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COL BKB: Ga. Tech 70, George Mason 62

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Gani Lawal had 18 points and 14 rebounds Friday, leading 19th-ranked Georgia Tech to a 70-62 win over George Mason at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan.

Tech led the tournament's consolation contest, 27-19, at the break, courtesy of a 15-0 run, erasing GMU's 17-9 advantage on a 3-pointer by Andre Cornelius with 9:54 left in the first half.

Tech's 16-4 spurt opening the second half essentially thwarted any George Mason thoughts of a comeback.

Derrick Favors had 18 points and seven rebounds, while Iman Shumpert added 12 points with three rebounds for the Yellow Jackets (2-1), who lost, 63-59, to Dayton in Thursday's first round.

Kevin Foster led Mason with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Cornelius, the only other player in double figures, added 11 points for the Patriots (2-2), who were on the short end of a 69-68 contest against Villanova Thursday.

Teen pleads guilty in border agent's death

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A 17-year-old youth pleaded guilty Friday to a murder charge in the death of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Agent Robert W. Rosas Jr. was shot and killed July 23 while on patrol near San Diego, the department said in a release. The indictment charged Christian Daniel Castro-Alvarez with the murder of a federal officer committed in perpetration of a robbery.

In the plea agreement Castro-Alvarez admitted he illegally entered the United States to rob a Border Patrol agent and admitted that he and his co-conspirators lured Rosas out of his vehicle to rob him. During an ensuing struggle over a firearm, Rosas was shot several times and killed by the defendant and one or more of the co-conspirators.

Castro-Alvarez's case was transferred from juvenile court to an adult criminal proceeding, where he entered his guilty plea, the department said. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 19.

Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas was killed in the line of duty bravely protecting our border, U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt said. Today's guilty plea is an important step in seeking justice on behalf of Agent Rosas.

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Students told not to ditch for 'Twilight'

SANTA ANA, Calif., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- School officials in California's Orange County said students were warned not to ditch school to see the new entry in the Twilight film series.

Officials with the individual school districts said students were told they would be marked truant if they were absent without a valid excuse and teachers have been instructing students to wait until the evening to see The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the latest entry in the film series based on the popular novels for teens, the Orange County Register reported Friday.

I would think the best time to see the movie is in the evening, so it's a 'bad' idea to miss school, said Mark Eliot, the spokesman at Tustin Unified School District.

Administrators said school districts loses $20 to $40 in state funding for each student absence.

Web site lists 'Great Airport Museums'

MANHATTAN BEACH, N.Y., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- A California-based tourism Web site's list of Five Great Airport Museums includes destinations in San Francisco and the Netherlands.

VirtualTourist.com said the San Francisco Airport Museum topped the list with exhibits including Mediterranean pottery and an analysis of the evolution of eyeglasses in the 20th century.

The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which was second on the list, has hosted works by renowned artists including Mondrian and Van Gogh. The museum also features a large museum gift shop.

The No. 3 spot on the list, Arizona's Phoenix Sky Airport, has a permanent collection, including mixed media, ceramic sculpture and fine-art prints as well as pieces on loan from other museums.

McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, chosen as fourth by the Web site, features aviation-themed exhibits including airline ashtrays from the mid-20th century.

Finishing off the list was the Albany International Airport Gallery in Albany, N.Y., which features innovative artwork including exhibits on everyday objects as art.

Web sites blamed for sex industry slump

CANBERRA, Australia, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Experts said Australia's sex industry, which has experienced a 6 percent drop in revenue during the past year, is being hurt by online dating sites.

Edward Butler, a senior analyst for independent business information analysis firm IBISWorld, said Australia's $1.09 billion sex industry lost $67.6 million during the past financial year while the market for strippers and exotic dancers grew, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Friday.

Butler said the drop in revenue could be attributed to the growing popularity of online dating sites that make it easier for people seeking casual sex to find one another.

The rapid growth in online services means it has never been easier for like-minded individuals to organize casual liaisons for little or no cost, Butler said.

Chris Seage, spokesman for the Adult Business Association of New South Wales, agreed that Web sites are likely negatively impacting the sex industry.

It's a lot cheaper to hook on a matchmaker site, pay a much smaller fee and engage in casual sex that way. It's an emerging issue for the industry, he said.

Carjacking brings debt to victim

ROSELLE, Ill., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- An Illinois woman whose car was stolen and totaled by an escaped suspect says she is facing thousands of dollars of debt from the incident.

Domenica Saverino, 32, of Roselle, Ill., said she still owes $10,600 on the 2004 Volkswagen Jetta stolen Sept. 18 by Robert Maday, a bank robbery suspect who escaped from authorities as he was being taken to court Sept. 17. The carjacked vehicle was totaled at the end of a police chase, the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald reported Friday.

Saverino said she has also received a $3,369 bill from a collection agency for a car damaged by Maday while he was driving the Jetta.

The woman said her insurance company agreed to pay $6,400 minus her $500 deductible toward the $10,000 she owes on the car. However, Saverino said she believes the car is worth more than the sum offered by Direct Auto Insurance Co. and has hired a lawyer to look into increasing the payout.

UPI NewsTrack TopNews

Obama's job approval below 50 percent

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Barack Obama's job approval rating has dipped below 50 percent for the first time since he was inaugurated as U.S. president, a poll released Friday said.

The Gallup Organization said Obama ranks fourth among post-war presidents in the speed in which they sank to minority approval after Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, who, like Obama, was in his 10th month. All recovered and Clinton and Reagan went on to win second terms.

The most recent Gallup poll found that 49 percent of the U.S. public approve of the way Obama is doing his job. Most of the decline in Obama's popularity came during the summer, Gallup said, fueled by the long and contentious debate on healthcare and the continued economic slump.

Recent daily tracking polls have shown his approval rating at right around 50 percent.

Gallup surveyed 1,533 people by telephone between Nov. 17 and Nov. 19 as part of its daily tracking. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percent either way.

Nelson says he'll vote to move health bill

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Sen. Bob Nelson, D-Neb., a centrist, said Friday he will side with his party this weekend in a procedural vote to take up healthcare reform floor debate.

Nelson's declaration left only two questions marks for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada in his effort to get 60 votes when he tries to advance the bill Saturday, The Hill reported.

Two Democrats -- Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas -- haven't stated their positions, but in recent days indicated they were leaning toward supporting the vote, the Washington publication said.

This weekend, I will vote for the motion to proceed to bring that debate onto the Senate floor, Nelson said in a statement. The Senate should start trying to fix a healthcare system that costs too much and delivers too little for Nebraskans.

Nelson also said he, as some other Democrats of various stripes, isn't ready to endorse the bill as written.

Throughout my Senate career I have consistently rejected efforts to obstruct. That's what the vote on the motion to proceed is all about, Nelson said. It is not for or against the new Senate healthcare bill released Wednesday.

Among other things, Nelson has been critical of provisions blocking federal dollars from funding abortion as inadequate and has stated opposition to the creation of a government-run public option insurance program.

He also dangled the possibility of joining a Republican filibuster of the bill when it actually comes up for passage.

In my first reading, I support parts of the bill and oppose others I will work to fix, he said. If that's not possible, I will oppose the second cloture motion -- needing 60 votes -- to end debate, and oppose the final bill.

Flu tests: H1N1 may have peaked in Oct.

MADISON, N.J., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Data from a laboratory testing company suggests the H1N1 flu may have peaked in October in the United States, company officials said.

A report by Quest Diagnostics Inc., a leading provider of diagnostic testing services, released Friday said the rates of infection by the H1N1 influenza virus may have peaked in late October, but the pandemic flu virus continues to be a potential source of illness in all age groups, including the elderly.

Officials at Quest Diagnostics analyzed results of more than 142,000 de-identified patient specimens tested for the H1N1 influenza virus between May 11 and Nov. 10 in the United States. Other report findings include:

-- In the weeks following Oct. 27, H1N1 test demand declined after several weeks of strong growth.

-- About 99 percent of positive influenza A specimens tested were positive for H1N1 influenza.

-- The number of specimens that tested positive for H1N1 influenza dropped in all age groups since late October, with the exception of those age 65 and older. In this age group, rates of positivity have tripled since late August, and are now at about 14 percent.

-- Rates of positive test results for the pandemic have declined in recent weeks in most regions, with the exception of the Northeast, where rates have more than doubled during the two weeks ending Nov. 10.

Burris admonished by Senate ethics panel

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The Senate ethics committee Friday admonished Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., for his comments about his appointment to the Senate last December.

In its three-page public letter of qualified admonition, the committee reprimanded Burris for statements he made in which he denied trying to raise campaign funds for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich for his political committees. Blagojevich was impeached, removed from office, and is under indictment on accusations he tried to sell President Barack Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder. Blagojevich appointed Burris after being indicted.

You gave multiple and at times contradictory explanations for failing to disclose off your contacts with the governor's associates, which individually and collectively gave the appearance that you were being less than candid, the letter said.

In the time between making the statements and being sworn in, Burris amended his testimony to say that he had discussed trying to raise money for Blagojevich.

You should have known that you were providing incorrect, inconsistent, misleading or incomplete information to the public, the Senate, and those conducting legitimate inquiries into your appointment to the Senate, the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, comprised of three Democrats and three Republicans, said in its unanimous opinion.

A letter of admonition is the mildest form of rebuke that the ethics committee can deliver.

Charges dropped over Wales sleep slaying

SWANSEA, Wales, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- All charges were withdrawn Friday against a 59-year-old man in Wales who strangled his wife in his sleep because of a rare behavioral state, a judge said.

Swansea Crown Court Justice Nigel Davis said Brian Thomas was not responsible for the death of his 57-year-old wife, Christine, who Thomas strangled in his sleep in July 2008 while the couple was vacationing in west Wales, The Times of London said.

Crown Prosecution Service officials said Thomas committed the killing while in a state of automatism, a state whose existence has been documented less than 50 times worldwide.

Thomas told authorities he woke up next to his dead wife after dreaming he had been fighting off a boy who had broken into their van.

Iwan Jenkins, chief prosecutor for CPS Dyfed Powys, said prosecutors initially sought to have Thomas placed in a mental hospital.

Following expert evidence from a psychiatrist it was suggested no useful purpose would be served by Mr. Thomas being detained and treated in a psychiatric hospital, which would be the consequence of a special verdict in this case, Jenkins said.

Swim coach allegedly impregnated teen

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A swim coach in San Jose, Calif., allegedly impregnated a 14-year-old girl who later had an abortion, court documents reveal.

Former San Jose Aquatics head coach Andrew King pleaded no contest to felony child molestation last spring and is jailed in lieu of $3 million bail while awaiting a Dec. 18 court date as part of his sentencing, the San Jose Mercury News reported Thursday.

Authorities allege King, 61, molested multiple girls he was coaching during a 31-year period, including the 14-year-old who kept her abuse secret until being interviewed by police this year. It wasn't disclosed when the sexual attack of the 14-year-old took place.

Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Ray Mendoza said Thursday he is seeking the maximum prison sentence of 42 years for King.

He got to be free his whole adult life, Mendoza said. He should have been held accountable a long time ago.

Released court documents show King was accused of targeting female swimmers between the ages of 10 to 17 years, molesting the girls and threatening their swimming careers to keep them quiet.

Supervisors and authorities failed to follow up on warning signs that were everywhere, Mendoza said.

Unfortunately, King fell through the cracks in the system: Two law enforcement investigations and suspicious conduct observed by swim coaches, parents or boards who did not adequately supervise the defendant, Mendoza wrote in the documents.

The red flags should have gone up when King was only massaging girls behind closed doors, traveling alone with girls to away meets, taking girls to dinner, sailing on his boat and buying them gifts.

