Vol 40, No 87 - Thursday, June 30, 2011

NEW YORK MAN HOPED TO KILL U.S. TROOPS - PG. 2 NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION

THE NATION’S ONLY BLACK DAILY 35 Cents

Final

RAISE TAXES ON WEALTHY In a blunt challenge to Republicans in Congress, Pres- tax breaks for oil companies and the super-wealthy ident Barack Obama insisted that limiting selected must be part of any deficit reduction plan. SEE PG. 3.

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DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

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Randolph Evans Memorial Scholarship’s thirty-third year

By M.M.M. TREY The Randolph Evans Memorial Scholarship Awards celebrated its 33rd Anniversary. Ten students submitted school transcripts, validating their one year of college. They received the completion of their grants. One half of the grant is given at the ceremony, and the other half is given once the first semester has been completed.

The Randolph Evans Scholarship has given $1500 to at least 10 college bound students since 1979. Only one student was given a scholarship this year.

The Randolph Evans Memorial Scholarship derived from the killing of fifteen-year-old Randolph (Randy) Evans in 1976 by New York Police Officer Robert Torsney. There was never any question that Randy was killed for no reason. In the following year, almost to the date, the jury found the officer guilty by reason of

N E W S B RI E F S CITY COUNCIL APPROVES $66 BILLION BUDGET By a vote of 49-1, the City Council yesterday signed off on its $66 billion budget deal with the mayor.

The sole “no” vote was cast by City Councilman Charles Barron of Brooklyn.

Even though the budget avoided roughly 4,000 teacher layoffs and spared 20 fire companies, there are still some deep cuts.

As part of the deal, 2,600 retiring teachers will not be replaced.

Opponents say that would lead to bigger class sizes.

About a thousand workers will still be laid off from the city’s Department of Transportation, Parks Department and Administration for Childrens Services.

“What we did in this budget was identify the areas where the pain that was proposed was simply too deep, where the cuts would have gone in and made damage that was unfixable,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Protestors marched on 250 Broadway, the Council office building across from City Hall Tuesday night.

Thirteen people were arrested for criminal trespassing while holding a sit-in inside the lobby.

Demonstrators say Wall Street needs to pay its fair share.

“I do not understand why these people who make millions and billions of dollars can’t be the ones held accountable,” said one demonstrator.

“The city has plenty of money.

They’ve got a budget surplus. Wall Street’s got billions of dollars. There should be no cuts,” said another.

The vote was originally set for Tuesday night, but would have broken the Council’s own ethics rules.

Under a 2008 reform intended to make pork barrel spending somewhat visible, the list of member items in the budget must be made public at least 24 hours before the vote.

insanity, sentencing him to two years of psychiatric treatment with weekends at home. The defense argued that Mr. Torsney had psychomotor epilepsy. The Epilepsy Foundation disavowed any association with the defense’s claim.

The community was furious with the verdict. Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry, Councilman Al Vann, Mr. Jitu Weusi, and Professor Sam Pinn stepped in to provide leadership. They called for Black Christmas ‘77 — a citywide boycott. The focus narrowed to the merchants in Downtown Brooklyn. For a year, there were boycotts, rallies, and demonstrations. The leaders vowed to perpetuate the memory of Randy Evans and create a movement that would enhance the economic and political life of Black Brooklyn and beyond. The leaders made demands on: 1) The federal government to indict Mr. Robert Torsney on the violation of the civil rights of Randy Evans.

2) New York City that Mayor Ed Koch convene a Blue Ribbon Commission to study and implement programs related to the youths. Mr. Koch said it was already being done.

3) The business community to increase in deposits in Black banks, advertisements for Black media, jobs, service contracts, increase in the philanthropic budget for Black community; and, a Randolph Evans Crises Fund, and a Randolph Evans Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Eventually, the merchants agreed to all of the demands. Both the Crises and Scholarship Funds were sponsored for five years. After the fifth year, Abraham & Straus liked the program so much that they continued to fund it until several years ago.

Over 330 scholarships have been awarded. The scholarships have gone on to become members of Congress, doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and even an astronaut. According to the

Committee members Peggie Washington, Zakya Russ, M’Balia Rubie Miller, Terrie Edward, Rev. Herbert Daughtry, scholarship winner Jazmin Denise Forbes and Rev. Karen S. Daughtry. organizers, The Randolph Evans Scholarship is one of the longest and most successful scholarship programs in the city. No other scholarship can point to a similar origin.

However, due to the absence of funds, only one scholarship was awarded this year. They were severely critical of elected officials, former awardees, and parents for not supporting the program. The movement, the organization, and individuals which have been helped by the Randy Evans Scholarship could have had easily contributed to the $15,000. Any one of the elected officials — some of whom are the direct beneficiaries of the movement emanating from Randy Evan’s death — could have contributed the measly amount from their budgets. “In all of my 50 years of ministry, what has always troubled me is the absence of gratitude and giving back,” bemoaned Rev. Daughtry. “We have helped countless people. Few returned to say thank you, or to inquire how they can help the community.”

Jazmin Denise Formes, the awardee, thanked everyone for the Scholarship Awards, and she promised to return and help the community. She graduated from Brooklyn Secondary School for Collaborative Studies. The keynote speaker was Lorenzo Chambers-Daughtry, a recent graduate of Franklin & Marshall College (Class of 2011) and the 2007

Randy Evans Scholarship Recipient.

He spoke to the students about his four years of experience in college. To the laughter of the audience, he said, “Do not fall in love in the first week.”

Lorenzo related his experiences in Africa. He helped the villagers in Senegal, and he studied drumming in Ghana. He challenged the students to continue learning and growing. He offered a quote that he had heard while he was in Africa. He said, “The rich learn and grow; the poor think they know.” At the conclusion of his remarks, Lorenzo received a standing ovation.

Rev. Daughtry challenged the youth to return to the community. He said, “The happiest people are the people who have found something bigger than themselves to which they can give themselves and will outlive themselves.” He vowed that the Randy Evans Memorial Scholarship will continue, and it will be better next year.

This was the second scholarship awarded at The House of the Lord Church during the month of June.

Scholarships were awarded on June 18, 2011 in memory of Brent Duncan, an eighteen-year-old lad who was killed in the community.

“God help our young people,” said Reverend Daughtry. “They have to live in fear of being killed by the police or their own people.”

Photo: Lem Peterkin

New York man hoped to kill U.S. troops

By JESSICA DYE A New York man traveled overseas to join militant groups linked to al Qaeda and to kill U.S. troops with the aim of dying a martyr for his radical Islamic faith, federal prosecutors said yesterday at the start of his trial.

Betim Kaziu, 23, is an American citizen who was arrested in 2009 and accused of plotting to join an Al Qaeda-affiliated group and obtain automatic weapons to kill U.S. military serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Balkans.

“Al Qaeda and other foreign terrorist organizations have put out a call to arms,” said assistant U.S. attorney Seth DuCharme during opening arguments in federal court.

“Betim Kaziu answered that call.”

A search of Kaziu’s laptop turned up training videos and lectures from militants such as Osama bin Laden, DuCharme said, along with a series

of personal communications through email, videos and social-networking sites that underscored the seriousness of his pursuit.

But Henry Steinglass, Kaziu’s attorney, rebutted prosecutors’ implication that the videos were anything more than Kaziu and his friends “fooling around” as they were confronted with a barrage of Internet propaganda aimed at confusing and ensnaring young Muslim men.

“Evidence will show that there are other interpretations” of the videos and other communications, Steinglass told the court. “Innocent interpretations.”

Kaziu, a former doorman, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder overseas and conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. If convicted he could be sentenced to life in prison.

District Judge John Gleeson has ordered an anonymous jury for the trial. Kaziu, who appeared relaxed

and smiling in the courtroom, is being held without bail.

According to the indictment, the then-21-year-old concocted a scheme in January 2009 to travel overseas and join a group with the aim of fighting perceived enemies of Islam.

The indictment says he flew to Cairo in 2009, where he attempted to make arrangements to continue on to Pakistan and obtain training and other support for militant activity, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said Kaziu tried to join Al-Shabbab, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. Al-Shabbab also supports al Qaeda, prosecutors said.

Using information obtained from Kaziu’s original travel companion, New York and federal law enforcement officials worked with law enforcement agents in Kosovo to arrest Kaziu in August 2009. He was charged in New York in September 2009.

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

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Raise taxes on wealthiest, Obama challenges GOP

By DAVID ESPO WASHINGTON — In a blunt challenge to Republicans in Congress, President Barack Obama insisted yesterday that limiting selected tax breaks for oil companies and the super-wealthy must be part of any deficit reduction plan.

“That’s not radical,” he said at a White House news conference. He was quick to add that a bipartisan agreement is possible to cut deficits, raise the government’s debt limit and avert a threatened financial crisis.

Republicans in Congress have been insistent in recent days that any deficit reduction be limited to spending cuts, including reductions in

benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and exclude additional revenues.

But Obama said both parties must be prepared to “take on their sacred cows”

as part of the deficit-reduction negotiations.

In his opening remarks, the president called on lawmakers to renew a payroll tax cut that took effect on

Jan. 1, identifying it as one of several measures lawmakers could approve to help create jobs. He also urged passage of trade agreements with Panama, South Korea and Colombia, and an overhaul of the nation’s patent laws.

Obama’s last previous fullfledged news conference was in March. In the intervening months, the economic recovery has slowed, the president has announced a plan to begin withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Afghanistan and the administration has joined an international military coalition working to prevent the rout of rebels hoping to topple Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Above all loom the negotiations with Congress on

deficit cuts demanded by Republicans as the price for supporting an increase in the nation’s debt limit.

The president stepped to the podium not long after the Monetary International Fund publicly urged lawmakers to raise the debt limit, now $14.3 trillion, and warned that failure to do so could produce a spike in interest rates and “severe shock to the economy and world financial markets.”

It recommended a longterm strategy for reducing red ink, warning that cutting deficits too quickly could slow the weak recovery of the U.S. economy.

The budget deficit is projected to reach a record $1.4 trillion for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

Harlem barbershops, salons double as informal health clinics

By JONATHAN ALLEN Turning his head from side to side as he checks his reflection in the barbershop mirror, Terrell Mack seems pretty pleased with his haircut — a tight, neat crop — but he can’t get up from the chair just yet.

The hair-dusted cape is swept away with the usual toreador flourish.

Mack’s sleeve is pushed up and the cuff of an electronic blood pressure machine is tightened around his right arm. It rapidly inflates, as do the numbers on the machine’s digital read-out screen.

“One-twenty-six over 80,” Dennis Mitchell, Mack’s barber, announces, although his 19-year-old client is briefly uncertain what to make of the reading.

“That’s pretty good,” Mitchell explains. Smiles all around.

The news makes perfect sense to Mack: “I don’t really eat fast food,” he says, to Mitchell’s approval.

The machines arrived at the Denny Moe’s Superstar Barbershop in New York’s historic African American neighborhood of Harlem in May, making it only one of the latest examples of barbers and beauty salons in predominantly Black or immigrant neighborhoods doubling up as dispensaries of informal health advice alongside more usual perms and trims.

Across the country, healthcare workers are trying to harness the unique status of the barber and the unusually intimate rapport he can develop with his regular clients. A man may be barely on nodding terms with the guy who

runs his laundromat, and yet confess every hope, fear and peccadillo once he’s seated in the barber’s chair.

“If someone is six inches from your ear and they have seen you at your worst and your best, then who better to give a health message?” Ruth Browne, the chief executive officer of the Brooklyn-based Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, said in an interview.

Although not involved in the Denny Moe’s program, the Arthur Ashe Institute is one of several organizations that believes barbershops and beauty salons may be one of the best ways to reach communities where economic, cultural and linguistic barriers impede access to primary health care.

Studies have found that men with hypertension were more likely to seek treatment and bring their blood pressure under control if they regularly saw a barber who took their blood pressure rather than one who didn’t.

Browne said the Ashe Institute has worked with more than 300 barbershops and beauty salons in New York City since the mid-90s, and recently carried out similar projects at 20 establishments in mostly Black or Latino neighborhoods in Philadelphia, helping clients get cancer screenings and advice on asthma, diabetes and other diseases.

Joseph Ravenell, an assistant professor of medicine at New York University and a physician who has focused on Black men’s health issues, said that hypertension — often associated with a highsodium diet and insufficient exercise — and colon cancer are the two biggest killers of

Black men.

“Black men unfortunately are overrepresented in professions that are less likely to be insured,” he said. “There’s also a history of a distrust of the healthcare system which we think keeps some Black men from visiting the doctor.

We try to overcome that barrier by going to the settings where Black men are more comfortable.”

He is concerned about his customer’s health to the point of evangelism. Even before the blood pressure machines arrived as part of the American Society of Hypertension’s

community outreach project, he frequently organized charitable hair-cutting marathons to raise money for health causes.

Mitchell, 45, whose nickname is Denny Moe, talks freely about his own health issues, including a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in 2010 when he weighed 285 pounds that galvanized him to shed 45 pounds. The transformation was not lost on his customers.

“I’ve got plenty of clients saying, ‘Denny, you’ve been an inspiration to me.’ I’ve got letters,” Mitchell said.

He does not mince his message: “I tell people, ‘When you’re fat, you’re sick.’ Point blank. No sugar coating.”

It seems to work. Client after client is offered a blood pressure test, and few refuse.

If the reading is on the high side, Mitchell offers to put the customer in touch with Ravenell.

Above Mitchell’s chair is a sign that informs customers they won’t have to pay for their cut if he forgets to ask them if they want a blood pressure test.

“I never gave a free haircut yet,” he said.

Lawsuit seeks gay marriage rights in New Jersey

By DAVE WARNER TRENTON, New Jersey — A gay rights legal group yesterday asked a court to force New Jersey to allow same sex couples to marry, seizing the moment days after neighboring New York made same-sex marriage legal.

Lambda Legal is seeking an injunction at Mercer County Superior Court that would bar the state from denying marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples.

By seeking action through the courts, the group is avoiding the legislature, which approved civil unions for gay couples in 2006 but failed to pass full marriage rights when the issue came up last year.

When New York’s legislature passed gay marriage on Friday, supporters said they hoped it would convince other states to do the same.

“The constitutional guarantee of equality under the

law does not stop midway through the Lincoln Tunnel,” said Hayley Gorenberg, deputy legal director for Lambda, referring to a tunnel beneath the Hudson River that links the two states.

Lambda and the seven couples listed as plaintiffs also face opposition from Governor Chris Christie, who said on Sunday he supported the current civil union law in New Jersey, adding, “I am not a fan of same-sex marriage.”

“I believe marriage should be between one man and one woman. That’s my view, and that’ll be the view of our state because I wouldn’t sign a bill ... like the one that was in New York,” Christie, a rising star in the national Republican Party, said on NBC television’s “Meet the Press.”

Lambda Legal has sought to force gay marriage rights through the courts before, suing in 2002. As a result, the state’s Supreme Court

forced the state legislature to address the issue, and in 2006 it approved a civil union law.

“Do you know how different that is, when you can’t use the word marriage?” plaintiff Karen NicholsonMcFadden, 47, who has been in a relationship 21 years, told a news conference.

“Words matter. Marriage is a word to define families.”

Another plaintiff, Erica Bradshaw, 36, said most people were confused about the meaning of a civil union.

Lambda argues that denying marriage rights to samesex couples violated the U.S. constitutional right to equal protection for all citizens.

“Singling out lesbians and gay men and their children, barring them from marriage and shunting them aside to something lesser, unfamiliar, inferior, means the government is causing, triggering, fueling the inequality the Supreme Court said the Constitution does not allow,” Gorenberg said.

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DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

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Ostracizing Black leaders who criticize Obama

By GEORGE E. CURRY

THOMAS H. WATKINS

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The Bible is filled with characters who started out on shaky ground – Paul, David and Solomon, among them – before being transformed into epic figures. But it seems that Black leaders who dare to criticize President Obama don’t get second chances. Instead, they are the object of widespread ridicule and condemnation.

I spent some time last week with two such leaders – Cornel West and Jesse Jackson – at the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) national convention in Chicago.

Although their standing among African Americans has slipped, their analysis of where Blacks have been and need to go is as incisive as ever.

Neither Jackson nor West should be viewed in isolation.

The Black community does not want to hear anything bad about Barack Obama, even if it’s true.

