четверг, 15 марта 2012 г.

McCain outlines plan to make federal government buildings, auto fleet energy efficient

Republican John McCain said Tuesday the federal government should practice the energy efficiency he preaches, pledging that if he is elected president he would switch official vehicles to green technologies and do the same for office buildings.

Expanding upon his ideas to address the nation's energy crisis, the Arizona senator also called for a redesign of the national power grid so power is better distributed where it's needed and the country has the capacity to run electric vehicles that he wants automakers to supply.

"Our federal government is never shy about instructing the American people in good environmental practice. But energy efficiency, like …

N. Side club carves a niche on S. Side: Lover of folk music shows culture doesn't stop at Madison St.

What this place is doing on the South Side, I'll never know. Thisis a North Side place.

To be precise, it's the North Side place that I wish had existedon the South Side when I was growing up on the South Side.

If I sound like I'm talking in riddles, sorry, but John Devensunderstands. That's why he and his wife, Julia Dusek-Devens, openedthis place, the World Folk Music Company, at 1808 W. 103rd St.,almost four years ago. Devens grew up on the South Side, too, inCanaryville, and this was the place he wished had been around backthen -- a place to take music lessons and go to shows and hang outwith other people who love acoustic music.

Instead, Devens says, …

Homology Modeling and Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Transmembrane Domain Structure of Human Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

ABSTRACT

A three-dimensional model of the transmembrane domain of a neuronal-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), (α4)^sub 2^(β2)^sub 3^, was constructed from a homology structure of the muscle-type nAChR recently determined by cryoelectron microscopy. The neuronal channel model was embedded in a fully hydrated DMPC lipid bilayer, and molecular-dynamics simulations were performed for 5 ns. A comparative analysis of the neuronal- versus muscle-type nAChR models revealed many conserved pore-lining residues, but an important difference was found near the periplasmic mouth of the pore. A flickering salt-bridge of α4-E266 with its adjacent β2-K260 was …

PGA Tour-Mercedes-Benz Championship Scores

…

Geoff Ogilvy 67-68-65-68_268

Anthony Kim 71-68-68-67_274

Davis Love III 69-70-68-67_274

Sean O'Hair 69-70-71-65_275

Justin Leonard 74-67-65-70_276

Ernie Els 68-69-73-67_277

Zach Johnson 71-75-64-67_277

Kenny Perry 68-71-68-70_277

D.J. Trahan 70-66-70-71_277

Johnson Wagner 68-71-70-69_278

среда, 14 марта 2012 г.

Thieves stole scooter from disabled man

Thieves stole a mobility scooter from a vulnerable man.

The blue Voyager invalid scooter was taken from the man's home inAberdeen's Tillydrone.

It was understood to have been stored in a hallway of hisFormartine Road home when the culprits struck between noon on Sundayand 5am the following day.

It was later recovered, undamaged, in nearby Alexander Terrace.

ABERDEEN and District Fibromyalgia Support Group will meet onSaturday from 11am until 1pm at Choices, Westburn Road, Aberdeen.

SNP Councillor Wendy Stuart will be speaking at the meeting aboutthe issue or restoring concessionary bus passes to people sufferingfor debilitating …

Golden Bears learn a lot from 63-6 rout: Springston finds a silver lining in loss to I-AA Nicholls St.

DAILY MAIL SPORTS EDITOR

It's not easy painting over the ugliness of a 63-6 defeat.

But West Virginia University Tech football Coach Mike Springstonhas a heavy-duty brush.

"We're not that far off. The score looks like we are. But afterwatching the film, we weren't that displeased," Springston said,referring to his team's season-opening 63-6 loss to Division I-AANicholls State last week in Thibodaux, La.

"We felt like we got out of it what we needed to know. And that'swho our playmakers are."

The Division II Golden Bears also learned you can't lose fourfumbles, throw two interceptions and have a punt block returned for atouchdown and expect to be …

Colombia Cancels Chavez Mediation Role

Colombia's government said Wednesday it was canceling Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's mediation role with leftist rebels in a possible hostage swap, dealing a blow to efforts to free three kidnapped U.S. contractors and a former presidential candidate.

The decision came after the Venezuelan leader, who began mediating an exchange in August with President Alvaro Uribe's permission, spoke to Colombia's army chief in defiance of an order not to talk directly to military leaders on the issue, said presidential spokesman Cesar Mauricio Velasquez.

Chavez spoke by telephone with Gen. Mario Montoya earlier Wednesday about the state of hostages held by the …

Aldrich, Mildred

ALDRICH, Mildred

Born 16 November 1853, Providence, Rhode Island; died 19 February 1928, Huiry, France

Wrote under: H. Quinn

Daughter of Edwin and Lucy Ayers Baker Aldrich

For 12 years, Mildred Aldrich was secretary to the manager of the Boston Home Journal and a contributor under the pseudonym "H. Quinn." She also edited The Mahogany Tree, a journal of ideas, and during 1892 and 1893, submitted three substantial pieces on theater to Arena. She joined the Boston Journal in 1894, and moved the following year to the Boston Herald. There she further strengthened her already strong reputation for …

REFLECTING SCHOOLS

REFLECTING SCHOOLS FRENCH THEORY: HOW FOUCAULT, DERRIDA, DELEUZE, & CO. TRANSFORMED THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE UNITED STATES BY FRAN�OIS CUSSET, TRANSLATED BY JEFF FORT MINNEAPOLIS: UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA PRESS. 408 PAGES. $25.

If two mirrors are turned face-to-face, each will reflect the other's reflection of itself, and so on. Thus is generated (at least in theory) an image that resembles a tunnel going on forever-albeit to nowhere in particular. In practice, of course, there are limits to just how far this regress reaches. The mirrors have to be absolutely parallel, and any distortions on their surfaces ruin the effect. But even a glimpse of this virtual abyss can be …

New Pakistani premier vows to fight terrorism, restore judges ousted under Musharraf

Pakistan's new prime minister says his government will seek to restore senior judges purged when President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule last year.

Yousaf Raza Gilani said in …

A stylish nod to Art Deco

LONDON--There's the glass, marble and steel foyer of London'sStrand Palace Hotel, a gleaming 1940 Wurlitzer juke box and a purple1935 speedster car. London's Victoria and Albert Museum has opened anexhibit of Art Deco, the classic design style that glamorizedeverything in the 1920s and 1930s from skyscrapers, streamlinedtrains and the interiors of ocean liners to coffee pots and powdercompacts.

