Vol 40, No 41. Tusday April 26th, 2011

CRITICS QUESTION EFFECTIVENESS OF U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION - PG. 2 NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION

THE NATION’S ONLY BLACK DAILY 35 Cents

Final

NIGERIA PREPARES FOR LAST VOTE SEE

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With hundreds already killed and others frightened from the ballot box, Nigerians are being asked to vote today in the nation’s volatile gubernatorial elections, this time

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choosing the pivotal politicians who control billions of dollars in oil money. Photo: A woman casts her vote during an election at a polling station in Ibadan, Nigeria.

WWW.DAILYCHALLENGENEWS.COM

DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

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N EW S BR I EF S STUDY: NEW YORK HAS UNHAPPY RESIDENTS BUT LOW SUICIDE RATE New Yorkers take their own lives less often than any other Americans, but that does not mean they are happy, according to a new study that finds a corollary between suicide rates and well-being.

Researchers from Hamilton College in Clinton and England’s University of Warwick found that the stereotype of the gruff, uncheerful New Yorker is spot on, as the state ranks in the bottom 10 percent of the country for residents’ well-being.

The good news is New York has the lowest suicide rate in the country.

Utah was rated to have the happiest residents, but it also has one of the country’s highest suicide rates.

Researchers say that is because depression is magnified if the person who suffers from it is surrounded by happy people.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY REINSTATES ROTC PROGRAM After a 40-year absence, Columbia University is reinstating its Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

Columbia University President Lee Bollinger announced the decision to bring back the military’s ROTC in an email sent to students and faculty Friday.

The program was cut when Columbia joined a list of elite universities that cut ties with the military to protest the Vietnam War. In more recent years, the university has cited the military’s ban on allowing gays to serve openly as a reason to keep ROTC out.

However, Bollinger said the program will resume after the repeal of the so-called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy goes into effect.

The decision came after the university senate overwhelmingly voted to reinstate the ROTC. TURKISH AUTOMAKER PLEDGES TO BUILD NEW CITY TAXIS IN BROOKLYN The city’s “Taxi of Tomorrow” could be built right here in Brooklyn.

As the Taxi and Limousine Commission prepares to make its decision on the city’s next official cab, the Turkish manufacturer Karsan is dangling a big economic development carrot.

Karsan says it will build its vehicles at a plant in the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal according to a media report.

Karsan, one of three companies in the final selection process, says the assembly line could create as many as 800 jobs in the borough.

Ford and Nissan also have competing designs, but neither has made the same pledge.

The “Taxi of Tomorrow” will replace 16 different vehicle models currently used as cabs.

The workhorse Crown Victoria has been discontinued.

Critics question effectiveness of U.S. Civil Rights Commission Special to the NNPA from America’s Wire WASHINGTON — Halfway through his term, President Barack Obama is moving to wrest control of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights from Republican appointees, but questions are being raised about its future and its ability to create a better America for victims of discrimination.

Due to what critics say is its unworkable structure, the commission has been largely ineffective in addressing civil rights issues, even with the recent addition of three Democratic members. An appointee of former president George W. Bush serves as the panel’s staff director, and Bush or Republican congressional leaders chose a majority of its members.

Commissioners unanimously elected a recent Obama appointee, Martin Castro, the new chairman on March 11. A Mexican American, Castro is president of Castro Synergies, based in Chicago. Abigail Thernstrom, a Republican appointee, is vice chairman.

Still, critics have been pressing for adjustments that could end partisan gridlock while expanding the mission. “The commission of the 21st century can’t be the commission we had 50 years ago,” says Wade Henderson, president and chief executive officer of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the Leadership Conference Fund.

The federal commission was created a half century ago to be an inde-

pendent, bipartisan monitor empowered to investigate civil rights issues, publish reports, and advocate for fairer treatment of all citizens. But, civil rights leaders say that under Bush, the panel strayed far from its original mission, ignoring such major developments as treatment of Black residents of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina while instead focusing on conservative ideological issues that reflected Bush administration positions.

Obama designated Castro as chairman and can designate a staff director, who can take office only with the support of a commission majority. A Democratic congressional appointment is also pending, which would give the panel the full complement of eight members, split evenly between Republican and Democratic appointees.

The main civil rights lobby in Washington contends that those steps would still fall short of making the commission an effective body that, in the past, helped to shape the contours of such major legislation as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination Act of 1978 and Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights has called for a legislative makeover that would require Senate confirmation of appointees, reset the membership at an odd number to avoid partisan deadlock and expand the commission’s oversight to include gay rights and domestic obligations under international human rights treaties.

Those pacts include guarantees not specified in federal law, such as the right to a quality public education.

Mary Frances Berry, a former chairwoman who wrote a 2009 book about the commission, endorses the proposal for new legislation but says the advisory panel is not worth preserving in its current form.

“It is sort of useless, to tell you the truth. What is it good for?” asks Berry, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “I don’t see any change occurring until the statute is changed.”

Henderson also criticizes the commission’s performance in recent years but does not support scrapping it soon.

“There have been some who think it’s better to put it out of its misery and defund it,” Henderson says. “I’m not a supporter of that. If we would kill the Civil Rights Commission, it would never be recreated.”

Lenore Ostrowsky, the commission’s spokeswoman, says the panel and its staff are working on reports about disparate impact in student disciplinary actions by schools, age discrimination in the workplace, disparities in health care, the legality of requiring workers to speak English on the job and sex discrimination in liberal arts college admissions, including whether they have favored men.

Henderson and Berry concede that new legislation to revamp the commission is unlikely to pass Congress soon since conservative Republicans dominate the House. Henderson maintains that the panel can be reformed from within if the Obama administration can compromise with at least one Republican appointee on a

Georgina Ngozi, the newly appointed president and CEO of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, was a special guest at a recent meeting of the Vanguard Independent Democrats Association.

Ngozi succeeds Carol Enseki in the museum post. The appointment also brings her back to the museum where she previously served as

director of education from 2002 to 2006.

“We were honored to have her address the group,” said Councilman Al Vann, who noted that Ngosi was appointed to the museum post following a nationwide search.

Ngosi’s career is filled with positions that focus on children, including executive jobs at children’s

museums in Houston, Tx., and Charleston, S.C. Photo: Members of the Vanguard Independent Democrats Association listen intently during an address by Georgina Ngosi, the new president and CEO of the Brooklyn Children's Museum.

By KENNETH J. COOPER

Continued on page 3

Photo: Lem Peterkin

DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

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After hundreds die, Nigeria prepares for last vote

By JON GAMBRELL UYO, Nigeria — With hundreds already killed and others frightened from the ballot box, Nigerians are being asked to vote today in the nation’s volatile gubernatorial elections, this time choosing the pivotal politicians who control billions of dollars in oil money.

Religious tensions are high in Africa’s most populous nation after riots erupted across the country’s predominantly Muslim north last week when results showed Christian President Goodluck Jonathan had clinched the election. Angry mobs set fire to houses where election workers were staying, and young female poll staffers were raped while charred corpses lined highways.

Today’s gubernatorial vote is the final ballot in Nigeria, following weeks of legislative and presidential elections that ultimately forced some 40,000 people to flee their home.

Election officials postponed the governors’ races in the two northern states hardest hit by postelection but vowed to press ahead with ballots elsewhere.

“Some have paid the ultimate price for democracy and I am sure that I speak the minds of all Nigerians if I say that the nation will be eternally grateful to them,” Attahiru Jega, chief of Nigeria’s Independent Election Commission has said. “One way of immortalizing them is to ensure that we complete the remaining elections successfully and not succumb to the designs of people who want to scuttle our collective aspiration for a strong, united and democratic country.”

The gubernatorial races carry even more weight though because governors represent the closest embodiment of power many ever see in a nation of 150 million people. The positions provide many politicians personal fiefdoms where oil money

sluices into unwatched state coffers that exceed those of neighboring nations. Meanwhile, hospital shelves remain barren of drugs and decaying schools have no teachers.

Twenty-nine states will hold their gubernatorial elections today, while some delayed federal legislative polls also will be held at the same time.

Five states will not hold gubernatorial races after a court decision before the presidential election extended the tenure of those seated there.

However, questions remain about who will even be manning the polling stations. Most election workers come from Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps, a mandatory yearlong assignment for all Nigerians who graduate from university before the age of 30. Many have fled from the assignments after the violence that swept across Nigeria’s north left their colleagues beaten, raped or killed.

That violence, apparently started

by Muslims supporting opposition candidate and former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, left at least 500 people dead though government officials have declined to release a toll for fear of inciting more riots.

After the first wave of killings, Christians launched reprisal attacks

that killed Muslims as well.

In northern states, where Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change remains strong, some worry more violence could accompany today’s election as its supporters vote against the ruling People’s Democratic Party led by the country’s Christian president.

Nigeria’s northeast also remains at risk, as an explosion at a hotel killed three people and wounded 14 others in the city of Maiduguri on Sunday, police said yesterday. While no one claimed responsibility for that attack, a radical Muslim sect recently vowed to keep fighting there.

Violence also remains likely in the country’s oil-rich Niger Delta, a region of swamplands and mangroves about the size of South Carolina. Akwa Ibom state, home to many oil fields operated by the Nigerian subsidiary of U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp., already has seen rioters burn cars and torch a campaign office for Jonathan in recent weeks.

The region remains awash in military-grade assault rifles and weapons from a long-running militancy, though attacks on oil companies dropped after a 2009 government-sponsored amnesty program.

Akwa Ibom also is a state where

open and flagrant rigging took place during Nigeria’s fatally flawed 2007 elections. At one polling station that year, an election official shoved an entire booklet of ballots, already prevoted, into a ballot box as a European Union observer watched.

Maria Owi, the chief official of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Akwa Ibom, said she hoped rigging “is reduced” with this election. She made the comment Monday after turning over a newspaper on her desk with a bold headline already accusing an election official of corruption.

“The major players are the politicians. They should make sure they should not make any attempts to rig the election,” Owi told The Associated Press. “They encourage these youths to be violent. I’m sure the youths cannot go out on their own and be violent.”

Around the state capital Uyo, about 360 miles (577 kilometers) from Nigeria’s commercial capital of Lagos, the face of Gov. Godswill Akpabio bears down from billboards and banners, asking voters to allow “God’s will be done again.” Akpabio is the ruling party candidate, his main opposition coming from Action Congress of Nigeria candidate John James Akpan Udoedehe.

Udoedehe has faced treason and murder charges in recent weeks stemming from the unrest, charges his lawyer describe as political smears. Udoedehe recently received bail and will be free today to cast his own vote.

Yesterday, police raided a weekly newspaper, arresting members of its staff. Yet many hope this election would be different, like Mfon’Obon Jackson, 45, who has walked the streets in her neighborhood in the past, ringing a bell to call people out to vote.

“Democracy: we dey laugh, we dey dance,” Jackson said in pidgin English. “It’s not a matter of fighting.”

Critics question effectiveness of U.S. Civil Rights Commission Continued from page 2 new staff director and general counsel, now that his choice as chairman has been installed.

Obama took a first step in January, naming two new commissioners: Castro and Roberta Achtenberg, a prominent advocate of gay rights and former Clinton administration official.

Commissioners are appointed for a term of six years.

In December, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, appointed Dina Titus, a Democratic congresswoman from Nevada who had lost a bid for a second term in November. She has been an advocate for people with disabilities.

Including those members, Republican appointees hold a 4-3 majority on the commission. Thernstrom, a Republican who is an adjunct scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, was acting chairwoman until Castro’s election.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights has praised the Obama appointees as “eminently qual-

ified.” Henderson interprets selection of Achtenberg, in particular, as a signal that Obama supports extending the commission’s mandate to include gay rights.

“The fact that he chose someone openly gay for that seat is a sign he acknowledges the mission needs to be expanded,” Henderson says.

Berry, however, was less impressed with Castro and Titus. She suggests that their appointments resemble political patronage because Castro is from Obama’s home state and Titus is from Reid’s. “That’s what you do with commissions that you don’t care about,” Berry says.

On Jan. 7, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi nominated Michael Yaki, a San Francisco lawyer, for a second term on the commission, a Pelosi spokesman said in an e-mail.

Yaki, a former senior adviser to Pelosi, is from Pelosi’s home state, California. His nomination awaits action

by House Speaker John Boehner, ROhio. A spokesman said in an e-mail on Feb. 28 that Boehner’s office was

“still working through the appointment process.”

Henderson and Berry support making civil rights commissioners subject to Senate confirmation, as they were until the 1980s, in an effort to assure that nominees are qualified individuals of stature.

Berry says the 1983 compromise legislation that split nominating authority between the president and Congress, with Senate confirmation no longer required, “led to the decline in the stature of the people on the commission.” She acknowledges that reinstating Senate confirmations runs counter to Reid’s push to reduce the overall number of nominations on which the chamber must vote.

The panel lost its previous independence and bipartisan cooperation during the Reagan administration and again under George W. Bush, Berry writes in her 2009 book, “And Justice for All: The United States Commission on Civil Rights and the Continuing Struggle for Freedom in America.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil

Rights draws the same conclusions in its 2009 proposal for revamping the commission, titled “Restoring the Conscience of a Nation.”

The current staff director, Martin Dannenfelser, was a Bush administration official and, before that, a staff member at the conservative Family Research Council.

Curtiss Reed Jr., chairman of the Vermont advisory committee until the commission ousted him in December, criticizes Obama for leaving Dannenfelser in place and says he “should have been replaced the day after Obama was inaugurated.”

Henderson says Obama has not had certain votes on the commission to ratify a replacement for Dannenfelser.

Thernstrom was elevated from vicechair to chair when the term of Gerald A. Reynolds ended in December. She declined to comment about prospects for Obama installing new leadership.

The White House press office did not respond to requests for comment on Obama’s plans for designating staff director.

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DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

FORUM

New CRL research: Mark-ups on cars cost Americans $25.8 billion

By CHARLENE CROWELL

THOMAS H. WATKINS

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Each year when warmer weather signals that spring is about to arrive, annual rituals like spring breaks from school and spring cleaning welcome the new season. For auto dealers, the spring season signals the time when customers begin to shop lots and visit showrooms more often. Friendly salespeople beckon shoppers to see new cars, learn about vehicle options and more.

But, before getting caught up in new car fever, consumers would be well-served to learn more about financing cars before buying one. Under the Hood: Auto Loan Interest Rate Hikes Inflate Consumer Costs

and Loan Losses, the Center for Responsible Lending’s newest research report on auto financing, finds that consumers pay more than $25.8 billion in interest rate markups over the lives of their loans. Beyond higher mark-ups, poor credit ratings can lock consumers into finance rates so high that repossessions become the norm, rather than the exception.

According to the report, “Repossession rates for dealerfinancing have been nearly double the rates of direct auto lending in recent history.”

Through an analysis of 25 auto finance companies that together accounted for 1.7 million vehicle finance accounts by the end of 2009, CRL discovered that although vehicle sales declined by 20 percent from

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2007 to 2009, the total markup volume during this same period grew 24 percent from $20.8 billion in 2007.

CRL identified and ranked each of the 50 states in terms of dealer markups. The five states with the highest dealer markups are: California ($2.6B), Texas ($2.18B), New York ($1.58B), Florida ($1.49B) and Pennsylvania ($1.2B). To view the full ranking for all 50 states, go to: http://www.responsiblelending.org/other-consumer-loans/autofinancing/tools-resources/ratemarkup-volume-by-state.html.

