Reynolds American 1Q net income climbs

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) — Reynolds American Inc.'s first-quarter net income surged as the cigarette maker benefited from strength in its Pall Mall and Camel brands and higher prices.

The second-biggest U.S. tobacco company said Thursday it earned $353 million, or 60 cents per share, for the period ended March 31, up from $82 million, or 14 cents per share, a year ago.

Last year's quarter also included 37 cents per share in charges related to settlements with the Canadian government.

Adjusted earnings rose to 59 cents per share from 56 cents per share. The results beat the 58 cents per share that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

Reynolds' first-quarter revenue …

Candidates supported by Sen. DeMint

Senate candidates supported by Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina:

_ Marco Rubio, Florida

_ Rand Paul, Kentucky

_ Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania

…

Utah defeats Oregon, 17-13

SALT LAKE CITY - Alex Smith is looking comfortable as Utah'sstarting quarterback. Making just his third start, Smith passed fora career-best 340 yards and two touchdowns as Utah beat a rankedopponent for the first time in four years by upsetting No. 19 Oregon17-13 Friday night.

"This is what you play for - the crowd, the fans, Oregon. It wasunbelievable," said Smith, who completed 25-of-38 passes for the Utes(4-1).

Utah Coach Urban Meyer had promised to open up Utah's offenseafter running conservative game plans in Smith's first two starts forBrett Elliott, who broke his wrist in a loss to Texas A&M on Sept. 6.

With a combination of counters, shuffle passes …

Japanese workers at US military bases go on strike over benefit cuts

Tens of thousands of Japanese workers at U.S. military bases in Japan went on strike Wednesday, protesting a government plan to cut their benefits as part of an effort to tighten its budget for support of the 50,000 U.S. troops here.

Japan covers support and operational costs for the U.S. bases in Japan under an agreement with Washington, adding up to a budget of billions of dollars (euros) each year, more than any other host country.

About 16,000 union members went on strike Wednesday after the government proposed cutting benefits last month, according to Tsuneo Teruya, secretary general of All Japan Garrison Forces Labor Union.

Some of the …

Hunter homers to cap eight-run second inning

Torii Hunter hit a two-run homer to cap an eight-run second inning and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 12-3 Friday night.

Jered Weaver won his first career appearance against Arizona, Maicer Izturis doubled and tripled, driving in two runs and scoring two, and Bobby Abreu had two hits and two RBIs while helping the Angels to a season high for runs.

Kendry Morales and Juan Rivera also had two hits apiece as the Angels (39-32) improved to a major league-best 12-4 in interleague play with only two games against Arizona remaining.

Weaver (8-3) gave up three runs and four hits in six innings for the fifth victory in his last six …

Duchess buried, winning place in royal fold

WINDSOR, England (AP) The duchess of Windsor, the Americandivorcee for whom King Edward VIII gave up his throne, was buriedbeside her husband yesterday, posthumously drawn into the royalembrace that was denied her for nearly 50 years.

The simple funeral, attended by Queen Elizabeth II and 16members of her family, was the final chapter of a king-and-commonerromance that rocked 1930s Britain and forced the couple into virtualexile at the insistence of a scandalized monarchy.

The 28-minute ceremony passed without visible displays ofemotion. There was no mention of the duchess by name or title, norof the tumultuous role she …

Employers Cut Jobs in August

WASHINGTON - Employers sliced payrolls by 4,000 in August, the first drop in four years, a stark sign that a painful credit crunch that has unnerved Wall Street is putting a strain on the national economy.

The latest snapshot of the employment climate, released by the Labor Department on Friday, also showed that the unemployment rate held steady at 4.6 percent, mainly because hundreds of thousands of people left the work force for any number of reasons.

Job losses in construction, manufacturing, transportation and government swamped gains in education and health care, leisure and hospitality, and retail. Employment in financial services was flat. The weakness in payrolls …

Barnes & Noble posts $2.7M 1Q loss as sales drop

Barnes & Noble said Thursday that persistent weak spending by consumers led to a wider first-quarter loss, but its results beat analysts' estimates and the bookseller raised its profit forecast for the year.

The nation's largest bookstore chain has eliminated jobs, cut costs and bought e-book retailer Fictionwise to try to capture some of the growing market for electronic books. But the company has struggled as shoppers buy fewer books and music or turn to online or discount competitors like Amazon for purchases.

New York-based Barnes & Noble lost $2.7 million, or 5 cents per share, for the quarter ended May 2. That compares to a loss of $2.2 million, …

PLUS BUSINESS

TOKYO STOCKS RISE: Prices edged up today on the Tokyo Stock Exchange,but a key index was unable to stay above the 15,000-point level.The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 109.30 points to close at14,929.55 after afternoon profit-taking narrowed earlier gains ofnearly 220 points. S. KOREA INCENTIVES: The South Korean government today decided tooffer tax, financial and other support to local companies that investin North America. The incentives are designed to head off new tradebarriers. The decision follows last week's agreement among theUnited States, Canada and Mexico to establish a common trade pactwith reduced tariffs and other trade barriers. South Koreanofficials and …

Italy scandal: Did state planes fly prostitutes?

ROME (AP) — Opposition leaders have demanded an inquiry to determine if Italian government aircraft flew a bevy of young escorts to Premier Silvio Berlusconi's private parties.

Concern was also growing in Italy over whether the billionaire media mogul premier who allegedly boasted in an intercepted phone conversation that he "did only eight" women in one night can concentrate on rescuing Italy from its severe economic woes.

Italian newspapers were filled with transcripts of intercepted phone conversations of a jailed southern businessman, Gianpaolo Tarantini, who is being investigated for allegedly arranging and paying for women to prostitute themselves with the premier at …

Maple Leafs-Panthers Sums

Toronto 0 0 0_0
Florida 0 1 1_2
First Period_None. Penalties_Reinprecht, Fla (holding), 7:11	Weiss, Fla (cross-checking), 19:47.
Second Period_1, Florida, Stillman 10 (Seidenberg, Weiss), 4:36 (pp). Penalties_Kaberle, Tor (tripping), 4:22	Beauchemin, Tor (roughing), 8:23	Kulikov, Fla (hooking), 9:29.
Third Period_2, Florida, McArdle 1 (Campbell, Frolik), 13:05. …

PROFILE

NAME: Kenneth K. Holt, 49. JOB: To investigate waste, fraud and financial mismanagement byemployees and contractors of the Chicago Board of Education. EXPERIENCE: 25 years as an FBI agent. Noteworthy investigationsinclude the SAFEBET probe of Cook County Sheriff's police and …

Lottery recognises cycle charity's contribution to life

A BRISTOL-based cycle charity picked a top award for its use oflottery money in creating a national network for cyclists.

Sustrans beat more than 700 other projects to win the NationalLottery's Helping Hand Awards' UK Life category.

The announcement was made at London's Tate Modern on Saturday aspart of celebrations to mark the lottery's 10th birthday.

The awards had six different categories to show the different wayslottery-funded projects have touched the lives of people throughoutthe UK.

They were open to any project which had been fully or partiallyfunded by the National Lottery and were decided by a public vote.

The National Cycle Network is made up of a series of signedcycling and walking routes linking communities to schools, stationsand city centres, as well as to beautiful countryside.

It believes safer routes are key to encouraging more people towalk and get on their bikes, encouraging healthier lifestyles,reducing car congestion and lowering pollution levels.

A GBP43.5 million award through the Millennium Commission enabledthe opening of the first 5,000 miles of the network in June 2000. Theproject remains on course to open 10,000 miles of route by the end of2005 and Sustrans hopes that further paths will be added. Anyonewanting details of the routes should log on to www.sustrans.org.uk.

