Vol 40 No 33, Thursday April 14, 2011

HIGH GAS PRICES HURT U.S. CONFIDENCE - PG. 3 NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION

THE NATION’S ONLY BLACK DAILY 35 Cents

Final

FOUR TRILLION IN DEFICIT CUTS President Barack Obama yester- nation’s fiscal woes after accusaday set a goal of cutting the U.S. tions he has failed to lead on the budget deficit by $4 trillion, issue. plunging into the debate over the SEE PAGE 3.

WWW.DAILYCHALLENGENEWS.COM

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

2

N EW S BR I EF S REPORT: LATE-NIGHT TRAINS GETTING ‘TRASHY’ There’s a stinky situation on some late-night subway rides: bags of trash riding alongside passengers.

A published report says the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is using regular subway trains to transport bags of garbage collected from the tracks by work crews.

Mountains of orange plastic bags have been seen on some trains — including the 6 line — over the last several months.

The MTA said it has launched an investigation but that it isn’t their practice to use in service trains to transport their trash.

Garbage is usually collected from platforms and placed in storage rooms or metal bins until it can be picked up by a refuse train.

SMALL PERCENTAGE OF NYERS BIKE TO WORK, STUDY FINDS Despite the increasing number of bike lanes added to or planned for city streets, a new study shows only a small number of New Yorkers actually pedal to work.

A new study by NYU’s Furman Center found that only .6 percent of New Yorkers use bikes as their preferred mode of transportation.

The city Department of Transportation has touted that the number of residents who cycled to work has increased rapidly, but it’s still clearly a small percentage.

The .6 percent compares to the 10 percent of residents who say they prefer to walk to work, the 57 percent of residents who like public transportation and the nearly 30 percent who say they prefer driving.

The number of bicycle commuters is higher in some other major cities.

In Chicago, 1.2 percent of residents prefer biking; in Boston, 2.2 percent; and in Los Angeles just over one percent of commuters pedal to work.

BUDGET CUTS COULD CLOSE DOZENS OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES, REPORT SAYS A new report says as many as 40 libraries could be closed, with many others forced to scale back their hours as part of Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed budget cuts.

The report, from the non-partisan Independent Budget Office, says the mayor’s preliminary budget reduces library subsidies by 22 percent.

Cuts would fall hardest on Brooklyn, which the City Council estimates would lose 16 libraries.

Council members estimate Queens would lose 14, and the New York Public Library system, which covers the other three boroughs, would shutter 10.

The mayor’s office says libraries must get less funding like every other part of government because of drastic cuts in state and federal aid.

The report cautions this is just a preliminary budget, and in previous years proposed library cuts have been restored in the final budget.

High gas prices hurt U.S. confidence

By JOHN WHITESIDES WASHINGTON — Rising U.S. gasoline prices have damaged confidence in the country’s future and forced Americans to change their spending habits and lifestyles, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The proportion of people who believe the United States is on the wrong track jumped 5 points to 69 percent from March, the poll found, the highest wrong-track figure in an Ipsos poll since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009.

More than six of every 10 Americans have cut back on other expenses and reduced their driving as a result of the rising gas prices caused by tumult in North Africa and the Middle East.

The increase in energy costs also hurt Obama’s approval rating, which dipped for the second consecutive month to 46 percent — his lowest Ipsos poll rating since early December 2010.

“That’s all a function of gas prices.

People are feeling the pinch at the pump,” said Ipsos pollster Cliff

Young.

“Increased gas prices have a direct impact on the pocketbook, and there is very little lag time between rising gas prices and its effect on presidential approval and confidence,” he said.

Retail gasoline prices rose to an average of $3.79 a gallon last week, up 11 cents from the week before, reflecting rising crude oil prices caused in part by political uncertainty in Libya and the Middle East.

Gasoline prices are expected to be more than $4 a gallon this summer in many parts of the country, with the national average of $3.86 a gallon compared with $2.76 last summer, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday.

The plunge in public confidence could complicate the 2012 re-election hopes of Obama, who launched his campaign last week and must convince Americans he is turning the corner on economic recovery.

In a speech yesterday, Obama set a goal of cutting the deficit by $4 trillion within 12 years, ahead of looming fights with Republicans on the 2012 budget and on raising the U.S. debt ceiling.

The poll, conducted Thursday through Sunday, was largely taken after Friday night’s 11th-hour deal with Republicans on spending cuts for the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year averted a government shutdown.

Young said those negotiations had little impact on the public’s view of Obama or its confidence in the country’s future.

“That is all noise to people,” he said.

“It reinforces a negative belief about Washington but it has no impact on public opinion unless something happens that directly affects people.”

The drop in Obama’s approval rating was largely driven by a sharp downturn in approval from his fellow Democrats, whose support dropped 7 percentage points to 73 percent. Support among independents and Republicans remained relatively steady.

Young said gasoline prices were the economic indicator with the most direct short-term political impact, but its effects were often short-lived.

“We’re seeing more pessimism driven by gas prices, and that has an effect on presidential approval and on a family’s decisions on spending,” he said.

New Orleans police officers convicted in 2005 beating death

By JIM BARNETT WASHINGTON — Two New Orleans police officers were convicted in federal court in a 2005 beating death and cover-up after initially telling investigators the victim was suffering from a drug overdose.

Several neighbors of the man who was killed testified they saw Officer Melvin Williams approach Raymond Robair (right) on the street in Robair’s neighborhood and kick him in the side and beat him repeatedly with a baton, according to the Justice Department.

Officials said after the beating, Williams — along with a second officer, Matthew Dean Moore — placed an unconscious Robair into their police car and drove him to Charity Hospital.

According to a Justice Department release, witnesses at the trial said the two police officers falsely informed the hospital staff they found Robair under a bridge and all they knew was that Robair was a drug user. Based upon that information, the hospital treated Robair for a drug overdose rather than blunt force trauma. Robair suffered fractured ribs and a ruptured spleen as a

result of the beating. He was pronounced dead within a few hours.

The Justice Department said Williams and Moore were convicted of obstructing justice by writing and submitting a false and inaccurate incident report. Moore was also convicted of one additional felony count for making false statements to FBI agents in March 2010. Williams faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison. Moore faces a possible maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

“Every community relies upon their police officers to protect and serve, but these officers abused their power, violating the law and the

Study: Four in 10 return to prison WASHINGTON — Four in 10 offenders return to state prisons in the United States within three years of their release, a study by the Pew Center on the States indicates.

The study “State of Recidivism: The Revolving Door of America’s Prisons,” found that while overall figures are discouraging, some states have made significant progress.

“Some states, like Texas, have

begun to shift dollars into strategies for non-violent offenders that cost less than prison and are more effective at stopping the revolving door,” said Adam Gelb, director of Pew’s Public Safety Performance Project.

Gelb said there has been an enormous escalation in prison spending but it has had little impact on the national recidivism rate.

The Pew study found that spending for corrections is the second-

public trust,” said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “I am hopeful that today’s verdict brings a measure of justice to the victim’s family and the entire community.”

CNN affiliate WWL TV reported Robair’s family cried quietly in the courtroom after the verdict.

“No words, to God be the glory,” Judonna Mitchell, Robair’s daughter, exclaimed in reaction to the verdict.

Williams and Moore will be sentenced on July 14, WWL reported.

In March, the Justice Department announced that a federal investigation found that the New Orleans Police Department had engaged in patterns of misconduct in violation of the Constitution and federal law.

Among the findings: the police department had used excessive force, made unconstitutional stops and searches and illegally profiled people based on race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. The investigation also found a number of practices that contributed to the illegal conduct, including failed systems for recruiting and promoting officers, poor training and lack of supervision, among others. fastest growing category of state budgets after Medicaid.

Total state spending on corrections has quadrupled during the past two decades and currently stands at about $52 billion, the Pew study found.

The study was conducted by Pew in collaboration with the Association of State Correctional Administrators.

It was based on a survey of corrections departments with 41 states providing recidivism data on prisoners released in 2004 and 33 states providing data on prisoners released in 1999.

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

3

Obama sets goal of $4 trillion in deficit cuts

By CAREN BOHAN and ANDY SULLIVAN WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama yesterday set a goal of cutting the U.S. budget deficit by $4 trillion, plunging into the debate over the nation’s fiscal woes after accusations he has failed to lead on the issue.

Obama, facing a 2012 re-election vote in which the nation’s debt and deficit are major worries for Americans, promised in a speech in Washington to put the country on a gradually improving fiscal path.

He set a time-frame of 12 years or less to reach the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction and called for talks with Democratic and Republican lawmakers to hammer out a detailed blueprint.

Obama warned that steadily rising debt could cost jobs and harm the economy and force the country to borrow more from other countries such as China.

“If our creditors start worrying that we may be unable to pay back our debts, it could drive up interest rates for everyone who borrows money — making it harder for businesses to expand and hire, or families to take out a mortgage,” he said.

But he added: “We can solve this problem.”

Obama also proposed: * Curbing deficits to 2.5 percent of

GDP in 2015, 2 percent toward the end of the decade * Ending Bush-era tax rates for the wealthiest Americans * Seeking $770 billion in savings by 2023 in cuts to non-security discretionary spending * Saving $480 billion in Medicare and Medicaid by 2023 and at least $1 trillion more by 2033.

Obama’s proposal was welcomed by bond investors. It helped lift prices for U.S. government debt, pushing yields lower.

With the U.S. deficit expected to hit $1.65 trillion this year, Obama also proposed triggers that would force automatic, across-the-board cuts in spending if budget targets are not met by 2014.

The aim is to ensure that deficits as a share of the economy average no more than 2.8 percent of gross domestic product in the second half of the decade.

Past presidents have put in place similar “triggers”.

Obama’s proposal came a week

after Paul Ryan, House of Representatives Budget Committee chairman, offered a blueprint for $4.4 trillion in deficit cuts.

Obama wants to draw a sharp contrast with the Ryan plan, which would combine an overhaul of the Medicare health program with lower taxes.

Even before he spoke, Republicans sought to gain the upper hand in the debate by underscoring what they said was a serious debt problem and rejecting any notion of higher taxes.

“It is time to act,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

“We don’t believe a lack of revenue is part of the problem, so we will not be discussing raising taxes.”

The deficit issue has become entangled with a vote Congress will consider on raising the nation’s borrowing limit. Republicans say they will not vote to lift the limit without commitments to rein in long-term deficits. The debt is expected to hit the $14.3 trillion ceiling as early as mid-May and a failure to lift it could raise the specter of default.

Analyst Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute, a think tank that favors limited government, said that his initial impression of Obama’s proposal was that “there’s not much new” in it other than the deficit triggers. He noted the triggers could force tax increases as well as spending cuts.

“That’s obviously not going to fly with the Republicans,” Edwards said.

N.C. state senate pardons governor who stood up to Klan

By NED BARNETT RALEIGH — The long-dead governor had said he didn’t want a pardon but North Carolina’s state Senate said justice required one for the first U.S. governor to be impeached and removed from office.

By a unanimous vote on Tuesday, senators granted a pardon to former Governor William Woods Holden, who was driven from office in 1871 because of his efforts to suppress a Ku Klux Klan terror campaign.

“Today, we correct a 140-year-old wrong,” said state Senator Neal Hunt, the Republican who initiated the resolution, before the 48-0 vote.

The vote came in a historic setting with the Senate convened for a special session in the old Capitol building in Raleigh, where Holden’s 44day trial ended in a conviction.

Senator Floyd B. McKissick, Jr., an African American Democrat from Durham, said the conviction “was repugnant in every respect, and justice demands that it be reversed.”

In 1870, the measure calling for Holden’s impeachment was introduced by a former Klansman.

On Tuesday, the resolution pardoning him was read to the chamber

by Lee Settle, an African American Senate clerk.

“It was exciting,” said Settle, 74.

“I’m kind of old enough to remember

some of the things that they talked about.”

Holden initially supported the South’s Civil War secession and opposed rights for Blacks. But he changed his views after becoming disillusioned with the Confederate government and eventually switched from the Democratic to the Republican party.

At his July 4, 1868, inauguration, he declared that the post-Civil War Reconstruction could bring better government for whites and Blacks alike.

But many white Democrats of the time felt the reforms of the Reconstruction era were forced upon them, and they sought to take back control

Kwame Kilpatrick’s uncle’s Detroit home raided DETROIT — Michigan State Police and the FBI have raided the home of jailed former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s uncle, authorities say.

Meanwhile, a federal judge may soon set a trial date for Kilpatrick and four others in another case, The Detroit Free Press reports.

U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Edmunds has called a conference in the case of Kilpatrick (right), his father, two friends and the former city water chief, who are accused of manipulating city contracting for their own profit.

Kilpatrick is in state prison for a probation violation stemming from a

text messaging scandal.

The home of Raymond Cheeks, the ex-mayor’s uncle, was raided Tuesday, The Detroit News reports.

State Police spokeswoman Tiffany Brown confirmed the raid but gave no details.

Cheeks, who did not respond to a call for comment, ran the Neighborhood City Halls program when his nephew was mayor. An audit found misspending and possible theft in a $300,000 fund he oversaw.

The state also won a default judgment last year against Cheeks’s daughter, Nneka, accused of diverting $25,000 in charitable funds for her own use.

of the legislature in 1870.

Their ambitions were aided by Klan terror campaigns that included murders, whippings and rapes aimed at intimidating Black voters and white Republican officials.

In July 1870, Holden declared martial law in two counties known as Klan hotbeds and sent in a militia that arrested some 100 men. He suspended the men’s right to appear before a judge out of fear that sympathetic local judges would release them.

Democrats later won control of the legislature and promptly impeached Holden on eight charges. The Senate convicted him on a straight party line vote and removed him from office.

Holden later dismissed a pardon consideration because he believed he did nothing wrong, said Gregory P. Downs, assistant professor of history at the City College of New York and author of “Declarations of Dependence: The Long Reconstruction of Popular Politics in the South, 18611908.”

On Tuesday, Downs congratulated the Republican leadership for allowing the thorny issue to be resurrected and addressed.

But he said the largely symbolic vote should be the beginning rather than the end of a discussion of the legacy of Reconstruction and the movement for broader democracy.

“Good for them,” Downs said. “It’s not much, but not much can be a lot better than nothing.”

4

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

FORUM

Wake up! Rent laws expire

By LAMARR RENEE THOMAS H. WATKINS

Obama embracing legacy as first Black president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

This is a critical juncture for New York City rent laws. In less than 10 weeks rent control and rent stabilization laws will expire unless the state legislature votes to extend their existence for millions of New Yorkers who are already challenged by rising rents and the lack of affordable housing.

The state Assembly must decide whether to grant an extension, modify their structure or eliminate them entirely.

Tenants insist that all rent laws have been compromised enough and all future rent charges should be lowered.

This cost issue has always been a bone of contention for building owners. Their answer is, “We can’t afford it. Maintenance and labor costs are not fixed therefore rents shouldn’t be either.” However property owners fail to publicly disclose the subsidy dollars and discounts received from the city to offset higher rates.

Without rent control laws these charges are typically

passed on to the tenant at market rates or as maintenance fees. The tenant pays twice by being taxed by the city to pay for any debts that fund mass service projects and then again by landlords who receive those services and pass along the expense.

An example of this process is The Department of Environmental Protections request for a 7.5%water rate hike from property owners. Once received, these dollars will be used to help cover the $3 billion debt costs of the Croton on Hudson water filtration and water disinfection facility in the Bronx.

Landlords will choose to absorb this cost or pass it along to tenants. Such decisions will affect the majority of middle and lower class New Yorkers who cannot withstand another financial assault by paying higher rent.

If rents are raised and laws annulled, senior citizens receiving Social Security would be destabilized and could potentially face eviction. Lower income New Yorkers could potentially

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

9;.<2-.7=2*5 .5.,=287 6>,1 8/ =1. 12<=8;2, .>918;2* 1*< /*-.- *7- =1.

1*;<1 ;.*52=B 1*< <.= 27 5*,4 6.;2,*7< *;. -2< 9;898;=287*=.5B <=;>005270 27 =12< .,8786B *7- =1. *-6272<=;*=287 ,*7G= <=89 =1. 1.68;;1*0270 %86. ,2?25 ;201=< *,=2?2<=< D 27,5>-270 <86. 27 =1. +*55;886 D 1*?. ,;2=2,2C.- "+*6* 9;2?*=.5B /8; 78= <9.*4270 8>= -2;.,=5B *+8>= =1.

9.;,.7= 5*,4 >7.6 958B6.7= ;*=.

7 12< <9..,1 "+*6* <,;*=,1.- =1. <>;/*,. D +>= -2- 78= -20 -..9 E!8@ @1*=G< *5<8 =;>. =18>01 2< =1. >7.6958B 6.7= ;*=. /8; /;2,*7 6.;2,*7< 2< *568<= -8>+5. @1*= 2= 2< /8; 8=1.; 0;8>9< F "+*6* <*2- E =G< *5<8 =;>. =1*= =18<. @2=1 =1. 5.*<= 1*?. +..7 <*,;2/2,270 =1. 68<= ->;270 =12< ;.,.<<287 (1*=G< *5<8 =;>. 2<

( !! (

%' % $ #& "! $ & % )$

;8845B7 !) '

.

56@B7- ;2?. ";*70. ! &.5 -*6 5*B=87 #8@.55 ; !.@ )8;4 !) &.5 '%#%

#>+52<1.- -*25B .A,.9= %*=>;-*B< %>7-*B< B '%#%

5?-

#"%& #>+52<1.;

* +' ,%& ''

— LaMarr Renee is President of LaMarr Renee Enterprises, Ltd. A financial and media firm based in New York City. She can be reached at reneeenterprises@yahoo.com.

