National and International news: julho 2011

sexta-feira, 15 de julho de 2011

US, Russia agree on rules for safer adoptions

By BRADLEY KLAPPERWASHINGTON -- The United States and Russia ended an ugly dispute over the abuse of adopted Russian children on Wednesday, with Washington agreeing to investigate reports of maltreatment and increase oversight of adopting families.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed the accord in a ceremony in Washington. It is a response to the furor created last year when an adoptive mother from Tennessee sent her 7-year-old boy unaccompanied on a plane back to Moscow because she didn't want to be his mother anymore.

"We take very seriously the safety and security of children that are adopted by American parents," Clinton told reporters. "This agreement provides new important safeguards to protect them. It also increases transparency for all parties involved in the adoption process."

The deal stipulates that agencies can operate in Russia only with the authorization of the country's government, except in cases where a child is being adopted by relatives. Better information will also be provided to prospective parents about the social and medical histories of children.

Russia demanded the agreement after the uproar sparked when Artyom Savelyev was sent back from his adoptive home in Tennessee in April 2010. Savelyev's adoptive mother refused to allow a social worker into the house less than a month before the boy was returned with a note saying she no longer wanted to be his mother because the child had psychological problems, according to authorities.

The incident outraged Russia, for years one of the biggest sources of adopted children for Americans. But adoptions have fallen steadily from Russia after a string of abuse cases prompted Russian officials to demand tighter control or warn of a complete suspension. They dropped by more than 500 last year to 1,082, leaving Russians behind Chinese and Ethiopian kids as third most adopted.

Some international adoption proceedings in Russia were slowed in response, but there was no complete halt to adoptions by Americans.

That caused some concern the tighter regulations might cause potential adoptive parents to look toward other countries and leave more Russian children at the mercy of underfunded and overcrowded orphanages.

"We want all children, whether they be Russian children or American children, to be able to have loving homes with families that will take good care of them," Clinton said.

Lavrov said the agreement would help counter growing public anger over the fate of Russian children in the United States.

Speaking through an interpreter, he thanked the U.S. for its work toward finding a solution.

Russian officials have claimed that at least 17 adopted Russian children have died in domestic violence in American families.

Earlier this month, local media reported that a central Pennsylvania couple accused of killing their adopted Russian son won't face the death penalty if convicted. Police say the child had a traumatic brain injury, about 80 external injuries and was malnourished when he died in 2009, but the parents say the boy repeatedly hurt himself and that they provided him with sufficient medical care.

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Giuliani heads to NH to explore presidential bid

By STEVE PEOPLESCONCORD, N.H. -- Rudy Giuliani isn't convinced that any of the declared Republican presidential contenders can defeat President Barack Obama.

Until he is, Giuliani says he won't rule out a run of his own.

"These are a lot of qualified people," the former New York City mayor told The Associated Press on the eve of his fourth visit to New Hampshire this year. "Do they have a good chance of winning? I don't know the answer to that."

Giuliani, who acknowledges that his failed 2008 campaign was deeply flawed, has five public appearances scheduled during a two-day visit starting Thursday to the first-in-the-nation primary state. The stops include a luncheon with the Seacoast Federation of Republican Women in Portsmouth, a more intimate gathering at a private New Castle home with law enforcement officials and a gun-rights discussion at Manchester Harley Davidson.

It may sound like a candidate's schedule, but Giuliani backed away from an aide's recent comment that he would decide "very soon" whether to join the presidential field. He ruled out any decision before the end of July and said his timeline is late August or early September. He argued that he still has the drive to extend his political career.

"I have a tremendous fire for more public service," Giuliani, 67, said. "That's something that I feel sort of incomplete about."

Still, he doesn't sound eager to be considered even a potential candidate.

"I certainly haven't decided to get in. I don't think I would even describe myself as testing the waters. I'd say that I keep it open as a possibility," he said, adding he was going to New Hampshire at the invitation of local Republicans. "And it will give me a chance to gather more information and get a better feeling for it."

There's a general feeling among New Hampshire Republicans that Giuliani won't run. But if he does, GOP officials here say Giuliani would face tremendous hurdles, partly because many candidates have been building state organizations for months.

"It would be very daunting, particularly when you look at the campaign staffs that several of the candidates have. They've been here a while," state GOP Chairman Jack Kimball said. "But it really comes down to the voters and the passion that they feel for the person."

When it comes to Giuliani, there is evidence of lingering resentment from New Hampshire activists who supported him last time only to watch him employ a national strategy that largely ignored the Granite State, as well as early voting contests in Iowa, Michigan, Nevada and South Carolina. His strategy hinged on Florida, a state he ultimately finished third in before dropping out of the race completely.

He finished a disappointing fourth in New Hampshire last time.

This year virtually every member of Giuliani's 2008 New Hampshire team is backing someone else.

That list is led by Doug Scamman, the former mayor's state chairman in 2008, who now is backing Romney and lent his Stratham farm for Romney's official announcement speech last month.

Giuliani doesn't think the damage is irreparable.

"They have a right to be resentful. I made a big mistake last time," he said. "I think people respond very, very well to somebody just saying they were wrong. I was wrong and will do it differently."

He may not be done apologizing.

"I've done that the last four times I was there," he said, laughing. "I keep apologizing. And I mean it. It's OK. I mean it."

Still, Michael Dennehy, a political consultant who previously led John McCain's presidential campaign here, and others say Giuliani is one of the few remaining potential candidates with the national profile to be a factor, even this late in the game.

"If you look strictly at the numbers, his image is very good" and he's well known, Dennehy said.

Another key Giuliani supporter from 2008, Rep. Frank Guinta, agrees that Giuliani could be a force, although he's not willing to support Giuliani again at this point.

"If Rudy got in the race, and if he ran a different kind of New Hampshire-based campaign, he would be a worthy opponent," Guinta said. "I think his experience and his stature warrants seriousness and brings credibility to the potential group of people running."

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Wambach lifts US past France to World Cup final

Eyewitness NewsGERMANY -- Somehow, the Americans seem to find a way to win. And more often than not, Abby Wambach has something to do with it.

With time running out and France giving the United States all it could handle and then some, Wambach's winner in the 79th minute put her teammates at ease and set off celebrations on two continents.

The 3-1 victory Wednesday night has the Americans in the World Cup final for the first time since 1999, which also just happens to be the last time the United States won soccer's biggest prize.

"It it was a privilege to take the other side of the field against a great France team," Wambach said. "However, our team has the ability to fight through adversity. Our team has the ability to stick together when the going gets rough, and I couldn't be more excited and proud."

The Americans will face Japan on Sunday in Frankfurt. The U.S.

beat Japan by 2-0 scores in a pair of warmup games a month before the World Cup, but don't make any assumptions off that. This World Cup has been anything but predictable, and it's not likely to stop until someone is holding that gold trophy.

Germany was the big favorite when the World Cup began, two-time defending champs and sure to get a boost from playing at home.

Brazil had Marta, and was due for a good result after coming up just short in the last three major tournaments. Both teams were sent packing early, not even making it to the semifinals.

Instead it was France, which had made only other World Cup appearance, and Japan in the final four along with the Americans and Sweden. And the Japanese made surprisingly easy work of Sweden, the last unbeaten team in the tournament in the other semifinal Wednesday night.

"Tonight, the Japanese were a bit more eager to win," Sweden coach Thomas Dennerby said after Japan's 3-1 victory.

The Americans knew they had doubters when they arrived in Germany. They'd lost three games since November, an alarming "bad" streak for a team that can goes years without a loss, and needed to win a playoff just to get to the World Cup.

But the players were unshakable in their belief in themselves, and that will to win has won over the entire country. Even though the game started at noon EDT, people from coast to coast skipped work or took frequent "breaks" to watch the game. Bars opened early. Neighborhoods held watch parties. At the Phoenix airport, dozens of fans crowded around TVs to watch the game.

When the final whistle blew, Hollywood celebrities, pro athletes and ordinary folks who didn't know a free kick from a corner kick just a few days ago flooded Twitter with congratulations. "My heroes. Wambach. Boxx. Rapinoe. Solo. That TEAM! Our team!" actor Tom Hanks tweeted. Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers said, "Awesome job US Women, finish it off Sunday now."

"These wins, we can't do it alone. We know a whole nation is cheering us on," Wambach said. "We believe in ourselves and we're in the final. I couldn't be happier."

A little relieved, too.

Though not quite as flashy as Brazil, France plays with a flair and creativity that is impressive to behold. Louisa Necib runs France's offense, and rarely were her passes or ideas off the mark.