Asylum seekers lose jobs after decision

A rights group said Wednesday that thousands of asylum seekers could be affected by a new ruling banning them from working in the southern resort of Eilat.

About 60 asylum seekers, most from Africa, received an Israeli government decree this week ordering them to stop working in Eilat. A previous order forbids them from working in most of the rest of the country.

Sigal Rozen of the Hotline for Migrant Workers group said as a result, the workers were fired. She said the decision would apply to 11,000 asylum seekers, including 1,000 children, around the country. About 2,000 live in Eilat.

Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabin Hadad said Wednesday that the ban followed complaints from residents that asylum seekers were taking jobs from locals and disrupting the city.

In a statement, Hadad said that thousands of illegal immigrants seeking work had gathered in Eilat in recent months. She said they were not refugees from Darfur, who receive temporary residency permits.

Rozen complained that Israel does not have a fixed procedure for asylum seekers to apply for refugee status, giving government officials the power to decide cases with no guidelines.

London faces strikes by firefighters, subway staff

LONDON (AP) — Britain's capital is facing a series of strikes by firefighters and subway workers.

About 5,600 workers from the Fire Brigades Union are already taking action on Monday and have promised a further strike on Friday evening, when Britain celebrates Guy Fawkes' Night.

London's mayor has condemned plans to strike during the holiday, which Britons typically mark with fireworks and bonfires. Contract workers are due to provide cover for the capital.

Members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport workers have also announced plans to strike on Tuesday and Wednesday, a move which could disrupt services on London's busy subway network, known as the Tube.

Japan halts plan to kill humpback whales in Antarctic hunt

Antarctica is safe for humpback whales. At least for now.

Giving in to worldwide criticism, Japan's government announced Friday a whaling fleet now in the Southern Ocean for its annual hunt will not kill the rare species as they had originally planned. The fleet will, however, kill some 935 minke whales, a smaller, more plentiful species, and 50 fin whales.

Japan dispatched its whaling fleet last month to the southern Pacific off Antarctica in the first major hunt of humpback whales since the 1960s. Commercial hunts of humpbacks have been banned worldwide since 1966, and commercial whaling overall since 1986.

The fleet was to kill 50 humpbacks. But the plan generated immediate criticism from environmental groups, which opposed the hunts to begin with but were outraged by the inclusion of humpbacks because they are so rare.

"Whaling issues tend to become emotional, but we hope that the discussion will be carried out calmly on the basis of scientific evidence," chief government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura said in announcing the halt.

It was a stunning turnaround for Japan.

Tokyo has staunchly defended its annual kill of more than 1,000 whales as crucial for research purposes. Japan's whaling fleet is run by a government-backed research institute and operates under a clause in International Whaling Commission rules that allow the killing of whales for scientific purposes.

Japan said it would halt the humpback hunt pending further IWC discussion.

"But there will be no changes to our stance on our research whaling itself," Machimura said. "We have made the decision for the benefit of the IWC as a whole."

The IWC _ which oversees whaling activities worldwide _ is to hold its next annual meeting in June.

The international pressure on Japan was intense.

The U.S., which is currently the IWC chair nation, recently held several rounds of talks with Japan to seek a one- to two-year suspension of the humpback hunt.

"We applaud Japan's decision as an act of goodwill toward the International Whaling Commission," said U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.

But he added that Washington and Tokyo still have "opposite views on research whaling."

Australia, meanwhile, announced this week it was launching a new push to stop Japan's annual whale hunt, including sending surveillance planes and a ship to gather evidence for a possible international legal challenge.

"The Australian government welcomes the announcement by Japan that it will suspend its plan to kill humpback whales this season," Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said in a statement. "While this is a welcome move, the Australian government strongly believes that there is no credible justification for the hunting of any whales."

Environmental groups also reacted with a guarded welcome.

"This is good news indeed, but it must be the first step towards ending all whaling in the Southern Ocean, not just one species for one season," Karli Thomas, who is leading a Greenpeace expedition to follow the whalers, said in a statement from on board the ship Esperanza.

Friday's announcement appeared to reflect a rift inside the Japanese government as well, between fisheries officials who argue Japan has a right to carry out the hunts and diplomats who are more concerned with the international repercussions.

Just hours before the announcement, Fisheries Agency officials said the killing of humpbacks was justified and denied the hunt would be halted.

"We do not have any intention to change our harvesting plans," said Hideki Moronuki, head of the whaling division at Japan's Fisheries Agency.

Moronuki later said Japan had reversed course out of deference to the United States and "to avoid a situation where nations may boycott future negotiations."

Commercial hunts of humpbacks _ which were nearly harpooned to extinction in the 20th century _ were banned in the southern Pacific in 1963, and that ban was extended worldwide in 1966.

The American Cetacean Society estimates the humpback population has recovered to about 30,000-40,000 _ about a third of the number before modern whaling. The species is listed as "vulnerable" by the World Conservation Union.

Japan's six-ship whaling fleet left the southern port of Shimonoseki on Nov. 18 and is to return in April.

Secret papers show spies' struggles with astrologer hired to fight Hitler

Desperate for a glimpse into Adolf Hitler's unpredictable mind, British spies hired an astrologer during World War II to match the forecasts of the Nazi leader's personal astrologers, documents declassified Tuesday show.

They soon regretted it.

The file released to Britain's National Archives catalogs the frustrations of MI5 handlers as they try to prevent the astrologer, Louis de Wohl, from publicly embarrassing high-ranking intelligence and military officers over whom he briefly held sway.

"I have never liked Louis de Wohl _ he strikes me as a charlatan and an impostor," reads the first line in the astrologer's file. The letter is typical and is apparently signed by Dick White, who went on to become the head of MI5 in the 1950s.

De Wohl, was born in Berlin in 1903, where he worked as a bank clerk, a novelist and a screenwriter before fleeing to Britain in 1935 to avoid Nazi persecution for being part Jewish. His wife, Alexandra, fled to Santiago, Chile, where she claimed to be a Romanian princess and was known as "La Baronessa." Their relationship was closer to mother and son than man and wife, his file said.

In London, he claimed variously to be a Hungarian nobleman, the nephew of an Austrian conductor, the grandson of a British banking magnate and a relative of the Lord Mayor of London. His books told of traveling the Far East in Arab disguise and hanging out in Berlin cafes in women's clothing.

De Wohl laid out his astrological credentials in a 1937 autobiography, "I Follow My Stars." A year later in "Secret Service of the Sky," he argued stars were like spies that could obtain secret information.

His break came, he wrote in a later book, during a dinner at the Spanish Embassy in London, when a Spanish duchess asked de Wohl to reveal Hitler's horoscope to Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax.

Sir Charles Hambro, the head of Britain's Special Operations Executive, soon hired him as part of his network of agents across Europe.

The government rented an apartment for de Wohl in a hotel in London's exclusive Park Lane. On paper headed "Psychological Research Bureau," he reported on clients and wrote horoscopes for Allied and Nazi leaders.

But de Wohl's predictions were often so vague it is impossible to see any military use. Take his December 1942 prediction for seven months later: "The German astrologers must pray that enemy action does not force the Fuehrer into making important decisions within the first eight days of the month (of July), as this would lead to great disaster."

Agents complained de Wohl's flamboyantly gay demeanor was destroying their carefully constructed cover story that his hotel apartment was paid for by a wealthy female patron and that his special operations liaison officer was a mistress. Agents also complained of his boasting about connections to the War Office and Naval Command.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill didn't believe in astrology, but in mid-1941 he sent de Wohl to the U.S. to persuade Americans that the Nazis would lose within months if they entered the war.

