Rogers throws 3 TDs in Packers 34-12 win vs. Lions

Rogers throws 3 TDs in Packers 34-12 win vs. Lions

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) throws a pass in the second quarter of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009, in Detroit.

DETROIT (AP) -- Aaron Rodgers matched a career high with three touchdown passes and Green Bay beat the Detroit Lions 34-12 on Thursday, giving the Packers three straight wins and improving their playoff prospects.

The Lions lost their sixth straight game on Thanksgiving, setting a franchise record, and had an emotional setback after their biggest comeback win since 1957.

Matthew Stafford, playing with a sore non-throwing shoulder, threw one touchdown pass and four interceptions in a rookie-like performance, after passing for five scores in Sunday's win over Cleveland. Detroit trailed the Browns by 21 before coming all the way back.

The Lions (2-9) looked like they were building off that momentum by recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff and with Stafford's TD pass to Calvin Johnson. But the Packers (7-4) scored 27 unanswered points in the second and third quarter to turn the game into a familiar rout.

Detroit lost its previous five games on Thanksgiving by an average of 23.4 points, and eight of nine in the showcase game. The Lions are 33-35-2 on the holiday since 1934.

The Packers have won nine straight against them overall, and coach Mike McCarthy is 8-0 in the suddenly lopsided series.

Charles Woodson returned his second interception for a score late in the game and struck a Heisman Trophy pose in the end zone, just as he did in 1997 at Michigan before going on to win the award. Woodson forced and recovered a fumble on the ensuing possession.

Rodgers was 28 of 39 for 348 yards and connected with Donald Lee, Donald Driver and James Jones for scores. He has played Detroit four times and those passing totals rank among the top eight in his career.

Driver had seven receptions for 142 yards, including a 68-yard catch, and a TD that gave the Packers a 20-7 lead midway through the third quarter.

Green Bay played without cornerback Al Harris and linebacker Aaron Kampman, both of whom had season-ending knee injuries in last week's win, and were just fine without them.

Stafford was only 20 of 43 yards for 213 yards, and his four interceptions were one fewer than he had earlier this year. He was listed as doubtful for the game because of his shoulder injury, but his decision-making seemed to be more of a problem than his health.

Johnson, who was questionable with hand and knee injuries, only had a 9-yard catch to go with his 1-yard score.

In Detroit's last game, Stafford broke an NFL rookie record with 422 yards passing and drew praise for playing hurt on the final untimed play. He also became the youngest player to throw five touchdown passes in a game.

Experts: Bishops covered up priests' child abuse

Experts: Bishops covered up priests' child abuse

Ireland's Justice Minister Dermot Ahern puts his hand to his mouth during a press conference at Government Buildings regarding the cover up of child abuse within the Catholic church Thursday Nov. 26, 2009. Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Dublin covered up decades of child abuse by priests in order to protect the church's reputation, an expert commission reported Thursday after a three-year investigation.

DUBLIN (AP) -- Roman Catholic Church leaders in Dublin spent decades sheltering child-abusing priests from the law and most fellow clerics turned a blind eye, an investigation ordered by Ireland's government concluded Thursday.

Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who handed over more than 60,000 previously secret church files to the three-year investigation, said he felt deep shame and sorrow for how previous archbishops presided over endemic child abuse - yet claimed afterward not to understand the gravity of their sins.

Martin said his four predecessors in Ireland's capital, including retired Cardinal Desmond Connell, must have understood that priests' molestation and rape of boys and girls "was a crime in both civil and canon law. For some reason or another they felt they could deal with all this in little worlds of their own.

"They were wrong, and children were left to suffer."

There was a similarly shocking investigation into decades of unchecked child abuse in Irish schools, workhouses and orphanages run nationwide by 19 Catholic orders of nuns, priests and brothers.

That report in May sought to document the scale of abuse as well as the reasons why church and state authorities didn't stop it, whereas Thursday's 720-page report focused on why church leaders in the Dublin Archdiocese - home to a quarter of Ireland's 4 million Catholics - did not tell police about a single abuse complaint against a priest until 1995.

By then, the investigators found, successive archbishops and their senior deputies - among them qualified lawyers - already had compiled confidential files on more than 100 parish priests who had sexually abused children since 1940. Those files had remained locked in the Dublin archbishop's private vault.

The investigators also dug up a paper trail documenting the church's long-secret insurance policy, taken out in 1987, to cover potential lawsuits and compensation demands. Dublin church leaders publicly denied the existence of the problem for a decade afterward - but since the mid-1990s have paid out more than euro10 million ($15 million) in settlements and legal bills.

The report cited documents showing how church officials learned about some cases only when devoutly Catholic police received complaints from children or their parents - but handed responsibility back to church leaders to sort out the problems themselves.

Thursday's report detailed "sample" cases of 46 priests who faced 320 documented complaints, although the investigators said they were confident that the priests had abused many more children than that. They cited testimony from one priest who admitted abusing more than 100 children, and another priest who said he abused a child approximately every two weeks for 25 years.

Just 11 of the 46 ultimately were convicted of abusing children - typically decades after church leaders learned of their crimes - while two others are scheduled to face Dublin criminal court actions within months. Fourteen are dead and most of the rest have been defrocked or barred from parish duties. Just six are still active priests.

Three Dublin archbishops - John Charles McQuaid (1940-72), Dermot Ryan (1972-84) and Kevin McNamara (1985-87) - did not tell police about clerical abuse cases, instead opting to avoid public scandals by shuttling offenders from parish to parish and even overseas to U.S. churches, the commission found.

It was not until 1995 that then-Archbishop Connell allowed police to see church files on 17 clerical abuse cases. At that time, Connell actually held records of complaints against at least 29 priests, the report found. Connell later pursued a lawsuit against the investigators in an abandoned bid to keep them from seeing more than 5,500 files documenting the church's knowledge of abusive priests.

The report said all four archbishops sought "the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the church, and the preservation of its assets. All other considerations, including the welfare of children and justice for victims, were subordinated to these priorities."

The investigators lauded a handful of priests and mostly low-ranking police who pursued complaints and prosecutions, almost always unsuccessfully, from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Senior police officers "clearly regarded priests as being outside their remit" and handed "complaints to the archdiocese instead of investigating them," the report said.

"A few (priests) were courageous and brought complaints to the attention of their superiors. The vast majority simply chose to turn a blind eye," it said.

Ireland's police commander, Commissioner Fachtna Murphy, said he was "deeply sorry" to read that his force failed to provide victims of abusive priests "the level of response or protection which any citizen in trouble is entitled to expect."