If a white president had been as dismissive of African Americans’ interests as Obama has been, Blacks would have been ready to march on the White House. As Michael Eric Dyson says, “This president runs from race like a Black man runs from a cop.”

Even so, Blacks treat him like royalty.

My friend Roland Martin is quick to insist that guests on his television program refer to the man who occupies the White House as President Obama. I refuse to play this game. Obama – yes, I said it – is a president, not

head of some monarchy. I have called Carter, Reagan, Clinton and Bush by their last names. I am not going to say President Obama every time I refer to him.

Sometimes he is President Obama, sometimes he is Obama.

I refuse to treat him like King Obama.

The problem with West and Jackson is their critiques, however valid, were wrapped in language that was offensive to many African Americans. To call Obama the Black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs – a term most people hadn’t heard since their last high school civics class – is over the edge in this instance.

Don’t get me wrong: there are some Black Anglo-Saxons who deserve to be called mascots and worse – and I’ve called them that.

But Obama is not in that category.

When I gave Cornel West a chance to soften his description of the president during a discussion I moderated at the NNPA convention between him and Al Sharpton, he declined. He could have said, “I stand by everything I said about the president but not how I said it.” That would have gone a long way toward refocusing the discussion on real issues, not the Al Sharpton-Cornel West sideshow.

In Jesse Jackson’s case, he has been largely excommunicated from the race for a comment that reeked of envy. After an interview on Fox News in 2008, he told a fellow guest that he wanted to cut Obama’s private parts off. He also used the N-word in a conversation that he did not know was being picked up by the

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microphones.

Jackson later apologized, saying his comments were “hurtful and wrong.” By then, however, the damage had been done. At the time, Obama was making a credible bid to become president of the United States. And Blacks did not want to hear anything disparaging about the man who went on to win the nation’s highest elected office. Many, if not most, Blacks haven’t forgiven Jackson for his crude remarks.

Notwithstanding Jackson’s expressed desire to dismember Obama or West’s deeply personal attack on the president, each made valid critiques of President Obama. Jackson was correct to point out that sometimes Obama speaks down to African-Americans. That is particularly true when he lectures Blacks on moral responsibility but does not make similar speeches to White audiences. Cornel West is correct in stating that the administration does not pay enough attention to the needs of the poor and African Americans.

Despite overwhelming evidence of disproportionate Black suffering during this recession, Obama refuses to target the specific needs of African Americans.

His response is: “It’s a mistake to start thinking in terms of particular ethnic segments of the United States rather than to think that we are all in this together and we are all going to get out of this together.”

Yet, it was not a mistake to address the specific needs of Wall Street. He can speak to the specific agenda of gays and Les-

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DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

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GOP ploy: Blame Black joblessness on President Obama

By EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON GOP presidential contenders Michelle Bachman and Newt Gingrich figured out yet another ploy to knock President Obama. Blame him for joblessness among Blacks now at nearly Great Depression levels, especially for young Black males.

Both candidates made the claim in recent speeches at the Republican Leadership Conference. Gingrich got so carried away with this absurd notion that he went off the deep end by claiming that Obama’s supposed culpability virtually insures that Blacks will turned off by the president in his reelection bid.

It’s tempting simply to chalk this ploy up to Gingrich being Gingrich, saying the first thing that comes to mind to snatch a momentary headline. But what may draw attention to this claim is the perennially chronic number of young Blacks, who can’t find work.

Also, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), National Urban League, and NAACP have sounded warning bells for months about the ticking time bomb of high Black unemployment.

Their grave concern over the problem came to a head the first year of Obama’s White House tenure, when an impatient Congressional Black Caucus and other community organizations pressed Obama to say and do more about the

jobless crisis among Blacks.

The president refused to push any special initiatives or earmark funding for unemployed Blacks. He contended then, as he does now, that growing the economy and the billions pumped in stimulus dollars in jobs projects was the best way to dent Black joblessness. This caused a momentary flap with the CBC last December. The friction quickly disappeared from the news, but the issue didn’t, and the GOP took note of the discord.

What’s relevant in Gingrich and Bachman’s silly charge that Obama has exacerbated Black unemployment is that it again spotlights the problem, raises questions why so many Blacks can’t get a job, why it’s been that way so long, and what can be done about it.

Chronic Black unemployment has been a fixture for a long while.

During the Clinton-era economic boom of the 1990s, the unemployment rate for young Black males was double that of white males— and triple in some parts of the United States.

The reasons for persistent unemployment among young African Americas are not hard to find. First were the massive state and federal cutbacks in job training and skills programs, which have only been made worse by the slash and burn budget and deficit-reduction proposals of the GOP free marketers— people like Bachman and Gingrich.

Second has been the brutal competition with immigrants for low and partly skilled service and retail

jobs. Add to that the refusal of many employers to hire those with criminal records, which sledgehammered Black communities.

In the late 1990s, long before the big run-up in Black unemployment, the California Assembly Commission on the Status of the AfricanAmerican Males reported that four out of 10 felons entering California prisons are young Black males.

The high number of inner-city public schools that are failing miserably also fuels the unemployment crisis. They have turned thousands of Blacks into educational cripples.

These students are desperately ill equipped to handle the rapidly evolving and demanding technical and professional skills needed to succeed in the public sector and business world of the 21st century.

The educational meltdown has seeped into the colleges. According to an American Council of Education report, in the past decade Latino, Asian and Black female student enrollment has soared while Black male enrollment has slowed down.

By far, the biggest single reason for the persistent Black joblessness is discrimination. Researchers have consistently found that Black men without a criminal record are less likely to find a job than white men with criminal records.

The mountain of federal and state anti-discrimination laws, affirmative action programs and successful employment discrimination lawsuits give the public the impression that job discrimination is a relic of a shameful racist past.

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Leaders who criticize Continued from page 4 bians without it being considered a mistake. It was not a mistake in Obama’s mind to speak to the specific needs of the automobile industry. It was not a mistake to speak to the special interests of banks. But when it comes to the needs of African Americans, we are supposed to wait for progress to trickle down to and upon us.

Yes, he is president of all of America. But all of America includes Black America.

The sad reality is that most civil rights leaders have given Obama a pass. If the unemployment rates and economic gap had widened under a white president, Al Sharpton would have been in the streets chanting, “No Justice, No Peace.” Instead, the ultimate outsider has become the ultimate insider, defending the administration with the vigor of a cabinet member.

As a group, today’s collection of civil rights leaders are ineffectual and out of touch. For example, with all of the problems facing us, the NAACP chose to spend part of its limited national, state and local resources to make sure Black motorcycle riders were not discriminated against on the Memorial Day weekend in Myrtle Beach, S.C. We have far more serious issues facing Black America. And we need the voices and analysis of all of our national leaders, even after they have put their foot in their mouth.

— George E. Curry, former editorin-chief of Emerge magazine and the NNPA News Service, is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. He can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com You can also follow him atwww.twitter.com/currygeorge.

Wanted: Houses to Buy

But the evidence on who is unemployed and why tells a far different story.

Countless studies and the numerous discrimination complaints reviewed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over the past decade reveal that employers have devised endless dodges to evade anti-discrimination laws.

That includes rejecting applicants by their names or areas of a city in which they live. Black applicants may be incorrectly told that jobs advertised have been filled.

Research on employers’ hiring practices in some cities show that many top corporate officials said in interviews they would not hire Blacks. When asked to assess the work ethic of white, Black and Latino employees by race, a high percentage of employers ranked Blacks dead last.

Gingrich, Bachman and almost certainly other GOP candidates before the campaign dust clears will use the crisis issue of Black unemployment to take a sucker punch at Obama. They, of course, offer no new initiatives to hack away at the high numbers of Black jobless.

Meanwhile, there is no evidence that the GOP contenders have done what the president has done in stumping with industry groups and leaders to prod corporations to jumpstart hiring. Republicans have only one sticking point for their ludicrous fingerpointing at Obama for allegedly failing Blacks on unemployment. The crisis is no laughing matter.

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New Jersey must provide about $500 million for its Court said, complicating the state’s ongoing budget poorer school districts next year, the state Supreme negotiations.

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DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

Transit agency Strong words, student attendance settles Oakland mark Senate DREAM hearing shooting case for $1.3 million

By MOLLY O’TOOLE

By EMMETT BERG SAN FRANCISCO — The mother of a Black man shot to death by a transit police officer on an Oakland train platform in 2009 agreed on Tuesday to settle her federal lawsuit against the transit agency, officials said.

The $1.3 million settlement came after two years of negotiations between victim Oscar Grant’s mother and the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency, which employed the officer, agency spokesman Linton Johnson said.

Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson, filed a $50 million lawsuit in May of 2009 against BART, alleging wrongful death and violation of civil rights in the fatal shooting of her 22-year-old son.

Johannes Mehserle, the white former officer in the racially charged case, was convicted last year of involuntary manslaughter in Grant’s death. He was released from jail earlier this month with good behavior credit after serving 11 months of a twoyear sentence.

Mehserle’s early release led to street protests in Oakland, but not the wave of looting and vandalism which followed his conviction on the manslaughter charge rather than murder.

Cell phone video of Grant’s shooting showed him lying face down on an Oakland train platform when Mehserle shot him in the back.

At Mehserle’s trial, the former BART officer testified he meant to use an electric Taser weapon on Grant, but mistakenly drew and fired his gun.

The settlement with Johnson is the second to result from Grant’s death.

The transit agency last year agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a claim brought on behalf of Grant’s 5-year-old daughter Tatiana.

WASHINGTON — Strong words and hundreds of students, a number of them undocumented immigrants, kicked off the first Senate hearing on the DREAM Act on Tuesday.

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and experts from the Department of Defense, military, and outside groups testified in support of the immigration bill at the hearing Tuesday morning.

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, a long-time DREAM Act supporter, chaired the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security hearing. He noted estimates that passage of the act could make some 2 million people eligible for citizenship.

The bill would give young people who are illegal immigrants but have lived in the United States for at least five years, graduated from high school, and are of “good moral character” a path to citizenship by pursuing higher education or serving in the military.

Candidates would have to undergo a several-year process of background checks and other requirements.

Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn, ranking minority member of the Subcommittee, pushed Napolitano on the long-term impact of the act as well as broader immigration issues.

The Development, Relief, and Education for Minors (DREAM) Act passed the House but fell short in the Senate — where it was considered without hearings in the closing days of the 111th Congress last year.

Durbin re-introduced the

bill last month. It has 34 cosponsors thus far, according to Napolitano’s testimony.

Napolitano, formerly a two-term Arizona governor, said the act would promote Homeland Security’s mission.

“Without the DREAM Act, young people will continue to be caught up in the immigration removal system, siphoning resources from other, more pressing needs,” Napolitano said.

Cornyn questioned what he called the administration’s “selective” enforcement policy and whether the bill’s passage would encourage illegal immigration.

“You’re here under oath ...

I think it’s appropriate to ask you questions,” Cornyn addressed Napolitano.

Napolitano answered, “Removal of everyone in the country — it’s obvious those resources are not available ...

We’re really dealing with the young people here in this room who are no risk to pub-

lic security.”

Duncan testified that the U.S. will need to fill 2.6 million job openings in fields of science and math by 2018, jobs that DREAM Act students could fill.

He cited a 2010 study from the University of California Los Angeles that the DREAM Act could generate up to $3.6 trillion in total career income for those eligible.

A 2010 Congressional Budget Office report found passage could represent a $1.4 billion deficit reduction, he said.

“I am a DREAM Act student,” said Ola Kaso, an Albanian, pre-med University of Michigan student who testified before the subcommittee. “I am American in my heart.” Kaso’s deportation was deferred by Homeland Security for a year last March.

The hearing was moved to a larger room due to the number of students and supporters in attendance. Outside, they lined the halls.

Inside, they wore graduation gowns and four-cornered caps, matching T-shirts and yellow safety vests as a show of support for the immigration bill.

Texas lawmakers approve bill that cuts school funding

By CORRIE MACLAGGAN AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas House and Senate on Tuesday evening sent Governor Rick Perry a bill that cuts $4 billion from public schools over two years.

Balancing the state’s 2012-2013 budget — as required by the Texas Constitution — depended on the passage of the school finance measure, which would delay payments to districts and reduce the amount the law says the state must pay districts. The state has a twoyear budget cycle.

“We have to pass (Senate Bill 1) to fund our schools,”

House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, a Republican, said during debate on the measure earlier this month, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

But Democratic state Representative Mike Villarreal of San Antonio called the bill the “final nail in the coffin” for Texas schools.

“This legislature will go down in the history books as the worst for public education in a generation,” Villarreal said in a statement on Tuesday.

Republicans have the majority in both chambers.

Perry, a Republican who has said he is thinking of running for president, signed the $172 billion state

budget into law in mid-June.

It spends $15 billion less than the last budget cycle.

The school finance bill died at the end of the regular legislative session in late May after a filibuster by a Democratic senator, Wendy Davis, who objected to the school cuts. Perry then called lawmakers into a special session to resolve the school finance issue.

Davis and other Democrats said the cuts to schools would be devastating, leading to teacher layoffs and larger class sizes. But Republicans said the school finance measure was necessary in order to ensure a budget that did not raise taxes or dip into the state’s

estimated $6.5 billion rainy day fund.

That’s what was left in the fund after lawmakers, with Perry’s blessing, did approve spending about a third of the reserve, funded by a tax on the state’s oil and natural gas production, to close a deficit in the 2011 budget.

The state’s budget cuts came in the face of a shortfall partly due to the economic downturn and partly due to the state’s reliance on onetime money, including federal stimulus dollars, in 20102011. Also, a reconfigured state business tax designed to pay for 2006 school property tax cuts did not generate as much as expected.

DOD: Military recruitment strong for the year

By WENDELL MARSH WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has met or exceeded most of its troop recruitment and retention goals for the present fiscal year through the end of May, the Department of Defense said.

Defense officials say they are confident the services will achieve their goals for the entire fiscal year ending in September.

The active components of the Navy, Marine Corps, and the Air Force achieved 100 percent of their recruitment goals. The Army exceeded its goals by two percent, a statement said.

Among the reserve elements, all but the Air Force Reserve, which achieved 98 percent of its goals, met or exceeded their recruitment expectations.

The Army and Marine Corps Reserve beat their goals by 11 and 10 percent respec-

tively.

According to a Marine Corps spokesman, since fiscal year 2005, the Marine Corps has recruited an average of 38,500 Marines per year.

“For more than a decade, we have met or exceeded our annual missions,” Major John Caldwell told Reuters in an email, saying the Marine Corps’ “well-led and disciplined” recruiting apparatus that employs about 3,100 canvassing recruiters throughout the country is one key to

the high performance.

Even as demand for troops dwindles with the de-escalation of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, there remains a large supply of willing service men and women.

Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez was quoted in a DOD statement as saying successful recruiting, high retention rates, and military downsizing have impacted the number of positions available to recruits and prior-service members alike.

DAILY D CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

INTERNATIONAL

7

Egyptian police, youths clash; over 1,000 hurt

By PATRICK WERR & YASMINE SALEH CAIRO - Police in Cairo fired tear gas yesterday at hundreds of stonethrowing Egyptian youths after a night of clashes that injured more than 1,000 people, the worst violence in the capital in several weeks.

Nearly five months since a popular uprising toppled long-serving authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s military rulers are struggling to keep order while a restless public is still impatient for reform.

The latest clashes began after families of people killed in the uprising that ousted Mubarak held an event in a Cairo suburb late on Tuesday in their honor.

Other bereaved relatives arrived to complain that names of their own dead were not mentioned at the ceremony. Fighting broke and moved toward the capital’s central Tahrir Square and the Interior Ministry, according to

officials.

The Health Ministry said 1,036 people were injured, among them at least 40 policemen.

The ruling military council said in a statement on its Facebook page that the latest events “had no justification other than to shake Egypt’s safety and security in an organised plan that exploits the blood of the revolution’s martyrs and to sow division between the people and the security apparatus.”

Prime Minister Essam Sharaf told state TV he was monitoring developments and awaiting a full report on the clashes.

A security source quoted by the state news agency MENA said 40 people were arrested, including one U.S. and one British citizen, and were being questioned by military prosecutors.

Some said those involved were bent on battling police rather than protesting. To others, the violence seemed motivated by politics.