A U.S. convention of pro-German astrologers had predicted Hitler would win the war, giving the U.S. more reason to stay out. Billing himself as "The Modern Nostradamus," de Wohl proclaimed the same stars showed the opposite _ that Hitler would lose.

But ultimately it was Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, that brought the U.S. into the war _ not de Wohl's assurances that U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt's horoscope was stunning.

His services no longer needed, he was called back to London in February 1942. He told an MI5 officer that he was astonished when he returned to find his hotel apartment stripped bare and his "department" disbanded.

His handlers did not contact him. He knocked on doors looking for Hambro _ wearing the uniform of a British Army captain. The rank was assigned to him temporarily for his U.S. mission and withdrawn afterward. But to MI5's dismay, that wasn't explained to de Wohl.

Behind the scenes, MI5 correspondence shows his handlers at a loss. Senior officers offer a number of proposals on how to "dispose" of de Wohl, including interning him in a camp or moving him to a remote corner of the country. Two other options are blanked out in the file.

"De Wohl is somewhat of a thorn in my side, for in at least some circles he is regarded as a complete charlatan with a mysterious, if not murky, past, but yet he struts about in the uniform of a British Army captain, and gives every reason for believing that he is in some secret employment," an officer identified only as Caulfeild wrote.

Deciding that de Wohl was potentially dangerous because he could damage the reputation of his clientele and the War Office, MI5 decided to keep him happy and continue to employ him. They argued he was a brilliant propagandist with rare insight into the German middle-class mentality.

Even Hambro tired of the astrologer. He passed his prognostications to propaganda departments for their "more lurid efforts."

"I have no doubt if I checked up his successes, I would see that he had more than an equal number of failures, but I have not the inclination nor the time to do so," Hambro wrote.

The war ground on and the Allies won without consulting the stars.

But as it drew to an end, de Wohl wrote one last autobiographical book, "The Stars of War and Peace," in which he revealed he was Britain's state seer and had fought Hitler from his luxury hotel using "star warfare."

The reviews of MI5 vetters were not kind, but raised no security concerns.

"It seems to me most undesirable that the public should get the impression that the utterances or actions of public men were at any time influenced by the mumbo jumbo of astrology," MI5 officer Stephen Watts wrote.

Doug's safety record earns his wife GBP100!

BRISTOL builder Doug Wills won a top safety award from the companywhere he works - and promptly handed the GBP100 prize over to hiswife Kay.

Doug, who works for Wilkins & Coventry in Bristol, said it wasKay's birthday the following day and he gave her the money to spendon herself.

Wilkins & Coventry is part of leading property solutions group Rokand Doug was named safest site manager after the group's health andsafety advisors, SSG, visited Kensington Baptist Church in Bristolwhere Doug was in charge of a major refurbishment.

Doug, who has been a site manager for 25 years, said the industryas a whole had become more safety conscious in recent years and itwas important to stick to the regulations, which were there tosafeguard everyone.

Rok prides itself on having one of the best safety records in theconstruction industry and actively promotes continuous health andsafety training, including talks to young people about the dangers ofbuilding sites.

Last year it was awarded the prestigious Royal Society for thePrevention of Accidents President's Award having won ten consecutivegold medals for excellence in the management of health and safety atwork.

Madoff son's suicide followed battle with trustee

NEW YORK (AP) — For two years, the two sons of jailed financier Bernard Madoff portrayed themselves as honest whistleblowers of their father's historic fraud. A court-appointed trustee depicted them as bungling money managers who did nothing to protect investors.

The suicide of Mark Madoff leaves unanswered questions for investors seeking payback for the billions of dollars his father siphoned — and for criminal investigators who continued to pursue charging Madoff's family for knowing participation in the fraud.

The 46-year-old Madoff — Bernard Madoff's eldest son — hanged himself Saturday by a dog leash on a metal ceiling beam in his Manhattan loft apartment, his 2-year-old son asleep in another room. The death was officially ruled a suicide by hanging Sunday by the city medical examiner.

He died on the anniversary of his father's arrest two years ago in the largest pyramid scheme ever recorded. It followed the filing in recent weeks of dozens of lawsuits by trustee Irving Picard as he pursued billions of dollars in damages against those who profited from the multi-decade fraud.

Increasingly, Picard has stepped up his language in lawsuits against those who knew Madoff well, describing an Austrian banker accused in a lawsuit Friday of being Madoff's "criminal soul mate" as having acted criminally in her efforts on behalf of Madoff's fraud.

Last Wednesday, he included the brothers as defendants in an $80 million lawsuit he brought against the London-based international arm of Madoff's business, saying the overseas operation was used to siphon off money from the fraud for the Madoff family.

Picard said that for executives in the Madoff business, "pretending things do not exist — or looking away — may have been a well-honed survival strategy." Picard sought $200 million from Madoff family members in his lawsuit, which charged that family used the Madoff business like a "piggy bank," spending tens of millions on lavish homes and luxuries.

Mark Madoff and his brother, Andrew, portrayed themselves as heroes who sought to stop their father from committing more fraud.

"How ironic it is ... to blame the very two individuals who uncovered and reported the fraud, saving the estate more than $170 million, for not uncovering it sooner," their lawyer, Martin Flumenbaum, said in court papers earlier this year.

On Sunday, Flumenbaum continued to portray the brothers as innocent of their father's crimes.

"Mark and Andrew Madoff had no prior knowledge of their father's crimes and contacted the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC immediately after their father told them he had defrauded his investment advisory clients," Flumenbaum said.

A person who had recent contact with Mark Madoff, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said Sunday that Andrew Madoff, a cancer survivor, has occupied himself by helping his fiancee in a business venture. "He's been doing much better than his brother," over the past two years, the person said of Andrew Madoff.

A criminal investigation is still active against the family. Authorities want to know whether Madoff family members knowingly participated in the fraud. At a minimum, authorities believe they might be able to build a tax fraud case, alleging that Madoff family members failed to fully report all of the income they received directly and indirectly from the family business.

But law enforcement officials said Sunday that they had had no direct contact with either of the brothers or with Bernard Madoff's brother, Peter, in the last year, and said no charges were imminent.

Bernard Madoff's brother, Peter, was derided in court papers by Picard for his work at Madoff's firm as the chief compliance officer.

Picard said Peter Madoff was paid more than $23 million between 2001 and 2008 in salary, bonuses and other compensation. He said he also withdrew more than $16 million in fictitious profits from accounts under his control that were the result of "blatant backdating of transactions." A message left Sunday with a lawyer for Peter Madoff was not immediately returned.

Mark Madoff had worked with his father at the company since 1986, while Andrew had been there since 1988. Shana Madoff, the lawyer daughter of Peter Madoff, had worked there since 1995 as compliance counsel and in-house counsel, the court papers said.

In response, Picard argued in court papers that the brothers were senior managers of their father's business who "failed, utterly and completely" to run it.

Investors on Sunday said Mark Madoff's death will make it harder to find answers to how many people knew of the fraud.

Ruth Goldstein, wife of 78-year-old investor Allan Goldstein, a Massachusetts man who lost his life savings in the fraud, called the suicide "the ultimate punishment" for Bernard Madoff.

Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence in a North Carolina prison. He admitted having told his clients in November 2008 that $20 billion in investments had grown to more than $65 billion when only several hundred million dollars remained.

