ID'ing the masses may solve Indian identity crisis

A small square of plastic, no bigger than a credit card, is all that stands between Pralhad Dandekar and his ability to bring home food for his wife and two daughters.

It is a special identity card, issued by the state government, which all fishermen on the open seas are required to carry.

Dandekar, a wiry 58-year-old, says he applied for the card two years ago.

"I wait, wait, wait," he said.

India has a huge identity problem: too many people like Dandekar struggle to definitively establish who they are. Indians of means can flash passports, driver's licenses, and credit cards, but the poor rely on a jumble of electricity bills, ration cards, voting cards, and …

Zanders Aids Joliet in a Pinch

Where did he come from?

That's what Homewood-Flossmoor wanted to know after JolietTownship junior Mark Zanders, a menacing presence with his 6-4,215-pound frame and goatee, ruined what had been an upbeat Saturdayafternoon for the host Vikings with one swing of the bat.

In hiding for six innings, Zanders emerged from the dugout toslam a pinch-hit home run, a two-run shot to left field in the top ofthe seventh that erased a 6-5 deficit and capped a four-run rally forthe No. 6 Steelmen (7-1) in Game 1 of a non-conference doubleheader.

Armed with a heavy fastball and sharp curve, Zanders then wentto the mound in the bottom of the seventh to record his first …

LHP Howell activated by Rays

MIAMI (AP) — Left-hander J.P. Howell returned to the mound Friday for the Tampa Bay Rays, one year and one day after he underwent surgery to repair a left shoulder injury that sidelined him all of last season.

Hours after being activated, Howell pitched a scoreless sixth inning in the Rays' 5-3 loss at Florida.

"It's not as fun when you lose, but it's still a great time," he said.

Howell led all major-league relievers with 13 wins in 2008-09. He was a key member of Tampa Bay's AL championship team in 2008 and had 17 saves in 2009.

"He's very valuable to us," manager Joe Maddon said. "I can visualize him pitching like he did a couple of years ago and being that …

Obama meets families of plane crash victims

President Barack Obama on Thursday told families who lost loved ones in a 2009 plane crash their advocacy for greater airline safety standards will help the cause move forward.

Obama met privately for 10 minutes with relatives of victims from the plane crash that killed 50 people near Buffalo.

Inquiries into the crash of Continental Connection Flight …

Pat pourri

DELUXE LUNCH

Lunch at the Blue Water Grill was excellent. Good choices weremade. Quite outstanding were the spicy tuna rolls (above), which,praise be, were really spicy. Six pieces of pure sushi pleasure

Not to be missed is the lobster sandwich. It's an outlay of 19bucks, but worth it. Plenty of sweet lobster meat got together withpeppery arugula and thin slices of avocado on a pretzel roll with achili-aioli (amped-up mayo). A couscous "salad" of notable interestcame with it. …

Impact of e-business

AUDITING STANDARDS HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY TECHNOLOGY CHANGES, AND A REVIEW SHOWS THAT MORE MAY BE NEEDED

Auditing standards have been in the CICA Handbook for more than 30 years. Most were developed well before the e-business revolution and some before the use of technology became prevalent in business. To determine whether they have been affected by technology driven change related to e-business, the Information Technology Committee (ITAC) of the CICA conducted a review in 2000. Since then, there have been changes, but more still needs to be done.

While the term "e-business" has been overworked, it's widely used, although definitions vary considerably. As ITAC noted, there …

CPR study suggests 'Stayin Alive' lives up to name

"Stayin' Alive" might be more true to its name than the Bee Gees ever could have guessed: At 103 beats per minute, the old disco song has almost the perfect rhythm to help jump-start a stopped heart.

And in a small but intriguing study from the University of Illinois medical school, doctors and students maintained close to the ideal number of chest compressions doing CPR while listening to the catchy, sung-in-falsetto tune from the 1977 movie "Saturday Night Fever."

The American Heart Association recommends 100 chest compressions per minute, far more than most people realize, study author Dr. David Matlock of the school's Peoria, Ill., …

Pee Wee's big charity performance

One of America's most successful and well-known saxophonists willbe visiting Peasedown St John in March for an exclusive fundraisingevent.

Alfred 'Pee Wee' Ellis was a key member of James Brown''s band inthe 1960s and has worked closely with singer Van Morrison.

As part of the soul classics era of the late '60s, he introducedthe dynamic arrangements and rhythms that helped define the funkgeneration.

He'll be performing at the Beacon Hall to raise funds for the newLaurel Farm Kindergarten in Carlingcott. The Kindergarten, which isa new educational venture in the local community, is based onSteiner philosophy and encourages the children who attend to …

Bush Reels in Gifts From U.S. Admirers

WASHINGTON - President Bush loves fishing, so people aiming to impress him often go that direction. Last year alone, he was given three rods and three reels along with assorted other equipment to the tune of more than $2,600. That's in addition to at least eight other rods he's received as gifts during his presidency.

On the other hand, Bush is only an occasional golfer. But that didn't stop his friend and 2004 campaign finance chairman, Mercer Reynolds, from giving the president a $915 set of new clubs and covers last year.

Bush cleaned up in 2006 - as usual.

He received at least 20 gifts worth a total of $12,364, according to the financial disclosure forms the …

Penguins eliminate Flyers with 5-3 win in playoffs

The Pittsburgh Penguins rallied from 3-0 down to eliminate the Philadelphia Flyers with a remarkable 5-3 victory in the NHL playoffs on Saturday.

The Penguins, who beat the Flyers in the Eastern Conference finals last year, won the first-round series 4-2 and have to wait to find out who they'll play next.

Backed by a raucous crowd, Mike Knuble and Joffrey Lupul scored 51 seconds apart late in the first period and Daniel Briere had a power-play goal to put the host Flyers up 3-0.

But Ruslan Fedotenko, Mark Eaton and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby leveled the score before the end of the second period.

Sergei Gonchar ripped a slap shot …

Carrying an all-in-one caddy helps ease outdoor cleanup job

Areader caught our column about a super paint caddy and sent me apicture of a similar idea he came up with.

For outdoor cleanup jobs, he makes the haul easier with anall-in-one cleanup caddy. He puts a tall can, like a juice can, inthe center of the water bucket and fills this can with soapy water.He puts clean rinse water inside the bucket around the can. This wayhe has both in one container. He also can throw the rags intowhichever container they need to be soaking in and then carry thewhole thing in one hand. This may be exactly what you need whenclimbing a ladder to clean windows or siding.

DEAR AL: Our new fence looks great but it was so long thatsetting it …

NATO emergency meeting reviews Libya no-fly plans

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO's top decision-making body is meeting in emergency session Saturday to review military plans for a no-fly zone over Libya.

The North Atlantic Council is expected to issue the order to launch the operation in coming days. Officials said the military staff was putting the final touches on plans to deploy dozens of fighter-bombers, tankers, helicopters and surveillance planes to several air bases along …

Plodders are on the move

THE Pantyffynnon Plodders have organised two walks next week.

The first, on September 12, is "moderate" and goes from Newbridgeto Rhayader in the Wye Valley.

Meet up is at 9am at Llandeilo railway station, then on to thevalley by car.

The second, on September 15, is a walk in the Llandyfan Churcharea, also "moderate".

Meeting point is at Llandybie railway station, departing at1.30pm by car. Gaiters are recommended.

Katie'S A Natural For The Fame Game

Friends of Bristol student Katie Lewis screamed with delight whenthey heard she has been chosen from 12,000 hopefuls to star BBCtalent series Fame Academy.

The 18-year-old from Bedminster is one of 11 young people to bepicked for the fly-on-the-wall show.

The contestants will live together in a North London mansion andwork long hours being groomed for stardom.

The overall winner will get a GBP1 million recording deal and aluxury London home, but the contestants risk being evicted if they donot make the grade.