“The people are angry that the court cases against top officials keep getting delayed,” said Ahmed Abdel Hamid, 26, a bakery employee who was at the scene overnight,

Protesters help a fellow demonstrator after he was injured by teargas and a stone in Tahrir Square in Cairo. referring to senior the police of the protestpolitical figures from ers last night,” said the discredited Magdy Ibrahim, 28, an Mubarak era. accountant at Egypt’s By early afternoon, Banque du Caire. eight ambulances were TREATING in Tahrir, epicenter of WOUNDED the revolt that toppled The clashes Mubarak on February unnerved Egypt’s 11, and the police had financial market, with left the square. Dozens equity traders blaming of adolescent boys, the violence for a 2 pershirts tied around their cent fall in the benchheads, blocked traffic mark EGX30 index, its from entering Tahrir, biggest drop since June using stones and scrap 2. metal.

First-aid workers Some drove mopeds treated people mostly in circles around the for inhaling tear gas in square making skids overnight violence. A and angering Reuters correspondent bystanders.

“Thugs, saw several people with thugs... The square is minor wounds, includcontrolled by thugs,” an ing some with head old man chanted. cuts.

“I am here today Mohsen Mourad, the because I heard about deputy interior ministhe violent treatment by ter for Cairo, said the

security forces did not enter Tahrir overnight and dealt only with 150-200 people who tried to break into the Interior Ministry and threw stones, damaging cars and police vehicles.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s political warned party Egyptians that remnants of Mubarak’s rule could exploit violence to their ends. Presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei called on the ruling military council to quickly clarify the facts surrounding the violence and to take measures to halt it.

U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns, visiting Cairo, said he hoped an investigation into the clashes would be “fair and thorough.”

Young men lit car tyres in the street near the ministry yesterday, sending black plumes of smoke into the air.

“There is lack of information about what happened and the details are not clear.

But the certain thing is that Egyptians are in a state of tension and the reason behind this is that officials are taking time to put Mubarak and officials on trial,” said political analyst Hassan Nafaa.

Sporadic clashes,

some of them between Muslims and the Christian minority, have posed a challenge to a government trying to restore order after many police deserted the streets during the against uprising Mubarak. In early May, 12 people were killed and 52 wounded in sectarian clashes and the burning of a church in Cairo’s Imbaba neighborhood.

A hospital in central Cairo’s Munira neighborhood received two civilians and 41 policemen with wounds, bruises and tear gas inhalation, MENA said.

All were discharged except one civilian with a bullet wound and a policeman with concussion, it said.

Former interior minister Habib al-Adli has been sentenced to jail for corruption but he and other officials are still being tried on charges related to killing protesters.

Police vehicles were stoned by protesters at Sunday’s hearing.

The former president, now hospitalized, has also been charged with the killing of protesters and could face the death penalty.

Mubarak’s trial starts on August 3.

Police search Kabul hotel after Taliban attack kills 9

By ALISTAIR SCRUTTON KABUL - Afghan police sifted through one of Kabul’s landmark hotels room by room yesterday for any more casualties, securing the building after an overnight assault

by Taliban suicide bombers killed eight Afghan civilians and police and a foreigner.

The nine attackers, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons, stormed the heavily

g u a r d e d Intercontinental hotel, frequented by Westerners and VIPs, before a NATO helicopter killed the remaining insurgents in a final rooftop battle that ended a raid lasting more than five hours.

The foreign victim was a Spanish civil aviation pilot, according to Spain’s foreign ministry.

The brazen raid came only a week after President Barack Obama announced a phased withdrawal of combat troops to 2014, and it raised more doubts about the ability of Afghan security forces to battle insurgents.

It needed a NATO helicopter to finally finish off the attackers, and NATO trainers helped oversee the Afghan police response to the raid.

After several explosions, attackers entered the hotel late on Tuesday and made their way to the ballroom, a hotel receptionist said.

Some carried tape recorders playing Taliban war songs and shot at anyone they saw. Guests jumped from second and third floors to escape, the receptionist told Reuters, asking not to be identified.

“The police are still searching room by

room to see if there are any casualties or any threats,” Kabul police chief Ayoub Salangi told reporters.

Eight people were wounded in the attack, according to the Interior Ministry.

There have been insurgent attacks at a hotel, guesthouse and a supermarket in Kabul over the past year, although the capital has been relatively quiet compared with the rest of the country.

The timing of the attack, suggested similarities with other raids meant to show the Taliban retain the ability to strike at will despite gains made by NATO-led troops over

the past 18 months.

Some guests included provincial governors attended a conference due that began yesterday over the transition of civil and military responsibility from foreign forces to Afghans, two Afghan officials said.

Last week, Obama announced plans for an initial withdrawal of 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, with another 23,000 to leave by the end of 2012, sparking concern the Afghan security forces were not ready to take over.

But President Hamid Karzai said the plan stood.

“This insurgent attack cannot stop our security transition process,” Karzai said in a statement.

LATE-NIGHT ATTACK Hours after the attack began, some foreign hotel guests were driven away in diplomatic vehicles while others waited on a street outside the hotel as the sun rose over Kabul.

Reuters witnesses heard at least seven blasts over the course of more than five hours, with bursts of gunfire heard.

Three insurgents were shot dead while six blew themselves up.

AFRICAN SCENE

88

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

AFRICAN SCENE

Botswana public servants challenge labour law change

By MONIRUL BHUIYAN

f Zimbabwe energy minister cleared in fuel deal HARARE - Zimbabwe energy minister Elton Mangoma on Tuesday was cleared of charges that he breached tender regulations in a fuel deal.

“The state has failed to establish a prima facie case,” Justice Chinembiri Bhunu said. “The accused is, therefore, found not guilty.”

The verdict was greeted with cheers from supporters and family members in the gallery.

The judge said Mangoma could not be faulted for sourcing fuel when petrol shortages threatened to bring the country’s fragile economy to its knees.

“During the period in question, there was an acute shortage of fuel in the country,” the judge said.

“Virtually all state witnesses confirmed that there was no fuel at the material time.”

Mangoma, a top aide of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, was accused of breaching tender regulations in the purchase of five million litres of diesel from a South African company when Zimbabwe’s fuel reserves ran dry in 2009.

Zimbabwe’s procurement laws prohibit government departments from buying goods worth more than $50,000 without going to tender.

His arrest and detention in March drew an angry reaction from Tsvangirai, who called for new elections and said it was time for a “divorce” in the unity government with veteran President Robert Mugabe.

Mangoma will appear in court on July 28 for trial in another case in which he is facing allegations of cancelling a tender for the supply of prepaid meters to the state electricity company.

- Jekesai Njikizana

Tunis police arrest 30 during Salafist protest: witnesses TUNIS - Tunisian police arrested about 30 people on Tuesday at a rally by Salafist Muslims demanding the release of comrades who ransacked a cinema that showed a film on secularism, witnesses said.

On Sunday, six members of the Salafist movement were arrested after they stormed a cinema and broke its glass doors in a bid to stop the screening of the film: “Neither Allah, nor Master” on secularism in Tunisia.

The cinema raid prompted outcry from several corners of Tunisian society.

On Tuesday, about 100 Salafist demonstrators gathered outside the main courthouse in Tunis to protest against the weekend arrests, chanting: “God is great” and other slogans.

Demanding the six men be released, they attacked three lawyers who had to be taken to hospital.

Police intervened and arrested about thirty people, according to multiple sources.

On Monday, Tunisia’s Islamist movement Ennahda (Renaissance) said it had pulled out of a national commission tasked with drawing up political reforms.

The group, which was legalised early March after three decades as a banned opposition group, accused the panel of ignoring the true aims of Tunisians.

GABORONE, Botswana Botswana’s public sector union has taken the government to court to contest the classification of diamond cutters and teachers as essential workers who cannot strike, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Hot on the heels of the country’s first-ever civil servants strike closing hospitals and schools, Labour Minister Peter Siele last week expanded the list of essential workers to include veterinarians, teachers and diamond sorters and cutters.

“It is unlawful for the government to classify any workers as essential without consulting the said employees and their unions.

We have thus sought court’s intervention,” union representative Goretetse Kekgonegile told AFP. He said parliament had to endorse the changes, which did not happen in this case.

“We will not fold our hands while the government changes

Botswana public servants demonstrate in Gaborone in April 2011. Botswana's public sector union has taken the government to court to contest the classification of diamond cutters and teachers as essential workers who cannot strike, a spokesman said Tuesday. labour laws as it pleases.”

Previously, essential services included air traffic control, electricity services, fire services, the bank of Botswana, health services and sewage services.

The Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions earlier this month ended an eight-week

stayaway for a 16 percent salary increase.

Public workers settled for three percent after the government insisted it could not afford a larger increase as the global economic crisis sapped demands for diamonds, the mainstay of the economy.

Witness: Rwandan soldiers behind SAfrica shooting

By DONNA BRYSON JOHANNESBURG One of the men accused of trying to kill a former Rwandan general exiled in South Africa said that Rwandan soldiers with plenty of cash and cars were behind the plot, a friend testified yesterday.

The testimony came on the second day of trial in the June 2010 shooting of Lt. Gen. Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa. The former Rwandan military chief went into exile just months before he was attacked in Johannesburg.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s government has denied allegations of involvement in the case. However, witnesses in the trial have asked for special protection, saying they fear the Rwandan government.

Kalisa Mubarak, a 36-year-old Rwandan who immigrated to South Africa in 2003, testified yesterday that he has known one of the six suspects since they were children.

He said that former Rwandan soldier Amani Uriwani told him about being recruited by some European-based Rwandans to help with a job in Johannesburg.

Mubarak said his friend would only say the target was also a soldier, and he tried to talk Uriwani out of taking part. Uriwani was offered 10,000 rand (about $1,400) for his part in the attack, according to his friend’s testimony.

Prosecutors say Mubarak has been moved with his wife and three children to a secret location under a witness protection program.

Two body guards sat

nearby as he testified in English and Kinyarwanda. He wore dark glasses and sat in the witness stand with his chin sunk in a black-and-white checked scarf draped around his neck.

Three Rwandans and three Tanzanians are accused of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and other charges in Nyamwasa’s shooting.

Nyamwasa and other Rwandans living abroad have accused the president of crushing dissent and democracy after he helped to end the 1994 genocide that left more than 500,000 people dead in Rwanda.

In May, British police warned some Rwandan exiles living in the U.K. that their lives were in danger, and the threat is believed to have emanated from the Rwandan government.

Human rights groups say opposition

politicians, journalists and civil society activists have been subjected to crackdowns inside Rwanda as well.

The key suspect in the South Africa case is Pascal Kanyandekwe, a Rwandan businessman.

He’s also accused of plotting to kill Nyamwasa while the general was hospitalized after the shooting.

Kanyandekwe and four men not linked to the shooting are to stand trial in the hospital plot later this month. He also is accused of bribery after two police officers said he offered them $1 million to let him go when they arrested him in July 2010.

The shooting victim, who has kept a low profile since the June 2010 attack, also faces international war crimes charges linked to the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide allegations he denies.

D CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011 DAILY

AFRICAN SCENE

9

Exiled Ben Ali to face new charges in Tunis court

By PHILIPPE SAUVAGNARGUES TUNIS -Tunisia’s ousted president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali faces new weapons and drug charges in a Tunis court today a week after he was sentenced in absentia to 35 years in jail for embezzling public funds.

The disgraced exstrongman, who fled to Saudi Arabia in January at the height of a popular uprising, will not be in the dock as Riyadh has so far ignored Tunisia’s demands that he be extradited.

After only six hours of deliberation on June 20, a Tunis court sentenced Ben Ali and his wife Leila Trabelsi to 35 years in prison each for misappropriating public funds, after money and jewellery were found at their palace on the outskirts of Tunis.

The judge, Touhami Hafi, also fined Ben Ali 50 million dinars (25 million euros) and his wife 41 million dinars.

But he postponed until today a second case targeting Ben Ali only, involving weapons and drugs allegedly found in the Carthage palace.

The judge said the delay was to allow Ben Ali’s lawyers more time to prepare their

defence.

In today’s case, the former president is specifically accused of drug possession and trafficking as well as weapons possession, charges that his Lebanese lawyer has dismissed as fanciful and insulting.

The weapons, says Ben Ali, were for the most part gifts from foreign leaders and he dismisses as a setup the discovery of about two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of drugs in his office after his departure.

His court-appointed lawyer, Abdesattar Messaoudi, said that as on June 20 the verdict in today’s case was likely to be announced on the same day.

“I am more than convinced that the verdict will be announced on that same day. It’s summary justice.”

Messaoudi said Ben Ali could get a 20- to 30-year jail term because of “aggravating circumstances”

Tunisia's ousted president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, seen here in 2010, faces new weapons and drug charges in a Tunis court Thursday a week after he was sentenced in absentia to 35 years in jail for embezzling public funds.

The alleged ill-gotten Calling his June 20 although he said there were “holes” in what he conviction a “parody of gains amassed by the saw as a “hastiled- justice” and “political ousted president and liquidation,” Ben Ali his wife during Ben mounted” case.

Ben Ali has denied said that he considered Ali’s 23-year rule have any wrongdoing and himself the victim of a been estimated as being through his Paris-based plot that needs him as worth about a quarter Tunisia’s gross lawyer Jean-Yves Le the “absolute evil” so of Borgne said the Tunis that Tunisians “are pre- national product.

The June 20 trial was court last week “deliv- pared for a new political ered a sentence that is system created behind the first of many cases judicially insane but their backs by extrem- expected to be brought ists.” politically opportune.”

E. Guinea banking on AU summit to refurbish image SIPOPO CITY, E. Guinea - Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea is banking on the African Union summit which it will host this week to refurbish an image tarnished by allegations of serious human rights violations.

Its president Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who has ruled the country since seizing power in a 1979 coup, was named the AU’s new chairman at a summit in Addis Ababa in January.

“In the past, no-one knew Equatorial Guinea.

But now, everybody knows it. It was not a fortuitous decision (the choice of Obiang). It is because African leaders have

faith and confidence in Equatorial Guinea,” the president said after his election.

“A few years ago, he could not have dreamt to host this summit.

Now he has the means, and he wants to impress,” a Gabonese diplomat said.

The full AU summit opens yesterday in Sipopo City, a sprawling town built specially to host the summit near the capital Malabo, and will close on Friday.

Obiang inaugurated Sipopo three weeks ago, congratulating his government and construction firms involved for completing “such an emblematic city in a record two years.”

Sipopo boasts 52 luxury presidential villas, a conference hall, an

artificial beach, a golf course and the French luxury hotel Sofitel.

The small west African country is subSaharan Africa’s third largest oil producer and has launched an ambitious construction programme financed by its petro-dollars. It will host the Africa Cup of Nations next year.

It is home to around 700,000 people, who are mostly poor despite the country’s oil wealth.

Obiang has long been accused of human right abuses.

A week ago, Amnesty International accused Malabo of clamping down on freedom of expression ahead of the AU summit, saying political opponents and around

100 students had been arrested and detained in recent months.

Amnesty said the arrests appeared to be “a pre-emptive measure to prevent any demonstrations during the summit”.

But Obiang has long maintained that there are no rights violations in his country, pointing out that he had signed an agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross to monitor its rights record.

And he denounced as “irrational” a decision by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural O r g a n i s a t i o n (UNESCO) last October to suspend a prize he sponsored.

- PATRICK FORT

against Ben Ali as well as top members of his regime on allegations including murder, torture, money laundering and trafficking of archaeological artefacts.

Of the 93 charges Ben Ali and his inner circle face, 35 are to be referred to a military court, a justice ministry spokesman said.

Many Tunisians and several human rights groups have said more should have been done to secure Ben Ali’S extradition ahead of his trial.

Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Islamist Ennahda party, meanwhile dimissed the first trial as a “masquerade” and told AFP that Ben Ali “deserved to get the death sentence for all his crimes against the Tunisian people.”

Ben Ali’s ouster, which touched off an unprecedented wave of similar uprisings in the Arab world, came less than a month after the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old street vendor whose protest over unemployment unleashed already-simmering popular anger against Ben Ali.

Three killed in Mali mine explosion Three civilians were killed in a mine explosion in western Mali on Tuesday where Mauritanian and Malian troops are conducting joint operations against AlQaeda-linked militants, officials said.

