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BLACK SCHOLAR MANNING MARABLE PASSES SISTERS FREED FROM PRISON PUSH FOR PARDON Hundreds of protesters rallied on Friday seeking a full pardon for two sisters freed from prison by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour on the condition that one donate a kidney to the other.

SEE PAGE 2.

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Manning Marable, an influential historian whose forthcoming Malcolm X biography could revise perceptions of the slain civil rights leader, died Friday, just days before the book described as his life’s work was to be released. He was 60. Photo: David Shankbone SEE PAGE 3.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

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NEWS BRIEFS Sisters freed from prison push for pardon MTA WORKERS TO RECEIVE RAISE Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers are getting a long-awaited raise.

More than 30,000 bus and subway workers will get a three-percent increase retroactive to January 15th.

The raise is part of a contract drawn up by an arbitrator two years ago, after the MTA and Transport Workers Union were unable to reach a deal.

The MTA challenged the raise, arguing it couldn’t afford the payout. But yesterday the state’s highest court refused to hear another round of arguments.

The MTA says it’s disappointed the court refused to hear its appeal. And, the agency says it hopes to work with labor unions to find productivity increases as it works to close its deficits.

BRONX SCHOOLBOY’S ALLEGED ASSAULTER ARRESTED Police have arrested the man who allegedly assaulted an 11year-old boy on a school bus in the Bronx.

Authorities say Joshua Jones, 26, got on the bus at Union Avenue and Boston Road last Friday morning.

He allegedly hit the boy several times in the face before running off.

Jones faces charges including assault, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.

It is not known yet what sparked the alleged assault.

The boy was treated for facial bruises and swelling.

THREE SHOT DURING BROOKLYN ROBBERY ATTEMPT Police are looking for two gunmen who wounded three people during an attempted robbery in East Flatbush, Brooklyn Sunday night.

Police say the three victims were held up by the suspect, then ran into a club on Church Avenue where a baby shower was taking place.

Authorities say the suspect followed them inside and shot them.

All three victims — a 14-yearold girl, a 19-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman — were taken to Kings County Hospital and are in stable condition.

Anyone with information on the case should contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.

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By LEIGH COLEMAN BILOXI, Miss — Hundreds of protesters rallied on Friday seeking a full pardon for two sisters freed from prison by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour on the condition that one donate a kidney to the other.

Jamie and Gladys Scott each served 16 years for an $11 armed robbery before the governor indefinitely suspended their life sentences, essentially giving them parole.

Barbour’s office said on Friday that he has no plans to grant the women further relief.

“Another petition for a pardon will be denied,” spokeswoman Laura Hipp told Reuters.

But the Scott sisters and their supporters who marched in the state capital of Jackson were undeterred.

They said a pardon would make it easier for them to get jobs and move on with their lives.

And they plan to continue putting public pressure on Barbour, who is considering whether to run for president in 2012.

“If he wants to tell us not to hold our breath, then we will say we do not intend on turning our backs on outrage and injustice,” said Chokwe Lumumba, the women’s attorney.

The demonstration offered a stark contrast to the quiet lives the sisters have led since getting out of prison in January.

They moved in with their mother in Pensacola, Florida, and have enjoyed the sort of sleep and privacy that was elusive when they were housed with dozens of other inmates in a Pearl, Mississippi, prison.

Gladys Scott, left, hugs a supporter as her sister Jamie Scott thanks the 350 protestors who marched on their behalf in Jackson, Miss.

“Freedom brings better medical care, family and daily justice,” Jamie Scott said. “We notice the leaves on the trees and the small things in life you take for granted.”

Barbour’s order suspending their sentences required Gladys Scott, 36, to donate a kidney to 38-year-old Jamie, who has been on dialysis for several years. The governor said at the time that the operation should be scheduled with urgency.

But things have progressed slowly.

Though Gladys remains eager to help her sister, doctors told Jamie that she needs to lose about 100 pounds before she can be placed on the transplant list.

The sisters said they have been taking aerobics classes and working

out with a personal trainer twice a week.

“It was not that hard to lose weight outside of prison because life is so sedentary in prison,” their mother Evelyn Rasco said. Jamie “is very active now. They both are.”

It has not been determined whether Gladys is a suitable donor.

The governor’s office said it is unclear how her release would be affected if she proves unable to give her sister a kidney.

The Scott sisters maintain their innocence. They had no prior criminal record before being convicted of robbing at gunpoint two men driving them to a nightclub in Forest, in northern Mississippi, in 1993.

They each received double life sentences.

Budget cuts pummel public colleges and U.S. standing

By MICHAEL CONNOR MIAMI — At the University of Central Florida, the provost’s bi-monthly e-mails are now virtually required reading for 56,235 students.

But they don’t cover sports or campus fraternities. Instead they detail budget woes in Florida’s capital and how they will affect tuition, staffing and research at America’s secondlargest university, begun a half century ago to train workers for America’s space program.

“The interest in budget updates is high, as well as the anxiety,” said Grant Heston, a UCF spokesman. “A sense of ‘What is next?’ can be felt on campus.”

Like UCF, America’s other public colleges are bracing for a run of lean years as states stay tight-fisted, tuition hikes get tougher and worries take root that a malnourished higher education system will stunt the U.S. economy for years.

At stake is whether the United States will keep its role as the world’s pre-eminent business and economic leader as it comes under pressure from China and India, which are turning out tens of thousands of highly trained engineering and technology graduates.

“Cutbacks in education are going to really impede our ability to compete in the future,” said Joseph Stiglitz, a

Nobel laureate in economics and professor at Columbia University. “The question is, ‘Will we be making the investment in people and skills to make ourselves competitive?’”

Policymakers at the schools that educate three-quarters of America’s 18.2 million college students are eyeing more layoffs, eliminating degree programs and campuses, and giving slots to higher-paying students from outside home states.

Governors in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Washington, Texas, California and at least another 15 states are seeking steep cuts in aid to higher education. Since the U.S. recession began in late 2007, 43 state governments have already cut aid to state university systems.

“Our higher ed system is at the breaking point,” Washington state Rep. Larry Seaquist said during a state House hearing on cutting aid to Washington’s four-year state colleges.

“It just looks like wall-to-wall problems.”

The cuts come as state governments anticipate another year of revenues enfeebled by the U.S. housing crisis, weak consumer spending and the slow U.S. economic expansion.

Federal aid that had softened some of the revenue slide is ending.

State governments’ tax collections fell $14.3 billion to $704.6 billion in fiscal 2010, which ended last June,

according to the U.S. Census. That was down 2 percent from fiscal 2009 but milder than that year’s drop of $65.8 billion from fiscal 2008.

To make matters worse, budget gaps among states for the 12 months starting July 1 total at least $112 billion.

Tuition hikes and enrollment curbs have spurred protests, such as one in early March on the Las Vegas Strip that came as the University of Nevada at Las Vegas considered filing a watered-down type of bankruptcy called “financial exigency.”

The hundreds who marched outside the Strip’s casinos, as well as other protests on campuses and at Nevada’s legislature, were resisting $162 million of proposed cuts in aid to public colleges. Legislators are weighing requests that may force program closures and implement a 75 percent tuition rise.

While protests in Nevada have stirred concerns, few are predicting the riots seen across the United Kingdom late last year after university tuition fees were tripled.

Student fees and tuition vary widely at America’s public universities and comparisons of student costs are further complicated by dizzying arrays of aid packages, scholarships and the considerably higher charges laid on out-of-state residents attending a state college.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

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Leading Black scholar Dr. Manning Marable passes Manning Marable, an influential historian whose forthcoming Malcolm X biography could revise perceptions of the slain civil rights leader, died Friday, just days before the book described as his life’s work was to be released. He was 60.

His wife, Leith Mullings, said Marable died from complications of pneumonia at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. She said he had suffered for 24 years from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease, and had undergone a double lung transplant in July.

“I think his legacy is that he was both a scholar and an activist,” she said. “He believed that history could be used to inform the present and the future.”

She said Marable’s latest book, “Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention,” will be released today.

Two decades in the making, the nearly 600-page biography is described as a re-evaluation of Malcolm X’s life, bringing fresh insight to subjects including his autobiography, which is still assigned in many college courses, to his assassination at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan on Feb. 21, 1965.

The book is based on exhaustive

research, including thousands of pages of FBI files and records from the Central Intelligence Agency and State Department. Marable also conducted interviews with the slain civil rights leader’s confidants and security team, as well as witnesses to his assassination.

Blair Kelley, a history professor at North Carolina State University, called Marable’s death a “devastating” loss for Black historians.

“I can’t believe he died before the book came out. He really deserved the opportunity to be celebrated for his groundbreaking scholarship,” Kelley wrote on Twitter. “He touched so many of us as an activist, scholar, historian, political scientist, publisher, mentor. Truly a great man.”

Born in Dayton, Ohio, on May 13, 1950, Marable wrote in his book, “Speaking Truth to Power,” that he was born into the era that witnessed the emergence of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as nonviolent movements in the South struggling to break the back of white supremacy.

But he was the child of middleclass Black Americans, he wrote, his father a teacher and businessman,

his mother an educator and college professor.

He watched from afar as Blacks in the South rebelled against segregation and racial inequality, and as a teenager found his emergent political voice writing columns for a neighborhood newspaper.

He wrote that his mother encouraged him to attend King’s funeral “to witness a significant event in our people’s history.” He served as the local Black newspaper’s correspondent, he wrote, and marched along with thousands of others during the funeral procession. “With Martin’s death, my childhood abruptly ended,” he wrote. “My understanding of political change began a trajectory from reform to radicalism.”

Marable followed a scholarly path but turned toward progressive politics to help shape his understanding of the world and his people. He wrote hundreds of papers and nearly 20 books, including the landmark “How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America,” published in 1983.

At Columbia University, where he was a professor, he was the founding director of the Institute for Research in African American Studies and established the Center for

Contemporary Black History.

Along with his wife of 15 years, he is survived by three children and two stepchildren.

Justice department launches civil rights probe of Seattle police

By TERRY FRIEDEN WASHINGTON — A federal investigation of the Seattle Police Department for possible excessive use of force and discriminatory policing was launched Thursday, Justice Department officials announced.

Although the Seattle Police Department has been plagued by several reports of improper arrests and unwarranted beatings that led to a preliminary review, federal officials insisted the probe was not triggered by any specific incidents or allegations.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Tom Perez and the U.S. attorney in Seattle, Jenny Durkan, emphasized in a call with reporters the investigation is civil, not criminal. They said rather than seeking to resolve any specific cases, the “pattern or practice” investigation will focus on Seattle police systems of enforcement and on policy changes that may need to be made.

Perez said the probe will be much narrower than a similar investigation of the New Orleans Police Department, but noted Seattle and New Orleans have both fully cooperated with federal authorities.

The officials stressed that neither the federal preliminary review nor the full “pattern or practice” investigation announced Thursday had been triggered by a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union and more than 30 civil rights groups calling for a full-blown investigation. Perez said the preliminary review had already been started when the Justice Department received the letter in early December.

That letter cited six alleged incidents of particular concern that the ACLU claims require a wide-ranging investigation: — June 11 2009: An African American man being released from jail was tackled, kicked in the face and beaten with a baton by three officers, according to the ACLU letter.

— April 17, 2010: Police stopped a Latino man they believed might be a robbery suspect. Video shows that while the man was lying on the sidewalk an officer kicked him in the face and threatened to beat him. Another officer then stepped on his legs, the letter says.

— April 24, 2010: One of the same officers involved in that incident arrested a young man after a bar fight. The man was handcuffed, placed in the back of a patrol car, where, he claims, the officer repeatedly choked him, the civil rights groups allege.

— June 14, 2010: A police officer saw young people jaywalking and confronted a teenage African American girl. The letter says video of the incident shows that after she put her hands on him, the officer punched the girl in the face.

— August 30, 2010: A Seattle police officer shot and killed John T. Williams, described as belonging to a First Nations Tribe. The man, a wood

carver, was seen on video crossing a street holding his carving knife. When he didn’t drop it, the officer shot him.

The ACLU letter says it is unclear if Williams, who was partially deaf, heard the order. A preliminary review board has found the shooting unjustified.

— October 18, 2010: A convenience store camera shows an African American teenager with his hands in the air being kicked by a police officer, causing him to fall to the ground. After he was kicked several more times, the teenager was handcuffed by a second officer, according to the letter.

The Justice Department declined to comment on any specific incidents but issued a written statement saying, “Today’s announcement is separate from any ongoing federal criminal investigation involving the Seattle Police Department.”

The Seattle Police Department has taken action on its own in some of the incidents. There was no immediate comment from the department.

Obama urges lawmakers to avoid government shutdown WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama told Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress on Saturday that time was running short to agree on a budget deal and urged both sides to avoid a government shutdown.

Obama made separate calls to John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, and Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate majority leader, to discuss progress on reaching an agreement on spending cuts for this year, the White House said in a statement.

“The president made clear that we all understand the need to cut spending, and highlighted the progress that has been made to agree to all work off the same number,” the White House said.

“The president said that he has instructed his team to continue to work hard over the weekend with the appropriators to help reach resolution on the composition of those cuts, and reiterated our opposition to cuts that will undermine our economic growth, job creation, and our ability to win the future,” it said.

Democrats and Republicans are believed to have tentatively agreed to $33 billion in cuts for this year but are haggling over where the budget knife should fall.

In the weekly Republican address, Boehner stressed that the two parties were still talking about the depth of the cuts.

“Now, you’ve heard Democratic leaders claim an agreement has been reached on this issue, but let me be clear. There is no agreement,” he said.

“Republicans continue to fight for the largest spending cuts possible to help

end Washington’s job-crushing spending binge.”

Obama said time was running out before an April 8 deadline when a short-term funding measure expires, leaving the government without cash which would force it to shut down.

“The President highlighted the progress that has been made but made clear that this process is running short on time, and he urged both sides to reach a final solution and avoid a government shutdown that would be harmful to our economic recovery,” the White House said.

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DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

FORUM fROm T HE pu B l I SH ER ’ S dESK

Shared prosperity happens with shared opportunity THOMAS H. WATKINS

By SEN. HARRY REID

America’s most segregated cities likely to stay that way

By EARL OFARI HuTCHINSON The recent report that America’s most segregated cities are just as — if not more — segregated than they were a couple of decades ago is hardly a revelation. The report focused on the top 10 most segregated cities. But this could easily be expanded to find vast and unbroken pockets of racial segregation in many of the nation’s smaller and mid-size cities as well. A casual drive through any of the major urban neighborhoods in America, a walk through the neighborhood schools, hospitals, and clinics reveal the stark pattern of the two Americas.

In fact, even three or four urban Americas: an America that is poor, Black and Latino; an America that is Black and middle class; an America that is white, working class and middle class; and one that’s white and wealthy.

But whichever urban America one travels through, the line dividing the neighborhoods is as deep as the Grand Canyon. There are the usual suspects to blame for the rigid segregation. Poverty, crime, lender redlining, a decaying industrial and manufacturing inner city, white and middle-class Black and Hispanic flight, crumbling inner-city schools, the refusal of major business and financial institutions to locate in minority neighborhoods, and cash-strapped city governments that have thrown in the towel on providing street repairs and basic services.

This tells a big part of the story of the chronic segregation, but it’s only part of the story. The painful truth three years after the election of America’s first Black president is that there are far too many policy makers, political leaders, and many whites that still think that segregation is too much a longstanding, even immutable, way of life in America to ever change. The entire history of Northern urban segregation is damning proof of that.

In the decades before the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the great migration of Blacks from the South before and after both World Wars, and the flight of whites from urban neighborhoods to the suburbs locked in place the economic, social, and political mindset that racial segregation was a fact of life in the North and would stay that way. Redlining, zoning laws, and the federal government’s deliberate policy of bolstering residential segregation insured that. Even as the Jim Crow barriers tumbled in the South and Blacks and whites mingled in schools, public facilities, and more and more neighborhoods, residential segregation in the North remained America’s idée fixe.

At the beginning of last month, on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, I joined leaders like John Lewis and Jim Clyburn and walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I’ll remember that moment for the rest of my life.

It was an honor to walk armin-arm with those who made that courageous journey on that painful day. I went to observe the anniversary of Bloody Sunday because I was not there on that day. I was not in the South at all during the Civil Rights era. I was in Nevada, which was fighting a sizeable battle of our own in that bigger war for equality.