The government also apologized for the state's failure to pursue Dublin priests accused of child abuse until recent years.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern, who received the Dublin Archdiocese report in July but delayed its publication for legal vetting, vowed that the state would never again treat the Catholic Church with deference.

"A priest's collar will protect no criminal," he said.

But pressure groups representing more than 15,000 documented victims of abuse by Irish Catholic officials said the government was not doing enough to end the danger of Catholic child abuse - in part because the law still stops short of requiring bishops to report abuse complaints to police.

Maeve Lewis, executive director of an Irish abuse counseling service called One in Four, noted that not a single person in Ireland has been convicted for "recklessly endangering" children, a crime created in 2006 legislation.

Lewis said the archbishops, bishops, monsignors, police and government health officials who suppressed abuse complaints for decades had never faced criminal investigations "even though they are every bit as guilty as the priests who committed the abuse."

And she forecast that, because abused children often do not seek justice until they reach adulthood, children today were still being abused by priests. "It's very likely in 10 or 15 years' time that the children who are being abused today will bring forward allegations," she said.

"As Irish people we like to think we live in a civilized society," she said, "but we need to hang our heads in shame."

Americans give thanks, see parades, feast in space

Americans give thanks, see parades, feast in space

A balloon and marching band make its way down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway during a Thanksgiving day parade in Philadelphia, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Giant balloons, floats, marching bands and clowns with confetti brought smiles to hundreds of thousands of revelers eager to catch a glimpse of a parade as steeped in Thanksgiving Day tradition as turkey and pumpkin pie.

Crowds six to seven people deep lined the streets of Manhattan on Thursday for the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as merrymakers gathered nationwide for massive parades in cities such as Detroit and Philadelphia.

Soldiers in war zones received phone calls of appreciation from President Barack Obama, while astronauts hovering above the Earth's surface feasted on turkey smuggled aboard the space shuttle Atlantis.

In New York City, Miss America Katie Stam waved to crowds from a Statue of Liberty float she shared with Meb Keflezighi, the first American in 11 years to win the New York City Marathon.

Shailesh Dighe and his family came to the fabled parade to snap pictures of celebrities including rapper Jay Sean and singer-actress Keke Palmer. Despite the crowds, Dighe said the parade is "totally worth it."

"When you watch it on TV, you don't get that feeling," said Dighe, who splits his time between Manhattan and Princeton, N.J.

For the first time, the parade route bypassed Broadway, which cuts a diagonal slice through Manhattan, as it made its way south from the Upper West Side to the finish at Macy's flagship store in Herald Square.

The new route traverses the grid of the city's streets and avenues, includes turns around five corners, and is slightly longer than in previous years - 2.65 miles compared with 2.5 miles.

Johanna Castillo, 38, of Guttenberg, N.J., said the new route seemed to better accommodate the crowds.

"I was very blessed to get here at the time I did and find a spot" a half-hour before parade time, said Castillo, who arrived with her two children.

Maryann Alonzo, 48, of Queens, N.Y., has been coming to the parade since she was a baby. She showed up Thursday with her daughter and friends to cheer on her father, who's been performing in the parade for 25 years as a clown.

"This is our Thanksgiving," Alonzo said. "More than the food."

Celebrity entertainment included Italian tenor Andrea Boccelli, comedian Jimmy Fallon, former "American Idol" star Katharine McPhee and singers Gloria Gaynor and Carly Simon.

Elsewhere, tens of thousands gathered in the streets of downtown Detroit for the 83rd annual America's Thanksgiving Parade. The country's longest-run Thanksgiving Day parade was held in Philadelphia for its 90th year.

In Detroit, where the September unemployment rate was 17.3 percent, parade organizers set up three locations where revelers could drop off donations of canned food for the area food bank.

Eugene Peterson, 35, an unemployed construction worker from Detroit, said he had plenty to be thankful for.

"I'm thankful we have a president who understands we're going through a hard time," Peterson said. "I'm thankful they extended unemployment (benefits) because there ain't no jobs around here. It's kind of like government showing yeah, they care."

Aboard Atlantis, astronauts expecting to give thanks with pantry leftovers were surprised by turkey dinners with candied yams, freeze-dried cornbread stuffing and green beans - just add water. NASA suspected the station's new skipper was responsible for the Thanksgiving feast.

Obama enjoyed a quiet holiday at the White House with his family and telephoned 10 members of the U.S. military stationed in war zones to thank them for their service.

As daylight faded in Afghanistan, soldiers huddled inside a crude wooden hut to tuck into Thanksgiving turkeys the unit itself had fattened and to give thanks for having survived a year of combat.

Dense fog delayed some flights Thursday for Thanksgiving travelers headed to the Washington and Baltimore areas.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the fog prompted a ground stop for flights arriving Thursday morning at all three Washington-area airports. Departing flights were apparently not affected. The FAA lifted its ground stop by 10:30 a.m.

The Associated Press: Report: Iverson set to retire

The Associated Press: Report: Iverson set to retire

HUD Secretary Pledges Money to Fight Phila. Homelessness

by KYW's Hadas Kuznits

The federal government is pledging money to help fight homelessness in Philadelphia.

US Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan (above, in official photo) toured Project HOME residences in Philadelphia on Tuesday to see how federal funds are being used:

"Beginning with the Recovery Act, we're investing almost 14 billion dollars in housing around the country, including a billion and a half dollars in money to prevent homelessness. So this is exactly the kind of leadership that we need to see at the local level."

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

Police Motorcade Delivers Meals to Families of Fallen Officers

by KYW's Michelle Durham

Philadelphia police officers wanted to make sure that the families of those lost in the line of duty are remembered this Thanksgiving holiday.

Over 40 police officers on motorcycles braved the rain and the cold to deliver turkey dinners with all of the trimmings on Wednesday to the families of those lost in the line of duty:

"Everyone here is delighted to be here, we have so many officers from cooperating agencies police departments surrounding Philadelphia and each year we grow."

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

Charges Filed Against Woman in Upper Darby Car Crash

by KYW's Michelle Durham and Ian Bush

Three Upper Darby boys are hospitalized with serious injuries after they were hit by a car on their way home from school on Tuesday afternoon.

The driver, Dawn Snell, 42, was charged with aggravated assault and several other offenses.