Model claims abuse over ex-doorman hubby

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A renowned hand and foot model claims employees of her New York apartment building have been abusive since she married a former doorman.

Christina Ambers, once dubbed the Heidi Klum of foot models by New York magazine, said workers at 340 E. 74th St., where her husband, Angel Rotger, once worked and now lives with her, have been forcing her to hail her own cabs and retrieve her own packages since the wedding, the New York Daily News reported Friday.

It seems that Christina has breached some type of social order that existed in that building, said Joshua Price, a lawyer for the newlyweds. There's no question that they've been made to feel like outcasts.

Ambers' $10 million lawsuit against building managers claims Kristin Purcell, the building superintendent's wife, struck Rotger in the groin with a handbag.

He made his way to the hospital and was diagnosed with a contusion, Ambers said. Can you imagine how hard she must have hit him to have caused a contusion?

Lawyers for the building said the couple's claims have no merit.

Crist fundraiser accused of fraud

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

An attorney who was a major fundraiser for Florida Gov. Charlie Crist allegedly conducted an investment scam that cost investors millions, a lawsuit alleges.

A group of investors said in a suit filed against Scott Rothstein that the co-partner of the Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler law firm took part in a scheme that cost the plaintiffs more than $100 million, The Miami Herald reported Friday.

The plaintiffs allege Rothstein, 47, was aided in his efforts by officials from his law firm and Toronto Dominion Bank.

"Investors were duped by TD Bank employees conspiring with the principal conspirators to manipulate TD Bank's trust account statements and conniving investors with the false sense of security predicated on written assurances that settlement funds existed and would only be released directly to them,'' the suit filed by attorney William Scherer alleges.

Scherer told the Herald he remained confident the funds allegedly taken by Rothstein and his partners would be located.

I think we will be able to find it, Scherer said. He was a prolific spender, but I don't think he spent $230 million in October. I think he hid it.

Police: Dye pack ruined bus escape

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A suspected bank robber in St. Petersburg, Fla., who fled on a city bus was arrested not long after the dye pack in his haul exploded, police said.

Investigators allege Thomas John Castro, 54, entered a Wachovia branch Thursday in St. Petersburg wearing a disguise and handed a note demanding money to a teller. He left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash and boarded a city bus, where the red dye pack went off.

Police said information from a tip led them to Castro's room at the Landmark Motel, where officers allege the suspect was holding a bag of crack cocaine. He was arrested shortly before midnight and charged with armed robbery and possession of cocaine.

Grain futures mixed Friday

CHICAGO, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Grain futures closed mixed on the Chicago Board of Trade Friday as Wall Street equities spent the entire day in negative territory.

Corn was off 3 1/4 to off 4, soybeans were up 3 1/2 to up 7, wheat was off 2 3/4 to off 3 1/4 and oats were off 1 1/2.

Corn futures closed lower despite a Mexican corn producers association predicting a drought will decrease production to about 21 million metric tons. Wheat prices fell with demand soft due to competitive prices in Europe. Soybean futures rose with late harvest delays expected due to rain and snow.

The prices:

Corn: Dec 3.91, off 4; Mar 4.07, off 3 3/4; May 4.17, off 3 1/2; July 4.25 1/2, off 3 1/4.

Soybeans: Jan 10.46, up 7; Mar 10.50 1/4, up 5 1/2; May 10.50 1/2, up 4 1/4; Jul 10.53 1/2, up 3 1/2.

Wheat: Dec 5.59 3/4, off 2 3/4; Mar 5.80 3/4, off 3 1/4; May 5.92 1/4, off 3 1/4; Jul 6.02 3/4, off 3.

Oats: Dec 2.58; Mar 2.71 1/2; May 2.79 3/4; Jul 2.87 1/4 -- all off 1 1/2.

Flu tests: H1N1 may have peaked in Oct.

MADISON, N.J., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Data from a laboratory testing company suggests the H1N1 flu may have peaked in October in the United States, company officials said.

-- In the weeks following Oct. 27, H1N1 test demand declined after several weeks of strong growth.

-- About 99 percent of positive influenza A specimens tested were positive for H1N1 influenza.

Charges filed in deadly street race

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Two men were charged Friday in a street racing accident in San Jose, Calif., that claimed the life of a 20-year-old woman, police said.

The San Jose Mercury News reported Emmanuel Pourmand, 21, and Joseph Anthony Inocencio, 18, are facing charges of gross vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving for the Oct. 20 accident that killed Alyson Snow.

Police allege in released reports that Inocencio and Pourmand were street racing in a 40-mph area when they lost control and forced Snow's vehicle into a median and tree.

Authorities estimate Inocencio's BMW was traveling at 91 mph and Pourmand's Nissan was traveling at 76 mph when the incident occurred.

Inocencio is facing six years and eight months in prison if convicted, while Pourmand is potentially facing nine years. Pourmand's sentence would be longer than Inocencio's since it was Pourmand's vehicle that struck Snow's car.

The Mercury News said an unidentified friend traveling with Snow in her vehicle suffered a concussion, but has since recovered.

FEC adopts rules for some campaign travel

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

The Federal Election Commission Friday approved revised rules for regulating U.S. campaign travel on non-commercial flights.

The rules adopted Friday require presidential, vice presidential and Senate candidates, along with their authorized committees, to pay charter rates for campaign travel on most non-commercial flights, the commission said in a release. Payments for travel on behalf of other political committees was unchanged.

House of Representatives candidates, their authorized committees and their leadership political action committees generally are barred from making expenditures for travel on most non-commercial flights, the FEC said.

Survey: 58 percent plan turkey day naps

CANTON, Mass., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Massachusetts-based Dunkin' Donuts said its survey suggests 58 percent of U.S. adults plan to take a nap on Thanksgiving Day.

The company said its survey of 500 adults, conducted this week, found 58 percent of respondents are already planning a Thanksgiving nap, with 60 percent of men plotting a brief siesta and 58 percent of women doing the same.

The survey found 76 percent of those planning naps prefer to doze off after dinner while 24 percent plan to rest up before the big meal.

Two monkey sightings reported in Tampa

TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Authorities in Florida said they do not know if two monkey sightings Friday morning in Tampa were of the same loose primate.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Vida Morgan said the monkey sightings were reported about 2 miles apart at 7:50 a.m. and 10:15 a.m., the St. Petersburg Times reported.

Morgan said authorities did not know if there was one monkey or two, or if either sighting was related to a monkey that escaped capture in the area last week.

The spokeswoman said Florida Fish and Wildlife officials had been notified.

Amazon countries to hold climate talks

BRASILIA (AFP) --

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is calling a meeting of eight Amazon countries next week to forge a common stand ahead of next month's key climate talks, officials said Friday.

The leaders are set to be joined by French President Nicolas Sarkozy who has hammered out a joint position with Brazil ahead of the December 7-18 Copenhagen summit, the foreign ministry said.

Leaders from the eight countries straddling the Amazon -- Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela -- have all been invited to Thursday's talks in the Brazilian city of Manaus, in the heart of the Amazon jungle.

Sarkozy has been urged to join as the territory of French Guiana is also in the Amazon region.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez have already agreed to attend, while Ecuadoran leader Rafael Correa will be away on a foreign trip. Bolivia's President Evo Morales will also not take part because of upcoming presidential elections.

On Saturday, Sarkozy and Lula da Silva said they would try to rally other nations around their "ambitious" position, which aims to reduce greenhouse gases globally by at least 50 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels.

Brazil said Friday it would offer a "voluntary" emissions cut of 36 to 39 percent at the United Nations-sponsored meeting, mainly by slowing Amazon deforestation, while Europe is pledging a 30 percent cut.

The Amazon is the planet's largest forest basin, but huge swaths of the rainforest are cut down, burnt or cleared each year, at an average rate of 1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres) -- about the size of Kuwait.

It has been dubbed "The Lungs of the Planet" because its vegetation continuously recycles carbon-dioxide into oxygen.

NFL's Goodell sets up players forum

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has formed a forum to address the lives of players on and off the field on several issues, including health and safety.

The NFL Player Advisory Forum includes Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner, Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis, Denver safety Brian Dawkins, and NBC Sports analyst Tony Dungy, the former coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

Players continue to be an invaluable resource in providing direction and insight into a wide range of programs and policies, Goodell said in a release Thursday. (Dungy's) experience and expertise in working with players make him an ideal leader and we appreciate his willingness to take on this important role.

Goodell added that Dungy will organize meetings, identify the player attendees, and develop a list of topics for discussion.

This will be a great new way for players … to be part of the process of improving the league for everybody, Dawkins said.

'Bo Obama' comic gets book treatment

BELLINGHAM, Wash., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A Washington state publisher said an extended version of the educational comic book starring presidential pooch Bo Obama is on the way.

The Portuguese water dog, adopted by President Barack Obama and his family in April, starred in Bo Obama: The White House Tails, published in September by Bluewater Productions Inc. The publisher said an extended book version of the comic is due out in March, The Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

Officials with the company said the tome, which it described as an educational tool to teach children about past presidential pets, will be released to book stores nationwide.

Bluewater said distributors sold out of the first printing of Bo Obama: The White House Tails, but the comic book can still be found at some stores.

Obama's job approval below 50 percent

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Barack Obama's job approval rating has dipped below 50 percent for the first time since he was inaugurated as U.S. president, a poll released Friday said.

Recent daily tracking polls have shown his approval rating at right around 50 percent.

Gallup surveyed 1,533 people by telephone between Nov. 17 and Nov. 19 as part of its daily tracking. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percent either way.

Oil prices wobble on recovery concerns

NEW YORK (AFP) --

Oil prices remained depressed Friday amid a strengthening dollar and concerns over sustainable economic recovery.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, dropped 74 cents to end the week at 76.72 dollars after slumping by more than two dollars on Thursday.

London's Brent North Sea crude for January delivery lost 44 cents to 77.20 dollars.

Traders said oil investors tracked the global stock and foreign exchange markets as they weighed prospects for next week.

Shares continued to give up gains in Asia, Europe and the United States on corporate and economic recovery worries.

In Japan, investors were worried that a long bout of falling consumer prices could threaten the world's second largest economy's recovery from its worst recession in decades and eat into corporate profits and prompted consumers to put off purchases.

US economic data this week also did little to soothe recovery concerns, pulling down Wall Street shares.

Fresh data showed slightly hotter-than-expected reading of prices at the consumer level, a smaller-than-expected increase in industrial production, unexpected declines in both housing starts and building permits, and a jobless claims report that failed to drop below the 500,000 mark as some had hoped.

The oil market "followed the stock market and the dollar," said analyst Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates.

The dollar, a safe haven currency, rallied Friday as investors shunned assets viewed as risky, such as the euro and stocks, on fresh concerns about the strength of global economic recovery.

A higher dollar makes greenback-denominated commodities such as crude oil more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

Supply concerns also dogged the market. Lipow particularly cited high distillate inventories in the United States, the world's largest energy consuming nation.

The US government weekly inventory data showed that stockpiles of distillates, which include diesel and heating fuel, fell 300,000 barrels in the previous week. Analysts had pencilled in a bigger drop of 500,000 barrels.

"In the near term, we have a huge oversupply, and the weather forecast for this winter has been changing towards either normal or warmer than normal type of season (and) if that happens, we will exit the winter with huge amount of distillate inventories and that would be bearish for the oil market," he said.

New York crude prices on Wednesday breached 80 dollars a barrel after data showed crude reserves in the United States fell 900,000 barrels in the week ending November 13.

