Appeal in Lockerbie bombing case begins

The Libyan man jailed for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 was convicted on the basis of circumstantial evidence, his lawyer told a Scottish court Tuesday.

Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, 57, was not in court as his appeal got under way more than 20 years after the Dec. 21, 1988 bombing killed all 259 people aboard the London to New York flight and 11 people on the ground. But he was following the proceedings by a closed circuit television link between the court and Greenock Prison, near Glasgow.

"The trial court, on the basis of wholly circumstantial evidence, concluded beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant was involved in the commission of this …

American may woo Midway

Weakened by losses and a shrinking market value, Midway Airlinesapparently has become the target of competition-minded AMR Corp.,parent of American Airlines.

American is believed to be looking at Midway in order to expandits presence in Chicago, a goal that is virtually impossible atcrowded O'Hare Airport, where American has 38 gates and UnitedAirlines dominates with 55.

A Fort Worth newspaper had reported that Dallas-based AMR Corp.hired Goldman Sachs & Co. to explore the possibility of acquiring allor part of Midway. American and the investment banking firm wouldn'tcomment on the report, which also was carried in Crain's ChicagoBusiness. Midway spokeswoman …

Roddick says players may discuss tour issues

SHANGHAI (AP) — Andy Roddick says the top men's tennis players may still meet this week in Shanghai to discuss their grievances with the ATP tour, despite the absence of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Roddick has been among the most vocal proponents for a collective response to the top players' complaints about the tour, most …

Actor, comedian Andy Dick arrested in US

Actor and comedian Andy Dick has been charged with two felony counts of sexual abuse in West Virginia.

Dick was arraigned Saturday afternoon in Cabell County Magistrate Court. Court documents say he's accused of grabbing a bouncer's crotch and groping and kissing a male patron earlier in the morning at a bar in Huntington. Magistrate Patty Verbage Spence set bail at $60,000.

"Andy is …

Blacks would be naive to pick Martin

I want Republican senatorial candidate Lynn Martin to know thatthroughout August she had a corps of black supporters who reallyspoke up for her with courageous dedication.

I received at least three calls per week boosting her"accessibility to our people."

Of course she must know by now that "our people" means"African-American." It has that warm, personal, unifying sound incontrast with neutral identifications such as "black voters."

One "brother" called me twice last weekend and referred tocandidate Martin as "Sustah Lynn Martin." Just like down home.

But Martin has a real problem with being sold in blackprecincts. And that is not where she …

Pastors learn about relational boundaries

Marianne Mellinger led a pastoral training seminar entitled "Relational boundaries: Caring for self and others" in three locations this fall. Mellinger is part-time interim pastor at Preston Mennonite Church and has a private counselling practice.

Approximately 110 pastors attended the seminar, sponsored by Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada.

All MCEC pastors were encouraged to participate in this "preventative" program. The goals were to help pastors understand their need for approval and security, to become familiar with psychological concepts such as projection and transference, to understand power and authority, and to recognize vulnerabilities that may lead to a …

Australia beats Hungary 12-11 in bronze shootout

Australia's water polo team scored with eight seconds left to send the Olympic bronze medal water polo match against Hungary into overtime, then used the momentum to rally for a 12-11 victory in a shootout.

It was a hard-won medal for the team that finished fourth in Athens and was determined not to do so again.

"Obviously we were all down after the American game," said coach Greg McFadden, who tried to psyche the Australians by predicting a semifinal victory over the Americans. Instead, the U.S. pulled out a 9-8 win that nearly shattered Australia's confidence.

So McFadden called on former gold medal-winning hockey player Danielle …

News briefs

Winds fanning fire

expected to ease

ALPINE, Calif. - A fire that tore across 10,230 acres of drybrush and destroyed at least four houses burned into a second daytoday, but the fierce Santa Ana winds that had fanned the flameswere expected to die down. The blaze in eastern San Diego Countyburned uninhibited for most of Wednesday and was just 10 percentcontained this morning. It was unknown when the fire, which shutdown a highway and two casinos and chased as many as 300 people fromtheir homes, would be fully contained.

