Facts about the endangered Tasmanian devil

Some facts about the Tasmanian devil:

_Their ferociousness starts at birth. Females give birth to about 50 young, or joeys, at a time. These then race to the mother's rear pouch to attach themselves to one of four teats. Only one joey in a dozen will survive.

_They're described as the vacuum cleaners of the forest because they eat animals that have already died.

_They grow to only a foot (30 centimeters) high at the shoulder and to weigh 25 pounds (11.3 kilograms), but their powerful jaws enable them to consume entire cattle carcasses, including bones and fur.

_They release a foul odor under stress and …

State labor leader chosen for Latin trip

Illinois AFL-CIO President Robert G. Gibson will be among 10labor leaders from across the nation traveling to Nicaragua and ElSalvador later this week on a fact-finding trip.

The delegation is scheduled to leave Washington, D.C., onSaturday and return in about a week. The trip will be sponsored bythe American Institute for Free Labor Development.

Gibson will be back in Chicago in time for this year's Labor Dayparade, scheduled Sept. 4. Gibson was in …

Drury Stars As Sabres Down Senators 4-3

OTTAWA - The Buffalo Sabres are fine with close games, as long as they keep winning them.

Chris Drury had a goal and an assist and Daniel Briere had two assists to help Buffalo extend its season-opening winning streak to three with a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

Jason Pominville, who scored the overtime winner that eliminated Ottawa from the playoffs last season, benefited from Briere's second set up of the night for his second goal of the season with 3:24 left in the third.

That put the Sabres up 4-2, restoring the two-goal lead provided by Drury's unassisted effort earlier in the period.

"They've all been close. It would be …

Britain to back IRA victims' lawsuit against Libya

Britain's surprise decision to support a lawsuit against Libya by Irish Republican Army victims raised hopes Monday that thousands who were maimed or lost loved ones in IRA bombings might receive compensation payments one day from the oil-rich nation.

Libya admits it shipped hundreds of tons of weaponry to the IRA in the mid-1980s, most critically the plastic explosive Semtex at the heart of the outlawed group's biggest and deadliest bombs. Lawyers say they expect the regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi to pay 10 million pounds ($16 million) to each member on their growing list of IRA victims.

"The fact is, if the Libyans hadn't provided the IRA with the …

Tribune Co. deal could allow exit from bankruptcy this year

The Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago Tribune, announced Thursday that it had agreed with creditors on a plan that will help it exit bankruptcy protection later this year.

The agreement allows for the senior lenders that own the Chicago-based media company's debt to control 91 percent of the reorganized company's …

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Legal Aspects of Band Member Departures

The Nature Of The Beast

Being a member of a band can be incredibly rewarding. It can also be incredibly challenging. The highly competitive nature of the music industry brings significant external pressures to bear on musicians, many of whom are merely seeking to achieve the relatively modest goal of earning a living from their music. Internal pressures, such as writing a great song, can be equally testing.

Perhaps one of the greatest challenges in the music industry is keeping a band together. If all band members are not on the same page in terms of their creative direction, personal relations, and business arrangements, then the train can quickly go off the tracks. A …

Spurs-Hornets, Box

SAN ANTONIO (79)

B.Bowen 4-5 0-0 10, Duncan 5-18 0-1 10, Thomas 1-6 0-0 2, Parker 7-14 3-5 18, Ginobili 5-15 7-8 20, Oberto 1-2 0-0 2, Finley 1-6 0-0 2, Horry 0-0 1-2 1, Barry 1-4 1-2 3, Stoudamire 1-1 0-0 2, Udoka 3-6 0-0 9, Vaughn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-77 12-18 79.

NEW ORLEANS (101)

Stojakovic 3-8 2-2 9, West 16-25 6-7 38, Chandler 2-5 0-2 4, Paul 6-18 9-11 22, Peterson 4-9 0-0 12, Ely 0-1 2-2 2, Pargo 2-6 5-5 10, Wells 0-1 0-2 0, Wright 0-2 0-0 0, Armstrong 0-0 1-2 1, R.Bowen 0-0 0-0 0, James 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 34-76 …

Season of goodwill

I write in the middle of the season of goodwill and want to sayjust how much goodwill I have encountered this Christmas.

Having spent some weeks in the Mineral Water Hospital I found thetender loving care of all the staff went far beyond the call ofduty, and to cap it all, the food was excellent: thank you to allconcerned.

My second encounter with kindness concerns the boys of CulverhaySchool under the direction of Jackie Williams.

The lads gave a presentation of music at the Good Companions Clubat Odd Down which showed blossoming talent and displayedconsiderable hard work on the part of all concerned. The boys …

2003 OUTLOOK GRIM FOR HOMELESS, LOW EARNERS

The nation's economic slowdown and the city's dwindling stock of affordable housing are aggravating Chicago's homelessness problem, with no happy end in sight for 2003.

Researchers at Chicago Coalition for the Homeless estimate that the number of homeless people in the city will reach 60,000 people with an average of 15,000 people seeking shelter every night this winter.

