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Robbery motive in deaths of 5 in rural Arkansas

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:35:39 +0100

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) — Police say thieves shot to death five Arkansas family members and burned their bodies for a set of wheel rims and some flat-screen televisions.

Court documents show Samuel Conway and Jeremy Pickney, both 23, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of capital murder, aggravated residential burglary and arson in the Nov. 12 attack in Pearcy.

Police fatally shot a third suspect, 22-year-old Marvin Lamar Stringer, in a raid Thursday.

The bodies of three members of the Gentry family, plus the son's girlfriend, were found in a torched mobile home. The fifth body was discovered in a house nearby.

Officers say a confidential informant told them Pickney showed him a gun and offered the stolen goods for sale the day after the killings.

Detroit defeats Robert Morris 71-59

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:33:43 +0100

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Thomas Kennedy scored 19 points and had four steals in Detroit's 71-59 win over Robert Morris on Friday.

Kennedy had four of the Titans' 15 steals in the 2K Sports Classic.

In the first half, Detroit broke a 21-21 tie with six unanswered points. Eli Holman scored on a jump shot, Kennedy hit a layup and Xavier Keeling turned one of his two steals into a dunk for a 27-21 lead with 6:31 remaining before halftime.

Detroit built its lead to 39-31 at the half.

Holman finished with 14 points and Keeling had 13, including making 9 of 12 free throws.

The Titans led by as many as 13 points, 71-57, on two free throws by Kennedy with 1:01 to play.

Rob Robinson was one of two players in double figures for the Colonials (0-3). Jimmy Langhurst tallied 10 points and eight turnovers for Robert Morris.

Reporte: Hershey podría presentar una oferta por Cadbury

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:30:31 +0100

NUEVA YORK (AP) — Hershey Co. podría presentar una oferta de 17.000 millones de dólares por la compañía británica fabricante de caramelos Cadbury PLC, superando la oferta hostil de 16.500 millones de dólares de Kraft Foods Inc., según reportes surgidos el viernes.

La postura no estaría lista antes de dos semanas y los términos están en proceso de cambio, señaló el diario The Wall Street Journal, citando fuentes cercanas al asunto.

Pero la gente dijo que la fundación benéfica que controla la compañía y que ha complicado en el pasado los esfuerzos de fusión de Hershey, está ahora alentando al director ejecutivo David West para que supere la oferta de Kraft, reporta el Journal.

Se espera que la oferta incluya al menos 10.000 millones de dólares en efectivo por parte de Hershey, más 2.000 millones en acciones nuevas de Hershey y entre 3.000 y 5.000 millones adicionales en efectivo de inversionistas a cambio de papeles accionarios de Hershey.

El asesor de Hershey, Byron Trott, un ex banquero de Goldman Sachs conocido por sus relaciones cercanas con Warren Buffett y otros grandes inversionistas, está cortejando a inversionistas nuevos.

La fundación vendería activos con un valor aproximado de 1.000 millones de dólares, pero espera estructurar el acuerdo para mantener el control de Hershey, según el Journal, el cual publicó que Hershey y la fundación están trabajando con dos bancos para recaudar el dinero: JPMorgan Chase y Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Kraft ha dejado en claro que, al igual que Hershey, quiere acceso a la presencia de Cadbury en mercados en desarrollo, como México e India. Su oferta del 9 de noviembre incluye 40% de efectivo y el resto en acciones.

Cadbury desechó rápidamente tal oferta calificándola como demasiado baja, pero Kraft tiene hasta diciembre para presentarla directamente a los accionistas.

"Somos la única oferta sobre la mesa", dijo a la AP el vocero de Kraft Michael Mitchell "Tenemos confianza que somos el mejor y más lógico socio de Cadbury".

Con una línea de crédito de aproximadamente 9.000 millones de dólares en espera por parte de Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG y HSBC Holdings PLC, entre otros, Kraft podría superar una oferta de Hershey.

Representantes de Hershey, de la fundación Hershey y de Cadbury rechazaron hacer comentarios al respecto el viernes.

Easley leads Murray State past James Madison 71-43

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:19:57 +0100

MIAMI (AP) — Tony Easley had 18 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead Murray State in a 71-43 rout of James Madison on Friday.

Easley, who posted his sixth career double-double, had 15 points and seven rebounds in the first half of the 2K Sports Classic. The Racers (2-1) took a 19-8 lead on an Easley slam dunk and led 36-17 at halftime.

With Murray State ahead by 23 in the second half, the Dukes (0-2) cut the lead to 47-32 with 12:15 left. The Racers then used an 11-2 run to pull ahead by 24 with 8:15 to go.

Murray State held James Madison to 28.1 percent shooting (16-for-57) in the game. The Racers made up for shooting 37.9 percent from the field (22-for-58) by going 23-for-33 from the free throw line.

Murray State also dominated on the boards 53-32.

Danero Thomas and Isaiah Canaan added 12 apiece for the Racers.

Julius Wells led the Dukes with 11 points.

Accidente de ruta deja 13 muertes en Bolivia

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:19:29 +0100

LA PAZ (AP) — Al menos trece personas fallecieron el viernes al precipitarse a un barranco el autobús en el que viajaban en una región montañosa al norte de La Paz, informó la policía.

La Policía de Tránsito dijo a la AP que otras 21 personas resultaron heridas en el accidente de ruta ocurrido en la región de Yungas a unos 120 kilómetros al norte de esta capital.