"It's the first [exhibition] to explore Art Deco as a globalphenomenon and is the most comprehensive celebration of it everstaged," said the show's chief curator, Ghislaine Wood. "The last wasin Minneapolis in 1976, and it won't be done again for another 30years, which is about the …

Fellows profiles

The following AIChE members have been elected to the status of Fellow.

John T. Sears

John Sears, the Montana State University chair of engineering and computer science education, has been named a Fellow of AIChE.

Sears was the founding associate director of the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Biofilm Engineering. Some of the biofilm-related problems that the center is concerned with include pipe corrosion, reducing heat transfer in industrial systems, and contamination of drinking water caused by biofilms that harbor toxic bacteria. Sears has also been active in increasing minority participation in engineering through Montana State's …

Whining Cubs are the bad actors The Cubs are embarrassing themselves as the game's biggest collection of little boys. They are thinking about everything but baseball.

I realize baseball is an excruciating mental exercise, testing aman's resolve pitch after pitch, inning after inning, game aftergame, month after month, season after season. I also realize manyplayers don't have an education beyond the high school level andthink the boundaries of world perspective are two foul lines, withthe resin bag and pine-tar rag serving as powerful metaphysicalforces.

Still, I come today to remind the Cubs that they are embarrassingthemselves as the game's biggest collection of little boys. Whileaway at the Olympics, I figured they might get a grip on theirneuroses, settle into a professional rhythm and assume a five-gamelead in the National League wild-card race. But I return to find themobsessed with the same umpires, the same media people and the samepetty oneupsmanship games involving opponents.

They are thinking about everything but baseball. They are exposinga disturbing lack of maturity and daily mental toughness. They mighthave more head cases per clubhouse than any team in sports. And ifthey don't pull together and assemble a stretch of poised, no-nonsense, ready-for-October performances, they might go down as themost disappointing Cubs team of all.

That is a mouthful, I know, recalling 1969, 1984 and 2003 asbloody memories. But have you ever seen a North Side team with somuch talent and so much opportunity buckling under its own sillycauses? It's nice to see the Cubs, under the Rev. Johnnie B. Baker,shed their cuddly, feeble image. Yet they have taken their new actmuch too far, morphing from lovable losers to whiny winners. Despitea jittery bullpen short of character -- Kyle Farnsworth just took thelead over LaTroy Hawkins for Flake of the Year -- the Cubs shouldhave more than enough juice to seize the flaws of the Giants, Padres,Astros and Marlins.

So why am I believing they could choke this thing away?

Never mind the 5-2 victory Monday night over the (homeless) Expos,who are so lousy that Washington, D.C., may not want them upon closerinspection. Intelligent sectors of Cubdom remain concerned aboutuptight events in the Houston series, which exposed new issues andexacerbated existing conditions. It isn't really the point whetherLance Berkman wins an Oscar, a Golden Globe or a part in VincentGallo's next epic. What annoys me is how the Cubs got so worked upabout his acting job. Although replays show he wasn't struck in thehead by a Mike Remlinger purpose pitch, Berkman pretended he wasbeaned by crumbling to the ground and clutching his helmet in fakepain. This prompted the Astros to retaliate by hitting Derrek Lee inthe back with two out in the ninth inning. It was the final chapterof a retaliatory series and season against Houston, but the Cubsshould have dismissed Berkman as a goof and not given his anticsfurther thought.

Instead, they turned it into another overwrought crusade.Establishing the tone, as usual, was Baker. "He deserves an Oscar.That's pretty good acting," the manager volunteered. Which, in turn,gave Remlinger leeway to go off. All season, the veteran reliever hastried to cordon off reporters in the clubhouse. Now, he was usingthose reporters to disseminate his message, which makes him thenewest Cub hypocrite. "You think you put someone in the hospital,then find out he's faking it. To act that way shows a lot about yourcharacter," he said. "I thought it was chicken [bleep]. I wish wewere playing them tomorrow. I think we have some unfinishedbusiness."

Of course, Remlinger conveniently forgot he was the one throwingat Berkman to begin with. And by suggesting there was unfinishedbusiness, he revealed a team mind-set that could be self-destructive. Are the Cubs as concerned about winning as they aresettling scores?

Same goes for their yearlong moping about media. Rather comically,the bane of their existence continues to be Chip Caray and SteveStone, who, on the food chain of tough Chicago critics, are theequivalent of Barney the Dinosaur and a Teletubbie. I've never heardof a player on any team criticizing the company house men. But theCubs have had two dissenters this year in Moises Alou and KentMercker, the latter of whom might want to concentrate on his reliefefforts rather than call the press box in mid-game -- how lame isthat? -- to complain about Caray. I understand why the Cubs would bemad at, say, me for calling them little boys. But Caray is acheerleader who has become even softer since last season. And whileStone breaks down a team's woes as well as anyone, he criticizesplayers with a certain sensitivity. The Cubs hear what they want tohear when they escape to the clubhouse during games. They believethey are treated more fairly on radio broadcasts, which feature themild mannerisms of folksy Pat Hughes and the bleeding-heart rah-rah-ism of Ron Santo.

"Most of them turn down [the sound] and listen to the radio,"Baker said.

Little does he know how that revelation indicts his ballclub asskittish. How are the Cubs supposed to break through to the WorldSeries when they can't handle those vicious bullies, Chip and Steve?

The creative tension, to put it politely, is tolerated and evenencouraged by Baker. But while his track record in pennant races isimpressive, he faces a winter of harsh backlash if the Cubsdisintegrate under their own stress. When Farnsworth responds toanother poor outing and Wrigley boos by heaving his glove into thestands, then kicking an electric fan and spraining his right knee, hedeserves a public lashing from the manager. But Baker won't do it,just as he defended Carlos Zambrano during his nationally televisedmeltdown, Hawkins during his attempted bullrush at an umpire, MarkPrior during his autograph-show flap, Sammy Sosa when Wrigley fansstarted booing him and Alou when he threw a fit and started a chainreaction of emotional breakdowns after the Steve Bartman interlude.

It should be mentioned Baker and his players take cues from afront office that arrogantly is battling Mayor Daley about theCrumbling Confines. When Tribune Co. should be addressing the short-and long-term future of the ballpark and showing great concern aboutfan safety, Cubs boss Andy MacPhail makes wisecracks. "Poor guy,"Daley said. "They should really put a clamp on his mouth."

Actually, buy a box of 25 clamps, please.

Jay Mariotti hosts a sports talk show weekdays on WMVP-AM (1000)from 9-11 a.m. and appears on ESPN's "Around the Horn" at 4 p.m. Sende-mail to inbox@suntimes.com with name, hometown and daytime phonenumber (letters run Sunday).

вторник, 13 марта 2012 г.