Katie has been taking regular acting, singing and dancing classesat Starlight Dance and Theatre Company in Windmill Hill, Bristol,for the past year.

Moira Aldred is principal of the stage school and her step-motherHeather Aldred helps out. Both women know Katie well.

Heather said: "We were absolutely thrilled when we found out aboutKatie being on Fame Academy. Her mum called us with the good newsafter it was officially announced on Monday.

"Katie is one of the two eldest we have and the young kidsabsolutely love her. They idolise her and she's so supportive ofthem, they look up to her.

"When they found out she had been chosen for Fame Academy theywere all screaming and I was in tears." With Starlight, Katie took tothe stage in the heart of London's theatreland in Drury Lane andperformed Night Fever and Chim Chim Choree from Mary Poppins. She hasalso performed in variety shows.

Heather said: "We knew she'd make it - it was just a matter oftime.

"Whatever happens on the show, Katie is made now. We'll all beglued to the television on Friday night." Katie last attended a classat Starlight in Bristol a few weeks ago.

Heather said: "Her main strength is singing. She has a voice tokill for - it's beautiful. She's classically trained so she can hitall the high notes while singing songs like Pie Jesu.

"As well as being talented, Katie is also a lovely girl, a verydown-to-earth genuine person, extremely friendly." The Fame Academyline-up was a closely-guarded secret until it was officiallyannounced on Monday.

Many of Bristol's Starlight performers went to London last weekendto audition on a cabaret boat.

Her fellow performers were told that Katie could not make itbecause she was ill - but they did not realise the real reason shecould not attend was because she had been chosen for Fame Academy andthe show's producers were keeping the contestants hidden.

Heather last spoke to Katie on Friday.

"Of course, now we know the real reason why she couldn't make it," said Heather.

"We have three Kates, so to distinguish between them Katie Lewisis known as Opera Kate because of her classically trained voice."Katie is currently in hiding, as are all of the other contestants,until the first show of the series is screened on Friday.

She lives in Bristol with her parents and has a BTec in PerformingArts but has had to drop out of college to film Fame Academy, whichruns until December.

A 12th contestant will be given his or her big break by thepublic, who will see hopefuls put through their paces at a liveaudition when the show kicks off on Friday.

The contestants will have to spend 24 hours a day together in aGBP35 million north London mansion where tutors will hone theirstage skills.

But those who the teachers feel are not making the grade will beput on 'probation' and the public and fellow contestants will decidewho stays and who gets evicted.

12,000 music wannabes sent in tapes or attended auditions when thecompetition was launched in July.

Unlike TV talent shows such as Fame Academy is one of seriousmusicians rather than pure pop hopefuls.

Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty will host BBC1's Friday nightprimetime shows, which begin at 8.30pm this week.

Getting rid of creaks in Durangos

Here are some technical service bulletins to keep you abreast of the latest repair tips and procedures.

Two pieces of sheet metal rubbing together at the B-pillar and roof panel area on the 1998 Dodge Durango may cause a creaking noise in the upper roof and B-pillar on one or both sides of the vehicle. Road testing the vehicle on uneven road surfaces will produce the noises.

To stop the creaking, Dodge recommends using a structural adhesive to insulate the sheet metal. The first step in the procedure is to remove the headliner and all related components using the procedures as outlined in the appropriate service manual. Next, remove the fasteners from the rear air conditioning (A/C) units, and use wire to hang the unit on the left side.This reduces the amount of strain on A/C lines and the electrical wiring.

Now, protect the interior and surrounding components from drips and excessive adhesive. Starting from the top and working down, apply adhesive to the locations shown in Fig. 1. Fill the voids between the roof rail upper and inner sides.

Apply a bead of adhesive along the underside of the roof panel, upper roof rail and inner roof rail side. Fill the pockets between the B-post inner panel and the roof rail side inner.

The flexible hose attached to the end of the mixing tube should help direct and control the adhesive. (Note: The working time of the adhesive is five to seven minutes at 70 deg F (21 deg C). After this time passes, reassemble the vehicle. The adhesive must set for three to four hours.)

If the vehicle has a rear A/C unit, install the unit to the upper roof rail, and then install the headliner and related components. Dodge allots 1.5 hours of labor time for the B-pillar procedure and adds 0.2 hours for vehicles equipped with rear A/C units.

Eliminate Caddy Water Spots

Some owners of 1998-99 Cadillac Sevilles may complain the rubber portion of the side door exterior moldings and weatherstrips at the beline appear to have water spots that cannot be removed. This condition, sometimes referred to as "leopard spots," is caused by a reaction between the rubber and the finish coating.

To correct this problem, apply Westley's Blech-wite to a clean cloth and coat the entire affected rubber surface. Rinse the surface with clean water, and then dry the rubber surfaces of both sides of the vehicle with a clean cloth. Now apply Auto Excellence 5006 Ultimate to a clean cloth and coat the cleaned rubber surfaces. Take care not to rub the product on painted surfaces, glass or metal trim.

For additional information on Westley's, call (800) 416-1600. For more information on Auto Excellence, call (800) 711 7021. (Note: General Motors does not endorse or prefer either of these products and recognizes that equivalent products may be available.)

Lamp Housing Removal Tips

If the high-mount stop lamp housing on the 1998 Nissan Altima is removed incorrectly, the front tabs may break. This applies to all models except the SE. To correctly remove the lamp:

* Push the stop lamp housing straight back toward the rear window about 3/8 in.

* Lift the forward portion straight up.

* Pull forward to remove.

The high-mount stop lamp on 1994-97 Nissan pickup trucks is prone to corrosion. If you repair the corrosion, prevent a reoccurrence of the problem by using gasket P/N 26593-3B10 when installing the stop lamp. Do not reuse the original gasket or the original replacement gasket. If the stop lamp was damaged by corrosion, install a new lamp assembly, P/N 26590-713400.

Repairing Loose Trim Panels

On some 1998 and 1999 Buick LeSabres and Pontiac Bonnevilles, the front and/or rear door trim panel may be loose or may separate from the top of the door at the inner sealing strip.

To correct this problem on the Buick, remove the door trim panel assembly, referring to the "Doors" subsection of the appropriate service manual.Then remove the staples that attach the inner sealing strip to the door trim panel.

Align the new inner sealing strip along the top of the door trim panel. Next, ensure that the rear cutout in the new inner sealing strip is matched to the rear knob on the back side of the panel. Install the new inner sealing strip from the front side of the trim panel by placing your thumbs on the door trim panel and grasping the new inner sealing strip with your fingers and rolling the sealing strip up and over the edge toward the front side of the door trim panel. Continue this process along the entire length of the inner sealing strip.

Now, invert the door trim panel assembly and turn the back side of the panel toward you. Start at one end and, with one hand, squeeze the belt strip and door trim panel together. Using the 1/2-in. wide, 1/4-in. long, 20-gauge galvanized staples, evenly space 10 staples along the length of the inner sealing strip.

[Author Affiliation]

By Angi Semler

Senior Associate Editor

Alcatel finalizing US bribery settlement in Miami

MIAMI (AP) — French telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent SA is finalizing a settlement with the U.S. over bribes paid to officials in Costa Rica, Honduras, Malaysia and Taiwan.

The deal set to conclude Wednesday in Miami federal court includes a $92 million penalty as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department. Altacel paid another $45 million to settle a related Securities and Exchange Commission case.

Three Alcatel subsidiaries are scheduled to plead guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Prosecutors say the bribes enabled Alcatel to win numerous major telecommunications contracts.

A Costa Rican firm is asking a U.S. federal judge at the hearing to declare it a victim of the bribes and order Alcatel to pay it millions of dollars in damages. The U.S. government opposes that request.

Bomb in southern Pakistan kills 1

Police say a roadside bomb has killed one person and wounded three in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi.

Police official Iqbal Mahmood says the bomb exploded Thursday in a parking area near a neighborhood where many naval officers reside. The motive was not immediately clear.