Meanwhile, OPEC president Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos has signalled that 75-80 dollar oil is an adequate level to allow for a global economic recovery.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumps about 40 percent of the world's oil.

Robbers arrested in Craigslist stings

CHICAGO, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Police in Chicago said three men were arrested in two armed robbery cases involving postings on the Web site Craigslist.

Investigators said Dwayne Williams, 20, was charged Thursday with 12 counts of armed robbery in eight incidents, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday.

Officers said Williams would lure his victims to a South Parnell Avenue neighborhood by agreeing to sell electronics and would then rob them at gunpoint. Police said he was arrested by officers posing as customers.

Meanwhile, police said Jalmar and Jamelle Smalling, 19 and 18 respectively, were charged Thursday with were five counts of armed robbery for a string of similar Craigslist-related incidents and one count of attempted armed robbery for trying to rob the officer posing as a potential victim.

Police said no one was hurt in any of the robberies in either case.

Ex-Pittsburgh anchor arrested for DUIs

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

An attorney for Don Cannon said the former Pittsburgh TV news anchorman was arrested for not serving sentences on two driving under the influence convictions.

Attorney Patrick J. Thomassey, who represents Cannon, said the former WTAE-TV and KDKA-TV anchor was arrested in California after not completing his house arrest and probation sentences from convictions in October 2008, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review said Thursday.

Apparently, he just didn't follow through, from what I've been told, Thomassey said of the sentences from the convictions in Allegheny County, Pa.

The bench warrants for Cannon's arrest were issued by Common Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel in October, Allegheny County Sheriff William P. Mullen said.

Allegheny County authorities contacted police in Carlsbad, Calif., where Cannon currently resides, to have the former TV anchor arrested this week.

The Tribune-Review said Cannon, 69, did have permission to serve his sentences totaling 93 days of house arrest followed by two and a half years of probation in California.

Official: Change would aid Turkish women

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A Turkish official said Friday a shift in society's mentality is needed to allow women in the country to advance in business and political fields.

Selma Aliye Kavaf, the state minister responsible for women's affairs, said changes in Turkey's laws and legislation would not allow women to make significant headway in either arena without an accompanying change in societal attitudes, the Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The mentality change regarding women's participation in business or political life would take time. Legislation or laws are not enough for women to become active in business life, Kavaf said regarding the situation in Turkey, a secular democracy where Islam is the predominant religion.

The minister made the comments at the monthly meeting of the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey, Hurriyet reported.

Leyla Alaton, an Alarko Holding executive board member, said when women are given a change to advance their careers, they gain a stronger sense of self.

When she becomes the breadwinner, she really becomes the boss. That's the moment she starts to think about her rights to survive as an individual, Alaton said.

Cal-Berkeley students protest

BERKELEY, Calif., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Four students at the University of California-Berkeley were arrested Friday during a building takeover to protest a tuition hike, a school official said.

The Oakland (Calif.) Tribune reported the arrests came after nearly 50 students barricaded themselves in a second-floor classroom in Wheeler Hall.

The 6 a.m. protest came the day after University of California regents agreed to increase students' tuition by 32 percent, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

In response to the actions by the protesters, who carried signs bearing slogans like 32% Hike, 900 layoffs, local and university police cordoned off the classroom building. The protesters alleged police used pepper spray and force against them.

The Tribune said police were assessing the situation before potentially taking action against the remaining protesters.

The tuition increase set to take effect next fall would raise undergraduate students' tuition from $7,788 to $10,302.

Crude oil prices slide Friday

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Crude oil prices dipped below $77 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as declines in equity markets hinted at slow demand.

Light, sweet crude dropped 56 cents overnight and finished the day at $76.90 per barrel. Heating oil lost 0.0149 cents to $1.9815 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline prices added 0.0136 cents to $1.9831 per gallon. Natural gas prices rose 0.09 cents to $4.432 per million British thermal units.

At the retail level, gasoline prices rose. The national average price for unleaded gasoline was $2.642 per gallon Friday, up from Thursday's $2.638, AAA said.

Body armor to be independently reviewed

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

The U.S. Army's body armor will undergo independent assessment, based on a government recommendation for such a review, Army Secretary John McHugh said.

The National Research Council will perform the independent assessment as recommended by the Government Accountability Office as a way to address potential concern about current testing methods, McHugh said Friday in a release.

We are committed to providing our war-fighters with world-class equipment, and are confident that our body armor continues to defeat the threat to our soldiers, McHugh said. The Army welcomes this independent review, and is grateful for the analysis and expertise of the National Research Council.

The NRC assessment is to ensure that the Army maintains the highest standards for testing processes and protocols, the Pentagon said.

First Air France A380 reaches New York

NEW YORK (AFP) --

The world's largest airliner, an Air France A380, touched down in New York on Friday after completing the superjumbo jet's first Atlantic crossing from Europe to the United States.

The Airbus plane, carrying 538 passengers, left Paris earlier in the day and landed at 1:07 pm (1807 GMT) at J.F. Kennedy Airport, several minutes ahead of schedule, under crisp blue skies.

Two fire engines met the plane with a watery salute from their hosepipes as it taxied to its gate.

Air France is the first European airline to put the giant aircraft into service, but the fourth worldwide after Singapore Airlines, Gulf-based Emirates and Qantas of Australia.

Passengers included 380 people who bought their tickets in an Air France auction to benefit disadvantaged children.

Air France will launch regular A380 flights across the Atlantic on November 23. The fleet of 12 huge planes will also serve Johannesburg, starting in February, and then Tokyo.

But major production and delivery delays mean the commercial success of the A380, the pride of Airbus and parent company EADS, has yet to be secured.

On board, passengers were treated to free champagne and, for the inaugural flight, a three-member jazz band.

"A fantastic flight," said one passenger, Bernard Boluvi, 39. "It's a very quiet and stable plane. You hardly feel the takeoff and landing."

Michel Schmitt, 45, also praised the lack of noise aboard and said the double-decker felt more roomy than other jumbos. "It doesn't feel like one big cinema, because the plane is well divided into different sectors," he said.

But Gerard Jouany, 64, a journalist specializing in aviation, said he found the plane rather cramped and emphasizing the bus aspect of Airbus. "Air France chose the most dense configuration," he said.

Carjacking brings debt to victim

ROSELLE, Ill., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

An Illinois woman whose car was stolen and totaled by an escaped suspect says she is facing thousands of dollars of debt from the incident.

Saverino said she has also received a $3,369 bill from a collection agency for a car damaged by Maday while he was driving the Jetta.

Immigration charges dropped in Iowa case

DES MOINES, Iowa, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

All 72 immigration fraud charges have been dropped against the former manager of the Agriprocessors meat plant in Postville, Iowa, federal prosecutors say.

The decision to spare Sholom Rubashkin a second criminal trial comes as the former manager awaits sentencing for his conviction on 86 business fraud charges stemming from a 2008 immigration raid, the Des Moines Register reported Friday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan Jr. said in court papers filed Thursday that convicting Rubashkin on the 72 counts of immigration violations would have no impact on his eventual sentence which could be life in prison.

Dismissing the remaining charges will avoid an extended and costly trial and lessen the inconvenience to possible witnesses, he said.

The case against Rubashkin stems from the arrest of more than 300 people, most of them from Guatemala and Mexico, during an immigration raid May 12, 2008 at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant.

Record flooding hits northwest England

LONDON, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Record rain and flooding in northwest England killed a police officer Friday when a bridge collapsed beneath him as he directed drivers away from it.

Bill Barker's body was found hours later about 10 miles from the Northside Bridge in Workington, The Independent reported. Barker, who had been with the Cumbria police for 25 years, would have celebrated his 45th birthday Saturday.

Meteorologists said the Lake District, an area of mountains, hills and fast-flowing rivers, got just over a foot of rain between Thursday morning and Friday morning. The area was hit by devastating floods in 2005, but officials said Friday's flooding was even worse.

Cockermouth, an old market town on the northwest edge of the Lake District where two rivers come together, was hit especially hard.

It's going to take the town years to recover from this, Pete Marston, a resident of Cockermouth, said.

The rainfall, 12.3 inches, was the largest amount ever recorded in Britain, breaking a 1955 record of 11 inches in Devon. Environment Secretary Hilary Benn called the storm a one-in-1,000 event and warning flood controls designed to cope with hundred-year storms would give way.

Four bridges collapsed and a number of main roads became impassable because of flooding. About 200 people had to be evacuated, including 50 taken out by helicopter.

Flooding was also reported in northwest Wales and southwest Scotland.

Study: A little anxiety, not so bad

LONDON, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

British and Norwegian researchers said depression is as big of a mortality risk factor as smoking.

However, the study found, unlike depression alone, a combination of depression and anxiety lowers mortality.

One of the main messages from this research is that 'a little anxiety may be good for you,' Dr. Robert Stewart of Kings College London said in a statement.

Possible reasons may that be those with anxiety may be more willing to ask for help and doctors may be more likely to investigate further to calm anxieties, the researchers said.

The researchers tracked 60,000 people for four years. The mortality risk was increased in a similar extent in people who were depressed as in people who were smokers.

It appears that we're talking about two risk groups here. People with very high levels of anxiety symptoms may be naturally more vulnerable due to stress, for example through the effects stress has on cardiovascular outcomes, Stewart said.

On the other hand, people who score very low on anxiety measures, i.e. those who deny any symptoms at all, may be people who also tend not to seek help for physical conditions, or they may be people who tend to take risks. This would explain the higher mortality.

The findings are published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Prosecutors: Kercher killed as punishment

ROME, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

British exchange student Meredith Kercher was killed by her roommate Amanda Knox in Perugia, Italy, in an act of revenge, prosecutors alleged Friday.

The Italian news agency ANSA said the prosecution accused Knox, a 22-year-old student from the United States, of killing Kercher, 21, in response to arguments about money and friends.

Lead prosecutor Giuliano Mignini alleged Friday Knox was helped in her attempt at revenge by her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 26, and Ivory Coast native Rudy Guede.

Mignini said the suspects went to the two female students' house in Perugia in November 2007 and confronted Kercher.

''At that point, there was an argument about money, or perhaps because Meredith wasn't happy about Guede coming over, followed by an attempt to get her involved in some kind of sex game. And that's when her ordeal began,'' Mignini alleged.

The prosecution maintains Knox slit Kercher's throat as Sollecito held the British national down.

ANSA said, according to unidentified judicial sources, a verdict in Knox's ongoing murder trial is expected in early December.

Gorilla Inc. safety harnesses recalled

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of Gorilla Inc. EXO-Tech safety harnesses due to a fall hazard.

The harnesses, used as a restraining devise by hunters, includes webbing on the waist belt that is not property routed through the harness, allowing for the stitching to tear, which would create a fall hazard for the user.

About 90 harnesses were imported from the Philippines by Gorilla Inc. of Flushing, Mich., and sold through sporting goods outlets from May 2009 through August 2009 for about $200.

Consumers were advised to stop using the harness and contact Gorilla Inc. for a refund.

Consumers can call 877-685-7817 for information.

Johnson signs contract extension

HOMESTEAD, Fla., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Standout NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson signed a five-year contract extension Friday to remain with Hendrick Motorsports through the 2015 season.

The deal was made two days before Johnson attempts to claim an unprecedented fourth straight Sprint Cup title at Sunday's season-ending Ford 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla.

He needs to finish 25th or better to beat Mark Martin for the 2009 Sprint Cup championship.

Jimmie is charting new territory in our sport, and that's due to a combination of natural talent and unsurpassed work ethic, team owner Rick Hendrick said. There's no question that he's one of the great champions in all of sports, and he's not done yet.

Also Friday, Lowe's, the primary sponsor of Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet, signed a contract extension through 2013.