Les Bleues were so cohesive that the midfield became a no man's land for the Americans; any ball that dared enter was soon in France's hands.

France was so dominant that, despite Lauren Cheney scoring in the ninth minute, the U.S. seemed to be playing from behind for most of the game.

"We didn't play well today," U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said. "However, we find a way to win and that's a credit to the players' hearts. That's what makes it so wonderful to be coach of this team."

Sundhage finally replaced Carli Lloyd with sparkplug Megan Rapinoe in the 65th minute, shifting Cheney inside and letting Rapinoe run wild on the flanks.

Just like that, the Americans had regained control.

"We didn't want to do that whole 30 minutes of overtime and (penalty kick) thing again," Rapinoe said.

The Americans were able to push forward and began threatening French goalkeeper Berangere Sapowicz. Finally, in the 79th, Cheney won a corner kick.

"I told (Cheney) at halftime, 'Put the ball to the back post, and we're going to get a goal,"' Wambach said.

Cheney delivered the ball perfectly to the far post. Just as Wambach had predicted, the 5-foot-11 forward soared over the scrum and pushed the ball past Sapowicz.

"I knew Abby was going to beat her," Cheney said, referring to the French defender who practically mugged Wambach to try and contain her.

Asked how, Cheney said, "Because she's Abby Wambach."

It was Wambach's third goal of the tournament and 12th of her career, tying fellow American Michelle Akers for third on the all-time World Cup scoring list.

And the Americans weren't done yet. Rapinoe found a streaking Alex Morgan, who outraced four defenders, collected the ball and then threw Sapowicz off with a sweet stutter-step. The goal wide open, Morgan buried the ball to put the game out of reach.

"The priority is not to accept another goal," France coach Bruno Bini said through a translator. "When that happens, you've had it. We conceded another goal and that was it for us."

Despite the loss, the World Cup was a resounding success for the French. In addition to their first semifinal appearance, they qualified for the London Olympics, where the Americans will be two-time defending champions.

That, however, is next summer.

The Americans have another title to claim first.

"We've achieved part of our goal. We're in the final," Wambach said. "We want to complete it. We want to be world champs."

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Mexico suspends search for 7 missing US tourists

By MARK STEVENSONMEXICO CITY -- The Mexican navy on Wednesday suspended its search for seven U.S. men missing since a charter fishing boat capsized and sank in Mexico's Sea of Cortez on July 3.

The announcement came a day after the U.S. Coast Guard ended aerial searches, in which a C-130 Hercules aircrew had covered an 803-square-mile (2,080 square-kilometer) area off the Baja California coast.

Mexican navy Lt. Sindy Espinoza said the naval search was "in a suspended phase," but could resume if new information on the sunken boat's whereabouts came to light. He said the navy would be alert for any reports from passing boats that might spot debris or other signs of the wreck.

"It's just a very sad day for all of us," Joelle Bautista, wife of missing Russell Bautista of Penngrove, California, said of the decision to suspend the search. "I just wish it was a bad dream."

Capt. Alonso Montalvo at the Baja California naval base in San Felipe said the navy "is maintaining its presence" in the area where the 105-foot (32-meter) fishing boat Erik went down about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of San Felipe.

The search has been complicated by uncertainty about the spot where the boat came to rest. Espinoza said Mexican divers had looked for the wreck but were unable to find anything.

The United States has offered to send deep-water divers to help with the search, but Mexico has so far used its own divers.

The navy and other fishing boats pulled 19 fishermen and all 16 crew members from the water late Sunday. The survivors had clung to coolers, rescue rings and life vests for more than 16 hours after a sudden storm capsized the boat.

Most of the 27 U.S. tourists on board the ship were Northern California men who traveled to Mexico for an annual Independence Day fishing trip.

Craig Wong of Walnut Creek, California, who survived the sinking, likened the end of the search to shutting off a life-support machine for his brother Brian, who is missing.

Brothers Gary and Glen Wong also survived the ordeal.

"My hope is that he is somewhere and the seven missing are somewhere on an island just surviving by the hour and by the day," Wong told San Francisco's KGO-TV.

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India: No leads or suspects yet in Mumbai bombings

Wreckage of motorbikes lie at the site of a bomb explosion outside Opera House in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, July 13, 2011. Three explosions rocked India's busy financial capital at rush-hour Wednesday, killing at least eight people and injuring 70 in what officials described as another terror strike on the city hit by militants nearly three years ago. (AP Photo)

By NIRMALA GEORGEMUMBAI, India -- No terror group has claimed responsibility for the triple bombings that killed 17 people in India's financial capital, and investigators had no immediate suspects in the attacks that came without warning, the country's top security official said Thursday.

Angry residents of Mumbai blamed the government for an apparent intelligence breakdown that left the city vulnerable, but Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said the latest attack did not represent a failure of the country's anti-terror network.

"Whoever has perpetrated this attack has worked in a very, very clandestine manner," Chidambaram said at a news conference after an emergency security meeting.

The bombings shook three separate neighborhoods within minutes during Wednesday's busy evening rush and were the country's worst terror strike since the siege of Mumbai that killed 166 people nearly three years ago. After that, India enacted sweeping security reforms and has avoided another major attack in the nearly three years since.

That did little to reassure residents who questioned how the attack could happen despite massive security measures taken in recent years.

"After the 2008 blast and all the media hype (about safety), we thought we were safe," said Anita Ramaswami, a 33-year-old accountant. "But things still are the same and people in Mumbai continue to feel vulnerable."

Top Indian officials said the government may never be able to guarantee a terror-free nation in a region so plagued by extremist groups.

"We live in the most troubled neighborhood in the world.

Pakistan-Afghanistan is the epicenter of terror ... every part of India is vulnerable," Chidambaram said.

"It's very difficult to stop every single terror attack," agreed Rahul Gandhi, a senior leader of the ruling Congress Party. "The steps taken by our government over the last couple of years are quite profound steps."

News reports said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was expected to visit Mumbai later Thursday evening.

Indian officials have refused to speculate on who might be behind the attack.

"We are not pointing a finger at this stage," Chidambaram said. "We have to look at every possible hostile group and find out whether they are behind the blast."

Indian officials have accused Pakistan's powerful spy agency of helping to coordinate and fund earlier attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai siege. Peace talks between the countries were suspended after that attack and resumed only recently.

Chidambaram did not rule out that the blasts might have been aimed at derailing a new round of peace talks still expected to start in a few days.

The Hindu nationalist opposition called Pakistan the hotbed of terror in the region, called for its spy agency to be declared a terror outfit and criticized the Indian government for not dealing more sternly with Islamabad.

"The government of India must shed its ambivalent attitude to terrorism. The total policy of India toward terrorism should be of zero tolerance," said L.K. Advani, a senior leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. "Our message to Pakistan should be that you must dismantle the infrastructure for terrorism that you have created."

Soon after the blasts, Pakistan's government expressed distress about the loss of lives and injuries.

A steady drizzle Thursday washed away bloodstains and threatened evidence at the scenes of the bombings, which ripped off storefronts, shredded a bus stop and left bodies strewn in the dirt of Mumbai's crowded neighborhoods and market. Investigators covered the blast sites with plastic sheets to protect the evidence.

Investigators were viewing closed circuit television footage and speaking to wounded witnesses to try and put together a picture of what happened at each location, Rakesh Maria, the head of Mumbai's Anti-Terror Squad, told reporters.

The bomb in the Dadar area in central Mumbai was placed on a bus shelter; in the Opera House business district in southern Mumbai it was hidden under some garbage on the road; in the Jhaveri Bazaar jewelry market a few miles (kilometers) away it was hidden under an umbrella, near a motorcycle, officials said.

All three were improvised explosive devices made of ammonium nitrate with electric detonators, authorities said.

"The IEDs were not crude and showed some amount of sophistication and training," said R.K. Singh, India's home secretary.

Surveillance cameras were in place at all three blast sites, Chidambaram said, but he did not reveal if any information was gleaned from them.

Meanwhile, families raced to find word about their relatives.

One man described hunting for information about his brother, who was in the jewelry market when the bomb went off.

"We are in that market every day from morning to night," he told NDTV news channel, as he held back tears. "We went from hospital to hospital and finally found his body in the morgue."

Kaushik Adhikari, 18, said his father, a goldsmith, was wounded in the same blast.

"He was hit by a shrapnel in the stomach and operated on. Doctors say he is stable," he said. "This has come as a big shock. We realize how uncertain life has become."

Press Trust of India reported the federal government had announced families of those killed in the blasts would be compensated 200,000 rupees ($4,500). The local government announced a compensation of 500,000 rupees ($11,200).