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

2< E 5*,4 .78>01 F @125. * /.@ @12=. 38>;7*52<=< 1*?. .?.7 *,478@5.-0.- =1*= "+*6*G< (12=.

8><. 2< E=88 @12=. F "+*6* <8>01= =8 <852-2/B 12< 95*,. *< * 5.*-.; /8; =1. 9.895. *7- 9>= =1. 5*,4 ,866>72=B *= .*<.

E&1.;. *;. =26.< @1.7 <86. 8/ B8> 6*B 1*?. <*2- -87G= 478@ @1*= "+*6* 2< -8270 =1.;. F 1. *,478@5.-0.- E&1.;. *;. =26.< @1.;. B8> 58<.

189. =26.< @1.7 /854< 27 (*<1270=87 /8,>< 87 <,8;270 9827=< 27<=.*- 8/ <85?270 9;8+5.6< 7<86. 8/ B8> 6*B 3><= 9>= >9 B8>; 1*7-< *7- <*B 9852=2,< 2< =88 =8>01 F $*,. 2< =8>01 =88 .<9.,2*55B /8; "+*6* &1.

9;.<2-.7= 2< <=255 * @8;4 27 9;80;.<< @1.7 2= ,86.< =8 ><270 12< (12=. 8><. +>55B 9>592= =8 *;=2,>5*=. 12< =18>01=< *+8>= <8,2*5 273><=2,. *7- ;*,2<6 7*5=18>01 =1. 9;.<2-.7=2*5 .5.,=287 2< 68;. =1*7 687=1< *@*B "+*6* 2< *5;.*-B <=>69270 /8; 5*,4 ?8=.< *7- 5.*?270 78=1270 =8 ,1*7,.

#

=5*7=2, ?.7>. &.5

join them. The city would no longer be affordable for middleclass workers only the wealthy.

Unemployment is already above the national average in the city. Layoffs and job elimination are daily occurrences particularly for the experienced worker.

Overcrowding is commonplace due to a booming tourist trade and an excessively high number of illegal aliens who live throughout New York County.

Media talking heads have ignored this crisis by focusing on the Middle East upset and Washington, D.C. budget debate rather than spotlighting the failure of politicians to advocate for rent laws. Nothing else should matter if people don’t have places to live and can’t pay their rent. Or will not be able to pay their rent if protective codes are removed.

$# (

$&)" %

& (

.0*5

852-*B<

%& $ %.7- ,1*70.< 8/ *--;.<< =8 *25B 1*55.70. =5*7=2, ?. ;8845B7 !.@ )8;4

$ (' )( $&' # " - #$( & !

PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT BROOKLYN, NY ©2010.

DAILY CHALLENGE, INC., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

((

* +' $ (

!-

!! #

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

It doesn’t get uglier than this!

By HARRY C. ALFORD We are supposed to be the envy of the free world. Yet, here we were in the midst of a budget struggle. Budget struggle? That is the stuff third world countries wrestle with. But, here we were acting like Zimbabwe or something. Our treasury is in a major deficit and our so called leaders act as if they have money to burn.

The only ones who are going to get burned are us. China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia hold our financial paper; the price of oil is going through the “roof”, grocery prices are skyrocketing and we are now into three wars with no end apparent. Whatever happened to good fiscal management like they teach us at business schools? We are drunk with malfeasance and our leadership is stuck in the “toilet”.

Last week we were on the verge of shutting down the federal government and our elected officials were cavalier about the whole thing. How can you play with peoples’ livelihoods and posture? The worst of it all was how they regarded our military families. They are the jewel of this nation. They protect us; put their

lives on the line for us and in return just want a modest payment for the valuable work they do. Yet, we dis them. We scare the spouses and children of our precious warriors by saying we are going to cut off their paychecks to spite our political opponents. They are defending us and trying to figure out how to stay alive and we respond with a total disregard of service and lack of respect for the safety of their family members.

This is just plain rotten.

Our troops aren’t the only ones.

Let’s think about the one million federal employees who were about to face financial ruin. How could our congresspersons, senators and White House officials consider the ruin of these precious people, all for spite?

Our precious soldiers, their devoted spouses and children, and our federal employees were merely “pawns” in this game of political showmanship.

What type of “devil” enjoys such an evil game?

In the end, all the posturing and wolfing went away and we came to a mild resolution. We are still in massive debt but for the first time in decades we decided to cut our spending. Yes, we cut some spending even though it didn’t matter much to the

total but we indeed made a cut. This could be the start of a very positive movement. In addition to that, we even provided a voucher program for Washington, D.C. parents to send their children to private and accountable schools versus the morass of the D.C. public schools. Our veterans will continue to receive their hard earned pay. Let me say this, “DON’T EVER MESS WITH OUR VETERANS AGAIN!” Wow to the elected officials that think they can. We will “mow” you down at the election booth if you ever try it again. Mark my word!!!

Our troops are our most valuable asset. We should have scholarship funds set up for their children as many states did for their loving veterans after World War II. The GI Bill of Rights should be expanded so that being a bona fide veteran means that you are a special citizen endowed with special rights and privileges.

God bless our veterans and their loved ones. They are the ones who have paid the price for our actions be they right or wrong.

Back to the issue at hand. We are in serious debt - a debt that rivals Zimbabwe more than any first world nation. We must address this for the future of our children, grandchil-

5

dren, and the free world at large.

Our elected officials must no longer ignore this and begin to cut away at the debt. Yes, it will be tough and painful but it is necessary, if we are to survive as a great people. All budgets from here on out must address this massive debt. The budget of 2012 must show a massive decrease in spending as well as all budgets thereafter. The debt ceiling is coming up for a vote. We should not increase it one penny. It is time to get tough and vigilant, if we want our nation to survive in peace and prosperity.

Shame on our elected officials who put on such a great “hissy fit” over something that should have been so elementary and routine, they betrayed us all. It is time for us to tell these elected officials that they have a fiscal responsibility. Like a business, they must be accountable and maintain solvency. Anything else will lead to bankruptcy and bankruptcy by our government is intolerable.

Let’s end the debt and prevent a reoccurrence from ever happening again.

God bless America and may all those incompetent officials go straight to Hell.

— Mr. Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®.

Website: www.nationalbcc.org.

Email: halford@nationalbcc.org.

National Urban League trains African Americans for corporate boards

By MARC H. MORIAL What do American Express, Merck, Xerox, Darden Restaurants, and Citibank have in common? All are Fortune 500 companies headed

by African Americans: Ken Chenault, Chairman and CEO of American Express; Ken Frazier, President and CEO of Merck; Ursula Burns, Chairwoman and CEO of Xerox – the first African American woman to head a Fortune 500 company; Clarence Otis, President and CEO of Darden Restaurants, the parent company of Red Lobster and Olive Garden; and Dick Parsons, former Chairman and CEO of Time Warner, Inc., now Chairman of Citibank.

That is an impressive line-up of corporate titans. But, African Americans still represent a miniscule fraction of board-level corporate leadership in America.

The National Urban League, in partnership with Advance America, has established a new training program to give other qualified African Americans the opportunity to follow in their footsteps.

According to a 2009 study by the non-profit Executive Leadership Council, the percentage of African Americans filling Fortune 500 board seats actually declined from 2004 to 2008. It now stands at a meager seven percent, despite the fact that Blacks now comprise 13 percent of the population.

This lack of representation has

negative consequences for consumers and corporate America.

African American voices and perspectives are needed on corporate boards to ensure that business decisions affecting Black America are both responsible and sensitive to the needs of our communities. And, with growing economic clout of African American consumers, it is just plain good business sense for public companies to promote inclusion and diversity up and down the corporate ladder. We know that companies with board members reflective of the gender and ethnic diversity of the consumers they serve generally produce higher profits and greater value for their shareholders.

Thanks to the efforts of Congresswoman Maxine Waters, last year’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act included an amendment addressing the need for greater diversity in the workforce of government contractors with the establishment of a new Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. In October, the National Urban League and Advance America, the nation’s leading provider of cash advance services, took it one step further by teaming up to address the serious under-representation of African Americans on various NYSE and NASDAQ boards of directors.

Clint Allen, Founder and President of the Corporate Directors Group, an organization of nearly 1100 public company board members, and which offers the only professional director certification said,

“this group of seven outstanding National Urban League director candidates completed a minimum of thirty hours of education including public company director governance, regulation and strategy. They are prepared to serve a public company as professional and competent board members.”

The goal of our Director Inclusion Initiative is to equip qualified professionals with the tools and training they need to be successful in the boardroom.

Advance America Board Chairman Billy Webster said his company “is honored to partner with the National Urban League in this endeavor to empower dozens of new

executives. As a board chairman, I know that this initiative offers some of the best and brightest young professionals an opportunity to maximize their potential in the public company structure, while also enhancing the business capabilities of the companies they will serve.”

We agree. There is a growing pool of qualified African Americans ready to take their place at the helm of Fortune 500 companies. The Director Inclusion Initiative is a long overdue opportunity that will give them that chance.

— Marc H. Morial is the President and CEO of the National Urban League.

6

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

Search for tar balls, answers a year after BP oil spill

By MIRA OBERMAN GRAND ISLE, Louisiana — A year after the worst maritime oil spill in history sullied the US Gulf Coast, men armed with shovels and a big yellow excavator are still digging up the sandy beach of Grand Isle, Louisiana in search of sticky tar balls.

“We’d like to tell people it’s over, but the oil will still wash up every time it storms,” said Jay LaFont, Grand Isle’s deputy mayor.

People here are used to dealing with disasters.

They’ve had to rebuild from four major hurricanes — Katrina, Rita, Ike and Gustav — in the past five years alone.

Those disasters had a clear start and end.

BP’s runaway well — which blew on April 20 and spewed 206 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico before it was finally capped 76 days later — continues to threaten their way of life.

Because nobody knows what the long-term impacts will be.

While favorable currents and a massive response kept the bulk of the oil from reach-

Clean-up workers collect tar balls of oil along a stretch of oil-contaminated beach in Grand Isle, Louisiana. ing shore, plenty got trapped in the tidal zone and keeps washing up in sandy clumps.

Grand Isle was among the hardest hit areas, but crews are still actively cleaning 235 miles (380 kilometers) of coastline and plan to return to around 300 more miles (480 kilometers) once tourism and nesting season is over.

The occasional tar ball shouldn’t be enough to keep the tourists away, but people in Gulf Coast beach towns like this one are worried that last year’s bad headlines will.

Even more frightening is what will happen to the fish, shrimp and crabs swimming through the oil and chemical dispersants still floating in Gulf waters and clogging the nearby marshes which act as

nurseries.

“People, they’re down,” LaFont said over coffee one recent morning.

“They want it to be over with, they want to get back to a normal life and they want to know everything’s going to be okay, but you can’t. It’s not over because of the dispersant out there.”

The stress of the spill forced Sarah Rigaud, 76, to start taking anti-anxiety medication after business at the restaurant she’s run for 38 years collapsed in the wake of the spill.

At first she thought she’d make money serving the cleanup crews, but after BP brought in outside catering she had to start cutting back and dipping into her savings.

So far BP’s promising to make people “whole” hasn’t done much to help Rigaud cover a mounting stacks of bills.

She got two emergency payments of $5,000 and, like nearly 90,000 other people, is still waiting for her claim to be processed.

“They keep promising and promising and we haven’t gotten anything yet. We keep going to all sorts of meetings — they just keep putting us off and telling us we’re in their system.”

Rigaud can’t imagine closing Sarah’s Restaurant and will do just about anything to hang onto it.

“My husband is buried here,” she said as she prepared for another slow lunch service.

“I don’t want to just sit at home and think about what I used to have. I’d rather stay busy. It’s easier on my nerves.”

While there is plenty of anger focused on BP’s response to the spill and the cumbersome claims process, there was little support in the region for the temporary moratorium imposed on deepwater drilling.

The moratorium was lifted

in October after regulators drafted new safety rules, but the first deepwater drilling permit wasn’t issued until February 28 and activity is only now starting to ramp back up.

Harris Cheramie said he gets about 25 calls a day from people looking for work on one of the tugboats he runs out of nearby Leeville, which is just up the road from the offshore industry’s main launching point of Port Fourchon.

Like many here, Cheramie says the moratorium hurt Louisiana more than the oil spill and blames the Obama administration for holding the oil and gas industry to a different standard.

“I can’t understand why they let the airplanes fly,” Cheramie said over salad at Sarah’s Restaurant.

“There are more people killed in airplanes than died offshore, but one accident in 50 years and they kill the oilfield.”

Gwen Hebert, 58, has been vacationing in her grandfather’s Grand Isle camp house her whole life. She’s not bothered by the cleanup trucks on the beach or the oil platforms which dot the horizon.

High school students take harder classes, do better

By WENDELL MARSH WASHINGTON — The typical American high school student is taking harder courses and performing better in them, according to a new study.

The 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress High School Transcript Study, published by the same group who produce “The Nation’s Report Card,” underlines the importance of rigorous curriculum, particularly with higher-level math and science courses, as a key to greater achievement in high school.

The average grade point average increased to 3.0 in 2009 from 2.68 in 1990, but appeared to be leveling out.

The average number of credits representing 120 hours of class time increased to 27.2 credits in 2009 from 26.8 in 2005.

“These findings demonstrate a clear connection between course rigor and achievement, and they argue strongly for students to take a more challenging curricu-

lum in our high schools,” said David Driscoll, chair of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for the report.

“Rigor in high school is closely linked to success afterward, and this study confirms that we need higher secondary standards across the board,” he said. “In particular, we need stronger requirements in math and science.”

The study’s conclusions echo an Educational Testing Service study last week that found a correlation between students who took Algebra II in high school and went on to hold top tier jobs.

Even that study’s authors were slow to say that there was a relationship between advanced courses and professional success. A national effort to require more rigorous math courses has started and President Barack Obama’s has called for an emphasis on education to keep America competitive.

The new study sampled 37,700 high school graduates in 2009 and their transcripts from 740 public and private schools, evaluating the types of classes they took and how they fared in terms of grade point average and assessments.

Since 1990 when the study

was first conducted, students have steadily increased the number of credits in core academic courses (English, mathematics, science, and social studies) and other academic courses such as foreign languages, fine arts, and computer related studies.

More graduates than ever, 59 percent, are graduating with mid-level and rigorous curricula which means they have at least four credits of English; three credits of social studies; three or four mathematics courses including at least geometry, algebra I or II or pre-calculus; three credits of science

including biology, chemistry, and physics; and one to three years of foreign language.

Evidence also suggests that taking more rigorous math earlier yields higher performance. Students who took algebra I before high school and started their secondary education with geometry scored 31 points higher on the math assessment than those who took algebra in their first year of high school.

Ethnic and gender disparities persist, particularly in science, but they are diminishing. All racial and ethnic groups are completing more challenging courses.

Mom plunges minivan with kids into river A woman drove her minivan into the Hudson River, killing herself and her three young children, police in Newburgh, N.Y., said.

Police identified the mother as Lashandra Armstrong, 25, the Middletown Times Herald-Record reported.

Police divers found her and two boys, ages 5 and 2,

and an 11-month-old girl dead inside the van around 9 p.m. Tuesday.

By the time rescuers arrived at the scene, the vehicle was several yards from shore and underwater.

A tow truck was needed to retrieve it.

At a City Hall news conference, police said a 10-

year-old boy apparently crawled out through a window, somehow got to shore and was picked up by a passerby, who took him to a fire station.

The woman had apparently driven off a boat ramp near Gully’s floating restaurant.

“It’s a horrible sight, all of

them in the car, Newburgh Police Chief Michael Ferrara said.

Ferrara said the incident may have been related to a domestic dispute called in around 7:45 p.m. Police have spoken with Jean Pierre, father of the three younger children, but no charges have been filed.

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

7

SHOP FRIDAY 9AM-1OPM & SATURDAY 9AM-11PM. HOURS MAY VARY BY STORE. VISIT MACYS.COM AND CLICK ON STORES FOR LOCAL INFORMATION.

SATURDAY IS THE DAY! OPEN 9AM-11PM PREVIEW DAY FRIDAY OPEN 9AM-1OPM MORNING SPECIALS 9AM-1PM BOTH DAYS INCLUDING EXTRA 6O% OFF FASHION CLEARANCE SELECTIONS WE’RE GIVING YOU $1O OFF FOR GETTING HERE EARLY! FRI OR SAT ‘TIL 1PM; CANNOT BE USED ON SPECIALS OR SUPER BUYS WOW! $1O OFF

IO OFF!

$

YOUR PURCHASE OF $25 OR MORE.

ALL SALE & CLEARANCE APPAREL AND SELECT HOME ITEMS Excludes: specials, super buys, shoes for her, furniture, mattresses, floor coverings, rugs, electrics/electronics, cosmetics/fragrances, gift cards, jewelry trunk shows, previous purchases, special orders, selected licensed depts., special purchases, services, macys.com. Cannot be combined with any savings pass/coupon, extra discount or credit offer, except opening a new Macy’s account. Dollar savings are allocated as discounts off each eligible item, as shown on receipt. When you return an item, you forfeit the savings allocated to that item. This coupon has no cash value and may not be redeemed for cash, used to purchase gift cards or applied as payment or credit to your account. EXTRA SAVINGS $ APPLIED TO REDUCED PRICES. Purchase must be $25 or more, exclusive of tax and delivery fees.

VALID 4/15 OR 4/16/11 ‘TIL 1PM. LIMIT ONE PER CUSTOMER.

FREE SHIPPING AT MACYS.COM

with $99 online purchase ($8 flat-fee shipping with purchases under $99). No promo code needed; exclusions apply.

FIND MACY'S EVERYWHERE!

Shop, share and connect anytime.

ONE DAY SALE PRICES IN EFFECT 4/15 & 4/16/11.