3 kingmakers mull Australia's next government

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Forget the prime minister. Real political power in Australia right now is being wielded by a maverick in a cowboy hat and his two colleagues. A week after national elections ended on a knife edge, the unlikely trio of lawmakers have emerged as kingmakers.

Pugnacious Bob Katter is rarely seen without his broad-brimmed white felt hat — a reminder that while he strides the corridors of Parliament House in the national capital Canberra in a suit and tie, he's from untamed cattle and mining country in the remote northeast Outback.

Before Aug. 21 elections, Katter and fellow rural lawmakers Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott were the only independents in the 150-seat House of Representatives. They struggled to have their voices heard in a parliament where lawmakers rarely vote against party lines — and are never forgiven when they do.

But political leaders have listened to them intently since the elections failed to deliver any party a victory for the first time in 70 years. Their support will determine whether the center-left Labor Party, which ruled for the past three years, or a conservative Liberal Party-led coalition forms a minority government. The unlikely alternative is Australians returning to the polls.

The independents demonstrated their leverage Friday when Prime Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott agreed to reveal confidential financial details to demonstrate which party had the best economic blueprint, and expose where they might have misled voters.

Katter's fans describe him as passionate while his critics say he's mad. All agree he is colorful and brings a different set of priorities to the national political agenda.

He has raised the concerns of constituents in his northern Queensland state that near-neighbor Indonesia "might pose an invasion threat." War with Indonesia seems unlikely to most Australians.

Dubbed "The Mad Katter" by newspaper headline writers — a play on the Lewis Carroll character and the big hat — Katter has stated homosexuals are rare in Queensland and nonexistent among his own constituents. He unsuccessfully opposed federal laws in 1994 that removed the last criminal sanctions against gay sex in Australia.

The white-haired 65-year-old of Lebanese descent struggles against the consensus of the major parties in other areas. While Australia is a leading force within the World Trade Organization for free trade of farm produce, Katter wants Australia to return to projectionist tariffs, reversing four decades of import liberalization.

But he has become accustomed to political rebuffs. "Many times I've gone to bed a cock-a-doodle-do and woke up the next morning a feather duster," he is often quoted as saying.

Katter was a disgruntled lawmaker within the conservative coalition for seven years before he quit his National Party as well as the government in 2001 to continue his career as an outspoken independent. Newspapers have reported that Katter branded the Liberals "slimy dogs."

His two lower-profile independent colleagues are also former National Party members. But they're not an easy fit with either major party.

Windsor — who since the election has described his former party as a "cancer-causing agent" and the party's Senate leader a "fool" and "an embarrassment" — says he has good relations with both Labor and the coalition.

The Australian Electoral Commission count updated Friday found Labor was likely to hold 72 seats in the lower chamber. The conservative coalition was on track to attain 73 seats, with more than 81 percent of the vote counted.

Whether either can achieve a majority of 76 depends on the three independents, dubbed by the media "The Three Amigos."

It could also hinge on newly elected fourth independent Andrew Wilkie, who quit his job as a defense intelligence analyst in 2003 in protest against the then-government's explanation for sending 2,000 Australian troops to back U.S. and British forces in the Iraq invasion. Wilkie doesn't support either party and shuns his fellow independents' negotiating bloc.

Greens party lawmaker Adam Bandt's stated support for Labor would tie the major parties at 73.

When the sun rises in the west

There's an often-expressed adage that says trends in America start in California and move east. Everything from pizza parlors to anti-war demonstrations to imported Japanese cars proves the adage, and the supporting evidence is great.

In banking, too, trends have tended to start in the West-Security Pacific with discount brokerage, Wells Fargo with credit scoring of commercial loans, Bank of America with Pacific Rim lending, Union Bank with small business banking.

We think there are trends developing right now on the West Coast that will begin an inexorable march eastward. Our fearless predictions for the millennium: Banks will think strategically about the markets they serve. American banks have grown by expanding their geography. NCNB didn't become NationsBank by focusing on central Carolina, and most other banks, too, were quick to extend their reach and slow to give up captured territory-even when their market presence was slight.

Bucking that longtime trend this year was none other than BankAmerica Corp., which pulled out of Alaska by selling off its 12-branch system. It just didn't have the critical mass to compete against the firmly entrenched National Bancorp of Alaska and First National Bank of Anchorage.

We think we'll see a major increase in the incidence of banks acting like gas retailers-when they don't own the heavily-trafficked corners, they shut down the pumps and compete where they control the market.

Banks enjoying the technology ride up will be battered on the way down. No one has gotten more positive press (including in this magazine) than Silicon Valley Bank, the Santa Clarabased institution that has financed scores of Northern California's highest-flying tech companies. Yet even as a technology-led bull market set records on Wall Street, Silicon Valley Bank surprised analysts by charging off $7 million in bad loans and announcing a $16 million to $20 million loan loss provision, moving its loan-loss percentage to 3% of loans outstanding.

We think aggressive lending practices like Silicon Valley Bank's Quick Start program, which essentially factored a booming IPO market and Internet craziness into traditional lending standards, will become considerably less fashionable as the century turns.

Internet banking will really take hold. O.K., so it doesn't exactly take a crystal ball to make a call on this one. Take a look at what's happened in the securities industry this year, and you'll get a good idea of what can happen when people get comfortable with the security of handling financial transactions on the Web. While the major securities firms like Merrill Lynch and Paine Webber were seeing skidding growth, San Francisco-based Charles Schwab, largely due to its Internet business, was chalking up a record year. Newcomer E*Trade, which announced its financial portal strategy only last September, saw its stock surge with an announcement that the company already had more than 500,000 customers.

We think that it's virtually impossible to overstate the likely impact of the Internet on the financial industry. We believe that traditional banks without a solid Internet strategy will see an inevitable erosion of their depositor base in the very near future and that lending, mortgage servicing, asset management-you name it-will be on a computer near you before you know it.

Bank involvement in international lending will increase. One might guess that, with the much-publicized problems with Asian economies, U. S. banks would pull back on the throttle. Yet California banks, more than any in the country, have shown an ever-increasing appetite for foreign business-and not just in Asia, but in Europe and South America as well. Even smallish West Coast banks are finding that international trade can be predictable and secure and that it generates both above-average returns on equity and new pockets of fee revenue.

Medium-sized and even small businesses everywhere are becoming interested in international trade. And because banks everywhere today are forced to meet the needs of their last real franchise, the small business customer, we believe that all across the country-not just in California-banks will embrace international banking activity as never before.

Former Lebanese PM Amin al-Hafez dies at 83

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Amin al-Hafez, who served a turbulent two-month term in 1973 before he was forced to resign, died on Monday. He was 83.