La policía informó que por el momento no tenía en detalle la identidad de los fallecidos pero la televisora privada ATB dijo que en el autobús viajaban agrónomos y técnicos de organizaciones no gubernamentales, algunos de ellos llegados de Perú para un seminario en una localidad rural.

La televisora dijo que los fallecidos eran 15. Varios de los heridos fueron ingresados en hospitales de esta capital.

Turner leads No. 15 Ohio State over No. 13 Cal

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:19:02 +0100

NEW YORK (AP) — Evan Turner had 26 points and 14 rebounds, his fourth double-double in as many games, and No. 15 Ohio State beat No. 13 California 76-70 on Friday night in the third-place game of the 2K Sports Classic.

The Buckeyes (3-1) went through an opposite experience from their 77-73 loss to No. 6 North Carolina in the semifinals of the tournament that benefits Coaches vs. Cancer.

Ohio State trailed by 19 points in the second half against the Tar Heels and was able to finally start hitting from long range and get within two in the final seconds.

Against the Golden Bears (2-2), the Buckeyes used a 21-3 run spanning halftime to take a 52-28 lead with 15:40 to play. California answered right away with a 17-4 run — two of Ohio State's points came on a technical foul against Cal coach Mike Montgomery — to get within single digits with 11:28 to go.

Rochette leads Skate Canada, delights home crowd

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:18:50 +0100

KITCHENER, Ontario (AP) — Listening to her coach paid off for Joannie Rochette.

Big time.

The world silver medalist scored a personal-best 70 points in the short program at Skate Canada on Friday, putting her well in front of Americans Alissa Czisny and Mirai Nagasu. Rochette gasped when she saw the marks, which drew a huge cheer from the red-clad crowd at The Aud.

"I still can improve with this, but I'm really excited. It's my first time in the 70s," Rochette said. "It shows me that this program can take me where I want to go."

Czisny, the U.S. champion, scored 63.52, while Nagasu earned 56.34. The free skate is Saturday.

Earlier Friday, world champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany took a commanding lead in the pairs competition. The men's short program and compulsory dance were later Friday.

Rochette's performance was quite a turnaround from her awful short program at Cup of China, where she botched a triple-triple combination she wasn't even supposed to do. It left her all the way down in seventh.

"I kind of changed it without my coach's consent," said Rochette, who rallied to win the bronze medal. "I really wanted to challenge myself and I did not follow the plan. So I think that's when I learned the importance of a plan and sticking to it."

Rochette has a triple-triple in her free skate, and routinely lands them in practice. But with no room for error in the short, where skaters must do a set of required elements, coach Manon Peron said it's not worth the risk.

On Friday, Rochette opened with a clean triple lutz-double toe loop combo and later did a triple flip and a double axel. All of her jumps were done with polish and ease.

"She doesn't need it," Peron said of the triple-triple. "In the short program, you cannot make a mistake, so be safe, use the elements that you already have and go and pick up all the points that you can."

Despite the personal best, Rochette said her saucy tango can score even higher. She didn't earn full marks for her spins or spiral sequence.

"My goal tonight when I stepped on the ice was to feel more calm and more relaxed and I think I achieved that," she said. "I still think I can do better, so it's encouraging for the rest of the season."

Wearing black-and-white makeup on their faces and traditional mime costumes, Savchenko and Szolkowy's "Send in the Clowns" program was a definite crowd-pleaser. They scored 74.16 points, almost 10 points ahead of Russia's Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov.

"I think the performance today was not bad. Actually it was quite good, not perfect," Szolkowy said. "It was little bit slow, kind of tired, but very concentrated on the elements."

Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison of Canada were well back in third (57.90) after Dube singled a planned triple salchow. The pairs free skate is Saturday.

13 charged in $19M Central Oregon bank fraud

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:16:42 +0100

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The collapse of a Bend real estate development company has resulted in charges against 13 people in what prosecutors say is the largest Oregon fraud case to emerge from the national real estate boom and bust.

A federal grand jury in Eugene returned five separate indictments on Thursday that charged the principals in Desert Sun Development and others with mortgage and loan fraud that cost financial institutions more than $19 million in losses.

Developer Tyler Fitzsimons, several employees, two bankers and two mortgage brokers were among those indicted.

Arthur Balizan, FBI special agent in charge for Oregon, said the fraud took a heavy economic toll in Bend and Central Oregon, where the real estate market soared with one of the highest growth rates in the nation before the recession hit.

"When a development company collapses under the pressure of fraud, as is alleged in this case, we are left with millions of dollars in losses, empty lots and abandoned buildings," Balizan said. "Everyone loses."

The grand jury charged Fitzsimons, 31, of Prineville, with multiple counts of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering and making false statements to banks.

Also charged in the indictment naming Fitzsimons were two former employees of the company, Jeremy Kendall and Shannon Egeland, and Bend businessman John Partin.

No defense attorneys were listed among the court documents filed with the indictments. Efforts to contact the various defendants were not immediately successful.

According to the indictments, various financial institutions loaned in excess of $25 million to Desert Sun for its commercial construction projects.

Acting U.S. Attorney Kent Robinson said the charges are "typical of what has caused so much havoc in the mortgage and financial sectors."

Five commercial buildings in Bend and Redmond were never built but defendants made representations that construction was under way, prosecutors said.

Partin, 65, the owner of Advance Steel in Bend, is alleged to have issued false invoices for steel building kits for the nonexistent buildings.