OPEN A MACY’S ACCOUNT FOR EXTRA 20% SAVINGS THE FIRST 2 DAYS WITH MORE REWARDS TO COME. Macy’s credit card is available subject to credit approval; new account savings valid the day your account is opened and the next day; excludes services, select licensed departments, gift cards, restaurants, gourmet food and wine. On furniture, mattresses and rugs/floor coverings, the new account savings is limited to $100; application must qualify for immediate approval to receive extra savings; employees not eligible.

AFRICAN SCENE

88

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

Ivory Coast president: strongman will face charges

By MARCO CHOWN OVED ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - Ivory Coast’s president said yesterday that the country’s arrested strongman will face charges “on a national level and an international level,” as the president attempts to restore order after a bloody four-month standoff.

Alassane Ouattara said strongman Laurent Gbagbo has been moved out of the Golf Hotel, where he was taken after his capture on Monday.

He said Gbagbo will be kept in a villa and that his rights as a former head of state will be respected. A U.N. official said that its peacekeeping forces are providing personal security protection for Gbagbo.

“Gbagbo is in a residence under surveillance somewhere in Ivory Coast,” Ouattara told reporters at the Golf Hotel.

The justice minister is preparing for possible prosecution of Gbagbo, he said, but gave no details.

“There will be (against charges Gbagbo) on a national level and an international level,” he said.

“Reconciliation cannot happen without justice.”

The Hague-based International Criminal Court had no immediate comment on Ouattara’s statement.

Ouattara repeated his call against violence, and said that all minors being held should be released immediately.

“We need to secure the country, notably Abidjan,” he said. “It is important for the country to emerge from this crisis on top.”

Ouattara said he will settle into the presidential palace in the coming days, but that a swearing-in ceremony is not a priority and will take place at a later date. He said his priority is to provide security for

Swazi police fire tear gas on teachers for 2nd day By PHATHIZWECHIEF ZULU M A N Z I N I , Swaziland - Police fired tear gas and water cannons for a second day yesterday at teachers poised to march in Swaziland’s commercial capital.

Swazi union leaders and pro-democracy activists are divided as to how to proceed with fighting to overthrow Swaziland’s monarch and if they should, after security forces on Tuesday fired tear gas and water cannons, beat people with batons and arrested activists.

As union leaders met yesterday to discuss their protest strategy, police burst into their headquarters, where more than 300 teachers were singing liberation songs, chanting and dancing.

Police fired tear gas and water cannons,

dispersing the crowd.

Some teachers hid in nearby bushes.

Sibongile Mazibuko, president of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers, said earlier yesterday that teachers had called off protests for security reasons, as police had jailed teachers for treason and used batons to beat those gathered at the headquarters on Tuesday.

Mazibuko was released after being detained all day Tuesday. She said she had gone into hiding.

Heavy security in the country’s usually placid commercial capital ensured that Tuesday’s pro-democracy protests did not happen. Activists had planned the protests to mark exactly 38 years since the current Swazi king’s father, King Sobhuza II, banned political parties and abandoned the country’s constitution.

President Alassane Ouattara Ivorians, to establish law and order and to get the country working.

Many Ivorians went without food and water as fighting roiled the nation last week.

Gbagbo refused to cede power after losing a November election, leading to the standoff that plunged the West African nation into chaos and killed untold numbers of people. More than 1 million civilians fled their homes amid the fighting, which also disrupted the economy of the cocoa-producing powerhouse.

New footage obtained

by The Associated Press yesterday shows proOuattara fighters storming Gbagbo’s residence.

The footage, shot by a

pro-Ouattara fighter Monday during Gbagbo’s arrest, showed forces backing Ouattara walking through the front gate carrying firearms. Many are dressed in camouflage and wearing helmets, and some are crouched in shooting position.

After orders from a commander, fighters entered the residence, shot at the lock on an orange door and forced themselves inside.

The footage shows fighters putting a camouflage flak jacket on Gbagbo. He and his wife are then escorted to a car with a tank sitting nearby. Gbagbo was then handed off to U.N. peacekeepers and taken to Ouattara’s Abidjan headquarters.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said yesterday that the United Nations provided transportation for Gbagbo and continues to provide personal security protection for him while he is in custody at Ouattara’s request.

Speaking to reporters a Security before Council meeting about the West African country, Le Roy said fighting continued in Ivory Coast yesterday, along with “quite a bit of looting.”

U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos painted a bleak picture of daily life in Ivory Coast, with food scarce, entire neighborhoods without electricity, and many hospitals and schools closed.

“We need to act now,” Amos said, appealing on nations to donate more money for humanitarian assistance to the west African county. “We must not let the people of Ivory Coast down.”

Amos, who visited the country last week before Gbagbo was captured, said “there are still many political challenges ahead.”

“In this highly militarized context, I am con-

cerned about the security vacuum” in many parts of the country.”

She said it was “crucial” that Ouattara and all other groups in the country respect the physical integrity of citizens amid recent reports of mass killings, forced disappearances and sexual assaults.

Ouattara yesterday also said that an investigation would be opened into the mass killings.

Rights groups have accused pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara fighters of killings hundreds since March. Reprisal killings erupted as Ouattara’s fighters made a lightning assault to force Gbagbo from power.

And despite Gbagbo’s detention, suspected Gbagbo supporters are still being rounded up in cities and villages, especially in western Ivory Coast.

No one knows how many people have been killed. A week ago when the United Nations was reporting more than 400 deaths throughout the country, the In terna tion al Federation of the Red Cross Society said thousands had been killed and wounded.

2 blasts heard outside Libyan capital

By SEBASTIAN ABBOT & MAGGIE MICHAEL AJDABIYA, Libya Two strong explosions struck the outskirts of Libya’s capital yesterday as the rebel movement urged a stronger NATO-led air campaign on targets held by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, a witness said.

The witness, a resident of the capital, Tripoli, said the blasts apparently struck near the airport, where

Gadhafi has military camps and forces encircling the capital.

“Over the past days, we didn’t hear any explosions except for planes flying in the sky, but no raids,” said the resident, who asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisals by the government.

The explosions could be NATO airstrikes on targets held by Gadhafi.

Libyan rebels have been pleading for more NATO airstrikes as top Western and Arab

envoys gather in Qatar’s capital to discuss ways to end the Libyan crisis.

Mohamed Ismail Tajouri, a 54-year-old businessman who joined the rebels in their stronghold of Benghazi, said having a rebel delegation attend the Qatar meeting amounts to key international recognition.

“We are proud of this,” he told The Associated Press. “This political development is really good for the rebels but the Gadhafi

regime is not normal.

He is a bloody creature, he won’t leave until he spills some blood.”

The meeting comes during a relative lull in fighting.

But Gadhafi’s forces fired rockets along the eastern front line and shelled the besieged city of Misrata in recent days.

International groups are warning of a dire humanitarian crisis in Misrata, Libya’s third-largest city and the only city in western Libya that is still partially in the hands of rebels.

Egypt PM orders gas contract price review CAIRO - Egypt’s official MENA news agency says the country’s premier has ordered a price review of the much-criticized con-

tracts to supply natural that the revision is aimed at bringing in the greatest returns gas to Israel and Jordan.

MENA quoted Prime Minister Essam Sharaf’s spokesman, Ahmed el-Samman as saying

for Egypt.

El-Samman said revised contracts could boost income by $3 billion to $4 billion.

D CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011 DAILY

COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

9

12th Annual Central Brooklyn Jazz Festival

Russell Carter II, Juti K. Weusi Host, Taeko Fukao, Doug Carn and Rashaan Carter

Russell Carter II and Rashaan Carter

Members of Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium Bob Meyers, Juti Weusi and Stanly Banks.

Debra Pinkston, Black Rose, Laurn Jackson and L. Najuma Weeks

Doug Carn

Taeko Fukao BROOKLYN, New York - Jazz was in full swing on April 11th with the Doug Carn Quartet at Brooklyn's Monday night music venue, For My Sweet (1103 Fulton Street in Fort Greene). The location has a good sound system, acoustic piano plus great food which enhanced patrons music experience. The borough's celebration of a unique art form created by descendants of Brooklynites such as Max Roach, Eubie Blake, Lena Horne, Freddie Hubbard, and Randy Weston is just beginning. This music series is New York City's longest continually running festival dedicated to Jazz.

Festival 2011 offers 35 events over 22 days with more than 100 musicians performing in venues from Coney Island to Williamsburg during Jazz Appreciation Month.

For festival information go to www.cbjcjazz.org or call 718.773.2252 .

- All Photos By Lem Peterkin

New York Small Business Owners Urge Senators Schumer, Gillibrand to Protect Swipe Fee Reform NEW YORK – For years, the U.S. has been plagued by excessive debit card swipe fees that hurt merchants and drive up prices for consumers. The current system is broken - but last year Congress took critical steps to repair the system and put important protections in place that would rein in excessive swipe fees for debit card transactions making them “reasonable and proportional” to the actual cost of transaction processing. But just months before the bipartisan reforms are set to take effect they have come under attack by the big banks and

credit card companies, desperate to protect their profits and perks.

Despite what the U.S. Constitution says about how laws are made, the reasonable reforms passed by Congress and signed into law by the president to reign in swipe fees last year were viewed as mere hurdles for the deep-pocketed self interests of those on Wall Street who have been peddling their influence at the highest levels of government in a direct assault on small business owners ever since. And now, their allies in Congress have filed an amendment to a small business measure

(S. 493) currently on the floor that would delay reform.

“As a small business owner I have watched these fees rise for years, even through the height of the recession,” said Samuel Elijah of S.W.E Photography.

“New York’s small businesses cannot and will not stand idle and allow the banks to undo the commonsense reforms that will finally provide relief when we really need it.”

“Excessive swipe fees have been devastating New York’s small businesses and consumers for years, and there was a collective sigh of relieve throughout the

state when reasonable reforms were passed to reign them in,” said Akeesha Freeman, owner of Sugar Hill Restaurant. “Enacting the reforms as passed and on time will give us some breathing room that will really make a difference.”

For small business owners in New York and across the country, properly implementing the reforms passed last year will enable them to grow their businesses, offer better pay to employees, and pass savings on to their customers. But a vote to delay means U.S. small businesses will pay $33

million per day, $1 billion per month and nearly $14 billion every year.

“Congress got it right last year when they overwhelmingly passed reforms that would help small business and consumers in New York and across the country,” said Eboni Holloway, owner of Eb Did It Baskets. “Now, I hope we can count on Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to oppose any efforts to delay implementing reform.”

As our Senators prepare to cast their votes on this important piece of legislation, New York’s small business owners want to urge

Brooklyn business owners protest against swipe fee reform.

Photo:Lem Peterkin them to finish what they started, and protect swipe fee reform.

Merchants and consumers across the country are depending on it.

1 10

CARIBBEAN NEWS DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

Opposition leader calls on St. Jamaica panel to review pot decriminalization Vincent government to deal with British American issue

By DAVID McFADDEN

Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace (L) and Prime Minster Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.

KINGSTOWN, St. behalf of policyholders, espeVincent — Leader of the cially those whose livelihood opposition New depends on the monies that now outside of their Democratic Party, are reach.

Arnhim Eustace has With 7,000 people affectcalled on St. Vincent ed, Eustace said he doesn’t and the Grenadines expect everyone to be dealt Prime Minster Dr. with at the same time, and is Ralph Gonsalves to do proposing that the governsomething practical in ment float a bond issue, raissome of the money for relation to Vincentians ing early pay-outs. who find themselves Eustace also encouraged disadvantaged because people who have medical of the British claims on British American American/CLICO fiasco. Insurance to submit them During his party’s New now, after he was informed Times program on Monday, that a trust fund was created the opposition leader made from premiums that were an appeal to the prime min- paid since the collapse of the ister to do something other company, as well as some than to talk about what is funds from the Petroleum Fund in Trinidad and being discussed regionally.

Eustace noted that swift Tobago. Those monies, he action must be taken on said, can be used to meet some of the medical claims.

Bahamian authorities seize drugs from Haitian vessel

By CHESTER ROBARDS NASSAU, Bahamas — A helicopter from Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) swooped down on a fishing vessel late Sunday afternoon and noticed the occupants throwing packages into the ocean, Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) Superintendent Anthony Ferguson said on Monday.

It was later determined that the packages contained one kilogram of cocaine and up to 26 pounds of marijuana, collectively worth more than $43,000.

Police said the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), DEU and OPBAT

received a tip regarding the fishing vessel and apprehended it just off of Great Inagua with 24 Haitians aboard, including a boy.

Ferguson said the helicopter was the first to reach the vessel at about three o’clock, and as it approached the occupants of the boat began throwing the suspected drugs into the water.

Ferguson said officers from the RBDF and DEU then intercepted the vessel in their own boats, conducted a search of the ship and passengers, retrieved the packages that were tossed overboard and picked up the Haitians aboard.

Police said the Haitians were expected to be flown to New Providence.

KINGSTON, Jamaica Top government officials will review recommendations to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal and religious use in Jamaica, which is the Caribbean’s largest pot exporter to the U.S. Six Cabinet ministers in Prime Minister Bruce Golding’s administration will evaluate a 2001 report by the National Commission for Ganja - as marijuana is known locally.

The commission, which included academics and doctors and was appointed by a government led by the current opposition, argued that the drug was “culturally entrenched” in Jamaica and that moderate use had no negative health effects on most users.

It is not clear why the Jamaican government is choosing to review the decade-old report now.

On Tuesday, the Rev. Webster Edwards, who

served on the commission a decade ago, voiced relief that the report would be reviewed

by Cabinet members. He expressed hope that legislators might eventually loosen laws against marijuana.

“There have been many persons who have been lifelong smokers of ganja who have not moved to harder drugs at all,” Edwards said.

“Decriminalizing very, very small quantities will allow persons not to get strikes against them in the justice system.”

Edwards stressed that the report also urged the government to step up operations against large-scale marijuana cultivation.

Though widely tolerated in public, smoking marijuana remains illegal in Jamaica, where followers of the Rastafarian minority say it is a sacrament and brings them closer to the divine.

Some Jamaicans brew ganja tea to alleviate aches.

Previous efforts in Jamaica to legalize small amounts of marijuana have been scuttled because offi-

cials feared they would violate international treaties and bring sanctions from Washington.

For decades, the United States has worked with Jamaica to burn marijuana fields and carry out other anti-drug efforts. It has also provided aid to fight drug trafficking in Jamaica, the Caribbean’s largest marijuana producer.

The U.S. Embassy said officials there have not been told why the Jamaican government is revisiting the issue of decriminalization from the 2001 report.

“Whatever the impetus, it’s an internal Jamaican issue, and we therefore don’t comment on either the debate or the outcome,” spokeswoman Yolonda Kerney said.

Decriminalization, even for personal use, would cause friction with Washington and violate various treaties, including the 1988 U.N. Convention Against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

Jamaica signed the accord.

Guyanese and OECS nationals held as slaves in Trinidad, claims minister PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — There are reports of people from Guyana and small Caribbean islands being held as virtual slaves in homes in Trinidad, said Foreign Affairs Minister Surujrattan Rambachan.

The Trinidad Express reported Rambachan as making the remark on Friday during debate on the Human Trafficking Bill in Parliament.

“From time to time, you heard in this country, up to this day, about people who are virtually slaves in homes of people in this country.

Who have been brought form Guyana... or other small islands and working as supposedly maidservants in homes, their passports taken away and they cannot get

out of their homes and begging people to get out of the country,” the Express reported Rambachan as saying.

He said in a United States 2010 trafficking report, Trinidad and Tobago was described as a destination for forced prostitution of women and children and forced labour for men.

Rambachan said in 2007, 71 women and children in Marabella were held by authorities, many with fraudulent passports and some had previously been deported from Trinidad and Tobago.

On the issue of smuggling, he said there were reports of people being smuggled into the country through Morua, Carli Bay

Foreign Affairs Minister Surujrattan Rambachan and Cedros. He also said that many people from Asian countries were setting up business in Trinidad and Tobago, recommending that immigration officers look into whether there were any situations of forced labour.

Jamaica DPP ordered to leave court KINGSTON, Jamaica — There was some excitement at the Kingston Magistrate’s court when senor magistrate Judith Pusey requested Jamaica’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn to leave court

because the defence indicated that she would be called upon to testify in a case against former junior minister Ken Spencer and his assistant Coleen Wright, who are on trial for their role in the distribution of free light bulbs, which cost

the taxpayers millions of dollars.

The Jamaica Observer reported that Llewellyn said that she would not testify and if she is subpoenaed she would move to the High Court for the subpoena to be quashed.

INTERNATIONAL

11

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

Yemen forces clash in Sanaa, violence kills 5 By MOHAMMED GHOBARI SANAA - Rival Yemeni forces clashed in the capital Sanaa yesterday, killing two people, as the opposition awaited clarification from Gulf Arab mediators on the timeframe for a proposed transfer of the president’s powers.

Three people were killed in violence elsewhere in Yemen, including two shot dead in the southern city of Aden when security forces tried to break up a march demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 32year rule, witnesses said.

Gulf Arab foreign ministers have said they will invite Saleh and his x

opponents to mediation talks on a transfer of power in Yemen to end a standoff after two months of street protests.

The opposition initially rejected the plan, but met ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman on Tuesday to seek clarification of the proposal.

Opposition sources said they expected an answer from the Gulf yesterday on the timeframe and details of the plan, and could respond immediately. An opposition source said talks could start as early as Saturday in Riyadh.

In Sanaa, tension remained high near the encampment of a powerful army general, Ali Mohsen, who has defected from the president and whose forces are protecting thousands of anti-Saleh protesters in their tent camp near Sanaa University.

“Central security

forces clashed with the forces of the first armored division, and two troops were killed outright while four more are in a critical condition,” a military source said. One of the dead was from Mohsen’s forces, the other from the government side.