The fire started before dawn Wednesday and burned swiftly ingusts up to 65 mph. But the wind was far weaker this morning, andwere expected to …

CENTURIA: ONE HUNDRED OUROBORIC NOVELS

CENTURIA: ONE HUNDRED OUROBORIC NOVELS BY GIORGIO MANGANELLI, TRANSLATED BY HENRY MARTIN KINGSTON NEW YORK: MCPHERSON & COMPANY. 214 PAGES. $24.

Born in Milan in 1922., Giorgio Manganelli did not emerge into the literary world until the early '60s, when he joined Gruppo '63, the avant-garde literary movement whose best-known members included Italo Calvino and Umberto Eco. In the ensuing thirty years, until his death in 1990, Manganelli published more than two dozen volumes of fiction and nonfiction, and though his work has been translated into ten languages, only two of his novels have appeared in English, the first more than a decade ago. The second is Centuria. Originally …

No. 2 Duke tops Davidson, 79-67

Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler scored 22 points apiece and No. 2 Duke held off a late Stephen Curry-led charge to beat Davidson 79-67 on Wednesday night.

Gerald Henderson added 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting for the Blue Devils (13-1). They never trailed, outscored the Wildcats 20-7 to start the second half and withstood their late comeback attempt to win their 67th straight nonconference home game.

Curry, the nation's leading scorer, scored 29 points _ the most Duke has allowed any player this season _ on 10-of-22 shooting for Davidson (10-3), with 21 of those coming in the second half as he tried to rally his team from a 25-point deficit.

He scored …

BULLS BITS

Michael Jordan won his second straight scoring championship andthe steals title. He finished the regular season averaging 34.98points and 3.18 steals. Charles Oakley's 21 rebounds Sunday raised his average to 13. ButMichael Cage of the Los Angeles Clippers grabbed a career-high 30in his last game at home Sunday night to win the title over Oakley by.028 per …

No. 4 Sooners Run Over Tulsa 62-21

TULSA, Okla. - Allen Patrick ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns, Sam Bradford threw two long touchdown passes to Juaquin Iglesias and No. 4 Oklahoma outraced Tulsa 62-21 Friday night.

DeMarco Murray added two touchdown runs and returned a kickoff for another TD.

The Sooners (4-0), the highest-scoring team in the nation, have put up at least 50 points in all four games. That's only the second time in school history they've had such a streak - they also did it in 2003, capped by a 65-13 romp over Texas.

After Tulsa quickly …

Fire Damages Church in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM - Arsonists forced their way into a Jerusalem church and set it afire, church officials said Wednesday, blaming Jewish extremists.

The sanctuary used by four separate congregations, including Baptists, had been burned down in 1982 by an ultranationalist Jewish group and later rebuilt, said a pastor at the church, Charles Kopp.

"We all still need to learn the lessons of tolerance and to accept the different among us," said Kopp, an American who grew up in Los Angeles. "We don't suspect anyone specific but they were extremists for sure."

Police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said no arrests had been made and it was not immediately clear what motive was behind the attack.

The arsonists broke into the building late Tuesday, setting it on fire in three different places. The floor was severely charred, windows were broken and several chairs were burned. No holy books were damaged in the fire, said Joseph Broom, the church's business services manager and a native of Charleston, S.C., Ben-Ruby had earlier said Bibles were damaged.

The church is located in the leafy, middle-class neighborhood of Rehavia. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish residents of a nearby area have in recent years begun moving into Rehavia and trying to impose their way of life on the neighborhood.

However, relations between religions are generally good in largely Jewish west Jerusalem, and violent incidents are rare. Jewish neighbors called the fire department and their quick response was what saved the structure, said Kopp, who has been at the church since 1966.

Congregants at the church include international workers, students and Sudanese refugees who recently entered the country from Egypt, Kopp said. One of the congregations is made up of Messianic Jews, who consider themselves Jewish but believe in Jesus.

In response to the attack, the Israeli office of the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors hate crimes, called for tolerance.