As the city adds magnificent new middle- and upper-income housing to neighborhoods on the lake shore and Near North sides, earnings of the poor continue to slide backwards, further distancing them from the point of being able to afford decent dwellings.

The Coalition for the Homeless said that in 2003 …

List of killer whales missing from Puget Sound

Seven Puget Sound killer whales are missing and presumed dead. They include:

L-67, "Splash," female, born 1985, mother of "Luna," a juvenile killer whale that made headlines in 2001 when he turned up in Canadian waters, missing September 2008;

L-101, "Aurora," male, brother of "Luna," born 2002, missing summer 2008;

L-111, born Aug. 12, 2008, believed to have lived only a week, missing late August …

Schools replace block schedule: ; At superintendent's request, six Kanawha high schools revert to more traditional format

Most of Kanawha County's high schools are preparing to alterstudents' daily routines as the shift away from block schedulingtakes effect.

When Superintendent Ron Duerring announced last year that blockscheduling would be eliminated, six of the county's eight publichigh schools were using that type of scheduling.

St. Albans High is going a step further by also switching to atrimester school year.

Six of the seven other high schools have been working on lesscomplex schedule changes. Capital High never veered from thetraditional eight-period day and will not change.

Duerring favors either a traditional or hybrid plan over a purelyblock …

Iran offers to resume nuclear talks

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton says Iran is ready to resume talks about its nuclear program.

Ashton says she received a letter from Iran saying the country is prepared to resume talks after Nov. 10.

Ashton said Friday Iran's offer to resume talks was "a very important" development.

The U.N. Security Council has slapped four sets of sanctions on Iran over its enrichment of uranium, which can be a gateway to developing atomic weapons.

Iran insists it only seeks to master the technology to produce fuel for a planned network of nuclear power facilities.

1998 salary survey questionnaire mailed

By now, you may have received a questionnaire for AIChE's 1998 Salary Survey. More than 10,000 randomly selected members were picked to participate in this biennial study, which was mailed in late January.

Conducted by a specialty research organization, the questionnaire polls members about their specific career paths and salaries. Final analyses will compare salary data across many variables including degree, industry, functional specialty, and geographic location.

Because of a growing member concern for financial and retirement planning, this year's survey also queries members about employer retirement and other savings plans. Responses to these new items will help provide data for AIChE's continuing promotion of a portable occupational retirement plan. A summary of the 1998 AIChE Salary Survey will be published this summer in Chemical Engineering Progress. The complete report will be available for purchase at that time.

If you receive the questionnaire, please complete it and help contribute to the success of this very popular report. Questions regarding the survey should be directed to Betty Feehan in AIChE's Career Services Department at 212/705-7524, or e-mail bettf@ aiche.org.

Snowstorm puts Fargo on edge after flooding

Dick Schafer hoisted his shovel and scraped away ice on his driveway as heavy, wet snowflakes fell from the sky _ painful reminders of the epic struggle with Mother Nature his city is facing.

"I don't like it. They say it's not going to affect the level of the river, but it just makes everything miserable. People here are expecting anything now," Schafer said.

The blizzard that walloped North Dakota on Monday brought almost six inches of snow and powerful wind gusts that threatened to pound the patchwork levee system protecting Fargo from the raging torrents of the Red River.

Winds were expected to pick up around midday Tuesday, reaching speeds of up to 35 mph, along with another 7 to 14 inches of snow.

"It's the heavy, heavy wet snow," National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Grafenauer said.

The snow was a big downer for the city after a weeklong threat of cataclysmic flooding and an unexpectedly happy couple days after drops in the river level.

City officials compared the situation to an action thriller where the hero stares down one disaster after another: "You kind of feel like it's a Bruce Willis film with the next challenge, next challenge, next challenge," said city commissioner Tim Mahoney, adding hopefully "he usually wins."

While the winds picked up late Monday, there were no reports of problems with waves or leaks by early Tuesday.

The Red River dropped below 39 feet Monday, almost 2 feet below its peak but still almost 21 feet above flood stage. City officials have said they would breathe easier when the river falls below 36 or 37 feet. They believe the river could drop 2 more feet in the coming days before inching upward and cresting again, adding another dimension of uncertainty and frustration to the process.

Cold temperatures are helping the flooding situation for now, because ice and snow that normally would be melting and feeding the river have stayed frozen. But forecasters said the latest snowfall would contribute to an increase in river levels down the road, albeit after they have dropped off a bit.

"The cold weather we've had really has made a difference in holding things back," said Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, commander of the North Dakota National Guard. "But if you fly over the Red River Valley right now, you see an awful lot of snow yet to come, and an awful lot of ice."

Engineers scrambled to shore up dikes to make sure they could withstand waves, with National Guard members placing sheets of plastic over the levees.

Corps engineer Tim Bertschi said when water pressure gets strong enough, the sandbags can begin to shift, a weakness that surging water will quickly exploit.

Another potential problem is posed by large chunks of ice in the river's currents. When those chunks hit a levee, they can speed its erosion or punch holes in the plastic sheeting. Once water gets in, a levee becomes much more susceptible to failure.

"Anything you are going to build, you've got to suspect it's going to fail at one time or another," said Bill Buckler, an associate professor of geography at Youngstown State University in Ohio.