Vehicle markup is sometimes termed “dealer reserve” or “dealer participation”. Regardless of which term used, it is the way dealers compensate for time

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DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

Money and mouth can’t make a lie true

By TONYAA WEATHERSBEE I guess Donald Trump doesn’t see why the Koch brothers get to have all the fun.

For some time now, the ultra-conservative billionaire brothers have been bankrolling the Tea Party – a movement of anti-government white people who don’t mind working against their best interests so that rich people can get richer.

But while Charles and David Koch have found a place with the tea baggers, Trump, the billionaire and potential GOP candidate, has hopped on the crazy mobile with yet another group of disaffected white people.

Those people would be the birthers – people who are bent on not allowing reality to disrupt their notions of white supremacy.

They are people who are obsessed with trying to prove that President Obama can’t be legit; that for a black man to have won such a high office in a nation that, up until 2008, they thought only people like them had a right to rule, there must have been some chicanery involved.

And they’re mostly Republicans.

Back in February, Public Policy Polling found that 51 percent of like-

ly GOP 2012 primary voters believe that Obama was born outside of the United States. No matter that Obama’s birth certificate is posted online or that Politifact.com and other factchecking organizations have actually examined the original one. Or that his birth on Aug. 4, 1961 was announced in not one, but two Hawaii newspapers.

The people who don’t believe the president was born here (or who have doubts that he was born here) are pretty much like the old white ladies who clutch their purse tighter or get off the elevator when a black man gets on. It doesn’t matter if he is wearing a suit or paying more attention to his Blackberry than to them.

All that matters to them is that he’s a Black man who has no right to scare them by daring to be in their space.

That’s the way birthers feel about a Black man being in their White House. Obama’s presence there has made them crazy.

And when that many people allow racism to make them stupid, for Trump, that means there’s a whole new population of ignoramuses to exploit.

In 2009, right after Obama was elected, the Tea Party movement was formed. It’s a movement that, for the

Cars cost Americans $25.8B Continued from page 4 spent in putting a financing deal together. As many consumers are unaware as to how much financing they could actually qualify for, or that the dealer is charging them extra for the service, the markup is often a hidden cost to the consumer.

Using 2009 auto industry data, CRL found the average rate markup was $714 overall, some markups totaled nearly $1,700 in extra interest payments during the life of a car loan.

Further, larger markups occurred on longer-term loans and loans for used vehicles.

This new report follows up on developments from earlier research that showed that more than 54 percent of African-Americans are charged dealer kickbacks, compared to only 31 percent for White customers resulting in $20 billion in overcharges each year. Since that time, a large but limited class action settlement addressed those disparities. According to CRL now is a critical time to keep an eye on dealer practices to ensure that the recent history of racial targeting does not repeat itself.

For most households, transportation costs are second only to that of housing. So, it just makes sense to know how to avoid a higher interest rate for a car loan. Just as consumers shopping for a mortgage are well-advised to take their time to find the best deal, consumers shopping for vehicles should do the same. Most

importantly, remember that every consumer has the right to take home and thoroughly review the entire package of financing before making a commitment.

If consumers were to first shop for financing, they would learn their credit scores, current competitive rates on loans and how much of a loan is affordable in comparison to their other expenses and debts. Most importantly, an informed consumer would be able to better negotiate with a dealer and know whether a dealership’s claim that a given rate is truly the best one available.

CRL also offers convenient and useful resources for anyone considering a car loan. Signs of predatory auto loans, (http://www.responsiblelending.org/other-consumerloans/auto-financing/toolsresources/signs-of-predatory-autoloans.html) include a fact sheet, more information on dealer reserves and a web-based auto dealer markup calculator allows consumers to enter specific information to learn how much of a dealer markup is included in a car loan.

Beyond enjoying a new car, be satisfied in knowing you got the best deal for your family.

— Charlene Crowell is the Center for Responsible Lending’s communications manager for state policy and outreach. She can be reached at: Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.

most part, caters to white people who have decided that since a Black man runs the government, they no longer want to do what’s needed to make it run – like pay taxes. No matter that those taxes support Medicare and other programs they rely on.

The Koch brothers don’t like taxes either. So they’re cool with bankrolling the tea partiers’ animus against the president – because they can buy their own motorized carts.

So now, we have Trump and the birthers.

What’s sad is that if Trump truly believes that Obama wasn’t born in the U.S., that may actually endear him to some Republicans. In a recent

NBC/Wall Street Journal poll of likely GOP primary voters, he tied for second place with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Against that surreality, Trump doesn’t seem like a loony, but as an empathizer with enough money and energy to hire investigators, to go on television shows and to add legitimacy to their absurdities - as if his money and mouth can turn a lie into the truth.

Yet, I don’t believe that Trump has discovered birtherism as much as he’s discovered what the Koch brothers have found: A sizable population of fearful white people to pimp. By doing so, The Donald stays in the spotlight.

And if you’re a billionaire whose flamboyancy has played - and continues to play - a huge role in building your empire, the spotlight is never a bad thing.

Smarter on crime

By JUDGE GREG MATHIS The nation’s decades long war on drugs and ‘tough on crime’ posture has failed to reduce crime rates and control the rising prison population.

Additionally, our current crime fighting strategy puts us at a disadvantage in other critical sectors, namely education. Knowing what we now know, it is clear that it’s beyond time to take a different approach on crime…a smarter one.

According to a recently released NAACP report entitled “Misplaced Priorities: Over Incarcerate and Under Educate,” state spending on prisons in the last 20 years grew six times faster than education spending. In fact, 33 states increased prison spending in 2009 while simultaneously reducing education funding.

Much of this increase in prison spending can be blamed on mandatory sentencing laws that require mandatory jail time for even lowlevel, non-violent offenses rob the sentencing judge of the ability to hand down a punishment that is more suitable to the crime. Instead, offenders who might be better served in a drug rehab program are

sent to prison, causing prison populations to go up and requiring prison budgets to increase in order to keep up with the ‘demand’.

As states around the country are forced to make tough cuts to balance their budgets, very few are pulling funds from those allocated for prisons. Instead, they are pulling money from education, healthcare and social services programs that serve those in need. This is definitely not the right approach.

Reducing the prison population and, in turn, reducing prison budgets, stabilizes state budgets so that other key programs won’t have to take such hard hits. Restoring the judge’s ability to use creative sentencing for non-violent offenders is one way to reduce prison populations around the country. Employing alternative sentencing methods, such as home confinement and drug treatment, is another.

Our priorities as a nation are currently skewed…we are placing far more emphasis on incarcerating people than we are on educating and healing them. By taking a smarter approach to crime, one that looks for lower cost ways to punish and rehabilitate offenders, we can free up billions of dollars that can be put to much better use.

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DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

Court won’t speed up Obama healthcare law ruling

By JAMES VICINI WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court rejected yesterday a request to speed up a ruling on President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul, his signature domestic achievement that has provoked a fierce political and legal battle.

The justices turned down the state of Virginia’s request to invoke a rarely used procedure to bypass the normal appeals process and speed up a Supreme Court ruling on the law’s constitutionality.

The justices’ widely expected decision to allow the sweeping law to be considered first by an appeals court under the regular process probably puts off any Supreme Court review until its 2011-12 term that begins in October.

Legal and financial analysts said a top court ruling could come before the 2012 U.S. elections, in which the politically charged law could face renewed criticism from Republicans and could emerge as a major issue as Obama seeks re-election.

Several federal trial judges around the nation have upheld the law but others have declared it unconstitutional on the grounds Congress overstepped its authority in requiring that Americans start buying health insurance in 2014 or pay a penalty.

Those rulings have been appealed with arguments set in May before a U.S. appeals court based in Virginia, in early June before appeals courts in Cincinnati and Atlanta and in September in Washington, D.C. After the appeals courts have ruled, the legal battle is expected to return to the Supreme Court.

Paroled robber suspected of planting bomb near Columbine

By KEITH COFFMAN DENVER — The FBI on Sunday identified a recently paroled bank robber as the man suspected of planting a bomb at a crowded shopping mall near Columbine High School last week on the 12th anniversary of the school massacre.

Earl Albert Moore, 65, who remains at large, “is considered armed and dangerous and has an extensive criminal background,” the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force said in a news release.

Previously described as a “person of interest” in the investigation and pictured in surveillance camera images released to the public last

week, the FBI said Moore is suspected of placing a pipe bomb near two propane tanks at the Southwest Plaza mall in suburban Denver on April 20.

Firefighters responding to a fire at the mall discovered the explosive device.

The mall, occupied by an estimated 10,000 employees and shoppers at the time, was evacuated as a precaution. But the bomb did not go off, no one was hurt, and the blaze caused minimal damage to the retail complex, located about a mile from Columbine.

Moore was paroled from federal prison on April 13 after serving time for his conviction in the 2005 robbery of a West Virginia bank, according to the U.S. Bureau

of Prisons.

He was originally sentenced to 18 years in prison, but a federal judge cut his sentence to seven years at the behest of prosecutors who said Moore had provided them with “substantial assistance in investigating or prosecuting another person.”

Federal law enforcement officials have called the planned mall bombing an act of “domestic terrorism.”

The suspect, initially referred to as a “person of interest” sought for questioning, appeared in still photos and video footage captured by surveillance cameras as a man with a mustache, baseball cap and dark jacket carrying a plastic grocery bag in one hand.

On Sunday, the FBI identified Moore as the target of their manhunt and released booking photographs of Moore from a prior arrest.

The latest series of photos show Moore with multiple tattoos on his arms, including one of a Viking, a dagger, and what appears to be a rose.

Police were probing the similarity to the devices placed in the mall to those that students Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris had in their arsenal when they stormed Columbine High on April 20, 1999.

The two heavily armed seniors — just weeks shy of graduation — shot dead 12 other students, a teacher and themselves. It was at that time the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

Moore is described as bald, between 6 feet and 6-feet-2 inches tall weighing between 200 and 225 pounds.

The FBI said Moore goes by several aliases, including John Lindzy, Earl Buchanan, Donald Morelli and Gary Steele.

Leaked Guantanamo files reveal detainee details WASHINGTON — A cache of classified U.S. military documents provides intelligence assessments on nearly all of the 779 people who been detained at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

The secret documents, made available to The New York Times and several other news organizations, reveal that most of the 172 remaining prisoners have been rated as a “high risk” of posing a threat to the United States and its allies if released without adequate rehabilitation and supervision, the newspaper said.

The documents, provided

by WikiLeaks, also show about a third of the 600 detainees already sent to other countries were also designated “high risk” before they were freed or passed to the custody of other governments, the Times said in its report late on Sunday.

The dossiers, prepared under the Bush administration, also show the seat-ofthe-pants intelligence gathering in war zones that led to the incarcerations of innocent men for years in cases of mistaken identity or simple misfortune, the Times said.

The documents are largely silent about the use of the harsh interrogation tactics at Guantanamo that drew global condemnation, the

A Guantanamo detainee runs inside an exercise area at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base. newspaper reported.

President Barack Obama pledged two years ago to close the prison at U.S. naval base in Cuba but it remains in legal limbo.

Obama administration officials condemned the leaking of the documents but said the material is out of date.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell and State Department envoy Dan Fried said in a joint statement that the administration’s Guantanamo review panel, established in Janu-

ary 2009, had made its own assessments.

“The assessments of the Guantanamo Review Task Force have not been compromised to Wikileaks. Thus, any given DAB (Detainee Assessment Briefs) illegally obtained and released by WikiLeaks may or may not represent the current view of a given detainee,” the statement said.

This was the latest batch of secret U.S. documents dumped by WikiLeaks, which had previously released classified Pentagon

reports on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and 250,000 State Department cables.

Bradley Manning, a 23year-old U.S. soldier accused of leaking secret documents to WikiLeaks has been detained since May of last year.

The Guantanamo detention camp was opened to house prisoners captured in the U.S.-led Afghan war launched by President George W. Bush soon after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

DAILY D CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

INTERNATIONAL

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Syria sends tanks into Deraa where uprising began

By KHALED YACOUB OWEIS & SULEIMAN AL-KHALIDI AMMAN - Syrian troops and tanks poured into Deraa yesterday, seeking to crush resistance in the city where a month-long uprising against the autocratic 11-year rule of President Bashar alAssad first erupted.

A prominent activist said at least 18 people were killed in the first reported use of tanks inside a population center since peaceful prodemocracy demonstrations began in the southern city, close to the border with Jordan, on March 18.

The White House, deploring “brutal violence used by the government of Syria against its people,” said President Barack Obama’s administration was considering targeted sanctions to make clear that “this behavior is unacceptable.”

A U.S. official said that measures under consideration included a freeze on assets and a ban on U.S. business dealings.

Security forces have killed more than 350 civilians across Syria since unrest broke out in Deraa, rights groups say. A third of the victims were shot in the past three days as the scale and breadth of a popular revolt against Assad grew.

Assad lifted Syria’s 48-year state of emergency on Thursday but activists say the violence the following day, when 100 people were killed during protests across the country, showed he was not serious about addressing calls for political freedom.

A leading human rights campaigner said security forces, which also swept into the restive Damascus suburbs of Douma and Mouadhamiya, shooting and making arrests, were waging “a savage war designed to annihilate Syria’s democrats.” yesterday’s raids suggested Assad, who assumed power when his father died in 2000 after ruling Syria with an iron fist for 30 years, was determined to crush the opposition by force.

Opposition activist

Ammar Qurabi, in contact with the Syrian opposition from Egypt, said at least 18 people were killed by gunfire and tank shelling in Deraa alone, with many more wounded or missing.

State news agency SANA said the army entered Deraa in response to “appeals for help” from residents and to protect them from “extremist terrorist groups.” It said clashes had led to fatalities on both sides, without giving details.

TANKS OUTSIDE MOSQUE Earlier, a witness in Deraa told Reuters he could see bodies lying in a main street near the Omari mosque after eight tanks and two armored vehicles were deployed in the old quarter.

“People are taking cover in homes. I could see two bodies near the mosque and no one was able to go out and drag them away,” the witness said.

Snipers were posted on government buildings, and security forces in army fatigues had shot at random at houses since the tanks

moved in just after dawn prayers, the witness said.

Tanks at the main entry points to Deraa also shelled targets in the city, a resident named Mohsen told Al Jazeera, which showed images of a black cloud of smoke over buildings. “People can’t move from one street to another because of the shelling.”

Abdallah Abazaid, another activist, told Al Arabiya television there were “20 martyrs,” and that five officers and 10 soldiers refused orders to shoot residents.

“They have quit their positions because they found us unarmed,” Abazaid said. His comments about army defections could not be confirmed but another witness told Al Jazeera that a unit commander and his troops fired on their own side, apparently to allow people to drag the wounded from the street.

“I hope that Arab and Muslim nations support the Syrian people. The Syrian people are standing alone, unarmed and unequipped, before an arsenal,” the imam of Deraa’s Omari mosque

Taliban free hundreds in brazen Afghan jailbreak

By AHMAD NADEEM K A N D A H A R , Afghanistan - Hundreds of prisoners escaped from a jail in Afghanistan’s south yesterday through a tunnel dug by Taliban insurgents, officials said, a “disaster” for the Afghan government and a setback for foreign forces planning to start a gradual withdrawal within months.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s chief spokesman told a news conference the incident, in which many Taliban commanders were said to have escaped, exposed serious vulnerabilities in the Afghan government.