"The ADL strongly condemned this arson and apparent hate crime," the New-York based organization said. "We urged authorities to do everything in their power to protect all religious sites and see that the perpetrators of the crime are brought to justice."

Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott and Tamia: A spectacular female quartet headed to the Allstate Arena

Four fabulous female musicians, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott and Tamia -- each whose inimitable talent has startled the entertainment world -- are blazing a musical trail that will take them from Sunrise, Fla., beginning Friday, to Oakland, Calif. In the meantime, the flaming quartet will pause in Chicago to penetrate into the hearts of their collective fans at the Allstate Arena April 2 at 7 p.m.

While each is a super attraction, their impact upon the entertainment world is tremendous with approximately 30 million albums sold, 16 Grammys and many other awards and hundreds of hit songs between the four women.

Tamia has the distinction of opening the show. This ECM Records star has already paid her dues and in a short span of time, she has the distinction of earning four Grammy nominations. She will be rushing into the arena to take her place among the elite in the recording industry.

In addition to Tamia, Missy Elliott, who was on a hiatus for a brief while, has returned with whirlwind swiftness. In addition to her rippling raps, she has been selected to bring her acting skills to UPN to launch a reality series. The new show will be rather freaky and blends the antics of American Idol, Road Rules and The Apprentice. Missy Elliot's new video Tush will probably be the same as her stage presence -- a flaming production. She was in Chicago this Tuesday checking out individuals auditioning for her new show to be aired on the UPN network.

Her personality is fabulous with overwhelming intensity.

Thousands packed the Chicago United Center recently to catch Alicia Keys' performance. She is one of the co-stars with Beyonce and Missy Elliott on the tour that will extend from March 12 through April 18.

Young, gifted and extremely beautiful, Alicia, who is one of J Records' emerging stars, is reaping many headlines during her personal appearances and her The Diary of Alicia Keys is really getting over. In so many ways, her accomplishments are really special. Since December, she has already sold 2.3 million copies of her sophomore album. Distributors are requesting more, which will probably reach the outlets by April 6.

On this tour, Alicia Keys will be fronting her own band and will accompany herself on the piano. She is very pleased with the unity of her co-headliners and thinks it will be a joyous occasion.

Beyonce is skyrocketing into superstar status and this Verizon Ladies First tour makes several she has headlined during the last season. On this tour, Beyonce is expecting her ensemble members, Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland for a brief Destiny's Child segment during the shows. Actually the trio is expecting to release its next album in the very near future.

Beyonce reveals that Alicia Keys was on the Columbia Records label before she earned popularity with J Records. Keys said, "We used to do showcases together"

"Verizon Ladies First tour is a huge production," says Beyonce, "and as soon as this 24-city tour is finished, the trio will return to the studio to finish working on its fourth album."

She enjoys singing solo, however, she is more at home performing with her partners. She does admit that the European tour was an exceptional learning experience. It is wonderful that her family is very involved with her career. She is excited over the several glamorous costumes her mother has designed.

It is very interesting that the costars have associated with each other before as Missy Elliott reveals that she has worked with Beyonce since the early days of Destiny's Child, and they have participated in recordings with each other.

As revealed earlier Missy Elliott is hosting a new talent-search project with UPN entitled Miss Elliott Project especially for rappers who will compete to perform with her.

Because of their friendships and their working together, it is not expected that there will be any ego tripping. Keys says that they are genuine friends and mutual admirers of each other's talent.

"Even before I started concentrating on my album, I wanted to get together a tour with other women. I know that you have a lot of types of tours with other types of artist, but not just strictly hip-hop and R&B women," said Beyonce.

Missy Elliott revealed that she enjoyed a wonderful experience in 1998, when she did shows with Lilith Fair. "I am glad that this tour is finally happening" she said.

Article copyright Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc.

Photograph (Tamia, Missy Elliott, Alicia Keys and Beyonce)

Judge orders ex-ESPN commentator to stand trial

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former ESPN commentator Jay Mariotti must stand trial on charges he stalked, injured and assaulted his ex-girlfriend, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Windham found there to be sufficient evidence for Mariotti to stand to trial on one felony count each of stalking, corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. He also faces two misdemeanor counts of disobeying a domestic court order.