Chidambaram lowered the casualty toll to 17 confirmed deaths. He said a severed head was found that could be an 18th casualty. He did not explain the discrepancy from an earlier government statement that listed 21 deaths. Additionally, 131 were injured, 23 of them seriously.

The blasts marked the first major attack on Mumbai since 10 militants laid siege to the city for 60 hours in November 2008.

That attack targeted two luxury hotels, a Jewish center and a busy train station.

---
Associated Press writers Muneeza Naqvi, Ashok Sharma and Ravi Nessman in New Delhi contributed to this report.

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Metrodome roof up again, nearly ready for Vikings

By DAVE CAMPBELLMINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings have a roof over their helmets once again.

Seven months after the Metrodome's Teflon-coated fiberglass ceiling collapsed in a snowstorm, forcing the Vikings to play their final two home games last season elsewhere, the new roof has been raised in plenty of time for the first preseason game.

Stadium officials and construction workers inflated the roof Wednesday morning as a test. No problems popped up, so the roof of the 29-year-old stadium will stay up while the finishing touches are put on a rebuilding project that began in March.

"There doesn't seem to be any issues whatsoever," said Ted Mondale, the chairman of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, the agency that operates the facility officially known as Mall of America Field.

The new roof sits a little lower than before, to better withstand strong winds and help prevent snow from piling up in drifts. But it still sports the puffy, muffin-top look that frames the east side of the downtown Minneapolis skyline. The 10-acre surface, just one-16th of an inch thick, is held up by several 100-horsepower fans.

MSFC director of facilities and engineering Steve Maki sat in the football press box as the roof was quietly and steadily lifted to full height in about 45 minutes. Workers with poles watched from the upper deck to make sure the inner lining didn't snag on the way up. Five others kept watch on top, casting silhouettes in the morning sun as they walked back and forth.

Most of the construction work should be done by Aug. 1, which will trigger a $500,000 bonus for Amherst, N.Y.-based contractor Birdair Inc., the company that also designed and installed the original roof. The project cost $22.7 million, including $18 million for the roof itself, and it's covered by the MSFC's insurance.

The artificial turf was also damaged when the roof broke open and snow poured in, and that might have to be replaced, too, but Maki said that work, if necessary, would be done by Aug. 18. The surface, installed just last summer, has been covered in plywood during the project. Bids are in, and Maki said a decision on whether new turf is needed will be made by the end of next week.

The Vikings are scheduled to play their first home preseason game on Aug. 27, assuming the NFL lockout is over. Vikings vice president for public affairs and stadium development Lester Bagley said the team is appreciative of the work.

"We're going to get our home-field advantage back," Bagley said.

The roof collapsed after a storm that brought 17 inches of snow in a 24-hour span and high winds that prevented stadium workers from clearing the roof. No one was hurt, but the Vikings were forced to shift home games to Detroit's Ford Field and then to the University of Minnesota, losing both times.

It was the fourth roof collapse at the facility, but the first since 1983.

Enough damage was done that the entire roof needed to be replaced, rather than just the damaged diamond-shaped panels. Under the new roof, some of the dinginess is gone and the inner lining is smaller, allowing more sunlight. New acoustical panels were also hung from the roof to improve the stadium's sound quality.

Mondale credited Maki for his leadership of the project.

Workers, who endured 100-degree-plus heat on the roof plus plenty of rain and wind over the last four months, appeared to enjoy themselves. A paper airplane was even spotted flying through one of the vent holes.

The Vikings don't plan to play under their new roof for long, though.

They're in the final year of their lease at the Metrodome, actively seeking a new stadium in Arden Hills, a suburb north of downtown. That effort has been stymied in part by the state's budget deficit and government shutdown, an impasse between Gov.

Mark Dayton, a Democrat, and the Republican-majority Legislature.

"We're going to need to raise revenue to do this, and there really hasn't been a lot of synergy on how that would happen at this point," Mondale said. "So we're waiting. But we're working.

We're being creative, and we're being solution-focused. I think there's still a pretty good shot that we'll have a good proposal ready for the elected leaders to take a look at - and hopefully in the right timeframe. I know the governor wants to get this done. He wants to get this done this year."

The Vikings have been waiting for a budget deal to be struck first.

"Once that comes together, we're confident that we'll be ready and be in position to have a good discussion about a stadium solution," Bagley said.

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U-Turn: Murdochs say they plan to go Parliament

By ROBERT BARR and JILL LAWLESSLONDON -- Rupert and James Murdoch said Thursday that they planned to appear before a parliamentary committee investigating Britain's phone hacking scandal - a sudden U-turn that followed an extraordinary rebuff of lawmakers seeking to question them.

A spokeswoman for Murdoch's New York-based News Corp. said that the pair were in the process of confirming their attendance on Tuesday.

"The intention is to go," Miranda Higham said.

Hours earlier, the Murdochs refused to appear at a hearing next week before the committee, which is investigating allegations of phone hacking and bribery by employees of their newspapers.

The snub had set up a confrontation between two of Britain's most powerful men and a Parliament once seen as easily bent to his will.

Britain's legislature had already forced them to abandon their ambitions of purchasing highly profitable British Sky Broadcasting network Wednesday after lawmakers from all parties united to demand that News Corp. withdraw its bid.

Witnesses are regularly called to appear before parliamentary committees, which quiz everyone from business leaders to prime ministers on a wide range of issues.

Defiance of a parliamentary summons is illegal, and can in theory be punished with a fine or jail time. In practice, such measures have been all but unknown in modern times; the House of Commons last punished a non-member in 1957.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Nowitzki, Mavs take big honors at ESPY Awards

L to R, Dallas Mavericks Shawn Marion, Jason Kidd, J.J. Barea, Brian Cardinal, Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler pose backstage at the ESPY awards on Wednesday, July 13, 2011, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg) (AP Photo)

Entertainment NewsLOS ANGELES -- Dirk Nowitzki and his teammates were feeling so good, they broke out in another rendition of "We are the Champions."

It was definitely a fun night to be a member of the Dallas Mavericks.

Nowitzki picked up a pair of trophies, including male athlete of the year, and the Mavericks were chosen as the best team Wednesday night at the ESPY Awards. Nowitzki also won best NBA player during ESPN's live telecast from the Nokia Theatre. Rick Carlisle was named best coach for leading the Mavericks to the NBA championship.

"I've got to tell you, any party where Dirk is singing 'We are the Champions' is just the best party ever," Dallas owner Mark Cuban told reporters of the Mavs' celebration in South Beach.

Nowitzki, who was the MVP of the NBA finals, is the first NBA player to be named top male athlete since Michael Jordan in 1993.

Also nominated for the award were Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and tennis star Rafael Nadal, who each won awards in other categories.

"This is humbling," said Nowitzki, who was talked into singing Queen's famous tune backstage. "I'm very honored to be up here tonight."

Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn won female athlete of the year for the second year in a row. She is the first female to win the honor consecutive times since Annika Sorenstam in 2005-06. Vonn won in a group that included Connecticut basketball star Maya Moore, three-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson and Olympic snowboarder Kelly Clark.

Saturday Night Live comedian Seth Myers hosted the show for a second straight year. He opened the telecast by joking about the NFL and NBA lockouts before taking some digs at the Miami Heat. He then cracked some jokes about Brian Wilson's unique outfit choice.

The always eccentric Wilson would have won the award for best dressed athlete, had there been one. All eyes were on the San Francisco Giants closer as he walked down the red carpet in a full-body spandex tuxedo, complete with black high-tops and a cane.

"Justin Bieber could have set himself on fire and not have had a crazier outfit than Brian Wilson," Myers told reporters.

Fresh off leading the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup crown in 39 years, Boston goaltender Tim Thomas won for best championship performance and best NHL player.

"It's been a month, but it still really hasn't sunk in what it means to the city and whole New England area," Thomas said.

Philadelphia's Roy Halladay took home two awards. The Phillies ace won as the best MLB player and for best moment for his playoff no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds.

Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin, who burst onto the scene in winning NBA Rookie of the Year, was chosen as breakthrough athlete. Griffin won the slam dunk competition at All-Star weekend by jumping over a Kia Optima to seal the crown.

Vonn professed to having "Bieber Fever" during her acceptance speech.

"Justin Bieber, will you take a picture of me for my Facebook page?" she asked the pop star as he sat in the audience.

The best play of the year happened just days ago and went to U.S. women's national team member Abby Wambach, who headed home the game-tying goal in Sunday's dramatic win over Brazil at the World Cup.