Mark Madoff's family — including his wife, Stephanie, who had been on vacation in Florida — has not spoken publicly about the death. Bernie Madoff attorney Ira Sorkin declined to say Sunday whether he had spoken to his 72-year-old client in a North Carolina prison or whether he would attempt to get him freed to attend a funeral.

Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the city medical examiner, said the death was ruled a suicide after an autopsy on Sunday. Toxicology tests were also conducted, but results wouldn't be known for weeks, she said.

By late afternoon, she said, Madoff's body had not been claimed.

___

Associated Press writer Verena Dobnik contributed to this report.

S.C. council debates Schenley Park condos

South Charleston Council debated giving a zoning exemption to adeveloper who wants to build a condominium in Schenley Park.

The city's planning board recently voted to change the park'szoning to only allow single-family homes.

But an exemption was extended to developer J.D. Strickland, whoowns property in the area and wants to build condominiums.

Councilman Butch Buckley, who has lived in Schenley Park for 24years, argued against the move, saying the condominium would addcongestion to the area.

"You're going to have four new families with potentially 16 newcars up there," said Buckley, who was the lone vote against theproposal. "A man, a wife, and two teenagers. It's a single lane roadup that hill. There's only a two-inch water line, and the closestfire hydrant is down the hill."

"That isn't necessarily true," said Councilman Ben Paul.

"Do all of your children have cars?" asked Buckley.

"From a legal standpoint we have to be clear," said Paul.

"If you let him build apartments, you have to let me," saidBuckley. "You can't discriminate. I've been there since 1982, and Ibought it because it was nice and quiet. There's only been one housebuilt there since 1977 as far as I can remember."

Mayor Richie Robb said the dispute is likely to continue.

"There may be litigation no matter who prevails," Robb said.

South Charleston Council passed a resolution to recognize thecontributions of CareCall.com, a service that calls subscribers everyday to check on their well-being.

The resolution passed without comment Thursday night.

The service costs $19.95 a day normally, but is being offered toSouth Charleston residents at half price.

"If we can't reach that person, we call the next one," saidsalesman Butch Evans in his presentation last month. "If we can'treach someone, we call manually. If we don't get a response, we call911."

"I think this plan could be very viable and useful for manypeople. I like the program," said Councilman Ben Paul last month.

"There's a lot of people that can't afford (other services at) 30bucks a month," said Councilman "Sonny" Holstine last month. "At 10bucks a month, people can afford this."

Olmert orders ministers in writing to seek his approval for any West Bank construction

A week before U.S. President George W. Bush visits the region, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has sent an official letter to Cabinet ministers ordering them not to authorize any West Bank construction without his approval, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Associated Press on Monday.

The letter, sent Sunday to the ministers of defense, housing and agriculture, did not address construction in east Jerusalem, which has upset just-relaunched peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. But last week, a spokesman said Olmert issued a directive to all government ministries requiring his approval for construction in east Jerusalem as well.

Several recent lower-level decisions to move ahead with such construction caught Olmert off guard and angered the Palestinians and the United States.

"Establishment, new construction, expansion, preparation of plans, publication of residency bids, confiscation of land and all other activities related to Israeli settlement of the area shall not go forward and shall not be carried out without requesting and receiving in advance approval by the defense minister (Ehud Barak) and the prime minister," the letter read.

These orders do not apply to construction that already has been approved, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said. They do not apply to east Jerusalem either, because from the Israeli perspective, "the West Bank is not Jerusalem, and Jerusalem is not the West Bank," he added.

Israel captured both the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. But although the Palestinians regard Jewish neighborhoods in either territory to be settlements, Israel says that label does not apply to east Jerusalem, which it annexed shortly after the war.

The international community has not recognized the Israeli annexation.

Regev said Olmert's letter was a "policy directive by the prime minister designed to ensure that the machinery of government is ready to implement our obligations under the 'road map'" _ a reference to the internationally backed peace plan that is underpinning the renewed talks.

The first phase of the road map requires Israel to freeze all settlement construction and the Palestinians to clamp down on militant groups.

The plan broke down shortly after it was presented in June 2003 because neither side fulfilled its initial obligations.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said he hoped the Israeli government would "take the path of peace and negotiations, and abandon the path of settlements and dictations."

"We want to make 2008 the year of the treaty, and I hope that the Israeli government will move from settlements to peace, because they cannot have both," Erekat said.

Israel's announcement after the high-profile U.S. peace conference in late November that it would expand the Jewish Har Homa neighborhood in east Jerusalem so enraged the Palestinians that they were unwilling to discuss in the renewed talks any of the issues at the core of their conflict with Israel.

Last week, however, the Palestinians agreed to put the issue aside ahead of Bush's visit to the region next week, allowing talks on the main issues to go ahead. After Abbas and Olmert met on Thursday for the first time since Annapolis, Regev announced that both sides agreed not to take steps that could prejudice a final peace deal.

The three main stumbling blocks in the peace talks have historically been the future borders between Israel and a Palestinian state, sovereignty over Jerusalem; and a solution for Palestinian refugees who fled or were driven from their homes in fighting that lead to Israel's creation in 1948.

On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia in Jerusalem, the Israeli foreign ministry said. It gave no details of the talks.

Friction over Har Homa was only the first problem to beset the newly resumed peace talks. On Friday, Palestinian attackers shot dead two Israelis near the West Bank city of Hebron, provoking Olmert to declare that no peace moves would be carried out until the Palestinians cracked down on militants.

Three militant groups, including the Gaza Strip's Islamic Hamas rulers and an offshoot of Abbas' Fatah movement, claimed responsibility.

Olmert and Abbas had set a December 2008 target for reaching a peace agreement, coinciding with the end of Bush's tenure.

In violence late Sunday, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian woman on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza while waiting for relatives to return from a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli army said it was looking into the report.

Umpire Suspended for Bradley Incident

NEW YORK - Umpire Mike Winters was suspended by Major League Baseball for the remainder of the regular season on Wednesday because of his confrontation with San Diego's Milton Bradley last weekend.

The Padres claimed Winters baited Bradley, who has a history of losing his temper. Bradley tore a knee ligament when his manager spun him to the ground while trying to keep him from going after the umpire during Sunday's 7-3 loss to Colorado in San Diego.

Winters was suspended because the commissioner's office concluded he had used a profanity aimed at Bradley, a baseball official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the reason for the suspension was not announced.

"It's something that's handled internally by MLB. They handle the umpires, the Padres don't," San Diego manager Bud Black said in San Francisco before his team played the Giants.

The 48-year-old Winters became a major league umpire in 1990 and worked the World Series in 2002 and last year. He will not work during the postseason, the baseball official said.

Winters became the first umpire suspended since 2003, when the commissioner's office announced that Bruce Froemming and John Hirschbeck each were receiving 10-day penalties. Froemming made an anti-Semitic slur about an umpiring administrator and baseball said Hirschbeck threatened a senior official in the commissioner's office.

Bob Watson, baseball's vice president in charge of discipline, has not decided whether to penalize Bradley, the commissioner's office said.

Padres closer Trevor Hoffman compared the quick action by baseball commissioner Bud Selig's office to decisions by the NFL's Roger Goodell and the NBA's David Stern.

"You can see what commissioner Goodell has done in the NFL, you've seen how commissioner Stern takes care of business," Hoffman said. "This is an opportunity for our commissioner to have a stronger voice in all facets of the game. It's an opportunity for commissioner Selig to have a stronger voice with how the players react. Bob Watson hears a lot of this stuff, but it doesn't seem to be deterring anything."

Hirschbeck, president of the World Umpires Association, declined comment.

"I want to wait until I have a chance to talk to our attorneys in the morning," Hirschbeck said.