Pakistan Navy spokesman Mohammed Salman confirmed the bomb but dismissed the notion that the naval colony was targeted.

Karachi is Pakistan's largest city, with more than 16 million residents. It has a long history of political, ethnic and religious violence, and is believed to be a hide-out for Taliban and al-Qaida leaders.

Homeowners or handymen can be gifted with right tools

Yes, unfortunately, it's the thought that counts. But no,husbands, that does not mean if your wife gives you a paint scraperfor Christmas, you should retaliate by giving her a Weight Watcherscookbook.

Likewise, wives, if your husband gives you a funny-looking toolthat has a flat, six-inch, half-moon blade with a handle on it,exchange it right away. It's called a "joint knife" and it means hewants you to dry wall something.

You don't want to get involved.

There are, however, any number of good and practical giftsappropriate - and fairly inoffensive - for the new homeowner orunhandy handyman on your Christmas list.

Some are fairly economical, others seem outrageously expensive.

"But the thing to remember is that a tool is something you aregoing to have for the rest of your life," says Roy Barnhart, senioreditor of Practical Homeowner magazine based in Fairfield, Conn.

"If you're going to buy, you should buy quality tools. They aregoing to be safer, work better and last longer than cheaper tools."

In the February issue of Practical Homeowner, Barnhart, whobrags he hasn't had a professional repairman in his home in years or- more importantly - hasn't paid a professional repairman's bill inyears, will be giving readers a rundown of about $2,500 worth ofbasic tools the average homeowner shouldn't be without.

For Christmas, however, he suggests this starter kit for thehomeowner who, well, has nothing. It takes more than that to pick upthese little items, but Barnhart says the prices he gives are retailand can be reduced by 30 to 40 percent if shoppers watch for sales orshop by catalog.

His list: A metal tape measure, 25 feet long and one-inch wide. About $23. A combination square good for marking 45- and 90-degree angles.It's also good for making sure things are square, and can be used todraw straight lines. $9. A level. Get one that is about 24 inches - long enough for accuratemeasurement but short enough to fit between the jambs of a door. $15. A 16-ounce, curved graphite fiberglass handled hammer. "Woodhandles break too easily, steel handles transmit too much shock."$25. A nail puller. "Look for one that grabs easy with the leastamount of danger to wood." $10. Nail set. You need 1/32, 2/32 and 3/32 heads. $6. Staple gun. "I prefer a mechanical one. I'd prefer not to be tiedto a cord. But women might like a power assist, and there arecordless battery-powered ones available." $25. A six-piece screwdriver set. "Buy quality here. They last a wholelifetime so they're worth it." $21. A utility knife. "I like the quick change kind where the spareblades pop out of the handle." $6.50. A hack saw and a decent hand saw. "Get one that's advertised as`fast cutting.' It's a new tooth configuration for short, fastcutting." $14 each. Wood chisels. Set of four, ranging from quarter-inch heads toone-inch. (Wood chisels are good for fitting doors and a variety ofother carpentry tasks.) $50. Glass cutter. "Pays for itself the first time you use it." $3.50. Locking pliers. 10-inch vise grip. $12. Chain nose pliers. "And remember, the rubber coating on the grip isnice, but it's not designed for electrical safety so don't grab a hotwire with them and think you'll be protected." $18. Six- and 10-inch adjustable wrenches. $14 and $19, respectively. A 15-piece combination socket wrench set, quarter-inch tothree-quarter inch. "Before you buy a set though, look around (bothhouse and car) and try to figure out if you need a metric set or anEnglish set. Usually, you end up needing both." $45. End cutting pliers. Nippers that are used as nail pullers or to cutoff the head of nail that you can't drive flush to the surface. $22. A three-eighth inch drill-screwdriver. Should be variable speed,reversible and with clutch settings. $250. You might get an extrabattery pack, which also is extra. 29-piece of drill twist bits, indexed. (That means it comes in acase with the right size hole for every bit.) $120. Five-piece set of masonry bits. Good for drilling concrete blockand ceramic tile. $10. Magnetic bit holder and inserts. The magnet keeps metal screws onthe end of the bit so they won't fall off. $35. Portable circular saw. 12 or 13 amps, don't bother looking athorsepower ratings. Some new ones out cut angles below 45 degrees."Don't get a cheap saw. Think about this. If a pro wants anexpensive circular saw because of the safety features and power ithas, then shouldn't the average person need them even more than thepro does?" $225. Safety glasses. $12. Electrical current tester. "A cheap device that could keep you fromgetting zapped." $2.50. Respirator. "If you are at all concerned about dust or paint spray,spend the money for a respirator that fits right. It looks like agas mask, but it has a dual filter system with cartridges on eitherside, replaceable filters and several straps to hold it securely onyour head. Those little paper masks with the Halloween-mask elasticband really don't give you much protection." $30. Work gloves. Leather. $15. Extension cord. 50 feet long and rated for 15 amps. $50. Putty knife. Inch and a quarter blade. Good for wood filling, drywall repair, scraping and a variety of other things. $5. Caulking gun. Open body design. $3.25. 24-foot, flat-step, Type-2 commercial aluminum extension ladder."It should be long enough to reach the peak of your roof." $149. 6-foot aluminum stepladder. $30. A good toolbox. Divided trays, large enough to hold a collection oftools, plus room for expansion. "I hate to go to the basement forone tool, the garage for another and the kitchen drawer for another.It should be big enough to keep them all in one place."

Barnhart also has a few words of caution for tool shoppers:Don't be tricked into buying multipurpose "gimmick" tools. "Onewrench may do the work of 50, but it may not do the job nearly aswell as the right wrench."

He also shrugs off "how to" books and the various home repairmanuals that always are available around Christmas.

"Generally when you buy products to do a tiling job, or forhanging a light or laying a floor, the manufacturer will do a prettygood job of supplying information on how that product should beused," Barnhart said.

"Books may tell you one thing, but directions on the package aregoing to be product-specific. It's almost always a good idea to justgo with what the instructions say."

One other thing.

According to the hand tool institute, some 76,000 accidents thatrequire some kind of emergency treatment occur every year with handtools. It's always a good idea to make sure you are using the righttool for the right job.

KETCHUM WHILE YOU CAN

CULTURAL

A peek at this year's Seventh Ketchum Arts Festival

With few exceptions, the opportunity to see the people creating the treasures we so greedily consume on a daily basis is becoming more and more limited every day. Without markets and festivals promoting sales, many artisans would probably find themselves even more burdened by large chain stores than they are now. All this aside, if you're mourning the empty packet of sparklers in your trash can, and feeling like it's time to acknowledge the desire you have been suppressing since age 5 to win a coloring contest, there's the Seventh Annual Ketchum Arts Festival this weekend (open on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.). This free event celebrates community through nonprofit organizations, resident artists, musicians, culinary chefs and brewmeisters.

"Kim Howard, the artist whose watercolor is featured on the poster advertising this year's Ketchum Arts Festival, came up with the idea to promote community involvement in the Festival," says Diane Taylor, a member of the committee organizing the festival and one the contest's sponsors.

Taylor and her husband are sponsoring cash prizes of $10, $20 and $50 for children ages 13 and younger and ribbons for adults. Everyone can also receive a certificate of participation. You can find an entry blank at the Taylormade Pottery booth, #330, throughout the weekend, and because this contest is more about getting families to interact with each other during the festival than making money, they aren't trying to force you into staying there all weekend by declaring that winners have to be present. You are free to draw and dash as long as your entry is turned in by noon on Sunday. They will declare the winners at 3:30 p.m. from the festival stage.

The coloring contest is only one of the new aspects of this year's gathering. Located in what organizers term "Festival Meadows," the steering committee chose to lay out the booths in giant ovals instead of on a grid system, so you can easily see every booth and don't have to leave a trail of cotton candy in order to find your way back to Boise. As go through the main entrance, turn left or right and chose whatever grasps your attention first, and after making your way by each booth, enter the opposite side to complete your tour.