“A mine just exploded on the border between Mali and Mauritania. Three civilians were killed but we do not know if they are Malian or Mauritanian,” government official Moustapha Dante said.

This was confirmed by a Malian security source.

On Monday Mauritanian and Malian soldiers swept a forest area in north-west Mali on three days after a raid by the Mauritanian army on an AlQaeda base left 17 dead, including two soldiers, sources said.

The search operation in and around the Wagadou forest was a joint effort by the armies of neighbours Mali and Mauritania to flush out any remaining Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) members, Mauritanian sources said.

It came after a raid on Friday left the camp “completely destroyed”, according to the Mauritanian army, which reported the base had housed heavy weapons and posed “a real threat to our country.”

1 10

CARIBBEAN NEWS DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

St Vincent PM a master of contradictions, says US memo

By KENTON X. CHANCE KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent — The U.S. Embassy in Barbados in 2008 described St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves as “a master of contradictions, who continues to court whatever foreign government he can in order to secure financial and other benefits for his country,” according to WikiLeaks’ latest release of secret cables from the U.S. Embassy in Bridgetown to

Washington.

Gonsalves is also quoted as blaming then St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) ambassador to the UN, Margaret HughesFerrari, for the country’s inconsistent voting on human rights issues.

Gonsalves described Hughes-Ferrari, who has since been replaced

by Gonsalves’ son, Camillo Gonsalves, as “cynical in her view that so-called Western nations used the human rights issue selectively”.

According to the

Rihanna to encourage tourism as new ambassador for Barbados LONDON, England — The Barbados Tourism Authority has announced this week that pop sensation Rihanna has become Barbados’s ambassador for tourism. The star, who was born and raised on the island, will undertake a three-year promotional partnership with the Barbados T o u r i s m Authority including advertising campaigns, concerts and social media promotion.

Online travel specialists Travelmatch says that the singer’s endorsement of the island will draw more travellers to the island in the next few years.

Alex Francis of Travelmatch commented: “Barbados is stunningly beautiful island known for its lush tropical scenery, white sand beaches and turquoise oceans, but it often doesn’t get the same recognition for its natural beauty that some other island destinations such as Hawaii do. Rihanna’s partnership with the Barbados Tourism Authority is sure to draw more attention to this amazing destination and with companies such as Virgin Holidays offering more tremendous package deals every year we predict there will be quite a substantial upturn in the number of tourists choosing Barbados for their holidays over the next few years.”

One of the best-selling artists of all time, with more than 30 million albums and 100 million singles sold, Rihanna’s pride in her home island can be seen in many of her videos where the Barbadian flag is featured.

Upon her appointment, Rihanna said in a statement: “Barbados is a place like no other and one of the reasons for this is the spirit and national pride of our people. I want each and every visitor to this beautiful island to experience what makes this destination different from all others and that is the spirit and warmth of my fellow Barbadians.”

cable, Gonsalves “was quick to deny any military and intelligence agenda or component to ALBA, and appeared to generally want to disassociate himself from [Venezuelan President Hugo] Chavez’s ideologies”.

LIAT The prime minister is also quoted as saying that St. Lucia Minister of Tourism, Alan Chastenet, “talks a lot of rubbish when it comes to regional air transport”.

His comments came as he discussed claims in the Eastern Caribbean that LIAT was inefficient and guilty of price gouging.

Gonsalves noted the lack of air transport regulation in the region and, regarding governmental efforts to increase competition, said, “We’ve been down that road before.”

He cited the failures of Carib Express, BWIA, and, among others, Caribbean Star and said he was “not against competition” but wanted “fair competition”.

Gonsalves further described Chastenet as being among “a species of brown people in the Caribbean with money [who are] not loyal to anybody”.

He said these “Castries mulattos”, believe they are “oracles” and represent a “break in the social advancement in the Eastern Caribbean”.

CRIME But while Gonsalves was lashing out against his St. Lucian colleague, he downplayed

the U.S. diplomat’s concern about crime in SVG and denied that crime was a deciding factor in the closure of the Kingstown Medical College.

“Instead, he noted that the College had demanded ‘exclusivity’ — a guarantee that it would be the only medical school with access to SVG’s hospitals — while negotiating the renewal of its contract with the government,” the classified document said.

Gonsalves told the U.S. ambassador that since the closure of the college, school officials had offered to open a four-year medical institution.

He said his Unity Labour Party administration had decided — but had not yet announced — that it would go with an offer from a different institution to found a fouryear medical school in St. Vincent.

He recognised the potential of “educational tourism” but said that SVG was seeking additional medical schools that would be interested in attaching themselves to the medical centre under construction in Georgetown.

ECONOMIC ISSUES Gonsalves further said that the National Investment Promotion, Inc. needed modernizing and expressed interest in partnering with the United States to pursue an Investment Promotion Authority.

He noted that

Historic Caribbean capital one of latest additions to UN World Heritage List PARIS, France — The historic section of the capital of Barbados on Saturday became the Caribbean country’s first entry on the United Nations-managed World Heritage List after a committee of experts approved its addition.

The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Paris, said Bridgetown and its garrison deserved a place on the List, which is comprised of more than 900 cultural or natural sites around the world regarded as having outstanding universal value.

Vincentian farmers had “taken a beating” as a result of the loss of European trade preferences and said his government was using profits from sale of sugar to the private sector to subsidize agricultural inputs.

Gonsalves told the U.S. official that, while SVG was receiving good from the marks International Monetary Fund (IMF), the organization is not generally constructed to understand the “peculiarities” of small island economies.

Saying “you cannot use general economic theories” with countries such as SVG, Gonsalves cited his use of “counter-cycle fiscal policy”, which the IMF originally opposed and then later praised.

He added, however, that the counter-cycle fiscal policy should be discontinued.

CULTURE Gonsalves lamented the influence of “U.S. prison culture” on SVG in the modes of dress adopted by young people. The Ambassador expressed her desire to provide cultural preservation funding to the SVG government to refurbish wood panels housed at Fort Charlotte that depict the indigenous Carib population.

The OurismanGonsalves talks were held over breakfast ahead of the first official meeting between Gonsalves and then Barbadian Prime Minister, David Thompson, whose

St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves Democratic Labour Party had just come to office.

Gonsalves said that the two major political parties in Barbados are so similar that “differences will have to be manufactured to keep the party faithful happy”.

The meeting was initially meant to discuss the trial involving a Peace Corps Volunteer who was stabbed in St. Vincent in 2007.

“While the friendly nature of the meeting reflected the Embassy’s generally good relations with St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Gonsalves [a lawyer], was at his legalistic best, downplaying both SVG’s involvement in ALBA and the crime situation (which by most accounts has severely escalated of late). Still, he was extremely responsive to the Ambassador’s concerns regarding the incident involving the Peace Corps volunteer, and was quick to offer extremely frank views on a variety of subjects,” the leaked document said.

Guyana minister in Kazakhstan for OIC foreign ministers meeting

By RAY CHICKRIE ASTANA, Kazakhstan — Guyana’s Minister of Housing and Water, Irfan Ali, arrived in the Kazakh capital Sunday to participate in the 38th Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign minister’s meeting. Ali was a member of Guyanese President Jagdeo’s delegation to Kuwait, Iran and the UAE in 2010.

In Astana, the OIC dropped “Conference” in preference to “Cooperation” and unveiled a new emblem. It will now be called the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

D CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011 DAILY

CARIBBEAN NEWS

11

Bahamas PM outlines sweeping electoral reforms

By KRYSTEL ROLLE N A S S A U , — Bahamas Amendments to the Parliamentary Elections Act could lead to the elimination of the requirement for Bahamians whose addresses do not change to register before every general election.

“We are unique in that we require people to register every general election no matter whether you’ve moved or didn’t move,” said Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham as he led debate on the bill in the House of Assembly on Monday.

The requirement has been viewed as an unnecessary one for years. The government is hoping that this will be the last time that people who maintain their addresses will

have to re-register.

“You live the same place as I have for 38 or 39 years and must register for every election and I didn’t go anywhere... We are hoping that the registration process, which is taking place now, will produce a sufficiently clean register for the next Parliament of The Bahamas to consider it the register for the future.”

Ingraham said only people who move would be around required to register again or have their address transferred.

That is one of the many amendments contained in the bill.

Ingraham said the government is also considering an amendment to limit the circumstances for a recount.

He said consideration is being given to only requiring a recount of ballots by a returning officer if when added to votes cast, rejected, spoilt, protest and challenged

votes could alter the outcome of an election.

Otherwise he said it is a waste of the returning officer’s time.

Ingraham pointed out that the bill also addresses several other issues that have led to protest votes in the past.

The bill would allow the parliamentary commissioner to amend the register as a result of changes in boundaries up to 14 days after the House of Assembly has been dissolved and the writ of election has been issued.

Previously, the parliamentary commissioner was not able to amend the register after the writ of election had been issued.

Ingraham said that amendment specifically address a gap in the law which was pointed out by the Election Court in the judgment in the 2010 Elizabeth bye-election.

Additionally, the bill calls for amendments to the law to require elec-

tion petitions to be filed within 21 days after the results are published as opposed to when the House of Assembly first meets after an election.

Ingraham noted the importance of resolving such issues quickly.

The government is also seeking to eliminate two categories relating to protest votes.

Ingraham said under the bill, the only circumstance under which a vote could be protested is in instances where a person has a voter’s card but his or her name is not on the register.

Currently a vote could be protested if there is a defect on the individual’s voter’s card or if any information on the voter’s card is incorrect.

As it relates to the establishment of overseas polling stations, Ingraham said the government envisages that stations will be set up in Miami, Atlanta, New York, Washington, DC,

and London.

He said the government is looking for an appropriate location in Canada.

Ingraham pointed out that while the government has a consulate in Ottawa, the majority of Bahamian students study in Toronto.

Considerations are also being given to the locations of polling places to be established in Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago where many Bahamians are studying.

Among those eligible to vote out_side the country would be students, Bahamians employed at Bahamian embassies, high commissions or other foreign missions of The Bahamas posted overseas, their spouses or members of their immediate family residing with them.

Polling places are to be established in most cases at embassies and high commissions.

The bill also further empowers the parliamentary commissioner to, among other things, access the records of the Passport Office and the Department of Immigration to ensure that people whose nationality comes into question are investigated.

The bill also requires the registrar general to send a list of persons who died to the parliamentary commissioner every three months and the superintendent of prisons to send a list of prisoners every three months.

Ingraham said that would reduce the chances of voter fraud.

According to Ingraham, the amendments would create greater certainty as to the constituency in which a person is entitled to register and to vote, increase/expand the number of people who vote, and streamline the process in general.

Preliminary work commences on major broadband project in Jamaica

By DOUGLAS MCINTOSH KINGSTON, Jamaica — Preliminary work has commenced on the implementation of a major island-wide broadband network project in Jamaica, at a cost of just over $500 million (US$5.8 million), over a five-year period.

Managing Director of the Universal Access Fund Company Limited (UAF), Hugh Cross said that the project’s infrastructure, which is slated to be constructed over an 18-month period, was approved by Cabinet in March.

He explained that the undertaking will include access to a central server facility, which will host a wide range of educational material. He adds that residents will be able to access these educational materials from local area networks (LAN), which have been established in public high schools throughout the country.

The initiative will also

provide internet access to the connected schools, post offices and libraries, and will facilitate interconnectivity among the institutions.

The project is being funded through an allocation from the levy on incoming international telephone calls terminating in Jamaica, to both landline and cellular telephones. The island’s four main terminating carriers, Digicel, LIME, Claro, and Columbus Communication (Flow), collect the levy on behalf of the UAF. Cross said that more than $7.8 billion has been collected since the UAF commenced operations in 2005.

An agency of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), the UAF has responsibility for collecting the levy from the call terminating carriers, which are required to make monthly remittances to the entity. The revenue generated is used to discharge the government’s universal service obliga-

tion by financing the implementation of projects to increase access to internet services islandwide.

The national e-learning project, which is designed to enhance the educational process in high schools, through greater use of information communication technologies (ICT), is the largest project funded by the UAF, thus far.

Cross said that contracts amounting to $543 million have been awarded to LIME and Flow to implement, manage, maintain and monitor the broadband facility over an initial five-year period. He also informed that field work to assess the engineering requirements to establish the required ports at each institution, is in progress, and institutions will be connected to the network over the 18-month construction period.

“The service will provide high speed access to selected schools, post offices and libraries.

Students at the connected schools will be able to access the data bank hosted on the servers, and review pre-recorded lectures and take on-line examinations, at their leisure. It (network platform) will also extend broadband services into some communities that do not now have this level of access, so that they can be served,” he explained.

“This network is designed to be highly reliable, and if there is any degradation or failure (in the system), it will be immediately identified and rectified by the telecommunication firms,” he assured, adding that the objective is to achieve a 99.9 per cent availability of the service.

Approximately 283 terminating ports will be established island-wide in the initial phase, incorporating schools, libraries and post offices.

Cross said 165 will be situated in schools; 78 in post offices; and 40 in libraries, while pointing

out those additional schools will be connected during the initial 18month construction phase.

He cited the collaboration between the UAF and the relevant stakeholder organisations that are facilitating the project’s execution.

“We have worked very closely with the leadership of the Jamaica Library Service, and the Postal Corporation of Jamaica, and will continue to do so throughout the installation and operational phases of the project. We have worked with the schools’ administrations through the eLearning Jamaica Company, and this relationship will be strengthened throughout the construction and operational phases,” Cross said.

While the UAF partners with a number of governmental and nongovernmental organisations to carry out activities, consistent with its mandate, he says its

associate company, the e-Learning Jamaica Company, has responsibility for executing the National e-Learning Project.

This project includes, among other things, a technology infrastructure component, which entails interventions into high schools, special education institutions, and teacher training colleges, which are outfitted with the requisite equipment, technological infrastructure and training, to facilitate establishment of a modern ICT framework.

“Their intervention is to ensure that modern tools are made available to enhance the teaching and learning experiences which, ultimately, will improve results, enabling us to have a better educated population,” the managing director pointed out, adding that to date, the UAF has allocated over $2.4 billion to the eLearning Jamaica Company to undertake the project.

New American

The

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DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

One Thought - One Humanity

For the conclusions of these stories check out the June 23rd - June 29th, 2011 issue of The New American, which hits newsstands every Thursday Jennifer Hudson’s “No One Gonna Love You” video is coming soon. And from the looks of the pics on set, Hudson, wearing a black-and-white outfit with matching bowler hat, is every bit jazzinspired. She’s even sitting inside a dance studio!

L.A. Reid has signed a deal to become the chairman of Epic Label Group, a new organization formed which will encompass Epic and Jive Records. Reid will inherit Usher and Pink, two artist whom he discovered, as well as search for new talent to sign to the label.

It is expected that he will direct to company more towards urban acts which was a different agenda of the former companies. The 55-year-old executive will start his post after the fourth of July holiday.

Remy Ma is currently serving an eightyear sentence stemming from 2008 convictions on assault, weapons possession and coercion charges.

After losing her appeal earlier this year, the rapstress, whose real name is Reminisce Smith, will have a parole hearing in September 2014 with an eligibility date set for January 31, 2015, according to court documents. If parole is denied, the 30-year-old, who began serving time on May 21, 2008, may remain in New York’s Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women until March 23, 2016 - her sentence’s maximum expiration date.

The “Whuteva” spitter was originally charged with shooting Makeda Barnes-Joseph during an altercation over $3,000.

John Legend stunned locals in Philadelphia, Pennsyl-

vania by performing at a local church. The star was a surprise guest at the Calvary Baptist Church in West Philadelphia and sang Aretha Franklin classic How I Got Over with churchgoers. In a video of the performance posted on his Facebook.com page on June 20, he says, “I grew up singing and playing gospel music. I played in a bunch of choirs as a kid, up through going to college. I paid my way through school by being a director of music in church.

“A lot of the greatest soul singers in American history started in the Black church. It’s very obvious when you listen to gospel and soul music, you can see and hear and feel the connection. I haven’t performed in church for a while.