Upper Darby Police superintendent Michael Chitwood says the boys -- two 12-year-olds and a 13-year-old -- were standing by the curb, waiting to cross at the intersection of Copely and Marshall Roads:

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

Activist group posting 573,000 9/11 pager messages

Activist group posting 573,000 9/11 pager messages

This screen grab from Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009 shows the Wikileaks.org home page. An activist group called Wikileaks has begun posting 573,000 pager messages purportedly sent on Sept. 11, 2001. The group says some of the messages were sent by federal and local officials, but most appear to be from regular people, including frantic New Yorkers trying to reach loved ones in and around the World Trade Center.

NEW YORK (AP) -- An activist group has begun posting 573,000 pager messages purportedly sent on Sept. 11, 2001, from "Second World Trade Center tower collapses" to "I'm ok & love you..xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox."

The group, Wikileaks, says some of the messages were sent by federal and local officials, but most appear to be from regular people, including frantic New Yorkers trying to reach loved ones in and around the World Trade Center.

Wikileaks was posting the messages for most of the day Wednesday and expected to finish early Thursday.

The messages range from "DO NOT GET ON THE PATH TRAIN...THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IS ON FIRE" to "President has been rerouted wont be returning to washington but not sure where he will go."

One says, "THIS IS MYRNA, I WILL NOT REST UNTIL YOU GO HOME, THE SECOND TOWER IS DOWN, I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO KEEP CALLING YOU AFTER EVERY EVENT. PLS JUST GO HOME."

Some are unrelated to the terrorist attacks: "Paul, Jerry and I feel that we can expect around 200 people for the Pig Picking. Call if you want to. Keith"

Wikileaks says its goal is to promote transparency by putting leaked documents online. Its repository includes manuals, lawsuits and numerous government documents.

Daniel Schmitt, a Wikileaks spokesman from Berlin, said the pager messages were submitted to the site anonymously several weeks ago.

"From the context information that the source provided we have strong reasons to believe that this is valid data," Schmitt said.

Schmitt said publishing the messages "is one more building block to getting a full picture of what happened on that day." He noted that none of the messages appear to lend credence to conspiracy theories that suggest the U.S. government was behind the attacks or had advance knowledge of them.

New York City's police and fire departments said they could not confirm that any of the messages were actual department communications. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Administration declined to comment on the messages.

Most of the pages come from three companies, Metrocall, Skytel and Arch.

USA Mobility Inc., which merged Arch and Metrocall systems in 2004, issued a statement Wednesday saying it was "troubled to learn that paging messages, including communications involving government officials, appear to have been intercepted and publicly disclosed in clear violation of federal criminal law."

"We hope and expect that persons who engage in unlawful electronic surveillance will be apprehended and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," the statement said.

Skytel did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Many messages show New Yorkers desperately trying to connect on a day when phone service was spotty.

"CALL YOUR WIFE AT HOME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE."

"PLEASE CALL STAN AT HOM."

"PLEASE CALL YOUR MOTHER."

Tight economy forces some to stay home for holiday

Tight economy forces some to stay home for holiday

Security lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport are short Wednesday morning, Nov. 25, 2009. Millions of Americans got an early jump on their Thanksgiving travel Wednesday, with many opting to drive or take trains and buses instead of shelling out more money for flights amid a sour economy still hitting household budgets hard.

CHICAGO (AP) -- There's still family, turkey and football, but one Thanksgiving tradition is taking a hit this year. Millions of Americans are spending the holiday at home, saying the poor economy has made it unaffordable to hit the road or board a plane.

"It's too expensive," said Benita Hall, 24, a nurse's aide who can't afford to travel from Cincinnati to Atlanta to see her mother and siblings. "It's depressing because you want to be with your family for the holidays."

Nearly 38 million people are expected to take trips this year, slightly more than last year but 20 million fewer than in 2005 when the economy was better, according to AAA auto club. Air travel is expected to drop 6.7 percent this holiday compared with last year, AAA said.

While shopping for food for her holiday meal, Spring Clarke of Lubbock, Texas, said she couldn't afford to travel to Austin to be with family this Thanksgiving. Gas for the 740-mile road trip would take a chunk of change she can't spare.

"A hundred and sixty dollars is a phone bill, it's most of our electric bill," Clarke noted. "I'm not going home because of the economy. Can't do it."

Among those who are traveling, many are opting for cheaper alternatives to flying amid a sour economy that is still hitting household budgets hard.

Curt Label of Richmond, Maine, loaded his wife and two kids into their truck at 4 a.m. to start their 600-mile journey to his sister's home in Lorton, Va.

"To fly, the cost is probably $1,200," Label said as his family was stopped at a service plaza along the New Jersey Turnpike. "We're driving for $200."

Most people have calculated that travel by car often makes the most financial sense, said Alan Pisarski, a leading transportation analyst. About 33 million people are expected to travel by car this Thanksgiving, according to AAA.

Gregory Hudson was going to head to his father's place in Greenville, Miss. - until he considered travel costs. The 51-year-old hotel doorman said he'll roast a turkey for a few friends and family at his own home in Chicago instead.

"The Thanksgiving spirit's there," Hudson said. "But with the food so expensive we'll be cutting back on the size of the turkey and trimmings."

In Louisiana, Pearl Miller also was scaling back the size of her Thanksgiving dinner, leaving a New Orleans grocery store carrying only an aluminum roasting pan and one bag of canned goods.

"Usually more family comes from all over, but this year we're only doing Christmas," she said. "Money is just too tight."

Miller cleans houses for a living, but lost two of her customers in the last year. Last week she bought a turkey, which she planned to cook Thursday for her daughter and three grandchildren.

"Turkey is a good bargain. It lasts with all the leftovers," Miller said.

In Tennessee, retail security officer Mike Smith said he had to stay in Chattanooga and spend the holiday weekend working two jobs. He would normally travel with his wife and their 16-year-old son to Indiana to see his mother and a sister.

Mariangela Ruiz had nearly given up on the idea of spending the holiday with her family.

But she decided she could afford the $750 roundtrip ticket from Lima, Peru, to Miami after a friend agreed to pick her up and drive her two hours to Naples, Fla.

Ruiz, who was at the Miami airport Wednesday, said tickets were too expensive to fly directly to Naples, even though her employer would cover half of the trip because she would spend some time working. "I'd rather pay someone to pick me up and pay their gas than have to pay $200 more," she said.

Airlines had been depending on holiday travelers more than usual because travel has been so weak the rest of the year, said analyst Hunter Keay.

Train ridership was predicted to get a holiday boost, with Amtrak expecting Wednesday to be its busiest travel day of the year. Amtrak said its Thanksgiving eve ridership could reach 125,000 passengers, up from approximately 74,000 on a typical Wednesday.