Bradley tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and was scheduled to have surgery Thursday in Cincinnati, which is expected to sideline him for at least six months. His injury was a blow to the Padres, who began Wednesday with a one-game lead over Colorado and Philadelphia in the NL wild-card race.

"I think it's good to tell the players that the umpires are going to be kept in line. It'll be good to retain order during games knowing there's going to be repercussions if you let things get out of hand," Padres second baseman Geoff Blum said. "It's got to be satisfying to Milton knowing that what he said was true and that some consequence came of it."

Trouble began when plate umpire Brian Runge asked Bradley if he had flipped his bat in the ump's direction after taking a called third strike that ended the fifth inning. Runge indicated that Winters told him that Bradley had.

The dispute escalated after Bradley singled, then asked Winters if he told Runge he threw his bat.

First base coach Bobby Meacham and Black said Winters used profanity. Bradley called it "the most unprofessional and most ridiculous thing I've ever seen."

"It's terrible. And now, because of him, my knee's hurt," he said after the game. "If this costs me my season because of that, he needs to be reprimanded. I'm taking some action. I'm not going to stand pat and accept this because I didn't do nothing wrong."

The remainder of Winters' crew - Froemming, Runge and Mark Wegner - is scheduled to work San Diego's season-ending series at Milwaukee this weekend.

---

AP Sports Writers Mike Fitzpatrick in New York and Larry Lage in Detroit, and AP freelance writer Michael Wagaman in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Pyro Wins Louisiana Derby

Conserve energy, win the race. A simple plan for Pyro that worked to perfection in the Louisiana Derby.

Biding his time behind the leaders, Pyro muscled through an opening in the stretch and cruised to a three-length victory over 60-1 long shot My Pal Charlie at the Fair Grounds on Saturday.

The victory not only reaffirmed Pyro's status as a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby, it made trainer Steve Asmussen breathe easier knowing his 3-year-old colt won with plenty to spare.

"We prepared well," Asmussen said in the winner's circle. "He put himself in the race and didn't leave it all to do in front of him. He handled it extremely well. He encountered traffic and went by the wire with a lot of energy."

In the toughest Derby prep yet, Pyro made easy work of eight rivals for his second impressive win of the year, both at the Fair Grounds.

This time, the 3-year-old bay colt didn't need a breathtaking last-to-first stretch run like he did in taking the Risen Star on Feb. 9. Under regular rider Shaun Bridgmohan, Pyro was never worse than fourth before splitting the leaders with little urging for his third win in six career starts.

The victory gives Asmussen a top Derby contender for the second year in a row. He also trains 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin, who was third in the Derby, won the Preakness and finished second in the Belmont Stakes. Asmussen has another Derby hopeful in Z Fortune, who runs next Saturday in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas.

In a Derby prep at Aqueduct in New York, Visionaire made a last-to-first run in the slop and edged Texas Wildcatter by a nose. The colt has won three of five starts and gives trainer Michael Matz a promising Derby contender.

Pyro covered the 1 1-16 miles in 1:44.44 on an unseasonably cool day, with temperatures in the low 50s.

Derby hopefuls Tale of Ekati and Majestic Warrior, making their first starts of the year, never seriously challenged and finished out of the money.

Pyro, the 4-5 favorite, returned $3.60, $2.80 and $2.20, My Pal Charlie, who set the early pace, finished second at 60-1 odds and paid $26 and $10.80. Yankee Bravo, who came into the race with a 3-0 record, was third and returned $5.20.

Blackberry Road was fourth, followed by Stevil, Tale of Ekati, Majestic Warrior, J Be K and Unbridled Vicar.

Asmussen said Pyro's final Derby prep will be the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., on April 12. The race is run over Polytrack, an artificial surface that all but eliminates weather concerns.

"He's such a nice horse to ride. It was merely push button," Bridgmohan said. "He waited for the hole to open up and when I pointed him to it he just went about his business. Pretty professional."

Pyro's only losses have come against undefeated War Pass, including second-place finishes in the Champagne Stakes and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. War Pass puts his 6-0 mark on the line next Saturday in the Tampa Bay Derby.

Pyro collected $360,000 for the win, boosting his career earnings to $1,056,718 for owner Ron Winchell of Winchell Thoroughbreds.

The Derby status of Tale of Ekati and Majestic Warrior was not immediately clarified.

"It didn't work out the way we planned," Tale of Ekati jockey Edgar Prado said. "I was supposed to be close but we broke bad."

Jockey Garrett Gomez was encouraged after Majestic Warrior's first race since Oct. 6.

"He ran extremely smooth and relaxed off the layoff," Gomez said of the colt co-owned by Yankees boss George Steinbrenner. "I was in a good spot throughout the race. I ran a good race to the eighth pole. I am very encouraged with his performance."

Earlier at the Fair Grounds, Proud Spell ($5.80) upset previously unbeaten Indian Blessing in the $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks, Circular Quay ($15) outdueled Grasshopper by a neck in the $500,000 New Orleans Handicap, and Proudinsky ($9.60) captured the $500,000 Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Memorial Handicap on the turf.

Israeli airstrike kills Gaza militant, wounds two other people

An Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday killed a Hamas militant involved in the capture of an Israeli soldier, the Israeli military said.

There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza. In June 2006, militants from Hamas and two allied factions tunneled under the Israeli border, killed two soldiers at a border post and captured a third, Cpl. Gilad Schalit.

Schalit remains in captivity in the Gaza Strip as talks have stalled on swapping him for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

The military did not say in what capacity Nafez Manzur was involved in Schalit's capture. It said Manzur was also involved in other attacks, including the suicide bombing at an Israeli crossing into Gaza two weeks ago. Thirteen soldiers were wounded in that assault.

Man Who Sold Vick Pit Bull Pleads Guilty

RICHMOND, Va. - A man who sold a champion pit bull to suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick's dogfighting operation pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal dogfighting charge.

Oscar Allen entered the plea to conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce to aid in illegal gambling and to sponsor a dog in animal fighting - the same charge to which Vick and his three fellow defendants in the Bad Newz Kennels operation pleaded guilty. Vick is expected to be sentenced in December.

The 67-year-old Allen, from the Williamsburg area, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 25. He faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. He was released until sentencing with conditions, including a prohibition on buying or selling any dogs.

U.S. Attorney Michael R. Gill recommended that Allen spend no time in prison if he complies with conditions of the plea agreement, because Allen cooperated with the investigation, had no prior criminal record and had limited involvement with Bad Newz Kennels.

But U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson said he isn't bound by that recommendation, and must take into account federal sentencing guidelines in the case.

As part of his plea, Allen admitted in a statement that he sold a female pit bull named Jane in 2001 to Bad Newz Kennels in rural Surry County, and traveled with Vick's dogfighting associates to Jane's fights.

In 2003, Bad Newz Kennels entered Jane in a "champion dog fight" - meaning she was fighting for her third consecutive win. Jane won the "champion" purse in a fight over another female pit bull. The winning purse is not known, according to documents filed by prosecutors.

Allen also admitted to advising Vick and his co-defendants on managing and caring for Bad Newz Kennels pit bulls, and helping Vick and his associates pit their dogs against each other to determine which ones were good fighters.

Allen didn't help kill the six to eight dogs that failed to perform well, prosecutors said.

The details outlined in the indictment against Vick and related court filings fueled a public backlash against the Atlanta Falcons star and cost him several lucrative endorsement deals, even before he agreed to plead guilty to the dogfighting conspiracy charge.

In his plea, Vick admitted to helping kill the underperforming pit bulls and supplying money for gambling on the fights. He said he didn't personally place any bets or share in any winnings.

