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Kris Allen: Conway, Ark., native is 23.

What credit card changes mean to you mObama to sign law restricting rate hikes and other credit card practices mBut critics say it doesn’t go far enough, warn those with good credit could pay more mPros and cons, 8A

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Hausers: Colleen and Daniel, 13.

mMissing woman, cancerstricken son spark debate on treatment, religious views, 3A

General: Treatment lax; retention may be motive

Kids’ health care warning mWhy hard times pose a risk, 10B mOn The Early Show: child abuse mOn CBS Evening News: Homeless kids Shuttle astronaut’s tweets are heavenly Massimino is first to use Twitter in space. 2A.

mMoney: Renovators reap bargains Homeowners with cash and chutzpah are negotiating great deals from cash-strapped firms. 6A.

mSports: Mickelson’s wife has cancer World’s No. 2-ranked golfer taking indefinite leave from PGA Tour to be with spouse Amy. 1, 3B.

mLife: Texas boy wins geography bee Eric Yang, 13, wins scholarship, Galapagos Islands trip in National Geographic contest; usatoday.com.

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mUnderdog bests Adam Lambert in show’s finale, 8B

By Gregg Zoroya USA TODAY

By Kevin Liles, US Presswire

Turn for the worse: Empty seats abound during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ Kobalt Tools 500 on March 8 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. Attendance was below normal.

Economic woes cast cloud over racing’s big weekend Tracks, teams take hits; makers’ support at risk

Attendance at races is down, TV ratings are off, vendors are hurting and some teams are struggling as auto racing heads into its biggest weekend of the season. Consumers are at best

By Seth Livingstone cash-strapped and at worst apathetic.

USA TODAY The Indianapolis 500, open-wheel racing’s most prestigious event, and the Coca-Cola 600, RICHMOND, Va. — Sights and sounds NASCAR’s longest race, will run Sunday, on the midway during this month’s vying for the discretionary time and NASCAR weekend at Richmond Internamoney of fans. tional Raceway showed the sport’s “If NASCAR is having problems — and struggles in the down economy. they’re having lots of them — that shows Scrawled on the dusty hood of an othyou the depth of this,” says Bobby Rahal, erwise pristine black Malibu at Chevrolet’s who has won the Indy 500 as a driver and team American Revolution Pavilion was a message. owner and started one stock car race for the Not the predictable “Wash Me,” it read, “I need Please see COVER STORY next page u a Bail Out.”

Cover story

Last gasp for anti-bomb ‘puffers’ $36 million airport program scrapped

ners that create images of passengers through their clothing. The TSA plans to have 250 scanners next year, costing $170,000 each, its 2010 budget

By Thomas Frank shows.

Some of the airports USA TODAY The puffers are the first screening that use or have used equipment to be widely installed and bomb-sensing puffer machines: WASHINGTON — A $36 million anremoved, though other technology ti-terrorism program designed to dehas been troubled.

Charlotte tect bombs on airline passengers by For example, the Homeland SecuDallas/Fort Worth Denver shooting air blasts to dislodge explority Department removed a handful Detroit sive particles is being scuttled beof advanced biological-weapons deHouston cause the machines proved unrelitectors from New York City transit Los Angeles able at airports. hubs in March after the devices beNewark The “puffer” machines — glass gan failing, department spokeswomNew York City (JFK) Phoenix portals that passengers enter for an Amy Kudwa said. Older, slower San Francisco checkpoint screening — are being redetectors remain in New York and Source: Transportation Security moved after the Transportation Secuabout 30 other cities.

Administration rity Administration spent $6.2 milAlso in March, the department lion on maintenance since 2005. launched a second effort to install Removing them will cost nearly $1 million, TSA sensors and cameras along the U.S.-Mexico border spokeswoman Sterling Payne said. after an initial $600 million installation faced so Problems emerged after the TSA bought 207 many problems it was scrapped. puffers for $30 million starting in 2004. Ninety-four The failures show how machines that test well in were installed in 37 airports. The other 113 ma- labs struggle under intense use at airports, land chines stayed in storage. borders or rail stations. “You need to have some Dirt and humidity in airports led to frequent pretty robust equipment to put in airports, and breakdowns, Payne said. The TSA has removed 60 these (puffers) may not be robust enough,” former puffers and will pull the rest but has no deadline. TSA deputy administrator Stephen McHale said.

The puffers, costing $160,000 each, attempted to Security consultant Rich Roth said the TSA faced identify bomb residue on clothing. They were used pressure in 2004 to improve airport screening, and as added screening on passengers who had gone puffers were the best equipment available. “We through metal detectors. knew it didn’t work 100%, but we still used it beSome of the machines had trouble detecting cause it gave you an edge over terrorists,” Roth said. bombs, said Hasbrouck Miller, a vice president of Former Homeland Security inspector general puffer manufacturer Smiths Detection. “It was a Clark Kent Ervin said he thinks the TSA is doing a torturous four years,” Miller said, describing repair better job testing equipment before installing it. efforts. “The TSA finally got tired of pursuing that Roth called the new scanners “more robust techangle and moved on to something else.” nology” because they spot guns, knives and other As a replacement, the TSA is installing body scan- metal objects that would evade a puffer machine.

Airports that used devices

WASHINGTON — Army commanders are failing to punish or seek treatment for a growing number of soldiers who test positive for substance abuse, possibly because they don’t want to lose any more combat troops, the Army’s vice chief of staff has warned.

In a May 8 memo to commanders provided to USA TODAY, Gen. Peter Chiarelli said hundreds of soldiers involved in “substance abuse-related misconduct (including multiple positive urinalyses)” were not processed for possible discharge. He also noted that many are not referred to the Army Substance Abuse Program for help.

What “worries me the most is that commanders feel a requirement to keep their numbers up” for combat deployments, Chiarelli said in a meeting with top staff officers Monday. He said non-commissioned officers told him this during visits to six Army installations recently to examine strain on soldiers and address the record number of suicides in the Army.

He says identifying and treating substance abuse will help improve the Army’s mental health care and curb suicides, which reached a record 142 confirmed or suspected cases Army lacks in 2008. counselors He found many cases where soldiers tested The Army can’t fill positive for substance the number of submore than once, Chiarelli stance abuse counseling positions it wrote in the memo. has.

At one installation where about a thousand Total 359 soldiers screened positive Filled 282 by urinalysis, 373 had Source: Army failed the same drug test in the past, in some cases up to seven times, says Brig Gen. Colleen McGuire, head of the Army’s Suicide Prevention Task Force.

Other installations reported similar numbers, she says.

“I am asking you to ensure that soldiers are provided the help that they need when they need it,” he told commanders in the memo, “and that regulatory requirements regarding the referral and initiation of separation processing of substance abusers are enforced.”

In January, with 24 possible suicides, more soldiers killed themselves than died in combat. Since March, numbers appear to be declining, though Chiarelli cautioned against being overly optimistic.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, who introduced a bill to improve military substance abuse treatment, says she was encouraged by Chiarelli’s action but cautioned against placing too much emphasis on punishment over treatment.

“Army leaders seem to have finally gotten the message,” says McCaskill, D-Mo. USA TODAY reported a 25% increase in five years among soldiers treated for substance abuse.

Military drug and alcohol counseling programs were created by Congress in 1971 after reports of widespread drug abuse among troops in Vietnam.

The military needs a greater understanding of substance abuse, says Terri Tanielian, co-author of a RAND Corp. study last year into war-related mental health and brain injury cases. “I just don’t think we know enough,” she says.

Army leaders have launched several efforts to stop the rising number of suicides, including suicide-awareness training for soldiers and the suicide prevention task force.

Chiarelli, who oversees the efforts, is personally briefed each month on every new suicide. He assembles top Army commanders in a Pentagon briefing room where they receive details of each case by video-teleconference and discuss lessons learned and possible intervention strategies.

—    —

,   



     1 lb. of succulent King Crab legs with your

24

choice of soup or salad and seasonal vegetables

.MCS.   ..     

2A · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · USA TODAY

Nation

Daschle key player on health care — title or no

In space, anyone can hear you tweet

Former HHS nominee finds fun in new role

By John Fritze USA TODAY

325,000 follow astronaut’s mission, musings via Twitter

By Traci Watson USA TODAY WASHINGTON — Astronauts are known for their pithy statements from space. Astronaut Michael Massimino is continuing that tradition — in an unconventional way.

Massimino, now in orbit on space shuttle Atlantis, is the first person to Twitter from space.

Despite a hectic schedule, Massimino — “Astro Mike” to his followers — has fired off nearly two dozen missives known as tweets, musing on such experiences as looking out the shuttle’s windows.

Unlike the clipped, impersonal statements made by past astronauts, Astro Mike’s tweets are reflective and personal, despite being limited to 140 characters.

“As I closed my eyes to sleep last night I thought, ‘These eyes have seen some beautiful sights today,’ ” Massimino, 46, wrote Wednesday.

Massimino’s followers have catapulted from roughly 100,000 before his May 11 launch to more than 325,000, and the number grows “every hour,” NASA spokeswoman Nicole Lemasters said.

During preflight training for his mission, which is devoted to upgrading the Hubble Space Telescope, Massimino used a handheld device to send many of his Twitter postings. Since reaching orbit, he has tapped his tweets into the shuttle’s laptops and e-mailed them to Lemasters. She posts them to twitter.com/Astro_Mike.

“The one regret that I have when I look out the window and I see how beautiful the Earth looks . . . is that you can’t share it with everyone,” Massimino said during a news conference Wednesday.

His twittering “is just an attempt at doing that.”

NASA via AP

A new frontier: Mike Massimino, or “Astro Mike” to his Twitter followers, works aboard the Atlantis.

In Massimino’s tweets, he describes what he sees, what he’s doing and his state of mind.

“Hard to sleep last night after my spacewalk, images of the work and the views still vivid in my mind,” read a Monday tweet.

During this mission, Massimino made two spacewalks to upgrade the Hubble. He also went on two spacewalks to fix the Hubble in 2002.

Massimino is not the first space traveler to tweet.

The Mars Phoenix spacecraft, which landed on the Red Planet in 2008, had a Twitter account, though postings such as “Less than 20 days till I land on Mars!” were written by a NASA staffer.

During his training, NASA public affairs officials asked Massimino — a gregarious man with an outsize sense of humor — to be a Twitter guinea pig.

He accepted, he said, because “I feel very fortunate to be an astronaut. . . . I like ways to share that experience.”

WASHINGTON — Nearly four months after tax troubles forced him to forgo his plan to lead the nation’s health department, former senator Tom Daschle has reemerged as a key player on health care, lawmakers and policy experts say.

Though he withdrew his nomination to serve as Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary in February, Daschle is again poised to play a critical role as Congress debates how to provide medical care to 46 million people who are uninsured in the United States.

Daschle, a Democrat who represented South Dakota in Congress for 26 years before his defeat in 2004, is calling for action in a campaignlike circuit of speeches. He penned a piece in Newsweek last week supporting a public health plan to compete with private insurers. When General Electric announced it would spend $6 billion to lower medical costs, it named Daschle to the board of the new initiative.

Most important, the former Senate majority leader continues to meet privately with members of Congress, pressing them on the importance of health care overhaul, Daschle and others at the meetings said.

“I’m really enjoying this. I may be having more fun in this role

By Susan Walsh, AP

Daschle: Former senator commands respect on Capitol Hill. than I would have in the other,” Daschle, 61, said in an interview.

“I knew that just because one opportunity to be involved may have not been possible there are a lot of other options for me to be involved.”

Daschle works for Alston & Bird, a law firm that lobbies on behalf of more than a dozen health companies, including CVS Caremark, according to Senate lobbying disclosure statements.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the arrangement raises questions about what Daschle is advocating and who he represents in the closed-door meetings with members of Congress. “It’s like being a senator or being in the administration without having any of the restrictions,” she said.

Daschle, who is not a lobbyist, said he does not lobby but rather offers his thoughts to anyone who finds them helpful, be it the law firm or lawmakers. “I don’t change my analysis or my message based on the audience,” he said. “That’s my strength, that I can share this analysis . . . with

whomever is interested.”

Obama nominated Daschle in December, and he was expected to be a central figure in promoting health care legislation Congress is drafting. But Daschle withdrew after acknowledging he failed to pay $128,000 in taxes for consulting income and several years’ use of a car and driver.

Former Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius was confirmed as HHS secretary in April.

Daschle’s rapid comeback was possible because of the respect he commands both on Capitol Hill and in the health care community, said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md..

“Tom is a very popular Washington presence,” said Hoyer, who said he invited Daschle to speak privately with a small group of lawmakers last week on how to pay for an expansion of health care. “What he brings is a very deep knowledge of legislative possibilities and challenges.”

Other factors explaining Daschle’s influence: uMany of his former staffers are highly placed. William Corr, who served as Daschle’s chief counsel in the Senate in the late 1990s, is now a deputy secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services. uAs co-founder of the Bipartisan Policy Center, Daschle has an outlet to advocate his policies.

The center is scheduled to release a plan for changing the health care system in June.

“He may not have the title we were expecting,” said Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., “but without a doubt he is indispensible in helping move health care forward.”

Drop in TV ratings greater concern than decline in attendance Continued from 1A Wood Brothers. “It’s going to take some time for it to come back.”

Any such rally could face serious obstacles should NASCAR lose factory support from troubled General Motors and Chrysler. “That’s maybe the biggest question,” says sports marketer Max Muhleman, principal of Private Sports Consulting in Charlotte. “We don’t know how much (automakers) are going to cut. Will it be a meat-cleaver cutoff: Whack, no more money?

Or is it the piggy bank turned upside down and some coins still shake out?”

For some in NASCAR’s top-tier series, time has run out. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing parked its iconic No. 8 car, driven by Aric Almirola, after the season’s seventh

By J Pat Carter, AP race, in April. Yates Racing was forced to do likewise in March, Iconic ride idled: Aric Almirola practices Feb. 8 for the Daytona 500 before Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing after five races, when it was un- suspended operations on the No. 8 car, made famous by Dale Earnhardt Jr., seven races into the season.

Cover story able to obtain sponsorship for the No. 28 car of Travis Kvapil.

Some NASCAR tracks are reducing prices for tickets and concessions. Daytona International Speedway has cut prices from $55 to $40 for grandstand seats for the July 4 race, and New Hampshire Motor Speedway is offering a $39 ticket for its June 28 event. Darlington Raceway offered combo meals for $5, Richmond a rib sandwich for $3.

Lowe’s Motor Speedway outside Charlotte reports that individual tickets from $59 are still available for Sunday’s event, and area hotel operators still had vacancies this week. In a bit of good news, track spokesman Adrian Parker says ticket sales so far have outpaced sales a year ago.

The Indy 500 has never sold out because of the 2.5-mile track’s ability to sell tickets to its massive infield, spokesman Ron

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Green says. Overall, it is too early to tell if the IRL IndyCar Series, three races into its 17-event schedule, is suffering at the gate.

NASCAR viewership on Fox was down 11.5% from last year for the first 10 races. Most of the IRL races are shown on the Versus cable network, which doesn’t attract as high a viewing audience as Fox. NASCAR CEO Brian France says he isn’t worried about the ratings decline. “Seven out of the first 11 events, we were the No. 1 watched sport of the weekend — also the No. 1 in live attendance,” he says.

France blames a slow start to the season in part on a rainshortened Daytona 500 and going head-to-head with the Oscars, for the third year, in the season’s second race, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

Longtime racing promoter H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler understands why stands might not be full but worries about underlying reasons why TV ratings are down.

“With motor racing facilities being (built) larger, you can get more people in them,” Wheeler says. “What alarms us more than anything else is a rather significant decline in ratings. You can blame the attendance on the economy and people not buying seats. But you can’t blame lack of ratings on the economy.”

Muhleman says the sport is seeking its level in a down economy. “The trend down in TV ratings and attendance are probably

Corrections & Clarifications USA TODAY is committed to accuracy. To reach us, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones at 1-800-872-7073 or e-mail accuracy@usatoday.com. Please indicate whether you’re responding to content online or in the newspaper.

The baby names illustration appearing on 1A Wednesday was created by USA TODAY’s Thad Allender with Wordle.net. The credit line was omitted.

the barometers most of us — and NASCAR — are watching most closely. In the meantime, the actual numbers compared to other sports are relatively good.

“Both the economy and attendance will improve, so I’m not particularly concerned if attendance is down 15 to 20% at these gigantic facilities.”

David Carter, executive director of the University of Southern California’s Sports Business Institute, says NASCAR has done a good job overall of keeping up with consumers but the Car of Tomorrow might be hurting appeal. The car, which NASCAR introduced two years ago to improve driver safety and help contain costs, also has created parity by giving teams the same blueprint to work from, aside from the engine.

“Imagine how much softer things would be at the turnstiles and how low the ratings might be had NASCAR not been doing such a great job heading into this economic downturn,” Carter says. “But racing fans are a very demanding, very sophisticated set of viewers. They really expect to be part of the action. If that race on television doesn’t excite them — if the racing is taking too long, if it’s not compelling enough — fans have other options.”

Carter adds, “Fans feel a connection to drivers and will be upset if they believe changes compromise their favorite driver’s ability to excel.”

France, however, is heartened that the first 12 races of the season (including Saturday’s nonpoints All-Star race) have produced eight different winners and wild, close finishes. “Competition is our core product,” he says, “and the average margin of victory is less than one second.”

Lagging attendance is a bigger problem in some markets than in others.

No place does the plight of the U.S. auto industry hit home more

than at Michigan International Speedway, 50 miles west of Detroit. A track that several years ago filled all of its 132,000 seats is expecting perhaps 80,000 in June for its first of two NASCAR Cup dates, track President Roger Curtis says.

“There are headlines every day,” Curtis says. “Unemployment is in the 20% range; consumer confidence is low. When you look at those negative things and see how many tickets we have sold, it’s actually pretty amazing.”

The track is drawing from a wider audience. “We’ve taken a lot of our advertising and promotion out of state,” Curtis says. “For the first time, we’re going into Canada.”

Souvenir sellers suffer The little guy is hurting, too.

Since 1979, Phoenix-based Sonny James and wife Suzie have traveled the NASCAR circuit selling collectibles and racing apparel. “This is by far our worst year,” James says. “2004 was our best.

Since then it’s been slowly sliding, but this year has been a crusher, race after race. We’re just fighting to make a living.”

Joe Mattes, president of Motorsports Authentics, official distributor of NASCAR collectibles, says NASCAR fans are still buying, just not in quantity.

“Our fan base is still there supporting us,” Mattes says. “But what we’re seeing is transactions at the track are not at last year’s levels. It’s the basket size.”

Mattes says his company has reduced its workforce roughly 20% to about 250.

Fans attending this month’s two-day race weekend at Richmond said tickets, gas, lodging and food averaged close to $500 a person. Some indicated that taking a day or two off from their jobs was increasingly difficult.

“You have to plan it,” says Mau-

Auto industry’s struggles have NASCAR’s attention

By Seth Livingstone USA TODAY

says. “I think it’s just too early to determine what restrictions they’re going to have, if any. . . . We’ll have to see about General Motors.

“They’re still going to be (companies) that need to sell cars and trucks. . . . Obviously, those companies are going to have to make some tough choices.”

The industry’s plight has not gone unnoticed in the garage.

“We all think about it, and everybody understands the economic troubles,” threetime defending Sprint Cup champion and Chevy driver Jimmie Johnson says. “We need (the manufacturers). We need each other.”

Dodge driver Kurt Busch says he has bought three Dodges in the past year. Although the drivers have no control over what happens in Detroit, he says, they must remain brand loyal.

Jeff Burton, who drives a Chevy for Richard Childress Racing, says team owners already are considering options should their current manufacturer back away.

“I think the climate that we’re in today, it would be poor business to not look at the worst-case scenarios,” Burton says.

NASCAR’s existence might not be directly linked to the solvency of American automakers.

The Car of Tomorrow has made every racing machine virtually the same except for the engine. So if one or more U.S. manufacturers went under, there still would be racing.

But there would be fewer sponsorship dollars, little or no factory support for teams and a sense of lost loyalty among fans who drive to the track in their Chevrolet Silverados, Ford F-150s and Dodge Rams.

“No sport has ever been more reliant on a single industry as NASCAR has been on the automotive industry,” says David Carter, executive director of the University of Southern California’s Sports Business Institute. “What’s going on could require fundamental changes in how it goes about financing the sport.”

With General Motors and Chrysler announcing last week that nearly 2,000 dealerships will close, NASCAR is bracing for a cut in marketing expenditures.

“We know what everyone else knows, that Chrysler is in the bankruptcy proceedings,” NASCAR CEO Brian France Contributing: Nate Ryan mee, Ohio, resident Elizabeth Lane, who met friends at Richmond for an annual girls getaway.

“You can’t just do it anymore spur of the moment. You have to save, know what you’re going to spend and budget.”

Many of NASCAR’s major sponsors have cut back on hospitality activities at the track. For example, DuPont, which hosted hospitality events at all 36 Cup races last season, plans to host at six this year.

“Some have dramatically reduced their numbers, going from entertaining 500 to 150 or 200 to 50,” Curtis says. “That’s a double (hit). Not only have you lost the revenue from food and beverage and the tent or suite rental, but you’ve lost the ticket sales.”

Lower prices help

duced or eliminated minimum stays,” France says.

Not every track is slashing prices. At Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., where tickets start at $55, vice president Nick Igdalsky says his market is somewhat immune. Sales are down less than 5%.

“One thing we have going for us is the location we’re in, with New York and Philadelphia both about 90 miles from our doorstep and being within 300 miles from a third of the nation’s population,” he says.

On the track, the numbers are holding up. NASCAR and the IRL have been able to attract sufficient numbers of competitors.

“We’ve had full fields all year,” France says.

As for success off the track, driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. says it can be measured differently.

“I don’t think that you have to have a sellout to call (a race) a success,” he says. “It’s a tough economy right now, and people are trying to save what they can. I still feel like that it’s a success when we put people in the seats.”

France says gas prices, which are down from a year ago, lower concession prices and the response of hotels in the immediate vicinity of tracks have helped take some of the sting out of the racing experience.

“Hotels are finally giving fans a break and offering more reason- Contributing: Nate Ryan and Larable room rates and have re- ry Marshak

USA TODAY · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · 3A

Nation

Nationline Latest headlines

Kissinger attests to Astor’s decline

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger testified today at the trial of Brooke Astor’s son that the socialite was failing mentally in her final years. Kissinger said Astor gave a dinner party for Kofi Annan in 2002 but didn’t recognize the guest of honor, a former UN secretary-general. Astor’s mental condition is a central issue at the trial of her son, Anthony Marshall.

He’s accused of plundering her $198 million estate.

Also: Pool photo uJurors in Paducah, Ky., Markoff: Suspectdeliberated the fate of fored Craigslist killer. mer soldier Steven Green, convicted of raping and killing Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, 14, in Iraq after killing her parents and sister.

Across the Nation

Finally, Red River recedes in Fargo The Red River in Fargo dropped below its 18-foot flood stage Wednesday for the first time in 61 days, the National Weather Service said. That’s a record for flood stage in the city, the service said.

“It’s a long time, but we made it through to a happy ending,” hydrologist Mike Lukes said.

Flooding from heavy rain and snow led to a statewide disaster in March and April, closing roads and forcing residents from their homes. The flooding was linked to the deaths of at least three people.

New drug czar ready to corral forces Putting focus on abuse of prescriptions

By Donna Leinwand USA TODAY NASHVILLE — Drug czar Gil Kerlikowske says one of his top priorities is curtailing abuse of prescription drugs — such as the addictive painkiller OxyContin — which are readily available in the U.S. “We get overly concerned about drugs coming in, but the pharmaceuticals are here already,” he said in an interview Wednesday with USA TODAY. He says he’ll push for more states to adopt prescriptionmonitoring programs, databases in which doctors and pharmacists log prescriptions for addictive drugs so law enforcement can track them.

Kerlikowske, who became director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy on May 7, de-

By Dipti Vaidya, The (Nashville) Tennessean

Supports treatment over prison: Drug czar Gil Kerlikowske met Wednesday with the staff of a drug court in Nashville. scribed drug abuse as a “public health problem.” Yet the former Seattle police chief added: “That doesn’t mean law enforcement doesn’t have a role to play.”

He said he was stunned to learn recently that more people in the U.S. die from drugs than from gunshot wounds.

“We’re going to shout that

from the rooftops,” he said.

“We have a national effort to combat swine flu. In the same way, we can bring all forces to bear on the drug problem.”

Kerlikowske said he supports courts that offer treatment instead of prison for addicts and federal funding for needle-exchange programs to stop the spread of disease.

His approach departs from that of the Bush administration, which heavily funded law enforcement task forces and advocated for tough sentences for drug offenders.

The Obama administration wants to make sentences for crimes involving crack cocaine the same as sentences for crimes involving powder cocaine. Currently, sentences are longer for crack-related crimes.

Attorney General Eric Holder also has limited prosecutions of sick people or caregivers who use or dispense marijuana for medical reasons. He has said his agents will seek criminal charges only when both state and U.S. laws are violated. During the Bush administration, agents raided several centers that dispense marijuana in California, where state law permits its medical use.

On his first trip outside Washington since assuming his new role, Kerlikowske told a law enforcement crowd Wednesday that marijuana

Ala. cops fired for beating of suspect

Alma mater honors hero captain The captain of a U.S. cargo ship who surrendered himself to Somali pirate suspects to spare his sailors was recognized as the 2009 Mariner of the Year by the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where he graduated in 1979. Capt. Richard Phillips told cadets that leadership means taking care of the crew, and that they need to lead by example.

It was his first return to campus since four men seized the Maersk Alabama in April. Phillips offered himself as a hostage and was held five days in one of his ship’s lifeboats. He was freed when U.S. Navy snipers shot and killed three of his captors.

By William M. Welch USA TODAY

Key al-Qaeda suspect on verge of trial An Obama administration official says a top alQaeda suspect held at Guantanamo Bay will be sent to New York City for trial. Ahmed Ghailani will be the first Guantanamo detainee brought to the U.S., and the first to face trial in a civilian criminal court, an official told the Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the decision.

Ghailani was indicted in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa — attacks that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans. Ghailani, a Tanzanian, was captured in Pakistan in 2004.

Cuomo: Prostitution ring on Craigslist Seven people have been indicted on charges of running a prostitution ring on Craigslist, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said. The announcement came the day after Craigslist’s CEO sued to keep South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster from pursuing criminal charges against the company. Five of the seven were arrested Wednesday on charges of corruption, conspiracy and money laundering. Authorities are searching for the two others. Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said he will cooperate with Cuomo’s investigation.

Late Tuesday, Buckmaster sued McMaster, saying his threat to file prostitution charges against Craigslist violated its executives’ constitutional rights.

Bodies found after Navy copter crash Bodies were found of three of the five crewmembers who were aboard a Navy helicopter that crashed into the Pacific southwest of San Diego, military officials said. Rescue teams continued looking for two crewmembers, said Lt. Karin Burzynski, spokeswoman for the 3rd Fleet. The HH-60 Seahawk helicopter had taken off from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz as part of a training exercise before crashing late Tuesday. No information on a possible cause had been released, and it was not clear whether the Seahawk had a flight data recorder.

By Shannon Stapleton, Reuters

U.S. fleets on foot

R & R in NYC: Marines and sailors walk through New York City’s Times Square on Wednesday, participating in the city’s 21st annual Fleet Week, along with thousands more Marines and Navy and Coast Guard sailors.

On Deadline: What others are reporting

Report: Drug cartel runs training camp

Los Zetas, a Texas cell of a ruthless Mexican drug cartel, operates a secluded ranch where it trains its members to “neutralize” U.S. competitors, the Houston Chronicle (chron.com) reported, quoting FBI reports.

The newspaper For more on this and other news says the FBI, based on stories, see the On “reliable” contacts, Deadline news blog at has informed law enondeadline.usatoday.com. forcement officers naFor news from across the tionwide about the nation, updated 24 hours gang’s operations. It a day, seven days a week, see nationline.usatoday.com. says Los Zetas ships cocaine and heroin to buyers as far away as Delaware and Michigan.

The Chronicle said the location of the training camp was not divulged, but reported that trainees “are taught about home invasions, firearms and ways to run vehicles off the road in order to kidnap occupants who owe drugs debts.” — Doug Stanglin

By John Bacon with staff and wire reports

Please recycle

should remain illegal, but public health officials — not police — should lead efforts to reduce illegal drug use.

“Legalization isn’t in the president’s vocabulary, and it certainly isn’t in mine,” he told 300 federal agents and law enforcement officials.

He sought to show strong support for law enforcement, making his first stop a 6:30 a.m. roll call at a Nashville Police Department precinct.

After speaking at the conference, Kerlikowske visited a drug court with a residentialtreatment center. He also toured a residence for women with addictions who were recently released from prison.

“The state of Tennessee has built all the prison cells it needs” but has not invested enough in treating drug abusers, Criminal Court Judge Seth Norman, who runs the Davidson County Drug Court, told Kerlikowske.

The new drug czar agreed: “Rotating people in and out and through the system doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

The chief of police in Birmingham, Ala., said he fired five officers Wednesday after a videotape surfaced showing them beating an apparently unconscious suspect following a highway chase.

Chris Hartsell, chief of operations for Mayor Larry Langford, said the officers were fired when the mayor and Police Chief A.C. Roper concluded their actions “cannot be tolerated.”

“Birmingham has a history of

By Kyndell Harkness, (Minneapolis-St. Paul) Star Tribune, via AP police doing things they “We’ve got to find this child”: Authorities are searching for Daniel Hauser, whose family resists chemotherapy for him. shouldn’t do from back in the ’60s,” Hartsell said, referring to then-public safety commissioner Bull Connor’s use of police dogs and fire hoses against civil rights demonstrators. “It’s just something we’re not going to let continue.”

The action followed the surfacing of a video taken Jan. 23, 2008, from a police vehicle involved in the pursuit of a van driven by Anthony Warren. He was ejected when his vehicle overturned on a ramp following police efforts to disable it.

By Ben Jones and Emily Bazar The video shows officers USA TODAY beating the motionless Warren with fists, feet and billy club, The case of a missing Minnesota Hartsell said. mother and her cancer-stricken son has “It was obvious the man was rekindled the debate over parents who unconscious” he said. reject conventional medical treatments Jefferson County District Atfor their sick children because of relitorney Brandon Falls said race gious beliefs. was not a motivation in the Authorities nationwide searched beating.

Wednesday for Colleen Hauser and her “No, I don’t think so at all,” 13-year-old son, Daniel, who has HodgFalls said. “The officers . . . kin’s lymphoma. The family refuses chewere African-American and

By Serra Muscatello, The (New Ulm, Minn.) Journal, via AP motherapy for Daniel. The two disapCaucasian.” Warren is black. peared from rural Sleepy Eye, Minn., Near Sleepy Eye, Minn.: Attorney Calvin Johnson speaks May 15 alongside Daniel Falls said the beating did not after a doctor’s appointment and court- Hauser; his parents, Anthony and Colleen; and his little brother, Joseph. appear on a copy of the videoordered X-ray Monday showed his cantape submitted to his office by cer had grown. They did not show up Peaslee, who was a member of the Neu- heard from his wife or son since they police as evidence against Warfor a court hearing Tuesday. manns’ Bible study group, said she saw left. He told the judge Tuesday that he ren. It was contained in 11 sec“We’ve got to find this child, so we Madeline the morning of her death, ly- last saw his wife Monday night, when onds of additional footage that can get him into medical treatment,” ing unconscious on a bathroom floor. she told him she was going to leave “for was discovered recently when said James Olson, Brown County ata prosecutor on his staff obPeaslee said she prayed with the fam- a time.” torney. ily and read Scriptures around the girl, He said he thinks his wife got scared tained the original video from Brown County District Judge John convinced God was going to heal her. that Brown County authorities would police in preparation for trial, Rodenberg ruled the mother in conA non-profit group called Children’s use X-ray results to get custody of Dan- he said. tempt of court and issued a warrant for Healthcare Is a Legal Duty is tracking iel. “Why does someone believe they Falls said he showed the her arrest. He ordered that Daniel be five criminal cases in the USA involving have the right over your child?” he video to Roper and turned it turned over to Brown County Family children denied health care because of asked. over to the Alabama Bureau of Services and gave the agency the au- religious beliefs. There are also cases in Anthony Hauser doesn’t oppose che- Investigation. No charges have thority to consent to “appropriate and Oregon, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. motherapy “if it’s a necessary thing,” been filed against the former necessary” treatment.

Since 1983, the group, which says it but he said doctors use it too much. officers as of yet.

Sheriff Rich Hoffmann said Wednes- works to stop abusive religious and cul- Daniel Hauser quit chemo after a single “It harms law enforcement day his department is investigating all tural practices, has tracked 66 cases. everywhere,” Falls said, “but treatment. leads in the disappearance.

“It’s a small number of children comThe judge has said the boy, who has it’s certainly going to harm law The Hausers are Catholic, but they al- pared to the total problem of child trouble reading and writing, has “lim- enforcement in my jurisdicso believe in the natural healing philoso- abuse and neglect in this country, but ited capacity” to understand his illness tion. It’s going to make our phy of the Nemenhah Band, a Missouri- they still deserve the right to live,” said and the treatment for it. cases tougher.” based religious group that believes in Rita Swan, the group’s president.

Warren pleaded guilty to an Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer of methods advocated by some American Swan, a former Christian Scientist, the lymph nodes. The survival rate for assault stemming from the Indians. Colleen Hauser testified in lost her son to meningitis in 1977 after people under age 20 is 91%, according to chase in which he struck a pocourt that she believed chemotherapy forgoing medical care in favor of prayer. the National Cancer Institute. lice officer with his vehicle, is a form of poison and that she had She left the church after her son’s death “Chemo and possibly radiation are breaking the officer’s leg. He been trying to “starve” Daniel’s cancer and became an activist on the issue. what’s going to cure him of the disease, faces a 20-year prison senwith supplements, an organic and sugMost states have legal exemptions there’s no question about that,” said Da- tence, Falls said. ar-free diet and high-alkaline water. that provide some protection to parents vid Rosenthal, professor of medicine at who withhold medical care on religious the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Diabetes death in Wis. grounds, Swan said. Those laws often A child who isn’t treated will almost discourage prosecutors from filing certainly die from the disease, says ReIn Wisconsin, Leilani Neumann, 41, charges, she said. “They are hard to becca Johnson, a pediatric oncologist at stood trial Wednesday, accused in the prosecute, too, for other reasons,” she Seattle Children’s Hospital. death of her 11-year-old daughter last said. “These are grief-stricken parents, Rosenthal said alternative therapies year. The Weston, Wis., woman is and they can be sympathetic defen- such as acupuncture, massage and good charged with second-degree homicide dants. They love their child, and they nutrition can help, but they shouldn’t be in the death of Madeline Neumann, who were doing what they thought was in used alone, he said. died March 23, 2008, as a result of un- their child’s best interest.”

Jones reports for The Post-Crescent in treated diabetes. The girl’s father, Dale Appleton, Wis. Contributing: Carolyn Neumann, will stand trial in July.

Rights over a child AP Pesce and Liz Szabo in McLean, Va.; Jeff The Neumanns said they believed prayer would save Leilani.

In Minnesota, Daniel’s father, Antho- Starck, the Wausau (Wis.) Daily Herald; Warren: Video shows officers striking him after road chase.

In testimony Wednesday, Jennifer ny Hauser, said Wednesday he hadn’t and the Associated Press.

Faith, medicine at odds Families refuse care because of religious beliefs

4A · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · USA TODAY

Washington

Obama, Cheney spar on Guantanamo Senate votes to stop transfer of Gitmo prisoners

By Richard Wolf and Mimi Hall USA TODAY WASHINGTON — The debate over what to do with suspected terrorists and sympathizers in the military detention facilities at Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay drew President Obama and former Vice president Dick Cheney into a virtual debate on Thursday.

In a televized speech, Obama forcefully defended his plans to close the detention camp and said News of the terror analysis some suspects held there would be brought to top-security prisons in the United States despite fierce opposition in Congress.

“There are no neat or easy answers here,” Obama said in a speech in which he pledged anew to clean up what he said was “quite simply a mess” at Guantanamo that he had inherited from the Bush administration.

Moments after Obama concluded, Cheney delivered his own address across town defending the decisions of the Bush administration in dealing with ter-

By Brennan Linsley, AP

President is denied $80 million to close prison: Guards at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, facility stand on either side of a line of detainees, dressed in white, to search for unauthorized items last week. rorism. Expressing no remorse for the actions the Bush White House had ordered, Cheney said under the same circumstances he would make the same decisions “without hesitation.”

Both men spoke one day after the Senate voted resoundingly to deny Obama money to close the prison.

Four months after Obama’s pledge to close the prison, Con-

gress stands in the way of the Guantanamo shutdown by withholding funds. Conservatives, led

by Cheney, are criticizing Obama’s decision to release Bush administration memos approving the interrogation techniques.

Liberal groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union are fuming at his refusal to seek prosecutions, release photos and end military tribunals.

The terrorist attacks of Sept.

11, 2001, dominated and defined George W. Bush’s years in the White House. Eight years later, the repercussions have given Obama one of his toughest political and policy challenges.

Developments in recent days have raised the ante for Obama as he seeks to push his policies: uThe Senate voted 90-6 Wednesday to block the transfer

of Guantanamo prisoners to the United States and deny Obama the $80 million he sought to shut down the facility. The move came as FBI Director Robert Mueller said any transfers could lead to terrorist attacks here. uAntipathy toward Obama’s decision to release Bush-era interrogation memos hasn’t let up.

Cheney, a leading critic of Obama’s policies, is set to speak elsewhere in Washington this morning at about the time the president wraps up his remarks. uSince making the decision on the memos, Obama has tilted the other way on several other issues. He did not urge prosecuting Bush administration officials who authorized harsh interrogations.

He recommended against creating a “truth commission” to investigate their actions. He refused to release additional photographs showing the treatments. And he agreed to keep using military commissions to try some enemy combatants.

“It is a surprise and a disappointment,” says Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel in the Washington office of the ACLU. “There’s been a disturbing number of places when President Obama has hidden the ball on what’s taken place in the past and is not living up to his promises.”

The president has been in this position before as he seeks to

bring opposing views together on issues ranging from national security to energy, health care and the economy.

Last month, he spoke at Georgetown University in an attempt to reconcile his $787 billion economic stimulus package and expensive government bailouts with his effort to reduce federal deficits and control health care inflation.

“Whenever you start making decisions, you alienate somebody,” says James Pfiffner, an expert on public policy and the presidency at George Mason University in Virginia. “Obama’s making some very tough decisions. . . . I think he’s striking the right balance here.”

Virtually no one wants Guantanamo detainees moved to local prisons. Since the detention center was opened in 2002, nearly 550 detainees have been released to 35 countries, and 240 remain. None has been released to the United States.

“The decision to close this terrorist prison without a clear alternative was a regrettable one,” says House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio. “The president has an opportunity to outline a comprehensive strategy for keeping America safe, including how he will keep all of the terrorists at the Guantanamo prison off American soil.”

Addition to bill raises questions $20M for vets’ medical center gets OK after donations to lawmaker

By Gregg Zoroya USA TODAY WASHINGTON — The House Appropriations Committee has added $20 million to the supplemental war spending bill to bail out a privately built brain injury treatment center for U.S. troops after the facility’s supporters gave almost $100,000 in campaign contributions to the panel’s senior Republican, according to federal records and interviews.

Backers of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence said they would use only private donations to build a $60 million facility to treat and rehabilitate troops at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. The cost of the project, which would be turned over to the government, included $20 million for special imaging equipment.

However, the organization building the center, the non-profit Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund led

by New York real estate developer and philanthropist Arnold Fisher, failed to meet its fundraising goals. Fisher blames this on

Veterans groups, such as the Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America, also wanted the project.

“It is something that should be built ASAP,” says Paul Rieckhoff, the economic downturn. the group’s founder and execOn Feb. 4, with deadlines for utive director. new construction and equipment Now, however, Fisher says the purchases approaching, Fisher government money may not be met with Rep. C.W. Bill Young of needed after all. He told USA TOFlorida, the top Republican on the DAY he had since raised all but subcommittee that writes the $4 million of the total amount defense budget, say Fisher and needed to complete the center.