Emily Jacobs, 26, said she and her sister, Katie, decided to take the train from New York City to Atlantic City, N.J., after weighing "traffic on the roads, getting out of the city, and then the New Jersey Turnpike ... might as well bypass all that."

The cost of flying was another deterrent, Jacobs said, since "ticket prices for planes were insane" already and the surcharges for holiday airfare were even more discouraging.

At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Manu Maile was checking to make sure passengers followed American Airlines' limits for carryon luggage. Maile, whose company, Prospect Airport Services, was hired by American Airlines to do the checking, said more people were trying to sneak an extra bag on board this year.

She said crowds were smaller and less frenzied than last Thanksgiving.

"Last year we had people fighting at the checkpoint," Maile said. "They were screaming at the (Transportation Security Administration.) They were getting mad over waiting in line."

Stone’s VSP Foundation Risk-N-Safety Watch Mixes It Up By Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com (610) 931-8810

Stone’s VSP Foundation Risk-N-Safety Watch Mixes It Up
By Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com (610) 931-8810


Van Stone, Founder of VSP Foundation.
It has historically helped to improve
intercultural and culturally appropriate
services in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

My Van Stone Productions Foundation’s (VSP) Risk and Safety Watch charities of Philadelphia would have you know that is not just a youth service. We provide job training and a host of support services to youth and adults with barriers to employment, so they can become self-sufficient. Our volunteers and donations support each training and support program provided by VSP of Philadelphia. Youth along with VSP radio, newspaper and newsletters send out risk and safety information to prepare people for jobs in the fields of protecting and guarding the community.

Like other nonprofits that take a holistic approach to fulfilling their mission, VSP risk and safety watch, a club that positive youth can join, puts out watches and warnings. These warn people about dangers in the neighborhood, school, and home.

Whether they club for their own neighborhood or at retail stores, employment agencies, or environmental business services, Stone’s club members get more than jobs – they get the support they need to succeed. If you lack education, we work with personal care assistants to get you to a job. If you have kids that are interested in learning about dangers that could happen where you live we can help.

In recent years, the economy has put even more pressure on job hunters, underscoring the need for VSP Foundation services. We need to serve more than 5,000 youth and adults just in West Philly this coming year alone.

But with the start of the holiday giving season, we're building more programs around the holiday season starting with Thanksgiving and Christmas, which is children’s biggest time of the year.

Children and youth should enjoy becoming members of a club like Risk-N-Safety Watch. Youth collect risk and safety watch reports. Youth are members of a risk and safety watch, a "hunters" club that goes on collecting trips. Youth have different ways of collecting their special kinds of risk/safety watching data.

We're trying to get the word out – there are a lot of different ways to get involved with doing good in your neighborhood. You can encourage everyone to listen to risk and safety reports. Youth can teach that anyone who hears a warning should take action to stay safe. And youth can help explain why a watch means that a danger could happen where you live. A warning means that a danger is already in or near your neighborhood, school, or home.

My risk and safety watch program will include teens who have dropped out of school and children who actually attend school for these children, when school is not in session. Out of school time activities may include academic enrichment, sports, arts and crafts, career training, and community service. And goals such as high school graduation, GED, employability, character development, and ceasing risky behaviors will be reached for too.

Families who are looking to improve things for themselves right after the holidays like buying a book or two online about self-help, or finding that job opening can look up Stone’s foundation to help them mix things up to provide helpful information on implementing out-of-school time activities.

To learn more about the Risk-N-Safety Watch club at the VSP center and the lessons listed above, please contact the program director at (610) 931-8810.

Health Officials: Swine Flu Has Peaked in Pa.

by KYW's Tony Romeo

Pennsylvania health officials say the spread of swine flu has apparently peaked in the state – for now.

As is the case in much of the rest of the country, swine flu activity in Pennsylvania is declining. Dr. Stephen Ostroff is Pennsylvania’s acting physician-general:

“When you look at all of the various sources of information that we have, all of them are telling us that it looks like the disease was at its highest level towards the end of October.”

For full story go to:

http://www.kyw1060.com/

KYW Newsradio and CBS-3 Offer Street-Level News at Phila. Newsstands

KYW Newsradio and CBS-3 Offer Street-Level News at Phila. Newsstands

by KYW's Mike Dunn

It will be all news, all the time at Philadelphia's newsstands, which have begun featuring scrolling news headlines from KYW Newsradio, as well video from our sister station, CBS-3.

Mayor Nutter cut the ribbon on the service on Wednesday morning in center city.

(Clip of TV audio:) "Good morning, I'm CBS-3 Eyewitness Weather meteorologist Kathy Orr..."

Kathy Orr gives her forecast on a high-definition screen mounted on a newsstand at 20th and Market Streets. Above that, headlines scroll on an LED "zipper" display.

For full story go to:

http://www.kyw1060.com/

3 Boys Injured in Upper Darby Crash; Charges Expected

by KYW's Michelle Durham

Three Upper Darby boys are hospitalized with serious injuries after they were hit by a car on their way home from school on Tuesday afternoon.

The driver is in custody, and police say charges were expected to be filed on Wednesday.

Upper Darby Police superintendent Michael Chitwood says the boys -- two 12-year-olds and a 13-year-old -- were standing by the curb, waiting to cross at the intersection of Copely and Marshall Roads.

Chitwood says a 42-year-old woman at the wheel of a sedan struck the boys, kept going, and hit the rear of another car:

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

Admitted Philadelphia Cop Killer Sentenced to Death

by KYW's Tony Hanson

After a one-day delay in jury deliberations, admitted cop killer John Lewis has been sentenced to death for the murder of police officer Charles Cassidy in 2007.

Lewis pleaded guilty to killing Cassidy and was convicted last Friday of first-degree murder.

Prosecutor Edward Cameron urged the jury to approve the death penalty for Lewis, saying that the aggravating factors -- including the murder of a police officer during a robbery, his significant criminal history, and endangering others -- outweighed any mitigating factors.

For full story go to:

http://www.kyw1060.com/

Albert Pujols wins 2nd straight NL MVP award

Albert Pujols wins 2nd straight NL MVP award

FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2009, file photo, St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols watches the flight of a solo home run hit off of San Diego Padres pitcher Edward Mujica during the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Diego. Pujols was unanimously voted National League MVP on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009, becoming the baseball first player to repeat since Barry Bonds won four in a row from 2001-04.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Albert Pujols' third National League MVP award put him in select company. Only Barry Bonds has more.

"I'm just humbled," Pujols said.