As the city waited for the storm, schools and many businesses were closed for a second week, meaning thousands of people are not drawing paychecks and are eager to get back to work.

Fargo's massive sandbagging began winding down after an around-the-clock volunteer effort. Fargo filled 3.5 million sandbags and has an inventory of 450,000.

Officials in Fargo and Moorhead say they have limited the damage to a small number of homes within Fargo's city limits, but they have had to rescue about 300 people by boat, and several outlying rural areas have seen significant flooding.

Authorities also warned people to stay away from the dangerous river. The Coast Guard caught a man paddling a canoe who apparently jumped a levee to get into the water, and authorities vowed to arrest anyone who took similar risks.

Flooding statewide was blamed for two deaths in what health officials said were apparent heart attacks brought on by exertion.

___

Associated Press writers Dale Wetzel in Bismarck, Amy Forliti in Minneapolis and Matthew Brown in Fargo contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

Red River at Fargo water levels: http://sn.im/enwgc

This club is jumpin' and smokin', baby!

This club is jumpin' and smokin', baby!

Storm clouds gathered as I approached Club Morocco on a recent Friday night. The handsome, s�ck-haired doorman looked me in the eye and greeted me as I entered. (He didn't scare me.) A sexy cocktail waitress offered to get me a drink. (I declined.) And moments later, a formerly dead private detective returned from the grave.

Not really. But Frank McCann's unexpected reappearance and the mystery surrounding it drive the plot of "Club Morocco," a 1940s-era swing-music musical that's making its toe-tapping Michigan debut at The Encore Musical Theatre in Dexter. And to be totally frank - pun intended, of course - it's the best effort yet from this young and still-developing Washtenaw County theater company.

As the rain poured outside, the pitterpatter on the roof only embellished the storm that brewed inside. At first unaware of the long-missing Pi's visit, club emcee Bobby LaRue (Steve DeBruyne) welcomed the crowd, while Chick Valentine (Tony D. Owens Jr.) and his Swing Street All-Stars filled the dance hall with the glorious sounds of Cab Calloway, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw and Tommy Dorsey.

But lurking in the shadows was McCann (Paul Kerr), who came back to the spot where "Ufe would begin again or end again." Believed dead by his girlfriend and nightclub singer Nugget Rialto (Jessica Grove), his former lover and headliner Velvet St. Regis (Barbara Coven), and club owner Torch Tangier (Tim Henning) who may or may not have had something to do with his disappearance five years earlier, McCann's startling resurrection would soon disrupt the evening's otherwise pleasant atmosphere.

Co-created by director/choreographer Barbara F. Cullen and Jon Huffman, "Club Morocco" is a "film-noir spoof that celebrates some of the most beautiful music of the 20th century. But while the concept might appear structurally similar to such popular hits as "Mamma Mia" and "Movin' Out," Cullen and Huffman's creation boasts one very significant difference: The music isn't lamely shoehorned into the plot.

Instead, the story unfolds in a 1940's nightclub, where amidst gangsters and gumshoes approximately two-dozen tunes are given life by a superb ensemble of musicians and performers. It's a thoroughly entertaining concept made even more so by one ingenious addition: At certain times throughout the show, the audience is invited to the dance floor to join the fun.

And on opening night, that's exactly what they did. Wth very little coaxing, the dance floor quickly filled with a father and his lovely daughter, young couples in love and seasoned citizens who glowed in the recollections of earlier times. (There was also a rather inebriated fellow - seated in front of me, of course - who not only danced with strangers, but also wandered about the stage at inappropriate times.)

To read the complete review, log on to EncoreMichigan. com or pridesource. com

[Sidebar]

The cast of "Club Morocco" perform "Mambo Swing." Photo: Joyce Obradovich

REVIEW

'Club Morocco'

The Encore Musical Theatre, 3126 Broad St., Dexter. Thursday-Sunday through June 20. $28. 734-268-6200.

http ://t heenco retheatre. org

Zimbabwe general's death shrouded in suspicion

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Testimony before an inquest into a Zimbabwean power broker's fiery death has ended, leaving the last hours of Gen. Solomon Mujuru's life shrouded in suspicion he was murdered by political rivals.

After three weeks of hearings that have been closely followed in Zimbabwe, Magistrate Walter Chikwanha said Monday that he rejected a request by Mujuru's wife, who is the country's vice president and has attended several inquest sessions, to exhume the general's remains for independent forensic tests. Mujuru, 66, was burned beyond recognition in a house fire last year.

The former guerrilla leader and army commander used his influence and wealth from a business empire to support his wife against rival factions in President Robert Mugabe's party.

Magistrate Chikwanha did not say when he would report his conclusions after hearing evidence from 37 witnesses. He can rule the death was accidental or criminal, and in the latter case an investigation would be opened. Chikwanha could also declare an "open verdict," effectively saying he was unable to reach any conclusion.

Attorneys acting for Mujuru's family had questioned an autopsy by Cuban pathologist Gabriel Alvero, saying he had been in the country for only seven weeks and had a poor command of English.