Myers and fellow SNL cast member Bill Hader poked fun at Nowitzki in spoofing the German's unorthodox shooting style late in the telecast. The skit centered around a fake Dirk Nowitzki Basketball Camp, featuring a tagline of "The uglier the shot, the more beautiful the result."

Jay Leno presented the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance to Anthony Robles, who also won for best male athlete with a disability.

Robles was an NCAA wrestling champion despite being born with just one leg. He said his goal is to become a motivational speaker.

Dewey Bozella received the Arthur Ashe Courage award for his strength and conviction. Actor Kiefer Sutherland handed out the award to the boxer, who was imprisoned 26 years for a crime he didn't commit.

The year's best game went to the Eagles and Giants, in a contest that saw Philadelphia score 28 points in the final 7:18 to rally for a 38-31 win.

Super Bowl MVP Rodgers was honored as best NFL player and Serena Williams won for best female tennis player.

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Authorities release videos taken by Dugard captors

Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy, are seen during a bail hearing, on charges related to the 1991 abduction of Jaycee Dugard, at the El Dorado County Superior Court in Placerville, Calif., Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. Phillip Garrido, who faces 29 charges was given a $30 million bail but will continue to be kept in custody on a parole hold. Nancy Garrido, who faces the same 29 charges, will continue to be held without bail. (AP Photo)

By TERENCE CHEASAN FRANCISCO -- Newly released videos recorded by the Northern California couple who held Jaycee Lee Dugard captive for 18 years provide chilling details about the kidnappers, most notably stealthily shot images from a playground that show young girls frolicking on a tire swing at a park.

In addition, video of a parole officer visiting the home of kidnappers Phillip and Nancy Garrido shows yet again how the state botched chances to find Dugard as she was held captive in the backyard of the couple's home.

Three video clips were released Tuesday by El Dorado County prosecutors, who recovered the footage from videotapes found in trash in the Garridos' backyard. Phillip Garrido had tried to destroy many of the tapes. However, investigators, with the help of NASA technicians, were able to recover the footage from the damaged tapes, District Attorney Vern Pierson said.

Prosecutors said they released the materials "to highlight the gravity and severity of the mistakes made," and to improve the supervision and detection of sexual predators.

One of the videos, taken sometime between 1989 and 1993, shows Phillip Garrido playing a guitar and singing while sitting against a tree at a playground.

His wife and accomplice Nancy Garrido is behind the camera and appears to be pretending to record him, though the focus is on the children behind him.

"What you need to do, you need to make it look like you're pointing at me," Phillip Garrido is heard saying. "Further you are away from me, they can't tell exactly where it's pointed."

As he plays guitar, he is heard asking, "You got me real good?"

"Yes, I can see you really good!" replies a woman's voice, as the camera focuses on a girl in a red tank top swinging on a bar on a play structure.

Another clip taken around the same time features close-ups of girls' legs as they stand in a parking lot.

Phillip Garrido is heard asking on the tape: "You think anybody can see me?"

Other footage shows a parole officer following Phillip Garrido through his Antioch home during a routine search done under terms of his parole after a 1976 rape and kidnapping conviction.

The video, first aired by ABC News, was taken by Nancy Garrido between 2000 and 2007.

It shows the parole officer searching rooms of the house but never looking in the backyard, where Dugard was being held with her two daughters fathered by Phillip Garrido after she was kidnapped in South Lake Tahoe in 1991.

Officials blurred the parole officer's face before releasing the images.

"So right now, it's just you, your wife and your mother in here?" the parole agent asks Phillip Garrido. His response is not clear, but the officer can he heard saying, "OK."

Phillip Garrido later confronts the officer as he leaves the home.

"I don't understand. I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do," Garrido says. "No one's ever talked to me like this."

Phillip Garrido was sentenced last month to 431 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping and rape in the Dugard case. Nancy Garrido was sentenced to 36 years to life after pleading guilty to similar charges.

Other released evidence includes several pages of federal parole documents, a 1972 booking photo of Phillip Garrido, and a photo of a note signed by Dugard when she was discovered by parole officers in 2009.

Throughout the years, parole officers had paid dozens of visits to the home to check on Phillip Garrido and give him drug tests, but none of the officials reported any irregularities.

A report by a federal judge found that parole agents failed to properly monitor Garrido and to stop his crimes against Dugard.

"Had Mr. Garrido's federal supervision been conducted properly from the onset, it is possible that he may have been deterred from some of the acts now attributed to him," Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware wrote in the 43-page report based on a review conducted last year by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.

State lawmakers and law enforcement officials plan to hold a public meeting at the state Capitol on Aug. 3 to discuss weaknesses in California's parole system and ways to improve it.

Dugard already has received a $20 million settlement under which the state acknowledged repeated mistakes were made by parole agents responsible for monitoring Phillip Garrido.

Dugard - whose memoir, "A Stolen Life," was released the same day as the videos - told ABC News she had even talked to an agent during one home visit.

"He made me feel like he didn't really care," she said.

Dugard was reunited with her family in August 2009 after her whereabouts was discovered during a meeting with a parole agent who had summoned Phillip Garrido to his office.

The meeting came after two University of California, Berkeley police employees grew suspicious when Garrido showed up at the campus with the two girls he fathered with her and asked for a permit to hold a religious event.

jaycee dugard, u.s. & world news

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Wife charged for cutting off husband's penis

Wife arrested for cutting off mans genitalia

Catherine Kieu Becker was arrested in Garden Grove on Monday, July 11, 2011, for allegedly tying her husband up and cutting off his penis.

By AMY TAXINGARDEN GROVE, Calif. -- A Southern California woman accused of cutting off her estranged husband's penis and putting it down a garbage disposal was charged Wednesday with torture in a case that has garnered international attention and could put her behind bars for life.

Catherine Kieu, 48, appeared briefly in Orange County Superior Court in a navy blue jail jumpsuit, hiding her face with her long, dark hair. She was appointed a public attorney to defend her and was denied bail.

The petite woman whose chains clanked as she shuffled into the caged area of the courtroom where inmates are held will return to court July 22 for her arraignment, which was continued on Wednesday, and a bail review hearing.

Kieu and her husband were still living together in a Garden Grove condo that he owned. He had filed for divorce in May, and they argued before the attack about friends staying at the condo, authorities said.

On Monday night, police say Kieu spiked a meal and served it to the victim.

The 60-year-old man started to feel sick and went to lie down, then awoke tied to the bed as Kieu attacked him with a 10-inch kitchen knife, police said.

She then put the penis down a garbage disposal, police said.

"It's hard to believe what would motivate a person to do this sort of thing," the district attorney's chief of staff, Susan Kang Schroeder, said outside court. "It's one of the worst things you could do to a person short of killing him."

Newly appointed defense attorney Lee Gabriel made no public statement after the hearing.

Police did not release the victim's name. He underwent surgery and was listed in good condition at University of California at Irvine Medical Center, hospital spokesman John Murray said.

Murray declined to say whether the penis was reattached or provide any additional details about the victim's condition, citing patient privacy laws.

Kieu was charged with one felony count of torture, one felony count of aggravated mayhem and sentencing enhancements for great bodily injury and personal use of a knife. If convicted of all counts, she could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Garden Grove Police Lt. Jeff Nightengale said Kieu called police Monday night to report a medical emergency and told arriving officers "he deserved it" before pointing to the room where the victim was found bleeding profusely. She was taken into custody without incident and refused to talk to officers further.

The couple was married in December 2009. When the victim filed for divorce, he cited irreconcilable differences, court records show. Kieu was slowly moving her things out of the condo, authorities said.

The victim declined to comment when he was reached by phone Tuesday by The Orange County Register.

"This is a private matter," he said.

A call by The Associated Press to a phone number listed on court documents for the victim was answered Wednesday by a person who promptly hung up.

Officers visited the victim on Tuesday and found him in "amazingly good spirits considering everything he has gone through," Nightengale said.

Neighbor Lourdes Painter said the couple did not have any children and seemed quiet. Kieu and her husband lived in a second-story condo in the working class complex. Painter lives in the unit below them.

Detectives were analyzing the food served for dinner.

In 1993, Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband's penis in Virginia and threw it out of her car window into a field on the side of the road. She claimed years of sexual abuse drove her to the attack, and she was acquitted by reason of insanity.

The penis was later reattached.

---
Associated Press video journalist John Mone contributed to this report.

LINK: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/index

arrest, unbelievable, eyewitness news

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Chain restaurants making kids menus healthier

By MARY CLARE JALONICKWASHINGTON -- Parents seeking healthier restaurant meals for their kids can start to look beyond chicken nuggets and macaroni-and-cheese.