A century before Bloody Sunday, Nevada joined a nation in the middle of a Civil War. A decade before Bloody Sunday, Ebony magazine called Nevada the “Mississippi of the West.” Las Vegas had the worst Jim Crow laws anywhere outside the South.

Segregation was real, and rampant. The white community lived in Las Vegas, and the Black community lived in West Las Vegas. Black-owned businesses stayed in that area. The Black and white communities were separated by the railroad line – they lived truly on different sides of the tracks.

When Las Vegas was booming, Sammy Davis Jr. and Nat King Cole were packing hotel showrooms. But they weren’t

sleeping in those hotels’ bedrooms. African American entertainers weren’t welcome to stay in the same places they were making successful.

As soon as I was elected as Nevada’s lieutenant governor, the governor and I worked as partners with Nevada’s African American leaders to integrate the Las Vegas Strip and the gaming industry. We demanded equality because we believe in equality – the same promise for which John Lewis and so many others spilled their blood on Bloody Sunday.

And we kept working, and we kept working. In the last Congress, we passed a landmark fair pay bill and a long-overdue hate crimes bill. The latter bears the name of Emmitt Till, and both were written in the name of justice.

Last year, Congress sent President Obama another long-overdue bill to right a historic wrong – we resolved old discrimination cases against Black farmers.

We sent President Obama bills to create jobs, to help small businesses succeed, to lower taxes, to create greater opportunity for every American – and we sent him one critically important bill that affirmed the right of every one of us to afford to live a healthy life.

You know about this list of legislation. You know why we worked so hard for it. Our laws reflect who we are. They represent our priorities and our values. They chart our future.

Every census report in the post-Civil Rights era and the countless Urban League’s State of Black America reports showed that the inner cities continued to get Blacker and browner and poorer, while the suburbs got whiter and more well to do. That trend isn’t likely to change.

With President Obama and Congressional leaders trying to figure out where to cut every penny they can from education, health care and employment programs, there is absolutely no chance of any new spending or initiatives to be put on the legislative table to deal with the continuing decay of urban neighborhoods. Some experts have pointed to the increasing gentrification by young whites and non-Blacks of some urban neighborhoods as a hopeful sign that residential segregation could in time pass away. That’s not likely. In fact, stud-

Continued on page 5

ies have shown that gentrification has not altered the neighborhood racial segregation patterns as much as is popularly presented. Many of the old homes that have been renovated as chic, pricey, apartments and townhouses, have been gobbled up, not by whites and nonBlacks, but by upwardly-mobile Black professionals.

They are upscale, but they are still Black, and so are the freshly gentrified neighborhoods they live in.

Urban racial segregation, then, may not be the permanent lot of American society, but if past decades and current policies are any sign, America’s most segregated cities will stay that way for more census counts to come.

— Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst.

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But our tomorrows are threatened by those who yearn for yesterday. As you know, last month was Black History Month. Nearly every Member of Congress released a statement to the press acknowledging it. And then, after writing beautiful words in honor of the past, many of them turned right around and voted for ugly legislation that would threaten the future.

They want to turn their backs on the unemployed. They want to tell the small businesses that fuel our economy that they’re on their own. They want to tell the families and businesses who can finally afford health insurance that partisan politics are more important than their rights to afford medical care, avoid discrimination and stop getting ripped off.

The people who apologized to BP are now fighting to give oil companies government handouts, and fighting our investments in clean energy. They’ve written a budget that will kick 200,000 kids out of Head Start, cut college students’ Pell Grants and slash job-training programs.

Their budget proposal reveals their priorities: They want to bleed dry the Minority Business Development Agency that helps so many Black-owned small businesses grow and succeed.

They are so nostalgic for a system that failed that they’re once again rooting for failure.

But their memory misleads

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fORum

Rep. Maxine Waters, legislator and activist on HIV/AIDS in the Black community

By NICK CHILES Special to the NNPA WASHINGTON, D.C. — One of the most prominent and effective African American members of Congress, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), has long been a fighter against the spread of HIV/AIDS in the African American community and a strong advocate for the rights and care of individuals with HIV/AIDS. Given the tremendous challenges facing our nation at a time of great possibility for people with HIV/AIDS, we asked Waters, former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, to share her views.

What concerns do you have about how the challenges to health reform might affect people with HIV/AIDS? Health disparities like HIV/AIDS, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc., for people of color are getting worse, and more and more people are going without health insurance. That’s why the Affordable Care Act, also known as the health-care reform law, specifically addresses these disparities and other pre-existing conditions and makes it illegal to be denied health insurance because of them. We cannot allow the healthcare reform law to be repealed, and

part of the reason I voted against repeal was because the Affordable Care Act will help lessen health disparities, including those related to HIV/AIDS. Moving forward, I’m encouraged that the president announced a National HIV/AIDS Strategy last year, with the three primary goals of reducing the number of new infections, increasing access to care for people living with HIV, and reducing HIV-related health disparities. A national strategy is something that’s long overdue and something I’ve long called for, and I urge everyone not only to get behind it but to financially support it 150 percent. Again, ideals are one thing, but securing adequate funding to make those ideals come true is something else.

What deciding moment occurred in your life that made you become committed to this issue?

Well, for years I had been troubled by the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in our community and among women, homosexual men, and other communities of color. Even though African Americans are about 12 percent of the population, we’re almost half of all HIV/AIDS cases! Taken together, two-thirds of all HIV/AIDS cases

Shared prosperity happens Continued from page 4 them. Our schools and job-training programs and small businesses didn’t lead to recession. Punishing innocent bystanders like students and workers and entrepreneurs won’t lead to recovery. It won’t lead us back – it will hold us back. So we must hold them to account.

My fellow Democratic Senators and I try to hold these leaders to account every day. We try to bring their bad ideas before the court of public opinion. Please join us in that fight. Make sure your leaders’ actions better match their words. Tell them that statements and speeches simply aren’t enough.

Demand that they read the National Urban League’s 12-point plan to put urban America back to work.

Remind your leaders what we know – what we’ve learned in times good and bad: that shared prosperity doesn’t happen without shared opportunity.

African Americans, like all Americans, deserve the opportunity to support their family. They deserve the opportunity to go to a good job in the morning and come home to a safe neighborhood at night.

Americans in every corner of our country deserve to know they won’t get cheated by a mortgage company.

They should be free from the fear that they’re more likely to see a foreclosure sign in their front yard than a “for sale” sign. We all want to be able to

send our children to the best schools and to the best doctors when they need them.

Like all Americans, African Americans deserve to know they can plan for retirement without the fear that someone is going to take what they’ve put away in Social Security and turn it over to the whims of the stock market.

These ideals and hopes for a stable life are not unique to African Americans – but some of the challenges in pursuing them are.

That may be less true than it was half a century ago, thankfully. But as the Urban League’s 2011 Equality Index shows, it’s still true.

That’s why we need to keep pushing forward and resist those who want to take us backward. It’s why we need to ensure every American has the chance to succeed – not just those at the top who already have found success.

As pure as our principles are, and as great as the promise of America is, our experience and our eyes tell us that our condition isn’t flawless yet. It likely never will be. But more than reaching a finish line, the spirit of our country is our constant struggle to move forward.

It is a tradition as old as this republic, which has always comprised interests and opinions as diverse as the people who populate it. The Founders did not promise to form an infallible new nation – they promised instead to pro-

involve minorities. That kind of disparity indicates a crisis, and as chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus in the late 1990s, I got Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala to publicly say so after asking her about the disease’s impact on the African American community.

From that admission, I began work to create the Minority AIDS Initiative. It wasn’t easy, but this was a top priority for me. I held and attended many meetings, hearings, and programs with activists, academics, patients, and government officials to paint a broad but compelling narrative: The Black community was being torn apart by HIV/AIDS, and many other communities of color were not faring much better.

The Minority AIDS Initiative provides grants to community-based organizations and other health-care providers for HIV/AIDS awareness, treatment and prevention programs serving African American, Hispanic, Asian American and Native American communities. It also enables health-care providers serving minority communities to expand their capacity to deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate care and sermote the general welfare as we move toward a “more perfect union.” They valued progress.

Our nation’s earliest leaders promised not absolute happiness, only the “pursuit” of that goal. They valued opportunity.

In 1964, I saw Dr. King speak at an NAACP rally in Las Vegas. He spoke to a small crowd at the convention center – just over a thousand people. I was one of them. I heard him preach with passion that day about his commitment to non-violence. I heard him say this: “We will match your capacity to inflict suffering with our capacity to endure suffering.”

In 2011, no one should have to

vices.

I was proud to announce a $156 million funding formula for the initiative in 1998, and since 2003 I have repeatedly secured about $400 million for the initiative. Of course, we’re facing a time of extreme budget austerity, but in fiscal year 2011, I was joined by 56 of my colleagues in requesting $610 million.

What HIV-related advocacy are you involved in on Capitol Hill?

I advocate for the Minority AIDS Initiative in Congress each year, and I usually like to get tested in public on Capitol Hill or in Los Angeles so others can join in and see how effortless it is. I also have some legislation from previous Congresses that hasn’t made it into law yet, and which I plan to reintroduce: the Routine HIV Screening Coverage Act, which would require health-insurance plans to cover routine HIV tests under the same terms and conditions as other routine health screenings; and the Stop AIDS in Prison Act, which the House of Representatives passed in March 2009, which requires the Bureau of Prisons to test all federal-prison inmates for HIV upon entering prison and again prior to release from prison, (and) provide HIV/AIDS-prevention education for all inmates and give comprehensive treatment to inmates who test positive.

— Nick Chiles is a prize-winning journalist and author who lives in Georgia. Read more about him at chilmill.com. endure suffering. And until everyone is free, no one is free from the responsibility of relieving others’ suffering.

We have the capacity to end economic pain, to end physical pain, and to prevent inequality. But it will not be done with speeches or statements.

It will be done with soft hearts and hard work. It will be done with compassion and conviction. Yes, some of it will be done by leaders in Congress, the White House and state houses across this land. But most of it will be done by you. And it cannot be done without you.

— Nevada Sen. Harry Reid is majority leader of the U.S. Senate.

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DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

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NATIONAl

Florida pastor is focus of Muslim outrage - again

By KEVIN GRAY MIAMI — An American Christian preacher who caused an international uproar last year by threatening to burn the Koran has put himself back in the spotafter incinerating light Islam’s holy book — again with deadly consequences.

Thousands of protesters in northern Afghanistan, enraged over news that the Florida pastor Terry Jones had overseen a torching of the Koran, stormed a United Nations compound on Friday, killing at least seven U.N. staff.

Jones, a 58-year-old fundamentalist pastor and the head of a small fringe church in Gainesville, Florida, drew worldwide condemnation in September over his plans to burn the Koran on the anniversary of the September

11, 2001, attacks.

Several people were killed protests then in in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world.

Jones eventually canceled that event under intense pressure from the U.S. government, the Pope, and other global leaders.

But he has remained an outspoken critic of Islam, and says parts of the Koran can lead to violence and terrorism.

On March 20, he presided over what he called an “International Judge the Koran Day” in which he supervised the burning of the book in front of some 50 people.

Video posted on the website of his Dove World Outreach Center church showed a kerosene-soaked book going up in bright flames in a metal fire pit similar to those often found in backyards and patios, but located

inside the church.

“We believe parts of the Koran, if taken literally, do lead to violence and terrorist activities, do promote racism or prejudice against minorities, against Christians, against women,” he said shortly after the Koran burning.

“The terrorist jihad people use the Koran,” he said.

Some Muslim leaders, including Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, have denounced the burning and video.

Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe condemned the Koran burning and the Afghan violence it had caused.

“It’s important that the world and nation know that this particular individual and these actions are not representative of our community,” Lowe said in a statement, quoted by the Gainesville Sun

newspaper.

Jones is a former hotel manager whose non-denominational church only has a few dozen members.

The church website offers for sale a book written by the pastor entitled “Islam is of the Devil”, and also T-shirts, baseball caps and mugs emblazoned with the same sentence.

“Our United States government and our President must take a close, realistic look at the radical element Islam.

Islam is not a religion of peace. It is time that we call these people to accountability,” he said on Friday in a statement reacting to the events in Afghanistan.

But he told the BBC he in no way felt responsible for the killings of the U.N. employees there.

Those who know Jones say he demands strict obedience and unpaid labor from his

tiny flock and sells used furniture out of his Gainesville sanctuary.

He was once ejected from a church in Germany by his own followers. His daughter said last year she believed he had lost his mind in his fanatical crusade against Islam.

Over the years, Jones has demonized homosexuals and increasingly targeted Islam, preaching that Muslims were trying to take over the United States and impose Sharia law.

Children in his Florida congregation were sent to school wearing T-shirts that proclaimed “Islam is of the Devil,” until school officials banned the shirts.

Jones has said he is planning an April 22 protest outside an Islamic center in Dearborn, Michigan, home to a large Muslim population.

“Dearborn is sort of the Mecca of America,” he said.

No more saggy pants for Poll: Young voters have not abandoned Obama Arkansas school children

By LAUREN KEIPER

By SUZI PARKER LITTLE ROCK, Ark — Arkansas students who love their sagging pants should soon leave them at home.

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe signed a bill on Wednesday that bans students from wearing clothing that exposes “underwear, buttocks or the breast of a female.”

Arkansas educators have long complained about the drooping attire, such as young men wearing saggy jeans that expose the top of colorful boxer shorts.

“We feel the bill can improve the learning environment in schools,” said Donna Morey, president of the Arkansas Education Association.

One concern of the General Assembly was that “student competition over the manner in which clothing is worn could lead to violence and injuries during school hours,” according to the legislation. Lawmakers also said that students should learn to dress in a way that is acceptable in the workplace as they prepare to enter it.

The new law does not outline how school districts will punish students who wear such clothing.

“School boards will have to look at existing school dress code policies and make sure they are in compliance with this new law,” said Kristen Gould, staff attorney for the Arkansas School Boards Association, a non-profit. “Many of them may well be, and if not, they will have to incorporate it into their current policy and design punishment in accordance.”

Josh Cunningham, a research analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures, said that he was unaware of any other state with a ban of baggy pants in schools, although some cities have been successful in enacting such laws.

Florida is considering a bill similar to the Arkansas law. In that state, the NAACP has denounced the bill and said it unfairly targets Black males.

In Arkansas, the bill had little public opposition, although several legislators voted against it.

“Individual expression is important to young people and dress is an especially strong statement of expression, and I don’t think legislators should meddle with that,” said Sue Madison, a Democratic state senator from Fayetteville, Ark.

BOSTON — Young voters, who were crucial to President Barack Obama’s election in 2008, have not soured on him and now support the Democrat in greater numbers than in the fall, according to a Harvard University poll.

The survey also showed that young voters worry most about the economy, and still turn to traditional news outlets for political coverage.

In the latest iteration of Harvard’s Institute of Politics poll of 18 to 29 year olds, 55 percent of the so-called Millenial Generation approve of Obama’s job performance, up by six percentage points from the previous poll in October.

Looking forward to 2012, Obama leads a generic Republican candidate by 12 percentage points, results show.

John Della Volpe, polling director at the Institute of Politics, called the numbers “extremely important” for Obama as the presidential race nears.

“He cannot get re-elected without a significant majority of young people,” said Della Volpe.

Jobs and the economy are the top worry among the 3,000 Millenials surveyed, with health care a distant concern in comparison.

Many still view their personal financial situation as “very bad” or “fairly bad” with 82 percent of four-year college students saying it will be “difficult” to land permanent

jobs after graduation.

With 80 percent of the age group on Facebook and a quarter posting on Twitter, it may not be surprising that social media tools that also include blogs and YouTube are viewed as having a “greater political impact than in-person advocacy” when it comes to campaigns.

This could make a significant difference in upcoming elections.

“Political campaigns which incorporate an effective youth outreach strategy will have a strong advantage in the 2012 cycle,” said Della Volpe.

Still, traditional news outlets topped Facebook-friend status updates as the go-to source on political news and information for nearly half of those surveyed.

U.S. traffic deaths dropped to new low in 2010 WASHINGTON — U.S. traffic deaths dropped by 3 percent to a record annual low of 32,788 for 2010 even as motorists drove more in an improving economy, projected government figures showed on Friday.

Fatalities have dropped 25 percent over the past five years, which transportation officials and highway safety advocates partly attribute to increased seat belt use, better vehicle safety, and stronger regulations on teen driving.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said too many people are still killed in pre-

ventable crashes.

“We will continue doing everything possible to make cars safer, increase seat belt use, put a stop to drunk driving and distracted driving,” LaHood said.