In a translation of his testimony, Alvero said Mujuru appeared to have died from inhaling smoke. He said he examined the remains of charred limbs and said his findings were inconclusive "considering the state of the body."

Senior South African pathologists said samples of the remains and ashes from the house tested in South Africa showed no sign that explosives or flammable liquids were used to ignite it and create the intense heat that virtually cremated Mujuru. But the samples were sent in plastic bags, not in airtight metal boxes or zippered oven bags as required. The samples could have been compromised, they said.

Mujuru was buried at a state funeral four days after the fire. For the first time at a state funeral, the coffin remained sealed. A record 50,000 mourners attended the popular general's funeral, but few of his supporters no prominent politicians from Mugabe's party attended inquest hearings.

In his last hours, Mujuru stopped at the Beatrice Hotel, 60 kilometers (35 miles) southwest of Harare, drank two double whiskies with soda and chatted with patrons who described him as sober and typically affable. Widely known as a heavy drinker, the burly general, who routinely carried a pistol, told them he was having an early night before a long journey early the next day to visit diamond interests he owned in southern Zimbabwe.

A maid at the farm and a private security guard said they heard gun shots two hours before flames were seen at his farmhouse. Maid Rosemary Shoti said Mujuru left groceries and his cell phone in his car, something he had never done before.

Other testimony showed the general took 40 minutes to drive from the hotel to his farm, a journey of 10 minutes. No witnesses confirmed he took any detour or made stops along the way.

Witnesses also testified they saw what struck them as strangely colored flames rising from the general's remains and said that while the carpet beneath him was burned through to the floor the carpeting around him was mostly intact.

Vice President Joice Mujuru, in a written statement to the inquest Monday, described the response by fire fighters at the general's farmhouse as "totally ineffective."

The fire department told the court earlier the tanks of all its fire trucks leaked water. Emergency services have suffered severe shortages of equipment and spare parts in the nation's decade-long economic crisis.

Police in a VIP protection unit guarding the farm said their radio was broken, they had no airtime in their cell phones and the nearby Beatrice police station had no vehicle to reach the scene.

Quick Hits

MIXED MEDIA

APRIL REALLY HAS ARRIVED

Chicagosportswebio.com begins broadcasting Monday on the Internet.

At a cocktail party last week at Hub 51 to celebrate the launch, the on-air talent for the sports-talk startup was present. Dan Jiggetts and Mike North, Matt Weber and Fred Huebner, Jonathan Hood and Tim Doyle, Chet Coppock and Ray ''Boom Boom'' Mancini. Jen Patterson. George Ofman.

So naturally, Quick Hits was drawn to the most compelling figure.

Hello, April Rose.

What's a nice girl like the former Loop Rock Girl/eternal Quick Hits favorite doing in an assemblage like this?

''They were looking for a top sports analyst, and they found one,'' April told Quick Hits.

One with a sense of humor, too.

It's purely coincidental that the expert is Maxim's Hometown Hottie.

''They're doing a lot of billboards, taxicab ads, so I got lucky,'' said April, who should be a visible presence around town. ''I got everyone into thinking I was cool.''

As if that takes any convincing.

At some point will the webio folks tap into April's expertise -- no, not expert tease -- on the air?

''It's possible,'' she said. ''I'm going to do my studying.''

Hey, if you need any help ...

- Comcast SportsNet will televise 24 hours of baseball programming on Monday.

- For those still in a basketball and reading mode, there's When March Went Mad by Seth Davis about the 1979 Larry Bird-Magic Johnson NCAA title game with Michigan State beating Indiana State.

- A book launch party for former Vine Line editor Jim McArdle's Living the Dream will be next Thursday at 6 p.m. at Harry Caray's Tavern, 3551 N. Sheffield.

- In case you haven't read, Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander and The Heckler are hosting the ''101st Annual Next Year Day Party'' at 8 p.m. Friday at Harry Caray's Tavern. Admission is $10. Entertainment will feature Telander's music group, the Del-Crustaceans, and blues legend Lonnie Brooks.

GETTING INTO THE SWING

RING THIS ONE UP FOR CHARITY

Michael Lohan has some hunches about punches.

Consequently, the father of actress Lindsay Lohan is to fight a Philadelphia radio personality Friday for charity in Philly.

''I don't have a background in boxing,'' he told Chris Yandek of CYInterview.com. ''I played lacrosse, hockey and football all my life through all my years of high school and even college. Then I got into martial arts. Martial arts is just a means of controlling ourselves, and it's more a defensive thing. I have some training there and I really enjoyed it, so I decided, let me give it a shot in the ring.''

He might want to watch out for the other guy's shots.

ALWAYS A 'CHALLENGE'

WORKING OUT THE DETAILS

If you're fit, this is it.

It's the ''Alpha Female Challenge,'' a contest that consists of a series of workout activities designed by trainer/entrepreneur/

Quick Hits friend Bob Dixon. He's hoping to turn the event -- set for 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday at HiFi Fitness, 1030 North Ave. -- into a reality series.