'Heartburn' damage or GERD not acid burn

DALLAS, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Reflux damage to the esophagus may be an immune response, not acid burn, U.S. researchers say.

Dr. Stuart Spechler and Dr. Rhonda Souza of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas said their animal study, published in Gastroenterology, found gastroesophageal reflux disease may develop in response to chemicals -- called cytokines -- that attract inflammatory cells to the esophagus.

The researchers say they produced GERD in rats in a way similar to how it develops in humans -- by having acidic digestive juices from the stomach surge into the esophagus.

After the operation, the researchers said they expected to see surface cells of the esophagus die and the injury progress to the deeper layers. However, three days after the surgery, there was no damage to surface cells, but the researchers did find inflammatory cells in the deeper layers of the esophagus. Those inflammatory cells did not rise to the surface layer until three weeks after the initial acid exposure.

Currently, we treat GERD by giving medications to prevent the stomach from making acid but if GERD is really an immune-mediated injury, maybe we should create medications that would prevent these cytokines from attracting inflammatory cells to the esophagus and starting the injury in the first place, Souza, the lead author, said in a statement.

Lesbian U.S. deserter deportation stayed

OTTAWA, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Canada's federal court in Ottawa stayed a deportation order Friday for a lesbian U.S. Army deserter and ordered the refugee board to re-hear her case.

Bethany Smith, 21, fled to Canada in September 2007 after serving one year as a mechanic with the army. She sought refugee status saying she feared persecution because of her sexual orientation, the Canwest News Service reported.

Federal Judge Yves de Montigny said the Immigration and Refugee Board erred in ruling the applicant had failed to present clear and convincing proof of the inability of the United States to protect her, the Toronto Star reported.

Smith was based at Fort Campbell, Ky., where a gay soldier was beaten to death with a baseball bat in 1999.

In her refugee claim, Smith said hundreds of handwritten threatening notes were left on her dormitory door beginning in March 2007, and a death threat was delivered three months later.

Meanwhile, Smith's lawyer, Jamie Liew, told Canwest she's not aware of any gay or lesbian U.S. soldier who was granted refugee status in Canada based on sexual orientation.

Russian ship free of Antarctic ice trap

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A Russian cruise ship called The Captain Khlebnikov has broken free of an ice trap in Antarctica and is headed to Argentina, a shipping official said Friday.

Farestern Shipping Company spokeswoman Tatyana Kulikova told ITAR-Tass the Russian vessel is traveling 780 miles to the Argentine port of Ushuaia after freeing itself from the ice trap near Antarctica's Snow Hill Island.

Kulikova said the vessel, which was carrying tourists and scientists as part of an emperor penguin sight-seeing tour in Antarctica, has been mired in pack ice for four days.

The shipping spokeswoman said those on board the vessel were never in danger and were taken on helicopter tours of the surrounding area during the travel delay.

ITAR-Tass said among those on the Russian icebreaker is a BBC crew filming footage for the new documentary, Frozen Planet.

K2 adventurer Lacedelli dead at age 83

VENICE, Italy, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Italian mountaineer Lino Lacedelli, who successfully climbed K2 in 1954, died Friday of unspecified causes after a heart operation, his family said.

Lacedelli's family said the 83-year-old adventurer never recovered from his surgery this summer and his death comes six months after the death of Achille Compagnoni, the man who joined him at the top of K2, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Both Lacedelli and Compagnoni, who died May 13 at the age of 94, never admitted which of them officially reached the peak of K2 first.

Italian climbing icon Reinhold Messner said Lacedelli was a noted mountaineer who helped Italy recover from World War II.

Lino Lacedelli will go down in history not only as the conqueror of K2 with Achille Compagnoni but also as one of the greatest climbers (ever), Messner said of the mountaineer, whose survivors were not reported.

''Lacedelli contributed to the psychological reconstruction of Italians after the Second World War,'' he added.

For his feat of overcoming K2, Lacedelli was named a Knight of the Grand Cross in 2005 and received the Gold Medal for Civic Valor in 1954.

EU leaders face flak as new president keeps low profile

by Paul Harrington BRUSSELS (AFP) --

Incoming EU president Herman Van Rompuy kept a low profile Friday as the 27-nation bloc's leaders faced flak for picking him and a little-known British peer to lead a revamped Europe on the world stage.

Van Rompuy, the outgoing Belgian premier chosen to become the first European Union president at a summit Thursday, met with his cabinet and King Albert II to start the process of finding a successor, without talking to the press.

However the world's press were talking about him and the second member of the EU's new dream team, incoming foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

"The choice of two relative unknowns ... dismayed those who wanted to give Europe more clout on the world stage," the London Financial Times said.

"More likely the US president and Chinese premier will continue to work with Europe primarily through bilateral talks with Berlin, London, and Paris."

The EU leaders chose Van Rompuy unanimously, and quicker than expected, at Thursday's summit after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown dropped his insistence that his predecessor Tony Blair should be given the post, officially called the president of the European Council.

In exchange, Brown successfully put forward Britain's EU Commissioner Ashton for the foreign policy supremo job, capping a dramatic rise for a woman who has never held elected office.

There was much back-slapping in Brussels after the pair were chosen, but international reaction was polite rather than effusive.

US President Barack Obama said the appointment of an EU president made Europe an "even stronger partner" for the United States.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called the nominations "another important step forward for European integration."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy assured that Van Rompuy "is not a default choice," but "an extremely decisive man who knows where he's going, with a perfect knowledge of European politics".

Others detected a conscious decision by Europe's leaders not to be left in the shade.

"Clearly they didn't want two people who scared the bejasus out of them or were going to overshadow their egos," said Hugo Brady, a senior fellow at the Centre for European Reform.

"But look it's a sign of the times. A turkey doesn't vote for an early Christmas."

Van Rompuy has been in power in Belgium for a year and won praise for keeping the feuding Flemish and French-speaking communities relatively content in his coalition government.

Baroness Ashton is currently EU trade commissioner and has swiftly built up a reputation as a quiet but effective negotiator.

She was more vocal Friday, insisting she was the best person for the new job of EU high representative for foreign and security policy.

"Over the next few months and years I aim to show that I am the best person for the job," she told the BBC.

"I hope that my particular set of skills will show that in the end I am the best choice."

She will get the chance when she assumes her new role on December 1, at the head of a huge new secretariat, when the Lisbon Treaty which creates both jobs comes into force.

EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso, who recently received another five-year term, will then be able to put together the rest of the commission, from all EU member states, in which Ashton will be a vice-president.

While many observers said Van Rompuy and Ashton may turn out to be excellent choices, few expected them to hit the ground running, particularly in places like the Middle East where building trust is key.

"There's a gap that is going to be filled by the big member states," said Janis Emmanoulidis of the European Policy Centre.

Jean-Dominique Giuliani, chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation, criticised the choice of Van Rompuy and Ashton.

"To give the job to a Belgian, however respectable, is to make it above all a facilitator's role," he said.

"It's a bad sign, but Europe has shown it is stronger than that."

Last man to lead bayonet charge dies

LOMA LINDA, Calif., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Retired Army Col. Lewis L. Millett, 88, a Medal of Honor winner for leading what reportedly was the last major bayonet charge, has died, the Pentagon said.

Millett died in Loma Linda, Calif., last Saturday of congestive heart failure after serving for more than 15 years as the honorary colonel of the 27th Infantry Regiment Association, the Defense Department said in a news release.

Millett received the Medal of Honor for his actions Feb. 7, 1951, when he led the 25th Infantry Division's Company E, 27th Infantry, in a bayonet charge up Hill 180 near Soam-Ni, Korea, during the Korean War, the department said. Millet, then a captain, was leading his company in an attack against a held position when he noticed a platoon pinned down by small-arms, automatic and antitank fire. Taking the lead ahead of two platoons, Millett ordered fixed bayonets and led an assault up the hill.

Despite vicious opposing fire, the whirlwind hand-to-hand assault carried to the crest of the hill, the citation states. His dauntless leadership and personal courage so inspired his men that they stormed into the hostile position and used their bayonets with such lethal effect that the enemy fled in wild disorder.

Besides the Medal of Honor, Millett earned the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, two Legions of Merit and four Purple Hearts during his 35-year military career, which included tours in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

A memorial service for Millett was scheduled for Dec. 5 at the National Medal of Honor Memorial at Riverside National Cemetery in California, the department said.

Salomon USA ski bindings recalled

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of Salomon USA ski bindings due to a fall hazard.

The toe component of the Alpine Ski Bindings can release unexpectedly, creating a risk of falling, the commission said.

The bindings were manufactured in Romania for Salomon SAS of France and imported to the United States by Salomon USA of Ogden, Utah.

They were sold at ski shops from September 2008 through October 2009 for $90 to $160.

The recall involves several models of Solomon alpine ski bindings and Atomic ski bindings.

Consumers were advised to stop using the bindings and return the Salomon brand bindings to authorized retail outlets for a free inspection and replacement of the toe components.

Consumers can call 877-789-5111 for information.

Web sites blamed for sex industry slump

CANBERRA, Australia, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Experts said Australia's sex industry, which has experienced a 6 percent drop in revenue during the past year, is being hurt by online dating sites.

Butler said the drop in revenue could be attributed to the growing popularity of online dating sites that make it easier for people seeking casual sex to find one another.

The rapid growth in online services means it has never been easier for like-minded individuals to organize casual liaisons for little or no cost, Butler said.

Chris Seage, spokesman for the Adult Business Association of New South Wales, agreed that Web sites are likely negatively impacting the sex industry.

It's a lot cheaper to hook on a matchmaker site, pay a much smaller fee and engage in casual sex that way. It's an emerging issue for the industry, he said.

Web site lists 'Great Airport Museums'

MANHATTAN BEACH, N.Y., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A California-based tourism Web site's list of Five Great Airport Museums includes destinations in San Francisco and the Netherlands.

VirtualTourist.com said the San Francisco Airport Museum topped the list with exhibits including Mediterranean pottery and an analysis of the evolution of eyeglasses in the 20th century.

The No. 3 spot on the list, Arizona's Phoenix Sky Airport, has a permanent collection, including mixed media, ceramic sculpture and fine-art prints as well as pieces on loan from other museums.

McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, chosen as fourth by the Web site, features aviation-themed exhibits including airline ashtrays from the mid-20th century.

Finishing off the list was the Albany International Airport Gallery in Albany, N.Y., which features innovative artwork including exhibits on everyday objects as art.

Students told not to ditch for 'Twilight'

SANTA ANA, Calif., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

School officials in California's Orange County said students were warned not to ditch school to see the new entry in the Twilight film series.

I would think the best time to see the movie is in the evening, so it's a 'bad' idea to miss school, said Mark Eliot, the spokesman at Tustin Unified School District.

Administrators said school districts loses $20 to $40 in state funding for each student absence.

Senate prepares for healthcare showdown

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he's confident of securing the 60 votes he needs to move the chamber's healthcare overhaul to final debate Saturday.

In expressing his confidence at a news conference Thursday, the Nevada Democrat said his healthcare reform contains an adequate and very powerful public option, The Washington Post reported Friday.

The public option in Reid's bill would allow states to opt out of if they so choose.

Reid is focused on persuading moderate Democrats who oppose various provisions in the measure to support efforts to advance it.

The first test for the legislation will come Saturday evening when Reid hopes to have the necessary votes to overcome procedural objections from Republicans.

The Congressional Budget Office says the public option in the $848 measure would result in somewhat higher premiums than its private competitors and draw only about 4 million subscribers.