Pujols won unanimously Tuesday, becoming the first player to repeat since Bonds won four in a row from 2001-04. Pujols, who also won in 2005, received all 32 first-place votes and 448 points in balloting announced by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He became the first unanimous MVP since Bonds in 2002.

A big part of the Cardinals' success this year was the acquisition of Matt Holliday in July. Holliday, who hit cleanup behind Pujols, helped St. Louis win the NL Central and then became a free agent.

"The whole city of St. Louis wants Matt back and myself, obviously," Pujols said. "He came at the right time, right when we needed it, right when we were struggling a little bit."

While the Cardinals have five division titles and six playoff appearances in nine seasons since Pujols joined the team, they have won the World Series only once, in 2006.

"I always make a joke. I got 10 fingers. I want to get nine more rings," he said. "I want to get as many as Derek Jeter has so far (five). Obviously that's hard to do."

Pujols does have one individual goal - the Hall of Fame.

"Obviously, there is still a long way to go," he said.

Pujols led the majors in homers (47), runs (124), slugging percentage (.658) and intentional walks (44), and topped the NL in on-base percentage (.443). He was second in the league in doubles (45) and third in batting average (.327) and RBIs (135).

He was especially dangerous with the bases loaded, going 10 for 17 with five grand slams, three doubles and 35 RBIs.

"I think it was the most consistent year," he said. "I was pretty much hot April until almost September."

Florida's Hanley Ramirez, the NL batting champion, was second with 233 points, followed by Philadelphia's Ryan Howard (217) and Milwaukee's Prince Fielder (203), who tied Howard for the big league lead in RBIs at 141.

Pujols didn't homer in his final 89 regular and postseason at-bats after Sept. 9, then had surgery Oct. 21 to remove a bone spur from his right elbow. He had feared he might need ligament replacement, which probably would have forced him to miss the first half of next season.

"My elbow was fine," Pujols said. "I don't put that as an excuse. I was still playing every day out there."

Pujols, who turns 30 in January, joined Hall of Famer Al Simmons (11) as the only players with 100 or more RBIs in each of their first nine seasons. Pujols also set a big league record for assists by a first baseman with 185.

Pujols became the fourth player to win the NL MVP three times. Bonds won seven in the 1990s and 2000s. Stan Musial (1940s), Roy Campanella (1950s) and Mike Schmidt (1980s) each won three.

Five players have won three AL MVPs: Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Alex Rodriguez.

In addition to Pujols and Bonds, the only unanimous NL winners were Orlando Cepeda (1967), Schmidt (1980), Jeff Bagwell (1994) and Ken Caminiti (1996). Unanimous AL winners have been Hank Greenberg (1935), Al Rosen (1953), Mantle (1956), Frank Robinson (1966), Denny McLain (1968), Reggie Jackson (1973), Jose Canseco (1988), Frank Thomas (1993) and Ken Griffey Jr. (1997).

St. Louis players have won 17 MVPs, second in the majors behind 20 for the Yankees. Pujols has been voted among the top 10 in nine consecutive years, finishing second in 2002, 2003 and 2006; third in 2004; fourth in 2001; and ninth in 2007.

Pujols receives a $200,000 bonus for winning the award. He is signed for next season at $16 million, and the Cardinals hold a $16 million option for 2011, so the sides might soon turn their attention to a contract extension.

Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins was voted the AL MVP on Monday, receiving 27 of 28 first-place votes.

Obama to unveil plan to add troops in Afghanistan

Obama to unveil plan to add troops in Afghanistan

U.S. Army Stf. Sgt. Robert J. Brunner, from Phoenix, Arizona, of the 1st Platoon, Able Troop 3-71 Cavalry Squadron, scopes the perimeter while patrolling in the village of Baraki Rajn, Baraki Barak district, Logar province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- War-weary Americans will support more fighting in Afghanistan once they understand the perils of losing, President Barack Obama declared Tuesday, announcing he was ready to spell out war plans virtually sure to include tens of thousands more U.S. troops.

He is expected to make his case to the nation in a speech next Tuesday night, even as the military completes plans to begin sending in reinforcements in the spring.

Eight years after the Sept. 11 attacks led the U.S. into Afghanistan, Obama said it is still in America's vital national interest to "dismantle and destroy" al-Qaida terrorists and extremist allies. "I intend to finish the job," he said.

Obama said he would announce after Thanksgiving his decision on additional troops, and military, congressional and other sources said the occasion would be a Tuesday night televised speech laying out his plans for expanding the Afghan conflict - and then ultimately ending America's military role.

Republican critics have been pressing him for months to decide on a next step in Afghanistan, but Obama has said repeatedly he was more concerned with making a decision that was right rather than quick.

Neither he nor his advisers has detailed an exit plan, but the strategy he is expected to describe next week would include specific dates that deployments could be slowed or stopped if necessary, a senior military official said. The official and others spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision was not final.

With U.S. combat deaths climbing on Obama's watch and more than half the American public opposed to escalation, the president seemed to acknowledge Tuesday that he has a lot to explain.

"I feel very confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we're doing there and how we intend to achieve our goals, that they will be supportive," he said, speaking at a White House news conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"I can tell you, as I've said before, that it is in our strategic interest, in our national security interest to make sure that al-Qaida and its extremist allies cannot operate effectively" in the area, he said. "We are going to dismantle and degrade their capabilities and ultimately dismantle and destroy their networks. And Afghanistan's stability is important to that process."

Military officials expect an infusion of approximately 32,000 to 35,000 troops to begin in February or March, the largest expansion since the beginning of the war and one that could bring the cost above $75 billion annually.

Returning to a campaign theme, Obama said the Afghan effort had been starved for resources and attention during the Bush administration and he intended to finish the war.

To that end, much of the White House discussion during months of deliberations has centered on how the U.S. would end its military role.

Obama held his 10th war council meeting Monday evening, and officials said it was his last. The Situation Room sessions that began in September were the most visible markers of a strategic and political debate inside the administration about how to address a resurgent Taliban and other insurgents and whether the U.S. was creating its own enemies the longer it remained.

Military officials have said Obama is choosing one of the least risky options he was presented, but one still expected to lead to increased U.S. casualties without guarantee of success.

War commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal has warned that the war risks failure without a large troop infusion. Although he preferred a higher figure - about 40,000 - McChrystal is expected to tell Congress next week that this lesser addition still gives him the tools to better combat insurgents in the south and east of Afghanistan.

The expected increase would include at least three Army brigades and a single, larger Marine Corps contingent, officials said.

Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress has been miffed that the administration blocked McChrystal from testifying during what many Republicans considered an inordinately long decision-making period. His testimony has not been scheduled, but would probably come late next week or early in the week after.

Among others likely to take part in congressional hearings are Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry. All were among about 20 officials and advisers participating in the president's final deliberations Monday night - one of the biggest groups gathered for these sessions.

The administration figures will have a tough sell among some congressional Democrats, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., who has questioned the value of adding forces and pointed to the war's rising cost.

The Afghan war bill hit $43 billion annually this summer, with the addition of 21,000 forces Obama has already added to the fight this year. The White House has given Congress this rough yardstick for future troop increases: Approximately $1 billion a year for each 1,000 troops atop the current record figure of 68,000.

NATO and other allies collectively have about 45,000 troops in Afghanistan.

If the full expansion that U.S. military planners anticipate does happen, it would take up to two years to get all the additional U.S. forces into the landlocked country.

The United States is quietly pressing NATO and other allies to increase forces as well, with a goal of between 5,000 and 7,000 additional non-U.S. troops. European and other diplomats have said that number is probably optimistic.

Obama's expected address is timed in part to come before a NATO foreign ministers meeting, taking place in Brussels, Belgium, at the end of next week.

Obamas welcome guests with curry at state dinner

Obamas welcome guests with curry at state dinner

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama welcome India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur to the State Dinner at the North Portico of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Guests at President Barack Obama's first state dinner were being treated to an eye-catching scheme of green and purple, from the green curry surrounding the prawns to the purple floral arrangements paying homage to the peacock, India's national bird.

Pumpkin was on the menu, too, with Tuesday's dinner coming just two days before Thanksgiving.

Hours before guests arrived and in keeping with tradition, first lady Michelle Obama previewed the glamorous table settings in the State Dining Room. That's often the venue for such dinners, but not for Tuesday's honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Instead, in an effort to show Singh how much the U.S. values relations with his country, the Obamas decided to serve dinner for 339 people in a huge white tent on the South Lawn, with views of the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial through clear panels.

Magnolia branches native to both India and the U.S. adorn the inside walls, along with ivy and nandina foliage.

Guests, including some Hollywood A-listers, were to sit 10 apiece at tables draped in green apple-colored cloths and napkins, offset by the sparkle of gold-colored flatware and china, including service and dinner plates from the Eisenhower, Clinton and George W. Bush settings.

Floral arrangements of hydrangeas, roses and sweet peas in plum, purple and fuschia were meant to evoke India's state bird.

Mrs. Obama brought in award-winning chef Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit, a Scandinavian restaurant in New York City, to help White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford and her staff prepare the largely vegetarian meal. Singh is a vegetarian.

Samuelsson said being chosen to help whip up dinner was both "overwhelming and humbling."

The culinary offerings included potato and eggplant salad, arugula from the White House garden, red lentil soup and roasted potato dumplings or green curry prawns. Pumpkin pie tart and pear tatin were for dessert; the pears were poached in honey from the White House beehive.

The entertainment lineup promised to be as stellar.

Singer-actress Jennifer Hudson and jazz vocalist and composer Kurt Elling, both Grammy Award winners from the Obamas' hometown of Chicago, were performing. Hudson also won an Academy Award for her role in "Dreamgirls." Indian musician and singer A.R. Rahman, who won two Academy Awards for the music in "Slumdog Millionaire," also was in the lineup.

The guest list, which the White House released a few hours before dinner was to begin, was a mix of wonky Washington, Hollywood A-listers, prominent figures from the Indian community in the U.S., and Obama friends, family and campaign donors.

Among them were actors Alfre Woodard and Blair Underwood, and Hollywood moguls Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Guests with ties to India included spiritual adviser Deepak Chopra, director M. Night Shyamalan and PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi. Katie Couric of CBS News, Brian Williams of NBC News, Robin Roberts of ABC News and CNN Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta were among the media representatives invited. Oprah Winfrey was not on the list, but her best friend, Gayle King, was among the guests. Also expected were Obama friends Eric Whitaker and Martin Nesbitt, along with Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and her husband, Konrad; and Marian Robinson, the first lady's mother.

Every aspect of Tuesday's events was fraught with meaning and symbolism, from the flower colors to Mrs. Obama's clothing designers.

For the dinner, Mrs. Obama wore a sleeveless, gold and cream colored sheath dress with an overlay of silver and matching shawl, by Indian-born designer Naeem Khan. The president wore at tuxedo. At the State Dining Room event earlier in the day, the first lady wore a skirt by Rachel Roy, who is Indian.

The biggest social event of the Obama White House also was a debut of sorts for florist Laura Dowling, who's been on the job less than a month.

Mrs. Obama also used the traditional preview event as a "teachable moment" for high schools girls participating in a White House mentoring program. They sat at two prepared tables as White House and State Department officials explained what state dinners are all about.

Afterward, Mrs. Obama sat at one of the tables and everyone dived in to dessert - the same fare being served guests at the state dinner.

McNabb, Philadelphia hang on to knock off Chicago

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) reacts in the third quarter during the Bears' 24-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles during an NFL football game in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009.

CHICAGO -- Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles found a way to pull out a close win. They also hurt the Chicago Bears in the process.

McNabb threw for 244 yards against his hometown team, LeSean McCoy scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 10-yard run following Antonio Dixon's block of a field goal attempt, and Philadelphia came away with a 24-20 victory over struggling Chicago on Sunday night after back-to-back close losses.

"It wouldn't have mattered if we had won 3-2, this was a game we needed to come out and win by any means necessary," McNabb said.

The Bears were leading 20-17 when Dixon blocked a 48-yard field goal by Robbie Gould with 11 minutes left. McNabb then led the Eagles (6-4) on a 62-yard touchdown drive that McCoy capped with a neat 10-yard run, sending Chicago to its fifth loss in six games and delivering another big hit to its playoff hopes.

Barring a big run, the Bears (4-6) will miss the postseason for the third straight season - certainly not what they expected when they made that big offseason trade with Denver for Jay Cutler.

The Bears had high hopes after that deal, but after a 3-1 start, all the optimism is gone.

"We're running out of time," Cutler said. "The window is getting smaller and smaller. Anything can happen, you get strange things happening in November and December, but for us it's smaller and smaller."

Or, as Bears coach Lovie Smith put it: "This wasn't part of the master plan."

Cutler, who came into the game with a league-leading 17 interceptions, did not get picked off until the final minute. Tracy White tipped a pass, Sean Jones came away with the ball near midfield, and that sealed the win.