Al-Hafez died in a Beirut hospital after a long-running battle with an undisclosed chronic illness, medical officials said.

A Sunni Muslim, he was picked by then President Suleiman Franjieh to form a government in 1973. Although the prime minister's job is reserved for a Sunni under Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, Sunni religious leaders who opposed Franjieh refused to recognize the appointment. Al-Hafez was forced to resign about two months later.

The crisis, along with a battle between Lebanese troops and Palestinian guerrillas that year, contributed to the tensions that burst into all-out civil war in 1975. The sectarian conflict lasted 15 years and killed 150,000 people.

Al-Hafez later served as member of parliament, representing his hometown of Tripoli until 1996.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora declared a three-day mourning period for al-Hafez, during which flags at government institutions will be flown at half-staff.

Al-Hafez will be buried in Tripoli, a port city in northern Lebanon, on Tuesday.

WORLD at 1000 GMT

NEW THIS DIGEST:

HUNGARY-SLUDGE FLOOD. Emergency workers sweep through Hungary trying to clear toxic sludge

PAKISTAN. Gunmen torch more than 2 dozen NATO oil tankers, kill driver in Pakistan.

YEMEN BRITAIN. Gunmen fire a rockets at British envoy in Yemen

KOREAS-NUCLEAR. SKorea says NKorea's nuclear program a "extremely dangerous" threat

NOBEL-CHEMISTRY. One American, two Japanese scientists win chemistry Nobel

ASIA-FLOODING. Helicopters drop food to isolated villages, deaths in Asia over 100

US-AP POLL-WORKING CLASS WHITES. whites needing jobs are flocking to the Republican party

SUPREME COURT-FUNERAL PROTESTS. Marine dad wants fine against protesters at son's funeral

RFK-EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. RFK copy of the Emancipation Proclamation on auction.

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION. Contentious ballot measure not seen much cash support so far

Our views: Turnpike tolls deserve review; The Legislature must assert control over the parkways board

GOOD governance requires accountability. A democracy works bestwhen elected officials can call agency heads on the carpet whenthings go awry.

That is how the public influences its government. Public pressureon a politician becomes political pressure on the agency. Either theagency reacts properly or someone is shown the door.

Witness the departure of Michael Brown as head of the FederalEmergency Management Agency after the slow response to HurricaneKatrina.

Unfortunately, West Virginia state government does not work thatway. It sets up autonomous agencies to keep politics out of theorganization.

Considering the way some of these agencies spend public money,perhaps it is time to reinsert politics into government operations.The Parkways Authority would be a good place to start.

It once was known simply as the Turnpike board. Gov. GastonCaperton convinced the Legislature to extend the board's mission toinclude economic development and tourism. That mission creep onsteroids allowed access to non-toll money that the Turnpike hadaccumulated.

That paved the way for building the $35 million Tamarack, whichnearly 10 years later still looks like a boondoggle that will neverpay back the $35 million.

The public discovered just how autonomous the authority is when itraised tolls by more than 60 percent on Jan. 1. The $6 charge todrive the full length of the Turnpike - $21 for big rig trucks - willbe used to make improvements, including an interchange at ShadySpring.

That got the public's attention. That got legislators complaining.And that got House Speaker Bob Kiss to promise to demand anexplanation from the authority.

"Unless they can justify there is a substantial benefit toSouthern West Virginia, they need to make the decision that thosetolls are coming off in the near future, or they're going to wind upbeing forced in that direction, anyway," Kiss told the editorialboard of the Register-Herald newspaper in Beckley.

Not only is Kiss the top man in the House of Delegates, he is thefellow who chaired the subcommittee back in 1989 that wrote the billthat created the Parkways Authority.

Authority members would be well advised to revisit their economicdevelopment adventures.

Democracy is knocking at the door and it brought along its buddy,Accountability.

Crane shoots 66 to take sole lead in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Ben Crane of the United States birdied three of his last four holes Saturday to take a two-shot lead in the Asia Pacific Classic with a 5-under 66 in the third round.

The 36-year-old Crane has a 16-under total of 197 to sit two strokes ahead of Sweden's Carl Pettersson, who also shot a 66.

"I'm just trying to play freely and trying to play like when I was playing like a kid," Crane said. "I haven't been in this position a lot. ... Certainly, I'll pray tonight for peace and relaxation and come out tomorrow to enjoy this experience."

Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat carded a 65 for a share of third place with four other players, another two shots back. Brian Davis, fellow Englishman Luke Donald and American duo Ryan Moore and Ricky Barnes were also tied for third in the tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the Asian Tour.

Overnight leader Pariya Junhasavasdikul of Thailand fell to a share of eighth place after a 71.

Play was stopped for one hour because of a heavy thunderstorm, but when it resumed, Crane produced three straight birdies from the 15th to 17th.

Pettersson also finished strongly with five birdies on the back nine. He hit a 5-iron to within 4 feet of the flag for a birdie on No. 10 and then chipped in for another birdie on 14.

"It wasn't a great start. But I made some good birdies and played a good back nine to get myself back into the tournament," Pettersson said. "It was a fun finish."

Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh produced a 65 to sit tied for eighth place. The 26-year-old Siddikur grew up in a poor family in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka and built his first club by sticking the head of a broken 7-iron on a metal rod. He became the first Bangladeshi to win on the Asian Tour with his victory at the Brunei Open in August.

On Saturday, he sank six birdies and outscored playing partner Heath Slocum, who won the McGladrey Classic this month, by six shots.

"I think it was a great day," Siddikur said. "Drive, irons, chipping and putting were absolutely good."

House Dems criticize Bush on national security

The Bush administration has missed one opportunity after another to improve the nation's security, according to a Democratic congressional report.

From securing rail and bus transportation to screening cargo, promoting democracy across the world and capturing weapons of mass destruction, the administration has fallen short on 25 major national security initiatives, Democrats on the House Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees concluded.

"The administration has just failed to act in so many ways," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. "Let's say that we've been fortunate that we have not been attacked" since 2001, said Thompson, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee. The report noted there is no national coordinator overseeing U.S. efforts to prevent terrorism from weapons of mass destruction. This, the report said, leaves no one to "connect the dots" or foresee dangerous gaps that terrorists could take advantage of.

"The Administration has failed to provide the American people the security they expect and deserve," the report said.

The Bush administration, however, insisted it is making progress in national security.

"I fundamentally reject the charge that the administration has made the world less safe from terrorism," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said. Wood had not seen the Democrats' report.

The House Democrats also blast Bush policy in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia as damaging to national security.