The fatality rate of 1.09 per 100 million miles traveled for 2010 also reflects a steadily declining trend since the middle of the last decade.

Total vehicle miles traveled last year increased by 20 million miles, or 0.7 percent compared to 2009, an indication of a strengthening economy.

Figures released on Fri-

day represent totals submitted by the states to the U.S. Transportation Department for the first nine months of the year.

The agency projects totals for the final quarter, a calculation that is usually an accurate predictor of the full year figure.

A regional breakdown showed the greatest drop in fatalities occurred in Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska, where they fell by 12 percent.

Arizona, California and Hawaii had the next steepest decline, nearly 11 percent.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

INTERNATIONAL

7

Japan says it may take months to end radiation leaks

By CHIZU NOMIYAMA & YOKO NISHIKAWA TOKYO - Japan warned on Sunday it could take months to stop radiation leaking from a nuclear plant crippled by a huge earthquake and tsunami three weeks ago, while voters said a coalition would better handle the crisis and post-quake recovery effort.

An aide to embattled Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the government’s priority was to stop radiation leaks which were scaring the public and hindering work on cooling overheated nuclear fuel rods.

“We have not escaped from a crisis situation, but it is somewhat stabilized,” said Goshi Hosono, a ruling party lawmaker and aide to Kan. “How long will it take to achieve (the goal of stopping the radiation leakage)? I think several months would be one target,” Hosono said on a nationwide Fuji TV programme on Sunday.

In the face of the pro-

longed crisis, nearly two-thirds of Japanese voters believe the ruling Democratic Party should join hands with the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a Yomiuri newspaper poll showed, potentially warming lawmakers in both camps to the scheme.

Kan last month invited Sadakazu Tanigaki, head of the LDP, to join the cabinet as deputy premier for disaster relief, but Tanigaki rejected the offer.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) found a crack in a concrete pit at its No.2 reactor in the Fukushima Daiichi complex at the weekend, generating readings of 1,000 millisieverts of radiation per hour in the air inside.

The leaks did not stop after concrete was poured into the pit, and TEPCO turned to waterabsorbent polymers to prevent any more contaminated water from flowing out.

The latest effort to stop radioactive water entering the Pacific started on Sunday afternoon.

“We were hoping the polymers would function like diapers but are

yet to see a visible effect,” said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a deputy director general of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

Officials believe the crack may be one source of the radiation leaks that have hobbled efforts to control the six-reactor complex and sent radiation levels in the sea to 4,000 times the legal limit.

Nishiyama said three of the six reactors were now generally stable.

TEPCO has said it will scrap at least four reactors once they are under control, but this could take years or even decades.

Japan’s crisis has rocked the nuclear industry and the European Union said on Sunday it will affect the fight against climate change as energy policies are reviewed.

Germany and Switzerland have said they will shut older reactors or suspend approvals, China has suspended approvals for new plants, and Taiwan is studying cutting nuclear output.

PM UNDER PRESSURE The 9.0 magnitude quake and tsunami on March 11 has left near-

ly 28,000 people dead or missing and Japan’s northeast coast a splintered wreck. The disaster has hit economic production and left a damages bill which may top $300 billion.

After a three day intensive air and sea search by thousands of U.S. and Japanese forces another 77 bodies were recovered, Kyodo news agency said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Kan is under intense pressure to steer Japan through its worst crisis since World War Two, but after three weeks many Japanese are angry that the humanitarian disaster seems to have taken a back seat to the nuclear crisis.

Unpopular and under pressure to quit or call a snap poll before the disaster, Kan has been criticized for his crisis management.

Voter support for the Kan’s government stood at 31 percent in the Yomiuri poll, up from 24 percent in the previous survey conducted before the quake.

Still, it also showed almost 70 percent of the respondents believe Kan is not exercising leadership, and 19 per-

cent of them want him to step down soon.

More than 163,710 people are living in shelters, with more than 70,000 people evacuated from a 20 km (12 mile) no-go zone area the nuclear plant, and another 136,000 people living a further 10 km out have been told to leave or stay indoors.

MOVES TO STOP POWER BLACKOUTS The government estimates damage from the earthquake and tsunami at 16 trillion to 25 trillion yen ($190 billion-$298 billion). The top estimate would make it the world’s costliest natural disaster.

Manufacturing in the world’s third largest economy has slumped to a two-year low as a result of power outages and quake damage hitting supply chains and production.

General Electric, which helped build the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will help TEPCO supply electricity in the coming months when demand soars.

Demand for power jumps in Japan in summer due to heavy use of air conditioners. More

than 168,500 households in the north are still without electricity after the tsunami.

The government has said it will restrict maximum power use by companies during the hotter months in an effort to avoid further blackouts.

Japan’s health ministry said on Sunday it had detected radioactive substances higher than legal limits in mushrooms from Iwaki in Fukushima, said Kyodo.

“Grown in Fukushima” has become a warning label for those nervous of radiation which has already been found in some vegetables close to the nuclear plant.

“There is no way we will be able to sell anything,” said 73-year-old farmer Akio Abiko.

“People in Tokyo are just too sensitive about this kind of thing.”

Milk and other foods such as mushrooms and berries in parts of Ukraine are still contaminated by radioactive fallout from Chernobyl, 25 years after the world’s worst nuclear disaster, Greenpeace said on Sunday.

Two killed, dozens hurt in third day of Afghan protests K A N D A H A R , Afghanistan - Two policemen were killed and more than 30 people wounded in the southern city of Kandahar on Sunday during the third day of protests across Afghanistan against the burning of a Koran by a militant fundamentalist Christian U.S. pastor, officials said.

Violence at earlier demonstrations claimed more than 20 lives. Ten people were killed and more than 80 wounded in Kandahar on Saturday. Seven foreign U.N. staff and five Afghan protesters were killed on Friday after demonstrators overran an office in normally peaceful Mazar-i-Sharif city in the north.

A senior interior

ministry investigator said on Sunday the killers of the U.N. staff appear to have been “reintegrated” Taliban — fighters who had formally laid down arms — although the insurgents have denied any role in the attack.

Over 30 people have been arrested, from areas as far afield as southern Kandahar, western Herat and central Baghlan province, said Munir Ahmad Farhad, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

With little sign of widespread anger fading, the governor also issued an order banning sermons which might “provoke the public.” The violence in Mazar began after Friday prayers, some of

them harshly critical of the West.

In Kandahar on Sunday, hundreds of people marched toward another U.N. office, again denouncing the actions of U.S. preacher Terry Jones, who supervised the burning of a Koran in front of about 50 people at a church in Florida on March 20.

The governor had promised a strong police presence and it initially appeared the march would end peacefully; many of the morning’s demonstrators had drifted away before violence began.

There have been peaceful demonstrations in Kabul, Herat city, Jalalabad city in the east and northern Tahar province.

But anger unleashed on Saturday when protesters waved white Taliban flags, shouted “Death to America,” burned tires, smashed shops and vandalized a girls’ school returned to the city.

“The information I have is that two policemen have been killed and 20 others, including police, protesters and citizens, have been wounded,” Ahmad Wali Karzai, head of the Kandahar provincial council, told Reuters.

Another 14 people, including two children, were wounded when protesters seized a gas canister from a shop and set it on fire, causing an explosion, Zalmay Ayoubi, the spokesman for the Kandahar provincial

governor said.

WIDESPREAD CONDEMNATION Western political and military leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama and the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, have condemned the Koran burning as well as the violence that followed, but their statements appear to have done little to placate anger across much of Afghan society.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who last week drew Afghan public attention to the burning, an event that initially gained little media coverage, on Sunday called on the U.S. Houses of Congress to join in the

condemnation and prevent a repeat incident.

He made the request at a meeting with U.S. ambassador Karl Eikenberry and General Petraeus, his office said in a statement.

Eikenberry read to Karzai from U.S. President Barack Obama’s earlier condemnation of the Koran burning, the statement said. It gave no details of Karzai’s response.

Obama denounced the act of burning a Koran but did not mention Jones by name.

On Sunday, Petraeus joined the condemnation voiced by many other leaders, urging Afghans to understand that only a small number of people had been disrespectful to the Koran and Islam.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

AFRICAN SCENE

8

AFRICAN SCENE

f Thousands demonstrate in Morocco for rights, justice CASABLANCA, Morocco - About 4,000 people demonstrated in Morocco’s biggest city Casablanca Sunday to demand more democracy and reform, an AFP reporter said, in the latest in a wave of protests.

Police said about 2,500 people took part in the demonstrations while organisers put the figure at 10,000.

Demonstrators chanted “No to corruption”, “End social injustice”, and “The people want an end to authoritarianism”.

Most were from the February 20 pro-reform movement, named after the date of the first nationwide protest in a series of demonstrations this year, while the main Islamist movement Justice and Charity was also represented.

Some demonstrators demanded the repeal from the constitution of Article 19 which makes King Mohammed VI the highest religious authority in Morocco.

After the February 20 protests, the king pledged major reforms including strengthening the independence of the judiciary and separation of the government and royal house.

A commission appointed to review the constitution is due to deliver its proposals by June.

The demonstrations started in Morocco amid a wave of protests sweeping the Arab world.

Egypt army denies report that Mubarak left country CAIRO - Egypt’s military council denied on Sunday a report carried by Al Jazeera television channel that former President Hosni Mubarak had left the country for Germany.

Asked whether Mubarak had left Egypt, a source from the military council told Reuters: “No, this is denied.”

Mubarak has been staying in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh since being ousted from office on February 11.

The military council said last week that Mubarak and his family were banned from leaving the country.

US demands Gbagbo step down ‘immediately’ WASHINGTON - The United States early Sunday called on Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo to step down immediately, saying he was pushing the West African nation into lawlessness.

“The United States calls on former President Laurent Gbagbo to step down immediately,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement.

“Gbagbo is pushing Cote d’Ivoire into lawlessness,” she added. “The path forward is clear. He must leave now so the conflict may end.”

The appeal came as heavy artillery fire and explosions shook central Abidjan Saturday on the third day of a fierce battle for the city.

Thousands demonstrate in Morocco for rights, justice

CASABLANCA, Morocco - About 4,000 people demonstrated in Morocco’s biggest city Casablanca Sunday to demand more democracy and reform, an AFP reporter said, in the latest in a wave of protests.

Police said about 2,500 people took part in the demonstrations while organisers put the figure at 10,000.

Demonstrators chanted “No to corruption”, “End social injustice”, and “The people want an end to authoritarianism”.

Most were from the February 20 pro-reform movement, named after the date of the first nationwide protest in a series of demonstrations this year, while the main Islamist movement Justice and Charity was also represented.

Some demonstrators demanded the repeal from the constitution of Article 19 which makes King Mohammed VI the highest religious authority in Morocco.

After the February 20 protests, the king pledged major reforms including strengthening the independence of the judi-

Some of an estimated 4,000 people protest in Casablanca 2011 to demand more "democracy and social justice". Morocco's King Mohammed VI recently announced sweeping democratic reforms, including the introduction of an elected prime minister and broader personal freedoms. ciary and separation of the government and royal house.

A commission appointed to review the constitution is due to deliver its proposals by June.

The demonstrations started in Morocco amid a wave of protests sweeping the Arab world.

Attackers ‘burn houses, kill two’ in Nigeria KANO, Nigeria Attackers stormed three villages in tense central Nigeria ahead of elections, killing at least two people and setting a number of houses ablaze, police said on Sunday.

It was not immediately clear whether the attacks early Saturday were linked to elections nor who was behind the violence in an area of Bauchi state repeatedly hit by clashes between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups.

A group of attackers stormed three predominately Christian farming villages in the Bogoro area, state police spokesman Mohammed Barau said.

“We have launched an investigation to determine who was behind the attacks and their motive as well as to

A Muslim woman and her child walk in a street of burnt houses in the Nigerian city of Bauchi in 2009. Attackers have stormed three villages in tense central Nigeria ahead of elections, killing at least two people and setting a number of houses ablaze, police have said.

Photo/Aminu Abubakar ascertain the number of casualties and homes burnt,” Barau said.

“From preliminary reports, two people have been killed in the attacks and several houses have been burnt.”

The villages are near the border with Plateau state, the area of the socalled middle belt region between Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south hardest hit by ethnic clashes in recent

years.

Clashes among nomadic Muslim Fulanis and Christian farmers from the Sayawa tribe occur frequently in the Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa districts of Bauchi state.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

9

AFRICAN SCENE

US extends airstrike role in Libya through Monday

By RICHARD LARDNER WASHINGTON - The U.S. agreed to NATO’s request for a 48-hour extension of American participation in coalition airstrikes against targets in Libya and U.S. lawmakers cautioned Sunday the allies need to know more about the rebels fighting Moammar Gadhafi’s forces before providing them with weapons.

Two weeks into the assault on Gadhafi, Republican lawmakers expressed concern that a stalemate could leave him in control of portions of Libya and with access to stockpiles of chemical weapons.

The U.S. is shifting the combat role to Britain, France and other NATO allies, but American air power is still in demand. Air Force AC-130 gunships and A-10 Thunderbolts and Marine Corps AV8B Harriers will continue to attack Gadhafi’s troops and other sites through Monday evening. These aircraft are among the most

precise in the American arsenal.

After Saturday, no U.S. combat aircraft were to fly strike missions over Libya unless NATO officials specifically asked and authorities in Washington gave their approval.

NATO assumed full control last week from the U.S.-led international force for all aspects of the operation in Libya as authorized by U.N. resolutions that include an arms embargo, enforcing the no-fly zone, and protecting civilians from Gadhafi’s forces.

In an emailed statement, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said Sunday that “poor weather conditions over the last few days” were the reason the alliance made the request. She would not elaborate.

“This is a short-term extension which expires on Monday,” she said.

A senior U.S. military official said heavy cloud cover over Libya late last week curtailed allied airstrikes.

Gadhafi took advantage of the lull, pushing east into the port cities of

Ras Lanouf and Brega, the official said on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military planning. The 48hour extension is intended to roll back the progress made by Gadhafi’s army, the official said.

A decision yet to be made by the Obama administration is whether to arm the rebels with the firepower they need to take and hold ground against Gadhafi’s forces.

Rep. Mike Rogers, RMich., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said there may be strains of alQaida within the rebel ranks and that the coalition should proceed with caution before arming them.

“We know they’re against Moammar Gadhafi remaining in power, but we don’t know what they are for,” Rogers said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid advocated a “wait and see” approach to giving the opposition forces weapons.

“I think at this stage we really don’t know who the leaders of this

rebel group are,” said Reid, D-Nev. But Rogers also warned that if there were a stalemate in Libya, a cornered Gadhafi might resort to extreme measures against the opposition forces, such as the use of chemical weapons.

Rogers said he has been to Libya and seen Gadhafi’s chemical weapons.

“I think you have to worry that he’s a terrorist threat,” Rogers said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the coalition needs to take the air war to Libya’s capital where Gadhafi and his inner circle are located.

Striking targets in Tripoli will further fracture Gadhafi’s government and push the Libyan leader from power, he said.

“The way to end this war is to have Gadhafi’s inner circle to crack,” Graham said. “The way to get his inner circle to crack is to go after them directly.”

Like Rogers, Graham said he’s concerned over the prospect of a stalemate in Libya. A member of

the Senate Armed Services Committee, he faulted President Barack Obama for putting the U.S. into a supporting role and shifting the main combat burden to Britain, France and other NATO allies.

“To take the best air force in the world and park it during this fight is outrageous,” Graham said. “When we called for a no-fly zone, we didn’t mean our planes.”

Allied military operations against Gadhafi’s forces began March 19 with missiles and bombs targeting Libya’s air defenses, communications networks, and ground forces. Obama has ruled out the use of U.S. ground troops in Libya. But the opposition lacks the proper organization and equipment to push back Gadhafi’s army on its own.

Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said failing to arm the rebels could allow Gadhafi to maintain control over large swaths of Libya.

“We are concerned that regional support will waver if Western forces are perceived as presiding over a military deadlock,” McCain and Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, wrote Friday in The Wall Street Journal. “We cannot allow Gadhafi to consolidate his grip over part of the country and settle in for the long haul.”

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in congressional testimony on Thursday that as few as 1,000 among the rebels are former members of Gadhafi’s military.

The rest are simply “guys with guns,” said James Dubik, a retired Army three-star general who says they need American or NATO advisers and trainers to be effective. “They need help,” Dubik wrote in an assessment for the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank in Washington.