“This is a blow, it is something that should not have happened. We are looking into finding out ... what exactly happened and what is being done to compensate for the disaster that happened in the prison,” spokesman Waheed Omer said.

Tooryalai Wesa, governor of

volatile southern Kandahar province, told Reuters 488 prisoners escaped due to the negligence of Afghan security forces at the province’s main jail. He said the tunnel led to a nearby house.

General Ghulam Dastgir, the governor in charge of the jail, said the prisoners had all escaped through the tunnel.

“No one managed to escape through the main gate, everybody went out through the tunnel. The insurgents worked on it for some seven months,” Dastgir said.

“The Taliban have planted bombs inside the tunnel and it is hard to investigate until the explosives are removed,” he said.

HOLE CUT THROUGH CONCRETE Later yesterday, reporters were taken into the prison to view the opening of the tunnel in one of the cell blocks.

Reuters photographs showed a hole, several feet deep, cut into the concrete floor of one of the cells. The hole, big enough to

allow one man to climb down at a time, appeared to be connected to a tunnel.

A large carpet in the cell looked to have been folded back to expose the hole. Police told reporters the insurgents had used car jacks to break through the concrete floor, which was several centimeters thick.

The Taliban said in a statement 541 prisoners escaped through the tunnel which took months to construct, and were later moved in vehicles to safer locations.

It said the prisoners escaped over a four-and-a-half hour period during the night, meaning more than 100 prisoners an hour would have had to crawl out through a tunnel barely large enough to fit one man.

“Mujahideen started digging a 320-meter tunnel to the prison from the south side, which was completed after a five-month period, bypassing enemy checkposts and the Kandahar-Kabul main highway leading directly to the political prison,” the Taliban statement said.

said in footage broadcast by Al Jazeera.

Foreign journalists have mostly been expelled from the country, making it impossible to verify the situa-

tion on the ground.

Grisly footage posted on the Internet by demonstrators in recent days appears to show troops firing on unarmed crowds.

India arrests ex-games chief as telecoms case widens

By DEVIDUTTA TRIPATHY & RATNAJYOTI DUTTA NEW DELHI - Indian police arrested the former chief organizer of the Delhi Commonwealth Games yesterday as part of a crackdown on corruption, embarrassing the government as it fights major state polls.

Suresh Kalmadi, also a senior lawmaker from the ruling Congress Party, was sacked in November after games organizers were accused of manipulating contracts and inflating bills in an event which was meant to showcase India’s rise as a global power but was instead beset by problems.

Hours after his arrest yesterday, Kalmadi was suspended from the Congress Party, a party spokesman told Reuters.

In a separate case, the daughter of a key ally in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government was among those charged yesterday with taking bribes in a multi-billion dollar telecoms licensing scandal, which may strain the coalition and weaken its chances at the ballot box.

Kalmadi’s arrest puts under renewed scrutiny the $6 billion sporting event last October which became embroiled in rows over leaking stadiums, filthy athletes’ accommodation and inflated tenders for equipment including treadmills and toilet paper.

He was booed during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, which was broadcast around the world.

“This is an embarrassment for Congress. They have been trying to avert it for as long as possible, and now they will try to confine the damage to Kalmadi, who now seems to be seen as dispensable,” former magazine editor Swapan Dasgupta said.

“I am skeptical they will be able to contain the damage.”

Singh’s government has been roiled by a series of corruption scandals since the middle of last year that have stymied its agenda for economic reform, and undermined business sentiment in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

The scandals have sparked a wave of public anger against the coalition government. A social activist, who threatened to fast until death to press the government to pass tougher anti-graft laws, drew support from thousands in a nationwide campaign.

Kalmadi was arrested “for conspiracy to show favor to a private firm based in Switzerland in awarding the contract for timing, scoring and results systems at inflated prices of 1.41 billion rupees ($31 million),” said a spokesperson for the Central Bureau of Investigation, Dharini Mishra.

Kalmadi has denied any wrongdoing.

Kanimozhi, the daughter of the regional Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party’s head and herself a lawmaker, was among those charged with handling bribes along with several business executives.

AFRICAN SCENE

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DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

Aides say Ivory Coast former rebels are attacking

By MICHELLE FAUL ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - Aides to Ivory Coast’s renegade warlord said yesterday that former rebels who have joined the new army attacked them in Abidjan’s sprawling Yopougon suburb.

Felix Anoble, the top aide and spokesman for Ibrahim “IB” Coulibaly, called for an end to fighting and told The Associated Press that he feared there was a plot to assassinate Coulibaly.

Both the new army and forces supporting Coulibaly have been fighting in the area to dislodge pockets of resistance by remnants of militiamen loyal to arrested former president Laurent Gbagbo.

The attack, which an aide said started yesterday morning, comes a day after the warlord failed to turn up for a meeting with longtime rival Defense Minister Guillaume Soro.

Anoble said that Coulibaly’s forces don’t trust Soro.

“Soro is a belligerent

in the conflict...He cannot become a victor if Ibrahim Coulibaly is left out in the cold,” he said.

“It’s time for Alassane Ouattara, the president of the republic, to create a proper government that does not include belligerents.”

The Associated Press has been asking for an interview with Soro for more than a week without success.

On Friday, Ouattara ordered Coulibaly to lay down his arms and Soro’s fighters to return to their barracks in Bouake. On Saturday, Coulibaly said he was ready to lay down his arms, but said it would take time to organize.

“When you are threatened with death, you cannot dispose of the only thing that is protecting you,” Anoble said. “We get the impression that it is his very life that they want.

How can he disarm?”

Coulibaly and Soro fought full-scale battles for leadership of the former rebels who propelled Ouattara to power after Gbagbo refused to accept his defeat at Nov. 28 presidential elections.

Colleagues of Coulibaly said they were meeting with Ouattara

At least 38 dead after boat sinks in Congo KINSHASA - At least 38 people died in the Democratic Republic of Congo when the boat they were traveling in capsized yesterday, the Red Cross said.

The boat was ferrying goods and people across Lake Kivu to the town of Bukavu when it tipped over and sank at around 4 a.m. (0200 GMT), according to the provincial chief of police, General Augustin Luzembo.

A rescue team from the Red Cross recovered 38 bodies and 12 survivors from the lake, and the death toll was expected to rise, Desire Yuma, the head of the South Kivu mission of the Red Cross, told Reuters.

“The maritime service told us there were 38 passengers listed on the manifest but the survivors say there were more than 100 people on board,” he said.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission said the accident appeared to have taken place amid strong winds and poor weather, but was unable to provide a death toll.

Luzembo said the boat was traveling from Minova, near the town of Goma in the north, when the accident happened near the island of Ntaligeza, around 70 km (43 miles) from Bukavu.

Soldiers from the 'Invisible Commandos', loyal to Ibrahim Coulibaly, walk in the PK-18 area of the Abobo neighborhood, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. yesterday, but Ouattara Anoble said that the spokeswoman Affoussy invitation to meet with Bamba said Ouattara’s Ouattara was a “rentop aide was not aware dezvous with death” of a planned meeting. because Soro’s forces Coulibaly’s aide yes- had massed heavy terday said they were weapons and were hidwaiting for a U.N. den along the route that escort to take them to Coulibaly would have the meeting. But, he taken for the meeting. said, the U.N. called him An Associated Press to say they had not reporter, however, went received authority to through Angre all the escort Coulibaly, and way to the suburb of the U.N. could not guar- Abobo and did not see antee his security. any heavy weapons.

Hotel blast in northeast Nigeria kills 3; 14 hurt

By NJADVARA MUSA MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - An explosion at a hotel killed three people and wounded 14 others in northeastern Nigeria only days before the state’s gubernatorial election, police said yesterday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the blast came as a radical Muslim sect vowed to keep up its fight.

A second explosion went off yesterday morning at a cattle market in the town of Maiduguri, which has long been wracked by violence related to the radical Islamic sect. There were no casualties from that blast, police chief Mike Zuokumor said.

“The enemies of Nigeria are scaring people from coming out to vote,” Zuokumor said as election workers prepared for Tuesday’s gubernatorial poll. Officials already have delayed governor elections in two other northern states after violence following the April 16 presidential vote left at least 500 dead.

The radical Islamic group known as Boko Haram had released a statement earlier Sunday defending its string of deadly attacks on police and religious leaders in recent months.

“All the people that we are killing, including ward heads, politicians, the police and the army have erred, because they are associating themselves with the government in its effort to arrest our Muslim brothers and sabotage Islam,” the group said in its statement released Sunday.

Boko Haram was thought to be vanquished in 2009 after Nigeria’s military crushed its mosque into concrete shards, and its leader was arrested and died in police custody. But now, Maiduguri and surrounding villages in Borno state again live in fear of the group.

His men yesterday had blocked the road into their section of Abobo, and young men at the roadblock said they fear they are going to be attacked. New blue sandbags had also been put up in front of the road leading to Coulibaly’s base in Abobo.

A reporter saw a couple of trucks with furniture and other belongings leaving the neighborhood, but said the markets were open and women were selling plantains, onions, tomatoes and cigarettes at shops throughout.

Coulibaly has helped orchestrate two coup attempts in Ivory Coast, including a successful one in 1999, and in the past has indicated his own presidential aspirations, though he has said that he accepts Ouattara’s authority.

The West African nation, the world’s top cocoa producer, has been in crisis for more than a decade. Coulibaly led the 2002 rebellion that divided the country between a rebel-held north and governmentrun south until Soro forced him into exile.

He re-emerged in Abidjan in January at the head of the “Invisible Commandos” to start the battle against Gbagbo’s forces after soldiers fired mortar shells and rockets into Abobo, a neighborhood that voted en masse for Ouattara.

Anoble said

Coulibaly’s forces are tired of war.

“Ivory Coast needs peace. IB Coulibaly is a man of peace. He feels that one more shot fired is one shot too many,” Anoble said. “Ivory Coast has suffered too much.

Alassane Ouattara has suffered too much. Ibrahim Coulibaly has suffered too much. This fratricide must stop. There is nothing to justify a war between the troops of Soro and the troops of IB Coulibaly.”

He said everyone is to blame for what has happened in the West African country, including Ouattara’s party, Ouattara himself and Coulibaly, who he described as the “father of the rebellion.”

“We should all be making our mea culpas,” he said. “I beg the president to receive Ibrahim Coulibaly.”

Also yesterday, an officer in Ivory Coast’s new army said that hundreds of combatants who fought to install President Ouattara have returned to their barracks.

Col. Gaoussou Soumahourou said they began returning to their barracks in the northern city of Bouake even before Ouattara’s order Friday. Ouattara said the war had ended with the April 11 arrest of Gbagbo, whose refusal to accept electoral defeat led to prolonged fighting that killed hundreds.

GHANA: Police reacts to U.S report ACCRA, Ghana - The 2010 Report on Human Rights in Ghana by the U.S State Department has cited the Ghana Police Service for using brutal force on suspected criminals as well as prolonged detention of suspects. It also cited the service for corruption by setting up barriers to extort money from motorists.

DSP Cephas Arthur, acting Public Affairs Director of the Ghana Police Service has admitted that the Police administration is plagued with personnel who extort monies from the citizenry but insisted the situation could not be generalized to mean the entire administration is corrupt.

DSP Arthur was reacting to the human rights abuses and corruptioan allegations on a private radio station in Accra and stated that the Police Service accepts some aspects of the report as the true reflection of what pertains in reality but equally rejected other aspects because those were not representative of the truth.

D CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011 DAILY

AFRICAN SCENE

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Strike on Gadhafi compound badly damages buildings

Moammar Gadhafi supporters inspect damage following an airstrike in Tripoli, Libya. compound - a military

By KARIN where Gadhafi LAUB & DIAA base maintains an official HADID residence - was a sign of mounting pressure on TRIPOLI, Libya - the regime. While NATO airstrikes NATO said the site was targeted the center targeted as a military of Moammar command post, it also a strong mesGadhafi’s seat of delivered sage to the embattled power early yester- leader that the alliance day, unleashing is widening its range of guided bombs that targets.

While rebels control destroyed a multistory library and most of eastern Libya, office in his com- Gadhafi is trying to control of the westpound and badly keep ern half, which includes damaged a recep- the capital of Tripoli. In tion hall for visiting recent days, opposition dignitaries. forces in western Libya A security official drove Gadhafi’s troops said four people were out of the besieged rebel slightly hurt. Dust was city of Misrata and also still rising from the rub- took control of a border ble when reporters crossing with Tunisia. arrived at the scene Gadhafi’s troops on after midnight. the outskirts of Misrata Gadhafi’s where- unleashed more shells abouts at the time of the into the city yesterday attack on his sprawling following an especially Bab al-Aziziya com- bloody weekend that left pound were unclear. He at least 32 dead and has made infrequent dozens wounded. The public appearances in latest shelling hit a resiTripoli during the fight- dential area and killed ing that broke out in 10 people, including five February between his members of one family, forces and rebel groups. according to a doctor in The strike on the Misrata who spoke on

Supporters of Moammar Gadhafi react following an airstrike in Tripoli, Libya. condition of anonymity because he feared government retaliation.

The battle for Misrata, which has claimed hundreds of lives in the past two months, has become the focal point of the armed rebellion against Gadhafi since fighting elsewhere is deadlocked.

Video of Misrata civilians being killed and wounded by Gadhafi’s heavy weapons, including Grad rockets and tank shells, have spurred calls for more forceful international intervention to stop the bloodshed.

In Brussels, a NATO spokesman said the alliance is increasingly targeting facilities linked to Gadhafi’s regime.

“We have moved on to those command and control facilities that are used to coordinate such attacks by regime

forces,” the spokesman said of the strike on Bab al-Aziziya, which was hit last month, early in the NATO air campaign. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military briefing regulations.

Gadhafi’s son, Saif alIslam Gadhafi, struck a tone of defiance. He claimed Gadhafi has “millions of Libyans with him” and said NATO’s mission was doomed to fail.

“In history, no country has achieved victory with spies and traitors and collaborators. ...

NATO, you are the losers,” he was quoted as saying by the state news agency JANA. The Libyan government said it has been in touch with Russia, China, Turkey, Italy and other countries concerning the NATO strike. The foreign gov-

ernments were told that “message sent by NATO in the early hours of this morning was sent to the wrong address,” according to government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim.

In Washington on Sunday, three members of the Senate Armed Services Committee said more should be done to drive Gadhafi from power, including targeting his inner circle with airstrikes.

Gadhafi “needs to wake up every day wondering, ‘Will this be my last?’” Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican on the committee, told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

In last month’s attack on Bab al-Aziziya, a cruise missile blasted an administration building, knocking down half of the three-story building.

The U.S. bombed the compound in April 1986, after

Washington blamed Libya for an explosion at a Berlin disco that killed two U.S. servicemen.

At least two of the guided bombs struck Bab al-Aziziya early yesterday, and the booms could be heard miles (kilometers) away.

A multistory building that guards said served as Gadhafi’s library and office was turned into a pile of twisted metal and broken concrete slabs.

Dozens of Gadhafi supporters climbed atop the ruins, raising Libya’s green flag and chanting support for their leader.

A second building, where Gadhafi received visiting dignitaries, suffered damage. The main door was blown open, shards of glass were scattered across the ground and picture frames were knocked down.