U.S. efforts to combat terrorists in Pakistan have suffered because of "unyielding support for a military dictator;" Iraq has drained resources from Afghanistan; and Saudi Arabia continues to serve "as a major source of terrorist activity," the report said.

Dealing with your hazardous waste

SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT

If it doesn't go up the stack or down the drain, it's probably hazardous waste. Here's how to dispose of it properly.

GENERATING HAZARDOUS WASTE (HW) is an everyday reality in a collision repair shop. In addition to paint, the standard hazardous waste for shops include absorbent material such as mops, sponges, rags and booth filters that have been used with heavy metal-containing paints.

HW is any material that does not go up the stack or down the drain and exhibits one of the following characteristics: It is ignitable (less than 140 degrees IF flash point); corrosive (meaning it's a strong acid or alkali); reactive-i.e. explosive; or has a toxic characterization leachate procedure, which means it contains heavy metal pigments or some teachable organics, such as methyl ethyl ketone.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) provides for "cradle to grave" management of such products. Generators of this waste-which includes bodyshop owners-- ultimately have responsibility for management.

Most HW generators must notify the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and obtain an EPA Identification Number. They must also provide HW training annually to employees who handle HW activities, fill out manifests and/or respond to emergencies. This training must be documented meticulously and kept until three years after termination of employment.

понедельник, 12 марта 2012 г.

'Wolves gain sudden popularity: ; Spring Valley stuns Logan for MSAC tourney title

DAILY MAIL SPORTSWRITER

Near third base, two reporters circled Spring Valley Highbaseball Coach Mike Lemons. Another was tugging shortstop SkylarSmith, the clutch hero, away from his team's outfield huddle.

With midnight approaching, the Timberwolves were getting antsy.Although completely unexpected, they had a Mountain State AthleticConference Tournament championship to start celebrating.

"We've suddenly become very popular," Lemons told his team.

A 4-3 upset victory in extra innings over defending Class AAAstate champ Logan tends to do that.

With the exception of the powerhouse opponent, Spring Valley'slatest victory didn't look much different than any of the others ithas stockpiled in winning 11 of its last 12 games: solid enoughpitching, sporadically spectacular fielding and timely hitting.

The novelty came in the result: the school's first MSAC title,albeit unceremonious, and first championship of any kind in itsthree-year history.

"Do we at least get a plaque?" one player asked Lemons as thelights were rapidly shut off at Nitro High's Sneed Field.

"I don't care if we don't get anything," he replied. "We beatLogan."

The Wildcats earned such reverence after winning last year'sstate championship and returning almost all of its starters.

Top-ranked in the state for most of the season before falling allthe way to second, Logan ran off 20 consecutive victories to startthe season, and amassed a team ERA so low that Nyquil would registera higher blood alcohol content rating.

But within the last week, the Wildcats (22-3) lost to GreenbrierEast and South Charleston on back-to-back nights. The latter costthem the top seed in the conference tournament.

And when Smith stole second, advanced to third on an error andscored on outfielder Jacob Johnson's first inning single, the eighth-seeded Timberwolves (15-11) had more than a 1-0 lead. They also gotthe feeling that Logan wasn't immortal.

"Everybody had been saying they were the best team in the state,"said Smith, whose team never faced the Wildcats during the regularseason. "I wanted to play them. This was the chance we were waitingfor."

The teams traded leads until Logan tied it 3-3 in the fourth, andthen hit a stalemate. The 'Wolves couldn't solve starter John RyanSteele (eight innings, 13 strikeouts), and the 'Cats couldn't quitecrack the trio of Drew Fannin, Drew Damron and Nathaniel Howard.

Howard, the football team's sophomore starting quarterback,shifted from center field to the mound with one on in the seventh -and promptly blasted his first two warm-ups all the way to thebackstop. He then walked the first batter he faced, but battled backto strike out Steele with the bases loaded.

Leading off the eight, Smith, a junior who showed incrediblerange on a screamer deep in the hole during a key sixth inning play,again keyed Spring Valley's offense with a hit.

Again, he stole second, this time on a full count when Lemonsthought a breaking pitch was coming. And just like in the first,catcher Randy Adkins' throw arrived exactly when Smith did, andLogan's middle infielders had trouble judging the play as the ballsailed into centerfield.

"It was a low throw, but it wasn't bad," Smith said. "They justnever had a chance to grab it."

The Wildcats also never had a chance to get Smith at third, andhe scored one batter later when Johnson again singled him home withwhat proved to be the winning run.

"By chance, it worked out," Lemons said.

His team had its title shot only because pinch runner JohnDeboard scored from first on a groundball and error duringWednesday's 10-9 nine-inning semifinal victory over GeorgeWashington.

"We're not loaded with speed, we've just had our fastest guys onbase at the most crucial times," he said. "But lately, a lot ofthings have been working out for us."

Writer Jason Martin can be reached at 348-4883 or by e-mail atjmartin@dailymail.com.

Saturday's Sports Scoreboard

All Times Eastern

National Football League
No games today.

National Basketball Association
Cleveland 94, New Jersey 86 F
Charlotte 107, Miami 97 F
Indiana 122, Minnesota 111 F
San Antonio 97, Washington 86 F
Boston 103, Toronto 96 F
Houston 89, New Orleans 86 -4
Chicago 90, Orlando 75 -4
Oklahoma City 70, Milwaukee 65 -3
Denver 51, Utah 47 -2
Memphis 69, Phoenix 50 -2
Dallas 0, Sacramento 0 -1
Golden State 0, Portland 0 -1

National Hockey League
Carolina 2, N.Y. Rangers 1 F OT
Vancouver 3, Dallas 1 F
Tampa Bay 3, Pittsburgh 1 F
Los Angeles 2, Washington 1 F
N.Y. Islanders 6, Atlanta 5 F 2OT
Colorado 3, Columbus 2 F
Calgary 3, Toronto 1 F
Nashville 2, Anaheim 1 -3
Chicago 6, St. Louis 2 -3
Detroit 3, Phoenix 1 -3
New Jersey 4, Minnesota 2 -3
Edmonton 0, San Jose 0 -1

Top 25 College Football Playoffs
Mississippi 21, Oklahoma St. (21) 7 F

Top 25 College Basketball
Kansas (1) 84, Temple (18) 52 F
Texas (2) 76, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 70 F
Kentucky (3) 71, Louisville 62 F
Pittsburgh 82, Syracuse (5) 72 F
Villanova (8) 74, Marquette 72 F
Connecticut (10) 82, Notre Dame 70 F
Michigan St. (11) 91, Northwestern (25) 70 F
Oregon 90, Washington (17) 79 F
UAB (24) 73, Arkansas 72 F

Top 25 Women's College Basketball
Connecticut (1) 91, Seton Hall 24 F
Stanford (2) 79, California 58 F
Baylor (5) 99, Texas St. 18 F
North Carolina (7) 101, Winston-Salem 38 F
Texas (17) 114, Ark.-Pine Bluff 53 F
Marquette 66, Pittsburgh (20) 55 F
Wis.-Green Bay (22) 78, Cleveland St. 60 F
Virginia (23) 74, Colorado 59 F
Georgia Tech (24) 76, Army 47 F

Harrods the store for anyone, anywhere

LONDON Nobody argues when Harrods Ltd. calls itself London'slargest department store.