Prosecutors say Mariotti confronted the woman at a restaurant Sept. 30, the same day he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery count stemming from an August incident with her.

In that plea, he was sentenced to 36 months of probation, community service and a domestic violence course.

Mariotti, a former Chicago Sun-Times columnist, is also accused of grabbing his former girlfriend outside a Venice restaurant on April 15. He allegedly pulled a chunk of her hair out and took her cell phone from her while shouting at her.

Mariotti's lawyer, Shawn Holley, called the allegations meritless.

"We look forward to trial when we will have the opportunity to present a strong and vigorous defense," Holley said in a statement.

Stricken Ship Off Antarctica Evacuated

A Canadian cruise ship struck ice off Antarctica and began taking on water, but all 154 passengers and crew took to lifeboats and were rescued safely Friday by a passing Norwegian liner, officials said.

The passengers and crew from the Explorer were picked up by the Nordnorge, a Norwegian cruise ship that was nearby and responded to the distress call, said Susan Hayes of G.A.P. Adventures of Toronto, which owns the stricken vessel.

The 91 passengers included at least 13 Americans, 22 Britons and 10 Canadians, officials said. In addition to the passengers, there were nine expedition staff members and a crew of 54, Hayes said.

"The passengers are absolutely fine," Hayes said. "They're all accounted for, no injuries whatsoever."

The Nordnorge has enough room to accommodate all the passengers, "so they may very well continue their journey on the Nordnorge," Hayes said.

The Explorer was completing an ecological tour of Antarctica when it struck a chunk of ice that tore a hole about the size of a fist in its hull, Hayes said.

She called the evacuation process "calm," saying pumps were able to deal with incoming water until the Nordnorge arrived.

Still, Hayes said the ship is in danger of sinking.

"It is listing. ... There is a possibility we may lose the ship," she said.

The British coast guard said it was told at 12:24 a.m. EST of the incident involving the 2,646-ton Explorer near the South Shetland Islands and Graham Land, an Antarctic peninsula.

Rescue centers in Norfolk, Va., and Ushuaia, Argentina, were taking charge of coordinating the rescue, the coast guard said.

An Argentine rescue and command center received a first distress call at 11:30 p.m. EST Thursday from the Explorer amid reports it was taking on water through the hull despite efforts to use onboard pumps, said Capt. Juan Pablo Panichini, an Argentine navy spokesman.

A navy statement said the captain ordered passengers to abandon ship about 90 minutes after the first call and that they and the crew took to eight semi-rigid lifeboats and four life rafts, with the captain leaving the ship later.

The statement said Explorer was some 475 nautical miles southeast of Ushuaia, the southernmost Argentine city and a jumping-off point for cruise ships and supply vessels for Antarctica.

Seas were calm and winds light at the time, what Panichini called "optimal conditions for carrying out the evacuation,"

G.A.P Adventures is a tour company that provides eco-friendly excursions with an environmental focus. The Explorer was in the midst of a 19-day circuit of Antarctica and the Falkland Islands that allowed passengers to observe penguins, whales, and other forms of local wildlife.

The Nordnorge, built in 1997, is 403 feet long and has a capacity of 691 passengers in 214 cabins.

___

Associated Press Writer Rob Gillies contributed to this story from Toronto.

Union sets new strike vote against British Airways

A union representing British Airways cabin crew said Monday it will hold a strike vote in a dispute over pay, job security and working conditions.

The Unite union said it would continue to negotiate with the airline while the vote by 13,000 cabin crew goes ahead starting next week.

Cabin crew represented by the Unite union had voted overwhelmingly in favor of striking in December, but the airline won a court order to prevent a walkout.

"In notifying the company of this, I have reiterated that we want talks to continue, and that the union is prepared to meet any place, any time, to try and reach an agreement which addresses the real concerns of BA's skilled, loyal and professional employees while giving the company the savings it needs to stay airborne," said Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary of Unite.

British Airways said in a statement that it was prepared for more negotiations but that the union's decision "calls into question its good faith in the negotiations we took part in throughout last week."