Eva Mendes has been granted a three-year extension of her restraining order against her stalker John C. Luna after he didn’t oppose it. The actress who has claimed she had been living in “constant fear” of John C. Luna, who she says has been harassing her since 2008 asked for an extension to the temporary order and it was approved by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carol Boas Goodson after Luna didn’t oppose it. Goodson said: “I’m surprised he agreed to this, but his signature and initials are there.” In her legal papers which were filed earlier this month - Eva stated: “As a result of Mr. Luna’s conduct directed at me ... including references in a letter that he knows I am willing to die for him, and his showing up at my house on May 31, 2011, looking for me, I am in constant fear.”

He’s always looking for new avenues for his

talent, and Chris Brown’s latest venture is the New Boyz video for “Better With the Lights Off.” The “No Air” singer dons a LA Raiders shirt as he sings the catchy R&B hook in the clip, sure to be one of the summer’s hottest anthems.

The demand for videos by Nicki Minaj has soared, as the rapper has set a new record for most single week video views, on Music Choice’s Video on Demand service.

The video for the Nicki’s single “Super Bass” has received 1,436,807 views according to Rentrak, a media measurement and research company. The number represents the largest ever recorded for a single week since Music Choice’s Video on Demand launched in November of 2004, according to reps for Music Choice. The millions of views that “Super Bass” has racked up gives Nicki three of the top five best-performing videos of all time videos on Music Choice.

Tyler the Creator broke his foot during a performance in Los Angeles over the weekend. The rapper was performing at the House of Blues on June 18th in Los Angeles, when he sustained the injury. The rapper may re-schedule other upcoming shows in California while he recuperates.

Aretha Franklin has suffered a wardrobe malfunction – but not the kind that usually comes to mind. On Friday, while on the road to promote her album A Woman Falling Out Of Love, the Queen of Soul put the emphasis on “falling” in her Dallas hotel suite – by stumbling over one of her Jimmy Choo spiked heels, which had gotten caught on her toe.

Be greater than AIDS: Get yourself tested!

Greater Than AIDS and GYT: Get Yourself Tested, two leading national campaigns committed to reducing the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, are teaming up for a second year to encourage Americans to get tested and know their status. In the lead up to National HIV Testing Day (June 27), the scaled-up, monthcross-promotion long brings together major media and leading corporate brands know their status. The CDC encourwith community organizations and ages all Americans between the ages state and local health departments of 13-64 to get tested on a routine to carry the message on air and on basis as part of their overall health and well-being similar to cholesthe ground across the nation.

“As we mark 30 years of AIDS, it’s terol, blood pressure, and other worth noting the tremendous screens.

Elements of the Be Greater Than progress made in terms of the lifesaving treatments now available, but AIDS: Get Yourself Tested Month to benefit from these advances one promotion include: * Five-City Summer Concert Tour, must first know their status,” said Tina Hoff, Senior Vice President & in partnership with EMMIS CommuDirector, Health Communication & nications and Radio One, that inteMedia Partnerships, Kaiser Family grates HIV/AIDS information and Foundation, a partner on both cam- testing resources into some of this paigns. “Be Greater Than AIDS: Get summer’s biggest concerts, includYourself Tested is an empowering, ing those sponsored by EMMIS and uplifting message that makes get- supported by Gilead Sciences in ting tested an act of pride, not Chicago (Jamboree, 6/4), New York (Summer Jam, 6/5), Los Angeles shame.”

“Our audience has never known a (Powerhouse, 6/25), and sponsored time without HIV, but through by Radio One in Miami (SpringFest, efforts like GYT, we’re committed to 5/28) and Atlanta (Birthday Bash, empowering them to forge a world 6/18). On air promotions in the lead where HIV doesn’t exist,” said Jason up to the concerts, including DJ call Rzepka, Vice President of Public outs and targeted public service ads, Affairs, MTV. “We’re proud to join will promote testing. Giveaways with this remarkable coalition and and other special promotions will reinforce regular testing as one way support listeners who get tested.

America’s youth can be greater than An on-site information booth will offer more resources. Additionally, AIDS.” According to the U.S. Centers for the “Road to the Chicago’s Jamboree Disease Control and Prevention Concert Testing Tour,” conducted in (CDC), of the more than one million partnership with GYT, is providing Americans living with HIV today, free testing at six Chicago-area colone in five of those infected don’t lege campuses throughout May. - Full Story In This Week’s New American Newspaper -

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DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

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14

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

Study hints at why heart disease is more deadly for Blacks A new study hints at one reason that Black Americans are at a higher risk of death from heart disease than whites: Blacks appear to have higher levels of a certain type of plaque that builds up in arteries and is not detected in standard screening.

This so-called “non-calcified plaque” — which consists of soft deposits that accumulate deep in the walls of arteries — can rupture and send out blood clots that can lead to heart attacks.

The new study looks specifically at non-calcified plaque, not calcified plaque, which is commonly monitored in coronary screening tests. The study authors said ordinary calcium screening tests such as CT scans may not be as valid for Blacks since they miss the non-calcified plaque.

“For a long time, physicians have searched for explanations as to why

African Americans have higher rates of heart disease and higher cardiac death rates, but less coronary artery calcium than Caucasians,” said study coauthor Dr. U. Joseph Schoepf, professor of radiology and medicine and director of cardiovascular imaging at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, in a news release. “We show that one possible explanation for the discrepancy may be found in the higher rate of less stable, non-calcified plaque in the heart vessels of African Americans.”

Federal statistics show that Blacks are more likely than whites to be diagnosed with heart disease and die of it.

In the study, researchers screened 301 patients for both kinds of plaque using two kinds of technology: CT and contrast-enhanced coronary CT angiography tech-

Low-income families often miss out on proper nutrition Many members of lowincome families are not getting proper nutrition in their diet, a new study shows.

In assessing the families’ eating patterns and the nutritional value of their meals, the researchers found that more than 70 percent of the 100 families, who were newly enrolled in the Nebraska Nutrition Education Program, failed to consume adequate amounts of several vital nutrients, including vitamins A and C, protein, calcium and iron.

The study, published in the June issue of the Family & Consumer Sciences Research Journal, also found that most of these families didn’t eat meals together on a regular basis.

While the majority of families studied gathered for dinner at least five times each week, breakfast and lunch were eaten as a family at most four times a week, and sometimes less. Roughly 43 percent of the study participants said their families ate breakfast and lunch together just two or fewer times per week.

The researchers suggested that the lack of family meal-

time was a major contributing factor to their nutritional deficiencies. Eating together more often, particularly at breakfast, might help tackle the problem, they noted.

“Nutrients we get from these food groups — such as calcium, folate, potassium, vitamin C and vitamin A — are critical in the diets of young children and are often lacking in the diet of limitedincome children,” study author Wanda Koszewski, University of Nebraska-Lincoln extension associate professor of nutrition and health sciences, said in a university news release. “Due to the fastpaced lifestyle of many families, not having breakfast together makes it difficult to meet these nutrients later in the day.”

In increasing the frequency of family breakfasts, families would be more likely to eat essential foods from the milk group, fruits and fruit juices, the authors asserted.

The findings could help food and nutrition professionals counsel families on how they could alter their eating patterns and improve their nutrition.

nology. (The latter allows monitoring of different kinds of plaques.) Half the patients were Black and half were white, and a third were male.

The average age was 55.

Researchers found that non-calcified plaque was much more common in Black patients: 64 percent of them had it, compared to 41 percent of whites. Blacks also

had more of the plaque in their arteries.

Whites, on the other hand, were more likely to have higher levels of calcified plaque than Blacks (45 percent vs. 26 percent).

Dr. Keith Ferdinand, chief science officer of the Association of Black Cardiologists, said it’s important to remember that CT angiography is

not a perfect test, especially in patients with diabetes and obesity, which are common among Blacks.

Ferdinand added that it’s difficult to pinpoint the specific effect that race has upon health — as this study attempts to do — considering how many differences that may exist between different racial groups.

Can the Internet help you lose weight?

By ERIC SCHULTZ People tend to lose a little more weight with online help than with traditional weight loss programs, according to a new study from Japan.

With obesity on the rise, there have been many attempts to take advantage of the Internet to help people lose weight, mainly because it’s thought to be easier and less expensive.

But the effect of including online help in obesity treatment programs was pretty small in the new study.

Overall, patients in programs with a web component lost an average of a pound and a half more than participants in non-Web programs, the researchers reported in the International Journal of Obesity.

The findings are from a review of 23 studies that compared weight control programs with an Internet component to programs that did not involve any online support.

The Internet was used for a variety of purposes in the different weight control programs. These included individualized instruction, communication with lifestyle instructors, counseling, and keeping a record of food intake. In addition, the programs varied in how much

participants used the Internet.

The research team, headed

by Dr. H. Sone of the University of Tsukuba Institute of Clinical Medicine in Ibaraki, Japan, did identify certain features that made webbased programs more — or less — effective.

For instance, they found that when the Internet replaced face-to-face counseling, people ended up weighing about three pounds more, on average, than their peers who weren’t getting “help” from the Internet.

But weight-loss programs that used the Internet in addition to in-person counseling helped participants end up about two pounds lighter compared to people who didn’t use the Web. “An in-person contact approach is superior to a technology-based approach,” the authors write. “An internet program needs to include the component of a face-toface program for participants to achieve weight loss.”

They also found that internet-based programs were more effective when the goal was to lose weight in the first place, and less effective when the goal was weight loss maintenance.

Clearly, Web-based programs are not always better.

The programs studied in the review differ in many more

ways than just whether or not they used the internet or in how much time people spent online, said Dr. Robert Jeffery, a researcher at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

“It’s premature to make generalizations,” he told Reuters Health.

Still, the results are promising for patients who have not had success with other programs, said James Christian, a researcher at Colorado State University who also works for PHCC, Inc., a Pueblo, Coloradobased company that designs online programs to help people make health changes in their lifestyle.

“People respond differently to different kinds of support,” Christian said.

Dr. Jean Harvey-Berino, chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Vermont in Burlington, disagrees that face-to-face meetings are necessary for a weight program to be effective. They are not always “better enough to warrant the extra cost and aggravation,” she said.

According to Harvey-Berino, a good Internet program enables participants to communicate in groups, monitor their eating and exercise habits, and get regular feedback from peers and supervisors, while focusing on behavior change.

Aspirin might interfere with new heart drug LONDON — A new study backs up a suggestion that high dosages of aspirin may interfere with AstraZeneca’s heart drug Brilinta, offering a possible explanation for disappointing results from a study of patients in North America.

The potential multibillion dollar drug is already approved in 33 countries, but the prospects of a green light from U.S. regulators have been clouded by a trial that appeared to show it

performed worse than rival drug Plavix.

Experts have speculated that the lack of effect in U.S. patients might be due to the drug’s interaction with aspirin, which is typically given in higher doses alongside treatments such as Plavix in the United States than in Europe.

The results of an analysis of the interaction between Brilinta and aspirin dosage level, published in U.S. medical jour-

nal Circulation, appeared to support that assertion, although it noted that the regional variation could still be due to chance alone.

The analysis suggested that U.S. patients on Brilinta also taking low-dose aspirin actually did 27 percent better than those on low-dose aspirin and Plavix.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is due to make a decision on Brilinta

by July 20.

NEW JERSEY

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

15

Fate of New Jersey’s Urban Enterprise Zone program to be debated TRENTON - With Camden’s barren waterfront as a backdrop, Gov. Thomas H. Kean signed a bill in 1983 that created one of the nation’s first Urban Enterprise Zone programs, calling it “the most significant step toward the economic revitalization of our cities in our state’s history.”

The plan: To attract commerce and reduce blight, allow businesses to charge half the sales tax to entice shoppers, and offer companies tax breaks if they agree to build and hire workers.

Then return the remaining sales tax revenue to the zones so they can be turned into attractive commercial strips and spark the local economy.

But what began as a modest effort grew into a big bucks enterprise for the 37 cities and towns that now host Urban Enterprise Zones. When fully funded, they split $90 million in revenue each year, part of the $952.8 million in sales tax dollars diverted to the program since it started.

Now the very fate of the Urban Enterprise

Zone program is part of a tug-of-war between Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic lawmakers that will play out in yesterday’s state budget votes.

Christie says the program is out of control and local officials spent millions as they pleased - often not on economic development.

Local officials counter that the zones revamped downtowns across New Jersey and fear the governor is trying to eventually kill the whole program.

A Star-Ledger review of thousands of records shows spending has deviated wildly from the initial UEZ plan, expanding the definition of economic development beyond what was envisioned in 1983.

The review shows local officials often used Urban Enterprise Zone dollars as just another form of municipal aid, paying for everything from firefighter salaries to buying a jaws of life, things that may have benefited cities but did not necessarily help the zones themselves.

Money also went to consultants, lawyers and administrators, and to

pay for carnivals, car shows and even Elvis impersonators to lure customers.

Since 1983, $84.6 million was spent on local administrative salaries and benefits.

There are 99 staffers in the zones collecting a combined $8.3 million in salary and benefits. It was all done with the approval of an authority in the state Department of Community Affairs “The idea was simple: We wanted businesses to relocate to cities that needed it the most,” said Kean. “It was about tax breaks, not these other things.”

The 1983 law created 10 zones that were supposed to last no more than 20 years each.

That more than tripled because “every lawmaker wanted one in their district,” Kean said.

Chrisie complains the plan veered off course because the state never kept track of where the money actually went.

He says UEZ zone sales tax breaks should remain, but the state should take the $90 million usually sent to towns.

The Democratic-dom-

Hamilton sex offender gets six years in prison HAMILTON - A township man who admitted sexually assaulting a 15-year-old relative was sentenced to six years in prison yesterday, but not before his young victim lambasted him in court.

Inderjit Ramdial, 48, of Lynnwood Avenue, cocked his head and stared at the teen as she delivered a blistering condemnation of him.

“You stole my virginity,” said the teen, whose name is being withheld

by The Times. “My life, my dreams and hopes, you crushed and buried.

To do what you did, only a stranger would do that to a kid.”

Ramdial pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child in the abuse, which began when the girl came from Trinidad to live with Ramdial and his wife in 2009.

Ramdial tried to withdraw his guilty plea last fall when he realized it meant he would be labeled

for life as a sex offender under Megan’s Law. That motion was denied by Superior Court Judge Mitchel Ostrer.

Yesterday the teen said she regretted not telling her family about the abuse, which came to light when another relative became suspicious.

“I was stupid to keep my mouth shut for so long,” she said, adding that she has been hospitalized twice for suicide attempts. “You threw my life down the drain without even thinking about the consequences.”

When Ostrer asked Ramdial if he wanted a chance to address the court before sentencing, he denied his victim’s allegations. He then began a rambling version of what happened, accusing the teen of being insubordinate and incorrigible until an assistant prosecutor cut him off.

- Lisa Coryell

inated Legislature will vote today on a state budget that would allow towns and cities to keep $45 million for economic development.

DCA Commissioner Lori Grifa said the zones were designed to end after downtowns improved. “Cities were supposed to graduate from the program,” she said. “But in nearly 30 years, no one has, and you have to wonder why.”

SUCCESS STORIES Supporters say the zones were critical for projects such as the Goldman Sachs building in Jersey City and the Jersey Gardens Mall

in Elizabeth, along with revitalization in downtowns like Plainfield and Vineland.

Sid Sheth opened a liquor store on the 300 block of Main Street in East Orange in 1987.

The then-struggling commercial district suffered from high vacancy rates and was habitually littered with debris, he said. Business owners feared the corridor had gasped its last breath after a series of fires.

But in 1996 the cashstrapped city was granted an enterprise zone and Main Street got a boost. From 2000 to 2004, it pumped

$2.58 million in UEZ dollars into Main Street, repaving sidewalks, adding lighting, removing graffiti, installing trash cans and improving facades.

“The money helped stabilize and revitalize the block,” Sheth said.

In Newark, UEZ dollars are providing the last part of financing for developer Samer Hanini’s $23 million Hotel Indigo near the Prudential Center, which was also partially built with UEZ dollars.

“Without the UEZ program, this project would have never happened,” Hanini said.