There's no cost to enter or attend. All a woman has to do is show up with gym shoes. The winner will receive $1,000. There also will be an ''Omega'' contest (not quite the elite level of ''Alpha'') with $500 for the winner. Sponsors include HiFi, Harley-Davidson, Roberts & McGivney, Symmetry Fitness and Maud House.

Beth Horn (Venom on TV's ''American Gladiators'') is to be host of the show with Elliott Harris providing commentary (hey, we all need to explore career options). Chicagoan Tony Brown, a former NBA player and assistant coach, is the ''grand marshal.'' Horn and participants also will be signing autographs.

Dixon plans to hold events every three months. He also plans to post action from the events on YouTube. When they're out there, Quick Hits will let you know, if you're interested -- and even if you're not.

GRAPPLING WITH HISTORY

'DRAGON' STEAMING INTO HALL OF FAME

Ricky ''The Dragon'' Steamboat has come a long way from his early days in pro wrestling.

''I started in 1974, and 35 years later, who would have thought a young kid back then would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame?'' he told Quick Hits by phone the other day.

''I grant you it wasn't around back then, but even as you come up throughout the years -- I retired in '94 -- and we're capping it off right now on the 25th anniversary of WrestleMania by being inducted into the Hall of Fame. A very, very humbling experience. It's going to be great. I'm wired up for it.

So is his speech prepared?

''I've been working on some bullets,'' he said. ''I might just go out there and wing it, let it flow.''

Not only will Steamboat be among the inductees, he is scheduled to be part of WrestleMania XXV -- the pay-per-view program to be held Sunday in Houston -- with Chris Jericho taking on legends Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and Steamboat.

''I was in the first one,'' Steamboat said. ''It's amazing to see the evolution of WrestleMania, what it's done for the last 25 years. It's a worldwide experience.''

Color Photo: Andrew H. Walker, Getty Images / Don't tell Ricky ''The Dragon'' Steamboat, but Quick Hits is running a picture of wrestling legend Ric ''Nature Boy'' Flair with WWE Divas Kelly Kelly (left) and Eve from the WrestleMania XXV news conference on Tuesday in New York. ; Color Photo: Michael Lohan Color Photo: Greg Sidelnik / April Rose should help provide a visible presence for Chicagosportswebio.com. And possibly expert analysis. Color Photo: horsephotos.com/ntra / THIS TAKES THE CAKE: Inez Karlsson will celebrate her 26th birthday on Saturday at Hawthorne Race Course. A former boxer, the native of Sweden will be riding Knight Shot (a 30-1 long shot) in the 52nd running of the $500,000 Illinois Derby. ;

State briefs

Ex-strip club owner

sentenced on fraud

BLUEFIELD - A former owner of several strip clubs will spend morethan three years in prison for evading income taxes and defraudingthe Social Security Administration.

Federal prosecutors say 51-year-old Timothy Ray Cline ofPrinceton failed to pay more than $84,000 in taxes, based on hisactual income from adult entertainment clubs in Barboursville,Bradley and Princeton in 2001. He also received more than $35,000 inundeserved disability benefits between 1995 and 2003.

Cline pleaded guilty to the charges in March 2007. U.S. DistrictJudge David A. Faber sentenced Cline on Wednesday to three years andone month in prison.

DOH warns about

illegal flashing signs

The state Division of Highways is reminding businesses thatscrolling or flashing electric signs are illegal if they're visibleto traffic.

The agency's outdoor advertising chief, Bill Light, says suchsigns are becoming more common.

Light says messages visible to motorists can't move or change inintensity more than once every eight seconds.

The signs are expensive and Light says businesses that buy themend up disappointed when they're told they can't use them for movingmessages.

Bridge weight limits prompt detours

Some truckers face detours of at least a dozen miles because ofnew weight restrictions on two heavily traveled bridges spanning theKanawha River.

The Division of Highways says recent reevaluations prompted thenew limits on a Kanawha County bridge connecting Nitro and St.Albans and a Putnam County bridge linking Winfield with Red Houseand Eleanor.

The weight limit for the Kanawha County bridge dropped from 14tons to 12 tons. Trucks exceeding the new limit must take a 12-miledetour.

Weight restrictions for the Putnam County bridge vary accordingto the number of axles. They range from 17 tons for two-axle trucksto 40 tons for semitrailers with five axles. Trucks exceeding thelimits face a 15-mile detour.

1886: Quake wrecks Charleston

WASHINGTON At 9:51 p.m. on Aug. 31, 1886, a powerful earthquakejolted Charleston, S.C., from the somnolence of a sultry evening andsent residents fleeing into the streets. Eight minutes later, asecond large quake struck the seaport city.

"People immediately began to gather in Charleston's large publicsquare to escape injury from toppling buildings," said Carl A. vonHake of the federal government's National Geophysical Data Center inBoulder, Colo. "Throughout the night, there was great anxiety."

The two quakes have been estimated at magnitude 7.7 on theRichter scale (devised in 1935 by Charles Richter to measure theenergy released by an earthquake). Shock waves from the two quakesreached as far as Boston, Minneapolis, Cuba and Bermuda.

In the light of morning, residents saw the awesome damage naturehad wrought.