It has about 20 acres of selling space, where an average 50,000customers a day spend roughly 700,000 pounds ($1,046,338). Salestotaled 311 million pounds (more than $460 million) last year.

The store has massive annual sales in January and July, and theplace was packed with customers - including Chicago Bears and theirwives - last week.

Harrods' motto, "Omnia Omnibus, Ubique," means "All things forall people everywhere." The retailer handles everything from theroyal family's requests to a midnight call in 1975 for a babyelephant, a gift for Ronald Reagan, who was then governor ofCalifornia.

Harrods seems to have a special relationship with its customers.

One Friday just after 8 a.m., a store switchboard operatorreceived a call from a customer who said he was testing his newphone.

He said he decided to ring up Harrods - from Sydney, Australia.

Afghan police: Suicide bomber kills 10

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber detonated his vest full of explosives in northeastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing 10 people, including five schoolboys and an influential tribal elder and former military commander who supported the Afghan government.

The target of the midday bombing in Kunar province was Malik Zareen, a leader of Afghan forces during the Soviet occupation in the 1980s, a provincial police chief said.

The police chief, Khalilullah Ziayi, said seven others were also wounded in the blast in the province's Asmar district.

"Unfortunately, the suicide attacker targeted a local council meeting of the tribal elders," he said.

The Afghan Ministry of Education said five schoolboys — students in the eighth, sixth, fourth and first grades — were among the 10 killed in what the ministry called an "anti-Islamic and inhumane act."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai also condemned the bombing, saying it was a "terrorist attack against the Afghan people."

He said that by killing tribal leaders, the attacker was trying to silence the voice of the Afghan people.

"The strong pillars of Afghanistan are the tribal elders," Karzai said in a statement. "They are trying to solve the problems of the local people."

He called Zareen a brave and influential jihadi leader who was working for peace and stability.

The province, along the Pakistan border, has been the scene of heavy fighting in recent weeks. Six U.S. soldiers were killed in the area on March 29.

Also in the east, a NATO service member was killed in a roadside bomb attack Wednesday. So far this year, at least 115 foreign troops, have been killed in Afghanistan. The coalition did not disclose the nationality of the service member who died or where he was killed.

In Logar province, south of the capital Kabul, a roadside bomb killed one person and wounded two others who were riding on a tractor, according to the Afghan Ministry of Interior.

The ministry said a security guard was killed and three others were wounded Wednesday when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Sayd Abad district of neighboring Wardak province.

Two children also were killed Wednesday when an old rocket exploded in Waza Khwa district of Paktika province, the ministry said.

Roberts Checks Out of Hospital

WASHINGTON - Chief Justice John Roberts walked out of a hospital in Maine Tuesday, released a day after he suffered a seizure. The White House said he told President Bush he was doing fine.

Roberts strode briskly out of the Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Maine, wearing a blue sport coat, open collar shirt and slacks. He waved to onlookers before getting into a waiting sports utility vehicle.

The chief justice, 52, plans to continue his summer vacation in Maine, Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said. She said that doctors found no cause for concern after evaluating Roberts.

Roberts was hospitalized after he fell on a dock near his home on Hupper Island, near Port Clyde, Maine. He had a prior unexplained seizure in 1993. Bush had called Roberts earlier Tuesday, and press secretary Tony Snow said that the president was assured the chief justice was doing well.

Snow said that Roberts "sounded like he was in great spirits."

Doctors who examined Roberts after his seizure said they found no tumor, stroke or any other explanation for the episode.

Snow told reporters that the White House had been aware of the previous seizure when Bush nominated Roberts to the nation's highest court.

By definition, someone who has had more than one seizure without any other cause is determined to have epilepsy, said Dr. Marc Schlosberg, a Washington Hospital Center neurologist who is not involved in the Roberts case.

Whether Roberts will need anti-seizure medications to prevent another is something he and his doctor will have to decide. But after two seizures, the likelihood of another at some point is greater than 60 percent.

Epilepsy is merely a term for a seizure disorder, but it is a loaded term because it makes people think of lots of seizures, cautioned Dr. Edward Mkrdichian, a neurosurgeon at the Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch.

Still, Mkrdichian said anyone who has had two otherwise unexplained seizures is at high risk for a third, and that he puts such patients on anti-seizure medications.

"Having two seizures so many years apart without any known culprit is going to be very difficult to figure out," agreed Dr. Max Lee of the Milwaukee Neurological Institute.

The incident occurred around 2 p.m. on a dock near Roberts' summer home in Port Clyde on Maine's Hupper Island. He had just gotten off a boat and was returning home after running errands, Arberg said. Port Clyde, which is part of the town of St. George, is about 90 miles by car northeast of Portland, midway up the coast of Maine.

Roberts was taken by private boat to the mainland and then transferred to an ambulance, St. George Fire Chief Tim Polky said.

"He was conscious and alert when they put him in the rescue (vehicle)," Polky said.

Once at the hospital, he underwent a "thorough neurological evaluation, which revealed no cause for concern," Arberg said.

Named to the court by Bush in 2005, Roberts is the youngest justice on a court in which the senior member, John Paul Stevens, is 87.

Roberts is the father of two young children.

Larry Robbins, a Washington attorney who worked with Roberts at the Justice Department in 1993, said he drove Roberts to work for several months after Roberts' seizure that year. Robbins said Roberts never mentioned what the problem was and he never heard of it happening again.

In 2001, Roberts described his health as "excellent," according to Senate Judiciary Committee records.

Roberts became chief justice after the death of William Rehnquist in September 2005, although Bush had first chosen him to take Sandra Day O'Connor's seat when she announced her retirement earlier that year.

Roberts has led the Supreme Court to a more conservative stance. Helped by Justice Samuel Alito, who won confirmation in early 2006, conservatives have won twice as often as they lost on the Roberts-led court. The 2006-07 term brought limits on abortion rights, restrictions on school integration programs and greater freedom for political advertising.