Another new addition to this year's Festival is a drum circle. World Beat Street Band will lead the circle beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. For those who prefer admiring to creating, on Friday, you can peruse the festival and then continue satiating your artist's palette with the Ketchum Gallery Walk from 6 to 9 p.m.

For more information about the festival, visit www.ketchumartsfestival.com.

Astros' Rodriguez ends slump vs. Cardinals

Finally, the Houston Astros gave Wandy Rodriguez some runs to work with.

Rodriguez carried a one-hitter and an eight-run cushion into the sixth inning and Lance Berkman homered for the second straight game in a 9-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday night.

"I said 'thank you,' to them," Rodriguez said. "I try to make good pitches, that's what I do."

Cardinals shortstop Brendan Ryan endured a second straight two-error game and his fielding miscue in the fourth helped the Astros score five unearned runs to go ahead 6-1. Jeff Keppinger's three-run double and Berkman's fourth homer of the season that glanced off the right-field foul pole came on consecutive pitches from Kyle Lohse (0-3).

"I was praying, leaning _ let the thing stay straight," Berkman said. "Anytime you can score runs early and let your guy relax a little bit, that's good."

The Astros totaled 12 runs in the left-hander's first six starts. Not that much would have helped Rodriguez after he gave up seven earned runs in 8 2-3 innings in a pair of losses to start May.

Rodriguez (2-4) allowed four earned runs on five hits in six innings. Manager Brad Mills preferred to savor the first five innings.

"He was pounding the zone with everything," Mills said. "He came out so aggressive and you could tell his demeanor was great."

Keppinger also singled and scored after a 2 for 20 slump and Berkman's homer was the first in 100 2-3 innings allowed by Cardinals starters at home. Berkman also matched a career best with four walks, the first three off Lohse.

Keppinger wore a hat shaped like a giant taco as he met with media, although he denied he'd been slumping.

"You're going to go through spells during the season where you feel good but you're just not making solid contact," Keppinger said. "That's kind of how it felt for me.

"I'm glad this was the game where I started to come through."

Houston led 9-1 before Rodriguez (2-4) said his arm motion got out of whack. The Astros still had plenty to win their third straight, saddle St. Louis with only its third series loss out of 11 this season and for Rodriguez to end a seven-game road losing streak over 10 starts.

It's also the Astros' first series win at 5-year-old Busch Stadium and their first of three or more games in St. Louis since taking two of three Sept. 14-16, 2004.

Rodriguez added a single and sacrifice fly for his first RBI of the season, and is 5 for 14 at the plate.

The Cardinals' rotation entered with a major league-leading 2.50 ERA and Lohse is the only starter without a victory _ he also has a 5.68 ERA. He allowed nine runs, a career high.

"I just wasn't very good all around," Lohse said. "I left a couple up, left a lot up, and every time I left it up they hurt."

Defense had kept Ryan in the St. Louis lineup, with great range and only three errors the first 32 games. He also was 0 for 3, dropping his average to .173 after taking early batting practice.

Ryan noted both errors were difficult plays. The ball glanced off his glove on a soft sinking liner by Humberto Quintero gave the Astros two on to start the eighth.

"I thought I was going to catch it at my belt at the minimum," Ryan said. "Next thing I knew I was trying to make a catch at my shoetops. That's two tough ones, I don't do anything different, really."

After both games, manager Tony La Russa offered comforting words.

"I just know he's a really good defensive player," La Russa said. "This happens, hang with it."

Albert Pujols and David Freese had RBI doubles in the sixth for St. Louis, which has lost six of eight. Ryan Ludwick had three hits and is 13 for 21 against Houston pitching this season.

Matt Lindstrom got the last out for his eighth save in eight tries, allowing an RBI double to Pujols before Matt Holliday lined out. Lindstrom has 20 straight saves sinec April 28, 2009 and hasn't allowed a run in his last 10 appearances covering 10 1-3 innings.

NOTES: The Astros fielded their major league-leading 32nd different lineup. The Cardinals aren't too far behind with 28. ... Pedro Feliz had an infield hit in the second for his 1,000th career hit, ending an 0 for 9 drought, and singled in the fourth. ... Michael Bourn had two hits and is 10 for 21 against the Cardinals. ... The Astros are 11-3 when scoring four or more runs and 1-18 otherwise.

European surveys point to easing recession

The recession afflicting the 16 nations that use the euro eased further in May, closely watched surveys found Thursday, reinforcing hopes that growth may emerge possibly by the end of the year.

The monthly purchasing managers' surveys for the manufacturing and services sectors _ key gauges of activity _ improved in May to levels last seen before the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in September, when the global financial crisis took a turn for the worst.

The "flash" estimate for the manufacturing index rose to 40.5 in May from 36.8 in April while the equivalent measure for the services sector increased to 44.7 from 43.8. The composite measure, which combines the two, climbed for the third month running to an eight-month high of 43.9 from 41.1.

The readings continue to point to recession as anything below 50 indicates a contraction. However, they also show that the severity of the recession is easing as the nearer the reading is to 50 the less marked the contraction.

In the first quarter of 2009, the euro zone saw its gross domestic product slump by a massive 2.5 percent, with Germany particularly badly hit by the collapse in global demand for its high-value exports, such as cars and heavy machinery.

"This means that _ despite the improvement _ all we can hope for is a more modest pace of contraction in GDP in the second quarter," said Daniele Antonucci, European economist at Capital Economics.

Antonucci said the current level of the composite PMI is consistent with a quarterly decline of around 0.7 percent in the second quarter, though he noted that the index did underestimate the scale of the contraction in the first quarter.

Mexican club ponders putting team in Chicago

Chivas, the most popular soccer team in Mexico, bypassed Chicagothis week in announcing it would field a Los Angeles-based team inMajor League Soccer next season.

That decision didn't diminish Chivas' fan support in a 3-1 lossWednesday to Guadalajara rival Atlas in the second game of adoubleheader at Soldier Field. Chivas was outplayed by Atlas afterTecos, another team from Guadalajara, played Atlante of Mexico Cityto a 1-1 draw in the opener.

Mexican teams play several matches in Chicago each year, butWednesday was Tecos' first visit. It doesn't figure to be the last,however, because Tecos vice president Carlos Leano Reyes revealedplans to follow Chivas into the U.S. market by placing a team in MLS.

We hope to be in Chicago," Reyes said. Our idea is to put a teamhere, and America [another Mexican league power] wants to dosomething in Texas. The United States has been making investments insoccer, and maybe soon we'll be able to achieve something."

No question the interest of the Hispanic community in Chicago issufficient for the city to have a second MLS team compete for fanswith the Fire, which has a working agreement with a smaller Mexicanclub, Morelia. The crowd, conservatively estimated at 24,900 by thepromoter of the games, was well above the Fire's season average.

The spirited matches had the crowd buzzing throughout. In theopener, Atlante scored on Luis Gabriel Rey's penalty kick in the 20thminute before Tecos tied the score on a header by Mario Rosales fourminutes later.

That match, though, was an obvious warmup act. Chivas received arousing ovation when its players took the field for the nightcap, andAtlas' players were roundly booed. It didn't matter, however, asgoals by Robert De Pinho and Daniel Osorno gave Atlas a 2-0 lead.Chivas pulled to 2-1 on Francisco Palencia's goal in the 65th minute,but Carlos Morales closed the scoring for Atlas two minutes later.

NOTE: Dipsy Selolwane scored in the 56th minute to give the Fire a1-0 victory against the A-League's Richmond Kickers in thequarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup in Richmond, Va. The Fire willplay the A-League's Charleston Battery in the semifinals Aug. 25 inNaperville.

India, South Africa face stiff test under searing sun and intense humidity

Soaring temperature and intense humidity is playing on the minds of rival captains ahead of India's three-test series against South Africa.