US newspaper ad revenue down nearly 28 percent

WASHINGTON (AFP) --

US newspaper advertising revenue fell by nearly 28 percent in the third quarter, continuing a slide which has led to layoffs, bankruptcies and the closure of several dailies.

Print and online advertising revenue declined to 6.4 billion dollars in the third quarter from 8.9 billion dollars in the same quarter a year ago, according to figures released by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA).

Print advertising revenue fell 28.95 percent to 5.8 billion dollars with classified advertising revenue down 37.9 percent to 1.46 billion dollars.

Classified ad revenue at US newspapers has collapsed in recent years faced with competition from free online classified sites such as Craigslist.

The online advertising picture was not much brighter. Online advertising revenue declined by 16.92 percent in the quarter to 623.1 million dollars.

NAA president and chief executive John Sturm said "given the depressed state of the overall economy" the third quarter figures should "come as no surprise."

"Rather, these numbers are in line with most expectations, and even show some modest directional improvement in key categories like retail and national," Sturm said in a statement.

"There may not be great visibility into 2010 and beyond, but the broad consensus is that the worst has passed," he said.

Newspapers across the United States have been grappling with a slide in advertising revenue, steadily declining circulation and the migration of readers to free news online.

Average daily circulation for 379 daily newspapers was down 10.62 percent in the April-September period compared with the same period last year, according to Audit Bureau of Circulations figures released last month.

Print advertising revenue at US newspapers has now fallen for 13 quarters in a row, according to NAA figures, while online ad revenue has dropped for the past six quarters.

The industry has been hit by a wave of bankruptcies, job cuts and closures, including a bankruptcy filing by the Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and other major papers.

The 100-year-old Christian Science Monitor went online-only earlier this year and two major dailies, the Rocky Mountain News of Denver, Colorado, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, have shut down in recent months.

With advertising revenue evaporating, top US newspaper executives led by News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch have been looking at ways to begin charging readers for news on the Web.

Roubini paints grim picture on jobs

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Former Clinton administration economist Nouriel Roubini warned U.S. job losses could be expected to continue well past the end of the recession.

Remember: The last recession ended in November 2001, but job losses continued for more than a year-and-a-half until June of 2003; ditto for the 1990-91 recession, Roubini wrote in a recent newspaper article, Moneynews.com reported Friday.

U.S. job losses -- about 200,000 per month recently -- have improved since January when job losses topped 700,000. Nevertheless, the current average loss is higher than the average monthly job loss in the last recession, which was 150,000 per month, he said.

On top of 7.5 million jobs erased in the recession, those who are still working have had enough hours cut to equal 3 million more full-time jobs lost, he said.

This is very bad news but we must face facts. Many of the lost jobs are gone forever, including construction jobs, finance jobs and manufacturing jobs, Roubini wrote.

Obama's Senate allies eye key health care victory

by Olivier Knox WASHINGTON (AFP) --

President Barack Obama's Democratic allies in the Senate strove Friday to lock down support to prevail in a landmark first test vote on his top domestic priority, remaking the US health care system.

Adding to their confidence, a wavering Democrat, Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, said he would vote with his party on Saturday but warned he might side with Republicans in subsequent fights.

"We are not assuming a thing. We are working hard to bring all Democrats together for the 60 votes necessary to proceed to this historic debate," Senator Dick Durbin, the party's Senate vote counter, told reporters.

Democrats were increasingly confident they would win a procedural vote a day later on what would be the most sweeping overhaul of its kind in four decades, extending health care coverage to an estimated 31 million Americans at a price tag of about 848 billion dollars through 2019.

Democrats need the 60 votes to override any delaying tactics from Republicans and approve a resolution that would formally start the debate -- a hurdle shaping up as the legislation's biggest test to date.

But Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was already pursuing a long-term strategy to win the broader battle by courting a handful of swing-vote, centrist lawmakers to vote in favor of the overhaul itself.

After next week's Thanksgiving holiday break, Reid will speak to individual senators to "make sure they each have some peace of mind about what the bill does and can support it, and if they have a concern, address it," said Durbin.

With the 100-seat Senate's 40 Republicans seemingly united against the overhaul, vote counters focused on three centrist Democrats -- Nelson, Louisiana's Mary Landrieu and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, whose vote was perhaps most in doubt because she faces a tough reelection campaign in 2010.

The support of Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent who often votes with Democrats, was also in doubt for the final bill.

Republicans stepped up their campaign against the legislation, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell denouncing "a trillion-dollar experiment in government-run health care that raises premiums, raises taxes and cuts Medicare," which covers the elderly.

"We've now had less than 48 hours to look through this 2,074-page bureaucratic nightmare," he added.

But Durbin shot back that "the Republican health-care reform bill is zero pages long, because it provides zero relief for the American people and the problems they face with health care today."

The House of Representatives approved its own trillion-dollar version of the measure on November 7, squeaking through on a 220-215 margin only after toughening restrictions on federal funds subsidizing abortions.

The Senate version does not include that stricter language, and changes several other key provisions.

Nelson, who has called for tougher abortion curbs, announced he would vote Saturday to start the debate but would join Republicans later in opposing the measure if his proposed changes to the bill were defeated.

If, as expected, the House and Senate approve different versions, they would need to work out their differences and approve the same legislation to send to Obama to sign into law.

The United States is the world's richest nation but the only industrialized democracy that does not provide health care coverage to all of its citizens, with an estimated 36 million Americans uninsured.

And Washington spends vastly more on health care -- both per person and as a share of national income as measured by Gross Domestic Product -- than other industrialized democracies, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The United States spent about 7,290 dollars per person in 2007, more than double the amount of Britain, France and Germany, but with no meaningful edge in the quality of care as it lags behind OECD averages in key indicators like life expectancy and infant mortality.

Obama's Senate allies eye first health care victory

by Olivier Knox WASHINGTON (AFP) --

President Barack Obama's Democratic allies in the Senate strove Friday to lock down the support to prevail in a landmark first test vote on his top domestic priority, remaking US health care.

But there were signs of Democratic confidence that they would win a procedural vote Saturday on what would be the most sweeping overhaul of its kind in four decades, extending health care coverage to an estimated 31 million Americans at a price tag of 848 billion dollars through 2019.

Democrats needed 60 votes to be able to override any delaying tactics from Republicans and approve a resolution that would formally start the debate -- a hurdle shaping up as the legislation's biggest test to date.

With the 100-seat Senate's 40 Republicans seemingly united against the overhaul, vote-counters focused on three centrist Democrats -- Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, who faces a tough fight to keep her seat in the 2010 mid-term elections.

Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent who often votes with Democrats, was also in doubt for the final bill.

Republicans stepped up their campaign against the bill, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell denouncing "a trillion-dollar experiment in government-run health care that raises premiums, raises taxes, and cuts Medicare," which covers the elderly.

"We've now had less than 48 hours to look through this 2,074-page bureaucratic nightmare," said McConnell.

"The Republican health-care reform bill is zero pages long, because it provides zero relief for the American people and the problems they face with health care today," said Durbin.

The House of Representatives approved its own trillion-dollar version of the legislation on November 7, squeaking through on a 220-215 margin only after toughening restrictions on federal funds subsidizing abortions.

The Senate version does not include that stricter language, and changes several other key provisions.

Nelson, who has said he wants tougher abortion curbs, announced he would vote Saturday to start the debate but would join Republicans later in opposing the measure if his proposed changes to the bill were defeated.

If, as expected, the House and Senate approve different versions, they would need to work out their differences and approve the same legislation to send to Obama to sign into law.

The United States is the world's richest nation but the only industrialized democracy that does not ensure that all of its citizens have health care coverage, with an estimated 36 million Americans uninsured.

The United States spent about 7,290 dollars per person in 2007, more than double what Britain, France and Germany spent, with no meaningful edge in the quality of care, and lags behind OECD averages in key indicators like life expectancy and infant mortality.

Obama's Senate allies eye first health care victory

by Olivier Knox WASHINGTON (AFP) --

President Barack Obama's Democratic allies in the Senate strove Friday to lock down the support to prevail in a landmark first test vote on his top domestic priority, remaking US health care.

Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent who often votes with Democrats, was also in doubt for the final bill.

"We've now had less than 48 hours to look through this 2,074-page bureaucratic nightmare," said McConnell.

"The Republican health-care reform bill is zero pages long, because it provides zero relief for the American people and the problems they face with health care today," said Durbin.

The Senate version does not include that stricter language, and changes several other key provisions.

If, as expected, the House and Senate approve different versions, they would need to work out their differences and approve the same legislation to send to Obama to sign into law.

U.S. indicts 15 alleged La Familia members

CHICAGO, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Fifteen alleged associates of a Mexican drug cartel's Chicago cell were indicted on narcotics trafficking-related charges, the U.S. Justice Department said.

The indictments charge the defendants and others are tied to La Familia Michoacana's Chicago distribution wing, whose members and associates allegedly distributed hundreds of pounds of cocaine and collected millions of dollars in the Chicago area since at least 2007, the department said Friday in a release.

Since the investigation began in 2007, the Chicago Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration has seized about 551 pounds of cocaine and $8 million. The seizures occurred mostly in suburban areas such as Berwyn, Bolingbrook, Oak Lawn, Hickory Hills, Joliet and Justice, officials said.

The 15 defendants indicted Thursday were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and some defendants face additional narcotics trafficking-related charges, Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said when making the announcement.

Most of the 15 defendants initially were charged in a criminal complaint filed in August. So far 20 defendants linked to the investigation face federal drug charges in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

ID chips added to pigs in China

CHENGDU, China, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A city official in Chengdu, China, said Friday that pigs are being tagged with identification chips to provide the public and officials with data.

An unidentified spokesman with Chengdu's food and drug administration the two identification chips will collect information on where pigs are sold, slaughtered, inspected and eventually sold for food, China's state-run Xinhua news agency said.

The spokesman said 45 Chengdu markets are selling pork from pigs that were tagged with the identification chips.

The chips are contained inside plastic rings that are fixed around the animal's hind legs and the devices are scanned during each pork sale.

The spokesman said all vendors are required to scan all pieces of pork into the market system, enabling officials to determine if any illegal pork products are being sold.

The amount of pork sold must not exceed that of pork purchased. That way we make sure no pork comes from illegal channels, the official told Xinhua.

CERN atom-smasher restarts after 14-month hiatus: official

GENEVA (AFP) --

The world's biggest atom-smasher, shut down after its inauguration in September 2008 amid technical faults, restarted on Friday, a spokesman for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research said.

"The first tests of injecting sub-atomic particles began around 1600 (1500 GMT)," CERN spokesman James Gillies told AFP.

He said the injections lasted a fraction of a second, enough for "a half or even a complete circuit" of the Large Hadron Collider built in a 27-kilometre (17-mile) long tunnel straddling the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva.

"If all goes well tonight we will try to circulate a beam of particles for several minutes around 0700 (0600 GMT)," on Saturday, Gillies said, adding that he would open a bottle of champagne if the accelerator kept on working.

The LHC promises to unlock scientific mysteries about the creation of the Universe and the fundamental nature of matter.

But the machine was shut down just nine days after its inauguration last September following a series of technical faults.

Since then, the LHC's components have been tested to an energy equivalent of five teraelectronvolts at full power.

The maximum output of what is currently the largest functioning collider in the world, at the Fermilab near Chicago in the United States, is one teraelectronvolt.

CERN had said in August that upon its relaunch, the LHC will run at 3.5 teraelectronvolts in order to allow its operators to gain experience of running the machine.

The first data should be collected a few weeks after the first particle beam is fired.

CERN said the partial power level will be kept until "a significant data sample has been gathered" and ramped up thereafter.