The NFL suspended him indefinitely and without pay.

Vick and his co-defendants still face state felony dogfighting charges.

The local prosecutor in that case, Surry County Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald Poindexter, represented Vick's father in a civil case four years ago, The Virginian-Pilot reported on its Web site Wednesday night.

In 2003, Poindexter, a part-time prosecutor who retains a private practice, filed a petition in Suffolk Circuit Court on behalf of Michael Boddie to have his driving privileges reinstated, according to court records obtained by the newspaper.

One of Vick's lawyers questioned whether it was appropriate for Poindexter to prosecute Vick after representing his father.

"I expressed those concerns to Mr. Poindexter both orally and in writing," Lawrence H. Woodward told the newspaper. "I still have those concerns, as do Michael's other attorneys."

Woodward declined to say if the defense team would ask a judge to disqualify Poindexter from the case.

Poindexter said he disclosed it to Woodward and was told it would not be a problem.

"He said, 'That's fine. That's of no real concern to me,'" Poindexter told the newspaper. "You have some kind of obligation, if there's anything that is remotely suggestive of some type of conflict or something, you raise it."

Woodward told the newspaper he disputed Poindexter's recollection of that discussion. Woodward didn't immediately return a call from The Associated Press for elaboration.

Poindexter also did not answer calls to his home or cell phone Wednesday night.

Legal scholars told the Pilot that the situation didn't appear to present a conflict of interest.

Grizzlies' owner selling majority share of team

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - An investment group that includes ChristianLaettner and his former Duke teammate Brian Davis has reached anagreement to buy 70 percent of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Billionaire Michael Heisley announced Monday that he agreed tosell his majority share to the group.

Davis, who played in four Final Fours while at Duke from 1989-92,said he wants West Virginia native and Grizzlies basketball CEO JerryWest and Coach Mike Fratello to stay with the Grizzlies.

Davis said at a news conference that the sale was worth about $360million, and he and Laettner are putting a total of $40 million oftheir own money into the project. The remainder will come frominvestors he did not identify.

, but Davis said he has lined up the money for the purchase.

Davis said Laettner also will be talking to the Grizzlies aboutcoming back to play. Laettner, a first-round pick of Minnesota in1992, has not played in the NBA since the 2004-05 season with theMiami Heat.

The transaction will take several months to complete because theminority owners have the right of first refusal for 60 days from thedate they are notified. Also, the sale must be approved by the NBA,and Heisley said he expects to remain with the team for severalmonths.

New Greek cabinet to be sworn in

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's incoming prime minister is due to name his cabinet Friday, a day after being appointed to head an interim coalition government that will push through a new European debt deal and secure continued bailout funding to prevent a catastrophic default.

Former European Central Bank vice president Lucas Papademos held talks with the country's main political parties late into Thursday night to determine who would staff his cabinet, ahead of the formal swearing in early Friday afternoon.

Papademos' appointment capped two weeks of a political crisis that threatened to derail an EU plan to get a grip on the Greek debt crisis and raised questions about the country's continued presence in the eurozone.

He was named to take over from outgoing prime Minister George Papandreou, who agreed to step aside half way through his four-year term.

Although the composition of the new cabinet had not been announced by midmorning, many key ministerial positions were expected to remain unchanged, with Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos widely expected to retain his post.

Venizelos was deeply involved in negotiating the latest debt deal — a package agreed as recently as Oct. 27. The euro130 billion ($177 billion) debt deal took months to work out, and includes provisions for private bondholders to forgive 50 percent — or some euro100 billion — of their Greek debt holdings.

The latest political turmoil was sparked by Papandreou's Oct. 31 surprise announcement that he would put the deal to a referendum. His plan infuriated European leaders, rocked global markets and led many of his own Socialist party lawmakers to rebel and call for his resignation.

Papandreou withdrew the public vote plan after the main conservative opposition said they backed the deal, and agreed to step aside.

After days of intense power-sharing talks, Papandreou's Socialists and the conservatives, led by Antonis Samaras, along with a smaller right-wing party, appointed Papademos as interim premier.

Papademos' government will be called on to pass the debt deal and secure the next euro8 billion installment of the country's initial euro110 billion bailout. Without the funds, Greece will default in a matter of weeks.

Top online, Windows exec to depart Microsoft

Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday said the executive in charge of its Windows and Web operations is leaving the company.

Kevin Johnson had served since 2005 as president of Microsoft's platforms and services division, which included the Windows operating system and Windows Live programs such as Web e-mail and instant messaging. The division also included online advertising, search and Microsoft's MSN sites.

Johnson's three years at the helm overlapped with the anticlimactic release of Windows Vista and, more notably, with Microsoft's recent failed bid to buy Yahoo Inc.

He also spearheaded the $6 billion acquisition of online advertising company aQuantive in 2007. Incorporating aQuantive has boosted Microsoft's Web ad revenue, but not enough to put the software maker in league with leader Google Inc.

Johnson, who joined Microsoft in 1992, will help with a transition, Microsoft said in a statement. He has taken a job with networking hardware maker Juniper Networks Inc., according to the Wall Street Journal. Neither Microsoft nor Juniper returned calls seeking comment.

Microsoft says the platforms and services division will now be split in two, with heads of the Windows and online groups reporting directly to Chief Executive Steve Ballmer.

The Windows/Windows Live division will be led by senior vice presidents Steven Sinofsky, Jon DeVaan and Bill Veghte.

Microsoft said it will search for a new leader for its online services business. In the interim, senior vice presidents Satya Nadella and Brian McAndrews will remain in the lead of engineering and advertiser and publisher solutions.

NETWORK BIG BOYS ARE ON THE GRILL AS MORE VIEWERS DEFECT TO CABLE.(Entertainment/Weekend/Spotlight)

Byline: Dusty Saunders Rocky Mountain News Broadcasting Critic COLUMN

It's the second week of July, network programmers. Where are your viewers?

Either barbecuing on the patio or watching cable.

Summer always has been a down viewing time for the networks because the schedules are glutted with reruns.

But this summer has become a viewing disaster for ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

Recent national Nielsen reports show that the combined share of television audiences for the four broadcast networks has hit a new low, while cable audiences have reached a new high.

The four networks entertained only 53% of the viewing audience last week, down from 57% the same time a year ago. Cable channels, meanwhile, displayed a 35% audience share, up from 31% a year ago.

Only nine series on the prime time network schedule had a double-digit rating, with five of them on NBC Thursday night.

Actually, the peacock is smiling.

With the Summer Olympics beginning a 17-day run July 19, audiences will briefly come back to network TV - at least to one network.

But the overall problem won't go away.

While the networks are busy planning the fall premieres, the programmers are worrying about the summer of '97.

Two things are needed - fall hits (of which there were few last season), which might keep some viewers even during reruns, and new summer product.

In other words, networks must find ways to keep viewers from defecting to cable. Some defectors may never return.

*

Broadcasting names: Christopher Reeve will have a small role in Snakes & Ladders, a CBS TV movie - his first film work since being paralyzed in a horseback riding accident. He'll portray a quadriplegic who becomes a mentor to a young man paralyzed in a diving accident. Judith Light plays the diver's mother. The film, which begins filming next month, is scheduled on CBS during the fall season. . . . Bob Dole may still trail President Clinton in the popularity polls, but he's assumed the lead in the late-night talk show joke race, according to a recent survey by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a conservative watchdog group. The survey says Jay Leno, David Letterman and Conan O'Brien have delivered 176 jokes about Dole through June since he clinched the Republican presidential nomination on March 26. Clinton's joke total is 131.