Egypt makes concession to anti-governor protesters CAIRO - Egypt’s military-led government tried to quell more than a week of protests against the new governor of a southern province yesterday by saying he would not take up his duties for three months.

Sate media reported the activities of Emad Mikhail, a Christian and former police officer who was appointed

as governor of Qena province this month, would be “frozen for three months.”

State television said Mikhail’s deputy would run the governorate in the meantime, adding that the protesters had accepted this compromise solution and were disbanding.

But a journalist in Qena said about 1,000 people were still protesting and said they would continue until the governor was removed.

Thousands of Egyptians had demanded Mikhail be sacked because he had served in the police force of former President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in February by a popular uprising partly ignited by police brutality.

Similar protests have erupted in two other provinces whose new governors had also served in the police.

The protests against Mikhail, one of two Christian governors

appointed by the military generals who now rule Egypt, are a sign of how willing Egyptians are to flex their new-found political muscle after Mubarak’s ouster.

Some protesters, especially Islamists who have become more vocal since Mubarak was deposed, had said they did not want a Christian governor, raising sectarian fears in a province with a large Coptic Christian population.

Egyptian protesters stand on an army truck that was burnt by protesters early on Saturday in Tahrir Square, Cairo.

Christian make up case, Muslims killed six around 10 percent of Coptic Christians in a Egypt’s 80 million peo- drive-by shooting last ple. Many live in the year on Coptic south, and Qena has Christmas Eve, in retalseen its share of sectar- iation for the alleged ian violence. rape of a Muslim girl.

In one high-profile

1 10

CARIBBEAN NEWS DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

CARIBBEAN BRIEFS ONE FAMILY.

Whether West Indian, African or African American.

One God, One Aim, One Destiny.

Guyana opposition questions cost of New York trip

Panama plans law for support of wind energy PANAMA CITY, Panama — The national assembly of Panama has agreed to a draft law designed to expand support for wind energy.

Operators of renewable energy projects had the opportunity to sell the generated current on their own up to now as long as the maximal capacity of the projects did not exceed 10 MW, according to the Exportinitiate Renewable Energies of the Federal Ministry of Economics.

The new law envisions supporting wind projects via the auctioning of concessions. The awarded contracts at the auction with the state-run supplier Transmisión Eléctrica (ETESA) will last for 15 years.

The State Secretary for Energy referred to the strategic significance of wind energy in the dry seasons in particular, in which the capacity of water power in the country does not reach its maximum output.

St. Kitts-Nevis to ban under-18s from night clubs

(L-R): Donald Ramotar and Bharrat Jagdeo Ever since Ramotar was choG E O R G E T O W N , April 29.

Meanwhile, the Alliance for sen as the presidential candidate Guyana — According to reports from Queens, New Change (AFC) said that the for the governing party, Jagdeo is using state funds for has been touring different parts York, Guyana’s President PPPC electioneering and the main of the country with Ramotar, Bharrat Jagdeo and opposition party, the People’s shoring up the candidate’s proPeople’s Progressive Party National Congress Reform file, emphasising that he was a Civic (PPPC) presidential (PNCR), has called on the graduate from the University of candidate Donald Ramotar Guyana Election Commission Guyana with a degree in ecowill travel there to address (GECOM) to referee the use of nomics and has vast political resources to ensure fairness and experience.

Guyanese nationals.

The president and Ramotar The reports state that they impartiality.

AFC presidential candidate, have visited Essequibo islands, were invited by the Association coast, West of Concerned Guyanese, a over- Khemraj Ramjattan, said that he Essequibo was certain that state funds Demerara, and East Berbice. seas-based PPPC organisation, to speak at a meeting on Friday, would be used to cover the costs.

CARICOM national security ministers to discuss corruption on Friday PORT OF SPAIN, (IMPACS) and its executive BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The St. Kitts and Nevis government is moving to make it a criminal offence for persons under the age of 18 years to be admitted to night clubs and other entertainment spots.

Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Patrice Nisbett, is seeking parliamentary approval to make it a criminal offence for a person to be permitted to enter any form of adult entertainment if that person is under the age of 18 when the National Assembly gets The Criminal Amendment (Amendment) Bill, 2011 on Thursday.

The owner, occupier or licensee of a night club, bar, casino or other place of adult entertainment found guilty on summary conviction shall pay a fine not exceeding EC$5,000 in the case of a first offence. A second offence will result in a fine not exceeding EC$5,000 and revocation of the business licence of that particular place or establishment.

The draft legislation states that it shall not be a defence to that section for the owner, occupier or licensee of the place or establishment to claim that he did not know that the person admitted to the premises was a person under the age of 18 years.

It requires persons being admitted to show a valid form of picture identification including a passport, driver’s licence, national identification card or social security card.

Trinidad — National security ministers from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council of National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) will meet on Friday to discuss and determine the appropriate actions in relation to corruption and misconduct allegations levelled against the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security

director Williams.

Lynne

Anne

A video conference will be the format for Friday’s meeting, which will include the national security minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Brigadier John Sandy, and his colleagues from Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, and Antigua and Barbuda.

Antigua and Barbuda national security minister and chair of CONSLE, Dr Errol Cort, in a text message sent to the Express newspaper in Trinidad and Tobago, made the disclosure in

Trinidad coalition government gets ‘thumbs down’ from analysts PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — Inexperience and rash decisions are to be blamed for challenges facing the People’s Partnership (PP) coalition government in Trinidad and Tobago, according to local political analysts.

The Guardian newspaper reported that this is the view of the analysts, who firmly believe the first anniversary of the “Fyzabad Declaration” that saw five national political leaders coming together to form a coalition party, should be used as a learning experience rather than a reason to celebrate.

In fact, as the PP gears up to celebrate the first anniversary of its crushing electoral victory over the People’s National Movement (PNM) on May 24, the analysts are warning that decisive action must be taken and a change in governance must be adopted immediately if the political party intends to contest another election.

response to whether he has communicated with other CONSLE members regarding the allegations.

Cort said, “I can confirm that I have been in written communication with all CARICOM ministers who form part of the Bureau of CONSLE and that a special meeting (via videoconference) has been set for Friday, 29 April, to discuss the allegations raised in a newspaper article on 17th April in the Sunday Express and to determine the most appropriate way forward.”

“As I said before, I shall recommend to the Bureau that a comprehensive financial audit be carried out in respect of IMPACS. I expect that a press statement will be issued at the conclusion of the Bureau’s meeting,” Cort said in the text message.

Trinidad and Tobago prime minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar, head of the regional security of CARICOM, has said that the allegations are serious and she intends to raise the matter before CARICOM member states in order to institute an audit at the agency.

CARIBBEAN NEWS DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

11

Haiti delays certification of 19 legislative races

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) and Haiti's president-elect Michel Martelly arrive at a press conference in Washington last week. at which Clinton gave full-throated support to the incoming leader. The U.S. has voiced concern over alleged fraud in Haiti's legislative elections and said authorities must explain how some of the final results came to be reversed. for 17 any details about the

By TRENTON victories Chamber of Deputies 19th race, which was DANIEL candidates and one one more than diploSenate candidate after mats had questioned.

P O R T - A U - they ended up with far On Friday, the U.S. PRINCE, Haiti - more votes than they Embassy in the capital, The certification of had when preliminary Port-au-Prince, said the were legitimacy of the leglegislative election returns islative races would be results from last announced April 4.

Gaillot Dorsinvil, the up in the air if Haitian month’s runoff president of Haiti’s elec- officials didn’t offer a election will be tion commission, said public explanation of delayed after U.S. in a statement that the the commission’s and U.N. diplomats panel would hold off on results. The United raised questions publishing the results Nations, which has a over the victories of for 19 legislative races peacekeeping force in more than a dozen in the March 20 runoff Haiti, also expressed candidates, Haitian “for the sake of trans- concerns. and in the best The new results gave officials said yester- parency interests of the nation.” the political party of day.

Dorsinvil didn’t say outgoing President U.S. diplomats said if the Provisional Rene Preval 46 of the last week they wanted a Electoral Council, 99 seats in the Chamber public explanation for known as the CEP, of Deputies and an how Haiti’s election planned to recount absolute majority in the commission declared those races or disclose Senate with 17 of 30

Haiti's election officials have announced they were delaying certification of fraud-tainted results for run-off elections in some districts just hours before the announced winners were due to take office. seats. That kind of the nation’s top post communities outside presence in Parliament last week in a landslide Port-au-Prince. would give Preval’s win. Martelly, a firstSome of the election Unity party greater time politician, is protests have apparentcontrol over key gov- scheduled to be inaugu- ly turned violent. An ernment decisions, rated on May 14. arson attack killed one including who is Martelly, who’s not a person and injured approved as the next party member of Unity, three others last week prime minister, Haiti’s called for an investiga- in a town near the borNo. 2 official. tion into the election der with the Dominican Yesterday, Unity results during a visit to Republic. An official protesters set up flam- Washington last week. with the Boston-based ing barricades in a The United States and Partners in Health aid Port-au-Prince slum, other members of the group said the attack calling for the election international communi- was “certainly associatresults to be respected. ty financed the election. ed” with election U.N. peacekeepers later Since the final results while cautionextinguished the fires. results were ing that the group was The legislative elec- announced, sporadic not aware of an exact tions were held along- protests have also motive. side Haiti’s presidential popped up in the counHaitian national runoff, and pop singer tryside. Local radio police spokesman Michel “Sweet Micky” reported yesterday that Frantz Lerebours has Martelly was declared demonstrators set up said he has no knowlthe official winner of barricades in some edge of the attack.

Mexican mayor sur vives bullets, gets his own song

By MARK WALSH MONTERREY, Mexico - The mayor of a Mexican town who survived two drug cartel assassination attempts has gotten his own “corrido,” a genre of Mexican folk song that in recent years has been more devoted to glorifying the exploits of drug traffickers than public servants.

But in a Mexico desperate for heroes, plain-talking Mayor Jaime Rodriguez Calderon seems made to order: The song dedicated to him is called “El Bronco,” or “The Unbroken One.” “I’m not one of these politicians who hides what they think. I’m facing things that require you to have a strong character,” said the mayor of the town of Garcia, a suburb of the

northern industrial hub of Monterrey.

The town of 50,000 is surrounded by mountains and ravaged by violence because two former allies - the Gulf and Zetas cartels - now fight a bloody turf war over the smuggling routes to the U.S. Rodriguez Calderon, who has the fit, stocky, no-nonsense bearing of the horseman he is, talks about his struggle against the cartels since he took office 18 months ago.

“I fired all the police and then I began to close the businesses the cartels ran to finance themselves,” he told The Associated Press. “I began to impose order on the city ... and that got this gang angry and they reacted.”

Unbroken, but not without feeling: He sometimes tears up, as he did

when he attended the funeral of a 26-year-old bodyguard killed in the latest attack against him, a carefully planned assault in March in which about 40 gunmen in 15 vehicles opened fire on the mayor’s bulletproof SUV during a 20-minute shootout.

The young bodyguard is mentioned in the mayor’s “corrido” as “a loyal bodyguard and a great ally.”

“When I heard it (the song) I had conflicting feelings, because it suddenly made me remember an event that one wants to forget,” Rodriguez Calderon said.

But the song also gives him a boost, he said. “It pushes me to keep going.”

Rodriguez Calderon escaped unharmed from a similar attack Feb. 25. Three gunmen were killed that

day in a shootout with his bodyguards.

A spokesman for public security in Nuevo Leon, the state where Garcia is located, agreed that Rodriguez Calderon’s police cleanup made him a target.

The spokesman, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the subject, said it is common practice for public figures in Nuevo Leon, including police chiefs, mayors and the state governor, to use bulletproof vehicles and employ security detachments.

In a country where the violence seems endless - more than 34,000 people were killed in the first years of Mexico’s drug war - Rodrigo Garcia, the songwriter, found the mayor’s story “interesting and inspirational.”

New American

The

12

DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

One Thought - One Humanity

For the conclusions of these stories check out the April 21st - April 27th, 2011 issue of The New American, which hits newsstands every Thursday Carol’s Daughter tapped Cassie, Solange Knowles and Selita Ebanks for a new multicultural ad campaign aimed at redefining what it means to be beautiful. The 3 ladies represent multiple ethnicities—Cassie as African-American and Filipina, Selita as Jamaican, Irish, Indian and African and Solange as AfricanAmerican and French Creole. Also, their hair textures range from sleek tresses to waves to natural curls; their skin tones from olive to brown. The company’s goal is to appeal to a “millennial generation, which is basically a colorless society,” said Steve Stoute. “They don’t see color anymore. They’ll say, ‘my father’s black, my mother’s white’…What we’re doing now is moving into a polyethnic space – women who are made up of several ethnicities. If you ask them what they are, they’re going to use a lot of different words to describe themselves.

That’s in line with the Census data coming out — people are checking much more than two boxes.”

Bobby Brown and his fiancee/manager Alicia Etheridge are expecting another baby. This will be child number 6 for Brown.

DAMN!!.Bobby and Alicia’s first child is named Cassius and Bobby is happy to be a dad again. “I try to keep my kids close,” Bobby said. The new baby will join siblings Landon (b.1986) with Melika Williams; LaPrincia (b.1990) and Bobby Brown Jr. (b.1991) with Kim Ward; Bobbi Kristina (b.1993) with his exwife Whitney Houston; and Cassius Brown (b.2009) with Alicia.

Word on the street is that Paula Patton & Robin Thicke’s mar-

riage may be in trouble.

Apparently the couple have been growing apart due to their busy work schedules which means that they hardly see each other, and, Paula is worried about Robin’s wandering eye and jumpoffs! The couple welcomed their first child, Julian Fuego a year ago. We hope this is just a bad rumor, they are one of my favorite couples!

Eric Benet’s camp is denying a New York Post Page Six item that claims the self-professed former sex addict was at Cheetah’s Gentleman’s Club in Times Square last week and gave lots of attention to a stripper who looked exactly like his ex-wife Halle Berry.

The dancer, “Jordan,” said that Benet initially said his name was “Edgar,” but soon after revealed his true identity: “I said, ‘You’re Halle Berry’s ex-husband,’ and he said, ‘Once upon a time,’ and smiled.” A rep for the R&B singer dismissed the story, shouting, “This is cheap gossip! We’re not going to answer these questions.” As previously reported, Benet announced his engagement to Prince’s exwife, Manuela Testolini, earlier this year.

Keke Wyatt plans on increasing her musical catalog by releasing a new album this summer. The set will be her third release since her debut album ‘Soul Sista’ in 2001. Wyatt, known for her duet with Avant on “My First Love” and “Nothing In This World,” has hopes of continuing her duet success formula by working with American Idol winner Ruben Studdard. She and Studdard have completed a rendition of Alexander O’Neal & Cherelle’s classic hit song “Saturday Love” as the first single for the album. The untitled

album will be Wyatt’s second release in the past year after her sophomore album was delayed for almost ten years due to record label conflicts. In related news, Wyatt tells UrbanBridgez.com that she and Avant are in works for their longawaited duets album.