Young spokesman Harry Glenn.

“When I was $20 million short, Federal campaign-finance rec- I was worried that I wasn’t going ords show that Fisher, members to finish this, so I went to Rep. of his family, board Young,” Fisher says. members of the In“(Now) I don’t want trepid center and the the money. I’m only a affiliated Intrepid Sea, few million short.”

Air & Space Museum However, Fisher alin New York and busiso says he did not ness associates had want the $20 million donated at least to be publicized beAP $99,000 to Young’s cause “if it’s out, the re-election campaign Young: Ranking Re- contributions will last June and August, publican on panel. stop.” shortly after the cereGlenn confirms monial groundbreaking ceremo- that $20 million had been added ny in Bethesda. to the supplemental to pay for Fisher says he and his asso- the special equipment used at ciates donated to Young because the center. Young, he says, did not he supports the military and vet- know Fisher believed the shorterans. “I don’t want it to sound fall was erased when the money like I have bribed a government was included in the bill. official,” Fisher says, “That’s not “We’ll go back and check with the case. ” (Fisher), if he says he doesn’t

need the money, we’ll take it out,” Glenn says.

The $20 million was added to the bill without any mention of the project by name. The bill directs the money “to procure equipment for rehabilitation facilities currently under construction.”

The House of Representatives passed the bill, which will mostly pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, last week. It is now being debated in the Senate.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense is conducting a hearing today on military health programs, including those at Bethesda.

It is the second time in 10 years that Fisher and his family have sought government assistance through Young for building projects. In both instances, the family and their friends donated tens of thousands of dollars to his campaign fund.

In 1998, the family and associates contributed $40,000 to Young seven months after the appropriations subcommittee he led approved a $15 million earmark to resurface the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, a floating museum in the Hudson River. Fisher is the museum’s chairman emeritus.

By Eric Gay, AP

Injured in Iraq: Master Sgt. Daniel Robles shakes hands with Arnold Fisher after a ceremony Jan. 28 in which he received the Purple Heart at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence in San Antonio.

Fisher did not donate to Young again until last summer, records show, weeks after the ceremonial groundbreaking at the Intrepid center in Bethesda.

It’s preposterous to suggest Young helped troops because of campaign contributions, Glenn says. “This is a positive thing that’s going on,” he says.

Fisher did not appear to benefit personally from the money going to buy equipment for the Bethesda treatment center, say representatives from government

watchdog groups. However, “it does seem like there’s a correlation between the $20 million earmark and the campaign contribution,” says Melanie Sloan, of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Steve Ellis, of Taxpayers for Common Sense, says the donations and the $20 million raise the specter of campaign contributions guaranteeing access and results.

“It perpetuates pay-to-play situations,” he says.

SEL EC T ING T HE N E X T J US T IC E

Precedents on presidential choices for Supreme Court

As President Obama closes in on a successor to Supreme Court Justice David Souter, his lawyers are combing through the records and backgrounds of possible nominees. They develop a “short list” and schedule meetings between the president and candidates.

Yet lists can expand and contract at the eleventh hour, and a meeting — or non-meeting — can change history. USA TODAY’s Joan Biskupic looks at some key moments in the selection process.

Instant rapport: President Reagan presents the high court’s first female justice, Sandra Day O’Connor.

After Chief Justice Warren Burger secretly told President Reagan he planned to retire, White House aides focused on then-associate justice William Rehnquist to replace him.

Reagan told Rehnquist he was the “unanimous choice” and suggested he think about whether to accept, according to then-White House counsel Peter Wallison’s account.

Rehnquist immediately said yes.

For Rehnquist’s seat, Reagan aides narrowed the field to Washington, D.C.-based appeals court judges Robert Bork and Antonin Scalia. Reagan was intrigued by the idea of naming the first Italian-American justice and met with Scalia in the Oval Office.

The president told Scalia he was his top choice, and Scalia said yes on the spot.

When Reagan revealed Burger’s retirement and the two nominations the next day, White House reporters were caught so off-guard that they asked how to pronounce Scalia (ska-LEE-ya).

1993: Will he, or won’t he?

AP file photo

At the White House: Then-president Richard Nixon gives a framed commission to William Rehnquist, right, after handing one to Lewis Powell, left, in 1971.

1981: The right woman

1981 AP photo

1986 photo by Ron Edmonds, AP

Surprise pronouncement: President Reagan made another groundbreaking appointment with Italian-American Justice Antonin Scalia.

1971: Last-minute switch In 1971, President Nixon had two vacancies to fill. He settled on Lewis Powell to replace Justice Hugo Black, who had died, but couldn’t decide on a successor for Justice John Marshall Harlan.

After several personal, financial and other problems with potential nominees, the front-runner became Sen. Howard Baker, R-Tenn. Baker said he needed more time to commit and avoided calls from the White House.

Nixon became frustrated and turned to William Rehnquist, an assistant attorney general and part of the judicial screening team.

Although Nixon once mistakenly called him “Renchburg,” the president knew Rehnquist as a conservative, law-and-order man. As Baker dithered, Nixon settled on Rehnquist, without an interview, and went public with his choices of Powell and Rehnquist on national TV the next night.

1986: Secret opening

Ronald Reagan vowed during his campaign to put the first woman on the Supreme Court.

After Justice Potter Stewart alerted the White House he would retire, presidential aides created a list of potential nominees that included Arizona state appeals court judge Sandra Day O’Connor. Aides interviewed her in Arizona, then Attorney General William French Smith arranged for her to meet Reagan.

To avoid reporters, Smith had his secretary pick up O’Connor, who said she’d be in a lavender suit, in front of a drugstore on Washington’s Dupont Circle. Reagan, a former California governor, talked with O’Connor, a rancher’s daughter, about horses and life in the West.

They delved little into the law.

Reagan did not meet with any other candidate. Five days later, he offered her the post.

When Bill Clinton considered possible successors to retiring Justice Byron White, he focused on then-New York governor Mario Cuomo because of his wide legal experience.

But Cuomo kept ducking the president’s calls, according to former Clinton adviser George Stephanopoulos. As Cuomo wavered, Clinton interviewed others.

Judge Stephen Breyer of Boston, a former counsel to Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who had bipartisan support, was recovering from a bicycle accident when he met with Clinton. The luncheon session did not go well.

Clinton also met with Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg of Washington, D.C. The two hit it off; Clinton was intrigued by her work as a pioneering lawyer in women’s rights.

After the meeting, Stephanopoulos later wrote in a book, 1993 photo by Doug Mills, AP Clinton said that if Cuomo “doesn’t say yes, we’ll announce Backup plan: President Clinton poses with Ginsburg tomorrow.” The next day, a beaming Ginsburg Supreme Court nominee Ruth Bader Ginsburg. stood by Clinton in the Rose Garden.

2005: One seat, then another

2005 photo by Charles Dharapak, AP

Open-and-shut case: John Roberts and President George W. Bush had an immediate rapport.

After O’Connor revealed she would soon step down, President George W. Bush’s aides quickly offered him a short list of judges from lower appeals courts. One of them was John Roberts, whom Bush had named to a lower court two years earlier.

Roberts was teaching a class in London when a presidential aide called to say Bush wanted to meet with him. Roberts flew back for the meeting and thought it went well but knew other judges had been interviewed.

He returned to London, then was told a few days later to come back to Washington. Bush liked Roberts’ pleasant manner and youth, age 50, and fondly remembered his two young children from when he named Roberts for the appeals court.

Weeks after Bush chose Roberts for O’Connor’s seat, Chief Justice Rehnquist died. Bush decided to nominate Roberts to succeed him as chief justice.

USA TODAY · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · 5A

World/Washington

Car bomber strikes in Baghdad district A car bomb ripped through the mostly Shiite district of Shula in northwest Baghdad on Wednesday, killing and injuring dozens of people.

The U.S. military said 13 people were killed, and the director of Baghdad’s hospitals put the death toll at 26 with 38 wounded. “The attackers had no military target. They were all civilians,” said Jalil alShimmari, director of hospitals in the Baghdad district in which Shula lies. No group claimed responsibility for the blast. It was the first major car bombing in the capital since May 6, when 15 people were killed at a produce market in south Baghdad.

What Iran’s missile test means to U.S.

By Ken Dilanian USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Iran testfired a new missile Wednesday with a range capable of reaching Israel and U.S. military bases in the Middle East.

The missile test came as President Obama is trying to reach out to the Iranian regime and stop it from building a nuclear weapon. USA TODAY’s international affairs Report details abuse at institutions correspondent Ken Dilanian Children were beaten and raped for decades in answers questions about the Catholic-run institutions in Ireland, a report said launch and what it means for Wednesday. It did not name perpetrators. the U.S. Orphanages and schools were places of fear, neglect Q: How much more of a and sexual abuse, the Com- threat does Iran now pose mission to Inquire into Child to the United States and its Abuse said in a report that allies in the Middle East? took nine years to compile.

A: Defense Secretary RobThe study, chaired by High ert Gates said the missile has Court Justice Sean Ryan, a range of at least 1,200 miles, blasted priests, nuns and which would include Israel Christian Brothers, a Roman Catholic religious order, for AP abuse in a now-defunct netRyan: Chaired com- work of industrial and reformission in Ireland. matory schools from the 1930s onward. The study interviewed 1,090 men and women.

“I am profoundly sorry and deeply ashamed,” Cardinal Sean Brady said. Edmund Garvey, a spokesman for Christian Brothers, said, “It is hard to avoid feeling shame.” The report’s findings will not be used for criminal prosecutions.

U.S.: 30 civilians killed in Afghan strike Video evidence recorded by fighter jets and the account of the ground commander suggest no more than 30 civilians were killed in the May 4-5 battle in western Afghanistan, the U.S. military said.

The footage shows insurgents streaming into homes that were later bombed by U.S. aircraft, said Army Col. Greg Julian, chief U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan.

He said ground troops saw about 300 villagers flee before the fighting.

The figures, which the U.S. military called preliminary, are in stark contrast with the death toll of 140 that villagers provided to an Afghan government commission days after the battle in Farah province.

From wire reports

Washington

Clinton: Don’t allow Cuba back into OAS Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that Cuba shouldn’t be allowed to rejoin the Organization of American States until it makes political reforms, releases political prisoners and respects human rights.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Clinton said the charter of the Western Hemisphere bloc of nations requires members to adhere to democratic standards that the communist government of Cuba does not yet meet. “If Cuba is not willing to abide by (the charter’s) terms, then I cannot foresee how Cuba can be a part of the OAS, and I certainly would not be supporting in any way such an effort to admit it,” she said.

Right to carry loaded guns in parks OK’d In a defeat for gun control, Congress has voted to allow people to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges. The House approved the measure, 279-147, on Wednesday, one day after the Senate acted. A total of 105 Democrats in the House joined 174 Republicans in supporting the gun measure, which restores a Bush administration policy that had been blocked by a federal judge in March.

By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

Vet will help veterans

Ready to serve again: Tammy Duckworth awaits her swearing-in Wednesday as assistant secretary for Veterans Affairs. She lost both her legs in 2004 from a rocket-propelled grenade attack while serving as an Army helicopter pilot in Iraq.

Duncan seeks policy on student restraint Education Secretary Arne Duncan said he’ll begin monitoring how public schools use restraint and seclusion of students, saying that he was “deeply disturbed” by testimony during a House hearing on the practices Tuesday. He said he will require states to adopt clear policies on how and when educators can restrain and seclude children. A Government Accountability Office report found hundreds of alleged cases of abuse over two decades; at least 20 ended in a child’s death.

— Greg Toppo From staff and wire reports

and Iraq — and the 134,000 U.S. troops stationed there.

The radius includes U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, all of them Sunni Arab-dominated countries that are rivals of Shiite Iran.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned of a regional “arms race.”

Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said that the missile had “great destructive power” and that mass production of the missile had started.

Q: What message was Iran trying to send with the missile launch?

A: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who faces a potentially tough reelection battle next month, has cast the country’s military and nuclear program as proof that Iran is one of the

1,200 mile range of Iran’s Sajjil-2 missile 0

Israel

1,200 Miles

Russia

N

Iran India

Saudi Arabia Arabian Sea Source: The Associated Press

USA TODAY

world’s great powers.

Ken Pollack, an Iran expert at the Brookings Institution think tank, said Ahmadinejad may perceive the launch as a show of strength at a time when the U.S. and other Western countries are pressuring him on the nuclear issue. However, Pollack said, “this is about the worst thing

they could have done” since it build a bomb. Iran has said its will empower those who ar- nuclear program is for peacegue, as Israel’s government ful purposes only. does, that Iran is dangerous.

Q: How does the Obama Q: How close is Iran to administration plan to deal building a nuclear weap- with Iran’s nuclear ambion? tions?

A: Assessments vary. This A: Obama said this week week, a report by the East- he wants to try diplomacy West Institute, a think tank, until the end of this year. He’s said Iran could produce a sim- trying to reach out in a variety ple nuclear device within one of ways, including having U.S. to three years and could de- diplomats talk to Iranian dipvelop a nuclear warhead for lomats at international conballistic missiles in six to eight ferences, even though there years. are no formal diplomatic ties.

CIA Director Leon Panetta Obama has not ruled out recently reiterated the view military action if talks fail. in a 2007 U.S. intelligence reMany observers, including port that Iran had halted its Pollack, say Israel would conactive nuclear weapons pro- sider a military strike on Iranigram in 2003 but could reac- an nuclear targets if talks tivate the program. don’t bear fruit by the end of Israel goes further, arguing the year. that Iran has “crossed the technological threshold” to Contributing: Wire reports

Children forced into exorcisms

In Congo, pastors subject kids to rituals that include beating, burning

Pastor’s cure: Noella Moseka cries as she undergoes an exorcism ceremony supposed to deliver her from evil.

By Dan Harris Special for USA TODAY KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — Isaac Mananga, 10, and his half sister Chanel, 7, knelt on the dirt floor of the church, staring up at the pastor through scared, confused eyes.

Standing before a wooden cross, Pastor Moise Tshombe, in a robe adorned with pictures of Jesus, went into a trance. Claiming to be speaking through the Holy Spirit, he declared, “These children are witches.”

Moments later, with Isaac and Chanel by her side, the children’s grandmother, Marie Nzenze, said she believed the charges. “God has spoken through the mouth of the prophet,” she said. “God has not lied.”

Photos by Almin Karamehmedovic, ABC News According to a United Nations report issued this year, a Painful ceremony: Pastor Moise Tshombe claims to remove evil spirits from children’s flesh, pouring hot wax on a girl’s belly. growing number of children in the Democratic Republic of tondo Kasese of the humani- say the law is not enforced. the Congo are being accused tarian group Reejer. AccordEven the head of a special of witchcraft and subjected to ing to Arnold Mushiete, a government commission to violent exorcisms by religious social worker with a small protect children accused of leaders, in which they are ofCatholic organization called witchcraft said he thinks it is ten beaten, burned, starved Our House, Congo’s atmos- possible for children to be and even murdered. The relaphere of religious fervor, min- “sorcerers.” tively new phenomenon has imal education and rampant “You sometimes see a very become one of the main poverty makes for fertile ter- little child with big eyes, black causes in Central Africa for ritory for pastors who con- eyes, a distended stomach,” humanitarian groups, which vince desperate parents that Theodore Luleka Mwanalare organizing programs to their children are the cause of wamba said. “These are the protect children’s rights and their financial, medical and physical aspects.” educate pastors on the danromantic problems.

When asked how someone gers of accusing children.

“Formerly in our culture,” with his beliefs could protect Says exorcisms are necessary: Tshombe conducts a daily Mushiete said, “the child was children accused of witchservice at his Church of Revelations and Cures.

Ties to poverty a precious being. Now, be- craft, he said the state has cause of the church, children “the duty to save all the peoLiana Bianchi, the adminisThe practice, which has al- Tshombe acknowledged the have become harmful be- ple who are in dangerous sittrative director for the hu- so been reported in Nigeria ritual can be painful, but he ings.” uations.” He said cracking manitarian group Africare, and Angola, can be lucrative says it’s necessary because down on abusive pastors is says the trend is partly the re- for the priests who perform otherwise the children would Thrown into streets difficult because “important sult of decades of war and them. not be “cured.” people” are sometimes memeconomic decline in the ConTshombe charged Julie MoWhen asked whether he Mushiete works with bers of their churches. go. The non-profit group Save seka $50 to exorcise her ema- thinks Jesus would approve of street children who have Mushiete, the social workthe Children estimates that ciated daughter, Noella, 8. The what he’s doing, Tshombe been accused of witchcraft. er, said he does not get dis70% of the roughly 15,000 average annual salary in Con- said, “Why wouldn’t he be He says homeless children are couraged. “The big work we street children in Kinshasa, go is $100. happy? I’m just using the gifts frequently raped and beaten, want to do,” he said, “is to the capital, were kicked out of During the ceremony, given to me by the Holy Spir- even by police. Drug use is sensitize the pastors, so they their homes after being ac- Tshombe and three of his it.” rampant. Girls often resort to give another image of Jesus — cused of witchcraft. aides held Noella’s spindly Noella’s mother, agreed. “It prostitution, leaving their not a Jesus who tortures chil“In my opinion,” Bianchi limbs down and poured hot was imperative that it happen own babies to sleep on the dren.” said, “poverty is really at the candle wax on her belly while this way,” she said, “because side of the road at night while Harris is a reporter and anroot of child abandonment. she screamed and cried. Then the child is accused of witch- they sell themselves.

Accusations of witchcraft the pastor bit down hard and craft.”

The Congolese legislature chor for ABC News. His rehave become socially accept- pulled the skin on her stomThe pastors who conduct recently passed a law that port on children accused of able reasons for why a family ach, pretending to pull de- such rituals are non-denom- makes it illegal to accuse chil- witchcraft in Africa will air turns a child out on the monic flesh out of her. inational, and most have no dren of witchcraft, but many tonight on Nightline on ABC street.”

In an interview afterward, theological training, says Ma- activists, including Bianchi, at 11:35 ET.

Unhappy ending for 2nd ‘Slumdog’ star Girl’s shack torn down in India The Associated Press MUMBAI, India — The shanty home of another Slumdog Millionaire child star was torn down by Mumbai authorities Wednesday as they demolished part of a city slum where she lived.

Munni Qureshi — the stepmother of 9-year-old Rubina Ali, who portrayed a young Latika, the Oscar-winning film’s heroine — said her husband was beaten by police who were supervising the demolition. She said he was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Though Slumdog won eight Oscars and brought in more than $326 million, it has done little to improve the lives of Rubina and Azhar.

“How can the police barge in anytime without giving us notice?” Qureshi asked as she wept, holding her forehead.

Slums are often destroyed in India because they are illegal or in the way of city development plans.

Rubina and Azhar were discovered on the Mumbai streets by the filmmakers.

By Punit Paranjpe, Reuters The film’s adult stars, Dev PaLife in slums: Rubina Ali, who played a young Latika in the tel and Freida Pinto, have Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, views ruins of her home. since shot to international fame. But the lives of the two Last week, bulldozers de- Ismail, another of the film’s impoverished child stars — molished the home of Azha- child stars, in a similar clean- who live in the slum called ruddin “Azhar” Mohammed up drive.

Garib Nagar, or the “City of

the Poor” — haven’t changed much.

“I’m feeling bad,” Rubina told the Associated Press.

“I’m thinking about where to sleep.”

Slumdog filmmakers say they’ve done their best to help the young stars. They set up a trust to ensure the children get proper homes, a decent education and a nest egg when they finish high school.

They also have donated $747,500 to a charity to help slum kids in Mumbai.

Producer Christian Colson has described the trust as substantial but won’t tell anyone how much it contains for fear of making the youngsters vulnerable to exploitation by adults.

6A · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · USA TODAY

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GM auto workers agree to concessions The United Auto Workers union said Thursday it has reached a tentative agreement on contract concessions with the U.S. government and General Motors, a key step toward GM’s effort to restructure out of bankruptcy court. Union members must still vote on the deal. The UAW says in a statement that it includes changes in funding to a union-run retiree health care trust and concessions that reduce labor costs. Meanwhile, talks between Delphi and members of President Obama’s automotive task force continue in hopes of reaching a deal to lift the auto supplier out of bankruptcy protection.

Geithner to attend G8 meeting in Italy

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Pension safety net’s deficit soars Federal agency’s shortfall, at $33.5 billion, is likely to rise

By Sharon Silke Carty USA TODAY DETROIT — The agency that backs the pensions of 44 million American workers and retirees says its deficit is soaring, and may only get worse.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. said looming bankruptcies in the auto industry, retail Autos sector, finance and health care industries could make the historic $33.5 billion deficit it posted Wednesday balloon even higher. The agency blamed soaring bankruptcies and low interest rates for the shortfall, which was $22.5 billion more than the deficit it posted in October.

The PBGC is a federal agency that acts as a backstop for pensions at 29,000 companies. As its deficit

swells, the government will have to decide if it will cut retiree benefits, ask healthy companies to pay more to insure pensions, or rely on taxpayers to make up the deficit.

The auto industry is particularly worrisome: Pensions are underfunded by about $77 billion, the agency estimates. If the entire auto industry were to terminate pension plans due to bankruptcies or liquidations — admittedly, an unlikely scenario — the PBGC would have to pick up $42 billion to pay retirees.

Bankruptcies among auto suppliers are on the rise, putting increasing pressure on the PBGC. And Chrysler’s bankruptcy filing in April could add $9 billion to PBGC’s tab. General Motors, which could file for bankruptcy as soon as next week, has a $20 billion shortfall in its pension accounts.

“There is a systemic risk that isn’t only in the automotive industry,” says Edward Altman, professor of finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business. “It is a situation that has been growing

for the last 18 months due to the huge increase in bankruptcy rates among larger companies in the United States.”

PBGC acting Director Vince Snowbarger says the agency isn’t losing money on its investments, and has enough money to pay its obligations for many years. The losses are amplified because the formula used to determine the health of the fund relies on current interest rates, which are at historic lows.

When rates are high, pension funds can look healthier.

Given low rates and increasing bankruptcies, the PBGC fund may look worse than it actually is, says American Benefits Council President James Klein.

“The $11 billion surplus the PBGC enjoyed just a few years ago was no more an indication of a healthy pension system than the current deficit is an indication of a crisis,” he says.” Any time you examine a long-term obligation at a snapshot point in time, the situation will appear overly optimistic or pessimistic.”

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will travel to Italy next month to attend a meeting of finance officials from the world’s top eight industrialized powers, the department announced Thursday. The meeting will be held in Lecce, Italy, June 12 and 13.

Besides the U.S., the Group of Eight countries are Russia, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada. Finance officials have been focused on battling the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

Fed sees weaker recovery this year

Obama signs law to spare homeowners President Obama on Wednesday signed a bill that urges banks to spare homeowners from foreclosure and cracks down on lenders who take advantage of them. It expands an existing $300 billion program that encourages lenders to adjust a mortgage if the homeowner agrees to pay an insurance premium. The lending industry helped scuttle a tougher measure that would have forced them to cut the monthly payments of owners in bankruptcy. (Obama expected to sign credit card bill, 8A.)

By David J. Lynch USA TODAY The Federal Reserve said the economy will be weaker than it initially forecast through 2011, though the central bank still expects the recession to end this year.

Welcome signs that the economy’s decline slowed in April, along with hopes for the government’s stimulus spending, caused the Fed’s staff to upwardly revise its estimate for The economy growth the second half of this year. But the sharp first-quarter shrinkage at an annualized rate of 6.1%, and the continued decline in the current quarter, led the Fed to trim its full-year forecast.

The Fed now expects the economy to contract by 1.3% to 2% this year, worse than the 0.5% to 1.3% fall it projected in January, according to minutes of the April 28-29 meeting of the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee released Wednesday.

By 2010, the Fed anticipates growth of up

E-mails show debate over Seroquel Plaintiffs’ lawyers say AstraZeneca marketing executives for years blocked company scientists trying to raise issues that schizophrenia drug Seroquel caused weight gain and other problems. They say their claim is backed by internal documents to be released today as part of ongoing lawsuits against the drugmaker. About 15,000 patients allege Seroquel caused weight gain, diabetes or other problems. Ed Blizzard, an attorney whose firm is representing about 6,000 Seroquel plaintiffs, said data showing Seroquel was “not very effective” and had serious side effects were “either spun or skewed or outright concealed.” AstraZeneca spokesman Tony Jewell said that since the drug was approved in late 1997, the label or detailed package insert has stated that diabetes, high blood sugar and weight gain have been observed in patients in clinical studies.

Sara Lee sues Kraft over hot dog ads Sara Lee has sued Kraft Foods, saying ads that compare Sara Lee’s Ball Park beef hot dogs unfavorably with Kraft’s Oscar Mayer Jumbo Beef Franks are false and misleading. Kraft’s claims are based on an unreliable test, Sara Lee said in a complaint filed Wednesday in federal court. Sara Lee seeks a court order ending the advertisements and unspecified damages. Kraft stands by its reputation for accurate advertising, Syd Lindner, a spokesman said.

Frontier gets bankruptcy plan extension A bankruptcy judge is giving Frontier Airlines more time to propose its own plan for emerging from Chapter 11. The airline now has until Oct. 9 to propose a plan before creditors would be allowed to propose their own. The former deadline was June 4. Frontier filed for bankruptcy protection in New York in April 2008.

By Eric Nordwall from the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and staff reports

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USA TODAY Snapshots®

Phishing victims lose more

Average monetary loss of a phishing scam was $351 in 2008, up from $256 in 2005.

Top reasons consumers couldn’t recover funds from phishing attack: Assumed funds not recoverable

$

Unable to locate the scammer

$

Recovery still in process Credit card firms don’t believe victims

$ $

43% 31% 27%

13%

Note: Multiple responses allowed

Source: Gartner survey of 3,985 victims 18 and older. Margin of error ±2 percentage points

By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

Recession + renovation = bargain prices

On the job: Jose Flores, left, and Jay Cody of Mark IV Builders work on a house in Olney, Md. Mark Scott, owner of Mark IV in Bethesda, Md., has laid off 16 of 26 people.

Those confident enough to part with cash can find great remodeling deals

By Julie Schmit USA TODAY ORINDA, Calif. — In this wooded, high-end suburb near San Francisco, Darien Destino isn’t accustomed to getting deals from people who work on her house.

But the dour economy — which has hurt the home renovation business — has a silver lining for her and others with cash or strong home equity.

Destino and her husband, Don, recently had their 3,000-square-foot home painted by the same contractor who bid 40% more for the job two years ago.

The pine trees crowding the front yard were removed for half the cost requested in 2007.

The tree remover “knocked on our door,” says Destino. The day after giving an estimate, he arrived with a crew. “Usually, we have to wait,” says Destino.

The couple — confident that Don’s financial services job is secure — are considering whether to landscape their yard. Previous estimates will be revisited, Destino says.

“We’re going to see what companies can do,” says the stay-at-home mom.

The Destinos are on the winning end of conditions that are wreaking havoc with home and landscape renovators nationwide. Rising unemployment, falling home values and diminished stock market portfolios have cut demand for home renovations, while many construction firms, idled by the collapse in new home building, look for work.

That’s driven savings for those who renovate. Despite some signs of a bottoming in the housing market, contractors coast to coast say they’re bidding jobs for less than they would have two years ago.

Lower costs for material, such as lumber, help. But mostly, contractors are paying less for labor, or they’re cutting their profits.

“There’re a lot of hungry contractors out there,” says Mark Scott, owner of Mark IV Builders in Be-

Cover story

Please see COVER STORY next page u

By Jae Yang and Veronica Salazar, USA TODAY

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uBanks raise $56 billion, 8A to 3% and as much as 4.8% in 2011. That’s also lower than its January outlook.

“This recovery is stretching further and further out,” said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist of Channel Capital Research.

Since its last forecast, in January, the Fed has detected signs that the labor market is in worse shape than initially believed. The unemployment rate now is expected to hit 9.2% to 9.6% this year and remain above 9% all of next year.

That means the jobless rate will be higher than even the “adverse scenario” employed in the Fed’s recent stress tests of the nation’s major financial institutions, which could mean banks will need more capital than the government assumes. The Fed also warned that it will take “five or six years” before the economy achieves its potential long-term unemployment rate of about 5%.

Private economists are even gloomier, with many forecasting a double-digit jobless rate next year. Brian Bethune of IHS Global Insight says unemployment will peak at 10.2% next spring and remain near 9% at the end of 2011. Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics told clients Wednesday that the Fed’s new unemployment rate forecasts “are at the very edge of plausibility.”

The Fed noted unusually tough conditions for workers amid a broad shift away from an economy dominated by finance and construction. After 17 months of recession, the share of the labor force receiving unemployment benefits is at its highest since 1982. And compared with earlier downturns, the ratio of permanent job cuts to temporary pink slips is “substantially higher.”

One bright spot: The Fed expects inflation to remain below 2% through 2011.

And the risk of deflation, which makes debt repayment harder, is “diminished.”

USA TODAY · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · 7A

Cover story

Now, no job is too small

SEC chief stakes claim on consumer protection

“There are people out Obama wants new agency, but there Schapiro says that’s SEC’s domain knocking on

By Paul Davidson doors, literally. USA TODAY It’s so nice to The chief of the Securities and Exchange Comhave people mission is opposing a proposal to move some of the give you a SEC’s oversight tasks into a new financial watchdog agency aimed at protecting consumers. The opposideal.” tion sets up a possible turf battle within the Obama

Continued from 6A thesda, Md. He estimates remodeling costs in his region are down 15% from two years ago. He’s laid off 16 of 26 people.

Nationwide, the home improvement market is expected to shrink 12% this year to $217 billion for owner-occupied properties. That’s after a 10% decline last year, says Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

“This is a window for remodeling,” says Jim Haughey, chief economist for market researcher Reed Construction Data. He just had his driveway repaved for 30% less than he would have paid three years ago, he says, and saved 25% off labor rates of 18 months ago to put tile in a kitchen. “It’s a good time to do the work if you’ve got the money or the credit,” he says.

administration.

— Darien Destino, The administration is considering the agency as a Orinda, Calif. way to safeguard consumers who use or buy a

By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY

“The credit just isn’t avail- less, and copper piping is off 40%. able,” Templeton says.

A limited time only?

Spending on owner-occupied Small jobs grow in importance Low bid may not be best bid homes has shrunk in recent years: Signs are building that the remodeling deals may $217 While homeowners get savings, Contractors’ hunger has cre- not last beyond the next 12 months. (in billions) contractors are adjusting to the ated opportunity for homeDurosko’s firm won six design contracts in the new economics. owners. But it can also pose first 12 days of May, Durosko says. It got only one in At Mark IV, the average-size job added risks. So many contrac- April. Templeton says inquiries to his suburban De$200 is now $125,000, down from tors need work that they may troit firm have also picked up, despite the woes of $350,000 two years ago, Scott says. bid jobs below cost. That could Chrysler and General Motors.

Homeowners still want new kitchlead to shoddy work or unfin“People are starting to pull the trigger,” Durosko $172 $100 ens and bathrooms — often the safished jobs, contractors and re- says. est remodeling investments — but model experts say.

Home sales are also showing signs of life. In the second-floor additions and new “There are some real price first quarter, sales rose in 17 states from the previmaster suites were the rage when wars out there with low-ball ous quarter, largely driven by demand for fore0 ’03 ’091 housing was booming, Scott says. contractors,” says Sal Alfano, closed and distressed homes. When existing home ’081 1 – estimate Mark IV also recently launched a dieditorial director of Remodeling sales rise, new construction typically follows.

Source: Harvard University’s Joint vision to upgrade homes on energy Magazine.

The National Association of Home Builders said Center for Housing Studies efficiency. It’ll even take “handyScott says he’s getting more earlier this week that confidence is building among

By Karl Gelles, USA A TODA AY AY man” jobs that it wouldn’t have calls then ever from home- builders. It anticipates that housing starts, down taken before, Scott says. owners to fix work that other contractors bungled. 80% in April from their peak in January 2006, will New Jersey-based G.M. Construction & Water- New Jersey-based landscape architect Chris Cipria- pick up later this year, says NAHB chief economist proofing is making similar choices. It recently reno- no, of Cipriano Landscape Design, says he recently Bernard Markstein. That will create jobs for buildvated a single warehouse. bid on a pool job. The previous contractor was ers, reducing the number seeking remodeling jobs.

“Normally, we wouldn’t do anything that small, hired to put in a 700-square-foot pool but made it More new construction will also drive demand but we have no choice,” says co-owner Mehabub 550 square feet, Cipriano says. for materials, and prices may rise, says Reed econoBhuiyan.

Cipriano does landscaping and pools. Competi- mist Haughey.

G.M. Construction is also bidding on a 13-house tion for jobs has led some landscapers to claim that Still, Markstein says any recovery will be slow — remodel in Brooklyn. Bhuiyan says he’s cut his bid they also do pools, “even if they’ve never built one,” preserving good remodeling deals and contractor 11% from last year’s level. Since November, the he says. availability for the next six months to a year. company has laid off more than half its 470 workRandy Pennington saw the competitiveness of “This really is a buyers’ market,” Markstein says. ers. the market last December when he collected bids Smaller contractors are also suffering. Claudiu to recast an attic into a workout and audio/visual Tegzes, owner of Claude Stone & Tile in Seattle, room. would normally employ two others. Now, he’s The business consultant and author got bids working solo. Last year, he had one job that kept ranging from $20,000 to $60,000 to redo the 276him busy for two months. This year, he’s taking square-foot space in his Addison, Texas, home. jobs down to $250 “just to get out of the house,” he “When I got the $20,000 bid, I thought, ‘This is says. either a great deal, or this guy can’t really do the “It’s better to get some money than no money,” job,’ ” says Pennington. he says.

Having remodeled a kitchen and bathrooms beMany consumers, fearful about the economy, fore, Pennington has learned that the lowest price aren’t spending even if they have the money, Scott isn’t always a winner. He and his wife selected a says. Others can’t get the credit. contractor whose bid was in the middle of the Craig Durosko, president of 50-employee Sun range.

Design Remodeling Specialists in Burke, Va., had Aaron and Maggie Wendel, of Wake Forest, N.C., one client who needed to borrow $125,000 for a also recently went with a higher-bidding contractor remodeling job. He could only get $100,000 be- to convert an attic into a bedroom. Before they did cause the house didn’t appraise high enough. Sun so, the contractor lowered his price about 13%, AarDesign tweaked the client’s payment schedule so on says. that the job could be done as planned.

Even if consumers hire top contractors, they’ll Ben Templeton, of Templeton Building in Bir- likely see savings, Cipriano says. While he hasn’t mingham, Mich., got caught in the credit squeeze slashed his prices, his clients are saving money on himself. He’s attempting to borrow $100,000 to re- materials, especially plants, he says. Costs of other model a home he bought with 15% down in June materials have dropped, too. Reed Construction 2008. He has good credit, he says, but banks won’t Data says soft lumber prices are down 35% from make the loan because of falling home values. three years ago. Plywood and wallboard cost 17%

Home improvement

Wall Street Bailouts Create Main Street Opportunity!

broad range of financial products, including mortgages, credit cards and mutual funds. Such oversight is handled by a variety of agencies, including the SEC, the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said consumer protection can’t be separated from her agency’s broader regulation of stocks and mutual funds.

“I question profoundly any model that would try to move investor-protection functions out of the Securities and Exchange Commission,” Schapiro said Wednesday. “It’s not a discrete thing that gets moved away without really damaging the fabric of the entire investor-protection regime.”

She said some type of agency might be viable, but added, “I certainly hope they’ll be refining it.”

The watchdog agency idea was discussed at a dinner Tuesday night at the Treasury Department.

Attending were Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers and former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, among others.

“No decisions have been made, but the administration is actively considering various viewpoints as it puts together its regulatory reform framework,” Treasury said in a statement.

The idea grew out of legislation introduced in March by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. The bill would create a “financial product safety commission” intended to protect consumers from “dangerous and deceptive” financial products, according to a letter sent to Geithner last month by the bill’s sponsors.

Supporters say regulation of financial products is spread across 10 federal regulators, and none are primarily focused on consumer protection. The subprime mortgage crisis and recent unfair increases in credit card rates underscore the hazards of lax regulation, bill backers say.

But opponents say it makes little sense to have different regulators for financial products and for the firms that offer them. Otherwise, each agency “is getting half the picture,” says Scott Talbott, chief lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable, which represents banks and insurance companies.

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8A · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · USA TODAY

Credit card protections come with some holes Rates and fees wouldn’t be capped

By Kathy Chu USA TODAY President Obama is expected to sign legislation this week to clamp down on credit card practices, a welcome move at a time when more consumers are losing their jobs and struggling to pay their bills.

The law, which the House of Representatives passed and sent to Obama on Wednesday, will impose farreaching restrictions on everything from interest rate increases — which have become common even though interest rates in general have fallen — to when and how issuers impose over-limit and late fees.

But experts say it doesn’t go far enough in tackling some of the practices that have mired consumers in a never-ending cycle of debt.

“I’m torn because the legislation has its heart in the right place,” says Adam Levitin, Georgetown University law professor. The problem is, “It just doesn’t address the hydraulic nature of the market. If you block one avenue, the market’s going to circumvent it.”

Levitin expects issuers to roll out new fees and

practices in upcoming years to replace those banned.

Issuers say they may have to raise the upfront cost of credit cards and pare back rewards programs amid the new restrictions.

Ed Yingling, chief executive of the American Bankers Association, said in a statement this week that the restrictions will change credit cards from a “shortterm line of credit to a medium-term line of credit, which is more risky.” This will result in some consumers not being able to get credit and others, even those with good credit, paying more, according to Yingling.

Yet despite those risks — which some experts dismiss as more hype than reality — Congress may have missed its chance to enact stronger consumer protections. What the bill doesn’t do: uCap interest rates. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced an amendment to impose a 15% cap on credit card interest rates. Currently, credit card rates are as high as 30%. Sanders’ amendment, which was defeated in the Senate, would have allowed regulators to adjust this cap if deemed necessary to protect issuers’ safety and soundness.

Federal credit unions are already prohibited from charging more than a certain rate — currently 18% — on loans, including credit cards. Banks that issue credit cards, meanwhile, can charge whatever they want because of a 1978 Supreme Court case. In that case, the court ruled that a bank could charge the maximum

New credit card protection Pending credit card legislation will crack down on some, but not all, controversial credit card practices.

What the legislation does:

uRestricts when issuers can raise rates on existing credit card balances. uBans issuers from charging a fee when consumers go over their credit limit, unless consumers agree. uBans late fees if card issuers delayed crediting the payment. uRequires issuers to consider a consumer’s ability to pay when issuing credit cards. uRestricts issuers from extending credit to those under 21 without verification of ability to pay or parents’ permission.

What it won’t do:

uDoesn’t cap interest rates on credit cards. uDoesn’t explicitly cap credit card fees. uDoesn’t take effect immediately. uDoesn’t limit interchange fees. uDoesn’t prevent issuers from finding new fees to boost revenue.

Source: USA TODAY research

rate in the state where it had its headquarters. South Dakota and Delaware, and other states, removed rate caps and banks flocked to them. uCap fees. The legislation bans certain fees, including those charged when consumers pay their bills, and restricts when others — such as late and overlimit fees — can be charged. It also requires penalty fees to be “reasonable and proportional” to the violation. But it stops short of a cap on penalty fees, which can cost consumers as much as $39 each time they pay late. Regulators will have to interpret what’s considered “reasonable and proportional.” uTake effect immediately. Most of the provisions take effect nine months after the bill is signed into law — so likely in February 2010 — giving credit card issuers ample time to raise rates or fees.

“This is a strong package, but it’s a disappointment” that the protections won’t take effect until next year, says Gail Hillebrand, attorney at Consumers Union.

Scott Talbott, of the Financial Services Roundtable, says higher credit card rates are due to the weak economy, not because banks are trying to boost revenue in anticipation of card restrictions. uLimit credit card interchange fees. Interchange fees — charged for credit card processing — cost retailers $48 billion in 2008 alone, causing them to raise the price of products, says Mallory Duncan, general counsel at the National Retail Federation.