For the record, runners-up include O.J. Simpson and Kathie Lee Gifford, third and fourth respectively. . . . KCNC-Channel 4 has a new investigative reporter - Vince Gonzales, who previously worked for CBS News and at KPHO-TV in Phoenix where he broke a story about the FBI and the Department of Justice investigation of an Arizona county sheriff's abuse of jail inmates.

*

Just spell-my-name-right: The aforementioned Gifford, in the controversial spotlight over charges she supported sweatshops through her Wal-Mart clothing line, has signed a new one-year deal to continue hosting her daytime syndicated series with Regis Philbin. This, after a TV Guide poll indicated readers were tired of Gifford's self-involvement antics on the series.

*

Old pal department: The husband-wife team of Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen star in Ink, a new CBS fall comedy. Perhaps the connection of CBS Entertainment president Leslie Moonves, a former actor, had something to do with the booking. Moonves went to drama school with Steenburgen and their kids now carpool to school.

*

Blue women: Another policewoman has left the NYPD Blue squadroom.

Detective Adrienne Lesniak, portrayed by Justine Miceli, won't be back in the fall. Miceli's character was in the spotlight last season after she deflected romantic overtures from Detective James Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) by saying she was gay. She wasn't and the two eventually got together romantically. Then Martinez dumped Lesniak for being too possessive.

Other women who have departed the series during its three-year run include Sherry Stringfield (now of ER), who played David Carsuo's estranged wife; Amy Brenneman and Debrah Farrentino, who both portrayed Caruso's love interests; and Gail O'Grady, as the earthy blond police station secretary.

Kim Delaney, Jimmy's Smits' romantic companion, returns with a larger role this fall, along with Sharon Lawrence, as Dennis Franz' wife. Lawrence, however, will be seen on an irregular basis as she prepares for her new NBC situation comedy.

While such departures may not sit well with series fans, they do somewhat mirror what happens in real police life.

*

Ratings roulette: Recent audience surveys show the most-watched cable network is TNT, which surpassed long-time leader USA from January through May. Part of TNT's success stemmed from an audience bump during the NBA playoffs, which produced more viewers than a year ago. . . . USA still has the honor of airing the most-watched movie made for cable - China Lake Murders, which premiered Jan. 31, 1990. Runnersup: Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story (Lifetime), aired Sept. 5, 1995; and Gettsyburg (TNT) a two-part historical epic presented June 26-27, 1994.

*

Today's quote: ``I think the cliche is true that money doesn't buy happiness. . . . It can actually let you focus more time on your misery.'' - Garry Shandling on HBO's Dennis Miller Live.

NETWORK BIG BOYS ARE ON THE GRILL AS MORE VIEWERS DEFECT TO CABLE.(Entertainment/Weekend/Spotlight)

Byline: Dusty Saunders Rocky Mountain News Broadcasting Critic COLUMN

It's the second week of July, network programmers. Where are your viewers?

Either barbecuing on the patio or watching cable.

Summer always has been a down viewing time for the networks because the schedules are glutted with reruns.

But this summer has become a viewing disaster for ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

Recent national Nielsen reports show that the combined share of television audiences for the four broadcast networks has hit a new low, while cable audiences have reached a new high.

The four networks entertained only 53% of the viewing audience last week, down from 57% the same time a year ago. Cable channels, meanwhile, displayed a 35% audience share, up from 31% a year ago.

Only nine series on the prime time network schedule had a double-digit rating, with five of them on NBC Thursday night.

Actually, the peacock is smiling.

With the Summer Olympics beginning a 17-day run July 19, audiences will briefly come back to network TV - at least to one network.

But the overall problem won't go away.

While the networks are busy planning the fall premieres, the programmers are worrying about the summer of '97.

Two things are needed - fall hits (of which there were few last season), which might keep some viewers even during reruns, and new summer product.

In other words, networks must find ways to keep viewers from defecting to cable. Some defectors may never return.

*

Broadcasting names: Christopher Reeve will have a small role in Snakes & Ladders, a CBS TV movie - his first film work since being paralyzed in a horseback riding accident. He'll portray a quadriplegic who becomes a mentor to a young man paralyzed in a diving accident. Judith Light plays the diver's mother. The film, which begins filming next month, is scheduled on CBS during the fall season. . . . Bob Dole may still trail President Clinton in the popularity polls, but he's assumed the lead in the late-night talk show joke race, according to a recent survey by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a conservative watchdog group. The survey says Jay Leno, David Letterman and Conan O'Brien have delivered 176 jokes about Dole through June since he clinched the Republican presidential nomination on March 26. Clinton's joke total is 131.

For the record, runners-up include O.J. Simpson and Kathie Lee Gifford, third and fourth respectively. . . . KCNC-Channel 4 has a new investigative reporter - Vince Gonzales, who previously worked for CBS News and at KPHO-TV in Phoenix where he broke a story about the FBI and the Department of Justice investigation of an Arizona county sheriff's abuse of jail inmates.

*

Just spell-my-name-right: The aforementioned Gifford, in the controversial spotlight over charges she supported sweatshops through her Wal-Mart clothing line, has signed a new one-year deal to continue hosting her daytime syndicated series with Regis Philbin. This, after a TV Guide poll indicated readers were tired of Gifford's self-involvement antics on the series.

*

Old pal department: The husband-wife team of Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen star in Ink, a new CBS fall comedy. Perhaps the connection of CBS Entertainment president Leslie Moonves, a former actor, had something to do with the booking. Moonves went to drama school with Steenburgen and their kids now carpool to school.

*

Blue women: Another policewoman has left the NYPD Blue squadroom.

Detective Adrienne Lesniak, portrayed by Justine Miceli, won't be back in the fall. Miceli's character was in the spotlight last season after she deflected romantic overtures from Detective James Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) by saying she was gay. She wasn't and the two eventually got together romantically. Then Martinez dumped Lesniak for being too possessive.

Other women who have departed the series during its three-year run include Sherry Stringfield (now of ER), who played David Carsuo's estranged wife; Amy Brenneman and Debrah Farrentino, who both portrayed Caruso's love interests; and Gail O'Grady, as the earthy blond police station secretary.

Kim Delaney, Jimmy's Smits' romantic companion, returns with a larger role this fall, along with Sharon Lawrence, as Dennis Franz' wife. Lawrence, however, will be seen on an irregular basis as she prepares for her new NBC situation comedy.

While such departures may not sit well with series fans, they do somewhat mirror what happens in real police life.

*

Ratings roulette: Recent audience surveys show the most-watched cable network is TNT, which surpassed long-time leader USA from January through May. Part of TNT's success stemmed from an audience bump during the NBA playoffs, which produced more viewers than a year ago. . . . USA still has the honor of airing the most-watched movie made for cable - China Lake Murders, which premiered Jan. 31, 1990. Runnersup: Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story (Lifetime), aired Sept. 5, 1995; and Gettsyburg (TNT) a two-part historical epic presented June 26-27, 1994.

*

Today's quote: ``I think the cliche is true that money doesn't buy happiness. . . . It can actually let you focus more time on your misery.'' - Garry Shandling on HBO's Dennis Miller Live.

Friends in a hurry to cycle length of the country

Two years ago, Martin Wardley bought himself a bike to get aroundBath.

This week, he's in the middle of an ambitious attempt to ride 900miles - in just seven days.

The 42-year-old IT consultant and musician from Bath has joined afriend on a journey from Land's End to John O'Groats - a trip mostfundraising cyclists earmark a fortnight for.