Lil Wayne’s name became linked to a rape allegation last month after a woman accused producer Noel “Detail” Fisher of sexually assaulting her during a studio session where Weezy was present. But a month after the unnamed woman claimed that she was held against her will and sexually abused, the beatsmith is speaking out against her allegations. According to TMZ, Detail, who resides in Canyon Country, Calif., is shooting down her claims, labeling her lawsuit “baseless” and deeming her actions as acts of extortion. The producer’s lawyer, Josh Glotzer, says the woman is “unfortunately abusing the legal process to extort money from Mr. Fisher,” and that he plans to file a malicious prosecution claim after the civil suit is dismissed.

Mya says goodbye to the problems of yesterday on “Rear View Mirror” featuring Sean Paul, one of the tracks included on her new album K.I.S.S. (Keeping It Sexy & Simple), released in Japan on April 20. On the empowering record, the “Dancing With the Stars” alum looks toward the future by hopping in her whip and driving away from her past life. “In my rear view mirror I don’t see nothing but smoke/ Everything’s much clearer when I push that metal into the floor/ I’ve got to go,” she sings on the chorus.

Cee Lo Green chooses ‘Voice’ over ‘X Factor’

By JILL SERJEANT Singer Cee Lo Green said on Friday he did not want to be a judge on upcoming new TV talent show “The X Factor” because he saw little fresh in the concept.

But the 36-year-old American soul and R&B singer of recent hit, “Forget You,” said yes to a job as one of four celebrity coaches on rival new singing show “The Voice” because it felt fresh and positive, he told reporters.

“I knew the name and I knew the parties involved,” Green said of “X Factor” the new U.S. venture by former “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell, which comes to Fox television in the fall of 2011.

“But as an enterprise, I didn’t see what made it distinctive enough.

It kind of seemed like shows like ‘Idol’ had run their course.

“And I liked this one better,” Green said of “The Voice”.

Green joins Christina Aguilera, country star Blake Shelton, and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine as the mentor-judges on “The Voice, which comes to NBC on April 26.

It is the latest in a string of TV singing contests in a crowded market dominated by the Fox network’s 10 year-old “American Idol” -- the most-watched show in the United States.

Cowell has yet to complete his much-discussed lineup of judges for “X Factor” but has said he and record producer Antonio “L.A.” Reid will be part of the panel.

“The Voice” brings a twist to the genre by having the judges turn their backs on contestant in order to judge only their voices. The four then vie with each other to persuade talented contestants to adopt one of

them as a coach for later rounds.

Green described the show as “a great, fresh idea and something very productive and proactive.”

In an apparent reference to “American Idol”, executive producer of “The Voice” Mark Burnett said his show would feature none of the hopeless wannabes seen on other talent shows.

“Other shows have made great television of the comedy of allowing people to sing, who clearly can’t sing. We made a conscious choice to not do that at all. Not one person who stepped on that (“Voice”) stage was not good. You will not be seeing people step up for a joke,” Burnett said.

“The Voice” will also occasionally see the celebrity coaches performing on the show. Producers played a clip for TV reporters showing Aguilera, Green, Levine and Shelton performing a rousing cover version of the 2006 Gnarls Barkley hit song “Crazy”.

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*$0.,/

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DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

14

‘Rio’ still No. 1 at world box office LOS ANGELES — “Rio” led the Easter box office in North America for a second weekend, and remained the top choice internationally for a third round as the worldwide haul for the Brazilian bird cartoon flew toward $300 million.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, “Rio” sold an estimated $26.8 million worth of tickets across the United States and Canada during the three days beginning April 22.

After 10 days, the film has earned $81.3 million.

It also earned $44.2 million from 67 foreign mar-

kets, taking its overseas total to $204.7 million. The worldwide total stands at $286 million.

“Rio,” which cost about $90 million to make, revolves around Blu, a rare blue macaw (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg), who returns home to Brazil after a coddled existence as a smuggled pet in the United States. It was released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.

“Madea’s Big Happy Family,” the latest outing from prolific actor/writer/director Tyler Perry, opened at No. 2 in North America with $25.8 million.

The debut was in line with expectations but fell short of Perry’s previous comedies about the brassy black woman. “Madea Goes to Jail” opened to $41 million in 2009, and “Madea’s Family Reunion” to $30 million in 2006.

As usual, the Lionsgate release played almost exclusively to older black women and was a major event in such cities as Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Lionsgate is a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

Fox’s “Water for Elephants,” a romantic drama

starring Reese Witherspoon and “Twilight” hunk Robert Pattinson, came in at No. 3 with $17.5 million, also in line with expectations. Similarly, its appeal was to female fans of the underlying best-selling book by Sara Gruen.

Witherspoon, fresh from the costly Christmas flop “How Do You Know,” stars as Depression-era circus performer who does stunts on an elephant. “Twilight” hunk Pattinson plays her forbidden lover. Top critics mostly ridiculed the film.

Also new, at No. 6, was the Walt Disney nature doc-

umentary “African Cats,” with a respectable $6.4 million.

The Easter Bunny liveaction/animated hybrid “Hop” slipped one place to No. 4 with $12.5 million in its fourth weekend; its total rose to $100.5 million. “Hop” was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp-controlled NBC Universal.

The horror sequel “Scream 4” tumbled three to No. 5 with $7.2 million in its second weekend; the 10-day tally rose to $31.2 million — still short of the openingweekend tallies of either “Scream 3” or “Scream 2.”

The series was released by Dimension Films, a unit of the closely held Weinstein Co.

Halle Berry opens up about custody battle for first time

By LAUREN MINOGUE Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry’s relationship was played out in front of the cameras, from the very beginning, to the birth of daughter Nahla and even random lunch dates or grocery runs. And now so is their very messy split.

So far, Halle has declined to comment publicly on the custody battle and instead let the tabloids and gossip bloggers take the reigns. Until now, that is. In an interview with Extra, the actress opened up about the dispute, and although not giving full details, she did let the interviewer in on how (contrary to

popular belief) the court proceedings have gone well.

Of the custody battle Halle said; “When there’s a child involved, it’s a relief when you can resolve things in a good way. Our issues were never

about fighting for her. We both know a child needs both her parents. But what I want to say about it is sometimes, as a couple, you reach an impasse. We need a court and a judge to help us work out some of the delicate issues, and I’m so happy we’ve arrived at that place- because for her sake, this is the best way…. We both love her more than life.”

The interview took place at the Los Angeles’ Jenesse Center’s Annual Silver Rose Gala, where she was honored for her “What a Little Love Can Do” project, which renovates apartments at the transitional housing shelter for victims of domestic violence. Of her work with the shelter, Halle said,

Paula Abdul not confirmed for ‘X Factor’ despite reports Simon Cowell’s rep is shooting down a report that he has determined the judges panel for the U.S. version of his show “The X Factor” and that it will include Paula Abdul.

“It’s still playing out,” Cowell’s rep told The Hollywood Reporter. “Nothing is set, and Paula is one of many people Simon is talking to.

He’s said the same thing many times, including on the radio last week. There’s nothing new.”

It’s been widely reported for months that Cowell has had his sights set on Abdul, his former “American Idol” colleague, as well as Cheryl Cole, who served as a judge

alongside Cowell on the British version of “X Factor.”

He began discussions with the two as early as October.

But Cowell also has floated several other names over the past few months — including George Michael; former Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger; and Mariah Carey — as potential judges on the Fox singing competition, which premieres in the fall.

As previously reported, Antonio “L.A.” Reid has already signed on to serve as a judge alongside Cowell.

The panel is expected to include four judges.

Reid stepped down from his post as chairman of

Island Def Jam to take the “X Factor” gig; it is believed he will land a position at Sony Music, which is awarding the winner of the show a recording contract worth $5 million.

Auditions for the show began March 27 in Los Angeles.

“There’s such a stigma that goes a long with a shelter, and I thought if we can make shelter life be something for them to aspire to have when they leave here, we’ll have done something really good… I care so much about women and I care so much about children. I’ve had certain experiences in my life that make it easy for me to understand the hardships that women face; the hardships that children face. And because it’s so personal for me, it’s a way that I sort of get to extricate my own demons by doing something good to help others. It’s

really fulfilling work that I get to do.”

It’s rare to see her speak so candidly about her personal life (and how smiley she gets when talking about boyfriend Olivier Martinez), especially when she was meant to be promoting her truly inspirational work with the Jenesse Center and her struggle to end the stigma associated with crisis shelters. So maybe what she is saying is true; the split and custody battle isn’t as heated and messy as we want to believe and maybe it’s true that, “a little love can really go a long way.”

Rep: Beyonce will not perform at royal wedding A rep for Beyonce Knowles has slammed rumors that the R&B diva will take stage at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding on April 29.

The source tells ET, “the ceremony is not on her schedule and she has a shoot in New York on Saturday (April 30).”

News first broke about the rumored performance after the Daily Star published a story that stated William and Kate loved Beyonce and JayZ. According to the source, “Both William and Kate are massive fans of Beyonce and Jay-Z. They really wanted to make their big day even more special and what better way than by getting pop royalty to perform at the party?”

The source also added: “They both wanted to ditch traditions and make it more personal for them,” and “it’s highly likely they [Bey and

Jay-Z] have taken up the Royals’ offer.”

No word if Jay-Z will perform since his rep has not come forward to curtail the rumors.

In related news, Beyonce is currently promoting her new single “Run the World (Girls),” which has received mixed reviews thus far. The track is currently No. 22 on the iTunes Top Songs chart.

NEW JERSEY

DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

15

Trenton drive-by shooting of mother, 3 year old prompts police crackdown, anti-loitering campaign

By ALEX ZDAN TRENTON - City and police officials vowed a crackdown in the West Ward Thursday after a young mother and her daughter 3-year-old were wounded in a drive-by shooting.

The mother and child were innocent heading bystanders home from a neighborhood corner store Wednesday night when the gunfire began, police said.

“When young people cannot go into stores with babies in their arms, there’s something wrong,” Mayor Tony Mack said at a city hall news conference Thursday afternoon.

Mack said he is considering aggressive crime measures such as stopping pedestrians on the street to ask them where they are going, and an anti-loitering campaign to combat growing violence in the area as the calendar moves toward summer.

“I guarantee you that our criminal incidents will be going up in warmer weather as school gets out,” said police Capt.

Fred Reister.

Wednesday night, Brandy Riggins, 21, of Trenton, was shot once in the buttocks, while her daughter, Aziyah Shrieves, was hit once in the right arm. Aziyah sustained additional injuries around her mouth, police said.

“More than likely, the baby was injured when she was dropped or fell to the ground,” Reister

A Trenton Police officer stands watch at a Passaic Street house, which has a bullet hole in the window, at the scene of an apparent drive-by shooting the previous night that left a mother and her child wounded. said. rated the area searching Reister and acting for evidence and witCapt. Steve Varn, who nesses, police said. heads the detective Riggins’ sister bureau, said police have declined to comment on few leads on the shoot- the shooting outside the ers and are unsure of family’s home on the motive for the crime. Passaic Street Thursday “Right now, we don’t morning. know who was the But others in the intended target,” Varn neighborhood were said. shocked at the violence.

According to police, Luciana Vargas, who Riggins and Aziyah works at the Peralta grostepped into the line of cery and served the fire after leaving a store mother and child secaround 8:45 p.m. onds before they were Wednesday. The shooter shot, said the victims or shooters fired numer- were “good people” who ous rounds from the car had no problem with traveling on Passaic anyone.

Street near its intersecRob Peralta, manager tion with Calhoun of the store, was not Street, then took off. working Wednesday “Right now, we night. He heard from his believe the shots all employees Thursday came from one vehicle,” morning that the mothVarn said. “We don’t er and child had stepped have any information out of the store, were that it was a gunbattle.” struck, and started Mack said he visited screaming. the victims’ anguished “It’s my first time lisfamily. tening to things like “I spoke to them at that,” he said. length, I let them know Alejandro Rodriguez, how concerned I was who works at the liquor this took place,” the store across the street mayor said. from the shooting, Detectives have satu- described gunfire fol-

Aziyha Shrieves and her mother Brandy Riggins lowed by commotion and of the shooting, Varn that they are about to a heavy police presence. said. A police camera commit a crime.”

“In a second, it was one block away from the The shooting is one of like 10 cars over there, shooting was not func- several reported in the police cars,” he said. tioning at the time, but city’s West Ward since Yet up and down the one at Calhoun and March. Police have said Passaic Street, many Passaic was. some of the shootings residents remained “The camera pans, so are related to a feud tight-lipped. Even those it didn’t capture the inci- within the Sex Money seated on the stoop out- dent,” Varn said.

Murder set of the Bloods side Riggins’ home had Mack and acting street gang, but are no interest in talking police director Joseph unsure if the drive-by is about the shooting or its Juniak have discussed connected. Patrols in the aftermath. “all possible options” to West Ward have been The same seemed true reduce violence, Mack stepped up as police for police. Detectives said. This included ask- focused more attention canvassed the area ing the New Jersey State on the area. searching for witnesses Police to assist with “We’ve identified Thursday afternoon, patrols, a frequent Mack some hot spots in the hoping citizens who saw campaign pledge since city, and that’s definitely the shooting would his first run for mayor one of them,” Mack said come forward. in 2006. of the West Ward.

“There were a large Some of the options “There’s a lot of connumber of people out at suggested, such as flict going on out there, that scene,” Reister said. detaining people walk- unfortunately, and “However, we were ing through certain that’s largely due to the unable to obtain any neighborhoods or clos- drug trade,” Reister information from wit- ing liquor stores, could said. nesses.” be legally problematic.

Reister mentioned a Video from several “You just can’t stop home invasion two cameras in the area is and frisk people,” hours after the shooting under review, but appar- Reister said. “We have to that was thwarted by an ently all that was cap- believe and have some anonymous tipster and tured was the aftermath reasonable suspicion led to two arrests.

N.J. considers bids to operate Turnpike, Parkway tolls as privatization vote nears

By MIKE FRASSINELLI TRENTON - Toll collectors on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway are overpaid, unskilled laborers who get cushy bonuses and extra money even if they phone in sick or take a

vacation day.

Toll collectors are the backbone of New Jersey’s two major toll roads, and deal with impatient customers, inhale fumes and risk their lives every time they step into the booth.

These two diametrically different descriptions of the job were

given to the Assembly State Government Committee today as the state next week considers privatizing toll collection.

State Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson, who chairs the authority that oversees the Turnpike and Parkway, told the committee that even

though 70 percent of travelers pay their tolls electronically, it costs the authority almost double the amount to collect remaining tolls manually.

“In a nutshell, manual toll collection is simply way too expensive,” Simpson said in Trenton.

He said the authori-

ty is hamstrung by high salaries and “arcane” work rules, such as a provision requiring two collectors be at a booth at all times.

Toll collectors with six years experience make around $65,000 a year, and about 90 percent of toll takers are at that upper

range, Simpson said.

A new private company would pay the toll collectors about $25,000 a year.

“While we feel a responsibility to our work force, we recognize a higher commitment to our toll-paying customers, investors and the public at large,” Simpson said.

DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

16

Many kids with diabetes have other immune diseases

By AMY NORTON A third of children with type 1 diabetes have signs of other immune system disorders when they get diagnosed with diabetes, according to a new study.

The findings, researchers say, underscore the importance of keeping an eye out for symptoms of those diseases in diabetic children.

Type 1 diabetes is what’s known as an autoimmune disease, where the immune system launches a misguided attack on the body’s own tissue. In the case of diabetes, the assault kills off cells in the pancreas that make the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin.