"If Unite eventually proceeds to an actual strike, we will continue to put our customers' interests first. We will provide assistance for those crew who wish to work normally and we will explore all options to enable us to operate the best flying programme possible under the circumstances," BA said.

"We will not allow Unite to ruin this airline and we believe we have the support of our customers and the vast majority of our staff in that objective."

Lieberman selection sets precedent Gore taps Connecticut senator as first Jew on major party ticket

Al Gore chose Sen. Joseph Lieberman on Monday to be his runningmate. The Connecticut Democrat will be the first Jew on a major partyticket.

"Miracles happen," Lieberman said.

Gore and Lieberman will appear today in Nashville, Tenn., six daysbefore the Democratic National Convention opens in Los Angeles.

Lieberman, a centrist, has broken from the administration to sidewith Republicans on school vouchers, Social Security and otherissues.

Gore advisers and independent analysts said Lieberman will helpthe campaign shed itself of President Clinton's personal baggage. Hewas the first Democrat to chastise the president for his affair withMonica Lewinsky. From the Senate floor last year, he called the tryst"embarrassing for all of us as Americans."

Lieberman later voted against impeachment.

Clinton on Monday said of Lieberman: "I think he's one of the mostoutstanding people in public life. He's a bold thinker. He is alwaysfull of new ideas.

"I think right now you just need to know that I think he'swonderful and he's been a wonderful friend to me and he's been greatfor America these last eight years, with what he's done in theSenate," Clinton said. "And he's been great for our party with whathe's done with the Democratic Leadership Council. So I'm very happyabout Joe Lieberman."

Polls show that Gore is barely benefiting from Clinton's high job-approval rating, while he is saddled with the residue of the nation'sfirst impeachment trial in nearly 150 years.

"We had to do something about this values stuff," said Democraticconsultant James Carville, who ran Clinton's 1992 campaign. "Clintonfatigue is real, and it hurts."

Republicans, however, said Lieberman's choice only serves toremind voters about the Lewinsky scandal. One senior GOP strategistsaid there is talk about a fall TV ad that would contrast Lieberman'scondemnation of Clinton with Gore's impeachment-era claim that hisboss is one of the "greatest" presidents in history.

Lieberman beat out five other finalists for the vice presidentialnomination: Senators Evan Bayh of Indiana, John Edwards of NorthCarolina, John Kerry of Massachusetts; House Minority Leader DickGephardt of Missouri and New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen.

When Lieberman's name surfaced, Democrats questioned whethervoters were willing to break a religious barrier.

"I don't think anyone can calculate the effect of having a Jew onthe ticket," Democratic Party chairman Ed Rendell said last week. "IfJoe Lieberman were Episcopalian it would be a slam dunk."

Rendell, who is Jewish, said Monday that anybody who votes againstLieberman "only because he is Jewish was voting for Bush or (ReformParty candidate Patrick) Buchanan anyhow."

Lieberman's selection could have political implications beyond thepresidential race. If the ticket wins, Lieberman would have to resignhis Senate seat and Republican Gov. John G. Rowland would appointsomeone to fill the seat until 2002. That would dim Democrats'chances of closing the 54-46 Republican advantage in the Senate.

At an AFL-CIO meeting in Hartford, Conn., on Monday, Liebermansaid he was "happy to be here at a convention where working peopleare a priority, not as they were in Philadelphia last week, justprops."

Lieberman has sponsored legislation to set up experimental voucherprograms, letting parents use federal money to send their children topublic, private or religious schools. Gore says vouchers wouldundermine public education.

More recently, he backed education reforms that do not includevouchers.

He voted to expand tax-free education savings accounts to helpparents cover education expenses in all grades and at public, privateand religious schools-an idea promoted by Bush.

And he has spoken in favor of partially privatizing SocialSecurity, as proposed by Bush and opposed by Gore.

Associated Press

Khodorkovsky to Stay in Siberian Jail

MOSCOW - A Russian court ordered imprisoned former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky to stay in a Siberian jail for another three months, a Web site operated by his supporters said Friday.