Hamilton man is charged for alleged robbery of Chase Bank performed in drag cle, police said. No one was injured, and no one at the bank was conthe robbery had been carried HAMILTON - A 25-year-old vinced out by a woman. township man who allegedly Witnesses were able to relay a put on a dress and robbed the partial license plate number to Chase Bank with a fake gun township police, who sent out a last week was arrested and countywide alert. A detective with charged with the crime, Trenton Police remembered Darrian based on the vehicle police said. description and plate, and Kenneth H. Darrian contacted Hamilton was taken into custody Police with the informaMonday on outstandtion. ing warrants and hinTownship police dering apprehension arrived at Darrian’s home after allegedly giving Monday to question him, a false name to detecknowing he had outtives who arrived at standing warrants for his house. Police also his arrest from the city charged him with and Robbinsville. weapons offenses after Kenneth H. “Either way, he was they recovered the imiDarrian coming in,” Stevens said. tation firearm allegedDarrian allegedly gave ly used in the robbery.

“When you look at it, though, detectives a false name, and was there is no reason to believe that is taken into custody for hindering not a real semi-automatic hand- apprehension along with the warrant charges. gun,” Capt. James Stevens said.

After further investigation by Darrian also faces federal charges from the FBI, who investi- township police and the FBI, gated the bank holdup alongside Darrian was charged yesterday with the bank robbery. township police.

Police are still searching for the Wearing a beige dress he bought cash taken in the robbery. at a local store along with a black Darrian was being held on wig, Darrian allegedly entered the Chase Bank on Klockner Road just $10,000 full cash bail on the hinbefore 4 p.m. last Thursday. He dering charge.

FBI agents were checking to see demanded money from the teller if Darrian could be implicated in while brandishing the imitation firearm, took an undisclosed any other bank robberies, but had amount of cash, and fled in a vehi- found no indication so far he had been involved, Stevens said.

By ALEX ZDAN

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

16

Temptations Broadway musical in works, says singer

By GARY GRAFF DETROIT — The Temptations have been many places during their 50-or-so years together. Now Broadway beckons.

Otis Williams (left), the Motown group’s sole surviving founding member, says a stage musical is in the works based on the 1998 NBC miniseries, “The Temptations.” Broadway producer Ira Pittleman is working with the group on the project.

“It’s still so popular and loved,” Williams told Billboard.com. “I get calls all the time, like, ‘Man, the miniseries is on!’ and stuff like that. That’s the catalyst, and (Pittleman) is waiting to do the Tempts story. I never would have imagined the possibilities of the Tempts life

story going to Broadway, but it’s wonderful.”

However, Williams says the group plans to wait until Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr., gets his own Broadway musical, which is reportedly slated to open in April of 2012, on the boards.

“Then, after that, the Temptations will get into action. They haven’t even started writing the script, so it’s really early,” says Williams, who will serve as an executive producer.

Williams says he and the Temptations camp have no involvement in the Gordy Motown musical, however.

“That is all under Mr. Gordy’s control,” Williams said. “I definitely will be going to see it. I think we’re in it two or three different times, guys portraying the Temptations, and I’m very happy for Mr. Gordy because

he’s had such an illustrious career that should be magnified as much as possible because he’s been a wonderful inspiration to the lot of us.”

While the Temptations’ musical will recall the group’s glory years, Williams and company hope to add to the story by the time it opens.

After rolling out a new album, “Still Here,” in 2010, Williams said the group — which this year celebrations the 50th anniversary of its name change from the Elgins to the Temptations — is starting to eyeball its successor.

“Yeah, we will be doing another CD in (2012),” Williams said. “We’d like for there to be some new music by the time the Broadway musical opens. We’ll start putting that together a little later during this year, or the beginning of next year.”

Monica set to deliver ‘new life’ in October, talks real music

By ALETA WATSON Monica plans to give birth to ‘New Life’ this fall as the R&B veteran preps for the release of her 7th studio album. The follow-up to her Grammy-nominated project ‘Still Standing,’ ‘New Life’ is tentatively slated for an October 4 release date. Music mavens like Missy Elliot and Polow Da Don are also reported to be working by Monica’s side to ensure its success.

This album is sure to creatively reflect the musical,

professional and personal growth the diva has recently experienced. As a mother of two and new wife of L.A. Lakers star, Shannon Brown, Monica is in a much better place this time around. She recently chatted with fans via Ustream and said, “I think when you’re in a happy place, you’re able to do your job a lot easier.”

So what can fans expect from the album? Monica reveals, “I talk about a lot of different subjects, whether it’s love, heartache, happiness, family.” She went on to say, “The music will be a lot like ‘Still Standing’ in the

sense that it’s real and really about things that I’ve experienced, but it’s also from a very mature place. The greatest thing that happened to me is to learn forgiveness and acceptance. In this state of mind it’s easy for me to make music about where I’ve been and where I’m going and do it in a positive manner.”

Realistic about the pressures of putting out an album, Monica is sure that despite everything on her plate she will be able to keep the album’s fall release date.

“The label [J Records] has asked me, do I want to take

an October 4 date.” She adds, “Over the next month I’ll decide because as of right now, we’re pressing up the new single and trying to get some clearances which are very difficult, so if anything changes it will only be because of that. We’re working on it and I’m thinking that I will keep that October 4 date.”

With her first single due to hit airwaves in as little as two weeks, it’s safe to say we’re ready for Monica’s comeback!

The songstress revealed that a tour is also in the works but has yet to disclose further details.

Rihanna replaces Cee Lo Green with J. Cole as ‘official’ tour opener

By JOCELYN VENA Rihanna has found a new man to be her official tour opener. After Cee Lo Green had to drop out of the Rihanna’s Loud tour due to other commitments, Ri announced that she’s upgrading J. Cole to the role of “official” tour opener.

Rihanna announced via Twitter that rapper J. Cole, who was already on the road with the singer, will fill Green’s shoes as her main warm-up act on the tour, which began this month. “#GOODNEWS @JColeNC is our new official opener!” she

wrote on Tuesday night. “@CeeLoGreen will no longer

be a part of #LOUDtour due 2 commitment with ‘The Voice’

#Cantmissit.”

Jay-Z protégé Cole, who is releasing his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, on September 27, just wrapped up the video for first single “Work Out” with director Jake Davis on Tuesday.

Green had to leave when his schedule became too crammed with other commitments, including his judging gig on the hit NBC talent competition “The Voice,” which is also presenting a tour this summer.

“He always puts 100 percent into his work and with the requirements and time commitment to ‘The Voice,’

on top of heading back into the recording studio and an upcoming book, he feels that he wouldn’t give his fans the show that they deserve,” Green’s spokesperson said, according to The New York Times.

Rihanna’s Loud tour travels the U.S. through July 24 before heading to Europe in August. It’s set to wrap up in late December.

There was a similar switch-up for Rihanna’s Last Girl on Earth Tour in 2010, when Nicki Minaj pulled out at the last minute and was quickly replaced with Travie McCoy. Ke$ha also opened on that tour.

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

17

Alicia Keys marvels at ‘incredible’ wax figure

By JOCELYN VENA Alicia Keys famously sang about the “spirit of New York” on her hit song with Jay-Z, “Empire State of Mind.” Now the New York native is part of an exhibit with that name at Madame Tussauds in Times Square, and she couldn’t be prouder to have her wax figure stand alongside those of Regis Philbin, Woody Allen and Frank Sinatra.

“I actually think it’s really, really good!” she raved to MTV News about the likeness. “I was looking close up: It’s like my eyebrows are for real, and it’s like my eyes are

for real, and the bone structure of my chin, like, ‘Look, that’s my chin! That’s my jaw!’

“It’s incredible. It’s really incredible, and I think it’s so cool to be a part of the New York City part of the exhibit,” she added. “I was born and raised here, this is my home, so it’s so perfect.”

It’s a particularly big day for Keys, as it was just announced she’s producing the Broadway play “Stick Fly.” Keys said she can’t believe she has her hand in something that will be playing on the Great White Way. “The piece is really about this beautiful African American family in Martha’s Vineyard, and it is so deep,” she

said of the play by Lydia R. Diamond. “It’s about all the secrets that families have, and it’s funny. What I love about it is it bypasses everything, and it’s all about family.”

The singer, who is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of her breakout album Songs in A Minor, says that, as a New Yorker, getting on Broadway is living the dream. “Broadway is something that’s played an integral part in my life. It’s been something that I’ve experienced my whole life,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of it. You haven’t seen this family before on Broadway. It’s universal and at the same time unique.”

Jill Scott scores first #1 on Billboard 200

By GIL KAUFMAN R&B singer Jill Scott will notch her first #1 album next week when her fourth effort, Light of the Sun, crashes the top of the Billboard 200 chart thanks to sales of 135,000 copies, according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan.

That was more than enough to hold off the charge from another charttopping newbie, sensitive Wisconsin folkie Bon Iver (a.k.a.

Justin Vernon), whose self-titled second collection of pastoral AutoTuned hymns hits #2 after selling 104,000 copies.

The pair leads a parade of

new faces, which include country singer Justin Moore at #5 with Outlaws Like Me (65,000), Pitbull, whose Planet Pit lands at #7 (55,000), and perennial chart-crashing joke man “Weird Al” Yankovic, who yuks his way to #9 with Alpocalypse (44,000).

The rest of the top 10: Adele, 21 (#3, 101,000); Jackie Evancho, Dream With Me (#4, 77,000); Bad Meets Evil, Hell: The Sequel (#6, 63,000); Lady Gaga, Born This Way (#8, 49,000); and Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party (#10, 40,000).

Speaking of parties, allnight disco rockers LMFAO wiggle in just outside the top 10 with their second effort,

Sorry for Party Rocking, which hits #12 (27,000), while soul singer Ledisi takes a 10-spot tumble in week two with Pieces of Me, which falls to #18 (20,000).

Without a smash hit like “Fireflies,” fans seemed to flee Owl City’s latest, All Things Bright and Beautiful, which plummets 26 spots in week two to #32, as sales drop 73 percent to 13,000.

Pop punk veterans Simple Plan rolled into the #52 slot with Get Your Heart On! (9,000).

Over on the iTunes charts, it’s a different story, as Bon Iver rules the album tally, followed by Adele, Scott, the Eminem and Royce Da 5’9” collabo Bad Meets Evil, Pit-

Patti LaBelle files lawsuit against West Point cadet Patti LaBelle filed a countersuit against a West Point cadet who claims he was the victim of an unprovoked attack by the singer’s bodyguards in Houston at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

According to the original suit filed by Richard King a month ago, LaBelle ordered her three guards to beat him up.

But according to the latest complaint, King hurled racial slurs at the singer, attempted to attack the guards, and even tried to enter her limousine. It also

says the vacationing King was intoxicated.

A surveillance video from the airport shows the 23year-old being pushed and punched by two men and a woman alleged to be LaBelle’s bodyguards.

Although King’s attorneys deny the young man was intoxicated, they admitted he was drinking on the flight to Houston.

“Several eyewitnesses saw and clearly heard the incident. The counter claim is completely without merit,” Kings attorneys said in a

bull, Moore, Mumford & Sons’ Sigh No More, LMFAO, Matt Nathanson’s Modern Love and a Frank Sinatra greatest hits collection.

Katy Perry was the queen of the iTunes singles chart thanks to “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” which beat out Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” collaboration with Christina Aguilera on “The Voice,” then LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem,” Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything,” Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass,” Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory,” Hot Chelle Rae’s “Tonight Tonight,” Lil Wayne’s “How to Love” and Blake Shelton’s “Honey Bee.” Expect more shake-ups at

the top next week when Beyoncé’s 4 charts, along with new ones from Selena Gomez, former “American Idol” winner David Cook, Big Sean, Curren$y and, yes, the reunited Limp Bizkit.

Danny Glover to star in Syfy’s ‘Dragons’ flick

statement.

The case, however, has been taken up to the federal court level. The initial police investigation named King as the suspect, but since the lawsuit was filed, further investigation is underway.

Hollywood actor Danny Glover is to star in the small-screen science-fiction flick “Age of Dragons,” Syfy said.

Glover is best known for his work in the “Lethal Weapon” franchise movies.

Set to air July 30 and co-starring Vinnie Jones, “Dragons” is a new take on the “Moby Dick” whale tale.

“Captain Ahab’s obses-

sion to seek revenge on a Great White Dragon that once slaughtered his family drives him, his crew and his adoptive daughter into the heart of danger,” the cable network said in a synopsis.

“Once in the White Dragon’s lair, Ahab must battle the monster, confront a mutinous crew and reclaim the love of his daughter.”

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

18

Pending home sales rise but recovery still distant

By LUCIA MUTIKANI WASHINGTON — Pending sales of existing homes rebounded from a seven-month low in May but demand for mortgages sank last week and the market is still struggling under the weight of a glut of unsold properties.

The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday its Pending Home Sales Index increased 8.2 percent to 88.8. Pending homes sales lead actual sales of homes by a month or two.

The rise in contracts was merely a correction after an 11.3 percent fall in April and the market will continue to bounce along the bottom, economists said.

That subdued outlook for a sector, which is helping to constrain economic growth, was illustrated by a Mortgage Bankers Association report showing applications for loans to buy homes dropped 3 percent last week to a four-month low.

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A real estate for sale sign is displayed outside a home in Chandler Heights, Arizona. some cheer to investors who are on the prowl for good news, the fact of the matter is that the housing sector is still a long way from a meaningful recovery,” said Peter Buchanan, a senior economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto.

While the rise in contracts suggested a bounce back in home sales in June, economists cautioned against expecting a strong increase as many planned deals get canceled.

Demand for loans to buy a home has been modest so far this month. Existing home sales fell 3.8 percent in May. Investors on Wall Street cheered the rise in pending home sales, which beat economists’ expectations for a 3.8 percent gain, and

bought stocks for a third straight day.

Sentiment was also buoyed by the Greek parliament’s approval of austerity measures, an important step in the country’s bid to gain access to international funding to avoid default.

Prices for U.S. government debt fell and the dollar was down against a basket of currencies.

The housing market is grappling with an oversupply of homes, which is keeping prices subdued, and economists do not see a recovery any time soon.

According to the NAR, there were 3.72 million used homes on the market in May, excluding the so-called shadow inventory of homes which are at risk of being foreclosed upon or have been seized by lenders.

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collapse helped to push the U.S. economy into its worst recession since the 1930s. The sluggish economic recovery has been marked by a 9.1 percent unemployment rate and on Wednesday, President Barack Obama called for new job creation measures.

“It makes perfect sense for us to take a look at, can we extend the payroll tax, for example, an additional year, and other tax breaks for business investment that could make a big difference in terms of creating more jobs right now,” Obama told a White House news conference.

Economists are cautiously optimistic that

home sales will gradually improve later this year and chip away at the huge inventory.

Data on Tuesday showed a moderation in the pace of decline in single-family home prices in April.

“What is emerging is that we have hit some bottom level of activity and that’s a good thing,” said Steve Blitz, a senior economist at ITG Investment Research in New York.

“When you take that and marry it to the fact that you are not getting much new home construction, it means you are selling out of inventory of existing homes ... and you start to get new home construction.

The industry is slowly moving in the right direction.”

A slightly hopeful note was also sounded

by KB Home, the fifthbiggest U.S. homebuilder, which said net orders for new homes fell 11 percent in the second quarter, compared with the same period of 2010 but jumped 53 percent from the first three months of the year.

“Although a broadbased housing recovery remains stalled, it appears that the worst of the crisis is behind the homebuilding industry as select markets for new homes are showing signs of stability,” said chief executive officer Jeffrey Mezger.

Lehman files new bankruptcy plan

By CAROLINE HUMER and JONATHAN STEMPEL Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc filed a new $65 billion bankruptcy liquidation plan that it said has won wider support, possibly setting the stage for the end of the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history.

If approved, the plan could enable what remains of the fourthlargest U.S. investment bank to emerge from Chapter 11 protection and start repaying creditors. Chief Executive Bryan Marsal has said he hopes to begin payments next year.

In a filing Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Lehman said it believed it had an “agreement in principle” with major creditor groups on the revised plan.

Its earlier proposals spurred two competing reorganization plans from powerful creditors including the hedge fund Paulson & Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Under the new plan, many unsecured creditors would still recover only about one-fifth of what they were owed.

The company said a key change from its prior plan in January is

that some sums will go to unsecured creditors of the parent rather than creditors of subsidiaries.

In a court filing, Lehman called the compromise a “reasonable, fair and efficient means to resolve and avoid the vexatious, multifaceted and protracted litigation and delay that might otherwise occur.”

The new plan has the support of two major creditor groups that had filed competing reorganization plans, people familiar with the matter said.