A source close to Mohsen’s forces said security pro-Saleh forces had fired rocketpropelled grenades and assault rifles at Mohsen’s troops who had set up a checkpoint on a road leading to the protest zone.

Mohsen’s forces returned fire and battled the government forces for an hour before Saleh’s forces retreated, leaving the checkpoint intact, the source close to Mohsen said.

An Interior Ministry statement accused Mohsen’s forces of starting the violence and said that police had no

rocket-propelled grenade launchers in their possession.

SCATTERED CLASHES Tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out in the capital after the clashes despite driving rain, saying they remained committed to the president’s removal.

“What worries us is that a war will break out between the army forces supporting the revolution and those who support the president staying. At that point the revolution will end and Yemen could turn into another Somalia just as Ali Saleh wants,” protester Ali Ahmed said in Sanaa.

More than 100 protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces since late January, and there are fears the violence could escalate in the impoverished country, half of whose 23 million people own a gun.

Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a rally to demand the ouster of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh outside Sanaa University yesterday Photo/Ammar Awad Yemen’s Western allies and neighboring Saudi Arabia fear that chaos in Yemen, where Saleh has already lost control of some provinces, could benefit an al Qaeda arm that has used the country as a base to launch attacks on Saudi and U.S. territory.

But nearby countries became convinced that Saleh is an obstacle to

stability in a country that overlooks a shipping lane used to transport over 3 million barrels of oil a day.

At least two demonstrators were killed in Aden when police tried to stop protesters marching from one district to another.

Protesters hurled rocks at police as they tried to clear makeshift roadblocks, residents said.

Women march in Syria to demand jailed men be freed Turkish PM attacks France

By KHALED YACOUB OWEIS AMMAN - Hundreds of women from a Syrian town that has witnessed mass arrests of its men marched along Syria’s main coastal highway yesterday to demand their release, human rights activists said.

Security forces, including secret police, stormed Baida on Tuesday, going into houses and arresting men aged up to 60, the activists said, after townsfolk joined unprecedented protests challenging the 11-year rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

The women from Baida were marching on the main highway leading to Turkey chanting slo-

gans to demand the release of some 350 men, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“The women of Baida are on the highway. They want their men back,” the organization said, adding that women also marched in support in the nearby Mediterranean city of Banias.

In Syria’s northern city Aleppo, around 150 students marched in a protest demanding political freedoms on the campus of the main university, human rights defenders in contact with students said.

Baath Party irregulars quickly dispersed the students who chanted “We sacrifice our blood and our soul for you Deraa,” in solidarity with the southern city

Rains pound Grenada, flooding forces evacuations ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada - Unseasonable heavy rains have caused landslides on the Caribbean island of Grenada, where officials on Tuesday relocated families away from swollen rivers that flooded homes and destroyed small fishing boats.

“We should be in the dry season, but we are experiencing so much rain,” Grenada Prime Minister Tillman Thomas said while he toured the island’s northwest region.

Flooding turned the small coastal town of Gouyave into a jumble of mud, trees, sand and stones. More than 20 families were left without shelter.

Deputy Disaster Coordinator Terrence Walters said no one died or had been reported missing, but residents in the western parishes of St. Mark and St. John lost their belongings. Some 15 fishing boats also were wrecked, he said.

Up to six inches of rain fell during the 24 hours through Tuesday morning and more rain was expected, said John Peters at the state meteorological office.

where demonstrations against the Baath Party’s iron rule started three-and a-half weeks ago.

With heavy secret police presence, preachers on the state payroll giving pro-Assad sermons and the Sunni merchant class staying on the sidelines, major protests have not spread to Damascus proper or to Aleppo, denying protesters the critical mass seen in the uprisings which swept Tunisia and Egypt.

“FORCED CHANTS” A human rights lawyer earlier said security forces had arrested 200 residents in Baida, killing two people.

“They brought in a television crew and forced the men they arrested to shout ‘We sacrifice our blood and our soul for you, Bashar’ while filming them,” the lawyer, who was in contact with residents of the town, told Reuters.

“Syria is the Arab police state par excellence. But the regime still watches international reaction, and as soon as it senses that it has weakened, it turns more bloody,” said the lawyer, who did not want to be further identified.

Assad, who tried to position Syria as self-declared champion of “resistance” to Israel while seeking peace with the Jewish state and accepting offers for rehabilitation in the West, has responded to the protests with a blend of force and vague promises of reform.

for ban on full face veil

STRASBOURG Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused France of violating the freedom of religion yesterday after Paris began enforcing a law barring Muslim women from wearing full face veils in public.

Erdogan told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that Turkey was the only Muslim country that had copied the French law on secularism, or separating church and state.

“It’s quite ironic to see that secularism is today under debate in Europe and is undermining certain freedoms,” he said.

“Today in France, there is no respect for individual religious freedom,” he said. The Strasbourg-based Council of Europe monitors human rights across the continent.

France’s conservative government has banned

full face veils in public and held a divisive national debate about secularism that Muslims here said portrayed them as a problematic minority rather than a group of mostly law-abiding French citizens.

At five million, the Muslim minority here is Europe’s largest and makes up about 8 percent of the French population.

The national debate on secularism split even President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government, with Prime Minister Francois Fillon and some other conservatives refusing to take part. Critics said the debate sought to attract far-right voters.

When a French parliamentarian rejected his accusation, Erdogan invited her to visit Turkey to see the situation for herself. “In Turkey, we say ‘he comes from France’ to describe someone who’s a bit out of step,” he commented.

New American

The

12

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

One Thought - One Humanity

Break-ups & make-ups: Our favorite, most notorious celebrity couples

For the conclusions of these stories check out the April 14th - April 20th, 2011 issue of The New American, which hits newsstands every Thursday Janet Jackson is about to make history in Paris. She will be the first female pop artist to perform under the I.M.Pei glass Pyramid at Paris’ famed Louvre Museum. She will be giving a live show during the biannual fundraising event “Liaisons au Louvre.”

The President of the museum said, “Janet Jackson is one of the world’s greatest artistic treasures. Accordingly, we are profoundly honored, and believe it most fitting, that her performance in the Louvre Museum will be yet another masterpiece captured under our glorious glass Pyramid. I believe the evening with Janet Jackson will be a great ‘coup’ for our institution!” Janet herself was just as flattered, saying, “The Louvre and its stunning glass Pyramid are equaled only by the priceless treasures that are housed within its impressive walls. It is an honor to be asked to participate in such an incredible evening at this historic location.

‘Liaisons au Louvre’ will be an unequaled event, raising much needed funds for this institution and the preservation of art that moves the soul.” Oui oui! If anybody’s making a trip to City Of Love on June 14, please report back to us!

The wife of Hot 97 personality Funkmaster Flex has announced that she and her husband have separated. It is unknown whether the separation is related to Flex’s February arrest.

His wife released the following statement to urbanmag-online.com: “After almost 18 years of friendship and marriage it is with great regret that I announce my husband Aston Taylor, also known as Funkmaster Flex, and I are separated. We have

tremendous love and respect for each-other, and will continue to work on our professional projects together. Our top priority has and will always be our children! I personally ask that the press keep in mind Flex is the celebrity, not myself or my children, please respect our privacy!”

The separation falls right on the heels of hard times for another Hot 97 deejay, Mr. Cee, who was embroiled in a highly-publicized arrest for public lewdness.

Rapper Nicki Minaj has been confirmed as the opening act for Britney Spears’ upcoming tour. Nicki Minaj will hit the road with Spears after she finishes her dates with Lil Wayne’s “I Am Music II” tour. The rapper will perform on the Britney’s opening date, which is June 17th in Sacramento, California.

Nicki Minaj, who replaces singer Enrique Iglesias, will hit 26 cities across the United States with Britney.

Despite both being members of the Dr. Dre musical family tree, 50 Cent and Ice Cube have never collaborated either in film or music.

That’s going to change, according to 50, who revealed via his Twitter account that he and Cube have something in the works. It should be noted that in the Tweet, 50 doesn’t specify whether the collaboration will be in a movie or in the studio.

In addition to having recorded with many of the same artists, Cube and 50 are both notable for having taken their talents to the silver screen. Cube has been doing film since 1991 with Boyz n the Hood, and his filmography includes the Friday and Are We There Yet? series, in addition to several others. 50’s film

career began with 2005’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’, and will continue with the upcoming film Things Fall Apart.

Singer Keri Hilson bared it all in Alllure magazine’s Annual Nude Issue. The pretty girl rock singer says of her decision to pose nude, We do a lot of things to seek validation: I have to get more expensive handbags or fake lashes or fake boobs. This shoot was about dropping all that. It’s so empowering to embrace my insecurities.

Eddie Murphy’s days as a donkey are OVER ... because last night outside Mastro’s steakhouse, the comic legend told us, “No more Shrek ... I’m Shrek’d out!” Maybe he’ll finally get back into stand-up (fingers crossed)?????

Since her injection into the world of R&B, Young Money songstress Shanell has been in hot pursuit to bend and break genre barriers. With the release of her official lead single “My Button,” it seems she has taken a big step in the right direction. On “My Button,” Shanell takes a humorous route in describing a woman’s frustration during a disappointing moment of passion with a lackluster lover. This message will become more apparent on the accompanying music video, which is being shot later this month by celebrated movie and music video director Sanaa Hamri. Shanell is poised to be the next star to come out the Young Money camp, a crew that includes Nicki Minaj, Drake and Lil Wayne. She is currently featured on Lil Wayne’s “I’m Still Music” tour plus she is also the artistic director on the trek.

By ALISON HINES

get married once: Will Ashanti be the one?

Usher and Tameka Foster Usher and on-again, off-again love Tameka Foster’s relationship was riddled with drama. The couple was engaged in 2007. Foster brought three children into the marriage from two different men and was the subject of scorn by many gossip outlets and fans. After canceling their first wedding planned for July 2007, the couple was ultimately married in August 2007.

Tameka suffered a cardiac arrest before going under the knife in Sao Paolo for cosmetic surgery. The couple had two children together, but filed for divorce in June 2009 after being estranged for nearly a year.

For those of you counting: If that timing is true, the couple spent almost half of their 2 year marriage apart.

Christina Milian and TheDream Christina Milian and The-Dream wed in Vegas in September 2009.

Christina gave birth to their daughter, Violet, in March 2010 as rumors of their failing relationship began to circulate. According to statements by the couple, they had already decided to call it quits as of late 2009, but did not share those plans publicly in an effort to protect their daughter.

Take a look at our favorite celebrity couples that are, that were, that can’t seem to decide between makeup and break-up, and even those that keep the entire thing under wraps.

Diddy and Cassie Rumors about Sean “Diddy” Combs being romantically linked to singer Cassie Ventura circulated for years. Neither Cassie nor Diddy have confirmed or denied directly, but the two have been photographed extensively together and hints on Twitter leave most of us convinced the two are dating. Tabloids began reporting the couple’s engagement in 2008, but Combs’ reps quickly squashed the story, saying it was a complete fabrication.

Nelly and Ashanti Nelly and Ashanti took great pains to remain hush-hush and avoid confirming their relationship over the few years they were continually spotted together. The two were constantly photographed out and about together, kissing, holding hands and cuddling, but both parties continued to claim they were “just friends”. They both remained committed first and foremost to their careers while still making time to enjoy each other’s company. Nelly’s made it clear he only wants to - Full Story In This Week’s New American Newspaper -

Subscribe Today!

Make Checks and Money Orders Payable to:

New American Newspaper P.O.Box 1668 Brooklyn, NY 11247 YES! Please enter a one year subscription ($55) for: Name: Address: City: State: Zip: (Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery of your first issue)

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

13

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

0-& #35'--: #70+&'& #/: 41'%+(+%4 #$065 *08 *' 806-& -'#& $65 #11'#3'& #4 (#3 #4 1044+$-' (30. *+4 0653#)'064 45#)' 1'340/# #4 *' 410,' 0( 3'%0/%+-+#5+0/ 8+5* 10-+5+%#- 0110/'/54 #/& +.1307+/) 5*' -+7'4 0( 1'01-' +/ 5*' .045 &'41'3#5' 45#3 %3044'& /#5+0/ +/ 5*' !'45'3/ '.+41*'3' = 806-& -+,' 50 4#: (+345 5*#5 *#7' #-8#:4 *#& 5*' &'4+3' 50 %*#/)' .: %06/53: > *' 4#+& = *#7' # 1#44+0/ 50 %*#/)' .: %06/53: > #+5+ +4 %0/(30/5+/) &#6/5+/) %*#--'/)'4 0/ /6.'3064 (30/54 +/%-6&+/) 5*' 45#--'& 3'%0/4536%5+0/ (30. 5*' #/6#3:

(! "-&& 0! * $++-! )(&0 !&$.!*! ,) 0)-* ))* ! # ( !.!*0 /!!% )* ')*! $(")*' ,$)( &&

'#35*26#,' # %*0-'3# 065$3'#, *6/&3'&4 0( 5*064#/&4 0( *0.'-'44 #/& .03' 5*#/ *#-( 5*' 1016-#5+0/ 6/'.1-0:'& 4,'& #$065 *+4 13+03+5+'4 (03 *+4 (+345 5*3'' .0/5*4 +/ 0((+%' #35'--: 8*0 *#4 /'7'3 *'-& 0((+%' &0&)'& 5*' 26'45+0/ -+,' # 4'#40/'& 10-+5+%+#/ = 63 %0..0/ 4'/4' 5'--4 64 5*#5 +/ 5*' &#: 1'3+0& 8' 8+-- $#3'-: *#7' 5*' 5+.' 50 $6+-& # 4.#-*064' > 3'44'& (03 .03' *' &+& +5 #)#+/ =!' #3' /05 )0+/) +/50 41'%+(+%4 #5 5*+4 5+.' > *' 4#+& %+5+/) # /''& 50 =46313+4'> 1'01-' ('8 *0634 #(5'3 *+4 /'84 %0/('3'/%' #35'--: .#&' 7+4+54 #5 4'7'3#- 3#&+0 45#5+0/4 +/ 5*' %#1+5#- 50 .''5 8+5* 08/'34 #/& 45#(( #&+0 +4 5*' 13+.' 4063%' 0( /'84 (03 #+5+#/4 $'%#64' 5*': %#/ 64' $#55'3: 108'3'& 3#&+04 &63+/) 5*' %06/53:@4 (3'26'/5 108'3 065#)'4 = 5 8#4 # %0635'4: .''5+/) > 4#+& #3+0 +#6 &+3'%503 )'/'3#- 0( 5*' 13+7#5'-: 36/ +)/#5*' (+345 4501 0/ #35'--:@4 .'&+#

7+%503: -#1 = ' 8#/5'& 50 4*08 5*' +.1035#/%' 0( 5*' 13'44 > #35'--: +4 $'45 ,/08/ (03 *+4 8+-& #/5+%4 #4 # 1016-#3 1'3(03.'3 1-#:+/) =%0.1#4 > #+5+@4 *+)* '/'3): 4-08'& &08/ 7'34+0/ 0( .'3'/)6' +4 4*084 < *' 45#35'& +/ 5*' .+& 4 #/& 3'#%*'& 5*' *'+)*5 0( *+4 %#3''3 +/ 5*' ? 4 < $'%#.'

-')'/&#3: (03 *' 8#4 # $0/# (+&' 13070%#5'63 4 5*' 4'-( 130%-#+.'& =$#& $0: 0( %0.1#4 > *' &0//'& &+#1'34 #/& &3'44'4 .00/'& 5*' #6&+'/%' %634'& *+4 3+7#-4 #/& 41065'& 0$4%'/+5+'4 65 *+4 0654+&'3 +.#)' #11#3'/5-: 3'40/#5'& 8+5* 705'34 #+5+@4 '-'%503#%06/%+- 4#+& -#5' 0/&#: 5*#5 13'-+.+/#3: 3'46-54 4*08'& *' %#1563'& /'#3-: 1'3%'/5 0( 5*' 705' +/ 5*' #3%* 36/0(( #)#+/45 +3-#/&' #/+)#5 # (03.'3 4'/#503 #/& (+345 -#&: #35'--: *#& 1-#%'& $'*+/& #/+)#5 +/ 5*' (+345 306/& +/ 07'.$'3 *' .64+%+#/ 4#+& 5*'3' 8#4 /0 26'45+0/ 8*: = *'3' 8#4 # 4:45'.

' -& $% & "' " ' % '& &($$#%' %& ' % ) " %" '

'#5+/) #5 5*'. %0/46.+/) 5*'. #-+7' > *' 4#+& 0( 5*' 705'34 = *' &+4)645 5*#5 1'01-' ('-5 8+5* 5*' %'35#+/ 4+56#5+0/ *#4 %3'#5'& 5*' /''& (03 5*'. 50 4'' 5*+/)4 %*#/)' > #/+)#5 8#4/@5 3'#&: 50 %0/%'&' *' :'#3 0-& 03$0//' '&6%#5'& )3#/&.05*'3 4#+& *'3 5'#.

8#4 45+-- -00,+/) +/50 #--')#5+0/4 0( (3#6& ="06

, * ' $% && #" % "

+- %' + " #%' (

705'& #/& 5*': 450-' :063 705' #5 5*' 5#$6-#5+0/ %'/5'3 > 4*' 4#+& #5 # /'84 %0/('3'/%' *' %#/&+&#5'4 8'3' 7:+/) 50 46%%''& 3'4+&'/5 '/' 3'7#- $#33'& $: 5*' %0/45+565+0/ (30. 36//+/) (03 # 5*+3& 5'3. *' /'8 13'4+&'/5 .645 %0/5'/& 8+5* # '/#5' #/& *#.$'3 0( '165+'4 %0/530--'& $: 3'7#-@4 1#35:

+0' !,.0',+ !'))!, .# 1/'+% ! * 5/ '* %$ . '/$/ '.$

+! 0)-* *! $,

* )* ' $& 0)-* #! % )* ')(!0 )* !* ,)

& ))$+%$ .,11!/".'-0',+ $- .0*$+0 ,3 .,,()4+

'/

.# /0$.