Designed to shed light on the origins of the universe, the LHC at CERN took nearly 20 years to complete and cost six billion Swiss francs (3.9 billion euros, 4.9 billion dollars) to build.

U.K. apologizes to Spain for buoy colors

LONDON, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Britain says it is sorry the Royal Navy used a buoy painted the colors of the Spanish flag for target practice.

Giles Paxman, the British ambassador to Spain, offered an official apology at the Spanish Foreign Ministry in Madrid for the red-and-yellow marker on the buoy used by the navy, the BBC reported Friday.

Paxman said the colors of the buoy used during Tuesday's round of target practice off the coast of the British territory of Gibraltar, adjacent to Spain, were not intended to represent Spain's colors, but conceded it was insensitive.

The ambassador also vowed there would be no repeat in the future.

The BBC said the United Kingdom and Spain remain divided over the territorial rights surrounding Gibraltar.

Spain disputes the British claim that its territorial waters extend 3 nautical miles around the Rock of Gibraltar, leading to heated exchanges between Spanish police and the Royal Navy.

Thanksgiving: Time to discuss end-of-life

CHICAGO, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Thanksgiving is a perfect time to talk to family members about end-of-life wishes, a U.S. group of doctors who specialize in end-of-life issues says.

The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine offers assistance for such conversations to ensure death wishes are understood.

To help a family have end-of-life conservations:

-- Gather around a comfortable spot such as the living room or the dining room table.

-- Set aside a period of time, an hour should be enough, depending on how many family members participate.

-- Take turns discussing end-of-life wishes, including what level of treatment and whether every possible medical treatment should be performed, and when treatment should be stopped once quality of life is severely diminished, discussing quality of life means and whether resuscitation should be performed.

-- Discuss who should be a healthcare proxy, a person who will make medical decisions for a person who cannot.

-- Write end-of-life wishes down.

-- End-of-life issues should be discussed long before they need to be answered, and discussed more than once over the years.

To help prepare for an end-of-life discussion, such as developing an advance directive and designating a healthcare proxy see: http://www.aah pm.org/patient/resources/directives.html.

Hearing for former NBA star postponed

NEWARK, N.J., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A hearing for former NBA star Jayson Williams concerning the death a limo driver has been indefinitely postponed, the office of a New Jersey judge says.

Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman ordered the postponement Friday on the day Williams was expected to accept a plea deal that called for him to serve at least 18 months in jail, The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger reports.

Longtime friend Akhtar Farzaie says Williams never finalized the deal and is still in South Carolina where he buried his father Saturday.

Williams was expected to admit playing a role in the death of Costas Gus Christofi, who died of a gunshot wound to the chest at Williams' home in 2002.

Williams has insisted Christofi's death was an accident but the state of New Jersey accused him of recklessly handling the gun that fired, killing Christofi.

The 6-foot-10 Williams played for the New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers before retiring in 2000.

Cost Plus cookware recalled

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of Cost Plus World Market stainless steel cookware due to a burn hazard.

The handles on the stainless steel pots and pans imported from India by Cost Plus Inc. of Oakland, Calif., can break, posing a burn hazard to users, the commission said.

The cookware was sold in four-piece sets, a three-piece steamer set and as a separate 1.5 quart egg poacher.

The were sold at Cost Plus World Market stores nationwide in August 2009 for about $30 for a four-piece set, $15 for a three-piece set and $15 for the egg poacher.

Consumers were advised to stop using the cookware and contact Cost Plus or World Market outlets for a full refund.

Consumers can call 877-967-5362 for information.

Source: Asian carp may have passed barrier

CHICAGO, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Asian carp may have passed through an electric barrier intended to keep the invasive species out of Lake Michigan, new findings suggest.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Friday samples taken beyond the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal barrier and from Lake Michigan Sept. 23 and Oct. 1 indicate Asian carp may be within 8 miles of the lake, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Previous evidence had indicated the large fish were within a mile below the $9 million barrier.

Asian carp are seen as a significant threat to the ecosystem of Lake Michigan due to the large size of the fish -- up to 50 pounds -- and their tremendous appetites that could threaten native fish species.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said to prevent the species from reaching the Great Lakes system, Army Corps officials plan to build a second barrier and temporarily poison the canal, which connects the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan.

Giant snails could help fight hunger

UYO, Nigeria, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A readily available giant land snail could help reduce malnutrition and iron deficiency in African countries, a Nigerian researcher says.

The West African land snail, Archachatina marginata, is cheaper and more nutritious than beef, and is tasty when prepared in small pies, said Ukpong Udofia of the Department of Home Economics at Nigeria's University of Uyo.

Mothers and children asked to taste the pies preferred them to pies made with beef, Udofia said, noting the snails are rich in protein and iron. The snails, which can grow up to 350 grams, more than 12 ounces, also contain healthy amounts of fat, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc and vitamins A, B6, B12, K, she said.

The land snail inhabits many forests and swamps in Africa and in recent years has been domestically cultivated, though more for pets than for food.

Iron and protein deficiencies affect many mothers and their children in Africa and lead to serious health problems, the World Health Organization said.

Chile airports resume operations after major strike

SANTIAGO (AFP) --

Chilean airports resumed normal activity on Friday, after some 2,000 airport workers launched a country-wide strike that caused flight delays, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation said.

"The strike caused a slowdown of security checks for passengers and delays averaging one hour on domestic flights," the DGAC said in a statement.

"There was no impact on international flights or executive, private or sports flights. No flights were cancelled."

Long lines had formed at the Santiago airport, the largest in the country, where hundreds of passengers were waiting to board flights delayed by the strike.

The directorate insisted the strike did not hurt the safety of passengers or aircraft operations.

"This is a historic national strike. DGAC personnel participated at all the country's airports," DGAC workers' association president Jorge Perez told reporters.

"This strike is not against airline users but against the authorities who have slammed the door in our faces," he told AFP earlier.

The strike, the first by airport employees since 1941, began at 7:00 am (1000 GMT) and ended at 2:00 pm (1700 GMT), affecting air traffic operations, operations, weather services and airport security.

Workers were demanding improvements to their pension plans.

A total of 2,147 workers were affected because their pensions have been based on half pay and not the full amount of their salary for the past 25 years, according to Perez.

"We are excellent workers but we suffer precarious conditions," he said.

Employees head for door during downturn

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A majority of U.S. workers in a national survey indicated they would leave their jobs within a year, a sign of unhappy workers, an employment expert said.

Right Management, the research arm of employment services giant Manpower, said 60 percent of the 900 respondents in a recent survey indicated they intended to leave their jobs within a year, the company said Friday.

An additional 21 percent indicated they were fishing for opportunities – in modern parlance, they said they were networking – and would maybe leave their jobs in the next year, Right Management said.

Six percent indicated they were updating their resumes but not likely to switch jobs.

Employees are clearly expressing their pent up frustration with how they have been treated through the downturn, said President and Chief Operating Officer of Right Management Douglas Mathews.

While employers may have taken the necessary steps to streamline operations to remain viable, it appears many employees may have felt neglected in the process. The result is a disengaged and disgruntled workforce, he said.

The numbers indicate turnover at work may increase next year, a point that may surprise employers, Mathews said.

Arizona tot saved baby from fire

CHICAGO, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A 3-year-old Arizona boy saved his baby cousin from burning in a mobile home outside Phoenix Friday, Pinal County sheriff's deputies say.

The child apparently pulled the 1-year-old girl to safety as flames engulfed the trailer in rural Pinal County, killing the girl's mother and seriously injuring the toddler's own mom.

Sheriff's Lt. Tamatha Villar told the Arizona Republic the baby and her 28-year-old aunt were airlifted to a Phoenix hospital in critical condition.

Villar said the 22-year-old woman was killed when she was trapped inside the trailer, which was located on a farm near Arizona State Route 238 where the family worked.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. Villar said the blaze did not appear to be suspicious.

EPA says fuel efficiency on the rise

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said automakers are reporting an increase in the average fuel economy for new vehicles.

EPA said in a news release Friday based on the 21 miles per gallon average fuel economy reported by automakers in 2008, the average is expected to increase to 21.1 mpg for 2009.

In the annual EPA report, Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2009, EPA officials said carbon dioxide emissions for new vehicles have decreased by 8 percent, or 39 grams per mile, since 2004.

During that same time period, the average fuel economy for new vehicles increased by 9 percent, or 1.8 mpg.

American drivers are increasingly looking for cars that burn cleaner, burn less gas and won't burn a hole in their wallets, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said.

The agency said the decreased carbon dioxide emissions and increased fuel efficiency comes after CO2 emissions increased and fuel efficiency decreased in the United States from 1987 to 2004.

Study: Michigan turnaround in late 2011

LANSING, Mich., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

University of Michigan economists said Michigan, with the highest unemployment rate in the nation, should see a slight resurgence in late 2011.

The unemployment rate in the Great Lakes state is currently 15.1 percent.

The study said in 2009 Michigan will lose 283,000 jobs, the Detroit Free Press reported. But job losses are forecast to taper off through the next two years, said George Fulton, one of the economists involved in study released Friday.

In the following year, Michigan is projected to lose 85,000 jobs. In 2011, 36,000 jobs would be lost before a turnaround began, the study said.

In Michigan, prolonged difficulties have become a way of life. But the Michigan economy is in a more encouraging position now than it was at the beginning of 2009, Fulton said.

The unemployment rate in the state hit hard by an eight-year decline in the automobile industry would peak at 15.8 percent in 2010, the economists said.

The projections include a total loss of 937,000 jobs from 2000 to 2011, about 20 percent of the number of jobs before the downturn.

Henry offers replay after FIFA rules it out

by Guy Jackson LONDON (AFP) --

France captain Thierry Henry said Friday "the fairest solution" to the row over his handball in the World Cup playoff against Ireland would be a replay, but FIFA rejected an Irish call for a re-match.

Henry repeated his admission that he had controlled the ball with his hand before the decisive goal in Wednesday's match in Paris, but insisted it had been an "instinctive" reaction.

The incident led to an angry request from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) for a replay.

But world football's governing body FIFA dashed Irish hopes, ruling that "the result of the match cannot be changed and the match cannot be replayed".

In a statement released after FIFA's decision, Henry said: "Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control.

"Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way that we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa."

The incident has sparked controversy across Europe, and was even discussed by French and Irish leaders at a European Union summit in Brussels.

Video replays showed Henry raised his hand to stop the ball going out of play in extra-time of the match, before passing to William Gallas to head the goal which gave France a 2-1 win in the two-leg playoff.

Henry said: "There is little more I can do apart from admit that the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalising goal."

The Barcelona and former Arsenal striker, one of the world's highest-earning players with a string of advertising deals, admitted immediately after the game that he had used his hand.

But on Friday he said it was done in the heat of the action.

"I have said at the time and I will say again that yes I handled the ball.

"I am not a cheat and never have been. It was an instinctive reaction to a ball that was coming extremely fast in a crowded penalty area.

"As a footballer you do not have the luxury of the television to slow the pace of the ball down 100 times to be able to make a conscious decision."

In Dublin, the FAI confirmed it had received FIFA's official notification that it was rejecting the replay request and was due to meet Friday afternoon to consider the decision.

Swedish referee Martin Hansson failed to spot the Henry handball and awarded the goal, but FIFA said his decision could not be overturned.

"As is clearly mentioned in the Laws of the Game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final," it said in its statement.

France coach Raymond Domenech was unapologetic.

"I have seen the video and it's a mistake by the referee. I don't understand why we are expected to say sorry," he said.

Former Ireland captain Roy Keane accused his country of hypocrisy over its attempts to have the match replayed.

He said Ireland had benefited from poor refereeing decisions during their qualifying campaign.