Banks rake in $56B in capital

Personal Technology Every Thursday

Get a Nokia smartphone for just 1 cent

The bottom line Nokia E71x eee stars (out of four) 1 cent on Amazon.com or $100 after rebate in AT&T stores, both with two-year contracts, $300 without contract.

But be ready to deal with some clunky features

You can’t even get chewing gum for a penny anymore. But you can get a smartphone.

One cent is what Amazon.com is charging for the Nokia E71x smartphone I’ve been testing.

You’re probably thinking a penny phone must be a discontinued model, or a device lacking state-of-the-art features.

But the Nokia E71x only went on sale this month. And this sleek-looking world phone has a full qwerty keyboard, Web browser, Wi-Fi, GPS, access to corporate e-mail through Exchange, a 3.2-megapixel camera (with video, no less) and other multimedia features.

By Edward C. Baig Granted, there’s the usual catch with a subsidized handset: You have to sign up for a two-year contract with AT&T or otherwise pay $300. If you buy the phone in an AT&T store instead of Amazon, the price with contract climbs to $100 after a $50 mail-in rebate. That’s still an attractive deal. Data users will have to sign up for a $30 monthly plan on top of monthly voice plans that start at $40; messaging plans start at $5.

Truth is Amazon sells other phones for a penny (including a BlackBerry Curve model). Amazon’s pricing could be a boost for Nokia. The company sells a boatload of phones around the world, but has barely made a splash in the USA, where smartphones are dominated by iPhones and BlackBerrys.

The phone has shortcomings. Nokia doesn’t supply a memory card to bolster the paltry 120 megabytes of internal memory, though there’s a slot on the phone for adding one. Nor is a stereo headset included for listening to music or watching video — and good luck using your own, since most people have headphones that are too large to fit the phone’s 2.5mm jack. The device is compatible with wireless Bluetooth stereo headsets, though.

Moreover, I didn’t find the E71x the easiest phone to use in my tests — its keyboard is too cramped, and the interface lacks the polish or pizazz of better-known rivals.

But considering the economic climate, you could do a lot worse.

Here’s a closer look.

Pro: Slim smartphone has 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.2-megapixel camera with flash.

Excellent value.

Con: Keyboard is cramped. Could be friendlier and more intuitive. Doesn’t have a lot of internal memory and doesn’t include memory card or headset.

More online Jefferson Graham discusses high-definition television at tech.usatoday.com.

AT&T

than 4 ounces. The trade-off comes in that cramped keyboard. Just above the keyboard are convenient dedicated one-touch keys for the calendar, address book, email and home screen, plus a thumb navigation key for moving around and scrolling.

The 2.36-inch screen does a nice job displaying video. You can remove the back cover and replace the battery. Nokia claims nearly two weeks of standby time and just over five hours of talk time, depending on the network you’re using.

The telephone.

Voice quality — including on the speakerphone — was very good. The phone, which is made of steel, feels sturdy in your hand and held up to your ear. But I found dialing a chore on the numerical keypad embedded in the keyboard. I fumbled with the keys as I tried punching in a remote voice mail code.

Camera. On the positive side, there’s a built-in flash,

scene modes, turning on a self-timer, etc.). I too often inadvertently hit the wrong key, making the toolbar disappear.

GPS. The GPS was accurate in determining my loca-

tion, as I rode in a bus, train or car. You can get audible turn-by-turn directions (and traffic), and select a destination by saying it aloud. But the audible instructions weren’t always clear or timely. The service comes as part of AT&T Navigator ($10 a month after a 30-day free trial). always obvious how to do stuff. Without a touchscreen, you have to dig through menus to find a way to increase the browser’s font size. Labels are also confusing. Setting up e-mail accounts required me to click on a “Messages” icon, then click on another icon called “XM Settings” (as opposed to another related icon right next to it) and only then choose the e-mail account I wanted to set up.

Penny for my thoughts: The E71x is a decent device with a few too many nits for my taste. But you can’t beat the price.

Technology makes you a part of history in Obama book Print-on-demand ‘Time Capsule’ lets you insert photos, dedication

By Edward C. Baig USA TODAY

The Obama Time Capsule: Covers campaign and first 100 days. Above, there’s a spot for your own dedication (circled).

The whole drill can be done in less than five minutes, provided it doesn’t take long to browse for the images you want to include (2 megapixels or greater for the best results). You can resize photos and preview how they’ll look on the page. You can make changes up until you click a “publish my book” button. I’d have loved just a few more places to insert my own stuff. Complet-

By Pallavi Gogoi USA TODAY Banks are raising money at a torrid pace from private investors, a clear sign that the government’s stress test results have been a success in restoring confidence to the financial markets.

“This review is helping to increase confidence in the financial system,” said Timothy Geithner, Treasury secretary, at a Senate Banking Committee hearing Wednesday. “To date, more than $56 billion in funds have been raised or announced by the 19 banks.”

In the two weeks since the results were released, the largest U.S. banks — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup — have either sold shares or issued debt to raise large amounts of money.

“It would’ve been unthinkable two months ago that these banks would be able to raise these large sums of money,” says Sung Won

uFed’s bad news, 6A

Needs to be more intuitive. In general, it wasn’t

tiny self-portrait mirror and video camera, features sometimes missing on smartphones. But the message that popped up each time I opened the camera application — “Card is not accessible. Phone memory will be The basics. The phone is attractive and svelte; AT&T used instead” — only reminded me of the device’s stinand Nokia claim you won’t find a slimmer smartphone. gy memory. There’s a little tool bar that appears on the It’s under half an inch thick and weighs a little more display for changing various camera settings (selecting E-mail: ebaig@usatoday.com

Electronic readers, custom online photo books, print on demand . . . somewhere, Gutenberg is marveling at how publishing continues to evolve.

The Obama Time Capsule, which goes on sale exclusively at Amazon today, represents another novel approach to custom, print-on-demand publishing. Every single copy sold can be personalized. I added a couple of pictures and (very) limited prose to make my book unique.

This 200-page wide hardcover coffee-table book, selling for $35, chronicles a two-year span during President Obama’s election campaign and his first 100 days in office.

Time Capsule is not a photo book per se, though it sports brilliant images from more than 140 professional photographers and is the brainchild of Rick Smolan, creator of the best-selling Day in the Life photography series. It also includes essays from Colin Powell, Joe Klein, Auma Obama (his half-sister) and Arianna Huffington, among others.

But what really sets it apart is the tech hook.

After ordering the book at Amazon, you’ll receive an e-mail with a link that takes you to the Time Capsule website. You’ll have 10 days to customize the book there or it will get shipped as is. You get to write a dedication, and your name appears on the cover (and an inside page) as one of the authors, next to Smolan and coproject director Jennifer Erwitt.

You can upload one image to appear on the back cover and another that will appear on a page next to pictures of Sean Penn, George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey and other celebrities. There’s also a place-holder for your kid’s Obama-related artwork.

Stress test helped restore confidence

ed books are slated to arrive in two to three weeks.

“We hope this will be the world’s first print-ondemand New York Times best seller,” says Andrew Bolwell, director of new business initiatives at HewlettPackard. HP supplies print-on-demand technology and is lead sponsor. Google, Facebook, AOL, Microsoft, Blurb and paper manufacturer NewPage also participated.

Smolan says his fantasy is to sell 50,000 copies.

Two technological stunts wowed me. My name appeared in a photo of the inaugural invitation, making it look as though I’d actually been invited. Similarly, it looked as though Obama addressed me in a BlackBerry text message sent before he headed to Grant Park in Chicago on election night.

Bolwell says that up to half of books printed are never sold. “Print on demand means you only print a book or a magazine after someone’s ordered it and only printed for the person who bought it. Books like The Obama Time Capsule would not be possible without print on demand. We really believe that this is the future of publishing.”

By Jason Reed, Reuters

Treasury Secretary: Timothy Geithner speaks on Wednesday.

Sohn, an economics professor at California State University. “The key is that banks are being recapitalized without additional government help.”

Bank of America raised $13.5 billion by selling shares after the markets closed Tuesday. The Charlotte-based bank needs an extra $33.9 billion cushion to prepare for any adverse turn in the economy, according to the government. Citi sold 10-year bonds to raise $2 billion, while Wells Fargo raised $8.6 billion selling shares. Citi needs an additional $5.5 billion, while Wells needs to raise $13.7 billion as a result of the stress test.

Even those that don’t need to raise capital, such as JPMorgan, American Express and State Street, have been actively raising cash. These firms are doing so not to boost capital, but to repay the government’s bailout money.

“It’s an opportunity smart banks are taking advantage of,” says Walter Todd, portfolio manager at Greenwood Capital Associates.

State Street, for instance, raised $2.3 billion in a stock offering and $500 million selling five-year bonds. JPMorgan, too, sold fiveyear bonds to raise $2.5 billion, and American Express raised $3 billion from five-year and 10year bonds. The bonds are not guaranteed by the government.

The Treasury has set a requirement that any bank that wants to repay bailout money must show its ability to raise capital by issuing five-year debt not backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. It’s being done partly to ensure that they don’t come back to the government for even more money in the future.

USA TODAY · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · 9A "USA TODAY hopes to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation."

-Allen H. Neuharth, Founder, Sept. 15, 1982 President and Publisher: David L. Hunke Editor: John Hillkirk Editor, Editorial Page: Brian Gallagher Managing Editors: News, Carol Stevens; Money, Jim Henderson; Sports, Monte Lorell; Life, Susan Weiss; Design, Jeff Dionise; Network, Chet Czarniak

'

Senior Vice Presidents: Advertising, Brett Wilson; Circulation, Larry Lindquist; Electronic, Jeff Webber; Marketing, Susan Lavington Vice Presidents: Finance, Myron Maslowsky; Human Resources, Janet Richardson; Information Technology, John Palmisano; Production, Ken Kirkhart

Today’s debate: Congress and the CIA

Pelosi’s struggle with truth exposes deeper problems

Our view:

Pelosi’s meandering accounts stretch credulity. It’s the height of hypocrisy to call for a Instead of serving as watchdogs, “truth commission,” then fail to tell the congressional panels play politics. whole truth yourself. But even more important is what this episode reveals about ConIf anybody needed more proof that con- gress’ dangerously partisan scrutiny of U.S. gressional oversight of intelligence gathering intelligence agencies. After CIA abuses were is broken, it came in recent days with the revealed in the 1970s, the modern oversight nasty dispute over what House Speaker Nan- process was created to provide some public check on a system that, by its cy Pelosi, D-Calif., knew about nature, must be secret. The intorture and when she knew it. telligence committees would For those who’ve been be briefed by the CIA. They’d tuned out, here’s a recap: The set limits on the agency, guarbattle erupted after Pelosi reantee secrecy and once they’d peatedly called for a “truth approved something, they’d commission” to investigate the back the agency even when Bush administration’s use of the political winds changed. torture and other counterOversight in recent years terrorism measures after 9/11. has been almost the opposite Republicans shot back that Peof that vision. losi knew all about the tactics as far back as a CIA briefing in uThe Bush administration 2002 and tacitly condoned arbitrarily restricted its briefthem with her silence. In the ings, and a complacent Repubmonths just after Sept. 11, lican Congress let it happen.

2001, harsh interrogation tacInstead of briefing the full tics were politically popular. committees as an oversight Since then, Pelosi has struglaw requires, the CIA someBy Alex Wong, Getty Images gled to offer a consistent story, times briefed as few as four without much success. Last Pelosi: House speaker lawmakers. month, she repeated a state- wants “truth” panel. uDemocrats acted like a ment she had made in 2007 bunch of potted plants. After that at the 2002 briefing, “we were not told learning about questionable interrogation that waterboarding” was being used. Just tactics in 2003, Pelosi, then the House mithree weeks later, Pelosi acknowledged that nority leader, didn’t make a peep of protest, the CIA had briefed leaders of the House In- content to let Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., telligence Committee on enhanced interro- who had succeeded Pelosi on the intelligence gation techniques in February 2003, and that panel, write a letter. Pelosi certainly couldn’t one of her top aides had told her about it. She shout her objections publicly, but as the most admitted that she, personally, did nothing. powerful Democrat in the House, she could Then Pelosi upped the ante, accusing the CIA have demanded more information from the of misleading Congress.

CIA or tried to block the agency privately.

The CIA and Republicans, including former She did nothing. Now that it’s politically exrepresentative Porter Goss, later head of the pedient to denounce torture, Pelosi has deCIA, disputed her account. Goss, who was at nied knowledge and smeared the CIA. the 2002 briefing with Pelosi, wrote in The It’s not entirely clear whether the CIA did Washington Post that he was “slack-jawed” all that the law demands, but it is certainly

by Pelosi’s account. CIA director Leon Panet- clear that Pelosi failed to live up to its aims. ta, a fellow Democrat, also slapped her down, And without steady, non-partisan oversight, saying his agency did not lie to Congress. the law cannot work.

CIA briefing ‘gave me inaccurate and incomplete information.’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., declined to write an opposing view. The following is excerpted from a news release she issued on May 14:

Throughout my entire career, I am proud to have worked for human rights, and against the use of torture, around the world. . . . I unequivocally oppose the use of torture by our government because it is contrary to our national values. . . .

The CIA briefed me only once on some enhanced interrogation techniques, in September 2002. . . . I was informed then that Department of Justice opinions had concluded that the use of enhanced interrogation techniques was legal. The only mention of waterboarding at that briefing was that it was not being employed. . . .

Congress and the American people now know that contrary opinions within the executive branch concluded that these interrogation techniques were not legal. . . . We also now know that techniques, including waterboarding, had already been employed,

Five months later, in February 2003, a member of my staff informed me that the Republican chairman and new Democratic ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee had been briefed about the use of certain techniques which had been the subject of earlier legal opinions. Following that briefing, a letter raising concerns was sent to CIA General Counsel Scott Muller by the new Democratic ranking member. . . .

But no letter could change the policy. It was clear we had to change the leadership of the Congress and the White House. That was my job.

When Democrats assumed control of Congress in 2007, Congress passed legislation banning torture. . . . President Bush vetoed this bill. . . . An effort to overturn his veto failed. . . .

We needed to elect a new president. We did; and he has banned torture. . . .

I have long supported creation of an independent truth commission to determine how intelligence was misused, and how controversial and possibly illegal activities like torture were authorized within the executive branch. . . .

Et cetera Smart insights on the news of the day Joe Mathews, column, The Daily Beast: “There are any number of policy and political reasons for the defeat of five compromise ballot measures (California Gov. Arnold) Schwarzenegger backed in Tuesday’s special election ballot. But chief among them was this: Californians grew tired of the Armageddon Tease. . . . The cruel irony was that this time, Schwarzenegger’s warnings were timely. Fiscal Armageddon really is nigh. . . . But the governor who cried Armageddon couldn’t convince anyone but newspaper editorialpage editors of this. Now, Schwarzenegger . . . is doomed to spend the rest of his term in the dreary work of managing this budgetary apocalypse. He’ll have only the cold comfort of the doomsday prophet who was, at last, terribly right.”

Tom Malinowski, column, Foreign Policy: “Many who have observed President Obama’s early days have started to doubt if he will vigorously pursue a human rights agenda with critical U.S. allies like Egypt. . . . For all his soaring rhetoric,

Letters A second chance for Vick? No.

I question whether former NFL player Michael Vick deserves a second chance (“Sapp, others say Vick deserves chance,” Sports).

The dogs he killed will never get a second chance. What if these dogs had been kidnapped from pet owners who loved them? William Rhoden says Vick “has a right to make a living.” But I’d argue that the dogs Vick killed had their own rights.

Vick will apparently get a second chance to be paid millions of dollars, but I’m not sure that it can be said that he “deserves” it.

Richard Siegelman Plainview, N.Y.

GM doesn’t get it

The 2010 Chevy Camaro proves that General Motors just doesn’t get it (“Dumped dealers endure grieving process,” Money).

I sold my 2002 Corvette awaiting the arrival of the 2010 Camaro. This car is nothing more than a Dodge Challenger with a new name. It looks very plain and odd. The car is nothing like a 1969 Camaro. It is an oversized boat with wheels that are too big. GM has failed by trying to copy foreign carmakers and now is going to fail by trying to copy Dodge.

GM is either clueless about what buyers want or so lacking in creativity that it must resort to copying others.

It is sad to see what was once a great and that those briefing me in September company being run into the ground.

Ronnie Rozier 2002 gave me inaccurate and incomplete inHoney Brook, Pa. formation. . . .

Truth commission needed

Opposing view:

By Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun, for USA TODAY

Obama is a realist. He is suspicious of grand schemes to remake the world or of policies driven by moral mission; he will need to be convinced that pressing stubborn allies to respect human rights will advance U.S. interests — that it is the smart thing to do, not just something that makes Americans feel good. Fortunately, the sober case for promoting human rights is easy to make. Realism argues for reclaiming this tradition, not rejecting it.”

James Parker, column, The Atlantic: “SpongeBob SquarePants, the cartoon, turned 10 years old this spring. . . . The little fry cook from Bikini Bottom, down in the benthic zone of the Pacific Ocean, has been with us longer than the iPod. . . .

There are plenty of gnashing monsters at the borders of Bikini Bottom, and deepsea gulches where the breath of nothingness blows. . . . The SquarePants writers are interested in stories, even in lessons.

Again and again, a kind of innocence triumphs — over fear, over snobbery, and over skepticism. . . . His corner of the world is all levity. Embrace him, drained adult. Where you see his little yellow flag, salute it; it’s a sign of life.”

Pool photo by Getty Images

Evicted: Police and security officers remove a protester during President Obama’s address to the graduating class at Notre Dame University on Sunday.

To Notre Dame, Obama’s view on abortion shouldn’t matter

Nowhere in all the brouhaha about President Obama’s graduation speech at Notre Dame University and his views on abortion have I seen any mention of the fact that he is not Catholic (“A mixed reception at Notre Dame,” News).

If he were Catholic, university officials would have every right to consider his views on religious dogma before inviting him to speak. Since he is not, they should not consider his views — unless he were virulently anThe release of cockpit tapes of ti-Catholic, which he is not.

It saddens me that we are still inFlight 3407’s last moments near Buffalo in February is reprehensible (“As dulging in single-issue rhetoric.

There is much more troubling this pilots chatted, plane put in danger,” country than our abortion rate.

May 13).

Notre Dame is one of our top uniPilots have opposed release of cockpit tapes for years. The National versities. Obama is the secular leader Transportation Safety Board has the of our country, and it was entirely aptapes and the information it needs to propriate for him to give a compursue an investigation. Public re- mencement address there. Any lease puts a chill on the participation school should be honored to hear him of pilots in investigations because it speak.

Bernice Durbin subjects them and their families to Crossville, Tenn. humiliation.

The Buffalo pilots were represented by the Air Line Pilots Association. Catholic backbone?

An investigation should include the President Obama cleverly shaped effects of union pressure, protectionism and safety policies. Few, if any, pi- his speech at Notre Dame as a plea to lots protected by unions have been civility on an issue, abortion, that has fired for non-performance. Capt. deeply divided America. But Obama Marvin Renslow’s training problems has already managed to avoid civility should have resulted in, at the least, in his actions as president.

He has committed my tax money, extended training as a co-pilot.

Also, for decades ALPA accepted and the money of all of us Catholics the rule throwing experienced pilots who stand helpless, to fund groups out of cockpits at age 60 due to the in- that provide abortion services or fluence of younger pilots who wanted counseling overseas. He also put the to move up faster. Congress moved gears in motion to expand funding of embryonic stem cell research with the retirement age to 65 in 2007.

David A. Skilling federal money. Thus, many Catholics Retired airline captain are made complicit in an act we beMarietta, Ga. lieve is morally unacceptable.

Pilots’ rights

The pity in all this is that our Catholic leadership showed the world that it is basically incapable of moral integrity in defending its principles.

At least 74 bishops condemned Notre Dame for conferring an honorary degree on Obama. Where were the rest of the Catholic bishops, and indeed, where was the pope? I cannot find a trace of criticism from the Vatican at this point.

The president of Notre Dame demonstrated a naive incompetence in handling this situation. The next step should be his removal, or the removal of the description “Catholic university” from the Notre Dame credential.

Charles R. Comeau Amelia Island, Fla.

Look for common ground I was moved by President Obama’s speech at Notre Dame University on Sunday. His emphasis on dialogue is tremendously important. From the beginning of his campaign for the presidency, I have felt that his greatest contribution as president would be to move us away from the demonization of political opponents and to encourage respectful debate.

I urge folks on the left, right and center to abandon self-righteousness, and to acknowledge that not one of us has all of the answers. On abortion, Obama made the point that people of good will can strongly differ on this issue while affirming each other on the personal level.

Let us follow Obama’s lead in seeking common ground. I believe that the majority of us have more in common than not.

Patrick Frank Kingstree, S.C.

Don’t give up on school voucher program In the Forum piece “On school vouchers, Obama finds a middle ground,” commentary writer DeWayne Wickham reminds me of King Solomon, who suggested splitting in half a baby whom two women each claimed as her own.

Wickham would rather sacrifice children by creating a false choice between what’s best for public schools and what’s best for kids. That’s splitting the baby, and it is wrong for President Obama and Congress.

Moreover, by referring to school vouchers as “leeches” that drain the educational establishment, Wickham misunderstands the role of govern-

ment. He must also believe that food stamps, Medicare, Pell Grants and low-income housing coupons are leeches that drain taxpayer money.

These, too, are publicly funded voucher equivalents that put the interest of the consumer over the interest of the provider.

If Wickham meant what he said about putting students first, he’d endorse education reforms that have been proven to work, such as vouchers. Study after study, including one just released by the Education Department, prove that vouchers improve academic achievement and that competition from school choice

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makes public schools better.

We hope the president and Congress will reconsider their position and put children before politics. It is not centrist to allow only the children currently enrolled in the Washington voucher program to continue to get vouchers.

The real centrist position is to allow all children in our nation’s capital to get a high-quality, publicly funded education that works best, regardless of whether the school is public, private or charter.

Robert Enlow, president and CEO The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice; Indianapolis

Commitment to accuracy To report corrections or clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones at 1-800-872-7073 or e-mail accuracy@usatoday.com. Please indicate whether you’re responding to content online or in the newspaper.

10A · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · USA TODAY

The Forum

More than a long weekend Memorial Day is an opportunity to salute soldiers — and their struggling families, too.

M

Don’t forget military families Today in America — when the military makes up just 1% of the population — it is not only our distant dead whom we need to remember, but also the tens of thousands of sons and daughters, husbands and wives in the military whose families pray each day for their safe return. In a recent survey of military family members, fielded by a range of organizations serving and representing military families, an astonishing 94% of respondents reported feeling disconnected from the rest of America.

“I do not feel the larger society understands or appreciates the sacrifices made by military families,” agreed the majority of active duty and reserve families, officers and en-

By Alfie Kohn

deployments in the past five years, missing half his 4-year-old son’s life. But she also says, despite the sacrifice, it’s the “honor of a lifetime” to be part of a military family.

What animates these families is what John McCain called “a cause greater than selfinterest.” Military families want to be remembered, not just because they want sympathy, or help. But because they believe there is a benefit that comes from being part of a larger endeavor, and they don’t want the larger society to miss out on that, either.

By Kathy Roth-Douquet emory is the key to the character, not only of a person, but of a country.

So essential is memory that Elie Wiesel, the humanitarian witness of the Holocaust, expresses concern about the recent development of a therapeutic drug that erases memory. As Wiesel points out, memory, even of uncomfortable or painful events, is necessary for both historic and moral understanding.

Our forbears seem to have agreed when they created Memorial Day. The order was issued on May 5, 1868, in the aftermath of the Civil War. It urged that we “let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”

So it is surprising that, as a country, we still have to work hard to remind ourselves that Memorial Day is meant to be more than the three-day-weekend that heralds the start of summer. This year is the seventh Memorial Day in a row that finds American men and women in uniform in ongoing missions in Iraq and Afghanistan that are sure to bring more American losses.

Cash incentives won’t make us healthier In its first salvo at reforming health care, Congress is reportedly considering legislation that would help employers set up wellness programs and encourage the use of financial incentives to promote healthier living.

The first idea is terrific. The second one is terrible. Programs that reward employees who lose weight or stop smoking are fairly common. A National Business Group on Health (NBGH) survey found that 30%-40% of companies offer such incentives.

Some critics say this amounts to corporate intrusion into employees’ private lives. But there’s another problem: Paying people to become healthy simply doesn’t work, at least not in the long run. Regardless of whether the goal is to increase quality of life or hold down costs, incentives are mostly ineffective — and might be counterproductive.

NBGH’s review of the research in 2007 concluded that incentives “generally have little lasting effect on actual smoking cessation rates or weight loss.” Other reviewers, including the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, have found the same thing.

What you can do

By Sam Ward, USA TODAY

First lady Michelle Obama has shifted many people’s attention to military families, by giving the issue her imprimatur, visiting Fort Bragg in North Carolina and honoring the military child of the year at the White House. That is welcome attention.

There are many creative ways for individuals and organizations to get involved in helping military families. Sesame Street put together a great video for kids about deployment. This helps normalize their experience while letting them know in a safe, friendly way that it’s OK to feel the way they do. The Congressional Women’s Caucus is urging representatives to meet with military families in their districts, in hopes of gaining a better understanding of what these folks face.

Kids in Distressed Situations, listed by Forbes among the 200 largest U.S. charities, announced a commitment to provide free children’s books to the woefully understocked base libraries and schools around the USA. Let Memorial Day be a day to remember with action. Take the traditional route of decorating a veterans cemetery or cheering at a parade. Or you can take a non-traditional path. Find a family with a deployed mom or dad and do what Patricia Sinay in Encinitas, Calif., plans to do — drop off a packet of Oreo cookies and a tub of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Go online and give to a military-focused charity, such as DonorsChoose.org, the one Stephen Colbert is showcasing on his Comedy Central website. Or simply tell your children that brave men and women and their families are serving around the world for us — and that you appreciate them.

Let’s make Memorial Day be for our honored dead, for our proud and struggling military families, and for us all.

listed, families of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines in response to a survey question.

Perhaps Memorial Day can be a day to remember those families, too.

What would military families like us to remember, or to learn? One military wife, anonymously answering an “open response” section of the survey, said she’d like folks to know that military children have an operational tempo — that is, a cyclic rate of deployment, homecoming and redeployment — as great as their parents, and are being as affected by the war as the soldier.

Another spouse raises more practical needs in an open-ended response, pointing out that she needs “someone to mow the lawn, look after the kids, take out the trash, that sort of thing.”

But they’d also like us to know, says Army spouse Laura Dempsey, whose husband is with the 10th Mountain Division along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, that “despite all of this, we are proud of our service. We love the Army culture and feel that we are stronger, our marriage is stronger, and our children Kathy Roth-Douquet is a founder of Blue Star are getting rewards from this life as well.”

Families and is a Marine Corps wife living on Casey Spurr’s Navy husband has had three Parris Island, S.C.

Ignite conversation.

Where incentives hurt

more we tend to lose interest in it.

Thus, a study in November’s Developmental Psychology showed, as did two previous experiments, that children who are rewarded for helping or sharing subsequently become less likely to do so. And many researchers — such as Ruth Butler, whose work has appeared in the Journal of Educational Psychology — report that students led to focus on getting good grades come to find the learning itself less interesting, and also think less deeply, than students who aren’t graded.

A temporary fix Adjusting the size, type or scheduling of rewards won’t help because the problem is the outdated theory of motivation. Alas, that theory is still accepted by most economists, who influence public policy.

Bribes and threats can produce temporary compliance.

But when the reward is no longer available, there’s no reason to continue. Here’s why: rewards are “sugar-coated control.” We may like the money but resent being manipulated with it. Also, rewards are based only on observable behaviors. They ignore the reasons we might turn to food or cigarettes.

“Smoking, drinking, overeating, or not exercising often represent coping strategies for some kind of underlying distress,” says Jonathan Robison, a health educator. Incentive programs ignore those problems and could produce “a cycle of repeated failure.”

What works better? First, address people’s motives and deeper concerns rather than just trying to change their behavior.

Second, support people’s feeling of control over their lives. Third, build on their relationships with others to promote change.

Health can be a tough sell. But it’s clearly something that incentives can’t buy.

In fact, rewards aren’t just less effective than other approaches, such as training and support; they can reduce the effectiveness of such interventions. In a uniquely comprehensive study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in 1991, incentive recipients fared worse than those who got no treatment at all.

Surprising? Well, psychologists now realize there are different types of motivation, and the type matters more than the amount.

“Extrinsic” motivation (get a reward or avoid a punishment) isn’t just less effective than “intrinsic” (doing something for its Alfie Kohn (www.alfiekohn.org) own sake). The two are often in- is the author of 11 books on human versely related. The more we’re behavior and education, including rewarded for something, the Punished by Rewards.

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USA TODAY 路 FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 路 11A

Odds of a child becoming a professional golfer: 1 in 140,000 Odds of a child being diagnosed with autism: 1 in 150

Some signs to look for:

No big smiles or other joyful expressions by 6 months.

No babbling by 12 months.

No words by 16 months.

To learn more of the signs of autism, visit autismspeaks.org

12A · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · USA TODAY

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Back in high gear

By Robert Laberge, Getty Images

Friday, May 22, 2009

Pole-sitter: Helio Castroneves seeks his third Indy title.

Two-time Indianapolis 500 champ Helio Castroneves has a newfound appreciation of life, and a $2 million IRS bill, after his acquittal in a taxevasion case, 8C

Sportsline Magic win, pierce Cavs’ aura

Baseball/American League m3-4C Detroit 5, Texas 3 Oakland 7, Tampa Bay 6 Cleveland 6, Kansas City 5 Seattle 1, Los Angeles 0

New York 11, Baltimore 4 Boston 8, Toronto 3 Chicago 7, Minnesota 4

uBurden on Lakers’ Bryant against Nuggets, 6C

By Chris Colston USA TODAY

CLEVELAND — Forget those odds of sweeping through the NBA playoffs.

The Cleveland Cavaliers finally were 1-Florida 8, Arizona 6 Atlanta 12, Colorado 4 tested, against a resilient Orlando 2-Arizona 11, Florida 9 (13) Cincinnati 5, Philadelphia 1 Pittsburgh 2, Washington 1 St. Louis 2, Chicago 1 Magic team that kept its cool through Houston 6, Milwaukee 4 San Diego 2, San Francisco 1 a 16-point, first-half deficit to prevail Los Angeles 2, New York 1 107-106 Wednesday in the opener of the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals.

Basketball/NBA playoffs m6C Rashard Lewis scored 12 of his 22 Orlando 107, Cleveland 106 points in the fourth quarter and Dwight Howard finished with 30 Mickelson’s wife battling breast cancer points and 13 rebounds as Orlando beat Cleveland for the third time in Phil Mickelson, the world’s No. 2-ranked golfer, four games this season. announced Wednesday that he was taking an in“In the first half, Dwight was domidefinite leave from the PGA Tour to be with his wife, Amy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer.

According to a release from Mickelson’s management company, his wife was to have more tests but begin treatment with major surgery within two weeks.

Mickelson was to Getty Images play the Byron NelPressing matters: Phil son Championship Mickelson is off for now. this week before defending his title next week at Colonial. It wasn’t certain if he would return for the June 18-21 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black in New York. uPhil, Amy Mickelson share close bond, 3C National League m5C

nant and pretty much kept us in the game,” Lewis said.

Game 2 is Friday in Cleveland.

League MVP LeBron James had a career-playoff-high 49 points for Cleveland, including 26 in the first half as the Cavs led 63-48 at the break.

But the Cavaliers, who had won all eight of their postseason games by double digits, faced an Orlando defense in the second half that halted their easy path through the paint.

“This is good for us,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. “We didn’t expect to go undefeated.”

James, who was dehydrated after the game, acknowledged the loss “definitely hurts, but we have to adjust. It’s a good start for them.”

The Magic stormed through the second half, becoming the first team to score more than 85 points on the Cavaliers in the playoffs. And their bench came up big, outscoring the Cavaliers’ 25-5 The gutsy play of the Magic silenced the crowd and raised the first doubts of the playoffs for the Cavs.

“Everything’s been easy for them,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said in a second-half huddle. “They don’t know about this. We do.”

And they did.

By Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

Big shot: The Magic’s Rashard Lewis celebrates a fourth-quarter basket.

It’s a draw in WWE-Nuggets arena saga LOS ANGELES — Staples. Yeah, they got the WWE covered. The potentially messy conflict of dates for Denver’s Pepsi Center — Game 4 of the NBA’s Western Conference finals and a World Wrestling Entertainment show were scheduled for Monday — was resolved Wednesday when Los Angeles’ Staples Center offered its building for Monday Night Raw. WWE chairman Vince McMahon said his organization would return to Denver for an event at the Coliseum on Aug. 7.

— David Leon Moore

Sharapova comeback slowed in Austria Maria Sharapova, returning to singles competition after a nine-month absence, was beaten by Alona Bondarenko today in the quarterfinals of the Warsaw Open. The Russian lost 6-2, 6-2 to BondaBy Matthew Stockman, Getty Images renko of the Ukraine. Also, American John Isner pulled out because of an injury.

Perfect in Paris: Rafael Nadal is 28-0 in his career in the French Open and did not lose a set last year. He is aiming for a record fifth title in a row this year.

NHL’s Hurricanes hit hard by injuries Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke was not suspended Wednesday for a knee-to-knee hit on Erik Cole, one of two injured Carolina Hurricanes forwards who appear likely to miss Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals today. Cooke rammed Cole during the third period of Pittsburgh’s 3-2 victory in Game 1 on Monday. Cole will be a gametime decision. Hurricanes forward Tuomo Ruutu also didn’t practice because of an injured right ankle. uEastern Conference Game 2 preview, 7C

D’backs pitcher’s wife found dead The wife of Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Scott Schoeneweis was found dead at her home Wednesday in Fountain Hills, Ariz. The cause of death hasn’t been determined. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said deputies found the body of Gabrielle Dawn Schoeneweis, 39, on the floor of the master bedroom shortly after noon. Authorities said her 14-year-old daughter called to report she had found her mother lying there and unresponsive. A team spokesman said Schoeneweis, 35, had left Diamondbacks, who were playing in Florida, and was returning to Phoenix.

Compiled from staff and wire reports

USA TODAY Snapshots®

Interleague losers

Nadal supreme on these courts Four-time champ has aced every test at Roland Garros

By Douglas Robson Special for USA TODAY Rafael Nadal is so ridiculously dominant on clay that theories on how to beat him have become tennis’ theater of the absurd.

“Spray some mace in his towel in the changeover,” top-ranked doubles player Bob Bryan quips.

“Attach a motor to your back so that your legs don’t have to beat him,” American veteran Vince Spadea offers.

Spike his water in the locker room “with some sleeping powder or some happy mushrooms,” Martina Navratilova jests.

The default response: bewilderment.

“I don’t know,” 16th-ranked James Blake

says. “Has anyone figured it out yet?”

In Paris, no one has. Which is why when the French Open begins Sunday — the draw is Friday — the strapping Spaniard is as sure a bet as there is in sports to land in the winner’s circle and capture a record fifth consecutive title. Nadal, the top seed at Roland Garros for the first time, and Bjorn Borg (1978-81) are the only men to win four consecutive titles.

“He’s like Edwin Moses,” says TV commentator Brad Gilbert, referring to the hurdler who won 122 consecutive 400-meter races from 1977 to 1987. “Nadal’s beaten all comers, and he’ll beat all comers the next nine years.”

Nine might be a stretch, but not by much. Nadal, who turns 23 on June 3, has never lost at Roland Garros — he has gone 28-0 in winning four consecutive titles. Never was his supremacy displayed in such stark relief as it was last year, when he won all 21 sets he played, including nine by scores of 6-1 and three of 6-0.

“I know (I am going to lose) one day or the

Cover story

Please see COVER STORY next page u

Nadal by the numbers

150-5 Record on clay since 2005.

Clay-court unbeaten streaks, 81, 33 both broken by Roger Federer — the 81-match streak fell in Hamburg in

2007; the 33-match streak ended Sunday in Madrid.

Record in best-of-five matches on 43-0 clay. He has been taken to a fifth set twice (2005, Rome, by Guillermo Coria; 2006, Rome, by Federer).

Record at Roland Garros in the 28-0 French Open. He has never gone to a fifth set and has needed a fourth set seven times.

in clay-court finals; both 25-2 Record losses were to Federer. in clay-court matches lasting 8-0 Record longer than four hours.

Sources: Ricoh ATP MatchFacts, ATPWorldTour.com

Pittsburgh Pirates

21-48

.304

Vick returns to Virginia, but he’s far from home free

San Diego Padres

31-53

.369

By Jeff Zillgitt USA TODAY

Teams with the worst interleague records in the last five seasons:

Los Angeles Dodgers

30-51

.370

Arizona Diamondbacks 30-51

.370

Philadelphia Phillies

.407

33-48

Sources: Baseball-reference.com; USA TODAY research

By Kevin Greer and Suzy Parker, USA TODAY

Suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick is headed to his home in Hampton, Va. Vick was released from a U.S. penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., early Wednesday and will live under home confinement until his sentence ends July 20. Vick spent nearly 19 months in prison

uWhat Vick faces, 2C after pleading guilty to dogfighting conspiracy charges.

Vick, who turns 29 on June 26, was making the trip from Kansas to Virginia in a vehicle. It is about an 18hour, 1,200-mile drive, according to Google Maps.

“He’s excited to be with his family, spend time with his kids and be back in the com-

munity doing positive things one day at a time. That’s his No. 1 priority,” his agent, Joel Segal, said Wednesday.

Vick is required to meet with a probation officer, and Vick’s attorney, Larry Woodward, told the Associated Press that Vick was scheduled to see one Friday in Norfolk.

That will be one of Vick’s first steps in his effort to reclaim his life, restore his rep-

utation and return to the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons own his rights, but owner Arthur Blank has made it clear Vick won’t play for the team. “It is my sincere hope he has learned from his mistakes and will move forward in a productive and positive manner,” he said in a statement.

Vick must apply for reinstatement to the NFL, and Commissioner Roger Goodell

said Wednesday that he wouldn’t engage in those discussions until Vick completed his home confinement. Vick will then be on probation for three years.

Vick has other issues. In April, a judge rejected the former Pro Bowl quarterback’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan to pay off more than $20 million in debt. He is due in bankruptcy court June 9.

2B · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · USA TODAY

Nadal continues to work on overall game Continued from 1B

Disrupting his rhythm

other,” says Nadal, who responded to questions by e-mail through an interpreter. “Since I know it will happen, I am not worried about it. That’s life, the sport and the difficulty of tennis.

However, I am right now only thinking about the first match.

This is the way it is. Match after match.”

Despite steamrolling opponents during the European clay-

There are serious as well as lighthearted schools of thought on how to upend Nadal.

Most involve finding a way to force the action or disrupt his rhythm. One line of thinking says attack at every opportunity and dislocate his patterns with a mix of short chips. Italy’s Adriano Panatta, who accounted for Borg’s only two losses at Roland Garros, employed such a strategy successfully.

“You have to play against the grain,” Tennis Channel analyst Justin Gimelstob says.

Yannick Noah deciphered three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander’s staunch defense in 1983 by looping topspin forehands deep, slicing low backhands and sneaking to the net whenever possible. Wilander thinks that strategy might work against Nadal.

“You have to make sure that he doesn’t have a target to pick,” he says.

Others suggest playing him straight up.

“I would play him the same way I play him on hard: try to take the time away from him, make him beat you with his backhand, make him hit passing shot after passing shot,” says Blake, who is 3-2 against Nadal but has never played the Spaniard on clay.

The best chance might be if Nadal were injured, however unsporting that might sound. Last year his only loss on clay came when he had severe foot blisters and fell to Juan Carlos Ferrero in his opening match in Rome.

No one is unbeatable, as Federer proved last week.

But it probably will take someone with an array of weapons — such as cagey and speedy Andy Murray, the Scotsman who is ranked No. 3 in the world, or Serbia’s Djokovic, who has been Nadal’s most consistent threat on clay this year. No. 8-ranked Fernando Verdasco, a fellow Spanish left-hander with a physical presence, also stands a chance.