In a separate indictment, Robert Brink, a construction loan officer at Umpqua Bank, was charged with making false statements to the bank.

Prosecutors allege Brink, 58, of Junction City, filed inspection reports with Umpqua Bank certifying that construction was under way on Desert Sun projects when it was not.

A third indictment charges conspiracy, bank fraud, and false statements to banks for Desert Sun's residential real estate investment program.

Fitzsimons is listed in that indictment, along with Egeland, 35, of La Grande; Kendall, 33, of Redmond; another Desert Sun employee, Garret Towne, 29, of Culver; two mortgage brokers, Shaun Little, 41, of Bend; and Del Barber Jr., 44, of Bend; a bank loan officer, Jeffrey Sprague, 46, of Bend, a loan processor, Barbara Hotchkiss, 40, of Redmond, and a building materials supplier, Kevin Palotay, 46, of Bend.

The indictment alleges they schemed to provide false statements to financial institutions to finance the purchase or construction of residential properties.

The charges include allegations that defendants inflated applicant income and temporarily parked Desert Sun funds in applicant accounts to obtain false proof the prospective borrowers had independent funds available to them.

In a separate indictment, Teresa Ausbrooks, 47, of Bend, is charged with bank fraud for allegedly making false statements about her income and debts in an application to finance Desert Sun's construction of a house for her.

In the final indictment, Michael Wilson, 58, of Murrells Inlet, S.C., is charged with bank fraud. He is alleged to have been Desert Sun's residential construction superintendent.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of a Ferrari, two Viper automobiles, and other assets related to the fraud and money laundering allegations.

All 13 defendants were scheduled for arraignment Dec. 16 in U.S. District Court in Eugene.

Moody's downgrades Liberty Media LLC ratings

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:13:10 +0100

NEW YORK (AP) — Moody's Investors Service downgraded ratings for Liberty Media Corp. subsidiary Liberty Media LLC on Friday. The changes come shortly after shareholders approved the formation of a new company out of DirecTV Group Inc. and some of Liberty's entertainment businesses.

Moody's lowered Liberty's corporate family rating to "B1" from "Ba2" and its probability of default rating to "Ba3" from "Ba2." It also lowered its senior unsecured bonds to "B1 from "Ba2."

The moves mark the end of a review for potential downgrade that the ratings service began in September when the spinoff was announced.

Also Friday, Moody's upgraded Liberty's speculative-grade liquidity rating to "SGL-1" from "SGL-2."

Moody's ratings outlook for Liberty is "stable."

McCain insta a Obama a agilizar decisión sobre Afganistán

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:10:30 +0100

HALIFAX, Canadá (AP) — El senador John McCain volvió a instar el viernes al presidente Barack Obama para que tome cuanto antes una decisión sobre el posible envío de fuerzas adicionales a Afganistán, y añadió que el retraso está generando incertidumbre en los militares.

McCain dijo en una conferencia de prensa en el Foro de Seguridad Internacional, en Halifax, que a medida que se deteriora la situación de la guerra en Afganistán, Estados Unidos sufre más bajas.

Añadió que ello confiere un carácter urgente a la decisión de Obama.

McCain dijo que se reunió con soldados durante una ceremonia en memoria de los soldados asesinados en Fort Hood, quienes preguntaban por qué hay semejante retraso, cuando saben que el principal comandante estadounidense en Afganistán, general Stanley McChrystal, dice que la situación se deteriora.

Obama anunciaría un aumento de miles de efectivos en las próximas semanas, pero los conservadores opinan que la decisión se ha demorado mucho.

El ex candidato presidencial McCain confió en que Estados Unidos puede revertir la situación actual en Afganistán.

Panameño Casteblanco, nuevo líder de Vuelta de Chiriquí

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:57:36 +0100

DAVID, Panamá (AP) — El panameño Jorge Casteblanco quedó el viernes al frente de la clasificación general, al cumplirse la cuarta etapa de la Vuelta de Chiriquí de ciclismo.

La etapa, una contrarreloj por equipos de 56 kilómetros, fue ganada por Momi A. de Panamá con tiempo de 1 hora, 4 minutos y 7 segundos. Le siguieron Shimano de Colombia (1:06.07) y Rally A de Panamá (1:06.32).

Casteblanco, del equipo ganador, se colocó la camiseta amarilla de líder destronando al colombiano Jorge Humberto Martínez. El panameño registra tiempo de 6:35.10 y le escoltan los colombianos Stiver Ortiz y Martínez a 1.13 y 1.33 minutos, respectivamente. Martínez corre para un equipo panameño.

La quinta etapa del sábado será un circuito cerrado de 102 kilómetros.

En la 29na versión del giro compiten alrededor de 80 pedalistas de Colombia, Costa Rica, Panamá y Suiza. Se celebra en la provincia occidental de Chiriquí, fronteriza con Costa Rica.

EEUU: Encuentran tipo de gripe porcina que resiste el Tamiflu

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:50:42 +0100

ATLANTA (AP) — Cuatro pacientes en un hospital de Carolina del Norte han dado resultados positivos en análisis de detección de un tipo de gripe porcina que resiste a la droga Tamiflu, dijeron el viernes funcionarios de salud.

Los casos, reportados por el Centro Médico de la Universidad Duke durante un período de seis semanas, son el grupo más grande detectado en Estados Unidos.