Keane, who famously fell out with FAI officials and walked out on Ireland's 2002 World Cup squad, said: "I think the supporters deserve better, the manager (Giovanni Trapattoni) deserves better and probably most of the players deserve better, but I'm not sure the FAI deserve better.

"What goes around comes around."

Keane, who now manages English Championship side Ipswich, highlighted a controversial penalty that Ireland were awarded in a 2-1 win over Georgia in February.

"Ireland had their chances in the two games (against France), and they never took them," he argued. "But it's the usual FAI reaction - 'we've been robbed, the honesty of the game...'"

France will now go into the 32-nation draw for next year's finals.

Boeing starts work on second Dreamliner assembly site

NEW YORK (AFP) --

US aerospace giant Boeing broke ground Friday for the second assembly plant for its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft scheduled for its first test flight by the end of the year.

The facility at North Charleston, South Carolina also will have the capability to support the testing and delivery of airplanes, officials said.

Jim Albaugh, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said Friday's launch "marks the beginning of an expansion plan that will strengthen the 787 program."

"Locating the second line in North Charleston will allow Boeing to successfully compete in the aerospace market and grow for the long-term benefit of many stakeholders," he said.

Boeing said last week that its 787 Dreamliner aircraft remains on track for its first test flight by the end of the year.

It had announced on June 23 a fifth delay in the 787 Dreamliner program to fix a structural problem.

Boeing launched the Dreamliner program in April 2004 and initially had planned to deliver the first airplane to Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways in the first half of 2008.

It claims the 787 Dreamliner will be more efficient, quieter and have lower emissions than other airplanes.

Fifty-five customers around the world have ordered 840 787s since the program was launched in April 2004, making the Dreamliner the fastest-selling new commercial jetliner in history, Boeing says.

U.N. moves in on South African violence

DE DOORNS, South Africa, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

The United Nations announced its condemnation of violence and xenophobic attacks that drove 3,000 foreigners from their shacks in South Africa.

The foreigners included refugees and asylum-seekers from Zimbabwe staying in De Doorns, about 87 miles northeast of Cape Town, South Africa, the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees reported Friday.

The international agency said it has moved quickly to help the displaced, putting them up in tents in a De Doorns sports field and community center.

Those displaced are awaiting the outcome of negotiations with the local farmers who accused them of stealing their vineyard jobs by taking lower wages and attacked their homes Tuesday.

While refugees and asylum-seekers with the appropriate papers may work in South Africa, tensions run high over job competition, the U.N. agency said.

The UNHCR said it is sending staff members to work with the South African Human Rights Committee to help bring conditions back to normal.

CERN atom-smasher restarts after 14-month breakdown: official

GENEVA (AFP) --

The world's biggest atom-smasher, shut down after its inauguration in September 2008 amid technical faults, restarted on Friday, a spokesman for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research said.

Holder pledges to enforce all laws equally

DETROIT, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder assured an audience in Detroit that the Justice Department would enforce all of the nation's laws with equal conviction.

I can assure you under my leadership the Department of Justice will enforce all of our nation's laws with equal conviction, Holder told law enforcement, and community and Muslim leaders Thursday during the first awards banquet for the Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust.

Holder, the nation's first African-American attorney general, said he ordered an internal review of law enforcement data within the U.S. Justice Department to study the issue of racial profiling.

Racial profiling is simply not good law enforcement, Holder said.

Holder's remarks came amid heightened sensitivities in the Muslim community after the fatal shooting last month of Detroit Imam Luqman Abdullah by FBI agents and a Muslim soldier accused in the Fort Hood, Texas, shootings that killed 13 people and wounded 29, The Detroit News reported Friday. Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan was charged in the attack, and federal agents are looking into his alleged contacts with a radical imam before the shootings.

Holder said Muslim and Arab-Americans told him they feel queasy about their relationship with the U.S. government.

Imad Hamad, Midwest regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, told the News the event offered an opportunity to ask how the Justice Department under President Barack Obama will differ from that of former President George W. Bush.

Hamad said the real test of how the Justice Department would protect civil liberties of Arab-Americans and Muslims is in the future.

He is setting the tone for the nation and all law enforcement, and that is very important, Hamad said. The ultimate test ... is the future.

Violence erupts over soccer loss in Egypt

CAIRO, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Thirty-five people were hurt Friday before riot police quelled a violent protest after Egypt's World Cup loss to Algeria, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said.

The BBC reported the demonstration, which involved people overturning a police van and throwing firebombs, took place in Cairo hours after nearly 1,000 Egyptians set Algerian flags ablaze near the Algerian Embassy.

The protests stemmed from reports that Egyptian fans were attacked after leaving the World Cup qualifying match in Sudan. The incidents prompted Thursday night's flag burnings, which escalated into Friday morning's protest.

The ministry said 11 police officers were among those injured. Fifteen cars were damaged.

Algeria's 1-0 soccer tournament qualifying victory over Egypt Wednesday also prompted harsh words from Alaa Mubarak, son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

When you insult my dignity ... I will beat you on the head, the younger Mubarak said regarding Algeria.

The BBC said Algeria earned the last African spot in the 2010 World Cup finals with its victory over Egypt.

Home robbery con suspect arrested in Ore.

EUGENE, Ore., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A man suspected of conning his way into homes in Eugene, Ore., to steal from residents has been arrested, police say.

Eugene police allege Jacob Steven Lucas, 28, is the individual who convinced several local residents to let him into their homes, only to take laptop computers, cameras and other valuables from them, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Friday.

Police said Lucas allegedly gained entry by telling people he desperately needed to use a telephone or a bathroom.

In one instance, Lucas allegedly convinced two college-age students to allow him to wash his clothing and get a ride in their car before stealing from them.

The string of thefts prompted a warning from police Thursday and within hours a resident contacted police regarding a suspicious individual who claimed he had been assaulted by his girlfriend.

The Oregonian said police responded and arrested Lucas, who now faces charges of menacing with a knife, meth possession, criminal trespass and theft.

Permafrost thaw threatens Russia oil and gas complex: study

MOSCOW (AFP) --

Thawing permafrost caused by global warming is costing Russian energy firms billions of dollars annually in damage control and shrinking Russia's territory, Greenpeace warned in a new study Friday.

According to the report by the environmental watchdog, up to 55 billion roubles (1.9 billion dollars) a year is spent on repairs to infrastructure and pipelines damaged by changes in the permafrost in western Siberia.

"For Russia, the biggest threat of the permafrost melt is to oil and gas company infrastructure," said Vladimir Chuprov, who heads Greenpeace's energy programme in Russia.

He said that the group had consulted with experts at gas giant Gazprom in writing its report, which detailed the destruction to infrastructure such as pipelines caused by rising temperatures and resulting melt water.

"These are people who see what is happening and are already feeling the economic consequences of it," he told reporters in Moscow.

Russia's main raw export industries are spread across the Siberian permafrost, which makes up over 60 percent of its territory and includes 20 cities and several hundred thousand people.

The permafrost thaw has accelerated in recent years and Russia is now shrinking by 30 square kilometres (12 square miles) per year as icey territory disappears from the coastline, one of the authors of the report, Oleg Anisimov, warned.

"It's not only an economic and infrastructure problem but a geopolitical one. It means the loss of Russian territory," said Anisimov, a senior researcher at the State Hydrological Institute in Saint Petersburg.

"It's a simple observable fact that in the last decade the coastline retreat has sped up by five or six times."

Anisimov and other experts spoke defensively as many Russian establishment scientists do not believe in global warming. Some say Russia may even profit from better weather thanks to climate change.

Another Greenpeace study author Sergei Kirpotin said that the greatest threat of the permafrost melt may be that it powerfully accelerates global warming by unlocking billions of tonnes of the potent greenhouse gas methane.

Methane is some 20 times more efficient than carbon dioxide in trapping solar heat, experts say.

"Before we saw marshlands just as wasteland but in recent years scientists have realized that the Siberian swamplands have a large climate-regulating role," said Kirpotin, from the Tomsk State University in Siberia.

"It is like a methane bomb threat in our north.... There is the feeling that this bomb figuratively speaking could explode."

In a complex cycle, permafrost melts at the edges of lakes that previously were iced over year-round, he explained.

Organic material -- the remains of rotted plants and long-dead animals -- then melt into the lake from the soil and decompose to form methane. With the thaw, the methane bubbles to the surface and is released into the atmosphere.

Greenpeace said it plans to present its study to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in a meeting on November 23, ahead of a UN climate summit next month.

Russia has said it was ready to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 to 25 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels, raising its target from 15 percent, ahead of the summit in Copenhagen on December 7-18.

Six nations hold Iran summit

BRUSSELS, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Iran's rejection of a key part of a nuclear deal prompted a meeting Friday between representatives of six world powers and the European Union.

The United States, Russia, China, Germany, France and the United Kingdom must decide what to do about Tehran's refusal to send its uranium abroad for enrichment, CNN reported.

Iran's foreign minister announced on Wednesday that his country opposes a deal hammered out last month to have another country turn Iran's partially enriched uranium into material for medical research.

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, Mohamed El Baradei, denied Friday that negotiations with Iran have fallen through, an agency spokesman told CNN.

He is not ready to say it's over, the spokesman said, adding that the International Atomic Energy Agency has not received any written response from Iran.

The office of the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said a statement on the Friday meeting in Brussels would be issued soon.

UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News

Winfrey: 25 years of 'Oprah' feels right

CHICAGO, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- A tearful Oprah Winfrey Friday confirmed rumors she will end her long-running television talkfest in 2011, saying the time to quit feels right.

I have some news to share with you, Winfrey said at the beginning of Friday's live installment in Chicago, saving the actual announcement for the end of the show.

After much prayer and months of careful thought, I've decided next season, Season 25, will be the last season of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show,' she said, adding she was explaining her decision now to avert rampant speculation on the reasons behind the decision.

"I love this show. This show has been my life. And I love it enough to know when it is time to say goodbye.

Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and feels right in my spirit. It is the exact right time.

Winfrey's syndicated show began its run Sept. 8, 1986. It reportedly will end Sept. 9, 2011.

The 55-year-old media mogul choked up on Friday -- her last live show of the 2009 calendar year -- as she told the audience they had enriched my life beyond measure.

Just because she's set a wrap date for the series doesn't mean she won't be giving it her all until the cameras stop rolling, the Chicago Sun-Times quoted Tim Bennett, president of Winfrey's Harpo production company, as saying in a letter to show employees.

If you think the last quarter century has been something, then 'don't touch that dial' as together we plan to make history in the next 20 months ... and beyond, Bennett said.

We have the greatest respect for Oprah and wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors, CBS Television Distribution, which syndicates her chat show, told the Chicago Tribune. We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success. We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterward.

Winfrey reportedly is expected to focus on her forthcoming OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network after her show ends. The cable channel is said to be replacing Discovery Health.

Artist Jeanne-Claude dead at 74

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Artist Jeanne-Claude has died in New York as the result of complications due to a ruptured brain aneurysm, a message posted on her Web site said. She was 74.

Christo is deeply saddened by the passing of his wife, partner and collaborator and is committed to honor the promise they made to each other many years ago: The art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude will continue, the message said. Christo is dedicated to completing their current works in progress: 'Over the River, Project for the Arkansas River,' 'State of Colorado' and 'The Mastaba, Project for the United Arab Emirates,' as Jeanne-Claude would wish.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude met in Paris in November 1958 and have worked together for 51 years creating large-scale, temporary outdoor works of art such as The Gates in New York, Wrapped Coast in Sydney, and The Umbrellas in California and Japan.