South Africa skipper Graeme Smith said a major challenge in the opening test was the weather in Chennai, where the mercury has touched 33 degrees Celsius with 90 percent humidity.

"India is one of the best teams in world cricket now, but coming out to India we also need to manage the conditions," Smith said Tuesday, on the eve of the series opener.

"I'm pretty sure the heat's going to be a factor at some stage in this game. How we manage through the next five days is going to be crucial," Smith said. "Mentally we're prepared to play our brand of cricket and executing it."

South Africa has a 9-4 win-loss record from 19 test matches against India, including an impressive 3-3 test performance on Indian soil, where its 2-0 triumph in 1999-2000 marked a rare home test series loss for India in the past two decades.

"We're a confident team at the moment, but then the Indians possess one of the better teams they've had," Smith said. And with No. 2 in the test rankings on the line, there's more at stake for both teams.

India moved to No. 2 following an impressive recent tour of Australia, where it lost 2-1 in a contentious series.

Skipper Anil Kumble said he wants to increase the two-point buffer over South Africa ahead of home series later in the year against Australia and England.

"After the good work in Australia, we have a lot of test cricket coming up and we're all geared up," said Kumble, whose spin-bowling partnership with Harbhajan Singh could prove to be significant factor in against South Africa.

South African batsmen have not relished facing quality spinners on the subcontinent's low-bounce tracks.

India's Sachin Tendulkar has no such concerns and needs only 172 runs to become the highest run-scorer in test cricket history.

Tendulkar has 11,782 runs in 146 tests, and is second behind former West Indian skipper Brian Lara's 11,953 from 133 matches.

"If we do well and win the series, it'll give us a bit more lead in keeping the No. 2 position," said Kumble, adding that the key to winning was for his batsmen to post big totals.

"Playing at home we've always managed to post big scores. Once we do that we can put pressure on the rivals," he said.

Plotting India's success will be its new coach Gary Kirsten, a former South African test cricketer.

Smith said the South African team was not hassled at seeing Kirsten in the opposition camp.

"As a person we respect Gary, he's a guy who had a big impact on me as a young player," said Smith. "But his position in the Indian camp is not something that fazes us hugely."

__

Lineups:

India (from): Anil Kumble (captain), Virender Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman, Mahendra Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh, Shantakumaran Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan, Yuvraj Singh and Piyush Chawla.

South Africa (from): Graeme Smith (captain), Neil McKenzie, A.B. de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Jean-Paul Duminy, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher, Morne Morkel, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson and Monde Zondeki.

Umpires: Asad Rauf, Pakistan, and Tony Hill, New Zealand.

TV umpire: Amish Saheba, India. Match referee: Roshan Mahanama, Sri Lanka.

House GOP throws weight around The cut in Pell grants was a vote to make America weaker

When Congress convened immediately after the election, thevictorious Republican majority showed that it was the boss. HouseDemocrats were essentially locked out of the process. House SpeakerDennis Hastert said he would allow no bill even to be consideredunless it had support of the majority of Republicans. Democraticvotes did not count.

The Republican majority then expressed its values. Its first actwas to change its rules so that a member indicted on a felony chargecould remain leader of Republicans in the House. Have Republicansgone soft on crime? With three of his aides already indicted forillegal use of political funds in Texas, Republican Majority leaderTom DeLay, the true boss of the House, anticipates that he may benext. So just in case, they changed the rule against indicted leadersstaying in power. The same folks who champion zero tolerance for kidshave no problem making an exception for one of their own.

Then Republicans passed -- in one 1,000-page, 14-pound, $388billion bill -- all the appropriations they failed to consider beforethe election. That allowed them to pack the bill with billions in"earmarks," pork projects for individual members, even while hackingaway at the environmental protection budget.

Hidden in that bill was a lump of coal for America's mostdeserving college kids. Republicans passed a provision that will endup eliminating the college scholarships -- Pell grants -- for 90,000students, and cutting them for more than 1 million.

The kids who get Pell grants come from families that make lessthan $50,000 a year. These kids have to patch together loans, jobsand grants to afford a college education. The Republican majorityvoted to cut the funds to a million of these kids into order to save$300 million from a $2 trillion annual budget. These are the samelegislators who will vote to extend the tax breaks that put about $30billion a year into the pockets of America's millionaires.

On the Web page of the Republican chair of the EducationCommittee, John Boehner, is a statement that claims we have not cutPell grants. But that is what might be called a "true lie." Sure, theamount of money being spent on the program has gone up, since morekids qualify for it. But the grants to the kids are getting cut.First, they continue to lose ground to soaring college tuitions. Pellgrants used to cover over 80 percent of the average tuition forpublic four-year colleges. Now they cover about half that much. Sothe kids or their families have to go further into debt or findadditional part-time jobs to make up the difference. A lot of kidssimply can't do it and more and more end up dropping out of school.The president promised to increase the level of Pell grants when heran four years ago and again in this election. But that promise hasbeen broken.

Now the Republicans authorized the education secretary to raisethe "expected annual payment" by the kids or their families. That isa way of cutting grants without admitting it. Boehner's statement istechnically correct, but the college-student sons and daughters ofAmerica's working families will find out just how misleading it iswhen their grants are cut.

The reality is that Pell grants should be going up, as thepresident promised, not down. The entire country has a stake in thenext generation's getting the best education it can. For minorityfamilies, a huge stake is put on scraping together the funds so thata deserving child can get the education that opens the door ofopportunity.

The Republican majority finds this a less worthy cause than taxbreaks going to millionaires. Ironically, I suspect if you polledmillionaires, the vast majority would be happy to roll back theirtaxes if they knew the money would be used to help deserving kidsstay in college.

America's prosperity was created in large part after World War II,when the country, deeply in debt because of the war, chose to providea GI Bill to reward the GIs with the money for advanced education ortraining. An entire generation went to college, and made Americabetter.

The one thing we know about the right-wing cuts in Pell grants is,that by closing the door to education to working kids, they arevoting to make America weaker. They voted to allow an indictedlawmaker to lead them, but the vote on Pell grants was the biggestcrime of all.

Kenyan president tells U.S. diplomat he is ready to form unity government

Kenya's president is ready to form "a government of national unity" to help resolve disputed elections that caused deadly riots, a government statement said Saturday without explaining what such a power-sharing arrangement might involve.

Police, meanwhile, opened fire in a Nairobi slum and at least one man was shot dead, witnesses said. Residents had been battling with machetes and several were wounded, including a man who had part of his leg chopped off.

President Mwai Kibaki made the statement about a unity government to Jendayi Frazer, the leading U.S. diplomatic for Africa, according to the director of the presidential news service, Isaiya Kabira.

Kabira said he could not say whether it was a formal offer to opposition leader Raila Odinga, who accuses Kibaki of stealing the Dec. 27 elections that international observers say has a deeply flawed vote count.

Britain, the former colonial power in Kenya, issued an appeal Friday to leaders in the East African country to consider sharing power.

Frazer, who met with Odinga earlier Saturday, would be meeting with the opposition leader again, Kabira said, implying she might be carrying a message from Kibaki.

Odinga told a news conference he had not received any formal offer from the government, but added, "Let them put that on the table when we are negotiating."

He declined to say what his response would be, but his spokesman, Salim Lone, told The Associated Press that Odinga would rather not share power.

"Raila has said a number of times that he is not happy with (the idea of) a government of national unity, he has said he would rather remain in the opposition," Lone said.

In talks with Frazer, Odinga repeated his demand for an election rerun organized by a transitional government, he said.

But Kibaki said a rerun could be ordered only by the High Court.

In parliamentary balloting, Odinga's party won 95 of 122 legislative seats and half of Kibaki's Cabinet lost their seats, meaning it would be almost impossible for Kibaki to govern without opposition cooperation.

There was no immediate statement from Frazer on her 90-minute meeting with Kibaki or her talks with Odinga.