"The last couple years we haven't had a lot of luck in close ones," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "The guys battled, and they didn't worry about that. They just kept banging."

The Eagles also exhaled after losing 31-23 to San Diego and 20-16 to Dallas the previous two weeks, putting them in what McNabb said was a must-win situation.

The veteran quarterback was 23 of 32, and DeSean Jackson caught eight of those passes for 107 yards to lead Philadelphia to the win even though star running back Brian Westbrook missed the game with a concussion. The Eagles also lost cornerback Asante Samuel to a neck stinger, yet still pulled this one out.

Camden, NJ Once Again ''Most Dangerous'' City in US

A national study ranks Camden, NJ as the nation's most dangerous city in 2008.

The annual rankings from CQ Press are based on FBI-compiled crime data and population figures. Some criminologists say the methodology is unfair.

Camden is no stranger to the top of the list. It was the most dangerous city for 2003 and 2004, and has consistently been in the top 10. The bad ranking comes during a year when the number of murders has dropped amid major changes to the police department.

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

As Parking Meters Disappear in Philadelphia, Bike Racks Will Appear

by KYW's Mike Dunn

The Philadelphia Parking Authority board has voted to give more parking -- to bicycles.

As parking meters are converted into kiosks (see related story), the old meter poles have been unused, until now. The board of the Parking Authority on Monday approved a $130,000 contract to convert those poles into bike racks.

Rick Dickson of the Parking Authority (above) says metal devices will be attached to the poles:

For full story go to:

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Mauer near-unanimous pick as American League MVP

Mauer near-unanimous pick as American League MVP

FILE - This is an Aug. 13, 2009, file photo showing Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer hitting a three-run homer against the Kansas City Royals in the fifth inning of a baseball game in Minneapolis. Mauer has become only the second catcher in 33 years to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award, Monday, Nov. 23, 2009.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Joe Mauer sat behind a table on a podium in a conference room at the Metrodome when Justin Morneau shouted out the last question of the day. "Are you finally going to buy dinner now?" Morneau said to his teammate from the audience, one MVP to another.

Mauer became only the second catcher in 33 years to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award, finishing first in a near-unanimous vote Monday.

The Minnesota Twins star received 27 of 28 first-place votes and 387 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Yankees teammates Mark Teixeira (225 points) and Derek Jeter (193) followed. Detroit's Miguel Cabrera drew the other first-place vote and was fourth with 171 points, one point ahead of the Angels' Kendry Morales.

Mauer became the second Twins player to win in four years, following Morneau in 2006. Morneau gave Mauer a bottle of champagne.

"Hopefully we can pop that open here a little later," Mauer said.

Born in St. Paul, the 26-year-old can leave the Twins and become a free agent after the 2010 season, when he is to make $12.5 million. Minnesota is expected to try to sign him to a new deal.

"I've always said it will happen when it needs to happen and I truly believe that," he said. "I'm not the kind of guy that, you know, says by this date we need to have something done."

He enjoys playing in front of his family and friends and his preference is to stay with the Twins.

"Can we win here? Yes. Definitely. I think so," he said. "And that's ultimately what I would like to do."

For now, Twins general manager Bill Smith didn't want to address the business side.

"All that contract stuff, that's for another day," he said. "I'll just say one thing: If you think if he finished second that the price is going to come down ... No."

Morneau, signed at $14 million for each of the next four seasons, usually picks up checks as the highest-paid member of the Twins. He might be losing that status to Mauer sometime soon.

"We're going to do everything we can to keep him here as a Minnesota Twin," Morneau said. "The biggest thing now isn't the money. It's going to be whether or not he feels like we can win every day."

Mauer set a major league record for highest batting average by a catcher and won his third batting title, becoming the first repeat batting champion since Nomar Garciaparra in 1999-00.

"I love catching. I love the demands that are put on me and the responsibilities that I have, although it might beat you up a little bit physically and mentally," Mauer said. "I like being back there making those decisions, you know, for my team."

After missing April with a back injury, Mauer homered on his first swing of the season and went on to lead the AL in batting average (.365), on-base percentage (.444) and slugging percentage (.587), the first AL player to top all three categories in the same season since George Brett in 1980.

Mauer set career bests with 28 homers and 96 RBIs. He had more walks (76) than strikeouts (63) and batted .378 from Sept. 13 on after Morneau's season-ending back injury, helping the Twins overtake Detroit for the AL Central title. He was voted to his third All-Star team and won his second straight AL Gold Glove.

Mauer said the injury and his minor rehabilitation assignment might have been a "blessing in disguise." He was forced to do more core work on his abdominal muscles.

"In April, I couldn't watch a whole lot of the games," he said. "I'd watch for a little bit and I'd get so frustrated that I wasn't out there."

Ivan Rodriguez in 1999 had been the only catcher since Thurman Munson in 1976 to win the AL MVP. The other catchers to win in the AL were Mickey Cochrane (1934), Yogi Berra (1951 and 1954-55) and Elston Howard (1963). NL catchers to win were Gabby Hartnett (1935), Ernie Lombardi (1938), Roy Campanella (1951, 1953 and 1955) and Johnny Bench (1970 and 1972).

In addition to Mauer and Morneau, other Twins to win were Zoilo Versalles (1965), Harmon Killebrew (1969) and Rod Carew (1977).

Mauer receives a $100,000 bonus for winning the award, and Cabrera gets $200,000 for finishing fourth. Cabrera's first-place vote came from Keizo Konishi of Kyodo News, a member of the Seattle chapter.

Teixeira led the AL with 122 RBIs and tied for first with 39 homers. Jeter was second to Morneau in the 2006 voting and finished third behind Juan Gonzalez and Garciaparra in 1998.

The NL MVP is to be announced Tuesday, and Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals is favored to repeat.

Sarah Palin's book tour hits NC's Fort Bragg

Sarah Palin's book tour hits NC's Fort Bragg

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin signs a copy her her autobiography, "Going Rogue", at the North Post Exchange at Fort Bragg, N.C., Monday, Nov. 23, 2009.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) -- Sarah Palin brought her book-signing tour to North Carolina's Fort Bragg on Monday as thousands greeted the former Republican vice presidential candidate in a campaign-like gathering that tested military rules involving politicians.

The Department of Defense typically prohibits politicians from using installations as a platform, so Palin didn't give a speech and simply thanked soldiers individually. She was allowed to hold the event as a private citizen who was not campaigning, a Fort Bragg spokesman said.