Rogers appeared Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Reid and Graham appeared on CBS’s “Face The Nation.

Nigeria postpones all elections after chaotic organisation

By OLA AWONIYI ABUJA - Nigeria on Sunday postponed parliamentary, presidential and state polls amid widespread organisational problems that have raised doubts over a crucial election period in Africa’s most populous nation.

Legislative elections had already been postponed once, with the delay announced hours after the vote was to begin on Saturday as materials and personnel failed to arrive at a large number of polling stations.

The new dates will now be April 9 for parliamentary polls, April 16 for presidential elections and April 26 for governorship and state assembly polls, electoral commission chief Attahiru Jega told journalists.

Parliamentary polls were due to be held on Monday, while the presidential vote was previously set for April 9 and state ballots on April 16.

“The commission has found that the overwhelming sentiment is to further reschedule the elections,” Jega said.

“Requests to reschedule the national assembly elections have come from a cross-section of stakeholders, including political parties and civil society organisations.

“However, rescheduling the national assembly elections would have implications for the schedule of all the other elections.”

There had immediately been warnings on Saturday that the twoday delay for the parliamentary elections was not nearly enough.

This month’s landmark polls are being

viewed as a critical test of whether Africa’s largest oil producer can organise a credible ballot after a history of election fraud and violence.

A recently installed electoral commission headed by Jega, a respected academic, had raised hopes that the vote would be better conducted this time.

President Goodluck Jonathan has repeatedly promised a free and fair election.

But major problems became clear Saturday morning, with large numbers of polling places without materials and personnel. Even Jonathan’s voting station was among those that did not function.

Jega went on live television at around midday Saturday to announce he was pulling the plug, appearing solemn and

deeply apologetic as he called the situation an “emergency.”

He said a vendor had not delivered materials on time, and the company had blamed air transport problems due in part to the emergency in Japan.

The announcement sparked anger as it filtered to polling places, where many had waited for hours under a harsh sun. There were also the inevitable suggestions of sabotage in a country long held back by corruption.

Nigeria’s election body met with harsh criticism after the initial postponement was announced on Saturday, with many questioning why Jega had signaled the day before that preparations were on course.

Several rights activists and politicians labeled the situation a

national disgrace, but others said it was better to postpone the election rather than push ahead with a poll that could never be considered credible.

Following Sunday’s announcement, initial reactions from two of the main opposition parties was positive, with spokesmen saying it would enable them to properly prepare.

“We are now going to be in a position to get the logistics that we need,” said Yinka Odumakin, spokesman for the Congress for Progressive Change, whose presidential candidate, ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, is seen as the strongest challenger to Jonathan.

“We can only hope that (the electoral commission) will have overcome its problems and prevent all possible acts of sabotage.”

A spokesman for the Action Congress of Nigeria opposition called it a “welcome development.”

“It shows that (the electoral commission) is sensitive, listens to people and is democratic,” said Ibrahim Modibbo.

However, the head of observers from the Commonwealth, former Botswana president Festus Mogae, called the postponements “regrettable.”

“We fully recognise that it is the prerogative of Nigeria’s electoral authorities to make changes to the electoral timetable,” the statement said.

“We believe nonetheless that such repeated and last-minute changes are regrettable and do not reflect positively on the state of preparedness of (the electoral commission).”

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

10

CARIBBEAN BRIEFS ONE FAMILY.

Whether West Indian, African or African American.

One God, One Aim, One Destiny.

PSC chairman’s racist remarks dominate Trinidad news PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — The racist remarks made by the chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Nizam Mohammed, continue to make headlines in the Trinidad and Tobago newspapers, with Mohammed saying “I was misrepresented.

I’m no racist.”

In an interview with the Express newspaper at his home in South Trinidad, a solemn looking Mohammed said he was misrepresented and his comments were taken out of context to make it look as though he was against people of African descent.

“I am not a raciest. I was brought up in a village and I was nurtured by many people of African descent. My values are Trinidadian, my Sunday school teacher and my youth group leader (both of African descent) are still alive” said Mohammed.

“The first person to receive me upon the delivery of my mother was an Afro Trinidadian woman,” he added.

Asked if he felt hurt in the face of the mounting criticism, he said, “I do not feel hurt, I feel disappointed. I grew up in a country where once an Indian stands up for what is just and true he always has to go out of his way to prove he is not a racist.”

Mohamed added, “I was no racist when I did a lot of free legal work for persons coming out of the 1970 revolution. I was no racist when I

marched with NJAC (National Joint Action Committee) and Makandal Daaga. I was no racist when I stood up as a human being against apartheid in South Africa, George Weeks and Joe Young (trade union leaders) were my mentors.”

The PSC chairman said there is “a plot against me. There is a political plot by some members to have me out of office to prevent me from bringing changes to the composition of the PSC.”

Belize National Women’s Commission preparing women to enter parliament BELMOPAN, Belize — The National Women’s Commission (NWC) of Belize is preparing women to enter frontline politics and possibly to be members of parliament.

Twenty-two women graduated on Thursday from the Women in Politics Project following a five month course in political and other activities designed to prepare them to be leaders.

Executive Director of the NWC Anne Marie Williams said that the programme provided the participants with an opportunity to run for politics, be it the village council, town, municipal or national level.

There is no female in Belize Parliament, but it is expected that this will change at the next general elections.

The mayor of the city of Belize is a woman, and the NWC is hopeful to get at least thirty percent of women in Parliament in keeping with the recommendations that the Canadian International Development Agency gave to Belize as part of its third and fourth period report in 2007.

CARIBBEAN NEWS

Suriname calls for greater collaboration in meeting environmental obligations

PA R A M A R I B O , Suriname — In an effort to improve compliance in meeting obligations to M u l t i l a t e r a l E n v i r o n m e n t a l Agreements, (MEAs) all stakeholders must be on board and the Caribbean must work together in sharing best practices and lessons learnt.

This is the view of Suriname’s Minister of Labour, Technological Development and Environment, Ginmardo Kromosoeto, as he gave the keynote address to more than forty participants at the first regional workshop on mainstreaming MEAs into policy development and implementation, which opened in Paramaribo, Suriname on Tuesday.

The four-day workshop was organized by the CARICOM Secretariat with full support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded

Integrating Watershed and Costal Areas Management (IWCAM) project and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

It is part of a broader capacity building project being implemented by the CARICOM Secretariat and coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with funding from the European Union to build the capacity of CARIFORUM countries to implement MEAs. In acknowledging the support of the partners, Kromosoeto noted that such partnership was absolutely necessary to build capacity and strengthen institutions that would facilitate the implementation of MEAs. This he said would eventually lead to sustainable development and a better quality of life for the peoples of the region.

“It is also necessary that we as vulnerable countries work towards creating strategies for the sharing of best practices and lessons learnt,” he reiterated.

Kromosoeto told senior ana-

lysts and policymakers that Suriname had not only ratified all major environmental conventions but had been working towards removing the barriers that were hampering the implementation of those MEAs. To this end, he said Suriname had made significant progress in establishing an environmental structure that would ensure a well coordinated management system for environmental issues.

This structure, he added, included an advisory body to the president, an environmental institute responsible for the enforcement and implementation of provisions stated in the National Environment Framework Act and establishment of cross-functional teams on the environment.

He concluded his address by challenging all participants to draw on the resources and knowledge of others and continue to network in order to build capacity.

Guyana to get US$40 million in forest protection funds GEORGETOWN, Guyana — The priority projects under Guyana’s revolutionary Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) will become a reality this year with development partner Norway announcing its readiness to release a tranche of forest protection funds.

The Guyana Chronicle reported that President Bharrat Jagdeo, during a joint press conference he hosted at State House in Georgetown on Thursday night with visiting Norwegian Minister of Environment and I nt e rn a tio na l Development, Erik Solheim, stressed that the Guyana REDD Investment Fund is safe as regards fiduci-

President Bharrat Jagdeo (L) pictured here with Norway’s Minister of Environment and International Development, Erik Solheim, at Guyana’s Kaietur Falls ary oversight and noted that the projects to be funded will be carried out in accordance to the strictest standards.

This assurance by the president coincided with the simultaneous announcement by Solheim that Norway

will live up to its part of the agreement and contribute another US$40 million to Guyana for 2011. The country has already released its US$30 million for 2010 under the agreement.

Solheim also pointed out that the two countries need to find ways

of speeding up the way the money is disbursed into the Guyanese economy, while at the same time having the necessary mechanisms in place when it comes to anti-corruption and environmental and social safeguards.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

CARIBBEAN NEWS

11

Bitter battle over body of Venezuelan ex-president

By FABIOLA SANCHEZ C A R A C A S , Venezuela - Three months after the death of former Ve n e z u e l a n President Carlos Andres Perez, his embalmed body is still in limbo - kept in cold storage in a Miami mortuary while his relatives battle in court over where he should be buried.

The feud has exposed bitter divisions between the family of former first lady Blanca Rodriguez in Caracas and the family of Perez’s longtime mistress Cecilia Matos, with whom he shared the last three decades of his life.

The fight also has taken on political symbolism. One side says Perez should be buried in Venezuela, partly to rally opponents of his adversary, President Hugo Chavez, ahead of next year’s presidential election. The other side argues Perez’s body shouldn’t be returned until Chavez is no longer in power.

“I never thought this was going to be so complicated and so draining,” Perez’s daughter Carolina Perez Rodriguez told The Associated Press. She said she is upset the case looks set to drag

In this photo taken Friday, March 11, 2011, Carolina Perez Rodriguez, daughter of Venezuela's former President Carlos Andres Perez, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at her home in Caracas, Venezuela. Three months after the death of former Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez, his embalmed body is still in limbo kept in cold storage in a Miami mortuary while his relatives battle in court over where he should be buried.

Photo/Fernando Llano on in court for months not return.

The two families had to come.

Perez was 88 when largely ignored each “It’s terrible because I he died of respiratory other for years, and as a believe my father does- failure on Dec. 25 in result had never talked n’t deserve this, being Miami, where he had about burial plans for there in a refrigerator,” lived in recent years the ailing Perez. she said in her family’s with Matos. The couple Days after his death, Caracas home, where had two daughters.

Blanca Rodriguez - who photos of her father One of them, Maria was still legally his wife hang on the walls and Francia Perez Matos, despite years of separathe family has kept the said the dispute is tak- tion - persuaded a judge desk and chair he once ing its toll. in Miami to issue a temused.

“What’s happening porary order stopping Perez was president with my father is really the burial in that city. from 1974-1979 and something strange that Circuit Judge Arthur again from 1989-1993, you can’t believe is hap- Rothenberg has set an surviving two failed pening. It’s like some- August trial date in coup attempts, includ- thing out of a movie,” Miami to decide the ing one led by Chavez. she said. “To have to go body’s final resting He left the country in to sleep every day place. Perez’s Caracas 2000, facing the threat knowing that he’s there relatives have appealed, of arrest on corruption and that he’s frozen - saying they want the accusations, and did that breaks your heart.” matter decided sooner.

Carolina Perez Rodriguez said that no one in her home ever spoke of Matos, Perez’s former secretary, despite their long relationship. Her father also never spoke of the family he had started with Matos, Perez Rodriguez recalled.

Matos’ family argues that Perez often said he would not return to Venezuela so long as Chavez was president, and the couple had bought two crypts to be buried in Florida.

Venezuelan historian Agustin Blanco Munoz, who wrote a book about Perez, testified in court that Perez told him last year that he didn’t want to return to Venezuela, “either alive ... (or) after death as long as Hugo Chavez’s regime remains.”

The ex-president’s Caracas relatives, however, say he had indicated a desire to come home. They note that the leader of his party, at Perez’s request, asked the attorney general’s office in 2008 to let him return without fear of prosecution.

Former Perez Cabinet minister Beatrice Rangel told the AP that she met Perez in Miami in 2006 and that he told her, “I want to return to Venezuela.

I want to die in Venezuela.”

While Perez lived in exile, Chavez’s government demanded he be turned over to stand

trial for his role in quelling bloody 1989 riots in Caracas. After Perez’s death, Chavez said: “May the form of politics that he personified rest in peace and leave here forever.”

Chavez has said Perez’s family has a right to bring his body to Venezuela for burial if they wish.

Some who side with Matos’ family believe that a burial in Caracas now would allow Chavez to portray it as the symbolic end of an old-guard political class that Perez personified: the “Fourth Republic,” as Chavez often calls it.

Both families acknowledge the legal fight has been expensive. They say that donations from friends have helped cover their growing costs. They have also been quarreling over Perez’s possessions and historical documents.

Perez Rodriguez said she hopes her father’s personal documents and belongings can eventually become part of a presidential library in Venezuela.

She still holds out hope of settling the dispute, but recognizes it could wear on for a long time.

She noted that the file on the case contains a report by one expert who concluded that Perez’s body “if kept at a proper temperature, could last as long as a year.”

Mexico Ci ty str eet gang s mimic car tel violence

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ MEXICO CITY Two headless bodies are dumped on a street in suburban Mexico City along with a message sent by a mysterious group called “The Hand with Eyes.” Days later, a severed head shows up in a car abandoned outside an elementary school in the same suburb.

For drug lords, this sprawling metropolis of 20 million has been a favorite hide-out and place to launder

money, making Mexico City somewhat of an oasis from the brutal cartel violence along the border and in outlying states.

Now a spate of killings and decapitations never before seen have authorities batting down fears that a once-distant drug war is making its way into the capital. Instead, they say, the violence since late last year comes from street gangs fighting for an increasingly lucrative local drug market.

While drug use in Mexico City doesn’t

come close to that in the U.S., it has grown dramatically in the past decade. About 8 percent of middle and high school students here now experiment with drugs, said city drug addiction adviser Patricia Reyes, a number that has climbed from 2.5 percent in 1998 according to national surveys.

Some of the highprofile violence comes from groups that are remnants of the Beltran Leyva cartel, which has splintered and moved closer to the city since the Mexican

navy killed leader Arturo Beltran Leyva in December 2009.

Others imitate cartel tactics to gain turf.

“I think of these groups as cells, as franchises,” said Alfredo Castillo, attorney general for Mexico state, the suburban area surrounding Mexico City. “As franchises what do they want? They want the know-how, the business model, and in the end, they want their backing in case of an extraordinary problem.”

The mass killings

started late last year, when a drive-by shooting in the rough neighborhood of Tepito killed six youths and a family of five was slain in a drug-related attack in the south of the city.

The violence intensified earlier this year as Juan Vasconcelos, a reputed local gang assassin, allegedly went on a cocaine- and alcohol-fueled killing spree that ended with his arrest in February.

The first attack left five people dead on Jan. 8. Another killed eight people Jan. 16

and the third left seven dead Feb. 13.

Police say Vasconcelos has ties in Mexico state to La Familia cartel, based in the neighboring state of Michoacan. While that alliance wasn’t fueling the violence Vasconcelos went after rival drug dealers and members of his own gang to consolidate his power - it made it easier for him to get highpowered weapons.

When police asked in a taped interrogation what he did for a living, Vasconcelos replied, “I kill.”

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

12

Mint Condition keeps soul ballads coming on ‘7...’

Beyonce is all grown up. After a professional lifetime together, the superstar and her father, Matthew Knowles, have parted ways, with Matthew no longer managing the “Halo” singer.”I’ve only parted ways with my father on a business level,” Beyonce tells UsMagazine.com in an exclusive statement.

“He is my father for life and I love my dad dearly. I am grateful for everything he has taught me. I grew up watching both he and my mother [Tina Knowles] manage and own their own businesses. They were hard-working entrepreneurs and I will continue to follow in their footsteps.” As for who will now manage the superstar, who plans to release a new album (a follow-up to her smash I Am . . .

Sasha Fierce) later this year? “Beyonce has the knowledge and experience to make that decision and no final decision has been made yet,” Matthew says.

Lil Jon used his winnings from a recent victory on the hit TV show “Celebrity Apprentice” to benefit a local children’s homier Decatur, Georgia. Lil Jon, who has starred in and directed numerous videos, lead his team to victory, while communication between the women’s team, predictably, broke down.

As a result of his win, Donald Trump praised Lil Jon’s leadership skills, which earned United Methodist Children’s Home in Decatur $40,000.