The decision is the latest setback in Khodorkovsky's lawyers' fight to get him transferred to Moscow in connection with a new investigation.

A district court in the city of Chita ruled Friday that Khodorkovsky must remain in custody there to prevent him from "obstructing the investigation and hiding criminal evidence," the site said. An after-hours call to the court was not immediately returned.

Lawyers for Khodorkovsky, who is serving an eight-year prison sentence after a politically charged trial, have fought for his transfer from the Chita region on the Chinese border to Moscow amid a money-laundering investigation prosecutors opened in February.

In March, a district court in Moscow rejected a decision by prosecutors to base the new investigation in Chita, and ordered that Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev, who faces similar charges, be moved to Moscow. That decision was upheld in April, but Khodorkovsky was never transferred.

In July, his lawyers filed suit against two state prosecutors, accusing them of ignoring the court decision.

Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, was arrested in 2003 amid a tax inquiry that eventually put the oil company he founded, OAO Yukos, into state hands. He was convicted in 2005 of fraud and tax evasion and has been serving his sentence in the Chita region, which is about 3,000 miles east of Moscow.

The trial and tax probe were widely seen as a Kremlin-driven campaign to punish Khodorkovsky for challenging President Vladimir Putin and to boost state control over the oil industry.

The latest charges involve accusations that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev stole property worth $34.3 billion from Yukos subsidiaries.

Khodorkovsky has denied the new charges, calling the case a "shameful farce." His legal team has long insisted the company's business structure was legal and meticulously audited by foreign consultants to meet international standards.

Lupo the Lone Link as Glenbard North Rebuilds

They're gone. The Big Three with the big tricks and the big-timecollege coach. All that remains at Glenbard North is the gymnasticsstate trophy and promise.

Brian Lupo is the only key component left from last year's teamthat stormed past Hinsdale Central in the finals to win the CarolStream school its first boys gymnastics state title.

Kevin Sauer, Shawn Bowlden and Dave Genc were the mainstays ofthat squad. Lupo placed seventh in the state on the still rings withan 8.5 in the finals and knows that is the only route he has left toget back to the state meet.

Last year the Panthers overcame a 150.15-149.8 deficit to winthe championship with 151 points on the second day of competition.

This year the Panthers' best score is 129.6.

"I expected it," Lupo said. "It was hard, but it was nice tohave the ending we did at state last year. They pushed me last year.This year I'm the guy who has to do the pushing and it's harder thanI expected."

Lupo has become a link for the next group of Panthers toemulate.

Shawn Shriver, Bill Genc and twin brothers Matt and ScottKnowles will be the leaders next year.

"Next year they're going to be up there," Lupo said. "Thoseother teams that think they're high and mighty better watch out."

But winning hasn't had much of an effect. In fact, fewer kidstried out this year. Perhaps due to the departure of one-year coachChuck Ehrlich. The former Northern Illinois coach installed a pit tohelp the Big Three learn advanced tricks, but was dismissed by theadministration and athletic director Jon Boulton returned to coachingafter an eight-year absence.

"I don't know if the change had anything to do with that,"Boulton said. "Coaching has been fun, except it's hectic as far astime is concerned. You only get great athletes every so often.Those kids were great athletes, not just in athletic ability, but intheir motivation. I was happy to be associated with them."

Boulton's main role last year was judging routines in practice.

"Chuck was in the gym during the off-season a lot," Boultonsaid. "I'm not able to do that. I have other responsibilities.This year we're younger, but I can see the same attitude. The kidsare just not mature yet, physicallly or mentally. I think this groupmay be on a par with where the last group was as juniors. I didn'trealize that I missed it so much. It is really rewarding."

Lupo works five events, the only all-arounder is Ladendorf.Lupo is providing motivation. He has scored 8.8 on the rings.

"Mr. Ehrlich knew those big tricks and how to perform them andthey had the skills for them," Lupo said of the Big Three. "Thisyear it's just me and Shawn. We're not working on those big tricks,just on clean routines. Mr. Boulton is a lot more laid back if youdon't think you can do the trick. Mr. Ehrlich pushed you a littlebit harder."