This much is certain: Anyone wishing to break Nadal’s grip will have to take big risks and keep the points short, as Federer did in Madrid.

The traditional clay-court approach of sitting back at the baseline and grinding it out is equivalent to digging your own grave.

“The question isn’t if anyone can beat Nadal at the French Open,” says Patrick McEnroe, the U.S. Davis Cup captain. “It’s can anyone take more than one set off him?”

Cover story court swing — he was 19-1 with titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome — Nadal enters Paris coming off a loss.

Crack in the armor?

Roger Federer poked a hole in the Spaniard’s aura of invincibility Sunday by beating his rival for the second time on clay in the final in the Madrid Open.

Nadal, who grumbled about the fast court conditions and his four-hour semifinal the day before against Novak Djokovic, takes no solace in the loss.

“There are no positives; there is little to analyze,” Nadal says of the 6-4, 6-4 defeat, which snapped his 33-match winning streak on clay and ended a run of five consecutive victories against Federer, including the finals at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

Federer, ranked No. 2, calls the win very satisfying but does not overestimate its significance for Paris, where matches are best-offive sets instead of best-of-three and players typically play every other day, as opposed to five matches in seven days at Masters Series events.

“I don’t think he’s going to take any damage away from this,” says Federer, who has lost to Nadal at Roland Garros in the last four years. “I’m sure he’s going to be rock solid in Paris again.”

As dynasties go, Nadal’s unblemished record at Roland Garros is all the more impressive because so much can go wrong over the course of a pressure-filled Grand Slam tournament fortnight. There are no teammates to rely on, no losses whitewashed by a best-of seven series format, no home-court advantages. Plus, many variables come into play over seven matches, including a red-hot opponent, health, weather, personal distractions and court conditions that can change widely depending on how much rain the clay soaks up.

1979 AP photo

Big goal: Bjorn Borg also won four French Opens in a row. Is breaking that record important? “I cannot say that it is not,” Nadal says.

To view photos from Rafael Nadal’s French Open championship runs, go to tennis.usatoday.com

luxurious vehicles he has won at tournaments have gathered dust in his family’s garage for years.

Still, Nadal sheepishly concedes that breaking Borg’s record of four consecutive French Open titles is important to him. “I cannot say that it is not,” Nadal says.

By Thomas Coex, AFP/Getty Images

Rivalry: Roger Federer, left, after his loss to Rafael Nadal in last year’s French Open final, defeated the Spaniard on Sunday in Madrid.

“All it takes is one guy, one day,” two-time French Open champion Jim Courier says. “You expect he’ll be sick or have an off day or something will be going on in his personal life that would be disruptive. But he doesn’t allow anything to get in the way.”

Nadal’s swashbuckling virility on the court is counterbalanced by his humility off it.

He still lives in his family’s house in working-class Manacor on the island of Mallorca, likes to go fishing with his childhood friends and dates Maria Francesca Parello, a business student at a local university.

Only recently did Nadal trade in his $20,000 Kia sport-utility vehicle for a $270,000 Aston Martin — even though far more

Always improving With ferocious topspin, unflinching self-belief, intimidating physicality and anesthetizing defense, Nadal is a clay-court machine.

As the six-time major winner has racked up victories on his favorite surface — including a record winning streak of 81 matches on clay in 2007 — he has not let the rest of his game stand pat.

“He’s got a growing tennis IQ,” Tennis Channel commentator Leif

Shiras says.

Under the watchful eye of his uncle and coach, Toni, Nadal has learned to dictate play as well as rely on his indefatigable defense.

He can flatten his backhand to hit through the court, use his deft hands to end points at the net and stand closer to the baseline when necessary to steal time from opponents. He has improved his serve significantly, and his forehand is a whirring, lethal weapon.

Nadal describes his evolution as him being “more aware of the dangers.”

“Maybe you can say it is more aggressive, much less defensive, and therefore I run less,” he says of his style today. “I am a better tennis player in general but also on clay.

“I have learned a lot.”

Nadal adds powerful serve to his arsenal For a player so deadly while on the move, Rafael Nadal’s biggest improvement surprisingly has taken place when he’s most idle: on his serve.

In the last four years, he transformed his 99-mph point-starter delivery into a weapon that can approach 130 mph. Consider: In 2004 Nadal won 77% of his service games and hit 57 aces. In 2008 he won 88% and smacked a career-high 283 aces.

Those adjustments have paid dividends on all surfaces.

Nadal not only snapped Roger Federer’s streak of five Wimbledon titles last year, but he also captured his first major on hardcourts in the Australian Open in January.

“Rafa is playing even more aggressively this year,” fellow Spaniard David Ferrer said after losing to Nadal in the Barcelona final last month.

“Clearly it has been the best start of the year I ever had,” Nadal said.

Nadal’s service statistics Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

SecondFirst-serve First-serve serve points Service won games won Aces % (rank) points won 37 73% 70% 56% 79% 57 70% (1) 67% 54% 77% 219 69% (1) 71% 57% (2) 84% 240 69% (5) 72% 57% (2) 86% (5) 238 68% (5) 73% 56% (3) 86% (5) 283 69% (4) 72% 60% (1) 88% (4)

Break points saved 64% 61% 64% (8) 68% (4) 67% (4) 67% (5)

Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate ATP Tour rank if the ranking was in the top 10 Sources: Ricoh ATP MatchFacts, ATPWorldTour.com

By Douglas Robson

National Football League

Vick’s post-prison life will be anything but paradise

By Jeff Zillgitt USA TODAY

Michael Vick, who pleaded guilty to dogfighting charges in 2007, is not yet a free man, and a long road to restoring credibility and repaying millions of dollars in debt remains in front of him.

Vick’s personal and professional renovation will be scrutinized now that he’s been released from federal prison to home confinement in Hampton, Va. In home confinement, Vick and his activities will be limited. He will probably wear an electronic monitoring device and be allowed to work, visit a doctor or lawyer and go to court, but not much else. There might be un-

By Steve Helber, AP

Under close watch: Michael Vick is likely to be carefully monitored while on home confinement in his Virginia house. announced drug and Breathalyzer tests.

John Webster, the managing director of National Prison and Sentencing Consultants, has two

pieces of advice for clients.

“Be where you are supposed to be when you’re supposed to be there and stay drug- and alcoholfree,” Webster said. “Those are

®

hotels. And

two main reasons you’ll end up back in prison.”

Webster said home confinement is easier than a halfway house but warned about the trap of living at home.

“Your liberty is still very restricted,” Webster said. “It’s almost an artificial environment.

You can’t live the way you normally live. And many people slip up just not thinking about it.

You’re in the comforts of home and want to live that way, and you make mistakes.”

Vick, who filed for bankruptcy, owes more than $20 million, and restoring his playing career is the fastest way to satisfy that debt.

Returning to football is not a priority, said his agent, Joel Segal.

“In due time, football will be addressed,” he said. “He’s got a (construction) job and he’ll be working with the Humane Society (of the United States), so everything is hopefully going to progress in a positive fashion.”

The NFL suspended Vick indefinitely after his guilty plea in August 2007, and Vick must apply for reinstatement to play again.

Commissioner Roger Goodell has not revealed much and maintains he will deal with the issue once Vick’s sentence ends July 20.

“I will meet with him. And I will make a judgment based on what he tells me and what I’m able to determine from speaking to others and my own background check on this and make a

determination at the right time,” Goodell said.

Vick’s work with the Humane Society could be a positive start.

Society group President Wayne Pacelle met with Vick at the prison and is willing to give him a chance. Pacelle said Vick would help with an anti-dogfighting program aimed at youth.

“We had a good exchange. I was satisfied in the sense that he said what I hoped he would say,” Pacelle said. “I went into the meeting with an expectation that there was no way he could convince me that he’s changed. Only his actions can do that. I said, ‘We’re not vouching for you.

We’re simply giving you the opportunity to do the right thing.’ ”

USA TODAY · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · 3B

Keeping Score

Family ties bind the Mickelsons

The opening drives had just been hit in the titanic Tiger-Phil final-round battle in last month’s Masters when Phil Mickelson’s wife, Amy, came walking up in the gallery along the first fairway, just another member of the throng following the world’s two best-known golfers.

This would have been a time of great insularity for most Tour wives. The start of a round, especially one brimming with such promise, often finds Tour wives channeling every ounce of devotion inside the ropes toward their husbands rather than outside the ropes toward the masses with whom they must jostle for position to see the next shot. It’s a time for a wife to put on her big sunglasses and turn invisible, and who can blame her? That’s her husband out there, trying to win another major.

So how do we explain what Amy Mickelson did at that moment on Easter Sunday at Augusta NaCommentary tional?

By Christine Brennan She spotted a couple of journalists she knew — “journalist” often being code for “run the other way” in pro sports — put out her hand and gave them both a big smile. Then, inexplicably, she started walking with them, asking how they were. I was one of those writers, and when I got a chance to ask how she and her kids were, she told me they were getting over colds, and growing up fast.

“They’re getting bigger,” she said. “And look at me, I’m so short, but my husband’s tall.”

My husband. I found her lack of presumptuousness delightful.

Within a minute, we said our goodbyes and sent her on her way. There’s no telling who Amy Mickelson made friends with on the second hole, or the third, or . . .

It’s always sad when a woman announces she has breast cancer, as Amy Mickelson did Wednesday. You also can’t help but be touched by the incongruity of this situation, that this cruel disease has struck this particular person, someone so disarmingly cheerful and upbeat that she might as well be considered one of golf’s most kind-hearted ambassadors.

As the dominoes kept falling, there was the sports news that Amy’s husband has indefinitely suspended his PGA Tour schedule to be with his wife. Phil won’t defend his Colonial title next week, and there’s no certainty he’ll be at Bethpage Black next month for the U.S. Open, where he would be the overwhelming crowd favorite.

Not only was Phil’s decision totally expected, it also was reassuring, for it confirms how intertwined the Phil-Amy relationship is with Phil’s own beloved relationship with the game of golf.

Most of us first heard of Amy when she was about to give birth to their first child, which happened to be the same week as the 1999 U.S. Open. Phil wore a pager and said he would leave the course the moment he heard from Amy. Her contractions began on Sunday, but she decided not to tell her husband as he played the tournament’s final round, which he lost when the late Payne Stewart parred the 72nd hole, then famously grabbed Mickelson to tell him he was going to make a great father. Phil arrived home in time to be with Amy as their daughter was born.

In March 2003, golf and family once again became linked for Phil. Amy nearly died in childbirth, and their newborn son went seven minutes without taking a breath. Shaken, Phil did not win a tournament all year.

Amy was a Phoenix Suns cheerleader before she became Phil’s wife, which helps explain the one time her emotions really got the best of her: when she ended up on the 17th green with the golfers and some of their wives and caddies in their premature celebration of the Americans’ 1999 Ryder Cup victory.

But to stereotype her in that role is to miss her substantial contribution to the life she and her husband have built for themselves, and the active role she has taken in helping others.

To that end, his charitable foundation has his name on it — and hers too: The Phil and Amy Mickelson Foundation. It’s not often a spouse gets that kind of equal billing.

So when word came that Amy has breast cancer and is expected to have “major” surgery soon, her family life, so inextricably linked with some of golf’s recent history, became news once again. With Amy out, so too is one of this generation’s greatest players.

Where Phil goes, Amy goes. And vice versa.

n Today at usatoday.com

Your connection to sports coverage online and on TV

All items available now

Eye-opener Two heirs to the Triple Crown

By Gregg Forwerck, NHLI, via Getty Images

Team builder: Jim Rutherford, shown Dec. 3, shaped the ’Canes.

Jacques Dem8 a.m. NHL: ers’ Third IntermisBy David Butler II, US Presswire

Ray of hope: It’s early, but Evan Longoria is showing he has the batting skills and power to make a Triple Crown run.

Things are supposed to happen in threes.

Lately, winning a Triple Crown has been the exception to prove the rule.

Horse racing has been without a Triple Crown winner since Affirmed, with Steve Cauthen aboard, won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in 1978.

In baseball, the last man to sweep the batting, home run and RBI titles was the Boston Red Sox’s Carl Yastrzemski, who batted .326 with 44 homers and 121 RBI in 1967.

Is 2009 the year the drought ends?

Racing can’t have a Triple Crown

By William Bretzger, The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal

One more: Calvin Borel, who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness on different horses, awaits the Belmont.

horse but, oddly, could have a Triple Crown jockey.

Calvin Borel won the Kentucky Derby aboard Mine That Bird. He then jumped off the gelding and won the Preakness on a filly, Rachel Alexandra.

He is now waiting to see who will be available to ride in the June 6 Belmont Stakes.

The baseball season is in the larval stage but, as of Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays’ Evan Longoria led the American League in RBI and was tied for third in homers and ninth in batting average.

Longoria, 23, was born in Downey,

Calif., and is 6-2, 210 pounds. Borel, 42, is 5-4, 110 pounds and born in St. Martinville, La. — Reid Cherner uSo which of these contrasting athletes has a better chance to sweep his sport?

O Borel. If the filly runs in the Belmont, you can book it.

O Longoria. He is that talented.

O Both.

O Neither.

Click here to vote gameon.usatoday.com

iRacing

Racing with the stars: Gamers exhibiting great skills could find themselves in a virtual race against a NASCAR star. and co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing) since its public launch in August.

NASCAR drivers such as Earnhardt, Bobby Labonte and Marcos Ambrose are among the members, and NASCAR managing director of licensed products Blake Davidson expects the subscriber base to grow by several thousand, including additional highprofile drivers. Earnhardt recently bought a computer for Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.

Davidson says there’ll be several divisions organized according to ability.

Competitors who demonstrate firstclass skill could compete against NASCAR drivers such as Earnhardt in the top class, which Davidson says will fulfill a vision of former NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr. “He felt we could create a series people could experience at home” even without a real-life stock car, Davidson says.

— Nate Ryan Click here for virtual racing iracing.com

Tech watch For Cowboys: 26,000 square feet of high-def The saying “Everything is bigger in Texas” rings true again.

This time the adage works at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington today, when the Cowboys turn on the world’s two largest high-definition video displays, each 160 feet wide and 72 feet high.

The two Mitsubishi Diamond Vision video boards, one facing the Cowboys sideline and the other facing the visitors sideline, run from approximately the 25-yard line to the 25-yard line.

And unlike any other video boards in football stadiums, the displays are suspended 90 feet above the field, similar to screens in NBA or NHL arenas.

“When you’re up in the stands, it’s

right in front of you,” said Mark Foster, general manager of Mitsubishi Electric’s Diamond Vision.

“Nothing’s been done like this before. Most of these are typically mounted in the end zone, and you look all the way across the field to see a display. You’re going to be able to sit in the stands and look at this in your line of vision by just lifting your eyes a little bit.”

Facing the end zones at each end of the giant displays are two smaller video boards. Those are 51 feet wide and 29 feet high.

The structure, including all four video screens, weighs 600 tons.

Three-inch diameter steel cables connected to the video boards and steel box trusses hold the structure in

place. Workers began installing the screens in November and completed installation in late March.

The gigantic screens facing the sidelines each contain 10.5 million lightemitting diodes, or LEDs, spaced at about 0.39 of an inch.

Because the screens are above the field, Mitsubishi had to make sure fans could clearly see the screens from any angle, especially from the field, where Cowboys owner Jerry Jones likes to spend a portion of the fourth quarter.

— Jeff Zillgitt

Click here to get a look at stadium’s video screens stadium.dallascowboys.com

Networking Tennessee tweets bring whistle-blowing

By Chris Pizzello, AP

Sad: Amy Mickelson, with Phil at a Lakers game May 12, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Ticker: Online’s top hits

As college coaches tweet more and more, perhaps this was bound to happen: Twitter-related rules violations.

Tennessee self-reported its fifth secondary violation since Lane Kiffin was named coach Dec. 1 after an unnamed newly hired assistant in the football office posted to coach Lane Kiffin’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.

The posting on the social networking sites Tuesday read, “I was so excited to hear that J.C. Copeland committed to play for the Vols today!” NCAA rules prohibit coaches from discussing a prospect — Copeland is a junior defensive end from LaGrange, Ga. — until a letter of intent is signed. The comment was taken down shortly after it was posted. One of Kiffin’s previous violations involved mentioning a prospect by name on the radio.

Tennessee’s misstep was not the first Twitter-related secondary violation the NCAA has received, according

Click here nhl.usatoday.com

Rookie 9 a.m. NASCAR: Joey Logano re-

counts his experience in the Sprint All-Star Race in his exclusive driver diary

Click here motorsports.usatoday.com

Follow in-proAlso Golf: gress scores and player scorecards from the Byron Nelson Championship

Web watch Virtual racing big draw for NASCAR fans

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is NASCAR’s man of the people, and he enjoys mingling in the virtual racing world.

“It’s interesting to have a 50-yearold plumber and a 15-year-old kid who just got done with English homework racing with us,” Earnhardt says.

Starting in 2010, NASCAR will sanction an online racing series hosted and organized by iRacing.com Motorsports Simulations. More than 13,000 subscribers have joined iRacing.com (founded by Dave Kaemmer and John Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox

sion column details how GM Jim Rutherford helped the Carolina Hurricanes become the surprise of the playoffs

to NCAA spokesman Erik Christianson. He would not specify how many or which schools, saying via e-mail, “We have had a few Twitter-related secondary violations, and we have had other secondary violations related to electronic transmissions and social networking sites.”

Secondary violations are minor and do not usually result in punishment.

Kiffin joined the twittersphere simply to keep up with his rivals in the Southeastern Conference who also

By Wade Payne, AP have accounts. Nearly all coaches eiKiffin: Five secondary violations since ther dictate tweets or simply have he became Tennessee’s football coach. staff assistants handle the site.

As Minnesota football coach Tim Brewster found out, if there are too It seems rarely a day goes by withmany tweeters manning the keyout Kiffin making news. During his six board, embarrassment can follow. A months on the job, Kiffin has grabbed recent post contained an insulting ref- headlines for needling SEC opponents erence to a local sports columnist, with verbal tweaks. Now comes this, though the school said it was not an NCAA violation tweet. written by Brewster.

— Kelly Whiteside

Click here golf.usatoday.com

Readers react to Michael Vick’s release from prison: He’s doing the time the courts told him to, so he’s paying his price. Once he has served all the time and completed whatever else the courts deem necessary, I don’t need any other apology or act of kindness.

He did his time, so he should be able to move on with his life. And if the NFL accepts him, he should be able to play.

— LiveFreeOrDieNH

“ “ “

Vick deserves a clean slate and a clean return to the NFL. If he does anything like this again, then that’s another story.

Give him a second chance but not a third.

— klynch67 Roger Goodell has too much class and the owners of the NFL have way to much invested to take a chance on allowing such a lowlife like Vick to ever pollute the NFL and be such a distraction.

— John Milton

n Quick questions He’s No. 2

uWhom would you pick after Blake Griffin in the NBA draft?

O Stephen Curry, Davidson O Tyreke Evans, Memphis O James Harden, Arizona State O Jordan Hill, Arizona O Brandon Jennings, Italy O Ty Lawson, North Carolina O Ricky Rubio, Spain O Hasheem Thabeet, UConn Click here to vote

gameon.usatoday.com

TV options

uIt’s Sunday afternoon: Which sport has you tuned in?

O Baseball O College basketball O Golf O NASCAR O NBA O NFL O NHL O Other Click here to vote sports.usatoday.com

Recommended, e-mailed: Mickelson’s wife diagnosed with breast cancer . . . Commented: Delany: Obama doesn’t understand BCS “complexity”

4B · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · USA TODAY

Major League Baseball

Ortiz’s shot lifts Red Sox

American League

East Toronto Boston New York Tampa Bay Baltimore

W 27 24 23 20 16

L 16 16 17 22 24

Pct. .628 .600 .575 .476 .400

GB — 1½ 2½ 6½ 9½

Strk L-2 W-2 W-8 L-2 L-3

Central Detroit Kansas City Minnesota Chicago Cleveland

W 22 21 18 17 15

L 16 19 23 22 26

Pct. .579 .525 .439 .436 .366

GB — 2 5½ 5½ 8½

Strk W-5 L-1 L-6 W-2 W-1

West Texas Los Angeles Seattle Oakland

W 23 20 19 15

L 16 19 22 22

Pct. GB Strk .590 — L-2 .513 3 L-1 .463 5 W-1 .405 7 W-2

Last 10 6-4 5-5 9-1 5-5 4-6 Last 10 7-3 3-7 3-7 3-7 4-6 Last 10 7-3 5-5 4-6 4-6

vs.

Div. 4-4 15-6 9-12 12-10 7-15 vs.

Div. 9-8 11-8 8-8 8-8 8-12 vs.

Div. 10-2 7-10 10-10 5-10

Home 16-6 15-4 12-7 10-10 11-11

Away 11-10 9-12 11-10 10-12 5-13

Home 13-5 14-9 14-9 10-8 7-11

Away 9-11 7-10 4-14 7-14 8-15

Home 14-6 12-8 10-10 8-10

Away 9-10 8-11 9-12 7-12

Wednesday’s results New York 11, Baltimore 4 Oakland 7, Tampa Bay 6 Cleveland 6, Kansas City 5 Seattle 1, Los Angeles 0

Detroit 5, Texas 3 Boston 8, Toronto 3 Chicago 7, Minnesota 4

Thursday’s probable pitchers, lines Pitchers

Career vs.

2009 season opp.

W-L IP ERA W-L

2008-09 vs. opp.

W-L IP ERA

Last 3 starts W-L IP ERA

Tex.-Millwood (R) Det.-Jackson (R)

4-3 3-2

58z 52

2.93 4-4 2.42 1-2

1-0 0-1

23 12

1.96 3.75

2-1 2-1

20z 20

4.43 2.70

Min.-Blackburn (R) Chi.-Colon (R)

2-2 2-3

49z 36z

4.38 2-4 4.21 9-7

2-4 1-0

39z 6

4.81 0.00

0-1 0-2

18 14Z

5.00 4.30

Cle.-Pavano (R) K.C.-Greinke (R)

3-4 7-1

42Z 60

6.33 0-2 0.60 5-8

0-1 2-2

6 22

6.00 2.86

2-1 2-1

17z 24

4.67 0.75

Oak.-Braden (L) T.B.-Garza (R)

3-5 4-2

47 54

3.64 2-1 3.50 0-2

2-0 0-1

11Z 5Z

1.54 6.35

0-3 2-0

17 21

6.35 3.00

Bal.-Eaton (R) N.Y.-Chamberlain (R)

2-4 2-1

36z 40Z

7.93 2-1 3.76 2-0

1-0 2-0

5 19

7.20 2.37

1-1 1-1

15 17Z

9.00 4.58

Tor.-Ray (R) Bos.-Lester (L)

1-1 2-4

20 47

3.60 — 6.51 1-2

— 1-2

— 25z

— 4.62

1-1 1-2

20 17

3.60 8.47

L.A.-Saunders (L) 5-2 Sea.-Bedard (L) 2-1 Lines by Danny Sheridan

52Z 42Z

3.59 5-1 2.53 2-4

4-0 1-1

34z 10

2.88 5.40

2-1 0-0

21 16Z

3.86 3.24

Texas at Detroit, 1:05 ET (Line: Det., 8:5)

Minnesota at Chicago, 2:05 ET (Line: Chi., 6:5)

Cleveland at Kansas City, 2:10 ET (Line: K.C., 6:5) Oakland at Tampa Bay, 4:08 ET (Line: T.B., 9½:5) Baltimore at New York, 7:05 ET (Line: N.Y., 9:5) Toronto at Boston, 7:10 ET (Line: Bos., 7½:5)

Los Angeles at Seattle, 10:10 ET (Line: L.A., 6:5)

Results, upcoming games Tuesday

Det. 4, Tex. 0 N.Y. 9, Bal. 1 Oak. 4, T.B. 1 (11) Bos. 2, Tor. 1 K.C. 6, Cle. 5 Chi. 6, Min. 2 L.A. 6, Sea. 5

Friday

Interleague Col. at Det., 7:05 Phi. at NYY, 7:05 Bal. at Was., 7:05 NYM at Bos., 7:10 Cle. at Cin., 7:10 T.B. at Fla., 7:10 Tor. at Atl., 7:30 Tex. at Hou., 8:05 Mil. at Min., 8:10 Pit. at CWS, 8:11 K.C. at St.L., 8:15 Ari. at Oak., 10:05 S.F. at Sea., 10:10 LAA at LAD, 10:10

Saturday

Interleague K.C. at St.L., 1:10 Phi. at NYY, 1:05 Tex. at Hou., 4:10 Tor. at Atl., 7 Bal. at Was., 7:05 Col. at Det., 7:05 Pit. at CWS, 7:05 Cle. at Cin., 7:10 Mil. at Min., 7:10 NYM at Bos., 7:10 T.B. at Fla., 7:10 Ari. at Oak., 9:05 LAA at LAD, 10:10 S.F. at Sea., 10:10

American League notes Baltimore: SS Robert An-

dino, filling in for injured Cesar Izturis, bobbled a potential double-play ball with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh inning Tuesday, helping trigger the Yankees’ seven-run inning. The Orioles have no long-term prospect at shortstop after using six stopgaps at the position in 2008. . . . RHP Brad Bergesen gave the Orioles six solid innings Tuesday but struggled with his command in his third time through the Yankees order and took the loss. Bergesen changed his uniform number from 64 to 35.

Boston: RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (strained right shoulder) will come off the 15-day disabled list and start Friday against the Mets, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. RHP Justin Masterson will move back to the bullpen. . . . RH closer Jonathan Papelbon’s save Tuesday gave him 16 consecutive converted opportunities and was the 124th of his career, leaving him eight shy of Bob Stanley’s franchise record.

Chicago: IF Chris Getz, who hit .340 in April but, through Tuesday, .148 since he was sidelined with a broken right middle finger, was out of the lineup.

Jayson Nix started at second base instead. . . . Tuesday’s victory against Minnesota was Chicago’s ninth in its last 10 games against the Twins at U.S. Cellular Field, including a 1-0 win in the one-game playoff for the AL Central title in September. In that span, the White Sox outscored the Twins 72-32.

Cleveland: IF Jhonny Per-

alta was out of the lineup Tuesday even though he was hitting .419 in his last eight games, raising his average from .210 to .257. He has a .118 career average vs. RHP Brian Bannister, the Kansas City starter. . . . C Victor Martinez led the majors with a .400 average through Tuesday and also was tied with Toronto 2B Aaron Hill for the AL lead with 62 hits. The last Indians hitter to lead the league in hits was Kenny Lofton in 1994.

Detroit: LHP Nate Robertson (sore back) said he’ll be ready to come off the disabled list when he’s eligible today.

“Night and day compared to the way it was,” he said. . . . IF Ramon Santiago is on a sevengame hitting streak, but it’s not enough for manager Jim Leyland to think of making him an everyday player. “He’s a player who needs rest,” Leyland said.

“If he played every day, you would wear him down.” Santiago did not play Wednesday.

Kansas City: LHP John Bale (thyroid surgery) threw two perfect innings and struck out two Tuesday in a rehab appearance for Class AA Northwest Arkansas (Springdale).

Royals manager Trey Hillman said Bale will continue to build stamina on the rehab assignment. . . . SS Mike Aviles, who had not played since last Thursday because of stiffness in his right forearm, returned to the lineup Wednesday.

Los Angeles: RHP Dustin

Moseley stopped his workouts at the Angels’ extended spring training camp in Arizona and went to see orthopedic surgeon Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles.

Moseley, on the disabled list since April 18, has had persistent problems with a nerve in his neck and pitching arm. . . .

RH Matt Palmer improved to 5-0 Tuesday, becoming the third pitcher in franchise history to start his career unbeaten through at least five decisions.

The others were Bo Belinsky (5-0 in 1962) and Jered Weaver (7-0 in 2006). The five victories also tie Palmer with Washington RHP Shairon Martis for the most by a rookie this season.

Minnesota: C Mike Redmond doubled off Chicago LHP Mark Buehrle in the fifth inning Tuesday and reached base in two of his three at-bats.

Redmond is one of the few Twins to have success against Buehrle, raising his average to .455 (15-for-33) against him.

New York: RH Chien-Ming Wang (hip) threw 50 pitches in the bullpen Tuesday at Yankee Stadium and said he thinks he is ready to return from the disabled list. Wang, who went 0-3 with a 34.50 ERA in his first three starts before he was sidelined, has thrown 13 scoreless innings in two rehab starts at Class AAA Scranton/WilkesBarre (Moosic, Pa.).

Oakland: LH reliever Craig Breslow was acquired on waivers from Minnesota, and 2B Mark Ellis was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list. The Athletics need to make another roster move to make room for Breslow on the 25-man roster.

Seattle: SS Yuniesky Betan-

court was out of the lineup Tuesday after making a costly error in the ninth inning Monday. Was the move a message?

“It’s some of that,” manager Don Wakamatsu said. “It’s not that I am sending any messages, but it’s more about the level-ofplay expectations.”

Tampa Bay: RHP James Shields allowed four hits in 81⁄3 scoreless innings Tuesday for his best outing of the season, retiring 17 in a row in one stretch, but got a no-decision.

“I feel like I’m right there,” Shields said.

Texas: RH Brandon McCarthy threw 118 pitches in seven innings in the loss Tuesday, his highest pitch count since he held Texas to two hits, while with the White Sox, over 71⁄3 scoreless innings in 2005.

McCarthy’s seven-inning outing was the longest quality start he has made since joining the Rangers in 2007.

Toronto: DH Kevin Millar’s home run Tuesday was the 34th of his career at Fenway Park, the most he has hit at any ballpark.

It was also the fourth of his career against Boston RHP Tim Wakefield in 30 at-bats.

From The Sports Xchange

By Howard Ulman The Associated Press

BOSTON — Before David Ortiz ended the longest homerless streak of his career, he got words of encouragement from his father.

Sort of.

Enrique Ortiz had flown

Game of the day into town Tuesday and said, “ ‘Hey, son, it’s not going to get worse than this, so go out there, have fun and forget about what happened,’ ” Ortiz said.

It might be tough to hear your father say you have hit bottom, but Ortiz said he kept that in mind Wednesday when he hit his first home run in 150 at-bats in the Boston Red Sox’s 8-3 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays.

“I tried it all. I was about to hit right-handed,” the lefthanded slugger said. “I feel like I just got that big old monkey off my back. And (in) this game, sometimes

By Adam Hunger, Reuters

Drought ends: The Red Sox’s David Ortiz hits a home run in the fifth inning Wednesday, his first shot in 150 at-bats. that’s all it takes to have a good at-bat, get a good hit, and everything will start clicking.”

Ortiz’s homer was one of four off left-hander Brett Cecil (2-1) in a six-run fifth inning and one of five that the Red Sox hit in the game.

Boston center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury caught 12 of the fly balls Toronto hit against Brad Penny (4-1), tying the major league record for putouts in a nine-inning game by an outfielder.

That mark was achieved

previously by Earl Clark of the Boston Braves in 1929 and Lyman Bostock of the Minnesota Twins in 1977, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

“My legs felt a little tired,” Ellsbury said. “I was just happy we were getting quick outs. Brad’s a fly-ball pitcher, and when he’s getting the fly balls, that means his pitch count’s down (and) he’s doing everything he needs to do.”

Jason Varitek hit two home runs for Boston.

Wednesday’s games YANKEES 11, Orioles 4 Athletics 7, RAYS 6 TIGERS 5, Rangers 3 Indians 6, ROYALS 5 WHITE SOX 7, Twins 4 MARINERS 1, Angels 0

Nick Swisher hit the first of three consecutive homers that sent New York to its eighth consecutive victory. Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera also hit solo shots to right field in the second inning against starter Jeremy Guthrie (3-4) — all with two strikes.

Brett Anderson pitched into the seventh inning to pick up his first major league win, and Orlando Cabrera had two RBI. Anderson (1-4) gave up four runs, two earned, and four hits over six-plus innings. The victory came in his seventh career start, all this season.

Justin Verlander allowed three hits in six innings and Detroit, despite hitting into a triple play, won its fifth in a row. Gerald Laird lined into the triple play, Texas’ first since 2002, in the fourth. Wilkin Ramirez, making his major league debut, broke a 1-1 tie with a home run in the sixth inning.

Mark DeRosa had three hits and drove in the tiebreaking run in the eighth for Cleveland. DeRosa’s RBI double off Sidney Ponson (1-5) scored pinchrunner Matt LaPorta in the eighth, and Ben Francisco followed with an RBI single for a 6-4 lead.

Jermaine Dye’s grand slam capped a seven-run fourth inning and John Danks allowed five hits and two earned runs over 5Z innings for Chicago.

Danks (3-3), who had an 8.35 ERA in his previous four starts, won for the first time in nearly a month.

Fill-in starter Chris Jakubauskas limited Los Angeles to two hits in six innings. Ken Griffey Jr. had two hits, including an RBI single in the first inning.

*HOME teams in caps

Athletics 7, Rays 6

Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 3

White Sox 7, Twins 4

Oakland ............... 112 030 000 — 7 Tampa Bay........... 000 210 210 — 6

Toronto................ 000 000 210 — 3 Boston ................. 002 060 00x — 8

Minnesota ......... 000 202 000 — 4 Chicago ............... 000 700 00x — 7

Oakland ab r h bi bb so avg Cabrera ss 5 0 2 2 0 0 .244 Suzuki c 5 0 1 1 0 0 .309 Cust dh 4 1 1 0 1 0 .261 Holliday lf 3 1 1 0 2 1 .270 Giambi 1b 2 2 1 1 2 0 .198 Hannahan 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 .129 Kennedy 2b 4 0 1 1 0 1 .359 Crosby 3b-1b 4 2 1 1 0 0 .214 Cunningham rf 4 1 1 1 0 1 .077 Davis cf 2 0 0 0 0 1 .167 Sweeney ph-cf 1 0 0 0 1 1 .248 Totals 35 7 9 7 6 6 u Batting — 2B: Kennedy (3); Cunningham (1). SF: Crosby. RBI: Cabrera 2 (14); Suzuki (16); Giambi (18); Kennedy (5); Crosby (9); Cunningham (1). Team LOB: 9. u Baserunning — SB: Sweeney (3). u Fielding — E: Cabrera (7); Kennedy (2). DP: 2.

Tampa Bay ab r h bi bb so avg Upton cf 5 1 0 0 0 1 .177 Crawford lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .321 Longoria 3b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .331 Pena 1b 3 2 2 2 1 0 .250 Bartlett ss 3 1 1 0 1 0 .379 Aybar dh 3 1 1 2 0 1 .277 Iwamura 2b 4 0 2 1 0 0 .303 Kapler rf 2 0 0 0 0 0 .193 Zobrist ph-rf 1 0 0 0 1 0 .273 Navarro c 4 1 1 0 0 0 .178 Totals 33 6 8 5 3 6 u Batting — 2B: Longoria (17); Pena (9).

3B: Iwamura (1). HR: Pena (14); Aybar (2). SF: Aybar. RBI: Pena 2 (35); Aybar 2 (9); Iwamura (16). GIDP: Navarro. Team LOB: 4. u Baserunning — SB: Upton (13).

Pitching ip h r er bb so era Oakland Anderson W,1-4 6 4 4 2 0 5 5.54 Wuertz 1 2 1 1 0 0 2.08 Springer 0 1 1 1 0 0 3.63 Casilla H,4 1 1 0 0 2 1 2.70 Ziegler S,5 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.63 Tampa Bay Kazmir L,4-4 4z 8 7 7 4 3 7.69 Balfour 1Z 1 0 0 1 1 5.12 Isringhausen 1 0 0 0 1 1 0.00 Cormier 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.10 Howell 1 0 0 0 0 1 2.21

Toronto ab r h bi bb so avg Scutaro ss 4 0 0 0 1 0 .276 Hill 2b 5 0 2 0 0 0 .344 Rios rf 5 0 3 0 0 0 .274 Wells cf 5 1 3 0 0 0 .263 Lind dh 5 0 1 0 0 1 .311 Rolen 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .309 Overbay 1b 4 1 2 1 0 0 .248 Barajas c 4 1 1 1 0 0 .311 Snider lf 3 0 1 0 0 1 .242 Millar ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .296 Bautista lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .301 Totals 40 3 14 2 1 2 u Batting — 2B: Rios (10); Rolen (11); Overbay (9). 3B: Overbay (1). RBI: Overbay (20); Barajas (23). GIDP: Scutaro.

Team LOB: 11. u Fielding — DP: 2.

Boston ab r h bi bb so avg Ellsbury cf 4 0 1 0 1 2 .304 Pedroia 2b 4 1 1 0 1 0 .314 Ortiz dh 5 1 2 2 0 2 .210 Youkilis 1b 5 1 3 0 0 2 .404 Bay lf 3 1 2 2 1 1 .302 Lowell 3b 4 1 2 1 0 1 .295 Baldelli rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .205 Varitek c 3 2 2 2 1 1 .243 Lugo ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 .309 Totals 36 815 7 4 10 u Batting — 2B: Pedroia (12); Ortiz (11); Lowell (13); Lugo (2). 3B: Baldelli (1). HR: Ortiz (1); Bay (12); Lowell (7); Varitek 2 (7). RBI: Ortiz 2 (17); Bay 2 (42); Lowell (29); Varitek 2 (18). GIDP: Pedroia; Lowell. Team LOB: 8. u Fielding — DP: 1.

Pitching ip h r er bb so era Toronto Cecil L,2-1 4Z 11 8 8 2 3 4.38 Camp 1z 1 0 0 1 3 3.86 Wolfe 1 2 0 0 1 2 2.25 Ryan 1 1 0 0 0 2 7.27 Boston Penny W,4-1 6Z 9 2 2 1 2 6.07 Delcarmen z 0 0 0 0 0 0.95 Bard Z 3 1 1 0 0 2.25 Okajima z 0 0 0 0 0 2.84 Saito 1 2 0 0 0 0 3.60

Minnesota ab r h bi bb so avg Span rf 3 0 1 0 1 0 .296 Harris ss 4 0 0 0 0 2 .270 Mauer c 4 1 1 0 0 1 .397 Morneau dh 3 1 0 0 1 1 .331 Cuddyer 1b 4 2 1 2 0 1 .259 Kubel lf 4 0 1 1 0 2 .324 Crede 3b 2 0 1 1 1 0 .229 Gomez cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .222 Buscher ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .229 Tolbert 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .167 Morales ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .327 Totals 32 4 6 4 3 8 u Batting — 2B: Crede (7). HR: Cuddyer (5). SF: Crede. RBI: Cuddyer 2 (22); Kubel (21); Crede (16). Team LOB: 5. u Baserunning — CS: Span (3). u Fielding — E: Cuddyer (3). DP: 1.

Chicago ab r h bi bb so avg Podsednik lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .268 Nix 2b 2 1 0 0 1 0 .226 Dye rf 4 1 1 4 0 0 .274 Thome dh 2 1 1 0 2 0 .257 Konerko 1b 4 1 1 2 0 1 .317 Anderson cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Ramirez ss 3 1 1 0 1 0 .218 Fields 3b 4 1 1 1 0 0 .218 Miller c 3 1 1 0 0 0 .219 Totals 30 7 7 7 4 1 u Batting — 2B: Ramirez (5); Miller (3).

HR: Dye (10); Konerko (6). RBI: Dye 4 (25); Konerko 2 (27); Fields (13). GIDP: Dye. Team LOB: 4. u Baserunning — SB: Podsednik (3). u Fielding — E: Ramirez (3). PB: Miller (1).

Pitching ip h r er bb so era Minnesota Liriano L,2-5 4 7 7 7 3 1 6.04 Ayala 3 0 0 0 1 0 4.87 Crain 1 0 0 0 0 0 7.62 Chicago Danks W,3-3 5Z 5 4 2 3 7 4.60 Dotel H,6 z 0 0 0 0 0 0.66 Thornton H,7 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.30 Linebrink H,3 1 0 0 0 0 1 1.80 Jenks S,9 1 1 0 0 0 0 2.57

Anderson pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.Springer pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. WP: Casilla. IBB: Pena (by Casilla).