At least 19 restaurant chains - including Burger King, Chili's, IHOP and Friendly's - said Wednesday that they will include healthier options on their children's menus. At least 15,000 restaurant locations will focus on increasing servings of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy. The items will have less fats, sugars and sodium.

Less healthy foods like burgers and fries will still be on the menu, but the restaurants say they will do more to promote healthier options. Chili's, for example, will highlight a chicken sandwich with a side of pineapple or mandarin oranges on their kids' menu. Burger King has recently reformulated children's chicken nuggets so they include less sodium, and employees taking orders will ask if customers want healthier apple fries instead of just the standard "fries with that?"

The effort is part of a new National Restaurant Association initiative to give kids more healthy options at restaurants and to make it easier for parents to find those options. Some of the items are already on menus, but restaurants will advertise them more prominently and flag the healthier menu items to make ordering easier.

To be part of the program, restaurants must include at least one kids' menu item that is 600 calories or less and meets other nutritional requirements. A side dish worth less than 200 calories must also be included.

"This could provide a great push toward healthier offerings at restaurants," said Robert Post, the Agriculture Department official in charge of developing the department's dietary guidelines, which came out earlier this year. Those urged Americans to eat less salt.

"We hope this is a trend toward new items and voluntary reformulations," Post said.

Chain restaurants large and small signing up for the initiative are Au Bon Pain, Bonefish Grill, Burger King, Burgerville, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Chevys, Chili's, Corner Bakery Cafe, Cracker Barrel, Denny's, El Pollo Loco, Friendly's, IHOP, Joe's Crab Shack, Outback Steakhouse, Silver Diner, Sizzler, T-Bones Great American Eatery and zpizza.

Joe Taylor of Chili's said the company has responded to consumer demands for healthier foods. While diners looking for a healthier meal used to have to ask for substitutions, they now have more options.

"We've seen our guests customize their meals to a greater degree when they are looking to hold the mayo or add the broccoli," Taylor said.

Patrick Lenow of IHOP said the restaurant will add two new children's menu items because of the effort, including pancakes with fruit and scrambled eggs with fruit. The company had already limited everything on their children's menu to fewer than 600 calories and made fruit a default side, instead of fries - a change that has dramatically increased fruit consumption at the restaurants, Lenow said.

Several restaurant chains haven't committed yet to joining the effort. Maggiano's, owned with Chili's by Brinker International, is not part of the program. Neither is McDonald's, the world's largest burger chain.

Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, said the group is hoping to add additional restaurants to the effort in coming months.

First lady Michelle Obama last year attended a National Restaurant Association meeting in Washington and pleaded with them to take a little butter or cream out of their dishes, use low-fat milk and provide apple slices or carrots as a default side. She said Americans eat a third of their meals in restaurants, which have long been seen by many as the worst offenders in terms of nutrition.

Many restaurant companies are starting to reformulate menu items and add new healthier sections to their menus, however, as consumers have shown a heightened interest in nutrition.

John Dillon of Denny's said the company recently took photos of French fries off their menus.

"Where before we may have been concerned about not having French fries pictured on our menu, we're now finding that has actually helped our business," he said.

Nutrition advocate Margo Wootan of the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest says the effort is a good first step, but that restaurants need to do even more.

"It's not enough to have one healthy option in a minefield of high calories, high fat and high salt," she said.

She says the best ways for restaurants to make a difference is to make a healthy side dish a default, as IHOP has with fruit, and to suggest healthier options to diners at the order point, as Burger King has with its apple fries.

The federal government will also soon require restaurants to post calories on their menus. FDA guidelines will require chain restaurants with 20 or more locations, along with bakeries, grocery stores, convenience stores and coffee chains, to clearly post the calories.

---
Online:

National Restaurant Association's Kids Live Well initiative: http://www.restaurant.org/foodhealthyliving/kidslivewell

To find health options by you go to, http://healthydiningfinder.com

health news

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Lawmakers snipe, Wall St. frets as deadline nears

By JIM KUHNHENNWASHINGTON -- Testy lawmakers pointed fingers at one another and President Barack Obama on Thursday as negotiations over raising the national debt limit entered a perilous endgame. Wall Street eyed the standoff with growing anxiety, warning of catastrophe if the U.S. defaults on its obligations.

Obama's blunt declaration that "enough is enough" as Wednesday's talks ended did nothing to quell the rancor as a new day of positioning and posturing began.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rose on the Senate floor early Thursday to snipe that House Minority Leader Eric Cantor shouldn't even be part of the talks anymore, noting that the Virginia Republican has been called "childish." And not long after, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stood to serve notice that the debt problem belonged squarely in Obama's lap.

"Republicans will not be reduced to being the tax collectors for the Obama economy," McConnell said. "Don't expect any more cover from Republicans on it than you got on health care. None."

None of it was a promising prelude to negotiations scheduled to resume at the White House on Thursday afternoon, less than three weeks before an Aug. 2 deadline for increasing the government's borrowing authority. Behind the scenes, meanwhile, legislators and White House officials continued to work on a backup plan offered by McConnell to avoid government default.

Obama is demanding that budget negotiators find common ground by week's end, as the financial world watches with growing jitters.

"No one can tell me with certainty that a U.S. default wouldn't cause catastrophe and wouldn't severely damage the U.S. or global economy," Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., told reporters Thursday. "And it would be irresponsible to take that chance."

Already, Moody's Investors Service is reviewing the government's credit rating, saying there is a small but rising risk that the government will default on its debt. If Moody's were to lower the rating, the consequences would ripple through the economy, pushing up rates for mortgages, car loans and other debts. A Chinese rating agency, Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., also warned of a possible downgrade.

Reid sketched the potential consequences of default in dire terms, saying Social Security checks, veterans benefits and paychecks for troops would stop. "Millions of Americans could lose their jobs," he added.

A Reid spokesman later clarified that Social Security benefits "could" stop, as Obama previously had warned, but it wouldn't be a certainty.

Republicans have called such statements scare tactics.

In the cauldron of the White House Cabinet Room, Obama and top lawmakers bargained for nearly two hours Wednesday. Obama curtly ended the session when Cantor, R-Va., urged him to accept a short, monthslong increase in debt instead of one that would last through next year's presidential election.

"Enough is enough. ... I'll see you all tomorrow," Obama said, rising from the negotiating table and leaving the room, according to several officials familiar with the session.

Reid said that while other Republican leaders were willing to negotiate in good faith, Cantor "has shown he shouldn't even be at the table."

The United States hit its current $14.3 trillion debt ceiling in May and the Obama administration says the government will default on its obligations if the debt limit is not increased by Aug. 2.

For a new debt ceiling to last to the end of 2012 would require raising it by about $2.4 trillion.

Republicans, in control of the House of Representatives in part because of the support of tea party activists, say they will not vote to raise the limit if Obama doesn't agree to at least an equal amount of deficit reductions over 10 years.

Obama and the top eight House and Senate leaders met for the fourth time in as many days Wednesday, and, despite the tense ending, agreed to meet again Thursday.

A congressional aide said the White House discussed with lawmakers the possibility of moving talks this weekend to the presidential retreat at Camp David. But a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said the Ohio Republican told the White House he saw no need for that. And Obama aides later said they planned to continue holding meetings at the White House for the next few days.

Cantor, speaking to reporters after Wednesday's meeting, said the White House had been lowering the amount of spending cuts it would put on the table, offering less than $1.4 trillion over 10 years, mostly in domestic and defense spending outside of the major benefits programs Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

The White House argued that the total was closer to $1.7 trillion over 10 years when counting about $240 billion in reduced interest payments from the lowered debt.

Earlier, in comments to a small group of reporters before the White House session, Boehner complained that negotiating with the White House "the last couple months has been like dealing with Jell-O."

Democratic officials have portrayed the White House as the more flexible party in the negotiations, willing to cut cherished programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, provided Republicans agree to some increases in revenue. Thursday's meeting was to focus on spending cuts in the two health care programs and on new tax revenue.

With talks reaching a critical stage without real breakthroughs, some Republican and Democratic lawmakers were looking at a plan proposed by McConnell that would give Obama new powers to overcome Republican opposition to raise the debt ceiling.

The proposal would place the burden on Obama to win debt ceiling increases up to three times, provided he was able to override congressional vetoes - a threshold Obama could manage to overcome even without a single Republican vote and without massive spending cuts. Conservatives promptly criticized the plan for giving up the leverage to reduce deficits. But the plan raised the prospect of combining it with some of the spending cuts already identified by the White House in order to win support from conservatives in the House.