Kabira read a government statement that quoted Frazer as saying that "by extending an olive branch to the opposition, President Kibaki had shown his commitment to ending the political impasse."

"She expressed optimism that all concerned parties will work together toward restoring normalcy in Kenya."

The statement said Kibaki reiterated his readiness to work with all involved parties.

"The president said he was ready to form a government of national Unity that would not only unite Kenyans but would also help in the healing and reconciliation process," the statement said.

South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu has also held talks with Kibaki and Odinga in a bid to bring about a peaceful solution.

Some 300 people have been killed and 100,000 made homeless in violent protests and clashes since the vote. The turbulence has taken an ugly ethnic twist, with other tribes pitted against each other, and brought chaos to a country once considered an island of stability in violence-plagued East Africa.

Several shacks were set ablaze Saturday in Nairobi's sprawling Mathare slum, where residents attacked each other with machetes. One man said people from Odinga's Luo tribe were fighting a gang from Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe. Police opened fire on the scene, and one man was shot in the head and killed, according to an Associated Press Television News cameraman.

The police quickly were surrounded by an angry crowd and had to flee with three wounded people, including a man who had half his leg hacked away.

Trouble has spread from Nairobi, the capital, to the western highlands and to the coast. In the coastal tourist city of Mombasa on Saturday, police fired tear gas in a bid to disperse protesters for a second day running.

"Kibaki must go!" the scores of demonstrators shouted.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has said that the elections "were totally rigged," but did not provide evidence.

Attorney General Amos Wako has called for an independent investigation of the vote counting. The call from Wako, who is considered close to Kibaki, was a surprise and could reflect the seriousness of the rigging allegations.

But Odinga's spokesman, Lone, rejected the suggestion, saying his party had "no faith in any government institution."

Thousands in the capital's slums, meanwhile, have lined up for food.

The U.N. World Food Program said it was scrambling to bring food to 100,000 displaced people in the Rift Valley. The agency said trucks were slowed because of insecurity.

Food shortages in Mombasa caused prices to rise, including the doubling of bread prices, residents said.

Kenyan businesses have lost millions of dollars (euros) and the country's vitally important tourism industry suffered as British and other tour operators canceled planned vacations.

The World Bank said the unrest "threatens impressive recent gains in economic growth and poverty reduction" in a country with a gross domestic product growth rate of 7 percent.

The bank said the vibrant stock exchange lost 5 percent of the value of shares, lucrative tea auctions were suspended and agricultural activity in Kenya's breadbasket region largely was halted.

Neighboring countries also are affected, with shiploads of goods destined for Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Congo waiting to unload at Mombasa, the gateway to eastern Africa, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

___

Associated Press writers Elizabeth A. Kennedy, Tom Maliti, Katharine Houreld and Todd Pitman contributed to this report.

German development minister calls for reguluation of biofuels market

Germany's development minister is calling for greater regulation of the global biofuels market to prevent its expansion from driving up food prices.

Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul says "it is unacceptable for the export of agrofuels to pose a threat to the supply situation of the very people already living in poverty."

She says the world needs new rules that balance goals including climate change mitigation, food security and social development.

Wieczorek-Zeul issued a statement in Washington Saturday a day ahead of the spring meeting of the World Bank. The meeting is expected to give priority to the issue of how to respond to the crisis faced by developing countries due to rising food prices.

Wieczorek-Zeul also called for the industrialized countries to end export subsidies by 2013.

Pirates Slam Benes, Cards

The Pittsburgh Pirates tied a major-league record for most grandslams in a game when Orlando Merced and Jay Bell both connectedTuesday night in a 13-3 victory over the host St. Louis Cardinals.

Merced's slam highlighted a six-run first inning, and Bell'sslam in the sixth made it 12-0. Merced finished with five RBI, andJeff King had four of Pittsburgh's 20 hits.

Several teams have hit two slams in a game. The feat was lastaccomplished Sept. 5, when Robin Ventura hit a pair of slams for theWhite Sox.Zane Smith (2-0) pitched six innings and helped himself with anRBI single in the first. Jon Lieber worked three innings for hisfirst save in the majors.Andy Benes (1-1) was tagged for seven runs on 12 hits in fiveinnings. Opponents were hitting a league-low .145 against Benesbefore the Pirates went to work.Expos 7, Phillies 6: Moises Alou singled home the winning runwith two outs in the ninth inning and host Montreal overcame an earlyfive-run deficit to beat Philadelphia.Mark Grudzielanek singled off Russ Springer (0-1) leading offthe ninth, and Mike Lansing sacrificed. Rondell White flied tocenter and Alou singled to left, making a winner of Mel Rojas (3-0),who pitched a perfect ninth.Braves 5, Marlins 2: Ryan Klesko hit his seventh homer, atwo-run drive in the second inning that sparked host Atlanta pastreeling Florida.Klesko, who didn't hit his seventh homer last season until June26, connected for a 405-foot drive off Kevin Brown (0-3) as Atlantagot back to .500 at 7-7.Astros 9, Mets 6: Houston used left fielder Butch Huskey's errorand three stolen bases to score five runs in the fifth inning at NewYork.Orlando Miller homered and had three hits for Houston, whichtook a 6-0 lead into the seventh.Todd Hundley hit a three-run homer and Jeff Kent followed with ahomer during a five-run seventh that closed the Mets to 6-5.Giants 5, Dodgers 3: Pinch hitter Mel Hall's sacrifice flycapped a four-run seventh inning, and Barry Bonds homered in theeighth as host San Francisco rallied past Los Angeles.Padres 10, Rockies 6: Andy Ashby tamed his former teammates withhis arm and taunted them with his bat, going 4-for-4 to lead SanDiego over Colorado in Denver.

Edward Curley, 87 Former prize fighter

Edward M. "Newsboy" Curley, a former prize fighter, referee, andnewspaper delivery man for the Boston Record-American, died Wednesdayin Bayonet Point Hospital in Hudson, Fla. He was 87.

Mr. Curley was a New England featherweight champion in the 1920sand later refereed boxing matches across the country.

He was born Issac Morochnik in Russia and came to the UnitedStates at age 5; his parents settled in the West End.

He would later say that he learned to fight to protect himself asan immigrant Jewish boy in a mostly established and mostly Italianneighborhood.

Mr. Curley, who changed his name to the nickname he earned in thegyms because of his hair, turned professional in 1928, and madeenough money to move his extended family from what was an inner-cityghetto to a rambling house in Newton.

He lived in Newton until moving to Florida in 1977.

Before turning professional, Mr. Curley represented the UnitedStates in the 1926 Pan American Games. One of his first professionalbouts was fought in November 1928, on the opening night of the BostonGarden.

He began working for the Record-American in 1923 and worked thereoff and on for several decades. During that time, he also ran somenewsstands around the Boston area.

Mr. Curley leaves his wife, Jean M. (Roberts); two sons,Gerald M. of New Port Richey, Fla., and Steven M. of Holliston; threesisters, Annie Kramer of Worcester, Sophie Wolfe of Delray Beach,Fla., and Jennie Grummer of Deerfield Beach, Fla.; and fivegrandchildren.

The funeral will be held at noon tomorrow in Stanetsky MemorialChapels in Brookline. Burial will be in the Shepetovka Cemetery inWest Roxbury.

Edward Curley, 87 Former prize fighter

Edward M. "Newsboy" Curley, a former prize fighter, referee, andnewspaper delivery man for the Boston Record-American, died Wednesdayin Bayonet Point Hospital in Hudson, Fla. He was 87.

Mr. Curley was a New England featherweight champion in the 1920sand later refereed boxing matches across the country.

He was born Issac Morochnik in Russia and came to the UnitedStates at age 5; his parents settled in the West End.

He would later say that he learned to fight to protect himself asan immigrant Jewish boy in a mostly established and mostly Italianneighborhood.