HBP: Kennedy (by Kazmir). Batters faced; pitches-strikes: Anderson 22; 8053; Wuertz 4; 13-10; Springer 1; 9-6; Casilla 6; 25-14; Ziegler 4; 14-6; Kazmir 26; 93-53; Balfour 7; 21-11; Isringhausen 4; 12-6; Cormier 3; 15-10; Howell 3; 10-8. uUmpires — HP: Marquez; 1B: Marsh; 2B: Winters; 3B: Barksdale. uGame data —T: 3:01. Att: 13,721.

Mariners 1, Angels 0 Los Angeles ....... 000 000 000 — 0 Seattle.................. 100 000 00x — 1 Los Angeles ab r h bi bb so avg Figgins 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .280 Izturis dh 4 0 0 0 0 2 .272 Abreu rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .300 Rivera lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .275 Hunter cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .315 Morales 1b 2 0 0 0 2 0 .282 Willits pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 Matthews lf-rf 3 0 1 0 1 0 .276 Kendrick 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .239 Aybar ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 .299 Mathis c 3 0 0 0 0 0 .246 Totals 30 0 3 0 3 3 u Batting — 2B: Hunter (10). Team LOB: 6. u Fielding — E: Mathis (2).

Seattle ab r h bi bb so avg Suzuki rf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .318 Beltre 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .200 Griffey Jr. dh 3 0 2 1 1 0 .238 Chavez pr-dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 .274 Balentien lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .269 Branyan 1b 2 0 0 0 2 1 .305 Johjima c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Lopez 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .224 Betancourt ss 3 0 2 0 0 0 .267 Gutierrez cf 2 0 0 0 1 1 .258 Totals 29 1 5 1 4 4 u Batting — 2B: Suzuki (4). RBI: Griffey Jr. (10). Team LOB: 8. u Baserunning — SB: Betancourt (3).

Pitching ip h r er bb so era Los Angeles Santana L,0-1 6Z 5 1 1 2 3 3.09 Arredondo 1z 0 0 0 2 1 4.82 Seattle Jakubauskas 6 2 0 0 2 1 6.10 W,3-4 Batista H,2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.38 Lowe H,3 1 1 0 0 0 1 3.72 Aardsma S,5 1 0 0 0 1 1 1.37 WP: Arredondo. IBB: Branyan (by Arredondo). Balks: Arredondo. Batters faced; pitches-strikes: Santana 27; 9557; Arredondo 8; 23-9; Jakubauskas 22; 100-66; Batista 3; 16-9; Lowe 4; 18-12; Aardsma 4; 14-8. uUmpires — HP: Wendelstedt; 1B: Knight; 2B: DeMuth; 3B: Eddings. uGame data —T: 2:25. Att: 18,580.

IBB: Varitek (by Wolfe). Batters faced; pitches-strikes: Cecil 24; 83-51; Camp 6; 28-18; Wolfe 6; 26-14; Ryan 4; 14-9; Penny 29; 96-58; Delcarmen 1; 2-2; Bard 5; 14-10; Okajima 1; 3-3; Saito 5; 21-14. uUmpires — HP: Foster; 1B: Hudson; 2B: Hirschbeck; 3B: Bell. uGame data —T: 2:58. Att: 38,099.

HBP: Nix (by Ayala). Batters faced; pitches-strikes: Liriano 22; 90-57; Ayala 10; 31-23; Crain 3; 10-7; Danks 25; 11170; Dotel 1; 2-1; Thornton 3; 12-8; Linebrink 3; 18-11; Jenks 4; 23-13. uUmpires — HP: Wegner; 1B: Timmons; 2B: Drake; 3B: Kellogg. uGame data —T: 2:46. Att: 29,044.

Yankees 11, Orioles 4

Tigers 5, Rangers 3

Baltimore ........... 000 210 001 — 4 New York .......... 131 000 06x — 11

Texas ...................... 000 010 110 — 3 Detroit ................. 010 004 00x — 5

Baltimore ab r h bi bb so avg Roberts 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .292 Jones cf 4 1 2 1 0 2 .370 Markakis rf 4 0 0 0 0 3 .318 Huff 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .266 Mora 3b 4 1 3 0 0 0 .275 Wigginton dh 4 1 2 2 0 0 .220 Reimold lf 3 1 1 1 1 1 .261 Moeller c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .195 Andino ss 4 0 1 0 0 2 .226 Totals 35 4 10 4 1 11 u Batting — 2B: Mora (2); Andino (1).

HR: Jones (9); Wigginton (3); Reimold (1). RBI: Jones (27); Wigginton 2 (13); Reimold (3). Team LOB: 5. u Baserunning — CS: Roberts (4). u Fielding — E: Andino (2). DP: 2.

New York ab r h bi bb so avg Jeter ss 5 1 1 2 0 0 .273 Damon lf 4 1 0 0 1 0 .318 Teixeira 1b 4 0 1 1 0 1 .241 Rodriguez 3b 1 2 0 0 2 0 .189 Berroa 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 Matsui dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 .252 Pena pr-dh 0 1 0 0 0 0 .263 Swisher rf 2 2 1 1 2 0 .234 Cano 2b 4 2 3 3 0 0 .307 Cabrera cf 4 2 2 2 0 1 .321 Cash c 3 0 0 1 0 1 .077 Totals 31 11 9 10 5 3 u Batting — 2B: Jeter (8); Teixeira (8).

HR: Swisher (9); Cano (7); Cabrera (5).

SF: Cash. RBI: Jeter 2 (19); Teixeira (31); Swisher (23); Cano 3 (22); Cabrera 2 (16); Cash (1). GIDP: Rodriguez; Matsui.

Team LOB: 4. u Fielding — DP: 1.

Pitching ip h r er bb so era Baltimore Guthrie L,3-4 7 5 5 5 3 2 5.37 Baez z 2 4 4 2 1 3.74 Walker Z 2 2 1 0 0 3.86 New York Hughes W,2-2 5 6 3 3 1 9 7.06 Aceves H,1 2 2 0 0 0 2 1.74 Coke H,2 Z 1 0 0 0 0 4.58 Rivera S,8 1z 1 1 1 0 0 3.06

Texas ab r h bi bb so avg Kinsler 2b 4 0 0 0 1 0 .298 Murphy lf 3 1 1 0 1 1 .200 Young 3b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .346 Blalock dh 4 0 1 0 0 2 .237 Byrd cf 4 1 1 1 0 0 .300 Cruz rf 4 1 2 1 0 2 .271 Davis 1b 4 0 0 0 0 3 .215 Teagarden c 3 0 1 1 0 1 .216 Vizquel ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .368 Andrus ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 .268 Hamilton ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .239 Totals 35 3 8 3 2 12 u Batting — 3B: Andrus (4). HR: Cruz (8). RBI: Byrd (18); Cruz (23); Teagarden (4). Team LOB: 6. u Fielding — E: Teagarden (1). TP: 1.

Detroit ab r h bi bb so avg Granderson cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .256 Polanco 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .265 Ramirez dh 3 1 1 1 0 2 .333 Larish ph-dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 .256 Cabrera 1b 4 1 2 0 0 0 .385 Inge 3b 4 1 2 2 0 1 .285 Raburn rf 2 2 2 1 1 0 .219 Thomas ph-rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .300 Laird c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .214 Anderson lf 2 0 1 0 1 0 .300 Everett ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 .307 Totals 32 5 10 4 2 4 u Batting — 2B: Inge (5). HR: Ramirez (1); Inge (11); Raburn (3). RBI: Ramirez (1); Inge 2 (29); Raburn (10). Team LOB: 5. u Baserunning — SB: Anderson 2 (8).

Pitching ip h r er bb so era Texas Harrison L,4-3 5 9 5 5 2 3 4.71 Jennings 2 1 0 0 0 0 2.89 Madrigal 1 0 0 0 0 1 9.82 Detroit Verlander W,4-2 6 3 1 1 2 8 3.99 Lyon 1 2 1 1 0 1 6.88 Zumaya H,2 1 3 1 1 0 2 2.19 Rodney S,7 1 0 0 0 0 1 3.71

HBP: Rodriguez (by Guthrie); Teixeira (by Guthrie). Batters faced; pitchesstrikes: Guthrie 29; 110-67; Baez 5; 16-8; Walker 5; 18-12; Hughes 21; 8957; Aceves 7; 23-16; Coke 3; 5-4; Rivera 5; 14-10. uUmpires — HP: Dreckman; 1B: Emmel; 2B: Campos; 3B: Darling. uGame data —T: 2:38. Att: 43,903.

M.Harrison pitched to 4 batters in the 6th. WP: Jennings. Batters faced; pitches-strikes: Harrison 24; 94-55; Jennings 7; 28-15; Madrigal 3; 14-8; Verlander 23; 114-74; Lyon 5; 21-14; Zumaya 6; 12-8; Rodney 3; 19-12. uUmpires — HP: Barry; 1B: Hernandez; 2B: B. Welke; 3B: T. Welke. uGame data —T: 2:35. Att: 23,417.

Inside the AL Fist-pump foes: If Joba Chamberlain has plans to re-

taliate against Aubrey Huff, the New York Yankees pitcher kept them to himself.

Chamberlain is scheduled to start today, his first game against the Baltimore Orioles since Huff mocked him with two exaggerated fist pumps after a three-run homer off the right-hander May 10.

“Still haven’t seen it. It really doesn’t matter to me, either,” Chamberlain said.

“He does his job, and he does what he has to do.

So we talk in between the lines, and that’s how we do it.”

Chamberlain, 23, has angered opponents with his enthusiastic fist pumps and fired-up screams after inning-ending strikeouts.

That’s how he reacted after fanning Huff once as a rookie reliever in 2007, and the Baltimore slugger took notice.

By Rob Carr, AP So when Huff connected off Chamberlain at Camden Rematch: Aubrey Huff to Yards this month, he em- face Joba Chamberlain. phatically pumped his fist after rounding first base, then did it again with even more gusto after he crossed the plate. It was a rare show of emotion by the 32-year-old, who is usually far more reserved after hitting a home run, especially in the first inning.

“The actual first one was just for emotion, really. Then the other one was for fun,” Huff said. “I’m not upset at all. I just think it’s all about how your personality is. I’m kind of a jokester guy. I’ve always been known around the league as the team clown. I don’t know how he took it at all. Hopefully he didn’t take it too bad.”

Hard-throwing Chamberlain has never shied away from going up and in. He was suspended for two games and fined $1,000 in 2007 for throwing consecutive 98- to 99-mph pitches over the head of the Boston Red Sox’s Kevin Youkilis.

But Huff isn’t expecting any sort of retaliation. “I would certainly hope it’s put to bed,” Huff said. “I mean, as far as I’m concerned, that was just something that I did just to try and have fun with the whole situation. I mean, I didn’t do anything that he hasn’t done when he’s out there.

“He had gotten me early in my career when he was a young guy coming up. And I just thought, man, if I ever get him, I’m going to give him one of those, too, just for fun.”

Abreu hurts toe: Los Angeles Angels outfielder Bobby

Abreu left Wednesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners after one at-bat with a toe injury.

The Angels said the two-time All-Star injured the big toe on his left foot. He was examined by a Mariners team doctor.

Abreu grounded out to shortstop to end the top of the first inning. He played the bottom of the inning in right field, then left before the bottom of the second.

Gary Matthews Jr. moved from left field to play right, and Juan Rivera entered the game in left.

The Angels have been without Vladimir Guerrero, their regular right fielder, since April 15. He could return Monday from a torn chest muscle, as a designated hitter.

From staff and wire reports Indians 6, Royals 5 Cleveland ........... 000 200 220 — 6 Kansas City ......... 003 100 010 — 5 Cleveland ab r h bi bb so avg Cabrera ss 4 0 1 1 1 0 .312 Sizemore dh 5 0 0 1 0 1 .208 Martinez c-1b 5 1 2 0 0 0 .400 Choo rf 3 1 2 1 2 0 .293 Peralta 3b 4 0 2 1 0 0 .264 Garko 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .247 LaPorta pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 .206 Shoppach c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .227 DeRosa lf 4 2 3 1 0 1 .255 Francisco cf 4 1 2 1 0 0 .250 Carroll 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .333 Totals 36 6 12 6 3 2 u Batting — 2B: Cabrera (11); Martinez (13); DeRosa (9). S: Peralta. RBI: Cabrera (20); Sizemore (26); Choo (24); Peralta (17); DeRosa (26); Francisco (14). GIDP: Garko. Team LOB: 8. u Fielding — DP: 1.

Kansas City ab r h bi bb so avg Crisp cf 4 1 2 0 1 1 .245 Callaspo 2b 3 1 1 0 2 0 .338 Bloomquist pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .320 Butler 1b 4 0 1 1 1 0 .284 Jacobs dh 4 1 0 0 1 1 .262 Maier pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267 Guillen rf 4 1 2 2 1 2 .298 Teahen 3b 5 0 0 0 0 1 .285 DeJesus lf 3 0 1 1 2 1 .241 Buck c 2 0 0 0 1 0 .230 Aviles ss 4 1 1 0 0 1 .196 Totals 33 5 8 4 9 7 u Batting — 2B: Guillen (4). S: Buck.

RBI: Butler (19); Guillen 2 (18); DeJesus (17). GIDP: Butler. Team LOB: 11. u Baserunning — SB: Bloomquist (7). u Fielding — DP: 2.

Pitching ip h r er bb so era Cleveland Carmona 6 6 4 4 4 3 5.74 Laffey W,3-0 1z 2 1 1 1 0 3.55 Betancourt H,5 Z 0 0 0 1 2 4.79 Wood S,6 1 0 0 0 3 2 7.71 Kansas City Meche 6 6 2 2 1 2 4.42 Wright H,4 z 2 2 2 1 0 2.45 Ponson L,1-5; 1z 2 2 2 0 0 6.41 BS,1 Tejeda 1z 2 0 0 1 0 2.65 WP: Carmona (2). HBP: Carroll (by Wright). Batters faced; pitches-strikes: Carmona 29; 107-57; Laffey 7; 16-10; Betancourt 3; 19-12; Wood 6; 28-12; Meche 23; 87-55; Wright 5; 15-8; Ponson 6; 22-14; Tejeda 7; 31-20. uUmpires — HP: Cousins; 1B: Joyce; 2B: Runge; 3B: Miller. uGame data —T: 3:28. Att: 19,652.

Rays’ Maddon could be near new contract From wire reports Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon could be close to getting a three-year contract extension through 2012.

In the final year of his contract after leading the team to its first American League pennant last year, Maddon has been discussing a new deal with the time. He said he couldn’t comment because it wasn’t the appropriate time.

Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said it is team policy “not to comment on rumors or unconfirmed reports.”

Tampa Bay first baseman Carlos Pena was thrilled about Maddon’s expected deal.

“He built this,” Pena said.

“Obviously, he deserves it.

Any positive news is welcome. We feed off positive energy. When this gets done, everyone is going to be very happy for Joe, believe me.”

The Rays are 20-22 after losing 7-6 Wednesday to the Oakland Athletics.

AL leaders (through Tuesday)

Batting

Based on 3.1 plate appearances for each game a player’s team has played.

G AB R H Avg Martinez, Cle 40 155 31 62 .400 Cabrera, Det 37 139 26 53 .381 Bartlett, TB 39 142 27 54 .380 Jones, Bal 33 131 35 48 .366 Young, Tex 36 152 25 53 .349 Hill, Tor 42 181 30 62 .343 Callaspo, KC 36 130 19 44 .338 Morneau, Min 40 154 30 52 .338 Longoria, TB 39 153 31 51 .333 Crawford, TB 40 164 28 54 .329 Home runs Runs batted in Pena, TB ..................13 Longoria, TB .........46 Morneau, Min .....12 Bay, Bos ...................40 Bay, Bos ...................11 Lind, Tor ..................35 Hill, Tor ....................11 Hill, Tor ....................34 Kinsler, Tex ...........11 Huff, Bal ..................34 Longoria, TB .........11 Markakis, Bal .......34 Teixeira, NY ..........11 Morneau, Min .....33 Pena, TB ..................33 Doubles Longoria, TB .........16 Kinsler, Tex ...........32 Callaspo, KC ..........15 Hits Young, Tex .............15 Hill, Tor ....................62 Byrd, Tex ................14 Martinez, Cle .......62 Lind, Tor ..................14 Bartlett, TB ............54 Markakis, Bal .......13 Crawford, TB ........54 Polanco, Det .........13 Cabrera, Det .........53 Young, Tex .............53 Triples Crisp, KC ....................5 Morneau, Min .....52 Andrus, Tex .............3 Stolen bases Buck, KC .....................3 Crawford, TB ........25 Crawford, TB ...........3 Figgins, LA .............18 DeJesus, KC ..............3 Ellsbury, Bos ........16 Abreu, LA ...............15 Runs Scutaro, Tor ..........36 Bartlett, TB ............12 Jones, Bal ...............35 Upton, TB ...............12 Markakis, Bal .......35 Crisp, KC .................11 Roberts, Bal ..........34 Roberts, Bal ..........10 Bay, Bos ...................32 Total bases Damon, NY ...........32 Hill, Tor .................101 Kinsler, Tex ...........31 Longoria, TB ......100 Longoria, TB .........31 Morneau, Min ..100 Martinez, Cle .......31 Martinez, Cle .......97

On-base + slugging Martinz, Cle. ..1.104 Jones, Bal. .......1.077 Cabrera, Det. .1.064 Mrneau, Min. 1.059 Bay, Bos. ...........1.054 Longoria, T.B. 1.047 Branyan, Sea. 1.011 Walks Scutaro, Tor ..........35 Bay, Bos ...................31 Pena, TB ..................28 Choo, Cle ................26 4 tied ........................25

Pitching

Victories Halladay, Tor .....8-1 Greinke, KC .........7-1 Buehrle, Chi .......6-1 Palmer, LA ...........5-0 Slowey, Min .......5-1 Saunders, LA ......5-2 Wakefield, Bos .5-2 ERA Greinke, KC .......0.60 Jackson, Det .....2.42 Bedard, Sea .......2.53 Weaver, LA ........2.59 Buehrle, Chi .....2.77 Halladay, Tor ...2.78 Lee, Cle ................2.90 Saves Papelbon, Bos .....11 Fuentes, LA ...........10 Francisco, Tex ........9 Jenks, Chi ..................8 Rivera, NY .................7 Sherrill, Bal ..............7 Soria, KC ....................7 Comp. games Greinke, KC ..............4 Harrison, Tex ..........2 Sabathia, NY ...........2 Wakefield, Bos ......2 Weaver, LA ...............2

Slugging pct.

Jones, Bal ............656 Longoria, TB ......654 Morneau, Min ..649 Branyan, Sea .....635 Martinez, Cle ....626 Bay, Bos ................625 Damon, NY ........613 On-base pct.

Martinez, Cle ....478 Cabrera, Det ......452 Bay, Bos ................429 Bartlett, TB .........422 Jones, Bal ............421 Strikeouts Verlander, Det ....69 Greinke, KC ...........65 Halladay, Tor .......57 F.Hernandz, Sea .56 Lester, Bos .............54 Beckett, Bos ..........46 Garza, TB ................45 Lee, Cle ....................45 Innings Halladay, Tor .......68 Sabathia, NY ........63 Lee, Cle ....................62 Shields, TB .........60z Greinke, KC ...........60 Games Carlson, Tor ..........21 Guerrier, Min ......20 Ramirez, Bos ........20 Quality starts Greinke, K.C. ...........7 Halladay, Tor. .........7 Lee, Cle. ......................7 Shutouts Greinke, KC ..............2 4 tied ...........................1 Holds Arredondo, LA ....11 Seay, Det. ..................9

USA TODAY · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · 5B

Major League Baseball Inside the NL Astros out of order: The Houston Astros got caught

batting out of order in the first inning Wednesday but still managed a 6-4 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Michael Bourn led off with a single, but the Astros had submitted a lineup card with Kaz Matsui batting first and Bourn second.

Houston manager Cecil Cooper said before the game that Bourn would lead off, a flip-flop from Tuesday’s game.

Cooper took the blame, saying that neither he nor any of his coaches double-checked Wednesday’s lineup card before it went to the umpires.

“I put it in my pocket without checking it. Usually, I check it every day,” Cooper said. “Today, for some reason, I did not check it. No one checked it, and that was a snafu.”

Brewers manager Ken Macha alerted the umpires to the mistake.

Bourn’s hit was nullified,

By Pat Sullivan, AP and Matsui was called out Head scratcher: Michael without leaving the onBourn batted twice in the first deck circle. inning Wednesday.

“It happened, it is embarrassing, but it’s over,” Cooper said. “If we had lost the game, it would be even more so. But we won the game. That’s the most important thing.”

Macha said he might not have said anything if the Brewers had retired Bourn and Matsui at the start. Bourn batted again, drew a walk and scored on Berkman’s double to right center.

Reyes ailing: New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes left

Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the bottom of the third inning after aggravating a troublesome right calf that forced him to miss five games.

Reyes returned to the lineup Tuesday, but in his second at-bat of the series finale he had to run hard on a grounder in the hole that Dodgers second baseman Orlando Hudson played on the outfield grass before throwing him out.

Reyes, a switch-hitter, was diagnosed with tendinitis in his calf earlier this week.

Infante breaks hand: Atlanta Braves infielder and parttime leadoff hitter Omar Infante could be out as long as two months after breaking a bone in his left hand when he was hit by a pitch Wednesday.

Infante’s fifth metacarpal — the bone extending from his little finger to his wrist — was broken when he was hit by Manny Corpas of the Colorado Rockies in the sixth inning.

Infante, who had two hits to raise his average to .349, left the game. X-rays showed the fracture.

Braves manager Bobby Cox said he expects Infante to miss six to eight weeks. Infante had a similar injury in spring training last year.

Infante has shared time with Kelly Johnson at second base and has made fill-in starts at shortstop and third base as well as playing three games in the outfield.

From staff and wire reports Astros 6, Brewers 4

Padres 2, Giants 1

Milwaukee ......... 000 100 003 — 4 Houston ............... 112 002 00x — 6

San Francisco.... 010 000 000 — 1 San Diego............. 010 100 00x — 2

Milwaukee ab r h bi bb so avg Hart rf 5 0 1 1 0 1 .240 Hall 3b 5 0 0 0 0 4 .248 Braun lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .321 Fielder 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .272 Cameron cf 4 1 2 1 0 1 .282 Hardy ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 .230 McGehee 2b 3 1 2 0 1 0 .238 Kendall c 3 1 0 0 1 0 .228 Gallardo p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .211 McClung p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Rivera ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .333 Julio p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Gamel ph 1 0 1 2 0 0 .333 Totals 36 4 9 4 2 8 u Batting — 2B: McGehee (1); Gamel (1). HR: Cameron (8). RBI: Hart (17); Cameron (21); Gamel 2 (5). Team LOB: 7. u Fielding — DP: 1.

Houston ab r h bi bb so avg Matsui 2b 5 0 1 0 0 1 .235 Bourn cf 3 1 0 0 1 1 .297 Berkman 1b 2 1 1 1 2 0 .228 Lee lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .322 Arias p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Sampson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Pence rf 3 1 2 2 1 0 .343 Tejada ss 4 2 2 2 0 0 .323 Blum 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .250 I. Rodriguez c 4 0 0 0 0 1 .267 W. Rodriguez p 3 0 1 1 0 1 .050 Erstad lf 0 0 0 0 1 0 .163 Totals 32 6 8 6 5 5 u Batting — 2B: Matsui (6); Berkman (5); Tejada (13). 3B: Pence (2). HR: Tejada (3). RBI: Berkman (22); Pence 2 (17); Tejada 2 (23); W. Rodriguez (1). GIDP: Pence. Team LOB: 7.

Pitching ip h r er bb so era Milwaukee Gallardo L,4-2 5 7 6 6 2 3 3.83 McClung 1 1 0 0 0 2 2.84 Julio 2 0 0 0 3 0 7.24 Houston W. Rodriguez 7 6 1 1 1 5 1.83 W,5-2 Arias 1 2 3 3 1 2 5.87 Sampson S,2 1 1 0 0 0 1 2.13

San Francisco ab r h bi bb so avg Rowand cf 4 0 3 0 0 1 .262 Frandsen ss 3 0 0 0 1 0 .000 Sandoval 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .299 Molina c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .287 Winn rf 4 1 2 0 0 1 .276 Lewis lf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .280 Ishikawa 1b 2 0 0 0 2 1 .231 Burriss 2b 4 0 1 1 0 0 .252 Sanchez p 2 0 0 0 0 2 .000 Schierholtz ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .213 Misch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Medders p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Howry p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Aurilia ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .196 Totals 32 1 6 1 4 6 u Batting — 2B: Rowand (9); Winn 2 (10). RBI: Burriss (8). GIDP: Frandsen.

Team LOB: 8. u Fielding — E: Sandoval (1). DP: 1.

San Diego ab r h bi bb so avg Eckstein 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .229 Hairston cf 3 0 0 0 1 1 .343 A. Gonzalez 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .280 Kouzmanoff 3b 4 1 2 1 0 0 .238 Headley lf 3 0 0 0 1 1 .237 Giles rf 2 0 0 0 1 0 .166 Hundley c 2 1 0 0 1 2 .263 Burke ss 3 0 2 1 0 1 .233 Gaudin p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Burke p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Gerut ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .221 Gregerson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Bell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 28 2 4 2 4 7 u Batting — 2B: Burke (5). HR: Kouzmanoff (3). RBI: Kouzmanoff (12); Burke (2). GIDP: Giles. Team LOB: 6. u Baserunning — SB: Hairston (5). u Fielding — DP: 1.

Pitching ip h r er bb so era San Francisco Sanchez L,1-4 6z 2 2 2 3 5 4.70 Misch z 0 0 0 1 0 10.80 Medders Z 1 0 0 0 1 3.50 Howry 1 1 0 0 0 1 4.50 San Diego Gaudin W,1-3 6 5 1 1 4 3 4.18 Burke H,2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 Gregerson H,3 1 0 0 0 0 1 4.37 Bell S,11 1 0 0 0 0 2 0.00

Y.Gallardo pitched to 2 batters in the 6th. A.Arias pitched to 3 batters in the 9th. WP: Julio. Batters faced; pitchesstrikes: Gallardo 24; 94-56; McClung 4; 18-11; Julio 9; 33-14; W. Rodriguez 28; 110-66; Arias 6; 22-13; Sampson 4; 9-8. uUmpires — HP: Cooper; 1B: Colon; 2B: Reilly; 3B: Diaz. uGame data —T: 2:43. Att: 27,160.

WP: Gaudin. Batters faced; pitchesstrikes: Sanchez 23; 99-62; Misch 1; 11-4; Medders 3; 13-10; Howry 5; 13-9; Gaudin 26; 102-61; Burke 4; 11-9; Gregerson 3; 14-10; Bell 3; 13-8. uUmpires — HP: Culbreth; 1B: Cederstrom; 2B: Wolf; 3B: O’Nora. uGame data —T: 2:51. Att: 15,208.

NL leaders (through Tuesday)

Batting

Based on 3.1 plate appearances for each game a player’s team has played.

G AB R H Avg Guzman, Was 27 126 24 47 .373 Votto, Cin 32 112 18 41 .366 Beltran, NY 39 151 28 55 .364 Wright, NY 39 147 28 53 .361 Zimmrmn, Was 39 165 34 59 .358 Ibanez, Phi 37 143 33 50 .350 Ramirez, Fla 36 138 25 48 .348 Hudson, LA 41 167 29 57 .341 Helton, Col 35 128 20 43 .336 Pence, Hou 38 137 21 46 .336 Home runs Runs batted in A. Gonzalez, SD ..15 Fielder, Mil ............37 Ibanez, Phi ............13 Pujols, StL ..............37 Pujols, StL ..............13 Ibanez, Phi ............36 Bruce, Cin ..............12 Cantu, Fla ...............33 Dunn, Was ............12 Dunn, Was ............32 Soriano, Chi ..........12 Hawpe, Col ...........32 Utley, Phi ................10 Zimmrmn, Was .31 Zimmrmn, Was .10 Molina, SF ..............30 Doubles Hits Kotchman, Atl .....15 Zimmrmn, Was .59 Sanchez, Pit ..........15 Hudson, LA ...........57 Hudson, LA ...........14 Beltran, NY ............55 Ramirez, Fla .........14 Wright, NY ............53 Zimmrmn, Was .14 Ibanez, Phi ............50 Ad. LaRoche, Pit ..12 Ramirez, Fla .........48 Lopez, Ari. .............12 Tejada, Hou ..........48 Sandoval, SF .........12 Stolen bases Tejada, Hou ..........12 Bourn, Hou ...........13 Wright, NY ............12 Reyes, NY ...............11 Triples Taveras, Cin ..........11 Kemp, LA ...................4 Burriss, SF ..............10 Bourn, Hou ..............3 Fowler, Col ............10 Morgan, Pit ..............3 Morgan, Pit ...........10 Victorino, Phi .........3 Wright, NY ............10 Winn, SF ....................3 Kemp, LA ...................8 Wright, NY ...............3 Werth, Phi ................8 Runs Total bases Pujols, StL ..............34 Zimrmn, Was ...103 Zimmrmn, Was .34 Ibanez, Phi .........100 Ibanez, Phi ............33 A. Gonzalez, SD ..90 Soriano, Chi ..........33 Pujols, StL ..............90

On-base + slugging Ibanez, Phi. ....1.114 Pujols, St.L ......1.075 Votto, Cin. .......1.059 Zmrmn, Was. 1.040 Beltran, NY .....1.030 Dunn, Was. ....1.026 Ramirez, Fla. .1.025 Walks Dunn, Was ............35 Fielder, Mil ............35 Berkman, Hou ....27 Beltran, NY ............26 Ramirez, LA ..........26

Pitching

Victories Billingsley, LA ...6-1 Martis, Was ........5-0 Lowe, Atl ..............5-2 Santana, NY ........5-2 Arroyo, Cin ..........5-3 Duke, Pit ...............5-3 Lilly, Chi ................5-3 Marquis, Col .......5-3 Ohlendorf, Pit ...5-3 Pineiro, StL ..........5-3 ERA Santana, NY ......1.36 W.Rdrgz, Hou ..1.90 Jurrjens, Atl ......1.96 Haren, Ari. .........2.09 Cueto, Cin ..........2.35 Billingsley, LA ..2.51 Johnson, Fla .....2.54 Saves Rodriguez, NY .....11 Bell, SD ....................10 Broxton, LA ...........10 Cordero, Cin .........10 Hoffman, Mil .......10 Franklin, StL ............9 Qualls, Ari. ...............9 Wilson, SF ................9 Comp. games 12 tied ........................1

Slugging pct.

Ibanez, Phi .........699 Pujols, StL ...........652 Zmrmn, Was .....624 A. Gonzalz, SD ..616 Ramirez, Fla ......601 Hawpe, Col ........598 Dunn, Was .........596 On-base pct.

Votto, Cin ............470 Beltran, NY .........461 Wright, NY .........454 Braun, Mil ...........451 Fukudme, Chi ..444 Strikeouts Peavy, SD ................69 Santana, NY ..........67 Vazquez, Atl .........67 Lincecum, SF ........66 Billingsley, LA ......63 Innings Peavy, SD ............61z Billingsley, LA ......61 Johnson, Fla ......60z Games Calero, Fla ..............23 Pinto, Fla ................22 Condrey, Phi ........21 Feliciano, NY ........21 Putz, NY ..................21 Quality starts Billingsley, LA ........9 Haren, Ari. ................8 Shutouts Duke, Pit ....................1 Harang, Cin ..............1 Lohse, StL ..................1 Pineiro, StL ...............1 Stults, LA ...................1 Holds Marmol, Chi .........11 Putz, NY .....................8 Stetter, Mil. ..............8

National

Marlins 8, Diamondbacks 6 (Game 1) Arizona ............... 000 031 200 — 6 Florida ................. 201 040 01x — 8

By Evan Vucci, AP

No backing down: Pirates infielder Freddy Sanchez tries in vain to throw out the Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman.

Wednesday’s games Pirates 2, NATIONALS 1

REDS 5, Phillies 1

BRAVES 12, Rockies 4

MARLINS 8, D’backs 6

CARDINALS 2, Cubs 1

ASTROS 6, Brewers 4 PADRES 2, Giants 1 DODGERS 2, Mets 1

Washington’s Joel Hanrahan threw a two-out, 1-2 pitch to Adam LaRoche that bounced before it got to home plate, allowing Freddy Sanchez to score from third in the ninth inning.

Pittsburgh has won a season-high five in a row.

Brandon Phillips drove in three runs as Cincinnati ended Philadelphia’s winning streak at five games. Aaron Harang (4-4), who has alternated losses and wins all season, helped the Reds snap a four-game losing streak.

Yunel Escobar hit a three-run homer in a ninerun fourth inning for Atlanta. Colorado, which gave up 10 runs in the seventh inning of Sunday’s 11-4 loss at Pittsburgh, was tied 1-1 with the Braves before the fourth.

Dan Uggla homered and drove in four runs for Florida in the first game of a doubleheader.

Jorge Cantu, Cody Ross and Wes Helms also drove in runs for the Marlins in their second victory in their last nine games.

Chris Duncan snapped a 1-for-21 slump with two hits and an RBI for St. Louis. Chris Carpenter (2-0) gave up three hits while throwing 67 pitches in his first outing since he strained a left rib-cage muscle April 14 at Arizona.

Miguel Tejada and Hunter Pence both had two RBI, and Houston ended Milwaukee’s winning streak at six.

Kevin Kouzmanoff’s homer was one of just four hits for San Diego, which won its fifth consecutive game.

Russell Martin drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning single, and Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep of New York

*HOME team in caps

Braves 12, Rockies 4

Pirates 2, Nationals 1

Colorado.............. 000 100 021 — 4 Atlanta ............... 010 902 00x — 12

Pittsburgh.......... 000 100 001 — 2 Washington....... 000 010 000 — 1

Colorado ab r h bi bb so avg Fowler cf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .246 Flores p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Barmes 2b 4 0 1 2 0 1 .241 Helton 1b 3 1 0 0 0 1 .328 Stewart 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .188 Hawpe rf 1 0 0 0 1 1 .331 Smith lf 1 1 0 0 1 1 .278 Spilborghs lf-rf- 4 0 2 2 0 1 .277 cf Atkins 3b-1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .194 Torrealba c 4 0 1 0 0 2 .256 Quintanilla ss 4 1 1 0 0 2 .167 De La Rosa p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .067 Belisle p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Corpas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Murton ph-rf 0 1 0 0 1 0 .273 Totals 32 4 6 4 3 12 u Batting — 2B: Barmes (7); Spilborghs (11). RBI: Barmes 2 (15); Spilborghs 2 (19). GIDP: Atkins; Belisle.

Team LOB: 4. u Fielding — E: Stewart 2 (3). DP: 2.

Atlanta ab r h bi bb so avg Infante 2b-3b 3 1 2 1 1 0 .349 Kotchman 1 0 0 0 0 0 .299 pr-1b Escobar ss 4 1 2 3 1 0 .308 C. Jones 3b 2 1 1 0 1 0 .315 Johnson 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 .239 Prado 1b-3b 4 2 2 0 1 1 .313 Diaz lf 4 4 3 1 1 0 .288 Francoeur rf 3 2 1 2 0 0 .243 Ross c 4 1 1 2 1 1 .263 Schafer cf 4 0 1 2 0 3 .217 Vazquez p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .059 Bennett p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Reyes p 1 0 1 0 0 0 .111 Norton pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 Carlyle p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 35 12 14 11 6 5 u Batting — 2B: Prado (7). 3B: Diaz (2).

HR: Escobar (4). S: Vazquez. SF: Francoeur; Schafer. RBI: Infante (11); Escobar 3 (21); Diaz (15); Francoeur 2 (21); Ross 2 (11); Schafer 2 (8). GIDP: Escobar; C. Jones. Team LOB: 10. u Fielding — E: C. Jones (6). DP: 2.

Pitching ip h r er bb so era Colorado De La Rosa L,0-4 3Z 5 7 7 5 1 4.27 Belisle 2 7 5 3 1 3 8.31 Corpas 1z 1 0 0 0 0 6.50 Flores 1 1 0 0 0 1 0.00 Atlanta Vazquez W,4-3 5 3 1 0 1 6 3.39 Bennett 2 0 0 0 0 3 2.33 Reyes 1 2 2 2 1 1 7.00 Carlyle 1 1 1 1 1 2 8.31

Pittsburgh ab r h bi bb so avg Morgan lf 4 0 1 0 1 1 .301 Sanchez 2b 4 1 2 0 0 0 .310 McLouth cf 3 0 1 0 1 0 .290 Monroe rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .240 Moss ph-rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .259 Ad. LaRoche 1b 4 0 0 0 1 1 .224 Diaz c 5 0 1 0 0 1 .306 An. LaRoche 3b 4 1 3 0 0 0 .278 Wilson ss 4 0 1 1 0 0 .277 Maholm p 3 0 0 0 0 3 .111 Chavez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Burnett p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Grabow p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Young ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .368 Capps p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 37 2 11 1 3 6 u Batting — 2B: Morgan (4); Wilson (7). S: Sanchez. RBI: Wilson (14). Team LOB: 13. u Fielding — E: An. LaRoche (5). PB: Diaz (3). DP: 2.

Washington ab r h bi bb so avg Guzman ss 4 1 2 0 0 0 .377 Johnson 1b 3 0 1 1 1 1 .333 Zimmerman 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .355 Dunn lf 3 0 0 0 1 2 .281 Kearns rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .215 Belliard 2b 3 0 0 0 1 1 .185 Maxwell cf 2 0 0 0 1 0 .300 Harris ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .265 Nieves c 4 0 0 0 0 1 .265 Lannan p 2 0 0 0 0 2 .125 Hernandez ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .283 Villone p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Hanrahan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Willingham ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .207 Totals 32 1 6 1 4 8 u Batting — 3B: Guzman (2). RBI: Johnson (25). GIDP: Kearns; Nieves.

Team LOB: 8. u Baserunning — SB: Johnson (1). u Fielding — E: Zimmerman (5). DP: 1.

Pitching ip h r er bb so era Pittsburgh Maholm 6 4 1 1 3 7 3.30 Chavez 1 1 0 0 0 1 2.08 Burnett 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.15 Grabow W,2-0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.21 Capps S,8 1 1 0 0 0 0 7.07 Washington Lannan 7 7 1 1 2 5 3.63 Villone 1 1 0 0 0 1 0.00 Hanrahan L,0-2 1 3 1 1 1 0 6.87

HBP: Francoeur (by De La Rosa); Infante (by Corpas). Batters faced; pitchesstrikes: De La Rosa 20; 84-45; Belisle 16; 70-47; Corpas 6; 17-11; Flores 4; 21-14; Vazquez 18; 71-49; Bennett 6; 25-17; Reyes 6; 25-17; Carlyle 5; 22-14. uUmpires — HP: Tschida; 1B: Davidson; 2B: Nelson; 3B: Carlson. uGame data —T: 3:17. Att: 19,259.

Reds 5, Phillies 1 Philadelphia...... 000 100 000 — 1 Cincinnati............ 111 000 20x — 5 Philadelphia ab r h bi bb so avg Rollins ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .217 Utley 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .280 Ibanez lf 4 1 1 1 0 2 .347 Howard 1b 3 0 1 0 1 1 .268 Werth rf 4 0 0 0 0 3 .276 Victorino cf 2 0 1 0 1 0 .259 Feliz 3b 3 0 0 0 0 2 .307 Coste c 3 0 1 0 0 1 .241 Moyer p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .100 Durbin p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 Escalona p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Bruntlett ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .133 Taschner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 29 1 4 1 2 10 u Batting — 2B: Howard (11); Victorino (8); Coste (7). HR: Ibanez (14). S: Moyer. RBI: Ibanez (37). GIDP: Feliz.

Team LOB: 4.

Cincinnati ab r h bi bb so avg Taveras cf 3 2 2 0 1 0 .291 Hairston Jr. 3b 4 1 2 0 0 1 .255 Phillips 2b 3 0 2 3 0 0 .277 Bruce rf 4 0 2 1 0 2 .239 Hernandez 1b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .286 Gonzalez ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 .178 McDonald lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .175 Hanigan c 4 1 2 1 0 0 .327 Harang p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .053 Dickerson ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 .240 Rhodes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Rosales ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .254 Cordero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 32 5 12 5 2 4 u Batting — 2B: Hairston Jr. (8); Bruce (5). 3B: Phillips (2). HR: Hanigan (1). S: Phillips. RBI: Phillips 3 (30); Bruce (25); Hanigan (3). Team LOB: 7. u Baserunning — SB: Dickerson (1).