In an interview with radio talk-show host Laura Ingraham, McConnell described his plan in stark political terms, warning fellow conservatives that failure to raise the debt limit would probably ensure Obama's re-election in 2012. He predicted that a default would allow Obama to argue that Republicans were making the economy worse.

"You know, it's an argument he has a good chance of winning, and all of a sudden we (Republicans) have co-ownership of a bad economy," McConnell said. "That's a very bad positioning going into an election."

The proposal won praise from two disparate points in the political spectrum - Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democratic leader Reid of Nevada.

"I am heartened by what I read," Reid said. "This is a serious proposal. And I commend the Republican leader for coming forward."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday that while the president and other Democrats would still prefer a larger agreement, McConnell's plan is an acceptable option - especially if some consensus spending cuts are added to it. He said McConnell and Reid were discussing the idea.

Democratic officials said that even as Obama confronted Cantor and Boehner in Wednesday's meeting, he commended McConnell.

"Sen. McConnell at least has put forth a proposal," a Democratic official quoted the president as saying. "It doesn't reduce the deficit and that's what we have to do. It just deals with the debt limit. Now Sen. McConnell wants me to wear the jacket for that."

The officials said Obama went on to say they all had a responsibility to find a compromise.

----
Associated Press writers Dave Espo, Laurie Kellman, Ben Feller and Erica Werner in Washington and Pallavi Gogoi in New York contributed to this report.

barack obama, republicans, politics & elections

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Future looking grim for Borders bookstores

NEW YORK (WABC) -- There is discouraging news about Borders.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the bookstore chain is teetering on the brink of liquidation after a recent offer from a private-equity investor fell apart Wednesday.

The development raises the prospect that Borders will soon close all its remaining 399 stores and go out of business.

business

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Movement Based Games For Sport

This best-selling Dvd now converted to an ebook reveals sixteen fun & challenging games perfect for athletes of all levels and ideal for adult fitness bootcamps. This ebook is perfect for consumers in the target niche of fitness bootcamps!

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Casey Anthony admirers sending cash to jailhouse bank account

Casey Anthony may be attracting death threats following her acquittal for murder, but she is also receiving checks in the mail from sympathetic admirers so that she has money to spend on cosmetics and snacks while in jail.

Most of the strangers sending her money are men, but several women have also sent her cash.

Since May, at least 17 people have sent money orders to Anthony, according to jailhouse records from the Orange County Corrections Department. Strangers are showering her with more money than her parents. George and Cindy Anthony haven't sent their daughter a cent since May 8, more than two weeks before her trial began.

The donations have increased since Anthony was acquitted in the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee last week, the records show.

As of today, Anthony has $472.18 in her bank account, nearly $200 more than what was in her account the day she received the verdict. One stranger donated $100 this week.

The average balance in an Orange County jail inmate's account is $36.30.

Men Send Casey Anthony Money in Jail; She Doesn't Send Thank You Notes

The donors range in age from men as young as 19, to middle aged women, and to men in their late fifties. Some are bankers and others have criminal pasts including charges of aggravated assault and sex offenses. The donations have come from across the country and from Canada. Some donors have deposited multiple money orders over the past few months.

One donor even offered Anthony a place to stay when she leaves jail on Sunday.

"If she ever did contact me and wanted to live in the middle of nowhere I have three houses out here...I'm scared for her," Gary Bradfield told ABCNews.com.

Bradfield, a 44-year-old man who lives on a ranch in Texas, donated $99.40 to Anthony in February 2011 so she'd have money to celebrate her birthday in March.

"I know she was probably segregated from everybody else. I was like hell, she's got $32 in there. I'll send her a little bit of something," Bradfield said. "I believe that we're all innocent until proven guilty."

Anthony, who does not appear to have sent any thank you notes, has spent the money on things like shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, eyeliner, ponytail holders as well as snacks like premium chicken breasts, jalapeno nacho cheese dip and spicy peanuts.

A phone call to the mother of one male donor was greeted with a scream of "He did what?" A former landlord of another male donor said his former tenant frequently writes to pen pals in jail. A donor from North Carolina said that his decision was a "private matter."

Others replied via Facebook with a simple "no thanks" when asked why they sent money to Casey Anthony.

One of her more generous male donors, a man in his twenties, asked that his name be withheld. He defended his decision to reach out to the 25-year-old Florida woman.

"I do not know Casey personally, nor am I supporting her as a person, nor am I anything like the people sending her love letters and asking her to marry them," he said. "However, what I am supporting is the jury's decision to acquit based on lack of evidence failing to overcome the reasonable doubt standard."

The man said that part of his decision to send was based on his disgust with what he viewed as an encroachment into Anthony's privacy. Investigators testified during the trial about the extensive searches into Anthony's computer and cell phone records which this donor felt infringed on her constitutional freedoms.

The man went on to say that he was also appalled with the "witch hunt" that has followed Anthony since the acquittal.

"It's wrong to continue the character assassination on someone who was acquitted of a crime," he said.

David R. Fulton said he deposited $25 on June 3 in the name of his company, David R. Fulton Computer Repair, hoping that the donation might catch the public eye and generate clients.

Fulton added, "I think she's innocent."

Bradfield, the Texas man who gave Anthony money in February before her trial began, said he felt a connection to Anthony. Having spent time in jail in the early 1990s, he said it was important for an inmate to have money in their account.

"She's just been sitting there accused and couldn't get out and is indigent...can't go to the store and get you a bag of chips and everybody else can and that's really demoralizing and she hadn't even had her day in court, you know," Bradfield said.

The married father said his wife is fully aware he sent the money order to Anthony.

She responded to the money order by asking, "Why did you do that?" Bradfield said his wife had already prejudged Anthony.

Christy Davis, a 56 year old Florida woman, donated $20 to Anthony in June and sent another $20 money order on Monday.

"I feel a little bit of a kindred spirit with Casey Anthony…I'm a regular person who saw the story through a different set of eyes," she said.

Davis has followed the case closely since Caylee was first reported missing in July 2008.

"The day that the story broke. … I said the baby got in the swimming pool," Davis said. Anthony's defense team claims that Caylee accidentally drowned in the family pool.

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Exxon to drain oil from failed pipeline

By MATTHEW BROWNLAUREL, Montana -- Exxon Mobil Corp. said Wednesday that it plans to use vacuum trucks to suck any remaining oil from a failed pipeline near Laurel that spilled an estimated 42,000 gallons of crude into the Yellowstone River.

Geoff Craft, the company's incident commander on the spill, said the use of the vacuum trucks should prevent any more oil from polluting the scenic waterway.

It is not known how much oil is left in the 1,600-foot section of 12-inch pipeline that runs beneath the river. Draining that piece of the company's Silvertip pipeline could begin by this weekend and take several days to complete, said Tom Livers, deputy director of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

The cause of the July 1 pipeline failure remains under investigation.

Hundreds of cleanup workers continue mopping up oil spread over dozens of miles downstream from the spill, and a congressional hearing on the accident is scheduled for Thursday in Washington, D.C.

About 100 people attended a community meeting on the spill Wednesday night in Laurel that was hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Landowners along the river said they were unsure what steps to take with damaged pastureland, but there were fewer complaints about Exxon Mobil's response to the spill than a similar meeting last week.

"No complaints, just questions," said Jerry Hanson of Billings, who has been unable to graze his eight llamas on land he owns along the Yellowstone.

"I've heard I should not be cultivating that land for two years," Hanson said. "No cleanup has started yet. What I'm concerned about is I've got 8 acres of pasture grass covered in some amount of oil. How much is too much? I have no idea."

A representative of the Environmental Protection Agency said soil along the river is being tested and results will be available within a week to answer questions such as Hanson's.

Only about nine barrels out of the estimated 1,000 barrels of oil that spilled have been recovered.

EPA on-scene coordinator Steve Merritt said Wednesday he did not expect that figure to increase much more.

"There's no recoverable oil flowing on the water downstream," Merritt said. "We are now very much in the shoreline cleanup mode."

On the wildlife front, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman said two dead creatures have been found so far - a fish and a duck. Two toads, a snake and a bird with oil on them have been captured for rehabilitation, although some animals with small amounts of oil on them have been allowed to remain in the wild.

Gary Hammond with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said the state is focused not on individual animals but on the potential for more profound damage to the river's ecology. Representatives of the wildlife agency will join crews searching the river for areas with oil beginning this week, Hammond said.

"There's a lot of places we haven't been able to get to yet," Hammond said. "We're going to be ramping up that effort."