El Tamiflu, que es fabricado por la farmacéutica suiza Roche Group, es uno de los dos remedios que sirven para tratar la gripe porcina y los funcionarios de salud han estado monitoreando la situación de cerca en busca de indicios de que el virus esté mutando, lo que dejaría sin efecto a las drogas.

Se han reportado 52 casos resistentes a los medicamentos en todo el mundo desde abril, 15 de ellos en Estados Unidos. Casi todos los casos estadounidenses fueron aislados, dijeron funcionarios de los Centros de Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC en inglés).

La cadena inglesa BBC informó esta semana que hay un grupo de cinco casos resistentes al Tamiflu en Gales.

Los Centros han enviado a tres científicos a Carolina del Norte para ayudar en la investigación, dijo el vocero Dave Daigle. Los casos resistentes al Tamiflu fueron confirmados por análisis de los CDC.

Los cuatro casos eran de pacientes muy enfermos en una unidad aislada de tratamiento de cáncer en el noveno piso del hospital y se cree que se contagiaron allí, dijo el doctor Daniel Sexton, director de la Red Comunitaria de Control de Infecciones de Duke.

Tres de los pacientes murieron pero el cuarto se recupera, agregó. La influenza parece haber tenido relación con las muertes, pero los pacientes estaban tan enfermos que es difícil determinar si el virus fue la principal causa, dijo.

El primer paciente recibió Tamiflu antes de enfermarse de influenza, como medida preventiva. Los otros tres recibieron Tamiflu luego de mostrar síntomas gripales, dijo Sexton.

Los casos siguen siendo investigados, pero funcionarios hospitalarios dijeron que no hay evidencia de que todo el hospital esté en riesgo.

El conjunto de casos es infrecuente pero "en este momento no tenemos información que debiera generar temores a la población en general", dijo la epidemióloga del CDC Alicia Frye.

FAA says equipment outage caused 819 flight delays

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:48:25 +0100

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration is blaming an equipment outage this week for delaying 819 flights.

The agency told employees in a briefing memo Friday that air travelers experienced a total of 2,121 delays the previous day due to the equipment outage as well as thunderstorms and other poor weather in the Northeast.

The memo said that the more than 800 flight delays attributable to the equipment outage included 273 in Atlanta. At New York airports, LaGuardia reported 81 equipment-related delays and JFK 44. Nearby Teterboro in New Jersey reported 83. An unidentified Midwest airport had almost 50 outage-related delays.

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency can't say for certain which delays were attribute to the outage and which to weather.

Tenn.-Martin holds off Harris-Stowe 79-67

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:44:34 +0100

MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) — Reuben Clayton scored 21 points to lead Tennessee-Martin in a 79-67 win over Harris-Stowe, notching the first career victory for new coach Jason James on Friday.

Dominique Mpondo scored 16 points, grabbed eight rebounds and tallied two blocked shots for the Skyhawks (1-2). Benzor Simmons added 14 points and Terrance Coleman finished with 13.

The Skyhawks took a 39-24 haltime lead, and held onto win despite being outscored by the Hornets (3-4) 43-40 in the second half.

Tennessee-Martin hit 23 free throws compared to 12 by the Hornets, and outrebounded Harris-Stowe 35-22.

Harris-Stowe shot 53.1 percent from the field (26-for-49) compared to just a 44.8 percent mark (26-for-58) for the Skyhawks.

James, who was an assistant on the Skyhawks' coaching staff for the last seven seasons, is the second-youngest head coach in Division I.

"Going Rogue" is going big

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:49:46 +0100

NEW YORK (AP) — "Going Rogue" is going big.

Publisher HarperCollins said Friday that Sarah Palin's memoir sold 300,000 copies its first day, among the best openings ever for a nonfiction book. In 2004, Bill Clinton's "My Life" debuted with sales of 400,000 copies. The year before, Hillary Rodham Clinton's "Living History" started at 200,000.

"Going Rogue" was released this week and its print run already has been increased from 1.5 million copies to 2.5 million, HarperCollins announced Friday. Palin, the former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate, is in the midst of a nationwide promotional tour.

Southwest Airlines changes board election rules

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:40:42 +0100

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines Co. said Friday it will require uncontested candidates for its board of directors to win a majority among shareholder votes cast to be elected, instead of just a plurality.

If an incumbent fails to get a majority of votes cast, he or she must tender a resignation to the board, which can reject the offer to resign, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Southwest usually holds its annual shareholder meeting in May at its Dallas headquarters.

Pricey gift: MLB offers Series film set for $2,229

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:38:01 +0100

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball has the perfect gift to bust a budget in a recession.

A 20-DVD set of World Series films can be bought for $2,299, and it contains authenticated autographs of 12 Hall of Famers, including Yogi Berra, Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson and Mike Schmidt.

A limited edition run of 100 sets was put together by Major League Baseball Productions, A&E Home Entertainment and Mounted Memories, the companies said Friday.

There are 65 films from 1943-08 that run for more than 50 hours. The package also has autographs from Johnny Bench, Gary Carter, Bob Feller, Rollie Fingers, Carlton Fisk, Whitey Ford, Brooks Robinson and Bruce Sutter.

MLB spokesman Jeff Heckelman said the set is also available without the autographs for $179.99 on MLB.com and in stores with a suggested retail price of $229.

West Virginia regulators approve gas rate increase

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:32:00 +0100

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia's Public Service Commission has approved a 5 percent rate increase for Hope Gas Inc.

The $8.78 million increase approved Friday is substantially smaller than the $34.4 million increase the utility had requested.