One group comprises bondholders including Paulson’s firm and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, or CalPERS, pension fund, one of the sources said.

The other is a derivatives group including Goldman, hedge fund Silver Point Capital LP, Morgan Stanley and other creditors, another of the sources said. This group plans to soon sign an agreement reflecting their support, the source said.

Lehman’s plan envisions having these and other creditor representatives select directors for a reconstituted, nine-member Lehman board. The board would oversee how assets are distributed to creditors, probably over a few years.

Representatives of Lehman, Paulson, CalPERS and the Goldman group declined to comment or were not available.

Lehman was the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, with an estimated $639 billion of assets, when it filed for Chapter 11 protection on September 15, 2008. The bankruptcy was a major trigger for the global financial crisis.

Under the new Lehman plan, holders of unsecured debt from the parent company would receive 21.1 cents on the dollar, down from 21.4 cents under the January plan. Other unsecured creditors would get 19.9 cents on the dollar.

Many unsecured creditors of the Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc derivatives unit would receive 27.9 cents on the dollar.

These creditors include large banks that had been Lehman trading partners, as well as hedge funds.

Holders of commercial paper, a type of short-term debt, could recover 48.4 cents or 55.7 cents on the dollar.

Lehman has said creditors have roughly $322 billion of allowed claims, meaning they would on average recover about 20 cents on the dollar.

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

19

Bank of America expects loss after settlement

By JOE RAUCH and DAVID HENRY CHARLOTTE, N.C./NEW YORK — Bank of America Corp said it expects to take more than $20 billion of charges after settling with mortgage bond investors, resulting in a second-quarter loss.

The sum, which includes an $8.5 billion settlement, removes a question mark that had been hovering over the bank since October, and Bank of America’s shares rallied.

“Investors can now start attaching a number to these unknowns and what they will cost the bank. With the swipe of a pen, they’ve dealt with a large chunk of these issues,” said Paul Miller, a banking analyst with FBR Capital Markets.

Chief Executive Brian Moynihan is working hard to move past the mortgage crisis, and this settlement is the latest step in that process.

But the large dollar amounts linked to the settlement and the bank’s other efforts to clean up mortgage exposure in recent months could weigh on the bank’s capital levels as most banks are looking to boost capital and return more money to shareholders.

The bank was hit

hard by toxic home loans after Ken Lewis, Bank of America’s prior CEO, bought mortgage lender Countrywide Financial in 2008, just as the housing market bubble was bursting.

Other banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co , could now face pressure to resolve similar allegations, and new lawsuits may arise, analysts said.

A group of 22 investors, including BlackRock Financial Management , alleged that bonds it bought from Countrywide Financial were packed with mortgages that should never have been sold. Bank of America bought Countrywide, once the largest U.S. mortgage lender, in 2008.

Bank of America said that excluding items such as the settlement, second-quarter earnings could top the average Wall Street estimate.

The settlement is the third in six months for BofA, following similar deals with governmentbacked mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and insurer Assured Guaranty Ltd .

In January, the bank announced plans to settle with Fannie and Freddie for $2.8 billion.

In April, BofA disclosed a $1.6 billion settlement with Assured Guaranty.

Last fall, CEO Moynihan said the bank would fight any such repurchase requests. He described talks with investors over claims as “hand-to-hand combat” and said some investors were looking for a better deal through repurchases.

Their attitude, Moynihan said, was “I bought a Chevy Vega but I want it to be a Mercedes.”

“We’re going to protect shareholders against that,” he said during the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call.

But Moynihan struck a different tone on Wednesday, saying the company was looking to put repurchase woes behind it in terms that would be favorable to BofA shareholders.

“Our job is to eliminate risks to allow this company to go forward,” he said, dismissing suggestions from analysts that the bank did not put up a fight in the settlement process.

The repurchase dispute with investors began last fall, when a group of prominent mortgage securities holders threatened to sue over the toxic mortgages.

In December, the two sides avoided a court case by agreeing to settlement talks that have continued since then.

But the deal comes at a price for BofA. FBR

analyst Miller said the settlement leaves little margin for error as the bank works to meet new capital requirements.

Other analysts are less concerned. Marty Mosby of Guggenheim Securities said the bank has $67 billion in excess capital under current rules — and $26 billion under new proposed industry rules.

During a conference call announcing the settlement, BofA Chief Financial Officer Bruce Thompson said the bank projects it can replace the capital with earnings through the next two quarters.

Investors largely welcomed the settlement, as shares rose 3 percent to $11.14 in late afternoon trading.

“The bank has to get out of the litigation business and back into the banking business,” said Greg Donaldson, founder of Evansville, Indiana-based Donaldson Capital Management, which owns BofA shares. Donaldson said the settlement was the best move he had seen from the bank in the last two years.

Bank of America said it expected to post a loss of 88 cents to 93 cents per share for the second quarter.

Excluding special items, it expects earnings of 28 cents to 33 cents a share. Analysts’ average forecast was 28 cents, according to

IMF: U.S. should hike debt limit to avert global shock

By GLENN SOMERVILLE WASHINGTON — Failure by U.S. lawmakers to agree soon on a deal to raise the government’s borrowing limit could deliver a “severe shock” to a still fragile recovery and global markets, the International Monetary Fund warned on Wednesday.

In an annual review of U.S. economic conditions, the IMF said the key challenge the country faces is finding a way to stabilize its debts by mid-decade without derailing growth, which is likely to remain mod-

est for some time.

“And of course, the federal debt ceiling should be raised expeditiously to avoid a severe shock to the economy and world financial markets,” the IMF said in a statement.

The U.S. Treasury already has hit the existing $14.3 trillion legal limit on the nation’s debt and has warned the debt ceiling needs to be raised by August 2 to avoid a default on the nation’s obligations.

The IMF said a failure to raise the ceiling in time could lead to a downgrade in the United States’ coveted AAA debt rating and send

interest rates soaring.

“These risks would also have significant global repercussions, given the central role of U.S. Treasury bonds in world financial markets,” it said.

The Obama administration and Congress are locked in tense negotiations to try to reach a deal on budget cuts that would give lawmakers political cover to raise the debt ceiling.

The IMF said the goal should be to stabilize the nation’s debt ratio — which it said now was unsustainable — by mid-decade and gradually ratchet it down after that.

“We see early political agreement on a comprehensive medium-term consolidation plan based on realistic macroeconomic assumptions as a cornerstone of a credible and cyclically appropriate fiscal adjustment strategy,” the IMF said.

It said the Federal Reserve’s policy of keeping interest rates near zero likely will be appropriate for some time in view of modest U.S. growth prospects.

But it added the U.S. central bank must also be ready to “respond decisively” if inflation expectations appear likely to become unhinged.

Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The bank said charges would include the $8.5 billion settlement with bond investors, $5.5 billion to cover expected payments to other mortgage bond investors, and $6.4 billion in other charges linked to mortgages.

Separately, BofA said it would record a $2.5 billion gain in the quarter from the sale of Balboa Insurance and a chunk of its remaining BlackRock stake.

CFO Thompson also said during the conference call with analysts that sale and trading results were higher in the second quarter compared with a year ago, but lower than in the

first quarter of 2011.

The settlement must still be approved in court, and small investors not part of the initial agreement could contest it.

An attorney for the investor group said the deal was good for all investors. The settlement will be shared among all investors in the securities, and the 22 institutional investors will not receive special benefits, Kathy Patrick, an attorney at Gibbs & Bruns LLP, said in an interview with Reuters’ “On the Case” legal blog.

“I have a hard time seeing how anyone could recover more than this in six or seven years of litigation,” Patrick said.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, pursuant to Title 5, Chapter 3, Subchapter 3 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York, a public hearing will be held at 22 Reade Street, Borough of Manhattan on Tuesday, June 14, 2011, at 10:00 am on the following: REAL PROPERTY PUBLIC HEARING in the matter of the acquisition by the City of New York of fee simple interests on the following real estate in the County of Orange for the purposes of operating and maintaining the water supply of the City of New York: Tax Lot ID Acres (+/-) Municipality Town of Newburgh 8.-1-15.2 & 19.1 23.43 8.-1-16 & 17 7.50 A copy of the Mayor’s Preliminary Certificate of Adoption and maps of the real estate to be acquired are available for public inspection upon request. Please call (845) 340-7810.

Caswell F. Holloway Commissioner

Michael R. Bloomberg Mayor

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

MTA NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT (NYCT)

Opening Date: 7/19/11, #9357, Decal; #9544, Hardwood ties. Opening Date: 7/20/11, #9248, Elevator circuit parts; #9458, Wire; #9466, Stool; #9474, Insulation, bellow; #9486, Film, stretch; #9506, Battery, storage; #9509, Guard timber. Opening Date: 7/21/11, #9455, Cart, janitor; #9462, Rubber pad; #9628, Rack truck; #8459, Compound, filling; #9245, Battery; #9646, Module, video; #9666, Generator. Opening Date: 7/22/11, #7911, Fullness monitor; #9605, Filter, air; #9698, Lug; #9731, Pad, scrubbing; #9751, Drum; #9782, Pole, telescopic. Opening Date: 7/26/11, #8904, Bag, silt; #9280, Vaccine, Flulavel; #9331, Inverter; #9417, Oil, hydraulic; #9418, Wrap, Bemis; #9457, Control, turtle.

Opening Date: 7/27/11, #8763, Lock assy; #8792, Blower defroster; #9341, Control box; #9356, Camshaft; #9358, Shim plate; #9372, Slack Adjuster; #9207, Signal horn; refill; #9781, Dispenser.

Opening Date: 7/28/11, #9697, Switch, knife; #9783, Lamp, hand; #9818, Oil, hydraulic. More detailed info & the MTA-NYCT contact for the above solicitations can be found on our website at www.mta.info/nyct/procure/nyctproc.htm

MTA BUS COMPANY (MTABC) Bid Number: PRB110975 - The MTA Bus Company (MTABC) and New York City Transit (NYCT) are seeking a vendor(s) to furnish and deliver the bus part listed below. The contract duration is twenty-seven (27) months and is an estimated quantity contract. Terms and conditions are contained in bid documents. All prices quoted must be FOB delivered. Payment NET 30 unless otherwise indicated. For delivery to any/all MTA Bus locations as listed in Schedule “O”. MTABC Stock No.: 81-210011 Qty: 2,000 Description: Element, Air Cleaner Manufacturer’s Part #: Nelson-Part #871173A20; Orion -Part #G0742502AE. Bid opens: July 18, 2011 at 11:00am. Bids received after 11:00am on the Bid Opening Date will not be considered. For more information or to request a solicitation package, please contact: Marsha Korotyk, Manger, Procurement c/o MTA Bus Company, 128-15 28th Avenue, Maintenance Building, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11354, Telephone No: 718-888-6278 or email marsha.korotyk@nyct.com. All inquiries must include company name, contact name and title, address, telephone number and email address.

MTA BRIDGES AND TUNNELS (B&T)

Sealed Bids for the below solicitation must be received by B & T at the Bid Suite, 3 Stone Street, NY, NY 10004. Sealed Bids will be publicly opened at the above address on the dates/times indicated.

Bid #: GFM-457 – Cleaning and Painting at Authority Wide Toll Plazas. Bid Due Date: 7/22/11 at 3:00 PM. The project description can be found at www.mta.info/bandt/procure/rfppage.html Bid #: 10-MNT-2878X – Maintenance, Testing, Inspection and Repair of Low and Medium Voltage Electrical Distribution Equipment Located at Various Authority Facilities. Bid Due Date: 7/28/11 at 3:00 PM. The project description can be found at www.mta.info/bandt/procure/rfppage.html

MTA METRO-NORTH RAILROAD (MNR)

MNR will receive sealed bids for the following. Bids must be submitted on inquiry forms provided by MNR by the specified date and time. Bid documents are available at the Procurement & Material Management Department, 347 Madison Ave, NY, NY 10017, 212-340-3223. INQUIRY #, DESCRIPTION, (DUE DATE, TIME, CONTACT): INQ#: 1000002579, Purchase of Tie Exchanger, (7/21/11, 2:30 PM, Irene Gallante, 212-340-2616); INQ#: 1000002575, Purchase of a 25 Ton Hi-Rail Equipped Truck Crane, (7/21/11, 3:00 PM, Irene Gallante, 212-340-2616); INQ#: 1000005720, One time purchase of two 47" Ride On Floor Scrubber/Sweepers per bid documents. Mfg.: Star Hydrodyne Model SS47 or approved equal, (7/21/11, 2:30 PM, Linda O'Brien, lobrien@mnr.org); RFQ#: 1000005784, Danbury Signal System –Enclosures, w/Federal Provisions, (7/21/11, 3:00 PM, J. Waddell, 212-340-2531); RFQ#: 1000005785, Mobile Radios & Equipment, (7/20/11, 3:00 PM, J. Waddell, 212-340-2531); INQ#: 1000001467, Training/Certification Program, (7/18/11, 3:00 PM, Nina Laney Boyd); INQ#: 8692-A, Quill Axle Gear Unit, (8/3/11, 2:30 PM, Robert DeLaurentis).

MNR SINGLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT

MTA Metro-North Railroad is purchasing the items from the suppliers noted below which are the only known responsible source. The purpose of this notice is to invite any firm that believes it can also provide these items to submit a quotation. Bids must be submitted on the inquiry forms provided by MNR no later than the specified date(s) and time(s). Vendors wishing to obtain bid documents should call (212) 340-3223. Item: Plastibeton Cable Trays Supplier: Old Castle, Pomona, CA Bid #: 5510 Date/Time: 7/8/11 at 12:00 PM Contact: R. Matela

20

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

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DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

Terrell Owens recovering from knee surgery

By ROB MAADDI

Terrell Owens had 983 yards and 9 TD catches last season. won’t rule him out of anything. Associated Press on condition of He will be a starting receiver for anonymity Tuesday because someone this year.”

Owens hasn’t publicly discussed As for Owens mulling retire- the surgery. ment, Rosenhaus said “all the Rosenhaus declined to say retirement talk is nonsense. how the injury occurred.

There’s been no discussion about Last season, Owens had 72 that and this injury is not a big catches for 983 yards and nine deal.” touchdowns for the Cincinnati Two of Terrell Owens’ former Bengals. He was placed on seateammates also said the star son-ending injured reserve on wide receiver plans to return. Dec. 21, a day after surgery for Both players spoke to The his torn meniscus.

Retired players group threatens settlement talks

By JASON COLE As the NFL owners and players continue to negotiate in hopes of solving the labor impasse, the lawyer for a group of retired players has fired a shot across the bow at management and the

union.

Attorney Michael Hausfeld, who is representing Carl Eller and a cluster of other players who have sued to gain control of health, disability and retirement benefits, said that his group will not sign off on a court settlement until its demands are satisfied. More troubling is that Hausfeld said his side has not been involved in the

mediation of the lawsuit.

“If our side is not heard and our desire for change is not met, we will not agree to a settlement of this case,” said Hausfeld, whose suit on behalf of Eller and others was joined in court with the Brady v. NFL suit. “We want substantial changes in all phases of the postcareer life of retirees and those issues will be

addressed.”

Ultimately, Hausfeld and his clients might not have final say.

Hausfeld said that a settlement could be reached over objections by his clients. However, Hausfeld said he believed Federal Judge Susan Richard Nelson of the Minnesota District Court would not allow that given that she joined the Brady and Eller cases.

Mohammed re-signs with Oklahoma City

By JEFF LATZKE OKLAHOMA CITY Veteran center Nazr Mohammed is staying with the Oklahoma City Thunder, avoiding free agency with the possibility of an NBA lockout this offseason.

General manager Sam Presti announced yesterday that Oklahoma City had

SPORTS

SPORTS BRIEFS Obama honors WNBA Seattle Storm’s championship run

NEW YORK - Terrell Owens is recovering from left knee surgery and plans to be ready to play when the NFL season starts.

Owens’ agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed Tuesday that the 37-year-old star receiver tore his anterior cruciate ligament, had surgery in early April and “will be playing at the start of the NFL season.”

In an interview with ESPN, Rosenhaus called speculation that Owens was considering retirement “nonsense” and said the 15-year veteran is doing “fantastic” and could be recovered as early as August.

Rosenhaus said Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery to the same knee in which Owens tore his meniscus late last year.