At least 60 people lay dead in Charleston; some 50 more died inthe surrounding countryside. Ninety percent of the city's structureswere damaged and 102 were destroyed.

As Charleston discovered a century ago, eastern North America isnot immune to killer quakes.

And though they cannot say when, Earth scientists expect anothersuperquake with far more damaging results somewhere between the RockyMountains and the Atlantic coast.

Large earthquakes east of the Rockies are a different breed thanthose of the West - much less common but potentially far moredestructive. Eastern quakes shake a far wider area than Westerntremors of the same size because their shock waves attenuate, orweaken more slowly in the soil and rock of the East.

Since quakes are less common in the East, far fewer buildingsare designed to take the rolling, shaking and shifting of the grounda large quake produces. This adds to the potential for severe damageand death.

The question is not whether another large quake will strike eastof the Rockies, but when and where. Charleston, experts say, will behit hard again by a quake as strong as that in 1886.

Physical evidence of several prehistoric earthquakes discoveredin recent years and probability studies based on seismic activity ofthe last 90 years suggest large tremors strike the Charleston regionabout every 1,500 to 2,000 years.

"That's a maximum estimate," said geologist Pradeep Talwani ofthe University of South Carolina in Columbia.

Geophysicist David Amick of Ebasco Services Inc., anarchitectural engineering company, has worked on probability ofdamaging quakes at Charleston. "In the period 1986 to 2086, we comeup with an estimate of 6 percent or less" for a major quake, he said.

But the chance of a quake large enough to topple bricks, breakwindows and crack foundations in the next century is 70 percent.

The largest earthquakes in the nation's history struck not SanFrancisco in 1906 (estimated Richter magnitude 8.3), but in theMississippi Valley south of St. Louis almost a century before.

On Dec. 16, 1811, the area around New Madrid, Mo., was hit by atremor estimated at magnitude 8.6. This was followed by quakes of8.4 and 8.7 on Jan. 23, and Feb. 7, 1812. The jolts rang churchbells as far away as Boston, changed the course of the MississippiRiver in places and created new lakes.

Scientists suggest that the next killer quake will come 400 to1,200 years from now.

Police: Nicaraguan Girl Killed American

MANAGUA, Nicaragua - A pregnant Nicaraguan teenager allegedly shot her 53-year-old American lover and enlisted her siblings to help dismember the body, police said Tuesday.

The 17-year-old girl, who is eight months pregnant, told human rights officials in Esteli that she shot her live-in boyfriend, Kenneth A. Kinzel, on May 12 because he threatened to kill her, said Lt. Abel Herrera.

The girl said her 14-year-old sister and 19-year-old brother helped her cut up the body to put the pieces in plastic bags. They then drove outside the city and buried the bags in two different places in northern Nicaragua, Herrera said.

Police located the remains and were conducting DNA tests to confirm their identity.

The U.S. Embassy confirmed the man's death and his name, but did not immediately have any information about his hometown.

Also on Tuesday, the embassy confirmed that an American woman, Lemon E. Groves, 49, had died of injuries suffered when she was attacked in her home in the Nicaraguan city of Grenada last week.

Embassy officials had no further information on that death.

FIFA, UEFA reject new Polish FA board

FIFA and UEFA will not recognize the newly appointed administrator for the troubled Polish football federation, possibly endangering the country's right to co-host the 2012 European Championship.

The governing bodies of world and European football said Tuesday the suspension of the Polish federation board was not legitimate.

UEFA spokesman William Gaillard said a condition of sticking with Poland and Ukraine for European football's showcase event was the continuing support of the two governments for their respective football associations.

"In this case, it seems it's falling far short of the goal," he said.

Gaillard warned that if the conflict is not resolved "in a satisfactory way" by the end of October, then "UEFA will have to take some decisions, which of course could include sanctions."

FIFA and UEFA said they continue to recognize the federation's current leadership as the "only legitimate authority" to run football in Poland.

"The agreement for hosting the championship is with both football associations, not with both governments," Gaillard said. "If one football association is kept from operating, it would be quite difficult to entrust it with the organization of such an important competition."

The governing board of the Polish Football Federation was suspended Monday after a ruling by the Polish Olympic Committee's arbitration court. Robert Zawlocki was appointed temporary chief of the federation in response to a critical motion submitted by the Ministry of Sport.

Poland's Minister of Sport, Miroslaw Drzewiecki, rejected the assertion that the temporary administrator was illegitimate, saying it was "in line with the law."

He said he plans to head a delegation to meet with FIFA and UEFA leaders at the end of the week to explain the situation and present the "source materials" that led to Monday's court ruling.

Last week, UEFA's executive committee ruled that Poland and Ukraine would remain as Euro 2012 co-hosts but warned they could still lose the tournament if preparations fall behind schedule.

FIFA and UEFA said they will now consult jointly on what measures to take against the Polish federation as well as the "future of Polish football."

Proposals will be submitted to the next FIFA executive committee meeting in Zurich on Oct. 23-24, as well as UEFA's emergency panel around the same time.