The company, which has not received a rate increase since 2005, said it needed more money to cover non-gas operations and expenses, taxes, interest on customer deposits, dividend payments and interest on debt.

Idle Ochoa leads LPGA Tour Championship

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:28:39 +0100

RICHMOND, Texas (AP) — Sophie Gustafson moved within two shots of leader Lorena Ochoa at the LPGA Tour Championship on Friday before second-round play was suspended because of bad weather.

Rain swamped the Houstonian Golf and Country Club before dawn and the start of the second round was pushed back six hours. The tournament resumed at 1 p.m., but light rain started falling about two hours later and play was halted for the day at 5:05 p.m. with darkness approaching.

Ochoa didn't play on Friday after shooting a 6-under 66 early Thursday. She will start her second round at daybreak Saturday.

Gustafson shot a 70 in the first round, then played 11 holes and moved to 4 under on Friday. Helen Alfredsson, Juli Inkster and Wendy Ward were 3 under.

The players were allowed to lift, clean and place because of the soggy conditions.

"The greens were really wet out there," said Inkster, 1 under through 10 holes in her second round. "I thought they left us out there too long, but that's just my opinion. I played good, but I usually do in wet conditions."

The weekend forecast is mostly clear and tournament officials are racing to finish the season-ending event by Sunday night.

LPGA Tour vice president of rules and competition Doug Brecht felt fortunate that the second round began at all, considering how the day began. The course managed to dodge powerful storms that moved up the Texas coast throughout the day.

"We're pretty lucky right now in that a big storm was heading our way and we didn't think we were going to get to play as long as we're playing," Brecht said. "Like most storms that have headed here, it broke up before it got to us and was not nearly as strong or severe."

But Brecht said tournament officials will still need "a little bit of luck" to finish 72 holes by late Sunday afternoon.

More rain is expected overnight and into Saturday morning, and if a high number of players make the cut — the top 70 and those tied will move on — that will push back the tee times for the last groups.

"We've got a couple of other issues, we'll see how they pan out," Brecht said.

The LPGA wants to avoid reducing the tournament to 54 holes at all costs, mainly because of the event's importance.

Ochoa is trying to win her fourth straight player of the year honor. She leads Jiyai Shin by four shots on the leaderboard and needs a victory to pass the 21-year-old South Korean in the points standings. Shin and Ochoa are also in a virtual dead-heat for the Vare Trophy, awarded to the player with the lowest scoring average.

Several players also need good performances to crack the top 80 on the money list and avoid going to qualifying school in two weeks.

"There are a ton of things riding on this tournament," Brecht said. "We are committed to playing 72 holes."

Brecht mapped out a tight schedule for the rest of the weekend that would get the tournament finished by 5 p.m. on Sunday. He was happy to see the players set a brisk pace on Friday to move things along.

"We are playing a lot faster than we did (Thursday), because there are less rulings and no wind," Brecht said. "So we're actually playing a little faster than the time schedule that I've laid out for us going forward from here."

Shin was one of the idle players who took advantage of breaks in the weather to practice.

"There isn't much you can do, but practice and get ready," Shin said. "I haven't really had much practice with waiting out rain delays."

Brecht said the course absorbed 0.64 inches of rain Friday. Though the course drained well, he expected that players would be allowed to use preferred lies for the rest of the tournament.

La. businessman indicted in alleged Ponzi scheme

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:27:45 +0100

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana businessman was charged Friday with engaging in a Ponzi scheme to defraud about 160 investors — mostly elderly people — out of roughly $19.5 million and using some of the money to pay for cars, cruises, sports tickets and a house.

A federal grand jury indicted Matthew B. Pizzolato, 26, of Tickfaw, on charges that include securities fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice. FBI agents arrested Pizzolato in Hammond about an hour after the grand jury handed up its 64-count indictment.

Pizzolato had offices in Baton Rouge, Covington, Hammond and Lake Charles from 2005-2008 and advertised investment services under several company names, including Gulf Region Guaranty Inc., the indictment said.

Pizzolato allegedly promised rates of return that were higher than market rates for certificates of deposit or treasury bills. He also promised investors their money was protected against losses, but he used it in high-risk futures trading and other risky ventures that investors didn't authorize, according to the indictment.

A lawyer for Pizzolato didn't immediately return a call for comment Friday.

Pizzolato spent most of the money he raised from investors, including about $600,000 for the construction of a home in Ponchatoula, authorities said.

On Thursday, another Ponchatoula resident was charged in a separate case with defrauding at least 200 investors of $11 million in what state authorities described as a Ponzi scheme. William J. Chaucer Jr., 60, of Ponchatoula, was booked into a Tangipahoa Parish jail on state charges that included felony theft and selling unregistered securities.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said the cases against Pizzolato and Chaucer aren't related.

"Ponzi schemes have been around for a long time," Letten said. "We see a cluster of them right now."

Letten said it's unclear if Pizzolato's alleged victims will be able to recoup any of their losses.

"Most of it was depleted," he said of the investors' money, "but the victims do receive priority treatment."

In early 2008, state regulators ordered Pizzolato to stop selling securities after some of his investors' called the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions to ask about his companies, said Rhonda Reeves, the state's deputy commissioner of securities.

"They just sounded a little bit out of the ordinary," Reeves said of Pizzolato's investment pitches. "And the more questions we asked, the more things didn't sound right."