Belting out her some of her smash hits in front of an all-ages audience, Janet Jackson crossed generational lines while performing at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey on March 26. The pop diva captivated the

crowd In true Jackson style with her short slicked back hair, skintight charcoal-colored leather jumpsuit and matching knee-high boots. During the past few days, the 44-yearold was able to sell-out both of her Atlantic City shows, giving the audiences something to sing along to with smash singles like “Nasty,” “All for You,” “Escapade,” and “Miss You Much.” Miss Jackon’s Borgota concert stop was part of her current “Number Ones: Up Close and Personal” tour, which is meant to help Janet reconnect with her audience.

Cash Money empresario Birdman is hardly a stranger to dropping large sums of cash at a single time.

Now, the former Big Tymer is making headlines for a recent spending spree at New York’s Club Perfection.

According to Rap Radar, Birdman supposedly dropped $50,000 at the popular Queens strip club while on the Young Money/Cash Moeny I Am Music 2 tour.

Angie Stone -famous for songs like “No More Rain” -- was arrested in Georgia yesterday ... TMZ has learned ... after the R&B singer was allegedly caught speeding on a suspended license. Angie was booked on both the speeding charge and the suspended license charge last night -- and released an hour later.

Jay-Z has finally reached a settlement with David “Big Papi” Ortiz over the baseball star’s use of the name 40/40 Club. When Ortiz attempted to open a club named “FortyForty” in the Dominican Republic, Jay-Z slapped the Red Sox star with a $5 million dollar lawsuit. Earlier in this month, lawyers

for Ortiz claimed that Jay-Z wanted too much to settle the case, leading many to believe the matter would have to be settled by a judge.

“The case has been settled in principle,” JayZ’s attorney Peter Raymond said. “We have agreed on the outlines of a settlement and need to reduce it to writing.”

On Twitter, Rihanna re-tweeted a fan’s announcement that her Minneapolis show was sold out. Unfortunately, the venue’s ticket website still shows plenty of remaining available seats. Rihanna’s fan “@StarsGoneMad” originally wrote: “@Rihanna’s Minneapolis show sold out in exactly 68 minutes.

Now that’s what’s up!!!!” to which she responded “Minneapolis STAND UP!! #werk” Another wrote, “Wanted to see @rihanna in concert but the tickets were sold out in a hour in Minneapolis. #SADFACE” However, if you go to the Target Center’s website, her June 16 show with Cee-Lo still has openings for audience members. It’s okay, RiRi, plenty of people make mistakes, but maybe you should ask your management before taking the word of a crazed groupie?

Harlem rapper and Cam’ron protege, Vado, has official inked a deal with Interscope Records, where he’ll be dropping his major label, solo debut. Cam revealed the news of his protégé’s deal during a radio appearance on Angie Martinez’s Hot 97 show on Monday (March 28), clarifying that he’s happy Vado can branch out on his own. “[Vado] just signed a deal with Interscope,” Cam announced on air.

“Shout out to DJ and Jimmy Iovine at Interscope; we appreciate that.”

By MELODY CHARLES Veteran R&B group Mint Condition will release their forthcoming studio album entitled ‘7…’ on April 5th. The set is lead by the first single “Caught My Eye,” which the group recently shot the music video for.

It’s mostly classic Mint; It will have some surprises in there,” Mint Condition tells Singersroom about the new CD. “It’s going to be a lot of musicality to it…we coming real strong.”

Mint, who says they “embrace all the things that’s going on in the world,” states they don’t have to try to fit in but just “come with what they do” because of their fans.

“The good thing about Mint Condition is that we got fans from young teenagers to the parents,” says the group. “They all have something that they love about Mint Condition. People from Stevie Wonder to Alicia Keys love what we do.”

Mint Condition previously stated that this new album touches on all things in life and that it’s about find-

ing truth in music.

“The material on the new CD is inspired by all walks of life. Some of it is narrative-things that actually happened or are happening right now. Some things are fantasy,” The band shares. “But all the things that people feel on the daily is where we always try to go - hopes, dreams, fears, accomplishments and failures...but always we try and find truth in the music and lyric, even if it is fiction.”

Five band members, over a dozen charting hit singles and twenty years of classically-composed, contemporarily-rendered melodies and musicality. They were part of an emerging trend of male R&B acts when they hit the scene in the early 90s (Boyz II Men, Blackstreet and Jodeci, to name a few), but as of today, the quintet stands apart as the sole self-contained band of their generation. No matter what trends were prevalent on the urban landscape, Mint Condition cemented their reputation and enduring fan base by utilizing an organic (some would say old-school) and multi-lay-

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)

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14

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

ENTERTAINmENT

Mathew Knowles says no family beef, he’s just too busy To prevent any rumors from getting around, Mathew Knowles, now the exmanager of Beyonce, released a statement stomping out any suspicions about there being beef between the two.

Some speculate that the pair’s relationship hasn’t recovered from a family scandal last year, when Knowles fathered a lovechild while he was still married to the star’s mother, Tina. The baby was born three months after Tina Knowles filed for divorce.

However, in his statement, Music World Entertainment’s top guy emphasized the elimination of duties was a mutual agreement.

Knowles, who has been managing his daughter’s career since she was a teen,

Martin Lawrence to appear on ‘Love That Girl!’ finale TV One wraps up the season of its first original scripted series, “Love That Girl!,” with a special twopart finale Monday, April 11 and Monday, April 18 at 9 p.m. ET guest starring Martin Lawrence, who also serves as an executive producer.

Created by Bentley Kyle Evans, the show stars Tatyana Ali as Tyana Jones, a young divorcee who returns home to Southern California for a second chance in life and a career in her father’s real estate business. When her unemployed

brother Latrell (Alphonso McAuley), an aspiring stand-up comedian, unexpectedly moves in with her, the world that she was trying to create is suddenly turned upside down, and life will never be the same.

Lawrence will star as Tyana’s Uncle Gerald, who interrupts her much-needed “staycation” when he drops in and needs a place to stay for a few days. Uncle Gerald becomes an annoying house guest, and when Tyana finally thinks he’s going to leave, Gerald tells her he must stay for a few more

will have more time to focus on his growing gospel label and its artists. Sounds like a good trade off.

So just in case you thought there was a family rift, daddy Knowles says it’s all good. He tells Us Weekly: “We mutually agreed to part ways in terms of me managing Beyonce, as my focus is in the investment of Music World Entertainment’s growing gospel and inspirational music division…

Because of the success of all of these artists, my focus has to be on gospel now.”

But there could be a missing piece to this puzzle he’s not revealing. Maybe he’s just can’t compete on the secular side of the biz anymore.

Former Destiny’s Child members Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland previous-

ly dropped Knowles as their manager over the past year or two. Now comes word that Tiffany Evans, who was also being managed by Knowles, has also kicked him to the curb. She told the world via her Twitter account.

“The Announcement that I was going to make is that I am No Longer Managed by Mathew Knowles … In all honestly, it was a Great Learning Experience but the BEST decision was made for me. I appreciate so much the support that Music World family has shown me but feel at this stage in my career to go a different direction with my choice in management.”

Evans, 18, is moving on and plans to release her second album, “Perfect Imperfections,” this summer.

Nicki Minaj in talks to join Britney Spears tour

weeks while he waits to collect his winnings from a horse race.

The episode repeats both nights at 10 p.m. and at midnight (all times ET).

Snoop-Sheen song set for Twitter release

By RAY WADDELL

LOS ANGELES — Rapper Snoop Dogg says a sample of the music he’s been making with Hollywood actor Charlie Sheen will be released soon on Twitter.

E! News said the hip-hop star discussed his collaboration with the recently fired “Two and a Half Men” star during the talk show “Lopez Tonight.”

“Me and Charlie, we’re working on something right now in the studio. Trying to put some music together.

Something real crazy,” said Snoop. “He’s a brilliant guy.

I’m having so much fun just being around him. I love having relationships with differ-

NASHVILLE — Sources say that Nicki Minaj is in discussions — but not confirmed — to support Britney Spears on the latter’s upcoming tour after Enrique Iglesias abruptly pulled out hours after the tour was announced.

Minaj is currently on the road with Lil Wayne on his “I Am Still Music” tour. Spears’ tour begins June 17 in Sacramento. Tour promoter Live Nation and representatives for Minaj could not be reached for comment.

Hours after a Spears-Iglesias tour was announced on Tuesday, Iglesias pulled out of the summer trek, reportedly due to money and the

ent people who aren’t the normal, who aren’t the usual.

One thing about Charlie, he’s not normal, he’s not usual.”

Without revealing too many details, Snoop said he and Sheen are “making some real classic material.”

“We’ll probably put something out on Twitter in about three or four days,” he added.

Sheen, who was fired from his sitcom for his erratic behavior and battle with substance abuse, has been making headlines in recent weeks for some of the outrageous yet sharp-witted statements he has uttered during interviews.

perception that Iglesias would be opening for Spears instead of co-headlining the tour with her.

Although Spears has expressed interest in adding Usher to the tour, the R&B star is highly unlikely to join the trek, as he is managed by Randy Phillips who also helms AEG Live, producers of Spears’ last tour and very competitive with current promoter Live Nation.

“Femme Fatale,” Spears’ seventh album that was released on Tuesday and is expected to reach No. 1 on next week’s Billboard 200.

Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj’s debut album, “Pink Friday,” has moved 1.3 million copies since its November release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

15

NEW JERSEY

Linden man conned arts venues out of $100k, authorities say

By RYAN HUTCHINS A LINDEN conman Linden assumed the names of high-profile concert promoters in recent months, scamming arts venues around the country out of booking fees for well-known music acts that he’d never even spoken to, authorities alleged Thursday morning.

Yusuf Nadir, a 38year-old bulging man with a thick beard, was

arrested at his home this morning on the 1200 block of East St. Georges Avenue, Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow said.

Nadir’s scheme targeted major venues and elicited payments totaling at least $100,000 - for supposed shows in Ohio and North Carolina, according to the prosecutor, whose special investigations unit has been probing the man’s alleged work. He has been charged with numerous counts of theft by deception, criminal imperson-

ations and writing bad checks.

Nadir started the scam as recently as late last year, but detectives from around the country are still looking for more victims, authorities said. They’re working with companies that include Live Nation.

His scheme, the prosecutor said, worked like this: Nadir would call a venue, claiming to be some big-name promoter working for artists like rapper Lil Wayne.

Then, he would promise to deliver that artist for a show, and ask that a “down payment” be

transferred into his bank account, Romankow said.

The students at Montclair State were victimized by a similar scheme in September, when a supposed talent agency promised a show headlined by emerging singer and rapper Nicki Minaj. The student government sold about 900 tickets for the homecoming concert, but Minaj never knew a thing about it. She took to Twitter when she heard from a student there: “Wut concert? Neva heard of it,” she said, calling it a scam.

Asked today if Nadir was involved in that case, a spokesman for the prosecutor simply replied “active investigation.”

University Police at Montclair were investigating after the concert that never was, hoping to recover the $30,000 the school’s Student G o v e r n m e n t Association paid, spokesman Paula Maliandi said at the time.

Nadir was sent to the Union County jail this morning on $75,000 bail. Anyone with information about the case is asked to called

Yusuf Nadir Detective Jamieson Antonio at (908) 5274558.

Hamilton man charged in theft of Gang member’s lawyer wants offerings from three churches MySpace evidence suppressed HAMILTON — A township man has been charged with stealing offering money from three Catholic churches over the last month.

Gustavo Garcia, 50, was brought into police headquarters yesterday for an interview with Detective Ken Warner.

During the interview, Warner developed enough probable cause to charge Garcia with the thefts at St. Raphael, St. Vincent DePaul, and Holy Angels churches, police said.

“It happened on Ash Wednesday,” Lt. Remo DiPaolo said Wednesda.

There is no indica-

tion why Garcia allegedly committed the thefts, DiPaolo said.

It isn’t known whether Garcia was a parishioner at any of the churches, but the unemployed man did live on Annabelle Avenue near Holy Angels, police said.

Last week, police released a surveillance image of a man who walked into St. Raphael Feb. 2, tried to jimmy the lock of the candle offertory box, and finally broke open the container after covering the security camera with a towel.

Subsequently, both Vincent DePaul and

Holy Angels churches reported their collection plates had been robbed on the same Sunday nearly three weeks later for more than $1,000, police said.

A conversation between Warner and a witness to one of these thefts led to a partial license plate, and then to Garcia, police said.

Garcia is currently in the township police lockup, being held on $72,000 bail.

He is charged with three counts of theft and one count of burglary.

- Alex Zdan

By LISA CORYELL TRENTON — Lawyers defending four men accused of plotting a gang murder on MySpace say they will fight to keep prosecutors from using records of the online chats as evidence at trial.

Keith Williams, a five-star member of the Sex Money Murder set and underlings Karim Sampson, John Murphy and Brandon Edwards are all charged with conspiracy to commit murder and retaliation against

a witness in the murder of 20-year-old Arrell Bell.

Bell was found shot to death in Stacey Park in May 2009, and prosecutors say online instant messages among the defendants prove his fellow gang members conspired to kill him because they thought he was a snitch.

During a court hearing Wednesday, one attorney challenged the state to prove that any of the incriminating messages gleaned from the social networking site were actually written by his client.

“There’s no guaran-

tee that everything on my cell phone is my message. There’s even more of a question when you’re talking about websites like MySpace,” said Frank Gleason, who represents Sampson. “The key issue is one of how can the state establish the communication was, in fact, made by the person the state believes made it.”

Gleason said he plans to file a motion to suppress the MySpace evidence next week.

Attorneys for Sampson’s co-defendants said they will likely join him in the motion.

NJ Transit launches ‘Scorecard’ customer satisfaction surveys

By MIKE FRASSINELLI NEWARK NJ Transit wants you to let it know if it stinks.

It also wants to know if it is doing something you like.

America’s thirdlargest public transit agency is introducing a new initiative called the “Scorecard,” a wartsand-all rating of customer service response times and on-time performance of all its bus and rail lines.

It will be the first time in NJ Transit’s history that it is conducting system-wide customer satisfaction surveys on a regular, ongoing basis.

“For the first time, the Scorecard will provide the taxpayers of New Jersey and our customers alike a clear window into how we are performing,” NJ Transit executive director Jim Weinstein said today during the agency’s monthly meeting in Newark.

Among the measure-

ments: Customer satisfaction ratings; the average time it takes to process a customer inquiry; on-time performance for the system’s bus, rail and light rail lines; crime statistics; ridership; and revenue per hour.

The program officially kicks off at the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, but customers can pre-register now at njtransit.com for the first customer survey, to be conducted next month.

Weinstein said the

Scorecard is a response to the backlash from customers following a frustrating year that saw record-tying fare increases, service cuts, a rash of delays and a Hudson River commuter train tunnel project that was terminated.

“We need a way for people to see what we’re doing, to measure how we’re doing it and, frankly, for us to motivate ourselves and for us to measure how we’re doing,” the agency director said. “There are going to be some areas,

frankly, where we’re not going to be high. But there are also some areas where we think we’re going to shine. We need to get everybody focused on fixing the things that need fixing, on making the things that are good better, on lifting the whole level of customer service and value to taxpayers.”

While the agency thought it had been doing a good job communicating with customers, Weinstein said, the rancor over the fare increases and the dis-

cussions of the Hudson River train tunnel showed the agency needed to do a better job communicating.

Results will be published quarterly on njtransit.com.

Mass transit proponents cheered the plan.

“I hope this program succeeds in getting information out to the customers,” said David Peter Alan, chairman of the Lackawanna Coalition, who for years has pushed for more transparency from NJ Transit.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

16

HEAlTH fORum

Study: Yoga halves irregular-heartbeat episodes

By RANSDELL PIERSON and BILL BERKROT NEW ORLEANS — Yoga, already proven to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, can cut in half the risk of a common and potentially dangerous irregular heartbeat, according to a U.S. study released on Saturday.

The small study was the first to examine the benefits of yoga on atrial fibrillation — a problem that is a leading cause of stroke and is most common in the elderly.

In addition to halving the episodes of atrial fibrillation, the study found that yoga also reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression related to the condition.

“These findings are important because many of the current conventional treatment strategies for atrial fibrillation include invasive procedures or medications with undesirable side effects,” said Dr. Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy, an associate professor with the University of Kansas Hospital in

Kansas City, Kansas, who led the study.

He presented his findings at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology being held in New Orleans.

The study involved 49 patients with the heart rhythm disorder who had no physical limitations and no prior experience with yoga.

Their episodes of irregular heartbeat were measured for a six-month period by researchers at the hospital.

During the first three months, patients were allowed to participate in any physical activity they liked.

For the remaining three months, they underwent a supervised yoga program that involved breathing exercises, yoga postures, meditation and relaxation.