Doctors have known for some time that people with type 1 diabetes also have higher-than-average rates of other autoimmune disorders, including autoimmune thy-

roid disease, the digestive disorder celiac disease, and Addison’s disease, a disorder of the adrenal glands. the new study, In researchers wanted to find out how common it is for children to have signs of those three diseases at the time of their type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

They did that by measuring blood levels of certain “autoantibodies” that serve as markers of the conditions.

Autoantibodies are immune system proteins directed against the body’s own cells.

Of the 491 children in the one-quarter had study, autoantibodies related to thyroid disease, and one in eight of those children had the disease itself.

Meanwhile, nearly one in eight had antibodies related to celiac disease, and a quarter of those kids had the disease. Five children (or 1 per-

cent of the whole group) had Addison’s autoantibodies, and the disease was confirmed in one of them.

The fact that a third of the kids had signs of other autoimmune diseases means parents and doctors should be on the lookout for the three disorders in diabetic children, according to researcher Dr. Jennifer M. Barker of the University of Colorado Denver, who led the new work.

Autoimmune thyroid disease arises when an immune system reaction causes the thyroid gland to produce either too much or too little thyroid hormone. An overactive thyroid can cause symptoms like nervousness, weight loss, sleep problems and intolerance to heat; an underactive one can cause fatigue, dry skin, hair loss and slow growth in height.

Celiac disease is a digestive

Chronic fatigue syndrome hits teens

By KATHLEEN DOHENY Chronic fatigue syndrome, often thought to be a condition that only afflicts adults, affects adolescents as well but is often overlooked, according to a new Dutch report in Pediatrics.

Though the syndrome is much less common among teens than adults, it often goes undiagnosed, especially by general practice doctors, according to Dr. S.L. Nijhof, co-author of the report and a physician at Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital at the University Medical Center in Utrecht.

Nijhof isn’t referring to the tiredness typical of growing, busy teens. “Fatigue is a common complaint among adolescents, with a good prognosis,” Nijhof said.

“Chronic fatigue syndrome is much less common, but with serious consequences.”

Nijhof and fellow researchers collected data from 354 general practitioners in the Netherlands who responded to a national survey focusing on new patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, including the prevalence of the condition among their patients, meaning the number of cases at any given time. They also gathered information from a registry that recorded new diagnoses of teen chronic

fatigue patients at pediatric hospitals, including the number of new cases a year, or incidence of the condition.

They found that about 1 in 900 teens developed chronic fatigue, which was much lower than in the adult population. The prevalence was 111 per 100,000 teens, and the annual incidence was 12 per 100,000.

However, nearly 75 percent of the teens were not diagnosed by their general practitioner but by a pediatrician or other health-care provider, the study reported.

Of the participating general practitioners, just half said they accepted chronic fatigue syndrome as a distinct diagnosis in their teen patients. By contrast, 96 percent of the doctors from the pediatric departments consulted said they did.

“We want to create awareness among [general practitioners] and support the idea that adolescents with severe fatigue should be referred to a pediatrician,” Nijhof said.

“Chronic fatigue is much less common [in teens], but with serious consequences.”

The survey revealed that 90 percent of teens with the condition had considerable school absences, defined as missing school at least 15 percent of the time.

Dr. Nancy Klimas, director of the Chronic Fatigue Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, who treats teens with the condition, said that the study findings ring true.

Parents should be aware, first of all, that the condition can strike teens, she said.

“Very frequently it happens after a mononucleosis infection,” she said, adding that teens very often return to school and to activities too soon, and that can be linked to triggering chronic fatigue.

Among symptoms of the condition, Klimas said, are pain in muscles and joints, a sore throat and swollen lymph nodes. A teen might wake up still exhausted after a night’s sleep. The teen might also have memory or concentration problems, as well as headaches.

And if a teen athlete with the condition returns to sports too quickly, he or she might feel lousy the next day — something that Klimas called “exercise-induced relapse.” That’s also a signal to see a pediatrician, she said.

disorder in which the immune system reacts to foods with gluten (a protein in wheat, barley and rye), damaging the small intestine. In Addison’s disease, the adrenal glands cannot produce enough of the hormones cortisol or aldosterone, leading to problems like weakness and fatigue, appetite and weight loss, and irritability.

But while the current study used autoantibody testing to screen for the diseases, there are questions about using the tests in actual practice, according to Barker.

Right now, she told Reuters Health in an email, the American Diabetes Association recommends that children with type 1 diabetes be tested for thyroid disease and celiac disease at the time of their diabetes diagnosis.

(After that, thyroid screening should be done yearly, and celiac testing if there are potential symptoms.)

Celiac screening has to be done with an antibody test.

But doctors can screen for thyroid disease by measuring blood levels of thyroid-

stimulating hormone. And there is debate, Barker said, about whether testing for thyroid antibodies would be useful.

“The presence of autoantibodies does not necessarily mean the child will develop the disease,” Barker said.

As for Addison’s disease, there are no guidelines on screening children with type 1 diabetes. But Barker said that parents and doctors should at least keep an eye out for symptoms of the disease — as well as signs of celiac disease and thyroid problems.

In particular, she said, parents should pay attention to their children’s growth and physical development, and keep track of any problems they are having with episodes of low blood sugar, abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea.

It’s estimated that anywhere from 15 percent to 30 percent of people with type 1 diabetes have autoimmune thyroid disease, while 4 percent to 9 percent have celiac disease, and less than 1 percent have Addison’s.

‘Empowered’ workers more productive, research shows Workers who feel empowered by their employers are more productive and have higher morale, a review of existing research finds.

The findings cut across industries, jobs, gender and cultures, according to the study, which was released online in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology.

“Empowerment is an effective approach for improving employee attitudes and work behaviors in a broad range of industries, occupations and geographic regions,” lead researcher Scott Seibert, professor of management and organizations at University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, said in a university news release.

Workplaces that properly promote empowerment can boost job satisfaction while reducing turnover and stress among workers, Seibert noted.

The researchers came to their conclusions after reviewing more than 140 studies of “psychological empowerment” at the workplace.

According to the findings, factors that play a role in effective empowerment initiatives include: giving employees decision-making ability and having decentralized authority; good pay; valuing and recognizing the contributions of employees; support from managers; training opportunities; inspirational managers; and challenging work assignments.

“Managers in these studies reported that empowered workers were more innovative and more willing to take the initiative to solve problems on their own,” Seibert said. “Employees said they were more engaged in their work when empowered, that they felt like they had an influence and an impact on the business around them.”

DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

17

Pediatricians call for stricter laws for chemicals

By GENEVRA PITTMAN The U.S. is not doing enough to protect kids from exposure to potentially dangerous chemicals, pediatricians said in a new statement released today.

The policy paper from the American Academy of Pediatrics explains that a law meant to inform the public about the risks of different chemicals, and to give the government the right to intervene to keep dangerous chemicals off the market, has largely failed to achieve those goals.

And, writes Dr. Jerome Paulson, part of the AAP’s Council on Environmental Health, the consequences of that may hit kids the hardest, and in unpredictable ways.

“Children are not little adults,” Paulson, of Children’s National Medical Cen-

ter in Washington, D.C., told Reuters Health. “Their bodies are different and their behaviors are different. That means that their exposures to chemicals in the environment are different, and the way their bodies (break down) those chemicals are different.”

Kids may be especially vulnerable to chemicals during important periods in development, when their brains and bodies are changing quickly, Paulson added.

He said the goal of the report is to include the voice of pediatricians in current discussions about the need to update the Toxic Substances Control Act, passed in 1976 with the intention of protecting the public against exposure to hazardous chemicals.

That law has only been used to regulate five chemicals or types of chemicals, Paulson writes.

That’s because it gives the companies that make chemi-

cals an easy out, according to the report, not requiring them to research chemicals for safety before those chemicals go on the market.

And without safety data, the Environmental Protection Agency can’t prove that any of the 80,000 chemicals used in the U.S. are risky enough to require regulation.

Paulson said that even without more stringent laws on chemical use, the lack of information about just how risky different chemicals are makes it hard for people to avoid those potential risks.

“The reality is, we live in a chemical world, and some of them are benign and some of them aren’t, and we don’t know” which are and which aren’t, Paulson said.

“It makes it impossible for us to understand what people should do to try to protect themselves or their children.”

Noting recent surges of concern about bisphenol A in

baby bottles and flame retardants, Paulson said that “we can’t really deal with these kinds of issues one chemical at a time. We need a better system for screening chemicals before they’re introduced into the marketplace, trying as best we can to identify ones that could be problematic ... while at the same time monitoring those that do come on the market.”

Michael Wilson, who studies chemical policy at the University of California, Berkeley, said he was “thrilled” to see the new policy paper and that “it’s a powerful statement, it’s overdue and also timely.”

Two weeks ago, New Jersey senator Frank Lautenberg introduced for the second time a bill that would reform the Toxic Substances Control Act. “The problems that we’re experiencing today that are very concrete problems ... all of those problems are going

to broaden and deepen in coming years,” Wilson, who is not connected to the AAP’s council, told Reuters Health.

A spokesperson from the American Chemistry Council told Reuters Health in an email that the chemical company representative agrees that the Toxic Substances Control Act needs to be updated, and that the chemical industry is also working with the government to protect kids’ health through other means.

Reform of chemical laws would “send a whole new signal to the industry” that the health impacts of its products, especially the impacts on vulnerable babies and kids, are just important as their function and price, Wilson said.

Then, the council pointed out, companies would have incentives to produce safer products, instead of having incentives not to measure health and safety risks at all.

What makes a face appealing to the opposite sex?

While it may be true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, a new computer model helps reveal what’s behind peoples’ ideas of facial attractiveness.

Many studies have concluded that people are drawn to “average” faces and those who fit the conventional notion of attractiveness for a person’s gender — “masculinity” in men and “femininity” in women. But psychologists Christopher P. Said of New York University and Alexander Todorov of Princeton University believe attractiveness is more complex than that, so they created a computer model to identify and measure those complexities.

The psychologists used

thousands of faces and their ratings, from 20 male and 20 female students rating opposite-gender faces, to build the computer program.

The computer model tested 50 “dimensions” of facial fea-

tures, which were divided into two categories — shape and reflectance.

Shape includes things such as nose size or plumpness of lips, while reflectance includes things such as facial light-

ness, darkness and color, such as red lips or shadowed eyes.

The investigators found that men typically want women’s faces to have feminine shape and feminine reflectance (such as plump lips and wide eyes), while women typically want men’s faces to have masculine reflectance (such as swarthier skin) but a feminine shape.

The results show that masculine and feminine attractiveness are not equal and opposite, according to the researchers.

The study authors also found that the appeal of average faces is less straightforward than previously believed. While both men and

women find average faces attractive, the most average faces are not considered the most attractive.

The study is slated for publication in an upcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science.

In a news release from the Association for Psychological Science, the authors point out that their study has limitations, including the fact that only a few dozen college students participated in the research.

And while theoretically a computer program might be able to determine the attractiveness of an artificial face, people have unique ways of rating beauty and may come to different conclusions when faced with a real person.

Scientists discover how peppermint soothes gastric pain New research offers insight into how peppermint helps relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

Researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia report that peppermint activates an “antipain” channel in the colon.

This contributes to relief of pain from inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract.

“Our research shows that peppermint acts through a

specific anti-pain channel called TRPM8 to reduce pain-sensing fibers, particularly those activated by mustard and chili,” Dr. Stuart Brierley said in a university news release.

“This is potentially the first step in determining a new type of mainstream clinical treatment for irritable bowel syndrome. This is a debilitating condition and affects many people on a daily basis, particularly

women who are twice as likely to experience irritable bowel syndrome,” Brierley added.

Peppermint is often recommended by alternative medicine practitioners as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS. “Some people find their symptoms appear after consuming fatty and spicy foods, coffee and alcohol, but it is more complex than that,” Brierley said. “There

appears to be a definite link between IBS and a former bout of gastroenteritis, which leaves nerve pain

fibers in a heightened state, altering mechanisms in the gut wall and resulting in ongoing pain.”

DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

18

Samsung, Sony JV to cut capital as Sony struggles with TV loss SEOUL — S-LCD, a flat screen joint venture between Sony Corp and Samsung Electronics, said it would reduce capital by $555 million, as Sony struggles with perennial losses from its TV business and Samsung seeks to shift to a new type of display.

The global liquid crystal display (LCD) market is struggling with faltering demand, with some analysts forecasting the $100 billion LCD TV industry had already peaked last year and would shrink by 3-4 percent annually, as consumers in advanced countries have already traded their bulky tube TV sets to flat screens.

LCD is widely expected to give way to new displays such as energy-efficient active matrix organic light-

emitting diode (AMOLED), which is increasingly used in high-end smartphones and tablets and touted as a future large-sized TV display.

In a statement yesterday, S-LCD, which supplies panels to Samsung and Sony, said the move was aimed at improving its capital structure.

The 50-50 LCD joint venture announced its first capital reduction of 600 billion won ($555 million) after more than tripling its capital to 3.9 trillion won since Sony and Samsung formed the venture in 2004 with 1.26 trillion won to ensure smooth supply of flat screens for Sony.

“The decision reflects shrinking demand from Sony after the devastating earthquake in Japan last month

and the sector’s overall shift in focus to OLED display,” said Kim Sung-in, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

“Sony has bought around 1.1-1.2 million units of LCD panels every month from the venture but it can’t buy that much any more due to weak sales in Japan. With the overall demand for LCD displays set to shrink further, Samsung and Sony are likely to gradually wind up the business and focus instead on OLED,” Kim said.

Sony will not raise its stake in a separate LCD venture with Sharp Corp for at least a year, a Sony source said last week, a move that reflects the industry’s growing caution over growing exposure to the LCD industry, which has been in a glut since last summer.

Sony needs to slash costs as it heads for a seventh straight year of losses in its TV business. Highlighting soft demand from TV makers, Philips Electronics said this month it would transfer its TV business into a joint venture with TPV Technology.

Since the March 11 earthquake, six analysts have lowered Sony’s operating profit estimates for the year to March 2012 by 19 percent on average, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, as Sony considers a complete two-week summer shutdown of some company premises due to Japan’s power shortages.

On Friday, Samsung is expected to report its quarterly profit had dropped to nearly a two-year low as its LCD

A visitor walks past the Samsung booth at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. business is widely expected to report a loss for JanuaryMarch.

Panel makers have reduced production after the powerful earthquake on March 11 but demand from TV and computer makers is too weak to absorb even lowered supplies, sending prices of largesized LCD panels down more than one third over the past year.

S-LCD said it would cancel 120 million shares to reduce equity capital by 600 billion

won to 3.3 trillion won, after having had strong cash flow last year.

The company reported 11.4 trillion won in 2010 revenue and 204.6 billion won of net profit, up more than 12 times from 16.4 billion won a year ago, resulting in 747 billion won of positive cash inflow last year alone.

Samsung, the world’s top LCD maker, is planning a 5.4 trillion won investment each in LCD and AMOLED this year.

Barnes & Noble improves Nook Color to take on iPad

By PHIL WAHBA Barnes & Noble yesterday introduced new features to its Nook Color e-reader designed to make the device more competitive with Apple’s iPad and to offer more functions that Amazon.com’s Kindle does not.

Barnes & Noble said in a press briefing over the Internet that the updated Nook Color includes a store to buy software applications,

or “apps;” lets users play games such as “Angry Birds;” and allows them to access email from their Google Inc. Gmail and Yahoo Inc. accounts.