Pizzolato was charged with witness tampering because he allegedly offered his former employees a $20,000 bribe to destroy incriminating records. He also allegedly stole records from an investor's home and altered them in an attempt to conceal the alleged scheme.

In a Ponzi scheme, investors are promised strong returns from what turn out to be fake sources, and money raised from later investors is sometimes used to pay earlier investors.

The purchases that Pizzolato made with investors' money included $93,410 for a 2006 BMW, $17,600 for Carnival cruises, $35,242 for a diamond engagement ring and $8,600 for New Orleans Saints tickets.

He is expected to make his initial court appearance Monday.

Former Iowa slaughterhouse manager seeks acquittal

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:25:02 +0100

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A former kosher slaughterhouse manager convicted of financial fraud has asked for an acquittal or new trial, saying prosecutors unfairly brought in evidence of immigration violations.

In a motion filed late Thursday, Sholom Rubashkin's attorney said his conviction on 86 counts of financial fraud should be overturned because prosecutors didn't abide by rules established by U.S. District Court Judge Linda Reade.

Reade had the divided 163 federal charges against Rubashkin into two trials — one on financial fraud and one on immigration violations. After Rubashkin was convicted on the financial fraud counts last week, the judge dismissed the immigration charges Thursday at prosecutors' request. The charges can be refiled later if prosecutors choose.

"The government poisoned the financial trial with prejudicial evidence from the immigration charges, which they have now dismissed," said Guy Cook, one of Rubashkin's three attorneys.

Separately, Reade on Friday denied Rubashkin's request that he be released from jail until he's sentenced. Rubashkin is a greater flight risk after his conviction, she said.

"The court agrees that defendant has shown he is committed to his family and to his community," Reade wrote. "Nevertheless, the court finds that this evidence does not rise to the 'clear and convincing' level necessary to show that he is 'not likely to flee ... if released.' "

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Sean Berry declined to comment on the request for an acquittal or Rubashkin's request to be released pending sentencing. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Rubashkin was a top manager at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, the site of a massive immigration raid in which 389 people were arrested in May 2008. The plant fell into bankruptcy after the raid, and charges against Rubashkin soon followed.

Rubashkin's attorney, F. Montgomery Brown, also argued in the motion that his conviction on money laundering charges should be overturned because the jury found Rubashkin didn't profit from it. A U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2008 held that money laundering doesn't exist without "proceeds," or a profit.

The jury wasn't properly instructed to distinguish between the total amount brought and the profit earned from money laundering, Brown said.

The motion also argues that several defense witnesses were unfairly excluded or limited in their testimony. Those witnesses include an immigration lawyer who was at the Agriprocessors plant the day of the raid. The defense expected him to testify about whether Rubashkin knew which employees had false documentation.

Nasdaq notifies Overstock it violated listing rule

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:22:45 +0100

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Overstock.com Inc. said Friday that it received a listing rule violation letter Thursday from the Nasdaq Stock Market related to the recent filing of its third-quarter report.

The online retailer said Nasdaq informed the company that its Form 10-Q violated Nasdaq rules because it was not reviewed in accordance with an auditing standard. Nasdaq also told the company its report did not have some certifications required by the Sarbanes-Oxley anti-fraud law.

Overstock said it has until Jan. 18 to send Nasdaq its plan to regain compliance with the listing rules, and if Nasdaq accepts the plan the company will have until May 17 follow it.

Overstock said it expected the notification.

It believes its plan will be accepted and anticipates regaining compliance on time.

Atty seeks psych care for Mo. teen murder suspect

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:18:01 +0100

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A teenager accused of killing a 9-year-old neighbor should be sent to a psychiatric hospital because she shows signs of severe depression and anxiety, her attorney said.

A judge had not approved the move Friday, though a draft order calling for a 96-hour stay at the Fulton State Hospital had been submitted by the public defender Thursday and was included in the case file.

Alyssa Bustamante, 15, has been held at the Morgan County jail after being indicted Wednesday as an adult on charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action for the Oct. 21 death of Elizabeth Olten.

Authorities say Bustamante strangled, stabbed and cut Elizbeth's throat because she wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone. They say Bustamante confessed and led them to Elizabeth's body two days later in a wooded area near their homes in St. Martins, just west of Jefferson City.

During a court hearing Wednesday, a juvenile justice officer testified that Bustamante had attempted suicide two years ago and had received both inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment for depression and cutting herself. Her juvenile defense attorney said Bustamante also had attempted to cut herself with her own fingernails while being held in juvenile custody after Elizabeth's death.

Public defender Jan King cited the previous suicide attempt in a court document Thursday while stating that Bustamante was "demonstrating signs of severe depression and anxiety" and had been under a suicide watch at the jail.

Bustamante needs "immediate psychological treatment" to "assess her current mental state and to prevent the possibility that she may harm herself," King said in the motion requesting her transfer.

A not guilty plea was entered by a judge on Bustamante's behalf during her initial appearance Wednesday in adult court. If Bustamante is convicted of first-degree murder, she would face a sentence of life in prison without parole.

AP News in Brief

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:12:03 +0100

Three Democratic moderates to decide fate of health bill — for now — in crucial Saturday vote

WASHINGTON (AP) — Suitably opaque, Section 2006 takes up only a few dozen lines in a sweeping health care bill that runs to 2,074 pages and mentions neither Sen. Mary Landrieu nor her state of Louisiana.

But the section's purpose is indisputable: to deliver $100 million or more in federal funds to the state. And in the process clear the way for one of three moderate Democratic fence-sitters — Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas are the others — to help propel the legislation past its initial hurdle in a crucial Saturday vote.