Forty-five minute yoga sessions with a certified professional were held three times each week, and patients were encouraged to practice daily yoga exercises at home.

Heart monitors measured episodes of irregular heartbeat throughout the trial, and patients completed short

self-administered surveys to assess their levels of anxiety, depression and overall quality of life.

On average, yoga cut episodes of the irregular heartbeat in half, while also significantly reducing depression and anxiety scores and improving scores in physical functioning, general health, vitality, social functioning and mental health, the researchers found.

“It appears yoga has a significant impact on helping to regulate patients’ heartbeat and improves the overall quality of life,” Lakkireddy said.

Atrial fibrillation causes blood to pool in the upper chambers of the heart, where it can clot and travel to the brain, causing strokes. Millions of patients with the condition take the blood thinner warfarin every day to lower the risk of such clots, and thereby prevent strokes.

Considering its low cost and benefits, Lakkireddy said yoga should be considered in overall treatment of atrial fibrillation and other

heart rhythm problems.

But Lakkireddy cautioned that larger studies are needed to bear out the findings of his study, and that patients should continue with standard medical therapy.

“Based on my findings, one should not tell patients that yoga will fix everything and they can stop taking their anticoagulants. Yoga is strictly a supplement for everything else they are

doing medically,” he said.

A new wave of promising medicines to prevent such strokes is being developed by several drugmakers, one of which — Xarelto being developed by Bayer and Johnson & Johnson — will be highlighted at the heart meeting.

But the pills come with side effects, and are expected to cost thousands of dollars a year, when they reach the market.

Vegetarians may be at lower diabetes, heart risk

By KERRY GRENS A new study finds that a meat-free diet seems to lower a person’s likelihood of having certain risk factors for diabetes or heart disease — and therefore may lower the risk of one day developing those illnesses.

Researchers measured a suite of factors — blood sugar, blood fats, blood pressure, waist size, and body mass - that when elevated add up to “metabolic syndrome,” and found that vegetarians were lower than non-vegetarians on all counts except cholesterol.

Having metabolic syndrome puts people at a greater risk of developing diabetes or heart disease in the future.

In the study, 23 out of every 100 vegetarians were found to have at least three metabolic syndrome factors, compared with thirty-nine out of every 100 non-vegetarians and 37 out of every 100 semi-vegetarians.

“I was expecting there should be a difference,” said Nico Rizzo of Loma Linda University, the lead researcher on the study. “But

I didn’t expect that it would be that much.”

Rizzo and his colleagues analyzed the diet, health and lifestyles of more than 700 adults.

Using questionnaires on eating habits, the researchers categorized participants as vegetarians (eating meat of any kind less than once a month), semi-vegetarians (eating meat or poultry less than once a week), and nonvegetarians.

The researchers also measured sugar, fat and cholesterol in the subjects’ blood as well as blood pressure, waist size, and body mass index (BMI — a measurement of a person’s weight relative to height).

Vegetarians’ average BMI

of 25.7 was four points lower than that of non-vegetarians, who, on average, had BMIs close to 30.

A BMI greater than 25 is considered overweight, and greater than 30 is considered obese.

Semi-vegetarians fell in the middle, with a BMI and waist size smaller than non-vegetarians, but larger than vegetarians.

The pattern held when the measurements were combined to determine the presence of metabolic syndrome.

Rizzo told Reuters Health he is not sure what’s behind the differences.

“Is it primarily the meat intake, the plant food intake or a combination of both?”

Rizzo said.

It’s also possible that diet is not the cause; the research showed only an association between food choices and health factors, not cause-andeffect.

High BMI, for instance, one of the traits that make up the metabolic syndrome profile, itself contributes to high blood pressure, and indirectly, blood sugar, and thereby potentially raising a person’s risk of heart disease and diabetes.

The current study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, also did not follow the subjects over the long term to see whether those who abstained from meat actually had lower rates of diabetes or heart disease.

The data for this research,

which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, came from the Adventist Health Study 2, a long term study of Seventh Day Adventists.

This religious group has considerably more vegetarians than the general population.

In this study, 35 percent of the subjects did not eat meat, whereas only about five percent of all Americans are vegetarian.

One of the differences Rizzo discovered between the groups was age. Vegetarians, on average, were 3 years older than the meat-eaters.

“Even though they’re older, they’re in better shape,” Rizzo said. “That’s something I found quite interesting.”

Laughter not only feels good, it’s good for the heart Having a good laugh on April Fool’s Day or any other day of the year helps relieve stress and benefits your blood vessels, an expert says.

“Laughter increases blood flow and improves the function of blood vessels. Reducing stress is especially beneficial for persons who have

hypertension [high blood pressure],” Dr. Vivienne Halpern said in a Society for Vascular Surgery news release.

April is National Stress Awareness Month in the United States.

“Laughter reduces the level of stress hormones [cor-

tisol, epinephrine, dopamine and growth hormone] and increases the level of healthenhancing hormones [endorphins and neurotransmitters],” Halpern explained.

“This can result in a stronger immune system and fewer physical effects of stress.”

Along with reducing stress and improving blood flow and blood vessel function, laughter helps relax muscles and creates a sense of well-being, she added.

High blood pressure is linked to stroke, a leading cause of death in the United States.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

17

HEAlTH fORum

Massachusetts finds expired food in school cafeterias

By LAUREN KEIPER BOSTON — Out-of-date food has been found lingering in public school cafeterias across Massachusetts, sent from warehouses up to six weeks past “use by” dates, the state department of education said on Friday.

Roughly a dozen schools reported expired food shipments or sought guidance on an inconsistent system for dating food, said JC Considine, spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Expired school cafeteria food first surfaced in Boston last month. The problem has since been detected statewide.

Boston city councilor John Connolly noted that most Boston students have an income level low enough to qualify for free or discounted breakfasts and lunches at school, and said he worried that past-date cafeteria food puts them at risk of receiving meals with no real nutritional value.

In the wake of the pastprime food discoveries, school officials asked the U.S. Agriculture Department to institute more uniform

coding to date food.

Currently, a mishmash of coding practices is used to date food. Some packages are labeled with an expiration date, others with a packagedon stamp, some with best-ifused-by timing and some with no date.

USDA guidelines complicate the matter further, saying food products may be fine to eat well after the date listed.

School food supplied by the USDA is stored in and shipped from four warehouse facilities around the state. The expired food appears to be confined to one warehouse serving schools

in northeastern Massachusetts, Considine said.

Food storage at all four facilities will be reviewed, he said.

In Boston, officials identified 280 cases of food with questionable dates in 40 of its 46 full service kitchens that ultimately serve 135 schools.

Out-of-date products ranged from cheese to chickpeas to beef patties, said Boston schools spokesman Matthew Wilder. Some product dates were as old as 2009, others were just a few months past.

Officials also recently identified 3,000 cases of food

at the storage facility with questionable dates, he said.

“We uncovered some real fiscal waste because of inventory mismanagement that was resulting in expired food making its way into schools,” Connolly said.

These discoveries have prompted an upgrade to the inventory management system and revamped long-term menu planning, said Wilder.

Boston school officials have assured parents and students the food being served is safe, but some schools have reported a dip in lunch and breakfast participation since the findings surfaced.

Study: Toxins in baby food might affect hormones

By ADAM MARCUS Infant formula and solid baby food frequently contain fungus-derived hormones that have been shown to cause infertility in mammals, Italian researchers report.

Scientists at the University of Pisa report that as many as 28 percent of samples of milk-based baby formulas they tested were contaminated with the fungal hormones, known as mycoestrogens.

They tested 185 formula

samples and 44 samples of meat-based baby food from a total of 21 brands commonly sold in Italy.

The substances detected in the baby products included zearalenone and its derivatives, which comes from Fusarium, a large family of fungi common in farm settings.

Although zearalenone and related chemicals that resemble the hormone estrogen have been linked to infertility in mammals, especially pigs, it’s not clear whether babies exposed to the compounds through food or formula would be at risk

What’s in your sandwich?

U.S. wants you to know

By ESHA DEY and LISA BAERTLEIN WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES — Restaurant chains will have to tell you how many calories are in your sandwich, your milk shake and even your bag of chips by the middle of next year as part of the U.S. government’s fight against obesity.

The Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that final rules requiring restaurants and retail food companies to divulge nutritional and calorie information are expected to be issued by the end of 2011.

It proposed that the rules, pertaining to food and drinks sold from menus and display cases, would become

effective six months later.

In a country where two out of every three people are overweight or obese, the government hopes to influence food choices and ultimately lower healthcare costs.

Restaurants with 20 or more locations like McDonald’s Corp and Yum Brands Inc, operator of the KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut fastfood chains, would be affected, as would retail food outlets.

The rules, part of the U.S. healthcare law passed in March 2010, would go into effect for vending machine operators one year after publication, according to the FDA proposal. Calorie and nutritional information would have to be displayed close to food items in vend-

for any reproductive problems later in life.

Previous research has shown that the body rapidly breaks down zearalenone into byproducts that pose no health threat.

Still, the Italian researchers say their findings merit follow-up and ought to prompt closer scrutiny of baby formula and baby foods for the presence of these and other toxins.

“Our study shows the presence of mycoestrogens in infant food,” Francesco Massart, who led the study, told Reuters Health. “This is likely to have greater impliing machines or near selection buttons.

Restaurant industry groups had fought against local efforts to require calorie disclosure, arguing it would raise operating costs.

But in New York City, the first U.S. city to require calorie count displays, 15 percent of people who used the information said they ate about 106 fewer calories at lunch, according to city health statistics.

On Friday, the National Restaurant Association said it would provide detailed comments to the FDA to ensure that restaurants get enough time to make the changes.

The FDA is seeking public comment on the proposed menu labeling until June 6 and on vending machines until July 5.

Movie theaters, airplanes, bowling alleys, and other establishments whose primary purpose is not to sell food would not be subject to the proposed regulations, the FDA said.

cations for infants and young children than for adults having a more varied diet.”

Mycoestrogens such as zearalenone are a fact of life for commercial agriculture.

They are present in crops like corn, wheat and soy that are used for both human consumption and animal feed. Cattle yards in the United States regularly use one such substance, alpha-zeralanol, as a growth stimulant for the animals, although the European Union banned this practice in the mid-1980s.

The Italian group sought to determine whether zearalenone and similar chemicals might be making their way into infant foods. The answer proved to be yes.

Massart and his colleagues analyzed 185 samples from 14 brands of infant formula containing cow’s milk. They also tested 44 samples of baby foods, from seven brands, containing beef, chicken, turkey, calf, horse, rabbit, ham and lamb.

Zearalenone appeared in 17 (9 percent) of the formula samples, and two derivatives of the molecule, alpha- and beta-zeralenol, were present in about a quarter of the samples. Among the meatbased baby foods, only the alpha- and beta-zeralenol derivatives were present in a less than a quarter of the samples.

Concentrations of mycoestrogens varied widely but in general, the levels detected were well below the World Health Organization’s provisional maximum tolerable daily intake of 0.5 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. Average concentra-

tions of beta-zeralenol in infant formula were four times the recommended maximum, however.

Although Massart acknowledged that many questions remain about the possible link between mycoestrogens and harm to humans, he said the findings should give pause to parents who use baby formula.

“Children, and in particular preterm newborns, are potentially exposed to higher dose of mycotoxins during their early phases of life, but no one knows the longterm effects,” he said.

Animal research and the few available human studies suggest the early mycotoxin exposures may affect human health, Massart noted. “Specific studies should be initiated that allow the establishment of safe levels of zearalenone metabolites in feed materials and compounded feeds, particularly for infants and children of different ages, as they are considered to be the most sensitive to environmental chemicals.”

Gilbert Ross, a physician and medical director of the American Council on Science and Health, a New Yorkbased advocacy group, disagreed. “Detecting something in food does not mean it’s harmful,” Ross said.

“Further, the detection methods found (the contaminants) but at levels far too low to affect human health, including that of babies. As the authors themselves point out, the presence of these substances in food products are of ‘little significance’ because the body rapidly breaks them down and excretes them,” Ross said.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

18

BuSINESS & TECHNOlOgY

Lawmaker has concerns over mobile megamerger

By JASMIN MELVIN WASHINGTON — A U.S. lawmaker with oversight of technology expressed concern that AT&T Inc.’s plans to take over T-Mobile USA would stifle innovation in the wireless market.

Representative Greg Walden, chairman of the House subcommittee on communications and technology, said he did not want to see a merger diminish the vibrant and competitive nature of wireless.

AT&T’s $39 billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA would concentrate 80 percent of U.S. wireless contract customers

in just two companies — AT&T/T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc. AT&T, currently the No. 2 U.S. mobile carrier behind Verizon, has said the merger will spur innovation and economic growth by improving quality and expanding wireless service to 95 percent of Americans.

Walden But expressed concern about eliminating a national carrier.

“It seems to me if there are fewer and fewer players in a market, there’s less and less opportunity for that creative innovation and invention that has

occurred so far in the wireless market,” he said at an event sponsored by news service Politico Pro. The merger needs the approval of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department and the process is expected to take at least a year.

Walden has no direct input into those reviews but his subcommittee has oversight of the FCC, and he did not rule out hearings on the merger proposal.

He said his panel would be very critical of the FCC’s merger review process, checking for potential abuses of power.

Walden criticized

agencies that use their authority over mergers to “extort policy changes.”

Congress may have to step in, Walden said, with tighter definitions on agencies’ authority over mergers.

“The FCC needs to look in the mirror on this one because we’re going to come at them very strongly, very forcefully,” he added.

AT&T could face a tough battle at the FCC. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said at the onset of the Comcast-NBCU merger that it would be a tough sell.

That transaction won a majority of the FCC members’ approval, but Copps voted against it.

He said in an inter-

view this week for CSPAN television’s “The Communicators,” that AT&T’s proposal “may be an even steeper climb” and that the deal “sucks the oxygen” out of other issues before the FCC, especially spectrum reform.

But Walden said this was not a concern for him. “I think we’re all fairly capable of multitasking, and a lot of work goes on even if a isn’t hearing announced or scheduled,” he said.

The FCC wants Congress to grant it authority to hold incentive auctions that would compensate broadcasters for giving up some of their spectrum to wireless com-

panies.

The agency also wants lawmakers to consent to giving a highly sought after chunk of U.S. airwaves known as the D Block to public safety groups to build out a nationwide mobile broadband network for emergency services.

Walden, a former broadcaster, said he hoped a bipartisan consensus could be reached as spectrum reform is likely to drive innovation, but he was wary of acting too quickly.

“We’re going to have a series of hearings to get all these issues out in the open. We’re not going to cram something through,” he said.

Supply woes, high prices changing chocolate treats

By MARCY NICHOLSON P A R A D I S E ISLAND, Bahamas — Chocolate treats will continue to get a little less chocolaty if the cost of the key ingredient cocoa rises further and the long-term supply concerns become a reality, one U.S. manufacturer told Reuters.

“There’s been clearly over the last couple of years, a reduction in unit size of a lot of products. That’s really a manifestation of demand rationalization,” said Peter W. Blommer, president and chief operating officer of the Blommer Chocolate Company in the United States.

U.S. cocoa futures prices hit a 32-year high last month at $3,775 per tonne, when agricultural commodities overall were rallying. They were spurred even higher by an export ban in top grower Ivory Coast as the political crisis there worsened.

“If cocoa prices continue to go up and the supply issue becomes more acute, I think you’ll probably see more of those types of products that are marketed, just because of price,” he said, refer-

ring to chocolate products that have nonchocolate centers.

Blommer, whose family has been in the chocolate-making business for 75 years, spoke on the sidelines of the Cocoa Merchants’ Association of America conference in the Bahamas, where serious concerns about future supplies of cocoa in the next 10 years was a major topic.

“We’re talking about the next 10 years seeing a significant supply crisis, so yeah, I am concerned,” Blommer said.

Climbing global demand combined with an aging population of cocoa farmers who often don’t know how to improve their yields, has many in the industry worried about how the world will increase its annual production by the necessary 1 million tonnes, or roughly 25 percent, in the next 10 years. Global production in the 2009/10 crop year reached 3.6 million tonnes, International Cocoa Organization data shows.

“Young people don’t want to work on farms in isolated areas,” said Pamela Thornton, portfolio manager of London-based Armajaro’s CC+ fund while moder-

ating a panel on Saturday.