It also runs on Google’s Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, allowing users to watch videos on Flash 10.1.

The new features address shortcomings pointed out by device reviewers when Barnes & Noble introduced the Nook Color in October.

“Consumers said they wanted tablet-like fea-

tures,” said Jamie Iannone, president of the bookstore chain’s digital products division.

The price for the Nook Color is staying the same at $249.

The iPad, which has sold about 20 million units since its launch last year, is a tablet that has e-reader functions, and Apple operates a digital bookstore.

In contrast, Amazon’s Kindle is the best selling e-reader but does not have a color touch screen and Wi-Fi Web browsing, features that

are standard on tablets.

“I don’t think they’re responding to the iPad as much as they’re trying to beat Amazon to the same punch,” said Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey.

McQuivey estimates Barnes & Noble has sold 400,000 Nook Colors since the device’s October launch and said the device’s sales could reach 3 million units by year-end.

The black and white Nook was introduced in late 2009 and has sold about 2 million units,

according McQuivey.

Barnes & Noble also introduced on Monday an ad campaign that does not include the bookstores for which it is best known but positions the Nook Color as a tablet specifically made for book enthusiasts.

Barnes & Noble runs about 720 superstores but has invested heavily in the Nook to grab more of the growing ebooks market while sales of traditional paper books have been dwindling.

In February, the retailer suspended its dividend, preferring to use that money to develop the Nook. Shares have fallen 47.7 percent since then.

The update Nook Color will offer features tablet buyers expect, but does not give Barnes & Noble much of an edge, one analyst said.

“They’re doing at a minimum what’s necessary to stay in the race, but they’re not leapfrogging anyone,” said Morningstar analyst Pete Wahlstrom.

AmEx hires MasterCard prepaid head to boost products

By MARIA ASPAN American Express Co., which is trying to move beyond its traditional credit card lending business, is hoping MasterCard Inc.’s head of prepaid debit products can help expand its offerings.

American Express has hired Laura Kelly

to oversee its new product development and marketing, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters.

Kelly will be responsible for “building, launching and marketing all new products globally” as a senior vice president in the company’s global payments options group, according to

the memo sent last week by that group’s president, Alpesh Chokshi.

She joins American Express from MasterCard, where she ran the payment processing network’s prepaid debit business. Prepaid cards, which can be used like debit cards but do not have to be linked to a bank account, are a small

but rapidly expanding sector of the payment industry. They are sold mostly to young or poor people who do not have bank accounts and who mostly use cash.

Kelly “really helped to put prepaid on the map, not just for MasterCard but for the industry,” said payments industry consultant Philip Philliou,

a former MasterCard and American Express executive who has worked with Kelly.

Banks, marketers, and card networks like MasterCard and Visa Inc. are increasingly trying to build up their prepaid businesses, as a saturated U.S. market and increasing regulation are limiting the growth of traditional credit and

debit card businesses.

While American Express does not currently offer debit cards, it is trying to get a foothold in new types of payment technologies, including online, mobile and prepaid. Last year it hired Daniel Schulman from wireless operator Sprint Nextel Corp. to oversee a new enterprise growth unit.

DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

19

Nintendo to launch new Wii in 2012 as profit slips

By ISABEL REYNOLDS OSAKA, Japan — Nintendo Co. Ltd. said it would launch a successor to its aging Wii game console in 2012 as it struggles to win back users from rivals Microsoft and Sony and seeks to reverse a slump in profits.

Nintendo said yesterday that it expects profits to remain almost flat in the current financial year, despite the launch of its much-touted 3Dcapable handheld games device, whose sales in Japan have been overshadowed by the devastating March 11 earthquake.

The maker of the DS handheld game player, which is also facing competition from

smartphone and tablet makers including Apple Inc., said yesterday it will demonstrate the Wii’s replacement in Los Angeles on June 7 at the E3 game show.

Nintendo is looking to repeat past successes in the gaming market.

The Wii took the industry by storm five years ago by offering motionbased gaming that appealed to a broad audience rather than just “core” video game fans.

This time around, however, Nintendo will find it harder to sidestep its competitors and must also contend with a burgeoning smartphone market that didn’t exist in 2006, said Mitsushige Akino, Chief Fund Manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.

“Core users and

game lovers will certainly buy it, but I think it will be hard to capture buyers outside of that group,” he said.

Yesterday, the company revealed quarterly profit of just 12 billion yen, down from 59.9 billion yen a year earlier, as it slashed prices and the strong yen hurt the value of its sales abroad. Having sold 86 million units of the Wii since its launch in 2006, sales last business year slipped by a quarter to 15 million.

“We believe that the share price will come under pressure as the market digests the weak Q4 results and company projection for the year to March 2012,” analyst Jay Defibaugh of MF Global said in a research note.

Nintendo sees first half profit for the cur-

rent financial year down more than 63 percent on the previous year, with a bounce back in the second half.

Nintendo declined to provide further details on the Wii successor.

“We have decided that it is best to let people experience it for themselves at E3,” Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, told a news conference.

“It will offer a new way of playing games within the home,” said Iwata, a former game designer.

In another transition to new-generation hardware, Nintendo this year launched a glasses-free 3D-capable handheld games device, the 3DS, to fend off growing competition from other games companies, as well as makers of smartphones and

tablets.

It must also contend with Microsoft and Sony which have brought new products to the market since the Wii’s debut.

In March, Microsoft said it had sold more than 10 million Kinect motion-sensing game system units worldwide in just over four months, making it the fastest-selling consumer device on record.

The infrared camera add-on for the Xbox game console tracks body gestures for video games. Sony’s rival motion sensing device is dubbed Move.

In the business year just ended, Wii console sales fell to 15.1 million units from 20.1 million a year earlier. It expects sales to fall by a further 2 million units this business year.

Sales of its non-3D handheld DS shrank by almost 10 million units to 17.5 million, and the company expects that to slide to 11 million this year.

Nintendo’s operating profit fell 52 percent to 171.1 billion yen ($2.09 billion) in the year ended in March from 356.8 billion yen the previous year, below a Thomson Reuters SmartEstimate of 200.8 billion yen.

SmartEstimates put more weight on recent forecasts by highly rated analysts.

Nintendo expects operating profit of 175 billion yen for the year to March 2012, compared with a consensus of 215.8 billion yen, based on eight analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S after the March 11 disaster.

New home sales up, market still seen weak Nissan recalls 271,000 SUVs on steering risk

By LUCIA MUTIKANI

WASHINGTON — Sales of new U.S. homes rose in March and the number of properties on the market was its lowest since the 1960s, but further gains will be hampered by stiff competition from a glut of previously owned houses.

Single-family home sales rose 11.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted 300,000 unit annual rate, the Commerce Department said yesterday, up from 270,000 in February.

Economists had expected a 280,000-unit pace.

Despite last month’s rise, new home sales are just bouncing along the bottom.

The market for new homes is being squeezed by competition from previously owned homes and a deluge of foreclosed properties, even though inventories in March fell to 183,000 units — the lowest since August 1967.

“The rebound in new home sales was encouraging, but the March sales pace merely brings us back to the underlying trend and

indicates that housing continues to bounce around historical lows,” said Omair Sharif, an economist at RBS in Stamford Connecticut.

The report comes as Federal Reserve officials prepare to meet today and Wednesday to assess the economy, amid signs activity slowed sharply in the first quarter of 2011.

Though the U.S. central bank is expected to continue its $600 billion government bondbuying program which ends in June, debate is most likely to focus on the next steps the Fed should take with the monetary stimulus it has lent the economy.

While housing now accounts for a fraction of gross domestic product, signs that it continues to struggle may weigh on consumer confidence and have a negative impact on spending.

A report last week showed there were 3.55 million previously owned homes on the market in March, well above the natural rate of between 2 million and 2.5 million.

When foreclosed homes and those that are highly delinquent

are taken into account, economists say supply is anywhere in the range of 8 million to 9 million.

The new home market accounts for less than 10 percent of the overall housing market.

“We are not going to see a snap back in the housing market, we have a long way to go before we see anything close to a normal housing market,” said Robert Dye, senior economist at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh.

U.S. financial markets were little moved by the data.

The overall housing market has been hamstrung by a scarcity of jobs and will likely continue to cast a shadow over the broader economy.

Bad weather depressed new home sales in the first two months of the year and held back building activity.

The government is expected to report on Thursday that economic growth slowed to a 2 percent annual pace in the first quarter, according to a Reuters survey, after a brisk 3.1 percent in the last three months of 2010.

Much of the anticipated slowdown is blamed on the bad weather that blanketed large parts of the country in January and February and a spike in gasoline prices.

In a sign that the market for new homes is far from recovering, the median sales price for a new home fell 4.9 percent in March from a year-ago to $213,800.

This means the spread between the prices of new and previously owned houses is now about $54,200. It is off a record high of $80,500 reached in January.

“Existing home sales are so low that this robs demand from the new housing sector,” said Yelena Shulyatyeva, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York.

“A lot of these existing houses are three or five years old, which for a house is still new.

But you can buy for much less than the newly constructed home. The new housing sector will be the last one to recover.”

At March’s sales pace, the supply of new homes on the market slipped to 7.3 months’ worth from 8.2 months’ worth in February.

DETROIT — Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. recalled nearly 271,000 oldermodel Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4 SUVs in North America due to the chance that road salt and water could collect to cause a loss of steering, U.S. safety regulators said.

Affected in the United States and Canada are about 225,650 Pathfinders from model years 1996 to 2004 and about 45,330 Infiniti QX4 SUVs from model years 1997 to 2003.

The recall affects Pathfinders and QX4s in Canada and 20 coldweather U.S. states where road salt is used to keep roads clear of snow and ice.

Road salt and melted snow can collect in the strut housing and may cause corrosion that could lead to difficulty in steering and even loss of steering, which could cause a crash, regulators said.

Nissan will inform customers of the recall be mid-May, and its dealers will inspect and fix the issue free of charge.

No injuries have been reported due to this

issue and there is a report of an accident that was caused by it, but Nissan said that report could not be confirmed as linked to the corrosion issue.

Nissan said their tests have indicated that only a small portion of the recalled vehicles are expected to need repair.

Inspection at Nissan dealers should take a half hour to an hour but repair or replacement will take longer, said a Nissan spokesman.

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DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

Michael Vick hopes for Madden cover Michael Vick has the chance this week to become the first NFL player to appear on the cover of the Madden video game franchise for the second time.

And the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback said he’ll appreciate the honor more this time — if fans give him their vote.

Vick is one of two players — Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis is the other — left from 32 possible choices to grace the cover of Madden NFL 12.

Fans have been voting on ESPN.com since March 21 to select the cover athlete in an NCAA tournament-type process.

The winner will be announced tomorrow during “SportsNation” (ESPN2, 4 p.m.

ET).

“The first time, I really wasn’t too big on having the opportunity,” Vick said in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“I appreciated it, but this time around I think I will appreciate it so much more. I took a lot for granted early in my career. It was a great opportunity at the time, but now it will be so much more satisfying. To show it to my kids and say I was able to accomplish.”

Hillis also is excited at his shot to be on the cover, his mother Carrie told the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer.

“We are all so thrilled about it,” Carrie Hillis told the newspaper last week. “He’s so grateful to the Cleveland fans. He’s a hometown hero, and everybody is so excited. And everybody’s been voting.”

Vick first appeared on the cover of Madden NFL 2004

when he was with the Atlanta Falcons and before his fall from grace.

He was voted Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year last season after missing two seasons while serving a prison sentence for his role in a dogfighting ring and playing sparingly in 2009.

Vick led the Eagles to a 10-6 record and the NFC East title after replacing an injured Kevin Kolb after Week 1. Despite missing three games with an injury, Vick had his best season. He set career highs in yards passing (3,018), touchdowns passing (21), touchdowns rushing (9), completion percentage (62.6) and passer rating (100.2).

In 2010, Hillis became the first Browns running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season since 2008. He finished with 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns and became known for his battering-ram style, shedding tacklers with hard running.

Vick told the newspaper that the fans’ acceptance means a lot to him. He first started to notice

he had won back some fans when he was voted to represent the NFC in the Pro Bowl.

“First off, it happened with the Pro Bowl and receiving all the votes from fans. The people did all those votes and now I can reflect on it,” he told the Inquirer. “I know how hard I’ve worked on it and it has to continue. I have a lot of people I don’t want to let down, and that’s my motivation.”

The cover of Madden is a big deal for Vick. In fact, he said he’d rather be on the cover of the game than to have his image on the side of Lincoln Financial Field, where the Eagles play. He said he plays the game with his friends and also plays online, too.

Although he says he’s superstitious, he’s not afraid of the “Madden Curse”. Several players have been injured or had down years in the season immediately after being on the game’s cover — including Vick, who suffered a broken leg before the 2003 season (Madden NFL 2004 was released in August of ‘03) and missed 11 of the Falcons’ games that year.

PETA had wanted Vick removed from this year’s Madden cover vote, but EA Sports, the maker of the game, stood up for the quarterback’s inclusion.

“I appreciate EA sports standing tall and sticking up for me,” Vick told the Inquirer. “I will continue to be positive. Let other people be negative. That’s their view. They’re entitled to their opinion. I won’t try to change it.”

N Illinois LB will miss 2011 after gunshot DEKALB, Ill. - A Northern Illinois linebacker who was wounded in a drive-by shooting earlier this month said Friday that he faces a lengthy recovery and will not play in 2011.

Three days after being released from the hospital, Devon Butler spoke publicly for the first time at a campus press conference. He

said he’s at least six months away from beginning physical therapy and would concentrate on rehabilitation, regaining strength and catching up on classwork.

“I’m going to take my redshirt year,” said Butler, a junior from Pembroke Pines, Fla. “The doctors have laid out what I need to do to

get back to the classroom and also the football team.”

Authorities say a gunman in an SUV fired into the apartment building where Butler was visiting with friends on April 5.

“Those were a few days that I definitely don’t want to relive,” Butler said. “I just stopped by to see a

friend and play a few video games. I was just basically in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Butler was released from OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford last Tuesday. He suffered a collapsed lung from the shooting and said doctors told him he will make a full recovery.

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SPORTS BRIEFS Lakers’ Derrick Caracter arrested

NEW ORLEANS — Los Angeles Lakers forward Derrick Caracter was arrested in New Orleans, accused of public drunkenness and shoving a cashier at a pancake restaurant, authorities said.

Police said the 22-year-old player was arrested early Sunday and booked into jail on charges of battery, public drunkenness and resisting arrest.

Caracter allegedly grabbed and shoved the cashier at an International House of Pancakes after he was refused service and became belligerent, police said. The woman wasn’t injured.

Police intially said the cashier was pregnant but later yesterday changed their report to say that she wasn’t, according to The Times-Picayune in New Orleans.

Authorities say Caracter was freed later Sunday morning on $1,000 bond. It wasn’t clear if Caracter had a lawyer, and a call by The Associated Press to the Lakers’ organization wasn’t immediately returned.

He didn’t play in Sunday night’s playoff game against the Hornets.

A rookie out of UTEP, Caracter appeared in 41 games for Los Angeles this season, averaging two points and one rebound per game.