CS: Taveras (2); Bruce (1). u Fielding — DP: 1.

Pitching ip h r er bb so era Philadelphia Moyer L,3-4 6 9 3 3 1 2 7.62 Durbin Z 2 2 2 1 1 4.70 Escalona z 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 Taschner 1 1 0 0 0 0 3.66 Cincinnati Harang W,4-4 7 4 1 1 2 9 3.19 Rhodes 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.64 Cordero 1 0 0 0 0 1 2.12 HBP: McDonald (by Taschner). Balks: Moyer. Batters faced; pitches-strikes: Moyer 25; 105-70; Durbin 5; 19-10; Escalona 1; 3-3; Taschner 5; 19-13; Harang 26; 109-72; Rhodes 3; 12-8; Cordero 3; 12-8. uUmpires — HP: Johnson; 1B: Iassogna; 2B: Holbrook; 3B: Reliford. uGame data —T: 2:44. Att: 15,661.

S.Burnett pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

WP: Hanrahan. IBB: McLouth (by Lannan). Batters faced; pitches-strikes: Maholm 26; 114-74; Chavez 4; 14-9; Burnett 1; 6-2; Grabow 2; 8-5; Capps 3; 11-9; Lannan 31; 104-72; Villone 4; 1410; Hanrahan 7; 35-23. uUmpires — HP: Rapuano; 1B: Fairchild; 2B: Nauert; 3B: West. uGame data —T: 2:51. Att: 17,854.

Cardinals 2, Cubs 1 Chicago ............... 000 000 001 — 1 St. Louis ............... 000 100 10x — 2 Chicago ab r h bi bb so avg Soriano lf 4 0 0 0 0 3 .272 Theriot ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 .287 Fukudome cf 2 0 0 0 1 1 .319 Lee 1b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .230 Bradley rf 3 1 1 0 1 1 .193 Fontenot 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .200 Soto c 3 0 1 0 1 0 .202 Freel pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143 Scales 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .296 Hoffpauir ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 .314 Dempster p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .095 Miles ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .218 Marmol p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Johnson ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .232 Totals 32 1 6 1 3 9 u Batting — 2B: Theriot (8); Bradley (2). RBI: Hoffpauir (14). Team LOB: 8. u Fielding — E: Fontenot (3). DP: 2.

St. Louis ab r h bi bb so avg Schumaker 2b- 4 0 1 0 0 0 .299 rf Rasmus cf 4 0 1 0 0 2 .250 Pujols 1b 3 1 2 0 1 0 .326 Molina c 2 0 0 0 0 0 .285 Duncan lf 3 1 2 1 0 0 .262 Stavinoha rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 .250 Barden ph-3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .258 Thurston 3b-2b 2 0 0 0 1 0 .232 Carpenter p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Wainwright ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .190 McClellan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 K. Greene ph 0 0 0 1 0 0 .202 Motte p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Reyes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Franklin p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Ryan ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 .261 Totals 25 2 6 2 2 4 u Batting — 2B: Rasmus (6); Pujols (8); Duncan (12). S: Molina; Barden. SF: K. Greene. RBI: Duncan (24); K. Greene (12). GIDP: Molina; Stavinoha. Team LOB: 4. u Baserunning — SB: Thurston (2). u Fielding — DP: 1.

Pitching ip h r er bb so era Chicago Dempster L,3-3 7 6 2 2 2 3 4.40 Marmol 1 0 0 0 0 1 3.79 St. Louis Carpenter 5 3 0 0 2 4 0.00 W,2-0 McClellan H,6 2 0 0 0 0 2 2.33 Motte H,8 Z 1 0 0 0 1 4.11 Reyes H,7 z 0 0 0 0 1 3.55 Franklin S,10 1 2 1 1 1 1 1.56 IBB: Pujols (by Dempster); Thurston (by Dempster). HBP: Fukudome (by McClellan). Batters faced; pitches-strikes: Dempster 27; 103-67; Marmol 3; 12-8; Carpenter 19; 67-41; McClellan 7; 2615; Motte 3; 12-8; Reyes 1; 3-3; Franklin 6; 21-14. uUmpires — HP: Gorman; 1B: Bucknor; 2B: Everitt; 3B: Davis. uGame data —T: 2:28. Att: 41,703.

League

Arizona ab r h bi bb so avg Lopez 2b 5 0 1 0 0 0 .310 Parra lf 5 0 2 1 0 2 .409 Upton rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .298 Drew ss 4 0 0 1 0 1 .190 Reynolds 3b 3 1 2 0 1 1 .254 Young cf 4 0 0 0 0 4 .172 Tracy 1b 4 2 2 2 0 0 .204 Snyder c 3 2 1 2 1 1 .221 Rosales p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Davis p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .188 Rauch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Byrnes ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .212 Vasquez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Slaten p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Montero c 1 0 0 0 0 1 .235 Totals 36 6 9 6 2 11 u Batting — 3B: Upton (3). HR: Tracy (3); Snyder (3). RBI: Parra (7); Drew (8); Tracy 2 (11); Snyder 2 (15). Team LOB: 5. u Baserunning — SB: Reynolds 4 (8). u Fielding — E: Drew 3 (3). PB: Snyder (1).

Florida ab r h bi bb so avg Bonifacio 3b-lf 5 1 2 0 0 1 .259 Hermida rf-lf 3 2 1 0 1 0 .252 Helms ph-3b 1 0 1 1 0 0 .229 Ramirez ss 4 1 0 0 1 1 .338 Cantu 1b 4 1 2 1 0 1 .286 Ross cf-rf 2 1 2 1 2 0 .252 Uggla 2b 3 1 1 4 1 1 .195 Paulino c 3 0 0 0 1 1 .212 Coghlan lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .156 Meyer p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Calero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Nunez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Gload ph 1 1 0 0 0 0 .235 Lindstrom p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Volstad p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .059 De Aza ph-cf 2 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 33 8 9 7 6 7 u Batting — 2B: Ross 2 (9). HR: Uggla (5). RBI: Helms (6); Cantu (34); Ross (24); Uggla 4 (26). Team LOB: 7. u Baserunning — SB: Bonifacio (8); Hermida (3). CS: Bonifacio (4).

Pitching ip h r er bb so era Arizona Davis L,2-6 4z 6 6 6 5 4 3.95 Rauch 1Z 1 1 1 0 1 6.48 Vasquez 1Z 1 1 0 1 2 4.72 Slaten 0 1 0 0 0 0 6.75 Rosales z 0 0 0 0 0 3.18 Florida Volstad W,3-3 6 5 4 4 1 9 3.64 Meyer H,7 z 3 2 2 1 0 2.65 Calero H,6 Z 0 0 0 0 0 2.66 Nunez H,7 1 1 0 0 0 1 1.80 Lindstrom S,8 1 0 0 0 0 1 5.06

East Philadelphia New York Atlanta Florida Washington

W 21 21 20 19 11

L 17 19 19 22 28

Pct. .553 .525 .513 .463 .282

Central Milwaukee St. Louis Chicago Cincinnati Pittsburgh Houston

W 25 23 21 21 19 18

L 15 17 17 18 21 20

Pct. GB Strk .625 — L-1 .575 2 W-2 .553 3 L-3 .538 3½ W-1 .475 6 W-5 .474 6 W-1

West Los Angeles San Francisco San Diego Arizona Colorado

W 29 19 18 16 15

L 13 20 22 24 24

Pct. .690 .487 .450 .400 .385

D.Slaten pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

WP: Rauch; Volstad. Batters faced; pitches-strikes: Davis 23; 101-53; Rauch 7; 22-14; Vasquez 8; 30-14; Slaten 1; 4-4; Rosales 1; 2-1; Volstad 24; 98-65; Meyer 5; 25-16; Calero 2; 7-4; Nunez 4; 16-11; Lindstrom 3; 10-8. uUmpires — HP: Guccione; 1B: Estabrook; 2B: Layne; 3B: Randazzo. uGame data —T: 3:17.

Arizona at Florida, 7:10 ET (Line: Fla., 9:5)

Dodgers 2, Mets 1 New York............ 001 000 000 — 1 Los Angeles ........ 100 000 01x — 2 New York ab r h bi bb so avg Reyes ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 .279 Martinez ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Castillo 2b 3 1 1 0 1 0 .279 Beltran cf 3 0 2 1 1 0 .370 Wright 3b 2 0 1 0 2 0 .362 Murphy 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .263 Church rf 3 0 1 0 0 0 .276 Tatis ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .282 Putz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Castro c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .239 Pagan lf-rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .357 Hernandez p 3 0 1 0 0 0 .143 Reed lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .333 Totals 33 1 7 1 4 3 u Batting — 2B: Beltran 2 (13); Church (7). RBI: Beltran (29). GIDP: Murphy.

Team LOB: 9. u Baserunning — SB: Beltran (7); Pagan (1).

Los Angeles ab r h bi bb so avg Pierre lf 4 1 2 0 0 1 .405 Furcal ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 .239 Hudson 2b 4 1 2 0 0 0 .345 Ethier rf 2 0 0 1 1 0 .253 Martin c 4 0 1 1 0 0 .263 Loney 1b 3 0 1 0 1 0 .274 Paul cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .214 Belisario p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Leach p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Loretta ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .350 Broxton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Blake 3b 2 0 1 0 1 0 .287 Weaver p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .143 Wolf ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .100 Troncoso p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Kemp ph-cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 .281 Totals 30 2 9 2 3 4 u Batting — 2B: Hudson (15). SF: Ethier. RBI: Ethier (30); Martin (16). Team LOB: 8.

Pitching ip h r er bb so era New York Hernandez 7 7 1 1 1 2 4.93 Putz L,1-3 1 2 1 1 2 2 3.91 Los Angeles Weaver 5 4 1 1 2 1 3.00 Troncoso 2 2 0 0 0 2 1.69 Belisario z 0 0 0 2 0 2.70 Leach W,1-0 Z 0 0 0 0 0 6.23 Broxton S,11 1 1 0 0 0 0 1.29 WP: Troncoso. IBB: Loney (by Putz). Batters faced; pitches-strikes: Hernandez 28; 93-62; Putz 6; 28-12; Weaver 20; 69-46; Troncoso 9; 28-20; Belisario 3; 10-2; Leach 2; 8-5; Broxton 4; 15-11. uUmpires — HP: Meals; 1B: DiMuro; 2B: Scott; 3B: Uhlenhopp. uGame data —T: 2:56. Att: 50,761.

Tuesday’s late game Dodgers 5, Mets 3 New York............ 021 000 000 — 3 Los Angeles......... 100 103 00x — 5 New York ab r h bi bb so avg Reyes ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 .283 Murphy lf 2 0 1 0 1 0 .273 Sheffield ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .254 Green p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Rodriguez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Beltran cf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .364 Wright 3b 2 1 1 1 2 0 .361 Church rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .275 Martinez 2b 4 0 0 0 0 3 .000 Reed 1b 3 1 0 0 1 1 .344 Santos c 2 0 0 0 2 0 .255 Maine p 2 0 1 2 0 1 .188 Takahashi p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Pagan ph-lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 .400 Totals 30 3 6 3 6 9 u Batting — RBI: Wright (28); Maine 2 (2). GIDP: Martinez. Team LOB: 6. u Baserunning — CS: Murphy (1). u Fielding — E: Murphy (3). DP: 2.

Los Angeles ab r h bi bb so avg Pierre lf 3 1 1 0 1 0 .400 Furcal ss 3 0 1 0 1 0 .239 Hudson 2b 3 0 1 1 0 0 .341 Castro 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .391 Ethier rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .257 Martin c 4 0 0 0 0 2 .264 Loney 1b 4 1 1 0 0 1 .273 Kemp cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .276 Blake 3b 4 2 2 3 0 0 .283 Billingsley p 2 0 2 1 1 0 .250 Leach p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Belisario p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Wade p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Broxton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 32 5 9 5 3 5 u Batting — 2B: Billingsley (1). HR: Blake (9). RBI: Hudson (27); Blake 3 (26); Billingsley (2). GIDP: Furcal; Ethier.

Team LOB: 6. u Fielding — E: Furcal (7). DP: 1.

Pitching ip h r er bb so era New York Maine L,3-3 5z 8 5 4 3 3 4.53 Takahashi Z 1 0 0 0 0 3.12 Green 1 0 0 0 0 1 7.50 Rodriguez 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.92 Los Angeles Billingsley 6z 4 3 3 5 7 2.51 W,6-1 Leach H,2 z 1 0 0 0 1 7.36 Belisario H,6 z 0 0 0 0 0 2.74 Wade H,6 1 1 0 0 1 0 4.15 Broxton S,10 1 0 0 0 0 1 1.35 WP: Billingsley. IBB: Reed (by Billingsley). Batters faced; pitches-strikes: Maine 27; 103-64; Takahashi 2; 4-4; Green 3; 13-8; Rodriguez 3; 8-5; Billingsley 27; 117-65; Leach 2; 12-11; Belisario 1; 5-3; Wade 4; 18-11; Broxton 3; 10-9. uUmpires — HP: Scott; 1B: Meals; 2B: DiMuro; 3B: Hoye. uGame data —T: 2:58. Att: 37,857.

GB — 1 1½ 3½ 10½

GB — 8½ 10 12 12½

Strk L-1 L-4 W-2 L-1 L-7

Strk W-4 L-2 W-5 W-1 L-2

Last 10 6-4 4-6 7-3 3-7 1-9 Last 10 8-2 4-6 5-5 5-5 7-3 7-3 Last 10 7-3 4-6 5-5 4-6 4-6

vs.

Div. 13-9 10-8 12-10 13-7 5-19 vs.

Div. 16-8 14-12 12-12 14-9 7-15 9-16 vs.

Div. 20-8 13-14 10-12 7-12 9-13

Home 8-12 12-8 8-11 8-11 5-14

Away 13-5 9-11 12-8 11-11 6-14

Home 12-7 14-8 12-7 8-10 11-9 9-11

Away 13-8 9-9 9-10 13-8 8-12 9-9

Home 17-3 13-8 13-6 9-15 7-10

Away 12-10 6-12 5-16 7-9 8-14

Wednesday’s results 1-Florida 8, Arizona 6 2-Arizona 11, Florida 9 (13) Cincinnati 5, Philadelphia 1 St. Louis 2, Chicago 1 Los Angeles 2, New York 1

Pittsburgh 2, Washington 1 Atlanta 12, Colorado 4 Houston 6, Milwaukee 4 San Diego 2, San Francisco 1

Thursday’s probable pitchers, lines Pitchers

Career vs.

2009 season opp.

W-L IP ERA W-L

2008-09 vs. opp.

W-L IP ERA

Last 3 starts W-L IP ERA

Phi.-Blanton (R) Cin.-Owings (R)

1-3 3-4

39z 41

6.86 1-0 3.95 2-0

— 0-0

— 9

— 3.00

1-1 2-1

19 18Z

5.21 4.82

Pit.-Snell (R) Was.-Cabrera (R)

1-5 0-5

42 39z

4.93 1-1 5.95 0-0

1-1 0-0

12 6

3.75 6.00

0-2 0-3

13 15

7.62 8.40

Col.-Cook (R) Atl.-Medlen (R)

2-1 —

41 —

5.71 0-1 — —

0-0 —

13 —

3.46 —

1-0 —

15Z —

3.45 —

Ari.-Scherzer (R) Fla.-A. Miller (L)

1-3 1-1

37Z 16Z

3.35 — 5.94 1-1

— 1-1

— 12Z

— 2.13

1-1 1-1

17 14z

3.18 6.28

Mil.-Suppan (R) Hou.-Oswalt (R)

3-3 1-2

44Z 50

4.63 2-7 4.50 13-8

0-1 2-0

12 13

8.25 2.77

2-1 1-0

18Z 17

2.89 5.82

Chi.-Marshall (L) StL.-Wainwright (R)

2-2 3-2

31z 49z

4.02 2-2 3.83 2-3

1-1 2-0

22 24z

2.86 2.96

1-1 0-2

19 20

3.79 5.40

S.F.-Lincecum (R) 3-1 S.D.-Correia (R) 1-2 Lines by Danny Sheridan

50z 37z

3.75 3-2 5.06 —

3-1 —

48Z —

1.29 —

1-0 1-0

19 16z

4.74 5.51

Philadelphia at Cincinnati, 12:35 ET (Line: Phil., 6½:5) Pittsburgh at Washington, 7:05 ET (Line: Pitt., 6:5) Colorado at Atlanta, 7:10 ET (Line: Atl., 7:5)

Milwaukee at Houston, 8:05 ET (Line: Hou., 6:5) Chicago at St. Louis, 8:15 ET (Line: Even)

San Francisco at San Diego, 10:05 ET (Line: S.F., 7:5)

Results, upcoming games Tuesday

Pit. 8, Was. 5 (10) Atl. 8, Col. 1 Ari. 5, Fla. 3 Phi. 4, Cin. 3 Mil. 4, Hou. 2 St.L. 3, Chi. 0 S.D. 2, S.F. 1 L.A. 5, N.Y. 3

Friday

ChC at S.D., 10:05 Interleague Col. at Det., 7:05 Phi. at NYY, 7:05 Bal. at Was., 7:05 NYM at Bos., 7:10 Cle. at Cin., 7:10 T.B. at Fla., 7:10 Tor. at Atl., 7:30 Tex. at Hou., 8:05 Mil. at Min., 8:10 Pit. at CWS, 8:11 K.C. at St.L., 8:15 Ari. at Oak., 10:05 S.F. at Sea., 10:10 LAA at LAD, 10:10

Saturday

ChC at S.D., 10:05 Interleague K.C. at St.L., 1:10 Phi. at NYY, 1:05 Tex. at Hou., 4:10 Tor. at Atl., 7 Bal. at Was., 7:05 Col. at Det., 7:05 Pit. at CWS, 7:05 Cle. at Cin., 7:10 Mil. at Min., 7:10 NYM at Bos., 7:10 T.B. at Fla., 7:10 Ari. at Oak., 9:05 LAA at LAD, 10:10 S.F. at Sea., 10:10

National League notes Arizona: LH reliever Doug

Slaten was recalled from Reno, giving the Diamondbacks 13 pitchers for a stretch in which they are scheduled to play 16 games in 15 days. 1B Josh Whitesell, who was installed in the starting lineup after being recalled from Class AAA on May 6, was demoted after going 3-for-26 (.115) with no RBI.

Atlanta: LH Tom Glavine felt fine Tuesday, one day after throwing three simulated innings, and he is on track to throw more pitches in his next outing as he continues to build arm strength. The only real pain comes from the front of his shoulder when he hits, but Glavine said he has no plans to just stand at the plate in an at-bat and go sit down.

Chicago: 3B Mike Fontenot remained in the starting lineup Wednesday despite a 2-for-32 (.063) slump over his previous 10 games. Manager Lou Piniella termed Fontenot “ice cold” but said all it might take to get him going at the plate again is better balance in his stance.

Cincinnati: RHP Edinson Volquez, who left his Saturday start because of back spasms, struggled in a bullpen session Wednesday. He is likely to miss his Friday start against Cleveland.

Colorado: Troy Tulowitzki was benched after swinging at the first pitch in the eighth inning Monday and grounding into a double play after CF Dexter Fowler led off with a sevenpitch walk. The Rockies were trailing 6-1 in what became an 8-1 loss to Atlanta. In place of Tulowitzki, IF Omar Quintanilla made his second start of the season, his first at shortstop.

Florida: Utility player Alfre-

do Amezaga, out since Saturday with a bone bruise on his left knee, won’t play until after he sees a doctor Friday. There’s a chance Amezaga could be cleared to play Saturday, but he also could go on the disabled list to give the knee more time to heal. Amezaga has been frustrated with the setback because he has been unable to sit in the dugout during games. He comes into the clubhouse every three innings for ice treatment.

Houston: RH closer LaTroy Hawkins, unavailable Sunday because of a sore right hip, made enough improvement during Monday’s day off to be available Tuesday. “The chiropractor said I was jammed up, and he yanked on me,” Hawkins said.

Los Angeles: RHP Hiroki Kuroda (strained left side muscle) will begin a rehab assignment Friday with Class A Inland Empire (San Bernardino, Calif.).

He is expected to make at least two starts, possibly putting him on track to make his first major league start since opening day June 1 against Arizona.

Milwaukee: With 2B Rickie Weeks lost for the season because of a wrist injury, GM Doug Melvin said he heard from the agent for Ray Durham, who played the second half of last season with the Brewers.

Melvin said he has no plans to pursue Durham, 37. “Right now, Craig Counsell is doing a good job,” Melvin said.

New York: Daniel Murphy

started at first base Wednesday for the first time in his major league career. Murphy has struggled in left field, committing three errors, and the Mets have a void at first base with Carlos Delgado sidelined following right hip surgery. Murphy played 13 games at first base last season at Class AA Binghamton (N.Y.), his only experience at the position.

Philadelphia: Reserve OF Matt Stairs ordinarily would have been a candidate to serve as the Phillies’ designated hitter in interleague road games, but the schedule might not work in his favor this weekend in the Bronx. Manager Charlie Manuel said the lefty-swinger won’t be the DH against left-handed pitchers, and the Yankees are slated to start LHs Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia in two of the three games.

Pittsburgh: The Pirates are still hopeful that LHP Tom Gorzelanny can return to the form that made him a 14-game winner in 2007. For now, though, he is playing the role of an effective reliever. He got a big out in Monday’s win against Washington, then pitched 11⁄3 scoreless innings Tuesday to get the win in the fifth relief appearance among his 156 career bigleague games.

St. Louis: OF Colby Rasmus hit his third homer in five games Tuesday.

San Diego: OF Cliff Floyd, who has been on the disabled list all season, first with a shoulder issue and then with a knee problem, went 1-for-4 Tuesday in his rehab debut with Lake Elsinore (Calif.). He is expected to remain with the Class A team through the end of the week.

San Francisco: The Giants refuted the comments of LHP Noah Lowry’s agent, Damon Lapa, who told ESPN the team had misdiagnosed his client with a forearm injury more than a year ago. Lowry had surgery Tuesday to remove a rib because of symptoms from thoracic outlet syndrome.

Washington: RHP Craig Stammen will join the rotation today when he is recalled from Syracuse (N.Y.). RHP Daniel Cabrera, 0-5 with a 5.95 ERA in eight starts, was moved to the bullpen. Stammen, 25, was 4-2 with a 1.80 ERA in seven starts for the Class AAA team.

From The Sports Xchange

6B · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · USA TODAY

National Basketball Association

Superman 1, Chosen One 0 Howard wins game, James gets his points

By Chris Colston USA TODAY CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James scored a playoff-career-high 49 points.

The Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard dunked the ball so hard it knocked the 24-second clock off its support and led to a nineminute delay.

Hello, marquee matchup. Who needs Kobe-LeBron?

The Magic provided all the drama Wednesday with their 107106 victory against the Cavaliers in the opener of the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals.

They rallied from a 16-point deficit in the first half and got a great stretch run from Rashard Lewis, who scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter.

Not that the Magic were gloating.

“You got to play 48 minutes,” Lewis said. “The most important thing is to play 48 minutes. We played only one half, but it was the second half.”

With his great court vision, James dominates games from the perimeter and inside. He was a problem the Magic could never quite handle.

“As a coach, you’re supposed to have some idea” of how to defend James, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “I don’t have a clue.

When we double-teamed him, he made the right play every time. When we didn’t double him, he made every jump shot . . . it seemed.”

James added six rebounds, eight assists, two steals and three blocked shots. But as he said, “My statistics don’t mean anything if it ends in a loss.”

Howard — who led the NBA in dunks during the regular season with 201 — is more reliant on his teammates, but his mere presence opens things up on the outside.

Howard, who had 30 points and 13 rebounds, has notched a double-double in all 13 postseason games.

But he said words from Van Gundy got his team fired up for

By Lucy Nicholson, Reuters

Energy crisis: Kobe Bryant played 43 minutes in Game 1 on Tuesday.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Bryant looked a “little fatigued.”

How much fuel in Kobe’s tank?

Lakers guard: ‘Wearing down’ is not an issue

By Tony Dejak, AP

Duel of the titans: The Cavaliers’ LeBron James, right, and the Magic’s Dwight Howard get tangled up.

James had 49 points, six rebounds and eight assists. Howard finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds. the second half.

“He said we’re all witnesses,” Howard said, referring to the James catchphrase. “That’s what he said to us. ‘You’re playing like you’re witnesses, watching the man dunk.’ That brought some fire out of us.”

For the Cavaliers to even the series in Game 2 on Friday (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT), they will have to do a better job of guarding the Magic shooters.

Orlando shot 55.1% from the field in Game 1, moving the ball with precision. The Magic had 32 assists, tying for second most in postseason franchise history.

“We have to do a better job of getting to their shooters,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown. “And

we’ve got to do a better job of defending their pick-and-roll game.”

Van Gundy attributed his team’s comeback to “getting our heads right, gathering ourselves and staying in the game possession by possession. We weren’t going to get the whole thing back in six minutes. We wanted to get it down to 10. Then six. Then two.

“Our guys did a good job of keeping their heads and staying in the game.”

Howard claims few observers expect the Magic to win this series.

“It’s a motivating factor,” he said. “Everybody’s counting us out as a team.”

NBA Insider Griffin it is: Fresh off winning

the NBA’s draft lottery Tuesday, the Los Angeles Clippers wasted no time settling on whom they would pick.

“Clearly, we’re taking Blake Griffin,” general manager and coach Mike Dunleavy told the Los Angeles Times. “This guy is the No. 1 pick. We’re extremely excited. He’s the guy.”

It turns out the decision to take the Oklahoma sophomore was made almost a year ago.

“I’d say we made the decision June 2008,” assistant general manager Neil Olshey said, “when (Griffin) decided to go back to Oklahoma. That if we got the No. 1 pick in ’09, he’d be” it.

The Clippers have wasted no time in promoting Griffin, either.

Pictures of the highly rated power forward adorn the club’s season-ticket sales website.

Too showy:

Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he doesn’t believe in all the showmanship that’s part of today’s NBA game operations. But he knows why it’s happening.

“They’re packing arenas. They have high TV ratings. They’re making money. Coming to me for advice on that would be a mistake,” he said.

“If it were up to me, we wouldn’t turn out the lights. We wouldn’t announce starting lineups. We’d do the horn, we’d huddle and we’d go play.”

Around the hardwood:

Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin broke his left ring finger and guard J.R. Smith strained his right calf in Tuesday’s Game 1 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.

Both are expected to play in today’s Game 2 in Los Angeles. . . .

The Chicago Bulls promoted director of player personnel Gar Forman to general manager to replace John Paxson, who will become executive vice president of basketball operations for the team. . . . Did LeBron James tempt fate by appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week? His Cleveland Cavaliers lost their first game of the postseason Wednesday, to the Magic,

Brown didn’t seem overly concerned after the game.

“That’s why this is a series,” he said. “A series is not won or lost after one game. I have confidence in our guys. I trust our guys. We’ll be ready for Game 2.”

But there is some question about James. He struggled to leave the court after the game, and blood streamed from a cut on his left knee.

“I’m not injured,” James said.

“Just caught a few cramps, maybe from dehydration. I’ve got to keep my fluids up. It’s not an ankle, not a knee. I’m fine now.

“If you’ve played sports and you’ve caught a cramp, you’re body will tell you when to move.”

Magic 107, Cavaliers 106

Playoff schedule Conference finals (best-of-7); x-if necessary; times p.m. Eastern

Eastern Conference No. 1 Cleveland vs.

No. 3 Orlando

uMagic lead series 1-0

Wed.: Orlando 107, Cleveland 106 Friday: at Cleveland, 8:30 (TNT) Sunday: at Orlando, 8:30 (TNT) Tuesday: at Orlando, 8:30 (TNT) x-May 28: at Cleveland, 8:30 (TNT) x-May 30: at Orlando, 8:30 (TNT) x-June 1: at Cleveland, 8:30 (TNT)

Western Conference No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 2 Denver

uLakers lead series 1-0 Tues.: L.A. Lakers 105, Denver 103 Thursday: at Los Angeles, 9 (ESPN) Saturday: at Denver, 8:30 (ESPN) Monday: at Denver, 9 (ESPN) x-Wed.: at Los Angeles, 9 (ESPN) x-May 29: at Denver, 9 (ESPN) x-May 31: at Los Angeles, 8:30 (ESPN)

in the opener of the Eastern Conference finals.

fg ft rb Orlando min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp Turkoglu 40 4-11 6-6 0-6 14 1 15 Lewis 41 9-13 1-2 1-7 3 2 22 Howard 38 14-20 2-2 5-13 1 6 30 Lee 27 2-7 0-0 0-1 2 0 4 Alston 31 4-10 1-1 0-2 8 2 11 Pietrus 29 5-10 1-2 1-2 1 2 13 Johnson 14 2-3 0-0 0-1 3 1 5 Battie 6 1-2 1-1 0-2 0 0 3 Gortat 9 2-2 0-0 1-2 0 1 4 Totals 235 43-78 12-14 8-36 32 15 107 Percentages: FG-.551, FT-.857. 3-point goals: 920, .450 (Turkoglu 1-2, Lewis 3-4, Lee 0-3, Alston 2-4, Pietrus 2-5, Johnson 1-2). Team rebounds: 6. Blocked shots: 1 (Lee). Turnovers: 13 (Turkoglu 2, Lewis 3, Howard 3, Lee, Alston, Pietrus 2, Gortat). Steals: 5 (Howard 2, Lee, Alston, Johnson). fg ft rb Cleveland min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp James 41 20-30 6-10 3-6 8 1 49 Varejao 36 6-8 2-2 1-6 0 3 14 Ilgauskas 32 5-11 0-0 3-10 2 4 10 West 46 4-13 0-0 0-1 6 1 11 M. Williams 41 6-19 3-3 0-4 5 4 17 Szczerbiak 13 0-2 0-0 1-3 2 3 0 Smith 15 2-4 1-2 0-1 0 2 5 Wallace 9 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 1 0 Gibson 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 236 43-88 12-17 8-33 23 19 106 Percentages: FG-.489, FT-.706. 3-point goals: 825, .320 (James 3-6, Ilgauskas 0-1, West 3-8, M. Williams 2-8, Szczerbiak 0-1, Smith 0-1). Team rebounds: 12. Blocked shots: 7 (James 3, Varejao 2, West, Smith). Turnovers: 5 (James 2, Varejao, West, M. Williams). Steals: 8 (James 2, Varejao, West 4, M. Williams).

Orlando Cleveland

19 29 30 29 — 107 33 30 19 24 — 106

A: 20,562. T: 2:46. Officials: Salvatore, Garretson, Mauer.

By Matt Poms and Chris Colston, with wire reports

By David Leon Moore USA TODAY LOS ANGELES — How many more of these superhuman efforts does 30-year-old Kobe Bryant, in his 13th season, have left?

Bryant’s answer: however many more it takes.

The Los Angeles Lakers camp conceded Wednesday that more was asked of Bryant in edging the Denver Nuggets 105-103 to open the Western Conference finals than would be preferred.

Bryant played 43 minutes Tuesday, seven more than his season average.

The Lakers needed every one of his 40 points, including 18 in their fourth-quarter comeback.

They also needed his all-defensive team talents to slow Chauncey Billups in the early part of the game, to keep offensive spark plug J.R. Smith from igniting midway through and to blanket Carmelo Anthony at the end.

It’s not the typical defensive assignment, as Billups is one of the strongest point guards and Anthony, who outweighs Bryant by about 25 pounds, has matured into one of the best allaround scorers.

Coach Phil Jackson usually would be happy with one or the other from Bryant: a big offensive game, or a lockdown defensive effort. To provide both, for all but five minutes of a rough-and-tumble game against one of the more physical teams, was further evidence of Bryant’s greatness.

“That’s the mark of a great player,” Jackson said Wednesday as the Lakers regrouped for what they expect will be another bruising encounter today in Game 2 (9 p.m. ET, ESPN). “He has the resources that he finds and digs out from somewhere.”

Derek Fisher has played alongside Bryant for all but three of his 13 seasons and wasn’t surprised by anything he saw Tuesday. But even Fisher recognized a superior performance when he saw it.

“We don’t normally ask him to carry us offensively and carry us on defense, too,” Fisher said.

“We’re always fighting that balance. He’s such a good defensive player, but we can’t ask that of him every night. He can do it some nights, usually when he doesn’t have to score 40 points for us to win.”

Even when Bryant is especially aggressive on defense, Fisher said, “It’s not in his DNA to sit back and not be aggressive on offense, too.”

Can he keep repeating that — and will he need to? — as the Lakers pursue an NBA title, which would be Bryant’s fourth and first without Shaquille O’Neal?

Everybody knows Bryant’s answer, right? “I’m not worried about wearing down,” he said.

“That’s my job. You’re supposed to play both ends of the court.”

The Lakers would prefer, though, that Bryant not have to take 28 shots, or score 40 points, to win a game. Bryant might not be worried about his body wearing down, but Jackson is.

“We’re concerned about how much energy he has to expend,” Jackson said. “We know he looked a little fatigued.”

Ideally, the Lakers would get the post players going in Game 2 and spread the scoring around. It was just Sunday when they won Game 7 of the rugged Houston Rockets series with Bryant taking 12 shots and scoring 14 points.

That game was evidence that Bryant, who can be provoked into a one-on-one duel to prove who’s the better player, has moved beyond personal issues and can play a facilitator role.

He’s actually happy to play that way, so much so that it didn’t seem to sting much when Hall of Fame player and former Lakers executive Jerry West said this week that LeBron James “has surpassed Kobe as a player.”

Bryant responded: “I’ve been telling you guys for years that’s not something I’m concerned with. If I wanted to go out there and put up 35 points a night, I could do that. That’s not my mission. My mission is to win a championship.”

In Game 1, that mission had Bryant on the court for all but five minutes and to be the best offensive and defensive player.

And, perhaps, brought him closer to a greatly anticipated NBA Finals duel against James.

Golf

Lehman follows one major event with another

By Jerry Potter USA TODAY Tom Lehman has his priorities.

There’s family, then there’s golf.

Lehman begins play today in the Senior PGA Championship at Canterbury Golf Club near Cleveland having prepped for the tournament by rushing through one practice round Wednesday.

He was a late arrival because he stayed in Phoenix until Tuesday night to attend the high school graduation of his oldest daughter, Rachel, who turns 19 on May 30.

Lehman, who turned 50 in March, teamed with Bernhard Langer to win the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf on April 26. They beat Craig Stadler and Jeff Sluman in a playoff.

Lehman’s biggest victory on the PGA Tour came in the 1996 British Open. This week will be his first major in senior golf.

Hall of Fame: Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal

has been elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame and will be inducted Nov. 2 at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla. Olazabal is best known for his victories in the 1994 and ’99 Masters and his perfor-

Olazabal was elected on the international ballot. He joins Lanny Wadkins and Christy O’Connor, who were announced earlier.

Missing the LPGA: Nancy Lopez, 52, re-

Roundup PGA Tour

Byron Nelson Championship Site: Irving, Texas Schedule: Today-Sunday Course: TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas (7,166 yards, par 70) Purse: $6.5 million Winner’s share: $1,152,000 TV (ET): Golf Channel (todayFriday, 3-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.)

tired from golf, has told The (Nashville) Tennessean she wants to return to the LPGA tour with a limited schedule of about 10 tournaments. “I miss it,” said Lopez, who won 48 tournaments and made the Hall of Fame.

Lopez hasn’t played much on tour since 2000, and she hasn’t made a cut in seven years. But the youngest of her three daugh- Champions Tour ters, Torri, 17, graduates from high school Senior PGA Championship Site: Beachwood, Ohio next year, and she feels an urge to return to Schedule: Today-Sunday tournament golf.

Course: Canterbury Golf Club “Maybe this is my second life — the one after children,” said Lopez, who was in Ten- (6,895 yards, par 70) Purse: TBA nessee last Sunday to play in The Vinny, singer Winner’s share: TBA Vince Gill’s pro-celebrity tournament.

By Hunter Martin, Getty Images TV (ET): Golf Channel (todayTop twosome: Tom Lehman, left, and BernBriefly: Cheyenne Woods, the niece of Tiger Friday, noon-3 p.m.) and NBC hard Langer paired to win an event in April.

Woods and a freshman at Wake Forest, has (Saturday, 3-6 p.m.; Sunday, been given a sponsor’s exemption to play in noon-3 p.m.) mance on the European Ryder Cup team. He the June 25-28 Wegmans LPGA near Rochesand countryman Seve Ballesteros formed one ter, N.Y. This will be her first start on the tour. LPGA LPGA Corning Classic of the most successful teams in Ryder Cup Contributing: Wire reports Site: Corning, N.Y. history with a record of 11-2-2.

Schedule: Today-Sunday Course: Corning Country Club (6,223 yards, par 72) Purse: $1.5 million Winner’s share: $225,000 TV (ET): Golf Channel (todayFriday, 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Saturday, 6:30-9:30 p.m.; Sunday, 79:30 p.m.)

Best of the rest

European Tour: BMW PGA Championship; today-Sunday; Wentworth Club, West Course (7,320 yards, par 72), Virginia Water, England. TV (ET): Golf Channel (today-Friday, 10 a.m.noon; Saturday-Sunday, 36 p.m.).

Notes: Masters champ Angel Cabrera is in the strong field along with Henrik Stenson, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Paul Casey, Ben Curtis, Luke Donald, Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy and John Daly. uUpdated leaderboard, player scorecards at golf.usatoday.com

USA TODAY · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · 7B

Motor Sports Extra Catching up

with the top NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers

Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet 24 Team: Hendrick Motorsports This week: Gordon is a five-time winner at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, including his first Cup victory in the 1994 Coca-Cola 600. He also won the 600 in 1997 and ’98.

Gordon has 15 top-five finishes and 18 top-10s in 32 starts at Lowe’s. He was fourth in last year’s 600.

Last week: Gordon finished 19th in the Sprint All-Star Race after crashing on the frontstretch with eight laps to go in the final 10-lape shootout.

Etc.: Gordon, who has experienced progressively worse back pain, had a procedure Monday that he hopes will alleviate much — if not all — of the pain.

Stewart, Chevrolet 14 Tony Team: Stewart-Haas Racing

This week: Stewart has one Cup win at Lowe’s, in the 500-miler in 2003. It’s one of his six top-five finishes and 11 top-10s in 20 starts there. He was 18th in last year’s 600.

Last week: Stewart earned his first All-Star win Saturday night when he was able to pass race leader Matt Kenseth in the 10-lap shootout. The victory was worth $1 million to Stewart, but it does not count as an official Cup victory because of its specialevent status.

Etc.: Stewart was thrilled to get his crew into victory lane. “They’ve been an awesome group of guys to work with,” he said.

2

Kurt Busch, Dodge Team: Penske Racing

This week: Busch is winless at Lowe’s. He has three top-fives and no other top-10s in 17 starts. He was 16th last May. Last week: Busch finished third in the AllStar event.

Etc.: When the team last raced this chassis March 8 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Busch did his now-famous “Unwind Lap” victory celebration afterward. “It’s finally time to bring ‘Hot Rod’ back out, and it seems like we’ve been waiting forever for this weekend to arrive,” Busch said.

Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet 48 Team: Hendrick Motorsports This week: Johnson is a five-time winner at Lowe’s, including Coca-Cola 600 wins in 2003, ’04 and ’05. In fact, Johnson swept both races in 2004 and 2005. He has eight top-fives and 12 top-10s in 15 starts. He was 39th in last year’s 600 when his engine blew up.

Last week: Johnson finished 13th in the 21-driver All-Star event.

Etc.: Johnson will drive a specially designed Impala SS that carries the names of 12,548 Lowe’s employees who are military veterans or reservists.

Hamlin, Toyota 11 Denny Team: Joe Gibbs Racing

Next race

Coca-Cola 600

Where: Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C. When: Sunday, 5:45 p.m. ET TV: Fox, 5 p.m.

his spotter — and his worthy opponent in one activity. “He’s a tough card player, for sure,” Busch said.