One possibility is that Poland's federation could be suspended by FIFA and UEFA. In that case, Poland's national team would be barred from upcoming qualifying games for the 2010 World Cup, while league teams Wisla Krakow and Lech Poznan would be excluded from the UEFA Cup.

Ultimately, Poland could be stripped of its right to host the 2012 championship. UEFA has used the threat of taking the tournament away from Poland to put pressure on officials there.

Drzewiecki brushed aside such concerns Tuesday, saying "the Euro (tournament) is in four years, and there was no mention of it in the letter" from FIFA and UEFA in support of the federation board.

FIFA and UEFA said Tuesday they would ask the International Olympic Committee to investigate the Polish Olympic body for "violation of the fundamental principles of the Olympic and sporting movement."

Drzewiecki said the decision of the "independent arbitration court" was based on evidence of "numerous irregularities ... as well as violations of the federations legal regulations" and that these findings were sufficient for establishing the temporary administrator.

"I am certain that once UEFA and FIFA officials have studied the materials ... that they will share our views," Drzewiecki said. "I'm convinced that the interest of FIFA and UEFA _ as well as the Ministry of Sport, the arbitration court, and the football federation _ is the good of Polish football."

Zawlocki, a lawyer who once worked for the federation's disciplinary committee, announced Monday that he had suspended the current board and canceled elections for Oct. 30 to choose the federation's new leadership.

"I think we'll deal with the situation quickly," football federation president Michal Listkiewicz said on Poland's TVN24 television. "It demands the good will of all sides _ the Ministry of Sport, the Polish Olympic Committee and the Polish Football Federation."

Prosecutors in Wroclaw launched an investigation in 2005 into match-fixing in Polish football, and have charged about 120 people _ including federation members, coaches, referees, players and club officials _ with rigging matches in the top domestic leagues. Twenty-nine clubs have been implicated.

After public and political pressure, Listkiewicz announced in April that the governing board would resign and hold new elections this fall.

Nigeria seeks over US$40 billion from tobacco firms in suit over underage smoking

Nigeria is seeking over US$40 billion (euro27 billion) in a court case against three international tobacco companies, accusing them of promoting underage smoking, court papers showed on Wednesday.

In a suit against British American Tobacco, Philip Morris and International Tobacco Limited, the Nigerian government also demanded a ruling forbidding sale of tobacco near schools, facilities or places where people under 18 years may gather.

Nigeria is demanding punitive and special damages as well as "anticipatory damages" for the expected burden of tobacco-related ailments on public health. A hearing was set for Nov. 19 before federal Judge Binta Murtala-Nyako.

Officials of the tobacco companies in Nigeria were not immediately available for comment.

Tobacco companies have in recent years stepped up their marketing campaigns in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. Nigeria is the continent's most populous country with 140 million people.

YOUNG, SLEEK, AND FULL OF HELL: THE ALLEGED GALLERY YEARS

YOUNG, SLEEK, AND FULL OF HELL: THE ALLEGED GALLERY YEARS DRAGO ARTS AND COMMUNICATION Hardcover, 7 � 10 inches 334, pages / 100 color and 100 b&w $39.95 ISBN 88-88493-82-8

in 1992, Ludlow Street in New York's Lower East Side was just a gutter of low-rent tenements with a large demographic of artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers, writers, and hoodlums. At the heart of it was Aaron Rose's Alleged Gallery-the most !infamous street-style gallery in America. In Young, Sleek, and Full of Hell, the history of the art, exhibitions, and events is told for the first time through spontaneous, behind-the-scenes photographs and interviews with insiders like Spike Jonze, Barry McGee, Susan Cianciolo, Kim Gordon, Harmony Korine, and Terry Richardson.

Opponents of gay marriage ban must release memos

Civil rights groups that campaigned against California's same-sex marriage ban must surrender some of their internal campaign memos and e-mails to lawyers for the other side, a federal judge ruled Monday.

U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker said sponsors of Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot initiative targeting gay marriage, were entitled to the information as evidence in their defense against a lawsuit challenging the ban.

Walker's decision upholds a previous ruling by a federal magistrate.

The ruling could delay a verdict in the trial, the first in federal court to examine if the U.S. Constitution prevents states from outlawing gay marriages.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Equality California, two of the groups that must turn over the campaign materials, said Monday they are reviewing Walker's order to determine whether to appeal it.

The ACLU and Equality California, the state's largest gay rights group, had argued that the campaign documents being sought were irrelevant to the Proposition 8 lawsuit. They also claimed it was unfair to make them bear the expense of sifting through tens of thousands of old e-mails.

"We do believe this decision is incorrrect," said Geoffrey Kors, Equality California's executive director. "A core issue in the case is whether the motivation of those who put Prop. 8 on the ballot is animus (dislike for gays). Why people opposed Prop. 8 is not relevant."

In rejecting the groups' arguments, Walker said Magistrate Joseph Spero took substantial steps to make the task easier, including listing specific search terms for culling relevant material from computer files and limiting the material to documents dealing with campaign arguments formulated to fight the gay marriage ban.

"To the extent the ACLU and Equality California argue the magistrate's order imposes an undue burden on them, they have failed to substantiate the burden," Walker wrote.