Ravens enter draft with air of unpredictability OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Trying to determine what the Baltimore Ravens will do with the 26th overall pick in the NFL draft is as futile an exercise as predicting the day the lockout ends.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome could select a cornerback, perhaps Colorado’s Jimmy Smith. Newsome might decide upon a pass rusher or an offensive lineman, two areas of concern for a team that had no opportunity to add depth through free agency because of the labor situation.

Or, Newsome could simply trade the pick.

A year ago, the Ravens dealt the 25th overall choice for three selections in the latter rounds.

The Ravens have nine potential selections this time around, which means Newsome will have some bargaining power after the draft gets under way on Thursday night.

Florida CB Jenkins arrested on marijuana charge GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Florida cornerback Janoris Jenkins has been charged with marijuana possession for the second time this year.

A Gainesville police report says an officer spotted the 22-year-old sitting in a parked car, smoking what the officer later found to be a marijuana cigar.

He was charged early Saturday with possession of marijuana less than 20 grams, a misdemeanor. He was released after signing a notice to appear in court May 12.

Jenkins was arrested on the same charge in January, for which he accepted a plea deal and paid $316. He was also arrested in May 2009 during a downtown fight. He signed a deferred prosecution agreement, agreeing to probation and community service.

University officials could not be immediately reached on Saturday for comment.

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DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

Sports Briefs MRI negative on Derrick Rose’s sprained ankle

DEERFIELD, Ill. - Good news for Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose: An MRI has come back negative on his sprained left ankle.

The team confirmed the news yesterday.

Rose had a walking boot on his left foot Sunday but the All-Star point guard is expected to play against Indiana in Game 5 on Tuesday night in Chicago.

The Bulls lead the first-round playoff series 3-1.

Rose sprained his left ankle late in the first quarter of Saturday’s 89-84 loss to the Pacers.

Brandon Marshall’s wife called 911 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A brief 911 call was placed by the wife of Miami Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall described only an unspecified emergency, with no mention of a stabbing, police said yesterday.

The caller, identified by the Broward Sheriff’s Office as Michi Nogami-Marshall, phoned a dispatcher at 4:41 p.m. Friday. Twice she said “Please come, it’s an emergency.” The dispatcher tried to find a location, but Nogami-Marshall apparently hung up and didn’t answer a return call.

Deputies say Nogami-Marshall stabbed her husband in the abdomen with a kitchen knife. She is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and is free on $7,500 bail. NogamiMarshall told investigators she acted in selfdefense. Court records don’t indicate if she has an attorney.

Marshall was released from the hospital Saturday and is expected to fully recover.

Marshall underwent emergency surgery Saturday morning, league sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Marshall was discharged later in the day and “expected to make a full recovery,” according to his publicist, Denise White.

According to the police report, Nogami-Marshall told police she stabbed Marshall in self-defense.

Brandon Marshall initially told police he slipped and fell onto a broken glass vase, but according to the report, police found no blood or evidence to substantiate that statement and said both Marshall and his wife provided little information.

Marshall, 27, was taken to Broward General Hospital in Fort Lauderdale by car and underwent surgery late Friday night for a stab wound to the stomach, sources told Schefter.

No vital organs were pierced in the incident, and doctors have told Marshall that he will be OK in two to three weeks, sources said.

“This is a very difficult time for Brandon and family, thankfully he will make a full recovery,” Marshall’s agents, Kennard McGuire and Harvey Steinberg, said in a statement. “We simply ask that his privacy is respected.”

Dolphins officials say they were told by the league their team doctor is allowed to see Marshall and consult with Marshall’s other doctors, despite the NFL lockout.

The Dolphins issued a statement saying: “We are aware of the report, and our thoughts are with Brandon at this time. We will look into the matter, but because we are not allowed to have any contact with any of our players we will refrain from making any further comment.”

Marshall became engaged to Nogami-Marshall while in Hawaii for the 2009 Pro Bowl.

DAILY CHALLENGE

SPORTS

UConn player arrested on drug charge

By PAT EATON-ROBB HARTFORD, Conn. Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, a swingman on Connecticut’s national championship basketball team, has been arrested on a marijuana possession charge.

Campus police say the sophomore from Dorchester, Mass. was arrested Thursday night along with two people at Merritt Hall, a campus dormitory.

“During the course of the investigation, officers found Jamal Coombs-McDaniel and two other individuals in possession of 5.6 grams of marijuana, a marijuana grinder and a package of cigars used to smoke marijuana,” according to the police report.

Coombs-McDaniel was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug

paraphernalia. He was released on a $500 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court on May 5.

He was one of 11 people arrested during the first night of Spring Weekend, an annual weekend of campus parties before final exams.

Coombs-McDaniel played in all 41 of UConn’s games during its national championship season, and started twice. He averaged 5.6 points and 2.7 rebounds.

He is a favorite with the UConn student section, which breaks into a chorus of “Cooombs” when he scores.

“We are aware of the arrest of Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, but beyond that have no further comment at this time,” said Kyle Muncy, a spokesman for the basketball program.

It was not immediately clear if Coombs-McDaniel had an attor-

ney, and he did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Coombs-McDaniel was among eight people arrested by UConn police Thursday night and early Friday morning. State troopers arrested three others. The charges ranged from marijuana and alcohol offenses to weapons violations.

For Spring Weekend, police have put in place extra patrols, limits on non-student visitors and roadblocks at many campus entries. Dozens of traffic tickets, warnings and infractions have been issued.

Officials said they hope to prevent a repeat of last year’s problems. Some 84 people were arrested and student Jafar Karzoun died at an off-campus restaurant. He was punched, fell to the ground and hit his head.

He died a week later. Edi Rapo of East Hartford awaits trial on a manslaughter charge.

3 Texas players entering NBA draft

By JIM VERTUNO AUSTIN, Texas - Texas players Tristan Thompson, Jordan Hamilton and Cory Joseph have all declared for the NBA draft.

Hamilton, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward who led the Longhorns in scoring last season, plans to sign with an agent, which would immediately end his college eligibility.

“My family and I really took our time with this decision and waited to get a good feel of what this year’s draft class would look like and where I can be drafted.

With all the information we received, it is best for me to move forward now and pursue this opportunity,” Hamilton said.

Thompson, a 6-8 forward and Joseph, a 6-3 guard, both were

freshman last season. They plan to submit their names but will hold off on signing with an agent, according to Texas officials. That will allow them to return to Texas if they choose to.

The NBA deadline for underclassmen to submit their names to the NBA is Sunday. The NCAA allows them to withdraw by May 8 and still maintain their college eligibility.

“I will continue to gather all the information about my draft status and use that information over the next two weeks to determine whether or not to keep my name in the draft,” Thompson said.

If Thompson or Joseph - or both - decide to leave with Hamilton, it would drastically change the lineup next season for a Texas team that rose to No. 3 in

the rankings and challenged Kansas for the Big 12 title.

They could join Kevin Durant (2007) and Avery Bradley (2010) as freshman who left the Longhorns in recent years.

Texas has one of the topranked recruiting classes coming in, highlighted by guard Myck Kabongo.

Texas started 11-0 in conference play before a 5-5 finish down the stretch with a second-round loss to Arizona in the NCAA tournament.

Hamilton averaged 18.6 points last season. Thompson, the Big 12 freshman of the year, averaged 13.1 points and 7.8 rebounds and blocked 86 shots.

His teammates voted him the Longhorns’ most valuable player.

Joseph averaged 10.4 points and three assists.

Chauncey Billups wants to return GREENBURGH, N.Y. — After meeting with Donnie Walsh and coach Mike D’Antoni for an exit interview yesterday morning, Knicks point guard Chauncey Billups said he is hopeful that he will return to New York next season.

“We’ll all know shortly but I’m hoping to be back. I want to be back. I loved being a Knick this year — it was a great time. I would love to be a part of bringing championship-caliber bas-

ketball back to the city.

Hopefully I’ll have that opportunity,” Billups said.

The Knicks have a team option at $14.2 million to bring back Billups next season. But the Knicks could buy him out for $3.7 million and make him a free agent. They have five days to make a decision.

“I’m hoping it all comes together,” said Billups, who missed three playoff games due to a strained left knee.

He also sat out six games due to a bruised thigh in March. But the 34-year-old, 14-year veteran insisted that he is in good shape and will be healthy for the start of the 2011-12 season.

“I’m 34, not 39,” he said.

The Knicks certainly missed Billups in the playoffs. They had a lead late in Game 1 and Billups believes the Knicks could have won the game — and the series — if he and Amare Stoudemire had been healthy.

DAILY CHALLENGE TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

DAILY CHALLENGE

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Hornets’ faithful can rejoice in Paul’s brilliance

By MARC J. SPEARS NEW ORLEANS With the morning shootaround canceled due to the holiday, New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul was able to join his family at a late Sunday morning Easter service at New Home Family Worship Center.

It was there that the All-Star listened to a moving sermon about victory from senior pastor R.C. Blakes Jr. There was also a quick mention of supporting the Hornets.

Paul was so moved

by Blakes’ words that he tweeted, “If the game 2nite is half as good as church just was, its gonna be a GREAT nite.”

With Blakes watching from a second-row baseline seat, Paul had a great night and memorable Easter as he led the underdog Hornets to a series-tying 93-88 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. He posted his second career playoff tripledouble - 27 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds.

“This is where players are made,” Paul said. “I just look at it as a great opportunity for us as a team to forget about the regular season and seize the moment.”

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant expressed concern about Paul following a season-ending overtime win against the Sacramento Kings.

Such talk was laughable at the time since the Western Conference’s secondseeded Lakers were facing an undersized Hornets squad entering the playoffs with three straight losses and without two-time AllStar forward David West due to a knee injury.

Down 2-1 in the series, Paul entered Game 4 with a left thumb injury and other ailments, including one to his hip. After Sunday, he added a cut over one eye, courtesy of a bump from Ron Artest, to his pains.

Keep in mind Paul also participated in a careerlow 45 games last season, lost primarily to a knee injury.

If Paul was in any pain on this night, his play certainly didn’t reveal that.

“I did not see him wincing at all,” Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “When he caught the ball, he just caught it. So to me that was a sign that he was OK.” Said Paul: “When you get to the playoffs, no one feels sorry for you. Nobody. They don’t care what’s wrong with your ankle, what’s wrong with your knee or anything like that.”

Paul didn’t show any signs of having a big night in the first quarter as he went scoreless with four assists.

Trevor Ariza’s 12 points kept the Hornets in reach as the Lakers held a 25-22 lead.

Paul said he fed off Ariza’s energy while finishing the first half with just four points, nine assists and six rebounds. He also managed to get under Bryant’s skin, causing the Laker to say, “You just woke me up,” after fouling Paul with 45.6 seconds left in the half.

Paul’s hot play continued into the third

quarter. After being fouled on a made jump shot with 7:14 left in the third, Paul turned to the crowd and beat his chest while rapper 50 Cent laughed in amazement nearby from a courtside seat.

“He’s maybe 6-feet and he’s out there getting rebounds,” Ariza said. “He might be 6feet and he got 13 rebounds.”

Paul quickly retorted: “Whoa. I got on dress shoes today, too, buddy.”

He hit the triple-double mark through three quarters with 13 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.

“You’re dealing with one of the best point guards in this game,” Bryant said. “When it’s all said and done, he’ll be one of the best who ever laced them up. He’s going to have games like this in particular.

He controls the ball for the majority of the game. But he’s a phenomenal player.”

Paul’s biggest play of Game 4 came from a shot he decided not to take. Leading 88-86 with about 15 seconds

New Orleans Hornets' Chris Paul (3) and Jarrett Jack (2) celebrate after Jack made a free throw in the final minute of the game during the second half of game four of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series in New Orleans. left, Paul had the ball in the worst shots I had his hands in the lane taken all game,” Paul with the shot clock said. winding down. He While the series is looked poised to take a tied and Bryant is hamwild shot as two Lakers pered by a left foot collapsed hard on him. injury, the Hornets are Instead, he dished off at expected to need a mirthe last possible acle in order to earn the moment to backup greatest upset in playguard Jarrett Jack, off history. But with who came through with Paul now playing the the decisive bucket, a 7- role of David against foot jumper with 9.3 Goliath and pastor seconds remaining.

Blakes praying and “I made a move and rooting hard for him attacked and Jarrett and the Hornets, the Jack saved me because I impossible seems possiwas about to take one of ble.

Familia r ending allows series to r etur n to Miami

By SHAUN POWELL PHILADELPHIA — With eight seconds left in a playoff game that would send the Heat to the next round with plenty of rest, it would seem to be a rather simple strategy. Give the ball to your closer. Let him decide the outcome.

Go home with a victory or, at worst, go to sleep knowing the right number was called.

What does the Heat draw up instead? An inbounds pass to LeBron James.

They should be on South Beach right now, taking a breather before a potentially intense and emotional secondround series with the Celtics. Instead, there’s a Game 5 with the Sixers tomorrow, all because the ball went to the wrong guy.

You know, the guy whose driving layup attempt last month was blocked in the final seconds by the Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire, the most recent of several times LeBron tried and failed to be a hero this season.

Well, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra did say this weird and ultimately wrong strategy of giving LeBron the ball against the Sixers had

“a couple different triggers to it.” He didn’t elaborate, but that’s probably code for LeBron was supposed to find Dwyane Wade if possible and let him pull the trigger.

Instead, LeBron isolated from the top of the key, drove the lane and had his shot blocked, again, this time by Elton Brand.

That was ballgame.

That was the Sixers, rallying from six points down in the final 95 seconds Sunday, stunning the Heat with an 86-82 Game 4 victory.

Mostly, that was the Heat melting down and allowing this series to be extended one game longer than necessary, partly because

Spoelstra evidently hasn’t learned his lesson and LeBron hasn’t learned how to close out a big game in a Miami uniform.

“We weren’t able to get anything out of it,” Spoelstra said about the Heat’s final play, and maybe that’s because they didn’t put the right amount of thought into it.

Back in Game 1, in another close finish, the ball went to Wade.

Which made sense.

Wade is the Heat’s Mariano Rivera. Wade is championship tested.

Wade is just as good off the dribble as LeBron, a better mid-range shooter and also free throw shooter, in the event of a foul. And in that

Game 1, Wade wasn’t even fully healthy, yet made the big shot anyway and only solidified his credentials as Miami’s most reliable clutch player.

Even LeBron didn’t have a problem with it, saying, “when the right hand isn’t working, sometimes you’ve got to go with the left.”

Well, like a recurring nightmare, the ball found its way back to LeBron, in the biggest game of the year, with a chance for Miami to rest five days before playing the Celtics.

Now, let us be fair: LeBron made big shots for the Cavaliers all those years, and he did score 12 of his 31 points against the Sixers in

the fourth quarter.

“I had a hot hand and guys kept feeding me,” he said.

So the fact the ball went to LeBron wasn’t necessarily a poor choice. Not saying that at all. He just wasn’t the best or most reliable option, especially since Wade wasn’t even checked by Philly’s best defender; Andre Iguodala was on LeBron. So who’s to blame?

Spoelstra wasn’t too happy with “the execution” of the play, quite naturally, and while he never mentioned anyone by name, he did say: “We have to learn how to get better in that situation.”

DAILY CHALLENGE

S SP PO OR RT TS S TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011

COVER BOY? VICK HOPES FOR MADDEN COVER

SEE PAGE 21

HORNETS’ FAITHFUL CAN REJOICE IN PAUL’S BRILLIANCE SE E PAG E 23