Martin is raising money for the international children'sorganisation Unicef, while his friend Jamie Lyall, 34, is backing ahospice in his native Midlands.

The longest leg of the journey, which has been dogged by rain, isa stint of 150 miles and the pair have been hard at work trainingfor the ride.

They set off …

OIL POLLUTERS OWE STATE $197M.(Main)

ALBANY -- Anthony Charles Cinelli made quite a name for himself in the 1970s, selling cut-rate gas and lottery tickets at his station on Altamont Avenue in Rotterdam. He was good at self-promotion, such as the time he sold gas at 36 cents a gallon to celebrate his 36th birthday.

But in the mid-1980s, he went to jail for state sales tax fraud, and was billed $1 million by the state to cover cleanup of his station's leaking underground tanks. After closing in the mid-'90s, the crumbling business became the town's biggest eyesore.

Then Cinelli made more money from his station by leasing it. After that business failed last year -- with Cinelli and his tenant defaulting on a hefty mortgage -- it was sold and reopened under a new owner.

Cinelli has retired to a palatial home just north of Daytona Beach. And the state? It got repaid nothing for cleaning up his mess.

There are plenty of polluters like Cinelli: businesses ranging from oil giant Exxon Mobil and regional gas station chains to a few unlucky homeowners that owe the cash-strapped state tens of millions of dollars spent to clean up after petroleum spills. The trail of unpaid debts stretches back years.

When the state set up its Oil Spill Compensation Fund in 1977 to cover the cost of emergency cleanups, it expected …

LESS CLEANUP FOR MORE DEVELOPMENT.(MAIN)

Byline: RAYMOND HERNANDEZ New York Times

ALBANY -- Environmental activist Aaron Maier surveyed the abandoned industrial plant that blights his poor Arbor Hill neighborhood here on the banks of the Hudson River. The lot, vacant but for an abandoned factory building, was overrun by weeds, and the soil was soaked with toxic chemicals.

A few years ago, he would have called for the standard environmentalist's prescription: Clean up the property thoroughly, no matter what the cost to business or government. But today, Maier is convinced that that approach has frightened off potential developers and left old industrial tracts like the one here orphaned. He believes it would be easier to attract a developer if the law didn't require that the land be cleaned to a pristine …

Scott leads No. 15 Arizona to 26-21 win over UCLA

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Backup Matt Scott had another big game, passing for a career-high 319 yards, and No. 15 Arizona held off UCLA 29-21 on Saturday to remain in contention for its first Pac-10 championship.

Scott was 24 of 36 with one interception and one touchdown. The junior also carried 12 times for 71 yards.

Scott threw for 233 yards and ran for another 65 in a 44-14 victory over Washington last weekend filling in for Nick Foles, who sprained his right knee two weeks ago. Foles might be healthy enough to return next Saturday when the Wildcats play at No. 13 Stanford.

Keola Antolin rushed for 111 yards on 23 carries for the Wildcats (7-1, 4-1 Pac-10), off to their …

Strategic crossroads for the CA profession

A summary of current CICA projects and initiatives

When the Council of Senior Executives (CSE) established a task force to develop a new strategic plan for the CA profession, it provided specific direction: "Develop a plan that identifies the component of the financial and business markets for which Canadian CAs are to be the market leaders."

It's a clear mandate. For a profession as diverse as ours, operating in a complex and changing environment, it's also a challenging one.

As its first step, the CSE Strategic Planning Task Force undertook a thorough assessment of the current state of the profession. To date, our research has included reviewing existing research …

Gainward ultra/650TV golden sample. (NVIDIA GeForce4 TI 4200).

DESCRIPTION: This card boasts a red PCB and a good-looking circular maroon-coloured heatsink-and-fan combination on its GPU. There are no heatsinks on any of the card's memory chips. Interestingly, it is one of the few 4200 cards not to feature a DVI-out option on its mounting bracket, but an S-Video out port is present.

EASE OF USE: All the appropriate drivers for this card can be installed quickly from the menu that loads as soon as you put the supplied CD-ROM in the drive. There were no installation problems and …

'CATS DROP FINALE.(Sports)

The Tri-City ValleyCats had a chance to earn their season-best fifth consecutive victory, but instead ended the year with a 3-0 loss to the Aberdeen IronBirds on Sunday before 6,536 fans at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Md.

Tyler Townsend hit a two-run home run in the first and Tyler Sexton scattered five hits in six innings to earn his third win of the season. Tri-City had runners on in each of the first four innings, but never had a runner reach second base all game. The game -- and season -- ended when Jhonny Medrano grounded into the IronBirds' third double play of the game.

ValleyCats starter Brandt Walker allowed all three runs before being pulled after …

JOGGER'S TRAIL NEARS FINISH.(Local)

Joggers in the uptown New Scotland and Pine Hills neighborhoods will soon have a new trail at their toe-tips.

Construction is nearly complete on a jogging path around the perimeter of Buckingham Pond, Albany Parks Commissioner Richard Barrett said Friday.

Barrett said the 3/4-mile path around the pond was the result of a directive by Mayor Thomas M. Whalen III for the city to "enhance uptown recreation opportunities.

"It's quite unique," Barrett said.

While joggers overrun the bicycle path along the Corning Preserve and carve out their own trails in Washington Park, Barrett noted that "this is the only one we have designed specifically for …

WILLIAM LANGLEY, 64.(CAPITAL REGION)

COHOES William T. Langley, 64, of Central Avenue, died Sunday in St. Mary's Hospital in Troy.

Mr. Langley was born and educated in Cohoes.

He was a self-employed auto mechanic for 30 years and was a former truck driver.

Mr. Langley was a member of the E.T. Ruane American Legion Post and the Polish National Alliance.

Survivors include two daughters, Donna L. Langley of Cohoes and Cynthia Conyers of Virginia; two sons, William T. …

Fleet invests in lending system; seen as aiding the integration of acquired banks. (Fleet/Norstar Financial Group Inc.)(Technology/Operations)

Fleet Invests in Lending System

Seen as Aiding the Integration of Acquired Banks

Fleet/Norstar Financial Group is developing a multi-million-dollar lending system for consumer and commercial banking, aimed at tightening management control and boosting operational efficiency.

The software is designed to automate the origination, underwriting, and documentation of loans, while storing all information in a single data base.

Testing for the software is scheduled to begin in January 1992. Plans call for the bank to roll the system out to more than 900 branches, including those that were part of the bank's acquisition of assets of the failed …

UK leader sets economic growth as top 2011 goal

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to prioritize jobs and economic growth in 2011, but his New Year's message warns of tough times ahead with harsh budget cuts needed to tackle Britain's massive deficit.

Small businesses — not the debt-ridden government — will be the most important job creator, Cameron said, and he promised to consider more bank lending and other measures to help entrepreneurs grow and create a "new economic dynamism" in Britain.

Despite that upbeat note, Cameron acknowledged that tough austerity measures mean 2011 will be a rough year for many.

"We have been living seriously beyond our means," he said. "2011 is going to be a …

Union says Verizon silencing workers: ; Company says the registration statement begins a 'quiet period'

Unions that represent many Verizon workers claim the company istrying to stop them from speaking out about Verizon's proposed saleof its landline business in West Virginia and 13 other states toFrontier Communications.

Verizon issued a July 27 memo to its North Central Area sayingFrontier had filed a registration statement with the federalSecurities and Exchange Commission that permits Frontier to seekstockholder approval of the transaction.

Verizon said the filing begins a "quiet period," during which it"will take no action that could be viewed as attempting to influencethe Frontier stockholder vote or to alter the mix of informationavailable to Frontier's …