The couple's Web site said it was Jeanne-Claude's wish that her body be donated to scientific research upon her death.

A memorial is expected to be announced at a later date.

Christo requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to people's charity of choice.

Guild to honor 'Precious' producers

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The Producers Guild of America says it plans to honor Precious: Based on the Novel By Sapphire with the 2010 Stanley Kramer Award.

The film's producers are to be presented with the award at the 21st annual PGA Awards ceremony Jan. 24 at the Hollywood Palladium.

The guild said it established the Stanley Kramer Award in 2002 to honor a motion picture, television program, studio, network, producer, executive or other individual entity whose work illuminates provocative social issues in an accessible and elevating fashion.

The award is named for the iconic director and producer whose film credits include The Caine Mutiny, High Noon, The Defiant Ones and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

'Precious' is a remarkable film that sends a powerful message of hope -- brilliantly reminding us that we have the power to persevere regardless of life's difficulties. Stanley Kramer's legacy is ideally celebrated with the selection of this very worthy film, PGA Awards Co-Chairs David Friendly and Laurence Mark said in a statement.

We are thrilled to receive the Stanley Kramer Award and feel honored that the Producers Guild of America has chosen to recognize 'Precious' out of this year's diverse film slate, producers Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness said in a join statement. It is an honor to join the ranks of past recipients and we feel blessed that the film has been so well received.

Blur wins award for Glastonbury gig

LONDON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The alternative rock band Blur has won the award for best headline performance of 2009 for its closing-night set at the Glastonbury music festival last June.

The BBC said the group was presented with the honor at Thursday night's U.K. Festival awards ceremony at the O2 arena in London.

Blur lead singer Damon Albarn also took home the festival fitty prize for being the hottest male performer, while Lily Allen snagged the award in the female category.

Kings of Leon picked up the prize for the anthem of the summer, and Florence and the Machine was named the year's best breakthrough act, the British broadcaster said.

Scotland's T in the Park reportedly won the award for best toilets and Glastonbury earned the gong for best major festival.

Frog legs spreading pathogen

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

A worldwide trade in frog legs may be spreading pathogens deadly to amphibians, scientists in Washington said.

Amphibians are declining rapidly worldwide, with more than one-third of the estimated 6,000 amphibian species threatened with extinction, scientists at the Smithsonian Institution said in a release.

Many amphibians are vulnerable to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, also known as amphibian chytrid. The pathogen could spread unchecked in the $40-million-per-year culinary trade of frog legs, most of which are consumed in France, Belgium and the United States, Smithsonian biologist Brian Gratwicke said.

Countries such as Indonesia, which export about 45 percent of all frog legs worldwide, make little or no effort to monitor the frogs for disease pathogens, Gratwicke said.

Any trade in live frogs or fresh, un-skinned frog legs presents a substantial risk of the spread of amphibian chytrid, Gratwicke said, recommending nations implement trade policies to mitigate the risk of disease among amphibians.

Some nations unsupportive of Nazi hunters

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

An official of a Nazi-hunter organization in Los Angeles said it is irrelevant that remaining Nazis are old and feeble; they should be brought to justice.

Efraim Zuroff, a historian and chief investigator of Nazi war criminals at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said there are still three to five years left to pursue and bring to trial those alleged to have committed atrocities during World War II before they've died off, the Los Angeles Daily News reported Thursday.

Some may say the Nazi fugitives, at their advanced age, are not worth prosecuting, but they have lived their full lives, while their victims did not, said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the center's founder and dean.

As long as a Nazi war criminal is still alive, they should know that there's someone looking for them. When you hunt a Nazi war criminal, all Nazi war criminals in the world feel vulnerable, Hier said.

Zuroff said it's not that difficult to find the suspected war criminals or evidence against them.

What is incredibly hard is to get countries that are reluctant to bring Nazi war criminals to justice, to do the right thing and to bring them to trial, Zuroff said.

The countries that have been least cooperative are Australia, Austria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Syria, Ukraine and Canada, the Daily News said.

The United States has helped bring 37 of the 82 war criminal convictions internationally, while stripping 75 Nazis of their citizenship and deporting 56, the newspaper said.

35 Egyptian police hurt as football violence simmers

by Samer al-Atrush CAIRO (AFP) --

Violent protestors injured dozens of police near the Algerian embassy in Cairo on Friday, fanning the flames of a diplomatic row that erupted over a football World Cup qualifier won by bitter rivals Algeria.

Thirty-five police were hurt and 15 cars damaged in the violence, as demonstrators hurled stones and firebombs, a police official said.

Authorities gave no details on any protestors hurt, but said 20 had been arrested.

Protests broke out late Thursday following Egypt's 1-0 defeat the previous night in a play-off in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. They turned violent early on Friday after reports of Egyptians having been attacked in Khartoum.

Angry Egyptians burned Algerian flags, chanted anti-Algerian slogans and sang the Egyptian national athem.

"We should treat Algeria like any country that has declared war on us," said Amr Higazi, a university student holding a placard calling for the expulsion of the Algerian ambassador.

In the afternoon, riot police blocked access to the street leading to the embassy, in the affluent Nile River island district of Zamalek. They herded away about 30 protestors, some of whom trampled on and burned Algerian flags.

Egyptian leaders weighed in to the dispute after fans said stones were thrown at their bus on Wednesday as they made their way to Khartoum airport after the defeat.

Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali said 21 Egyptians were lightly injured in the attacks.

That was disputed by Sudanese police, who said the number was only four.

Later, in a rare public statement, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's elder son Alaa slammed the Algerian fans as "mercenaries" and said the Egyptian team had faced "terror and self-pressure" in Khartoum.

"There appears to be something strange in the composition of Algeria -- it has spite and malice towards Egypt," he was quoted by state news agency MENA as telling a television sports programme.

For his part, Arab League chief Amr Mussa called for calm.

"I call for a return to calm and reason on the Arab street. The affair must be restored to its true proportions, after all the Egyptians like the Algerians are Arabs," Mussa, in Dubai for a forum organised by the World Economic Conference, told AFP.

Related article: FIFA opens disciplinary action against Egypt.

Egypt had recalled its ambassador from Algeria on Thursday for consultations and summoned the Algerian envoy in Cairo to protest the attacks.

It was the second summons for Ambassador Abdelkader Hadjar, who was called to the foreign ministry last week after Algerian fans attacked Egyptian businesses and homes in Algiers.

People attacked 15 offices belonging to a local subsidiary of Egypt's Orascom Telecom, prompting the company to pull its 25 Egyptian employees and their families out, and twice ransacked the Algiers offices of Egypt Air.

Related article: Arab League urges calm.

That was in response to an incident before the first match between the two sides in Cairo last week. Several Algerian footballers were hurt when the team bus was stoned on the way from the airport to their hotel.

And after that game, buses carrying Algerian fans were also stoned.

Separately, Sudan has summoned Egypt's envoy in Khartoum to protest Egyptian media reports of security lapses in Khartoum allowing Algerians to attack Egyptian fans.

On Thursday, world football governing body FIFA said it had begun disciplinary proceedings against the Egyptian Football Association over the attack on the Algerian team, which Egyptian security officials insisted was staged by the Algerians.

For its part, EFA said it might suspend participation in international football competition "for at least two years in protest at attacks against Egyptian fans and players in Sudan."

In Algeria, meanwhile, authorities said on Friday that at least 14 people had died and more than 250 been injured in traffic accidents during celebrations following the victory over Egypt.

Clashes outside Algerian embassy in Cairo

by Samer al-Atrush CAIRO (AFP) --

Protestors hurled stones and firebombs at police near the Algerian embassy in Cairo on Friday, wounding 11 officers as anger mounted over attacks on Egyptians after their World Cup play-off match.

The interior ministry said 11 officers were hurt and 15 cars were damaged in the violence. Four store fronts were also destroyed, the ministry said in a statement.

The protest started on Thursday night on a street leading to the embassy, where riot police repeatedly turned back an angry crowd.

The several hundred demonstrators chanted anti-Algerian slogans and sang their national anthem, burning Algerian flags.

"We should treat Algeria like any country that has declared war on us," said Amr Higazi, a university student holding a placard calling for the expulsion of the Algerian ambassador.

The demonstrators were enraged by reports of attacks against Egyptian fans in Khartoum on Wednesday after a World Cup qualification decider with Algeria, and demanded the expulsion of the Algerian ambassador.

Egyptian fans told AFP that stones were thrown at their bus as they made their way back to Khartoum airport after the 1-0 defeat, which followed a 2-0 victory for the Pharoahs in Cairo on Saturday that led to the play-off.

Egypt's Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali said 21 Egyptians were lightly wounded in the attacks, a number disputed by Sudanese police, which said four Egyptians were wounded.

Sudan summoned Egypt's envoy in Khartoum to protest Egyptian media reports of security lapses in Khartoum that allowed Algerians to attack Egyptian fans.

Egypt recalled its ambassador from Algeria on Thursday for consultations and summoned the Algerian envoy in Cairo to protest the attacks.

It was the second summons in a week for Ambassador Abdelkader Hadjar, who was called to the foreign ministry last week after Algerian fans attacked Egyptian businesses and homes in Algiers.

Before the match in Cairo, several Algerian footballers were hurt after the team bus was stoned on the way from the airport to the team hotel. Buses carrying Algerian fans were stoned after the game in Cairo.

World football governing body FIFA said on Thursday it had begun disciplinary proceedings against the Egyptian Football Association over the attack on the Algerian team, which Egyptian security officials insisted was staged by the Algerians.

"Disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the Egyptian Football Association. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will decide on the case," the organisation said in a statement on its website.

People took to the streets in Algiers after the match in Cairo, attacking 15 offices belonging to a local subsidiary of Egypt's Orascom Telecom and twice ransacking the Algiers offices of Egypt Air.

The attacks prompted Orascom to pull out 25 Egyptian employees and their families.

Arab League chief Amr Mussa on Friday called for calm in the row between Algeria and Egypt.

"I call for a return to calm and reason on the Arab street. The affair must be restored to its true proportions, after all the Egyptians like the Algerians are Arabs," he told AFP.

"What has happened is deplorable. This outburst of anger in these two great Arab countries must stop," said Mussa, who was in Dubai for a forum organised by the World Economic Conference.

Budget cuts hurting STD control

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

State and local government budget cuts are impacting health departments in controlling the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, U.S. researchers said.

The study by the National Coalition of STD Directors is based on a recent survey of health department budget cuts in states, large U.S. cities and U.S. territories and the impact on public health departments.

Lead author Dr. William Wong, STD program director for the Chicago Department of Public Health, said budget cuts, coupled with the long-term effects of flat or declining federal resources, have severely hampered the ability of STD programs to keep pace with the increasing demand for STD testing and treatment services and the rising rates of STDs.

Sixty-nine percent of the STD programs surveyed experienced funding cuts from 2008-2009. Between 2008-2009, 39 clinics supported by state and local STD programs closed their doors due to inadequate funding.

The number of disease intervention specialists, the frontline public health workers comprising nearly half of the STD program workforce in health departments, declined nationwide by 20 percent over the last decade, Wong said.

The NCSD study comes on the heels of a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing persistent high rates of STDs. In 2008, more than 1.2 million chlamydia cases were reported in the United States and syphilis increased 18 percent from 2007-2008, Wong said.

The study is at www.ncsddc.org/stdprogramcapacity2009.xml.

Egyptians clash with police at Algeria's Cairo embassy

by Samer al-Atrush CAIRO (AFP) --

Protestors hurled stones and firebombs at police near the Algerian embassy in Cairo on Friday, wounding 11 officers as anger mounted over attacks on Egyptians after the countries' World Cup qualifier.