While there are many programs to help cocoa farmers around the world improve their production and, in turn their incomes, the challenge to reach a significant number of growers in West Africa — where 70 percent of the world’s cocoa is grown — remains a daunting task.

“We know how to triple yields in West Africa but we haven’t been able to transfer that knowledge. We’ve really not found a solution that reaches peo-

ple at scale, millions of farmers versus thousands,” said Andrew Harner, global cocoa director for MARS Chocolate.

Obstacles include a lack of infrastructure and aggregation of farmers, and limited government policy or involvement. Additionally there is a lack of new land to harvest.

“Most of the major origins simply can no longer destroy forests to plant cocoa. Tree stock is past its peak in every major origin,” said Peter Petersen, an analyst and director of

Amo Delta Ltd based in Ghana.

Alain Fredericq, director of Global Business Development and Sustainability for ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) Switzerland, said the industry needs to professionalize the farmers in West Africa.

“We are expecting in the coming years to have trouble keeping up with demand,” Fredericq said while speaking on a panel at the conference.

ADM is one of the world’s biggest cocoa exporters.

“I think prices now

have been high enough long enough to stimulate production growth sufficiently to keep pace with trend consumption in growth,” said Jonathan Parkman, joint head of agriculture for Marex Financial Limited in London.

Last month, the Liffe cocoa futures contract reached an eightmonth high at 2,425 pounds per tonne, Parkman did not expect that U.S. cocoa futures would fall back to $2,000 per tonne any time soon because of demand.

Senate report on subprime mess due soon A Senate subcommittee is nearing completion of a long-awaited report on the role Wall Street banks played in creating complex securities that fueled the meltdown of the housing market, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The report by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which has been in the works for months, will include potentially embarrassing emails and internal communications from investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and

Deutsche Bank AG, the Journal said.

It also will discuss a little-known dispute between Goldman and Morgan Stanley that developed in 2008 over one complex subprimemortgage backed security called Hudson Mezzanine Funding, the newspaper said.

The subcommittee learned that Morgan Stanley lost money on the collateralized debt obligation that Goldman had a hand in arranging and marketing, the Journal said.

The dispute between the rival investment banks

got so heated that Morgan Stanley considered suing Goldman over its losses, it said.

The Senate’s investigations subcommittee normally follows up its hearings with reports that outline the findings and recommend legislative reforms.

An aide to Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat who heads the subcommittee, declined to comment on the report.

Late last year, two people familiar with the subcommittee told Reuters that they expected the report to be finished in early

2011 and said it would contain more information than surfaced during last year’s series of subcommittee hearings.

An all-day hearing last spring on the role Goldman played in creating and marketing several CDOs - complex securities constructed from a pool of subprime mortgaged-backed bonds — drew particular attention.

A number of current and former Goldman executives testified at the hearing, including Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

19

BuSINESS & TECHNOlOgY

Gas-sipping cars drive March sales gain

By DEEPA SEETHARAMAN and BEN KLAYMAN DETROIT — Sales of small cars raced ahead in March as buyers flocked to more fuelefficient vehicles, a trend major U.S. automakers expect to if gasoline persist prices continue to rise.

In addition to gassipping cars, the improving U.S. job market helped most major automakers race past expectations for U.S. sales in March with the main exception being General Motors Co., which pulled back on its incentives.

“When I look at the overall picture, I say ‘Hey, this recovery’s intact. It’s still going strong in the U.S.,’” said Gary Bradshaw, a portfolio manager with Hodges Capital Management, which owns Ford shares. “More people going back to work, they can afford cars.”

Executives at GM and Ford motor Co., which reported sales gains of 11.4 percent and 19 percent, respectively, added that the Japan crisis was unlikely to bite into U.S. sales in the nearterm.

GM shares rose 4.4 percent to end at $32.41 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, while Ford stock was up 1.7 percent.

Analysts said GM’s gain was larger because its stock has been more volatile and investors were relieved by the good news about

the sector despite the lower-than-expected sales gain.

The strong sales, combined with the Labor Department’s report on solid U.S. job growth last month, boosted hopes that consumers will have more money in their wallets feel confident and enough to buy more cars and trucks, investors said.

Auto sales, which represent one of the first snapshots every month of U.S. consumer demand, finished March up almost 17 percent.

On an annualized basis, the rate for the month was 13.11 million vehicles, up from 11.78 million last year.

That was slightly below the 13.2 million rate 34 economists polled by Reuters had expected. Results from GM and Toyota Motor Corp., two of the three largest automakers, fell beneath estimates.

The stronger-thanexpected results at many automakers echoed the good news on the labor front as U.S. employment on Friday recorded a second straight month of solid gains in March and the jobless rate fell to a two-year low of 8.8 percent.

GM sales chief Don Johnson does not expect a “significant” impact from the Japan disruptions on sales at this time, while Ford said any fluctuations in manufacturing caused by last month’s Japan earthquake, tsunami and resulting nuclear crisis will not upset

demand.

“The developments should not derail the recovery in the U.S.,” Ford senior U.S. economist Jenny Lin said.

However, a Ford executive also warned that the company’s inventory of small cars has been “pinched” by the heavy demand, and other automakers are likely seeing the same thing happen.

GM and Ford executives said they expect U.S. sales this year to finish between 13 million and 13.5 million, up from 11.5 million last year. Toyota officials said they expect strong April sales.

However, some still worry that the rising gasoline prices and the uncertainty caused by events in Japan could still hurt sales in April and May. “The recovery is fragile,” Edmunds.com analyst Michelle Krebs said, adding that sales in March weakened later in the month as gasoline prices rose.

“The consumer does not like uncertainty, and they had a heavy dose of it in March.”

GM said total U.S. sales in March for its four brands rose 11.4 percent from last year to 206,621 vehicles.

Including its four former brands — Hummer, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn — GM sales rose 9.6 percent.

Edmunds had expected a gain of 11 percent including the former brands, and TrueCar.com and JP Morgan also said the results missed expectations.

GM’s incentives per vehicle on average were $600 to $800 lower last month compared with February, and the automaker would be prudent with its deals going forward, Johnson said.

Ford, Chrysler Group LLC and Nissan Motor Co Ltd. all reported stronger-thanexpected results and Ford outsold GM for only the second time since 1998.

Chrysler sales jumped 31 percent, while Nissan’s rose 28.4 percent. Sales at Hyundai Motor Co., Honda Motor Co Ltd. and Daimler AG’s Mercedes brand rose 32 percent, 18.9 percent and 12.6 percent, respectively.

Sales at Japan’s Toyota, which has been affected heavily by the Japan crisis, fell 9.2 percent.

However, the higher gasoline prices are pushing consumers away from more lucrative light trucks.

Light truck sales, which include pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, make up a little more than half of U.S. auto sales and account for a disproportionate share of profits at the U.S. automakers because of their higher prices.

“With gasoline prices eclipsing $3.50 a gallon, consumers are placing a high priority on fuel efficiency in every size and kind of vehicle,” said Ken Czubay, Ford’s vice president of U.S. sales.

Last month, sales of compact and subcom-

Chevrolet cars are seen at a GM dealership in Miami, Florida. pact cars accounted for one-fourth of the industry’s total, up from 21 percent the prior two months and 19 percent in December, Ford said.

Gasoline prices rose more than 3 cents to $3.60 a gallon over the last week, the Energy Department said. The average price of regular gas is 80 cents higher than a year ago as conflict in Libya and rising tensions in the Middle East have sent the cost of crude oil to above $100 a barrel.

Another focus is the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and subsequent tsunami last month which caused many supplier plants there to close or cope with power outages.

Industry executives said they are monitoring the situation closely, but have declined to speculate on its impact.

GM’s Johnson said the U.S. automaker has a “very good” level of vehicle inventory going into April.

Ford said it is pursuing other sources of supply for affected parts as necessary, but was able to maintain its previously announced first-quarter production plans.

However, the U.S. D1021670

Cablevision launches iPad app to watch TV at home CHICAGO — Cablevision Systems Corp is launching an app for customers using its Optimum package to watch television on their iPads at home, the company said on Saturday.

The service, available at no extra charge, will allow the cable operator’s more than 3 million customers to watch some 300 channels, search programing by genre and enable customers

to record programs.

The system uses Cablevision’s digital cable television network to deliver programing to the iPad, so customers do not need to have Internet access on their devices to use the app.

“This application allows the iPad to function as a television, delivering the full richness and diversity of our cable television service to a display device in the home,”

Tom Rutledge, Cablevision chief operating officer, said in a statement.

The move by New York-based Cablevision comes weeks after Time Warner Cable launched its own iPad app in mid-March.

The Time Warner version allows users to watch live programing from 32 networks so long as they are at home using their Wi-Fi network.

But Time Warner’s

app sparked controversy.

A few days ago, after getting several “cease and desist” notices, the No. 2 U.S. cable company said it would no longer carry networks owned by News Corp’s Fox, Viacom and Discovery Communications.

The media companies believe the cable company needs to pay for new licenses in order for customers to use the iPad app.

4/1, 4,8,11,15,18

NOTICE OF SALE U.S. District Court, EDNY: Greystone Bank v. Rodriguez et al., Case No. 11-cv-157BMC. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale entered 3/17/2011, the Referee, Michael F. King, Esq., will sell at auction to the highest bidder outside the front doors of the U.S. Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, NY, on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 10:00 a.m., premises known as 1271 MYRTLE AVENUE, BROOKLYN, NY, designated on the County land map as BLOCK 3217, LOT 54, and more particularly described in the judgment of foreclosure and sale. Sold subject to all terms and conditions in said judgment and terms of sale.

Approximate amount of judgment $671,025 plus interest and costs. MICHAEL F. KING, ESQ., REFEREE, (718) 238-2021.

automaker warned that further problems in Japan in the weeks ahead could force it to reduce or idle output, including suspending output at a truck plant in Kentucky next week.

Nissan said it was shifting non-production days scheduled for later in the second and in the third quarters to April.

The Japan crisis had little effect on March U.S. sales, but the situation remained “very fluid,” said Bob Carter, Toyota brand sales chief in the United States. The biggest impact will be on the Prius hybrid, he said.

However, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said the Japan crisis would hurt the automaker’s earnings.

Auto sales in Japan fell by more than a third in March, marking the biggest monthly percentage decline since February 1974.

In Europe, several markets saw sales decline, but automakers shrugged off for now the possibility of Japanese parts supply problems.

Sales in Canada posted healthy gains and in Brazil rose 12 percent.

D1021668

4/4, 11,18,25

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT – COUNTY OF KINGS AMTRUST BANK, Plaintiff against VINCENT CARTER, et al Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered on August 25, 2010. I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 274 of the Kings County Courthouse, 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. on the 5th day of May, 2011 at 3:00 p.m.

Said premises known as 423 Gates Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11216. Tax account number: SBL #: 1808-87. Approximate amount of lien $ 525,163.49 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed judgment and terms of sale.

Index No. 13912-08. Dominic J. Famulari, Esq., Referee.

McCabe Weisberg & Conway Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 145 Huguenot Street - Suite 499 New Rochelle, New York 10801 (914) 636-8900

GAMESNUMBERS

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DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

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Your Horoscope ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20) You can't lock your partner up and if you keep restricting their freedom you may be left out in the cold. Sudden changes regarding your domestic scene are probable. Those close to your heart may be difficult to reason with.

where you left off. You can accomplish a lot if you direct your thoughts toward starting your own small business on the side. Helping children may be rewarding and challenging.

TAURUS (Apr. 21- May 21) Not the best day for business trips. Residential moves should be considered carefully. Promote your ideas now.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) Problems on the home front might be a little disconcerting. Try not to be too aggressive or judgmental when talking to your mate. Be prepared to make changes to your personal documents.

GEMINI (May 22-June 21) You can offer your help to others but back off if they appear to be offended by your persistence. Make sure all of your travel and driver's documents are in proper order. You will meet some interesting people if you attend promotional functions.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21) A second chance will result in good work. Try not to push your philosophies on others. Your ideas may be good, but they aren't necessarily right for everyone.

CANCER (June 22-July 22) Don't hesitate to go ahead with any plans for entertainment. There might be a problem with a will or with an insurance policy. You can get a promotion if you put in a little extra detail.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22.- Jan. 20) Visitors are likely to drop by and chances are, they may even stay a little longer than you want them to. Take the time to help old friends or relatives who have had a stroke of bad luck. You will impress new friends and acquaintances with your intellectual wit.

LEO (July 23-Aug 22) Relatives will be cordial. If you can't get ahead in the company you're with, perhaps it's time to move on. Unexpected visitors will be a welcome surprise.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23) Be aware of any emotional deception. Do not sign legal contracts or documents today. You can benefit financially if you put money or maintenance into your living quarters. If you have treated them equitably, you might be able to count on their loyalty.

LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) Find out what they're up to, and see if you can pick up

AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb. 19) There's lots to be done and if you meet your deadline you'll be in your boss's good books. Emotional up and downs have caused doubts in your personal life. You will have to help family members sort out unfortunate difficulties.

PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20) Don't turn down an invitation or a challenge that could enhance your chances of meeting someone special. You may need help with your financial situation. Sudden romantic encounters are quite likely, but discretion will be a must.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

DAILY CHALLENGE

21 21

SPORTS

Bonds has momentum headed into critical trial week

By PAUL ELIAS SAN FRANCISCO Over two weeks, prosecutors methodically worked to build a credible case that Barry Bonds lied to a federal grand jury in 2003 when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs.

Then, on Thursday, prosecutors called Bonds’ orthopedic surgeon to the stand.

They regretted it almost immediately.

Legal analysts, trial watchers - even attorneys on both sides - all seemed to agree that Dr. Arthur Ting’s testimony was disastrous for the government’s case against the greatest home-run hitter in major league history and a symbol of baseball’s so-called steroids era. The question now is whether the prosecutors can still get a conviction when the trial goes to the jury, which could happen this week.

Ting hurt the prosecution because he directly and repeatedly contradicted the government’s star witness, former Bonds business partner Steve Hoskins.

In the first week of the trial, Hoskins testified that the doctor told him a 1999 elbow injury Bonds sustained was caused by steroid use.

But Ting denied saying that. Ting also denied Hoskins’ claim that the two had 50 conversations about Bonds’ alleged steroid use. Ting denied having even one

such discussion.

Federal prosecutor Jeffrey Nedrow conceded soon afterward, in an exchange with U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, that Hoskins was “impeached heavily.”

Ting was one of the last witnesses the government planned to call.

Observers said prosecutors were making good headway with the jury until then.

“With any trial it’s always the last impression that is the most important,” Robert Mintz, a prominent Newark, N.J., defense attorney, said in a phone interview. Mintz and many others have been following the trial closely as it is covered by dozens of reporters who file frequent updates throughout the court day.

Like other experts, he reached for a sports analogy to make sense of the trial’s sudden and dramatic momentum shift.

“It was the sports equivalent off coughing up the ball on the 5-yard line,” said Mintz, a federal prosecutor before going into private practice. “Suddenly, the other team has a chance to win.”

Ting’s testimony obviously buoyed Bonds’ team. Ting was even seen shaking the hands of a member of the former slugger’s entourage sitting in the first row of the courtroom after he stepped down from the witness

stand.

Bonds lead attorney Allen Ruby, usually gruff and deadly serious outside court during the trial, had a smile for reporters during a break in the proceedings after Ting’s testimony. The usually inscrutable Bonds, too, had a wide grin at the end of the trial day Thursday. the trial When resumes its critical third week Monday, the government’s last witness anti-doping expert Dr. Don Catlin is scheduled to finish testifying. Court staff is expected to read a transcript of Bonds’ grand jury testimony from December 2003, and then the defense will get to call its witnesses.

Bonds’ lawyers still have work to do.

Hoskins wasn’t the government’s only witness.

The hitter’s former mistress, Kimberly Bell, told the eight-woman, four-man jury that Bonds once told her he used steroids. She also discussed in great detail the physical and behavioral changes she saw the slugger go through that prosecutors attribute to steroid use including outbursts and threats against her.

Colorado Rockies first baseman Jason Giambi and three former players testified that Bonds’ personal trainer, Greg Anderson, had supplied them with steroids and detailed instruction on how to use them.

However, none of the players testified directly about the relationship between Bonds and Anderson, who is in jail for refusing to testify at the trial. Illston admonished the jury not use the players’ testimony as evidence that Anderson supplied Bonds with steroids.

Meanwhile, Bonds’ attorneys portrayed the ex-mistress as a scorned lover seeking revenge and they caught her in a few inconsistencies. In particular, Bell admitted that she was exaggerating when she told the grand jury that Bonds’ testicles had shrunk by half late in their relationship.