Nelson, Landrieu and Lincoln emerged several days ago as the last public holdouts among 58 Democrats and two independents whose votes Majority Leader Harry Reid and the White House must have to overcome the Republicans' attempt to strangle the bill before serious debate can begin.

Each has moved carefully with an eye on home-state voters. And inside the Senate, each has taken advantage of the political leverage newly available.

Alone among the three, Nelson issued a statement Friday ending any lingering public suspense about his intentions. "The Senate should start trying to fix a health care system that costs too much and delivers too little for Nebraskans," he said, adding his decision should not be seen as an indication of how he will vote on the legislation itself.

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Police say NC man raped and killed 5-year-old girl the same day he kidnapped her

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A 5-year-old North Carolina girl was raped and killed the same day she was taken from her home, according to an arrest warrant released Friday.

Shaniya Davis was sexually assaulted and asphyxiated Nov. 10, the day her mother reported her missing from the trailer park where she was staying, according to the warrant. Authorities embarked on a nearly weeklong search that ended when the girl's body was found dumped off a rural road.

Mario McNeill is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape of a child in the warrant, which was issued after police said they collected hair and fibers, clothes, and a straw from his 1997 Mitsubishi Galant. He was initially charged only with kidnapping.

McNeill seemed nervous as he appeared in court Friday for a brief hearing on the latest charges. He nodded his head slightly to the judge's questions but did not enter a plea. His lawyer, Allen Rogers, left the courtroom with his client and didn't speak to reporters. He also didn't return messages left at his office from The Associated Press.

The girl's mother, Antoinette Davis, is charged with filing a false police report, trafficking her daughter and child abuse involving prostitution. Her mother said she doesn't believe the charges.

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Floods batter UK's Lake District, policeman dies, hundreds rescued; Ireland also hard hit

COCKERMOUTH, England (AP) — Raging floods engulfed northern England's picturesque Lake District on Friday following the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Britain, killing a police officer and trapping dozens in their swamped homes.

Military helicopters winched dozens of people to safety and emergency workers in bright orange inflatable boats rescued scores more after an unprecedented deluge.

British soldiers conducted house-to-house searches for those trapped by floods as deep as 8 feet (2.5 meters). Troops also dropped down on lines from Royal Air Force helicopters, breaking through rooftops to pluck people to safety.

Constable Bill Barker, 44, died as he joined rescue attempts, swept into the surging waters when a major bridge collapsed. Emergency services said more than 200 people were rescued in the hardest-hit town, Cockermouth and about 1,000 homes were flooded.

In a message to local officials, Queen Elizabeth II said she was "deeply concerned and saddened by the dreadful flooding across Britain." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Barker "was a very heroic, very brave man."

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US prosecutors to drop manslaughter case against Blackwater guard in deadly '07 Iraq shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department intends to drop manslaughter and weapons charges against one of the Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting, prosecutors said in court documents Friday.

The shooting in busy Nisoor Square left 17 Iraqis dead and inflamed anti-American sentiment abroad. It touched off a string of investigations that ultimately led the State Department to cancel the company's lucrative contract to guard diplomats in Iraq.

Iraqis have said they're watching closely to see how the U.S. judicial system handles the five men accused of unleashing an unprovoked attack on civilians with machine guns and grenades.

A one-paragraph notice filed Friday says only that prosecutors have asked that the case against Nicholas Slatten of Sparta, Tenn., be dropped. The government's detailed request asking the judge to dismiss the case was filed with the court and with the defendant, but was not made public.

Prosecutors filed the request in a way that allows them to file new charges against Slatten later. There is no indication in the documents whether they intend to. Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said Friday he could not say whether new charges would be filed.

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CDC: 4 people in NC test positive for Tamiflu-resistant swine flu, first such US cluster

ATLANTA (AP) — Four North Carolina patients at a single hospital tested positive for a type of swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu, health officials said Friday.

The cases reported at Duke University Medical Center over six weeks make up the biggest cluster seen so far in the U.S.

Tamiflu — made by Switzerland's Roche Group — is one of two flu medicines that help against swine flu, and health officials have been closely watching for signs that the virus is mutating, making the drugs ineffective.

More than 50 resistant cases have been reported in the world since April, including 21 in the U.S. Almost all in the U.S. were isolated, said officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The BBC reported another cluster of five Tamiflu-resistant cases this week in Wales, in the United Kingdom.

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Florence museum: lost Galileo relics, a tooth and 2 of astronomer's fingers, found again

ROME (AP) — Two fingers and a tooth removed from Galileo Galilei's corpse in a Florentine basilica in the 18th century and given up for lost have been found again and will soon be put on display, an Italian museum director said Friday.

Three fingers, a vertebra and a tooth were removed from the astronomer's body by admirers in 1737, 95 years after his death, as his corpse was being moved from a storage place to a monumental tomb — opposite that of Michelangelo, in Santa Croce Basilica in Florence.

One of the fingers was recovered soon afterward and is now part of the collection of the Museum of the History of Science, in Florence. The vertebra has been kept at the University of Padua, where Galileo taught for years.

But the tooth and two fingers from the scientist's right hand — the thumb and middle finger — were kept by one of the admirers, an Italian marquis, and later enclosed in a container that was passed on from generation to generation in the same family, Paolo Galluzzi, the museum's director, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

"But with time, the generations lost knowledge of what was actually inside the container," and the family sold it, Galluzzi said. By 1905, all traces of the relics had disappeared, "leading scholars to hypothesize that these singular specimens had been definitely lost," the museum said in a statement.