“The old injury has been repaired,” Rosenhaus said. “He is many months into recovery and doing fantastic. No predictions on training camp, but he comes back fast from injuries. I

DAILY CHALLENGE

21

signed Mohammed to an extension. Terms were not disclosed.

“We are pleased to be able to keep Nazr in the Thunder family,” Presti said. “He is a valuable part of our organization both on and off the floor. His professionalism, experience, and oncourt play have had a positive impact on our young and evolving roster.”

A 13-year NBA veter-

an, Mohammed averaged 6.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 24 games after being acquired by the Thunder at the trade deadline. He played mostly as a backup behind starter Kendrick Perkins.

The Thunder now have nine of the 10 players from last season’s rotation under contract for next season. Only reserve Daequan Cook isn’t signed, and he got

a qualifying offer from Oklahoma City this week to make him a restricted free agent and give the Thunder a chance to match any offers he gets from other teams.

Presti also locked up Serge Ibaka, James Harden, Eric Maynor, Byron Mullens and Cole Aldrich through the 2012-13 season by picking up options on their contracts this week.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says the WNBA’s Seattle Storm sets a good example for young girls with big dreams.

Obama welcomed the 2010 champions to the White House Rose Garden yesterday.

The president is a basketball fan whose daughters Malia and Sasha also play hoops. He lauded the Storm for the community service they perform at home in Seattle. He said the players understand that being champions doesn’t end when they step off the court.

The Storm swept the WNBA finals last September, defeating the Atlanta Dream to win their second league championship.

Team members planned a basketball clinic for local children at the White House.

Timberwolves keep Johnson, Ellington, Hayward MINNEAPOLIS The Minnesota Timberwolves have picked up contract options for swingman Wes Johnson, guard Wayne Ellington and forward Lazar Hayward.

The moves yesterday include third-year options for Johnson and Hayward and the fourth year for Ellington.

Johnson averaged nine points, three rebounds and almost two assists as a rookie last year. The fourth overall pick set a franchise record for 3pointers made by a rookie with 103. With the addition of forward Derrick Williams, Johnson is going to be counted on heavily at shooting guard.

Ellington was a first-round pick in 2009 and has been a versatile player off the bench in his first three seasons, while Hayward played sparingly as a rookie last year.

Shock waive center Jacinta Monroe TULSA, Okla. - The Tulsa Shock have waived center Jacinta Monroe after she went scoreless in four appearances with the team.

Monroe was waived Tuesday, 12 days after she signed with Tulsa in a move coach Nolan Richardson hoped would provide size and shot blocking for the WNBA’s worst team. She also didn’t block a shot in 21 minutes of playing time.

Monroe was the No. 6 pick in the 2010 draft.

Thunder pick up options on Harden, Ibaka OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma City Thunder have picked up the option year on the contracts of Serge Ibaka, James Harden, Eric Maynor, Byron Mullens and Cole Aldrich, keeping them all with the franchise for two more seasons.

General manager Sam Presti announced the moves Tuesday, extending the contracts through the 2012-13 season.

For Aldrich, who was a rookie last season, the option is for the third year on his contract. For the other four players, the option year is the fourth and final year on their contracts.

As the No. 3 pick in the 2009 draft, Harden stands to receive the biggest payday at up to $5.8 million under the NBA’s pay scale from his rookie season.

22

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

DAILY CHALLENGE

SPORTS

Floyd Mayweather talks Manny Pacquiao NEW YORK — It seems Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will be forever linked, regardless of whether they ever face each other in the ring.

The two have danced around the richest fight in boxing for several years, unable to come to terms. Meanwhile, their animosity has grown to the point that Pacquiao has a pending defamation lawsuit alleging Mayweather unfairly accused him of using performance-enhancing drugs.

So it’s not surprising that Mayweather spent just as much time answering questions about Pacquiao on Tuesday as he did about Victor Ortiz, the welterweight champion whom he’ll face in his next fight on Sept. 17 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“I’ve never said that Manny Pacquiao was taking steroids, I never said he was taking enhancement drugs,” said Mayweather, who failed to turn up for a court-ordered deposition in Las Vegas earlier this month involving the defamation suit.

“I want to fight the best they got out there,

not just him, the best they got out there,” Mayweather said, “and if he’s on the list as one of the best guys, then absolutely.”

Mayweather said he’s willing to fight Pacquiao if there is random blood and urine testing, which is more stringent than the protocol used by most state athletic associations.

Mayweather said Pacquiao’s team would only agree to blood and urine testing at certain times.

“It’s not just Pacquiao, it’s sports, period,” Mayweather said. “If you look at sports in the Olympics, they’re cheating.

Everyone is cheating.

And I never once said Manny Pacquiao was cheating, only thing I said was this: Me and any other opponent I face must take the test.”

Mayweather will be returning to the ring for the first time since defeating Shane Mosley in May 2010, though the undefeated former champion has made plenty of news since then.

Last Friday, 21-yearold Anthony Cliff filed a lawsuit accusing Mayweather of ordering his bodyguards to

attack the man outside the Palms Casino Resort on March 27, 2010.

The lawsuit accuses Mayweather of assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent hiring, training, supervision and retention of employees.

Mayweather also faces felony charges stemming from a domestic argument and misdemeanor harassment and battery charges in separate cases.

“When you’re young, black and rich, you go through things in life,” Mayweather said. “But I’m a strong individual.

I can survive through anything.”

Mayweather’s adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, declined to discuss the litigation.

“We focus on the business part and the boxing part,” Ellerbe said. “We let the attorneys handle the legal stuff.”

Mayweather and Ellerbe joined several hundred fans inside the Hudson Theater in New York City to kick off a promotional tour for the fight against Ortiz, who is coming off a career-defining victory

over Andre Berto that made him the WBC welterweight champion.

Ortiz said he doesn’t mind that people want to talk about Pacquiao — even if that person is Mayweather — because he’s staring at the opportunity of a lifetime.

“I’m supposed to be a piece of nothing, I’m not supposed to be here, according to the statistics,” said Ortiz, whose parents abandoned him when he was young, forcing him and his five siblings to live in foster care. “I’m tired of, ‘You can’t do this, you can’t do that.’ “ Early in his career, Ortiz was anointed the next MexicanAmerican superstar by Oscar De La Hoya, whose company promotes him. But his meteoric rise met a wall when he fought Marcos Maidana two years ago.

Ortiz was losing after six rounds and essentially quit in the ring, one of boxing’s cardinal sins, and fans and the media were quick to write him off.

Ortiz has been spectacular on the slow road to redemption, though, and in April climbed off the canvas twice to beat Berto as the heavy

underdog and win the welterweight championship.

“I realize he’s a great fighter, but since I was 9 years old, I always said I’d fight Mayweather one day as champion of the world, and check it out,” Ortiz said. “It’s crazy.”

Ortiz said he asked to fight Mayweather or Pacquiao after his most recent fight, even though he heard whispers from people — including some in his

own promotional company — who said he was overmatched or out of his mind. But he wanted to fight the best in the world, and depending who you ask, he may have achieved that by landing a shot at Mayweather.

As for Mayweather’s plan to fight Pacquiao next?

“There’s only one problem,” Ortiz said.

“I’m fighting Pacquiao next.”

Micha el Floyd senten ced to pr obation SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Suspended Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd pleaded guilty yesterday to misdemeanor drunken driving and was sentenced to a year of probation.

St. Joseph County Magistrate Brian Steinke gave Floyd a one-year jail sentence that was suspended as part of a plea agreement. He also said Floyd cannot drive for 90 days and once when he does, he must have an ignition device installed on

his vehicle for six months that won’t allow it to start if his bloodalcohol level is too high.

The 21-year-old Floyd was fined $200 and ordered to attend a victim impact panel to hear from people whose family members were killed in drunken driving accidents.

Floyd, who has had two previous incidents involving alcohol, left court quickly after the hearing and declined to comment.

He only spoke briefly during the hearing, answering “yes” to several questions from the judge. He had not been in court

for two previous hearings.

Floyd was arrested at 3:18 a.m. local time March 20 after running a stop sign a block from the school’s main entrance. Prosecutors say a breath test showed Floyd had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent, more than double Indiana’s legal limit for driving.

Floyd’s attorney, William Stanley, told reporters after the hearing that his client accepted full responsibility from the start.

“Never once did he ever try to give an excuse as to his actions

or ever try to mitigate the seriousness of the offense,” he said.

Coach Brian Kelly suspended Floyd, Notre Dame’s leading receiver last season, after his arrest. Earlier this month, the coach said Floyd would be allowed to participate in voluntary workouts with the team this summer and strength and conditioning exercises supervised by staff.

Kelly said Floyd still had steps he must take to be reinstated to the team, but didn’t specify what those steps were.

Brian Hardin, Notre Dame’s director of foot-

ball media relations, said Kelly would have no comment on Floyd’s plea agreement and Stanley said he doesn’t know Floyd’s status with the team.

“That’s Coach Kelly’s decision,” he said.

Stanley said Floyd went through alcohol counseling at Notre Dame.

Floyd was cited for underage consumption of alcohol on May 15, 2009, in his home state of Minnesota, and pleaded guilty through a hearing officer a month later.

Floyd was also cited for underage drinking

in Minneapolis on Jan. 8, 2010. Floyd and Minnesota running back Shady Salamon, who were former Cretin-Derham Hall prep teammates in St. Paul, Minn., were cited after police were called to a fight involving six to 10 people.

Stanley said Floyd performed more than 32 hours of community service in Minnesota when he went home at the end of the school year even though he wasn’t required to, saying he has also talked to students about the importance of academics.

DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

DAILY CHALLENGE

23

SPORTS

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga rallies for upset WIMBLEDON, England — Sixtime champion Roger Federer was upset in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the second straight year yesterday, squandering a two-set lead for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament and losing to JoWilfried Tsonga 36, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Federer barely looked challenged while winning the first two sets against the 12thseeded Frenchman. But the Swiss star, who had been 178-0 in matches in which he had won the opening two sets at a major tournament, was broken one time in each of the last three sets.

“It’s kind of hard going out of the tournament that way, but unfortunately it does happen sometimes,” said Federer, who was playing in his 29th straight major quarterfinal. “At least it took him sort of a special performance to beat me,

which is somewhat nice.”

Federer may be right. The 16-time Grand Slam champion finished the match with only 11 unforced errors, half as many as Tsonga, but it didn’t help him get close to breaking Tsonga’s serve when he needed it.

“I was two sets down and I break. I did a good game of return and after that it was just amazing,” said Tsonga, who had 63 winners, five more than Federer.

“I just played unbelievable, served unbelievable and now I’m here, I’m in semifinal and I can’t believe it.”

Tsonga will face second-seeded Novak Djokovic, who defeated 18-year-old Australian qualifier Bernard Tomic 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal also advanced, beating Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-3, 57, 6-4. The two-time champion will face fourth-seeded Andy Murray, who defeated Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Murray and Lopez stepped onto a halfempty Centre Court fol-

lowing the surprise loss of Federer in the previous match. Murray was already a set up by the time the stadium began to fill again.

The fourth-seeded Brit didn’t face a break point until the third set.

He saved the two he faced in the eighth game and finished off the match with a love game.

Federer was seeking to equal Pete Sampras’ record of seven Wimbledon singles titles.

He breezed through his opening four matches, losing only one set, and played his usual elegant game against Tsonga.

In the first set, Federer earned his one and only break point of the match in Tsonga’s first service game, and converted it. He held the rest of the way, and then won the second set in the tiebreaker.

But Tsonga finally got his first break in the third set, and another in the fourth and another in the fifth.

“He can come up with some good stuff and some poor things at times,” Federer said.

“He had basically good return games along the

way in the third, fourth, and fifth. I think especially the third set, the break I get is very unusual. He chips back a couple, they stay in.”

Those were the Frenchman’s only three breaks, and they were just enough to send Federer home early again.

Federer has won six titles at the All England Club, including five in a row from 2003 to 2007.

He lost to Nadal in the 2008 final in what is considered by many to be one of the greatest matches ever and beat Andy Roddick for the championship a year later, winning 16-14 in the fifth set.

Last year, he lost to eventual runner-up Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals.

“It’s the biggest champion in my sport,” Tsonga said.

“He achieved a lot of things and he’s just the best player in the world and I’m just so happy to win against him, especially on grass because it’s maybe one of his favorite surface and I’m just so happy today.”

On Court 1, Djokovic overcame a tough

match against his protege, holding on to reach the semifinals for the third time in his career.

Djokovic has been practicing with Tomic on-and-off since the two became friends last year in Australia, but this was the first meeting between the two in a competitive match.

After Tomic put a forehand into the net on match point, the pair had a brief chat at the net. Then, with the crowd applauding, Djokovic did the same while motioning toward Tomic.

“It was a very even match. In the first set I felt I played quite well,” said Djokovic, who finished the match with fewer winners than Tomic, 43-39. “Then I played one really bad service game and he got back into the match.

And from that moment on, he was the better player.”

At the start, Djokovic appeared to have little to worry about, rolling through the first set and on his way to a fifth straight major semifinal. But Tomic didn’t quit, instead breaking Djokovic to take a 3-1

lead in the second set and eventually evening the match.

“He is such an unpredictable player. He’s very young, and obviously, first quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for him means a lot,” Djokovic said. “But he didn’t have anything to lose, so he was hitting a lot of winners today.”

Tomic again went up a break in the third, but that’s when Djokovic got going. The two-time Grand Slam champion won five straight games to take the third set, and then won the first two games in the fourth. Although Tomic got back on serve at 2-2 and was two points from winning the set at 5-4, Djokovic soon broke to take a 6-5 lead and held for victory.

“It was really hard to predict where he’s going to go. He was not making a lot of unforced errors from the baseline, and that made my life really difficult,” Djokovic said. “I tried to change the pace, but he was better at that. We were playing cat and mouse, I think. But in the end, I’m just happy to get through.”

Roger Goodell, Smith addr ess r ook ies SARASOTA, Fla. — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and players’ union chief DeMaurice Smith took questions yesterday at a symposium for NFL rookies, who wanted to know the same thing as everyone else unhappy about the league’s labor dispute.

When is it going to end?

Goodell and Smith didn’t say. But the union took their joint appearance as a positive sign.

“That’s really the significance of this,” NFL Players Association spokesman George Atallah said. “There’s a

lockout happening now, but we’ve got to look forward and consider the necessity to have a positive working relationship with the league.”

The commissioner and his counterpart in negotiations met in Minneapolis before flying together to Sarasota on Tuesday night. After a joint breakfast yesterday, they talked for an hour with 155 rookies.

“We were taking a break (from negotiations) because we felt it was important to be down here with the players,” Goodell said.

“This is an important few days. We’re going

to get back to work.”

He then climbed into the back seat of an SUV alongside Smith, and they headed for the airport to return to Minnesota. Talks there are scheduled there through tomorrow, raising hopes a new collective bargaining agreement can be worked out so the season can proceed as planned, with training camps scheduled to open in about three weeks.

The fifth set of “secret” negotiations involves Goodell, Smith and their staffs, but no owners or players. Such high-level meetings

have been key to previous labor agreements, particularly when the late Gene Upshaw ran the players’ association and Paul Tagliabue was commissioner.

Goodell and Smith did not seem to have the same kind of rapport, but have been spending more time together in recent weeks. Smith said both sides are “continuing to work hard” to end the four-monthold lockout, which has put the 2011 season in jeopardy.

This week, the two sides are working on some tedious components of a possible deal, including a rookie wage

system.

A source told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen Tuesday that it is possible that the owners and players who have participated in the previous four sessions under the supervision of U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan could return later in the week.

Smith called the question-and-answer session with rookies “important to ensure our young men appreciated how important we think these few days are. ... I’m thrilled Roger could come down with us and talk to the

rookies in a very good, direct way.”

Atallah said a lot of the questions from players were related to the lockout. He said Goodell and Smith answered as best they could given a court order to maintain confidentiality about the negotiations.

“It was important that the players see this is not personal,” Atallah said. “It was important that the players see that (Goodell and Smith) can work through their differences in a constructive way, and that hopefully sooner rather than later they’ll be playing football.”

DAILY CHALLENGE

S SP PO OR RT TS S THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011

TSONGA UPSETS FEDERER

S EE PA GE 23

M AY W E AT H E R TA L K S PA C Q U I A O , ORTIZ S EE PA GE 22