Others:

Ryan Newman (No. 39 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing): Newman is winless at Lowe’s but has three top-fives and five top-10s in 16 races. He was 21st in both races there in 2008. Newman was 18th in the All-Star event. . . . Greg Biffle (No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing): Biffle has struggled at Lowe’s, where he has no wins, two top-fives and five top-10s in 12 starts. But he was second in last year’s 600. Biffle finished last among the 21 drivers in the All-Star event. . . . Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing): Kenseth scored his first Cup win in the 2000 600-miler. It’s his only win at Lowe’s, where he has five top-fives and eight top-10s in 19 starts. He was seventh at last year’s 600. “We had a good run last weekend in the Sprint All-Star Race, and we’ll look to build on that this weekend,” he said. Kenseth finished second to Stewart in the 10-lap shootout that decided the race. . . . Mark Martin (No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports): Martin has four wins and 22 top-10 finishes in 48 starts at Lowe’s. Martin was third as the All-Star event entering its final 10 laps. But he got real loose moments after the restart and had to rally in the final five laps to finish sixth, almost dropping out of the top 10.

“We were good on the long runs, but we struggled on the restarts,” said Martin, who was looking for his third win in the event. . . . Carl Edwards (No. 99 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing): Edwards has six top-10 finishes in eight starts at Lowe’s.

And one of his finishes outside the top 10 came in October, when he finished 33rd because of ignition trouble. Edwards finished fifth in the All-Star event. . . . Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing): Bowyer finished second in the fall of 2007 for his lone top-10 finish in six starts at Lowe’s. Bowyer finished 12th in the All-Star event. He has finished outside the top 15 in the last five races of the season. “Our cars haven’t been that bad, we’ve just had terrible luck,” Bowyer said. . . . Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Chevrolet, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates): Montoya has never fared well at Lowe’s. His best finish in four starts is 28th. Montoya finished 12th in the Sprint Showdown preliminary event. “We were good early in the runs, but we weren’t able to keep moving forward,” Montoya said. . . . David Reutimann (No. 00 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing): Reutimann finished 10th in the 600 last year for his only top-10 finish in four starts at Lowe’s. His three other finishes have been 22nd, 29th and 32nd. Reutimann was disappointed with his fourth-place finish in the Sprint Showdown. He had expected to challenge for the win

This week: Hamlin has three top-10 finishes in seven starts at Lowe’s. He was 24th in the 600 last May. Last week: Hamlin was fourth in the AllStar event.

Etc.: Mike Hicks and Jonathan Sherman, Notes provided by the Sports Xchange the tire changers on the team, have changed positions. Sherman has taken over At motorsports.usatoday.com: front-tire-changing duties; Hicks moves to uJoey Logano’s driver diary the back.

uExpanded NASCAR team notes

31

Jeff Burton, Chevrolet Team: Richard Childress Racing

Sprint Cup leaders

This week: Burton is a three-time Cup winner at Lowe’s, including the 1999 and 2001 Coca-Cola 600s. He has eight topfives and 15 top-10s in 30 starts and was sixth in last year’s 600.

Last week: Burton is coming off a 20thplace finish in the All-Star event.

Etc.: Burton said the hardest part of Sunday’s race was adjusting to the schedule.

“Waiting to start the race is emotionally hard. With so many different race-day schedules — East Coast, West Coast, night race, afternoon race — it’s hard for your body to adjust to what it needs to be doing.”

18

Kyle Busch, Toyota Team: Joe Gibbs Racing

This week: Busch is looking for his first Lowe’s victory. He has three top-fives and four top-10s in 10 starts at the track. He was third in last year’s 600.

Last week: Busch finished seventh in the All-Star event.

Etc.: Busch’s agent, Jeff Dickerson, also is

NASCAR Sprint Cup top 20 after 11 of 36 races Driver (wins)

Top Pts. Behind Prev. 10s

1. Jeff Gordon (1)

1,601

—

1

8

2. Tony Stewart

1,572

29

3

8

3. Kurt Busch (1)

1,546

55

2

6

4. Jimmie Johnson (1)

1,465

136

6

7

5. Denny Hamlin

1,445

156

4

4

6. Jeff Burton

1,384

217

7

5

7. Kyle Busch (3)

1,380

221

5

4

8. Ryan Newman

1,363

238

10

5

9. Greg Biffle

1,345

256

11

6

10. Matt Kenseth (2)

1,326

275

12

4

11. Mark Martin (2)

1,316

285

15

6

12. Carl Edwards

1,271

330

9

4

13. Clint Bowyer

1,264

337

8

4

14. Juan Montoya

1,255

346

14

3

15. David Reutimann

1,232

369

13

2

16. Kasey Kahne

1,205

396

17

2

17. Brian Vickers

1,188

413

16

4

18. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

1,182

419

18

3

19. Martin Truex Jr.

1,144

457

21

3

20. Marcos Ambrose

1,131

470

19

2

By Brian Spurlock, US Presswire

Acquitted: Indy 500 pole-sitter Helio Castroneves endured a tax-evasion trial that left him with a $2 million bill. “The fans have been so supportive,” he said. “Every single thing is making a difference, and I am appreciating it much more.”

‘My faith kept me going’ Castroneves humbled, happy after federal trial

By Gary Graves USA TODAY

INDIANAPOLIS — As his freedom hung in the balance during a federal trial that taught Helio Castroneves more about the American judicial system and tax code than he could have imagined, he also learned not to take any part of his charmed life for granted ever again.

Though admittedly clueless about finances, the two-time Indianapolis 500 champion and Dancing With The Stars winner maintains faith in his handlers while vowing to pay more attention to his portfolio, especially the $2 million tax bill he will pay the IRS by month’s end. The six-week trial gave Castroneves a greater appreciation for tasks such as packing his suitcase or heading to a race track, and through cloudy, rainy days that have dotted this month he has been able to see clear skies and sunshine.

For all the lessons learned from his experience, Castroneves remains the bubbly Brazilian, giddy as if he were an IndyCar Series rookie instead of the man who will lead the 33-car field to the green flag in Sunday’s 93rd running at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“No doubt, my skin is a little thicker,” Castroneves, 34, said through his trademark smile. “But it’s good to be back.

“Little things, you feel so happy. The fans have been so supportive. Every single thing is making a difference, and I am appreciating it much more.”

That much is clear in Castroneves’ two IRL starts since he, his sister Kati and attorney Alan Miller were acquitted April 17 in Miami on federal tax evasion charges. Despite more than six months out of the cockpit of Team Penske’s No. 3 Dallara/Honda (which was driven by Will Power), he showed no rustiness in finishing seventh at Long Beach and second in the Indy 500 tuneup at Kansas Speedway.

Already this month’s best story just by being here, Castroneves made it better on May 9 by moving aside teammate Ryan Briscoe to win his third Indy pole with a speed of 224.864 mph. Even for someone who won his first two starts on the 2.5-mile rectangle and has finished out of the top nine just once (25th, 2006) in eight starts, to pick up as if he never left speaks volumes about his abilities.

“I’d like to say his English has gotten a lot better hanging out with all those attorneys,” Team Penske president and Castroneves race strategist Tim Cindric joked that day. “He used to only know about 50 words, but he’s continued to move that along. (Dancing With the Stars) has taught him another 25, but now he’s got all these technical words.

Turning serious, Cindric added, “In terms of where he’s at, he’s had an opportunity to win the last two races that he’s been in and (with) the yellow (flag) falling different at Long Beach, he might have had a chance to run with

Team Penske on fast track for Indy 500 Helio Castroneves might be leading the start of Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, but his Team Penske cohorts Ryan Briscoe and Will Power could have their moments in the spotlight, too.

Briscoe, who won the InBy Darron Cummings, AP dyCar Series season opener at St. Petersburg, Fla., was on the Solid team: Penske drivers, from left, pole until Castroneves Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Will bumped him. He is three Power will battle at the Indianapolis 500. points behind series leader Tony Kanaan and is the latest promis- Penske not likely to run three cars ing driver to rise to the next level for the rest of the season, he’s prewith open-wheel racing’s most suc- paring for the prospect of racing for cessful team. another team.

Not that any of this surprises him.

“Wherever I go, I believe I’ll have “I just drive my race car,” said the the chance to succeed,” said Power, Australian, who earned the first of who won last year’s Champ Car his three IRL wins in June at Mil- World Series finale at Long Beach waukee. “The team’s simply been and is ninth in points this year. getting stronger, and as far as a By any measure, Penske has learning curve, everything’s been boosted its chances of winning a going as planned. I didn’t plan on 15th Indy 500, which has team being in the championship hunt, but President Tim Cindric feeling upI did plan on winning.” beat.

Power began the season as Cas“To some degree it’s different troneves’ interim replacement dur- running three cars here,” Cindric ing his tax evasion trial before mov- said. “Any one of these guys can ing into the No. 12 Honda. He didn’t win. Ryan has been good all season, race at Kansas but was sixth at and Will has done nothing but the St. Pete and sixth at Long Beach. right things since he’s been here.

Also from Australia, Power Everything that has happened is earned the outside of Row 3 part of the process.”

(223.028 mph) for Indy and is eager to see where it goes. But with By Gary Graves (winner Dario) Franchitti. So I can’t say enough about his focus, his concentration.”

To hear Castroneves, he was always confident of being cleared despite the government’s detailed case which had some of his peers thinking otherwise.

As famed defense attorney Roy Black argued Castroneves’ case, his client’s thoughts drifted from curiosity about the legalese being spoken to what he’d do upon his return to the IRL. From a distance Cindric and other Penske team members conveyed support to Castroneves while moving forward with substitute driver Power, who qualified ninth for Indy in a third Penske Honda and is three points ahead of his 10th-place teammate in the standings. Still, the not-guilty verdicts (with one deadlock) caught many by surprise — except maybe Castroneves and Black.

“The worst part was not being in control of anything,” Castroneves said this week. “It’s one of those situations, unlike being in the car where you can work the controls and work the brakes. My faith kept me going, and the fans. . . . send me positive notes that I’ll never forget. Tim sent me mes-

sages to stay upbeat, and I realized a lot of people were behind me.”

Said Black, who will be a guest of Castroneves on Sunday: “When it came to finances he was naive. He’s only in the U.S. 18 months with no green card and a visa, and he’s presented with pages of single-space contracts. Let’s face it; it was like Greek to him. You can understand, and that’s what the jury decided.”

Now back in the environment with which he is most familiar and comfortable, Castroneves sounds like his old self, putting Penske atop a saturated group of Indy favorites and talking as if his season is just starting.

By any description Castroneves faces a steep climb in his quest for that first IndyCar Series title.

“I’m just going to go for it,” Castroneves said. “I’m happy to be able to put things behind me. My results in Long Beach, Kansas and now the (Indy) pole, this is what I wanted to do and what I was thinking of (during the trial).

“I learned how to object, sustain and overrule, but I don’t want to hear those words now except in the movies.”

Mayfield’s lawyer says lawsuit possible over ‘strange’ toxicology report

By A.J. Perez USA TODAY The lawyer for Jeremy Mayfield said there are “a couple strange things” about the toxicology report he’s received from NASCAR that disclosed the banned substance that has left his client suspended indefinitely.

That’s to be expected.

“For somebody who may not have experience with these types of cases, the whole report could look strange,” said David Black, an internationally known forensic scientist who oversees NASCAR’s random-testing program.

Charlotte lawyer William Diehl declined to go into detail on what struck him as odd in the two-page report Wednesday. He also declined to specify

what substance was found in the urine sample collected May 1 before a Sprint Cup race in Richmond, Va. “We are talking to NASCAR,” Diehl said. “If we don’t work something out, this is the United States. You don’t have a duel, you just file a lawsuit.”

It would be the first leNotes gal challenge of NASCAR’s random-testing program, which began screening drivers and crew members at the start of the season.

Mayfield, 39, was the first driver suspended under the program, which has also nabbed a handful of crew members.

In the anti-doping community, Diehl appears to be an odd pick to challenge a failed test. But Diehl, known as a fierce litigator, has been the go-to guy for several NASCAR drivers, owners or exec-

utives seeking legal remedy.

“I’m not sure why he picked me,” Diehl said. “Maybe it’s because I’ve been doing this for 40 years and have had a lot of success. I’ve represented everybody from (Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner) Bruton Smith to (Sprint Cup driver) Elliott Sadler. I know the business, and I happen to like stock-car racing.”

Diehl did not say what part of NASCAR policy he might attack in a potential lawsuit. In other doping cases, the most likely targets are how the sample was collected and transported to the lab, the validity of the tests used and the qualifications of those doing the testing.

“We have great confidence in the lab and its findings,” NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said.

Even lawyers experienced in handling

doping cases usually find it tough slogging, according to Duke University Law School professor Jim Coleman.

“It helps to understand how this program works,” said Coleman, who has represented track athletes and NFL players against doping allegations.

“Organizations like NASCAR or the NFL don’t want these things to linger.

This is a fast-moving train, and it can be hard to get up to speed. It certainly helps to know something about anti-doping procedures and what can go wrong. It’s not always obvious.”

Swing also was suspended until Aug. 18 for using an engine that was too big for NASCAR’s specifications last weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Ferrari appeal rejected: A French

court dismissed Ferrari’s bid to stop Formula One from instituting a budget cap.

Ferrari sought a court injunction in Paris against governing body FIA’s plans to introduce a voluntary $60 million cap for racing teams from 2010, but the appeal was rejected Wednesday by Judge Jacques Gondrand de Robert.

Ferrari, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull and Long suspended: NASCAR has sus- Toro Rosso have threatened to pull out of pended driver Carl Long for the next 12 next year’s championship if the cap isn’t Sprint Cup races and fined crew chief overturned.

Charles Swing $200,000, the largest Contributing: Wire reports penalty in the sport’s history.

8B · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · USA TODAY

It’s a blast

www.usatoday.com

Science of film, usatoday.com

' Life

A better

Kiefer Sutherland by Kelsey McNeal, Fox

The finale word

Life

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Friday, May 22, 2009

Lifeline

For entertainment news as it happens, visit the Lifeline Live blog at life.usatoday.com.

‘Breakdown’ takes down competition Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown made its debut atop Billboard’s album chart, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album sold 215,000 copies, even though the unusual Friday release date gave it only three days of sales. Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack holds at No. 2 with 68,000.

Cam’ron’s Crime Pays, the rapper’s first album in three years, was No. 3 (43,000). Other debuts: Paul Wall’s Fast Life, No. 15 (22,000), and Steve Earle’s Townes, No. 19 (18,000).

Jackson pushes back first London show The start of Michael Jackson’s 50-show run at London’s O2 arena has been pushed back from July 8 to July 13 — but it has nothing to do with Jackson’s health, says show director Kenny Ortega.

“Michael is ready for this AP and ready to do it right,” says OrJackson: Delay is not healthtega, who also related. worked with Jackson on his Dangerous and HIStory tours. Shows scheduled for July 10, 12 and 14 also have been moved, to March 1, 3 and 6, respectively. Jackson has committed only to the London dates, but Randy Phillips, CEO of promoter AEG Live, hopes the singer will do more. “His fans want to see him, and I’m a businessman who wants to make money, and he’s the best entertainer in the world.” Fans with tickets who can’t reschedule will be given a full refund, including the booking fee. Details will be posted at michaeljacksonlive.com.

By Zade Rosenthal, Sony Pictures

Kris Allen wins as ‘Idol’ fans pull upset

Acoustic rock beats Adam’s glam rock

By Bill Keveney and Brian Mansfield USA TODAY

American Idol delivered a surprise Wednesday as voters chose Kris Allen for the title over Adam Lambert, who had been considered the favorite for much of the show’s eighth season.

Allen, 23, a college student from Conway, Ark., came into Idol’s final week as a hardworking underdog. Even on the last night of competition, judges favored Lambert, 27, a stage actor from San Diego, in two of three performances.

“I think it was a tossup for me and him,” Allen said in an

By Kevin Winter, Getty Images, for Fox

“I felt kind of numb”: So said Kris Allen, right, about his reaction to being named Idol over the favorite, Adam Lambert. interview afterward. “When Ryan (Seacrest) called my name, I pointed to Adam and said, ‘You deserve this.’ And he said, ‘No, you deserve this.’

“I think we both feel the

same way about each other.

You can’t compare us, we’re totally different, but we have a great relationship,” Allen says. “I’m rooting for him. I’ll be there to buy his CD.”

Going into the finale, much of the media and many fans pitted them against each other, dwelling on their obvious differences. But ultimately, their similarities carried them to the finale. Both took musical cues from last year’s winner, David Cook, often taking great liberties with their material. That approach made them the season’s most interesting contestants.

Lambert grabbed early attention when, vowing to “fearlessly just give ’em a show,” he auditioned with Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

Arguably Idol’s most technically adept vocalist to date, Lambert offered risky, unpredictable performances weekly, drastically altering Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire and singing falsetto-laced versions of The Tracks of My Tears and Tears for Fears’ Mad World.

Allen, on the other hand, got all of nine seconds of face time for his audition. But his semifinals performance of Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror impressed enough viewers to get him voted into the finals over more familiar hopefuls. As Idol progressed, he continued to bring an acoustic-rock sensibility to R&B hits like She Works Hard for the Money and Heartless.

Tuesday’s performance show drew 23.8 million viewers, a 12% drop from 2008’s 27.1 million, but the singers’ supporters cast a record number of votes for the two, just under 100 million.

Says Lambert, “Kris is a great guy and deserves nothing but the best. I’m totally happy for him.” He expects both their careers to “do well.

100 million votes? That’s insane to get that many.”

Natalie Cole gets kidney transplant Natalie Cole is recovering from kidney transplant surgery she had Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The kidney came from a deceased donor through the regional organ-procurement agency One Legacy. Cole has been receiving kidney dialysis three times a week since September at hospitals around the world as she toured for her album Still Unforgettable. Cole will take the next three to four months off to recover; the summer tour dates are to be rescheduled.

Make your rocker dreams come true So you wanna be a rock ’n’ roll star? Here are two chances: uMTV and MTV Games’ Rock Band video-game contest. From June 2 to July 28, submit a music video of your “band” playing a Rock Band track and be eligible to win a Moonman statute Sept. 13 at the MTV Video Music Awards. Other prizes will be given out via codes on Pepsi product bottle caps.

(For more information, visit PepsiRockBand.com.) uMySpace’s Rock the Space competition. Beginning today through July 1, aspiring artists can submit an original song for a chance to score a recording contract with MySpace Records. In July, MySpace Records will select five finalists, and the winner will be chosen by the MySpace community, to be announced in September. Visit myspace.com/ toyotamusic for details.

First lady: ‘I don’t look at doors closing’ Michelle Obama is this week’s TIME magazine cover girl, and she talks about marriage and making sacrifices. “A lot of times, women feel like they give up so much in comparison to their partner, or in life, for whatever. I don’t look at doors closing. If I thought that I’d be shortchanged in any way, and if (Barack) thought I’d be shortchanged in any way, we wouldn’t have done this.” This isn’t the first time Obama has been on the cover of TIME: The Feb. 2 cover featured Obama with the president, and her pre-first-lady image appeared on the cover of the Sept. 24, 2007, issue, along with the spouses of other presidential hopefuls. The new issue arrives on newsstands Friday.

By Cindy Clark with staff reports E-mail USATCMlifeline@usatoday.com

USA TODAY Snapshots

Adults younger than 35 spend the most each week on fast food: $44 Amount spent each week

$33 $25 $18

24 and under

25-34

35-44

45-54

All eyes point to Tarantino The general consensus at Cannes: Director’s ‘Basterds’ delivers

caused a frenzy Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival.

What people knew going in was that Basterds, set to open Aug. 21 in the USA, focuses on a group of Jewish-American soldiers in World War II-era occupied France who inflict as much pain as possible on the Third Reich, following the orders of a Dixie-drawling officer played by Brad Pitt.

What people didn’t know was that the tale would begin with aching realism and loss, then gradually shift into an often funny alternate history: His fictional commando squad changes the events of World War II. Pitt’s Tennessee-accented Lt. Aldo Raine is a fearsome yet comical avenging angel,

Cover story

By Anthony Breznican USA TODAY CANNES, France — Quentin Tarantino has re-invaded France.

Fifteen years after the American filmmaker claimed the Golden Palm grand prize for Pulp Fiction, his Inglourious Basterds is cutting an audacious and bloody swath of revenge fantasy through the most prestigious film festival in the world.

The debut of his movie, one of the most anticipated entries in the competition,

55 and older

Source: Greenfield Online survey of 1,000 adults for Jenny Craig. Margin of error ±3% percentage points.

By Michelle Healy and Julie Snider, USA TODAY

By Francois Duhamel, The Weinstein Co.

Revenge: Eli Roth, left, and Brad Pitt are Jewish-AmeriPlease see COVER STORY next page u cans who go after the Nazis in World War II-era France.

Film franchises successfully turning back time These days, it’s all about origins

By Scott Bowles USA TODAY

®

Fast-food buyers $35

By Guy Kinziger, AFP/Getty Images

They brought the goods: Star Brad Pitt, left, and director Quentin Tarantino premiered their Inglourious Basterds in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Hollywood is finding more profit in moving backward in time than forward.

Origins stories are all the rage with studios. X-Men and Star Trek had huge debuts to kick off the summer. And Terminator Salvation, opening nationwide today, brings audiences back — or forward, depending on your perspective — to the “Judgment Day” war that began the series in 1984.

Nervous that moviegoers are weary of sequels, studios are downplaying the continuing stories entirely. For this summer’s franchise pictures,

By Richard Foreman, Warner Bros., via Bloomberg News

“Judgment” today: Christian Bale in Terminator Salvation.

USA TODAY critic Claudia Puig gives Terminator Salvation ee; read the review at life.usatoday.com.

numerals have been retired — except for Halloween 2.

There’s this week’s Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (the second installment), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (also Part 2, June 24) and Ice Age: Dawn of

the Dinosaurs (the third chapter, July 1).

But executives say origins stories offer bonuses no sequel can. They allow filmmakers to recalibrate decades-old series to court younger moviegoers.

“You have to start somewhere,” says Lauren Shuler Donner, producer of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. “An origins story is like getting to know somebody. When you meet someone and like them, you want to know where they came from. It grounds your franchise.”

Or helps it take off. Star Trek enjoyed a debut twice as large as any in the 11-movie franchise. Wolverine had $85 million, the year’s largest debut.

Some executives credit Batman with the surge in origins stories.

“Bat man Begins really showed how much a back story can free you up creatively,” says Chris Aronson of 20th Century Fox, which released Wolverine. “You don’t have to confine yourself.”

Origins also are a key de-

vice in turning old franchises over to new audiences, says Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount Pictures.

“It’s the perfect way for parents to show their kids the movies they grew up on,” says Moore, whose studio released Star Trek. “If you can keep the core idea that worked years ago, suddenly you have two groups that want to see your movie.”

Horror, in particular, has been ripe for restarts. Halloween and Friday the 13th rebooted to big numbers.

“People know a lot about these movies, so you have a built-in curiosity,” says Halloween director Rob Zombie, whose sequel is due Aug. 28.

“But you talk to these kids, and they haven’t seen the original. An origins story will be their original.”

USA TODAY · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · 9B

Entertainment

CW finds mates for its dramas New shows pair with returning series, help target young women

CW’s fall schedule New series in bold, new time slots in italics, all times ET/PT:

Monday

By Gary Levin USA TODAY

By Doane Gregory, 20th Century Fox

Riding through time: Guard-turned-corporate bigwig Larry (Ben Stiller, right) meets more historic figures, including Gen. Custer (Bill Hader), in Battle of the Smithsonian.

‘Museum’ exhibits excessive chaos Cast of comic stars isn’t fully on display

off the intrusions of a Smithsonian guard (Jonah Hill) and various other museum threats. The plot feels cobbled together and the writing slapdash, however, and many of the jokes fall into broad slapstick Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smith- of the lowest-common-denominator vasonian (ee out of four) resembles an en- riety. thusiastic but undisciplined child running Stiller’s character in the first film was amok through an exhibit. The exuberance outwitted and slapped around by a Camight be admirable, but the puchin monkey. This time he’s headlong dashing and lurching Movie review slapped around by two monaround are major distractions. keys. The more-is-better phiBy Claudia Puig This sequel to the hit Night at losophy dominates, obscuring the Museum is set at the Smithsonian and some of the subtler comic historic alluin its (invented) subterra archive. sions. And in most cases, the talents of The original, set in New York’s Museum the cast, a who’s who of comic actors, are of Natural History and directed by Shawn underused.

Levy, focused on animal and historical figYet there are inspired segments, includures coming to life after hours, but the fol- ing fantasy scenarios in which famous low-up is more ambitious. paintings and sculptures come to dazzling Levy brings back favorites from the first life. Stiller, fighting a horde of ancient warmovie and introduces legions of new char- riors, borrows the pitchfork from the elacters, from Pharaoh Kahmunrah (Hank derly farmer in Grant Wood’s American Azaria) to Gen. George Armstrong Custer Gothic. Rodin’s The Thinker turns out to be (Bill Hader), Ivan the Terrible (Christopher a muscleman dolt, and Degas’ Little Dancer Guest) and Einstein bobble-heads (Eugene sculpture provides a brief respite from all Levy). the peril with enchanting ballet steps.

Ben Stiller’s Larry Daley, who has gone But those spritely scenarios are from night guard to corporate honcho, is drowned out by the manic mayhem. (Ratcalled on to rescue his exhibit friends be- ed PG for mild action and brief language. ing put in storage at the Smithsonian.

Running time: 1 hour, 44 minutes. Opens He joins forces with spunky Amelia Ear- tonight in some theaters and nationwide hart (an engaging Amy Adams) and fends Friday.)

8:00 Gossip Girl 9:00 One Tree Hill

The CW network, refining its focus toward younger women, is adding three dramas and condensing its schedule to weeknights, dropping Sundays and two low-rated comedies with black casts.

Among current series, Smallville will move to move to Fridays for its ninth season, filling the void left by the cancellation of Everybody Hates Chris and The Game. And Privileged, which had been on the fence for renewal, also has been dropped.

The new series are compatible companions for existing dramas: uMelrose Place, a remake of the 1990s Fox series that was a spinoff of Beverly Hills, 90210, will follow the 90210 remake on Tuesdays.

Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is among the stars. uThe Beautiful Life, a behindthe-scenes drama about models starring Mischa Barton (The OC) and Corbin Bleu (High School Musical), will follow CW reality series

By Alan Markfield, CW Amer ica’s Next Top Model on Vampire Diaries: Nina Dobrev is a girl purWednesdays. uAnd The Vampire Diaries, sued by a good vampire (Paul Wesley) and based on a teen book series about a his evil brother in Supernatural companion.

Tuesday 8:00 90210 9:00 Melrose Place

Wednesday 8:00 America’s Next Top Model 9:00 The Beautiful Life

Thursday 8:00 The Vampire Diaries 9:00 Supernatural

Friday 8:00 Smallville 9:00 Next Top Model (repeat)

girl pursued by two vampire brothers — one good, one evil — will lead off Thursdays, teamed with the returning Supernatural. Kevin Williamson (Dawson’s Creek) produces.

CW programmers opted against a proposed Gossip Girl spinoff set in the 1980s, introduced in the May 11 episode, that was being considered as a midseason replacement.

Instead, the network chose Light Years, a drama about a teen girl from a foster home (Roswell’s Shiri Appleby) who rediscovers her biological parents.

CBS’ fall schedule CBS added three new dramas and a comedy, but The Big Bang Theory and The Mentalist, this season’s top new show, are moving to later slots. CBS also picked up Medium from NBC. Rules of Engagement will be saved for midseason, along with new medical drama Miami Trauma, Canadian series The Bridge, and reality series Undercover Boss and Arranged Marriage. The lineup: (new series in bold, new time slots in italics, all times ET/PT):

Monday

Thursday

8:00 How I Met Your Mother 8:30 Accidentally on Purpose (new Jenna Elfman comedy) 9:00 Two and a Half Men 9:30 The Big Bang Theory 10:00 CSI: Miami

8:00 Survivor: Samoa 9:00 CSI 10:00 The Mentalist

Tuesday 8:00 NCIS 9:00 NCIS: Los Angeles (new spinoff) 10:00 The Good Wife (new Julianna Margulies legal drama)

Wednesday

By Robert Voets, CBS

Accidentally: Jenna Elfman as Billie, a single woman who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant.

8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00

The New Adventures of Old Christine Gary Unmarried Criminal Minds CSI: NY

Friday 8:00 Ghost Whisperer 9:00 Medium 10:00 Numb3rs

Saturday 8:00 Crime drama repeats 10:00 48 Hours Mystery

Sunday 7:00 60 Minutes 8:00 The Amazing Race 9:00 Three Rivers (new medical drama) 10:00 Cold Case

Cover story

‘So much positive energy,’ but a few negative views, too Continued from 8B while Diane Kruger’s screen starlet helps the Basterds infiltrate the Nazi upper echelons. A third story line focuses on a closeted Jewish theater owner (Melanie Laurent) whose Paris cinema is being commandeered by the German High Command for a propaganda film’s gala premiere.

As the 2-hour, 31-minute film reached its climax Wednesday morning, the audience became noticeably restless. Many quietly rose from their seats and moved toward the exits — not to escape the mediocre, as is usually the case, but to sprint to the press room to file early impressions or nab a good seat at the news conference that followed.

Not your typical Tarantino Film writer Alex Billington of FirstShowing.net called Basterds “the pinnacle film of the festival.”

The movie was “the one everyone was looking forward to and the one everyone had really high expectations for. That’s why there was so much positive energy coming out of it.”

No movie has caused such a stir during the festival, except perhaps Lars Von Trier’s arthouse horror film, Antichrist, though it inspired more contempt than admiration for its blend of explicit sex and violence.

The overall Basterds reaction was more closely aligned with Variety critic Todd McCarthy, who wrote: “By turns surprising, nutty, windy, audacious and a bit caught up in its own cleverness, the picture is a completely distinctive piece of American pop art with a strong Euro flavor.”

Billington’s review reads: “It’s as awesome as Tarantino’s first two films and as entertaining as his most recent few. It’s the WWII movie we’ve been waiting

Christoph Waltz steps up for Tarantino

By Anthony Breznican USA TODAY Without this star, Quentin Tarantino says, Inglourious Basterds would never have been made. And it’s not Brad Pitt.

It’s Christoph Waltz, an Austrian actor who has done few English-language films but who dominates the wild World War II saga as Col. Hans Landa, a charming, gregarious and especially verbose SS officer.

“I realized I was writing a pretty impressive character fairly early on when I was still with pen and paper,” Tarantino says.

“One of the things about the character is the fact that he’s a linguistic genius. I knew whatever actor I cast to play this has to be as much of a linguistic genius as Landa is or he would never come off the page.”

Whether the coy colonel takes his place alongside Hannibal Lecter and Darth Vader in the villain hall of fame will be up to audiences when the film opens Aug. 21, but he’s already stirring talk of a major breakout at Cannes.

When a German radio reporter asked Waltz about talk that he might be a favorite for a festival award for acting, the soft-spoken performer said, “Bite your tongue!”

The actor, 52, says the Basterds experience “was a ride above a dream. Quentin is one of to see.”

McCarthy and Billington also see flaws, however. McCarthy points out that the film takes a while to find its footing; Billington found it too talky.

“Maybe I just felt like I wanted

By Loic Venance, AFP/Getty Images

Waltz: German actor stars as a linguistically gifted SS officer, and there’s talk at Cannes that this could be a major breakout role. the most acute and astute and precise observers of everything.

So to actually be in the hands of someone like that, you can just do what you’re supposed to do without thinking.”

Tarantino says he was ready to scrap the project when he had trouble casting the villain, who has verbal spars in French, English and German tongues.

“I started casting actors in Germany, and I wasn’t finding anybody who quite has everything I needed 100%,” Tarantino says. “They could do the poetry in this language, but they couldn’t do the poetry in that language. And they had to be able to say the poetry in every language.” a little more action,” Billington said in an interview. “I loved the Basterds so much, I just wanted to see more of them.”

Baz Bamigboye of London’s Daily Mail seemed to agree: “Not enough scalps. . . . While it’s

$22 &8!. *8'(# 18 1+# (8"*#.%51'8"3

An intensive search yielded Waltz, who has worked primarily in TV, with no major English-language credits, just days before Tarantino’s deadline for securing financing.

“I looked at Quentin as Christoph was reading, and I could see it in Quentin’s eyes,” says the filmmaker’s longtime producer, Lawrence Bender.

“When he walked out, we jumped up and said, ‘Highfive! We’re making the movie!’ ” Upon hearing this at the news conference, Waltz stood up, walked over to Tarantino and kissed the top of his head.

Joked Tarantino: “See, he’s a sweet guy. He ain’t so bad.” good and there are fun elements, it’s rather dialogue-led than jampacked with action.”

Some, however, found it refreshing that Tarantino has taken a step back from the gore of his Grindhouse contribution, Death

Proof, and the Kill Bill movies. with a baseball bat) at German Among them was critic Sarah High Command was a kind of Steinberg-Heller, who said she comical catharsis. went in with low expectations. “I “Being Jewish, this is definitely got really tired of the ‘poetry of for me like Kosher porn,” Roth violence’ thing. But this was clev- joked. “It’s something I fantaer and surprisingly funny. As a sized about since I was a very Jew, it was especially fun to see, young child.” though I’m sure my older relaPitt noted that, apart from tives would say it’s offensive. But changing history, Tarantino did anyone who says that is trying strive for authenticity, particulartoo hard to be uptight. It’s just ly with his performers. fun.”

“I kind of appreciated the inFor longtime critic Emanuel ternational cast,” Pitt said.“To Levy, it’s pure fable. “It’s ‘what if bring all these people from differ. . . .’ What worries me is some ent countries, that was true to of my colleagues were walking their respective languages. He out saying, ‘It’s not cast Germans for German, real, it’s not a realistic French for French and combat film.’ But it Americans for American, doesn’t need to be and so on and so forth.” real. It’s more about the role of cinema in See festival ‘No place like Cannes’ updates in the shaping our perspec- Live From . . . tive. And it’s about Cannes blog at Though the film has real war filtered life.usatoday.com. galvanized the festival in through Tarantino’s its waning days, Inglouvision.” rious Basterds is still regarded as a long shot for winning Golden Is it fantasy or reality?

Palm. Many favor other, more modest films, including the Tarantino himself doesn’t see it French drama A Prophet, director as a total fantasy, though the Jacques Audiard’s coming-of-age movie begins with the words story about a young criminal’s “Once upon a time . . . ” survival in a brutal prison system.

“People have come up to me a If nothing else, Tarantino & Co. lot and asked me, ‘Is it a fairy made a splash critical to build antale? Is it Jewish wish-fulfillment ticipation for the movie’s opening fantasy — or just a wish-fulfill- around the world this summer. ment fantasy anyway?’ ” he said Asked why he wanted to preduring the news conference. miere the film here, especially “There are aspects of that, all since he had to rush to finish after right. (But) my characters shooting ended only three changed the outcome of the war. months ago, Tarantino said: “To Now, that didn’t happen, because me, there’s just no place like my characters didn’t exist. But if Cannes for filmmakers on the they had existed . . . all the face of the Earth. . . . things that happen later in the “One of the things that’s so movie are plausible.” wonderful about Cannes is durFor Hostel films director Eli ing this time here on the Riviera, Roth, who steps out from behind cinema matters. It’s important. the camera to play one of the Bas- Even the things people boo . . . terd sergeants, the Jewish wish- they’re so noisy about this and fulfillment theory worked. Get- that and the other, it’s out of pasting a crack (literally in his case, sion.”

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10B · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · USA TODAY

Health

‘Kids can’t wait’ for health care

Exam looks for, rules out problems An examination provided by the Children’s Health Fund (childrenshealthfund .org) includes the following, says president Irwin Redlener, a professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health:

More than 7 million people under age 18 have no health insurance, says the National Center for Health Statistics. Since the recession started, more children lack care, reports the Children’s Health Fund. Co-founded by pediatrician Irwin Redlener and singer Paul Simon in 1987, CHF programs aid children in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Redlener talked with USA TODAY’s Janice Lloyd about his medical concerns for children.

Q: You’ve been involved in dren are extremely vulnerable. caring for underprivileged Sometimes, for a child, losing children since the 1970s. What health care for a year can have a is different now, during the re- lifetime of consequences. cession?

A: We are experiencing one of Q: How does the care prothe most significant vided by the fund afeconomic downturns fect children? in our lifetimes. And A: The problem for until now, this crisis children is that when has been described critical milestones are almost exclusively in missed, it may be technical terms like very hard to recover. “subprime loans” and When young children “unregulated derivado not get a timely ditives,” clearly geared agnosis of subtle toward economists or hearing or vision Children’s Health Fund politicians. But what problems because I’m seeing and hear- Redlener they don’t have reging from my colular access to a doctor, leagues is much more about how they can fall behind in school, the severe economic stress is sometimes mislabeled as having causing great suffering for many behavioral problems or learning children and their families. Chil- disabilities. These are situations

MARKETPLACE TODAY |

Children’s Health Fund

Time for a checkup: Nurse Doreen Brock examines Preston Parker as part of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Children’s Health Project. that are very hard to recover from. Since CHF focuses on children who face profound barriers to getting the health care they need, we are able to identify and treat those conditions that have the potential of causing life-long problems. I like to think we are providing quality health care and helping children reach their full potential.

Q: You have an initiative called Kids Can’t Wait. What kinds of services does it provide?

A: The (mobile) units are comprehensive, fully contained pediatric “clinics on wheels” with

uScreening for hearing, vision and developmental deficiencies. uRuling out elevated levels of lead in children. uMaking sure immunizations are up to date. uReviewing family history to determine whether specific potential problems should be screened for. uChecking nutritional status and looking for early signs of diabetes if obesity is a problem. uLooking for psychological and behavioral problems.

Learning difficulties or addictive behavior is much easier to manage if picked up early. uRuling out, as indicated, asthma or other chronic conditions.

two examination rooms, a nurses’ station and a small laboratory area. The kids who get care from us on mobile units see us as their pediatricians, and we become what is known as a “medical home” for the family. If the extremely low turnover rate they need something after hours among our professional staff. or on a day the mobile unit is not in their area, there’s a toll-free Q: What other problems can number for moms to reach us. potentially arise by not providing medical care to kids?

Q: Who provides the care?

A: We long ago should have A: We have been lucky to at- figured out how to create and pay tract some of the most dedicated for accessible, quality health care and capable doctors, nurses and and a good education for all of health care providers in the na- our children. Children’s Health tion. And I have been very grat- Fund does what it does because ified — but not surprised — by we believe that every child is en-

titled to these basic promises; it is about compassion and a sense of justice. But there is another critical dimension, underscored by the economic crisis. The longterm outlook for the U.S. is inexorably bound to the rest of the world’s fate. In the middle of this century, there is no doubt that global competition will be intense, with many rising powers vying for economic and political influence. In these terms, we need every one of our children to reach his or her potential and contribute to the future success of our country. Plus, the cost of trying to reverse or manage what should have been preventable health conditions or academic failures will be prohibitive.

Q: What is the ideal situation for providing health care to children?

A: My first job (in 1971) after my residency was as director of a Volunteers in Service to America clinic in Lee County, east Arkansas, the sixth-poorest county in the U.S. at the time. I was 26, a naive optimist, and truly believed that in another 10 years or so, we’d solve the problems of poverty and access to health care for children. In 2009, I am still optimistic that we’ll eventually get there. Still, It is true we are still using mobile pediatric clinics to get to neighborhoods where other options aren’t available. But my dream is that I’ll soon see a day where every child in the country will have easy access to a neighborhood-based, high-quality health care provider. Maybe this recession will be a wake-up call, reminding us how vulnerable our kids are — and how important it is to make sure they get the health care and education they need. As our new initiative says, “kids can’t wait” — and neither can the rest of us, if we care about our country’s future.