Roberts earlier served as an appellate judge in Washington and spent more than a decade before that as a lawyer at the Hogan and Hartson law firm, where he specialized in arguing cases before the Supreme Court.

Roberts also served in the Reagan and Bush administrations in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a clerk for Rehnquist after graduating from Harvard Law School.

Roberts spent a couple of weeks in Europe in July, teaching a course in Vienna and attending a conference in Paris. He was at the court in Washington late last week.

---

Associated Press writer Jerry Harkavy contributed to this story from Rockport, Maine.

---

On the Net:

Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov

Federer gets top Wimbledon seed ahead of Nadal

Roger Federer was the No. 1 seed for Wimbledon ahead of Rafael Nadal in a reverse of their world rankings.

Federer, the defending champion and six-time Wimbledon winner, received the top seed Wednesday even though Nadal recently replaced him at No. 1.

There were no surprises in the women's seedings, with Serena Williams at No. 1 and sister Venus at No. 2.

Nadal moved into the top spot after winning the French Open, while Federer slipped to No. 2 after losing in the quarterfinals in Paris.

Wimbledon uses its discretion to seed players based on their grass-court record.

"While the seeding positions of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are reversed from their current rankings, there is no practical effect since they remain the leading seeds in their respective halves of the draw," Wimbledon referee Andrew Jarrett said.

The draw will be held Friday, with the two-week Grand Slam tournament starting Monday.

Federer has won a record 16 Grand Slam titles, including this year's Australian Open. However, he has not won a tournament since Australia. On Sunday, Federer experienced only his second loss on grass in more than seven years when he was upset by Lleyton Hewitt in three sets in the final of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany.

Nadal beat Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final, but was injured and unable to defend his title last year. The Spaniard won his fifth French Open this month, but lost to Feliciano Lopez last week in the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon grass-court tuneup at Queen's Club.

Novak Djokovic is seeded No. 3 and Andy Murray No. 4 in line with their rankings.

Three-time Wimbledon runner-up Andy Roddick was seeded No. 5, two spots above his ranking. French Open finalist Robin Soderling is No. 6.

Hewitt became one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Wimbledon seeding committee. The 2002 champion was seeded No. 15 despite a ranking of No. 26. Big-serving Ivo Karlovic is ranked No. 33 but was bumped up to No. 25 in the seedings.

The women's seedings stuck to the rankings, setting up the possibility of a fifth all-Williams Wimbledon final. Serena beat Venus last year for her third Wimbledon title.

The only change in the seedings was caused by the injury withdrawal of No. 5 Elena Dementieva.

Caroline Wozniacki is No. 3, followed by Jelena Jankovic at No. 4 and French Open champion Francesca Schiavone at No. 5.

Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, who are returning to Wimbledon after coming out of retirements, are seeded No. 8 and No. 17, respectively.

среда, 7 марта 2012 г.

Wilson goes from Texas bullpen to reliable starter

C.J. Wilson is coming off a complete game, has pitched at least six innings every start and is among the best in the American League with a 1.51 ERA.

Given his long-desired chance to be in the rotation again, five years after failing in that role as a rookie when coming off Tommy John surgery. Wilson then became a top reliever.

Now he has become the most reliable starter for the Texas Rangers.

"I'm just really filling out the job description, that's it," Wilson said. "There's no magic formula to like transitioning from one thing to the other or anything like that. It's not mystical in any sense."

The crafty and insightful left-hander is scheduled to make his seventh start of the season Thursday in the finale of a three-game series against AL West foe Oakland.

"He had eight pitches last year, but he could only use a couple out of the bullpen," manager Ron Washington said. "Now he gets a chance to use his pitches more. As a closer, it was more aggressiveness. Now he can show everything. ... As a starter, he can really really use his brains now."

Wilson had the AL's best ERA until Wednesday night, when Yankees right-hander Phil Hughes (5-0) pitched seven shutout innings against Detroit to lower his to 1.38.

With returning 17-game winner Scott Feldman and prized free-agent acquisition Rich Harden heading up the rotation, the Rangers went into spring training providing Wilson a chance to be a starter. But returning to the bullpen, where he has been a closer and more the primary setup guy, was still considered an option.

Wilson was too good as a starter in the spring to be left out of the rotation, plus the Rangers had already added veteran reliever Darren Oliver as a left-handed setup guy.

In his first regular-season start since 2005, Wilson (3-1) threw seven scoreless innings against Toronto on April 8. A bout with food poisoning delayed his next start, but then he tossed a six-inning complete game in a rain-shortened 5-1 loss to the New York Yankees, who scored two unearned runs.

Wilson then had 6 2-3 shutout innings at Boston and has allowed only four earned runs over 22 innings his past three starts. That included his first career nine-inning complete game victory Friday, 4-1 over Kansas City and reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke.

"I don't really feel like I'm pitching as great as everybody tells me I'm pitching," Wilson said. "There's still a lot for me to improve on, and also there is a longevity factor. It's like so what, six games. ... My job is to go out there and pitch well every single time, all season."

Fatigue and durability certainly haven't been an issue yet for the former reliever who was used to pitching in short spurts near or at the end of games, including 50 saves the past three seasons. He has averaged 107 pitches per game over 41 2-3 innings as a starter this year.

"It's just an A plus B equal C kind of thing. It's just linear," Wilson said. "I feel better. It's easier on my arm."

Wilson altered his entire offseason program preparing for the different demands of starting and the endurance needed to go deep into games.

Now that the season is under way, and he knows he is scheduled to start every fifth game _ instead of pitching irregularly depending on game situations _ the 29-year-old pitcher works harder in the weight room and runs farther between starts.

"The win, the quality start and the innings pitched are the big things because the knocks on me were that I wasn't going to be able to last seven innings, eight innings, whatever," he said. "For me, that's the satisfaction I get, is me knowing I could do it and having people saying I couldn't and telling them I could and then showing that I can."

Wilson, a fifth-round draft pick in 2001, was primarily a starter in the minor leagues and missed all of the 2004 season recovering from the ligament transplant surgery.

After being called up by the Rangers for the first time in 2005, when he had four stints with the team, Wilson was 0-5 with a 12.05 ERA in six starts. But in 18 appearances out of the bullpen his rookie season, he had a 2.73 ERA over 26 1-3 innings and Texas continued to utilize him as a reliever after that.

Now the only time Wilson is in the bullpen is to warm up before games.

"He's done a real good job of just staying focused for four days when he's not pitching," teammate Ian Kinsler said. "In the bullpen, it seemed like he had too much time on his hands. This year, it seems like he's really focused on that one start, going out there and staying in the game as long as he can."