Army officials initially feared the book signing might turn political and negative comments would be directed at President Barack Obama, so they barred media from attending. The Army later relented and allowed coverage, and many people who attended voiced their opposition to the commander in chief.

Palin's tour bus parked nearby, splashed with her photo, encouraged donations to her political action committee, while supporters made clear that she should run for president.

Palin's father, who greeted visitors as his daughter signed copies of the book, said in an interview that Obama's handling of the military was "scary."

"I see a decline in our might," Chuck Heath said. "People used to be afraid of us and respect us, (but) they're not afraid of us and don't respect us anymore."

Col. Billy Buckner, a spokesman for Fort Bragg, said the Army agreed to let Palin on post because she was no longer a politician.

"She fell into a little bit of a gray area," he said. "She's not a political figure per se, but she certainly carries a tremendous amount of interest and influence across the country."

The former Alaska governor began a nationwide tour last week to promote a new memoir, "Going Rogue." She also has a planned visit to Fort Hood, Texas, on Dec. 4 - just a month after 12 people were killed there in a shooting rampage.

Hundreds of Palin supporters arrived early at Fort Bragg, and one woman spent nearly 24 hours in line. Officials estimated that some 4,000 turned out. More than 500 had to be turned away as the three-hour signing ended.

G.R. Quinn, 58, a veteran who spent 20 years in the military, wore an "Impeach Obama" shirt. He blasted the president for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, for the plan to hold a key Sept. 11 terrorism trial in New York and for Obama's handling of the military overseas.

"He's so wishy-washy about Afghanistan," Quinn said, adding he hopes more troops will be sent there.

While the supporters were primarily civilians, dozens of uniformed personnel also greeted Palin. They craned to snap photos and shook her hand as she left.

Chief Warrant Officer Two Jeff Thompson, 36, praised Palin for stopping by.

"She cares about the troops," Thompson said. The soldier, who has had two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, said he supported the GOP ticket in 2008 but he considers Obama his boss.

"I support his decisions," Thompson said.

AP-GfK Poll: Debt turning shoppers into Scrooges

AP-GfK Poll: Debt turning shoppers into Scrooges

FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2008 file photo, two women head for the subway with their purchases after shopping in New York with one day remaining in the holiday shopping season. Americans are feeling more stress from debt these days, raising the odds they'll act like Scrooge rather than Santa during the holiday shopping season.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A lot more Americans are feeling stressed out by debt this holiday season, raising the glum likelihood they'll behave like Scrooge rather than Santa.

In fact, fully 93 percent say they'll spend less or about the same as last year, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll. Half of all those polled say they're suffering at least some debt-related stress, and 22 percent say they're feeling it greatly or quite a bit. That second figure is up from 17 percent just last spring, despite all the talk about economic recovery.

Most people - 80 percent - say they'll use mostly cash to pay for their holiday shopping, and that generally means buying less.

For example, Joy McGavin, 26, of Pittston, Pa., says she will cut back on holiday gifts by a few hundred dollars this year and pay for everything with cash.

"Family - nieces and nephews - we won't be able to afford this year," says the stay-at-home mother of three. They now shop at Big Lots - not Wal-Mart. "They're too expensive this year," she says.

Her husband, Robert, had been working two-full time jobs, as a mechanic at a garage and at an auto parts store. Recently his retail job was cut back to part time. "We don't have as much as we had last year," McGavin laments. They don't have health insurance and have racked up major medical bills.

Diane Morrison, 57, of Flemington, N.J., says simply, "I'm going to cut back." She's clipping coupons and "looking for big sales."

She owns a payroll company, and many of her clients are laying off workers. Some of the companies are folding, she says, and "I'm feeling more stressed because I feel my income will go down because of what's happening with my business."

Morrison and the McGavins are hardly alone with job problems. Unemployment has rocketed past 10 percent for only the second time since World War II, making it harder to pay monthly bills. Home foreclosures have spiked to record highs, and defaults on credit card debt are rising.

What does that mean for retailers in their most-important season?

"Cash serves as a very direct governing force upon spending," says Dr. Alan Hilfer, director of psychology at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. "If you have $100 in your pocket, and that's all you can spend, you'll look around and make a decision based on the amount of money you have." Credit cards, on the other hand, allow people to make more impulse purchases.

In the survey, people who intend to spend less during the holidays reported suffering from higher debt stress than those who plan to spend the same or more, said Paul J. Lavrakas, a research psychologist and AP consultant who analyzed the results.

Those who plan to use cash to pay for most of their holiday season purchases have higher stress levels, he said. So do those who will carry over at least some of their holiday season credit card charges because they won't be able to pay the bill in full when it arrives.

Hilfer said that when debt increases and becomes a focus of anxiety, it forces people to start thinking more long term.

"They won't allow impulse buying and won't splurge as much because they are thinking that next year they may need to have the money to fix the motor on the washing machine, so they can't spend that money now," he said.

How consumers behave during the holidays and beyond is a critical force determining how strongly the economy snaps back from the worst recession since the 1930s. Consumer spending is the single-largest driver of overall economic activity.

The traditional kickoff of the holiday sales season is Friday - the day after Thanksgiving.

This time of year is crucial for merchants, accounting for up to 40 percent of their annual sales. The National Retail Federation believes holiday sales will decline this year, but the drop won't be as steep as last year when the country was deep in recession.

Looking to next year, consumers won't be in much of a mood to go on a shopping spree because of high unemployment and tight credit, according to the National Association for Business Economics. Consumer spending will rise a lackluster 2 percent next year, restraining the recovery, NABE forecasters said. Unemployment now at 10.2 percent, will average 9.8 percent.

For people who do plan to charge their holiday purchases, 75 percent say they'll pay off the charges in full when the bill arrives.

The average amount owed on credit cards is $5,600, the poll said, up from $4,900 in the spring.

More broadly, people carry an average of about $46,000 in debt - mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and other consumer debt. That's a far bigger load than in the early 1980s when the jobless rate last topped 10 percent. In 1982 per capita debt totaled about $14,000 in today's dollars.

The AP-GfK poll involved interviews with 1,006 adults and was conducted Nov. 5-9. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Boondocks at Phila. Front Page News

Boondocks at Phila. Front Page News

Big Turnout, Great Weather for the Philadelphia Marathon

by KYW's Matt Leon

The winner of the 2009 Philadelphia marathon hails from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Twenty-five-year old john cruise finished the 26.2 mile course in two hours 17 minutes and 15 seconds. This is his third marathon win, but first here in Philadelphia, and he says he felt like he had a chance coming in:

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