Mr. Curley, who changed his name to the nickname he earned in thegyms because of his hair, turned professional in 1928, and madeenough money to move his extended family from what was an inner-cityghetto to a rambling house in Newton.

He lived in Newton until moving to Florida in 1977.

Before turning professional, Mr. Curley represented the UnitedStates in the 1926 Pan American Games. One of his first professionalbouts was fought in November 1928, on the opening night of the BostonGarden.

He began working for the Record-American in 1923 and worked thereoff and on for several decades. During that time, he also ran somenewsstands around the Boston area.

Mr. Curley leaves his wife, Jean M. (Roberts); two sons,Gerald M. of New Port Richey, Fla., and Steven M. of Holliston; threesisters, Annie Kramer of Worcester, Sophie Wolfe of Delray Beach,Fla., and Jennie Grummer of Deerfield Beach, Fla.; and fivegrandchildren.

The funeral will be held at noon tomorrow in Stanetsky MemorialChapels in Brookline. Burial will be in the Shepetovka Cemetery inWest Roxbury.

Dodgers down Phillies, take NL West lead

Nomar Garciaparra's one-out homer in the bottom of the ninth gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday and a share of the lead in the National League's West Division.

Garciaparra lined a pitch just over the fence in left field for his sixth homer of the season and first this month. He was playing his second game since coming off the disabled list.

It was a third straight win for Los Angeles over Philadelphia, who dropped into a tie with New York for first place in the NL East.

The Dodgers trailed 6-1 in the middle of the second inning and only tied the game 6-6 in the eighth before Garciaparra's winner.

Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 5

In Denver, Colorado relief pitcher Brian Fuentes got the final out of the game with bases loaded to snatch a narrow win over Arizona.

Fuentes issued an intentional walk with two outs in the ninth to load the bases, then retired Adam Dunn on a ground ball.

Dunn, acquired from Cincinnati on Monday and tied for the major league lead with 32 homers, grounded out on a full-count pitch.

Defeat cost Arizona its outright lead in the West.

Cubs 10, Braves 2, 1st game

Cubs 8, Braves 0, 2nd game

In Atlanta, Chicago recorded its first road doubleheader sweep for 16 years by doubling up on Atlanta.

In the opener, Geovany Soto hit a two-run double in the second and a two-run homer in the ninth, while Jim Edmonds also homered.

In the second, Rich Harden allowed only two hits in five innings to steer Chicago to victory. He combined with four relief pitchers for a three-hit shutout _ the Cubs' fifth this season.

Kosuke Fukudome drove in two runs with two hits for the Cubs, who pushed their road winning streak to seven, their longest in four years.

Chicago has won all five of its games against Atlanta this season.

Cardinals 6, Marlins 4

In Miami, Troy Glaus went 4-for-4 at the plate to power St. Louis over Florida.

Jason LaRue hit a two-out two-run double with bases loaded in the seventh to break a 2-2 tie and put the Cardinals ahead to stay.

The Marlins scored twice in the eighth to pull within 5-4, but hit into an inning-ending double play with bases loaded.

Glaus hit an RBI double in the ninth to leave the Marlins 1-1/2 games off the NL East lead.

Brewers 7, Padres 1

In San Diego, Milwaukee extended its winning streak to eight games with an easy victory over San Diego.

C.C. Sabathia pitched seven solid innings. He has not lost in eight starts for the Brewers since being acquired from Cleveland. The reigning AL Cy Young winner won his 10th straight decision to extend his career high.

Sabathia lowered his ERA with Milwaukee to 1.55. He struck out eight and walked only one.

Mets 12, Nationals 0

In Washington, New York crushed Washington to take joint leadership of the NL East.

Daniel Murphy homered and drove in three runs for the Mets. He went 3-for-6 and is batting .467 since being called up from the New Orleans Zephyrs. His RBI single drove in the first run of the eight-run third that gave New York a 10-0 lead.

The Mets sent 13 batters to the plate in the third and scored eight runs on just four hits in a 51-pitch inning.

The Nationals walked 11 batters in their sixth straight loss.

Astros 6, Giants 2

In Houston, the home team beat San Francisco to notch a season-high seventh straight win.

Mark Loretta walked and was hit by a pitch during a wild sixth inning, in which the Astros scored six times. San Francisco tied a major league record by hitting three batters in the inning, and issued four walks.

Houston's winning streak is its longest for two years, and has moved them above .500 but still 8-1/2 games off the wildcard berth.

The Astros' six runs were driven in by two hit batters, two walks and two sacrifice flies.

Pirates 5, Reds 2

In Pittsburgh, Paul Maholm pitched an efficient eight innings to steer Pittsburgh past Cincinnati.

Jason Michaels and Brandon Moss homered and both had two hits for the Pirates.

Cincinnati has lost 15 of 18 games.

Maholm didn't walk a batter and struck out five. He has a 2.81 ERA in his past 14 starts and has gone at least six innings in his past 18 outings.

Dodgers down Phillies, take NL West lead

Nomar Garciaparra's one-out homer in the bottom of the ninth gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday and a share of the lead in the National League's West Division.

Garciaparra lined a pitch just over the fence in left field for his sixth homer of the season and first this month. He was playing his second game since coming off the disabled list.

It was a third straight win for Los Angeles over Philadelphia, who dropped into a tie with New York for first place in the NL East.

The Dodgers trailed 6-1 in the middle of the second inning and only tied the game 6-6 in the eighth before Garciaparra's winner.

Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 5

In Denver, Colorado relief pitcher Brian Fuentes got the final out of the game with bases loaded to snatch a narrow win over Arizona.

Fuentes issued an intentional walk with two outs in the ninth to load the bases, then retired Adam Dunn on a ground ball.

Dunn, acquired from Cincinnati on Monday and tied for the major league lead with 32 homers, grounded out on a full-count pitch.

Defeat cost Arizona its outright lead in the West.

Cubs 10, Braves 2, 1st game

Cubs 8, Braves 0, 2nd game

In Atlanta, Chicago recorded its first road doubleheader sweep for 16 years by doubling up on Atlanta.

In the opener, Geovany Soto hit a two-run double in the second and a two-run homer in the ninth, while Jim Edmonds also homered.

In the second, Rich Harden allowed only two hits in five innings to steer Chicago to victory. He combined with four relief pitchers for a three-hit shutout _ the Cubs' fifth this season.

Kosuke Fukudome drove in two runs with two hits for the Cubs, who pushed their road winning streak to seven, their longest in four years.

Chicago has won all five of its games against Atlanta this season.

Cardinals 6, Marlins 4

In Miami, Troy Glaus went 4-for-4 at the plate to power St. Louis over Florida.

Jason LaRue hit a two-out two-run double with bases loaded in the seventh to break a 2-2 tie and put the Cardinals ahead to stay.

The Marlins scored twice in the eighth to pull within 5-4, but hit into an inning-ending double play with bases loaded.

Glaus hit an RBI double in the ninth to leave the Marlins 1-1/2 games off the NL East lead.

Brewers 7, Padres 1

In San Diego, Milwaukee extended its winning streak to eight games with an easy victory over San Diego.

C.C. Sabathia pitched seven solid innings. He has not lost in eight starts for the Brewers since being acquired from Cleveland. The reigning AL Cy Young winner won his 10th straight decision to extend his career high.

Sabathia lowered his ERA with Milwaukee to 1.55. He struck out eight and walked only one.

Mets 12, Nationals 0

In Washington, New York crushed Washington to take joint leadership of the NL East.

Daniel Murphy homered and drove in three runs for the Mets. He went 3-for-6 and is batting .467 since being called up from the New Orleans Zephyrs. His RBI single drove in the first run of the eight-run third that gave New York a 10-0 lead.

The Mets sent 13 batters to the plate in the third and scored eight runs on just four hits in a 51-pitch inning.

The Nationals walked 11 batters in their sixth straight loss.