Many legal observers expect Bonds’ legal team to call just a few witnesses because they say the case is breaking Bonds’ way_ with one notable exception: count two of five in his indictment.

Bonds is charged with lying to the grand jury during his appearance in December 2003.

He was called to testify what he knew about the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative.

That grand jury ultimately indicted five men with connections to BALCO, including Anderson, on steroids distribution charges and related counts. All five pleaded guilty.

Three of Bonds’ charges accuse of him of lying when he denied knowingly taking steroids and human growth hormone.

Another count charges him with obstruction of justice.

Count two is the “needle charge” and legal observers say it’s the government’s best chance for a conviction.

Bonds is accused of lying during this exchange before the grand jury: “Did Prosecutor: Greg ever give you anything that required a syringe to inject yourself with?”

Bonds: “I only had one doctor touch me.

And that’s my only personal doctor.”

Bonds goes on to deny that Anderson - or anyone other than Ting - ever injected him with anything.

After Ting’s testimony Thursday, prosecutors called Kathy Hoskins to the stand.

She is the sister of Steve Hoskins, and worked as Bonds’ personal shopper for two years ending in 2003.

Hoskins testified that before a road trip in 2002, she saw Anderson inject Bonds in the belly button.

Hoskins came across as likable, down-toearth and - most important - credible. She said Bonds told her the injection was “a little something, something for when I go on the road.

You can’t detect it. You can’t catch it.”

On cross examination, Hoskins tearfully denied she was trying to cover up for her brother, who she claimed unfairly entangled her

in the case by falsely telling investigators she saw Anderson inject Bonds numerous times.

“He threw me under the bus,” Kathy Hoskins said, referring to her brother.

University of San Francisco law professor Bob Talbot said Kathy Hoskins’ performance may have saved the government’s case. He theorized that jurors could easily become deadlocked on the steroid charges and decide to convict Bonds only of lying about injections.

Several other observers agreed.

“The defense has to figure out a way of dealing with Kathy Hoskins’ remarks,” Vermont Law School professor Michael McCann, a sports law expert who has been following Bonds’ perjury trial closely. “They can’t appear to treat such a sympathetic witness harshly.”

Nevertheless, the consensus among lawyers sitting in on the trial and watching it from afar is that Bonds’ lawyers have worked hard to put their client in the best possible position headed toward the last week of trial.

“Right now, the Bonds legal team is in control,” McCann said.

“I think they feel confident that the government was not successful in showing beyond a reasonable doubt that Bonds’ is guilty. I expect they will present a modest defense.”

Reeling Spurs stomp Suns to end 6-game slide

By PAUL J. WEBER SAN ANTONIO George Hill scored 29 points and the San Antonio Spurs stopped the longest skid of Tim Duncan’s career, beating up the Phoenix Suns 114-97 Sunday and ending a six-game losing streak.

It was a cathartic

rout for San Antonio after going winless for two weeks and squandering a once-comfortable lead atop the Western Conference.

The win kept the Spurs at least 1 1/2 games ahead of the surging Los Angeles Lakers.

Aaron Brooks and Channing Frye had 14 points apiece for the Suns. The loss guaranteed Phoenix will miss

the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.

Matt Bonner added 16 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio (58-19), which remains the NBA’s winningest team but lost its air of dominance during the longest slide of Duncan’s 14-year career.

It came at a costly time.

San Antonio led the Lakers by seven games following its last win March 21. What followed was Duncan missing four games with a bum ankle, the Spurs choking away games late and jeopardizing the No. 1 seed that had looked all but certain.

Steve Nash stayed in Phoenix to finish getting over the flu.

Between the Suns missing their leading scorer and the Spurs desperate for a win, Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry had a bad feeling about this blowout even before it started.

“It’s going to be really important that we hang in early, because they’re going to try and knock you out of the box. They know how important this game is,” Gentry

said.

Phoenix didn’t hang in. And the Spurs knocked them out all right.

The Suns trailed by as many as 31 points, and San Antonio’s 70 first-half points were two shy of its most in a half this season. Hill scored 24 of those, tying the most points in a half for a Spurs player all season.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011 CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011 DAILY

22 22

SPORTS BRIEFS Female boxer shot by stepdad before bout in Berlin

BERLIN - An undefeated female boxer from Germany was shot in her dressing room by her stepfather before a title fight, leaving her with injuries to her hand, knee and feet.

Rola El-Halabi was struck at close range by a man who was once her manager. The injuries to the 25-year-old boxer are not life-threatening but could imperil her career.

El-Halabi was awaiting a bout with Irma Balijagic Adler of Bosnia for the vacant IBF lightweight title Friday night when her 44-year-old stepfather entered her dressing room and shot her.

He also shot two security guards before he was arrested, Berlin police said. The three victims were taken to a hospital for surgery.

Sunday’s edition of the Bild newspaper identified the gunman as Roy El-Halabi and reported that 800 spectators were evacuated from the arena.

“Papa rushed into the room,” Rola El-Halabi told the newspaper. “He threatened us with a gun in his hand and shouted ‘Everyone out!’ And then he shot me in the hand from three meters. I cried and screamed.”

Bild reported that El-Halabi split from her stepfather as a manager in January.

“When I had problems I could talk with him about anything, except when it was about boys,” El-Halabi said. “That was taboo.”

El-Halabi won the WIBF and WIBA world titles in 2009. She has an 11-0 record with six knockouts.

Jets respond to lawsuit over alleged Favre texts NEW YORK - Two massage therapists who say the New York Jets blacklisted them for objecting to randy text messages from former quarterback Brett Favre are overplaying their ties to the team, the Jets say in court documents.

Shannon O’Toole and Christina Scavo worked for the team on a combined total of five days over two years, team officials say. The team wasn’t told about the women’s concerns and simply took its massage business elsewhere when its training facility moved in 2008, Jets officials, lawyers and another massage therapist say in court filings.

“The relationship (with the team) they seek to portray could not be further from the truth,” Jets lawyer Gary H. Glaser wrote in response to a lawsuit filed by the massage therapists. A court date is set for next week.

Favre, now retired after spending his 20th NFL season with the Minnesota Vikings, hasn’t replied to the lawsuit. His agent didn’t immediately return a call Friday.

The Jets’ response doesn’t discuss the threetime MVP’s alleged behavior during his 2008 season with the team. Favre’s stint with the Jets also spurred an NFL investigation into allegations that he sent lewd messages and photos to a former Jets game hostess. Commissioner Roger Goodell said in December he couldn’t conclude from the available evidence that Favre had violated league policy, but the quarterback was fined $50,000 for not being forthright with investigators.

- JENNIFER PELTZ

DAILY CHALLENGE

SPORTS

Los Angeles wary of cost as it looks to lure NFL team

By ALEX DOBUZINSKIS LOS ANGELES - The company looking to build a football stadium in downtown Los Angeles has said time and again the project will not cost taxpayers money.

But that has not stopped officials and residents, even those who support the project, from asking: Really?

The nation’s second biggest city has been without a National Football League team since 1994.

But with the city facing a budget gap of $350 million next year, officials are vigilant about Anschutz Entertainment Group’s plans for a stadium meant to attract an NFL team.

Cities across the United States have faced similar dilemmas in recent years, as rising construction costs and dwindling public funds have raised the stakes for stadium projects.

“Everybody likes the idea of having the NFL here, and it would be great to have them back, but at what cost?” said L.A. City Councilman Paul Krekorian. “And for me, if the cost is a dime of taxpayers money, then it’s too much.”

AEG is asking the city to provide $350 million in bond financing to help cover the $1.4 billion construction of its planned Farmers Field, and the company promises the city will be refunded with, among other things, tax revenue from increased economic activity and a surcharge on tickets.

Also, AEG promises to pay cash to bridge any gap on the amount owed for the bonds each year.

Teams rumored to be considering Farmers Field, with its projected completion date of 2015, are the San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and St. Louis Rams. The Rams and Raiders were both based in the L.A.-area until 1994.

Still to be determined are such issues as how much AEG would pay to lease ground underneath the stadium, whether it will provide a letter of credit guarantee

for the $350 million and whether the city will have to cough up for infrastructure work around the project, officials said.

Robert Boland, professor of sports management at New York University, said building a stadium used to cost $500 million. But as the cost ballooned in the last decade to $1 billion, cities faced more pressure to help finance such projects.

“There are very few localities right now that have the money,” Boland said.

MAYOR’S SUPPORT AEG made its written proposal to the city in February. On Wednesday, city residents got a chance to see what the stadium would look like and to comment on the plan. Negotiations between AEG and the city have just begun.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in February that the project would “not cost taxpayers a dime.” AEG says the same thing.

“We came to them (city officials) with a proposal that was at no cost to taxpayers,” said Dan Beckerman, chief operating officer/chief financial officer for AEG. “We’re committed to that, we’ve always been committed to that.”

Farmers Field would be built on ground occupied by an aging wing of the L.A. Convention Center. AEG proposes dismantling the wing and building a replacement that would connect to the rest of the Convention Center, using the city bond money.

AEG built Staples Center, a

facility just a stone’s throw from the proposed stadium. It opened in 1999 and is home to basketball teams the Lakers and the Clippers, and the Kings hockey franchise.

City Councilwoman Jan Perry, who supports the concept of Farmers Field, said Staples Center has been great for downtown. But she said a lot needs to be worked out in the latest deal.

“This is going to be an arduous process and we’re going to have to be very meticulous in the way that we peel back the layers of this proposal,” she said.

Perry is an influential official on the project, because she represents the area where the stadium would be built.

If the project is derailed for any reason, there is another developer trying to draw an NFL team to the L.A.-area.

Ed Roski, a former partner in developing AEG’s Staples Center, is proposing to build an $800 million stadium in City of Industry, about 20 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

That and the momentum for Farmers Field mean the L.A.area stands its best shot at winning back an NFL team in years.

But even so, football fans such as Lisa Johnson, a 44 year-old postal worker and mother of two who attended the Farmers Field public comment meeting on Wednesday, remain skeptical even as they hope the stadium gets built.

“I’m sure I’m going to be paying for this somehow,” Johnson said.

CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 4, 4, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, APRIL 2011 DAILY

DAILY CHALLENGE

23 23

SPORTS

Harris, Davis lead Mets past Marlins 9-2 MIAMI - The New York Mets waited more than two months to win a series on the road last year.

This season, it took only a weekend.

Willie Harris and Ike Davis homered, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey picked up where he left off last year and the Mets beat the Florida Marlins 9-2 on Sunday to win their seasonopening series. “(Last season) we kept thinking we’ve got to win on the road, we’ve got to win on the road and the earlier you do that the more you can have the identity that you play well on the road, you can really roll with that,” Dickey said.

The Mets were 47-34 at home last season, but just 32-49 away from Citi Field. They went 28 in series rubber games on the road in 2010.

“You really have got to bear down on the road, there’s no question about it,” first-year manager Terry Collins said. “You’ve got to prepare yourself because you can get caught up in a field or stadium you’re not comfortable with and you have to grind it out.”

New York Mets Jose Reyes doubles in the first inning of play against the Florida Marlins during their MLB national league baseball game in Miami.

Dickey (1-0) allowed an unearned run and five hits, struck out seven and walked three.

The right-hander went 11-9 with a 2.84 ERA last season with the Mets, easily the best year of his career.

“He is legitimate and I think he proved that last year,” Collins said.

New York jumped all over Javier Vazquez (01), who was making his Marlins debut. Jose Reyes led off the game with a double and Harris followed with a drive over the fence in right. The Mets added another run in the first when shortstop Hanley Ramirez made an

errant throw attempting to turn an inningending double play.

“Javy Vazquez’s fastball wasn’t over the zone for a strike,” Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said.

“His secondary pitches weren’t working. When you get behind on the count that is what’s going to happen.”

Vazquez pitched a scoreless second, then unraveled after Davis hit a one-out solo drive on a 3-0 pitch in the third.

“It was probably a ball,” Davis said. “I probably shouldn’t have swung at it.”

The next four batters

reached.

Daniel Murphy hit an RBI double and Josh Thole was intentionally walked before Edward Mujica replaced Vazquez, who is coming off a disappointing season with the New York Yankees Dickey came to the plate with the bases loaded and hit a soft grounder to third baseman Emilio Bonifacio, who sailed an easy throw home over John Buck’s head. Two runners scored to make it 7-0.

“This club has been built on pitching and defense and we failed in both departments,” Rodriguez said.

New York Mets' Willie Harris connects for a two-run home run.

Vazquez, who signed a $7 millon, one-year contract over the winter, was charged with seven runs, four earned, and six hits. He also walked five.

“Nothing was working,” Vazquez said. “I was behind the count a lot and was not commanding the ball. Too

many balls over the plate - you can’t do that in the big leagues or you’re going to pay.”

Gaby Sanchez had three hits and drove in a run for the Marlins, who beat New York 6-2 in the opener on Friday.

Omar Infante and Bonifacio had two hits apiece.

Cab r era, T ige rs win lo ng- ball derby over Yanke es

By HOWIE RUMBERG NEW YORK - Miguel Cabrera hit a pair of two-run homers, Brennan Boesch had a two-run shot among four hits and four RBIs, and the Detroit Tigers outslugged the New York Yankees 10-7 Sunday for their first win of the season.

Boesch matched a career high with four hits, scored four runs and had a sacrifice fly as the Tigers rebounded from a 10-6 loss Saturday without No. 3

hitter Magglio Ordonez in the lineup. The right fielder sat because his surgically repaired ankle was sore.

Jorge Posada smashed a pair of tworun homers, Mark Teixeira connected for the third straight game and Robinson Cano hit his first of the season for New York, which was trying for its first 3-0 start since 2003.

The teams combined for seven home runs - five to right field - on a day the flags above the lights were blowing out toward right.

Max Scherzer out-

lasted Phil Hughes (0-1) in a matchup of young stars with neither getting a perfect inning in their season debuts.

Scherzer (1-0) gave up six runs and nine hits in five innings - after allowing 20 earned runs in 17 1-3 innings this spring. The first of only two 1-2-3 innings didn’t come until Detroit reliever Phil Coke retired three in a row in the sixth.

Jose Valverde pitched the ninth and retired Posada with a popup to center with a runner on for his first save.

Cabrera kicked off a

game of long-ball derby in the first by lining a 12 pitch from Hughes over a section of seats and into the bleachers in left field for a 2-0 lead. He hit a drive a little farther in the third inning for his 19th career multihomer game. Cabrera’s previous multihomer game came at Yankee Stadium last Aug. 18.

Cabrera enjoys facing the Yankees. He has at least one hit in all three games in this series and has hit safely in 25 of 26 games against New York.

Hughes tied for the

major league lead for homers allowed at home last year with 20.

Ahead of Cabrera’s second homer, Boesch lined an RBI single after Austin Jackson led off the inning with a walk and stolen base.

But Scherzer couldn’t keep the ball in the park in the bottom half.

Teixeria and Robinson Cano connected around a strike out for Alex Rodriguez. Don Kelly leaped at the wall in the short right field both times but came up empty, and the Yankees pulled to 5-4.

Posada had made it 2-

all in the second with a drive into the seconddeck in right field for his first homer in his new role as the Yankees’ full-time designated hitter. He connected for another tworun shot in the fifth pull New York to 7-6.

Bartolo Colon relieved Hughes after the fourth for his first appearance in the big leagues since July 24, 2009, with the Chicago White Sox against Detroit. A surprise success story in spring training, Colon won the long reliever role in the Yankees’ bullpen.

DAILY CHALLENGE

S SP PO OR RT TS S MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011

THE UNLIKELYS: BUTLER AND UCONN PLAY FOR IT ALL

By EDDIE PELLS HOUSTON - Butler coach Brad Stevens loves an underdog, whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s his team back in the Final Four or Connecticut making an unprecedented five-games-infive-nights run through the Big East tournament.

Wait, what?

A Big East team as an underdog?

Tiny Butler cheering for big, bad UConn?

Welcome to the bizarro world of college basketball in 2011 - a sport where not only is anything possible, but where nothing quite makes sense.

Butler and Connecticut will meet

Shelvin Mac k Monday in the national title game the eighth-seeded Bulldogs trying to finish the deal after coming oh-soclose last season and the third-seeded Huskies talking about shocking the world with their 11th straight victory after a regular season that foreshadowed none of this.

Ke m b a W a l k e r