Protect Marriage, the group that sponsored Proposition 8, already has been required to hand over similar campaign materials to lawyers representing two same-sex couples who sued to invalidate the ballot initiative that passed with 52 percent of the vote in November 2008.

Walker heard two-and-a-half weeks of testimony in the case in January. The proceedings have been on hiatus since then because the judge said he wanted to review the evidence before scheduling closing arguments.

The defense reserved the right to present more evidence before resting its case because its skirmish with the civil rights groups over the campaign documents was unresolved.

Walker on Monday gave Protect Marriage's lawyers until April 12 to submit their remaining evidence.

Ordonez surgery prompts those 'what if' questions

PITTSBURGH -- The Cubs don't want to see anybody get hurt to provethey made a wise business decision. And yet ... they would hope theircritics now might pause and reconsider their winter demands.

The news that Detroit's Magglio Ordonez is going to miss four tosix weeks with hernia surgery seems to justify the Cubs' cautiousapproach with him. They offered the free agent a one-year contractthat probably would have included an option year for 2006, but it washeavily laden with restrictions that would have given them financialsafeguards against Ordonez hurting something other than hissurgically-repaired knee.

Since the Tigers' deal was much richer and less restrictive basedon injury clauses, it came as no surprise that Ordonez elected to gothere. He might yet star in Detroit, since he will be there foryears, but imagine the gnashing of teeth in Chicago if the Cubs hadgone the extra mile to sign Ordonez and he would have turned up lamein the first couple weeks of the season.

The Cubs still believe Ordonez would have ended up a Cub if theTigers hadn't structured such an unexpectedly lucrative package. Butthey also were confident that without getting Ordonez, they coulddepend on their outfield to carry the load.

Rookie Jason Dubois' homer in Friday night's game againstPittsburgh is a sign that the Cubs still could be better off takingthe more conservative tactics with Ordonez rather than mortgagingtheir future to get him. After all, Dubois could be an NL Rookie ofthe Year candidate.

Mike Kiley

Spanish director Coixet maps Tokyo in new movie

Isabel Coixet's new film, "Map of the Sounds of Tokyo," has three stars _ actors Rinko Kikuchi and Sergi Lopez, and the Japanese city itself, a place the Spanish filmmaker says she loves.

Like another Cannes Film Festival contender _ Argentina-born director Gaspar Noe's hallucinatory drug trip "Enter the Void" _ the movie revels in the sights and sounds of Tokyo, its neon-drenched streets, tryst-friendly "love hotels" and neighborhood noodle bars.

Barcelona-born Coixet wants the city to look exciting but not exotic. She's obsessed with exploring cultural similarities rather than differences.

"There's always this image of Japan and the Japanese _ the idea that the Japanese are very different, people who live as it were behind a screen, people who react in a different way," Coixet said Saturday. "The first time I went to Japan, some 15 years ago, I felt myself very much at home.

"In Catalonia, we always say that we are the only country in the world where, while we are eating dinner, we talk about the next dinner," she added. "But in Tokyo they do exactly the same thing."

"Map of the Sounds of Tokyo" centers on two star-crossed characters adrift in Tokyo. Ryu (Kikuchi, an Academy Award nominee for "Babel") is a taciturn fish-market worker and occasional contract killer. David ("Pan's Labyrinth" star Lopez) is a wine-store owner devastated by his girlfriend's suicide. When Ryu is hired to bump him off, the pair develop a tentative, enigmatic relationship.

"Map of the Sounds of Tokyo" is one of 20 films competing for the festival's top prize and has been praised for presenting the central sexual relationship _ which unfolds in a hotel room fitted out like a Paris subway car _ in a way that focuses on the pleasure of the female character. Trade magazine Variety called Lopez's David "almost the perfect arthouse stud monkey," eager to please his female companion.

"When you're making a film you don't leave your own personality at home," said Coixet, 47. "I am a woman ... It's my way of expressing maybe my own sexual fantasies. Not that I've ever had sex in a hotel like this _ but why not?"

Kikuchi's hit woman is the latest in a series of strong female characters from Coixet, who also wrote the movie. Her films include 2003's "My Life Without Me" _ which starred Sarah Polley as a dying woman seeing to her family's well-being after she's gone _ and last year's "Elegy," an adaptation of Philip Roth's novel "The Dying Animal" that starred Penelope Cruz and Ben Kingsley.

As the film's title suggests, "Map of the Sounds of Tokyo" is an aurally rich film. It's light on dialogue, heavy on the sounds of the city _ from the pop of a wine cork to the slice of a knife through fresh fish _ and features a moody, jazz-drenched score.

"In all my films up until now, there is always a character who sits down and has a three- or four-page monologue about the past and the ghosts of the past," Coixet said. "This time I decided to trust the soundtrack and the images. I decided not to make too much use of words."

___

On the Net:

http://www.festival-cannes.fr

World Cup Qualifying: Benin 2, Niger 0

Result Sunday from a World Cup qualifying match:

Benin 2 (Jocelyn Ahoueya, 45, Mouritala Ogoubiyi, 55), Niger 0.