Dow Closes Up 56, Nasdaq Finishes Up 4

CHRISTOPHER WANG, AP Business Writer
AP Online
12-14-2005
Dateline: NEW YORK

William Fong, assistant vice president information technology of Credit Suisse First Boston, watches a bank of television screens in their booth on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor, Tuesday Dec. 13, 2005, as the Federal Reserve interest rate was announced. The Federal Reserve on Tuesday pushed a key interest rate to the highest level in 4 1/2 years while signaling that the campaign to raise interest rates to fight inflation was drawing to an end. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Wall Street made a moderate advance Tuesday as investors welcomed signs that the Federal Reserve may be close to ending its string of interest rate hikes.

While the Fed raised interest rates a quarter percentage point to 4.25 percent Tuesday, the market was pleased by a revision to the central bank's economic assessment in which it no longer characterized its rate hikes as accommodative. That change was widely seen as an adjustment in Fed monetary policy.

Analysts had been expecting the Fed's decision _ the 13th consecutive rate increase in 18 months _ and many anticipate one more boost at outgoing Chairman Alan Greenspan's final policymaking meeting in January.

But recent reports of strengthening economic indicators now have some concerned that more increases could be in store, and that may have limited the market's advance following the Fed's midafternoon announcement. The Fed previously slashed rates to record lows to spur the economy, and has been gradually pushing them upward to battle inflation.

"At this point, it's difficult to see them stopping with one more (increase)," said Christoper Piros, investment strategist for Prudential's Strategic Investment Research Group. "There will almost certainly be two more. But I do think there is a risk they may have already gone far enough, if not too far."

Stocks wandered aimlessly for most of the session as the market weighed lackluster retail sales figures and mixed earnings news from electronics retailer Best Buy Co., computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. and consumer products firm Procter & Gamble Co.

At the close of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 55.95, or 0.52 percent, to 10,823.72. The Dow opened the session in negative territory and surged 103 points after the Fed announcement.

Broader stock indicators were ended higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.00, or 0.56 percent, to 1,267.43, and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 4.05, or 0.18 percent, to 2,265.00.

Bonds rose after the Fed's rate decision, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note sliding to 4.52 percent from 4.55 percent late Monday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies in European trading, while gold prices pulled back from recent highs.

Oil prices were flat following a brisk runup Monday as another snowstorm approached the Northeast, with a barrel of light crude adding 7 cents to settle at $61.37 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Commerce Department said retail sales grew 0.3 percent in November, just missing estimates of 0.4 percent. Slowing sales at department and specialty stores roused concerns about the strength of the critical holiday shopping season.

However, the report did show that auto sales rebounded after a three-month decline, while gasoline sales fell as prices pulled back from record levels. Excluding autos, retail sales dropped 0.3 percent, the biggest loss in 19 months.

Separately, the department reported business inventories expanded by 0.3 percent last month, but that sales climbed 0.8 percent. A lower inventory-to-sales ratio urges companies to boost production and hiring.

Among the Dow industrials, support from P&G, Pfizer Inc. and Boeing Co. was limited by a disappointing update at HP, which also pulled down International Business Machines Corp.

P&G climbed $1.48 to $58.39 after raising its second-quarter profit target, citing better sales and less-than-expected costs from its acquisition of Gillette Co. News of quarterly dividend increases lifted Pfizer by $1.37 to $22.31, and Boeing by 40 cents to $70.59, off its all-time high of $70.94.

But those gains were countered when HP forecast its 2006 revenue and earnings just shy of Wall Street views. HP sank 90 cents to $29.07, and rival IBM fell $2.25 to $83.71.

In earnings news, Best Buy said its quarterly profit fell 7 percent, hurt by higher expenses that outpaced a 10 percent sales increase. Best Buy was down $5.90 at $43.94.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. posted a steep 41 percent jump in quarterly earnings from strength in investment banking and transaction fees. Shares rose 33 cents to $128.50.

Travel services firm Cendant Corp. pegged its quarterly income at the low end of prior estimates because of weakness in its ticketing business, mostly its international online operations. Cendant dropped $1.83 to $16.55.

Taser International Inc. said the Securities and Exchange Commission has ended an investigation and will not impose any sanctions over the company's claims about the safety of its stun guns and an accounting error from last year. Taser jumped 92 cents to $7.04.

Advancing issues led decliners by 6 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange, where final consolidated volume of 2.51 billion shares topped the 1.92 billion shares that changed hands Monday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies lost 0.51, or 0.07 percent, to 689.03.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average lost 0.28 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.10 percent, Germany's DAX index added 0.17 percent, and France's CAC-40 was higher by 0.43 percent.

___

On the Net:

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

William Fong, assistant vice president information technology of Credit Suisse First Boston, watches a bank of television screens in their booth on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor, Tuesday Dec. 13, 2005, as the Federal Reserve interest rate was announced. The Federal Reserve on Tuesday pushed a key interest rate to the highest level in 4 1/2 years while signaling that the campaign to raise interest rates to fight inflation was drawing to an end. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Wall Street made a moderate advance Tuesday as investors welcomed signs that the Federal Reserve may be close to ending its string of interest rate hikes.

At the close of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 55.95, or 0.52 percent, to 10,823.72. The Dow opened the session in negative territory and surged 103 points after the Fed announcement.

Broader stock indicators were ended higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.00, or 0.56 percent, to 1,267.43, and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 4.05, or 0.18 percent, to 2,265.00.

Oil prices were flat following a brisk runup Monday as another snowstorm approached the Northeast, with a barrel of light crude adding 7 cents to settle at $61.37 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Among the Dow industrials, support from P&G, Pfizer Inc. and Boeing Co. was limited by a disappointing update at HP, which also pulled down International Business Machines Corp.

But those gains were countered when HP forecast its 2006 revenue and earnings just shy of Wall Street views. HP sank 90 cents to $29.07, and rival IBM fell $2.25 to $83.71.

In earnings news, Best Buy said its quarterly profit fell 7 percent, hurt by higher expenses that outpaced a 10 percent sales increase. Best Buy was down $5.90 at $43.94.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. posted a steep 41 percent jump in quarterly earnings from strength in investment banking and transaction fees. Shares rose 33 cents to $128.50.

Advancing issues led decliners by 6 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange, where final consolidated volume of 2.51 billion shares topped the 1.92 billion shares that changed hands Monday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies lost 0.51, or 0.07 percent, to 689.03.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average lost 0.28 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.10 percent, Germany's DAX index added 0.17 percent, and France's CAC-40 was higher by 0.43 percent.

___

On the Net:

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com