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Vatican researcher says faint writing on Shroud of Turin proves its authenticity

ROME (AP) — A Vatican researcher has rekindled the age-old debate over the Shroud of Turin, saying that faint writing on the linen proves it was the burial cloth of Jesus.

Experts say the historian may be reading too much into the markings, and they stand by carbon-dating that points to the shroud being a medieval forgery.

Barbara Frale, a researcher at the Vatican archives, says in a new book that she used computer-enhanced images of the shroud to decipher faintly written words in Greek, Latin and Aramaic scattered across the cloth.

She asserts that the words include the name "(J)esu(s) Nazarene" — or Jesus of Nazareth — in Greek. That, she said, proves the text could not be of medieval origin because no Christian at the time, even a forger, would have mentioned Jesus without referring to his divinity. Failing to do so would risk being branded a heretic.

"Even someone intent on forging a relic would have had all the reasons to place the signs of divinity on this object," Frale said Friday. "Had we found 'Christ' or the 'Son of God' we could have considered it a hoax, or a devotional inscription."

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Oprah Winfrey says prayer, careful thought influenced decision to end her show after 25 years

CHICAGO (AP) — Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience Friday that she would end her show in 2011 after a quarter-century on the air, saying prayer and careful thought led her to her decision.

Winfrey told the audience that she loved "The Oprah Winfrey Show," that it had been her life and that she knew when it was time to say goodbye. "Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and feels right in my spirit," she said.

Winfrey talked about being nervous when the program began in 1986 and thanked audiences who had invited her into their homes and lives over the past two decades.

"I certainly never could have imagined the yellow brick road of blessings that have led me to this moment," she said.

The powerhouse show became the foundation for her multibillion-dollar media empire but saw its ratings slip 7 percent last season before rebounding in the last couple months. Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed 50-50 joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is projected to debut in January 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 80 million homes.

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Stocks slip as investors push into safe-haven investments; Dell weighs on technology stocks

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors can't shake their fears that the economy isn't keeping up with the stock market.

Stocks fell for a third straight day Friday as a disappointing outlook from computer maker Dell Inc. suggested that an economic recovery could be uneven. The major indexes all had moderate losses, leaving the Dow Jones industrials with a slim 0.5 percent weekly gain while broader indexes slid.

The market, which has been shuttling between concerns about the economy and traders' need to find high-yielding investments, is back to worrying about the economy. Demand for safe haven investments like Treasurys and the dollar rose for a second day in response to Dell's outlook and comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, who said the ECB plans to start reining in some of its stimulus programs. A rising dollar also hit commodities producers and exporters.

The week's trading saw investors, who have been pumping money into stocks because record-low interest rates mean paltry returns for the dollar and Treasurys, change that strategy. Many are now questioning whether the massive stock rally this year really has been justified given the soft spots in the economy, and so they've been quick to retreat to safe harbors like government debt and the greenback.

The yield on the three-month T-bill, which moves opposite its price, was flat at 0.02 percent, compared with late Thursday. Yields briefly turned negative Thursday as investors seeking to pad their portfolios with safe investments before the end of the year were willing to accept negative returns.

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Ex-NBA star Williams won't enter plea Friday in shooting; hearing delayed over travel issues

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Retired NBA star Jayson Williams will not be in a New Jersey courtroom Friday to enter a plea in the 2002 shooting death of a hired driver.

State Superior Court Judge Edward M. Coleman indefinitely delayed a hearing in Somerville in which Williams was expected to plead guilty. A person with direct knowledge of the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a gag order imposed by Coleman, told The Associated Press that the delay was partly because of travel problems Williams experienced getting to New Jersey from his home in South Carolina.

Another person with knowledge of the case told the AP on Thursday that Williams would plead guilty to aggravated assault. The person wasn't authorized to talk about the case and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A guilty plea to the assault charge would carry a minimum 18-month sentence because a gun was involved.

Williams was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in 2004 but convicted of covering up the shooting at his central New Jersey mansion. The jury deadlocked on a reckless manslaughter count. He has been awaiting a second trial for reckless manslaughter, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

Stiegler done for season with broken bones in leg

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:42:29 +0100

VAIL, Colo. (AP) — U.S. skier Resi Stiegler is out for the season after breaking two bones in her left leg in a crash during giant slalom training.

The U.S. Ski Team said Friday that Stiegler, a 2006 Olympian from Jackson Hole, Wyo., had surgery for fractures to her tibia and femur.

"This was a serious injury for Resi, but her spirit is strong," U.S. Ski Team medical director Richard Quincy said in a statement. "One of the first things she asked was if she could be ready for on-snow camp in New Zealand next summer."

The injuries from Thursday's accident at Copper Mountain are the latest obstacle for the 24-year-old Stiegler. She was sidelined for more than a year after hurting her left arm and right knee in a December 2007 crash in Lienz, Austria.

Stiegler returned in February 2009 and finished 19th in the slalom at the world championships. She then fractured her foot a few weeks later.

"Really bummed for her," three-time Olympian Sarah Schleper said Thursday after cutting short her giant slalom workout following Stiegler's crash. "She's a lot of good energy for us.

"She was starting to ski well again. This is going to be really tough for her. We're going to be supporting her 100 percent, though."