3-'. 0',+

, .#

,

0$

'%+ 01.$ ( 0)-* (!/++, ( )* +- + *$ ! ,) 0

< / #/5+ #$035+0/ $+--$0#3& %#.1#+)/ 64+/) # -+,'/'44 0( 3'4+&'/5 #3#%, $#.# 50 5#3)'5 (3+%#/ .'3+%#/ 80.'/ *#4 #/)'3'& 80.'/@4 )30614 +/ *+%#)0 0.' $+--$0#3&4 &'%-#3+/) = 7'3: .+/65'4 063 /'95 1044+$-' -'#&'3 +4 #$035'&> #3' $'+/) 1-#%'& +/ 13'&0.+/#/5-: (3+%#/ .'3+%#/ /'+)*$03*00&4 +/ $#.#@4 #&015'& *0.'508/ *': #3' $'+/) &+41-#:'& (03 (3'' #(5'3 5*' )3061@4 %0/5307'34+#$+--$0#3&4 &'%-#3+/) =5*' .045 &#/)'3064 1-#%' (03 #/ (3+%#/ .'3+%#/ +4 +/ 5*' 80.$> 8'3' 5#,'/ &08/ (0--08+/) 1305'454 +/ '8 "03, *' '9#4 1#4503 $'*+/& 5*' %#.1#+)/ $: +(' -8#:4 4#+& *' 8#/54 50 ='/%063#)' 3'(-'%5+0/> #$065 5*' *+)* #$035+0/ 3#5' #.0/) (3+%#/ .'3+%#/4 = 03 500 -0/) 5*' 4%063)' 0( #$035+0/ *#4 $''/ *+&&'/ $'*+/& 10-+5+%#- %033'%5/'44 > 4#+& 5'1*'/ 30&'/ 8*0 +4 (3+%#/ .'3+%#/ = +$'3#- +/5'3'454 *#7' &'%'+7'& 063 80.'/ +/50 $'-+'7+/) 5*#5 5*' #/48'3 50

#"'%#) %& $%# %* & "

#

# % & "# &

107'35: +4 50 .63&'3 5*'+3 $#$+'4 > / # 45#5'.'/5 -#//'& #3'/5*00& 0( --+/0+4 %#--'& 5*' $+--$0#3&4 =#/ 0(('/4+7' #/& %0/&'4%'/&+/) '((035 50 45+).#5+;' #/& 4*#.'

(3+%#/ .'3+%#/ 80.'/

$ '"

% &

"'

%

8*+-' #55'.15+/) 50 -+.+5 5*'+3 #$+-+5: 50 .#,' 13+7#5' 1'340/#- .'&+%#- &'%+4+0/4 > *'3+44' %055 # *'#-5* '&6%#503 8+5* -#%, !0.'/ (03 '130&6%5+7' 645+%' 4#+& 4*' 3'4'/5'& 0654+&'34 %0.+/) 50 *'3 107'35:

!

" #" '

*

#('&

#

453+%,'/ /)-'800& (03 5*' #/5+ #$035+0/ %#.1#+)/ =!*0 #3' 5*'4' 1'01-' > 4*' 4#+& = *': &0/@5 %#3' #$065 64 *': &0/@5 ,/08 8*#5 80.'/ (#%' +/ 5*+4 %0..6/+5: +/ 063 %-+/+%4 >

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

14

Obamas return to Oprah, as TV chat show winds down LOS ANGELES — President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle will appear together on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in May, as the TV chat show queen nears the end of her 25-year reign.

The White House and publicists for the daily TV show said on Tuesday the Obamas would tape their appearance in Chicago on April 27, and the show will air on May 2.

Publicists said it would be the Obamas’ first joint appearance on “Oprah” since 2006.

Winfrey, regarded as the most influential woman on U.S. television, campaigned publicly for Obama in his 2008 run for the White House and helped raise millions of dollars for his cam-

paign.

She has interviewed Obama several times in the past, both before and after his election.

Winfrey announced last year that she would end her popular syndicated TV show, which airs in some 140 countries, in order to focus on her new cable TV channel OWN, which launched in January.

The last original episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” will air on May 25.

SPOTS ON ‘OPRAH’ FINALE GOING FOR $1M Thirty-second commercials that will run on the series finale of America’s “The Oprah Winfrey Show” will cost $1 million, Horizon Media said.

The 25th and final season

of the talk show is slated to wrap up May 25.

TVGuide.com said the amount for the ads to run during the series finale is rare for a daytime program since the audience is smaller than the viewership of a prime time show.

The $1 million price tag is the highest paid for nonSuper Bowl spots since the 2005 finale of the prime time sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which saw commercials going for $1.2 million each.

TVGuide.com said Tuesday the most money ever paid for a 30-second nonSuper Bowl commercial was $2 million for the series finale of “Friends,” the report said.

Beyonce’s departure won’t stop Alicia Keys to re-release Matthew Knowles’ money train ‘Songs in A Minor’ Matthew Knowles may have exited the business dealings for his daughter Beyonce but he still has plans of making a lot of money for his company Music World Entertainment.

Rather than focus on pop or urban music, Mr. Knowles believe the new revenue opportunity is in faith-based and inspirational music.

“There’s tremendous growth potential for the faith-based inspirational community in digital, production, branding, endorsements and merchandising,” says Mr. Knowles.

His company has a solid roster of inspirational acts including Juanita Bynum, Trin-i-tee 5:7 and Brian Courtney Wilson. Throughout his career, Mr. Knowles has proven he can propel artist careers and navigate the entertainment business.

“I believe we can share 20 years of knowledge and successes to make that happen” he told Black Enterprise.

As far as any lost momentum with the exit of his prized daughter Beyonce, the music mogul says he’s still blessed.

“Now I’m really focused and I have activated myself in such a way to embrace new opportunities,” he tells Black Voices. “I’m so grateful and blessed to have had so many successes. I pinch myself sometimes to think of this country boy who has accomplished so much from my career at Xerox to be the No. 1 sales rep, have talented daughters and a wife, the creation of Destiny’s Child, a No. 1 female artist. And I don’t know if folks know this but of all the artists in the world in a decade, Destiny’s Child and Beyonce are on that Top 10 list. I’ve achieved and accomplished more that I could have ever dream.”

Michael Clarke Duncan adds voice to Green Lantern

By BORYS KIT LOS ANGELES — Michael Clarke Duncan is in negotiations to voice the character of Kilowog in the upcoming superhero film “Green Lantern.”

The film, based on the DC Comics character and starring Ryan Reynolds, is deep in post-production ahead of a

June 17 release. One of the facets of the process is the voice work; Geoffrey Rush signed on to voice the character of Tomar-Re, a bird/fishlike alien, two weeks ago.

Duncan’s involvement in the Warner Bros. project had been rumored for several weeks although no offer had been made. While studios sometimes end up moving on, sources say Duncan

received his offer Tuesday and is now negotiating.

Kilowog is a drill sergeant trainer of new recruits for the Green Lantern Corps, the intergalactic police force that patrols the universe. Duncan, who rose to fame as a death row inmate in “The Green Mile,” lent his booming voice to last year’s “Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.”

LOS ANGELES — U.S. singer, songwriter and producer Alicia Keys is to release a 10th anniversary collector’s edition of her debut album, “Songs in A Minor.”

The CD is to be released on J Records/Legacy Recordings June 28.

The original edition of the album sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and earned Keys her first five Grammy Awards. She has won a total of 14 throughout her career.

“It’s incredibly surreal for me to be celebrating the 10th anniversary of ‘Songs in A Minor,’” Keys said in a statement Tuesday. “Looking back on the journey, I’m truly moved by my fans and friends who’ve been with me and have supported me

throughout my career. This album is possibly the most precious to me, as your first album only happens once, and so ‘Songs in A Minor’ will always hold a special place in my life that’s filled with amazing memories.”

She added she’s proud her songs are still popular and is “crazy excited” about the anniversary CD. In conjunction with the album release, Keys will perform a concert called “Piano & I: A One Night Only Event With Alicia Keys” at New York’s Beacon Theatre June 30. The recording artist will also perform on the BET Awards show June 26 and an hourlong special on Keys and “Songs in A Minor” will air on the network in late June.

NEW JERSEY

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

15

Reputed gangster convicted of Irvington robbery, but jury deadlocks on four killings

By ALEXI FRIEDMAN IRVINGTON - One witness testified that Rolando Terrell pressed a 9 mm handgun to Candes McLean’s neck, stepped back and fired a fatal shot into her head.

Seconds later, the witness said, Terrell shot and killed her daughter and niece, both 18, and her boyfriend’s 13-yearold daughter, then set fire to the Irvington house.

Authorities called the Sept. 8, 2008 quadruple killing on Columbia Avenue among the most horrific in recent memory.

But despite testimony from Terrell’s admitted accomplice and from the lone surviving victim both of whom identified him as the killer - a jury in Newark Tuesday deadlocked on the top counts of murder against the reputed Bloods gang member.

The deeply divided panel returned a partial verdict, finding Terrell guilty on five of 16 counts, including two robbery charges, conspiracy to commit arson and two related gun possession offenses. The same jury later convicted him of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon in a separate, 45minute trial that immediately followed.

Superior Court Judge Joseph Cassini III declared a mistrial only on the unresolved charges, including four counts of murder and four counts of felony murder.

Killed were McLean, 40; her 18-year-old daughter, Talia McLean; her niece, Zakiyyah Jones, also 18; and 13year-old Latrisha Carruthers-Fields, her boyfriend’s daughter.

Candes McLean’s 19year-old daughter, Anijah, survived by hiding in a closet and saved

Rolando Terrell her 16-month-old Known on the street nephew by grabbing as “Ratman,” Terrell also him and running from served seven years in the burning house. prison after a jury in Terrell may still face 2002 acquitted him of life in prison because of killing a rival gang New Jersey’s “Three member but convicted Strikes” law, which him of a lesser weapons states that defendants offense. convicted of certain firstTuesday’s early afterdegree crimes who have noon verdict came after twice previously been more than 20 hours of convicted serve the max- deliberations that imum term. Terrell, who stretched over five days. will be sentenced June 1, Jurors announced they has previously been con- were deadlocked on their victed of two robberies, second day of deliberathe Essex County tions, writing “deadProsecutor’s Office said. locked” in capital letters.

The judge ordered them to continue deliberating and they did.

Several of the victims’ relatives who attended the month-long trial expressed frustration over the mixed verdict, but said they were grateful the guilty counts might land Terrell in prison for life.

“He killed four ... women,” said Michael Hoskins, Candes McLean’s brother. “He did the robbery. They got him on the gun charge. So who shot them? But we’ll take what we can get.”

Several aspects of the jury’s verdict made clear their uncertainty.

Terrell, 39, was convicted of robbing McLean, a popular Newark cheerleading coach, but not guilty of robbing Talia McLean. They convicted him of conspiring to commit arson, but not the arson itself. And while he possessed the handgun, the jury could

not determine whether he fired the shots.

A loving mother and grandmother, McLean had a secret, Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Roger Imhof said during the trial.

“Candes McLean sold drugs,” he said. Terrell knew that and was searching for cash that morning, believing McLean was an easy mark because her boyfriend - a fellow Bloods member - was in prison.

Terrance McLean, 24, who is Candes’ son, believes Terrell is responsible for the killings and wants a retrial on the murder counts.

“He needs to answer for that,” Terrance McLean said.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said her office had not decided whether to retry the case, which it had called a strong one.

Rutgers-Newark student sent text Hightstown council message to family before committing suicide member resigns NEWARK - Just after 8 p.m.

Saturday, Lily Seegobin punched in her final text message.

“Tell everyone I love them very much,” she wrote. “Tell everyone I’m sorry. I’m just at a point of no return.”

For months, friends said, the 19-year-old

Point Pleasant woman had been sinking into a dark place, one where life’s emotional trials seemed magnified and overwhelming.

There had been boyfriend troubles, family arguments, difficulty adjusting to her freshman year at RutgersNewark.

Friends said they tried to reason with her

and cheer her, eliciting flashes of Seegobin’s dazzling smile. Just as quickly, it would disappear.

On Saturday night, she tapped out the message to her stepfather, Jeffrey Surenian. Less than 90 minutes later, she steered her Honda around the lowered, flashing gates at the Monmouth Avenue rail-

road crossing in Spring Lake. There she parked, waiting for the impact.

Seegobin’s death, officially ruled a suicide by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, has shattered family members and friends and brought fresh grief to a region that has seen at least a half dozen teen suicides in the past three years.

City council approves $2.8M for demolition, development of Miller Homes TRENTON — After a series of delays, city council last night approved $2.8 million to help pay for tearing down and redeveloping the vacant Miller Homes housing complex off Monmouth Street.

Four council members voted for the fund-

ing. Council President George Muschal and Councilwoman Kathy McBride voted no, and Councilman Alex Bethea abstained after saying he had mixed feelings about the measure.

The council, as well as members of the public, have expressed con-

cern that the project’s facilitators — Trenton Housing Authority (THA), developer Pennrose Properties and general contractor AJD Construction — have not adequately communicated how they intend to ensure that local and minorityowned subcontractors

and workers will be able to get jobs on the project.

The multi-phase effort is expected to cost $105 million, with $22 million coming from a U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant.

- MATT FAIR

By BRIDGET CLERKIN HIGHTSTOWN — Borough council member Dimitri Musing suddenly quit yesterday, citing his fellow council members’ failure to support a measure that would defend officials who faced lawsuits related to their municipal duties.

In a resignation letter, he said he remained concerned over the lack of an ordinance requiring the defense and indemnification of borough officials. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.

“I cannot rely on the whims of this or any

other governing body to protect me on a caseby-case basis,” he wrote.

Musing, who was elected to council a year and a half ago, recused himself from participating in a meeting April 4 over the same issue.

In the letter, he said his request for a special meeting to create the ordinance he sought had been ignored by his fellow council members for the past eight days, leading him to offer his resignation.

On April 4 Musing tried to propose such a law, which would require Hightstown to pick up the tab for litigation costs incurred by government officials being sued as a private person for their actions on the job.

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

16

Diplomats: Deal near on flu virus-sharing, vaccines

By STEPHANIE NEBEHAY GENEVA — Countries are close to a deal to speed up their response to the next flu pandemic by sharing virus samples in return for access to affordable vaccines, diplomats at the World Health Organization said.

Diplomats told journalists they were in talks with drugs companies and other member states to clear obstacles identified in past outbreaks.

Officials are hoping to reach an agreement by Friday on a political deal for health ministers to approve at the WHO’s annual meeting from May 16 to 24, said the

two co-chairs of a WHO working group.

Negotiations began four years ago between the WHO’s 193 member states after the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus emerged in southeast Asia.

A year later, Indonesia stopped sharing flu virus samples with the WHO’s network of laboratories, demanding its share of vaccines.

“We have to ensure that vaccines are both affordable and accessible,” Mexico’s ambassador and co-chair Juan Jose Gomez Camacho, told a news briefing.

“We need to ensure that we have a legally-binding instrument that will regulate the exchange of influenza viruses and the access to ben-

efits ... This should be the last round of negotiations,” he said.

Gomez Camacho and cochair Norway’s Ambassador Bente Angell-Hansen said they met senior officials from 30 drug companies last week, including GlaxoSmithKline , Sanofi-Aventis and Novartis .

They said they learned that current production capacity for pandemic flu vaccine was 1.1 billion doses, forecast to rise to 1.8 billion in four to five years. That was up from 500 million doses during the H1N1 pandemic.

Drug makers struggled to make a vaccine against H1N1 after it emerged in early 2009. By the time the

vaccine was widely available late that year, the pandemic’s first wave had passed.

“We are being very, very careful in the handling of this because there are many sensitive issues that pertain to pricing and intellectual property,” Angell-Hansen said.

“We are trying to have a more predictable system for pandemic times,” she added.

“Industry is really giving very positive signals back to us.”

Gomez Camacho said countries needed to coordinate policies and cut red tape.

“There were vaccines available (in 2009), either in the market or donated by the industry to WHO, and very often these vaccines were not

able to be deployed, sometimes because there wasn’t infrastructure in countries or there were regulatory challenges,” he said.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, in a speech last month, blamed the pharmaceutical industry and drug regulators for delays in distributing vaccines to poor countries during the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.

The working group’s draft document calls for having deals in place ahead of a pandemic, including pre-purchase agreements with industry and governments to reserve a certain percentage of production capacity, for example 10 percent, earmarked for countries without access to vaccines.

An apple a day may help keep heart disease away

By SERENA GORDON Eating apples every day may be good for your cardiovascular health, new research suggests.

Women who ate dried apples every day for a year lowered their total cholesterol by 14 percent and their levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol by 23 percent.

“I never expected apple consumption to reduce bad cholesterol to this extent while increasing HDL cholesterol or good cholesterol by about 4 percent,” Bahram Arjmandi, chair of the department of nutrition, food and exercise sciences at Florida State University in Tallahassee, said in a statement.

Arjmandi was to present the findings Tuesday at the Experimental Biology meeting in Washington D.C. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided partial funding for the study.

Many foods can have an effect on cholesterol levels, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Foods containing saturated fats, trans fats and dietary cholesterol can raise your cholesterol levels, while foods with healthier fats such as olive oil can lower your cholesterol. Foods with fiber, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, can reduce cholesterol levels, while carbohydrates that are low in fiber tend to raise triglyceride levels and lower “good” HDL cholesterol levels.

In the current study, the

researchers wanted to assess the long-term effect that apple consumption might have on cardiovascular health.