Twenty people have reported health concerns related to the spill, said Yellowstone County Health officer John Felton. Many of those cases involved people suffering from nausea or breathing problems attributed to fumes given off by crude.

But officials say those fumes are dissipating as the oil degrades, breaks down. Felton said no one has been hospitalized and the public health risk is considered low.

Also Wednesday, Exxon Mobil submitted a revised cleanup plan after the EPA said a prior work plan from the company was incomplete.

Livers said the document was being reviewed to ensure it complies with state cleanup standards. Those standards are more stringent than federal cleanup rules.

The EPA has directed Exxon Mobil to clean up oil from the spill and remediate sections of fouled shoreline by Sept. 9.

oil spill, u.s. & world news

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Betty Ford's body in Michigan for 2nd service

A military honor guard carries the casket of former first lady Betty Ford after arriving at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Cascade Township, Mich., Wednesday, July, 13, 2011. Ford will be buried in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Thursday next to her husband, former President Gerald R. Ford. (AP Photo / AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

By KATHY BARKS HOFFMANGRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Betty Ford returned Wednesday to the city where she grew up and wed the man who became the only president from Michigan, prompting hundreds to line the streets in front of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum as her casket arrived for a memorial service.

Mourners were lined up for a public viewing of Betty Ford's body following a similar, and sometimes tearful, send-off by thousands of well-wishers in California earlier in the day. After another memorial Thursday in Grand Rapids, Ford is to be buried at her husband's presidential museum. Gerald Ford died in 2006.

"They've contributed so much," said Steve Avink of nearby Jenison who watched the ceremonies when Gerald Ford's casket returned to Grand Rapids for burial in January 2007 and was at the airport Tuesday when Betty Ford's casket arrived at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport from California. He was there to show support for the family. A private ceremony attended by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and other dignitaries was held at the museum prior to the public viewing.

On Tuesday, a service at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, Calif., was attended by 800 people, including former President George W. Bush and first lady Michelle Obama.

Like hundreds of others in Michigan, Avink wanted to pay his respects. He praised Betty Ford's "openness about drugs and addiction."

Wednesday crowd wasn't as large as when Ford's funeral and memorial services were held over two icy winter days four years ago. But Betty Ford, who gave dance lessons in Grand Rapids and worked at a local department store before marrying Gerald Ford, was remembered fondly by those who came to pay homage.

"She really reached out to all the people who struggled . . . with drug and alcohol addiction," said John Patrick Jr., a 38-year-old Grand Rapids resident who works with dialysis patients and sees the ravages alcoholism can wreak. "She was very gracious."

In California, the hearse carrying Ford's body drove through Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage and other desert resort cities, people lined the streets and hoisted American flags to say goodbye to the beloved former first lady, who died Friday at age 93. Some wiped tears from their eyes.

"The family was overwhelmed with the number of people," family spokeswoman Barbara Lewandrowski said. "They are so heartfelt and grateful."

Thousands more turned out for Wednesday's motorcade, including people who sat along the route in beach chairs, some shirtless in the warm, sunny weather.

A dozen senior citizens seated in wheelchairs held up a sign reading "Monterey Palms Healthcare" as the hearse passed by. In front of Rancho Mirage Fire Station No. 1, firefighters stood outside, with emergency lights blinking on their vehicles.

A woman on a golf course stopped her cart and held her hand over her heart, while people nearby shouted "Thank you, Betty." Many clapped and stood at attention.

During Tuesday's service, former first lady Rosalynn Carter and journalist Cokie Roberts, among others, hailed Ford as a force of nature whose boundless energy and enthusiasm, coupled with a steadfast determination to do what was right, pushed the country toward a commitment to equal rights for women and other causes.

Ford, the accidental first lady, was thrust into the White House when Richard Nixon resigned as president on Aug. 9, 1974, and her husband, then vice president, assumed the nation's highest office.

Although she always said she never expected nor wanted to be first lady, she quickly embraced the role.

Her candidness, unheard of at the time, helped bring such previously taboo subjects as breast cancer into the public discussion as she openly discussed her own battle with the disease.

She was equally outspoken about her struggles with drug and alcohol abuse, and her spearheading of the creation of the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage to treat those diseases has benefited thousands.

"Millions of women are in her debt today and she was never afraid to speak the truth even about the most sensitive subjects, including her own struggle with alcohol and pain killers," Carter said. "She got some criticism, but I thought she was wonderful and her honesty gave to others every single day."

Behind the scenes she was also aggressive and effective, said Roberts, who noted that Ford's late husband confided to her privately that his wife badgered him relentlessly into stronger public support of equal rights for women.

The former first lady mapped out plans for her funeral well in advance, including who would deliver her eulogies, and Roberts said she told her to be sure to let people know that politics does not have to as acrimonious as it is today.

Other mourners who packed the church included former California first lady Maria Shriver, former California Gov. Pete Wilson and Ford's four children. Former first lady Barbara Bush is expected to attend Thursday's service in Michigan.

---
Associated Press writers Jeff Wilson contributed to this report from Palm Springs, Calif. and John Rogers reported from Los Angeles.

u.s. & world news

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Netflix price hike angers users, some drop plan

Netflix Netflix

By RACHEL METZSAN FRANCISCO -- Some Netflix customers called it a slap in the face. Others a betrayal. Many threatened to drop the movie service.

On Wednesday, many of them vented on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere, seething over Netflix Inc.'s decision to raise its prices by up to 60 percent for the millions of subscribers who want to rent DVDs by mail and watch movies online.

"I can definitely afford it but I dropped them on principle," said Joe Turick, a technology engineer in Monroe, N.C., who has been with Netflix for about a decade, cancelled his subscription within an hour of learning of Tuesday's price changes and plans to try competitors.

By Wednesday afternoon, more than 40,000 people had responded to a post on Netflix's Facebook page announcing the change, with some saying they would switch to rivals such as Hulu.com's paid service and to Redbox's DVD-rental kiosks.

Outrage bubbled on Twitter, and on Netflix's blog a posting about the new plans had garnered 5,000 comments - the limit allowed by the site's host, Google Inc.-owned Blogger - which included many seething customers.

Netflix said company officials expected the intense reaction.

"Everything Netflix does is with extensive research and testing and analysis, so we expected some people to be disappointed," company spokesman Steve Swasey said.

While thousands complained on Facebook, Twitter and other websites, with 22.8 million customers in the U.S., it's clear that plenty of them are not upset about the change.

In online postings, a number of users concluded that, even at the higher price, Netflix is still a better deal than competitors.

On Tuesday, the company said it was splitting up its two services, which means that subscribers who want both streaming video and DVD-by-mail access will have to get separate plans that cost at least $16 per month total.

Netflix had been offering both services as a single package that was available for as little as $10 per month. The price changes took effect immediately for new subscribers, and will begin Sept. 1 for current Netflix customers.

With the new rates, Netflix isn't changing the $8 monthly price for an Internet streaming-only option.

However, instead of charging $2 more for a plan that also offers one DVD at a time by mail, the company will charge $8 for a comparable DVD-only plan. That brings the total to $16 for customers who want both services.

Customers who want to rent up to two DVDs at a time with streaming will pay $20 per month, or 33 percent more. Those wanting three DVDs at a time with streaming will pay $24 per month, or 20 percent more.

While the changes will help Netflix bring in more money to cover rising costs it faces to cover buying and shipping discs while licensing more content for its streaming library, they also put off a number of subscribers - at least in the short term.

Turick, the technology engineer, was paying $10 a month to have unlimited streaming and a single disc out at a time, and with the new plans he would be on the hook for $16 per month.

The change felt "like a slap in the face," he said, adding that he'll try renting movies from Redbox kiosks, ordering on-demand videos through his cable TV provider or using his Blu-ray player to stream videos from the Web.

Zach Olsen, who is vice president of a public relations firm in San Francisco and has used Netflix for about five years, canceled his subscription on Tuesday after receiving an email from the company announcing the price hike.

"I was fired up. And I wanted to put my electronic foot down," Olsen said.

Doug Baker, a software developer in Fort Collins, Colo. who has used Netflix since 2000, isn't cutting it off completely, but he is downsizing to a cheaper plan.

He had been paying $20 for unlimited streaming and four DVDs out at a time, and this would rise to $30 after Sept. 1. Instead, he'll opt to pay $16 for one DVD at a time and unlimited video streaming.

Baker thinks the company should have offered a smaller price increase to long-time subscribers, saying, "it would have been nice if they showed some appreciation" to them.

"It makes you wonder if they really want to serve their customers or just their stock holders," Baker said.

