.m. He said a woman and her daughter drove up to the house before firefighters arrived.

"They both were very, very distraught," said Hutchins, a retiree who said he didn't know the family well. "'That's our house!' they cried. `That's our house!'"

Red Cross spokeswoman Marty McKellips said the agency was treating two people who live in the house and that the family had no comment Thursday. McKellips said the family would "give information and answer questions" on Friday.

Thursday was not the first time a tax protester went after an Austin IRS building. In 1995, Charles Ray Polk plotted to bomb the IRS Austin Service Center. He was released from prison in October of last year.

The tax protest movement has a long history in the U.S. and was a strong component of anti-government sentiments that surged during the 1990s. Anti-tax protesters typically believe that they do not have to pay income taxes. Some have been convicted in recent years for targeting IRS officials for harassment and even murder.

8 jailed American missionaries leave Haiti for US

8 jailed American missionaries leave Haiti for US

American missionaries arrested on charges of child kidnapping, Corinna Lankford, of Meridian, Idaho, right, Steve McMullin, 56, second from right, and Paul Thompson, 43, third from right, both from Twin Falls, Idaho, leave a Haitian Jail as an unidentified US Embassy official walks behind them at left in Port-au-Prince, Wednesday Feb. 17, 2010. Eight of the ten U.S. missionaries arrested were released on Feb. 17, nearly three weeks after they were caught trying to take a group of children out of the quake stricken country.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- Eight American missionaries were freed from a Haitian jail and left for Miami Wednesday, nearly three weeks after being arrested trying to take 33 children out of the earthquake-stricken country.

Reporters watched the U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo plane carrying the group take off from the capital's U.S. military-controlled airport, whose main terminal in shambles.

The Baptists, most from Idaho, had been sequestered in a tent on the tarmac protected by Air Force troops after U.S. diplomats escorted them out of the nearby police station where they'd been held in muggy, grimy cells.

The group's swift departure began earlier Wednesday when Judge Bernard Saint-Vil said eight of the 10 missionaries were free to leave without bail because parents of the children had testified they voluntarily gave their children to the missionaries believing the Americans would give them a better life.

"The parents gave their kids away voluntarily," Saint-Vil said in explaining his decision.

He said, however, that he still wanted to question the group's leader, Laura Silsby, and her former nanny, Charisa Coulter, because they had visited Haiti prior to the quake to inquire about obtaining orphans.

Hours later, just after dusk, the bedraggled, sweat-stained group of eight walked out of the Haitian jail escorted by U.S. diplomats. They waited until they were safely inside a white embassy van before some flashed smiles and gave a thumbs up to reporters.

Silas Thompson, 19, of Twin Falls, Idaho, plopped into the back seat, breathing heavily and beaming with relief. He'd accompanied his father Paul, a pastor, on the mission not knowing that Silsby had not obtained the proper papers, said his U.S.-based lawyer, Caleb Stegall.

The missionaries were charged with child kidnapping for trying to take 33 Haitian children to the Dominican Republic on Jan. 29 without Haitian adoption certificates.

Their detentions came just as aid officials were urging a halt to short-cut adoptions in the wake of the earthquake and, before their release, Haiti's No. 2 justice official, Claudy Gassent, informed them of the judge's decision but said he also gave them a lecture.

"They know they broke the law," he said.

The missionaries say they were on a do-it-youself "rescue mission" to take child quake victims to a hastily prepared orphanage in the Dominican Republic, denying the trafficking charge.

Silsby originally said they were taking only orphaned and abandoned children, but The Associated Press determined that at least 20 were handed over willingly by their parents, who said the Baptists had promised to educate them and let their parents visit.

Saint-Vil said he did not release Silsby, 47, or Coulter, 24, because of their previous activities in Haiti during a December visit. Silsby hastily enlisted the rest of the group after the quake. Coulter, of Boise, Idaho, is diabetic and the judge signed an order Wednesday afternoon authorizing her hospitalization.

He said he had planned to question both women Thursday but that Coulter's health situation could prompt a delay. She had briefly been taken to a U.S. field hospital on Wednesday for treatment after feeling faint but was then taken back to jail.

Stegall, a Kansas district attorney who also represents firefighter Drew Culberth of Topeka, told the AP by phone that his clients' wives were "enormously relieved" after speaking at length by phone to their husbands before the men left Haiti.

"They're very tired," he said. "They've had quite an ordeal and they're obviously looking forward to a soft bed, a hot meal and a warm shower."

Gary Lissade, the Haitian attorney for freed detainee Jim Allen of Amarillo, Texas, said he expected the charges to be dropped against the eight.

"My faith means everything to me, and I knew this moment would come when the truth would set me free," Allen said in a statement issued by the Liberty Legal Institute in Plano, Texas.

Silsby's sister in Idaho, Kim Barton, said learning that her sister could not leave Haiti was difficult.

"At this point I don't have any comment. I don't know any more than you do," Barton said.

The group earlier had been embarrassed by several strange developments involving their legal team.

First, one of their Haitian lawyers was fired for allegedly seeking $60,000 to try to bribe their way out of jail.

But the legal adviser from the Dominican Republic who advised relatives of the group the fire that lawyer turned out to himself be a fugitive from justice.

Jorge Puello, who had called up Silsby's Meridian, Idaho, church offering his services after the missionaries' arrest and initially served as their legal adviser and spokesman turned out to be wanted on people-smuggling charges in the United States and El Salvador.

U.S. marshals say they are hunting for Puello, who is wanted on an Interpol warrant out of El Salvador, where police say he led a ring that lured young women and girls into prostitution.

One of the Americans' Haitian lawyers, Aviol Fleurant, told the AP that Puello absconded with $30,000 in legal fees the American had raised for him.

"There's been a lot of a strange twists and turns in this case," said Sean Lankford of Meridian, Idaho, whose wife and daughter were among the eight released on Wednesday.

Asked how he felt when reached by the AP on Wednesday night, Lankford offered two words: "Damn good."

His wife was on the other line, and he politely rang off.