They recruited 160 women between the ages of 45 and 65.

The women were randomly assigned to one of two dietary intervention groups. One group was given 75 grams of dried apples every day for a year, while the other group was given dried prunes daily for a year.

The daily serving of dried apples contained about 240 calories, according to the study. An apple contains about 5 grams of fiber, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The researchers found that women eating dried apples lowered their total cholesterol by 14 percent. LDL cholesterol dropped by 23 percent. Daily apple consumption also significantly lowered levels of Creactive protein and lipid hydroperoxide, two substances that may indicate an increased risk of heart disease. What effects, if any, the prunes had on cholesterol levels were not mentioned in the study abstract.

The researchers theorized that the nutrients in apples may reduce inflammation in the body.

Despite the addition of several hundred calories a day to their diet, the apple-eating women didn’t gain weight over the course of the study.

In fact, they lost an average of 3.3 pounds.

Registered dietician Jessica Shapiro said she wasn’t surprised that the women didn’t gain weight. The addition of

apples to the diet probably kept the women feeling fuller because of the fiber content in the apples, she explained.

“Apples really are an amazing fruit for many reasons,” said Shapiro, who is a clinical nutritionist who counsels cardiac patients at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. “A large reason apples are so good is the fiber. Apples have both soluble and insoluble fiber. Insoluble is found more in the skin, and the pulp is more soluble fiber.”

“The pulp of an apple gets to be a very viscous gel-like substance that grabs cholesterol and pulls it out of the body. It’s kind of like nature’s toothbrush, and it’s brushing the bad stuff out,” she explained.

“Another good thing in apples is pectin. It’s a substance that’s used to make jellies or jams, and pectin contributes to the viscosity of what’s going through the body, and bulks it up to help remove it. Apples also have tons of antioxidants and other natural components,” she said.

Shapiro said she would recommend fresh apples over dried apples, because some nutrients are probably lost in the drying process.

But Shapiro stressed that making healthy changes to what you eat can only do so much.

“Changing your diet can

make a big difference, but eating a healthy diet is only part of it. Once your cholesterol is high, diet may not be enough,” she said. “Some people are predisposed because of their genes to having high cholesterol, and a healthy diet may not be enough.”

Shapiro also advised against making any changes to your medications, including cholesterol-lowering drugs, without talking to your doctor first.

Also, she cautioned, when increasing the fiber in your diet, do it slowly. This will help prevent bloating and gas that may occur if you increase your fiber intake too quickly.

She said that 25 to 30 grams of fiber daily is the recommended intake, and she suggested increasing your current intake by about 5 grams daily each week to give your body a chance to get used to the increased fiber.

Study: Hormone helps you sniff out food A hormone called ghrelin enhances the nose’s ability to sniff out food, researchers report.

It was already known that ghrelin promotes hunger and fat storage. The new study suggests that the hormone may increase the ability to use smell to detect food and link that input with the body’s natural regulation of metabolism and body weight, said University of Cincinnati scientists.

The study, which included experiments with humans and rats, appears

in the April 13 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. It was led by Dr. Jenny Tong and Dr. Matthias Tschop, both of the university’s endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism division.

“Smell is an integral part of feeding, and mammals frequently rely on smell to locate food and discriminate among food sources. Sniffing is the first stage of the smell process and can enhance odor detection and discrimination,” Tong said in a university news release.

“Other studies have

shown that hunger can enhance odor detection and sniffing in animals,” Tschop added in the release. “Since ghrelin is a hunger-inducing stomach hormone that is secreted when the stomach is empty, this hormone pathway may also be responsible for the hungerinduced enhancement of sniffing and odor detection.”

The researchers plan further research to identify the exact molecular pathways through which ghrelin affects sniff behavior.

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

17

Japanese radiation called no threat to North American fish fans

By AMANDA GARDNER In their furious effort to stabilize the nuclear reactors damaged by last month’s earthquake and tsunami, Japanese workers have released thousands of gallons of water contaminated by radiation into the sea, stirring worries that seafood consumed on this side of the Pacific could be affected.

But experts say fish-eaters in North America are in no danger, either from fish caught in Japanese waters and shipped over here or from fish caught closer to home in waters that might have become contaminated by drifting radiation.

“People have been asking, ‘Can I still eat my fish?’ The answer is yes,” said Dr. Kory Gill, an assistant professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and a physician at Texas A&M Physicians in Bryan.

Seafood imported from Japan represents only 1 percent of the total U.S. import,

Gill said. And, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, all foods imported from Japan — including fruits, vegetables and milk and milk products — comprise less than 4 percent of all food imported by the United States.

Plus, the FDA is taking extra efforts to test all food products, including seafood, coming from Japan in the wake of the shattering tsunami and earthquake.

And, so far, Gill said, “no significant levels [of radiation] are coming back.”

On Tuesday, the Japanese government raised the crisis level at the Fukushima nuclear complex to a level similar to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine, citing high overall radiation leaks. Government officials contended, however, that the health risks caused

by Chernobyl still far outweighed those posed by the Fukushima plant, the Associated Press reported.

U.S. experts said radiation dumped into Japanese waters isn’t likely to make it

over here in sufficient concentrations to cause any harm.

“If the radioisotopes that are released into the water in Japan on the other side of the Pacific were to make it over to the eastern Pacific, let’s say the coast of Alaska, the concentrations are likely to be so vanishingly low that any radioactivity accumulated by fish in U.S. waters will be virtually certain to be negligible,” said Nicholas Fisher, professor of marine and atmospheric sciences at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. “The radiation dose will be extremely low compared to radiation that’s naturally occurring in fish.”

Added Jacqueline Williams, program director for radiation medicine at the Center for Biophysical Assessment and Risk Management Following Irradiation at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York: “Obviously, if it’s going into the ocean, there’s going to be a dilution factor.

We’re 5,000 miles away.

There’s a lot of ocean between Japan and the U.S.” Also, Williams explained, “the particular isotope everyone is fussing about [iodine 131] has a half life of about eight days, which means that every eight days, the level of radioactivity is halved.”

“After 56 days, you’re down to a little less than 1 percent,” Fisher said. “After 10 half lives, you’re down to about one-tenth of 1 percent so it’s almost certain it’s not going to be a problem.”

The greater contamination risk is likely to come from iodine uptake by seaweed, Williams.

While seaweed is a much more significant component of Asian diets than North American ones, people here do occasionally consume Japanese seaweed, for example, in sushi.

“There’s a chance that some seaweeds are going to have pretty high iodine concentrations and if they’re consumed as part of sushi or some other use for human consumption it might be a problem,” Fisher said.

How big of a problem? Not much, he added.

“There are two reasons to be a little bit optimistic,” Fisher said. “As I understand it, most of the seaweed harvested in Japan for human consumption is harvested well south of Tokyo so it’s well far afield [from the nuclear-reactor problems].”

Also, the half-life principle refers to iodine in seaweed as well, meaning that it is a problem that will go away in time.

“All levels of contaminants are so low that they would not come anywhere near a level that would possibly be hazardous. We do tests on patients that use 1,000 times that level of radiation and there’s no concern,” said Dr. Irwin Klein, chief of the thyroid center at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y. “The worst thing would be for someone to overreact and take potassium iodide. That could end up harming them. In the U.S., we have nothing to be concerned about with regard to the tragedy in Japan.”

Brisk walk can boost blood flow to the brain Many smokers still deceived by cigarette labeling

Moderate aerobic exercise helps boost blood flow to the brain in older women, new research reveals.

The small study included 16 women aged 60 and older who walked briskly for 30 to 50 minutes three or four times a week for three months. By the end of that time, the amount of blood flow to the brain had increased by as much as 15 percent.

The researchers also found that the women’s VO2 max — the body’s maximum capacity to transport and use oxygen during exercise — increased about 13 percent, their blood pressure fell an average of 4 percent, and their heart rates decreased about 5 percent.

The findings offer insight into how vascular health affects brain health, lead researcher Rong Zhang, of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, explained in a news release from the American Physiological Society.

Zhang and the other researchers used Doppler ultrasonography to chart blood flow in the women’s carotid arteries, which are located in the neck and supply the brain with crucial glucose and oxygen-rich

blood. The blood also gets rid of brain metabolic wastes such as amyloid-beta protein (implicated in Alzheimer’s disease) that have been released into the brain’s blood vessels.

The study is scheduled for presentation this week at the Experimental Biology annual meeting, in Washington, D.C., as part of the scientific program of the American Physiological Society.

“There are many studies that suggest that exercise improves brain function in older adults, but we don’t know exactly why the brain improves. Our study indi-

cates it might be tied to an improvement in the supply of blood flow to the brain,” Zhang said in the news release.

It’s not known if increasing blood flow to the brain can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia but “there is strong evidence to suggest that cardiovascular risk is tied to the risk for Alzheimer’s disease,” Zhang said.

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the findings should be viewed as preliminary until they are published in a peerreviewed journal.

Many smokers in western nations still incorrectly believe that certain types of cigarettes, such as “mild” and “low tar” brands, are less of a health risk than others, a new study shows.

Researchers surveyed more than 8,000 smokers in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, and found that about one-fifth of them wrongly believed that “some cigarettes could be less harmful than others.”

The study also found that many smokers incorrectly believed that slim cigarettes are less harmful, smoothtasting cigarettes are less risky than hard-tasting cigarettes, filters reduce risk, and nicotine is responsible for most of the cancers caused by cigarettes.

The findings were published April 12 in the journal Addiction.

The researchers noted that more than 50 countries have banned the use of labels such as “light,” “mild” and “low tar” on cigarettes.

In response, some companies have changed their “light” cigarettes to “silver” and “gold” brands. For

example, Marlboro Lights have become Marlboro Gold.

A large percentage of smokers now equate those colors with low-risk cigarettes, said the study authors.

“The findings highlight the deceptive potential of ‘slim’ cigarette brands targeted primarily at young women. The findings also support the potential health benefits of plain packaging regulations that will soon take effect in Australia, under which all cigarettes will be sold in packages with the same plain color, without graphics or logos,” study co-author Dr. David Hammond said in a journal news release.

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

18

Experts: Boeing appears conflicted on 737 decision CHICAGO — Boeing Co. may be leaning toward building a new version of its best-selling 737 narrowbody jet, but industry experts said on Tuesday the company seems to be conflicted on the matter and appears increasingly less likely to make a decision in the next few months.

Boeing is deciding whether to redesign the 737 or simply put a more fuel-efficient engine in the existing design as its top rival Airbus (EAD.PA) intends to do with its

competing A320.

A re-engined plane would offer fuel savings of about 10 percent and could be brought to market around 2016.

An all-new version could offer double the fuel savings and be brought to market around 2019.

The world’s secondlargest commercial plane-maker appears to be “split internally” about the direction of the 737 program, said aerospace analyst Scott Hamilton from Leeham Co LLC in a blog posting.

Hamilton said the split appears to be over the potential size of the new aircraft and whether it should feature two aisles instead of just one.

Boeing has said repeatedly it is leaning toward making an allnew 737. Mike Bair, Boeing’s head of singleaisle development programs, told Reuters in March that Boeing hopes to share its direction by midyear, but he stopped short of promising a firm decision.

Boeing had previously said it would offer

clarity on the 737 by the end of 2010, but delayed that decision.

“We are actively working with our customers and industry partners to identify the best solution for the small airplane market,” said Boeing spokeswoman Lauren Penning.

“Boeing has been clear that we expect to provide more clarity about our product strategy direction by midyear,” she said.

Airbus rolled the dice last year on a reengined version of its

competing A320. The company has pulled in impressive orders for the revamped model known as the A320neo.

Boeing and Airbus are racing for control of a single-aisle market worth an estimated $1.7 trillion over the next 20 years.

Alex Hamilton, managing director of EarlyBirdCapital, said he does not expect Boeing to announce plans for a new plane this summer.

“I believe they have several other issues on their plate and are very hesitant, I would

assume, to mess with their bread and butter,” said Alex Hamilton, managing director of EarlyBirdCapital. “In addition, I think the recent Southwest incident points to the wear and tear the 737 takes and how difficult a reengine would be.”

The 737 made headlines earlier this month after a Southwest Airlines 737 made an emergency landing with a gaping hole in the fuselage. U.S. regulators last week ordered airlines to inspect older model 737s for cracks.

VeriFone sees smartphones driving mobile payment wave

By HIMANK SHARMA and TENZIN DEKEVA BANGALORE — VeriFone Systems Inc, the largest U.S. maker of payment terminals, expects to ship well over 1 million “near-field communications” (NFC)-enabled systems this year, underlining growing momentum for a technology that allows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

shoppers to buy with little more than a wave of a smartphone.

NFC technology passes encrypted information between devices at close range without contact. Instead of swiping a credit card, shoppers can wave their smartphone near a terminal, effectively turning an NFC-enabled phone into a “mobile wallet.”

“We’re already seeing major systems purchases from some of the flock leaders in large retail asking for NFC capability ... and I’m sure that will continue "#( # ' ')$& ! #)&( C #)"(, # %) "' ( # & # ! " &' # %) "' #) * & (#+ & #" #! " )! $6-48>411 -2-48=> )' && & 0> -6 0108 /-8> = &C@AC/<B B= / C25;3<B =4 =@31:=AC@3 /<2 )/:3 3<B3@32 =< #/@16 B63 C<23@ A75<32 (343@33 E7:: A3:: /B >C0:71 /C1B7=< /B B63 'C33<A =C<BG 3<3@/: =C@B6=CA3 )CB >67< =C:3D/@2 =C@B (==; /;/71/ $ . =< B63 B6 2/G =4 #/G /B /; >@3;7A3A "G7<5 /<2 037<5 7< B63 =@=C56 =4 'C33<A /<2 )B/B3 =4 $3E .=@9 < B63 1=<2=;7<7C; 9<=E< /A J'C33<A =C:3D/@2 *=E3@ =<2=;7<7C; K *=53B63@ E7B6 /< C<27D7232 7<B3@3AB 7< B63 =;;=< :3;3<BA )/72 >@3;7A3A 9<=E< /A %?008= 9?60@-</ )84> &029 $-<5 " , 69.5 9> >>@=F7;/B3 /;=C<B =4 :73< >:CA 7<B3@3AB /<2 1=ABA 1=;;=< 16/@53A /<2 /AA3AA;3<BA 2C3 4@=; B63 2/B3 =4 47:7<5 =4 :73< 7< /< /;=C<B <=B :3AA B6/< &@3;7A3A E7:: 03 A=:2 AC0831B B= >@=D7A7=<A =4 47:32 8C25;3<B /<2 B3@;A =4 A/:3 <23F $= (71/@2= (3<574= A? (343@33 C::3< *@=7/ & BB=@<3G A 4=@ &:/7<B744 (31B=@ )B@33B I )C7B3 $3E .=@9 $ .

and accelerate,” VeriFone CEO Doug Bergeron told Reuters in an interview.

The technology — which promises to replace credit and debit cards in the same way that plastic has largely displaced cash — could spur equipment upgrades or fresh sales, tightening VeriFone’s grip on the terminal market.

The number of mobile payment users is expected to top 340 million in 2014, ringing up $245 billion worth of transactions, according to research firm Gartner.

“There isn’t a CEO in any payment facing industry that isn’t at least trying to find out what role (their companies) play and how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

eventually to monetize it,” Bergeron said, noting the scramble to get a piece of shoppers’ mobile wallets.

Earlier this month, ISIS — a joint venture between AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless — said it would pilot its mobile commerce program early next year, following Sprint Nextel Corp, which plans a similar launch this year, according to a Bloomberg report that also noted Amazon.com Inc may introduce a mobile payment service.

“Our economic success vis-a-vis NFC is not favorably or unfavorably impacted by the success of any one of (these) initiatives.”

The typical refresh cycle for payment terminals is 3-4 years and if NFC succeeds, Veri"#( # ' ')$& ! #)&( " ' #)"(, 0/0<-6 "->498-6 !9<>2-20 ==9. @ 48/08 0> -6 D 8/0A "9 &C@AC/<B B= 8C25 ;3<B =4 4=@31:=AC@3 /<2 A/:3 3<B3@32 E7:: A3:: /B /C1B7=< B= B63 67563AB 07223@ /B !7<5A =C<BG )C>@3;3 =C@B 2/;A )B@33B (==; =< *6C@A2/G >@7: /B > ; >@3;7A3A 9<=E< /A " " '(& ( &## ," ", 23A75 </B32 =< B63 =C<BG :/<2 ;/> /A "% ! "%* 2332 @31=@232 7< B63 %44713 =4 B63 7BG (357AB3@ /A ( $ /<2 ;=@3 >/@B71C:/@:G 23A1@7032 7< B63 8C25 ;3<B =4 4=@31:=AC@3 /<2 A/:3 )=:2 AC0831B B= /:: B3@;A /<2 1=< 27B7=<A 7< A/72 8C25;3<B /<2 B3@;A =4 A/:3 >>@=F7;/B3 /;=C<B =4 8C25;3<B >:CA 7<B3@3AB /<2 1=ABA (% (* () %$ )' ( (

Fone would have the opportunity to speed up that cycle, Bergeron said.

The big three payment processors — MasterCard Inc, Visa Inc and American Express Co — have announced their versions of NFCenabled services.

“All the new initiatives at the end of the day have to co-exist ... I think there’s 15 companies that VeriFone is communicating with,” Bergeron said, adding that with over a 60 percent share of the U.S. terminal market his California-based company stands to gain as the technology grows in popularity.

Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Google, Mastercard and Citibank were working on a mobile payment partnership using VeriFone terminals. "#(

# '

)' 4=><4.> 9?<> ", 9<:9<->0 ;?4>B &0=9?<.0= @ $0<-6>- -=0 "9 .@ ! &C@AC/<B B= 8C25;3<B =4 4=@31:=AC@3 /<2 A/:3 3<B3@32 B63 (343@33 #716/3: !7<5 A? E7:: A3:: /B /C1B7=< B= B63 67563AB 07223@ =CBA723 B63 4@=<B 2==@A =4 B63 + ) =C@B 6=CA3 /2;/< &:/H/ /AB @==9:G< $. =< ,32<3A2/G >@7: /B /; >@3;7A3A 9<=E< /A %) " , '(& ( &## ," ", 23A75</B32 =< B63 =C<BG :/<2 ;/> /A "% ! "%* /<2 ;=@3 >/@B71C:/@:G 23A1@7032 7< B63 8C25;3<B =4 4=@31:=AC@3 /<2 A/:3 )=:2 AC0831B B= /:: B3@;A /<2 1=<27B7=<A 7< A/72 8C25 ;3<B /<2 B3@;A =4 A/:3 >>@=F 7;/B3 /;=C<B =4 8C25;3<B >:CA 7<B3@3AB /<2 1=ABA # " !$ )' ( (

Without commenting directly on that deal, Bergeron noted Google’s interest could prove a turning point in adopting the technology.

“If you’ve got the provider of the most prolific and free operating system putting some whip, some marketing leverage, some mindshare behind it (NFC), I think it’s inevitable that part of the chicken and egg gets eventually resolved,” he said.

“The more complexity that moves to the point of sale the better it is for us. A system that ... adds NFC capabilities is obviously higher margin than something that just swipes the credit card,” added Bergeron, who has been CEO since mid-2001.

He also sees a shift from a “dumb” card to smartphone as creating opportunities beyond the traditional sale of a terminal or a contactless upgrade.

Managing data on customers’ shopping behavior on behalf of payment processors and retailers is one such opportunity, which Bergeron believes “naturally evolves into a recurring revenue model” for VeriFone.

VeriFone, which competes with Ingenico S.A., First Data Corp, Heartland Payment Systems Inc, Gemalto and PAX Technology Ltd, expects terminal sales to grow at over 20 percent this year.

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

19

FCC: TV airwaves needed to counter wireless crunch

By JASMIN MELVIN LAS VEGAS — Some U.S. airwaves used for free, over-the-air TV signals must be repurposed for mobile broadband use to tackle a looming spectrum crisis, the top U.S. communications regulator said.

The Federal Communications Commission wants Congress to grant it authority to hold incentive auctions that would compensate television broadcasters for giving up some of their spectrum to wireless companies.

“I believe the single most important step that will drive our mobile economy and address consumer frustration is authorizing

voluntary incentive auctions,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski told broadcasters at their annual convention in Las Vegas.

But broadcasters have been resistant to the agency’s proposal, worried about the unintended consequences that parting with airwaves could have on their TV signals and the viewers they serve.

“We’re talking about putting the whole system at risk,” Alan Frank, chief executive of Post-Newsweek Stations Inc, said earlier in the week at the conference.

Repacking the TV band, to clear large contiguous blocks of spectrum considered best for mobile broadband use, could increase interference and

degrade the signal strength of broadcasters not parting with spectrum, said Frank.

“We need to start defining not how the auction works, but what this is going to mean for the broadcasters who don’t participate in the auction,” Frank said.

Genachowski said he understood the concerns broadcasters had, and said he would work closely with them to implement policy that benefited them and the economy.

He noted that broadcasters, under the FCC proposal, would be fully compensated for any expenses related to repacking.

“However, voluntary can’t mean undermining the potential effectiveness of an auction

by giving every broadcaster a new and unprecedented right to keep their exact channel location,” Genachowski said, adding that doing so would give a single broadcaster veto power over the success of an auction.

He praised the industry for looking to take advantage of “a multiplatform broadband world” by introducing new technologies, platforms and business models to reach viewers.

But he made it clear that while the agency is working on multiple fronts to solve the spectrum crunch, the authority to hold voluntary incentive auctions is vital to meeting demand.

The FCC hopes to repurpose 120 mega-

hertz of spectrum through incentive auctions where television broadcasters would voluntarily give up spectrum in exchange for a portion of the proceeds.

Some 25 million Americans watch video on their cell phones, and tablet computers like Apple Inc’s iPad put 120 times more demand on spectrum than older phones.

“This growing demand is not going away. The result is a spectrum crunch,” Genachowski said. “The only thing that can address the growing overall demand for mobile is increasing the overall supply of spectrum and the efficiency of its use.”

Wireless carriers have lobbied for help, saying a spectrum

shortage would mean clogged networks, more dropped calls and slower connection speeds for wireless customers.

AT&T Inc last month announced a $39-billion plan to buy Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA, in part to deal with its impending spectrum shortage.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has questioned the existence of a nationwide spectrum shortage, but the group said they would only oppose the auctions if they appeared to harm broadcasters who opt not to part with spectrum or seemed to harm viewers.

Some 43 million Americans rely exclusively on over-the-air television.

Swap market crackdown seeks to spare businesses

By CHRISTOPHER DOERING and DAVE CLARKE WASHINGTON — U.S. companies would be largely spared from increases in the costs of using derivatives when they hedge against price fluctuations, under U.S. regulatory proposals.

Power companies, airlines and major manufacturers feared that regulators would force them to post collateral, or margin, with a bank when they hedge against risks such as changes in currencies, fuel costs or interest rates — raising the cost of using swaps to lock in profits.

The proposals, issued

by Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp for public comment, craft margin exemptions for the small slice of the derivatives market in which companies need highly customized swaps that can’t be cleared through exchanges.

The proposals are part of last year’s DoddFrank reform law aimed at curbing swap speculation of the sort that amplified the devastating 2007-2009 financial

crisis, while still letting businesses hedge their risks.

“Corporate end-users are going to be encouraged by the direction that this is heading,” said Paul Rowady, a senior analyst at research and advisory firm TABB Group.

But there were sufficient differences between the CFTC’s plan and the one issued by the FDIC and other banking regulators, to keep some companies guessing about whether they will be fully exempt from having to post margin when using derivatives.

“I believe commercial end-users and many of the financial end-users will be dissatisfied with the lack of harmonization among the different regulatory bodies,” CFTC Commissioner Scott O’Malia said before dissenting in the agency’s 4-1 vote to seek public comment.

The CFTC’s proposal applies to non-bank swap dealers and offers a clear margin exemption for corporations hedging their business risks.

The bank regulators’ proposal applies to banks such as JPMorgan and Bank of America that serve as swap

dealers, and does not offer a clear exemption for end users.

The latter proposal could force a corporation to post collateral if the bank selling a derivative found that the corporation was too much of a credit risk.

It is unclear how often banks would have to demand collateral from corporations, but the lack of a clear exemption drew ire from business groups.

“Despite the clear legislative history to the contrary, the regulators continue to misinterpret the Dodd-Frank Act as giving them authority to impose margin requirements on end-users,” said a statement from the Coalition for Derivatives End-Users, an industry group.

Profits hang in the balance not only for corporate end-users, but also for the big financial companies that dominate the swaps market, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and HSBC. They could be hurt if they can no longer offer margin-free swap trades to corporations.

Nearly a third of all off-exchange derivatives trades last year were not secured by collateral, or margin, said the Inter-

national Swaps and Derivatives Association.

Companies have argued for a generous exemption because they use derivatives solely to hedge risk. They insist they are not at risk of destabilizing the financial system, and have trumpeted the potential for higher costs.

The proposals affect businesses as diverse as Constellation Energy, MillerCoors and Caterpillar — all of which use swaps to manage risk.

One study estimated that a 3 percent margin requirement on swaps used by Standard & Poor’s 500 companies could cut capital spending by as much as $6.7 billion.

The FDIC said the bank regulators’ proposal would have minimal impact on corporations hedging business risk.

“We should not impose an undue burden on the vast majority of the market participants that really did not play a role in the financial crisis,” FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said.

CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler said his agency and bank regulators aligned their rules “to the maximum extent practicable.”

The CFTC, which polices derivatives mar-

kets, and the FDIC, which regulates banks, are working on implementing scores of postcrisis regulations, including the swaps measures, mandated by 2010’s Dodd-Frank.

The agencies’ proposals will be issued for public comment for about 60 days. Between now and then, the agencies will come under pressure to make modifications.

The difference in the bank regulators’ and the CFTC’s approaches may hit the banks, which could be forced to demand margin from corporations, compared with non-bank swap dealers such as Shell and Cargill, which could offer margin-free trading for certain swaps.

The bank regulators’ proposal will give banks two options for deter-

mining whether they need to demand that corporations post margin on uncleared swap trades.

The first option is to use a standard table that regulators will create.

The second would be based on how much the trade could be affected over 10 days under stress.

A regulatory affairs head at a major corporation that trades swaps said the bank regulators’ proposal would create “unlevel playing fields” among the banks and non-bank swap dealers.

The executive, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said end users will naturally gravitate toward the cheaper derivatives.

“It could put the banks at a disadvantage,” the executive said.

Contractors will be required to comply with EEO, D/M/WBE and other federal and state procurement laws, regulations and Executive Orders.

MTA NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT (NYCT)

BIDS: Opening Date: 5/3/11, #3972, Filter; #4604, Roller chain.; #4609, Remote area lighting sys; #4615, Hand tools; #4711, Connector; #4745, Motor controller; #4746, Grease. Opening Date: 5/4/11, #4743, Lamp; #4869, Fan: # 4340, Hose; #4341, Belt; #4600, Power tools. Opening Date: 5/5/11, #4918, Valve kit; #4650, Brake shoe key; #5003, Filter; #5226, Pawl assy; base plate assy; #4502, Wiper motor; bracket assy; #2915, Spring; #2907, Rectifier. More detailed info & the MTA-NYCT contact for the above solicitations can be found on our website at www.mta.info/nyct/procure/nyctproc.htm

MTA- NYCT SOLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT (S)

NYCT intends to purchase the following item(s) without competitive bidding from the only known source(s). Any other firm may assert its potential to supply the item(s) by notifying the designated NYCT Contact in writing within 5 business days of this notice. Contract #: U-A252086, Desc: 3 Yr Parts Pricebook for Elevator Parts mfg. by Gal Manufacturing Corp, Bronx NY Mfg/Supplier Part #: N/A NYCT Contact: J. Oricchio, MTA –NYCT, 2 Broadway, 19th Flr, New York, NY 10004, Ph: (646) 252-6849 Earliest Award Date: 5/2/11

20

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

687 555 452 645 657 782 369

451 789 123 558 441 220 115

MON

✔ 535

80x xxx

37x xxx

68x xxx

xxx xxx

xxx xxx

05x xxx

239 144

75x xxx

599 xxx

xxx xxx

xxx xxx

10x xxx

712 xxx

721 xxx

450 xxx

xxx xxx

xxx xxx

818 369 97x xxx 09x xxx 462 xxx

733 841

65x xxx 31x xxx

SUN

✔ 748

✔ 957

08x 693 xxx

xxx xxx

PICK OF THE DAY

xxx

16x 343 xxx 6xx xxx xxx xxx

344 xxx

942 107

xxx

89x xxx

200 353

300 xxx 008 xxx

xxx xxx

8xx xxx

xxx

836 xxx

xxx xxx

722

54x xxx

xxx xxx

xxx xxx

xxx

483 416

xxx xxx

540 xxx

393

64x xxx

xxx xxx

318 865

xxx

5xx xxx

xxx xxx

0xx 049

669 xxx xxx

xxx

xxx xxx xxx

011

377 544

FRI

✎

92x xxx

40x xxx

WED THURS

92x 80x 37x 68x xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx

005

52x xxx

TUES

xxx

xxx

6057

801

05x 5xx 078

"17 %#0 /#-' #/'0&5 $; 6#-+0) 6*'/ 51/'9*'4' 24+. #4 52'%+#. "17 %#0 /#-' ':64# %#5* +( ;17 #%6 10 # *70%* "174 )'0'4175 0#674' %17.& $' 6#-'0 #&8#06#)' 1(

('55+10#. &76+'5 10 6 276 .+/+6#6+105 10 ;1745'.( "17 %#0 /#-' # $+) &+(('4 '0%' 61 %*+.&4'0 +( ;17 #4' 70&'456#0&+0) 1( 6*' &+((+%7.6+'5 6*'; #4' ':2'4+'0% +0)

*419 ;1745'.( +061 ;174 241('55+10 4)7/'065 #; 24 9+.. (.#4' 72 +( ;17 )'6 $#%-'& +061 #0 '/16+10#. %140'4 "17 /#; $' 18'4.; '/16+10#. 9*'0 &'#.+0) 9+6* ;174 /#6'

10 6 $' # 2'56 14 # 6417$.'/#-'4 61&#; "17 18 %6 %#0 (+0+5* 241,'%65 '#4.; 9*+%* 9+.. $4+0) ;17 24#+5' (41/ 572'4+145 4#8'. (14 $75+0'55 274215'5 /#; $4+0) 6*' *+)*'56 4'67405

10 6 21+06 ;174 (+0)'4 70,756.; #6 16*'45 7&&'0 70' #; )11& (14670' 9+.. *'.2 ;17 %18'4 ;174 &'$65 1/'10' ;17 .'#56 ':2'%6 /#; 016 *#8' ;174 $'56 +06'4'565 #6 *'#46

1/'10' /#; $' 64;+0) 61 &#/#)' ;174 '% 18 4'276#6+10 1/#06+% 12214670+6+'5 9+.. (.174+5* 6*417)* 64#8'. 14 %1//70+%# 6+10 10 6 64756 %1914-'45 9+6* +/2146#06 14 2'4510#. +0(14/#6+10

5' ;174 #&&'& &+5%+2.+0' 61 )'6 9*#6 ;17 9#06 7.; 70' "17 %#0 /#-' &4#56+% %*#0)'5 +0 ;174 241('55+10#. &+4'%6+10 61&#; 1/'10' ;17 .+8' 9+6* +5 4'#&; 61 2.#; '/16+10#. )#/'5

1 ;174 190 6*+0) #0& '8'4;6*+0) 9+.. 5'66.' #0 '% &190 "17 0''& #0 '0'4)'6+% 176.'6 6*#6 9+.. *'.2 ;17 &+55+2#6' ;174 #0:+'6; "17 %#0 $'#76+(; ;174 5744170&+0)5 $; 4'018#6+0) 14 4'&'%14#6+0)

"17 9+.. $' '44#6+% #0& 37+6' .+-'.; 61 /#-' 2'4510#.

7) 7.; /+56#-'5 "17 /#; $' 6'/26'& 61 52'0& 611 /7%* 10 '06'46#+0/'06 14 .7:74; +6'/5 !+5+6 (4+'0&5 ;17 &10 6 )'6 61 5'' 6*#6 1(6'0

1 016 (14%' ;174 12+0+105 10 16*'45 6*' %10 '$ #0 0'%6+105 9+.. $' 5*146 .+8'& 81+& )'66+0) +081.8'& 9+6* /#44+'& +0&+8+&7#.5 "17 /#; (+0& 6*#6 51/'10' ;17 .+8' 9+6* +5 016 611 *#22; $76 ;17 %#0 6 4'#..; &1 #0;6*+0) #$176 6*#6 4+)*6 019

4; 61 %74$ ;174 $#& *#$+65 "17 %#0 &+5%755 ;174 '26 7) ! (+0&+0)5 $'*+0& %.15'& &1145 9+6* ;174 $155 "17 %#0 /#-' /10'; 6*417)* ;174 190 %4'#6+8' '((1465 '26

%6

10 6 #..19 2'4510#. 241$.'/5 61 %10(.+%6 9+6* 241

"17 9+.. *#8' 01 6417$.' )'66+0) 6*+0)5 61 (#.. +061 #4 '$ 2.#%' "17 *#8' 61 -019 9*#6 ;174 $155 9#065 +( ;17 ':2'%6 61 &1 ;174 ,1$ %144'%6.; .#0 61 )'6 61)'6*'4 9+6* 51/'10' 52'%+#. .#6'4 +0 6*' &#;

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

NFL’s rookie pitch: divert 300M from 1st rounders

By BARRY WILNER NEW YORK - The NFL’s proposal to the players for a rookie compensation system would divert about $300 million a year from first-round draft picks’ contracts to veterans and player benefits.

According to documents obtained by The Associated Press, the league’s offer would free more than $1.2 billion by 2016 and slow the growth rate of guaranteed payments to firstrounders, which the documents show increased by 233 percent since 2000. All contracts for first-round picks would become fixed at five years.

Such quarterback busts as JaMarcus Russell ($32 million),

Matt Leinart ($12.9 million), David Carr ($15 million) and Joey Harrington ($13.9 million) received huge guaranteed payments that totaled $367 million in the last 10 drafts.

Of course, Eli Manning ($24 million), Philip Rivers ($17.9 million) and Matt Ryan ($34.7 million) have not done too badly for their teams.

Guaranteed money paid to top 10 selections since 2000 reached nearly $2 billion.

Guaranteed payments for all first-rounders were at $3.5 billion.

During talks for a new collective bargaining agreement, the league also proposed eliminating holdouts by reducing the maximum allowable salary if a rookie isn’t signed when training camp begins. The NFL also suggested eliminating holdouts

for all veterans by prohibiting renegotiations of contracts if a player holds out in the preseason.

The compensation system would not include a rookie wage scale and would allow for individual contract negotiations.

Contracts would have a fixed length of four years for players chosen in the second through seventh rounds and would not affect salaries for those rounds, the league said.

A modified salary system for rookies was a negotiating point for a new CBA until talks broke off March 11 and the NFL Players Association dissolved as a union. The owners locked out the players hours later.

The two sides are scheduled for court-mandated mediation in Minneapolis beginning today.

Kobe Bryant appears to hurl slur After receiving a technical foul during Tuesday’s game, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant stormed back to the bench and appeared to direct a homophobic slur toward referee Bennie Adams.