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USA TODAY · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · 11B

Arkansas: Ash Flat — Sharp County

sheriff’s deputies arrested a woman accused of giving a 5-week-old infant an overdose of liquid morphine. Charges against Crystal Williams, 22, include introduction of a controlled substance into the body of another, possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a minor. The baby was treated at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

California: Sacramento — A coali-

tion of business and political groups wants the Legislature to call a constitutional convention to deal with California’s budget problems. The coalition said Wednesday that it will ask voters to authorize the convention if lawmakers balk. The announcement came a day after voters soundly rejected ballot measures that lawmakers and Gov. Schwarzenegger drafted in an attempt to ease the state’s $21 billion budget deficit.

Colorado: Centennial — A Guatemala-born man who sparked calls for immigration changes after a crash that killed three, including a toddler, pleaded not guilty again. Francis Hernandez, 24, pleaded not guilty in January to 19 charges, including vehicular homicide, but withdrew the plea in February after switching lawyers. Police said he hit a pickup in Aurora on Sept. 4 and pushed it into an ice cream shop.

Connecticut: New London — A

landmark cannon will be returned to the green off Williams Street, commemorating the spot where citizens defended the city against invading British troops in 1781. The city moved the cannon last week to the Custom House Maritime Museum over theft concerns, but residents expressed outrage.

Delaware: Dover — The state is auc-

tioning off vehicles to cut its fleet by 20%. Since Gov. Markell’s reduction order, the Office of Management and Budget said 197 vehicles have been sold, bringing in more than $519,000. Officials said the fleet of 4,900 vehicles, including those operated by schools and

Georgia: Savannah — The Georgia

Ports Authority said its decade-long recycling efforts are paying off with 2.73 million pounds of scrap metal recycled at the Port of Savannah last year.

The recycled metal accounts for about 32% of the total solid waste generated at the port in 2008. Selling the scrap — from damaged equipment, used parts and cables — pays for the recycling program.

Maine: Presque Isle — Northern

Maine Regional Airport is getting $2.5 million in federal stimulus money to extend its parallel taxiway, improving operational safety and efficiency. Rep. Mike Michaud, a Democrat, said the grant will create jobs and improve infrastructure, providing a long-term economic development benefit.

Hawaii: Honolulu — Federal, state Maryland: Baltimore — The Catholic and county governments agreed to cooperatively manage the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail on the Big Island.

The 175-mile trail follows the ancient Ala Loa shoreline footpath, the major road connecting more than 600 communities from the 15th through the 18th centuries. The route is one of 18 nationwide designated a National Historic Trail.

Archdiocese said St. Mary of the Assumption School will close at the end of this school year. Spokesman Sean Caine said enrollment at the 135-year-old K-8 school has declined in recent years. The school is $1 million in debt and needs funds from the archdiocese to meet payroll. St. Mary is the third school in the archdiocese closing this year.

Idaho: Boise — State officials have ap-

sion by the Brockton Veterans Services Department and Veterans Council to cancel this year’s Memorial Day Parade because of a lack of funding has outraged veterans. Kim Walden, secretary of veterans services, said there is no money for the parade because so many veterans are seeking help to pay for medical bills and rent.

proved a $1.8 million emergency measure to try to keep invasive quagga and zebra mussels out of Idaho waterways.

The state Board of Examiners approved the emergency funds as part of a plan that requires boats entering Idaho to be inspected and possibly decontaminated.

Massachusetts: Brockton — A deci-

Illinois: Charleston — A longtime ad- Michigan: Detroit — Public Schools vocate for marijuana legalization and veteran of the countercultural Yippies has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana possession in eastern Illinois.

Sixty-two-year-old Irvin Dale “Dana” Beal of New York City was ordered to pay $1,300 in fines after pleading guilty Monday in Charleston. Obstruction of justice charges were dropped.

Indiana: Bedford — The tree-killing

emerald ash borer has been found in two more heavily forested southern Indiana counties. The Department of Natural Resources said the beetle has been found in Lawrence and Orange counties, confirming its spread in that area beyond Monroe and Brown counties near Bloomington.

emergency financial manager Robert Bobb plans to cut more than 900 of the district’s 15,000 employees to help eliminate a deficit of more than $300 million. The layoffs will include hundreds of teachers and staff in central administration. Also, 29 schools will be closed by next fall.

Minnesota: St. Paul — A new audit

said the Metro Gang Strike Force lost track of $18,000 in seized cash and 14 vehicles. Legislative Auditor James Nobles also said the force did not get the required board approval before sending six officers to a conference in Hawaii.

His audit said the gang strike force needs tighter oversight and better financial controls.

Iowa: West Des Moines — Three de- Mississippi: Jackson — Former two-

tectives were justified when they shot and killed a suspect in several home invasions, Chief Jack O’Donnell said. The detectives fired 25 shots at Adam Harvell, 36, after he confronted them with a blank-firing gun and threatened to kill them. The detectives are on paid leave pending a grand jury hearing.

Kansas: Hutchinson — State trans-

portation officials plan to seek $20 million in federal funding that could help develop passenger rail service from Newton to the Oklahoma border. The money would be used for upgrades on a

;

EAT LIKE A BIRD

have filed a wrongful death suit, claiming their children’s father died in prison because he never saw a doctor or nurse after apparently suffering a stroke. Wilbert Coler died at the C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center in Beauregard on May 4, 2008. Christina Brown and Crystal Miles say Coler fathered their three children.

term Jackson mayor Harvey Johnson, 62, defeated Councilman Marshand Crisler in Tuesday’s Democratic Party runoff. Johnson will face a Republican and four independent candidates in the June 2 general election.

Missouri: Bonne Terre — Dennis

Skillicorn, 49, was put to death by lethal injection early Wednesday. He was one of three men convicted in the 1994 murder of a Good Samaritan who had stopped to help the men after their car stalled. It was the first execution in Missouri since October 2005.

getting nearly $10 million to overhaul some old bus engines and buy 30 new 30-foot buses. The money is part of $8.4 billion earmarked for transit capital improvements as part of the federal stimulus package.

Nevada: Elko — More than 300 stu-

dents will graduate Saturday from Great Basin College. College President Carl Diekhans said the 304 graduates top the previous record of 296 last year. Two students are a mother and daughter from Spring Creek. Kelli Leach and daughter Talia Phelps are receiving associate nursing degrees.

New Hampshire: Concord — A New

Hampshire Hospital Association survey of community hospitals shows that they’ve seen an increase in patients this year who were unable to pay for their care, as well as more patients covered

by Medicaid and financial assistance programs. The health system also has lost more than $400 million in investments since January 2008.

New Jersey: Sayreville — The Gar-

den State Parkway’s Driscoll Bridge work is finished in time for Memorial Day weekend. The $225 million reconstruction and expansion should improve what once was a major bottleneck to traffic to and from the shore.

The Turnpike Authority expects nearly 7.4 million vehicles to use the parkway between today and Tuesday.

New Mexico: Farmington — City

councilors voted against appealing a ruling ordering the release of 91 applications for city manager two years ago.

The state Court of Appeals this month ruled in favor of The Daily Times and the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government in their battle for the records.

New York: New York — Mayor Mi-

chael Bloomberg and Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour announced Fashion’s Night Out, when dozens of stores will stay open late as a way to promote local retail and benefit the economy. On Sept. 10, the first night of Fashion Week, retailers are being asked to stay open until 11 p.m. and throw parties with shopping incentives.

North Carolina: Maggie Valley —

An anonymous investor has donated money to Ghost Town in the Sky, meaning the Western-themed amusement park doesn’t need a short-term loan from the town. Ghost Town President and CEO Scott Shiver wouldn’t say how much the investor donated. He had been seeking $200,000 from the town.

The park opens Friday.

North Dakota: Fargo — A $1 billion

diversion project and a $625 million levee system were two flood-control options presented to Fargo-area residents by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The diversion would start where the Wild Rice River meets the Red River a few miles south of Fargo, and run to a point northwest of Kragnes, Minn.

DOWN 1 Fishes with a dragnet 2 Boil over?

3 Get-up-and-go 4 Pioneer atom splitter 5 Actress Lane of old TV 6 Delight, as a comedy club crowd 7 Bok choy’s kin 8 Prisoners’ contraband,

ties are trying to find out who dumped a pair of month-old Appaloosa fillies between Sumpter and Whitney over the weekend. Sheriff Mitch Southwick said the fillies seemed to be in good shape.

He said a foster mare is nursing them along with her own foal.

Pennsylvania: Pittston — A school

superintendent agreed to plead guilty to charges he took a bribe from a contractor. Ross Scarantino resigned as superintendent of the Pittston Area School District after federal prosecutors accused him of accepting $5,000 to help a contractor obtain work from the district.

Scarantino faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Rhode Island: Johnston — Police

said they’ve found the body of a newborn baby under a shed in a remote part of town and have taken the child’s mother into custody. Her name has not been released. Police, who were called to the shed after neighbors reported a foul smell, say the baby’s remains are in the custody of the state medical examiner’s office.

South Carolina: Columbia — A re-

port by advocates for improving state highways shows nearly half of the major urban roads are congested and more than 20% of bridges have significantly deteriorated. The South Carolina Alliance to Fix Our Roads and the national transportation research group TRIP called on state and federal lawmakers Wednesday to put more money into state roads.

South Dakota: Rapid City — A Pine

Ridge woman was sentenced to 30 months in prison for suffocating her baby. The child’s father, Jacob Iron Horse, also got 30 months. He said he and Wilberta Means were drinking heavily and passed out. He said he awoke Nov. 3, 2006, to find that their daughter, 14month-old JonTay Iron Horse, had been smothered behind Means on a couch.

Tennessee: Nashville — Fast-food

chain Jack in the Box has settled a federal lawsuit on behalf of a worker at a Nashville restaurant for $20,000. The Tennessean reported Frances Griffith, a white hostess, said she was subjected to repeated “obscene racial epithets” by African-American co-workers and that one told her she should kill her unborn baby because it was of mixed race.

Texas: Sherman — A live chicken

helped lure a 6-foot-long alligator into a trap at a park that had been closed since the reptile surfaced. Parks and Recreation Administrator Kevin Winkler said the trap at Pickens Lake was checked Wednesday and the alligator was inside.

It was taken to a wildlife rehabilitation

Vermont: Burlington — The Burling-

ton Parks and Recreation Commission has decided against an 18-basket disc golf course through the woods of Leddy Park, but left open the possibility of a smaller layout if it is professionally designed. The move caps a year-long debate. Disc golf is scored like golf. Players aim flying discs at a basket on a pole.

Virginia: Lynchburg — A Lynchburg

couple plans to go to court to save two lampposts rejected by city officials because their Williamsburg-style design didn’t fit the style and era of their historic-district home. Charles and Patricia Nuckols installed the lampposts in their front yard last spring before getting approval from the local Historic Preservation Commission.

Washington: Renton — Lindbergh

High School reported 330 students absent as an outbreak with flu-like symptoms runs its course. School spokesman Randy Matheson said the school was open for about 870 students. He described most symptoms as “light flu” or seasonal allergies. He was not aware of any students being tested for swine flu.

West Virginia: Charleston — The

state Supreme Court has refused to reinstate an election fraud case stemming from Terry Hills’ 1996 write-in campaign for Lincoln County Circuit Clerk. The ruling upheld a 2007 Lincoln County Circuit Court decision against Hill, who said he was entitled to the salary and benefits he would have received if he had won.

Wisconsin: Madison — An appeals

court upheld the conviction in 2006 of a once-prominent Jesuit priest on charges he abused two students during retreats in Wisconsin in the 1960s. Donald McGuire was once a spiritual adviser to Mother Teresa and her religious order of nuns. The court rejected his claims that the decades-long delay in filing charges against him hurt his defense.

Wyoming: Green River — Jamie

Hale, 32, a former music teacher at Star Valley High School, entered pleas of not guilty to sexual-abuse charges involving a 17-year-old. Hale resigned from the Lincoln County School District 2 earlier this year. KIDK-TV said it was not clear if the victim was a student.

U.S. territory: U.S. Virgin Islands —

Authorities said a wind-whipped blaze has gutted a tourist attraction touted as the home of the banana daiquiri. Fire Chief Glen Francis said the 60-year-old Mountain Top souvenir shop and tavern high above the island of St. Thomas was reduced to rubble early Tuesday.

From wire reports Get news updated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Visit us on the Web at www.usatoday.com

Crossword Edited by Timothy Parker

5/22

By Betty Keller

ACROSS 1 Like pork and shellfish 5 Grills or pumps 9 Social blunder 14 Title hero of a Chateaubriand novel 15 When tripled, “et cetera” 16 Summed up 17 Extraordinary tennis server 18 Where Singaraja is 19 Soft palate 20 Ground-level sights 23 Religious leader’s maxims 24 ___-fi (literary category) 25 www.harvard.___ 28 Where to see a vapor trail 29 Turn on the waterworks 33 Serving a sentence 35 Gloria’s daddy, on TV 37 “Got two fives for ___?”

38 Greek drink of immortality 43 Stomach discomfort 44 What some things are taken in 45 Part of a Big Mac 48 Consciousness starter?

49 Elmo’s orange buddy 52 Acapulco article 53 Words with “jiffy” or “pickle” 55 Checker’s move?

57 Catalysts for new beginnings 62 Mongolian monks 64 Wood panel feature 65 “Are you ___ out?”

66 Sinbad’s “Stop!”

67 Kuwaiti noble 68 Noted courage seeker 69 Buttinsky 70 Word from Jack Benny 71 “Smooth Operator” singer

Oregon: Baker City — Sheriff’s depu-

died on a trail here, authorities said.

Friends found the body of Joseph Manning, 40, of Avondale, Pa., after he became separated from them. Manning’s body was found near a pool of water.

The state medical examiner will perform an autopsy. Washington County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Rob Tersigni said foul play is not suspected.

sometimes 9 Knuckle under 10 Turn over ___ leaf 11 Something funny to sing in 12 Bug with two homonyms 13 Massachusetts state tree 21 Native Israeli 22 It’s here in Haiti 26 Conked out 27 Samovars 30 Puzzler’s dir.

31 Beginning of a knock-knock answer 32 Hitchhikers’ desires 34 One venerated for wisdom 35 Fits to ___ 36 Raison d’___ 38 Table salt, in the lab 39 “Is there an ___ in here?”

40 Rook or pawn, e.g.

41 That guy 42 Matriarch in “All in the Family” 46 Mexican afternoon nap 47 It could be tight or loose 49 Hardy, colorful flower

Answers: Call 1-900-988-8300, 99 cents a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-320-4280.

Warner of the NFL Certain Great Lake Archibald of the NBA Downhill transport

Berry and Griffey Mountain range Thursday’s Puzzle Answer

S

L

I

L

E

N O

___ Aid

T

____ off (on the range)

A N D Y

50 Rhyming newsman Charles 51 Perpetual, in poems 54 Out of whack 56 Siren sounds 58 Sunrise direction 59 “The joke’s ___” 60 Aluminum wrap 61 PC combination key 62 Put down, as a track 63 Caesar’s hail

B A

Y S

Get USA TODAY Quick Cross on your mobile phone. Visit usatoday.uclickgames.com today!

Get USA TODAY Sudoku Fusion on your mobile phone. Visit usatoday.uclickgames.com today!

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9 (no repeats).

Thursday’s Puzzle Answer

9 4 3

2 4

8 3

1 6

4

2

8 1

7 3 4 8 9 5 6 6 9 7 7 2 4 5 4 1 8 3

2 6 5 4 1 2 7 8 9 3

3 2 8 9 4 5 1 6 7

1 1 9 7 3 8 6 2 4 5

Don’t Quote Me Rearrange the words to complete the quote.

Leader Mohandas Gandhi suggests one way to learn about yourself.

Thursday’s Answer: “Fishing is the only sport where sitting on your butt under a tree looks like a concentrated activity.”

BEST WAY

9 1 3 5 7 8 4 2 6

2 6 3 5

5

Co m pl e t e t h e grid so that every row, column and 3x2 box contains the numbers 1 through 6 ( n o repeats).

5 4 8 6 2 1 3 5 7 9

5 7 2 4 6 9 3 8 1

6 8 4 9 6 3 1 7 5 2

®

FIND LOSE OTHERS YOURSELF YOURSELF

2 6 1 7 5 4 9 3 8

7 3 5 8 9 2 6 1 4

DIFFICULTY RATING:

3

Thursday’s Puzzle Answer

5/21

3 2 4 6 5 1

1 4 3 5 2 6

5 6 2 1 3 4

4 3 1 2 6 5

2 5 6 4 1 3

6 1 5 3 4 2

©Wiggles 3D Incorporated

SERVICE

5/22

preme Court upheld the map of legislative districts used in the past four state elections, meaning the map for the state’s 30 legislative districts can be used again, in the 2010 election. A new map will be drawn after the 2010 Census for use during the rest of the next decade.

Service Commission approved rate hikes for Peoples Gas System and Progress Energy Florida. Peoples customers will see an average $2.82 increase in their bills starting June 18. Progress customers will pay an average $4.52 more a month, starting July 1.

school district has suspended for the rest of the year an 8-year-old student after administrators found him in possession of 0.25 of a gram of marijuana. Eisenhower Elementary School administrators contacted authorities Friday after finding the drug.

Utah: St. George — A mountain biker

5/22

Arizona: Phoenix — The state Su-

Florida: Tallahassee — The Public Louisiana: Deridder — Two women Nebraska: Omaha — The city will be

Oklahoma: Oklahoma City — The

center. The chicken, in a separate cage within the wire trap, was unharmed.

5/22

find and thank a Good Samaritan who helped rescue a woman who tried to hang herself from a bridge. Sgt. Denny Allen said a woman on Monday was spotted by passerby Saunders McNeill on an overpass with a belt attached to a railing. He called police and grabbed the woman by the back of her pants. Another woman grabbed the arm of the woman hanging by the belt.

tucky Humane Society said it will hand out free pet food to families who need it on Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. beginning this weekend. Proof of income will not be required.

lein Brewing Co. is bringing back a beer once known for its longtime sponsorship of Cincinnati Reds radio broadcasts.

Burger Classic and Burger Light will first be marketed in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, then throughout the Upper Midwest. The relaunch is set for Friday.

5/22

Alaska: Anchorage — Police want to

Kentucky: Louisville — The Ken-

Native American inmates were subjected to group strip searches before and after sweat-lodge ceremonies at the private Crossroads Correctional Center in Shelby. The finding is one of many in a Department of Corrections report on allegations of mistreatment and discrimination against Native American inmates.

5/21

is preparing for hurricane season, which starts June 1. Officials tested evacuation plans to reverse southbound traffic on Interstate 65 to allow four northbound lanes. United Ways of Alabama and their 2-1-1 Call Center partners held a disaster assistance exercise. Call center operators answered mock calls to evaluate responsiveness.

its female giant panda, Mei Xiang, is not pregnant. Mei Xiang’s behavior had indicated she might be pregnant, and officials closed the panda house to visitors earlier this month while they monitored her. The zoo said the panda experienced a false pregnancy.

Montana: Helena — A report shows Ohio: Cincinnati — Christian Moer-

5/21

Alabama: Montgomery — The state

D.C.: The National Zoo announced that

freight train route. Kansas is asking for $10 million from the federal stimulus package and $10 million from the 2010 federal highway bill.

Get USA TODAY Crosswords on your mobile phone. Visit usatoday.uclickgames.com today!

News from every state

state police, is expected to drop to 3,920.

5/21

Across the USA

“The ____ ____ to ____ __________ is to ____ __________ in the _______ of _______.”

12B · FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 · USA TODAY

Weather

How does snow form?

°Fahrenheit

Below10 10s Today’s temperatures and forecasts around the world provided by The Weather Channel®

weather.usatoday.com

°Fahrenheit 10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

°Celsius

-7

-1

4

10

16

21

27

32

38

-12

It’s actually a complex process that depends largely on abundant water vapor and subfreezing temperatures within the clouds. Subfreezing temperatures are also necessary for much, if not all, of the air column below cloud level — otherwise, snowflakes formed in the clouds would melt into raindrops before hitting the ground.

20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s

Forecast legend c cloudy pc partly cloudy

i r

ice rain

s sun sf snow flurries

t

sh showers sn snow

— Bob Swanson, USA TODAY

t-storms

For more online or to ask questions, go to: askweatherguys.usatoday.com Russia

Finland Sweden

Norway

Bergen 53/46r

Iceland

Reykjavik 57/45pc

Aberdeen 59/44sh

Europe Galway 61/45sh Shannon 60/45sh

Scotland

Belfast 61/44c Ireland

Northern Ireland

Amsterdam 70/53pc

Wales

Brussels 75/50pc

London 69/49pc

Paris 76/54pc

Le Havre 59/53pc

Frankfurt 72/47c Munich 65/49r Zurich Salzburg 74/49r 67/54r

France

Venice 84/64r

Milan 84/60sh

Bratislava 75/56sh

Vienna 72/57r

Spain

Lisbon 74/58s

Barcelona 75/66c

Valencia 81/61c

Palma 79/57c

Algiers 88/65c

Rabat 76/56pc

Algeria

Morocco

Pakistan

Kathmandu 77/61t

New Delhi 101/86pc

Karachi 102/83pc

Nepal

Calcutta 97/79s

Mumbai 88/84t

India

Ukraine

Slovakia

Slovenia

Burma

Changsha 82/69t

Hanoi 84/76t

Singapore 90/80t

Romania

Guangzhou 81/75t

Tokyo 77/66sh

Taipei 84/74t

Balikpapan 86/76t Papua New Guinea

Indonesia

Port Moresby 85/72pc

Dubrovnik 80/67s Tirana Macedonia 87/62s Naples Albania 83/64s

Sofia 87/61s

Cairns 80/63s

Broome 89/66s

Mauritius

Brisbane 72/56sh

Perth 60/50sh

Greece

Alice Springs 80/45s

Australia

Sydney 67/60r

Australia

Athens 82/61pc

Tunisia

2009

Auckland

Bangkok

Beijing

Berlin

Brussels

Cairo

Copenhagen

Dublin

Florence

Frankfurt

Mix of sun and clouds 70/53 Saturday: Partly cloudy 69/51 Sunday: Morning light rain 68/51 Monday: Partly cloudy 66/53

Partly cloudy 56/45 Sunday: Few showers 61/50 Monday: Scattered showers 61/50 Tuesday: Partly cloudy 59/48

Scattered storms 88/79 Sunday: Scattered thunderstorms 90/79 Monday: Scattered storms 91/80 Tuesday: Scattered storms 92/80

Sunshine 93/59 Sunday: Mostly cloudy 94/63 Monday: Sunny 89/62 Tuesday: Sunny 90/61

Morning fog followed by afternoon sun 69/49 Saturday: Sunny 71/46 Sunday: Partly cloudy 73/46 Monday: Rain 77/56

Mix of sun and clouds 75/50 Saturday: Partly cloudy 72/51 Sunday: Cloudy 68/51 Monday: Partly cloudy 67/53

Sunshine 92/70 Saturday: Sunny 90/68 Sunday: Sunny 88/68 Monday: Sunny 89/68

Occasional showers possible 61/49 Saturday: Partly cloudy 63/49 Sunday: Partly cloudy 65/49 Monday: Light rain 64/50

Partly cloudy 58/45 Saturday: Mostly cloudy 58/46 Sunday: Partly cloudy 59/46 Monday: Partly cloudy 59/46

Mostly cloudy 90/63 Saturday: Sunny 91/64 Sunday: Partly cloudy 91/63 Monday: Partly cloudy 90/62

Areas of morning fog, 72/47 Saturday: Sunny 75/46 Sunday: Thundershowers 82/55 Monday: Light rain 73/55

Jakarta

Jerusalem

Johannesburg London

Los Angeles

Madrid

Manila

Mexico City

Milan

Sunshine 90/77 Sunday: Sunny 90/77 Monday: Isolated thunderstorms 90/77 Tuesday: Sunny 92/77

Sunshine 78/60 Saturday: Sunny 76/59 Sunday: Sunny 74/56 Monday: Sunny 74/55

More sun than clouds 66/46 Saturday: Sunny 68/46 Sunday: Mostly cloudy 68/47 Monday: Partly cloudy 68/47

Times of sun and clouds 69/49 Saturday: Mostly cloudy 71/50 Sunday: Rain 68/50 Monday: Light rain 66/52

Mix of sun and clouds 72/58 Saturday: Sunny 72/58 Sunday: Mostly sunny 73/57 Monday: Sunny 73/58

Mostly sunny 91/60 Saturday: Rain 75/52 Sunday: Few showers 76/50 Monday: Mostly sunny 81/50

Scattered storms 91/78 Sunday: Isolated torms 91/78 Monday: Scattered thunderstorms 91/78 Tuesday: Isolated storms 92/80

Scattered rstorms possible 73/57 Saturday: Scattered thunderstorms 75/57 Sunday: Scattered storms 78/58 Monday: Scattered storms 76/58

Afternoon showers 84/60 Saturday: Sunny 87/60 Sunday: Late-day thundershowers 86/61 Monday: Rain/thunder 80/56

Paris

Rio de Janeiro

Rome

Seoul

Shanghai

St. Petersburg

Stockholm

Sydney

Taipei

Partly cloudy 76/54 Saturday: Mostly sunny 73/54 Sunday: Partly cloudy 72/53 Monday: Rain 68/53

Sunny 77/65 Saturday: Sunny 77/66 Sunday: Sunny 78/67 Monday: Sunny 78/66

Partly cloudy 85/62 Saturday: Mostly sunny 84/61 Sunday: Mostly sunny 86/59 Monday: Partly cloudy 85/59

Showers 70/55 Sunday: Sunny 78/55 Monday: Partly cloudy 77/55 Tuesday: Sunny 79/56

A few morning showers 83/63 Sunday: Cloudy 86/63 Monday: Scattered storms 79/66 Tuesday: Scattered thunderstorms 79/66

Partly cloudy 70/52 Saturday: Rain 58/47 Sunday: Showers 61/46 Monday: Mostly sunny 66/46

Late day light rain 57/45 Saturday: Light rain 65/46 Sunday: Partly cloudy 69/48 Monday: Sunny 70/48

Mainly cloudy with rain, windy 67/60 Sunday: Cloudy 66/61 Monday: Cloudy 65/58 Tuesday: Partly cloudy 69/55

A few thunderstorms possible 84/74 Sunday: Scattered thunderstorms 84/74 Monday: Scattered thunderstorms 85/74 Tuesday: Scattered thunderstorms 86/74

Friday

Sofia St. Petersburg Strasbourg Tallinn Tirana Valencia Venice Vienna Vilnius Warsaw

87/61s 70/52pc 74/49r 60/49c 87/62s 81/61c 84/64r 72/57r 65/47r 69/50r

Buenos Aires, Argentina Calgary Cancun, Mexico Caracas, Venezuela Cozumel, Mexico Fort-de-France Halifax, Nova Scotia Lima, Peru Montreal Nassau, Bahamas Philipsburg, St. Maarten Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Punta Arenas, Chile Quebec Quito, Ecuador San Jose, Costa Rica Santo Domingo Sao Paulo, Brazil Toronto Vancouver Winnipeg

79/64pc 61/38pc 91/75t 86/69t 89/69t 86/76sh 75/47s 70/60pc 69/48sh 85/76sh 84/78sh 87/74t 41/29s 63/39sh 68/48t 82/60t 84/73t 75/60pc 69/53c 64/49pc 62/36sh

USA

Africa, MiddleEast

Friday

Europe

Friday

Aberdeen Ajaccio Athens Barcelona Belfast Belgrade Bergen Bern Bilbao Birmingham Bonn Bordeaux Bratislava Bucharest Cadiz Caen Cagliari Cardiff Dresden Dubrovnik Dusseldorf Edinburgh Faro, Portugal Geneva Genoa Glasgow Goteborg Hamburg Helsinki Innsbruck Kiev Krakow Las Palmas Le Havre Lisbon Lucerne Luxembourg Lyon Malaga Manchester Marseille Milan Minsk Monte Carlo Naples Nice Oslo Palermo Palma Prague Reims Reykjavik Riga Salzburg Santiago de Compostela Sarajevo Seville Skopje

59/44sh 86/67pc 82/61pc 75/66c 61/44c 92/64s 53/46r 71/54sh 72/54c 64/45pc 67/49pc 79/56sh 75/56sh 85/63s 81/58pc 70/49pc 82/66s 61/48pc 67/49sh 80/67s 67/49pc 61/43pc 76/59s 78/56sh 77/69pc 61/44sh 58/46r 63/46pc 65/48c 76/49r 80/66c 74/50sh 72/61s 59/53pc 74/58s 71/54r 65/46pc 82/60r 87/60pc 63/44pc 89/64c 84/60sh 66/50sh 76/66c 83/64s 74/64pc 52/46r 79/68s 79/57c 65/48r 76/55pc 57/45pc 58/47r 67/54r 68/45pc 88/58s 89/59pc 88/59s

Friday

Saturday

56/44c 88/65s 84/59s 73/64c 58/46c 83/57s 57/46pc 81/56s 69/55c 65/45pc 72/47s 72/55sh 74/54s 89/59s 74/56sh 67/50pc 85/66pc 62/48pc 69/45s 78/67s 72/48s 58/43c 71/58sh 87/57s 78/70s 60/45c 64/46sh 67/46s 64/48sh 85/52s 66/50r 68/44s 71/62pc 58/53pc 70/58r 81/55s 71/48s 86/61s 81/58sh 61/45pc 84/64pc 87/60s 60/43sh 77/67pc 83/63s 73/64s 68/45sh 80/69s 81/57c 71/46s 73/53pc 51/44sh 55/46sh 77/53s 66/46s 84/56s 76/58sh 86/56s

Asia Adelaide Alice Springs Bali Broome Cairns Calcutta Changde Changsha Christchurch Da Nang Darwin Dhaka Guangzhou Hagatna, Guam Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City Hobart Karachi Katmandu Kuala Lumpur Kyoto Lhasa Macau Mumbai Nanchang New Delhi Noumea Osaka Pago Pago Perth Phnom Penh Pyongyang Rangoon Sapporo Singapore Suva, Fiji Tianjin Vladivostok Wellington Wuhan Yokohama

Saturday

67/55pc 80/45s 87/77t 89/66s 80/63s 97/79s 84/67pc 82/69t 46/39r 86/77t 90/69s 91/83t 81/75t 87/80s 84/76t 90/77t 60/53s 102/83pc 77/61t 90/77t 76/58c 76/50sh 78/77t 88/84t 78/70t 101/86pc 75/70t 78/59c 85/79s 60/50sh 89/79t 71/54sh 87/78t 58/49sh 90/80t 83/73sh 91/59s 71/46sh 54/48r 86/68t 77/66c

Americas

Friday

Acapulco, Mexico Belize Bermuda Bogota, Colombia Brasilia, Brazil Bridgetown, Barbados

86/77t 90/77t 75/69pc 67/50sh 78/61pc 86/79sh

Canberra 58/50c

Melbourne 65/49s

Tunis 88/67s

Amsterdam

Worldweather

Guam

Hagatna 87/80

Bulgaria

Skopje 88/59s

Palermo 79/68s

Japan

Osaka 78/59c

Shanghai 83/63sh

Jakarta 90/77s

Serbia

S. Korea

Seoul 70/55sh

Malaysia

Belgrade 92/64s

Mont.

Pyongyang 71/54sh

Hong Kong Taiwan Laos 83/78t Rangoon Manila Da Nang 87/78t Thailand 91/78t 86/77t Vietnam Bangkok Cambodia 88/79t Ho Chi Minh City Phnom Penh 90/77t 89/79t Philippines

Croatia

Bosnia

Cagliari 82/66s

Lhasa 76/50sh

Sri Lanka

Budapest 87/60pc

Austria

China

Dhaka 91/83t

N. Korea

Xian 80/51pc

Maldives

Hungary

Rome 85/62pc

Ajaccio 86/67pc

Iran

Islamabad 104/72pc

Czech Rep.

Italy

Madrid 91/60s

Belarus

Krakow 74/50sh

Florence 90/63c

Marseille 89/64c

Minsk 66/50sh

Warsaw 69/50r

Poland

Prague 65/48r

Lux.

Lyon 82/60r

Santiago de Compostela 68/45pc

Faro 76/59s

Belgium

Afghanistan

Beijing 93/59s

Asia

Tajik.

Vladivostok 71/46sh

Mongolia

Urumqi 77/59sh

Kyrgyz.

Kabul 82/53s

Latvia

Lithuania

Bonn 67/49pc

Switzerland

Bordeaux 79/56sh

Seville 89/59pc

Berlin 69/49c

Germany

Neth.

England

Portugal

Hamburg 63/46pc

Uzbek.

Russia Turkmen.

Copenhagen 61/49sh

Denmark

Manchester 63/44pc

Dublin 58/45pc Birmingham 64/45pc

Estonia

Stockholm 57/45sh Riga 58/47r

Edinburgh 61/43pc Newcastle 63/43c

Almaty 80/50pc

St. Petersburg 70/52pc

Goteborg 58/46r

Ulan Bator 77/33c

Kazakhstan

Helsinki 65/48c

Oslo 52/46r

Saturday

84/56s 58/47r 80/51s 58/47r 87/55s 81/59pc 83/66s 74/53s 59/45sh 63/46sh Sunday

64/58sh 83/49s 87/77t 88/66s 80/66s 97/80t 82/68t 83/69t 51/42r 88/77t 91/69s 95/82t 85/75t 87/80s 87/76t 90/77t 60/52c 100/83s 77/59sh 92/77t 70/58sh 76/50sh 79/77t 88/84t 81/70t 105/85s 73/67sh 73/57sh 85/79s 64/50c 88/79t 81/54s 89/78t 61/45sh 90/80t 81/73sh 92/66c 74/46sh 53/53r 82/68t 70/62sh Saturday

88/79t 92/79t 75/70sh 68/50c 80/59pc 87/79sh

Abidjan, Ivory Coast 88/76t Abu Dhabi 105/78s Accra, Ghana 91/77s Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 78/59s Alexandria, Egypt 79/68s Algiers, Algeria 88/65c Amman, Jordan 85/65s Ankara, Turkey 65/51r Baghdad 107/83s Bahrain 99/84s Beirut 78/68s Cape Town, South Africa 69/51s Casablanca, Morocco 74/60s Damascus, Syria 87/60s Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 85/73pc Harare, Zimbabwe 75/50s Istanbul, Turkey 74/60s Kabul, Afghanistan 81/51s Kinshasa, Congo 92/70pc Kuwait 109/86s Lagos, Nigeria 86/78t Luanda, Angola 86/76s Lusaka, Zambia 74/52pc Luxor, Egypt 101/77s Mecca, Saudi Arabia 111/86s Mombasa, Kenya 85/76s Nairobi, Kenya 77/59t Nicosia, Cyprus 79/63s Rabat, Morocco 76/56pc Tangier, Morocco 75/58s Tbilisi, Georgia 82/62t Tehran, Iran 91/72s Tel Aviv, Israel 83/68s Tombouctou, Mali 114/83s Tripoli, Libya 86/63s Tunis, Tunisia 88/67s Zanzibar 84/76s

Saturday

74/61c 67/41s 90/78t 87/68t 88/70t 86/76sh 62/47c 69/60s 73/51sh 85/77t 84/79sh 87/73t 41/33pc 69/46sh 68/52sh 86/64t 85/73t 77/60pc 68/50sh 66/49s 64/43s

Moscow

Tokyo

Los Angeles 72/58pc

Cloudy, periods of rain 74/49 Saturday: Sunny 83/52 Sunday: Late-day rain 83/57 Monday: Rain 74/54

Toronto 69/53c

Boston 82/59s New York 83/64s Washington 86/65s

St. Louis 86/67pc

Dallas 84/66pc Houston 88/68s

USA forecast

Friday

Albany, N.Y. Albuquerque Allentown, Pa. Anchorage Atlanta Atlantic City Austin, Texas Baltimore Baton Rouge, La. Billings, Mont.

Birmingham, Ala. Boise, Idaho Boston Buffalo Cedar Rapids, Iowa Charleston, S.C. Charlotte, N.C. Cheyenne, Wyo. Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Colorado Springs Columbia, S.C. Columbus, Ohio Concord, N.H. Dallas-Ft. Worth Daytona Beach, Fla. Denver Detroit El Paso

Zurich

Cloudy with late day rain 72/57 Saturday: Sunny 74/53 Sunday: Mostly cloudy 77/53 Monday: Rain 79/58

Chicago 68/55c

San Francisco 67/50pc

A few clouds 83/64 Saturday: Few showers 77/64 Sunday: Isolated thunderstorms 77/60 Monday: Partly cloudy 72/59

Vienna

Morning showers 77/66 Sunday: Showers 70/62 Monday: Sunny 74/62 Tuesday: Partly cloudy 74/63

Denver 72/50t

New York

Mainly cloudy and rainy 65/49 Saturday: Sunny 74/48 Sunday: Thundershowers 78/54 Monday: Rain 66/53

Minneapolis-St. Paul 76/56s

Saturday

88/77t 106/79s 92/78t 78/55s 78/67s 87/59c 84/62s 76/48s 103/78s 99/85s 79/66s 69/52c 70/60pc 88/56s 86/72s 76/50pc 79/59s 82/53s 92/72t 110/85s 88/79t 86/75t 76/50s 101/73s 113/83s 84/75t 77/60t 81/60s 71/54sh 71/57sh 76/61sh 90/69s 81/63s 109/83s 88/64s 90/68s 84/76t

Munich

Showers 69/56 Saturday: Rain 61/47 Sunday: Showers 54/46 Monday: Showers 58/46

Seattle 69/46pc Portland 75/47pc

Hong Kong Windy with scattered storms 83/78 Sunday: Scattered storms 83/78 Monday: Scattered storms 84/78 Tuesday: Scattered storms 87/78

84/56s 65/55t 86/62s 60/43pc 76/65sh 80/63s 90/64pc 85/63s 82/67t 72/49s 78/66t 87/55s 82/59s 72/56pc 76/58sh 82/67sh 83/62pc 65/47t 68/55c 86/63s 77/58s 64/47t 84/65pc 85/63s 84/50s 84/66pc 78/71t 72/50t 75/56c 77/61t

Saturday

78/55sh 73/54t 84/61t 60/44sh 78/65t 78/64pc 88/66t 85/65pc 79/68t 77/55pc 79/67t 87/56pc 64/58c 72/52t 76/58t 82/68c 83/64c 62/45sh 76/55t 86/66t 79/60t 64/48t 84/66c 86/64t 72/51sh 81/68t 80/71t 68/50t 78/57t 81/63t

Friday

Fargo, N.D. Fort Myers, Fla. Grand Rapids, Mich.

Greensboro, N.C. Hartford, Conn.

Honolulu Houston Huntsville, Ala. Indianapolis Jackson, Miss.

Jacksonville, Fla. Kansas City, Mo. Knoxville, Tenn.

Las Vegas Little Rock Louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis Mobile, Ala. Myrtle Beach, S.C. Nashville New Orleans Norfolk, Va. Oklahoma City Omaha Orlando Palm Springs, Calif.

Pensacola, Fla.

72/45sh 87/71t 74/55sh 83/62pc 86/60s 84/73s 88/68s 81/65t 84/65s 80/66t 79/67t 84/65s 83/61sh 89/71c 77/65t 85/66t 80/67t 84/76t 59/52c 76/56s 79/69t 80/67pc 83/64t 80/72t 80/65s 81/61pc 81/62t 81/70t 98/74pc 77/70t

New Orleans 80/72t

Saturday

67/47s 88/72t 77/55sh 83/63pc 77/59sh 82/72pc 89/70t 83/65t 85/65t 75/68t 82/67t 79/65t 84/62c 94/73pc 80/66t 87/68t 86/69sh 85/77t 66/52sh 73/54sh 76/70t 78/68c 85/65t 79/73t 79/66pc 79/63t 78/62t 80/70t 99/73s 77/72t

Miami 84/76t

Friday

Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Portland, Maine Portland, Ore. Providence, R.I. Raleigh, N.C. Rapid City, S.D. Reno, Nev. Richmond Rochester, N.Y. Sacramento Saint Louis Salt Lake City San Antonio San Diego San Francisco San Juan, P.R. Sarasota, Fla. Savannah, Ga. Seattle Shreveport, La. Spokane, Wash.

Syracuse, N.Y. Tampa Topeka, Kan. Tucson Tulsa Washington Wichita

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Saturday

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