Swasey, the Netflix spokesman, would not comment about how many subscribers have actually cancelled their Netflix subscriptions, saying the company will discuss subscriber metrics during its quarterly earnings call in late July.

Chris Caggiano, a professor at The Boston Conservatory, isn't planning to change his Netflix plan either, even though he'll pay $20 in September - up from $15 currently - to have unlimited streaming and two DVDs out at a time.

"Prices go up. I don't see the big deal. There's this huge hue and cry - it's like the end of the world," he said.

And Netflix, Caggiano pointed out, is a for-profit business.

"This is not a public service," he said. "And, as many people are deciding to do, you can go elsewhere."

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AP Business Writer Joseph Pisani in New York contributed to this report.

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Betty Ford to be buried next to husband in Mich.

By KATHY BARKS HOFFMANGRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Hundreds of people who admired former first lady Betty Ford are expected to gather Thursday along the route from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum to the Episcopal church where she was to be memorialized for a final time.

Ford will be buried Thursday in the city where she grew up and wed the man who became the only president from Michigan. On Wednesday, hundreds filed past her flower-draped casket during a public viewing at the museum.

Ford died Friday at age 93, and will be interred on the museum grounds next to next to her husband on what would have been his 98th birthday.

Lynne Cheney, wife of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was to speak at Thursday's service at Grace Episcopal Church, where the Fords married and where Gerald Ford also was memorialized following his death in 2006. Former first lady Barbara Bush and former President Bill Clinton also were expected to attend.

A smaller service was held Wednesday after Ford's casket landed at Gerald R. Ford International Airport and was escorted in a procession to the museum. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and other dignitaries attended that service with the Ford family prior to the public viewing. On Tuesday, a service at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, Calif., was attended by 800 people, including former President George W. Bush and first lady Michelle Obama.

At least 300 mourners paid their respects Wednesday, some carrying flags and others sharing thoughts about the importance of the Fords to Grand Rapids and Michigan. The four-hour viewing followed a similar, and sometimes tearful, send-off by thousands of well-wishers in California earlier in the day.

Edna Jungers, 95, of Stillwater, Okla., and her 78-year-old niece, Yvonne Locker, drove from Locker's summer home in Milwaukee to greet the casket as it arrived at the museum. They then joined hundreds of other mourners who slowly walked by Ford's mahogany casket covered in pink and white flowers, with a presidential seal alight overhead and an honor guard standing in attendance.

"It's wonderful to give her that much honor. She was worthy of it," Jungers said.

On the way out, those paying their respects were handed a card with a photo of Ford and a note of appreciation from the Ford family. A Ford granddaughter, 30-year-old Tyne Vance, shook hands with those leaving.

"Thank you for coming," she said to each one.

Wednesday's crowd wasn't as large as when Gerald Ford's funeral and memorial services were held over two icy winter days four years ago. But Betty Ford, who gave dance lessons in Grand Rapids and worked as a fashion coordinator and clothing buyer at the local Herpolscheimer's department store before marrying Gerald Ford, was remembered fondly by those who came to pay homage.

"She really reached out to all the people who struggled . . .

with drug and alcohol addiction," said John Patrick Jr., a 38-year-old Grand Rapids resident who works with dialysis patients and sees the ravages alcoholism can wreak. "She was very gracious."

Thousands of people have signed condolence books in Grand Rapids for Ford since Saturday.

For former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and friends Joni Vander Till and Vicki Avink, the public viewing was a chance to talk about the days when the three young women greeted the Fords on the airport tarmac on their returns to Michigan with hand-lettered signs that read, "Welcome home, Jerry," and "Welcome home, Betty."

All three were "Scatterblitzers" during Gerald Ford's 1976 presidential campaign, young women who traveled around the Midwest and handed out Michigan apples for Ford. Land said Betty Ford gave them someone else to respect and admire besides the well-regarded president, as she played a large role in caring for her family and boosting her husband's career - in her own outspoken way.

"She sometimes disagreed with her husband on some of the issues. And so that was kind of a big deal," Land recalled. "I think he always appreciated her opinion, even though some days he was a little frustrated."

"The family was overwhelmed with the number of people," family spokeswoman Barbara Lewandrowski said. "They are so heartfelt and grateful."

Thousands more turned out for Wednesday's motorcade, including people who sat along the route in beach chairs. A woman on a golf course stopped her cart and held her hand over her heart, while people nearby shouted "Thank you, Betty." Many clapped and stood at attention.

Ford, the accidental first lady, was thrust into the White House when Richard Nixon resigned as president on Aug. 9, 1974, and her husband, then vice president, assumed the nation's highest office.

Although she always said she never expected nor wanted to be first lady, she quickly embraced the role.

Her candidness, unheard of at the time, helped bring such previously taboo subjects as breast cancer into the public discussion as she openly discussed her own battle with the disease.

Other mourners who packed the church included former California first lady Maria Shriver, former California Gov. Pete Wilson and Ford's four children.

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Associated Press writers Jeff Wilson contributed to this report from Palm Springs, Calif. and John Rogers reported from Los Angeles.

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Dozens killed or wounded in Mumbai

By RAJESH SHAH and MUNEEZA NAQVIMUMBAI, India -- Three coordinated bombings tore through the heart of India's busy financial capital during rush hour Wednesday, killing 21 people in the worst terror attack in the country since the 2008 Mumbai siege. The attacks came just months after peace talks resumed between India and Pakistan, which New Delhi has blamed for past attacks.

Blood-covered bodies lay on Mumbai streets and people hugged and wept. Others carried the wounded to taxis. Crowds gathered in the blast areas as police questioned witnesses, and bomb squads inspected the undercarriages of vehicles searching for clues and other explosives.

Motorcycles were charred, shopfronts shattered and a bus stop ripped apart. Bleeding victims crowded into the back of a cargo truck to be taken to a hospital.

The first blast struck the Jhaveri Bazaar at 6:54 p.m., tearing through the famed jewelry market. A minute later, a blast hit the busy business district of Opera House, several miles (kilometers) away in southern Mumbai. At 7:05 p.m., the third bomb exploded in the crowded neighborhood of Dadar in central Mumbai, according to police.

Because of the close timing of the blasts, "we infer that this was a coordinated attack by terrorists," Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said, adding that Mumbai was put on high alert.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and appealed to the people of Mumbai "to remain calm and show a united face."

Indian officials refused to speculate on who might be behind the blasts. Past attacks have been blamed on Pakistan-based militants, and Indian officials have accused Pakistan's powerful spy agency of helping coordinate and fund some of those strikes, including the Mumbai siege.

Pakistan's government expressed distress on the loss of lives and injuries soon after Wednesday's blasts were reported.

A U.S. official said there are no claims of responsibility, or firm indication of which terrorist group might be behind the attack yet. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.

U.S. President Barack Obama also condemned the "outrageous attacks."

"The American people will stand with the Indian people in times of trial, and we will offer support to India's efforts to bring the perpetrators of these terrible crimes to justice," he said in a statement. "I have no doubt that India will overcome these deplorable terrorist attacks."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she will go ahead with her plans to visit India next week despite the bombings.

Standing with India "is more important than ever," she said.

At the site of the first bombing, Jhaveri Bazaar, a witness described two motorcycles exploding in flames and saw at least six bodies.

"People were shouting 'Help me, help me,"' the man told Headlines Today television.

Another witness showed cell phone video of several bodies sprawled across the street to the NDTV news station.

Prithviraj Chavan, the top official in the state of Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located, said the blasts killed 21 people and wounded 113 others.

"India is not going to cow down," Cabinet minister Farooq Abdullah said. "Let those perpetrators of this terror remember, we will find them and Inshallah (God willing) we will give them the justice that India believes in."

The blasts marked the first major attack on Mumbai since 10 militants laid siege to India's financial capital for 60 hours in November 2008.

That attack, which targeted two luxury hotels, a Jewish center and a busy train station, killed 166 people and escalated tensions between India and Pakistan. Peace talks were suspended and resumed only recently.

Some media incorrectly reported the blasts happened on the birthday of Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving gunmen from the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Kasab, who was sentenced to death in Mumbai, was born on Sept. 13.

The city has been on edge since the 2008 attack. In December, authorities deployed extra police on city streets after receiving intelligence that a Pakistan-based militant group was planning an attack over New Year's weekend. Police conducted house-to-house searches in some neighborhoods for four men who authorities believe entered the city to carry out a terrorist attack, and computer-aided photographs of the four suspects were released.

In March 2010, Mumbai police said they prevented a major terrorist strike after they arrested two Indian men, who, police said, were preparing to hit several targets in the city. In September, police issued a terror alert for the city during a popular Hindu festival.

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