Bryant’s reaction was caught on camera on TNT’s national telecast of the key Western Conference battle with

the San Antonio Spurs.

He hit his seat before sitting down, threw a towel and then yelled, “Bennie,” toward the court. Bryant then leaned back and muttered what appeared to be a gay slur.

TNT announcer Steve Kerr picked up on Bryant’s outburst and said: “You might wanna take the cameras off of

him right now, for the children watching from home.”

“The video from Tuesday’s game is under review by the NBA,” league spokesman Tim Frank said to ESPNLosAngeles.com via email.

Bryant was not initially available for comment.

“We haven’t seen the video, so it would be inappropriate for us to comment on it,” a Lakers spokesperson t o l d ESPNLosAngeles.com yesterday.

The Lakers are battling the Mavericks for the second seed in the West. They beat the Spurs 102-93 on Tuesday.

Ray Edwards to fight on May 20 With the lockout dragging on, Minnesota Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards is set to make his professional boxing debut at a Minnesota casino.

Edwards told the Star Tribune that he has signed a two-fight contract. His professional debut is set for May 20 in a four-round bout against a yet-tobe-determined oppo-

nent.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do in my life,” Edwards told the newspaper. “I can’t put my eggs all in one basket, waiting for the NFL to settle the lockout. You never know when this lockout is going to end.”

The Star Tribune reported that Edwards is guaranteed $5,000 from the fight plus 50 percent of the gate proceeds for the fight at Grand Casino

Hinckley. If the lockout continues into June, his second fight will take place that month under the same terms, the newspaper reported.

Edwards’ trainer is Jeff Warner, a former heavyweight boxer and pro wrestler. Warner predicts big things for Edwards.

“A lot of football players, like Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones, have tried to cross over — and they’ve all gotten

knocked out,” Warner told ESPN Mobile last month. “Ray will be the first to come from pro football as a starter and destroy the heavyweight division. Ray is a phenom. He’s a modern-day Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson combined. He’s the greatest conditioned heavyweight ever and he’ll knock out any fighter in the world. No one looks like Ray, no one moves like Ray and no one works like Ray.”

DAILY CHALLENGE

21

SPORTS

SPORTS BRIEFS Bonds trial: Jury deliberating for 4th day

SAN FRANCISCO - Jurors have resumed deliberating in the Barry Bonds perjury trial.

The eight women and four men returned for a fourth day of deliberations shortly after 8:30 a.m.

Pacific time yesterday. The panel spent most of the court day on Tuesday behind closed doors but failed to reach a verdict.

Bonds is charged with three counts of lying to a grand jury in 2003 and one count of obstruction.

Prosecutors allege that Bonds lied when he denied knowingly taking steroids and human growth hormone. A third count of making a false statement charges that Bonds lied when he said that no one other than his doctor ever injected him with anything.

The fourth count is obstruction of justice, which alleges that MLB’s all-time home runs leader hindered the grand jury’s sports doping investigation by lying. It lists the statements in the first three counts along with four other answers Bonds gave to prosecutors as unlawful.

Tennessee Titans player Kenny Britt arrested in NJ BAYONNE, N.J. - Police arrested Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kenny Britt in his hometown of Bayonne, N.J., after an officer reported seeing him speeding.

Bayonne Police Chief Robert Kubert says Britt faces charges of eluding the officer, hindering apprehension and obstructing governmental function.

Kubert says Britt was driving his Porsche at 71 mph in a 50-mph zone Tuesday. The chief says Britt drove away from the officer and was eventually found on side street walking away from the car. Kubert says Britt first denied being in the car, then denied driving and then finally admitted he was behind the wheel.

The agency that represents Britt says it is not ready to comment. Titans spokesman Robbie Bohren says only that the team is aware of the reports.

Britt has an April 19 court appearance.

Former Mets, Blue Jays 1B Carlos Delgado retires SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Carlos Delgado has given up on coming back from a hip injury, announcing his retirement from baseball two years after he was sidelined.

The former New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays first baseman announced his decision at a news conference in his native Puerto Rico on yesterday. The 38-year-old Delgado was in good spirits, laughing as friends presented him with a rocking chair as a retirement gift.

The two-time All-Star first baseman played 17 major league seasons, finishing with 473 home runs and a .280 batting average.

Delgado played for the Blue Jays from 19932004, went to the Florida Marlins for a season and finished out his career with the Mets from 2006-09.

He said he hasn’t decided his next step.

2 22

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

DAILY CHALLENGE

SPORTS

Departures cause concern at Kansas

By JASON KING With the sting of last month’s Elite Eight loss to Virginia Commonwealth beginning to subside, Kansas coach Bill Self said the Jayhawks are finally moving forward. And it’s time their fans did, too.

“The last two weeks have sucked,” Self told supporters at the team’s season-ending banquet Monday. “When you try hard and invest in something, it hurts.

Beginning tonight, it’s over. Get excited for next year.”

For some, that may be difficult.

Marcus and Markieff Morris have announced they are leaving school a year early for the NBA draft, and freshman Josh Selby will likely follow suit.

Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed are out of eligibility and - although it’s still a work in progress the Jayhawks’ latest

recruiting class isn’t as attention-grabbing as some of the others in the Self era.

Even with pro prospects Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor returning, there seems to be a legitimate reason for concern in Lawrence.

If the Jayhawks are ever going to experience a rebuilding season, next year may be it.

Or at least that’s how it appears on paper.

Conventional wisdom, however, suggests it would be unwise to bet against Self and the Jayhawks, whose string of seven straight Big 12 titles is almost hard to fathom. Time and time again, Kansas has found a way to flourish during a time when so many assumed it would flounder.

• Kansas seemed destined for a down year after losing Wayne Simien, Keith Langford, Aaron Miles, J.R. Giddens and Michael Lee following the 2005-

06 season. Instead, the Jayhawks went 25-8 overall and 13-3 in the Big 12 using a lineup that consisted of three freshmen starters Wright, (Julian Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers).

• Five players - Rush, Chalmers, Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun - were drafted from a 2008 national championship team that also lost starting point guard Russell Robinson.

But the Jayhawks answered with a 27-8 record and a Sweet 16 berth the next year thanks to Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich.

Self was named national coach of the year.

• Kansas lost Collins and NBA lottery picks Aldrich and Xavier Henry from a squad that went 33-3 in 2009-10.

Dick Vitale actually picked Self’s squad to finish fifth in the league.

How did the Jayhawks respond?

“We went 35-3,” Self said Monday.

Andrew Bynum hyperextends right knee LOS ANGELES — Despite the Los Angeles Lakers’ late season struggles, the one thing they had going for them compared to their last two championship runs was a healthy Andrew Bynum.

That might not be the case anymore.

Bynum suffered a hyperextended right knee in the second quarter of Tuesday’s 102-93 win against the San Antonio Spurs when he stepped on DeJuan Blair’s foot, causing his knee to buckle.

Bynum sat on the floor with his head in his hands for several minutes after the injury occurred but walked to the locker room under his own power. He exited the game with 8:11 remaining in the second quarter after registering four points and four rebounds in 13 minutes

and did not return.

Bynum was to undergo an MRI on the knee yesterday and will not travel with the team to Sacramento for their season finale against the Kings.

“He could be out a couple games,” coach Phil Jackson said after the game. “There could be a bone bruise involved when you hyperextend the knee.

His reassurance was saying, ‘I’m going to be OK.’ I think that he might have an idea about it because he’s been through this before.”

Bynum said if the Lakers were looking at Game 7 of the NBA Finals he could “probably play.”

“It was painful right when it happened but it’s not that bad right now,” Bynum said after the game.

Any significant

absence for Bynum could be a major problem for the two-time defending NBA champion Lakers, who had lost their last five games before taking on the Spurs.

Bynum was widely considered to be the difference maker in the team’s 17-1 streak after the All-Star Game as he averaged 11.5 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 21 games after the break. Bynum is averaging 11.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and nearly 2 blocked shots in 54 games this season while patrolling the paint as the Lakers’ most important defensive player.

The 23-year-old’s imposing size alongside fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol is the Lakers’ biggest asset outside Kobe Bryant, and Bynum is in the midst of a remarkable defensive season.

“Expectations will always be high. We’ll be very good again next year. We’re losing good guys - really good guys.

[People say], ‘How can we ever replace them?’

But we always do.”

It’s not as if the Jayhawks’ roster has been completely decimated. Taylor, who may have been drafted in the second round had he left school a year early, will return for his fourth year as a starter in Kansas’ backcourt.

“I think I can play in the NBA,” Taylor said.

“My time is going to come. I’m not rushing it.”

Taylor was overshadowed by Collins during his first two seasons.

And his junior year, which included a suspension for violating team rules, was somewhat of a disappointment until the postseason, when he averaged 12 points and five assists in his last six games. That’s when Taylor turned up his aggression and began using his speed Taylor’s biggest attribute - to his advantage.

Elijah Johnson, an excellent defender and arguably the most athletic player on Kansas’ roster, will likely team with Taylor on the perimeter, giving the Jayhawks one of the fastest, most experienced backcourts in the Big 12. Incoming freshman guard Naadir Tharpe is a distributor who will likely be Kansas’ top guard off the bench.

Travis Releford has mostly been a role player during his time in Lawrence, which includes a redshirt year in 2009-10. He didn’t score a single point during the final month of last season. Releford, though, could end up being Kansas’ small forward, especially if touted signee Ben McLemore is slow to progress.

A 6-foot-9 forward, Robinson should easily be Kansas’ best player.

He averaged 7.6 points and 6.4 rebounds as a sophomore despite playing just 14 minutes per game. By the end of the 2010-11 season Robinson had blossomed into one of the top sixth

men in the country and was regarded as a surefire first-round NBA draft pick. Robinson, though, elected to return to Kansas for at least one more year.

“If I leave now, my legacy would not be how I want it,” Robinson told reporters Monday. “I want to come back to school and make a name for myself as a Jayhawk and try to improve to be one of the best bigs in the country.”

Robinson also said the potential of an NBA lockout factored into his decision.

“There may be no training camps,” he said. “I have one of the best big-man coaches right here. Another year with [Danny] Manning is huge for me. I want to come back and be the leader of our team.”

Robinson will be joined in the paint by Jeff Withey, a 7-footer who - partly because of injuries - had little impact in his first two seasons in Lawrence.

Self said he wouldn’t be surprised if Withey led the Big 12 in blocks next season.

Rays sneak past struggling Red Sox as David Price bests Jon Lester BOSTON — David Price and Tampa Bay’s rebuilt bullpen were too much for the Boston Red Sox. These days, it seems every team is.

Price outpitched Jon Lester in a matchup of left-handed aces and the Rays broke a tie with the Red Sox for the worst record in baseball with a 3-2 win on Tuesday night. Boston fell to 2-9 while Houston, which began the day with an NL-worst 2-8 record, beat the Cubs 11-2.

“Both starting pitchers were very good,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “I just love David’s tenacity. I really do. This is a young man with great

stuff, but tenacity to make him great. He just kept coming after them.”

When he hit Kevin Youkilis with his 116th pitch of the night to put runners at first and second with two outs in the eighth, relievers Joel Peralta retired the next batter and Kyle Farnsworth pitched a perfect ninth inning for his second save of the season and 28th of his 14-year career.

In the offseason, the Rays lost almost their entire bullpen — Joaquin Benoit, Rafael Soriano, Dan Wheeler, Grant Balfour, Randy Choate and Lance Cormier.

“Those guys shutting

them down right there at the end, that’s pretty good,” Price said. “I feel comfortable with those guys going eight and nine, for sure.”

Tampa Bay, which romped 16-5 on Monday night, can complete a series sweep Wednesday night.

Price (1-2) allowed five hits in 7 2/3 innings. He left with runners at first and second and Peralta ended the eighth by getting Jed Lowrie to fly out.

R i g h t - h a n d e r Farnsworth worked the ninth against three lefty pinch-hitters, striking out Jacoby Ellsbury and J.D. Drew and getting David Ortiz to fly to right.

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

NBA: No decision on summer league The NBA, responding to a report that its Las Vegas summer league will be canceled due to a potential July 1 shutdown over its labor dispute with players, said it has yet to make a decision on whether the summer games will be played.

“No decision has been made on summer leagues,” NBA spokesman Tim Frank told ESPN.com on Wednesday. He declined to discuss the league’s timetable for making a decision.

Published reports, citing unnamed league sources, reported yesterday that the NBA had canceled the Las Vegas summer league as well as its annual college internship program.

The league is also not sending any teams to Europe for training camp and has not scheduled any preseason games there, according to the report.

The collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the players union expires June 30 and there have not been formal talks between the two sides in months.

The NBA’s primary summer league has been in Las Vegas in recent years, with a smaller league in Orlando.

Both events typically begin in early July.

The NBA Board of Governors is scheduled to meet in New York this week.

Collective bargaining negotiations and a likely July 1 lockout are paramount on the agenda.

In talks with the union,

the NBA, which says more than half of its teams are losing money, has proposed instituting a hard salary cap, as well as shorter contract lengths and non-guaranteed deals.

Last month, union executive director Billy Hunter said a hard cap would effectively end guaranteed contracts. “We’ve had that right for years, and it’s not something we’re trying to give up,” he said.

League sources have long speculated that the summer leagues will almost certainly to be a casualty of the labor situation. It takes months to plan the leagues, but they fall just days after an expected lockout would begin. Last year’s Orlando league began July 5, and the Las Vegas league kicked off July 9.

Legal team for NFL players meet with judge

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI MINNEAPOLIS With the lockout at one month and counting, attorneys for NFL players sat down Tuesday with the federal magistrate who will oversee court-ordered mediation with the league later this week.

Attorneys and Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller met with U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan for about four hours.

Boylan “was very open” and “it was a very constructive session,” said Michael Hausfeld, the lead attorney representing Eller and a group of mostly retired players in their antitrust lawsuit against the owners. Other

attorneys declined comment.

The meeting came on the same day the NFL released its 2011 preseason schedule, led by the Hall of Fame Game between Chicago and St. Louis in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 7.

Whether the games are held remains an open question. The NFL’s attorneys are scheduled to meet with Boylan on Wednesday before mediation begins on Thursday, the first talks since collective bargaining negotiations broke down March 11, followed hours later by the NFL’s first work stoppage since 1987.

Boylan has a reputation as a problem-solver, though what he can accomplish after more than two weeks of mediated talks fell short last month in Washington remains to be seen. He has been a magistrate since 1996

D-backs’ Upton named FanFest spokesperson PHOENIX — In many ways, outfielder Justin Upton has become the face of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

So it seems only fitting with the All-Star Game in Phoenix this year that the 23-year-old will serve as Major League Baseball’s official spokesperson for the 2011 MLB All-Star FanFest, the world’s largest interactive baseball fan event.

“I am excited to be a part of All-Star FanFest,” Upton said in a statement. “It’s basically a baseball theme park for all ages; it’s very interactive and brings people closer to the game.”

FanFest will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center from July 8-12.

- Steve Gilbert

and presided over numerous mediations, including a $195 million settlement between Boston Scientific and about 4,000 claims involving heart defibrillators and pacemakers made by Guidant Corp. in 2007.

He’ll need to be at his best in this session because the rancor between the two sides has grown increasingly bitter as the dispute landed in court.

“If the parties would rather take their shot for litigation, you could make them sit there forever and there still won’t be an outcome,” said Seth Borden, a labor law expert at McKenna, Long and Aldridge in New York.

U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson ordered the mediation on Monday.

Nelson is still considering an injunction request from the players to lift the lockout imposed by owners after the players dissolved their union, clearing the way for the court fight. Players including MVP quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning filed the injunction request in federal court here along with a class-action antitrust suit against the league.

Retirees, including Eller, filed their own lawsuit, and the cases have been consolidated.

DAILY CHALLENGE

223

SPORTS

LeBron leapfrogs Kobe as top-selling jersey this season

NEW YORK — If LeBron James’ move to Miami made him a villain to some, fans like dressing as a bad guy.

James had the top-selling jersey in the NBA this season, moving past Kobe Bryant to claim the No. 1 spot for the first time since his rookie season in Cleveland in 2004.

Bryant dropped to No. 2 on the list announced yesterday, while Rajon Rondo moved up to third, one of five Boston Celtics among

the top 15.

The list is based on sales on NBAStore.com since the start of the 2010-11 season.

James’ popularity was expected to suffer after his much-criticized departure from the Cavaliers last summer. His switch of teams and numbers, from No. 23 to 6, ended the reign of Bryant, who had been No. 1 since the start of the 2008-09 season.

Amare Stoudemire (4th) and Carmelo Anthony (8th) also made the top 10 in their first seasons as Knicks.

Shaquille O’Neal (12th), Ray Allen (13th), Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett rounded out the list.

E x -U S D st a r fi g u r e s i n s p o r t s br i b e r y i n d i c t m e n t

By ELLIOT SPAGAT SAN DIEGO - A former University of San Diego star basketball player, another former player and a former assistant coach were charged with running a sports betting business to affect the outcome of games, federal authorities said Monday.

The indictment names Brandon Johnson, the school’s all-time leading scorer who finished his college career last year, Thaddeus Brown, an assistant coach at the school in the 2006-07 season, and Brandon Dowdy, who played at USD in the 2006-07 season and at the University of

California, Riverside, from 2008 to 2010. Seven other people were also charged.

Authorities did not say how the alleged scheme worked and said they were trying to determine its scope, including the number of games allegedly involved.

The indictment alleges that Johnson, 24, took a bribe to influence a USD game in February 2010 and solicited someone else this January to affect the outcome of USD basketball games while playing for the Dakota Wizards, a development team for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.

U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy didn’t name the USD opponent in the February 2010 game, saying only that Johnson was the school’s starting point guard at the time.