Astros 6, Giants 2

In Houston, the home team beat San Francisco to notch a season-high seventh straight win.

Mark Loretta walked and was hit by a pitch during a wild sixth inning, in which the Astros scored six times. San Francisco tied a major league record by hitting three batters in the inning, and issued four walks.

Houston's winning streak is its longest for two years, and has moved them above .500 but still 8-1/2 games off the wildcard berth.

The Astros' six runs were driven in by two hit batters, two walks and two sacrifice flies.

Pirates 5, Reds 2

In Pittsburgh, Paul Maholm pitched an efficient eight innings to steer Pittsburgh past Cincinnati.

Jason Michaels and Brandon Moss homered and both had two hits for the Pirates.

Cincinnati has lost 15 of 18 games.

Maholm didn't walk a batter and struck out five. He has a 2.81 ERA in his past 14 starts and has gone at least six innings in his past 18 outings.

AMERICANS OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORT E-VERIFY.

WASHINGTON, DC -- The following information was released by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary:

A new Pulse Opinion Research poll again confirms that the American people from all political affiliations and races overwhelmingly support the use of E-Verify. The poll found that 78% of likely voters favor mandating that all employers electronically verify the immigration status of their workers. Among those who expressed an opinion, 94% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, 81% of Democrats, and 88% of moderates of all parties favor requiring all U.S. employers to use E-Verify. And 81% of Black Americans and 76% of other minorities, including Hispanic and …

AMERICANS OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORT E-VERIFY.

WASHINGTON, DC -- The following information was released by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary:

A new Pulse Opinion Research poll again confirms that the American people from all political affiliations and races overwhelmingly support the use of E-Verify. The poll found that 78% of likely voters favor mandating that all employers electronically verify the immigration status of their workers. Among those who expressed an opinion, 94% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, 81% of Democrats, and 88% of moderates of all parties favor requiring all U.S. employers to use E-Verify. And 81% of Black Americans and 76% of other minorities, including Hispanic and …

Changing european markets

In Europe SPAs and discount stores are expanding and are oppressing traditional retailers. Apparel manufacturing bases for Europe are also changing.

SPAs and Discount Chains Increase Their Shares

In the European market, SPAs (Specialty store retailers of Private label Apparel) such as H&M of North Europe as well as ZARA and MANGO of Spain, and discount chains represented by MATALAN of the U.K. and CIELO of France are carrying out hot competition. Influenced by this, mass-merchandisers and stores such as Marks & Spencer (M&S) selling products in the middle-price zone are losing sales substantially.

Under such circumstances, a Japanese casual wear chain …

THE TOP 10.

The world's best-performing suppliers, based on measure of earnings, revenue growth, stock price, return on assets and other factors

Supplier

1. Dana Corp.

2. Federal-Mogul

3. Meritor …

Game of the Week.(Sports)

Baseball

CBA at Guilderland

3 p.m. Saturday

GRAPHIC:db ITEM Not Found THE EVENT: A rematch of an opening-round game in the 2006 Section II Class AA playoffs - a 14-1 rout by the Dutchmen.

GAMES TO WATCH

BASEBALL

Niskayuna vs. Shenendehowa, noon today

Bethlehem at Columbia, noon today

Cohoes at Watervliet, 11 a.m. Tuesday

CBA at Niskayuna, noon Tuesday

James River (Va.) vs. Columbia at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, 1:30 p.m. Tuesday

Watervliet vs. Greenwich at Chapko Stadium, Schaghticoke, 11 a.m. Wednesday

Shenendehowa at Shaker, noon Wednesday

…

RABBI FILES LIBEL SUIT AGAINST GLEMP HIBERNIANS REINSTATE OUSTED GROUP DRUG FIRMS ASKED TO STAY IN PROGRAM.(Local)

Byline: Associated Press Associated Press Associated Press

Rabbi Avraham Weiss filed a $50,000 libel and slander suit Thursday against Cardinal Jozef Glemp, charging that the Polish prelate falsely accused him of trying to kill a group of nuns two years ago.

The lawsuit stems from a July 1989 protest in which Weiss and others climbed a wall around a convent near the Auschwitz death camp in Poland. They objected to its presence at a site where Jews were murdered by Nazis.

Weiss, of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, accused Glemp of slandering him when the cardinal expressed relief in a homily a month later that "a squad of seven Jews from New York" …

Suspected bomb explodes at printing presses of Basque newspaper in northern Spain, no injuries

An explosion damaged the printing facilities of a Basque newspaper as people worked inside early Sunday, but no one was injured, Spain's Interior Ministry said.

An apparent bomb detonated at the presses of El Correo near the northern port city of Bilbao at about 3 a.m. (0100 GMT) Sunday, a regional ministry spokesman said on condition of anonymity in keeping with government rules.

No warning was received, the spokesman told The Associated Press. The area has been cordoned off by Basque regional police.

The Web site of El Correo blamed the explosion on the violent Basque separatist group ETA, and said around 50 people were preparing Sunday's paper …

`Law & Order' Gets Noth Replacement

Benjamin Bratt ("Clear and Present Danger," "The River Wild,"and the upcoming ABC mini-series "Texas") will join the cast of NBC's"Law & Order" next fall, replacing Chris Noth. Other than StevenHill (playing D.A. Adam Schiff), Noth is the only cast member who hasbeen with the show since it premiered in 1990.

Playing a new detective, Bratt "will bring a younger and moreconservative voice to the series," says executive producer Dick Wolf."There will be constant conflict between the two partners."

MTV TOON: "Most of us inhabit at least two worlds: the realworld, where we're at the mercy of circumstance, and the worldwithin, the unconscious, a safe place," says the …

Fire in southern Iraq's Rumeila Oil Field's pipeline extinguished.

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: A fire that broke out in southern Iraq's Rumeila Oil Field's main pipeline carrying crude to al-Zubeir oil storage on Tuesday has been extinguished early on Wednesday, though repairs will take at least one week, the official spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry, Assem Jihad, said. "Our Ministry's cadres have managed to extinguish the fire that broke out in the pipeline, carrying crude from Rumeila Oil Field to al-Zubeir-1, earlier today.

The Ministry's technical teams are …

The Next Wave of Leaders.(B and C)(Brief article)

Staff

B&C spotlights a dozen media figures who are changing content on all platforms

The television industry is in the midst of an enormous sea change. Cross-platform opportunities, new metrics, economic challenges and digital transitions have remade the way content is developed and delivered. To take best advantage of where things are and where they're going requires industry leaders with instinct and imagination.

Among the top crop of up-and-coming media figures, we've cited a dynamic dozen-executives and managers, Webmasters, journalists and deal-makers, folks who help create, market and sell …

BERGMAN, SUZANNE A.(CAPITAL REGION)

CLIFTON PARK -- Suzanne A. Bergman, 77, of Mohawk Terrace in Clifton Park died on Saturday March 17, 2001 at the Van Rensselaer Manor in North Greenbush after a long illness. She was born on December 14, 1923 in Switzerland and was the daughter of the late Charles and Juliette Buri Balestra. She was educated in the Switzerland school system and came to the U.S. in 1960. She was the beloved wife of the late Marvin D. Bergman, MD. She retired from the Nestle Chocolate Co. in …

CORRECTION.(Main)

A letter appearing on this page Sept. 20 under the headline, "A clarification," incorrectly identified the title of …

Irish government debt downgraded by Moody's

Crisis-stricken Ireland's debt rating has been downgraded by Moody's amid mounting worries about the country's public finances and the cost of the government's bailout of the banking system.

The credit ratings agency said Thursday it has lowered its rating by one notch to AA1 from the top triple A and said another downgrade was possible as it reaffirmed that the country's remains negative. Moody's had put the country on warning of a possible downgrade in April.

"The pronounced weakness in the economic activity has been translating into a severe deterioration of Ireland's public finances, and the country is set to emerge from the current economic crisis …